Perquimans River 12/1

I have to say, I had a great weekend, even if the deer and crappie didn't exactly cooperate. I cut my thanksgiving trip to Myrtle Beach a little short so me and my 8 year old Sam could come home and do what guys do. Woke dark and early Saturday morning to go deer hunting with the club to try to get a little backstrap for the pan. No such luck, but my Dad hunted with me all day for the first time since last year, so I couldn't have asked for a better trip. Just me, him, my mini-me and my good friends in the hunting club.

Sunday morning, me and Sam headed out about 8 to do a little fishing. I thought I had my battery issue fixed, but no such luck. Only had enough juice to trim the motor but not start it. No worries. It was a beautiful morning and we had nothing else to do. Put the boat in about 830 and headed to the south with the trolling motor. Managed a couple of small crappie near the S bridge. Got out around the markers and caught 25 white perch and several other fish. No crappie there today. So I moved upriver where I had caught the larger ones the week before. Unfortunately, they weren't there this day. Headed up towards the RR about 11:30 and managed a couple more Crappie up to about 10" and a few other fish. Had several more light bites I am pretty sure were crappie and lost two decent fish.

Back at the ramp at 1:30 to head home with a decent mess of fish for supper. Wound up catching 26 white perch, 4 crappie, 5 bream, 4 rock, 2 bass and 1 yellow perch. A lot of roe in the white perch and yellow perch I kept. This Yellow perch was 12 inches long and two of the bream I caught were almost as big around as my hat. I just could get my hand around em to get the hook out.

Can't really complain about the weekend. Had a great time and good weather. Plus the company was the best it could be.

CF- I did talk to a buddy I hunt with that told me when bear season was in, Bennets Creek was so full of duck weed the boys were having trouble fishing it. they were catching some fish, but the duck weed was giving em fits. Guess that place will be a wash for a while.

Thanks for the great report, TR.

Dean

Great report !!!!! That's is one river I have never fished for Crappie in. thanks for the report. I like to read places I have never fished. I take that back about never have fished the Perquimans. I have bass fished almost every creek and river on the sound. I know the upper waters look really good. I hope you get to fish the N/W bash this year. I know you Carolina boys would like to take back the title. rotflrotflrotflrotflrotflrotflrotfl

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Originally Posted by tootsieroll

I have to say, I had a great weekend, even if the deer and crappie didn't exactly cooperate. I cut my thanksgiving trip to Myrtle Beach a little short so me and my 8 year old Sam could come home and do what guys do. Woke dark and early Saturday morning to go deer hunting with the club to try to get a little backstrap for the pan. No such luck, but my Dad hunted with me all day for the first time since last year, so I couldn't have asked for a better trip. Just me, him, my mini-me and my good friends in the hunting club.

Sunday morning, me and Sam headed out about 8 to do a little fishing. I thought I had my battery issue fixed, but no such luck. Only had enough juice to trim the motor but not start it. No worries. It was a beautiful morning and we had nothing else to do. Put the boat in about 830 and headed to the south with the trolling motor. Managed a couple of small crappie near the S bridge. Got out around the markers and caught 25 white perch and several other fish. No crappie there today. So I moved upriver where I had caught the larger ones the week before. Unfortunately, they weren't there this day. Headed up towards the RR about 11:30 and managed a couple more Crappie up to about 10" and a few other fish. Had several more light bites I am pretty sure were crappie and lost two decent fish.

Back at the ramp at 1:30 to head home with a decent mess of fish for supper. Wound up catching 26 white perch, 4 crappie, 5 bream, 4 rock, 2 bass and 1 yellow perch. A lot of roe in the white perch and yellow perch I kept. This Yellow perch was 12 inches long and two of the bream I caught were almost as big around as my hat. I just could get my hand around em to get the hook out.

Can't really complain about the weekend. Had a great time and good weather. Plus the company was the best it could be.

CF- I did talk to a buddy I hunt with that told me when bear season was in, Bennets Creek was so full of duck weed the boys were having trouble fishing it. they were catching some fish, but the duck weed was giving em fits. Guess that place will be a wash for a while.

