TWIF (This Week in Fishing) October 6th - 16th

Much of the month of October I'm going to have to be in school. Not for teaching, per se. I mean I still have my teaching job. But a couple of evenings each week I'm going to be sitting in class for recertification purposes. (I was stupid and waited until almost the last minute to get them done.) Nevertheless I still intend to get out occasionally to catch a few fish.

Thursday , October 6th: This afternoon, after soccer study hall, I headed over to the small section of Hunting Creek I like to frequent. I spent 45 minutes or so trying different baits and only caught one bluegill. I did hook up with one pickerel but it got off about 15 ft from shore.





Friday, October 7th:

Since the football game I needed to video was going to be on Saturday night this week, I got the opportunity to get home after school at a pretty reasonable time. I drove down to the jetty at Flag Harbor with a few shrimp. Long casts parallel to the jetty produced the most fish. But there seemed to be a sweet spot about 20 ft out from the jetty itself where the bit the most. Any further off than that - Nothing. I caught five species, including a few white perch- my first at this location this year. But I had to share this photo of a 7 inch puffer. He inflated so much I had to snap his picture. I also loved his green eyes in the picture as well.

Saturday, October 8th: This morning we found ourselves in the midst of rain, not really large amounts of it, but still rain from the outer bands of Hurricane Matthew. I still wanted to give fishing a try so I drove up to Hunting Creek knowing that I'd be back in the woods so slightly protected. Not much was biting so I only caught 1 smaller bluegill. I did hook up with three pickerel but unfortunately each of them shook off. It just wasn't my morning.

That afternoon I had to head back up to Prince Frederick to record a high school football game. I left the house a little early so that I could stop by the private pond I like try now and then. I had a little more luck there catching a crappie and a couple of largemouth. The thing that really made my day was that each of the fish I caught were on a small 1/8 oz jig that I had tied some buck tail onto. I also put a black and yellow grub on it as a trailer. It was really neat catching fish on a lure I made.

Sunday, October 9th: With the rain from Hurricane "Matthew" stopping in the morning I had a cleanup at the high school to take care of. After that I drove up to Hunting Creek to see if I could catch a pickerel. Unfortunately with the recent rains the water was moving much to fast for me to be able to really have a good chance. So I tucked my tail and headed back to the house.
(Photo of perch on dock) After watching a little Sunday afternoon football with my son, and an early dinner, I drove over to Nan's Cove to try for a little while from the pier. The tide was on the way out but I was still able to catch about a half dozen white perch using the same setup I use at the beach, shrimp of small hooks. Not much size to any of them but it is nice to feel the tug on the other end.

Friday, October 14:

Most of the week has passed and now it's Friday. Once again I had to film a football game so instead of going right home after school I drove over to a small pond. I brought a spinning rod with another, larger, buck tail lure I had tied. It also had a coffee colored 2 inch grub as a trailer. I only fished for 40 minutes or so but I got a couple of really nice bites. The modest success in having with my hand-tied lures is really making me want to try more.

Saturday, October 15:

Weekends are made for enjoyment! After a stadium cleanup with the NHS students I got back home and did some things around the house. Once that was all finished I headed down to Lake Lariat. We had bright sunny skies with temperatures in the mid 60's. I also believe there was a high pressure system sitting on top of us so fishing was slow. I managed to catch five fish in total, split between bass and bluegill. But none of them were very large. I headed home after about two and a half hours so that I could a few more things done around the house.

Sunday, October 16: I had most of today to myself. After church my oldest son had to work and my wife and youngest son went to the Redskins - Eagles game. I looked up the tides over at the river and saw that high tide was going to be around 3:00 or 3:30. I took to the water around 1pm and spent the better part of two hours paddling along the shoreline casting a small Beetle Spin with a 1/16 oz jig that I had dressed with buck tail.

I found fish in various areas mostly in the shady parts. All totaled I caught about a dozen and a half 6 to 8 inch white perch. I gave the small pieces of shrimp a try for a little while, but the wind combined with the tide had me fouling my hooks with sea grass.

