TWiF (This Week in Fishing) December 27th -December 29th

Tuesday, December 27th: Merry Christmas everyone! The holidays have been relaxing, which for my family is not always true. For the first time in over 15 years, my family and I weren't heading to Asheville, NC. We did have my wife's family come to St. Leonard on the Saturday before Christmas and we had a very nice time with them. The next morning we got up early and drove down to Myrtle Beach, SC. We were using some of our vacation points for what we planned on being a week's stay. Our condo was right on the beach, and I brought down a couple of spinning rods to give a little fishing a try.

A visit to the Bass Pro store, and a couple of questions to one of the clerks, showed me that trying surf fishing in late December might be time wasted. So I purchased a two week freshwater license and decided to visit some of the retention ponds in the area.

This morning I drove to one that was behind a couple of small stores and began to cast my trusty 1/32 oz jig dressed with deer hair. The second cast paid off with the small sunfish above. According to the catalogue that came with my license, South Carolina is home to eight species of sunfish. It was my hope that maybe I'd get a new one, but alas the two I caught were just typical bluegill. I also caught one small largemouth but as I was removing the hook it slipped from my hands and back into the water. I'll probably try a couple of other baits and techniques in that area, or maybe even try another pond or two. I'll just have to see.

Wednesday, December 28th:

A week at the beach, in winter, but who could tell? The temperatures here in Myrtle Beach were in the low 70's with a slight breeze. We spent the morning on the beach playing games as a family. After that and a quick lunch I drove up to try a little more at the same retention pond I tried yesterday. Being in mid day, I struggled finding the right combination to catch much. I did manage one nice bluegill, but that was almost an accident as I was putting my fishing bag down when he hit.

Later that evening I drove back to the same spot just before sunset. I had a different jig head, this one was paint yellow, with a small Berkeley minnow style bait. It also was yellow with some white on the underside. I got several pulls on it before I cut it in half, figuring it was too long. That paid of with a nice redear sunfish.
Eventually the bait was torn apart so I switched to a small piece of " which was about the same color. It brought in a couple more bluegill. At that point the sun had set and I decided to head back to the rental. We'll see what tomorrow holds, but the weather is about the same I plan on trying some more.

Thursday, December 29th: Last full day in Myrtle Beach and I started it with some time along the pond. I used the same small jig with a piece of the hot worm as before and was lucky enough to get three bluegill to bite. Now being the Fish Nerd that I am I was well aware that the first one I caught was going to be my 1,400th fish of 2016. He wasn't the largest fish in the pond probably, but he was my favorite! I thought it was cool that I could catch a "milestone" fish outside of my home area.

I'm not sure if I'll get out again before the end of 2016, so I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Thanks for staying with me on my adventures and I hope to continue with the updates in 2017.

TWiF (This Week in Fishing) December 4th - December 23rd

Sunday, December 4th: Swim season is in full effect so my chances to go fishing after school are pretty much over. Add on the fact that my wife and youngest son were heading out of town for a week, and he had an NJROTC orienteering event on Saturday, my fishing for the weekend was really just today. I actually tried a little on Saturday up in Baltimore County but I hadn't done any research to find a good spot so it was fruitless.

So this morning I drove up to my new favorite spot, Hunting Creek. All the leaves that have been on the water's surface were gone. I had a small jig with buck tail and a half inch piece of "Hot worm" by Field & Stream. A few casts into the outing, my line went tight. The fight was on. Once the fish came to the surface I made sure I played it since I could see it was a good size pickerel. I got him to shore and was very happy to see a 22 inch fish. Again two inches shy of a "citation" fish but a really nice fish nonetheless, so a couple of photos and he was released. I moved to a couple of other spots along the stream but eventually I settled on trying a few casts from the old bridge. I ended up hooking up with an 8 inch yellow perch. I released it as well and then headed back to the car to head to the store for a couple of things.
After picking up a couple of things I stopped off at a private pond. I switched to a little heavier jig in efforts to get it out a little further. I caught one black crappie in about a half hour and then headed home.

