Maryland's Who's who!

[Joshua Vandamm]

On 10/27/2017 at 8:24 AM, Jtrout said:

Got 3 at elkhorn the other night.

Swimbait at night? Hm. New One to me!

[Fried Lemons]

Fished the canal at swains for the first time in a few months. Water was drawn down 2-3ft below usual. In these conditions there is usually a sweet spot that holds most of the fish. The rest is either dead or dinks. I found the sweet spot in a slightly deeper stretch with a single piece of isolated cover.

 

3 bass at 3lbs apiece caught on consecutive casts

 

14" 1.5lb crappie

[fishwizzard]

Very nice! 

 

I almost headed that way yesterday, but the traffic always scares me off.  In the summer it's not so bad as there is light until rushhour is over, but between the ~1 hour drive, uncertain water level, and the rush-hour drive home around the beltway, I chickened out. 

 

That is going to be my fishing-resolution for the new year, to be less lazy. 

[ptomacbass]

Pics from 2 recent 50 fish days on the Occoquan.

 

 

 

 

[Munkin]

On 11/24/2017 at 6:45 PM, ptomacbass said:

I live in DC. I've never caught one but probably cause I only really fish the potomac.

They are in the Lower Potomac as I have caught one. 

 

Allen 

[Fried Lemons]

Season is winding down for me. I'll probably give it one more trip Friday and call it. Here are a couple walleye I caught during the fall run. All males in the 18-21" range.

[fishwizzard]

43 minutes ago, Fried Lemons said:

Season is winding down for me. I'll probably give it one more trip Friday and call it. Here are a couple walleye I caught during the fall run. All males in the 18-21" range.

It's not over until freeze-up!  It just gets slower and less exciting.  

 

Also, have you been to widewater lately?  I have to head to that side of the world next week and was thinking about stopping by and dragging a jig for a while, but always wonder about the water level.  

[Fried Lemons]

Water levels are down but widewater is deep enough to not really be affected by the draw downs.

[fishwizzard]

1 minute ago, Fried Lemons said:

Water levels are down but widewater is deep enough to not really be affected by the draw downs.

Good to hear, I want to explore the non-towpath side a bit now that the ticks and thorns are less of an issue.  

[Logan S]

Annual post/plug for FOBA....2018 schedule is out and as always we are open to all boaters and co-anglers in the MD/DC/NOVA area. We promote learning and sharing so even if you've never fished a tournament before or are new to the locations on the schedule, you'll find that FOBA makes it easy.  Feel free to post or message with any questions.  

 

[patred]

8 hours ago, fishwizzard said:

It's not over until freeze-up!  It just gets slower and less exciting.  

 

A couple years ago, I went fishing on the Upper Potomac on Christmas Eve.  Freak weather with temps in the 60s, water temp in the upper 30s.  Caught about a dozen walleye in a few hours before sunset.  Nothing legal size but still fun.  The fish were COLD!

 

I did a double-take on Fried Lemon's pictures because they look like mine from that day. 

 

Pat

[Fried Lemons]

5 hours ago, patred said:

 

A couple years ago, I went fishing on the Upper Potomac on Christmas Eve.  Freak weather with temps in the 60s, water temp in the upper 30s.  Caught about a dozen walleye in a few hours before sunset.  Nothing legal size but still fun.  The fish were COLD!

 

I did a double-take on Fried Lemon's pictures because they look like mine from that day. 

 

Pat

Wow, no kidding there. I assume you were around dam 4. I was actually far downstream. The density of fish here is lower as I've never caught more than 2 in an outing. However the average size seems bigger. The fish I've caught here ranged from 18-24".

[ptomacbass]

Had 46 last Saturday with many over 3 lbs. Please remember to winterize your boats and don't forget that bass don't bite when the water drops below 45.

