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I decided to visit several Eastern Shore spots today. I started at Unicorn Lake. I catch most of my fish in the back third of the lake. When I went there today, I found the water level to be 6" to 12" lower than usual, plus the bottom was covered with slime. I fished several types of lures and some live minnows. Over 2.5 hours, I caught just 5 pickerel in the mid-teens. This was a lower catch rate than in my trips there last spring. My best nature sighting was a large buck deer that had about 10 antler points. It was feeding about 10 ft into the trees as I drifted by. It saw me and was skittish until I moved away.
Last night I had done some internet research looking for other freshwater access points in the upper eastern shore. I found Shadding Reach Landing about 10 mins away from Unicorn. This is a small craft/cartop boat launch on the northern shore of the upper Chester River. The river level was quite low. I paddled and cast for about 20 mins with no success and returned to the launch. I plan to return again when water levels are higher. I don't know what type of fish to expect here.
My third stop of the day was Urieville Lake. This is a small shallow lake that has quite a bit of duckweed floating on the surface. I have had a few good days here and some poor days too. When I arrived, three other kayak anglers were already on the water. I gave them a wide berth and headed up the lake to find some spots out of their way. In an hour of fishing, I caught one pickerel of about 18" and had another decent fish on the line. It pulled for 5 to 10 seconds, then came unbuttoned before I could see if it was a pickerel or a bass. The highlight of my trip to Urieville was a bald eagle that flew down the lake only about 20 ft up.
It was not a highly successful catching day, but it was pleasant to be outdoors on a milder November day. As a side note, on the way home, I approached the Bay Bridge about 3:30 and never had to slow down. I was apprehensive about traffic delays, but had none coming westbound.
Last night I had done some internet research looking for other freshwater access points in the upper eastern shore. I found Shadding Reach Landing about 10 mins away from Unicorn. This is a small craft/cartop boat launch on the northern shore of the upper Chester River. The river level was quite low. I paddled and cast for about 20 mins with no success and returned to the launch. I plan to return again when water levels are higher. I don't know what type of fish to expect here.
My third stop of the day was Urieville Lake. This is a small shallow lake that has quite a bit of duckweed floating on the surface. I have had a few good days here and some poor days too. When I arrived, three other kayak anglers were already on the water. I gave them a wide berth and headed up the lake to find some spots out of their way. In an hour of fishing, I caught one pickerel of about 18" and had another decent fish on the line. It pulled for 5 to 10 seconds, then came unbuttoned before I could see if it was a pickerel or a bass. The highlight of my trip to Urieville was a bald eagle that flew down the lake only about 20 ft up.
It was not a highly successful catching day, but it was pleasant to be outdoors on a milder November day. As a side note, on the way home, I approached the Bay Bridge about 3:30 and never had to slow down. I was apprehensive about traffic delays, but had none coming westbound.
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