Big Loch Raven Pike

Had a great day on Loch Raven landing numerous largemouth and pickerel. Most notable was a rather large pike. He hit a finesse worm on a spot remover jig in about 9' of water on a windblown point at around 4pm. It was quite the battle on 8lb test line and spinning gear. He took 10 minutes to land with multiple big runs that kept the drag screaming. Once in the net the hook fell out immediately. After letting him go I gave the line a quick pull and it instantly snapped. Lady luck was on my side today!

First Big Fish of the Year

Caught my first largemouth of the year from the bank at Loch Raven at 8am this past Friday the 14th. I noticed him chasing a baitfish in around 4ft of water. On the second cast with a white and chartreuse spinnerbait he latched on.
The next day, after taking an intro class on fly tying over at Backwater Angler, my 5yr old son and I headed out to Prettyboy for the first boat trip of the season. We were out from 3 to 7:30pm and landed two largemouth with one appearing to be in the 5lb range. Sadly I failed to bring along the digital scales to verify, but judge for yourself from the pic below. Both were caught within a twenty minute stretch when the wind was particularly strong. They came out of small pocket water, somewhat shielded from the wind with large rock structure on each side. I'd guestimate they were in 6ft of water when they hit. Water temp was 44°. Bait used was a 1/2 oz double willow MegaBass spinnerbait that I picked up late last year while on a business trip to Tokyo.

Pics from the Prettyboy trip...



The early morning Loch Raven LM...


Slideshow below is from the Shibuya Sansui tackle shop in Tokyo. I must say, browsing high-end fishing tackle in the middle of Japan's largest city, not to mention the most populous metropolis in the world, was quite surreal.

Father's Day Weekend Trip

This past Saturday my wife and kids headed out to visit the Grandparents in Delaware. As part of my Father's Day gift I was directed to spend the day on the lake (driving up to enjoy Father's Day with everyone on Sunday). It was a most thoughtful and thoroughly appreciated gift. I made the most of the time, spending the morning on Loch Raven and the evening on Prettyboy. Loch Raven was, as expected, quite crowded but still rather nice (thankfully the electric motor requirements keep boat traffic noise to a minimum). I landed six largemouth on plastic worm in heavy grass, with only one of notable size (2lb 6oz). I left around noon and took a break for a few hours, eventually launching the boat on Prettyboy around 4pm. There were far fewer boats and a much more peaceful surrounding. I ended up landing eight smallmouth. Two out of the eight were rather nice fish, one going 2lb 11oz, the other 2lb 10oz. Both were caught near sunset off of points in ~6ft of water on a small, brown finesse worm. The fight that these two fish put up on 8lb-test light spinning tackle was incredible. Smallmouth are feisty, powerful fish that have few rivals in the sportfishing world and were the highlights of a wonderful day. Before landing the first of the sizable smallmouth I happened to notice a couple of river otters playing near the shoreline. With the sun low in the sky to my left and the otters playing to my right I took a moment to take in the picturesque surroundings. Baltimore is fortunate to have such a healthy, natural resource in convenient proximity.

Father and son enjoying Father's Day 2007 gifts, new fishing hats!...

And lastly here are a few shots from the past two weeks. I've been heading out before sunrise a couple of times a week to fish Loch Raven's emerging grassbeds (June morning on Loch Raven can be some of the most productive fishing of the year). Most of the nicer fish have been caught around first morning light off of main lake points...

Loch Raven 6/4/07

Got out on the water Monday morning at 5:30 and fished until 9AM. The lake is 15 minutes away from work, thus I was in the office and at my desk by 9:30 (one of my favorite benefits of working in the Baltimore area). Skies were a blanket of thick, heavy cloud cover and rain drizzled all morning. It was one of those times where everything just looked "fishy". The bite was steady and I landed eight fish - seven largemouth and one pickerel. The two most notable largemouth weighed in at 2lb 9oz and 4lb 6oz. All were all taken on a Texas rig worm fished at the edge of emerging grassbeds on main lake points. The 4lb'er (my biggest fish of the year thus far) on 8lb test spinning tackle was an exciting way to kick off the work week.

North Carolina Farm Pond 5/30/07

Visited family in North Carolina last week and took my four year old fishing with his Grandpa (or "Papa" as he's affectionately referred to). The bluegills were on the beds and the bait of choice was red wigglers and a float. A good time was had by all...

