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FISHING IN AND AROUND MARYLAND WATERS
2003 FISHING NEWS



The 2003 Fishing News appears after the following tribute to our service men and women --

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Monday November 3, 2003 --

...........

Cambridge Maryland --
Old Route 50 bridge over the Choptank River --

Fished from 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon
Warm day, temperature in the mid 80's, which set a new record. Light winds. High and incoming tide. Water was clear.
Did not catch anything. I was the only person fishing during this time.

Matapeake State Park pier -
Kent Island near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge -

Fished from 2:00 p.m to 3:00 p.m.
High and outgoing tide. Water around the pier was dirty and murky.
Did not catch anything.
When I first arrived, there were about 12 people fishing, and I counted about 20 fishing rods. When I left an hour later there were about 18 people fishing and I counted about 28 fishing rods.
Saw one person catch a Striped Bass, he announced that it was a keeper at 18 inches. Did not see anything else caught.


Thursday October 30, 2003 --

..........

Fort Smallwood Park -- ( $ 2.50 admission for seniors )
Anne Arundel County --
Fished from 10:20 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Used three fishing rods, bait was bloodworms and cut up Spot. Only caught two fingerling Striped Bass @ about 5 inches each.
Only a few others were fishing, did not see anything caught. One person said he was using peelers for bait.


Tuesday October 21, 2003 --

Cambridge Maryland --
Old Route 50 bridge over the Choptank River --

Fished from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Warm day, temperature reached the mid 70's. Incoming tide. Strong winds out of the south at about 15-20 knots.
Only caught one White Perch @ 8-1/2 inches during the time I was there. Poor fishing, plus strong winds made me decide to leave early.
There was a family of five fishing nearby, but they did not catch anything while I was there. Only a few others were fishing farther in on the bridge when I left, and only one person said he caught anything (12" Striped Bass).

Stopped at Terrapin Park on the way home to see what the conditions were like. This was the first time I was there. It is located on the Eastern Shore just off Route 50 at the last exit before crossing the Bay Bridge. Go north from Route 50 for about 1/4 mile, turn left at the first traffic light into an industrial park, and follow the signs from there. The signs are small, watch for them carefully. From the parking lot it is about 0.4 miles to the beach where fishing is allowed. The beach is about a mile north of the Bay Bridge. It was windy there also. Two people just arrived and started fishing when I was leaving, but I did not stay to see how they did.


Monday October 20, 2003 --

...........

Rocky Point Park --
Baltimore County --

Closed !! The entrance to the park is chained off, probably because of damage caused by hurricane Isabel. There was no sign indicating the reason. In previous years, you could get access to the park during this time of the year, even though no attendants were on duty at the gate.

North Point State Park -
near Edgemere -

Park was open, but limited access. There was a sign at the entrance indicating "Due to shoreline erosion the shoreline and pier are closed for fishing". Again, hurricane Isabel strikes !!


Thursday October 9, 2003 --

Cambridge Maryland --
Old Route 50 bridge over the Choptank River --

Fished from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Sunny day, temperature peaked at about 78 degrees. Light winds, barely making a ripple on the water's surface. Fished during the last part of an outgoing tide and the first part of an incoming tide.
Slow Day !
4 Norfolk Spot (mediums, no jumbos)
5 White Perch - (in the 6-7 inch range)
1 Blue Crab (hung on to the hook by one claw and would not let go)
Only a few other people were fishing in the area, only saw a few Spot and Perch caught.
When I was packing up to leave, I saw what looked like a huge oil slick moving in with the tide. When it got closer to the bridge, I saw it was actually huge clumps of algae that were an ugly dark reddish brown in color. The water around the algae was the same horrible color. It may have been "red tide" as described in newspapers earlier in the year. The newspapers indicated that it was caused by sediment run-offs and was responsible for several fish kills. Whatever it was, it covered an awfully large area.


