WINTER FISHING
'07
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great fishing tips, stories, and photos.
Covers Winter '07. Maryland region
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Patapsco
River
Maryland 1/12/07
Mark Burchick
Fishing The Patapsco
River
Downstream of
Historic Ellicott
City
Dan, Mark and I
spend the morning
fishing the river,
and yes we did have
our 2008 resident,
non-tidal fishing
license,
which by the way has
gone up to $20.50,
and that's without a
trout stamp.
We walked along the
river and found
numerous ferns
growing from the
mortar of a stone
house foundation.
I remember from a
geology class that
these ferns are
uncommon in Maryland
and grow in the
mortar joints
because they are
limestone (in the
concrete
mix) dependant.
We parked at a
few locations
along River Road
to work any/all
in-stream
structure and
deep pools that
we could find.
Other than a
jogger and a few
bikers, no one
else was
recreating on
the stream
valley. We
did however
unexpectedly,
walk across two
photographers (a
man and
woman) using
light umbrellas,
remote
flashes and high
end equipment,
doing a photo
shoot of a woman
in a v-neck
blouse and
skirt. As
we walked past,
we commented to
each other that
she must have
been cold!?
No other
comments.
Dan had a sock,
cut in half, and
pinned to his
chest. The
sock held soil
and live worms,
and he could
just reach in a
grab one when
needed. He
worked his worms
with a double
hook system and
without a bobber
or weight.
Mark primarily
used a
Kastmaster and
Mepps Aglia with
a swivel and I
used live worms
with bobber and
weights.
It was a
beautiful and
balmy January
morning, but it
did get colder
as cloud cover
came in.
Dan pulled-up a
rock
and relaxed, as
he cast into a
deep pool.
We went to a dam
located near
Thistle and
River and worked
it hard.
The dam has a
fish ladder on
the Howard
County side and
a large deep
pool area beyond
the concrete
floor of the dam
face.
You would think
that all manner
of fish would be
stacked-up in
this pool (smallies,
rock bass,
bluegill, DNR
released trout),
but no, none of
us caught a fish
on the day.
I was able to
get my lure into
some beautiful
calm water
habitat behind
rocky rapids and
up under downed
trees but to no
avail. We
pushed several
large fish as we
walked the
river, but could
not hook them.
I was able to
take a picture
of a 'sundog'
while in-stream.
The most
exciting thing
we saw on the
river was a
large alligator
snapping turtle.
He was
absolutely
lethargic and
was barely
swimming in calm
water.
Considering the
covering on his
shell, I'd bet
he came out of a
mud/sand bed to
get some winter
snacks and had
every intention
to "pack it
back in" as
the weather get
colder.
It was nice to
be outside, but
it would have
been better to
have caught a
few. We
went to the
Ellicott City
micro-brew pub
and caught a
sampling of all
of their
offerings.
Mark (age 15)
read about each
of the beer's
attributes as
Dan and I did
the taste
testing. I
liked the beer
called ESB the
best, and the
rock fish and
chips were good
too.
