Dismantled submarine S-49 pax river

[walk the plank]

Has any one ever fished the submarine wreck on the pax river,I figure it would be a short paddel from Myrtle point park.2013-04-02-20-23-44.jpg

[Rockchaser]

I spent my summers growing up in Town Creek and fished that area alot out of my uncles 12' Boston Whaler. I never knew there was a sunken sub down there. Theonly issue I could see with fishing there is the depth. It runs deep in that area.

Let me know if you want to give it a try, I would love to get out there again.

[quikdrive]

We keep our boat right there at Cuckold creek. The channel thru there has a steep drop off. Goes from 8' to +100' very quickly. That area also has some good currents and because of the bottleneck has lots of boat traffic during the summer. We always had good luck bottom fishing the drop offs @ the mouth of Cuckold creek near the markers. Another launch option if you didn't want to do the long walk would be the end of Clark's landing road. The road dead ends and there is a free public ramp. The ramp itself is shallow and is old so you won't see a lot of boats over 12' launching there. You just park on the side of the road.

[walk the plank]

I spent my summers growing up in Town Creek and fished that area alot out of my uncles 12' Boston Whaler. I never knew there was a sunken sub down there. Theonly issue I could see with fishing there is the depth. It runs deep in that area.

Let me know if you want to give it a try, I would love to get out there again.

Will do.

[archeryrob]

I used to work off and on down Pax River and they put F-18's in the water too, but they hoist those back up on a barge and take them back to Pax for refitting. I was doing some work and saw them bring one up on a tractor trailer with a tarp on it, like you could not tell what it was. I asked the guy at the repair facility "Did they crash it?" he said, "No sank it, you'd be surprised how many times that happens." I guess they get silly off coast where no one can see.

Oh and the gun range was closed back then too. It faces the bay with a 20' berm and apparently the Navy guys were missing the berm on a 50 yards range and too many boater were complaining of stray bullets flying threw the bay. Imagine that on your kayak.

[Capt C-Hawk]

That sub is down about 90' in a high trafic area. On a calm weekday with a good sonar you can make out the sub and conning tower. Seriously doubt you'd even get a lure on it.

[Capt Brady Bounds]

Try 138' , amazing the experts here. But regardless of who is measuring what and where, the history of fishing around the wreck off Myrtle Point is that it has been remarkably unproductive. There's so many other nearby places that are producers.

Here's an interesting statement: "Oh and the gun range was closed back then too. It faces the bay with a 20' berm and apparently the Navy guys were missing the berm on a 50 yards range and too many boater were complaining of stray bullets flying threw the bay. Imagine that on your kayak. " The portion of the statement starting with : It faces the Bay is not true, it faces the Patuxent River. The next sentence is also not correct either, the facts are that the Navy did not want to spend the money to erect overhead barricades to prevent possible "over the berm" shots. And there were lead abatement issues. And lastly that there were complaints of stray bullets is in my opinion totally not factual, because the centerfire rounds either pistol or rifle all had a carry of miles. This old range that was once used was parallel to the incoming flight path of the main runway and immediately adjacent to it. Just wasn't a good place to have a modern firearms range, however when the boat, aircraft and general personnel traffic was not as intense on Pax NAS as it is now, it served it's purpose.Back in the day, the sailors used semiautomatic weapons fired from the shoulder such as the M1 Garand and the M1A1 .45 Automatic. In recent years the services have gone to fully automatic, and semi-auto service shoulder arms, like the M16 and other. As such the likelyhood of elevated multiple shots was envisioned, by the pencil-heads that make such decisions, to be greater with the modern shoulder arms than with the ones in use when the range was orginally constructed and renovated.



I write this to correct the record as I know it, not to bust on anybodys post.

[echo5oscar]

the former S-49 foundered off Point Patience in the Patuxent River on 16 December 1942 and sank in 102 feet of water

-Wikipedia.


image.jpg


Try 138' , amazing the experts here.

I write this to correct the record as I know it, not to bust on anybodys post.

