One of the great things about living on the coast is the assortment of waterways we can explore.  The weather was so nice and warm (85 degrees) this afternoon that we couldn’t resist going out for a quick ride on the boat after work.

We launched out of White Horse Park adjacent to Ocean Pines, MD and headed up river on the St. Martin River.  We explored the Shingle Landing Prong and the Bishopville Prong.  The beautiful waterways were speckled with equally beautiful homes.

The St. Martin River is a tributary of Isle of Wight Bay and is approximately 4.4 miles longs.  A short river, the St. Martin broadens rapidly to enter the Isle of Wight Bay where the bay is crossed by MD Route 90.  Its two main tributaries are the Shingle Landing Prong and the Bishopville Prong.

When we headed back down river we didn’t go as far as the Route 90 bridge, but we did tuck in and explore a little bit of Ocean Pines.

This was the first boat ride for our black lab, Maggie, and our Jack Russell Terrier, Sage.  Maggie didn’t do too bad, but Sage was not happy.  Hopefully they will start to feel comfortable on the boat the more we take them out on it.

The White Horse boat launch was truck and trailer friendly with a lot of room and parking.  There were two launch pads with nice docks.

I can’t wait to go out again on an afternoon ride and explore more!

We went out on the Pocomoke River at 5:30a launching out of Snow Hill, MD.  The morning was cloudy and cool.  We just had two days of non-stop rain and some of the river was windy, so we tucked into where it was calm.

Fishing the high tide, we were able to cast into both the banks and lily pads.  The lily pads did not produce for us today.  The bank is where I caught three largemouth bass, one on a wacky worm and two on a spinner bait.  John caught one largemouth bass on a chatter bait.

While fishing the bank a northern water snake swam by.  It was about 24” long and swam around a little bit before going ashore.

The Northern Water Snake is a non-venomous aquatic snake that is common throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed and can live in brackish waters.  They can grow two to four feet in length.  They have a highly variable color and pattern and may be tan, gray, reddish, or brownish-black.  They have dark crossbands on the neck and forefront.  They swim actively during the day and night and can been found basking on stumps, rocks and branches to stay warm.  They can hold their breath under water for one and a half hours.  Their diet consists of small fish, worms, frogs, salamanders, and crayfish.  They can live up to 10 years.  They will secrete a foul-smelling odor to keep predators away.  Males begin to breed at two years old and females at three years old.  Females give birth to one litter of live young per year usually in mid to late summer.  The young are independent at birth.

Although the day was a bit slow, we did catch fish and that’s a good day.

SIDE NOTE:  The low tide never got low.  Only about six inches.  Very odd, but maybe the storm the day before had something to do with it.

To change it up a bit one evening we decided to do some pond fishing.  My first cast produced a small largemouth bass on a spinner bait.  I caught three more after that within fifteen minutes.  John caught two largemouth bass with a chatter bait.  This small pond really produced.  We had fun!

We arrived at the Snow Hill, MD boat ramp at 5:30a and launched onto the Pocomoke River.  As in the past, there was another gorgeous sunrise over the river and the water was like glass.  We headed down river and fished the banks as the tide was on its way out.  There was no one on the water which was very nice.  It was quite with the exception of birds chirping and an occasional splash as fish jumped out of the water to grab an insect.

We had an absolutely superb day.  I caught six largemouth bass and two chain pickerel and John caught one largemouth bass.  That is nine fish total.  Unbelievable!  Fishing the outgoing tide was very productive to say the least.

Three largemouth bass were caught on a Strike King Buzz Bait, one on a Gary Yamamoto Wacky Worm, and two on a Strike King Spinner Bait.  The two chain pickerel were caught on a Strike King Spinner Bait.  So far most of my fish have been caught with the Strike King Buzz Bait and the Strike King Spinner Bait.  They are my go to lures on this river.

John caught his largemouth bass with a Booyah Pad Crasher.  He also caught a snapping turtle on his spinner bait line.  Thankfully it let go of the lure when it was out of the water.  I didn’t get a picture, but he was about 12” in diameter.

This river is such an awesome fishery.  If you are ever down on the eastern shore of Maryland and want to do some remarkable fishing, check out the Pocomoke River.  It has yet to let us down.

We launched onto the Pocomoke River out of Snow Hill, MD at 6:00a.  The sunrise was gorgeous!  It was low tide with the change to occur around 7:30a.

