100 stripers at Conowingo 9/29/12

[glenrockonthefly]

with that said...majority were under 12 inches!

So I headed down to Conowingo to fish the susky below the dam, I remember a few years ago at the end of Sept there were lots of small stripers feeding on small bait. so today did not disapoint! i started fishing around 8:30/45 and they were hitting a topwater that a spin-fisherman was throwing so i tied on a popper and got my first 10 or 12 on that. then there was a change in discharge and it was clouser time.

i fished until 2:00 and used a clouser either small #6 or a #1 but had best luck on the #6, chartruse with white or red worked great. I had a few times i caught 8-10 on cosectutive cast. There were multiple schools that would move close and then farther off so it could slow down for 15-20 min and then pick right back up.

I fished at the upstream side of the fishing platform, wading knee deep right off the big concrete "steps".

I caught at least 100 fish, with 20 or so 14-16 inch, 20 or so under 9 inch the rest were 10-12 or so inches.

Had some wind so used my 8 weight. Would have been a blast on the 6wt. Don't know how many more weeks they will be there.

Discharge was mostly low, but fluctuated 5-6 times.

 

[1wt]

Wow! thanks so very much for that wonderful report.

Abundant small fish (I assume you mean Wipers), 10", are still a beautiful thing with a fly rod!

 

[Fishidiot]

1wt wrote:
(I assume you mean Wipers)

1WT,
The tailrace below Conowingo is tidewater and the stripers there are wild striped bass from the Chesapeake Bay, not "wipers." The PFBC stocks wipers in the Susky up here in PA.

Neat report BTW. We don't get many striped bass reports from Maryland very often. I've had some great fun on juvenile stripers in the bay if you time it right (usually this time of year) and hit the schools.

 

[glenrockonthefly]

yeah no wipers just stripers! there were some people with big spinning and casting rods throwing big jigs up into the discharge (standing shoulder to shoulder) after keepers 18 inch plus. quite a few leaving with some good size fish.

I'm trying to figure out a way to get back this week!

 

[1wt]

Fishidiot wrote:
1WT,
The tailrace below Conowingo is tidewater and the stripers there are wild striped bass from the Chesapeake Bay, not "wipers." The PFBC stocks wipers in the Susky up here in PA.

I agree, I stand corrected. I forgot that the Cono is in MD!

Do you need a MD license to fish there?

The "fall bite" is starting....... my fave time of the year.

Soon, stripers at IBSP, and the steel will start! Life is good again!

 

[glenrockonthefly]

1WT, you do need a chesapeake bay sportfishing license to fish the susky below conowingo

 

[JakesLeakyWaders]

In the Conowingo Reservoir itself, both PA and MD licences are acceptable above the dam, since the impoundment of the river straddles the Mason Dixon line.