While fishing for crappie with small minnows a couple of largemouth made guest appearances....

We made time to stop by Holly Springs Bait and Tackle Shop. It's owned and operated by Harlan and Betty Gammons (distant cousins) and is housed in a building that resides in their front yard. It's as down-home-old-school as it gets and a much needed breath of fresh air in this age of Wal Mart and Bass Pro Shops...

Prettyboy 5-17-07

Took some time off, got out from behind the computer and spent part of the day on the water. Mother Nature greeted me with a pristine sunrise and the day only proceeded to get better. I landed around 15 fish, mostly smallies with a handful of rock bass. The rock bass were especially active in ~5ft of water in main lake areas. A majority of the time was spent seeking smallmouth back in Georges Cove. This was my first time fishing the area to any significant degree and I was impressed with the amount of attractive water and promising structure. Some of the smallies caught were males that appeared to be guarding beds, while others were landed in deeper water in close proximity to known bedding areas. All fish were promptly released so that they could resume any bed-guarding duties. The largest fish went 15", 17", 17.5" and 18.5". The 15" fish, weighing in at 1lb 14oz, put up the most vigorous fight, making aggressive runs and peeling off drag. One smallie hooked around noon felt like the biggest fish of the day. I wrestled with him for a bit and tried to land him without the net. He snapped the line and swam away just as I reached down to grab him next to the boat. The disappointment of losing what appeared to be a 3 to 4lb fish caused me to land via net for the rest of the trip. All fish were caught on a shakey-head finesse worm, bumping it slowly along the bottom. Water temps were 68°F in the main lake in the AM. By noon water temps were 70°F.

Loch Raven 5-6-07

Fished from 6am to 2pm this past Sunday and had one of my best days on Loch Raven. The wind was gusting 20 to 30mph all morning long and while it made it challenging to keep the boat positioned the fish seemed unfazed. I didn't keep a strict tally of fish landed but I'd conservatively guess fifteen, mostly 2 lb+ largemouth with a few dinks and a handful of pickerel thrown in. During the early morning hours I threw a tandem fluke rig with moderate success. It was my first time fishing this type of bait and I was reasonably pleased with the results. For the rest of the day I threw a finesse worm on a stand-up jig head. Fishing this bait rather slow, hopping and dragging along the bottom drew the most strikes and caught the most fish.
I witnessed numerous massive schools of what appeared to be bluegill. Some were so big that I mistook them for large groupings of stumps just below the water surface. The schools were rather tight nit and lethargic and were regularly breaking the surface. As I pulled up to them with the trolling motor they weren't easily spooked and I could see largemouth bass darting up and feeding from beneath. Was this some type of pre-spawn behaviour? If you're more knowledgeable in this area feel free to leave a comment below as I'd be interested in learning more.
My 4-year old son joined me for the last hour and half of fishing and that was certainly the day's highlight. He's getting more used to the outdoors and is starting to really enjoy talking about all the wildlife, helping me steer the boat from place to place, and casting his Spiderman rod and reel. I tied a fluke on the end of his line and by the time we left he was able to cast a considerable distance, something he took exceptional pride in. Spending time on the boat with him is simply one of the most enjoyable things in life. I can't wait 'til his 1-year old baby brother can join us!

Prettyboy Reservoir 4-22-07

Spent a nice, relaxing Spring day on the water. The weather was beautiful however the fish were mostly absent. The only fish landed was a 2lb smallie around 11am on a white spinnerbait. He was near the bank in about 5 feet of water hugging a steep rock bluff. Later in the day I hooked what felt like a substantial fish around 3pm on a crawfish colored crankbait. Evidently my line was frayed from frequent contact with the rocky bottom as he broke off immediately after setting the hook. My theory that it was a larger fish was quickly realized as a chunky largemouth came to surface a few minutes later and attempted to throw the lost crankbait. I'd conservatively estimate him at around 4lbs. Alas, the big one always gets away. I ran into my good friend Jeff Little and he'd had a bit better luck - his report can be found here.
The bright spot of the trip was being able to spend time with my Dad as fishing partner. A day on the water with Dad beats any day where a substantial amount of fish are landed. Of course I'd happily take both if the fishing gods were to allow.
Air temps were in the high 70s. Water temps in the morning were in the low 50s. Late in the day I found a cove that registered 60. They'll be on the beds soon.