Crisfield vs. SoMD this weekend

[UnkleRob2020]

I had planned a long weekend of fishing in Crisfield this weekend. I booked an AirBnB which can be cancelled until Wednesday.

It certainly sounds like the bite at Janes Island is not great lately (and this is coming from much better anglers than myself). Also, large portions of Blackwater are closed.

I am starting to think that I should head to Southern MD this weekend and could fish tidal two days and St Mary's Lake on the other day so that we get a mix of both.

I have never fished from a kayak in the slower lower.

I would really appreciate it if anyone has thoughts.

Also, if anyone plans to fish Friday through Sunday in the slower lower and would be willing to meet up, that would be great. Please feel free to PM me.

Thank you

[dsaavedra]

I can't speak for Jane's Island, but Lower Potomac has certainly been a good bite lately. I had great success there last weekend (10/2) and several others on the forum have fished there since then and reported success. I believe John Veil has plans to fish down there Wednesday/Thursday of this week, so I'd recommend checking with him before your trip to see how he did.

I might be able to make a trip down there Sunday (10/17), weather dependent. I'd be happy to meet up if it works out, though I'll be making the drive for tidal fishing, not St. Mary's Lake.

[ski357]

I fished the lower Slower yesterday, and if I have time, plan on fishing today. Wind was ripping yesterday afternoon/evening. We were able to find spots in the lee and the bite was what made it worth getting soaked. If we hadn't found fish, it would have been a not so fun day. There are fish here. I went out with two other anglers, we were all fishing the same rigs and using similar lures/kayaks/skill level. One of us nearly got skunked, while the other two had banner days. The best thing I can say/advice I can offer is wherever you decide to fish, make sure you have back up plans for the wind and weather.

[scorchy]

I know via Facebook posts from my Crisfield friends/relatives that they're catching plenty of reds, specs, and rock down there too. What I don't know is how much would be in kayak-accessible waters, because they're all fishing from boats. You'll certainly have more fishing "intelligence" to guide your trip if you head to Southern Maryland.

[Oldbayrunner]

I'll let you know how the bite is I'll be down at Colburn Creek tomorrow am then over at Janes Island later in the day and Wednesday. Then I'll be heading down to Cape Charles for Fishing from there to the CBBT tunnel til the 26th.

[Big Mike]

The slower lower is a fickle beast that takes years to understand. Really, if you don’t live here you’ve got zero chance of catching anything except a cold. Our food sucks, lodging is nonexistent and our roads unmarked. We recommend Crisfield where they’re welcoming, have great food and novice fisherman thrive.

In all seriousness, the wind forecast for Saturday does not look good right now, for any location. Locations we’ve been doing well at will for the most part not be fishable if the forecast holds.

[UnkleRob2020]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I haven't taken a long weekend for fishing or done an overnight trip all year. I also haven't fished tidal waters in the Eastern Shore or SoMD all year. I appreciate any further guidance also.

Dave, if you are able to come down, that would be great. I would enjoy fishing together again and would certainly be happy to accomodate your schedule.

Thanks again everyone.

[dsaavedra]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I haven't taken a long weekend for fishing or done an overnight trip all year. I also haven't fished tidal waters in the Eastern Shore or SoMD all year. I appreciate any further guidance also.

Dave, if you are able to come down, that would be great. I would enjoy fishing together again and would certainly be happy to accomodate your schedule.

Thanks again everyone.

If the weather is good, I'm in. Right now the forecast does not look good, 16 mph NW winds for Sunday morning. But, as Big Mike likes to say, Sunday is a million years away as far as wind forecasts go.

[Red_Beard]

Rob, given the forecast, one thing I will say in Crisfield's favor is you have far more options for finding sheltered places to fish given all the different creeks in the area. I went down there last fall planning to fish a spot on the Big Annemessex River only to find it in white caps. I was able to salvage the trip by making a quick drive to Jenkins Boat Ramp where I was able to find enough sheltered water to put in a good day of fishing. The wind wasn't quite as bad as this weekend's forecast though.

[Mark]

I can relate to Cliff's story about wind on the Big Annemessex.

I was there on October 2nd. Winds were fine during my early morning launch. So I meandered up to the marshy area at the top of this Google Earth photo:

Screenshot 2021-10-12 134506.jpg

The line in the picture is a measurement of how far I was from the launch which was at the lower portion of the photo. I was 2.4 miles from the ramp.

While I was in the relative protection of the marsh, the wind increased, as it was projected to do that morning. But the wind speed exceeded the forecast. I had run into some fish and I was reluctant to leave. However, discretion soon won the argument over whether to fish or paddle home. So I headed home, roughly on the line in the photo.

Here I am about 1/3 of the way home:

P1050578 (2)_LI.jpg

I placed a red dot in the photo at the site of the ramp. Lots of open water, and still along way to go. The wind is now 10 to 15 mph directly in my face. Fetch is building.

A little closer and a little more chop:

P1050583 (2).jpg

White caps came shortly thereafter so I put the camera away and focused on paddling. Progress was slow. I was getting hardly any drift, basically moving forward one paddle stroke at a time. No free glide.

It took me almost an hour to cover that 2.4 miles, thanks to wind and waves. But I think my buddies had it worse. They were west of me. They were getting hammered from the side as they maneuvered back to the ramp. Given a choice of side winds or head on, I'll take head on. We stayed in radio contact with each other.

So, the lesson is to always be mindful of the trip you have to make back to the ramp if you venture far chasing fish. Will a higher than forecast wind allow you to do it safely, and will you have enough reserve energy to make it?

[UnkleRob2020]

I had not checked the winds until just now. I do not get to take much time off from work for fishing and there are not many weekends that Arron and I both have free. I appreciate all of the good advice above.

I am guessing that wind forecasts are reasonably reliable 5 days out?

[Mark]

Rob,

I use windfinder.com

I find that it's very reliable with respect to the forecasted direction of the wind, especially a day or two out. But windspeed must be harder to forecast. Of course, I only take note of that when the winds blows harder than projected.

[belairfishing]

I have learned the hard way that Windfinder is just another forecasting tool...while it is better than the weather channel or other tools, it is still only a forecast. We made a trip to Blackwater last week, and at 11:30 Friday night the forecast was 3-5, and it ended up blowing 10-12 the next day. Not dangerous on any level, but just unexpected.

[J.A. Veil]

Windfinder was accurate today for my southern MD trip. The wind was so low, it was not a factor at all. I spent 8.25 hours on the water between a morning and afternoon trip (18.3 miles total) and caught a lot of fish. I have fished at this same spot on windier days and can honestly say it was tough going just getting around, and the fishing was poor on those days.

Given the low to mid teens winds projected for both southern MD and Crisfield on Sat and Sun (I looked at Windfinder and also Tides4Fishing), I suspect you will have a difficult time fishing in any open water location. Your Falcon 11 is a stable kayak and good fishing platform, but it does not paddle easily in strong winds. If you can find tidal creeks or marsh channels, you have a chance at finding fish. Or reschedule your rental for a less windy weekend.

[ronaultmtd]

Slower Lower is Epic or bust! Today was absolutely epic...my target species was big stripers and big speckled trout-20 specks up to 23 inches...a few dink stripers...fished three and a half hours and was home before 12:15...but there are days when it is not epic...no one can guarantee a great fishing trip...I have fished Florida during the peak fishing season with top professional flats guides and had lousy days...best thing to cure that is put some time on the water pulling lures...