Susky Launch Options

[MetroMan]

YakFish,

We are planning on being there. I will send you my info

[Yak Fish]

YakFish,

We are planning on being there. I will send you my info

Great. It'd be good to meet up. I'll respond with my info. I have a dentist appointment earlier, but should be good to go after....as long as we don't get hammered with this storm.

I'll be easy to spot in my safety orange outback.

[DOGFISH]

me and my cousin launch off of the deer creek parking spot in harford county, also just north of port deposit on the cecil county side. if the water is down dont take your hobies out there to many rocks ! i have a hobie and i take my manta ray up there. lots of stripers , smallies , perch , and shad when there seasons are in.

Thanks. I thought the smallies would be down that far. I scouted it out during the shad run one year. I saw the shad fisherman.


Don't let the bass pros see that sketch, or they will be calling it a double drop shot.

[Mullet Miller]

Here's what I post up every year over at SOL....

Susquehanna Flats Info For 2011 Striped Bass Catch and Release Season Here is your yearly post with the info you need to fish the Susquehanna Flats.

For all you folks that have never traveled to Maryland to participate in the C&R season, it's one of those things you have to try before you die. Monster Striped Bass are all over the flats propagating the future of our sport.

Please remember, treat the fish you catch gently. If you are taking pictures, do it quickly and if at all possible leave the fish in the water until the last second.

Here's the page for you to get your license......

dnr.maryland.gov/service/fishing_license.asp

Here's one for the Conowingo Dam and focus on the amount of water being released.....
waterdata.usgs.gov/md/nwis/uv?cb_00060=o...amp;site_no=01578310

Tide predictor for the area.......
www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/tides/index.asp


State run boat ramps can be found here.....
The areas for the flats are the two at the top in light orange and light green

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries...frmapindex.asp


Fishing Regulations for the Bay
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries...recregchrt.asp



Please be aware, if you are using bait and the hook gap is greater than 1/2", you must use an non-offset circle hook.

Some camping info

Elk Neck State Park
www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/oc.asp

Woodlands Camping Resort
www.woodlandcampresort.com/

If you have any questions or need help in finding a place to stay, eat, drink or anything at all (within reason ) don't hesitate to drop me a PM or an e-mail, I'll answer it as quickly as I can.

mullet_miller@verizon.net

[surfdog]

thanks for the info. will be used gratefully

[Redfish12]

Thanks for posting this here as well MM!

We have a Meet & Greet (our version of informal get togethers, sometimes we do a lure entry fee and winner takes the lot) scheduled for April 9th in the Flats. We haven't picked the launch location yet, but it will probably be that 24/7 lot with free cartop launch access from the sounds of it. Want to give us any tips? Some of us have fished this area before, I have not, and I know you all did a big outing here years past.

Do you think April 9th is a good time of the year? (I know a lot goes into this, water temp, dam release, weather, etc...)

Any pointers for new comers on the flats?

Here's the rest of the schedule - http://snaggedline.com/boatyard/show...light=schedule

[Yak Fish]

I'd love to know the same info. I am drooling over trying to catch one of these in the yak. I tried twice last year trolling tandem rigs but I didn't have any luck likely because I was very green, but I did at least get an understanding of what it's like up there. I did get a 33 incher with a friend on a boat so I learned how those guys do it and I think I can do the same or at least similar.

My plan this year is some more trolling. I may be naive, but I got some small umbrella rigs....I also upgraded to turbo fins to help with the drag. I also will be trolling some tandem rigs and large plugs. Today I just bought some circle hooks to use with cut bait. It seems that cut bait was working last year.

From what I've seen (western portion), there are the Flats and then there's the River. I'm not sure where the fish are to be honest. The Flats are mostly 15-20' of water with a pretty well defined channel that's probably 30' running from the river to the south. Below Tydings and to the west of this is an expanse of water that is inches deep at low tide...not even passable by kayak. I've seen boats stuck in this. On the other side of this is a smaller channel that's about 4' deep. This runs along the shoreline. I would think this area would be good for other types of fish, but not stripers. The water goes from these shallows to the channel in a hurry so it's very unforgiving for boats. This drastic change seems like it would be good to fish along.

The River is much deeper and runs from Tydings to the dam. There are lots of bridges, or more importantly bridge pilings. Again, the first 30 yards from shore are a few feet of water and often weeds that hold bass. There is then a sharp drop to 15' and then to 40'. The main channel and bridges is 60' or more. I know big stripers have been caught in the River.

So, I'm wondering which tactics to try. One option would be trolling up and down the River, or another would be trolling around the Flats. Another would be to set out cut bait at various depths and drift. Any other thoughts guys?

[Mullet Miller]

Pointers for the Flats.....hmmmmm.....

Be prepared to do a lot of paddling or pedaling, I usually cover a lot of water looking for the fish, up to 20 miles. Whenever you are on the move, you need to be trolling, Tube and Worm, bass assassins (opening night, albino, chartreuse, pink) and Rattle Traps are my preferred trollers. With the T&W I've had my best luck with live sandworm. They have to be ordered and delivered, since they are not native to the area. Big drawback is the cost ($$$) and they sometimes don't make the trip. I've dealt with Maine Bait for years. The Gulp sandworms work, I've caught a few nice fish on them as well. I prefer the 8" variety. One technique that is a favorite is trolling past the boaters who anchor up to drown bait chunks, it's always fun to piss them off by bailing fish right under their noses!

An assortment of topwaters is a must, poppers in various sizes, shallow swimmers and needlefish. Yellows and blues are favorites, Pinks have worked well also. Try to think Herring when you select your lures.

A fishfinder is an absolute must! When you get out in the middle you want to look for the drop-offs and holes that scatter all through the flats. There are many. There are several "ditches" that run across the flats, kinda NW to SE.


The best days I've had have always been overcast. Low pressure systems moving in and gray skies can be what dreams are made of out there. Most of the days that we have been out there catching the large on plugs are this type of weather pattern, you'll usually see the bass rolling on the surface. Don't be surprised to see tons of huge carp out there doing aerobatics either, they'll really make you crap your pants when they bust the surface behind you. out along the outter edges can be a blast if the striped ones don't cooperate, smallmouth, large mouth and perch can be had as well.

If you are out with a few others, it's always wise for each member to try something different and upon find the fish, switching up to what is being taken.

There is so much to tell about how to fish out there. Big things to watch are the dam releases and the winds. If there is a large release scheduled it can mess up the water for quite a few days. With all the snow this winter and the extreme cold, the Susquehanna River could be dumping a lot of cold water on the flats late into the season... The boaters can be horrendous out there, make yourself visible, very visible. Mid-week trips can be the best due to low traffic.

I hope I got some basics out there, I'll post more later. If you need any specifics answered, please ask.

[Redfish12]

Mullet, thanks for sharing your experience with us!!! I'm new to the tossing big plugs thing, been picking some off here and there on SOL. I had some good success this fall on bombers and bass assassins so I'll be stocked for the flats with some of that.

You said you used nightcrawlers in the past on the tube as well right? Have you tried bloodworms?

Do you guys ever anchor up and chum/chunk?

[Mullet Miller]

Never tried night crawlers. I've tried bloods with no success on the flats with the T&W, but they have had limited success elsewhere for me.

I don't like using chunk bait on the Flats. To much of a chance to harm the fish, even with circle hooks. I try to keep it all artificial out there.