Late April/Early May Produces well in the skinny! Here’s a beauty at 34″
I will open up some walk-on dates soon! Check www.walleyepete.com for open walk-on trip dates!
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Calvert Cliffs is going to fade with warming water temps and Stripers looking for love! However, great fish can still be caught there through the months of April and May. What I love is warming temps and active shallow water of the eastern shore islands of Hoopers, Bloodsworth, Adams, Spring, Holland, South Marsh and Smith Islands. I could probably figure it out but all I can say is there has to be hundreds of miles of sod banks, points, guts, nooks and crannies to fish in the islands, I love on the eastern shore islands of Maryland. I recently did the math and have figured out I’ve done 657 guide trips to the eastern shore islands in the last 5 years. What I’ve learned in those trips is no matter what the conditions, (short of 30 plus knot winds) clear water and fish can almost always be found.
Nothing like island sunrises and clear water…….
I start to catch decent Stripers in the islands when the water temp reaches 55. Once the water temperature is 60 and above the chance at Specks are high. Post spawn large Stripers will hang out on Island points with good current quite often in May. Between 60 and 70 degrees the island waters are very busy with bait fish and predators. Stealth is crucial for sure in the 3′-7′ water of the islands. Stomped feet, slammed hatches or loud hooting and holloring can certainly push the fish away quickly. When I pick out a place I’m going to fish I idle the boat in the direction of the target zone, cut the engine and drift with’in range of the target zone. Wind and currrent always plays a role in boat postioning. I use my power poles to hold the boat in position when fish are located or when fishing known structures such as rock piles or wrecks.
My Power Poles ( www.powerpole.com ) are incredible tools for the shallow stuff! Couldn’t imagine fishing without them!
After hundreds of trips over to the islands the one thing I never get sick of is the straight up beauty and remoteness of it all. The islands are eroding away making inhabitation by humans impossible. All we have over there is several brands of sea birds, fox, porpoises and plenty of fish!
Pelicans loving life!
just a small piece of “Pelican Island”
A Fox on Bloodsworth Island! Never saw one there in 19 years. I think they walked on Ice during the cold winter of 2014-15 from South Marsh Island to Bloodsworth Island or from the mainland. Not sure!
Good looking Fox!
Creek/Gut mouths produce quite often! Good stuff!
Beautiful skinny water Island Striper!
bring on the islands!
We got this nice Speck last May…..hopefully lot’s of them this year!
Exciting shallow water remote action on light tackle is a blast!
Some incredibly great action making for a great trip with young anglers!
Beautiful fishing for the kids!
Over the last two years I’ve had a rash of bigger fish in the islands, up to 37″! I’ve had lots of 27″-32″ Stripers with many 20″-26″ers. I’m expecting to have a great year in the islands and it starts soon! I’ll be starting to run over there in Mid-April and it should be great by late April/early May. If you are interested in a trip give me a call at 703-395-9955. I will be scheduling some walk-on dates over there but certainly not a whole lot. Trips are booking up pretty quick for Late April and May.
Even I slip into one on occasion!
Over in the island shallows I use several different baits. If I could only have one bait to catch in every situation over in the islands it would be a 6″ Chartruese Glitter BKD. ( www.bkdlures.com ). Depending on water depth, current and wind dictates what weight jighead I use with the BKD’s. I use Hardhead Custom Baits Jigheads. ( www.hardheadcustombaits.com ). Typically I use 3/8 ounce or 1/4 ounce jigheads. I like paddle tail lures in a broad variety of brands. Moral of the story is 4″ Paddle Tails will catch. I like white, light purple and chartruese but other colors will catch just fine. When the water is stained a bit or the bite is tough I like Yozuri Crystal Minnows in black and silver, chartruese and white or blue and white. Storm Shads are great to0! I really love the surface bite over in the islands! When the water temp is over 60 degrees it can be “game on”. I like Storm Chug Bugs for poppers and any “walk the dog” plugs…….they go nuts for them over structure and in the grass! Real COOL!
John with a “walk-the-dog” fish!
The rods I carry on my boat are custom sticks made from Shore Tackle and Custom Rods in Grasonville. ( www.shoretackleandcustomrods.com ). I like a 6′ medium or 6’6″ medium action rod. Give Joe Cap a call at (410) 827-7765. All the rods are made with high quality components and built to last. Bill and Joe stand behind everything they build! Good stuff!
just a few of my sticks from Shore Tackle!
My Honda 250 is running STRONG at 3200 hours!
Well folks……over 3 years ago ended my 225 Honda wild ride! Honda stepped up to the plate and really made things right! The Honda 250 they provided for my boat in january of 2013 is still running WAY strong! (knock on wood). I’ve got just over 3200 hours on this engine with zero issues other than maintenance and one computer issue which was fixed easily and covered by Honda. This engine has gotten 20-30 percent better fuel economy than my 225 Honda achieved. The thrust bearing which failed on my 225 Honda several times causing failures is not budging in the Honda 250. The thrust bearing gets checked for varience every 400 hours and so far the varience is negligable! Honda fixed the problem…….it’s no problem in the 250 Honda. As most folks know…..I run the crap out of my boat all year. In 2015 my average trip was 71 miles and I did 207 trips. Yup….I’m not smart and I burn lot’s of gas but anglers love the trips and that is what it’s all about to me. Thank god gas is a tax write off! After 3200 hours of running with my Honda 250 I would absolutely get another one and recommend it to everyone. I truly believe Honda got this engine very right! Hoping I get another 3200 hours out of this one! Feel free to text, call or email me with any questions about my Honda.
My Honda Running Strong, Reliable and efficient!
If you are in need of an outboard mechanic, Reliable Marine ( www.reliablemarineonline.com ) is my choice. They are conveniently located in Solomons, MD right next door to Roy Rogers. They have a large clean shop and new management. Dave runs the show and will treat you right! You can contact them at (301) 862-2768 with any questions. I’ve been with them since I got my first Honda back in 2010. Through all my huge 225 Honda problems Reliable Marine did everything they could to take care of me. Currently they do all my maintenance and repairs……..I’m very happy with Reliable Marine from Solomons!
Great Boat to Run out on an island adventure!
I’ve had my Judge 27 Chesapeake since April 2010…..my how time flies! The boat has over 5000 hours on it and still doing great! The boat takes a serious beating and is still awesome! Bill Judge has put together a great boat and it sure has treated me well! I have done over 1000 guide trips on this boat and it’s never let me down. I’ve had it in seas that I shouldn’t have been in but ran properly she handles them with ease and comfort. The fishability of this boat is spectacular for sure. Open big water or skinny remote island water, it’s all good! Best boat I could ever have for what I do! Thanks Bill!!!
breath taking beautiful stuff!
If you are interested in a trip or have questions give me a call at 703-3095-9955 or text or email at [email protected]
