Cape Charles Fishing Report: September Review

Fall is supposed to be the time to be fishing the lower Chesapeake.  All of the target species are feeding in anticipation of the departure south.

After a brief sojourn back to Potter County for jury selection (my first of 2 trials), I got back down to CC to see if the fall fishing is for real.

In sum, hard to tell.  Arrived a couple of days before Ophelia.  So only got a day and a half of good fishing weather.  

Then Ophelia moved in.  Lost three days on the water.  And while the storm left, remnants remained, so we've had overcast skies, breezy conditions, cooler than normal air temps, and higher than normal tides.  On the up side, the storm did not cloud up the water, and water temps were still comfortable enough for wet-wading.  (mid-to upper 60s.  I suspect waders are in the future).

Highlights of the last 10 days:

Wade fishing off Bay Creek is still producing.  Maybe not numbers, but decent-size fish, mixed in with a few "shorts."  Picked up several slot Reds, one 20-inch Flounder, and a 20+ inch Trout. (Flounder and Trout got away before I could get a shot)

Mary's first "Puppy Drum" (18-26 inches).  Unfortunately, it got off the Boga before I could get a shot,  But a solid 24-26 inch fish.

Put the Mikey D in the water for a few hours the day before Ophelia rolled in.  Fished around Plantation Creek.  One Flounder and a couple of Lizard Fish.

Brother Kelly rolled in for a couple of days, and picked up his first slot Red.

The normal set ups were working: soft plastics under popping corks (Z-Man Slam Shady jerk baits worked well, and last longer from the assaults of toothy critters), Berkley Gulps (in Nuclear Chicken, but get chewed up pretty quickly).  Recently added gold spoons to the mix, and they've proven extremely productive for Reds, Flounder, and Trout. (and don't get chewed up).

And while most of the fish were returned, we did keep a couple for a victory dinner....

Back to Potter County for another round of jury duty, but returning to CC in the middle of the week.  October and November are supposed to be great for Trout.  Hopefully the weather cooperates.

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

West Branch Fishing Report: Fall is in the Air in God's Country

Highs in the upper 60s, lows in the high 30s to low 40s.

No need for a narrative.  Pics tell the story....

             

And a cooperative Rainbow

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

Potter County Fishing Report, 10 September: When the Steelers stink up the room...

 Grab a fly rod, go outside ...

And maybe the fish gods will be kinder...

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

Cape Charles Fishing Report, 26-30 August: Trust the Science

The last couple of reports focused on conditions that can make the difference between fishing and catching.  What's also important is a source that takes all that info into account and provides a reasonable forecast for fishing.

We normally refer to Tides4Fishing (https://tides4fishing.com/us/virginia/old-plantation-light) and Nautide (the T4F app).  It's almost information overload, but provides enough gouge to decide whether to hit the water (and when), or hang out at the bar.

Are the sites accurate?  Experience this weekend kind of points to it.  This past weekend Clare and Bery Edmonston hopped down from Annapolis to do a little wade fishing.  I checked the T4F site to get a sense of overall conditions.  The solunar activity indicated slow or poor fishing.  Weather conditions, though, were plenty good enough to wade around.

So we hit the water on Saturday and Sunday mornings to take advantage of the outgoing tide.  Saturday was a bit windy when we arrived, but the winds and waters calmed as the morning went on.  Water clarity was okay on Saturday, but excellent on Sunday.  A lot of baitfush in the water on both days.  We fished a variety of soft plastics under popping corks.  Total for both days was some undersized Reds and a couple of small trout.  Bery was the only angler to put a keeper in the bag with a 21.5" Red, which filetted up nicely.

And, when the saltwater fish aren't cooperating, there's always golf course pond bass to get some more action....

On Wednesday, Capt. DiPaola stopped by for an overnight while enroute from NC to Bethany Beach.  He finished his last meeting around 5:00 PM.  Too late to put the Mikey D in the water, but a short golf cart ride to get a couple of hours of wade-fishing in before dinner.  

The solunar calendar indicated better conditions.  Skies were overcast, but the water was completely flat.  Air temps in the low-80s.  We fished the incoming tide.  Not my preferred, but you get what you get.  We fished popping corks with Berkley Gulps (in Nuclear Chicken color) and Z-Man sented Shad (Slam Shady ... kind of an off white) baits.  Joe got us off the schneid.  On his third cast the cork disappeared, the rod bent, and the drag sang.  After a great fight he landed a nice 24-inch Red, then followed up a few cast later with a 14 inch Flounder.

While there was a lot of bait in the water over the weekend, it was nothing compared to yesterday.  Every time you popped the cork, a dozen baitfish would jump out of the water.  I put my Slam Shady in the right place and time, popped the cork, the baitfish jumped, and the cork went down.  Another great fight and another 24-inch Red to the bag.

High winds and rain today foiled our plan to put the boat in and explore some spots.  But, once the water calms down in a couple of days, the fishing should pick up.

Wading around is fun.  You see all the critters that inhabit the inshore waters. (Which is why wading boots are a must.  Some of those critters can put a hurt on you).  But the idea is to catch fish while enjoying nature.  So check the solunar calendar.  Worse comes to worse, a cigar and an adult beverage is not such a bad Plan B.

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing