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I was in Salisbury this week from Tuesday - Thursday working, but was able to squeeze in a couple of launch re-cons, and a 5.5 hour morning of fishing at Neavitt Landing on Wed, 8/28. I'll start with the launches:
On Tues 8/27, I checked out the public launch in Cambridge at Great Marsh Park.http://dnr.maryland.gov/boating/cambridgeinset.asp This is a decent sized municipal park with covered picnic tables and a good hard launch for larger boats. There's plenty of parking, but I did not see any porta potties. For kayakers I noticed that there is a soft launch to the left (sandy beach) that is not marked. This helps keep the scratching down on the kayak hulls. There was plenty of rip rap along the shore line, and if I were fishing it, ( I got there mid-day low tide), I would head left towards a long point which is heading out into the larger portion of the Choptank. Check the winds prior to launching, as this could be a difficult area with few escape options in high winds or bad weather. Compare to Sandy Point without the strong currents.
On Thursday, I drove into Vienna which is a quick two-three minutes off of Rt. 50 about 15 miles west of Salisbury. It is a tiny little eastern shore town with a "river walk" and a recently developed "town square" right on the Nanticoke. You can't miss the hard launch. I chatted up one of the locals, and he said jigging the bridge pilings on the Rt. 50 bridge works for stripers, and there's plenty of perch along the rip rap. I would bet there would be some specs, reds and maybe flounder too on the bottom. This is a section of the Nanticoke with strong currents, so be aware of the tide prior to launching. The Nanticoke is a beautiful river left largely untouched by development. There are huge areas of desolate marsh land a la Janes Island, such as is visible from Rt. 50. http://dnr.maryland.gov/boating/pdfs...rchester27.pdf
Both Cambridge and Vienna offer very quick access from Rt. 50. Just be prepared for wind at Cambridge, and strong current at Vienna. F.Y.I., the Rt. 50 bridge looked to be a good mile + by water from the Vienna launch point. That's an easy paddle distance under normal circumstances, but a long way in a strong tide.
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I launched at Neavitt Landing http://dnr.maryland.gov/boating/pdfs...onTalbot15.pdf at 0645 hours on Wed, 8/28, and immediately headed for some rip rap to the left. Some bites, and a couple of undersized perch later, I decided to head out of Broad Creek and worked the rip rap and piers on the way to Nelson Point. Fishing was slow, but I landed a few more undersize perch. While rounding Nelson Point, the wind picked up but it was still manageable. On the Harris Creek side, I started getting pretty consistent strikes from 12 to 14 inch rock, and kept moving towards Harris Creek. The hot spot seemed to be at Nelson Pt., for rockfish anyway. No keepers though, but fun to catch. I started to make my way back around Nelson Pt., alternately trolling, and casting the rip rap.
I trolled the marked channel into Balls Creek, and decided to work the shoreline opposite the launch point. This is all undeveloped land which was owned by DuPont as a hunting and fishing getaway. My information from a local from Neavitt is that the land was donated to the Audubon Society, but that is unconfirmed. I got some more perch, some quite large, but did not keep anything.
I was casting and trolling a 3/8 ounce bright yellow jig with a white, then chartreuse 4 inch curly tail Gulp, and a 1/2 ounce yellow bucktail with a spinner and a marinated (in Gulp Alive) 5" Gulp swimming shad with a paddle tail. I got hits on both lures. I did not see any baitfish, feeding gulls or top water breaking fish all morning.
In spite of a relatively slow fishing day, I would highly recommend the Neavitt Landing launch. It is one of the most beautiful areas of the Bay I have seen to this point. It's also not far by car from Tilghman Island and St. Michael's.
BTW, the semi-annual Tilghman Island Fest is Saturday, October 19. There should be prime time rockfishing in the area for breaking fish, and shallows too at that time. http://www.tilghmanmd.com/tilghmanday.htm
I'd be interested in hearing from and comparing notes with anyone who has fished Cambridge and Vienna from near the launch points I described, and also Neavitt Landing. On this open thread, or pm if you prefer.
