3 Years, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 4 Days

In 2007 there was a tv show that began each episode with a statement similar to the title above. “Pushing Daisies” only lasted two seasons but I’ve remembered that way of counting ever since. In fact I have used before in my old obsession, geocaching. If I ever couldn’t find a particular geocache I would mark it down and hope to try again. If I did get a second chance and did find that particular cache I usually included a statement counting the time between my original DNF, did not find, until the day I found it. Here’s a link to a recent example if you’d like to see.

But once again this is my blog about fishing. How does this relate? Well on March 30, 2015 I wrote my first post on this current site. I stated that I was going to begin my fishing quest. That quest was to try and catch a fish in each county of the state of Maryland. I drew my inspiration from a podcast I had just started listening to the “FishNerds.” Clay and Dave, the hosts, were on a quest to catch and eat “every species of fish” in their home state of New Hampshire. They mentioned often about the time commitment it took for them to complete their goal. I figured I’d start easy - one fish in each county. How hard would that be? And how long could it take?

This morning I left my house at 5:30 on my way to Baltimore City. Understand that it is strange that Baltimore City is considered to be its own county. It ends up that the Maryland Constitution stated that “Baltimore is established as an independent city and not part of any other county.” Or that it is its own county. Nevertheless I arrived at my chosen spot, Lake Montebello because on the map it looked large enough that I could find an area to try. Unknown to me was that there is an iron fence around it as it is a settling basin for the filtration of city water. Okay not be be thwarted I pulled up the Maryland Department of Natural Resources app and saw another lake, Lake Roland. I turned the car towards it and started on my way. Upon arriving there, I should have looked more closely since Lake Roland is in Baltimore County. Frustrated a little I got out of the car, walked around a little and decided to “wet a line.” On my third cast I hooked up with a small largemouth bass and reeled it in. (Sorry no photo - but I plan to return some time with my kayak.)

At this point it was 8:15 and I wanted to really catch something in Baltimore City. I drove down to the Canton Waterfront Park, which is located in the southeast portion of the city. Being part of the main harbor, I tried a couple of baits that might attract attention; a small chatter bait and a white shad style jerk bait. I gave myself until 9:00 or I was going to try somewhere else. At 9 o’clock I was in my car heading to a fourth spot for the day: Patterson Park. The park was “established” in the early 1800’s and boasts several playing fields, including one made of turf. There is a large dog park, tennis courts as well as swimming pool. There is also a small “lake” or pond. I had visited the park earlier in the summer, back in July, in an effort to catch a fish but I was skunked that day. As I approached the pond there was a group of people, maybe a dozen, standing and looking into the trees in the center of the pond. As I got closer I saw that each individual had their own set of binoculars and they were observing a pair of green herons, as well as a few other birds in the park. I made my way around the walkway until I came to an opening in the surrounding vegetation.

The pond was pretty much, probably 85%, covered with “scum” making it hard to get a bait down to clear water. While tying on a small jig I spotted a carp breaking the surface. I made no effort to try and catch it since I was working with only a 6 lb leader and the vegetation in the pond was so dense. I walked a little further around and came to a small wall. The water within 3 feet of the wall was nice and clear of the scum so I decided to concentrate my efforts there. With the small 1/80 oz jig and “Atomic Mite” trailer I made casts into the open water. To say it worked immediately would be a bold-faced lie. It took me several minutes before something decided to chew.

When one finally did, I lifted the rod so quickly that the fish only had the trailer and not the hook so it fell back into the water. I had done it! I had caught a fish! Unfortunately, as per my rules, I had to catch another and get a photograph of it. So I had to spend another 10 minutes trying to get another to bite. Finally one did and I reeled it in. I also lifted it, as quickly as I could, over the wall and into the grassy area on the other side of the walkway. I had it this time! A small, very small, bluegill was going to be my fish for Baltimore City, which was fitting since the first one that had fallen off was also a bluegill. I snapped photos, returned it to the water and pondered whether to try for any more. I decided to go and ahead and try. Glad I did since I caught another 3 bluegill, with each one a little bigger than the one before. So 1 month, 1 week and 4 days after trying to catch a fish in Patterson Park, I had succeeded. But more importantly 3 Years, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 4 Days after announcing my quest to “Fish Across Maryland” I was finished!

