It's musky time

December 16, 2012

 

Hit the Pot today at a popular spot.  John and I rolled in and see the parking lot empty but then there’s a truck and trailer behind us. We fished more or less bankers hours.  The other boat just so turns out to be Anthony and Austin from Mid Atlantic Muskies.  We recognized each other after only meeting once. A while ago I asked for advice on how to repair the finish of one of his gliders I purchased.  When I saw him he just gave me another one!  Wow.  Can’t thank you enough.  Class act for sure.  This thing held up incredibly well too with perfect action. 

Now for the report. We did a little trolling, mostly casting.  On one of our arm resting trolling trips we started to come out of the deeper but average 15 foot stuff into the 8 foot stuff and our cranks were bumping bottom pretty regularly.  We often had to clear our lines from floating grass and debris too but especially when they’d bump bottom.  Well part of the time I was trying the old prop wash troll too, then lose confidence really quickly and let the lure back out.  Well one time I started cranking it in, thumping it violently in the process and got it right behind the boat in the wash and THUMP. Could have sworn it was bottom again but not when the rod was thumping like I just snagged a VW.  I knew right away it was a good fish. Quite a few head shakes and then it comes out of the water.  Around the boat we go a couple times, then it finds the engine like they always do, luckily not quite the prop.  She stayed deep for a while too.  I guess now is a good time to explain what makes a good boat partner, a good net man!  John did great and the fish was in the net.  Our tiny little pliers were enough, didn’t even have to use the hook cutters.  Got a few decent photos on a couple cameras and witnessed the strongest release I’ve seen yet. The fish bolted back to the bottom the second I released my grip.  The only blood that was shed was mine as she must have caught me with her teeth on the release.  Oh well, I couldn’t be happier with that one fish.  We worked our tails off searching for another bite but it wasn’t meant to be. One strike all day and we made it count.  Thanks for the trip John.  It’s been since June since my last lunge.  Gotta love it.  Time for the old musky happy dance.  I don’t kiss every fish I catch but when it’s the the predator of all other predators that swim, she’s getting a kiss.  As they say, “Muskies, everything else is just bait.” 

 

Musky 1: Jon 1

 

Peak Rut 2012

November 12, 2012

 

Veterans Day hunts are almost always a phenomenal time to be in the woods. Unless of course you don’t enjoy full on peak rut activity, full sprint chases, and don’t like seeing multiple bucks that just seem to sprout out of the ground like unwanted weeds through fresh mulch.  This Veterans Day was no different for me at my northern Montgomery County site.  On Halloween this year I shot a buck of a lifetime.  I’ve had him on motion detector cameras for the last two seasons but had not seen him since last September.  It’s been well over a year since a sighting even on camera but he showed up on Halloween looking for a fight and I capitalized with a perfect but lucky high shoulder/spine shot dropping him instantly.  There’s no way I could ever duplicate that kind of hunt right?  Well… even though I didn’t score, this Veterans Day saw some of the most exciting rutting activity imaginable. 

 

 I already got my European Mount back from my Halloween Buck.  Not bad. Of course everyone said I should have got it shoulder mounted.

 

 

I slept on the couch that night after a late night performing finishing touches to my bow, sighting in new arrows and adding fresh Broadhead blades, a few beers maybe and the inevitable anticipation of a peak rut hunt that only comes a few times a year…. If you’re lucky.  I may not have shut my eyes until well after midnight with an alarm set for 4 something. When the alarm finally went off I was quick to respond…except HBO was still on and a hilarious movie was playing at the time.  Never in all my life could I care less about what was left on the TV when I first wake up in the morning but I just couldn’t help myself and zoned off into the TV for maybe a half an hour.  Good thing was that the coffee alarm was set and brewing, my SUV was packed and all I had to do was get dressed.  I think I may have showered that morning but can’t remember. I do remember it had been a couple days before my last shower and any good hunter knows that scent is their worst enemy in the woods and the deer’s best alley.  I got lucky with a south something wind when I first arrived. It’s basically the best wind I can hope for on this site because I have to walk south to get to my favorite tree.  Except most of the deer feed in the corn field at night located to the north and return to bed traveling through my site in the morning. I’ve always done well here in the evening but have had more than a couple complete skunks in the AM.  I also was well aware there was a giant lurking in these woods.  Three days before I got a call from the land owner that he saw “him”. He was walking his young labradoodle in the evening and this horse of a deer stood motionless not 40 yards from him out in the open.  He described it as two Christmas trees hanging off his head and I knew who he was talking about from previous glassing trips. Then the next day I hear a frantic story from a good friend who owns the property to the north that he saw a monster.  But the day after that a friend had hunted that farm on an all day hunt without so much as a fawn sighting.  Who knows right?

 

Well I finally set up just before sunrise from stupid rookie mistakes of inevitably forgetting something behind.  The late set up had me baffled and overly flustered.  I had to climb the tree twice as I forgot my safety harness and by now had worked up a hefty sweat.  I thought about just throwing in the towel but remembered to rattle just at sunrise to maximize my best chances at intercepting the ears of a buck traveling through the area.  Sure enough, not ten minutes after setting up and rattling maybe for the second time here comes a buck crashing through the site to investigate the sound. Except it was a 6 inch spike, maybe 4 point, thin bodied adolescent I’d suspect. He surprised the heck out of me and I remembered thinking he sure had some balls.  I could have pinned him to my tree but gave him a pass.  It would be three or four years until he was anywhere near the size of Mr. Halloween or any of the four giants I knew were in the area.  Some time passed and a few does crossed the same low spot in the fence they always do, off site on the forbidden property but just close enough to tease me.  It’s maybe 8am now and I see chasing in the old pasture field.  The same field where I’ve seen 4 shooter bucks at the same time in a swale leading to the woods I’m set up in.  It’s that same ballsy 4 pointer running full tilt behind a doe.  Then I see him, the horse of a deer, the true giant and top boss of these woods trying to keep up with the youngster hot on a doe’s rump.  It was kind of funny watching this old fat guy chasing a lean teenager after a fine model.  He just couldn’t keep up but the doe and youngin were tearing through the field running laps like gray hounds after a rabbit.  They circle this enormous grass field and then run out offsite for  ten minutes or so but later return.  Then finally I see the doe that has been causing all this fuss as she’s distinguished by her white pigment on her legs as if she’s wearing white socks up to her knees.   She has the proper suitor behind her this time too.  They stay on the edge of the pasture, where shrubs and patches of dense thickets transition into a hardwood forest.  The boss man has finally caught up with his choice female and she’s acting rather persuasive.  They proceed to mate right there infront of me,maybe 80 yards out, well out of bow range and well offsite.  With my cheapo binos I can count hairs and even see his “lip stick” pop out as he mounts her numerous times, albeit very briefly.  After one of their quicky sessions he even sticks his nose almost inside her, I watch him perform oral sex for crying out loud and she was loving it. I kid you not. And would you believe it that testy annoying 4 pointer shows back up.  He even comes in snorting and blowing, almost looking to purposely pick a fight he most certainly would lose.  The big guy chases him off in short order.  But he just kept coming back, time after time again.  Finally he’s got some time alone again and this time the doe follows him. She travels the exact ground he did, she defecates exactly where he does, half the time she’s got her tail wagging too and he finally returns from scraping and licking branches to tend her again.  I couldn’t believe the show I was watching, all within ten minutes of home and just miles from an interstate and a massive shopping center.

All while this was going on of course I’m excited and a little distracted.  I try grunting, rattling anything to get their attention. A couple times I got them both to look my direction briefly but more than a couple times they were just too into each other… literally. But I was preoccupied and wasn’t paying any attention to my down wind.  This buck came from behind me quieter than any mouse could ever sneak past a house cat.  I just happened to look over my right shoulder, straight downwind to catch a glimpse of him hugging the edge of this wetland.  He’s a 7 point, almost a twin to the deer I shot out of this tree on the last day of the season last year.  Maybe 2.5 year old, maybe even a well fed 1.5 with a small basket rack and a body of a youngin.  He never once looked up, even with me barely 20 feet high.  He literally was directly below me, showing some interest in the two love birds which I didn’t think he could see yet because of the steep hill he had to climb first. He walked straight in front of me offering the perfect quartering away shot at 10, 15 and 20 yards.  I gave a grunt just because and he quickly tucked in his tail deep between his legs and gave a quick kick and jump a few yards and then turned towards me, again, never looking up.  They never do that from my past experience.  I almost always get busted.  He got a walk. 

 

Back to the love birds.  They had vanished into a small thicket on the edge of the field to do their thing in peace.  I guess they needed some downtime because they had just previously mated a half dozen times out in the open, well past sunrise I might add.  Then a nice large red fox showed up.  I had purchased a furbearers permit just for this occasion as his coat was beautiful. I drew on him at a previously ranged stump with 31 yards to the kill zone.  But he moved at the last second to of all things to pounce on a mouse.  I got to watch him hunt, kill and feed directly in front of me.  After his kill I couldn’t bring myself to follow through.  Instead, just enjoy nature for a while in my home urban County of Montgomery.  I felt blessed at that moment to be so fortunate. 

The woods were quiet for some time now. Maybe an hour passed with nothing brewing, but it was an action packed morning for sure.  A deer would just be gravy at this point.  Then that ballsy 4 pointer shows up again and shakes things up.  Gotta love him I thought.  Maybe I’ll catch him slipping now.  If only Mr. Big chases the little guy to the north, downwind towards me I thought.  It could happen, I was on a well traveled trail. Anytime now.  He quickly chased him off for the umpteenth time but the little guy never ran too far and always returned on the exact path the two honeymooners traveled.  Amazing they can do that all by scent.  It was now near 11am and the spike hadn’t showed for another 20 minutes and the two were back in the thicket.  I thought I might as well climb down as things were not going to change.  Maybe I could sneak up on them as the winds were picking up adding to the cover and I was dead down wind.  Sure I thought.  I had to pick my son up at the bus stop at 1pm so might as well shake things up a little.  I get down, gather my gear and thought about just going home with a feeling of content and a job well done from an amazing hunt.  But then thought I might as well try to put a stalk on them.  This was probably my last hunt of the 2012 rut as I was leaving town for week on a family cruise vacation the following Saturday.  It’s now or never to double up on two trophy bucks, both life time kills and to think it could happen during the same season, in the same county as my home.  I managed to cut 100 yards to 40.  I was within range if he gave me that perfect shot.  Anytime now…  I set my goal on a perfect natural ground blind of entangled grape vines to my right slightly covering their bed, if I could just somehow make it there without getting busted I’d have a chance.  Miraculously I made it unscathed and undetected.  I was motionless and my heart was throbbing.  I stood ever so still for a good long while.  I didn’t move, didn’t snap a stick, I did nothing wrong when all of a sudden they sounded and blew out of there together.  Stupid me thinking I could pull that off from the ground.  But they didn’t run far.  They even ran in a direction giving me even more cover.  There was no way they could see me now. Maybe 60 yards out. Both were on high alert for a short while but then the doe started doing her tail wag thing and walking around Mr. Big.  Then another group of does show up, a HUGE doe (I shot a 120 pound field dressed doe here last year and this doe dwarfed her) and two good size fawns were working directly towards me.  That will do I thought.  Well, Mr. Dink, the 4 pointer had other thoughts and came out of now where and chased the doe and fawns out of reach.  I remember seeing the big doe run past me with her mouth open, tongue out with this look of desperation and exhaustion on her.  Her fawns looked about as clueless as can be.  They were within range but never stopped even for a second.  Oh well, any deer from the ground would have been spectacular.  By now Mr. Big and the hot doe were long gone.  I thought about an all day hunt at that point.  I had water and food in the truck, I could call a baby sitter. It’s now or never.  Don’t push it Jon…  you already can’t top this hunt.  Get home to your son.  There’s always next year.  Damn that was fun. 

 

A lot of big bucks meet their maker on Halloween

I once read someone's "Rut Journal" when the I phone first came out with that title. That was right about the time when I first started to get serious about bow hunting. Well, today (Halloween 2012)... was a day I'll not soon forget. My original plan was fouled by other hunters this morning but a quick relocation just before sunrise was still possible and wow did it pay off. I was set up only moments before legal shooting light and instantly had movement behind me. The wind was blowing to my right to left and chasing was commencing all over my little 7 acre suburbia forest. But it was only dink spikes and hot does. I stopped a mature doe dead in her tracks with burp of a sound from my mouth but she hudinied on me at the last second. How on earth they do that I have no idea inside of 15 yards with a 31"draw and 70+ pounds. But oh well. "Why shoot a hot doe in the rut" I was once told on here. Well, because I haven't shot anything yet this fall, that's WHY.

I started rattling soon after I decided to ignore the youngins to play at will. The spike was willfully stomping away but the mature doe still wanted to play as far as I could tell. I think they (sexually mature does) will take as many dicks as they can find this time of year.

One sequence of rattling for 30 seconds at a time every 10 minutes at first light or so. I may have just finished my second set when I first saw a well dressed mature buck cross the neighbors yard in a perpendicular angle to me... getting very close to downwind I might add, but still a good ways off. This buck went straight to where I first saw the spike and doe at first light this morning. I quickly picked up the antlers and gave the most gentle of tickles to attract his attention because he was less than 100 yards and the winds were 5 to 10 tops. I have never seen on hunting programs, fictional TV, magazine articles or even my dreams how quickly this deer reacted to the slightest of antler tunes. He rushed in and cut 100 yards to 30 in seconds. The wind was so dangerously in his face I thought for sure I was busted. I barely had time to drop the antlers and knock the release. Before I could get my first grunt in to stop him he seemed to slam on the breaks... too late, it was out. He froze, I was drawn, it was less than 20 yards now slightly quartering towards me... like Brave Heart... "LOSE!" I dropped him in his tracks at 20 yards, high shoulder hit, 3 blades muzzy. The arrow only penetrated maybe 1/3 (31" arrow) and he was on his back. What I witnessed for the next 15 minutes I wouldn't want to describe to anyone but he finally expired. I sent another two arrows his way, the second only repeating the first in the shoulder, poor penetration but the third found its mark. How alive I felt today cannot be put into words. It’s my second buck, my first true mature buck and a trophy I will not soon forget.

