Month: October 2016

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Blog The National Angler

SKUNKED WITH A VALUABLE LESSON

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Three times in one year i’ve been skunked in an area that can be extremely productive at time. It seems to go from non-stop action to absolute barren landscape with very little signs of life in the gin clear waters of the lower Susquehanna River on the Upper Chesapeake Bay.  This past weekend, I was once again skunked and left wondering how such productive little stretch can change so much. On the ride home, the light bulb went off as a came to realize that all the days I was skunked on the this particular river had one thing in common. It was the change in tide and lack of water release from the Conowingo Dam.  

Want the rest of the story check out my blog atwww.thenationalangler.com

More than i’ve seen on the tidal Potomac River, the outgoing tide really pushes the baitfish out and down the Susquehanna more than I would have ever expected. On an outgoing tide the clear water is almost void of life with the exception of some extremely large shad, handful of catfish and a few stray smallies, there are no fish to be found. The change in tide and the flood of water back into the river or a water release from the dam cause an explosion in baitfish and bass activity

The goal now is find out where all the fish and bait push to on an outgoing tide and capitalzie on the new information that I have gained and become more productive

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Semper Fish!

Joe Carrigan, The National Angler

www.thenationalangler.com


Categories
Blog The National Angler

BASS FISHING WITH A SURF ROD, YOU BET!

bass-fishing-with-a-surf-rod

Now that Bassmaster Tournament Trail has changed the rules about rod lengths, does my idea below become more relevant. How many new techniques can come out of this rule change. Comment below if you have any thoughts!

Fishing the Tidal Potomac and Susquehanna in Maryland on the weekends can be daunting. Dealing with weather and tides also comes major pressure from countless; fisherman, commercial fisherman, and pleasure boats. Starting early in the year, the influx of tournaments that are almost every weekend. All those factors combined, can put strain on the fishing conditions and not to mention the abundance of heavy weeds. Following behind fisherman has helped me learn a few things and I figured if I could catch what they missed I must be doing something right.

Finesse fishing in heavy cover seemed to be the trick for me. However, throwing light finesse style lures on big heavy flipping and pitching gear just wasn’t working for me. The light bulb went off and I decided I needed a heavy duty spinning rod to match my heavy duty casting gear.

What I settled for was a 7’6″ Heavy Action surf rod, one with a thin profile. This rod affords me the same rod qualities as a great flipping a pitching rod. I chose a high-speed spinning reel to match it with braided line and occasionally a mono or flouro leader.

What did this setup get me? Now I have the ability to throw extremely light lures in places I would normally heavier lures. I will say, I’m not trying to punch through the weed mates. I’m just finesse fishing around heavy cover with smaller lightweight lures. The rod provides plenty of power for hauling fish from the structure and the high-speed spinning reel quickly picks up the line. The spinning rod allows me to throw light lures without worry about potential  back lash. I can pitch a small finesse worm a huge distance, which couldn’t be done by “most” fisherman.

What do you think, want to give the short surf rod a try? Tell me your thoughts below or on social media.

Semper Fish!

Joe, The Nationa Angler