Maybe it shouldn’t have taken that long, but with my mother’s illness and eventual passing the quest had to be put on a hold for a while. Looking back I have truly enjoyed the time seeing Maryland. From the mountains of western Maryland in Garrett and Allegany Counties, to the Piedmont of Carroll and Howard Counties to the Coastal Plains of both my homes, Calvert and Wicomico Counties - Maryland truly is “America in miniature” and I am glad that I didn’t rush through it. I’m very happy to have enjoyed the ride! Until next time... Tight Lines.

Go West Old Man!

The alarm went off at 4 am this morning. I was on the road by 4:30. My plan was to head to the furthest county I had left in my quest to catch a fish in every county in the state of Maryland. The spot I picked was the lake at New Germany State Park. The park is a little under 500 acres in size and has hiking trails, which during the winter can be used as cross country ski and snowshoe trails. There is tent camping as well as cabins to rent. Their website boasts that there is NO cell phone reception so they have an operating pay phone, phone booth included.It really seems like a place to “just get away.” My reason for picking it was that at the center of the park is the 13 acre lake. Originally used in a sawmill and grist mill, the lake got to its current size when the Civilian Conservation Corps expanded it. At 162 miles from home, the gps said it was going to take 3 & 1/2 hours to get there. And it did not lie as I pulled into the park right at 8 am. It took me a couple of minutes to find the launch.

When I did I was greeted by a couple of campers, one of which had a fishing rod in his hand. As I unloaded the contents of the Prius onto the kayak the young man asked “How is the fishing from the shore?” I told him it was my first time there and I was going to ask him how he was doing. I took the car to the parking area, said “Hello” to a couple of the locals and walked down to the lake. As I paddled out the young lady wished me “Good Luck” and I returned the favor.

The area at New Germany was gorgeous. When I left my home, at 4:30, it was already in the mid 70’s. When I climbed onto the kayak the air temperature was a cool 63 degrees. There were low clouds along the tops of the hills at the far end of the lake. It really was a place to just get away. I paddled towards the northern end of the lake and noticed that the water was very shallow, maybe 18 inches deep. I saw some rocks, small vegetation and pieces of woods under the surface. As I got within a hundred yards of the north shore I saw a ripple or whirl about 50 feet ahead of me. I made a cast, using a blue (“junebug”) Yum “dinger”. By the time I reeled in the slack line I was hooked up! I got the fish to the boat and was happy to see that my first fish in Garrett County was a 10 inch largemouth bass.

Now my fishing quest is to catch A fish in each county in the state. I had driven 3 & 1/2 hours to this location. I wasn’t about to paddle back to the launch after my first fish, especially since I had only been on the water for 10 minutes. So at the point I decided to give it 60 minutes or so. I paddled around, using the same bait on one rod and a small hellgrammite on another. I caught a couple more largemouth as well as seven or eight bluegill. All of the fish were caught pretty close to shore, or at least shallow water. After an hour and a half, I paddled back to the launch. As I loaded up the kayak, I had a nice conversation with two gentlemen who had come down to the lakeside to have a try at catching a few. Ultimately to answer the first guy’s question - shore fishing looked okay, since I saw these two reel in a couple, but fishing from the kayak was better!

With Garrett County in the books, I set my mind on getting back to Allegany County. I had picked my spot, Rocky Gap State Park , which was only 30 minutes back along Interstate 68. The ride there was uneventful. I drove up, flashed my state park pass, and then asked about a possible launch. I was told that there was a spot outside of the park on the lake, OR I could park in any of the areas and carry my kayak down to the shoreline. I chose to do the latter. Now state parks in Maryland are very popular in the summer time, and Rocky Gap is no exception. The shoreline was dotted with many visitors having picnics, enjoying the beaches and public swimming areas.

