Introduction

[DST64]

Welcome to Snagged Lines!
I'm NE of Baltimore in Baltimore County, retired and kayak fish the areas you mentioned.
Drop me a note anytime you would like to have some company on the water.

Room for woolies and sock(s) essential under the Kokatat dry suit when water below 60F. suit provides virtually no insulating properties. I protect the leg fabric on mine from slime and mud by wearing a pair of inexpensive Frogg Togg rain pants over top. The suit is not something I'm comfortable washing.

After you decide your kayak needs to be made by Hobie . Look at purchasing from Delaware Paddle Sports in Lewes, DE. Aside from good people and service Delaware is a sales tax-free State. (I have no affiliation with them except for allowing them to drain my pockets)

Best of luck and happy adventures for you!

Hi, my old town is here and set up for fishing now. I'm hoping to get out for a few hours in the next week before the bay shuts down. This is more to experience the kayak on the water than catch a lot of fish. However, I'll take the rods and troll plugs if weather permits. Do you go out this time of year or do you know others who do and might not mind a newbie along.

[Mark]

Congrats on your new kayak.

I'm still concentrating on smaller tidal and freshwater at the moment. But even that has been difficult due to prevailing winds.

Just curious...what do you mean by "before the bay shuts down." Are you referring to striped bass closures in various areas of the Chesapeake?

[ski357]

Congratulations on the new kayak. My brother in law just got the same kayak this past Monday!

[Slough Sleigher]

Hi, my old town is here and set up for fishing now. I'm hoping to get out for a few hours in the next week before the bay shuts down. This is more to experience the kayak on the water than catch a lot of fish. However, I'll take the rods and troll plugs if weather permits. Do you go out this time of year or do you know others who do and might not mind a newbie along.

Yes, time to shake out the rig. I’m in Florida for some family business until Sunday then I’ll be in SC next week fishing on the coast until Sunday. After that I’m looking forward to getting out on the bay. Let me know if you want to meet up thereafter. Congrats on you kayak coming in. If you are looking to get out sooner and no one on this board can show you some good water I suggest you might try launching at Tidings Park in Havre De Grace for the shakedown. The launch area is at the far end of the parking lot and if you follow the channel out to the right keeping on the west side it is very sheltered from the wind and is shallow. Always lots of catfish and some kind of perch on season. Alternatively if you are comfortable with the conditions you can head out of the ramp the the left and fish the Flats for strippers and cats. Try the Prominade Grille on the other side of the parking lot for a good lunch. Lots of other places along that part of the bay and would be happy to show you around.

in Baltimore County, Dundee next to Gun Powder State Park - Hammerman Area has a protected Kayak launch area that would be even closer to you to test that new rig. I mostly fish north of the Key Bridge and mid eastern shore. I plan to explore more areas in Anne Arundel County and south this year as well.

[DST64]

Congrats on your new kayak.

I'm still concentrating on smaller tidal and freshwater at the moment. But even that has been difficult due to prevailing winds.

Just curious...what do you mean by "before the bay shuts down." Are you referring to striped bass closures in various areas of the Chesapeake?

Hi Mark, yes the local waters to me close for striped bass fishing, I understand you can fish for other species. I think whilst the Chespeake is closed to stripers I'll use April and most of May for the Raritan. I think my season will be mid-March to mid-June and September to early December including a few days of the surf. Summer is golf for me.

[DST64]

Yes, time to shake out the rig. I’m in Florida for some family business until Sunday then I’ll be in SC next week fishing on the coast until Sunday. After that I’m looking forward to getting out on the bay. Let me know if you want to meet up thereafter. Congrats on you kayak coming in. If you are looking to get out sooner and no one on this board can show you some good water I suggest you might try launching at Tidings Park in Havre De Grace for the shakedown. The launch area is at the far end of the parking lot and if you follow the channel out to the right keeping on the west side it is very sheltered from the wind and is shallow. Always lots of catfish and some kind of perch on season. Alternatively if you are comfortable with the conditions you can head out of the ramp the the left and fish the Flats for strippers and cats. Try the Prominade Grille on the other side of the parking lot for a good lunch. Lots of other places along that part of the bay and would be happy to show you around.

in Baltimore County, Dundee next to Gun Powder State Park - Hammerman Area has a protected Kayak launch area that would be even closer to you to test that new rig. I mostly fish north of the Key Bridge and mid eastern shore. I plan to explore more areas in Anne Arundel County and south this year as well.

