TWIF (This Week in Fishing) August 22nd - 29th

Monday, August 22nd:

Fishing this week started off like last week ended. I had to report back to school to begin getting ready for the new school year, so I knew that my time on or near the water would be limited. Monday evening, just after dinner, I drove down to the beach at Flag Harbor and made some casts along the north jetty. I had double drop rig with long shank size 4 hooks, along with a one ounce sinker. I was baiting the hooks with small pieces of cut shrimp, just frozen ones from the super market. If memory serves correctly I was able to catch four small black drum, like the one in the photo, as well as two or three spot (Leiostomus xanthurus). As I mentioned in last week's post I am glad that I was able to catch a few since it will be a nice quick place to give a try once or twice a week.

Tuesday, August 23rd:

Tuesday, after leaving work, I headed home and spent some time at the house doing a couple of things as well as having dinner with the family. Since it was such a beautiful night I put the kayak on the car and headed down to Lake Lariat. Being a location where I feel very comfortable I set out around 6:15 or so. I paddled around for an hour and a half or so making casts with the small jig. I started with a greenish tube and then switched to a black body with pink tail grub. I ended up with what I like to refer to as a "trifecta" in that I caught three different species: bluegill, redear sunfish and largemouth bass. All of the fish were on the smaller side, less than eight or nine inches. But to be completely honest, the best part was just getting out and enjoying the fantastic evening.

Thursday, August 25th:

Beginning of the year meetings continue today and my family and I are going to a professional baseball game this evening. That means if I wanted to try and catch something - I'd have to squeeze it in somehow. Fortunately largemouth like to hit topwater lures in the mornings during summer. On the way to work I stopped at a local pond and spent about a half hour casting a Rebel "Frog R." It paid off with some really nice topwater blowups as well as a nice 16 inch bass. There's something about catching a fish early in the day that makes the rest of the day go by easier.



Saturday, August 27th:

The weekend is here and I of course couldn't let it go by without making a few casts. This morning I got up and spent some time working around the house. My son had two places to be, almost at the same time, but my wife volunteered to get him to them. (This is my youngest son who can't drive yet.) I took care of cleaning the kitchen as well as heading to the dump with the recyclables and trash. By the time I got back the heat of the day had really set in and there was no way I was going to be out in it. But as the evening came along, I headed back down to the shore of the bay. Being almost a week later the tides had completely switched. Earlier in the week it was high tide, this evening the tide was just starting to come in. Nevertheless I made my casts with the small pieces of shrimp. I got some bites and ended up catching a couple of spot. "Spot" or "Norfolk Spot" are quite tasty, at least according to my grandmother. My grandfather and I would occasionally catch one while fishing for flounder and he would say "That'll make a nice sandwich for Mom mom." The two I caught were on the smaller side, but one of these days I'm going to give them a try.

Sunday, August 28th: Today is what I consider to be the last "official" day of summer. Students report back to school tomorrow bright and early. I woke up and spoke to my wife about heading to Lake Lariat. I got on the water around 7:30 or so and spent about two hours paddling around. Mostly I used a small black body and pink tail grub on a 1/16 oz jig. It produced about a half dozen fish mixed between bluegill and largemouth.

Later that day, around 2 pm, I drove up to Hunting Creek to stand in the shade and see if I could catch a pickerel. This time I was using a black and yellow grub from Zoom on a 1/8 oz jig head. On one retrieve a fish hit the lure right at the shore and ripped off the tail. I replaced the grub and made a similar cast. This time it took the whole thing and I was able to set the hook. As I fought it towards the shore I realized that it wasn't a pickerel. It ended up being a Northern Snakehead. I'm not sure about everywhere but here in Maryland they are considered to be "invasive" and must be killed after being caught. I had never caught one before so it was a new species for me. It measured just about 14 inches and I've heard they are delicious. I killed it as humanely as I could and then tried catching a few more. I didn't get anymore snakeheads, but I was able to catch two largemouth in the same area. As I walked out of the woods carrying the dead fish I sort of thought I had done my part in caring for the game fish populations today.

Now again as I mentioned today is the last day of summer for me since students report back to school tomorrow. So after dinner and a game of cards with my family I drive down to the harbor to try a little while for the beach. Using the same double drop rig as before I was able to end the day with catching fish in a third location. Casting along the jetty with small pieces of shrimp I caught four small black drum as well as one spot. It was a fantastic way to end the summer. But hopefully it won't mean an end to fishing. We'll have to see. Tight lines!!