When school starts back up on Monday I'll have study hall with the soccer team so my time fishing will go down. Thank goodness we have the weekends! Until later ... Tight Lines!! Sent from my iPhone

TWIF (This Week in Fishing) September 19 - 26th

Monday, September 19th:

Wow what difference a week makes! Last week this time I wasn't thinking about fishing due to being back in school. This week school is in full swing; I'm in a rhythm with it so I had a chance to head down to the shoreline after dinner. Using the small pieces of shrimp on the #4 long shank hooks, I made long casts along the side of the north jetty. After a few seconds on the bait sitting on the bottom I'd feel a small tug and if set the hook. If I didn't get a bite I'd reel in 10 or 15 ft of line and try again. It was productive as I caught a half dozen fish or so within an hours time. I actually caught my first speckled trout, two of them, of the year, maybe 8 or 9 inches long each. On one cast I felt a very nice hit and set the hook as fast as I could. As I reeled the fish in I knew I had something different on the line as this fish definitely pulled much harder. In fact this guy pulled a little drag as I got it closer to shore. I got it on the shore and was delighted to see that I had caught my first ever red drum, or as some call them "redfish." It was probably about 17 inches long, which is an inch too short to keep. I wouldn't have kept it anyway as it was just too fun to catch. It had a total of three spots and was just a gorgeous fish. I released it and made a few more casts and caught his little nephew or niece, a small black drum. I'm definitely coming back for the next couple of weeks to try some more and get a chance to unwind.

Tuesday, September 20th:

Tuesday evening my youngest son had a soccer game in the central part of the county. I followed him up there to see how they did. Unfortunately they didn't do very well, due to inexperience, but they play with positive energy and attitude. After his game I headed a little south to get him dinner. I stopped off by Hunting Creek for a few casts. I used a small jig with a curly tail grub and caught a bluegill. I also caught a nice 20 inch chain pickerel while there. Bad photo but a nice catch nonetheless.

Wednesday, September 21st:

This afternoon I took the kayak down to Lake Lariat. I had the time and thought I'd give it a shot. I paddled out with three rods, one with a small crankbait which didn't produce any fish. I had another with a Texas rigged worm which didn't get any bites either. So it boiled down to using my small 1/16oz jig with a green nymph. It paid off with a nice load of bluegill and a couple of largemouth.

Saturday, September 24th:

Wow is really all I can say. My trip to Salisbury this time was to help with moving the last of the things in my parents house out. We spent the entire afternoon loading up a trailer so that another family could be blessed. I got in the previous evening in hopes to get up early and get on the water. And that's exactly what I did. I put the kayak on Williams Mill just after 7 am and began casting the gold colored jerkbait. I made one cast close to a set of lily pads and it got hit. This fish pulled a little drag and it took a couple of minutes to get it to the boat. Come to find out I had hooked a nice 12 or 13 inch bullhead catfish. It was the first catfish I'd caught in this location so it just tells me more about the diversity in the pond. The jerkbait didn't produce many more fish, maybe one crappie, so I switched over to my usual jig and soft plastic. That bait brought in a nice mixture of fish, including several bluegill, and crappie. I was even able to bring in a bass and a pumpkinseed which gave me five species for the morning.

Sunday, September 25th:

My trip to Salisbury was a very fast one. In fact I don't think I was even in town for 24 full hours. I returned home to southern Maryland to be with my family. Late that afternoon I took a rod down to the bay for an hour or so. Small hooks and little pieces of shrimp helped me catch about a half dozen fish, split between five species. I got another speckled trout, just nine inches long, along with a couple of southern kingfish. I also hooked into a 20 inch American eel. It put up a terrific fight and wasn't the easiest fish to get off the hook. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos to share here.

Monday, September 26th:

For my last fishing entry for September I had more of the same from the evening before. Just after dinner I headed down to the shore at Flag Harbor. Again I was able to catch a hand full of fish using the same technique as before. ("If it ain't broke" right?) Nothing was very big but I did enjoy reeling in two northern puffers at the same time.