Hi, Thanks for the note and I agree it's going to be Havre De Grace. I'm looking to get out next week and Monday looks like the lowest wind, best weather combination. Monday's probably quiet as well. I need to work things out (a) feel a kayak under me on the water (b) use a depth/fish finder (c) dial in rod placements and use of rod leashes, placement of tools (d) experience a semi dry suit and PFD, along with under layers and clothing whilst pedaling (e) use a marine radio for the 1st time. In some ways they'll be advantages in being myself for this one.

I'll stick to the West side and only go out if the wind/weather stays at current forecast. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks for the help and for sure, if you want to tie up for future days and exploratory fishing other places in the bay, I'm all for that.

[J.A. Veil]

Congratulations on your new ride. I'm sure you are eager to get it out on the water. For you and others who may not be familiar with the Maryland DNR's rather complex suite of regulations relating to striped bass at different times of the year, please take a look at the seasonal maps at this site sb_reg_maps (maryland.gov). From March 1 - 31, you can practice catch and release in some areas near Havre de Grace. Make sure you are not fishing in areas marked in red. From April 1-30, striped bass cannot be targeted anywhere in the bay. Different rules apply for the time periods of May 1-15 and May 16-31. I have heard that the DNR marine police do keep an eye on fishing in the lower Susquehanna and the Flats areas during the spring season.

[DST64]

Congratulations on your new ride. I'm sure you are eager to get it out on the water. For you and others who may not be familiar with the Maryland DNR's rather complex suite of regulations relating to striped bass at different times of the year, please take a look at the seasonal maps at this site sb_reg_maps (maryland.gov). From March 1 - 31, you can practice catch and release in some areas near Havre de Grace. Make sure you are not fishing in areas marked in red. From April 1-30, striped bass cannot be targeted anywhere in the bay. Different rules apply for the time periods of May 1-15 and May 16-31. I have heard that the DNR marine police do keep an eye on fishing in the lower Susquehanna and the Flats areas during the spring season.

Thanks John. I have looked at the maps and will be careful in ensuring I'm on the right side of the regulations. This trip is about proving things out rather than the fishing. In my years of fishing for Atlantic Salmon in Scotland, I never knew any circumstances other than the species in decline, catch and release and preservation of the stock was the norm with the occasional fish for the table. I intend to do the same for bass.

[Slough Sleigher]

We will be looking for your

[Slough Sleigher]

Continue: report on your new venture and by all means as wisely noted, know the regs and boundaries. I’ll catch up when I’m back in the area.

[DST64]

My kayak and I had our 1st sailing yesterday. We went out on the Susquehanna flats, trolled 45 mins to 1 hour one way and then back. No fish but lots of learning:

