7-25 middle Pax report

[Slackdaddy]

High tide was ~9:30-10:00 AM
We launched 3 kayaks Upper end of the tidal flow, 8:00 AM.
Worked our way up river, back to a secluded back channel, grass edges with the high tide providing 6-8" deep of water into the grass.

I knew Snakehead would be in the tall grass until tide came out.
Staked out and Catfished (Bait-n-wait)until tide was coming out.

I was fishing with deer steak cubes soaked in mahendran fish oil.
After about 15 minutes my rod (in a Scotty holder) bends in half, dragging my kayak and stakeout pole out of my "perch",, There was so much pressure on the rod, that I could not get it out of the holder until the fish changed direction, 5 seconds later he got off.

The wife caught a few blues and channel cats, Sister in law was throwing buz bait and weedless frog around pads,, she had one strike/miss.

Once Tide was going out I switched to a brown/pumpkin Zman Chatter with paddle tail trailer.
I caught 3 LMB (12-14") and 2 cats on the chatter.

I have fished back in this area at least 25 time over the last 5 years and Never seen a boat, maybe 2 kayakers, and a canoe, and SUP,, today 2 bass boats, 2 canoes, etc,,, all looking for snakeheads,, they were disappointed.
We got off the water at 2:00 PM,, it was HOT,, water was brown.

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[Slackdaddy]

Oh Hell, the girls want to go back out this evening fishing,,, she said leave the kayaks on the truck.
Picking up crabs for dinner, then back out fish,, life is rough

[Big Mike]

Hey, you caught fish. Better today on the temperature than tomorrow.

[ski357]

Thanks for the report. I'm inspired and motivated now, gonna head out and catch sunset!

[ronaultmtd]

Yeah, I feel you, weekend-brings out the glitter boats, jet skis and pleasure cruisers...Shame you missed the big blue cat...one tip about catfish...fresh fish is the ticket- the fresher the better...if you are in a pinch you can buy a couple in your supermarket...white perch works well, croakers, spot...bluegills...cut in 1 1/2 inch steaks on 8/0 circle hook, fish finder (Carolina rig) rig...guaranteed catfish...Big hooks are a must-7/0 is the smallest hook I would consider for catfish up to a 10/0 Demon circle...even smaller catfish are caught on these hooks...smaller hooks lose fish...plain fact...the Pax is loaded with catfish...some really big ones hang out around Benedict close to the PEPCO Generating station...but it has a healthy population of Channel catfish...biggest channel cat I have ever caught was caught at Benedict...The Golden Beach area has some nice bottom fishing...croakers, spot, puppy drum, Speckled trout... and-there are always some school stripers hanging around...

[Slackdaddy]

Ron, Thanks for the tips/info. I need to "up" my gear.

My wife is 100% bait-n-wait fisherwomen, Sis in law is 50-50 bait-lures, she has been pond hoping throwing buz bait and frogs a lot the last 6 months, I am 95% lures.
When my son was younger and fished with me/us, we was good with the cast net and we had live bait (2-4" fish), the cats and SH would hit it, the SH have zero interest in dead bait.
We put 8-12 deer a year in the freezer. I cube up scraps and put them in mini tuppaware containers with some Mehendran oil and freeze them, seams to work ok for cats.

Our "home base" is a launch between Huntingtown and Dunkirk, it is literally less than a 1/4 mile away. Occasionally I will launch up by Waysons, but that is because that is where I started 5-6 years ago and where I know the spots and have a history of catching. They just put our community launch in and we are learning the local waters.
If I add trolling motors, we should be able to easily cover ~2 miles up and ~2 miles down the river without worrying about tide, Many, Many tidal creeks entering the river in that 4 mile stretch.

I am determined to figure this stretch of the river out.

Yeah, I feel you, weekend-brings out the glitter boats, jet skis and pleasure cruisers...Shame you missed the big blue cat...one tip about catfish...fresh fish is the ticket- the fresher the better...if you are in a pinch you can buy a couple in your supermarket...white perch works well, croakers, spot...bluegills...cut in 1 1/2 inch steaks on 8/0 circle hook, fish finder (Carolina rig) rig...guaranteed catfish...Big hooks are a must-7/0 is the smallest hook I would consider for catfish up to a 10/0 Demon circle...even smaller catfish are caught on these hooks...smaller hooks lose fish...plain fact...the Pax is loaded with catfish...some really big ones hang out around Benedict close to the PEPCO Generating station...but it has a healthy population of Channel catfish...biggest channel cat I have ever caught was caught at Benedict...The Golden Beach area has some nice bottom fishing...croakers, spot, puppy drum, Speckled trout... and-there are always some school stripers hanging around...

[Slackdaddy]

Went back out,, and caught one!PHOTO_20200725_204228.jpg

Thanks for the report. I'm inspired and motivated now, gonna head out and catch sunset!

[Slackdaddy]

We did get back out, launched from our neighborhood pier around 6:30 pm
Paddled 200 yds to a small creek, the girls went "2 bends" up the creek and set up for catfishing,, they had nonstop action and caught a few nice sized ones.
Tide was coming in and near high tide,, I drifted up the creek throwing the buzz bait, mouse, chatterbait. Nothing. This is the 4th time I fished this paticular creek with zero hits,, There is also no sign of fish life, I was drifting out at dusk with no surface breaks, etc.
While creeks within a mile hold fish,, odd.

Got back to the community launch, neighbors were enjoying the sunset, It was a nice evening.

We spent a LOT of hours on the water yesterday. Now that the kids are all grown and living their lives,, the wife has a re-kindled interest in fishing and crabbing. She absolutely loves the serenity and simplicity of kayaking. she never really liked center console boat we had years ago,, to much work and preparation to go out.

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[DanMarino]

Great photos and really nice to see you with some fish in hand. Pretty cool your wife is into the fishing. I always have done well in tidal flows using a chatterbait and paddle tail trailer. That is some nice looking water. Bummer about the glitter boats in your spot.

[dsaavedra]

Cool report. I live not too far from this stretch of the river and it is always tempting but almost never worthwhile. I don't understand how it isn't crawling with snakeheads. Must be some environmental factors at play... tide too strong, salinity too high (doubtful), lack of adequate forage base... I dunno.

[Slackdaddy]

Yeah, not sure why the snakeheads are not thicker, they are in the Pax, and in all reaches, but not in numbers.
When I would go to Mattawomen (pre bow hunters wiping them out) I would get 2-5 in the morning.
When I go to blackwater, I get 5-10 in the morning.
On the Pax I have caught 3 in 25 outings, the biggest was 4 years ago, so they have had plenty time to establish.

The water quality of the PAX is terrible compared to Mattawomen and Blackwater. The Pax is brownish with typ visibility of 2-3 inches.

Salinity drops way below what BW and Mattawomen is, in some areas of the Pax that I fish.
Tide: same as all the other places.

Now while the poor water quality (dissolved oxygen) may not directly affect the SH,, I bet it affects their food (bait fish, etc)

Sadly, I do not see PG and AA county ever cleaning up their act as far as pollution, The Pax is truly "Maryland's Sewer"

Cool report. I live not too far from this stretch of the river and it is always tempting but almost never worthwhile. I don't understand how it isn't crawling with snakeheads. Must be some environmental factors at play... tide too strong, salinity too high (doubtful), lack of adequate forage base... I dunno.

[DanMarino]

Howard County gets in on the act too!