Got to love Google

After checking the internet for "prop not catching at high RPM's", I concluded that my prop needed replacing. Luckily I had a spare prop on board, so James agreed to meet me at the boat at 4:30 to attempt an "in water" prop swap. I told my wife we would be back in 15 minutes and was met with a high degree of skepticism. I think we surprised ourselves when 15 minutes later we had replaced the prop and took a quick test drive to confirm the diagnosis. So the dark cloud lifted and we were good to go.

James and Carter met me back at the boat at 6:45 and we headed out into a mirror image of last night. Again the wind was howling and last nights rolling waves had been replaced with a 4 foot chop. On my second cast a huge wake appeared behind my plug and we all watched one of the best blow-ups of the year by a nice 24 incher.  I quickly followed with a 22 and a 20. At this point the boys were getting a bit antsy. The bite shut down for the next half our or so until James finally netted a nice 22. Not to be left out, Carter finished the night with back to back 20's on my old go-to plug a white Stillwater. So 6 keepers in horrific conditions made for a fairly decent night.

The 24

James and Carter removing a sick fish

Blurry picture of the 22

Dark Cloud

My buddy James is in town from CA, and we were both anxious to hit the point for some serious plugage. Unfortunately, James always seems to bring bad weather with him. The skies to the South were filled with ominous black clouds, when we left the marina at 7 PM. I had a very bad feeling which only intensified as we approached the bay. The wind was howling against the outgoing tide and you could feel a storm approaching. The chop was just too much, so we bailed out and headed for Aberdeen Creek to get out of the wind. After several drifts along the shoreline, with zero action, I made an executive decision and headed out to the shoal. James is my original topwater buddy and I was determined to show him how good things have been this summer. We finally anchored up at the rock pile at 8 PM. Conditions were horrible, but workable, so I grabbed Popa Dogg and went to work. On my second cast, I had a nice blowup and boated a healthy fat 22. Not to be left out, James grabbed my other rod with a Popa Dogg and hit the same spot....BAM. We both knew instantly it was a big fish. With the wind and full moon tide, the drag was singing. I have fished with James more than any of my buddies, and I can honestly say this was the best fight any fish has ever given him. It turned out to only be a 26, but in those conditions it might as well have been a 36. The wind was now howling and the clouds getting closer, so we headed in. We were having a good old time on the ride in when all of a sudden my engine started to wizz and it was clear that something big was wrong. I was able to move, but could not push her beyond 500 RPM's. So when we finally pulled into the slip I felt a huge Dark Cloud over my head with the knowledge that I will probably be out of action for a while.

James and his 26

My 22

Decent sunset for such lousy conditions

Now thats a first.

I had the pleasure of fishing with several friends and family this past week. It had been extremely hot this week, so a stiff breeze has rolled in every evening. This has made topwater quite difficult, although I was able to boat a few barely legal sized fish. Fortunately, my guests have been kept happy on a steady diet of 14-16 inch fish on white twisty's. I had the lovebirds, Grace and Mark, out Tuesday night and they must have boated 60 fish between them. On Weds. Carters little brother, Trevor (11), had a blast bailing the little guys.

The 26

The sights of the AM

The Lovebirds

Rare Sunrise for me

I awoke before sunrise this AM, and decided to change things up a bit. The water was like glass when I left the marina at 6 am sharp. I rarely fish the morning and am always amazed how beautiful it can be. When I arrived at the shoal, there were birds everywhere and dinks slamming baitfish on the surface. I almost moved to avoid having to remove the big treble hooks from their tiny mouths. Luckily I stayed, because shortly thereafter all hell broke loose. The tide was going out and the outline of the rock pile was clearly visible on the surface, so was able to cast right into the rip. Nearly every cast resulted in a spectacular blow up and some incredible fights on the surface. My biggest was only a 26, but I also boated 6 24's, and way too many to count in the 22 inch class. Mild Bill was anchored a short distance away so I invited him to slide in and join the action. But, as is usually the case, the bite immeditely stopped. The highlight of the morning though, came just as I was about to head in. I picked up a small 18-ish fish and when she got within a few feet of the boat another fish, in the 24 inch class, slammed the plug hanging from her lip. For quite some time I had both fish on my line as the literally wrestled for the prize. I could not believe my eyes as the rolled over and over throwing up a huge splash and making more noise than a thrashing Tarpon. Looks like I may try mornings for a while. Great way to start a lazy summer day.

