Mattawoman, cats and carp, 1/8

[ictalurus]

I hit the Mattawoman with fellow yak fishers Martin, Mike, and Ron. I was hoping for some nice winter bass or some snakehead action, and I figured some little cats would keep the skunk off as the worst-case scenario. We launched a bit before noon, which was close to low tide, and fished until about 3:30.

Left to right: Mike, Ron, and Martin


We headed upstream toward a feeder creek. There was some structure there I wanted to hit for bass, and I had seen lots of catfish marks there in July, so we figured it would be a good place to start. I didn't have any hits at the spots I tried and didn't see any snakeheads rising, so I figured I would drift while dragging some nightcrawlers and continue casting around. I smeared a bunch of Smelly Jelly on a jig-n-pig, cast it out, and started hopping it back. I felt a little bump, set the hook, and landed this guy:



It was a nice way to christen my new Powell baitcasting rod. I think I felt the carp prodding the jig and set the hook right as it turned away. It was hooked in the gill plate. It looks like something toothy tried to take off the top of its tail. That was the only fish I ended up catching.

I tried a variety of lures for bass or snakeheads: the jig-n-pig, a slow rolling spinnerbait, a black and white fluke rigged weightless and weighted, two different crankbaits, and a chatter bait. Nothing else was touched. I had one run off with some cut bunker Ron gave me, but didn't have any luck on nightcrawlers or some old, expired sausage I brought as cat bait. It was pretty frustrating given the tremendous quantity of marks I kept seeing on my fish finder. I wonder if they were more carp or gizzard shad? Anchoring worked well for Ron, who ended up with 4 nice blues on the cut bunker, but anchoring didn't make any difference for me. Mike eventually got a cat on the bunker as well, but Martin took a skunk for the team.

I did get some nice shots today, though.

Ron's first cat:


The old barge:


Mike:


Martin (his red Revo reminds me of a classic Corvette with the chrome exhaust under the doors):


I think fishing the Mattawoman when high tide is around noon would probably be more productive in the winter. All the spatterdock had died back, so there wasn't much structure. There was some standing grass, though, which would be flooded by 1-2ft at high tide. If high tide was around or slightly before noon, that would give the shallows time to heat up and attract fish, and the grass would add structure. That's my theory anyway.

It was good catching up with everyone to start the new year off right, and I got my January fish, which made my day.

[mepps3]

Good report. I have been reading this guys website for local reports.


http://www.genemuellerfishing.com/


He seems to be having success lately with 1/4 oz jigs and grubs fishing shallow flats that drop off to deep water. Don't think there is much of that in the creek, but seems like a medium sized bait worked slowly is the best option.

[ictalurus]

Cool, thanks for the info. I was doing some experimenting that day since I'm not very good at fishing for tidal bass or fishing with jigs. Since the spatterdock died back, there are flats near drop offs where we were fishing. I'll keep it in mind for next time.

[Capt Brady Bounds]

Bill.

Here is a big clue. Even days when the fish are not cooperating, it's a great opportunity to paddle out into the spatterdock field even though they are died back. The goal is to find places in the mud flats that are normally covered in vegetation that are deeper than the surrounding area, like a depression. When you return later in the year when vegetation is covering these flats,, fish will always be there. I also have been known to mark them with a sliver of bamboo such that it sticks up about two feet above the spatterdock at full growth. Also taking note of where the little channels and sloughs are that drain the spatterdock flats is very valuable knowledge later .

[ictalurus]

Thanks, Captain. It was only my second time there, so it kind of disorienting navigating the area without the spatterdock. I wish I had taken advantage of the opportunity to check out those areas more thoroughly. I'll definitely do that next time I go.