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John Veil and I launched from Downs Park into the Bodkin this morning. As predicted by Windfinder.com, a strong southern wind was evident when we got into the Bodkin’s main stem. However, a good thing about the Downs launch is that there are 4 main creeks accessible from the ramp as well as the Patapsco River and the Chesapeake Bay itself. Some of these waters run east to west and others run north to south. The result is that protected water is available regardless of the direction of the wind.
With that in mind, we headed to Back Creek which is an east/west creek in the chain. John hooked a small striper trolling in the Bodkin along the way. Our goal in Back Creek was pickerel. We split up with John cruising the north shore while I stayed on the southern shore. We fished about one half the length of the creek, targeting natural shorelines and docks. Both types of structure are abundant.
We caught no pickerel but we each hooked a dozen white perch and John got another small striper. My perch were not extraordinary. Most were 8 to 9 inches. I believe this was my largest:
P1040135.jpg
Today my green bucktail jig spinner got a lot of perch action. In fact, I also caught a yellow perch with it later in the day in another creek accessible from the launch:
P1040156.jpg
This was the third yellow perch I’ve caught launching from Downs this year.
After we departed Back Creek John headed back to the launch. I stayed out. I haven't been able to fish as much from my kayak as I would like recently so I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. I crossed the Bodkin and headed to the Patapsco. You can see the wind was blowing the waves in the Bodkin toward the Patapsco:
P1040139.jpg
However, once I turned the corner of the Bodkin and headed south in the Patapsco, the shoreline to my right shielded the double-digit south wind. I had smooth sailing all the way to Bodkin Point which you can see straight ahead:
P1040142.jpg
Here's the point up close:
P1040147.jpg
Bodkin Point is an interesting spot. As you sit there, you can see the Key Bridge to the north and the Bay Bridge to the south. The Bay Bridge was pretty much fogged in. I could see its spires but not the roadbed. The Key Bridge, however, was visible:
P1040148.jpg
The point itself held fish today. I caught two channel cats, one 22 to 23 inches and another 20 inches within inches of the rocks. Here’s the largest:
P1040150.jpg
It hit a white 3-inch paddletail on a ΒΌ oz. jig.
I also picked up 5 stripers like this in the same spot. Again, each was tight to the rocks.
P1040154.jpg
They either hit the white paddletail or one of my jig spinners. The spinner in the photo above is one with a heavier gauge wire hook that I use when targeting stripers. The sturdier hook also comes in handy when a channel cat hits as a 20 incher did today.
But recall, my quest this morning was for pickerel. Unfortunately, I never caught one despite many casts. I returned from Bodkin Point to the protected waters of the creeks. I cast to high probability pickerel habitat like these areas:
P1040158.jpg P1040162.jpg
All I got for my efforts were more white perch. I finished with 32 in the boat and many more that came unbuttoned boat-side. As a sidebar, the perch today were routinely 10 to 20 feet from shore. I would cast tight to cover looking for pickerel, however my perch strikes would come well into my retrieve when my spinner was far from shore. Also, a slow retrieve worked best.
Despite my pickerel deficit today, I know they are there. Here’s anecdotal evidence:
I was fishing near a dock in Wharf Creek and the homeowner came out to check her crab trap that was tied to piling. The woman said to me, “If you’re not catching fish I know why.” “How come,” I responded. “Because they’re always in my crab trap – long green things with pointy noses. I think they’re pike,” she added. “That’s exactly what I’m trying to catch”, I said. “Well, there are plenty of them here,” she answered.
After that humbling experience, I called it day and headed back to the launch. All in all, it was not a bad outing. I haven’t been able to explore the waters of this launch as much as I’ve wanted to this year. But I think they hold much promise. What I like the most is the variety of habitat and species available. I can fish big water as I did near Bodkin Point or sheltered areas of the numerous creeks on the same trip. Catching 40 fish, even if most of them were white perch in 4 hours is pretty good. I encourage you to check out what the launch has to offer.
However, I need to retract a point I made here recently about Down Park. I last visited the Downs launch on September 11. During that visit the gatehouse attendant told me the information card was no longer required if you had been there before. This morning the policy changed again. In lieu of me filling out the card, the gatehouse attendant asked me the questions on it and competed it herself. I told her what the gatehouse attendee said on my last visit. She simply said he was wrong. They want to know who’s out and where. In their defense, I understand they “rescued” two kayakers last winter. So, Downs Park like Ft. Smallwood will indeed record your contact information upon entry.