It may have been an early morning shot but by the time this rookie showed off to the neighbors; gut, drag and drove to the taxidermy and butcher I only just barely made it to my sons Halloween Parade at 2pm.... but guess what... I made it and the first thing my son said to me in the middle of all the other parents in the classroom was, "Daddy!.... you made it... I knew you'd come." What a day. I think I'm still shaking and I took the shot over 14 hours ago. I've said it before on a doe shot...... you just can't bottle that kind of feeling.

Happy Ruttin and Happy Halloween. I'm done for now. Heading north to finish my week vacation on my true love... steelhead. I doubt I'm topping this anytime soon.

Here's a shot of him from last year. But I've never seen him on stand.


Oh, we, John C, Sebastian, Diego and I just got back from steelheading. IT was a lot of work with several miles hiked each day, it snowed, freezing rain, dense fog, blinding rain.... all day at times but the fish cooperated. We worked so hard for a few fish but also landed some true hogs. Diego getting one of the biggest I've seen, in the teens probably. Awesome fish they are. Now I need a vacation.

 

 

 

 

 

Nice smallmouth hiding out in "Carp" water.

There's a stream I like in Frederick county that is usually a sure bet for carp.  It's a medium size stream with heavy silt deposits.  The silt is so bad in spots that the thought of anything else but carp living there wouldn't even cross my mind.  I guess the last time I fished it was last year in mid July and it was full of carp, just like the first few times I fished it in June.  and these carp, being that they are in a stream setting with some riffles but mostly runs and pools, feed rather well and will readily take a fly.  Buggers and damsel flies mostly for me.  Okay, so two Saturdays ago I hit the stream in the evening.  I knew the light wouldn't be great to sight fish but I went anyway.  I didn't see the first carp, not a one when in a 30 foot wide pool last year there were probably 50 carp averaging 5 pounds or more.  Okay, never been there in August before.  Oh well.  But, this one pool, the largest in the area with great habitat of a criss crossing fallen tree up against a large boulder with excellent depth, had some decent bass.  From what I could tell they were 10 inch largemouth which I have caught a few in that stream before.  So, I switched to a heavy CK crawfish pattern and lobbed it into the depth.  Sure enough I saw three or four impressive bass instantly come out of the woodwork and chase my fly.  I lost sight of the fish and my fly but saw my fly line twitch so I set the hook.  What happened next surprised the heck out of me.  An enormous smallmouth was hooked up and he had about 4 other friends close to his size following him.  A SMALLMOUTH? In slow, retarded carp water?  Yep.  It took more than a few seconds, maybe minutes to pull him out of all those snags too but somehow I did it.  I think I had on 4 pound tippet, not x anything, just 4 pound mono from a filler spool.  It did the job and I landed one of my better fly rod caught smallies.  And like most small streams, from that moment on all the fish in that pool were educated.  I may have caught a few more bluegill and green sunfish but I could see at least another half dozen bass that wanted nothing to do with my fly again.  Why do they get like that?  But I've seen it time and time again in small streams that the fish that were retards during the first few casts become PHD educated immediately after they watch one of their buddies get yanked from the stream. 

I didn't catch anything else from that pool or a few others I tried either.  So off to the Monocacy afterwards in hopes of finding a hex hatch.  Sure enough, they came out in the evening with a few dinky fish rising from time to time.  Near that magic time just before dark I heard a large truck in the vicinity of where I parked and I was worried I was getting towed. I may have parked a little illegally but had no other choice near a road closed sign. I high tailed it out of there right when I should have been fishing but I did give an honest effort of over an hour and was completely skunked.  Not even a bluegill or chub.  Oh well.  That smally I caught earlier sure made the trip well worth it though. 

Yellow Breeches White Fly August 19, 2012

August 19, 2012 Yellow Breeches White Fly Hatch

I’m sure many of you want to know what’s going on.  Well my usual fishing partner in crime John, his father and Par and I made a trip to the Breeches yesterday.  Of course it was pouring with rain back home all day and neither of us even bothered to check the weather.  The rain was relentless back home but I just figured it was a quick summer storm.  Well, it kept falling but we had it planned and rolled out in blinding rain from Gaithersburg around 1:30pm.  Made it to Yellow Breeches outfitters to buy licenses, they couldn’t sell out of state licenses so we had to go to the Getty up the road.  But I needed some flies even though I tie some of my own and John always ties hundreds and knows the stream better than anyone I know being that he went to college practically on the stream some 15 years ago or whatever it was. This was kind of a last second trip and in the end, John didn’t have a decent selection with him and neither did yellow breeches.  They were out of anything smaller than #12 for both the spinners and the duns and no emergers of the white fly.  Oh well, bigger is what I bought, 12 will have to do.  The shop said the peak had passed and it was slowing down, even got a report that it was “not good”.  But then opportunism turned that report into well, in the rain last week it was good.  Supposedly last Sunday through Wednesday was the time and afterwards saw noticeable slow down?  But the hex’s were out well and I really wanted to play with them more than anything.  The weather ended up being beautiful while we were there with the sun coming about around 3:30, cool, probably high 70’s air temp with some over cast.  Just ideal I thought.

We started in the run and played with some fish, each catching a couple.  We had two rookies with us too and rigged them up with egg flies or nymphs and they did very well on browns and rainbows.  But that’s not why I came.  So I worked down on foot away from our little crowd.  The stream below the run only had a few guys all the way to Allenberry, but from the damn down was where all the people were, just below the dam and the next two hundred yards or more.  Probably 15 guys in that stretch, all fishing the deeper water on River right, the warmer water.  There was a distinct temperature difference that I noticed while wet wading starting about mid river.  The river right (Facing downstream) was far warmer than the left.  So the fish should be on the left right?  According to john that’s the case.  I saw plenty of rises to midges around 4-6pm in the slow stuff above allenberry, but like usual they are difficult.  I had prime water near the mouth of the run but left it to join the crowds?  Why?  My crew later drove the car to Allenberry and were working mediocre water below the crowds.  Very shallow riffles.  But when this hatch happens you can do well in a 5 inch riffle.  Or flat water.

We finally set up all the way at the bottom on the last bend.  There were a few guys working the deep flat stuff below us but we had the bottom of the bend pool with quite a few fish working the surface below a caterpillar nest.  Believe it or not but John noticed there was a squirrel in this one tree where the caterpillar nest was and it shook the tree from time to time and knocked caterpillars into the water.  Sure enough the fish responded.  If we threw something brown, it got attention.  We ended up cutting the legs and wings off of a brown hopper pattern and first three casts got a take with two landings of decent browns.  One of those rising browns on the far bank was well proportioned too, it was a very nice fish, no takes from him though. 

