It’s amazing what happens to the fishing when warm temperatures touch local streams and rivers. It happened Monday and Tuesday, and before those days ended, a spawning run of yellow perch in shallow water was in full swing in Charles County’s Nanjemoy Creek. Large numbers of the usually smaller male perch ran far up into the headwaters of that Potomac River tributary. The females will be entering the same shallows by the time you read this.
Fair warning. The upper Nanjemoy’s “deep” water — that means 3½ feet if you’re lucky — is not marked by buoys or sticks. The chance of getting stuck even with a small johnboat in one foot of water can be better than 50 percent. Take it from someone who knows. Sadly, the far upper parts can’t be accessed from land because they are privately owned.
The female perch in the Allen’s Fresh sector of the Wicomico River in Charles County should be up in the shallows upstream of the Route 234 bridge today if all goes right. Local angler Pat Capps caught steady numbers of male perch and even some newly arrived white perch on small grubs in the past several days, as have others who stand in the river or fish from shore.
Bass fishermen on the tidal Potomac near Wilson Bridge, including Spoils Cove, have scored on Mann’s Sting Ray grubs and shiny metal blade baits. Largemouths also have been hooked on jig’n’worms or Sting Rays inside Charles County’s Mattawoman Creek, where some yellow perch are available, as well as over in the Occoquan River and bay on the Virginia side of the Potomac.
Lake Gaston shows bass — Marty Magone reported from Lake Gaston on the Virginia/North Carolina border: “On Sunday Dez Rubesh and I caught 16 bass and two chain pickerel, plus a bonus striper.” The two fishing pals found the bass on lake and creek points and near creek channels. The biggest, caught by Rubesh, was a 4-pound, 10-ouncer. They used Silver Buddy blade baits and some jigging worms mostly in Holly Grove Creek.
Kerr Reservoir crappies biting — Some hefty blue catfish are caught on bottom-fished cut baits, but the best fishing is delivered by slab-sided crappies that like a small jig tipped with a live minnow. One report had it that crappies up to 2½ pounds were caught in brushy water that in some places has climbed to 50 degrees.
Tidal James’ blue cats hungry — Below Richmond, cut bait produces blue catfish in the river, which is still kind of cold at 45 degrees. The “cats” do not appear to mind it.
Lower bay and nearby Atlantic — From Virginia Beach, master angler Julie Ball (drjball.com) said water temperatures remain comfortable enough to get the rockfish to strike.
“These fish continue to hit trolled baits just off Virginia Beach and [in] the Chesapeake Bay,” she said. “Most of the action is right off Cape Henry, Rudee Inlet and Sandbridge lately, where anglers are picking away at a nice class of fish ranging from 30 to 50 pounds.”
Ball also said schools of smaller stripers but also some hefty 20- to 30-pounders have been busy with baitfish at the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Topwater lures and live eels have done the job.
Ball added that beautiful tautogs are caught within sight of land.
“One boat caught nice ’togs pushing 14 pounds on the Cape Henry wreck using blue crabs,” she said.
The Bay-Bridge tunnel structure, as well as the Chesapeake Light Tower (11 miles east of Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach), are also good places for tautog action. In the offshore waters, large black sea bass are hooked over deep-water wrecks, and blueline tilefish await boaters along the 50-fathom curve.
On Sunday, Ken Neill of the Peninsula Saltwater Sport Fisherman’s Association, ran offshore in rough seas.
“We beat our way out 60 miles, wondering why we think that this stuff is fun,” he said.
However, Neill and friends were reminded why when their baits hit bottom and everybody aboard hooked doubles of tilefish.
• Look for Gene Mueller’s Outdoors column Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday, only in The Washington Times. E-mail: gmueller@washingtontimes.com.
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