Rough Going

I had along my man Carter and his dad Doug this evening. We left the marina at 7 pm to nary a swirl of breeze. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the point the wind was howling and we faced a good 3 to 4 foot chop. Wild Bill and Chris had already thrown in the towel just as we anchored up. We had to move several times to get near the rock pile, but finally settled in and went to work. I as usual worked the Dogg while the two of them worked white twisty's. They caught a ton of dinks, but tonight topwater clearly won out as I was able to manage a very nice 20 and a 19. Not your ideal conditions, but good company and not a bad night of fishing.

Choppy seas, but nice sunset

The 20

Misreading the tide

First of the 22's 

I checked the tide when leaving the marina at 7 tonight. I thought for sure that high tide was expected at 7:20. So when I arrived at the shoal and saw the big ships sitting halfway into a swing around, I assumed the tide had started to come in and positioned the boat accordingly. It took about 15 minuted to realize that the tide had just begun to go out. So I repositioned the boat on the other side of the rock pile and went to work. The next half hour was fantastic. I boated two 22's, one 20,  four 18's, and a bunch of under's. By this time the tide was ripping. I rechecked the tide table and boy was I wrong. High tide was actually 4:20. The action continued at a fairly steady pace for the next half hour, but there were too many dinks, so I headed in. I actually hit bottom for the first time in many years which reinforced how wrong I had been about the tide.

Not another boat in sight all night

Deliverance from Hell

I had just returned home Friday night from the O's game in the best mood. I had taken Grace and her friend Kara and they had made it onto the big scoreboard. This was a first for them (as well as me) so they were obviously excited, especially after receiving several texts from young men in the crowd who had recognized them. Little did I know how much life would change in the next 15 minutes, as a massive wind storm tore through the area. What followed was 4 days without power during one of the hottest stretches to hit Annapolis in years. I rarely, if ever, fish on a Saturday, but just had to get out of the heat, so I headed out to the point. It was a great relief and a ton of fun as 16-20 inch fish slammed my plug nearly every cast. It did not dawn on me until the way in that there had not been a single boat in sight all night. Then it hit me...LIFTS, nobody could get their boat out without power. Ahhh...I was finally vindicated for being apposed to lifts all these years. With still no power Sunday, I headed for the Jersey shore for a wonderful unplanned vacation with my wife.

With power restored, I headed out with Carter tonight at our normal 7pm time. It was 100 degrees when we left the dock and the air was just plain disgusting. When we arrived at the point I checked the tide tables which indicated a 7:40 high tide. The tide was coming in at a good pace, so I was unsure as to whether the tide had turned early or had yet to change. It turned out to be the latter I positioned the boat for an incoming tide and we went to work. As usual, Carter worked the white twisty and I my trusty Papa Dogg. Carter immediately picked up several nice 18-20 inch fish, while I had several blow ups that were on but slipped away. It was crazy good for the next half hour as we both boated numerous fish up to 22 inches. I told Carter that there had to be bigger fish lurking out there and launched one of my longest casts of the night. Just as the plug hit the water we watched a huge splash encase the plug. This was followed by a fierce run that took quite a bit of drag. After several more good runs I boated a very fat 24.  Carter wanted to take a fish home to his parents so we set her aside. On the next cast he picked up a very nice 22 which was followed by my second 24 of the night. Unfortunately this fish gave little fight and was covered by sores. It was sad to see the difference in weight between the 2 fish from the same year. The one positive, is that it has been my only sick fish to date. To the Northeast of us we watched a huge thunderstorm approaching as we enjoyed a great sunset as we headed in just to be safe.

