recently moved to SE PA

[jelake]

I just recently moved to Oxford, PA from MN and lookign for a few different ideas/ suggestions:

First: I prefer chasing larger trout (grew up flyfishign in colorado) and Northerns- between MD and PA where would be a few decent spots to hit via wading, float tube or kayak?

Second: I have a Field and stream fish eagle 12 ft sink but have read that isnt recommended for the open bay/ seas which I would like to start dabbling intot he saltwater arena. Any recommendation before I approach the wife and say that I have to convert to a sot?

Third: In converting to the saltwater arena, will my 8 weight flyrod and med weight spin rig work? Since I spent the last two years in MN hunting primarily pike the spin set up is running either 40 or 50LB braided line. The fly rod I specifically built for pike as I have a Scott 5 weight that I use for trout. (any recommendations on flies would be good too, I tie my own so the world is wide open)

Fourth: Currently I have a Humminbird 197C PT FF on the yak which was good for the lakes back in MN where a gps isnt needed. However, in considering the open water, a GPS would be preferred in my mind. Any recommendations? I have been looking at the raymarine dragonfly 4/5 PRO, the Humminbird Helix 5 sonar/ GPS (advantage is I dont have to rewire the yak) or the lowrance hook 4 or hook 5?

[Mark]

I just recently moved to Oxford, PA from MN and lookign for a few different ideas/ suggestions:

First: I prefer chasing larger trout (grew up flyfishign in colorado) and Northerns- between MD and PA where would be a few decent spots to hit via wading, float tube or kayak?

Second: I have a Field and stream fish eagle 12 ft sink but have read that isnt recommended for the open bay/ seas which I would like to start dabbling intot he saltwater arena. Any recommendation before I approach the wife and say that I have to convert to a sot?

Third: In converting to the saltwater arena, will my 8 weight flyrod and med weight spin rig work? Since I spent the last two years in MN hunting primarily pike the spin set up is running either 40 or 50LB braided line. The fly rod I specifically built for pike as I have a Scott 5 weight that I use for trout. (any recommendations on flies would be good too, I tie my own so the world is wide open)

Fourth: Currently I have a Humminbird 197C PT FF on the yak which was good for the lakes back in MN where a gps isnt needed. However, in considering the open water, a GPS would be preferred in my mind. Any recommendations? I have been looking at the raymarine dragonfly 4/5 PRO, the Humminbird Helix 5 sonar/ GPS (advantage is I dont have to rewire the yak) or the lowrance hook 4 or hook 5?

Welcome to the area.

I think you're going to be challenged in the immediate vicinity on your first desire. I do not know where larger trout and northerns swim locally, at least not comparable to those you left in MN. If they do exist nearby, I'm sure others who know will chime in.

An SOT is preferable but with discretion an SINK will work just fine. I know several kayakers who use or have used SINKs successfully in tidal waters both here in MD and in FL.

Your rods are fine for the salt. I use 5 to 9 wt. fly rods depending on what I am chasing. I probably use my 7 and 8 wts. the most. They'll handle most stripers you'll catch, unless of course you follow Yak Fish's lead and hook a leviathan. Your medium wt. spinning tack will be fine also. You may even want to try light or medium light rods, again depending on what you target. Most of my conventional tackle is light to medium light.

Yes, I would highly recommend GPS -- not so much for locational reasons but for tracking during you trips. The trails and waypoints a GPS unit will leave on your FF are often helpful for catching fish in the Bay. You can return with accuracy to places where you've already caught fish.

Again, welcome to the area and to the forum.

[brianisoutside]

Have you looked into fishing the Susquehanna too? It's a really good small mouth area on se ps


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[jelake]

Thank you for the replies,

I believe I have narrowed down the GPS down to three at the moment, the Helix 5 Sonar/ GPS by Humminbird, the lowrance Hook 4, and the Dragonfdly 4PRO by Raymarine- leanign to the dragonfly as they are just about equal in price- does any one lean one way over the other?

As for the fish, looking more towards the pike and trout families, have seen a few articles in the past about sea trout, curious if they are around the chesapeake? Found a couple of pike lakes in the SE PA that I will be trying in a bit. Not the biggest fan of bass, mainly as I have not really targeted them in the past.

Gear wise, thank you for the input. Currently picked up a small case pelican to utilize as a battery case for the current fish finder. Glad to hear that most of my gear will be good to go for the salt, Fresh I had no concerns about.

