Pacemaker Fishing Forum

I took my dad out fishing for Father's Day, but we did it on Saturday instead of Sunday because of a busy day planned. High tide was around 7:30AM, so I the plan would be to fish the pads. We got to the ramp by 6:15AM, and the lot was already full, I expected a lot of people but didn't think it would be full by then. So I got the boat in the water and parked off to the side of the road.

Lots of boats and kayakers in the first big field pad before the sunken barge. A few more fishing the edges past the beach. So I kept motoring on past the wall and had the whole pad field there to ourselves. Water temps had dropped even more, down to 65 degrees. Started with the Keitech toad and it took about 30 minutes before I got the first hook up, a good size LMB, but it shook off right at the boat as I was trying to lip it.

I kept pushing us through toward the far back edge and saw a swirl. I told my dad to throw one of my popping frog next to a pad edge. Two pops and it goes under, but my dad is trying to set a hook from 30 yards away with a noodle spinning rod, no chance. My dad is a stubborn man, he throws the frog back there two more times and that must have been an equally stubborn bass because it tried to eat it a few more times before finally getting spooked.

Water was dropping now and I can see we lost about 6 inches of water since we first got into the pads, so I'm pushing us out and my dad is futzing around with the popping frog. He's pitching it BEHIND the boat, and I tell him that, that is bad water because we just traversed over it and probably spooked all the fish around it, and that he should be casting out and forward from the boat. Well, if he had a beer he would have said "hold my beer son", because a few pitches later he hooks up on a bass about 10 feet away, close enough for his noodle rod to set the hooks.



We make it back into the channel and there are about 4 boats meandering around, as well as a few kayaks. I wanted to fish the timber structure line, and it was clear of any other fisherman who were fishing the pad edges. I threw the Jackhammer and cranked two times and got slammed. I set the hook and the fish immediately torpedoed out of the water and it was a huge snakehead. Great fight as she went for the pads and I had to dig her out for a moment. This one called for the net and got her in, lots of scars presuming from the spawn. My dad is a great fishing buddy, but horrible cameraman.



It took me a while for me to get the hook out since she had clamped down hard and wasn't cooperating, I let her go after the picture. But between the time landing and letting her go, one boat and one kayak decided that fishing timber instead of pads was the ticket....and I got cut off. It was about 10AM and the winds picked up a little, so we decided to call it and head in. Great pre-Father's day trip.

Father's Day was going to be busy day and I had planned to take my boys out on the boat to Little Seneca Lake, but after seeing the boat traffic at Mattawoman, Seneca was bound to be even worse so I decided to take them hiking and fishing on the C&O. We had a great breakfast, then headed to Great Falls park (MD side) at 9:30AM. Unfortunately the water was down 4-5 feet, and was unfishable. I saw a few good size bluegill but once you see them, they see you and they won't bite. So we just kept hiking until lunch time, but as you can see from their faces...they weren't that happy about the hiking.



So you know the winter crab dredge report where it was predicted to be a very good year for the crab harvest? Well, tell that to the crabbers and sellers....$100 for #2 male per dozen, and I couldn't even find #1's...insanity.