As you may have noticed, with the start of the school year and my obsession with getting graded papers back to my students as fast as possible, my fishing exploits and also my time to write about them is limited. While I will strive to update my blog with what I'm doing, the posts themselves will just be coming less frequently. Don't worry I'm still going to be honest. But I'm just going to slow down with the updates. I may also be sharing some photos of what I've been doing evenings when I can't get out. But more on that later. Tight lines!! Sent from my iPhone

TWIF (This Week in Fishing) September 7th - September 18th

Wednesday, September 7th:

I took the opportunity this afternoon, after school, to drive and fish along Hunting Creek. The creek continues to change. The flow of the water through was almost completely stopped due to the small earthen dam that developed. The water itself was very "mocha" colored so I tried what I could with a darker colored bait. It paid off with a couple of bites and one solid hook up on a medium sized bass. After that I needed to get back to school to pick up my son from practice so I turned tail.



Saturday, September 10:

Can we say "YEAH!" I headed down to the Salisbury area to help my sisters get my parents' house ready for sale. The lower Eastern Shore of Maryland has loads of good spots to put the kayak on the water and to try and catch a fish. There are three or four within 10 minutes of my parents' house. This morning I took the kayak over to Williams Mill. I caught a couple of panfish, including a nice 8 inch golden shiner. At that point I tied a 3 inch jerkbait which was golden in color. It paid off very well with long casts. The cadence was typical with a jerk, jerk and then a pause. And it was on the pause when the fish would hit. I caught some really nice sized black crappie, up to 12 inches, and a couple of very good pickerel, up to 21 inches. I really have to admit that hooking up with a nice powerful chain pickerel on the kayak is a lot of fun. A couple of them pulled me on a, albeit short, sleigh ride as well as turned the kayak a good 90 degrees or so. I ended up with just over 20 fish in about 3 hours. I love fishing on the Eastern Shore.

Sunday, September 11th:

Woke up this morning knowing that my sister was coming over around 10:30 or so to continue work at mom's house so I took to the water just about 7 am. I was working the same pattern as the day before with a small grub and the golden jerkbait. It was a little slower in catching this morning, only 10 fish or so in 1 and a half hours, but I did get a couple of nice pickerel as well as a couple of crappie. This shot shows that bait I was using.

Hopefully it can be used a little back home in southern Maryland.

That afternoon I began my drive back to home. As I mentioned there are loads of places to fish on the Eastern Shore so I stopped at one where I've stopped before, Wye Mill Community Lake. Actually as I did one time before I fished the stream coming out of the dam from the lake itself. I used a small grub as well as a small crankbait. I actually didn't do to badly since in the about 30 minutes I fished I caught 4 fish, two largemouth, a small bluegill as well as a white perch.

Now being that school has started up and my time to fish is abbreviated as well as my time to report about it, I decided to extend this "This Week in Fishing" to cover the next week also. As you'll see I didn't get out much anyway since I wasn't able to wet a line until Saturday, September 17th. Being a Saturday after a home football game, my morning started at 8 am at the school with members of the National Honor Society cleaning up the stadium bleachers. I got home showered and then spent a little time getting things together for our short family outing. Sunday, the 18th, was my wife's birthday and we were celebrating by seeing a comedian/ventriloquist she likes Taylor Mason. I had never seen him and it turned out that he does a nice show.

But right in the middle of the day of Saturday's my sons have their bowling league. The lanes are right across the street from the small section of Hunting Creek I like to frequent. I walked over and spent about 20 minutes casting a line. My first cast hooked up with something that gave me a nice fight but I never saw it since it shook off. I made a change to the bait, back to the black and yellow grub from Zoom and had a few pulls.

On one cast I hooked up with a nice 15 or 16 inch pickerel. I fought him to shore and took a nice picture with him. I then packed up and headed back to the bowling alley since my sons were finishing up. It's always nice to escape and make a few casts.