The lake itself, Lake Habeeb, is man-made and huge, close to 250 acres. The water comes from Rocky Gap Run and is crystal clear! There were times when I wish I had my mask and fins because I wanted to just get in and explore. Once again I could see rocks, vegetation and trees on the bottom but out from the shore about 20 feet or so it seemed to drop off. Armed with the same baits as before, I paddled to a small cove on the northern side, diametrically across from where I put in. Once in the cove I made casts into the shallows with the “dinger.” On one cast I felt a hit and began to reel. For the second time today, my first fish in a new county was a largemouth bass. After a picture or two I released the fish and started to try and catch a few more. Unlike my first outing of the day, my luck at Rocky Gap was not as good. I did see small bait fish swimming around and I did catch two small bluegill casting under some overhanging tree limbs. But in the interest of full disclosure, I picked up more litter than fish I caught at this spot.

Nevertheless I had a terrific time! I had made a plan and was able to follow it. Catching fish in both Garrett and Allegany counties brings me to the very edge of completing my quest! I have one more county on the list. Now to make another plan.

Until next time ... Tight Lines!

Two Down, Three to Go!

As mid August comes upon me I’m beginning to wonder if I can get my quest completed before the end of summer. As today started I was five counties short of finishing. Two counties, Garrett and Allegany, are the furthest west. In fact I drove through them on my trip with my son to Junior Wilderness Camp in West Virginia. That trip really made me want to head west and see what I could do. Then I thought about it and decided to head to the other end of northern Maryland.

I woke up this morning at 4 am and was out the door by 4:30. I had a place in Cecil County in mind and just began driving. After a little over two hours I was in Elkton at Howard’s Pond Park, or as it is called “Cow Pond” on the maps. The area had a large pond, along with a smaller one as well as what looked like small canal running between the street and the ponds. I figured that the area would be good habitat for warm water species like largemouth and sunfish so I began by casting a Senko rigged weightless. After a couple of casts into one area and not getting any bites I walked over to the other side of the pond. My second cast from that side I hooked up with something. AND it felt heavy! I began to reel as fast as I could remembering to not reel against the drag. As I brought it to shore I realized that I was in a predicament. I was standing on a bank that was a good 4 feet above the level of the pond. My rod was pretty lightweight and my leader was light as well. I climbed down a little and began to try and lift the bass out of the water. As I lifted my line SNAPPED! I thought I was toast but fortunately the fish was exhausted and laid there on the edge of the pond. Now this is my quest so I go by my rules. One of my rules says to be official I have to photograph the fish. I headed back to the car and grabbed my net and was able to scoop up the 19 inch largemouth and bring it onto the shore. Photos and removing the hook took a couple of minutes. Fortunately a gentleman saw me retrieving the fish and came down for a look. He was nice enough to snap my picture and I then released the behemoth.* After that I walked around to different parts of the pond and really didn’t have many more bites. In fact to be completely honest I spotted a couple of small bait fish along the shore, but at that point I was ready to head to my second county.

I jumped in the car and headed towards Prettyboy Reservoir. Prettyboy is one of three reservoirs that provided water for the city of Baltimore and it is enormous. Since I was without the kayak I found a spot just before one of the bridges that crosses it to park. I headed down to the water’s edge and spotted smaller fish swimming in the shallows. I tied on a 1/80 oz jig and put an “Atomic Mite” on it. Immediately I was catching small sunfish. I think I ended up catching 7 or 8 fish in total between moving to different locations. After about an hour I decided to head home. But before I did I stopped and picked up about 40 yards of braided line that was sitting on the ground by where I stood. I also picked up an old spool as well as some plastic wrappers. If you are reading this I hope that you will do the same sort of thing. I tell my wife all of the time “I can wash my hands afterwards.” Please do you part and clean up afterwards.

