Kent Narrows 7/30/13

[Fishinfool]

Check, Kent Narrows 7/31/13. The day started later than I wanted. I was not able to leave Silver Spring until @ 9:20 a.m. After stopping at Anglers for a couple of peelers for insurance, the late start put me on the water with lines in @ 11:15 am. High tide at the Narrows was at 12:40 pm. Since I was meeting a friend for lunch at Harris Crab House at 1:00 pm, I really only had about 90 min. of actual fishing time.

Launching right at the dock at Harris's was a little hairy. There's no floating pier there, or ramp. The water line was about 3 feet below the conventional pier, making it pretty tricky. Luckily, one of the employees eased me into the loaded kayak by holding onto my arm as I slowly lowered myself down, being careful to keep still and in the center of the boat. Same thing getting out of the kayak. Harris has no problem with launching there, as long as you stay for lunch or dinner. That's fair, but tough duty in a kayak.

Once safely in the kayak, I headed across the Narrows diagonally towards the Rt. 50 bridge, fighting a strong current the entire way. I tried bottom fishing not far from the bridge with the peeler. My first drop of the sinker resulted in a snag. Very frustrating when you're fighting a current, and trying to re-rig at the same time. I ended up just cutting it, and paddling hard to just south of the Rt. 50 bridge and tied up on an abandoned pier. On the way there, I was casting a 1/8 oz jig (probably not heavy enough in that current) with a chartreuse curly tail and had a couple of strikes, but nothing boated.

Drifting north with the incoming tide, I snagged again, and crossed two guys lines who were fishing off the launch area. My bad, I just didn't think they had cast out that far. In the process, I lost the jig, so I beached and tied on another. I got two more big hits, but the fish weren't swallowing the jig, I had one on for a good 30 seconds it seemed, and he just spit it out, or something. Another strike I had I ended up tangling the reel in a makeshift leash. By the time I got it unraveled, the fish of course was gone.

There's a learning curve each time I try a new location, so getting skunked was time well spent. Having no knowledge of the bottom there in the Narrows cost me probably half of the ninety minutes on the water, and a lot of frustration.

Memo to self:

1) Launch at the public ramp; drive to whatever restaurant later.
2) Avoid certain areas prone to snags.
3) Allow at least twice as much time; 3 - 4 hours in the water fishing.
4) I still think early morning with a good high tide would be the best time to fish nearly anywhere at least at high summer. Right now, the high tides are running in mid-day, or @ 1:00 a.m. I'll be happy when they'll come early again, like 5 - 6 a.m.
5) The current is strong at the Narrows at a moving tide, so be prepared to do battle with it.

Post Script:

Harris's is a nice spot, very nice Bay style atmosphere, great views, and good friendly staff. The crabs are just too damn expensive though ($70 a dozen for large but I guess that's par these days). I had a fried oyster sandwich and my friend had a soft crab sandwich each for about $13 abnd they were both very good. Also, it's right next door to the Red Eye Dock Bar, for those who may be seeking other forms of "night time entertainment", LOL.

[Mark]

Experience is a wonderful teacher and you got quite a lesson in the narrows.

Yes, watch out for those folks fishing from shore. Many times we in kayaks tend to aim toward shore while those on the piers and landings fling their baits as far as possible away from shore. It's not a good mix and often those on shore are quite vocal in protecting their turf/surf.

Better luck next time.

[FRED driver]

Just launch at the boat ramp next time. The narrows bridge is incredibly technical; I dont know if you had a fishfinder but if you did you probably saw the huge depth changes, suspended cables, rocks, piles, etc. If you go, just expect to lose terminal tackle. If you aren't losing tackle you're not where the fish are anyway. I always tended to dumb down my gear a bit when I was there so I wouldn't feel badly about losing top quality lures. The dudes on the shore are also frustrating. Most times I've been there they cast half way out all day to the exact same spot and never catch a thing, but in effect trash that whole area since you'd be crossing swords with them.

Fishing that place with a paddle kayak had to be maddening. Even doing it in a hobie is a hell of a workout and downright dangerous at times with boats roaring through there. I've had marginally good success there but high patience is required.

[Fishinfool]

Thanks gents. Being a paddler, I was thinking next time heading north from the start on the incoming tide, getting out in the Chester by marker # 12, finding anything solid to tie onto (not the marker, I know that's not legal) in that area and bottom fish and cast there till the tide changes back, and I can ride the outgong back in. I wonder if it starts moving as fast after it changes. If not, I'd likely end up in Rock Hall, LOL.

