New to southern Maryland (st Mary's county) curious about bloodsworth island?

[Vikingyaker]

Howdy! New to southern Maryland from wisconsin for the last year and the Texas coast for 10+ years before that. I have been kayak fishing for as long as I can remember, I have caught sailfish, redfish, sharks, musky, pike, bass, king salmon, Chinook salmon and many more species. I an excited to learn a new fishery and conquer some more species! I live near the naval air station, there is alot of water out there to cover. Wondering if anyone else is in this area or if anyone regularly launches from point lookout? As long as it's within 2 hours of my location I have no problem driving to find fish. Any local knowledge would help out greatly. ALSO does anyone know about the islands due east of here it would be about a 15 mile paddle from point lookout which is no big deal, but the info I can't seem to get a straight answer on is did they allow camping one these islands? The island around bloodsworth island?

[J.A. Veil]

Howdy! New to southern Maryland from wisconsin for the last year and the Texas coast for 10+ years before that. I have been kayak fishing for as long as I can remember, I have caught sailfish, redfish, sharks, musky, pike, bass, king salmon, Chinook salmon and many more species. I an excited to learn a new fishery and conquer some more species! I live near the naval air station, there is alot of water out there to cover. Wondering if anyone else is in this area or if anyone regularly launches from point lookout? As long as it's within 2 hours of my location I have no problem driving to find fish. Any local knowledge would help out greatly. ALSO does anyone know about the islands due east of here it would be about a 15 mile paddle from point lookout which is no big deal, but the info I can't seem to get a straight answer on is did they allow camping one these islands? The island around bloodsworth island?

Paddling across the bay from Pt Lookout to Bloodsworth is not a practical option for most of us. Sea conditions can change during the day making it impossible or dangerous to cross. I don't know about camping there, but suspect it is not permitted. Capt. Walleye Pete runs charters out of Solomons and fishes the eastern shore islands, including Bloodsworth. It is a long boat ride to get there. I would not want to make that journey in a kayak.

[Big Mike]

There is an active group of us that fish down here that are always open to others joining us. I've personally never heard of anyone going from PLO over to the eastern shore for fishing in a kayak and it would take a pretty special day to even attempt it. Bloodsworth Island and the surrounding smaller islands are closed to public access on the land itself. Old Navy bombing target and lots of unexplored ordinance. You can fish most of the surrounding water.

[brianisoutside]

Two hours drive will take you just about anywhere on the western side of the bay, i.e. Patapsco, magothy, Severn, south, west, Rhodes rivers to name a few


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[RavensDfense]

Like John and others said, paddling from PLO to Bloodsworth is not safe on most days. The species you'd catch there are available at other areas on either side of the bay. Unlike some other areas of the bay, the channels between PLO and islands such as Bloodsworth produce big waves and current. You may make it there on a pristine day, but the likelihood of seeing those weather conditions the following day (or tide cycle for that matter) are slim.

[Vikingyaker]

I appreciate the advice ill keep it in mind. I took a quick paddle early this morning heading south about 5 or 6 miles hooked 4 rays but that's the only action to speak of. Hope to see y'all out there some time.

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[Fishinfool]

You are already living near fairly prime fishing grounds. The Patuxent River near the mouth and the creeks and tributaries upstream can be very productive. Then there's the Potomac. You can camp on PT Lookout, although it's not of the wilderness type you may be looking for. Then there's upriver a bit with St George's Island, Rt 301 Bridge, and further up at Chapel Point, with many public launches in between.

No need to drive two hrs., or risk a long difficult paddle across the Bay's widest part. Also, if you to Bloodsworth Island by power boat at some point, there are old Army tanks, and other hazards submerged that present dangerous hazards to powered boats. A field trip boat loaded with kids out of Chesapeake Bay Foundation sank. Only a quick thinking waterman saved about fifteen people that day.

Here a link to public launches. Check St Mary's and Charles Counties.: http://dnr.maryland.gov/boating/Page...boatramps.aspx

[Vikingyaker]

Thank you for the info I really appreciate it, any clue where I can target some big bull reds? Flounder? And when the stripers run, will we get big ones here?

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[Big Mike]

Vikingyaker, for large parts of the year you may find our local waters lacking if very large fish is what you seek. Bull reds don't make it into St Mary's water that is reachable by kayak (they are caught at the target ship in the middle of the bay). For that you need to travel to the lower eastern shore of Virginia, see posts from Ravensdefense for a better description. Keeper flounder can be caught in Ocean City or down by the Bay Bridge in Virginia Beach. There used to be keepers around here but they haven't been around for several years. We catch them up to 13-14" but rarely larger. Try Cornfield Harbor outside Point Lookout for your best bet. We do get the big cow stripers in the spring and a smaller run in the fall, Oct/Nov. rest of the year we're hunting stripers up to 25" or so, this year some nice speckled trout, the occasional keeper redfish and perch. If you go north of here the redfish and speck bite drops off quickly and it's predominantly a striper and perch fishery.

[Patapsco Mike]

Coming from the West like that is crazy talk, the responses above are correct. But you can get through Bloodsworth Island on a kayak- I've done it starting at the north end and going all the way through the middle of the island to the south. It was a very convoluted route and I could never have managed it myself. I was guided by some locals who knew the way.