As a footnote I’d like to say that while it was very exciting to pull in what is probably my biggest largemouth - it wasn’t as fun as a fight as some of the smaller ones I’ve caught. It seemed sluggish with only one or two runs. Maybe it’s me but I enjoy the fight more than the “reward” at the end. Just my two cents. Until next time ... Tight Lines!

If you are interested in watching what happened here’s the link to the video.

Rainy Day Projects

Wow - will the rain ever stop? I think it was Friday or Saturday I saw a “tweet” from a friend that read “Today begins 15 consecutive days of rain” to which I replied “We can hope and pray for breaks here and there.” And that’s what we have had, breaks for a few hours. I have taken the kayak out a time or two and caught a few fish.

In fact I have been trying to do some filming with the GoPro for my YouTube channel “Fishing Southern Maryland & Beyond.” But to be completely honest the rain has really dampened my spirits (pun fully intended).

With that all being said it brings me to my post today- what to do on rainy days? First and foremost I am not a “handy” guy. But at the beginning of the summer the ceiling fan in our bedroom just gave up the ghost. Yesterday I finally got around to purchasing a new one and spent the necessary time to install it. Mind you two days before this a large tree limb came down and smashed our air conditioning unit outside. It damaged it enough that the fan could not turn, ie making it so we had no AC. Thankfully they both, the fan and AC unit, are working again.

But surely some of you may be reading this and thinking “This is a fishing blog. I can’t believe he is writing about home improvement.” You are correct and it brings me to project for this morning. Last week I took the kayak to a local lake and spent some time catching some fish. As I loaded it back up I spotted on the ground the blade, a Colorado blade specifically, and partial wire of a large beetle spin lure. I picked it up and used it this morning. I bent the wire at an angle, maybe 30* or so.

After that I bent a small curl in the end of the wire so that it could hold on a soft plastic lure. I then cut the original bait keeper off of the jig I was going to use.

At that point I placed the jig into my makeshift fly vice and made a few wraps around the collar of the jig. I placed to spinner’s wire along that shaft of the hook and proceeded to make several wraps, trying to keep them tight.

I tied off the thread and used a little Super Glue to hopefully bind the threads some. The finished product below has my new “underspin” with a Zoom Super Salt Plus 4” grub. Now I just have to wait for the rain to stop to get out and use it!

By the way my wife did just call and ask about the size of another ceiling fan, so rain please stop soon!

Persistence pays off!

As the title of this post says being persistent does have its advantages. But just like any “payment” it isn’t always immediate!

Case in point: Somerset County, Maryland is less than 60 miles from my home. It just takes 3 hours to drive there since I have to cross the Chesapeake Bay. Somerset County is a neighbor to Wicomico County where I grew up. I have tried on three different occasions to catch a fish in Somerset County. The first time was right after beginning my quest to catch a fish in each county of the state of Maryland. I had driven down to Worcester County and paddled around on the old kayak and caught a nice bluegill in Shad Landing State Park. On the ride back to my parents’ house I stopped at the Manokin River Park in Princess Anne to give it a try. No luck that day. Fast forward to about three months ago, back in March. I was on the Eastern Shore visiting my sisters and I went to the same small park and decided to put the kayak on the river. Being a tidal fishery it was LOW tide that day and I was thankful I had my boots since there were times when the kayak was scrapping bottom and I had to get out and walk it some. Suffice it to say I went fishless that day as well.