So now it’s 7pm or so and the hex’s first showed up.  We didn’t have the riffle section just above the pool because another gentlemen was there, I think he lived in the house behind us.  He was in the prime spot and sure enough was getting bit well when things started getting interesting with hex’s flying everywhere.  These guys were HUGE too.  I forgot how exciting it was just to see these flies dance over head with the anticipation that when one of these humming birds lands in the water, a swimming log in the form of hold over brown measured in pounds is going to explode on the thing.  Wishful thinking but I’m a fishermen and that’s what we do.  I started using a white wulf fly around 7pm and ended up cutting off some of the deer hair to thin it out some.  It got bit even when there were not many white flies around.  The guy above us was throwing a hex and was getting plenty of attention but kept missing the fish.  Sometime just before dark the white flies were everywhere, along with the hex’s and the guy above us said “it looks like they switched over to the white fly now.”  I had caught a few fish, all small 9 inch browns on white flies long before he said that.  But he got countless takes on the hex in the riffle prior to that.  I think only landing a couple but they were exploding on his fly all evening long.  A little frustrating.  But by now it was hot and heavy.  Mating pairs flying everywhere, fish rising everywhere too, slow water, fast water but mostly in the riffles/runs and we were in the pool more or less.  IF you could dance your fly and literally skip it on the surface, it got more attention.  My rookie friend fishing with me did well in the run previously but was having a hard time during the hatch.  No takes for him for some reason and we were all using basically the same fly, except maybe he didn’t trim is size 12 or 14 dry like I did.  It pays to keep it small like #16 if you can.  But I got more takes on a white wulff pattern with no anal antennae, just deer hair than I did with a realistic spinner pattern with two long anal antennae for whatever reason. 

We fished well, well past dark too.  Mostly because I’ve always had the understanding that hex’s don’t actually fall into the water until well past dark.  My Pere Marquette education from last year taught me that and years of studying the insect in my spare time.  Because they also hatch on the Monocacy this time of year.  They show up about a half hour before sunset but don’t come near the water till almost dark.  Most of the time barley bouncing on the surface.  But the true spinner fall?  When does that happen?  My thoughts were well after dark so I was hoping for bubba.  He never showed.  I even threw a mouse pattern around 9:00pm hoping for the unicorn fish of a lifetime.  OH well.  We did okay, saw plenty of rises but didn’t set the world on fire and I didn’t catch more fish than I could count with one hand.  The shop and my fishing buddy john said it was nowhere near its best.  The shop reporting past its peak.  But John says he usually does well from August 15^th to as late as September 1.  Looks like we missed the peak but I personally thought it was  spectacular hatch with plenty of bugs.  You just have to be in the right place with the right fly and right time.  I never did see anything of any size caught except a 15 incher from the guy above us and another 15inch from my rookie friend on a nymph in the run.  But it was still enjoyable, just wish I could take my education from yesterday and apply it on the water today.  But work and life got in the way and now I’m wasting my whole lunch hour reporting it to you.  It’s been a while since I’ve written a decent fishing report so here it is.  Get up there now is my advice.  Bring small white flies, even a mating pair pattern if you can.  Don’t’ forget the hexes.  Check out a picture I took of a two hexes that were caught in a spider web I found around 6pm.  Not sure if they were yesterday’s bugs or today’s but one was still alive just barley handing on to the thread a few feet over the water, above a perfect looking riffle that I never should have left. 

The other promising and noteworthy event of the trip was that we were still able to sit down at the bar in Allenberry after fishing, well after dark.  We didn’t get there till probably 9:30pm and were still able to order delicious burgers and soup, plus a few adult beverages amongst friends to relive the experience.  The bar staff were so polite and happy to see us that they said anytime we were fishing late, just call them in advance and they would stay open as late as we wanted them to from what I understood.  That could get interesting some nights.  But who knows when I’ll be back.  I think John didn’t catch enough fish yesterday and saw a promising enough hatch that he’s heading back up today.  I would if I could, that’s for sure. 

The below brown was caught around 4:30pm in the run on a #16 PT nymph by my friend Par. 

August 8, 2012

It's hot, damn hot.  Everywhere is just about dry, barren or dead.  Just about the worst time of year to be a fishermen... unless I suppose you're an opportunistic fishermen.  Let's see... what have I been up to?  Lot's of wetland delineation field work, plus I'm starting a new job next week so I've been a little busy..... but never busy enough to not go fishing. 

First, the one fish that could careless about a heat wave, low dissolved oxygen or even food supply is the lonely "prince of mud" or common carp.  They have invaded just about every body of water from the tundra to the Everglades.  Find a shallow, silty lake or stream with good access to a larger body of water and you've got yourself a match made in heaven this time of year.  Back during one hot July afternoon I passed by an urban public lake that has recently undergone a face life. The entire forebay of Lake Needwood, or that shallow confluence area of Rock Creek as it enters the lake to the north of Needwood road has been dredged, fish habitat has been installed and it's a gold mine to fish.  It always had its carp back there, actually they were easier to cast to before the lake improvements but there was far less habitat and far fewer fish.  Well, it's not difficult to see a sunning or "mudding" carp in the lake but it sure is difficult to convince one to take a fly.  I can't tell you how many times I've been skunked while trying to sight cast to a carp with a fly rod. But that one in one hundred time when you don't spook the 30+ inch carp on the cast and it actually changes course by 30 degrees towards your fly, well.... I think you'll understand the excitement. 

During this one afternoon during yet another record breaking heat wave I decided to start with a hopper/dropper pattern.  I was told somewhere that carp often will rise to a large hopper pattern.  Well, sure, why not.  I tied on one from last summer that I got from fishing on the Pere Marquette in Michigan. Except this hopper still had a small #16 pheasant tail nymph attached to the shank of the hook with a long leader of 6x tippet.  A popular method I deploy for picky trout. Trout that might spook from a traditional strike indicator and for an area where the trout might actually ignore the nymph and take the hopper.  Much for fun that way. well, who would have thought but the carp took the dropper... and I landed it!  At or very near 30 inches too.  Can't complain there.  I had a few more refusals on later trips in the same lake.  But the other pleasant surprise is that the bass fishing there is also excellent now because of the lake improvements.  There seems to have been a population explosion of life to the lake.  Minnows and YOY bluegill litter the shore.  Bass can been seen chasing schools of bait fish and damsel flies even in the dead middle of the highest sun.  I've done quite well there in an hours effort while fishing claw dads and poppers in mid afternoon for a measly hour of fishing to and from a job site every week.  So, you may want to do yourself a favor and give old Needwood a try sometime.

The next fish that likes warm, hot, useless water is the ever sporty, top water junky, invasive northern Snakehead.  This fish is bad ass.  It's got teeth like a musky with an attitude to match and best of all, this fish likes to look up.  Almost all day long too.  Frogs are always on the menu for these guys and shallow, warm, putrid water should not be overlooked. In fact, the silty, lifeless looking water furthest back in a bay where only a largemouth would dare travel after dark is where you want to start looking for these back yard brawlers, and even in the dead middle of the day.  Check out one Diego and I scored the other day.  Top water frog up against the spatter dock (Sp?)  We missed a few more that day fishing inside the airport plus found the highest concentration of quality largemouth I've fished over in a long, long time.  So, don't give up just yet.  I know it's tough out there right now.  I didn't have enough callus on my fingers to report all my skunks as of late.  We can't all be professionals but we all should be able to capitalize on over looked fisheries with a little intuition, determination and opportunism. 