Tuesday October 7, 2003 --

Edgewood Maryland --
Bush River --

Went crabbing with Jack and Todd.
Used Jack's 23 foot fiberglass workboat.
Mild day, cool in the morning, it got comfortable after the sun came out. Temperature maxed out at about 70 degrees. Light and variable winds.
We were out on the water from about 8:00 a.m. to 12 noon. Used about 20 collapsible crab pots baited with chicken necks. Caught about 1-3/4 bushels of crabs, including a lot of jumbos.


Monday September 29, 2003 --

Cambridge Maryland --
Old Route 50 bridge over the Choptank River --

Fished from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Sunny day, high temperature was close to 70 degrees. Strong and steady winds out of the northwest at about 15 mph.
19 Norfolk Spot (mostly mediums, no jumbos)
4 White Perch - (in the 6-7 inch range)
1 Weakfish @ 13 inches (minimum keeper size is 14 inches)
Some people fishing out on the far end of the bridge said they caught a couple Bluefish.


Wednesday September 17, 2003 --

Fished at Fort Smallwood Park in Anne Arundel County.

Fished from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tide was high. Winds were fairly strong and steady at about 10 knots from the northeast when I first arrived, and picked up some while I was there.
Caught four White Perch in the 7-8 inch range, and ten "fingerling" Rock that were only about 5 inches long (really small !). Only a few people were fishing, they were spread out along the bulkhead so it was difficult to tell how they were doing, but did not see anything caught.


Tuesday September 16, 2003 --

North Point State Park (Maryland State park) -
near Edgemere -

Fished from the causeway from 10:30 a.m to 12 noon. Sunny and mild day, winds light out of the northeast. Tide outgoing.
Caught three small white perch and two "fingerling" Rock (about 5" length). I was the first to arrive, but by 11:30 a.m. there were 8 people fishing. Nothing much caught except for a couple White Perch and "fingerling" Rock.

Fort Armistead Park (Baltimore City Park) -
Located right next to the Key Bridge -

Fished from the pier from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. The pier is about 50 yards long, and about 30 yards wide at the end. Only caught two "fingerling" Rock. A few others were fishing on the pier, saw two White Perch and one Norfolk Spot caught. There is also a bulkhead near the pier, about 50 yards long, where some people were fishing.


Monday September 15, 2003 --

...........

Cambridge Maryland --
Old Route 50 bridge over the Choptank River --

Fished from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Heavy overcast, lots of dark clouds on the horizon. Started to rain, about 10:30, light at first, but steady. About 11:00 a.m. decided to head back to the car. Was at the car by 11:15, packing up all the gear, when the skies opened up and it poured. Rain was heavy at times most of the way home, but I finally outran it.
3 Norfolk Spot (small to medium, no jumbos)
6 White Perch - (in the 6-7 inch range)
There was no one else fishing on the bridge. A group of three men were crabbing using about 20 traps. They were still there when I left.


Thursday September 11, 2003 --

...........

Cambridge Maryland --
Old Route 50 bridge over the Choptank River --

Fished from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Mild day, high temperature was about 80 degrees. Winds were fairly strong out of the northeast.
19 Norfolk Spot (small to medium, no jumbos)
32 White Perch - (in the 6-7 inch range, except one @ 9-1/2 inches)
1 Bluefish @ 11 inches
2 Channel Catfish @ 19 inches each (each weighed about 4 pounds)
1 Blue Crab (got tangled in the line)
There were only a few others fishing on the bridge. The people I talked to indicated that they were only catching throwbacks.


Monday September 8, 2003 --

North Beach Pier --

Fished from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Sunny day, temperature only reached a high of about 80 degrees, light winds out of the northeast.
27 Norfolk Spot (10 jumbo, the rest mediums and smalls)
7 Bluefish (in the 10-12 inch range)
There were about 8 other people fishing. Saw quite a few Norfolk Spot, and some Bluefish (10-12 inch range) caught. One Skate was hooked early in the morning.


Wednesday September 3, 2003 --

...........