Sunday, December 11th:

Got up this morning and did a couple of things around the house and then drove down to Lake Lariat with the kayak. The air temperatures were in the mid-30s with a slight breeze and overcast skies. I was dressed warm enough so I didn't have any trouble being cold. But with the fact that the temperatures had been much cooler recently, not many fish were in the areas I like to try. I used the same hair jig as last week and hooked up with one bass but it was such a light bite that I didn't feel it enough to give it a good hook set. A little later, along the same shoreline, I felt the same, barely anything, bite. I reeled down as quick as I could and was able to catch the only fish of the day, a small bass.

Sunday, December 18th:

After a fruitless day of fishing on Saturday I decided I'd try again. I had given both the private pond and Hunting Creek a try, but both were covered with a layer of ice. But the temperatures on Saturday continued to rise and this afternoon, after church, I found them clear and ready to fish. Nothing really happened at Hunting Creek despite trying a few different baits. So I headed over to the private pond I like to try. I had a 1/8 oz jig, with hair and a baby Shad, under a float. After about 10 minutes of casts, I made one and began to reel it in, pausing after three or four cranks of the handle. About 20 ft from shore the float gave a little bounce and I set the hook. I ended up with a small, maybe 12 inch, largemouth. Now in the interest of full disclosure, I was using my youngest son's old spincast rod and reel. The rod has plenty of bend and a pretty fast acting tip so the hook set came easily. But the reel itself isn't the fastest on bringing in line. Luckily it had enough to bring in the couple of crappie and small bass I was able to land. Unfortunately it wasn't fast enough to bring in the 3 - 3 & 1/2 pounder that came off right at the shoreline. If I had been wearing boots I could have reach out and touched it. Oh well- that's fishing.

Friday, December 23rd:

It's the first day of Christmas break so I took the opportunity to get out on the kayak for a couple of hours. Air temperatures were in the mid 40s with not a lot of wind. The skies were sort of overcast as well. I made my way to Lake Lariat and paddled around using the small hair jig I had tied and have been using. I can say that I had a perfect day because I was able to "boat" the fish that bit. Unfortunately I was perfect only because I had one bite the entire time. I'll have to see how I do the rest of break.

TWiF (This Week in Fishing) November 19th - 27th

Saturday, November 19th:

Saturday was my first outing since last weekend. The weather was terrific to be on the kayak, with temperatures in the low 70's, a slight breeze and bright bluebird skies. But like my last post, fishing was slow. I ended up catching only two fish, a small bass and a bluegill. Actually both were about the same length at around 8 inches.
Later in the day I drove up to Hunting Creek for about 40 minutes while waiting to pick up my youngest son from an ROTC event. My third cast, of the black and yellow grub, went tight. I hooked up with a pickerel and fought it to the side of the stream but unfortunately it shook off. Successive casts turned out fruitless.

Sunday, November 20th:

This afternoon I headed towards the middle of the county on a few errands. Of course I took a couple of fishing poles with me. I started at Hunting Creek casting the same black and yellow grub as the day before. But after a little time I switched to a small chartreuse mini Shad called a "Panfish Assassin." I made a few casts and one ended up in an area just behind a few fallen limbs. A small tug let me know that I was getting a bite so I set the hook and reeled in a small yellow perch. It was only the second I've caught at this spot so it was a surprise. I released it and then tried another bait, an inline spinner, but didn't get any more bites.
After a quick stop I then headed to the same private pond I've mentioned before. The cold front that came through had dropped temperatures considerably and the wind was still howling. Nevertheless I thought I'd try a 1/8 oz buck tail jig I had tied the day before. The wind made it hard to stay tight with the line but I was able to catch one small bass. I then headed back to the house to get some things ready for the two day school week.

Wednesday, November 23rd:

Well Thanksgiving break is here and it's my hope to catch at least one fish each day. Today started poorly with getting blanked at the private pond I like to visit. It was pretty cold in the morning while I was there. In fact as I reeled in the line ice was forming on the line guides. I headed home to do a little yard work. After lunch and a few card games with my wife and sons I drove down to Lake Lariat for a couple of hours. I paddled around one of the fingers of the lake, trying to stay on the sunnier side. Once again the bite was very slow with only getting three or four total. I was able to capitalize on two of them reeling in a 6 inch bluegill as well as a 6 inch bass.

