Cat you describe the ruckus?

Karen and I went camping again, this time at the Antietam Creek site on the Upper Potomac.  It was somewhat of a first for me on Saturday -- taking part in my two main hobbies on the same day.

Saturday morning, I awoke bright and early for an Autocrossers, Inc., autocross in Waldorf, Md., to drive my friend Kirk's 1973 Datsun 240Z.  You remember, Kirk, right?

After finishing up (and even getting some fun runs in a 2015 Camaro SS), I headed up and met Karen at the campground.  She had already set up the tent and everything but didn't have any luck catching fish.  When I got there, it was almost 6 p.m. with the sun ducking behind the trees, and I decided to fish with nothing but topwater lures.  One rod was rigged with a Heddon Zara Puppy, and on the other I tied on a Whopper Plopper.

Downriver from the campground, I waded out in the clear, low Potomac River.  First thing I tried was the Zara Puppy on my usual jig rod/reel -- Pflueger President reel with a medium-light St. Croix rod.  The Zara Puppy isn't very heavy, but with this setup, I was able to make long casts.

Sunfish like it on top.

Lots of action on the lure from what I suspected were sunfish.  Finally it was confirmed -- yup, sunfish (see picture to the left).  Not wanting a repeat of last week where I just caught nibblers and dink smallmouth, I switched over to the rod with the Whopper Plopper.

This lure is great for the lazy fisherman.  Fire it out, retrieve it slowly, and the tail churns across the surface.  Cast, reel, cast, etc.  Maybe sometimes vary the retrieve by pausing for a few seconds.

After a few casts, I caught a smallmouth that was around 10.75 inches.  Actually, it was 15.75 inches because when catching a fish on top, you can add five inches to the fish's length!  Every fisherman knows this.

A little while later, I landed another smallmouth, this one just a bit smaller.

The Whopper Plopper was getting some swipes, which I assumed were smallmouth because the lure was really too big for panfish to attack.

Just smallmouth bass to find here.  That's all.  Nothing else in this river would be interested in a festively plump topwater lure.

Always amazing how small fish hit big lures.

Except a muskie!

A few casts after smallmouth number two, I lobbed the lure to the middle of the river.  After it sat still for a few seconds, I began reeling it in, but something smacked it and started causing a ruckus on the surface thrashing about.  It looked like a nice sized fish -- definitely not a cookie-cutter smallmouth!

After the splashing subsided, the fish stopped fighting back, but it was still hooked.  As it got closer, I could make out the milky white belly of a fish floating Tango Uniform through the clear water.

It wasn't a muskie.

It was ...

... Mr. Whiskers.

Mr. Whiskers looked to be at least 18 inches.  The front treble hook was in the fish's mouth, and the rear treble was on the edge of the gill.

I started dragging the fish -- still hooked -- through the water toward the bank figuring it would be easier to deal with it on the shore.  And I texted Karen asking if she wanted me to keep it.  One hand had the rod trying to keep tension on the fish, and the other hand texting with my phone.

Tell your friends not to text and fish, people!

Usually I don't keep fish, but Karen is always disappointed to hear me tell tales of releasing something that would be good table fare.  And I'll admit since catching-and-releasing a good "eater" size catfish in June, I've been wondering how Mr. Whiskers would taste after spending time on my smoker.

I was maybe two feet from putting my boots on the shore, and the line snapped!  The catfish started thrashing thrashing at my feet.  I tried grabbing it with my hands, but it was like trying to catch a greased pig wet catfish in a river.  The fish was in his element and disappeared leaving only a cloudy mess of churned-up river bottom.

Oh and taking my $13 (those are American dollars) Whopper Plopper with it.

The Whopper Plopper didn't catch a whopper.

The end of the 8-pound Trilene was really frayed, so Mr. Whiskers probably did that damage causing a ruckus on the surface after getting hooked.

After that, nothing.  It was like all the fish scattered from the danger area.

This morning, I awoke bright and early and hit the water again armed with another Whopper Plopper -- Karen offered me the one from her tackle box.

Starting off in the same area as the encounter with Mr. Whiskers yesterday, something big swam past the lure on my second cast.  Later on, a smallmouth clamped on, leaped and freed itself from the two big treble hooks.

Going back to a comfort lure.

Moving down river to a set of exposed rocks and riffles, I finally caught three smallmouth -- the biggest around 11 inches.  Karen texted saying she had breakfast ready, so I headed back to the campsite.  After sausage and scrambled eggs, I decided to fish the river right behind our campsite.  The water didn't look all that great -- really shallow, but still lots of rocks and rock formations scattered throughout the river bottom.

