Dave's Fishing Journal

Prettyboy 4/5/2009

2009-04-06T07:54:00.007-04:00

Had a great evening of early spring fishing with good friend, John Hostalka. John landed a 5lb 7oz largemouth while I snagged a 4lb 11oz smallmouth. Both were taken on crankbaits in areas where water surface temps reached 50°.

Big Loch Raven Pike

2008-05-10T22:29:00.005-04:00

Had a great day on Loch Raven landing numerous largemouth and pickerel. Most notable was a rather large pike. He hit a finesse worm on a spot remover jig in about 9' of water on a windblown point at around 4pm. It was quite the battle on 8lb test line and spinning gear. He took 10 minutes to land with multiple big runs that kept the drag screaming. Once in the net the hook fell out immediately. After letting him go I gave the line a quick pull and it instantly snapped. Lady luck was on my side today!

First Big Fish of the Year

2008-03-16T21:22:00.010-04:00

Caught my first largemouth of the year from the bank at Loch Raven at 8am this past Friday the 14th. I noticed him chasing a baitfish in around 4ft of water. On the second cast with a white and chartreuse spinnerbait he latched on.
The next day, after taking an intro class on fly tying over at Backwater Angler, my 5yr old son and I headed out to Prettyboy for the first boat trip of the season. We were out from 3 to 7:30pm and landed two largemouth with one appearing to be in the 5lb range. Sadly I failed to bring along the digital scales to verify, but judge for yourself from the pic below. Both were caught within a twenty minute stretch when the wind was particularly strong. They came out of small pocket water, somewhat shielded from the wind with large rock structure on each side. I'd guestimate they were in 6ft of water when they hit. Water temp was 44°. Bait used was a 1/2 oz double willow MegaBass spinnerbait that I picked up late last year while on a business trip to Tokyo.

Pics from the Prettyboy trip...

The early morning Loch Raven LM...

Slideshow below is from the Shibuya Sansui tackle shop in Tokyo. I must say, browsing high-end fishing tackle in the middle of Japan's largest city, not to mention the most populous metropolis in the world, was quite surreal.

Father's Day Weekend Trip

2007-06-18T21:59:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday my wife and kids headed out to visit the Grandparents in Delaware. As part of my Father's Day gift I was directed to spend the day on the lake (driving up to enjoy Father's Day with everyone on Sunday). It was a most thoughtful and thoroughly appreciated gift. I made the most of the time, spending the morning on Loch Raven and the evening on Prettyboy. Loch Raven was, as expected, quite crowded but still rather nice (thankfully the electric motor requirements keep boat traffic noise to a minimum). I landed six largemouth on plastic worm in heavy grass, with only one of notable size (2lb 6oz). I left around noon and took a break for a few hours, eventually launching the boat on Prettyboy around 4pm. There were far fewer boats and a much more peaceful surrounding. I ended up landing eight smallmouth. Two out of the eight were rather nice fish, one going 2lb 11oz, the other 2lb 10oz. Both were caught near sunset off of points in ~6ft of water on a small, brown finesse worm. The fight that these two fish put up on 8lb-test light spinning tackle was incredible. Smallmouth are feisty, powerful fish that have few rivals in the sportfishing world and were the highlights of a wonderful day. Before landing the first of the sizable smallmouth I happened to notice a couple of river otters playing near the shoreline. With the sun low in the sky to my left and the otters playing to my right I took a moment to take in the picturesque surroundings. Baltimore is fortunate to have such a healthy, natural resource in convenient proximity.

Father and son enjoying Father's Day 2007 gifts, new fishing hats!...

And lastly here are a few shots from the past two weeks. I've been heading out before sunrise a couple of times a week to fish Loch Raven's emerging grassbeds (June morning on Loch Raven can be some of the most productive fishing of the year). Most of the nicer fish have been caught around first morning light off of main lake points...

Loch Raven 6/4/07

2007-06-04T21:58:00.000-04:00

Got out on the water Monday morning at 5:30 and fished until 9AM. The lake is 15 minutes away from work, thus I was in the office and at my desk by 9:30 (one of my favorite benefits of working in the Baltimore area). Skies were a blanket of thick, heavy cloud cover and rain drizzled all morning. It was one of those times where everything just looked "fishy". The bite was steady and I landed eight fish - seven largemouth and one pickerel. The two most notable largemouth weighed in at 2lb 9oz and 4lb 6oz. All were all taken on a Texas rig worm fished at the edge of emerging grassbeds on main lake points. The 4lb'er (my biggest fish of the year thus far) on 8lb test spinning tackle was an exciting way to kick off the work week.

North Carolina Farm Pond 5/30/07

2007-06-04T21:42:00.000-04:00

Visited family in North Carolina last week and took my four year old fishing with his Grandpa (or "Papa" as he's affectionately referred to). The bluegills were on the beds and the bait of choice was red wigglers and a float. A good time was had by all...

