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I have been fishing in the mid-Bay area several thousand times since getting my first boat about 1987 and my first kayak in 2001. Initially, I fished in just a few ways and at only a few locations. Over time, I expanded my repertoire of fishing methods and locations. This post talks about how I go about exploring and learning new locations.
A few days ago, I wrote to several other kayak anglers to invite them to join me as I explored a new area on Wed morning. I explained the procedures that I follow to learn a new area. I start by collecting information through internet searches to look for: a) places where I can launch a kayak, b) locations that have the types of habitats that I believe will hold fish, c) locations that are reasonably reachable given my senior age and concomitant energy level while paddling an 11’ kayak. On most trips, I am limited to 7 or 8 miles and 4 hours before running out of steam. This homework includes a lot of detailed map study (Google Maps, Navionics charts) to see where potential fishing targets will be. I then plan the trip to consider weather, wind, and which directions I will go first and later. Unfortunately, none of the guys I contacted could join me this morning, so I went alone.
I really enjoy the multiple launch locations offered by Queen Anne's County (QAC) [note that a QAC ramp permit is required, even for cartopped vessels]. Over the past two years I have fished out of many of the QAC launches. In alphabetical order this includes: Bennett Point, Cabin Creek, Centreville, Goodhands Creek, Jackson Creek, Kent Narrows, Little Creek, and Thompson Creek. These locations put me into a variety of water habitats.
Shipping Creek is another of the QAC launch facilities. When I owned a fishing boat, I launched from there dozens of times in order to fish at locations around the outer sections of Eastern Bay and Poplar Island. But on all those trips, I blasted off to ride to far-away locations. I never launched from Shipping Creek with my kayak and explored areas within two miles of the ramp until this morning. The Shipping Creek launch offers two paved boat ramps and a parking area.
Earlier this week, I got the urge to do some exploring (visiting places where I have not been before to see what the habitats look like) out of Shipping Creek. The winds for today looked good -- moderate speed from the north early (this was no problem as I wanted to start out heading south) and dropping to very low through the morning.
The sun was bright overhead, which probably did not help the shallow water bite, and I did not start until nearly 8:00 am.
I fished mostly in water depths less than 6’. I spent a lot of time casting to shoreline structure (riprap walls, grass edges, etc) hoping for perch. In over an hour of casting a perch spinner, I had only two bites. One was my only perch of the day, but the other was a 20” striper caught off of an exposed riprap wall. I trolled a Gulp swimming mullet and a white paddletail for part of the time and caught 5 other stripers to 23” and a surprise speckled trout. (Sorry about the blurry photo. The 23" striper must have splashed saltwater on the lens -- all the photos taken after that had water spots)
2022-08-03-002.jpg
My trip this morning (3.5 hours, 7 miles) proved successful. I attribute that to: a) good luck, b) good planning, and c) following my usual shallow-water fishing method that has proved to produce fish at other spots.
After finishing, I drove to the Romancoke pier (another QAC launch location) as I had never checked it out before. There is a kayak launching area there, but you need a cart to get from the parking area to the top of a narrow ramp that leads to a small sandy beach.
2022-08-03-004.jpg
2022-08-03-005.jpg
Whether you are one of the more experienced kayak anglers or are just getting started, it is worthwhile just going out and exploring new areas. You won’t always be successful, but when things do work out, it is quite rewarding.
A few days ago, I wrote to several other kayak anglers to invite them to join me as I explored a new area on Wed morning. I explained the procedures that I follow to learn a new area. I start by collecting information through internet searches to look for: a) places where I can launch a kayak, b) locations that have the types of habitats that I believe will hold fish, c) locations that are reasonably reachable given my senior age and concomitant energy level while paddling an 11’ kayak. On most trips, I am limited to 7 or 8 miles and 4 hours before running out of steam. This homework includes a lot of detailed map study (Google Maps, Navionics charts) to see where potential fishing targets will be. I then plan the trip to consider weather, wind, and which directions I will go first and later. Unfortunately, none of the guys I contacted could join me this morning, so I went alone.
I really enjoy the multiple launch locations offered by Queen Anne's County (QAC) [note that a QAC ramp permit is required, even for cartopped vessels]. Over the past two years I have fished out of many of the QAC launches. In alphabetical order this includes: Bennett Point, Cabin Creek, Centreville, Goodhands Creek, Jackson Creek, Kent Narrows, Little Creek, and Thompson Creek. These locations put me into a variety of water habitats.
Shipping Creek is another of the QAC launch facilities. When I owned a fishing boat, I launched from there dozens of times in order to fish at locations around the outer sections of Eastern Bay and Poplar Island. But on all those trips, I blasted off to ride to far-away locations. I never launched from Shipping Creek with my kayak and explored areas within two miles of the ramp until this morning. The Shipping Creek launch offers two paved boat ramps and a parking area.
Earlier this week, I got the urge to do some exploring (visiting places where I have not been before to see what the habitats look like) out of Shipping Creek. The winds for today looked good -- moderate speed from the north early (this was no problem as I wanted to start out heading south) and dropping to very low through the morning.
The sun was bright overhead, which probably did not help the shallow water bite, and I did not start until nearly 8:00 am.
I fished mostly in water depths less than 6’. I spent a lot of time casting to shoreline structure (riprap walls, grass edges, etc) hoping for perch. In over an hour of casting a perch spinner, I had only two bites. One was my only perch of the day, but the other was a 20” striper caught off of an exposed riprap wall. I trolled a Gulp swimming mullet and a white paddletail for part of the time and caught 5 other stripers to 23” and a surprise speckled trout. (Sorry about the blurry photo. The 23" striper must have splashed saltwater on the lens -- all the photos taken after that had water spots)
2022-08-03-002.jpg
My trip this morning (3.5 hours, 7 miles) proved successful. I attribute that to: a) good luck, b) good planning, and c) following my usual shallow-water fishing method that has proved to produce fish at other spots.
After finishing, I drove to the Romancoke pier (another QAC launch location) as I had never checked it out before. There is a kayak launching area there, but you need a cart to get from the parking area to the top of a narrow ramp that leads to a small sandy beach.
2022-08-03-004.jpg
2022-08-03-005.jpg
Whether you are one of the more experienced kayak anglers or are just getting started, it is worthwhile just going out and exploring new areas. You won’t always be successful, but when things do work out, it is quite rewarding.
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