Sunday, September 18th:

Now in the interest of full disclosure, my original purpose of starting this blog was to chronicle my experiences in trying to catch a fish, any fish, in every county in the state of Maryland. It's a fishing quest I like to refer to as "Fish Across Maryland" or FaMD. I had hit a point where trying to get additional counties was a daunting task with the condition of my mother going downhill. Hence my starting the "T.W.i F" posts. Well the last entry in this week's post will be an addition to my county list of catches. My family and I spent the evening after the show in the Bel Air area in Harford County. My wife's sister and family live up there so it was a perfect opportunity to visit with them before and the morning after the show. My wife and her sister decided to attend the Arts Festival in the area so I headed over to Harford Glen Park. Winters Run goes through the area which boasts a nice trail along it to stop and give a cast a try. I tied on a small jig and was using some small chartuese and grey minnows from Powerbait. I had loads of fish follow them, including a few nice size largemouth. It took a little while before I was finally able to entice something to bite. When it finally did I had a small, maybe 4 inch, bluegill in my hand. It was my first fish in Harford County and it gave me the opportunity to scratch that county off of my list. I caught a couple more, including a redbreast sunfish. So while my fishing opportunities haven't been many recently at least I have been able to get out and have some fun. And that's what fishing is about! Until next time ... Tight lines!

TWIF (This Week in Fishing) August 29th - September 5th

School has begun in earnest. That means that time for fishing now has to be manufactured. I can't simply wake up and decide where I might go. Now I have to make sure my "responsibilities" are taken care off and then make sure there's enough daylight. I say all this because my fishing exploits were very stunted for the week. In fact I didn't even get out to fish until the Sunday of Labor Day weekend.

Sunday, September 4th:

My family and I were invited to a friend's property in Clarion, PA. We've been to the area multiple times and we always enjoy it. It had been a couple of years since I had last been up there. In fact it was long enough ago that I was into a different hobby, geocaching, then. In the fishing department I knew of a small put and take pond within Cook State Forest, but that was a children's fishing area. I stopped by a local "general store" type of place and purchased a license, which all anglers should do, and asked about possible places to try. The gentleman at the counter asked if I was "going by book?" Since we were only in the area for 48 hours I left my kayak at home. I walked down to the edge of the river and made some casts, mainly in the deeper poles, with my trusty jig and grub. Unfortunately I had some small pulls but nothing that I could bring to shore. I know it's a cliché but I really feel that sometimes it isn't about catching as much as it is about enjoying the beauty of the area. This was one of those times. I spent a good bit of it just admiring the glory of God's creation. And after the first week of school I think I needed that most.

Monday, September 5th:

Being the long weekend of Labor Day, we came on Monday. After getting back to Maryland, with experiencing zero traffic problems, we unloaded the car and then I set off to give Hunting Creek a try. The area has changed a good amount with the lack of rain. The water itself was mocha colored and barely moving at all. In fact a small "levy" had developed which was stopping the water from getting through. I thought about how it would effect the area. (In fact I may try to do something about it one day in the not too distant future.) I had a 1/8 oz jig with a black and yellow grub on the line. I made a few cast into the water and on the third or fourth I was rewarded with a 13 inch largemouth bass. I made a few more cast and hooked up with another fish. I got this one to shore and was taken a back a little. It resembled a sunfish but it mouth was considerably larger than any sunfish's I had seen before. I took a few photos and released it. I then moved down the bank a little and ended up catching two more. As I drove home I was wondering if they might have been "rock bass." So I fired off a couple of photos of them to the Maryland's Anglers Log. I heard back from them pretty quickly. Come to find out rock bass aren't very prevalent in my area but "warmouth" are. I had heard of them, Lepomis gulosus, but had never caught one, which meant I had a new species under my belt. It also meant that it was another species that I've caught at this location, bringing the total of different one to eight or nine.

That evening, just after dinner, I drove down to the beach at Calvert Beach. Once again with small number 4 hooks with pieces of shrimp I made some casts. I had heard some people had been catching red drum, or redfish. I didn't have the same luck but I did catch another new species for myself. On one cast I felt a "tap tap" and I gave it a good yank. I reeled it in as my oldest son arrived, since I asked him to bring me something. Lo and behold I had caught a "northern puffer" (Sphoeroides maculatus).