Now here I am at the beginning of June, visiting my sisters again. I woke up early this morning and decided to give it another try. I drove down to the park, about 20 minutes from my sister’s home. I had brought four different rods for my trip, mainly because I was going to try my favorite spot, Williams Mill, the previous day. Upon arriving I decided that I wouldn’t use the kayak unless it just wasn’t paying off on the shoreline. I began with the collapsible panfish rod thinking I could hook something relatively quick. It didn’t happen. I switched to my ultralight rod, 4 pound test, with a red and white tube on a 1/16 oz jig. I made probably a half dozen casts before anything happened. On one cast, near a spot of overhanging tree limbs, my float when down like a shot. I yanked up and the fish took off, making runs of 20 yards or more. I was able to gain some line back but it would just take more. With the very light line I didn’t want to put much pressure on it. In fact I didn’t really have to since it snapped the line after a couple of minutes. I was encouraged. I had hooked something, and it was probably pretty big. I went back to the car for another rod, with a heavier line and began trying again. Fish were surfacing all around me, but I couldn’t get one to bite. I stayed there for 45 minutes, but NO luck!

I decided to grab the kayak and give it a try. I even had my minnow trap and thought I might be able to catch some bait. (Interesting fact, or at least it’s interesting to me, if I had caught some minnows I would not have counted them for my quest; since one of my rules was that the fish must be caught with hook and line.) Nevertheless I was unsuccessful in catching any bait and had to resort to small shad soft plastics and my tubes. I paddled down the river, with the tide, making casts with a beetle spin lure as well as a small tube. Again fish were breaking the surface of the water but I couldn’t get anything to bite.

After an hour or so I decided to head back to the car. Once there I pulled the kayak over to the car to load it. After putting everything back into the car I looked at my watch and said “I’ll give it another 15 minutes.” I walked back over to the river side. Now persistence is defined as “firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty” and that’s why I decided to use it in the title. While it is just fishing, and I don’t really believe that trying to catch a fish counts as “grinding away” I do know that I easily get stuck in my ways. I made a few casts into some of the areas as before. My bait got hit a couple of times, but nothing. I made one more cast, gave it a twitch and then felt it get heavy. I gave it a yank and started reeling. Heavier line I was able to “control” the fish a little more as it swam down. As it got closer to the shoreline it headed towards a few of the rocks. Fortunately with a little longer rod I was able to lift the fish over them. It was at this point when my persistence finally did pay off as I was holding a small 10 inch, pretty fat, channel catfish. A few pictures and released healthy I had another county under my belt. That brings the count to 19 out of 24 including two new ones in a week. Now back to my sisters for lunch and family time. Until next time... Tight Lines!

County #18: Washington County

May 26th, Memorial Day Weekend The plan: wake up at 4 am, eat a quick breakfast and get on the road. My destination is Greenbrier State Park in Washington County just about two hours from home. Put the kayak on the water and catch a few fish as part of “Fish Across Maryland” and then head back home.

Reality: I woke up at 4 am, ate a quick breakfast and drove up to Greenbrier State Park. It took exactly two hours. But as I write this I am sitting in a line of cars waiting to get into the park because it doesn’t open until 7:30. While waiting I also was paid a visit by a park ranger who informed me that the water level of the lake itself has been drawn down for ongoing repairs to the dam. I guess I’ll have to wait and see how “Fish Across Maryland” goes for the day.

Reflecting on the day: To say that I was worried about my attempt would be honest. I have fished another lake that was drained down for dam repairs and had no luck. This was not the case for today. As I paddled out of the little finger from the launch I saw loads of underwater vegetation, so I figured that was a good sign. There were some areas of sandy bottom between patches of grass and if I looked closely I could see fish swim over them. I made it out to deeper water and made a few casts along the grass edges. My trusty tube jig would fall nicely in a spiral. On one cast the spiral seemed to stop and gave it a yank. There it was my first fish of the day and first fish in Washington County: a nice 9 & 1/2 inch black crappie. Landed, photographed and released, any other fish for the day were bonus!