While fishing for crappie with small minnows a couple of largemouth made guest appearances....

We made time to stop by Holly Springs Bait and Tackle Shop. It's owned and operated by Harlan and Betty Gammons (distant cousins) and is housed in a building that resides in their front yard. It's as down-home-old-school as it gets and a much needed breath of fresh air in this age of Wal Mart and Bass Pro Shops...

Prettyboy 5-17-07

2007-05-21T22:03:00.000-04:00

Took some time off, got out from behind the computer and spent part of the day on the water. Mother Nature greeted me with a pristine sunrise and the day only proceeded to get better. I landed around 15 fish, mostly smallies with a handful of rock bass. The rock bass were especially active in ~5ft of water in main lake areas. A majority of the time was spent seeking smallmouth back in Georges Cove. This was my first time fishing the area to any significant degree and I was impressed with the amount of attractive water and promising structure. Some of the smallies caught were males that appeared to be guarding beds, while others were landed in deeper water in close proximity to known bedding areas. All fish were promptly released so that they could resume any bed-guarding duties. The largest fish went 15", 17", 17.5" and 18.5". The 15" fish, weighing in at 1lb 14oz, put up the most vigorous fight, making aggressive runs and peeling off drag. One smallie hooked around noon felt like the biggest fish of the day. I wrestled with him for a bit and tried to land him without the net. He snapped the line and swam away just as I reached down to grab him next to the boat. The disappointment of losing what appeared to be a 3 to 4lb fish caused me to land via net for the rest of the trip. All fish were caught on a shakey-head finesse worm, bumping it slowly along the bottom. Water temps were 68°F in the main lake in the AM. By noon water temps were 70°F.

Loch Raven 5-6-07

2007-05-10T12:55:00.000-04:00

Fished from 6am to 2pm this past Sunday and had one of my best days on Loch Raven. The wind was gusting 20 to 30mph all morning long and while it made it challenging to keep the boat positioned the fish seemed unfazed. I didn't keep a strict tally of fish landed but I'd conservatively guess fifteen, mostly 2 lb+ largemouth with a few dinks and a handful of pickerel thrown in. During the early morning hours I threw a tandem fluke rig with moderate success. It was my first time fishing this type of bait and I was reasonably pleased with the results. For the rest of the day I threw a finesse worm on a stand-up jig head. Fishing this bait rather slow, hopping and dragging along the bottom drew the most strikes and caught the most fish.
I witnessed numerous massive schools of what appeared to be bluegill. Some were so big that I mistook them for large groupings of stumps just below the water surface. The schools were rather tight nit and lethargic and were regularly breaking the surface. As I pulled up to them with the trolling motor they weren't easily spooked and I could see largemouth bass darting up and feeding from beneath. Was this some type of pre-spawn behaviour? If you're more knowledgeable in this area feel free to leave a comment below as I'd be interested in learning more.
My 4-year old son joined me for the last hour and half of fishing and that was certainly the day's highlight. He's getting more used to the outdoors and is starting to really enjoy talking about all the wildlife, helping me steer the boat from place to place, and casting his Spiderman rod and reel. I tied a fluke on the end of his line and by the time we left he was able to cast a considerable distance, something he took exceptional pride in. Spending time on the boat with him is simply one of the most enjoyable things in life. I can't wait 'til his 1-year old baby brother can join us!

Prettyboy Reservoir 4-22-07

2007-04-25T13:33:00.000-04:00

Spent a nice, relaxing Spring day on the water. The weather was beautiful however the fish were mostly absent. The only fish landed was a 2lb smallie around 11am on a white spinnerbait. He was near the bank in about 5 feet of water hugging a steep rock bluff. Later in the day I hooked what felt like a substantial fish around 3pm on a crawfish colored crankbait. Evidently my line was frayed from frequent contact with the rocky bottom as he broke off immediately after setting the hook. My theory that it was a larger fish was quickly realized as a chunky largemouth came to surface a few minutes later and attempted to throw the lost crankbait. I'd conservatively estimate him at around 4lbs. Alas, the big one always gets away. I ran into my good friend Jeff Little and he'd had a bit better luck - his report can be found here.
The bright spot of the trip was being able to spend time with my Dad as fishing partner. A day on the water with Dad beats any day where a substantial amount of fish are landed. Of course I'd happily take both if the fishing gods were to allow.
Air temps were in the high 70s. Water temps in the morning were in the low 50s. Late in the day I found a cove that registered 60. They'll be on the beds soon.

