by FishinMatt » Jul Sun 05, 2020 12:46 am
To celebrate our nations independence, and fully take advantage of a few days vacation, I headed to northern DC to do some smallmouth bass fishing. The first few days were okay, but not near up to my expectations of a smallie beat down.
With that said I had been trading some Facebook messages with Captain Jimmy Doering of Cast N Catch guide service. My cousin and I did a half day trip on Washington Island with Captain Jimmy in 2018 and it was amazing. We were hooking into 4 lb fish within literally seconds from the launch and pounded on big fish all morning. EASILY, the best guide I have ever booked and I have been out with guys like Erik Hatadja, Brett Jolly, and Dale Strochein. Don't get me wrong, those guys are the best in the business and are fish catching machines. Jimmy however has a different gear that I really liked. He is young, motivated, and 100% locked into the best bite. With the knowledge we gained we were able to go out in my boat and find similar spots over the next few days. Jimmy even hooked us up with a bunch of the baits we caught fish on during our trip.
Anyways, I vent my struggles to Captain Jimmy who says, hey Matt, come back to the mainland, we caught 50 today. I later get another message from Captain Jimmy who relays his clients caught over 100 fish today. He lost count....lol. This is were it get crazy. Captain Jimmy gives me the specific area where he is catching fish. Trust me, I previously wanted to ask him for some more details, but I understand guiding is a business. I was floored and humbled he gave me that information, which quite frankly saved my trip. The next day I go out to the area he recommended with the confidence of knowing there are fish around. It took me all morning to really dial in the bite, but once I got it figured out it was 16-20 inch fish until my wrists and forearms could not take it anymore. As Captain Jimmy would say.....BOOM!!!
I was actually going to see if Captain Jimmy could get me out this trip, but he is booked through August. Many repeat clients obviously. If you really want a fantastic trip i could not recommend a guide any more. I am on his 2021 waiting list already. He also guides for whitefish through the ice. Check out his website or follow him on social media. I follow his Facebook page and it is just ridiculous with the size and numbers caught on most trips.
Anyways here is the pic dump. Fish were caught anywhere from the top of rock piles in 2 feet of water out to about 20 feet. Best baits were jerkbaits, dingers, and tubes. Enjoy......and seriously check out Cast N Catch guide service. I am picky as hell and would not recommend a dude unless he was lights out.
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