Curious, I have heard about launching out of Northeast MD for the chesepeake, are there any other locations in the area for that that would be decent/ what types of fish would I be likely to encounter there?

Thank you for the welcome.

[DonV]

Thank you for the replies,

I believe I have narrowed down the GPS down to three at the moment, the Helix 5 Sonar/ GPS by Humminbird, the lowrance Hook 4, and the Dragonfdly 4PRO by Raymarine- leanign to the dragonfly as they are just about equal in price- does any one lean one way over the other?

As for the fish, looking more towards the pike and trout families, have seen a few articles in the past about sea trout, curious if they are around the chesapeake? Found a couple of pike lakes in the SE PA that I will be trying in a bit. Not the biggest fan of bass, mainly as I have not really targeted them in the past.

Gear wise, thank you for the input. Currently picked up a small case pelican to utilize as a battery case for the current fish finder. Glad to hear that most of my gear will be good to go for the salt, Fresh I had no concerns about.

Curious, I have heard about launching out of Northeast MD for the chesepeake, are there any other locations in the area for that that would be decent/ what types of fish would I be likely to encounter there?

Thank you for the welcome.

Sea trout are very rare or not to be found in the upper bay.

You may want to rethink your fish of choice as you are not in a very good area to be targeting trout. As to pike you may find some local lakes and areas to try

That being said you are very close to a very productive fishery the Susquehanna River and the adjacent upper bay and tributaries. You could spend a lifetime exploring just the river. The reservoir and river above Conowingo dam are very suitable for a sit in side kayak. I don't know much about fishing the lake but the river in Pennsylvania offers great small mouth bass fishing and I'd imagine fly fishing techniques could be used. Small mouth bass are aggressive fighters and feeders and very simple and low cost rigs and lures can be used to catch them. Think you would find them as exciting and challenging as trout. Musky, pike and walleye are also there to be had. I'm not an expert or the river and hopefully someone else can fill you in on the details if you do want to target pike but really think you should not ignore the small mouth fishery available there.

Below the dam.

If you a enjoy fly fishing the shad will be running very shortly and the Susquehanna will be thick with them hopefully. The best shad fishing is below the Conowingo Dam. You can fish right at the dam or anywhere on the shore south of the dam down to where the river opens to the Susquehanna Flats. Deer Creek in Susquehanna State Park is a favorite of fly fisheman. The mouth of Deer creek and Lapidum are favorite areas of shore fisherman. It gets crazy crowded when they are running and weekdays are best.

Besides the shad; rockfish, yellow and white perch, small and large mouth bass, flathead catfish, blue and channel cats and numerous other species can be had in the river below the dam all through the year.

Where the river opens up at Havre de Grace to the flats is one of the most productive areas for trophy size rockfish in the spring. A SOT may be more suitable there as the water starts getting pretty big quick. I believe the monstrous fish in this post is an early one from the area.http://www.snaggedline.com/showthrea...Brace-Yourself The April 9th Meet and Greet is going to be at the Susquehanna State Park. Think most will be targeting the rockfish in the flats but it will also be close to prime time for the Shad run. The river and Deer Creek are minutes from the park if you want to try fly some fly fishing.

You are in a good area and can get a good taste of bay fishing not very far from where you are. Going further south things change a little but between the top of the bay and the river you have plenty of territory close at hand.

[jelake]

Thank you for the reply, definitely loaded with info.

Had an eyes on the Susquehanna although I have come across a few articles referencing the health of the fish. If I can find a musky I am all for that. Been looking at several of the other posts and am intrigued with the Stripers and a few of the other medium sized open bay fish species. My spinning and fly gear should be on target with what I need since the northerns I used to chase were in the ballpark of 35" plus.

Do a fair amount of people do catch and release in the area or keep what they catch? I have gotten spun up on the PA regs, starting in on the MD regs tonight. Hoping to be on the water this weekend chasing the Northerns in the Marsh creek resevoir (Marsh Creek State Park).

What type of hardware when using the spinning rigs do people typically throw in the bay? For pike I used to run Rapala X-raps in the 11 and 13 sizes- fairly big for fresh water but seems like that would be small for the bay- also what color variations seem to work more often?

[Pat Smith]

Jelake
Where in MN are you from. I grew up in the Duluth/Two Harbors area.

