Susky Tuesday March 5th??

[bignose]

As of Sunday the USGS graph had the flow at 16+ feet at the dam. Yesterday it was bumped up over 18+ feet.
From experience, I won't wade or shore fish from Deer Creek down past the Mill if the river is up over 16 feet, as it's usually kinda muddy and the current really rips at that height and you get pushed back into the trees.
At 18 feet, I stay home or go to somewhere else, like Fletcher's, but as of today, that's also a bit too high. From a yak, you may be O.K. below the Rock Run Mill, and would be fine below Lapidum down to Havre de Grace.

[Yak Fish]

Big Skunk on the susky, I only fished for a few hours with no success. Launched around 8am and was surprised at the amount of breeze and chop on the water. It was a bumpy ride to the Perryville docks. I ventured north to the Hatem Bridge to make my first drift with some power grubs. Fishing a 1 ounce weight, I wasn't able to hit bottom which was around 70ft at the time. I noticed the drift was significantly faster than the meet and greet and the whole time my line was at a 45 degree angle.

I tried to improvise adding another 1/2 ounce to the rig, but this became useless with my medium action rod. I made a few more drifts only to get snagged, then I maneuvered inside a boat slip to keep from drifting. Make a few more attempts, but the my rig would just take off with the current...not touching bottom. After packing up, I called the Coniwingo hotline and they stated between 6am and noon...7 small flood gates and 4 large flood gates were open. I am hoping this played a part in my kayaking, or is it just my inexperience being a factor? Taking one last walk over to the ramp before leaving, I notice the wind had died and the river was much more smooth...story of my life!

On my way home, I checked out a few launch spots on the Maryland DNR in Harford county. Swan Harbor---which would be quite a trek getting to the beach, and Eleanor Tydings at the mouth of swan creek---as Yakfish said "it's definitely a scene from Deliverance!" Did not seem safe going alone, but I am still determined to get into Swan Creek somehow when the Bass are active. All and all, great scenery and got some more hours on the yak.

Hahaha, yep that's the place. I have been there many times all by myself and it's been fine. The good news is that there's nothing around....except those bullet riddled cars :-)

[HJS]

I have yet to check out either of the two launch sites listed above. How close can you get a car to the water's edge at both of these launch spots?

[bignose]

To get to the Rock Run area:
95 N to MD 155 East
Turn Left on Lapidum Rd. This will wind thru a couple of miles of rolling hills and then head down hill towards the River.
Turn left at the stop sign-Stafford Rd. (continuing straight puts you at the Lapidum Ramp. You can put in there but it'll cost you $11.00-I think).
Stafford Rd will quickly turn into a gravel road which can be dusty if it hasn't rained recently or a mess if it has, for about 1 1/2 miles. Just after you pass by the Mill, (large building with a water wheel on the right side), you will find adequate parking, except for weekends at the height of the shad run.
Take the trail left from the parking lot. The carry to the water is better nearer to the Rock Run Bridge, it's about 50 yards downhill to the river.
My current copy of Goggle Earth looks to have been taken at summer low flow, and clearly shows the gravel bar just below the Rock Run bridge. At the 16 feet stage, it is a rapid.
I have fished the area from my canoe at low summer flow, and waded the shoreline from above Deer Creek down to below the Mill.

BTW, if fishing the Susky, I would not recommend using the car top ramp in Fisherman's Park about 1/2 mile below the dam, except under low flow conditions. I got caught there about 5 years ago when the gates opened up earlier then the schedule said they would, and didn't have enough lead time from when the sirens went off until the water came up to get off the river. The river came up 5 feet and the current was overpowering, and cold. Only time I ever rolled the canoe in current.

[sparky1423]

I have yet to check out either of the two launch sites listed above. How close can you get a car to the water's edge at both of these launch spots?

Swan harbor launch is a long walk. Parking is only allowed at the information center. There is a drivable path to the fishing pier and beach, but employees and handicapped only. Pavers lead the way to the beach and I would have to estimate about 150 yards! The water access located at the beach is inaccessible due to all the drift wood. An unpaved walking path
to the left of the office leads to a more accessible area, but is very brutal for a kayak cart. I would recommend scoping the area before unloading your kayak to choose the easiest path.

Eleanor Tydings is less of a walk, but is located in a wooden area. A walking path is available with a moderate grade. You have to park in the farm field to the left of the dead end road, unload, and trek down. Definitely not the classiest people in the area. yakfish has a good video in the forum at helps with a visual.

[HJS]

Swan harbor launch is a long walk. Parking is only allowed at the information center. There is a drivable path to the fishing pier and beach, but employees and handicapped only. Pavers lead the way to the beach and I would have to estimate about 150 yards! The water access located at the beach is inaccessible due to all the drift wood. An unpaved walking path
to the left of the office leads to a more accessible area, but is very brutal for a kayak cart. I would recommend scoping the area before unloading your kayak to choose the easiest path.

Eleanor Tydings is less of a walk, but is located in a wooden area. A walking path is available with a moderate grade. You have to park in the farm field to the left of the dead end road, unload, and trek down. Definitely not the classiest people in the area. yakfish has a good video in the forum at helps with a visual.

Thanks Jeremy - Sounds like I'll leave those two put-ins for the young bucks. IMHO, City Park is probably the best place to launch a canoe/kayak and provides excellent access to the northern tier of the Flats. The southern tier of the Flats is a looong haul from City Park though. Unfortunately, during some years, most of the Flats action is along the southern boundary of the Flats C&R zone. I think this occurs during high flow years. During low flow years, like last spring, there were LOTS of stripers to be caught along the northern tier. Each spring is different.

[Yak Fish]

The other thing to note about swan harbor is that it may be closed. It was not open to launch last season. The walk is a very long...several hundred yards down hill. The worst part is coming back up. It's really not the right place for a launch. Fishing from the pier is one thing and could be fun, but I wouldn't haul the yak.

Last year fishing was good all over the flats, north, south and middle. Although I will say that I never catch them along the western shore. There's a nice secondary channel there that seems like it would be great, but I never catch anything there. Rudow's guide to fishing the chesapeake says there's fish there, but I'm not so sure.