[Capt Brady Bounds]

It may have sank in 102', but it now rests in the bottom of the hole which is 138+/_. The actual highest part of the wreckage is at 129+/_ according to my log notes. The current is strong there, and getting a jig down is a trick as is staying on top of it.

I read the Wikipedia link and all I have to say about that is my observations do not correspond with the position and water depth that the account reports.

But ya know picky, picky........

[mango]

Do they measure the depth at high and low tide then average?

[averagejoe]

Geez, kids. If you don't stop bickering I'll pull this car over right now!
Who gives a sh---if its 100 or 136?...can't fish it in that location. All the mythology about the Chesapeake firing ranges? Who knows what to believe...but it's fun to chat about. Lots of sh-- happened round here that happened nowhere else in the country. I doubt anyone knows it all.
This is a forum, not an ask the experts column. Sheez....

[echo5oscar]

Haha

[Rockchaser]

Geez, kids. If you don't stop bickering I'll pull this car over right now!
Who gives a sh---if its 100 or 136?...can't fish it in that location. All the mythology about the Chesapeake firing ranges? Who knows what to believe...but it's fun to chat about. Lots of sh-- happened round here that happened nowhere else in the country. I doubt anyone knows it all.
This is a forum, not an ask the experts column. Sheez....

+1

[archeryrob]

Hey Capt, I am relaying the facts as I was told by people that work there 365 a year. I too was told about the cost of fixing the berm, but safety was one concern as the berm was being shot over. I would imaging it it would have had to be intentional, or stupidity, as its hard to shoot over a 20' berm at 50' by mistake. I was told Civilian complaints about the occasion stay bullets where as much of a cause about shutting it down as the berm. And the money that Navy spends down there, that berm is small potatoes.

Sorry about the bay vs. the Patuxent. To mountain boy like me a 2 mile wide river mouth, looks like the bay to me.

On another note. Me and another guy where doing surveys and our escort took us to two buildings. I say what building, I only see a stair and railing going into the ground. He takes us into survey the building without telling us what it is, while he watches. Should have known I was being setup. There where two seaman working on the building, wearing hearing protection, but it's not noisy, hmm. I am walking around surveying the building for work and all of a sudden the "machine" they are working on starts screaming at 120 decibels, or more, I and my partner drop our stuff and start running. Then it stops and we hear the escort laughing. He tells us we had just seen the cable arrestor in action as a F-18 landed above us. Then we found out the two buildings where land versions of the cable assestor and steam catapult to train pilots and seaman before duty at sea. Luckily, I did not need to change my pants.

[Capt Brady Bounds]

Hey Capt, I am relaying the facts as I was told by people that work there 365 a year. I too was told about the cost of fixing the berm, but safety was one concern as the berm was being shot over. I would imaging it it would have had to be intentional, or stupidity, as its hard to shoot over a 20' berm at 50' by mistake. I was told Civilian complaints about the occasion stay bullets where as much of a cause about shutting it down as the berm. And the money that Navy spends down there, that berm is small potatoes.

Sorry about the bay vs. the Patuxent. To mountain boy like me a 2 mile wide river mouth, looks like the bay to me.

On another note. Me and another guy where doing surveys and our escort took us to two buildings. I say what building, I only see a stair and railing going into the ground. He takes us into survey the building without telling us what it is, while he watches. Should have known I was being setup. There where two seaman working on the building, wearing hearing protection, but it's not noisy, hmm. I am walking around surveying the building for work and all of a sudden the "machine" they are working on starts screaming at 120 decibels, or more, I and my partner drop our stuff and start running. Then it stops and we hear the escort laughing. He tells us we had just seen the cable arrestor in action as a F-18 landed above us. Then we found out the two buildings where land versions of the cable assestor and steam catapult to train pilots and seaman before duty at sea. Luckily, I did not need to change my pants.

Hey we're cool. I apologize if I was a bit assertive in my post. Thirty years guiding out of Solomons mostly light tackle and flyfishing; I have seen a lot of change in the region and surrounding Pax NAS.