Maybe all of 5 inches long, I pulled him out of the water and he inflated. I had seen photos but never caught one before so even though I was looking for a different fish I still got a surprise. I guess that's one of the things I like about fishing the most - the unknown. I can head out and "target" a species but until you get it to shore or the side of the boat it's a mystery. Until next time - tight lines!

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!!

TWIF (This Week in Fishing) August 16th - 21st

Tuesday, August 16th: As mentioned in my last post, my sore neck continued into the beginning of this week. With that I had no desire to load the kayak up on the car and try to find a spot to fish. The pain was a bit much. But Tuesday afternoon gave me the chance to try a location on the eastern shore since once again I was meeting with my sister in Easton. On the ride I took about a half hour and made a few casts along the shore of the stream leading out of the Wye Mill Community Lake. It was pretty wide to be honest as I got there and I could see fish breaking the surface going after some of the insects that were dropping down. Fortunately I was able to catch one small bass, maybe 8 inches long, on an orange nymph while the other fish continue in action around me. The photo I took wasn't flattering for the fish or me so I'm hoping the readers will trust me when I say I caught one.

One interesting thing about this spot is the "Anglers Survey" box put there by the Inland Fisheries Dept of the Maryland DNR. It houses cards and pencils and asks for anglers to record their catch. It would be really neat to see the results posted somewhere.

Wednesday, August 17th: While the heat has continued into the middle of the week I spent most of the day in the air conditioning. But once the evening came along I gave my youngest son a ride to soccer practice and hit a local pond. My trusty plastic worm started me off with a few bass. The first two hit the worm right after the worm hit the water. At one point as I was reeling in a small bass hit it after a little bit of jerk or tug right at the shore. It ripped the worm straight off so I figured some of the fish were looking for a moving bait. So I put a 3 inch chartreuse grub on the hook and began to use it as a soft jerkbait. It paid off with one bass and even a crappie which was a pleasant surprise.

Thursday, August 18th:

This morning I finally took the opportunity to get the kayak back on Lake Lariat in the southern part of the county. It's been over a month since I've been down here and I really enjoyed getting back there. I ended up spending about two and a half hours paddling around making casts in some of the spots that seem to hold fish. I was using a twin tail grub from Arkie. The tails on the bait are very flexible and provide quite a bit of action. It worked like a charm allowing me to hook up with about a dozen fish, mixed between bluegill, bass and redear sunfish. In fact I did something I've never done before. On one cast in a location that usually pays off I made my cast and hooked up pretty quickly. What I had felt heavy and provided a nice fight! As I pulled it into the kayak I was astounded by a 12 inch redear. I took a few pictures of it and then made sure this trophy was revived. Then I let it swim off. After that I pulled out my phone to check Maryland Fishing Challenge website. Being a sunfish I kind of thought I had just caught a "citation" size fish. The cutoff for a redear is 11 inches and my fish was one inch longer! I was really excited. My grandfather, who used to take me fishing all of the time when I was younger, always said he had "never caught a fish big enough." Personally I think he had but had never known exactly how to register it. The Maryland Dept. of Fisheries made it quite easy.

Saturday, August 20th:

The end of the summer, at least when it comes to my summer. Teachers report back on Monday so I have to try and get my fishing in when I can. This morning, my youngest son had soccer practice so I took him up to the school. While he was at practice I drove up to Sewell Branch, the spot in the middle of the county that I like to try. The water flowing through was mocha colored and I couldn't see down into it very far. I had a green and white tube on the small jig which produced a few small fish. I also tried a small, maybe 2 inch, Rapala Ultralight, Firetiger minnow and it produced a couple of fish as well. In fact, unless it has shaken it out, there is a fish swimming around that area with it in its lip, since something hit and snapped my line immediately.

Sunday, August 21st: This morning I took the kayak over to the Patuxent River, out of Nan's Cove. I was about an hour and a half after high tide so the water was beginning to move a bit. We also had a nice breeze what kept me moving as well. Unfortunately the breeze also kicked up a few small waves on the main part of the river so I actually didn't venture out too far. I paddled around the edge of the cove, using the same small Beetle Spin and caught a little over two dozen white perch. Again they were on the smaller side so they were all released.

