Patapsco, 1-20-15, HH-WWD

[HJS]

I got skunked on the inner Patapsco yesterday, Tuesday, 1-20-15. No fish, no hits and nothing of interest on the FF. I arrived at the Harbor Hospital ramp around 10:30am to find thin skim ice covering the river from shore to shore. It looked like it was breaking up fast and might be fishable in a couple of hours. So to kill time I got back in the car to check a couple other areas and get some eats. Drove past Belle Grove Ponds and they were covered with thick old ice, didn’t even stop. I then went to the Fort Armistead ramp arriving around noon. No one fishing within sight and no kayak cars in the lot. Spent a few minutes taking pictures of the local feral cat population there, especially this one majestic and regal cat I dubbed King Armistead. I noticed the tip end of his left ear has been clipped off flat to indicate to animal control people that this cat has been trapped, neutered and re-released. I saw several pans of cat food here and there, so the local “Cat Women” are keeping the cats well feed.

I got back to the HH ramp around 1:30pm to find the ice had melted enough to launch. I searched the area between Ferry Point all the way back to the WWD. The only place that showed a few scant marks was right at the WWD, and these marks appeared to be a couple of small schools of small bait. There were no gizzard marks, no perch marks and certainly no striper marks found anywhere. I didn’t see any evidence that gizzard shad were in the area… no surface flips, no marks on the FF and none snagged. When gizzards are not at the WWD then you know something has changed with the HH-WWD. BTW, water clarity was an impressive 5 feet.

Water temps on the WWD side of the Hanover Bridge varied little throughout this area hovering around 41F with a few spots hitting 41.5F. I could not detect any significant temperature spikes as I drifted back and forth through the WWD plume. On the far side of Ferry Point water temps quickly dropped off to 38F. Even though there was some smoke coming from the trash incinerator, the WWD didn’t seem to be all that warm compared to ambient water temps. I’m not very optimistic that the HH-WWD will ever turn on like it has in previous years. I’ll probably keep trying though.

HH-WWD, 1-20-15.JPGKey Bridge feral cat A.jpgKey Bridge feral cat - B.jpg

[DanMarino]

Great report Howard. Bummer about the area you fished. That cat is pretty cool.

[phlyphshr22]

hi Howard ,Iam wondering if you have any knowledge about times and maybe places for winter and early spring time fishing in the middle branch of patapsco. I have been fishing that area for probably more years than I d liked to say and know summer times of when the fishing is good pretty weell. But I have yet to only speak to a few that fish it in earlly sprng andwinter.Any info would be greatly appreciATED . THANKS

[Severn Gary]

Howard, great report! I frequently fish the Harbor Hospital/Ferry Point/Ft. McHenry/Curtis Bay areas of the Patapsco in the summer and Fall, but haven't tried it in the Winter and Spring. I've heard that HH has a warm water discharge, but wasn't sure where it was. I've heard it is just inside the Hanover St. Bridge cove on the North side. Is that correct? Do any of the big Rockfish come into that area in the Spring catch and release season? I'm also interested in fishing the main stem of the Patapsco up to the Belle Grove ponds. Does anyone know if that area is productive in the Winter and Spring? Do Rockfish go up there int he Spring?

Thanks,

Severn Gary

[Yak Fish]

Howard, great report! I frequently fish the Harbor Hospital/Ferry Point/Ft. McHenry/Curtis Bay areas of the Patapsco in the summer and Fall, but haven't tried it in the Winter and Spring. I've heard that HH has a warm water discharge, but wasn't sure where it was. I've heard it is just inside the Hanover St. Bridge cove on the North side. Is that correct? Do any of the big Rockfish come into that area in the Spring catch and release season? I'm also interested in fishing the main stem of the Patapsco up to the Belle Grove ponds. Does anyone know if that area is productive in the Winter and Spring? Do Rockfish go up there int he Spring?

Thanks,

Severn Gary

When people don't answer where the discharges are, don't take it personal :-) They're small areas and can get clogged up since only a boat, maybe two can fish it at a time. It would be a very bad thing for them to discuss on forums. You just have to go out and look for it.

[DanMarino]

^ and if people were catching hog stripers there in the spring or fall, I'm pretty sure the word would have gotten out by now.

[Severn Gary]

Got it, makes sense!

[HJS]

Hey guys, sorry for not getting back in a timely fashion.

I’ve been fishing the Patapsco from my canoe since August 1, 2000. My first trip to specifically target the HH-WWD was on February 23, 2004. On that day I caught 10 very nice stripers ranging from 22”-36”. That day I had to fish around and dodge several large ice flows that were drifting around in the area. All 10 stripers were on 7” Bass Assassin on a 1oz jighead. I’ve been fishing the HH-WWD every winter since then. On average I hit the WWD 4 to 8 times the winter starting later December thru to about mid-March.

I been keeping detailed reports for all fishing trips for at least 25 years. Reports for the HH-WWD show that at least half of them were total skunks. One winter I didn’t catch a single striper after about 4 trips. And some trips produced only a couple of stripers. So the area is VERY hit or miss. Since my first trip to the HH-WWD in 2004 the striper fishery there has been slowly tapering off. Use to be that most winter trips, there would be at least 2 to 6 boats already in the area. Now, at least half of my trips to the HH-WWD I am the only boat there. That right there pretty much sums up the decline of the HH-WWD since 2004. Currently, the action there is a far cry from what it once was.

Phlyphshr22 – As Yak Fish indicated, during the winter months, the only show in town on the Patapsco are its WWDs. So yeah, their exact locations are kept vague. A good hint about the HH-WWD is that the vast major of the stripers I’ve caught at the HH-WWD, over the years, during winter months, have been at least ¼ to ½ miles away from the actual WWD. So its effect is wide ranging (or use to be), and boats don’t have to bunch up like they do at other more popular WWDs on the Patapsco. As far as “other times and places” on the Patapsco, I generally quit the Patapsco from mid-March through the summer months and resume fishing early fall just as the water starts cooling off. So I’m sorta clueless about where the action is during the spring and summer months.

Severn Gary – You are right about the location of the HH-WWD. But like I say above, you don’t even have to hunch-up close to the WWD to do well. But I’ll repeat again… it ain’t what it used to be. I’ve heard a few times that there has been some striper action reported up as far as the Belle Grove Ponds, but I have little fishing experience there.

DanMarino – Yeah, it is a bummer. I don’t particularly like fishing during the winter months… I’m getting too old for that. But if I’m catching good fish then it doesn’t feel cold at all. I’ll probably try the HH-WWD a few more times before I quit there for the winter… but that depends on if I’m catching.

[DanMarino]

Well on the bright side it will be daylight savings time soon with more day light and after that comes shad fishing season.

[HJS]

... and after that comes shad fishing season.

And that's pretty much why I quit the Patapsco around mid-March. There's too much other fishing that's starting to heat up bigtime, namely shad and the Susky Flats... although the Susky C&R season has sorta fizzled the past 2 years.

[Severn Gary]

HJS and all: Thanks for the good info. Yes, March starts Trout, I usually wait for April for Shad!! It never ends....ain't it Grand!!