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I live only a few miles from Downs Park, yet I rarely fish there. Those of you who have been to Downs know it’s a spacious park that borders the Chesapeake Bay between the Magothy and Patapsco Rivers. It has athletic fields, a fishing pier, a dog beach, areas of dense tree growth, picnic pavilions, hiking and biking trails, a playground and two car-top boat launches.
http://www.aacounty.org/departments/...s/parks/downs/
The launch from the south side of Downs into the Bay is directly from the beach. Frankly, I do not like the bayside launch. The Bay is ten miles wide in front of the park. Waves and wind can be problematic and there is absolutely no place to go for protection. Nevertheless, I have caught white perch and stripers immediately in front of the park in calm water conditions.
Some may not know that there is second car-top launch site at Downs Park. On the north side of the park there is access to Bodkin Creek, a tributary of the Patapsco River. That is the launch I am going to discuss in this post.
Below is a Google Earth view of the Bodkin. I’ve circled the launch site from Downs Park in red.
Capture.jpg
You can see that the Bodkin has numerous cuts and inlets to explore. It is heavily populated with lots of piers, bulkheads and riprap to target with your casts. Also, there are areas of natural shorelines and unobstructed open waters for those who like to troll.
If you’re really ambitious you can head to the Patapsco River which is approximately one and half miles from the launch. As a point of orientation, it would be a three-mile trip from the mouth of the Bodkin to Fort Smallwood Park on the Patapsco. You would turn left from the Bodkin into the Patapsco to head toward Fort Smallwood.
This morning I launched into the Bodkin from Downs for the first time.
Here is the parking area:
P1020816.jpg
I like to drop my boat onto a soft surface whenever possible to avoid unnecessary abrasion to my hull. There is plenty of grass surrounding the parking lot to do that.
The path to the water from the parking lot is perhaps 75 yards. It is flat and paved most of the way. An easy walk, but a cart is a must.
P1020819.jpg
Below you can see that the launch site itself is a heavily shaded area. Actually, it would be helpful if park officials cut the overhanging branches at the point of entry.
P1020820.jpg
Also, it’s a soft launch area…no ramp, just mud and sand. It was high tide when I launched this morning. It was thick black mud when I returned a couple of hours later.
The area near the launch has natural shorelines with lots of downed wood. Not far from the launch I immediately hooked something large on my jig spinner next to one of the downed trees. I believe it was a substantial pickerel but I only saw its green back. It tossed my hook after a short fight.
I continued through a heavily populated area until I reached open water.
P1020825.jpg P1020827.jpg
The Patapsco is straight ahead in this photo below between the two points of land:
P1020829.jpg
As to fishing, I hugged the shorelines casting to natural and manmade structures. I caught a fair number of white perch on the two lures pictured below – one of my 1/8 oz. jig spinners tied with bucktail and a Mister Twister on a 1/8 oz. jighead:
P1020841.jpg P1020842.jpg
On my way back to the launch, I had company. A group of recreational kayakers passed me and beached their boats at the launch site. I didn’t mind, even though I had to move one of their boats out of my way to get my kayak to land. I was glad to see the site being used.
P1020845.jpg
I spoke to one of the kayakers and we agreed that the launch could use significant improvement. In particular the mud was difficult to negotiate as I removed my kayak from the water. The tide had fallen significantly since I departed exposing the soft bottom. My feet deeply penetrated the thick black muck and the mud actually pulled my shoes from my feet! What’s needed is a gravel ramp similar to the one at Weems Creek.
So, that was my first trip to the Bodkin using the access point from Downs Park. Aside from the need for improvements at the launch site, the actual launch is convenient to sheltered water and provides ready access to open waters in the Bodkin suitable for trolling. It definitely holds promise for a return trip to target stripers.
Lastly, there is a $6 entry fee to the park. You can buy an annual pass for $30 to all AA County Parks and if you’re an old guy like me, you can buy a lifetime pass for $40.
http://www.aacounty.org/departments/...s/parks/downs/
The launch from the south side of Downs into the Bay is directly from the beach. Frankly, I do not like the bayside launch. The Bay is ten miles wide in front of the park. Waves and wind can be problematic and there is absolutely no place to go for protection. Nevertheless, I have caught white perch and stripers immediately in front of the park in calm water conditions.
Some may not know that there is second car-top launch site at Downs Park. On the north side of the park there is access to Bodkin Creek, a tributary of the Patapsco River. That is the launch I am going to discuss in this post.
Below is a Google Earth view of the Bodkin. I’ve circled the launch site from Downs Park in red.
Capture.jpg
You can see that the Bodkin has numerous cuts and inlets to explore. It is heavily populated with lots of piers, bulkheads and riprap to target with your casts. Also, there are areas of natural shorelines and unobstructed open waters for those who like to troll.
If you’re really ambitious you can head to the Patapsco River which is approximately one and half miles from the launch. As a point of orientation, it would be a three-mile trip from the mouth of the Bodkin to Fort Smallwood Park on the Patapsco. You would turn left from the Bodkin into the Patapsco to head toward Fort Smallwood.
This morning I launched into the Bodkin from Downs for the first time.
Here is the parking area:
P1020816.jpg
I like to drop my boat onto a soft surface whenever possible to avoid unnecessary abrasion to my hull. There is plenty of grass surrounding the parking lot to do that.
The path to the water from the parking lot is perhaps 75 yards. It is flat and paved most of the way. An easy walk, but a cart is a must.
P1020819.jpg
Below you can see that the launch site itself is a heavily shaded area. Actually, it would be helpful if park officials cut the overhanging branches at the point of entry.
P1020820.jpg
Also, it’s a soft launch area…no ramp, just mud and sand. It was high tide when I launched this morning. It was thick black mud when I returned a couple of hours later.
The area near the launch has natural shorelines with lots of downed wood. Not far from the launch I immediately hooked something large on my jig spinner next to one of the downed trees. I believe it was a substantial pickerel but I only saw its green back. It tossed my hook after a short fight.
I continued through a heavily populated area until I reached open water.
P1020825.jpg P1020827.jpg
The Patapsco is straight ahead in this photo below between the two points of land:
P1020829.jpg
As to fishing, I hugged the shorelines casting to natural and manmade structures. I caught a fair number of white perch on the two lures pictured below – one of my 1/8 oz. jig spinners tied with bucktail and a Mister Twister on a 1/8 oz. jighead:
P1020841.jpg P1020842.jpg
On my way back to the launch, I had company. A group of recreational kayakers passed me and beached their boats at the launch site. I didn’t mind, even though I had to move one of their boats out of my way to get my kayak to land. I was glad to see the site being used.
P1020845.jpg
I spoke to one of the kayakers and we agreed that the launch could use significant improvement. In particular the mud was difficult to negotiate as I removed my kayak from the water. The tide had fallen significantly since I departed exposing the soft bottom. My feet deeply penetrated the thick black muck and the mud actually pulled my shoes from my feet! What’s needed is a gravel ramp similar to the one at Weems Creek.
So, that was my first trip to the Bodkin using the access point from Downs Park. Aside from the need for improvements at the launch site, the actual launch is convenient to sheltered water and provides ready access to open waters in the Bodkin suitable for trolling. It definitely holds promise for a return trip to target stripers.
Lastly, there is a $6 entry fee to the park. You can buy an annual pass for $30 to all AA County Parks and if you’re an old guy like me, you can buy a lifetime pass for $40.
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