North Beach Pier --

Fished from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Heavy overcast skies, threatening rain, but never did. Light winds out of the southeast.
24 Norfolk Spot (13 jumbo, the rest mediums and smalls)
6 Bluefish (in the 8 -12 inch range)
1 Blue Crab (got tangled in the line)
There were only a few others fishing. Saw a lot of Norfolk Spot, and a lot of small Bluefish (8-12" range) caught. Also saw a 21 inch Striped Bass caught (using shrimp for bait). Also saw a couple jumbo White Perch caught (using soft crab for bait).


Thursday August 28, 2003 --

North Beach Pier --

Fished from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Cool in the morning, temperature reached mid 80's by the afternoon. Light winds out of the north.
16 Norfolk Spot (2 jumbo, the rest mediums and smalls)
24 Bluefish (1 @ 14", the rest in the 8 -12 inch range)
1 Weakfish @ 14" (also called Sea Trout)
3 Skates - broke the line each time
There were only a few people fishing on the pier in the morning, and even in the afternoon it never got really crowded, 10 people at the most. Saw one Croaker, a lot of Norfolk Spot, and a lot of small Bluefish (8-12" range) caught. Also saw a 20 inch Striped Bass caught (18" is minimum size keeper). Also, one of the locals was fishing the right side of the pier and casting toward the rock breakwater and caught at least two dozen jumbo White Perch (this was a different fisherman than the one who caught about a dozen jumbo White Perch on Monday August 18th doing the same thing)


Wednesday August 27, 2003 --

Up at 5 a.m. to go fishing at the North Beach pier --

There was a traffic backup on the west end of the Baltimore Beltway, so got off at Route 70 and went west through Gaithersburg and got on Route 270 South and then Route 495/Washington Beltway, intending to pick up Route 4 towards North Beach. BIG MISTAKE !!!
Traffic was backed up on Route 270 and Route 495 to the point that it was one huge parking lot. Finally reached the Route 29 exit about 9 a.m., got off the Washington beltway, and headed back home.


Monday August 25, 2003 --

North Beach Pier --

Fished from 8:00 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Temperature started to climb toward the mid 80's by noon, the winds tapered off, and the humidity was high, so decided to leave early.
10 small Bluefish in the 8-10 inch range.
8 small Norfolk Spot.
1 Skate - line broke a few seconds after hooking it.
There were only a couple people fishing on the pier. Saw at least a dozen, maybe more small (8-10 inch) Bluefish caught, and saw just as many small Norfolk Spot caught.


Monday August 18, 2003 --

North Beach Pier --

Fished from 8:00 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Mild day, temperature in the low 80's, moderate winds from the northeast in the morning, tapering off by afternoon.
14 small Bluefish in the 8-10 inch range (Although they were legal size, they were still small)
2 Striped Bass @ 11" and 15" (throwbacks).
There were only a few people fishing on the pier during the day. Saw quite a few of the small (8-10 inch) Bluefish caught. Also saw one man fishing on the right side of the pier and casting toward the rock breakwater catch about a dozen jumbo White Perch. Measured one of the bigger ones @ 12 inches (it was big !) No one hooked any Norfolk Spot, Croaker, or Skates.


Monday August 11, 2003 --

..................

North Beach Pier --

Fished from 8:00 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Slightly overcast skies. Had a rainshower at about 2 p.m., that's when I decided to leave. High temperature was only around 80 degrees. Light winds, until the rainshower, then they picked up to about ten knots out of the south.
1 Bluefish @ 15 inches.
10 Norfolk Spot (jumbo)
3 Croaker @ 12 inches
1 Blue Crab @ about 6 inches (tangled in the line)
1 Horseshoe Crab (tangled in the line)
There were never more than about 6-8 people fishing on the pier at any one time. Saw a few Croaker, a few Spot, and a couple small Bluefish caught. Also saw a 16 inch Striped Bass caught (18" is minimum size keeper). No one hooked any Skates today. One of the regulars indicated that Friday was a good fishing day, lots of Spot and Croaker caught, but that the weekend was a real bust, nothing much caught.