Once the early evening came around I decided to walk down the edge of the bay and give the mouth of Flag Harbor a try. I had a double drop rig with circle hooks baited with small pieces of shrimp. I haven't spent much time down this way due to not hearing of anything being caught. Nevertheless I spent about 45 minutes to an hour making casts along the shore. I ended up catching a couple of "spot" as well as a small black drum.

I hadn't caught either of these species this year yet so it was nice catching them today. It also means that I hopefully can spend some time "unwinding" after school down by the bay. Until next time ... Tight lines!

TWIF (This Week in Fishing) August 8th-15th

Monday, August 8th:

Can we say "Slooow?" Not sure how else to describe my fishing this morning. Once again I woke up early, so I decided to drive down to St. Mary's Lake, where I spent the better part of two hours. I got a total of four bites, combined between throwing a Carolina rigged worm and my small jig with the nymph. I caught one bass and one small bluegill. Not sure if it was presentation or the weather conditions. Whichever it was it just wasn't happening for me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Tuesday, August 9th:

After the disappointment from yesterday I chose to go over to the Patuxent this morning. When the white perch are in they rarely don't bite. There was just enough current, since the tide was starting to fall, that they were active. The trusty Beetle Spin paid off with just about two dozen fish. But they were all small ones so I released them.

This evening I drove down to Calvert Cliffs State Park. I thought I'd try casting a plastic worm for an hour or so. I tried a ShakyHead jig and a Carolina rig. I got a couple of bites and hooked up with one small fish. But as I tried to haul him out of the weeds he shook off. I did get to see one of the "locals" while I was standing on the side of the pond. A beaver entered the water and swam the length of the pond. He looked at me as he went by but didn't really "say anything." No snorts, no tail slapping he just swam by.

Thursday, August 11:

This morning I decided to take the kayak over to Tilghman Lake Park in Charles County. I'd fished there once before, before my son's track meet, back before the end of the school year. This time I had the kayak though. I had loaded it up the previous evening and when I got to the park, after the 40 minute drive, I offloaded. But if you look at the photo attached you might notice something is missing. Yeah that's right I didn't have a paddle! The lake isn't terribly big and I had forgotten a paddle before so I went ahead and pushed off.*
The edges of the pond had pads, they looked like small lily pads, extending between 8-12 ft from shore. It was pretty matted together so I gave the Bipper bait, rigged weedless as a frog, a few casts. But it didn't entice any bites or even anything that looked it was followed so I put it aside. The jig with the green nymph paid off though. Casting just outside of the pads, i.e. cover, the bait would sink and would occasionally be hit. The bluegill seemed to like it and it even brought a few small bass to the boat as well.

* In case you're interested in how I made my way around the pond. I ended up using my "bump board." Since it extends, and comes apart, I separated it into two halves and used it. Unfortunately at one point I accidentally pushed a little too hard and cracked it. Now I need to find another.

Friday August 12th:

Man what a defense 25 hours makes! This morning I returned to Tilghman Lake with a paddle. I was about an hour later than I was the day before and man were the fish tight lipped. I really didn't get many bites at all. I was trying the same tactics as the day before but not much happened so I didn't try to grind any more out of the location. I just tucked my tail between my legs and headed home.

Saturday, August 13th: To be completely honest I'm not sure how fishing is going to go for the next few days, or into the week. Yesterday morning I woke up with a very sore neck; to the point where I could barely turn my head to look over my shoulder. And it has persisted until at least Monday, when I'm writing this post. Anyway if I can turn my head to the side very much it means I really can't drive very far which kind of puts a kibosh on taking the kayak very far. Never the less this evening after dropping my son off at the movies with his girlfriend I stopped at a local pond for a few casts. On the first cast of the green finesse worm produced two things.

The first thing that happened was I hooked up with the nice largemouth in the picture. The second was I found out something had happened to my spinning reel and it almost seized up completely. Not sure what truly happened but I was able to get the fish in, snap a photo and release him. I then turned back for the car to go and find a new reel. Until next time ... Tight lines!