Kayaking in the heat

July 7, 2012

It was one of the hottest days of the year and I had just finished a full days’ worth of field work delineating wetlands inside the Beltway.  I had consumed over a gallon of water and was about wiped out by the time we made it back to the office.  But Route 50 wasn’t that bad and my kayak was still on the roof from our trip to Kent Island visiting Pete for his birthday.  I never got a chance to use it.  Part of me wanted to get into a few fish since my wife and kids were at the beach.  By now it was peak rush-hour on route 50 catching the workers going home and mad weekend traffic making a mad dash across the bridge for some fun in the sun.  What the heck…. 20 minutes wait at the bridge but I’m across.  Head to Ace Hardware to build a tackle /rod storage device out of milk crate. It comfortably and confidently held 4 rods.  I dropped the kayak in at Hemmingway’s (no idea if that was legal) to hit the eastern shore pilings.  Why the eastern when the western side is so close and easy?  Because it just fishes better.  You have the sewer pipe there enclosed in tons of rip rap and the eastern side pilings just before the channel tend to almost always hold fish.  Sometimes, even now, past peak migration, they can be trophy size with the magic wand in the proper hands. 

Usually jigging ¾ oz head behind the pilings just before the drop off does the trick when rigged with long skinny plastics to cut down on drag and then popped violently off the bottom quickly enough not to get snagged and aggressively enough to entice a strike.  The strikes almost always come on the drop of the violent jig or whip of the rod.  Braided line is a must, as is a good heavy leader. 

I picked away at some fish with the sun still high in the sky but there were all dinks.  Around sunset the tide was waning and I thought my chances were useless.  I picked a bad day to hit the bridge with the tide at its weakest at the magic hour of the day.  But, with a little luck I drifted over a school.  First I hit the pipe in the deeper section with a few other boats from 16’ bass boats to 26 foot offshore center consoles.  The water was like glass out there tonight. 

There weren’t any fish taking top water or the jig for whatever reason.  Then I moved shallow once the sun had completely set and figured I’d work the pipe towards shore on my way home.  Well, there was one good hump with some decent disturbance and sure enough the fish were there.  First was the jig to get hit by a respectable 22 inch fish.  Then a bunch more dinks.  Then they were all over the surface but wouldn’t touch the spook for whatever reason.  They wanted that jig and they wanted it near the bottom.  Multiple hits per casts, many hook ups, many many fish to the kayak in that magic 30 minutes of ambient light when the blistering sun had finally set.  It’s almost as if the fish were waited for that magic hour.  The tide couldn’t have been any slower but that sun was just relentless all day long.  Once she was gone… look out.  It’s smart to only fish that first and last hour of light this time of year.  You’ll probably triple the number of fish in an hour’s fishing during that magic hour than you would all day otherwise. 

Get out there… easy close to home fishing.

Dry or Die Trout fishing

Casselmen May, 25, 2012

My usual fishing partner John C and I did a suicide run to the Casselmen yesterday.  Which really isn’t all that difficult with it being about two hours from home. We did however compare the distance to Mossy Creek, Spring Creek at State College, Tyrone for the Little Juniata, even Pens Creek because we both wanted to get on the legendary Green Drake hatch.  Ironically almost all those other famous trout streams were about the same distance give or take 15 minutes.  But the casselmen was the closest by about 30 minutes and being that I had some work to do in the morning, a 10 oclock departure would be pushing it for the other streams. Plus I knew the Casselmen very well and knew it’s the place for numbers.  We both hadn’t had a good trout afternoon in a while and both wanted good insect activity.  We were both kind of in a “dry or die” kind of mood.  Even though we both fish for musky with the heaviest of conventional tackle, we will both chunk bait for giant blue catfish when the opportunity arises but we also like our quality trout fishing.  John probably more so than I as he chose to go to college at a school with the Yellow Breeches practically running through its campus some 15 years ago. 

Okay, back to the fishing.  We get there sometime after noon.  Set up in a far away difficult to get to spot with one other car.  Most spaces had company already up and down the stream. We knew conditions were low at around 50cfs.  Which is about at the bottom of the fishes comfort level and mine for that matter on that river. I prefer to fish the stream around 150cfs, even 180cfs after a decent rain or on its way down after a high water event.  At that stage fish are literally everywhere, behind every rock where back casts catch fish as well as forward casts.  But at 50cfs the flow is slow and low and it concentrates the fish making it seem overly unnatural.  The water temperature was into the 70’s already.  The fishing this season there is just about over.  What will today bring?

We immediately get into fish on dries as there was a decent breeze and some caddis dancing on the surface from time to time.  Nothing huge, beat up fresh stockies most likely.  We worked upstream passing a lot of bed rock and featureless water until we get to a long flat stretch.  I almost shot straight past it to find the head of the pool and the riffle but John noticed a few rises. We had found the mother lode of fish in the tailout of the long slow pool and they were regularly rising to something.  Something very small and we noticed midges and maybe #26 ants or something in the surface film with the occasional shuck from a larger mayfly.  We worked over these fish taking turns casting for a couple hours in the hot mid day sun.  The fish would occasionally come up and hit my leader knots of all things but I did manage the only brown trout of the trip with a #22 midge emerger off of a beetle patter.  It was a quality fish of about 14 inches.   That was all we managed from this spot where there were dozens of rising fish, some massive golden trout were seen but easily spooked and the place was just chocker block full of fish in the slow water but they were defiantly difficult to entice.  If not impossible.  We wasted most of the day playing with those fish too. 

We moved on up to the head of the pool in long perfect looking riffle. The riffle itself seemed lifeless but the few pockets down below in the deeper run had a lot of fish.  Rises were seen easily too.  I picked away at a few fish on caddis flies and John worked up river.  I knew that the water up river wasn’t the greatest but had a lot of riffles.  I wanted to be right in the best looking riffle come evening when the finest hour was approaching fast.  John went up and the light grew shorter. Things started to get very interesting.  March browns starting swirling over head by the hundreds.  Previously in the late afternoon I was only able to hit fish in this one tiny little pocket below the riffle all the way across the river.  But once these bugs starting showing themselves, they started feeding much better.  But again, only in this one spot and only after I’d let it rest a few minutes after pulling a fish from it.  Then I’d see some rises in the riffle itself.  That got more intense as it got darker.  Sulfers had joined the March browns and things were coming to life.  The riffle literally exploded wutg life with fish coming out of the wood work and a strike almost every cast.  If I could dance and skip my March Brown fly across the surface the fish would fight over it.  It was incredible to see a place that previously was deserted of fish literally explode with fish.  Even golden trout showed up to the party when there were none in sight a few minutes earlier.  The rainbows I was catching in the riffle right at my feet appeared in far better condition than the fish from earlier in the day.  They had almost pinkish fins with a  more robust body form and almost a steelhead like appearance with bright, flawless silver sides.  I think these were the warm water variety rainbows so common on the North Branch of the Potomac and the Youghiogeny.  They were no where to be seen earlier but were throwing themselves at the fly in the waning moments of the finest hour.  It was dry fly fishing zen.  My last March brown finally was far too wet to ever get to float again but even just swinging the fly in the riffle got action.  When I was able to bounce the fly off the riffles with my 7’ 3wt it would almost always get a rise, even at the end of my rod. 