Thursday August 7, 2003 --

.....

North Beach Pier --

Fished from 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Heavily overcast skies with periods of light rain most of the day. High temperature around 80 degrees. Light winds.
Slow Day !
1 Croaker @ 12 inches.
6 Norfolk Spot (very small)
Only a few fisherman were on the pier in the morning, but by afternoon it got crowded. At one time counted 16 people fishing and 22 rods along the rail. Not much was caught, a few Croaker, a few Spot, and a couple small Bluefish. One of the fisherman was targeting Skates, managed to hook two, the first was lost just at the pier while trying to gaff it, the second was lost when his fishing rod snapped in half just as he was trying to gaff it. Did see a very small Stingray landed (probably about 3-4 pounds), it has a sharp needle-like stinger about halfway down it's tail, looks dangerous. The profile of the Stingray was round, as opposed to Skates which have a more oval shape.


Tuesday August 5, 2003 --

.....

North Beach Pier --

Fished from 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Mostly cloudy and heavily overcast skies in the morning with periods of very light rain, afternoon was clear and temperatures started to rise, reaching mid to upper 80's. Light winds early, started to pick up in the afternoon.
1 Weakfish @ 16 inches. Also called Sea Trout.
The Weakfish gets it's name from the weak flesh around it's mouth that tears easily when hooked, not from it's fighting ability.
10 Norfolk Spot (Jumbo)
5 Croakers (10-12 inch range)
1 Bluefish @ 8 inches (mimimum keeper size is 8")
1 Skate - got it in close to the pier and the line broke.
Other fisherman were catching Spot, Croaker, and small Bluefish. Also saw about 7 other Skates hooked, two fisherman were targeting the Skates, using strips of cut up Spot for bait. One of the Skates was gaffed and brought up on the pier, probably weighed about 30 pounds.


Thursday July 31, 2003 --

North Beach Pier --

Fished from 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cloudy and comfortable day with temperatures in the low 80's. Light winds.
19 Norfolk Spot (Jumbo)
3 Croakers (10-12 inch range)
1 Striped Bass (16 inches) - minimum keeper is 18 inches
2 Skates - got them to the pier and broke the line.
Saw a 20 inch Striped Bass caught, saw lots of jumbo Norfolk Spot caught, saw one 10 inch White Perch caught, and saw two other Skates hooked.


Tuesday July 29, 2003 --

........

North Beach pier --

Fished from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mild day with light winds out of the north. Temperatures in the high 70's. Low tide was about noon. There was only one person fishing on the pier when I first arrived, but others started showing up soon thereafter, and by the afternoon I counted 17 people fishing and 25 rods lined up along the rail.

Caught 11 Norfolk Spot and 6 Croakers. About half the spot were jumbos, the rest were smaller. The Croaker ranged from 10" to 12". Also hooked three Skates, brought them into the pier and then cut the line so that everyone could get back to fishing (most fisherman pulled their lines from the water to prevent tangles while I was bringing in the Skates). It took about 15 minutes each time to get the Skate up close to the pier.


Wednesday July 23, 2003 --

North Beach pier --

Fished from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Cloudy and overcast day, temperature mild, slight breeze.

Caught 4 Norfolk Spot and 3 Croakers. Also hooked four Skates, brought them into the pier and then the line broke each time, losing the bottom rigs, hooks, and sinkers.
The pier got crowded with fisherman around noontime, saw quite a few croakers and spot caught, and saw two other skates hooked and brought into the pier. The Croaker being caught were in the 10-12 inch range, not jumbos, but above the legal limit of 9 inches. People are still getting hung up on snags and losing tackle, fortunately I did not lose any this time to snags.


Thursday July 17, 2003 --

North Beach pier --

Fished from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. during an outgoing tide. Hot, but not too humid a day, very light winds out of the north.