Prettyboy 3-28-07

2007-03-28T21:59:00.000-04:00

Fished from 11am to sunset. It was a picture perfect day though the fish didn't fully cooperate. The lone catch of the day was a 2lb 2oz smallmouth taken on a white spinnerbait. I had another smallie follow the lure to the boat. He turned away at the last second and while I only caught a glance he appeared to be much larger that the 2lb'er I'd landed earlier. Towards the afternoon I ran into Jeff Little from Blue Ridge Kayak Fishing. He'd caught a 3lb smallie next to a steep dropoff in ~30ft of water on a blade lure. Air temp was in the mid 60's with water temps ~49°F.

Loch Raven lunch break

2007-03-27T21:21:00.000-04:00

Spring has arrived and it's a beautiful thing to behold! I ran up to Loch Raven during lunch today and fished from the shore near Warren Bridge where the Gunpowder River empties in. In 45 minutes of fishing I hung three and landed two. They were all largemouth, with one going 2 and the other closer to 3lbs. The fish that got away hammered a spinnerbait in dingy water and made a beeline to the shore where he wrapped me up in a tree. He was a sizable, easily going 5lb+. My tackle was relatively light and as such I was never able to put the pressure on and turn him. Once he entangled the line he came to the surface and thrashed around until he threw the spinnerbait. It was hard to watch such a large fish swim slowly back into the depths. In any event it was a fast and furious lunch break and it's whetted my appetite for a full day trip to Prettyboy tomorrow.

Spillover 2/3/07

2007-02-03T18:45:00.000-05:00

Fished the Gunpowder River from 8am to noon. Landed five brown trout on a 1/16oz brown jig, with a majority coming from deep pools. The fish were quite active as I missed many more than I caught.

A likely reason for the increased activity was spillover from Prettyboy Reservoir dam. Since mid-week, spillover has more than doubled the water flow from 28 to 71cfs. Before hiking out I shot this vid...

Gunpowder River 1/7/07

2007-01-07T10:07:00.000-05:00

Spent a couple of hours on the river early Saturday morning and landed three trout, two 12" browns and a 13" rainbow. I'm always patricularly pleased when a rainbow makes an appearance as browns account for an overwhelming majority of the Gunpowder trout population. All three were caught on 1/16oz jig with a brown grub. Flow remains low at 27cfs and Prettyboy Reservoir needs to rise another couple of feet before the glorious fishing event known as "spillover" occurs. For an in-depth explanation of spillover check out this post over at Backwater Angler.

Gunpowder River 12-29-06

2006-12-29T12:20:00.000-05:00

I departed this morning before sunrise and happened to see a red fox scurrying into a wooded area just as I pulled out of the neighborhood. I took it as a good omen as on my way to the river this past January, just before a snowstorm, I spotted a red fox crossing an open field. That particular day I landed a 16" brown as the first snowflakes were falling. Today I wasn't fortunate enough to eclipse that measurement, however it was one of my best outings quantity wise. By the tally on my digital camera I count twelve brown trout and one crappie. However the action was so constant that I didn't photo every catch, so conservatively I'd guess sixteen landed in just shy of two hours time. All were caught on a 1/16 oz black curly-tail grub (barb crimped) and released unharmed (the first seven miles of the Gunpowder below Prettyboy dam is catch and release only to ensure a healthy fishery).

Prettyboy 12-23-06

2006-12-25T17:41:00.000-05:00

Spent a full day on the water with only one fish to show for it. Actually I don't have even have that fish to show as he wiggled off the treble hook at the edge of the boat before I was able to pull him aboard and snap a picture. Fishing for smallmouth so late in the season and at such depths is new for me. I've picked up the deep jigging technique from Jeff Little, who fished alongside me on Saturday. He's had luck on Prettyboy in December using silver buddies in thirty to forty feet of water on mid-lake ridges and humps. Here's a report of one of his best days from a few weeks ago. (Jeff, once again it was a pleasure spending the day on the water with you, looking forward to heading out again in early March '07!)

More Wii Fishing

2006-12-06T22:07:00.000-05:00

So after the blast I had playing around with the mini-fishing game in Zelda I picked up Rapala Tournament Fishing. It was a thorough disappointment on every level. I could go into rather lengthy detail on its shortcomings, however this IGN review (which sadly I read only after purchase) pretty much covers it.

Gunpowder River

2006-12-03T12:36:00.000-05:00

Fished the upper part of the Gunpowder, just below Prettyboy dam, from sunrise to 11am and landed ten brown trout. Most were around ten inches with the largest measuring thirteen. A majority were caught on a small brown 1/32oz jig, with the barb crimped in order to release them unharmed. I didn't see another person until 9am when a hiker walked by. Not long after that a mink hopped up on a boulder and eyed me with cautious curiosity before running back into its den. I passed a total of three fly fisherman on the way back to the parking area. The Gunpowder is an excellent place to fish in the winter as the crowds are small and fish are plentiful (the upper catch and release area holds, based on the Maryland DNR Fall 2006 survey, 4,646 fish per mile).