After no topwater action, I switched to a TRD Finesse worm and caught one cookie-cutter smallmouth.  It was the only bite I had on that.  Switching to another comfort lure -- a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper -- landed me another cookie-cutter smallmouth.

The weather was fantastic today.  Kind of chilly in the morning but improved around 9 a.m. so that it felt really comfortable.  Fall is here and supposedly this is when the smallmouth start fattening up so they can relax in their winter hideouts.

The sunfish also rises

Little sunfish love it on top.  Water lures.

Karen and I went camping at McCoys Ferry on the C&O Canal Saturday night. We had not been here in more than a year mainly because it's a bit further away than other stops like Antietam Creek.

A blurry picture of a dink smallmouth.

I always like coming back to this area because this is where the fishing bug restarted when camping in October 2014.  At that time, I caught a few decent smallmouth, and then the itch was scratched.  Two years ago, it started with a smallmouth exploding the surface going after a Zara Puppy, got hooked, jumped a couple times then charged like an angry bull right at me while I was standing on the shore ... and then the line broke.  It looked like 16-inch fish.

Since that time, I have not had much luck on this stretch of water.  Last time I was here, I didn't catch a thing.  This time, I caught some fish, but nothing of heft.

The river in this section is almost like a lake, so the water flows really slow unlike most areas of the Potomac.  On Saturday I started with a three-inch, black/silver Hubs Chub topwater lure.  Because of the flow -- or lack of flow -- the floating lure wouldn't drift downriver very fast.  Most areas on the Potomac require an almost frantic retrieve when using a topwater because it gets swept away so fast.  Like using the Zara Puppy two years ago, I would cast the Hubs Chub out, let it sit for a few seconds then work it back with a variation of jerk-jerk-pause.

Good morning Potomac River!

There is also thick vegetation right along the bank on the Maryland side, so working a jig on the bottom was almost impossible. Even using a swimbait running just below the surface only enticed one bite over Saturday and Sunday.  Otherwise the only action was from the Hubs Chub.  However, it's always a sight to see fish strike (or attempt to strike) topwater lures.

Saturday, I could only manage two redbreast sunfish on the Hubs Chub.  The first one was actually a decent size, and I thought about keeping it, but it freed itself from two treble hooks as I was pulling it out of the water.  Sunfish don't really attack topwater lures like smallmouth bass -- they kind of suck it down when the lure is paused.

Sunday morning around 6 a.m., it rained for a bit and woke me up.  The rain quickly subsided and since I was awake, it seemed like as good of time as any to hit the river.

Two smallmouth, albeit dinks, managed to get hooked on the Hubs Chub, and then another sunfish later.  Lots of action, too, with the topwater.  Maybe five hits on the lure for every fish I actually caught.  Nothing of size though from what I could tell.

I should also note that there is a special challenge to removing a sunfish from a treble hook when all three hooks are in the fish's tiny mouth.  Enough of a challenge that I want to snip two hooks off every single topwater/jerk/crank bait I own.

Two rivers at one time

A 13-inch Little Patuxent smallmouth!

Two rivers in one trip -- the Little and Middle Patuxent Rivers -- and caught five fish including my first smallmouth from the Middle Patuxent.

I started off in the Savage Mill area and caught three dink smallmouth after the first 90 minutes or so.

First fish of the day -- a cookie-cutter smallmouth
on a swimbait.

The third one was pretty funny -- I was using a Z-Man TRD Finesse worm and had a follow from a little smallmouth.  He didn't take it and turned back toward the middle of the river.  The water was crystal clear, and I tossed the worm a few feet beyond where the fish was and began working the lure back.  The fish approached the worm, and then I couldn't see the worm anymore ... because it was in the fish's mouth -- fish on!!  He was angry because he had been tricked!

After letting that fish go, I moved upriver below a section where catching a fish earlier in the day and near where landing a 12-inch smallmouth in the first week of August.  Same Z-Man worm, first cast down river and had a hit -- definitely wasn't a cookie-cutter fish.  Reeling the fish in closer, and it was easily a 12-inch smallmouth.

Just beyond those two rocks protruding from the middle of the
river is where the 13-inch smallmouth was lurking.

I landed the fish and scrambled back up the bank to break out the ruler.  As I was getting the ruler out of my fishing bag, the line snapped.  Fortunately, the fish just flopped down in the sand and didn't try to get away.  The smallmouth measured right at 13 inches!  The fish got a little bath in the water to clean off the sand, and I took the picture that's at the beginning of the post.

After no more luck in this area, I decided since being so close to the confluence of the Little Patuxent and Middle Patuxent, catching a smallmouth from the Middle Patuxent was an acceptable challenge.

