Getting out exploring new launches

[ronaultmtd]

Maryland has a plethora of kayak launches, too many for any one person to ever launch from all of them...this week Gary (Yak67) and I decided to go explore a new (to us);location at Chappel Point State Park on the Port Tobacco River. First impression is that it is undeveloped and pretty basic, a dirt road in the middle of a field leading down into the woods to the river...it has mudholes that cause you to drive slowly and I was glad my truck is a 4X4 Drive, although it was proved to be unnecessary...once you get to the parking area the access to the river is pretty easy to launch and recover your kayak...the sand is firm and the river is clean...the depth is fine, slopes from beach to five feet of water in less than 25 feet. The depth is about 7-11 feet across the channel...the mouth of the Port Tobacco River is a wide, shallow flat that averages 7 feet deep until you reach the main Potomac River Channel of 60 feet...the distance across the Port Tobacco River from Chappel Point State Park is roughly 3300 feet measured by Google Earth...first impression is this is a viable kayak launch on a beautiful location...we were mostly exploring, but we did carry our fishing rods and fished with minnows and catfish baits..we did not find the fish although my electronics clearly showed that there were fish scattered- a few here and there and a couple of balls of bait...love my new Hook2-7TS unit and the more I use it, become more familiar with it, the more satisfied I am with it. I am learning it’s features and capabilities..not there yet, but getting familiar with the menu options and settings...out of the box it has enough “automatic” features to be very useful, but like anything, the defaults may not be perfect for your fishing...anyway, back to the review about Chappel Point State Park- there is an “Eagle Cam” here that people watch 24-7 with baby Eaglets and invariable non-fisher folks come sight seeing...diverse bunch of folks, so be prepared to meet some “interesting” people...
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[Mark]

Nice post, Ron.

Indeed we are fortunate to live near the Chesapeake Bay which provides incredible opportunities for kayak anglers.

Here is a link that provides statistics about the actual size of the Bay: https://www.mdsg.umd.edu/topics/ecos...ts-and-figures

The numbers are mind-boggling and great news for us because in our plastic boats we can follow fish into areas where larger watercraft, waders and shore anglers cannot go.

Finding those sites is always exciting.

[mike o]

I launched at a new launch this week also and it provided me with my first stripers of the year. It's nice to try new places.

[mchottie]

I regularly make the trip from Baltimore down to Piscataway / Mattawoman. I've never heard of Chappel Point, seems like a nice half-way point maybe the SMOG crew could meet up with us Northerners!