The winter yellow perch run has begun in force on the upper Pocomoke. We enjoyed nonstop action with big roe perch on Tuesday. A few crappie came boat side as well but the perch definitely stole the show. Small 1/16 ounce jig heads with a two-inch curly tail tipped with a minnow was the hot bait. They would bite without the minnow but the bigger fish definitely wanted meat. A slow retrieve along the bottom worked best.
Why wait until warm weather when the fishing’s hot now. Warm up to February on the Pocomoke and save $50.00 off the regular rate on your next 4 or 6 hour guided trip. Biting now are crappie, pickerel, yellow perch and maybe a stray bass. Fishing license, ultralight G. Loomis spinning rods, Sage fly rods, tackle, ice and bottled water included. I’ll even bring a thermos of Royal Farms coffee. Offer good through the end of February. Don’t miss a fun time! Contact Kevin at 443-783-3271 or kjosenhans@aol.com to reserve your trip.
I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and made a New Year’s resolution to do more fishing. I know I have. Here are some tidbits to get you primed for the coming season.
I have upgraded the mobile version of my website at Josenhans Fly Fishing to include maps with directions to the various boat ramps that I utilize during the course of a season. This should make it easier for everyone to locate our meeting point. I have also added a contact page, along with updates to the Rates page. Along with a few changes to my rate structure, I now have a single angler discount. Check it out.
I am currently booking winter trips on the Pocomoke and Nanticoke Rivers for crappie, pickerel, yellow and white perch, and bass. While the Nanticoke is mainly timed to hit the white perch run from late February through mid-March, the Pocomoke is a fun winter trip anytime. This narrow, winding river, with tall cypress trees along its shores, provides protection from winter breezes. I offer four and six hour trips at affordable rates. Last winter was my busiest to date as word got out about this often overlooked fishery.
The Susquehanna Flats striped bass catch and release season will be on us before you know it, so please contact me soon to reserve your date. I will be traveling to Havre de Grace, Maryland during the month of April and plan on starting as soon as the fish show up. Please contact me soon for trip information on this fabulous light tackle fishery. In addition to the flats, I’m also booking summer dates for Tangier Sound and the Choptank River. The Choptank out of Cambridge has become a popular day trip for many of my regulars. Give it a look-see.
For the most up-to-date info on my daily trips and all things Josenhans Fly Fishing, please visit my social media sites at Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
As always, I’m looking forward to fishing with you again during the coming year.
My best,
Kevin
Merry Christmas from the Josenhans family. Wishing you good health and a festive time with family and friends!
Had some success with a larger grade of rockfish yesterday. Deeper water was the ticket.
Striped bass numbers remain high, with local anglers catching over 100 schoolies a day casting DOA C.A.L. Shad Tails around the sod banks of Tangier Sound. Stripers are averaging 17″-26″, with the occasional over-slot fish possible. Great fun on light tackle or fly. This is my favorite time of the year to fish the shallows, as the water is often clear enough that you can literally see the rockfish dart out from it’s lie to grab your lure. Fish are holding in areas of strong current flow waiting for small blue crabs and baitfish to be swept their way. Another great location to try is shallow grass flats, where roaming schools of stripers are crashing tightly packed pods of cruising peanut bunker. QUIETLY approach this skinny water so as not to spook the actively feeding stripers. Barring a severe downturn in the weather I look for this action to continue into early December.
Fantastic shallow water rockfish bite is in full swing. Fishing the marsh edges and creeks of Tangier Sound anglers are catching 100+ stripers per day. Fly and spin fishermen are doing equally well. D.O.A. C.A.L. Shad Tail in 3″ and 4″ on a 3/8 ounce jig head is the top producer. Pearl or chartreuse are the only colors you will need. Half & Halfs for the fly angler. Look for the fish to get bigger as the water cools in the coming weeks. This hot fishing should last well into November.
In this past weekend’s CCA RedTrout Tournament out of Crisfield our team took 2nd place in the Boat Team division and 1st place for largest striped bass. Congratulations to my crew Dave Wilmoth and Ron Long. Nice work guys!
Caught a few specks this week. Getting primed for RedTrout Tournament.
From my friends at the Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways History Foundation in Chesapeake, VA. “Lefty Kreh will be joining us this October 8th for our 7th Annual Waterways Heritage Festival October 8th and 9th. This is a free to the public family event.” Sounds like a great event, I would be there if I wasn’t fishing!
Josenhans Fly Fishing Blog 