The first 24

Great sunset 

Healthy versus sick

The 22

24 versus 22

On a roll

and a half

one of the many 16's 

Carter and I left the marina at a little before 7. The winds were light on the river, but were blowing 10-20 knots on the bay. Despite low tide being and hour later tonight, the tanker ships had already begun to swing with the changing tide. We made a few drifts and picked up several dinks on top. After pulling the anchor several times, we finally settled in well up-tide of the rock pile. Carter was once again working a white twisty while I was locked and loaded with Papa Dogg.  We were able to make some incredibly long casts with the wind and work back over the pile. I had several blow-ups that, like last night, appeared the be keeper size fish or bigger, due to the distance from the boat. Each time I was disappointed when a 16 came along side the boat.The action was steady all night for both of us but most fish were in the 14 to 16 inch range. Right before sundown, I had a huge blow up at least 100 yards from the boat. This time the drag was screaming and I said to Carter "if this is not at least 18, then I am switching to golf". Luckily it turned out to be a very nice 22 (and a half!!!). The golf gods will sleep well tonight. Amen.

Rough conditions, but a great sunset

June Recap

June has historically been fairy uneventful, and this year has been exactly that. Although there have been some incredibly nice Plug-worthy nights, keeper size fish have been tough to come by. I have fished quite a bit the last week or so with Carter, a fishing buddy from Harbor Hills. While I stuck with topwater, he bailed fish after fish, until his arms hurt using a white twisty. Most were dinks, but a few hit the magic number 18, if you stepped on them real hard. The winds have played havoc with fishing the past 5 days, so I was pleasantly surprised when the wind laid down around 7 tonight. I glanced at the tide tables just as the ships on the bay came into view. Low tide was at 7 pm , but the ships were still pointing out, so I knew a tide change was imminent. Sweet!!!. I quickly anchored up at the spot and sure enough the boat began to swing around ever so slightly. My second cast, with the wind, was a beauty. Just as the plug hit he water, there was a huge splash and, what appeared to be a monster, tail slapped multiple times. I love it when a blowup occurs that far from the boat, since it always appears the fish is bigger than it turns out to be. From the splash and line scream, I was sure it was at least as 28, but alas, it was only a 24. Still a nice surprise and a rarity for June.

I was just about to send the picture to my oldest daughters boyfriend, Danny, when a message from my daughter arrived on my IPhone with a picture of him holding up a very nice smallmouth with a plug in its mouth. Danny had recently declared himself a "topwater only" guy and had been diligently working his plug every day in Rock Creek park hoping for his first fish. So the picture brought a smile to my face that almost rivaled the big grin on his.

Welcome to the brotherhood

June Surprise

My man Carter

Perfect Early June Night

New Pants

My buddy Mikey from Boston always wears these long fishing pants and claims that "these things catch fish". I noticed that most of the guides in Florida wore the same pants. They said it was to keep the sun out. So today, my 51st birthday, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a pair from my baby girl Grace. I fished for a hour or 2 this am, but the sun was too high and the fish absent. I had a great day of burgers on the grill with family, while watching the "Crab Bowl" lacrosse championship between Loyola and Maryland.

I headed out tonight around seven. The boat traffic was still heavy, but most seemed to be heading in.  By 8 pm, I basically had the bay to myself. There was a strong incoming tide and a 10 knot SE wind. It was choppy, but workable. I stayed primarily with Papa Dogg. If I kept the rod tip up, the plug was able to walk across the water without nose diving. I had picked up several dinks and one barely legal 18, when Dabney called at 8:45 to see how things were going. I told him one more cast and then I would be heading in. As fate would have it, my last cast turned out to be the best of night as a nice 22 sucked the plug under and took quite a bit of drag as I fought against the tide. Great end to a perfect birthday.

The new pants.

