Skunked at Chalk Point, Patuxent, 2/6

[ictalurus]

I thought I'd try for some bigguns at Chalk Point where Walleye Pete caught the two 40"+ fish a few weeks ago. I stopped in at The Tackle Box and picked up some frozen menhaden to supplement the nightcrawlers I had with me for catfish bait in case the striper action was slow.

I launched from the Cedar Haven Fishing Area which is part of the Patuxent Rive Park system. It's a pretty good spot for launching: big, sandy beach area, two clean(!) port-a-potties, plenty of parking. However, I think launching at Benedict or Magruder's Landing puts you in a better fishing area.

Anyway, it was less than a mile to the outflow area. I fished from 11 to 3:30, which was from late ebb to max flood. It was probably the worst time to fish because the tide was really low, and it was very bright out. Water temp in the river was 38* in the morning and 40* in the afternoon. Salinity was 1.3 in the morning and 2.5 in the afternoon. In the outflow, the water temp was 55* and the salinity was almost 8. I wonder if they pull water from downstream or if they use evaporative cooling in their system?

I trolled a 6" shallow diving Bomber to the outflow and a ways into the outflow. There were gizzard shad everywhere. I jigged a 6" BKD at several places over nice looking marks. I casted and trolled a big Rattletrap around, casted and trolled a plastic gizzard shad lure, jigged a 3/8oz Cicada, and trolled a big chartreuse bucktail with a 6" chartreuse shad on it with no hits on anything. I soaked some cut menhaden and nightcrawlers at a few different places in the outflow and in the river. I had some nibbles on the nightcrawlers in the outflow but no solid hits.

A few guys fishing farther in caught some catfish on chicken livers, but that's all fish I heard about today from several other boats fishing there. A couple guys that came in as I was leaving said they caught some 30"+ stripers there last weekend. Oh well.

The outflow plume in the river was pretty obvious by watching the fish finder. There were lots of marks that were likely gizzard shad or catfish, but the fish finder was totally blank once I got outside the plume.

I think it would be better to fish that area on a higher tide near dawn or sunset. The only downside to that is that Cedar Haven closes at 5pm.

[surfdog]

some of my earliest memories of fishing were trudging through the snow with my dad heading to the CP canal, building a fire in the barrels on the bank and hooking into big a$$ rock. we were really upset when they closed it to the public it was always our go to spot in jan. and feb.

[Pinch]

Thanks for the report!

[J.A. Veil]

In the outflow, the water temp was 55* and the salinity was almost 8. I wonder if they pull water from downstream or if they use evaporative cooling in their system?

Bill -

Sorry that you are having a tough time catching something on the last few trips. Hang in there -- you will regain your mojo soon.

At the risk of sounding too nerdy, here is some detail about Chalk Point cooling water. I have visited Chalk Point several times for site visits and permit inspections. Chalk Point has multiple generating units that use three different types of cooling systems. The original coal-fired units (1 and 2) were built in the 1960s. They use a once-through cooling system. Water is withdrawn through an intake canal coming off of the tidal creek immediately downstream of the plant (see first photo). After passing through a condenser to cool steam, the water exits the plant several degrees warmer and enters a mile-long discharge canal. The canal flows upstream on the plant property before turning out to the Patuxent River (see second photo). Those units move hundreds of millions of gallons per day of brackish water through the plant. Very little evaporation occurs in once-through cooled systems.

Units 3 and 4 were built in the 1970s -- they use natural draft cooling towers (the big concrete ones) to cool water that is then recirculated back into a cooling loop. The cooling towers work by evaporating water. Since the evaporated water is all fresh, the level of salinity concentrates in the recirculating water system. To keep salinity at an optimal level, some of the salty water is "blown down" each day. That blow down water mixes with the other once through cooling water in the discharge canal. The third photo shows the inside of a large cooling tower.

Later on, Pepco added more generating units, but chose gas combustion turbines that use air cooling.

During the late 1970s through the late 1980s, Pepco did millions of dollars of studies to characterize the biology and ecological conditions in the river and nearby streams. They also did quite a bit of modeling of the thermal plume. As a result of new EPA regulations adopted over the past decade, most utilities that employ once-through cooling systems must go back and do lots of new studies. For anglers who are willing to read some rather esoteric stuff, those reports could provide useful insights into where fish might be at different times of the year.

[ictalurus]

Actually, this post was from last year. I guess Pinch was looking for February reports. February is when I get skunked most frequently because that's when I go checking out alternative perch and pickerel places or looking for another WWD in this case.

Thanks for the info, John. I was wondering why the water was saltier in the canal. I was also wondering where they pulled the water from. The shot from inside the tower is pretty neat. That stretch of river stays a few degrees warm all year, even in the summer. Those power plant impact studies in the 1970s and 1980s provided tons of excellent fisheries data as well as insights into the early life history of fish. The impingement data and other data collected by the power plants is also good fodder for long term analyses. One of my buddies used either the Chalk Point or Calvert Cliffs data in his dissertation. The power plant in the James River (Not the hot ditch, the one farther up in the James proper. Can't remember the name.) has been known to hold juvenile tarpon in the summer and specks and reds into the winter.

Are we going to be on a government watch list now after seeing those pictures? You're allowed to go pretty far up that canal, which surprised me.

[Southerly]

i was wondering about that WP info but hadn't noticed the date of the post. i didn't remember any posting of local catching this year and was a little mystified. i do remember WP posting big chalk point fish last year, caught on cut herring i think. while trying out his new engine after much warranty work.

a little surprising to me that CP's permit lets them put SW at 5-6 x local concentration back in the river. that's gotta freak out the fish when it happens.

[Southerly]

ps - thanks for the Chalk Point technical info you guys. i've been interested in the place but have never fished there. i would have never figured out the SW thing since i don't normally test for that.

[chex]

Yeah, thanks for the info. Looks like a cool place to fish and not too far from me.

Ictalurus, glad the skunk was from long ago

[OBX_RAT]

Looks like you have a hex on you Bill, need to find some good mojo again!