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.