7/23/08 Severn River, VA Trotline

[ruger77]

Had a chance to try over on the Severn River(VA) yesterday for a few hours. We moved around quite a bit looking for some keepers. First spot was loaded with crabs, but they were mostly small she-crabs and sooks. Moved further out and down river and it got worse, so we went back up in the SW branch and moved around 'til we started catching some jimmies. Ended up running a spot that produced a bunch of "just under" jimmies with only two making the grade.

I was using a straight line baited with beef tripe today. The crabs seemed to like it and often had a crab on every bait for 20 or more baits. Too bad they were too small. The tripe seems to hold up well on the line, as I didn't loose any baits to slip knot popping even when pulling the line pretty tight.

Thunderstorms were moving in, so we released our two keepers and called it a day.

More time put in on the water and had fun as always. Sooner or later I will hit pay dirt....

James

[prowler]

Was that you between the 50 and naval academy bridge around 1pm?

drove over the 50 bridge and saw someone out there around that time running a line with red floats.

hmmm... or are you talking about a different severn river..

[ruger77]

Severn River in Virginia off the Mobjack Bay.

Sorry for the confusion. I will add the "VA" to the title. 

James

[tattoo]

Thanks for the report . You WILL do better next time our at least you know there are there and they like your bait. 

[sport2616]

Nice going guys, good job on the pipefitting/plumbing work.

[dredgecrab]

how deep of water are you working in? as i moved my pots inshore i have come across more males. also the cushion run is almost over. they run off the other crabs. when they slack back, the crabs come back. i see shedded males now where ther was nothing but cushions.

[ruger77]

dredgecrab, We started in about 4-5', moved to 6-8', and hit 8-10' for a few runs. Closest thing to keepers came from 4-5' and that is where we spent most of our time. We were cut short by the approaching thunder and weekday time limits. I like the protected waters there, just need to put more time in and learn their ways.

I updated the cull rings on my one and only pot and set it out yesterday. Picked a spot that has offered some supper before. 4' and muddy bottom... I'll make a run later today to see if anything's eating.

Thanks for the tips on the cushions. I'll keep running, looking, and learning.

How did the smoke stacks work out?

James

[dredgecrab]

never made it. the grass is hitting the pots so hard i don't think i want to be there. i will tell you that my brothers are up there and catching a lot of males. from what i understand the male crabs start at the airport and go up. nothing but male crabs for about 12 miles. the futher inshore the better. since i work by myself it is real hard for me to make big moves. do you know where the airport is?

[ruger77]

Yeah, I got ya. That's a hike for me too, at least 'til I get a proper boat trailer. I'll probably stick around Mumfort, and Carmine Is. for a while. On a flat day I'll shoot over to the Yorktown side above the NWS to see what's happening over there. I'll add the 2-4' range to my searching and see what comes up.

Thanks again.

James

[dredgecrab]

i might make it to mumfort by the end of the week. sorry if i set in a place where you want to work. right now weight crabs are plentiful so i just might stick around till the cusion run is over. trying to keep my expenses down.