Caught 9 jumbo sized Norfolk Spot. Also hooked three Skates and brought them into the pier before the line either broke or the hook straightened out and pulled out. One of the Skates was strong, took about twenty minutes to get it near the pier, it was swimming all over the place, fortunately only a few people were fishing, so no tangled lines. It did get crowded on the pier later in the afternoon, counted about 10 people fishing, saw at least a dozen Spot caught, and another Skate hooked.
That was the good news, bad news is that I lost 2 bottom rigs because of the Skates, and 4 bottom rigs because of snags. The water out in front of the pier where I was fishing is getting cluttered with fishing tackle, causing a lot of snags. Everyone was losing rigs today.


Monday July 14, 2003 --

....

Rocky Point Park --

Fished from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. during a high tide. Caught 32 small White Perch in the 5-7 inch range, one at 8 inches. No one else was fishing in the area. Mosquitos were active, got bit once on the wrist before applying repellant, and again just before deciding to leave. The second bite was right thru my sock.


Friday July 11, 2003 --

..........

North Beach pier --

Fished from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Slightly overcast day, with maximum temperature at about 85 degrees.

Caught 2 Croaker and 27 Norfolk Spot. Used bloodworms for bait. During the first two hours after arriving on the pier only caught one Spot, and saw two other Spot caught. After that I moved into the coveted right hand corner of the pier when the man fishing there left. That's when I started catching the Spot, and the bite didn't stop until I ran put of bait. Incidently, I didn't see the man fishing there before me catch anything, and I don't know what he was using for bait, but he certainly left at the wrong time. There were only a few other people fishing, and they were catching some Spot, but nowhere near what I caught. Did see a large (10-1/2) inch White Perch caught.


Wednesday July 9, 2003 --

North Beach pier --

Fished from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. during an incoming tide. Hot and humid weather. No hint of any breeze. When I left the pier the temperature was already at 90 degrees and climbing.
Caught 2 Croaker at 10 inches and 4 Norfolk Spot. Used bloodworms for bait. Only a few other people were fishing on the pier, they were using "nuclear worms", they said they were not able to get bloodworms locally. Saw perhaps a half dozen other Spot and Croaker caught. Also hooked into a good size Skate using cut up Spot for bait, brought it to the pier, but the line broke when trying to get it on the pier.


Wednesday July 2, 2003 --

....

Cambridge Maryland --
Old Route 50 bridge over the Choptank River --

Fished from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Cloudy and comfortable day with temperatures in the upper 70's. Started raining about 1 p.m., so decided to leave. Rained the entire way home.
1 Norfolk Spot
10 White Perch - small
2 Toadfish - small
1 Striped Bass - small (about 9")
1 Skate - brought it to the pier and broke the line.
Saw two Croaker and a Catfish caught by a husband and wife that were fishing nearby and using 14 (repeat 14) fishing rods. They were also catching a lot of White Perch.


Monday June 30, 2003 --

....

Cambridge Maryland --
Old Route 50 bridge over the Choptank River --

Fished from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon
Hot and humid day, with no hint of a breeze. Stopped fishing early because temperature and humidity made it extremely uncomfortable on the bridge.
2 Croakers (Hardhead) - 14" and 16"
1 Norfolk Spot
4 White Perch - small
3 Toadfish - small

Stopped at the Matapeake pier and the Romancoke pier on the way home. Matapeake charges $ 4.00 for daily parking, pay by ticket machine and leave stub on your dashboard, so did not stay to check out how the fishing was. Romancoke charges $ 3.00 for daily parking, pay attendant, attendant was not there, so fished for about 20 minutes (still too hot). Romancoke also has limit of one pole per fisherman. Did not catch anything. The water at the end of the pier is only about 3 feet deep. I have heard people say that you need really long casts to deeper water to have any chance of catching anything decent.


Monday June 23, 2003 --

....