(1) Wind was forecast from the North. I launched at Perryville to stay out of the wind (or that was the plan).
(2) Wind forecast was 4-7 mph from the NW and switched to 8-11mph and switched from SW. So, on downwind side and against an incoming tide, the pedaling was heavy going.
(3) With this wind I had wind waves of about 1 ft. Despite waves splashing over the bow of the kayak I was never concerned for safety. The kayak handled it well.
(4) I came in because of the wind. As it happened two other kayakers were also coming in again because of wind and wave. So, I'm pleased my my senses were in line with people more experienced than me.
(5) Other boat users, quite a few. I'd say about half showed awareness and passed on the downwind side at 100-150 yards out. The other half passed on the upwind and uptide side again 100-150 yards out. I had plenty of time to turn bow into the wind for the latter group and again the boat easily handled the increase wave wake.
(6) My various homemade leashes worked well. In fact, my paddle fell off the holder without me noticing and I dragged it for a mile. However, my home-made leash saved the paddle.
(7) Marine radio. I couldn't reduce the squelch. Watched some YouTube videos on this but it never worked or I did the wrong thing. So, advice here would be appreciated.
(8) Fishfinder: Had it on but I couldn't see the screen from the minute I set off to getting back. Lowrance Hook Reveal 5. I used charts to plan the trolling area but being on the flats I could have been over 20ft or 2ft without knowing it. I had planned to follow a channel edge. However, that proved impossible not being able to see the screen. I've read this is simply the angle it's facing or the difficulty of seeing it whilst wearing sunglasses. Any advice on this would be very helpful.
(9) Trolling for 2 hours in a semi dry suit. I was a sweaty mess when I got back. I can only assume that's normal. I row about 50 miles weekly on a machine, therefore have pretty good legs.
(10) In addition to myself there were 3 other kayakers. I was surprised that I was the only one with a semi dry suit on. The water temp was 47Fht, the wind 1.5X forecast and wave height 3X forecast. How easily things can go wrong and people oblivious to the danger.

Any advice on points 7 & 8 would be appreciated.

[dsaavedra]

Congrats on a successful shakedown cruise. They don't always go so well. Also kudos for taking good safety measures.

Re: Squelch - It may be helpful to know what make & model radio you have. I have two Standard Horizon radios, different models, and both have a squelch adjustment that is tied to the volume button. Press the "Vol/Sql" button once and the volume adjustment will blink on the screen, press it again and the squelch adjustment will blink on the screen. Then it's a matter of using the up/down arrow to adjust squelch. The rule of thumb is to turn it down just low enough that the static noise stops, but no lower. After making the adjustment the setting will take effect after a second or two without pressing any other buttons (the squelch adjustment will stop blinking on the screen). It's worth noting that your radio needs to be "unlocked" to make these adjustments - on my radio there's a button with a symbol in the shape of a key that I need to press and hold to lock or unlock the radio. It is useful to lock the radio while fishing so you don't accidentally change the channel and then wonder why you haven't heard from your fishing buddies in a while only to find out you are no longer on the agreed upon channel. But you do need to remember to unlock it if you need to adjust any settings or change channels.

Re: Fish finder screen - Was the issue that the screen wouldn't display anything at all (i.e. a malfunction), or that you couldn't see due to glare, etc? The first thing I'd recommend is turning the brightness up. This can be done by pressing the power button to bring up the settings menu, scrolling over to the brightness adjustment, and turning it up using the arrow keys. Running the screen at full brightness consumes more power but is often necessary to see the screen well on a sunny day. As long as you have a good battery it shouldn't be an issue. Polarized sunglasses may cause an issue with screen viewing but since polarized glasses are so prevalent in fishing, fish finder manufacturers usually account for it with their screens. I can view my screen with polarized glasses without issue, but if I tilt my head 90 degrees, the screen will be black. It will be easy to troubleshoot if polarization is the issue by removing your sunglasses to see if you can view the screen, or by tilting your head (or take your sunglasses off and rotate them) 90 degrees to see if your view changes. There are also visors that you can buy (or DIY) that reduce sun glare: https://www.berleypro.com/product/lo...-elite-visors/

If the screen issue was due to a malfunction that would be more difficult to troubleshoot. Start with the low hanging fruit - make sure your battery is fully charged, properly connected to your cables, and make sure your cables are fully plugged into the fish finder. Beyond that you may need to give Lowrance a call.

[DST64]

Hi Dave
Thanks I'm going to follow your instructions on the squelch. What you've described is not what I was trying. I have an HX210.
Fishfinder: It was on for sure. I'll play with the brightness. I could see it easily in my garage and left settings as they were. I'll also look at screens and/or make one myself.