When I relocated here I wanted close to the same as you... I quickly found that striped bass are fun to catch and fairly plentiful in the bay. It is fun trying out salt water fishing.. lots of different things to see and catch. you never really know what will be on the end of your line when you pull it up (I am looking at you Cow Nose Ray).

Do some investigation on "Pickerel". They seem to be a salt water version of the Pike. They look the same, almost and have many of the same habits.

And do what the others have said as well.

[Pat Smith]

P.S.
Come out to some of the meet and greets, that is where I get most of my information. I watch what others do and copy them (don't tell them or they will stop allowing me to watch them).

P.P.S.
Set aside that weekend in September for the CBKA Kayak tournament. It is a low stressed fishing tournament that is run real well with no intimidation factor for newbs. I had never kayak fished before and this was my first experience.. It really is one of the best times you will have fishing from a kayak.

[DonV]

Thank you for the reply, definitely loaded with info.

Had an eyes on the Susquehanna although I have come across a few articles referencing the health of the fish. If I can find a musky I am all for that. Been looking at several of the other posts and am intrigued with the Stripers and a few of the other medium sized open bay fish species. My spinning and fly gear should be on target with what I need since the northerns I used to chase were in the ballpark of 35" plus.

Do a fair amount of people do catch and release in the area or keep what they catch? I have gotten spun up on the PA regs, starting in on the MD regs tonight. Hoping to be on the water this weekend chasing the Northerns in the Marsh creek resevoir (Marsh Creek State Park).

What type of hardware when using the spinning rigs do people typically throw in the bay? For pike I used to run Rapala X-raps in the 11 and 13 sizes- fairly big for fresh water but seems like that would be small for the bay- also what color variations seem to work more often?

My personal favorite after trying many expensive lures is just a 4-6" white paddletail on a jighead, it's cheap and it works wonders. Many here do use X raps and they are well liked for stripers. Many bass, pike and similar lures can do double duty and work for stripers.

Search the forum for Susquahhanna, flats, stripers, etc and you will find a wealth of information. Good bit of members fish the Susky and flts all through the summer for stripers. Word of caution that I was amiss in not mentioning when mentioning the Conowingo dam. When they open the floodgates the nature of the river below the dam changes quickly. I nice calm paddling day can quickly go bad and you will be in a raging torrent of rising water, careful.

And please do take Pat's advice and get to the M&Gs you will learn a lot fast. It's a generous bunch around here concerning techniques, bait and lures and you will get more information than you can process, take a notepad. The CBKA and the Susquehanna and a couple more are going to be geared for stripers.

And once again do not ignore that small mouth fishery. There are some large ones in the river in Pennsylania. Even the small ones pound for pound are one of the toughest fighting fish. It's like having a mini Marlin on the end of the line, watch the lures being thrown way to often right at your head, I think they do it on purpose.

Here's some Susky river fishing watch to the end you may see some that peaks your interest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6v-R8p13H8

Here's one with some stripers down below the dam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JANUDAsBzDo

[jelake]

Thank you again for the replies.

I actually lived down just outside Minneapolis but was a company commander for a Army reserve horizontal construction company out of Duluth, so I spent a wee bit of time up in that neck of the woods too.

I have found it interesting flipping through the regs on fish, out west in Colorado, most of the places east of the divide had the policy of if you catch a Northern, do not put it back. As I have gotten progressively farther east (mn, now PA), those policies have changed to actual bag limits and now slot limits based on size as well. Seems out here they are considered more of a rarity and trophy fish where as out west they are more of a nuisance since most prefer to fish for trout which happens to be one of the Northern's favorite food groups.

Looking forward to exploring and hooking into the Stripers as well as pickerl. Should be fun. As for bass, I have been able to pick them up fairly easily in MN and a few of the larger ones were fun, both small and large mouths, just haven't been a species that I have specifically targeted.

Out of curiosity, how does one target flounder as these used to be one of my favorite fish to eat and now I have the chance to catch them in their element?

Will be hitting Marsh Creek Lake tomorrow with the Kayak, out west this would have been way early for Pike but it has also been significantly warmer here then either CO or MN (far less snow and ice for sure).

As for the Susquehanna, would the inlet be a good place to go or steer more towards the flats and if so, where would be a good spot to start?