The fishing stayed good even after true dark.  It was 9:30pm when it finally slowed down and it was well past pitch dark.  But I was still fishing and so was John, somewhere up river.  I thought about a spinner fall, and I could still hear the occasional rise.  I’ve known from experience on popular trout streams that the largest of the large, the top dogs of the river come out to play at night to avoid the angling pressure of the day time.  Could it be that time? I had my last strike around 9:40pm just as John showed up.  We stuck it out another 20 minutes and walked back to the truck to call it a night.  John C also said this was one of the craziest hatches and dry fly outings he’s ever had.  I agreed with him completely.  What a day.  Home just after midnight with that happy and content feeling you often feel after a fine, successful fishing trip. 

We were too busy catching fish to get any photos of the fish.  I was holding out for one of those swimming logs that are common to that river but we never caught anything of any size.  Mostly 11 to 14 inch range.  But we certainly made up for it in numbers.  It was an insane numbers day.  Gotta love it when a plan comes together. 

The first picture below is a cell phone picture of a swarm of March Browns dancing over my head.  They later danced right on the riffle as dark 30 was knocking at the door. The fish were litterally throwing themselves after them, sometimes going competely airborne.  

Just a few shots of the river from my cell.  Too busy catching fish to take many other photos.

Close by Trouting

May 24, 2012 Patuxent

Trout fishing is pretty good right now on the Patuxent.  Particularly below Brighton Dam in the Fly Fishing only, catch and release section that extends a few miles below Brighton Dam on the main Branch of the Patuxent below Tridephia Reservoir. 

Just last Tuesday I got an unexpected rain inspection for my current job so I was able to mix in a couple hours of fishing after work.  The last job site just so happens to be within a few miles of the best access point on this river.  Or did I just plan it that way? Duhh?

So on Tuesday I was rigged with my 7’ 3wt with plenty of gear and gave it a go for the surpluss of trout that have been stocked in that section this spring. Most of the stocking takes place in early March but I’m usually busy fishing elsewhere come mid March through April.  It usually isn’t until now do I take notice in trout again and what better place to do it than in a tailwater stream close to home.  The water temperature was still rather cool, much cooler than the Little Patuxent was at Savage mill last week. All I caught there was a good buzz at the Savage Mill Inn. Very warm water when I was wet wading.

Anyway, I fished a copper John nymph probably size #12 below a large stimulator and managed to catch two good size rainbows in the riffles.  There’s only about two good riffles in that entire stream and they just so happen to be right next to the parking spot.  But I also managed a ten inch yellow perch on a bugger, numerous fall fish, creek chub, stone rollers and creek chub suckers, along with a couple sunfish. So it wasn’t a bad two hours fishing.  I did realize that many of the trout that I saw, but did not catch, were very inquisitive to anything that fell into the water. So… next time I was going “dry or die” so to speak. 

Went back to the Patuxent today (May 24, 2012) below Brighton Dam a good ways and fished a long slow stretch that had a few rising fish. Sure enough they were trout, and more than a few fallfish. The lie was very difficult to get a fly into with a overhanging branch. I had to do a sideways rollcast that hooked the tree 3 out of 5 times but when I got it in there I'd always get an inspection. Pretty cool to fish over well educated, long since stocked trout. These fish were all browns that I helped stock back in early March, or was it February this year. Nothing huge but they sure were coming up quite often. There was a good breeze and seed pods from dandy lions and who knows what else was in the water and the trout were hitting them pretty regularly. But they were also showing a liking to my #16 Japanese beetle pattern. Caught two in a couple hours and missed quite a few more. Lost two spools of tippet somehow too out of my waste pack so in the end I was throwing 4x, 6.4 pound tippet. That probably didn't help.

Then I worked upstream to a popular spot that I know was stocked with over 100 fish. Probably 300. When I first stepped off the bank in ankle deep water (sneakers and shorts) I saw a brown rooting around on the bottom like as if he had a bad case of whirling disease. But he was chasing something and ate it right in front of me, less than a rods length. I was rigged with a beetle pattern and a #22 midge with a glass bead and flicked it out right on top of him. Some tiny little fall fish quickly grabbed it. That continued until I snagged a branch. Broke off and went to a bugger. a few misses and it was time to go home.

On the way there I spotted a huge school of good size 20+" suckers spawning below a blow down in the gravel. They had nests just like a steelhead would. I passed them on the walk up thinking I'd try to find some more rising trout but on the walk down I really wanted to hook one of these suckers. Put on a large "thinga ma bobber" and a san juan worm with some shot and dredged the fast run. I ended up spooking all 100 suckers somehow, even crouching behind the giant multiflora bush. But there were quite a few fall fish and trout in and amongst the suckers. I had a few takes. Got the text that the wife wanted to go out for happy hour. Had to rush home. But got in two good hours of fishing close to home and the job site. Gotta love it. Oh.. just finished happy hour too. 

Here's a shot of a good run/maybe a riffle that often holds a few fish.  Sure doesn't look too shabby for being between the two beltways.  The fishing there should stay good for about another month. 

Now What?

It's the middle of May and I'm a little heart broken summer is rolling on in.  I can just feel the sweltering, hot, humid, lifeless days of summer creeping closer and closer.  And to top it off, what I'm really depressed about is that most of the migrants have left our region.  The big cow stripers, which I did not connect with this year too well but made up for it in numbers, have hit the ocean hard and using their tales like fish so often do.  Almost two weeks ago I got a report from my Indian River Inlet, DE friend Neptune Pete that the fish have arrived in decent numbers. It's nothing like last year's blitz after the sustained NE winds but it's sure pretty darn good. Anglers are wall to wall, shoulder to shoulder in the inlet and are catching rather well.  Last week Assateague Island in Va and Maryland had an incredible showing of fish.  Just my luck too because I'm in charge of a Boy Scout trip to AI this coming weekend on May 18-20th.  Most of the fish have moved on but with a little luck I might be able to put some boy scouts on some fish.  I'm planning on putting out a 10 plus rod spread on the beach this weekend and see who's home.  I received some good Intel that quite a few Black Drum are feeding in the surf on sand fleas mixed together with a crab fishbite combo.  I'll have the scouts catch my bait and who knows.  I know last year I caught a good fish from the surf in OC as late as Memorial Day. 

