Usually catching five fish in a few hours of fishing on one of the skinny Maryland rivers is cause for celebratory fist pumps.
But when they are all just fallfish, it's a lot of meh. As far as I can gather, fallfish have zero redeeming values. They fight like a wet sock, they don't have interesting colors (like panfish or trout) or patterns (like smallmouth), don't grow to be very big, and as far as I've searched on the internet, they are inedible. Not like catching a catfish, which taste pretty good, and they are good fighters, too.
Which is why I call them failfish.
The meal ticket for the fallfish yesterday was a Z-Man Finesse TRD worm. They absolutely loved them. Like when you drop a piece of food on the floor in a cafeteria and you don't want anybody to notice when you pick it back up. Everybody saw you drop it. Just leave it there. Oh man you're going to pick it back up and eat it??!!
Did I mention fallfish fight like a wet sock? That's probably offensive to socks in this day and age, though. They casually bite the lure, and not sure if it's a fish or a snag, I instinctively set the hook ... and ... there's ... something ... on the other end of the line. Maybe.
What's surprising is that I went back and looked at my Excel log from last year, and I didn't catch a single fallfish.
Edit: The state record fallfish was just caught on the Potomac River -- 2.07 pounds. I caught one on Antietam Creek a few years ago that was pretty close to that size.
I went to the same spot as a couple weeks ago, and the water was a bit clearer. Water temp was about the same 50 degrees, though. I had a few bites on a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper, but those were probably fallfish, too.
Today is the traditional opening day in Maryland for trout fishing. So I probably won't fish this weekend because I don't want to rub elbows with a trout fisherman. Last week, I went to a spot where I've seen one person fishing in about 10 visits. This time, I counted six people armed with fly rods already scattered out in primo spots.
Stay tuned, though, because next Sunday (April 7) Karen and I have a trip with Susquehanna Smallmouth Solutions. The river and Mother Nature look like they may cooperate.
 |
| Hoping the failfish would free itself. |
Which is why I call them failfish.
The meal ticket for the fallfish yesterday was a Z-Man Finesse TRD worm. They absolutely loved them. Like when you drop a piece of food on the floor in a cafeteria and you don't want anybody to notice when you pick it back up. Everybody saw you drop it. Just leave it there. Oh man you're going to pick it back up and eat it??!!
 |
| At least the turtles think it's spring. There are two in the middle of the branch and a third just poking its head above water up and to their right. |
What's surprising is that I went back and looked at my Excel log from last year, and I didn't catch a single fallfish.
Edit: The state record fallfish was just caught on the Potomac River -- 2.07 pounds. I caught one on Antietam Creek a few years ago that was pretty close to that size.
I went to the same spot as a couple weeks ago, and the water was a bit clearer. Water temp was about the same 50 degrees, though. I had a few bites on a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper, but those were probably fallfish, too.
Today is the traditional opening day in Maryland for trout fishing. So I probably won't fish this weekend because I don't want to rub elbows with a trout fisherman. Last week, I went to a spot where I've seen one person fishing in about 10 visits. This time, I counted six people armed with fly rods already scattered out in primo spots.
Stay tuned, though, because next Sunday (April 7) Karen and I have a trip with Susquehanna Smallmouth Solutions. The river and Mother Nature look like they may cooperate.
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