The guys on the shore were cool; I guess it helped that I apologized since they were stationary and I wasn't. And Fred, you are so right about the current. At one point around the Rt. 50 bridge, it was running so hard it turned my kayak right around!

One more note to self; when snagged, head to shore (it's always close anyway at the Narrows) to re-tie a pre-set rig in a plastic bag. No need to get out of kayak, just sit and rest while re-tying. Sounds too easy, but it's amazing how much common sense you can lose in a new place.

One more question; while jigging in a strong current, is it always best to cast the jig well in front of the current so it drifts down towards you? I would think yes, since that way would simulate what a live/crippled baitfish would do.

[FRED driver]

One more question; while jigging in a strong current, is it always best to cast the jig well in front of the current so it drifts down towards you? I would think yes, since that way would simulate what a live/crippled baitfish would do.

Absolutely. Presentation is of utmost importance in high current; the fish are streamlined looking one direction, and anything that's able to move against the current (upstream) tells the striper it's not injured and not worth the action. Cast far upstream as parallel as possible to the current and keep constant tension while mending your slack line. Anything slack will get pulled to the side and affect the jig. That's why heavy jigs (1.5-2 oz) are so critical there despite the modest depths.

[Fishinfool]

Great tip Fred, thanks. Effective jigging in strong currents has got to be the most difficult of the techniques to master, and it's especially tough to keep the kayak pointed into the current with a paddle. Finding something legal to tie the boat onto in the right spot could be the ticket. Or, just putting the Hobie revo on the bucket list.

I have a sense that the larger and smarter fish just cruise in with the current from Crab Alley Bay, keeping their eyes wide open for prey. Once out in the Chester River on the north side, some may just wait for the outgoing tide and ride it back to Crab Alley. That way, they can feed coming and going with minimal effort.

[J.A. Veil]

I am not highly experienced at the Narrows, but have fished there several times. Here are a few observations:

1. The bridge pilings can hold fish, but it is tough holding your position at a fishable spot.

2. The bottom just above the bridge is quite irregular and can hold fish, if you can keep your line and lure under control with the fast current.

3. The large breakwater to the south of the bridges is in shallow water and can snag lures, but under certain tidal flows it creates a nice eddy just off the western end. You can drift through there and jig. Two years ago I pulled a 24" rockfish out of there. But when I tried again 30 mins later, the fish were no longer biting. You can also troll in the relatively shallow water along the sides of the breakwater -- just keep up enough speed to keep your lures from snagging the bottom.

4. You can troll the shorelines along the western side both above and below the bridges. I caught some rock and blues there last summer as I was just experimenting. If you work above the bridges, you can paddle all the way up the point and around the point into the Chester River. There is a lot of potentially attractive shoreline there too.

5. There are various guides who are familiar with that area. Chris Dollar is a kayak fishing guide, and several other light tackle guides fish from small to medium fishing boats.
Spending a day with one of them can boost you up the learning curve.

6. Check out some of the fishing books for our area. I don't recall if Shawn Kimbro speaks much about the narrows in his book. Lenny Rudow typically has good information about how to fish many areas.

[Mark]

The current was very strong in the Narrows on Monday even out by the no. 12 marker. I would never consider anchoring or tying off a kayak in water like that. I caught all my fish on the move with the current and wind pushing me along. FRED is correct that fish recognize irregularities in lure retrieves and will ignore them.

Removing the stripers from the hook in such conditions proved to be a challenge and often I would play them until I reached calmer water. I also went to the shoreline periodically out of the wind and current for a rest. The perch there kept me occupied. Then it was back out to the rough water for another pass at the stripers.

You’re certainly more at the mercy of the conditions in a kayak than you would be in a center console. But that’s part of the fun of kayak fishing – going with the flow.

[Fishinfool]

Thanks John! For a skunk post, this is turning into an excellent thread. The tip on the long breakwater on the south side ( I assume it's the same long one visible by car driving east on Rt. 50) is another one to file, particularly @ high tide.

I am also thinking of just beaching the kayak in certain areas where it's doable , and getting out in waist deep water to cast with the running tide, but Mark's point is well taken on being on the move to catch fish. I also noticed that in certain places, it may be easier just to pull the kayak along along near the shoreline rather than fight the prevailing tide, particularly across from Harris's on the north side. There's a long stretch of vacant land there (I hope that's not where Hovnanian just got approval to built another 1,000 homes damn it!) towards the point going out to the Chester where that may work.