The last week of April did not disappoint.  My favorite week usually.  The Potomac had a showing of schoolie size fish since mid April which usually signifies the end but Diego struck gold on April 26th putting numerous big fish in the fletchers boat.  He had one at 42 inches confirmed that hadn't even looked like it spawned yet and another considerably larger that he lost boat side.  Plus countless 29 inchers.  I took the kids on the John Boat a little further down river on the same day and played with more than a few 20 something inch stripers, jigged up a 35 inch fish, missed a few others on the jig, played with 30 pound blue catfish too.  It started raining and the fish loved it.  Except the kids didn't too much. 

I made another quick trip down that deathly walk from GW Parkway to fish the big pool at night on Sunday, April 27th around midnight. First or second cast gave up a 28 inch, followed by a 30 something inch stripa and a 22 inch walleye, all on 10 inch BKD's.  Capt Steve liked the picture of the walleye so much he gave me an incredible deal on a fine package of baits too. 

But that was then.  The fishing came to an abrupt end around the fist week of May, right about the time that AI island was infiltrated with good fish from the shore.  We went out one last time searching for stripers on row boat and came up empty. Well, except Ryan and Diego. We did however find the mother lode of giant blue catfish.  But we had to go way up river to find current with 3.5 feet at little falls.  The striper came on a shad fly.  The shad fishing still wasn't too bad but they were all small males, spawned out too. Check out the size of this kitty. 

The Casselmen trout fishing is about as good as it gets.  One report from PPTU described it as almost too easy with 150 fish coming to hand in a couple days effort.  The DNR only just stocked brown trout into the system too and they did not cooperate for this one report. Recent rains have the river flowing at optimal flow of 150+ cfs.  Reportedly the grannon caddis hatch was still going strong, sulphurs and a plethora of other insects were out on the prowl and those clueless stockers didn't stand a chance. 

I messed around in Little Seneca Creek a few hours last week and came up empty.  No fish in the usual good pools up from the bridge for some reason.  I did get a swing and a miss from a small fish so it wasn't a complete loss. Then this weekend I took Ryan, Matty, Jake and their dad down to Black Rock for an hour or so to give the mothers a rest on Moms day.  We set up in a popular spot and I almost immediately saw one of the largest trout I've ever seen in that stream or any stocked water for that matter.  This fish was up there close to double digits.  Sure enough I went back after him or her early Monday morning in the rain but struck out. Diego and Par did the same Sunday evening but no sightings. A couple inches of rain fell last night so that fish probably washed out of there with a little luck, or else went home in someones freezer. 

Musky fishing is not taking off into the expected post spawn blitz type pattern like it did last year.  The difference with this year compared to last is that around this time of year last year the Potomac was finally coming down after a long prolonged high water event. The fish basically hadn't fed well the whole month of April and then it was game time.  This year conditions have been perfectly clear, maybe too clear and low fishable water all spring long.  Many regulars and good fishermen are getting the old skunk.  Like John and I did on the full moon in early May near Shepherdstown.  I'm 90% sure I had a follow and a swirl near a bridge abutment covered up with a log jam on a 8 inch soft tail.  John managed a 17 inch smallmouth on a creeper top water bait which is more like a kids toy than any lure I've ever seen. So at least the smallmouth are on top water. 

Tides are about perfect for some Kent Narrows top water and the area opened up to fishing today.  Heck it was even Washington, DC's opening day Rock Fish season today.  I'm sure there are a few big fish sitting behind center rock and my 8' heavy action Musky Mojo rod is just the tool for the job too.  I just can't be bothered though.  No time either with the new job, even if it's only part time. Another very import interview tomorrow too and I'm here now writing a run on fishing report.  Too bad this doesn't pay the bills.  I bounced two checks this week, well, they paid it but I've got to forget about fishing for a while.  One check was from November! 

Okay, one more quick report. I hit up Needwood lake in rockville, MD today coming home from my site inspections. There is so much life back towards Rock Creek mouth it isn't even funny. The forebay is complete and filled with water.  YOY and yearling fish litter the banks by the thousands.  Schools of bass can be seen chasing bait fish too.  The place has really come back alive.  But I only managed one bass in an hours effort working pretty far up the creek too.  I had a hunch that some good bass, trout, heck maybe even a musky would push up the creek with the high water but the creek barely rose at all, just discolored.  OH well.  It's definitely worth a look if you have the time in the evening hours.

Where to fish and when?

How crazy are you about fishing?  Do you target just one species mostly or several?   I can't help myself and if there's fishing to be had, I'm keen to figure it out.  Maybe it's from traveling so much that I had no idea what I was going to get into until I was there, or maybe it's from my past boyscout days and always being prepared.  I rarely leave home without some sort of a fishing rod.  Hey, it's better than going to the track, the bar or having girlfriend's on the side. 


Here's a quick write up on a typical year or dream year, which ever way you want to spin it.

Where would you fish and When

I was asked that question by Don so here it goes. Short version but who knows, I might have a book version one day.

January-power plant fishing in the bay, Potomac and Baltimore Harbor and ofcourse Gannet Hunting out in the Ocean and the CBBT. 

February-Power plant fishing in the bay, Potomac and the harbor (especially the full moon in early February. At night, frozen deck, slippage, almost falling in turbulent water, big cows screaming drag.) Both fly and light tackle or heavy jigging gear.
However, this year was warm, the power plants sucked and I just figured out an awesome musky bite on the Potomac, James, New and Shenandoah River. It was rather epic this year but I was late to the party. Only trying three times, scoring once, and scoring well this winter.

Notice the full moon creeping up above the smoke stacks.

And the fish that lurk underneath.  John with another big fish in my blog.  Not cool.

Had to throw one of me in there from a night time trip to a power plant on a full moon in December.  Usually it's too warm in December to draw the fish but in 2010 temeratures plumeted in December thus calling the fish to their outfalls.

My one favorite placed to fish in February that used to fish incredible for fresh water fly fishing was Dickerson Power plant on warm days in February. The large stone flies would hatch by the thousands and the fish would come up for the nymphs on the surface but ignore the adults. Had some good days on huge bluegill, crappie, smallmouth and even catfish. But then the warm water release got screwed up the last few years and the hatch still occurs but nothing comes up for them.

March-Early trout on the Pax, crappie, big crappie on the Lower Potomac and of course the gannet brigade on the mid Bay from the mouth of the Rappahannock to just north of the Choptank can be awesome. So can a few power plants fish incredibly well for striped bass in March, usually mid march. Then with a warm year like this year, the smallmouth bite on the Potomac from say DC upstream to Hanco.k or beyond can be incredible.

A mid bay power plant fish from March 2011.  I think this was my last trip on my 22' center console.  I miss that boat. 

April-God I love April, where should I start? Where should you not go is a better response. The lower Potomac river gorge in Washington DC is tough to beat. There's just nothing quite like it to be able to catch such a mixed bag and such a large catch of fish in a short time and to top it off you're in the nation's capital. Night time, day time, first light, last light... my best striper day this year was mid day on a Saturday. Go figure.