I walked upriver and waded across the Little Patuxent (actually not really "wading" -- more like trying to not bust my ass walking across the river bottom that was strewn with slippery rocks).  On the other side, I walked a short ways then not-busted-my-ass crossing the Middle Patuxent.

My first MIDDLE Patuxent smallmouth.

Last time on the Middle Patuxent was probably seven or eight years ago when trying to fly-fish for trout.  I caught a couple fish -- I think a rainbow trout and a sunfish -- but no smallmouth.  At the time, I didn't think there was the possibility to catch a smallmouth bass in this river.

So today back on the Middle Patuxent, first cast upriver, and it felt like a snag as soon as I started working the Z-Man worm back.  Usually the first instinct when feeling tension on the line is to set the hook.  I did that, but it wasn't a snag -- something was pulling back!  It was a feisty cookie-cutter smallmouth and great to catch one on my first cast.

That makes smallmouth for me now on the Potomac River, Little and Middle Patuxents, and Antietam Creek in Maryland.

After fishing this area without any more action, I called it quits. Or maybe not???

Heading back and walking along the trail next to the Little Patuxent, I saw smallmouth bass in a pool near where I started fishing today.  Maybe five or six fish and at least two looked decent.

It was a pretty steep bank, so I climbed down halfway trying not to spook the fish.  They didn't seem to notice me, and I tossed out a swimbait.  As soon as the lure hit the water, the fish took off -- away from the lure.  A few more casts and nothing.  Then some smaller smallmouth made their way back.  Switching back to the Z-Man worm, one little smallmouth emerged from under a rock and tried to take the lure back to his hiding spot, but I couldn't hook him.  But no more interest in a swimbait or worm after that, so I really called it quits for the day.

Let's see, last week, Karen and I drove an hour-plus to fish the Upper Potomac, and I caught six dink smallmouth.  Today I drove 20 minutes and caught four dinks but also a 13-incher.  I'm sure it's more likely to catch a trophy sized smallmouth on the Potomac (nothing over 16 inches for me, yet), but it is getting harder to make that longer drive for a half-day trips when I catch pretty much the same fish on the Little/Middle Patuxents (three total measuring 15 inches).

How 'bout six? Six is good.

First fish of the day for me.

Finally a day where it wasn't hot as balls, and no threat of a rain or hurricane, so Karen and I went this morning to the Upper Potomac.  We fished the same area where I caught a 16-inch smallmouth at the end of July.

The river was a little different this time -- maybe a foot lower and crystal clear.  It was a lot easier to wade with the water down.  Water temp was a tick below 80 degrees, and skies were pretty much clear.

Trench warfare.

Even though the water was different, I went with the same pattern as before, launching lures through the riffles and rapids.  Using a swimbait, I caught one smallmouth in the first 15 minutes then nothing for at least an hour.  I waded almost straight across the river navigating through a trench.  Some smaller smallmouth were nibbling at the swimbait in one section, but nothing clamped on the hook.

I waded back to the Maryland side and switched to my "finesse" rod and tied on a Z-Man TRD Finesse Worm.  Wading back across to where I had been, I caught three smallmouth that were even smaller than the first one.  Had a few hits and had one hooked briefly, but that was it.

A few nice, fairly deep pools in this area.  I wonder if these are
wintering holes?

Slimy green algae (or whatever) liked the Z-Man worms, though.  Every other cast, I had to pull the green slime off the jig.  So I decided to switch back to the swimbait because that didn't seem to attract the green stuff.

I use the swimbaits with 1/16-ounce Owner Darter jigheads.  With this combo, the swimbait can be fished fairly slow just below the surface of the water, and it's virtually snag-proof.

After I added these swimbaits to my arsenal after success with them on the Susquehanna, I tried slightly heavier Owner jigheads with the swimbaits, but I found they sank too quickly and were easier to get snagged.

Standing at the top of a group of riffles, I cast the swimbait almost directly straight toward the shore and reeled in slowly.  The lure ran just below the surface, and working partially against the current helped give the swimbait action with the slow retrieve.  The lure was visible to me almost the entire time, so it was cool seeing smallmouth emerge from nowhere and give chase.

Karen's smallmouth.

I caught two more smallmouth, had one free itself at my feet, and had a few more hits.  So six fish total landed for the day.

Karen didn't have much luck but did catch one, which she claimed was about 12 inches, on a Z-Man worm.

Since it was Labor Day weekend, I was worried the area would be crowded with people "floating" the water. One of the reasons we didn't go fishing Saturday or Sunday. But we didn't see any river traffic until about a half hour before we stopped fishing.

The trenches on the river floor created some deep pools.  While they didn't hold any fish, I am wondering if maybe these might be wintering holes for the smallmouth.  Or maybe walleye.  Going to have to try this area again when it gets colder.