C.S. Lewis once said, “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream”. Well, we have set another goal and that is lake and river fishing. Although we currently surf fish, lake and river fishing is quite different. Different water, different species, different bait, different rods. Surf fishing off Assateague Island will be our go to for the summer so we can be at the beach, but the rest of the year we will be lake and river fishing.
Okay, so where do we begin? Having a boat would be a great start. We got crazy and purchased a 16’ side console v-hull Tracker boat, the Tracker Super Guide V-16 SC. The boat came with an amazing package. We also purchased new rods and reels.
The first trip we took on the new boat was on the Pocomoke River out of Snow Hill, MD. The Pocomoke River is 66 miles long and stretches from southern Delaware to southeastern Maryland into the Chesapeake Bay. The water is brackish and the upper river flows through a series of relatively inaccessible wetlands called the Great Cypress Swamp. Pocomoke is derived from the words for “broken ground” of the Algonquian language.
Our first launch was uneventful. We were definitely surprised because we did not know what to expect. The boat came off the trailer with no problem and John backed it out and docked easily while he waited for me to park the truck and trailer.
I boarded the boat and off we went down river. The river was beyond beautiful, which makes me believe that all the rivers and lakes we will fish are going to be just as gorgeous. We saw many Bald Cypress and now understand why it is called the Great Cypress Swamp.
As we were moving along looking for a good spot to fish when one bank looked appealing. John rigged my line for me, which is something I will learn how to do myself on the next trip. I used a chatter bait and did pretty good casting it. A couple times I got the lure caught in limbs, but John got it out for me. John used a spinner bait and caught and released the first (and only) fish of the day which was a White perch. The perch was about 7” long and very healthy looking. I believe it is good luck to catch a fish on your boat’s maiden voyage. The weather was perfect and the wind was slightly breezy. We did some exploring then headed back to the dock.
When we returned to the boat ramp, John docked the boat and I went and got the truck and trailer. It took me a couple times to position the trailer just right on the ramp, but I got it into the water and we pulled the boat right on. We couldn’t believe how easy it was. I pulled the trailer out and we unpacked the boat and secured it to the trailer.
When we got home, we flushed the motor with clean water and washed the bottom of the boat. We covered the boat and parked it in its special spot. We had so much fun on our first trip out and cannot wait until the next one.