This is a nice White, aka American Shad caught in early April on a 5wt fly rod.  Or how about

Then of course the Susquehanna Flats in mid to late April. LIKE NOW! Almost any boat, from a 14' john, to a canoe, to a kayak to a belly boat could put you on the action. This past little north-easter just really got things booming. I was fishing an intermediate line last week and doing well on small schoolies but I think if I had a floater I would have done better. Many of the fish were inches under the surface as we could see them all when they'd drift past our bow light when we did so well at night. Or when we were up on the skinnies in less than a foot of water there were giant slobs constantly swimming past us in the high sun but they had lock jaw. So we left fish to find fish. DOUGH! Never, ever, ever do that. I would have figured those giants out eventually.

Here's a big susky flats night time fish. 

May--- May can still be fantastic for striped bass on top water around a few rips along the shore of the bay. The susky flats closes on May 3rd every year but it's hot and heavy up till closing time. The Potomac river gorge still produces good schoolie striper action, snakheads, largemouth, crappie, and tasty white perch. Then there's usually a good showing of American shad but they really take some doing to find and stay on. I usually have a hard time pin pointing that bite but there can be a good one. IN ten years I might have lucked into two good white shad bites in May, up to mid May in downtown DC. From fletchers to chain bridge to even Georgetown.
Conowingo can often have incredible numbers of whites, aka american shad too around early May.

Okay, change gears and tactics a little, in May the surf fishing heats up along the eastern sea board in the Delmarva area. For a few years I was pretty psycho about it and did the whole Assatuegue island thing with my new at the time 4x4. I practically killed the truck, chunked more bait than I'd like to admit and basically got skunked. Then I'd see reports of giants and state records. So I'd walk on near the in-laws house to the featureless beach of Ocean city and catch three large stripers in a couple hours on Memorial Day. Go figure. Last year Indian River inlet received a blitz of large migratory stripers for three solid weeks in May. It was shoulder to shoulder on the shore and bumper to bumper on the water with boats. But many people did well.

I'm still in May.... Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel- gotta get down there near a full or new moon in May for giant red drum. check out

www.kayakkevin.com, he's fishing the same area an old timer showed me long before Kevin got into it. But Kevin has it down patent. In a kayak no less. The last of the migratory stripers set up on the shoals there and sight fishing can be insane. But the bulls is the draw, the big bull red drum. I haven't hit a good bite there in a few years but when you hit it good, it literally made me give up. My arms were noodles, useless after 4 fish in a row averaging 30 pounds with a couple bottoming out a 50 pound scale. Bait, lures, flies, it would all work when a big school comes by. But often times it's covered up with nothing but giant sting rays and huge boat eating rollers. Can be very dangerous but the rewards, oh the sweet rewards.

June-Cape Cod Massachusetts to visit a friend and beat the stripers to death or wade the sand flats of Gay Head on Martha’s Vineyard. My in-laws used to be very successful and owned a place on the island. I made more than a few trips and even without a boat the night time/ pre dawn hours with a fly rod were nothing short of spectacular. Then someone showed me how to fish a few rips from a boat and a live scup and the average size fish quadrupled. But that's bait fishing isn't it?

Back to reality and closer to home... the Musky post spawn blitz in June. Last year was a good one. This year will be too. Just might be a little sooner and might not last as long.

Trout fishing on the North branch in June with the march Browns or up on Pa's little Jay for the sulphurs. Or hit that little private water I have access to on Fishing Creek in Pa for brown trout out of a 20 foot wide spring/free stone creek that look like they came out of Lake Ontario or southern Argentina.

July... July sucks. But you said I could go anywhere. So, I'd fly up to cape cod on Southwest "bing" fares ($50 a trip) or visit my parents cabin on Lake Ontario for smallmouth as wide as your face. In early July they are still guarding fry and get mighty ticked off when anything approaches them in the shallow channels people cut into the bed rock to get a boat to shore.

Or back to the Potomac for some night time walleye. Or in early July hit the white fly hatch near Pennyfield and chase them up river as the month progresses. See a theme here? There's no reason to ever leave the Potomac.

August-night time top water for smallmouth close to home. Snakehead fishing the grass matts around Mattawoman Creek and Piscataway.

If I could go anywhere, I'd fly up to the Pere Marquette, the Little manastee and go to "battle in the woods" with giant king salmon in a stream no wider than a pick up truck and lose 50 fish for everyone I land. Why, I don't know, but it's fun. Or Alaska for silvers but I've never done that.

September-Still way too hot but the mid Chesapeake Bay fishes very well with breaking fish and Spanish mackerel. You could chase breaking fish all day long and put up triple digits of fish from stripers, to blues to Spanish mackerel. Many of the schools are small fish but some will have all large 20 something inch fish and a 20 something inch bluefish on a fly rod or light tackle in the open bay will pull some drag for sure. Rather acrobatic too.

Mid September- The massive coho salmon run that usually ascend the lower salmon river. I only say the lower river because once they make it above I81 they vanish and by the next day most of the fish are sitting in the man made concrete hatchery raceways. They literally blow the entire river in a day but if you can somehow hit them when they first enter the river sometime between Sept 5th and the 16th, well, you'll see more fish than rocks and they spend more time in the air than the water. Crazy suicidal psychotic fish they are. Love me some hos. Just next to impossible for a married man with kids to hit that run just right. You would have to take off ten days in September and fish the lower river every day. 9 days of ten you might only see one or two early king salmon moving up river but on that one day you just might encounter thousands upon thousands of 8 to 15 pound pissed off coho salmon all running up river at once. Try to find them the next day and they will be gone.

October-Steelhead, the most insane pissed off fish that swims in fresh water is an October and November steelhead. IN October there are tons of king salmon around and many of them are ripe as can be dropping eggs all over the place on the Salmon River. But the smaller, torpdeo shaped and minded steel are about as crazy and they come. I like to fish fast runs or slow riffles this time of year and swing, not bottom bounce, egg patterns. They will hit them just like a spey fly intended for atlantics and instantly go air born.

The above steelhead was one of my first Salmon River steelhead.  It was a day on the DSR in mid October during the peak of the Salmon Run, overcast/rainny conditions all day and hungry angry steelhead chewing up drag all day long.  This first fish was also one of my largest.  I guess that's where the addiction and facination came from. 

Plan a late October early November trip to the Erie tribs immediately after a rain and you'll fall on your face tripping over steelhead.

December the steelhead fishing continues. Or the muskie action heats up back home,s o does the striper bite in the Ocean. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel can offer some legendary nights sight fishing under the light line to cow striped bass mixed in with thousands of 20 inch "dinks". The friendly gannets could pave the way in the ocean to a blitz or the pilings of the bridge can hold watermelon size fish nearly every drift.

It's January again, stay in the ocean, stay in the bay, stay steelhead fishing because the crowds will be gone but the snow is measured in meters. Or hit the Potomac in search of musky because a good day musky fishing is just seeing one follow your fly or lure. But why do I do it? Why do I fish and not concentrate on a career or... okay, I'm changing subjects. My wife called me a "Degenerate fisherman" the other day. Hey, it's April, hands down the best month of the year for every fish that swims. Get out there.