 

 

 

[Deleted account]

Yeah, every year is different. The water is still not too cold around here. Several recent years have been either milder than normal or had unusually warm stretches in them. Last year I was catching bass on spinnerbaits in February. A couple of years ago, caught them on jerkbaits all winter long. I think the reason the fishing slows down for many this time of year is more due to the dropping h20 temp rather than and actual temperature. Once the water settles to a number, any up tick in temp will increase activity. YMMV (but it won't).

[ptomacbass]

20 minutes ago, reason said:

Yeah, every year is different. The water is still not too cold around here. Several recent years have been either milder than normal or had unusually warm stretches in them. Last year I was catching bass on spinnerbaits in February. A couple of years ago, caught them on jerkbaits all winter long. I think the reason the fishing slows down for many this time of year is more due to the dropping h20 temp rather than and actual temperature. Once the water settles to a number, any up tick in temp will increase activity. YMMV (but it won't).

Actual temperature is huge. It's what determines a bass's metabolic rate.

[Deleted account]

1 hour ago, ptomacbass said:

Actual temperature is huge. It's what determines a bass's metabolic rate.

I don't know the size of "actual temperature", but I guess we could get into some laws of thermodynamics, take it to quantum, and then any nonsensical thing goes  , and yes ambient temperature of course affects the metabolism of cold blooded organisms. Not disputing that, nor am I suggesting that bass will be more active at lower temperatures than their preferred range. It's exactly the response to the lowering temperatures during a short span of time in late fall and early winter that causes all the "is it time to hang it up" threads from folks doing the same things expecting similar results this time of year. Now once the water temperature ceases (or more precisely dramatically decreases its rate) to lower, then the fish will adopt a new "normal" of (decreased) activity, which will then be influenced positively by increases in temperature which will be dictated by spans of warmer weather if present. Of course all of this is further influenced by the size, depth, orientation and latitude of the body of water in question. There is a temperature where the metabolism of most fish will decrease to a level where they will enter a state of dormancy, but that is rarely  reached in most places where you find bass. So what I am saying is that if I am fishing say 45º F water, its not because I think its a better idea  than fishing in 60º-80º F water, I'm fishing in 45º F water because that is what is in front of me, and once faced with that fact It is more important whether the water was warmer or colder previously to that. I get the feeling we are looking at the same thing from a different perspective. 

 

[ptomacbass]

I've found really warm days during the depth of winter, and even towards the end can absolutely kill the bite. Maybe it's the atmospheric conditions that come with heat like that. Completely counterintuitive.

 

I've also caught big bags of fish fishing very quickly in mid-30s water when a bass's metabolic rate should have them not needing to eat much or move too much at all. I've also watched bass eat with no inhibition through 8 inches of ice.

 

I'll never understand bass and that's why I love them. Give me 15 mph winds, 40 degree weather, and some snow. I'll be uncomfortable but I'll be fishing.

[Deleted account]

23 hours ago, ptomacbass said:

I've found really warm days during the depth of winter, and even towards the end can absolutely kill the bite. Maybe it's the atmospheric conditions that come with heat like that. Completely counterintuitive.

 

I've also caught big bags of fish fishing very quickly in mid-30s water when a bass's metabolic rate should have them not needing to eat much or move too much at all. I've also watched bass eat with no inhibition through 8 inches of ice.

 

I'll never understand bass and that's why I love them. Give me 15 mph winds, 40 degree weather, and some snow. I'll be uncomfortable but I'll be fishing.

So you were out yesterday loving life?

I almost went, but bailed. The bite's been good.

[ptomacbass]

8 hours ago, reason said:

So you were out yesterday loving life?

I almost went, but bailed. The bite's been good.

Got out both today and yesterday. Crushed them both days. I've got some video from today that I'll upload if I can put it together. Even got one on a vixen.

[Lendiesel22]

Dude if I was not all jacked up right now I would be out there. This sucks

[Fried Lemons]

I wanted to get out there Friday and Sunday. Work is keeping me way too busy unfortunately.

