J.A. Veil
08-18-2007, 01:26 PM
I got a late start this morning. Although it was calm when I left home about 8:00, by the time I got to my boat and got a few things set up, it was blowing pretty hard from the north. The ride out the South River at 9:00 wasn't bad. Near the mouth I saw several Coast Guard and DNR boats looking for something. I wasn't sure if there had been an accident or they were doing a drill. Later I heard on the radio that a partially submerged boat had been reported -- this was not a drill. By the time I came back at noon, the search boats were gone. I hope nobody was hurt.
Anyway, back to the fishing report. Once I turned north at Thomas Pt. the waves were mostly 3-footers with wind-blown foam on top. If I had had passengers with me, I would have either gone slow or turned back. However, since I was alone, I opened up the throttle and flew over the waves at 22 mph. Most of the time the spray flew out to the side and I moved steadily through the waves. Every so often, I would come down off the top of one wave and slam into the next one. My back and knees took some pounding -- I will probably feel it tonight. My Parker is definitely tougher than my middle-aged body.
I had intended to check out the Bay bridge and sewer pipe. However, at the mouth of the Severn, near the red bell buoy, I saw hundreds of birds -- some were scouting around, some were diving on bait, and other were sitting. I tried to get into an upwind position and cast back to the breakers. I also set out a stingsilver and feather jig combo that was deadsticked in a rod holder. Before I could start casting, the deadstick rod was shaking furiously. It looked like I had a big one. When I reeled it in, it turned out to be an ordinary sized white perch that had hit the feather jig. I put the line out again and soon got two more perch. Although I left that line out for the next hour, those were the only fish I caught. Later on, when I wound in that rod after a drift, I discoverd that the leg of bottom rig holding the stingsilver had been bit through.
I followed several flocks of birds around for two hours. I cast various colors and shapes of plastic tails on jigheads ranging from 3/8-oz to 1 oz. I caught a bunch of dink stripers and a few bluefish. The first bluefish I caught was a sleek 14" fish that ended up being my lunch today. My quick recipe was: coat two filets with vinagrette salad dressing, then sprinkle some Tony Cachere's cajun spice on top. I microwaved the filets for 90 seconds, and let me tell you, it was some fine eatin'.
The highlight of the day was catching a couple of 12"-14" stripers on beautiful cedar poppers. I would cast out the plug and twitch it back to the boat. The rough water caused the plug to bounce around and make some spray. I had many follows and bumps but hooked only three on the popper. While winding the last one in, I could see at least one other fish swimming along beside it, trying to find enough space to hit the hair tied on the trailer hook.
It was an enjoyable morning. The rough water early kept many boats away, and I had the school to myself for over an hour. Then the sailboats and few cruisers started showing up and it was time to head back in and rest up for social events later today and tonight.
Anyway, back to the fishing report. Once I turned north at Thomas Pt. the waves were mostly 3-footers with wind-blown foam on top. If I had had passengers with me, I would have either gone slow or turned back. However, since I was alone, I opened up the throttle and flew over the waves at 22 mph. Most of the time the spray flew out to the side and I moved steadily through the waves. Every so often, I would come down off the top of one wave and slam into the next one. My back and knees took some pounding -- I will probably feel it tonight. My Parker is definitely tougher than my middle-aged body.
I had intended to check out the Bay bridge and sewer pipe. However, at the mouth of the Severn, near the red bell buoy, I saw hundreds of birds -- some were scouting around, some were diving on bait, and other were sitting. I tried to get into an upwind position and cast back to the breakers. I also set out a stingsilver and feather jig combo that was deadsticked in a rod holder. Before I could start casting, the deadstick rod was shaking furiously. It looked like I had a big one. When I reeled it in, it turned out to be an ordinary sized white perch that had hit the feather jig. I put the line out again and soon got two more perch. Although I left that line out for the next hour, those were the only fish I caught. Later on, when I wound in that rod after a drift, I discoverd that the leg of bottom rig holding the stingsilver had been bit through.
I followed several flocks of birds around for two hours. I cast various colors and shapes of plastic tails on jigheads ranging from 3/8-oz to 1 oz. I caught a bunch of dink stripers and a few bluefish. The first bluefish I caught was a sleek 14" fish that ended up being my lunch today. My quick recipe was: coat two filets with vinagrette salad dressing, then sprinkle some Tony Cachere's cajun spice on top. I microwaved the filets for 90 seconds, and let me tell you, it was some fine eatin'.
The highlight of the day was catching a couple of 12"-14" stripers on beautiful cedar poppers. I would cast out the plug and twitch it back to the boat. The rough water caused the plug to bounce around and make some spray. I had many follows and bumps but hooked only three on the popper. While winding the last one in, I could see at least one other fish swimming along beside it, trying to find enough space to hit the hair tied on the trailer hook.
It was an enjoyable morning. The rough water early kept many boats away, and I had the school to myself for over an hour. Then the sailboats and few cruisers started showing up and it was time to head back in and rest up for social events later today and tonight.