Where Are All The Fish?

I had to go back to work this past week, and the "Great American Solar Eclipse" was happening on Monday as well. I decided to try to go fishing for a little bit before my last hockey game of the spring/summer season during the eclipse, since I had to be at work on Tuesday and couldn't go somewhere with totality.

Taylor's Landing during the eclipse

No fish were harmed in the creation of this photo

I got nothing during the eclipse. I couldn't even get any good photos of the sun; my phone and my eclipse goggles didn't cooperate. So, while I got to see the eclipse (at about 80% totality), I couldn't take my own photos. I guess I should have just taken photos of the shadows. 

So, I went back to work on Tuesday, and the rest of the staff came back on Wednesday. We've got eight preservice days because our governor decided to kiss Ocean City's ass. Since we can't start before Labor Day, and we have to finish by June 15 (maybe it's June 16), including snow days, and our contract has stipulated a certain number of professional days, there wasn't much choice. It's very frustrating to know that Ocean City's Chamber of Commerce is more important than the education of students in Maryland, at least to our governor. 

Saturday, I met up with fellow Caps season ticket holders at a DuClaw/Goonda beer pickup at the brewery. 

Then I went home and started brewing a new batch of my cinnamon beer to be ready for Chilibrew, a contest I entered in October. I'm hoping this batch of the beer turns out as awesome as the first one!

I went with two grain bags for the initial steeping versus the one last time.

The first batch had an OG of 1.034. This is better. 

That leads us to this morning, when Pat woke me up to go fishing. Now, the first thing I actually did was pitch the yeast in the wort (long story, but let's just say you shouldn't listen to someone who tells you to "add hot water!" to bring it up to 4.5-5gal). Then I grabbed my stuff to head out to whereever Pat wanted to go this weekend. 

That was Point of Rocks. We haven't been there in over a year, and I think I know why. Because it sucks. First off, we got basically the last parking space, in the regular (non-boat-launch) parking. Secondly, there is little-to-no fishing from the shore for someone like me. Anyway, after attempting maybe a dozen casts near the bridge, I opted to move upstream. Pat had already caught at least one fish, albeit a sunfish. 

I walked. And walked. And walked. I finally saw a small pathway towards the river, but when I looked closer, it was a scramble to get to the shore. I opted to keep walking. 

I found a second path, and followed it, only to find tree-covered shoreline. No good for me. I kept following the path, and came too close to hurting myself severely when I stepped over a log and put my foot squarely in a groundhog hole. I writhed in pain for a bit, then hardened up and kept walking to find nothing. So, I went through "wilderness" back towards the towpath, where I could see something. 

Lockhouse 28

Lock 28

I almost lost my collapsible water bottle at the lockhouse when I put it down to take some photos and forget to pick it up afterwards. I had to hike back a good quarter mile to grab it. So, the second time I passed it, I took a photo of the mile marker. 

I just kept walking, and I probably hit mile 50, considering I walked a good 20min past MM49. I'm guessing the MM50 marker is missing. Anyway, I found another path to the river near where MM50 should be, and it looked promising. 

Panorama view is cool

I tossed a swimbait a few times, to no avail, and a Whopper-Plopper a few times.... only to get it hung up in a small tree on a rock that was within wading distance. I'd already expressed frustration to Pat via text, and then I get a response saying he's willing to go elsewhere. I tell him that I need to get my Whopper-Plopper back and then it would be a 30min walk. 

He left it up to me where to go after that. I opted for the Monocacy Aqueduct, since I knew it was close by and had areas accessible from shore. The last time I was at Catoctin Aqueduct, the fish-from-shore areas were very limited. 

Pat immediately caught a sunfish (he'd caught two at Point of Rocks), and proceeded to catch several smallmouth. Meanwhile, I was still catching nothing. I wasn't even getting bites or nibbles. I trundled downstream past where he was wading, and still, nothing. 

As much as I didn't want to, I finally went up to near where Pat was fishing and started tossing lures. 

It was something at least

On a "junebug" TRD Finesse Worm, I finally caught something, a sunfish that was maybe five inches. I haven't caught a sunfish in thirty-some years. I almost kept it, just for noms sake, but tossed it back. 

I wasn't getting any other action from the junebug, so I switched to a swimbait. On a Reaction Innovations swimbait (I think it was a "Spanish Fly" coloration), I finally had a hit from the Potomac mainstay, and fought it to the shore. It wouldn't stop thrashing, even out of the water, and managed to disengage itself from the hook. I was able to grab it before it thrashed itself back into the water. 