With that in mind, we headed to Back Creek which is an east/west creek in the chain. John hooked a small striper trolling in the Bodkin along the way. Our goal in Back Creek was pickerel. We split up with John cruising the north shore while I stayed on the southern shore. We fished about one half the length of the creek, targeting natural shorelines and docks. Both types of structure are abundant.
We caught no pickerel but we each hooked a dozen white perch and John got another small striper. My perch were not extraordinary. Most were 8 to 9 inches. I believe this was my largest:
P1040135.jpg
Today my green bucktail jig spinner got a lot of perch action. In fact, I also caught a yellow perch with it later in the day in another creek accessible from the launch:
P1040156.jpg
This was the third yellow perch I’ve caught launching from Downs this year.
After we departed Back Creek John headed back to the launch. I stayed out. I haven't been able to fish as much from my kayak as I would like recently so I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. I crossed the Bodkin and headed to the Patapsco. You can see the wind was blowing the waves in the Bodkin toward the Patapsco:
P1040139.jpg
However, once I turned the corner of the Bodkin and headed south in the Patapsco, the shoreline to my right shielded the double-digit south wind. I had smooth sailing all the way to Bodkin Point which you can see straight ahead:
P1040142.jpg
Here's the point up close:
P1040147.jpg
Bodkin Point is an interesting spot. As you sit there, you can see the Key Bridge to the north and the Bay Bridge to the south. The Bay Bridge was pretty much fogged in. I could see its spires but not the roadbed. The Key Bridge, however, was visible:
P1040148.jpg
The point itself held fish today. I caught two channel cats, one 22 to 23 inches and another 20 inches within inches of the rocks. Here’s the largest:
P1040150.jpg
It hit a white 3-inch paddletail on a ΒΌ oz. jig.
I also picked up 5 stripers like this in the same spot. Again, each was tight to the rocks.
P1040154.jpg
They either hit the white paddletail or one of my jig spinners. The spinner in the photo above is one with a heavier gauge wire hook that I use when targeting stripers. The sturdier hook also comes in handy when a channel cat hits as a 20 incher did today.
But recall, my quest this morning was for pickerel. Unfortunately, I never caught one despite many casts. I returned from Bodkin Point to the protected waters of the creeks. I cast to high probability pickerel habitat like these areas:
P1040158.jpg P1040162.jpg
All I got for my efforts were more white perch. I finished with 32 in the boat and many more that came unbuttoned boat-side. As a sidebar, the perch today were routinely 10 to 20 feet from shore. I would cast tight to cover looking for pickerel, however my perch strikes would come well into my retrieve when my spinner was far from shore. Also, a slow retrieve worked best.
Despite my pickerel deficit today, I know they are there. Here’s anecdotal evidence:
I was fishing near a dock in Wharf Creek and the homeowner came out to check her crab trap that was tied to piling. The woman said to me, “If you’re not catching fish I know why.” “How come,” I responded. “Because they’re always in my crab trap – long green things with pointy noses. I think they’re pike,” she added. “That’s exactly what I’m trying to catch”, I said. “Well, there are plenty of them here,” she answered.
After that humbling experience, I called it day and headed back to the launch. All in all, it was not a bad outing. I haven’t been able to explore the waters of this launch as much as I’ve wanted to this year. But I think they hold much promise. What I like the most is the variety of habitat and species available. I can fish big water as I did near Bodkin Point or sheltered areas of the numerous creeks on the same trip. Catching 40 fish, even if most of them were white perch in 4 hours is pretty good. I encourage you to check out what the launch has to offer.
However, I need to retract a point I made here recently about Down Park. I last visited the Downs launch on September 11. During that visit the gatehouse attendant told me the information card was no longer required if you had been there before. This morning the policy changed again. In lieu of me filling out the card, the gatehouse attendant asked me the questions on it and competed it herself. I told her what the gatehouse attendee said on my last visit. She simply said he was wrong. They want to know who’s out and where. In their defense, I understand they “rescued” two kayakers last winter. So, Downs Park like Ft. Smallwood will indeed record your contact information upon entry.
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