Wii Fishing

2006-11-28T13:43:00.001-05:00

(check the YouTube video above for a sampling of Zelda's fishing tech)

While I'm passionate about fishing it's certainly far from my only interest. My day job consists of being an art director in the video game industry. As such I'm quite passionate about all things computer/console gaming. This afternoon both of those passions collided in a strange and extremely enjoyable way. A co-worker brought in his Nintedo Wii and I sampled the fishing mini-game in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. It was a HOOT! The motion controller did a convincing job of simulating the cast and retrieve. The fish reactions to a topwater plug were spot on. I used a walk-the-dog retrieve with a Zara Spook lookalike and landed a nice "Ordon Catfish". I can almost hear my grandfather sayin' "Ordon Catfish huh? Son them's good eatin!". Fun stuff indeed.

Prettyboy Reservoir 11-19-06

2006-11-19T11:58:00.000-05:00

Fished from the bank near the dam from 6 to 8am and caught three, including my biggest fish of the year, a 5lb 6oz largemouth. He was in deep water off of a steep rock bank and fell for a slow cranked black Colorado blade spinnerbait.

Electro-fishing Survey

2006-11-16T09:31:00.000-05:00

The latest Maryland Department of Natural Resources freshwater fishing report yielded promising news regarding the health of the Prettyboy smallmouth population...

"Regional fisheries biologists have been out doing their fall electro-fishing survey work and the central regional biologist Charlie Gougeon sent in this report from Prettyboy Reservoir. We have been conducting a routine lake survey over several evenings and were pleasantly pleased to find very good numbers of smallmouth bass. Most were not giants, however, some were very nice! Also, we believe that no other survey on record using electro-fishing equipment on the reservoir has ever collected as many smallmouth bass! Bottom line, Prettyboy Reservoir is a very nice smallmouth lake...as always, finding them and catching them is the issue. Biologist Todd Heerd holds up a nice 4 lb. 13 oz. smallmouth bass taken during our electro-fishing survey on Prettyboy Reservoir."

Prettyboy Reservoir 11-11-06

2006-11-12T07:07:00.000-05:00

Spent a relaxing, full day on the water from sunrise to sunset. Fished alongside Jeff Little, owner/operator of Blue Ridge Kayak Fishing. Jeff shared a wealth of tips and hotspots (Thanks Jeff! It was a pleasure, let's head out again soon). His specialized kayak setup was quite impressive. The fish didn't fully cooperate as I only landed two the entire day, the nicest being a smallmouth caught on a bagleys. Though I wouldn't say a great deal of skill or technique was involved, rather I was adjusting a minor backlash when he rose to the surface and engulfed the floating crankbait. Essentially he was a topwater smallie in mid-November (don't stow away those Rapalas just yet). Water temp was 54°F, and the lake remains low - down a rough guestimate of 9ft. While the fishing was lackluster, mother nature provided a glorious sunset to cap the day.

Prettyboy Reservoir 11-10-06

2006-11-10T10:32:00.000-05:00

Before work this morning I traveled up and fished from the shore near the dam. Landed three largemouth and one smallmouth on a brown jig in 15ft of water off of a steep rocky dropoff. The sky was clear and the sunrise was peaceful and picturesque. A satisfying way to start the day!

Loch Raven 11-5-06

2006-11-05T20:10:00.000-05:00

Fished from 6am to noon and landed three largemouth and one pickerel. The razor-toothed pickerel and pike were in aggressive mode as my line snapped on numerous hook sets. All in all a beautiful day with a gorgeous red sunrise, calm water surface and light winds. The fish were caught on plastic worm at a depth of ~6ft on points with rock structure and thinning vegetation. Water temp was 54°F.

Loch Raven 10-29-06

2006-11-04T08:01:00.000-05:00

Braved the rough weather this past Sunday and didn't have much to show for it. The wind was howling and the water was rolling with whitecaps. Landed a couple of fish just as I was readying the boat to leave around 11am. Found them on the calm side of a windy point in five foot of water. Caught on plastic worm, heavily weighted in order to cast effectively in the high winds. Water temp was 56°F.

Highlight of the day was sighting a bald eagle soaring overhead around 9am. It was my third bald eagle encounter of the year on Loch Raven. What a fantastic resource to have so close to Baltimore.

Video of the high wind and heavy chop...

Prettyboy Reservoir 8-31-06

2006-09-22T13:02:00.000-04:00

While it's fresh in my memory here's a quick report of one of my best outings on Prettyboy. It was just a few weeks ago in late August and Hurricane Ernesto was approaching from the south. Growing up my father often spoke about fish being more active during an approaching front so I decided to take a vacation day, get out from behind the computer screen and enjoy some time on the lake. Over the course of 6 hours I landed 15 smallmouth and 1 rock bass, all catch and release. Water temp was near 80, most were landed on tube baits in ~15 ft of water off of rocky points. Here are a few of the nicer smallies...