Cambridge Maryland --
Old Route 50 bridge over the Choptank River --

Fished from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Hot day near 90 degrees, but a strong breeze helped keep things cool.
2 Croakers (Hardhead) - 13" and 15"
3 Norfolk Spot
14 White Perch - small
1 EEL - 12"
1 Toadfish - very very small
A couple people that were fishing nearby caught two Croaker, lots of small White Perch, and some Toadfish. Other fisherman walking by said they were not catching much.


Thursday June 19,2003 --

...........

Key Bridge pier -

The pier is currently closed to fishing. Talked to one of the maintenance men in the area who indicated that the old pier was torn down and a new pier constructed. The old pier's pilings had deteriorated. The area has been closed since December 2002, not sure when it will be open to fishing.
I last fished this pier on the afternoon of September 17, 2002 when I caught some Norfolk Spot, small Croakers, small Rock, and small White Perch.

North Point State Park -
near Edgemere -

Fished from the causeway from 11 a.m to 2 p.m. It is about a 1/2 mile walk from the parking area to the end of the causeway. Hazy day, winds light, tide high, bay waters very calm.
Caught two Croaker @ 9" and 13". Also caught one Norfolk Spot, and 16 White Perch, all small except for one Perch that measured 9". No one else was fishing during the time I was there.


Tuesday June 17, 2003 --

....

Cambridge Maryland --
Old Route 50 bridge over the Choptank River --

Fished from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
14 Croakers (Hardhead) - ranged from 13-15 inches
2 Norfolk Spot
9 White Perch - small
1 Striped Bass - 9"
1 Toadfish - very very small
Everyone fishing nearby was catching a lot of Croakers.


Thursday June 12, 2003 --

....

North Beach pier --

Fished from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. during an incoming tide. Hot and humid weather. Winds out of the south at about 10-15 knots.
Caught 4 Norfolk Spot and 6 Croaker, only two of the Croaker were keepers @ 10 inches, the others were throwbacks. Saw perhaps a dozen other fish caught by others fishing on the pier, nothing really big, no Bluefish and no Skate.


Monday June 9, 2003 --

....

Cambridge Maryland --
Old Route 50 bridge over the Choptank River --

Fished from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Was fishing on the east side of the bridge (Cambridge side) in the area between the third and fourth lightpole from the end. Caught 4 Croaker (Hardhead) @ 16", 16", 14", and 11". Also caught 3 Norfolk Spot, 5 small White Perch, and 2 small/undersize Rock. One other man fishing nearby caught at least six good size Croakers and a Toadfish. Other fisherman were so far spreadout (there is a lot of room on the old bridge, it is about 1/2 mile long) that I could not tell how they were doing.


Wednesday June 4, 2003 --

....

Rocky Point Park --

Fished from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. during a high tide. Caught 10 White Perch. Only a few other people were fishing, did not see much caught.


Wednesday May 14, 2003 --

....

North Beach pier --

Fished from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. during an incoming tide. Winds out of the west at less than 10 mph. Caught one Rock (12 inches) and one Croaker (14 inches). Pier became crowded in the afternoon, about 12 people were fishing, but not much was being caught. Only saw two other Croaker and one other undersize Rock caught.


Monday May 12,2003 --

Aqua Land Marina - Maryland -
Potomac River at Route 301 Bridge

Fished from about 11 a.m. to 12 noon during high tide. Winds were about 20 mph out of the west, blowing directly towards the beach area, making it almost impossible to cast the line. Did not catch anything. Gave up on this area quickly, packed up and headed across the Potomac River Bridge to Colonial Beach, Virginia.

Colonial Beach - Virginia -
Potomac River south of Route 301 -

Fished from the pier from 1 p.m to 3 p.m. Conditions were much better, because I was on the other side of the river and winds were strong but at my back.
Caught two Croaker (13" and 14"), one Norfolk Spot (7"), and twelve small White Perch (6" range).
Several other people were fishing, only saw one other Croaker and one White Perch caught.


