Fish'n the marshes

[jhgross]

I am interested in learning if there is something similar to the fishing I do in the tidal marshes around Charleston SC, on the middle Chesapeake? Mostly sight casting at the edges of the salt marshes during rising and falling tides. If this is a "thing" in this area: Who of you does it? Where do you go? What do you fish for? What are the best times of the year? Rigs and Techniques ...

I have been fishing the upper Potomac for smallmouth for many years and I'm looking to learn and do something new.
I look forward to your responses and hopefully fishing with some of you.

[CHOC]

I’d say snakehead might be the closest.

[DanMarino]

Tidal snakehead and bass fishing might be interesting for you. If you have never caught a snakehead, I highly recommend it. This isn't a secret, Mattawoman Creek is a beautiful place to fish. I haven't been there in a few years though.

Toss a chatterbait and you will catch bass, snakeheads, and catfish.
Burn a soft plastic toad through the lilly pads and along grass edges, you will get bass and snakeheads.
Toss a hollow body frog in the pads and grass. Yes, bass and snakeheads.
Flukes and swimbaits work well.
Flipping and pitching jigs...works.
Plastic worms...yup.
Spinner baits...yup.
Shallow diving crankbaits.

You'll figure it out. They all work.

[DanMarino]

Same Issue at the OBX

I'm trying to discover the same type of thing in the OBX. I'm down there frequently enough that I am beginning to explore the canals and sound/bay areas. Over the next couple of years I hope to figure out how to catch redfish, speckled trout, and flounder down there using a kayak.

[Memory Maker]

They do that kind of fishing around the salt marshes on the eastern shore around Crisfield and north of there.

[rugbyfish]

I make a few trips to the Crisfield area every year, and that’s the primary type of fishing I do when I’m there. I’ve done well fishing marshes for stripers, speckled trout, and white perch. Most of my fish come on soft plastic paddle tails, topwater, or popping corks. September/October have been my best months, but I’ve caught some nice fish in June as well. I’d love to get down there more often, but it’s a hike from the Baltimore area.

[mchottie]

Wading in the upper potomac for smallmouth was the first thing that came to my mind.

Yes, snakehead fishing is also similar.

[Mark]

jhgross,

I saw that this was your first post and wanted to welcome you to the forum.

Otherwise I hesitated to reply because you mentioned sight fishing. That's a rare occurrence for me locally. Usually our tidal waters are turbid offering limited views of our prey. The exception is breaking stripers but that's not targeting individual fish as I suspect you had in mind. I've really only done that once and that was on a non-kayak flyfishing redfish trip last August in TX. Indeed that was great fun to see the fish, lay an accurate cast on its nose (they won't chase a fly far) and watch it strike.

That said, the launch at Goodhands Creek on Kent Island offers access to endless shorelines of shallow water lapping up to phragmites:

P1000091.jpg

Other than an occasional striper swirl breaking the surface when the tide is high on the vegetation, I've never clearly seen a striper before casting to it. But the phragmites harbor baitfish and the stripers know that for sure. That's the closest "marsh-like" fishing I know of in the mid-Bay area reachable by kayak.

Again, welcome to the forum.

[ronaultmtd]

The backwaters of St. Jerome’s Creek has lots of “Marsh” areas as does Lake Conoy at Point Lookout State Park...and I have caught Redfish in the lake in a foot of water...not last year as I was skunked by the Redfish...Good year for Speckled Trout, but not the reds (the Bulls were caught here, but not many slot fish)...Big Mike caught one but nothing like we have enjoyed over years past..

[jhgross]

Thank you all for the great info. I am looking forward to exploring some of these suggestions. Are places like Mattawoman Creek only worth going starting in the spring? I love the act of fishing and catching is even better (I usually only do CnR). I am willing to go out if there is a reasonable chance of hooking up.

[CHOC]

jhgross,

I saw that this was your first post and wanted to welcome you to the forum.

Otherwise I hesitated to reply because you mentioned sight fishing. That's a rare occurrence for me locally. Usually our tidal waters are turbid offering limited views of our prey. The exception is breaking stripers but that's not targeting individual fish as I suspect you had in mind. I've really only done that once and that was on a non-kayak flyfishing redfish trip last August in TX. Indeed that was great fun to see the fish, lay an accurate cast on its nose (they won't chase a fly far) and watch it strike.

That said, the launch at Goodhands Creek on Kent Island offers access to endless shorelines of shallow water lapping up to phragmites:

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Other than an occasional striper swirl breaking the surface when the tide is high on the vegetation, I've never clearly seen a striper before casting to it. But the phragmites harbor baitfish and the stripers know that for sure. That's the closest "marsh-like" fishing I know of in the mid-Bay area reachable by kayak.

Again, welcome to the forum.

Mark,

What an excellent post! Also, this is how we’ll bring new life to this board. However, a move to Facebook would do a lot to revive it as well... according to someone else... I would never say that...

[CHOC]

Thank you all for the great info. I am looking forward to exploring some of these suggestions. Are places like Mattawoman Creek only worth going starting in the spring? I love the act of fishing and catching is even better (I usually only do CnR). I am willing to go out if there is a reasonable chance of hooking up.

Most of the shallow areas that hold stripers in Spring hold perch in the summer.

As for starting in winter, I recommend buying Alan Battista’s books. Alan is YakFish on this board. He gives a ton of info for catching stripers all months of the year.
Also, several on here do well with catching yellow perch and pickerel throughout the winter.

It’s definitely not site fishing, but Calvert Cliffs is a solid cold season spot for stripers. Just be sure to wear a dry suit and be safe. If you need info on how to get there from a kayak, PM me.

[ronaultmtd]

Blue catfish never stop biting- you can catch them year round...

[captmikestarrett]

Thank you all for the great info. I am looking forward to exploring some of these suggestions. Are places like Mattawoman Creek only worth going starting in the spring? I love the act of fishing and catching is even better (I usually only do CnR). I am willing to go out if there is a reasonable chance of hooking up.

When the heat is on the snakehead will gulp air more often. Thus fishing in the summer is better for site fishing. Same for bowfin. Both require some practice and some non standard styles of fishing. But once learned it can increase the number of LGMouth also caught.

Capt Mike