Smallmouth fury! All 12" of it.

The only other thing I would catch would be another 5-6" sunfish. 

I guess I need to get either waders or a fishing kayak to open up my possibilities. Pat -- wading -- was able to get so much more that I did. 

Another week of preservice training, then Labor Day Weekend. Maybe we'll go camping! :)

Potomac Monsters

I'm not a big fan of meetings, especially when they don't really impart any information that couldn't have been distributed via email or newsletter. Trainings that drag on for hours because they are catering to the lowest denominator also kill me, especially for computer based things. Just give me free rein, and I'll figure the thing out myself. I'll ask a question if I need more.

So, after a second "fun-filled" day of meetings and training for my summer resource teacher work, I was a bit stir crazy. I'd grabbed two of my rods and my fishing bag on the way out this morning on a whim, and so when I left Gaithersburg High School, I plugged Monocacy Aqueduct into Waze instead of going straight home into rush hour traffic on I-95.

The Mouth of the Monocacy

I knew Pat had fished here recently, and I was pretty sure that I remembered him catching some decent fish. I'd chosen it because it was far enough up, I knew I wasn't in danger of being in tidal waters (which needs a special license), but it was still within a reasonable distance from home for a weeknight where I had to go to work the next day.

While setting up my two rods, I saw a young man and woman leaving from an area just 75-100 feet away from me, and I asked, "Catch anything?" He shook his head. He'd been fishing for bass, but thought he wasn't able to cast his bait far enough to entice them. Looking at what I was about to throw into, I opted for a Ned Rig (TRD Finesse Worm) on my old school Bass Pro Shops Megacast rod, and a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper swimbait on my Abu Garcia rod.

As I was prepping the rods, I saw an eagle majestically swoop down and pluck a fish from the water right in front of me. I knew there were fish to be had.

I cast for about 20 minutes at the confluence of the Monocacy and Potomac Rivers, with nothing. There were a few bumps on the worm, but the swimbait was getting no love. A big old water-striding spider nearby started threatening me (for real), so I opted to move a bit downstream on the Potomac, to an area with some weedbeds and a little shade from the shoreline trees.

There were actually two of them here at one point. Frighteningly, I don't know where the other one went!

I tried the worm again, and promptly got it caught on a log that I could clearly see. I'd lost the swimbait off the other rod earlier and had already tied a Whopper Plopper on it, so I figured, "What the heck?" There were tons of little bugs on the water, to the point that it almost looked like rain drops on the surface, and the smaller birds were having a field day grabbing at them. So, I thought maybe a topwater lure would be a good choice, even though both Pat and I have been skunked when using them for quite a while now.

I tossed to an area just over to my left, which seemed to be kind of weedy and reeled in. Nothing. A second cast, and it was like a slow motion video as the smallmouth came up and grabbed the lure. I was like, "Oh my god, did that just happen?" I set the hook and reeled frantically; the fish tried to jump a few times, but got nowhere as I was keeping the rod tip down. All I could think of was the last time I'd had a smallmouth on a Whopper Plopper, only to lose it just before landing it.

This time, I managed to keep the fish on the hook as I brought it to shore, and it was a pretty good sized Potomac smallmouth.

A good fight, my man!

Just over 14 inches!

I was pretty psyched. While I had the one fish hooked on the Susquehanna, I'd never actually caught a fish with a topwater lure, and definitely not a 14 inch fish on the Potomac! I cast several more times in the same vicinity, but nothing.

Switching to a blue craw TRD Finesse worm (since the coloration was similar to the Whopper Plopper I used), I was able to get some interest from.... something, but no bites. I tried a swimbait again, and promptly got it stuck, again. So, it was after six, and I was thinking, Maybe I should go home.

So, I tied on my other Whopper Plopper, and committed to "10 more casts." The first toss.... nothing. The second cast.... was like a replay of the previous catch. The fish rose up and grabbed the lure as soon as it hit the water, and the game was on. I set the hook, and this one fought big time, but never rose to the surface, so I wasn't sure if it was a little feisty guy, or a monster until it was about four feet from me.

It was more on the monster side!

Using my Megacast rod as a guide, the second fish was just a tick over fifteen inches, easily my largest smallmouth on the Potomac.

I tossed the Whopper Plopper a few more times, just for the heck of it, then packed up to head home. I was satisfied with the two I'd caught, and how I caught them.

But... I have more meetings and training tomorrow. So, maybe I'll hit up the Potomac again? I guess it depends on just how hot and miserable it ends up being. The forecast is pretty awful.

The aqueduct is pretty awesome.