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Good Job on the White Perch TR. Ain't nothing wrong with taking a handicapping situation with starter battery and still doing good on catching some fish. anything around here with the name perch on the end might as well be named dinner! Its all good. Got 4 yellow perch fillets that are ready for the grease tomorrow night. I probably won't get to eat them cause my son will fight me for them. He thinks they are better than crappie but I really can't tell. They are all good.

I have been hearing the same things about Bennets. All the creeks around there are eat up with duck weed. It will be later on in January before that stuff dies off. They need to treat that crap. Have been hearing of tug boat captains complaining about it. I imagine the state will do something about it if it becomes a major commercial navigational hazard. Maybe they can use some of that money from increase in boat registrations to kill that crap. That would be a great use since they are soaking us with that tax.CF

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Originally Posted by crappiefarmer

I have been hearing the same things about Bennets. All the creeks around there are eat up with duck weed. It will be later on in January before that stuff dies off. They need to treat that crap. Have been hearing of tug boat captains complaining about it. I imagine the state will do something about it if it becomes a major commercial navigational hazard. Maybe they can use some of that money from increase in boat registrations to kill that crap. That would be a great use since they are soaking us with that tax.CF

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CF, I don't know if they will or not. They haven't the past couple of years and last year it was awful. Even the larger parts of the river were covered with it to where they looked green from a distance. I know there was some up the perquimans in Belvidere but I don't know yet how bad it is where I fish this time of year. I haven't made it that far up there yet.

As for the eating, they are hard to beat: white, yellow, speckled. I love em all. The kids keep telling me they don't like fish, but there is never any left the next day. Go figure.

Hopefully I can get right in the next few weeks and head upriver and see what I can find. I know there have been several boats up that way on a regular basis but I haven't been able to catch em at the ramp to see what they are doing.

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Originally Posted by jim.b

Great report !!!!! That's is one river I have never fished for Crappie in. thanks for the report. I like to read places I have never fished. I take that back about never have fished the Perquimans. I have bass fished almost every creek and river on the sound. I know the upper waters look really good. I hope you get to fish the N/W bash this year. I know you Carolina boys would like to take back the title. rotflrotflrotflrotflrotflrotflrotfl

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Jim, you ought to try it one day. It's a beautiful peaceful place. Once you get up the river, there are very few houses. The farther you go the fewer there are. It's a great place to fish when the wind is blowing on more open waters. It also doesn't hurt that it is 10 minutes from my house. The only problem is the parking lot. It can fill up pretty fast in the summer. Usually not to bad this time of year, especially if you get out the first hour of daylight. There just isn't much parking.

As for the bash, who knows. I don't do a lot of traveling to fish. Plus I stay pretty busy on weekends. Most of my fishing is on Sunday unless I take off during the week. I haven't ever fished IT but one time for crappie and yellow perch and it was windy and snowing that day. Used to fish it a lot as a kid with my grandfather but that was strictly rock fishing. I know it's a heck of a haul from my house. Maybe if I can get over there and do a little prefishing to find a few good spots I would feel more comfortable about going over there. But it's hard to leave a spot close to home where you know where fish are to go try to find fish an hour from home. I would like to go, though. I will have to follow CF over there one day and let him point me in the right direction.

Ed knows where to go!!! I watched him last winter put a hurting on the crappie.

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Originally Posted by tootsieroll

CF, I don't know if they will or not. They haven't the past couple of years and last year it was awful. Even the larger parts of the river were covered with it to where they looked green from a distance. I know there was some up the perquimans in Belvidere but I don't know yet how bad it is where I fish this time of year. I haven't made it that far up there yet.

As for the eating, they are hard to beat: white, yellow, speckled. I love em all. The kids keep telling me they don't like fish, but there is never any left the next day. Go figure.

Hopefully I can get right in the next few weeks and head upriver and see what I can find. I know there have been several boats up that way on a regular basis but I haven't been able to catch em at the ramp to see what they are doing.