On Tues 8/27, I checked out the public launch in Cambridge at Great Marsh Park.http://dnr.maryland.gov/boating/cambridgeinset.asp This is a decent sized municipal park with covered picnic tables and a good hard launch for larger boats. There's plenty of parking, but I did not see any porta potties. For kayakers I noticed that there is a soft launch to the left (sandy beach) that is not marked. This helps keep the scratching down on the kayak hulls. There was plenty of rip rap along the shore line, and if I were fishing it, ( I got there mid-day low tide), I would head left towards a long point which is heading out into the larger portion of the Choptank. Check the winds prior to launching, as this could be a difficult area with few escape options in high winds or bad weather. Compare to Sandy Point without the strong currents.
On Thursday, I drove into Vienna which is a quick two-three minutes off of Rt. 50 about 15 miles west of Salisbury. It is a tiny little eastern shore town with a "river walk" and a recently developed "town square" right on the Nanticoke. You can't miss the hard launch. I chatted up one of the locals, and he said jigging the bridge pilings on the Rt. 50 bridge works for stripers, and there's plenty of perch along the rip rap. I would bet there would be some specs, reds and maybe flounder too on the bottom. This is a section of the Nanticoke with strong currents, so be aware of the tide prior to launching. The Nanticoke is a beautiful river left largely untouched by development. There are huge areas of desolate marsh land a la Janes Island, such as is visible from Rt. 50. http://dnr.maryland.gov/boating/pdfs...rchester27.pdf
Both Cambridge and Vienna offer very quick access from Rt. 50. Just be prepared for wind at Cambridge, and strong current at Vienna. F.Y.I., the Rt. 50 bridge looked to be a good mile + by water from the Vienna launch point. That's an easy paddle distance under normal circumstances, but a long way in a strong tide.
__________________________________________________ _______________________________________
I launched at Neavitt Landing http://dnr.maryland.gov/boating/pdfs...onTalbot15.pdf at 0645 hours on Wed, 8/28, and immediately headed for some rip rap to the left. Some bites, and a couple of undersized perch later, I decided to head out of Broad Creek and worked the rip rap and piers on the way to Nelson Point. Fishing was slow, but I landed a few more undersize perch. While rounding Nelson Point, the wind picked up but it was still manageable. On the Harris Creek side, I started getting pretty consistent strikes from 12 to 14 inch rock, and kept moving towards Harris Creek. The hot spot seemed to be at Nelson Pt., for rockfish anyway. No keepers though, but fun to catch. I started to make my way back around Nelson Pt., alternately trolling, and casting the rip rap.
I trolled the marked channel into Balls Creek, and decided to work the shoreline opposite the launch point. This is all undeveloped land which was owned by DuPont as a hunting and fishing getaway. My information from a local from Neavitt is that the land was donated to the Audubon Society, but that is unconfirmed. I got some more perch, some quite large, but did not keep anything.
I was casting and trolling a 3/8 ounce bright yellow jig with a white, then chartreuse 4 inch curly tail Gulp, and a 1/2 ounce yellow bucktail with a spinner and a marinated (in Gulp Alive) 5" Gulp swimming shad with a paddle tail. I got hits on both lures. I did not see any baitfish, feeding gulls or top water breaking fish all morning.
In spite of a relatively slow fishing day, I would highly recommend the Neavitt Landing launch. It is one of the most beautiful areas of the Bay I have seen to this point. It's also not far by car from Tilghman Island and St. Michael's.
BTW, the semi-annual Tilghman Island Fest is Saturday, October 19. There should be prime time rockfishing in the area for breaking fish, and shallows too at that time. http://www.tilghmanmd.com/tilghmanday.htm
I'd be interested in hearing from and comparing notes with anyone who has fished Cambridge and Vienna from near the launch points I described, and also Neavitt Landing. On this open thread, or pm if you prefer.
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