We went further down river and worked the banks and lily pads.  We had no luck in the lily pads this trip, but the banks were very productive.  We caught four largemouth bass, one crappie and a chain pickerel.  Simply amazing.  This river has yet to let us down.

I caught two bass and a crappie with a ¼ ounce spinner bait using my small Ugly Stick.  John caught a largemouth bass and a chain pickerel with a rubber worm and a largemouth bass with a hollow-bodied floating frog.

Since the beginning of time frogs have been a favorite bait among bass enthusiasts and for good reason.  Bass love frogs.  The first production-runhollow-bodied frog was in 1895 and it was the Hastings Weedless Casting Frog.  It was made from a rubber molding and came in three sizes.  Each was hand painted a beautiful leopard frog pattern and fitted with hollow-point Carlisle hooks featuring a weed guard.  The box paper insert read:  If at any time the frog should fill with water, it can be readily expelled by pressing it together a few times.  Not much has changed since then.  To learn more about the hollow-bodied floating frog bait go to Bassmaster.com.

We fished over six hours and the sun was bearing down.  Summer is approaching and today was a small taste.

We fished the Pocomoke River launching out of Snow Hill, MD.  We arrived at the dock around 6:30a to the incoming tide and fished both the incoming and outgoing tide.  A bass fishing tournament was going on so there was more traffic in the area than usual.   We went a short ride down river and fished the banks and lily pads.

As we were fishing the lily pads we kept seeing several large fish swimming around in the lily pads.  These fish were at least 24” long.  It appeared that they were swimming on top of the lily pads.  Upon further research, we learned that the fish were snakehead.

Snakeheads are native to parts of Africa and Asia.  These elongated, predatory fish are distinguished by their long dorsal fins, large mouths, and shiny teeth.  They breathe air with gills, which allows them to migrate sort distance over land.  They are valuable as a food source and have become notorious as an intentionally released invasive species.  Depending on the species they can reach between 10” to 35” in length.  Snakeheads are thrust-feeders that consume plankton, aquatic insects, and mollusks when small.  As adults, they mostly feed on other fish or on frogs.  They are an invasive species because the absence of a natural enemy gives them apex predator status.  They reach sexual maturity by age two or three and can mate as often as five time a year allowing the female to release up to 15,000 eggs each time.  Snakehead meat is firm, white and flaky and holds up well to pan frying, grilling, and oven baking.

We did not have a good day casting our lures.  We stuck quite a few of them in many places, more times than we want to remember.  In the lily pads, in the trees, in the submerged logs, in the dead roots.  It felt like we spent more time retrieving lures than fishing.  I lost my good Strike King Buzz bait, too.  I loved that lure.

We each hooked a fish but were not able to bring it on board because it “got away”.  John did catch a large mouth bass and got it into the boat.  Yeah, one in the boat!

SIDE NOTE:  When we were by the bank retrieving one of our many wedged lures, we saw a tree that had beaver damage to it.  It was amazing to see how a beaver can chew a tree down.  Wood art by Beaver!

BALD CYPRESS

We launched out of Snow Hill, MD onto the Pocomoke River around 6:30a.  It was quite chilly and I wore my winter coat for the ride out.  The tide was outgoing and the water was like glass.  Again, we witnessed a pair of bald eagles.  They were just hanging out in trees adjacent to the river.  In the background you could hear their eaglet.

Bald eagles are found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-grown trees for nesting.  The bald eagle is an opportunistic carnivore with the capacity to consume a great variety of prey, but feed mainly on fish.  They build the largest tree nests of any North American bird which are used repeatedly over many years.  Selected trees must have good visibility, be over sixty-six feet tall, an open structure, and proximity to prey.  Bald eagles reach sexual maturity around age five which is around the time their head and tail turn white.  Females are twenty-five percent larger than males.  The name “bald” derives from an older meaning of the word “white headed” referring to the white head and tail feathers and their contrast with the darker body, as in piebald.  The average lifespan in twenty years.  The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States.

We did most of our fishing in lily pads using a buzz bait.  I caught a large mouth bass and a chain pickerel.  The pickerel came at the bait twice in the lily pads and then the final time outside of the protection of the lily pads.  It was so fun to watch!  John did catch two crappie along the bank with a spinner bait.