I spent a little more than two hours paddling around the edge of the lake. Occasionally I’d see or hear some splashing along the shore and I figured the largemouth were getting breakfast. I’d make casts near those spots, if I was within range, trying to entice something to bite. I was lucky to get hooked up on a few occasions but pleasantly surprised to see that I was caching bass. I was catching “sunfish.” (By the way any FishNerd knows that the largemouth bass is a member of the sunfish family, but here I’m talking about a different species.) To be completely honest I think these “sunfish”were redbreast sunfish; and they were beautiful! The orange and yellow on their anal fins and tails were so bright. It really made them stand out. I ended up catching three or four of them along with a half dozen black crappie. The small “Crappie Magic” swimbait by Luck E Strike paid off with most of the catches today. I even landed a nice largemouth using it and missed on a couple of others. After the two or so hours in the kayak, I decided I’d head back to the launch. In total I think I caught about a dozen fish. Maybe not the biggest day of fishing, numbers wise, but it was a very fun morning.

With respects to the plan the moral of the story: Know before you go! I really don’t have anyone to blame but myself. Looking back I found “Tweets” from the Greenbrier State Park that the water level was going to be down all summer. It is Memorial Day weekend and state parks in Maryland are ALWAYS very busy this weekend and every other weekend during the summer. Nonetheless at least I have a story to SHOW and TELL! Until next time... Tight Lines!

Upon hearing from the Maryland DNR and the fishing department - the sunfish that I caught were "green sunfish." I had caught them before in another location, but it's always nice to catch something different.

One County Closer to My Goal

April 21st, Earth Day weekend, and what a better way to spend it than on the water in a beautiful location like Cunningham Falls State Park. A month earlier I had visited the lake here, but I was completely skunked. I didn’t know the lake, it was 10 degrees cooler than back home and it seemed like the fish had not moved up to the shallows to spawn yet. That day I spent the better part of four hours trying different techniques in different parts of the lake to have no success. Fast forward one month to today and things have changed.

I arrived at the park just before 8 am, meaning I had left the house before 6 am. I drove into the parking lot and had the place to myself. Being alone I took my time rigging the kayak with my seat, scupper plugs, rods and tackle. I even brought a small cooler in case I caught something to bring home. The air temperature was in the mid 30’s with a very slight breeze. I paddled out towards the northern shore figuring that the water temperatures over there might be a little warmer. I had a small yellow tube on a 1/16 oz jig head about 24 inches below a float. As I approached the northern shoreline I began to make casts towards the point. If memory serves, it was on the fourth cast when my float went under and I was hooked up. A minute and a half later I had my first fish of the day and more importantly first fish in Frederick County. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I drove about two hours to get to this location. I wasn’t about to spend 15 minutes fishing and pack it back up. So I did my best to hold my position where I caught the first one and repeated my cast. This brought another half dozen or so to the kayak.

After a little while I paddled along the same shoreline, past a few guys sitting on their chairs waiting for the trout to bite. I was able to catch a few more including one bluegill. Then I decided to turn back to the launch and head home. I ended up catching 9 or 10 crappie and the one bluegill on my outing and I was pleased with that.

With my catching a fish in Frederick County, that brings me one step closer to my goal of catching a fish in each county in the state of Maryland. In fact the number is now 17. It also raises another concern. The closest county, where I have not caught a fish, to my home is now Baltimore, about 90 minutes away. My normal "modus operandi" has been to drive to a location, fish and drive home. That has just become more involved unless I begin to plan trips where I can get multiple counties on the same day, otherwise I'm going to be spending a lot on gasoline. So the next couple of weeks are going to be spent in planning. I'll keep you informed.

I realize that this is a fishing blog but I wanted to mention one more thing. During the month of April, I’ve been participating in a movement on Twitter called #30daysofpickinguplitter. As a person who enjoys being outside I think it is vital that we do everything we can to keep our “playground” clean. This particular day I picked up the standard beer can along the shore as well as multiple cigarette butts. But I also found a couple plastic bags with fish remains and other very disgusting contents. I still picked them and found a dumpster where I could put them when I stopped for lunch. I just wish I hadn’t found them. I hope anyone who might read this might make a commitment to do what we can to pick up trash we see. Thanks for bearing with me on this. Until next time...Tight Lines!

By the by: I did get some footage of my outing and hope to put together a short video before the end of the month. Stay tuned...