[ptomacbass]

Here's one of 46 from last weekend. Best 5 were all about that size maybe a tiny bit smaller.

 

[Joshua Vandamm]

On 12/8/2017 at 10:43 AM, reason said:

I don't know the size of "actual temperature", but I guess we could get into some laws of thermodynamics, take it to quantum, and then any nonsensical thing goes  , and yes ambient temperature of course affects the metabolism of cold blooded organisms. Not disputing that, nor am I suggesting that bass will be more active at lower temperatures than their preferred range. It's exactly the response to the lowering temperatures during a short span of time in late fall and early winter that causes all the "is it time to hang it up" threads from folks doing the same things expecting similar results this time of year. Now once the water temperature ceases (or more precisely dramatically decreases its rate) to lower, then the fish will adopt a new "normal" of (decreased) activity, which will then be influenced positively by increases in temperature which will be dictated by spans of warmer weather if present. Of course all of this is further influenced by the size, depth, orientation and latitude of the body of water in question. There is a temperature where the metabolism of most fish will decrease to a level where they will enter a state of dormancy, but that is rarely  reached in most places where you find bass. So what I am saying is that if I am fishing say 45º F water, its not because I think its a better idea  than fishing in 60º-80º F water, I'm fishing in 45º F water because that is what is in front of me, and once faced with that fact It is more important whether the water was warmer or colder previously to that. I get the feeling we are looking at the same thing from a different perspective. 

 

Exactly correct. 

However the ‘new normal’ homeostasis is obviously a turpor. Metabolic rate remain low and feeding less important vs. energy conservation. 

 

That said however, larger bass will risk the energy for the meal more readily, as they can afford to. 

 

 

 

[Joshua Vandamm]

On 12/8/2017 at 10:43 AM, reason said:

I don't know the size of "actual temperature", but I guess we could get into some laws of thermodynamics, take it to quantum, and then any nonsensical thing goes  , and yes ambient temperature of course affects the metabolism of cold blooded organisms. Not disputing that, nor am I suggesting that bass will be more active at lower temperatures than their preferred range. It's exactly the response to the lowering temperatures during a short span of time in late fall and early winter that causes all the "is it time to hang it up" threads from folks doing the same things expecting similar results this time of year. Now once the water temperature ceases (or more precisely dramatically decreases its rate) to lower, then the fish will adopt a new "normal" of (decreased) activity, which will then be influenced positively by increases in temperature which will be dictated by spans of warmer weather if present. Of course all of this is further influenced by the size, depth, orientation and latitude of the body of water in question. There is a temperature where the metabolism of most fish will decrease to a level where they will enter a state of dormancy, but that is rarely  reached in most places where you find bass. So what I am saying is that if I am fishing say 45º F water, its not because I think its a better idea  than fishing in 60º-80º F water, I'm fishing in 45º F water because that is what is in front of me, and once faced with that fact It is more important whether the water was warmer or colder previously to that. I get the feeling we are looking at the same thing from a different perspective. 

 

Exactly correct. 

However the ‘new normal’ homeostasis is obviously a turpor. Metabolic rate remain low and feeding less important vs. energy conservation. 

 

That said however, larger bass will risk the energy for the meal more readily, as they can afford to. 

[Deleted account]

57 minutes ago, Joshua Vandamm said:

Exactly correct. 

However the ‘new normal’ homeostasis is obviously a turpor. Metabolic rate remain low and feeding less important vs. energy conservation. 

 

That said however, larger bass will risk the energy for the meal more readily, as they can afford to. 

Agreed, no need to repeat yourself. But that turpor (triple word score) in my experience happens at lower temps than the h2o usually gets to at this latitude for more than a couple of weeks (most years), I'd say 38º F ish. Exibit A, the guy above jerking aggressively and catching. Brother went ice fishing with some Eastern European "everything dies" types last winter in upstate New York, he sent me pictures of a wheelbarrow of 3-6 lb bass along with the pike and perch one would expect.