Birthday Sunset
 

Lessons

Our youngest daughter Grace joined me tonight to work on her senior project. She has been taking a photography (film) class and her task is to capture the essence of Maryland. So. following in her fathers footsteps, we set out to get a few pictures of the "land of pleasant living". We left the dock at around 6:45 to sunny skies and a light breeze, despite a forecast of thunderstorms. Mild Bill was already anchored up at the spot, so we pulled up along side of him and set the anchor at little after 7. It was a perfect topwater night, with the bay like a mirror, due to a slack tide. Bill picked up the first fish of the night around 7:30 and that was it until the sun had set. In the meantime, we counted a total of six boats that motored up and gave it s shot. One by one they bugged out and by 8:15 we were all alone. We had planned on hitting the Thomas Point lighthouse for a quick pic, but Grace agreed to forego that exercise since I assured her that things were about the break loose since the boat had finally begun to swing around indicating the changing tide. The last boat was still within sight when I had my first blowup and brought aboard a 16 inch fish. Just like clockwork, all hell broke loose. Grace had a huge blowup and went down to her knees to keep from flying over the bow rails. I looked up and knew instantly it was a beauty. After a fight that made this dad proud, I netted a very fat and healthy 25 inch fish. It was non stop action for the next half hour, with at least 10 fish boated. We even had a father/daughter double. So I was able to pass on a few lessons to one future "plugger".

1. The weatherman is always wrong
2. Be quiet when approaching a shallow water spot. Every one of the six boats came in with their loud smelly 2 stroke engines a blaring.
3. Be patient. We just had to wait out the tide.
4. Listen to your elders.

Double Header

Grace's big one

Nice wrist snap

A little river action

One of the guides I fished with in Florida was John Ochs. Big John, as he is know to his friends, is one of the top Redfish fisherman in the country. Here is a video of the trip we put together. Its not hard to pick out Big John:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=annd4zaGFL4&feature=youtu.be When we were forced into the backcountry the second day, he took some time to show me how to properly "walk the dog".  To achieve the proper cadence you have to keep slack in the line, rapidly pump the rod tip with the right hand, and slowly turn the rod handle with the left hand. This requires movements akin to making a circle on your stomach while tapping your head, something I have never been able to train my mind to do. Since it was very breezy tonight, I decided to stay close to home and put in some practice. John had suggested a faster action rod, so I tied "Papa Dogg"onto my medium action St. Croix. The wind was blowing from the NE, so I positioned the boat upriver and drifted the southern side of the Broad Creek point. It felt like I was finally getting it down when I had a nice blowup that missed. I continued practicing and soon had another blowup and this time it was "fish on". After a very nice fight, I boated a healthy looking 23 inch fish. It's nice to know the fish are up in the river. Hopefully this is a good sign of things to come,

Bloody mess!!

Southern side of point at sunset

Boca Grande 2012

I returned late last night from my annual Tarpon fishing trip to Boca Grande Florida. We had eight guys, which included 2 new rookie "tarpon virgins" fishing with four different guides. Day one was very frustrating, with lots of fish showing , but just not biting. Day two was rainy and very windy, so we were forced to fish the backcountry where we landed Trout, Snook, and even a nice Flounder. After two days,  our tally was one Tarpon and 8 serious hangovers. Fortunately day three the weather cleared and we headed out at the crack of dawn to sunny skies and light winds. I was fishing with Glyn Austin, who was a new guide to our group this year. Glyn is from eastern Florida, and unlike our normal guides, included plugs in his arsenal for fishing Tarpon.  Within seconds of stepping on the boat I grabbed a pole rigged with a beautiful purple MirrOlure plug. As we came thru the pass to the Gulf we immediately spotted a small pod of fish on the move. I had been conditioned to believe that plugs are ineffective against the granite like mouths of the Silver Kings, so my expectations were low when the plug landed a few yards ahead of the pod. On my first twitch of the plug a poon exploded and I was tight. When the fish made its first jump, I was certain he would throw the plug, but to my surprise it held. Nine incredible jumps later the fish neared the boat. On his final jump he smacked his head on the side of the boat. When blood spattered my shoes, I knew the fish was dead. With a heavy heart, we removed the plug and watched him slide to the bottom of the Gulf to be eaten by one of the many hammerheads that lurk below. We ended the day with 9 boated fish and two very happy rookies who landed their first Silver Kings.