Thursday, November 24th: Thanksgiving Day and we headed down to Salisbury. My sister's family was visiting her in-laws so we stopped and had lunch at Golden Corral. After that the boys went and saw a movie and I headed to the stream coming out of Leonard's Mill Pond. I had a couple of bites, but couldn't hook up with anything, which meant that my hope to catch a fish each day of break was for not. But there's always tomorrow.

Friday, November 25th:

In Salisbury without a kayak and still wanting to fish I have a couple of options. This morning I drove over to Pemberton Historical Park to fish Bell Creek, a tributary of the Wicomico River. With autumn being in "fall effect" (see what I did there?) there were loads of leaves on the surface. Fishing with light jigs the leaves prevented the bait from falling into the area where the fish were. So I moved down stream a little to an area I hadn't tried before. It was pretty clear of leaves as well as overhanging limbs. A couple of casts into this area and I was hooked up with a 13 or so inch chain pickerel. After that I walked down a little further and tried another area but didn't hook up with anything there.

A little later that day my sons wanted to head to the Stratosphere Trampoline Park north of Salisbury. I dropped them off and drove a little south to Leonard's Mill Pond. The stream coming out of the pond itself wasn't moving very fast. I tied on a very small jig, I believe it's a 1/64 oz. (I found it in Wisconsin this past summer.) That paired with a small Gulp! minnow. That bait was even a little too big so I cut it in half and put it back on. With that combination I was able to catch about a half dozen bluegill as well as one black crappie. All were released to swim again and I returned to pick up the boys.

Saturday, November 26th: Last day in Salisbury and once again I woke up early. With only an hour or so before we had to meet my sister and her family, I drove back up to the stream at Leonard's Mill. Using the same very small jig, this time tipped with a small 1/2 inch piece of a bright green plastic worm (Hot Worm by Field & Stream), I was able to catch three more bluegill as well as a nice 5 or 6 inch redbreast sunfish.

Those four brought the total to a dozen for the two days.







Sunday, November 27th: Last day of the break and I had to head to the school for another NHS stadium cleanup. I left early from the house and made a 40 minute stop at Hunting Creek. I had a black and green tube on a 1/32 oz jig looking for a tug on the other end. I made a few casts out into the middle of the stream and gave it a few tugs but it didn't catch any eyes. I then moved down a little further and made a cast to an area behind a few fallen limbs. Then it was "Game On!" I set the hook and began to reel. I actually let the fish swim a bit hoping it would be tired when I grabbed it. I ended up catching a nice chain pickerel, just about 18 inches long.

I released it and and moved down to another spot to cast a couple more times. Again a cast to an area that had some places to ambush prey and I hooked up with another pickerel. This one was about 15 inches or so; both nice fish. I hooked up with one more but it shook off before I got it to shore.

The last couple of weeks have been pretty good for me. Not huge fish, or big numbers of fish but still a lot of fun on or along the water. Temperatures are still dropping and until the water turns hard/solid I'm going to keep trying. Until next time ... Tight lines!

TWIF (This Week in Fishing) November 3rd - 13th

Thursday, November 3rd:

With a little time before my last class of the week I stopped by a neighborhood pond. I was using a small, 1/16 oz, jig and trailer and managed to hook up with one black crappie. I had a couple more bites but no serious takes. Having only a few minutes, about 20 or so, I was satisfied with one fish and headed to class.

Friday, November 4th:

Tonight's the last regular season football game and I had to head to Charles County. Since we also had a two hour early dismissal I had extra time so I stopped off at Tilghman's Lake Park across from LaPlata High School. When I arrived I looked at the lake itself and thought "Man the shoreline is covered with fallen leaves." But as I approached I saw that I was gravely mistaken. The lake itself had been drained down quite a bit. I decided to go ahead and try a few cast, but where I was standing was a good 5 to 6 feet below the pond's normal level. (I will say it made it easy to see some of the ledges for when I visit again with the kayak.) I still caught a couple of small black crappie. I then had to get back on the way to the game but it was as a nice break.