[DonV]

Flounder are much like the sea trout and you will have to go much further south in the bay to find them or somewhere closer to the ocean.

Jean Roberts or Lapidum are both nice launches that will put you in good water in the river to catch various species including stripers.

The flats are where you want to be for the spring trophy stripers.

Search the forums for particular techniques and more information.

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[bignose]

Get yourself a copy of: "The Flyfisher's Guide to the Chesapeake"
It is full of information: species, flies, tackle, tactics and locations. Much more than I can cover here (get a used copy from Amazon).
And it is not limited to Fly fishing.

The area of Central PA near Harrisburg/Carlisle have some of the "classic" trout streams in the country. The Juniata, Yellow Breeches, and Letort Spring run are examples. The trout will not be large by western standards, and it's more "technical' fishing with tiny flies.

The Susky in the vicinity of Harrisburg has smallmouth bass, walleyes, and species not all that different that you had in your previous locale. There are some Muskies in this area but they are not very common. Northern Pike, not so much.

The lower Susky, below Conowingo Dam is tidal, has Stripers, White Perch, Flathead Catfish, as well as the earlier mentioned fish, plus a load of migratory anadromous fish.
Also on the Susky, for about a 6-8 week period starting towards the end of the month thru mid May, there is a shad run below Conowingo Dam that is great fun to fish. Think miniature Tarpon. Medium light spinning tackle with shad darts or the 8 wt. with bright colored shad flies (find examples on the internet) would work. The 5 wt. is a little too light in case you lay into a hog striper on a shad fly (it happens). You'll need a sink tip line and finding room to cast from shore can be a problem unless you can roll cast well.

You are also not far from the Delaware River, but I wouldn't be able to give much info about that.
As you move out into the Flats below the River, you encounter a more tidal/brackish type of fishing, in a much wider open area.

As to your Tackle, an 8 wt. fly rod will do fine for most stripers, although you may need a 9 wt. with an intermediate or sinking tip for throwing some of the bigger flies like a 6" Lefties Deceiver or a Half and Half (Half Deceiver/ Half Clouser) for the early season big spawners up on the flats. My shoulder can't take that sort of abuse any longer. A 6" Deceiver is like casting a small chicken on a fly rod.

Freshwater flies can get as sophisticated as #20 dry flies for the ultra selective trout of the Letort, to a #6 Black Wooly Bugger that will catch darn near anything that swims in freshwater. Since you tie your own, you can put together what ever you need.

Medium weight spinning tackle is fine for stripers, you shouldn't need anything more than what you would use for Pike or Bass up North. Later in the season, you may want to go lighter, as 40 pound braid is kinda overkill unless you are trolling heavy lures.

Many guys on this site use a 2500 series spinning reel on a 6'-to-7' medium action rod with 10-20 pound test braid and a similar strength leader. Most of the times, the brackish and saltwater fish are not leader shy (freshwater trout excluded), and you need to think more about breaking strength than visibility. You shouldn't need to use fluorocarbon.
The biggest difference is the need to rinse your equipment off after fishing in salt water with it.

Your sink is O.K. for the rivers, and some of the smaller tidal creeks, but I'd have to very carefully choose my days before heading out into open water in the Flats. That area can get very, snotty very fast. An SOT is a bit safer since they are self bailing. It depends on your skill and confidence level. It is almost always breezy up there, and with that much open area, nothing slows the wind down. BTW, it is a scientifically known fact that fishing is the leading cause of wind.

If you go out on the Lower Susky, monitor the amount of water coming out of the Dam (get on the USGS 01578310 website real time data). Anything over 16 feet coming out of the Dam is a little more than I'd like to be out in. And be very careful about when the water level is expected to change when they release water if you fish anywhere near the Dam. There is a hotline (1-888-457-4076) that tells you how many "Units," generating gates, will be open, how many cubic feet per second they will release and what time they will begin or shut down. The times are approximate and not totally reliable.

There is a car top launch about 3/4 of a mile below the Dam, suitable for kayaks and canoes.
I was fishing there in the summer, several years ago when the Power Company started generating in mid day. I didn't have enough time to get back to the ramp before the water level came up 5' and the current velocity was frightening. Only time I've ever flipped a canoe in 50 years of boating.
And the converse is true. You can be out on the River, and find yourself in a sea of wet rocks when they shut down.