Sunset over Thomas Point

Tonight was a perfect topwater night here in Naptown, so I headed out to the shoal at 6.30. It was non stop action from my first cast. The fish were tiny compared to the 100 pound Tarpon from yesterday, but still made my heart jump on every blowup, I boated at least twenty fish in the 16 to 20 inch range, and was reminded just how much I love living here.

Plug in corner of mouth

Purple Plug

Next to last jump

Magical Night

Nice 20 that appeared to have just spawned

Tonight was magical and it had nothing to do with fishing. I had planned on meeting my buddy James at the boat at 6 pm, but he got hung up and was not sure he could make it. I told him it was no big deal and that we could meet up at 6.30. The O's were embroiled in an extra innings game with the Sox, so I settled in and waited. With the score tied at 6, the game had evolved into a battle of the bull pens. When James called to say he could not make it, the game had moved into the bottom of the 13th inning. By the time I anchored up at the shoal the score was still tied at 6. My first cast I had a nice blow-up that missed. My second cast to the same spot resulted in a mirror image of the first blow-up. Finally on my 3rd cast I picked up a fat 20 that put up a great fight. By now the game had moved to the top of the 15th with the game still tied at 6. I continued to grind it out with quite a few swirls and blow-up, but like the game, nothing to show for it. For three straight innings the O's first batter was able to reach first base, but hit into a double play to end the inning in all 3 cases. With their entire bullpen depleted, the O's were forced to turn to their DH, Chris Davis to pitch the bottom of the 16th. I could not believe my ears when he struck out the first batter and proceeded to set down the side in order. As the top of the 17th got under way, I picked up my second fish of the night, a smallish 16. In the top of 17th Adam Jones hit a 3 run home run off Boston's center fielder,Darnell McDonald. I was amazed when Davis struck out Adrian Gonzalez, arguably one of the best in league, on 3 pitches. The game ended with the Sox hitting into a double play for one of the most magical wins since I was a young boy. This is shaping up to be a magical summer.

What a night

I arrived at Dabs house at 6:30 tonight. It was breezy, cold, and overcast, so I really did not know what to expect. He had called me earlier in the day to let me know that the fish had been going nuts the night before slamming silversides on top. The wind was blowing hard from the southwest against an outgoing tide. There were whitecaps everywhere, so we anchored up at the Hillsmere point out of the wind. There was nothing happening so after a half hour or so we decided to give "the spot" a go. The conditions slowly improved as the tide turned and the whitecaps were replaced by a nice rolling surf. Just as the boat began to swing around I picked up a smallish 16 on my new go to weapon "Papa Dogg". I picked up 3 more on quickly thereafter before Dabs switched over to a Stillwater Jr to join in on the fun. It was non stop action for the next hour and a half with nice fat low 20's fish. Tails were slapping everywhere. It was surreal. I finally picked up a real nice mid 20 female with a fat belly full of eggs. This was followed shortly thereafter by a real nice 26-27 class male. Papa Dogg was clearly attracting the bigger fish and the extra weight allowed for a much longer cast. My advantage soon ended though as a big mama broke my my 20 pound flurocarbon leader in half and swam of with Papa in tow. DANG...I loved that old man. We  left long after dark while the school continued its feeding frenzy, with a least 30 fish boated and many many more blowups that missed. I would say that the night was one of the top five of all time at "the spot".

Dabs 

Captain Carl in white shirt

The biggest of the night

Last week I had the pleasure of fishing with Captain Carl aboard the Miss Grace for a little trophy trolling. It was not exactly my cup of tea, but a lot a fun watching the pro's work a 26 rod spread as my buddies and I threw back a few cold ones. We limited out in less than 2 hours with fish between 35 and 37 inches.

Flats season on the South River

I finally found a card reader and was able to download all my pictures since my last post. It has been a very good "South River Flats Season". I did not get my boat in the water until April 15th, so all my fishing was from Dab's boat. The last week of March offered some incredibly nice evenings. I would make the 20 minute drive to his house at 6pm and we were anchored up at "the spot' by 6.30. The temps were in the low 80's and water was like a mirror. Although I personally landed only one 24, there were many spectacular blowups that missed. One night, my buddy James joined us and a massive cow slammed my plug within spitting distance from the boat. The 3 of us stood there amazed as this monster fish smacked the plug four more times without coming tight. That was a show I will never forget.