Saturday, November 5th:

Yesterday as I drove to Lackey High School I passed by the Myrtle Grove Wildlife Management area. Having fishing there a while back, as part of my "Fish across Maryland #FaMD""Fish across Maryland #FaMD", I knew a little about the area. Today I decided to return with the kayak. As I arrived I spotted a few anglers standing on the shore watchfully tending their line. The state department of fisheries had planted some trout here and these guys were trying to get their share. I pulled out and paddled across the lake to an area with some lily pads that were beginning to die back. Casting a small jig, dressed with deer hair, I was able to catch a half dozen fish. I'd make my casts just outside of the pads and occasionally the lure would get hit by bluegill or a crappie. None of the fish were a keepable size, so they were all released. As I returned to the launch I saw looked at a couple of the other anglers. No one was catching anything which to me proved that I had to get to where the fish are; so I was really happy I brought the kayak.

Sunday, November 6th:

For a second time this weekend I got the kayak out on the water. This time I took it out on the Patuxent River, leaving from Nan's Cove. The fishing was tough as I really didn't get many bites. Paddling around the edges of the cove with the falling tide the fish just seemed to have disappeared. I did catch a couple of white perch on a small Beetle Spin lure in an area with a little deeper water close by. After an hour and a half I tucked my tail between my legs and headed back to the launch.

Later in the day I drove up to Hunting Creek and spent a little while casting a small jig. Once again the bite wasn't that terrific and I only caught one bluegill.

Tuesday, November 8th: Election Day 2016 and I choose fishing!

After doing a couple of things around the house I drove up to a small private pond and spent some time casting a jig tied with deer hair. It paid off in a small way with a couple of smaller crappie. I switched to golden jerkbait and was able to catch one bass.
Later, before my class, I drove over to another private pond in a neighborhood a little east of my school and spent some more time trying to catch a few. There I caught a handful of crappie including a nice 11 & 1/2 inch one. Each of them were caught with a small 1/16 oz jig with a Arkie Lure Baby Shad trailer. I also tried a crankbait, Firetiger pattern, and was able to catch a 14 inch bass.

Friday, November 11th: Veteran's Day in Calvert County meant inservice for the teachers. After they were all finished I headed home for dinner and some time with the boys. Our football team had a home playoff game so I headed back to the school early for a chance to try a few casts. I decided to try the same small jig with the baby Shad. It paid off a little with a couple of crappie as well as a couple of small bass.

Saturday, November 12th:

A quick stadium cleanup this morning and a head cold that hit me hard around lunchtime really limited my fishing today. I gave the pond at Calvert Cliffs State Park a try to no avail. It had trout planted in it a few weeks back, and I could see a few playing around the surface. But I didn't get any bites at all. A little later in the day I drove up to Hunting Creek for an hour. It was, if I remember correctly, the second cast when I hooked up with a 16 inch chain pickerel. Photos and then a release, then about another 30 casts or so but no more fish.

Sunday, November 13th:

November hasn't been very nice to me on the fishing front. But then again I like to fish shallow from the kayak, and with the changes in weather I think I'm just not hitting the right spots. Nevertheless I did get a couple of hours on the kayak. I got a few of nice hook ups but I was only able to land one small fish, a real "dink" if you will.

I've said it before but my fishing will slow down a good bit the week. Swim season begins on Tuesday so after school outings will be done. I'm not really upset about it because I thoroughly enjoy working with this team. So until next time... Tight lines!

TWIF (This Week in Fishing) October 21st - 30th

Friday, October 21st: School has been going well, and the classes I have to take are doing the same. This week, our school system had an inservice day on Friday. After the pleasantries of that I took some time before the evening's football game to stand on the side of pond. I began with using one of my buck tail lures I had tied. Unfortunately it can snagged and my line wasn't quite strong enough for me to get it back. I tied on a golden jerkbait and began casting again. On one long cast after the lure hit the water, my line felt heavy. I gave it a good yank and brought a small bass to shore. It was about 13 or so inches long but since some rain was just starting I was happy to head back to truck.

