3rd Annual Janes Island fishing/ birthday extravaganza, By Alexi

"A Toast to George." It is with great sadness that I must say my dear father has passed away not even a month before his 80th birthday, and our annual joint birthday party at Janes Island, which is the main subject of this blog post. Luckily we were able to get together in August for his 50th Anniversary at the outer Banks and get out on a charter boat for some Sheepshead and Black Drum fishing.

George Papadopoulos Sept 14, 1938 - Sept 5, 2018

Maybe some other time I'll write about the two boats we had when I was a kid in the 80's that we'd go out on the (Chesapeake) Bay every weekend of the summer, and weather permitting anchor up next to the Thomas Point Lighthouse and fish with bloodworms for spot or bluefish or whatever else might have been around, or endless hours hand-lining for crabs, but this is a fishing blog, and I'd rather stick to the facts of the moment.

We didn't cancel the trip to Janes Island. In attendance for the weekend were myself, Wendy, Elias, Jon, Steve and Janessa (and Maisey).

the party

I had several days there before anyone else showed up (I was there for almost a week) and at first the fishing seemed slower than usual. The main target species is 'Rockfish', AKA Striped Bass. The size and creel limits in Maryland bay waters this time of year is two fish. One can be slot 19-28", the other can be 19" and up. Almost every day I managed to catch a fish over 19", but most were right around 15". All of the Specs (Speckled Sea Trout) I caught were exactly 12".....and the size limit on them is 14".

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The water was extra high when I got there. But the guy at the Camp Store made a point of saying that it was definitely not high due to global ice melting. Believe what you will, here is a link to recent article from National Geographic about Tangier Island.

underwater docks

I know it was recently a full moon and that there was a low pressure system off of North Carolina, but there is another reality, the docks were under water and there was no hurricane.

The first few days were windy, and that made accurate casting a challenge, but I always managed a few fish in the usual spots. On the corners. On the grass flats at high tide. In the creeks at the bends.

overcast windy days

As the week progressed, the weather improved, the water cleared up, and so the fishing improved.

Steve also did well every day

A couple of days, while floating down the channel in my kayak, and passing some friendly folks on a dock, I learned that there was going to be a fishing tournament over the weekend. Was I there for that? No. It was the CCA Md. chapters annual Red/ Trout tournament. In fact, I cringed at the thought of tons of boats out fishing over the weekend ruining my peaceful time. My fears were proven false, as there was barely a boat to be seen during the tournament.

"Banner Day"

My brother-in-law Jon had a good two days of fishing, even though nothing exceeded 19" he got one just at that that we released for good luck, and he did very well casting the Zara Spook jr, giving it a "walk the dog action," and watching fish explode on it!

Jon had many fish

After everyone left I had an epic last day of fishing.

I pulled a bass out of a school of fish I spooked on a flat.

A top water white perch-

Zara spook Jr even catches a White Perch

I found fish along the banks,

I found endless micro bass feeding in a rip,

I found a bluefish in a rip,

A perch on a flat,

turtles, herons, egrets...

And finally I wrapped my last day up at Sunset on a flat casting tight into a bank, catching my PB for Janes Island, a 26" Rock Fish.

26"

It literally inhaled my lure, and made a bloody mess of everything.

After everyone left, as I stood by my kayak at my campsite getting ready to go out, a Janes Island regular came up and asked me what was perhaps the most pertinent question of all, "What is my favorite lure?" I stood there stunned. What a difficult moment to be asked that, normally I would be very quick to answer- Topwater, Zara Spook Jr. However, just at that moment, from the previous days results, I had already tied on and was prepared to fish all day with what has possibly become my new favorite lure - MirrOdine Suspending Twitchbait.