I wade the western side shore line early in the season for shad. If the water level is over 18 feet, I stay home. 12-16 feet is ideal. Wading is only going to get you out away from the trees. The river drops off pretty quickly.

I almost never fish immediately below the Dam from the shore anymore. The term "Combat Fishing" came from the crowds. Especially on the weekends. Expect to share the river with several hundred of your new closest friends who will stand shoulder to shoulder with you.
And ducking the Carp fishermen slinging heavy weights over the heads of the guys in the Shad fishing Conga line.
Maybe on a weekday, if it's raining to keep the crowds down.
I usually fish a couple of miles down stream, but avoid the Deer Creek confluence for the same reason.
You can scout the river from shore, there is a nice launch at Lapidum, with a fee. It is about 1 mile below where Deer Creek enters the west side of the river 3-4 miles below the Dam. Heading upstream puts you into rockier faster water, the area around it is flatter and more open.

Maryland has some complicated restrictions concerning Stripers (Rock around here) by location and time of year. Some areas are off limits (i.e. above the Lapidum ramp) until June 1, some have a one fish over 34" limit (new this year), and finally in mid May, you are allowed to keep 2 fish per day with size restrictions. You'll need to check the Maryland regulations.

A couple other books are:
Exploring the Chesapeake in Small Boats
Rudow's guide to fishing the Chesapeake
Chesapeake Light Tackle
Fishing in the Comfort Zone by Snagged Line member: John Veil

[jelake]

Definitely appreciate the info and can appreciate the comment on throwing a small chicken on a fly rod. A few of the pike flies I have tied for back in colorado were getting to that point, caught pike but were a pain in the rear to lift up off the water and cast.
Will look into the books for sure, like being fairly well prepared for where I am going as this will be my first forray into salt water minus a deep seas fishing trip off cape cod back in 89/ 90 (I was around 12 or 13 on it lol).
Never been a fan of wind, back in Colorado I would usually leave the reservoirs I would fish in my float tube by mid afternoon when it came up, not fun fighting 2-3 foot swells in a float tube, regardless of how good you might be (I was a life guard back in the day).
One of the places for files that I have found is fairly decent for "researching" is simply going to places like bass pro, cabellas and various other small shops. The big ones always have an assortment of what works and you can get ideas on what to tie from there. The smaller shops I prefer because, generally, the folks behind the counter are very willing to talk about whats been working the past few days as long as you are willing to spend some time talking with them.
Watched a few videos of the stripers being caught, seem like fun although I can imagine the bigger ones would probably pull a yak for a ways, similar to a larger pike and even some trout.
In looking at the profile signature of my SINK, How do people usualyl affix the transducers for the FFs? I have mine attached to the back of the keel, but with river fishing it seems liek that might be problematic with rocks and things.

[Mark]

In looking at the profile signature of my SINK, How do people usualyl affix the transducers for the FFs? I have mine attached to the back of the keel, but with river fishing it seems liek that might be problematic with rocks and things.

Do a search here on "duct seal" or "through the hull" transducer mounting and you'll learn how to mount your transducer to spare it from rocks.

Regarding flies, a Clouser Minnow or a foam popper will catch most anything that swims in the Susquehanna and Bay from SM bass to stripers.

I carry very few fly patterns but I do vary the size of my offerings.

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[jelake]

Thank you again for the quick replies. Definitely enjoying the references as I have been looking everything up as well.

As for the through hull transducer, I have been looking at possibility doing this but where my dilemma is that I am planning on upgrading later this summer, most likely to the dragonfly 4 PRO from the Humminbird Pirahnna 197C and as a result dont want to necessarily permanently fix something that I intend to remove later. However, I do like the idea of the through hull as it also helps to reduce the drag in the water.

Still learning to pair down my lure and fly selections when out on the yak, when in the float tube I used to bring a fair amount as out west I would run through quite a few flies or lures. Would always get that one or two hits on each one but then it would seem the fish always grew wise shortly there after- maybe through some sort of unforeseen fish communication channel lol.

Appreciate the glance at your fly box you bring out, thats something that doesn't seem to happen too often. Everyone always protects that one or two flies that they utilize the most even though more often then not they bought it in the store down the street. Hoping to try out some of my more "Experimental" flies out here, some from deer hair, others are marabou, and others are rabbit strips. Intended them for pike but from the sounds of it they might work on some of the more aggressive species in the bay.