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On Monday I drove to the Eastern Shore looking for hickory shad. I was unable to find them at the spots where I looked, but spent several enjoyable hours paddling upstream on the upper Choptank and catching a few small fish. About 1:00 I launched from the town ramp in Greensboro. This enters the upper Choptank River. At this point it is still tidally influenced but is freshwater. After a brief foray downstream, in which I was chased aggressively by a Canada goose (probably protecting a nest), I headed upstream. The water level was fairly high, but the current was mild. In some of the stretches, the wind was blowing in the upstream direction and was stronger than the current. I went way upstream for nearly an hour into some beautiful riverine habitat with overhanging trees and many fallen trunks and branches. I spooked several eagles that were perched on branches -- as I paddled around a bend, they saw me and took off not very far away. The only tough paddling spots were where the stream narrowed -- this required strong paddling for a few seconds to get out of that current.
Eventually I reached a point where a fallen tree blocked the entire stream width. At that point I turned around and began drifting back downstream. In the uppermost stretch, I cast a 2" twister tail on a 1/8" jighead up to the shaded banks. I quickly caught 2 colorful bluegills and 6 small white perch. I had hoped to find those fish all the way back to the ramp, but the bites were limited to the uppermost stretch.
Near one of the bridge crossings , I cast a 3" paddletail across the river and wound it back. I had an unexpected tug and fight, landing an 18" striper. Near the launch ramp, I saw three guys casting from the shore. One of them called out my name. It was an old fishing friend I had not seen in a while. The other two guys were: a) a neighbor, and b) one of the students who took the AACC kayak fishing class taught by Mark and me last month.
Although I was unsuccessful in catching my target species (shad), I had a pleasant day outdoors and got to spend time on a lovely stream. I caught a few small fish to avoid the skunk.
Eventually I reached a point where a fallen tree blocked the entire stream width. At that point I turned around and began drifting back downstream. In the uppermost stretch, I cast a 2" twister tail on a 1/8" jighead up to the shaded banks. I quickly caught 2 colorful bluegills and 6 small white perch. I had hoped to find those fish all the way back to the ramp, but the bites were limited to the uppermost stretch.
Near one of the bridge crossings , I cast a 3" paddletail across the river and wound it back. I had an unexpected tug and fight, landing an 18" striper. Near the launch ramp, I saw three guys casting from the shore. One of them called out my name. It was an old fishing friend I had not seen in a while. The other two guys were: a) a neighbor, and b) one of the students who took the AACC kayak fishing class taught by Mark and me last month.
Although I was unsuccessful in catching my target species (shad), I had a pleasant day outdoors and got to spend time on a lovely stream. I caught a few small fish to avoid the skunk.
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