A little later that afternoon, after a bite to eat, I headed to a new spot that my school principal told me about. The pond is about the same size as the other I had just tried. I still had the jerkbait on my line so I gave it a few casts. One cast along the shore I hooked up with another bass. This one was a bit larger, maybe 16 inches or a little more. I got him to shore and snapped a picture and then released him back into the pond. I saw a few panfish swimming and tried a smaller lure but the largemouth was the only one I got here. I'll have to try the spot again.

Saturday, October 22nd:

After the stadium cleanup this morning I drove up to the mid county area and stood along Hunting Creek for 40 minutes or so. I brought a Rapala micro minnow that I had added some buck tail to the back hook. On my second cast the line wrapped around a limb that overhung a small portion of the creek. And of course I wasn't able to get it back. After the line broke I tied on a small jig with a green and white tube and promptly caught a nice 7 or 8 inch bluegill. He was released and I began to cast again. On one cast just behind a small outcropping into the stream my line went tight very quickly. I reeled down and set the hook as best as I could. I then spent a couple of minutes bringing in a nice 16 inch chain pickerel. A picture or two and he was back in the water to fight again.

Sunday, October 23rd: I woke up this morning wanting to try a couple of different locations. Little did I think I'd try three different ones. I started at the private pond casting a 1/8 oz jig I had tied with some buck tail. I put a Bobby Garland baby Shad on it as a trailer.

I didn't get a lot of bites and only managed to catch one crappie. Not sure if I just wasn't in the right area, or if the bright "bluebird" skies were affecting the fish but as I said not many bites.
After pretty much failing there I drove up to Hunting Creek in the middle of the county. There I switched to a little smaller jig and was able to catch a few bluegill. Again not the biggest fish I've ever caught, but at least they were pulling on the other end of the line.

To round out the day, and the weekend, that afternoon I took the kayak down to Lake Lariat. There was a little wind on the water so I was pushed along here and there. I was able to pull in behind an outcropping of trees or a small point occasionally. Once again using the smaller jig I came up with a few panfish, just about a half dozen.

Saturday, October 29th; The week is over and there's no stadium cleanup today. In actuality my sister's birthday was yesterday and I was heading to Salisbury for a quick visit. I got started from St. Leonard a little later than I thought I would but nevertheless I was across the Rt 50 bay bridge by a little after 8 am. Knowing I would need to stop for other reasons I decided to hit the stream at Wye Mills. I spotted another pickup truck and figured I was only stopping for a half hour so I wouldn't crowd the other gentleman very much. In that half hour I was able to catch three small crappie and a bluegill using 1/16 oz jig with a Bobby Garland "monkey milk" baby shad.

My goal today was ultimately to get on Williams Mill. I had looked forward to it the entire week. I never would have thought I'd spend 90 minutes paddling around and only hook up with one small chain pickerel. With the "coolish" temperatures I figured the fish might be up higher in middle of the day, but maybe the high pressure had them thinking differently. Either way I was disappointed and discouraged but I'll try again another time.

I had a little more time before I was going to head to my sister's house so I drove over to the Pemberton Historical Park on the western side of Salisbury. The creek was pretty clear and I could see at least 18 inches down. I stood on the shoreline for about 40 minutes using a small red and chartreuse tube from Creme. Again I only managed a handful of bites and caught just two bluegill.
While it wasn't the Saturday of fish catching I had planned I still enjoyed the time out. But more importantly I enjoyed the time of seeing family which was why I made the trip down in the first place. (Plus there's always the ride home the next day 😜

Sunday, October 30th:

On the ride home from Salisbury I decided to stop off one more time in the Wye Mill area. This time, instead of fishing the stream, I put the kayak on the lake itself. As I went around the first bend I realized that this was a location I would want to come to again. The lake looked pretty big and having only an hour or a little more, I knew I wouldn't be able to even really begin to scratch the surface of where to find fish. I tried the wind-blown side but really didn't have much luck. Then I paddled over to the protected side and made my casts along the shoreline. I ended up catching a few bluegill along with one nice size redear. It was a lot of fun trying new water. It also gives me another option for my rides to the lower shore. Now I just need to renew my efforts on "Fish Across Maryland." Until next time... Tight lines!

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!