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Talked to a buddy that went to Bennets today. He said the grass kept choking up his intake on the way out of the canal to the river and he could not fish worth a crap. He said You would find a clear spot and small at that and within an hour it would be covered with an acres worth of grass. We are going to lose that river. pull up wads of grass on Your lines as big around as a football. Longlining is impossible.CF

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Originally Posted by crappiefarmer

Talked to a buddy that went to Bennets today. He said the grass kept choking up his intake on the way out of the canal to the river and he could not fish worth a crap. He said You would find a clear spot and small at that and within an hour it would be covered with an acres worth of grass. We are going to lose that river. pull up wads of grass on Your lines as big around as a football. Longlining is impossible.CF

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No doubt about that. I got a little bad news yesterday... well I kinda witnessed it. I was coming across the causeway to the S bridge on my way home and lo and behold there's a commercial boat setting a net right thru the middle of the small area I been catching white perch in. Oh joy. I hoped I had till the first of the year before they started putting nets tween the bridges but so much for that. Guess I had get that boat straight so I can head on up river and do a little scouting.

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Originally Posted by tootsieroll

No doubt about that. I got a little bad news yesterday... well I kinda witnessed it. I was coming across the causeway to the S bridge on my way home and lo and behold there's a commercial boat setting a net right thru the middle of the small area I been catching white perch in. Oh joy. I hoped I had till the first of the year before they started putting nets tween the bridges but so much for that. Guess I had get that boat straight so I can head on up river and do a little scouting.

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They need to move the boundary out to the 17 high rise for commercial fishermen. That spot is the funnel point for all perch on that river coming up to the narrowing at the S bridge.CF

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Originally Posted by tootsieroll

No doubt about that. I got a little bad news yesterday... well I kinda witnessed it. I was coming across the causeway to the S bridge on my way home and lo and behold there's a commercial boat setting a net right thru the middle of the small area I been catching white perch in. Oh joy. I hoped I had till the first of the year before they started putting nets tween the bridges but so much for that. Guess I had get that boat straight so I can head on up river and do a little scouting.

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I was thinking of hitting there for yellow perch around new years. guess I'll mark that off the list.CF

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Originally Posted by crappiefarmer

Talked to a buddy that went to Bennets today. He said the grass kept choking up his intake on the way out of the canal to the river and he could not fish worth a crap. He said You would find a clear spot and small at that and within an hour it would be covered with an acres worth of grass. We are going to lose that river. pull up wads of grass on Your lines as big around as a football. Longlining is impossible.CF

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The Chowan River basin has only received 50% to 75% of the normal rainfall this year; add in the man-made negative factors, plus the fact that there is no ongoing aquatic vegetation control in any of the river's tributaries, and you can easily end up with what we are now facing. The state just doesn't give a rats a$$ about eastern NC. You can bet your butt that if aquatic vegetation was choking out some of the lakes where the state's rich-and-famous have property, there would be lots of activity to get it under control mighty quick. B-

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Originally Posted by crappiefarmer

They need to move the boundary out to the 17 high rise for commercial fishermen. That spot is the funnel point for all perch on that river coming up to the narrowing at the S bridge.CF

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Yup. That's what I wish they would do. Last year there were two sink nets and about 15 or so fight nets tween the two bridges. The fish don't stand much of a chance when the water narrows from a half mile or more down to a hundred yards.

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Originally Posted by bhgammon

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The Chowan River basin has only received 50% to 75% of the normal rainfall this year; add in the man-made negative factors, plus the fact that there is no ongoing aquatic vegetation control in any of the river's tributaries, and you can easily end up with what we are now facing. The state just doesn't give a rats a$$ about eastern NC. You can bet your butt that if aquatic vegetation was choking out some of the lakes where the state's rich-and-famous have property, there would be lots of activity to get it under control mighty quick. B-

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The only chance we have on the Chowan is the clogging of tug boat lanes. If some higher ups that have to use those lanes tighten the screws down on some state politicians, then we might get something done. They probably would just spend enough to keep the lanes open and nothing else which in the long run would be cheaper if they just went total eradication of the whole river system.

I went to Bennets today. It is not grass so much as a huge algae bloom like the river used to see every year in the 1980's. A good flushing would help. You can't fish those creeks worth a darn. Only caught 5 small crappie all day. Mark that whole place off the list now.CF

This is not algae its duck weed. It multiplies very rapidly and it will stop up you motor