We launched out of Snow Hill, MD onto the Pocomoke River around 6:00a.  The tide was coming in and would be at high tide around 10:00a.  We headed downstream to fish on the less traveled parts of the Pocomoke River.

We experienced a pair of Bald Eagles bringing in fish for their young.  What an amazing sight!  Although we could hear the young eaglet we could not find the nest as it was well hidden. 

John caught the first fish of the day which was a Crappie on a crank bait.  Crappies are in the sunfish family and are popular pan fish.  The genus name Pomoxis means “sharp cover” referring to the fish’s spiny gill covers.  The common name “Crappie” derives from the Canadian French, crapet, which refers to many different fishes of the sunfish family.  The Pomoxis species are highly regarded pan fish and are often considered to be among the best-tasting freshwater fish.  Because of their diverse diets, Crappie may be caught in many ways, including light jigs, minnows, artificial lures, spinnerbaits, or bobbers.

We moved over to an area that was thick with Lilly pads.  I was using a Strike King buzz bait.  Nothing was happening for a while and then all of the sudden I saw something come out of the water and grab the bait.  I hooked the fish and reeled it to the boat and netted it.  It was a Chain Pickerel.  The fish was about 29” and 3 pounds.  My first fish!  It finally happened!  What a fun surprise!  I got to hold and release it.  It was awesome to be able to see it come out of the water and get the bait.  I can’t believe how lucky we have been to be able to catch fish every time we have been out.

We launched out of Snow Hill, MD onto the Pocomoke River.  The tide was low and it was amazing to see how low the water line was.  I’d say at least four feet.  We fished several banks and one produced a large mouth bass that John caught with a spinner bait.  Along the way we encountered several blue herons and two beaver.

Next we decided to fish the Nassawango Creek, which is the largest tributary of the Pocomoke River.  The name means “ground between the streams”.  Early English records have it as Askimenokonson Creek (an Algonquian word meaning “stony place where they pick early strawberries”) after a Native settlement near its headwaters.

The Nassawango rises in Wicomico County, MD and flows 20.8 miles through Worcester County, MD to join the Pocomoke River below Snow Hill, MD.  Nassawango Creek and its tributaries were once damned in several places for mills; one dam site became an early industrial blast furnace operation where bog iron ore was smelted to make pig iron at Furnacetown during the first half of the 19^th century.  Today the furnace grounds are considered a local historical landmark.

The Nassawango Creek was quiet and private with very little traffic.  There was no wind and the sun’s rays were warm.  We fished two hours into the tide change and John caught a large mouth bass with a chatter bait.

Putting the boat in and out of water is starting to become second nature.  I can’t believe how fast and efficient we have become.

Our next trip was on the Pocomoke River out of Snow Hill, MD.  Snow Hill was founded in 1686 in Somerset County by English settlers and was made a port of entry in 1694.  In 1742 Worcester County was carved out of the eastern half of Old Somerset County and Snow Hill was centrally located in the new county and at the head of navigation on the Pocomoke River.

We arrived at the boat ramp around 7:00a and the river sported a slight film of fog.  It was chilly but the skies were blue and brilliant.  As we headed down river we couldn’t dismiss the fact that the river was like a sheet of glass.

John caught and released the first fish of the day which was a Chain Pickerel.  The Chain Pickerel are typical of brackish and fresh waters and are a species of the Pike family resembling the northern pike.  They are carnivorous and have many teeth and typically live 8-10 years.  The average size is 24” and three pounds.  You can eat Pickerel as the meat is very white and flaky with a mild flavor, but they have many small bones.  John used a chatter bait with a tail to catch this fish.

In just the first hour we witnessed a Kingfisher fishing, several Slider turtles, a Pileated woodpecker and a Bald eagle.  The beauty of nature was abundant.

John caught and released a second fish which was a White Perch and a couple hours later caught and released another White Perch.  He used a spinner bait on the first perch and a Worden’s Original Rooster Tail on the second perch.

As we headed up river towards the dock we came upon Shad Landing and turned in for a look around.  I didn’t know you could access this Pocomoke River State Park from the water.  What an amazing area.  There was camping and boat slips and a winding narrow waterway that took you back to the river.  Click on the link to learn more about Shad Landing.

I used my Penn Passion rod and reel all day.  As I said before, I love this rig.  Casting was effortless and I hit my mark every time.  I can’t wait until I catch a fish with it!