I did not have much time alone with my boat before the wind rolled in for over a week. Luckily things returned to perfect conditions just in time for a friend of mine from Boston drove down with his son Timmy for their first adventure on the Chesapeake. We hit the water around 1 and found perfect conditions on the bay. The temp was in the high 70's and water like glass. I knew we would have a tough time with topwater mid day, so I had planned a "roadtrip" to the bay bridge. The night before, I had read Shawn Kimbro's new book "Chesapeake Light Tackle" and hit Martys for the all the goodies..9 inch BKD's, 3/4 jig heads, and the secret weapon red garlic dye. As we set out for the bridge , I had high hopes for a great day. We hit nearly every piling on the eastern shore portion of bridge, but came up with one big skunk. It was a frustrating day, but the company, beer, and perfect weather outweighed the lack of fish. We ended the night plugging the shoal followed by a great crab dinner at Mikes.

Dabs boat

The Myerson Boys

Perfect end to a perfect day

Top fish of night

It has been rainy and windy for the past 4 days, so I was anxious to get out tonight. It was cold and windy, but I made a run for the shoal none the less. My first drift was right of the point and on the first cast I had a nice blowup that missed. It was too windy to anchor, so I made a number of long drifts. The action was steady and I ended the night with 4 blowups and 2 fish in the 22 inch range. Tough fishing, but well worth it.

Spring run is here

My biggest Topwater fish ever on brand new PAPA DOGG

I spent the last week in the Cayman Islands and was able to catch my first bonefish. Boy those bad boys are fast. I was pleasantly surprised to return to spring like temps here in Naptown.  I still have not dropped the boat in, so last nights fishing was restricted to the marina dock. It was nice, but no fish to be had. I received a call from my buddy Dabs this afternoon around 4 telling me that the bay was dead calm and tide was starting to rip. I somehow made the 20 minute drive home, change clothes, grab my gear, and make it to his house by 5. I could not believe how nice it was as we headed out to the shoal. There was a light breeze, flat seas, and an air temp in the mid 70's. I had to pinch myself to remind me that it was March and a blow up was unlikely. My guide in the Cayman's had introduced me to a new plug that both pops and has a walking  motion. I tied the new plug onto my heavy St. Croix and began fan casting. We basically drifted around the point trying all different depths with no signs of fish. Suddenly, like the lock ness monster, a huge body appeared behind my plug. A huge tail slap followed and it was fish on. I knew immediately this was the biggest fish of my life. As Dabs was grabbing the net, the fish came close enough for me to get a good look. She was HUGE and a second second later she was gone. Oh well, I did not have my camera anyway, so no reason to stress the fish. DANG. We continued to plug away and right before the sun set another monster slammed my plug and this time I was bringing her aboard. Luckily, Dabs was able to get a pic with his cell phone. It was a nice 34 and still my biggest ever on a plug, but a good deal smaller than the first. I will never know the size of the first, but we both agreed to call it a 38. What a great start to 2012.

Winter

Nice Chain Pickeral

This was the 1st time in eleven years that I pulled my boat..really? I could not have picked a worse year, as it has been an incredibly nice winter. There were several stretches where I thought about calling Tri-State and dumping her back in, but the prospect of the long ride back out on the bay, just did not seem appealing. So I have basically been sitting around in my underwear, by the fire, watching way too much basketball. Every now and then, I would get the fishing bug and head down to the marina pier for some pickerel action.  Most outings have been successful with a least a couple of baby 10 inch fish. The biggest of the year was actually today, when I landed a massive 14 inch sucker. I plan to launch the first week of March. My mantra this year is "catch fish". So if that means jigging, I jig. If that means spinners, I spin. If that means topwater, then "hell yah", I plug. The two things I will never do, and I mean never , are troll or  use live bait. It's going to be a great year.