Perch in Swan Creek and Stripers by the Love Point Rock Pile

I caught a Perch at the mouth of Swan Creek this morning.   That's not such a big deal but I did catch him on my Mepps "Rasta" Lure, which has been a fish favorite for perch, puppy drum, and any kind of catfish.  The Mepps name for this lure is the Hot Firetiger - Firetiger (#2 1/6 oz).  I'll have to pick a few more up at Molly's Outfitters in Kennedyville.   Speaking of which, they have really expanded their fishing department.

Later in the morning I took a ride out to the "Rock Pile" off of Love Point.  There was only one other boat out there fishing close to the rocks.  It was an outgoing time so there seemed to be some small rips on the northern side of the pile.  Two people on the boat seemed to be jigging with two fish caught in a span of about 15 minutes.  The first one was a schoolie the second may have been a keeper.

It was on the humid side with a slightly overcast and visible haze. At 8:40a the breeze picked up to about 8-10mph with a water temp of 78 degrees. 

Puppy Drum caught off of Swan Point

To my surprise, I caught a puppy drum by the mouth of Swan Creek.  Surprised, as they aren't normally caught this far north of the Bay Bridge.

I caught the fix in about 4' of water close to the shore.  I was using a Mepp's "Rasta" lure with a yellow deer hair tail.  The water temp was about 72 degrees with a light breeze on a sunny morning.   The morning bite is key and this fish was caught at 7:15am.

I also caught two catfish in this location.  One was a channel cat, the other a blue cat.

Perch and Blue Catfish abundant on Swan Creek (Rock Hall)

 It's been unusually hot the last few days on the Chesapeake Bay.  So hot that back creek water temps were in the mid-80s.  That doesn't bode well for rock fish but didn't seem to have an effect on perch and blue cats.

Here's a great video on how to get started with catching perch.

Spring Fishing in Rock Hall, MD March 15, 2024

 It was a bit early in the season for fishing in the local ponds but a warm day in mid-March made it all reason to give it a try.  Also, when you get an invite to a sprawling farm on the back creek of the Chesapeake, you don't pass those opportunities up.

The water may have been around 50 degrees but myself and Darryl were still able to pull out a few crappies and maybe one bass (got off the hook).  Not bad for March.  Things should start to improve from here as the temperature begins to rise this month.

Stippers hit in 40' of water in Chester River

It only took until November 17th to land two keepers, but at least it saved the season. Up until this point, every prior attempt this year has turned out to be a boat ride.  Yes, fishing was on fire over by the Patapsco River, but I didn't venture over there.

Today was an unusually mild day for mid-November but when it comes to fishing that's just fine.  Based on the local fishing report I heard on good word the fish were biting in Chester River by the Queenstown Inlet in about 40' of water.  It turned out to be true.

Conditions:

Air Temp: 64 degrees with light cloud cover

Wind: 8 to 13 mph out of the South

Water Temp: 54 degrees

Type of Fishing: Trolling 2.5 to 3.5 MPH in 35 to 45' or water

Lures: Mojo White and Chartreuse (4 and 6 ounce Bullet Weights)

Tides: High tide, slack tide, outgoing tide.  We did our best an one to two hours into the outgoing tide.

Fish: Three keepers 20 to 22"

May 29th 2022 - Things picking up in Swan Creek, Rock Hall MD

 Memorial Day weekend brought with it good weather and a noticable pickup in fishing.  With water temp in the 68-70 degrees, the fish are starting to come alive as well as amble boaters.

Today was a slow start but I did eventually land a spot and perch around 11am.  It was an outgoing tide, but not sure that made a difference.  Caught both on a hook, 1/4oz sinker and bloodworm power bait.  I also tried a white grub with a chartreuse head and chartreuse spinner, but nothing bit.

In other news to did see a bateau cruising about (I'm familiar with the guy) crabbing which means the pros are out.  He was trot lining in about 7" of water on the east side of swan creek.   Earlier in the week, I did hear crabs are being caught in about 14" of water. 

May 15th 2022 - No action yet on Swan Creek

 With the weather turning for the better (warmer) I decided to take the bass boat out to.... 1) see how's it running after winter maintenance and 2) to see if anything was biting.  One out of two isn't bad as the boat ran well.   As for fishing, I was out there a few hours and didn't get a bite.  Not even on my lucky chartreuse spinner which usually snags a catfish every fourth cast.  I also didn't get any perch on a hook, sinker and power bait "bloodworm."

Conditions were favorable with a light breeze and mostly overcast.  It was actually foggy the first part of the trip.  The water temperature was about 62 degrees in Swan Creek.

I'm looking to try a few crab traps in deeper water but I don't have too much optimism yet.  It's only mid-May and crabs don't start picking up until July.

In other news, Maryland oyster harvest hit a 35-year
high this year (2021/2022). That's great to hear. 

''

No luck on a typically lucky lure.

No luck on a typically lucky lure