New Maryland Kayak Fisherman

[justeric]

Hi All,

I just acquired a slightly used 13' Revo with a bunch of bells and whistles. I am looking for advice on where to go and what to use for the local waters. I live in Howard County Md. and consider local waters anything within a 4 hours drive. Are there any clubs that I can join? Are there any club meet and greet/outings to teach the new guys? Are there any books that list some good spots to target and maybe provide the tackle and fishing method?

I plan to attend the fishing class at ACC on 3/9 held by Mark Bange and John Veil.

My guess is that I will spend a lot of time fishing the flatter water in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. I would love to target Stripers and anything that tastes good.

I do not have a dry suit (yet) so it will be a while before I can start. I hope to use the time getting ready for the season.

Please let me know if you have any ideas that might be helpful for the new guy just getting started

Thanks,
Eric

[J.A. Veil]

Eric - Welcome to the kayak fishing community. Mark and I look forward to having you in the March 9 class. Just for clarification, AACC offers two classes on fishing. Mark and I are teaching the one on kayak fishing. I don't know the instructor for the other fishing class.

[Mark]

Eric,

Congratulations on your Revo. I have owned two and I think they make great fishing kayaks.

In terms of where to launch locally and how to catch fish from your Revo, John and I will cover those topics in depth during our AACC course. You'll leave that session with a good understanding of the tackle and methods to put a variety of fish species in your kayak, including the stripers you mentioned. You'll also know where to catch them.

I will be presenting a condensed version of that information on 23 February at Bass Pro when I give a short talk on kayak fly fishing in tidal creeks and ponds. Please come if you can.

In terms of a local club, consider the Free State Fly Fishers: http://fs-ff.com/

Don't let our name deter you if you are not a fly angler. While we do concentrate on that portion of the sport we also promote and encourage light tackle angling. In fact, John Veil was our guest speaker in January. He gave an excellent presentation on fishing with light tackle spinning rods. Last week, February's speaker was Joe Bruce who spoke to us about shallow water fishing from a kayak. Indeed, the club sponsors about 30 outings each year. Many of them are kayak outings in fresh and tidal waters and many of our members carry and use spinning gear on those outings.

So, you're in an excellent area to learn and expand your kayak angling skills, on the water, at club meetings and in the classroom. And there is a wealth of information on this forum. You're definitely in the right place.

We've already met briefly at the recent HOW flea market. I look forward to seeing you in class and then on the water later this year.

[bignose]

Do a quick search on this site for "Columbia Lakes" and it will direct you to a thread: "Permit for Columbia Lakes."
I wrote extensively on them last year.

Good luck!

[YakMan1731]

some good spots to target

My guess is that I will spend a lot of time fishing the flatter water in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

Hi Eric,

Congratulations and welcome! Kayak fishing will dig into you like a tick in the best way possible. We are incredibly lucky around here to have both unique and various types of waters to fish. When I was beginning, I found that learning new launches was tough, since I didn't know what I would be presented with when I got there, sometimes after a long drive. In that vein, I strongly recommend this website- http://www.cpakayaker.com/chesapeake...-campsite-map/

It has tons of information on access to the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. We all have our favorites for particular times of year, so feel free to ask away if you want more info.
Have fun!

Matt

[DanMarino]

Got my permits last week!

Welcome to Howard County. I live there and it is pretty central to lots of fishing opportunities.
Rocky Gorge and Triadelphia (when they finish working on the dam) have some very big fish and are beautiful places to kayak. A Revo would let you cover a huge amount of water at Rocky Gorge.

If you are into salt fishing, then I'll let the Annapolis guys point you in the right direction.

My love is fishing for smallmouth bass on the Upper Potomac River.

Best wishes.

[Yak Fish]

Welcome aboard! There's lots of good fishing near you...anywhere you launch on the Chesapeake will have fish for the most part. Some more than others at different times of year. You'll see lots of reports here and that'll give you a place to start, and the addiction will take over from there :-)

[whenican]

Hey justeric,
Welcome to the forum.
Go to the monthly meet & greets that kayak anglers on this forum organize.
It’s a great time to learn new fishing techniques & to meet other anglers.
I, myself, have met numerous peeps with whom to share fishing knowledge
& fishing trips. But sometimes work gets in the way for me.

[justeric]

Thanks to everyone for your welcoming responses! I'm watching a lot of videos and reading everything on the Snaggedline forum. I look forward attending some meet and greats in the coming season and having a fun and safe season.

Thanks again,
Eric

[ronaultmtd]

Welcome...when I started out back in late 2010, I knew zero about kayaks...could even figure out how to get into and out of one...I asked for help on the forum and setup my first trip on the water with Bill, Kevin and Moc-all Snaggedline forum friends. We met at Wheatly Lake in Charles County parking lot.Those guys had never met me before that day and freely gave a stranger their experience...they helped me unload my kayak, showed me everything I needed to know...like you I had watched You Tube videos and had lurked on the forum reading everything I could, but until you get the kayak wet...you just don’t know...and it is what you don’t know that you don’t know that gets you in trouble...those fellas are the champs that I owe and owe...I was an accomplished and very seasoned fisherman before becoming a kayak fisherman...but none of that transfers to kayaks..sitting on your butt at water level changes everything. Casting, hooking, landing a fish...are all different...your perspectives are different...the choices you make on fishing locations are going to be based upon your limited radius from the launch...your tackle, the amount of available gear you can carry, etc. are all different...there is only one way to learn after you get down the basics...that is to go out on the water with some friends...and you will make some friends on this forum- I have...one great thing you have going for you is starting out in one of the very best fishing kayaks on the market...