Wednesday May 7, 2003 --

Rocky Point Park --

Fished from 10 a.m to 1 p.m. Caught 14 White Perch in the 7 inch range. Most were caught in the first hour there, then the bite just about stopped. Also caught a 20 inch (4 pound) Channel Catfish right about the time I was getting ready to leave. All fish were released except for four Perch that I tossed to the resident egret who waited patiently about 15 yards away for handouts.
There were about four other people fishing in the area, saw a few White Perch caught.


Monday May 5, 2003 --

Rocky Point Park --

Fished from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. during a high tide. Caught 34 White Perch in the 6-8 inch range. Used bloodworms for bait. All the Perch were released except for about 3 which were tossed to the resident egret, which waits nearby for any tasty tidbits offered by fisherman

Only two other people were fishing during the time that I was there. They were also catching a lot of White Perch, using nightcrawlers for bait. One of them also hooked a huge Carp, probably weighed about 10-15 pounds, brought it in as far as the rocks, but the line broke when he tried to lift it out of the water.


Wednesday April 30, 2003 --

......... .........

Fished at Aqua Land Marina which is located on the Maryland side of the Route 301 bridge that crosses the Potomac River. It is about a two hour drive from the Towson area. There is a $ 3.50 charge for fishing from the shoreline at the marina. A description of the conditions at the marina can be found on the 2001 FISHING NEWS - ARCHIVE page.

Arrived at about 11 a.m and fished until 5 p.m. The tide was low and incoming when I first got there. Caught two Croaker in the first two hours, then at peak high tide about 3 p.m. the Croaker started feeding. Caught another eight in the last two hours there. The Croakers ranged in size from 13" to 17". Used bloodworms for bait. Used three rods, each equipped with a bottom rig and #4 hooks. Also caught about 11 very small White Perch. The small Perch were stealing the bait, making it necessary to constantly keep checking your lines to make sure the hooks were still baited. Went thru 2-1/2 dozen bloodworms. Also caught two very small Rock. No one else was fishing in the area the entire day, until around 3 p.m. when two other people showed up.

I lost four bottom rigs and the attached hooks/sinkers because of underwater snags/obstructions. I found that it is best to leave your line alone after you cast (i.e., don't reel in slowly to cover more territory). When you need to check your bait, reel in rapidly. Be prepared, take lots of spare tackle with you.


Monday April 28, 2003 --

.....

North Beach Pier

Fished from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during an incoming tide. Mild weather, with temperatures in the sixtys, somewhat breezy with winds from the southeast at about 10 knots. The pier was crowded with people fishing. During the spring/summer/fall season, there is a charge to fish on the pier, $4 for the first rod and $2 for the second rod, and they have already started to charge.

Did not hook or catch anything, and did not see anyone else catch anything.


Thursday April 24, 2003 --

....

North Beach pier.

Fished from 10:30 a.m to 2:30 p.m. Caught one small Striped Bass @ 8 inches. Only saw one other fish caught (Striped Bass @ 10 inches). The pier was crowded all day; at one time counted 16 people fishing and 26 rods lined up along the pier railing. One lady fishing on the left end of the pier did hook a bottom rig that must have broken off from another rod, and hooked on the bottom rig were two live fish (12" Croaker and 10" Rock).



Tuesday April 22, 2003 --

....

Fished at Fort Smallwood Park in Anne Arundel County.

Caught one Striped Bass @ 16 inches which was released. About six other people were fishing, saw two other Striped Bass caught, both in the 16 inch range. Was there for about 3 hours.



Tuesday April 15, 2002 --

....

Went fishing at Rocky Point Park in Baltimore County.

Fished for about 2 hours during the high tide. Used bloodworms for bait. Caughty two White Perch (9 inches and 8 inches). Also hooked a large Carp which dropped off the hook when I went to lift it over the rocks. It probably weighed about 4-5 pounds. Four other people were fishing in the area, saw one person catch a small streamlined fish, probably a small Striped bass.


If you are interested in last years fishing reports, click on the following link.

2002 FISHING NEWS - ARCHIVE