Boat Traffic

[BareBones]

Are presonal watercraft much of a promblem in the Jonas Green area? Frank.

[J.A. Veil]

This time of year there are very few boats at all in that part of the Severn, other than the Naval Academy rowing shells and their support boats. That will change in another month or two as the water warms. During warm weather weekends, there are many boats of all sizes on the Severn, and the wakes are frequent and often quite large. When I paddle the main river in the warm weather, I stick near the shore (out of the main channel). If I need to cross, I do it a quickly as possible and keep my eyes open for oncoming boats to make sure they see me. Many kayakers use flag attached to poles on the rear of their boats. I have yellow blades on my paddle. If I sense a boat does not see me, I can wave my paddle in the air and blow the whistle attached to my life vest.

Having said that, a lot depends on where you plan to paddle and fish. I spend as little time in the mainstem of the river as possible. I nearly always fish the creeks and coves. Once you are inside a creek or cove, there typically is a 6 mph speed limit, which minimizes nearby wakes. You can still feel the effect of large boat wakes out in the river as they roll into the creeks.

[bignose]

Big wakes are a problem on the main stem down towards the Naval Academy bridge.
The spooky part is when you are dock hopping and a big wake catches you unaware and you slip under a dock and get pinned there. It's more of a problem in my canoe, then it would be in a yak.
I won't fish out of Jonas Greene on a weekend. I'll launch up in Weems Creek, instead.

[BareBones]

Boat Traffic

Because we are just getting back into paddling ,looking for a quiet place to practice.Think maybe will try Wayson 's on the Patuxent and go upstream.Saw quite a bit of storm damage in the Davdsonville area last fall.

[john from md]

"I won't fish out of Jonas Greene on a weekend. I'll launch up in Weems Creek, instead. "

+1 I don't fish anywhere near Annapolis even in my boat on a weekend! I head for TPL and points South as the season progresses. During the week, the Severn is fine most of the time above the 450 bridge. Below that, if the YP's are out as well as the NA blow boats, it can get dicey.

If the weather is good and you want to go out on the weekend around the bridge, you can launch at SPSP either at the ramps or off the small boat beach. A few years ago, before the gas prices started getting crazy, SPSP's lot would be full on a weekend. For the last few years, with the exception of opening day, it has been less than half full on the weekends I have put the boat in.

Regards,

John