Fishin' with Rick
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Rick, Jr.

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Rick (Rich), Sr.
June 25, 1925 - January 2, 2002
We miss ya', Dad.

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Rick (Ricky), III

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Fishin' Log
I stopped keeping my logs on the website but started adding them occasionally on my Facebook Page.

Here are my older fishing logs:
2005 Fishing Log
2004 Fishing Log
2003 Fishing Log
2002 Fishing Log
2001 Fishing Log(
2000 Fishing Log (58 trips)
1999 Fishing Log(83 trips!)_
1998 Fishing Log (109 trips!)
1975 Fishing Log
1973 Fishing Log coming soon
1972 Fishing Log
1971 Fishing Log
1970 Fishing Log
1969 Fishing Log (slim pickin's)
1968 Fishing Log (46 trips!)
1967 Fishing Log( 111 trips!)
1966 Fishing Log(67 trips!)

 

In the good 'ol days it was just dad and me. We have the same name but everyone called dad 'Rich' and they called me Ricky. That worked well although I preferred Rick to Ricky. Dad seemed to be Rich all along and that was ok with him. Now things got a little complicated about 18 years ago when another Rick came along. My son is 'Rick' also although we tried calling him 'Ricky' but he didn't like that any more than I do. So the point of all this is that Rick could be just about anyone, but when it comes to fishin' Rick means me and the other two Ricks. Confused?

Rick is a genuine fish'n nut. One of the many benefits of being part of a Ricksom is that our collection of Fishing in Maryland Awards are all in the name -- Richard Holt. "Hmm! I wonder which Rick caught that 5 lb. 2 oz pickerel?"  My dad and I actually have a few of those award citations for which we haven't a clue who actually caught the fish! Must have been me. 8-) My son, Rick, started his collection of Award Citations this summer with a big White Perch he caught. Had it made out to Rick Holt III, sneaky little guy!

My favorite fishing is for Chain Pickerel in the tidewater of the upper Chesapeake. Click here for some pickerel fishing tips.

Fishing Log 1968

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At some point in my childhood my dad and I began fishing together. I don't recall exactly how long ago it was when we got serious about our fishing, but by 1966 when I was 16 years old I began keeping a fishing log. What follows here is my third year of record keeping -- the 1968 fishing log. This year's records are more verbose than the last two years and might be characterized as 'fishing reports' rather than a fishing log. In any case here they are:

January 1-27, 1968
Haven't been fishing during this time, regretfully. Mostly because of lack of cooperation between my time off and the weather. The weather for this time which includes the last part of December 1967 has been relatively cold and everything has been iced up. There have not been enough warm and windy days to break it up and allow us to get out on the Seneca -- where this time last year we had some pretty good pike fishing. Ice fishing would have been possible but we never got around to it.


January 28, 1968 Sunday
Eastern Shore Ponds and Blackwater River
TOTAL CATCH: 1 small yellow perch

My first time out this year. We headed for the Eastern Shore. Got some minnows from Gail's and noticed ice on Bear Creek. Also the Magothy seemed to be iced up. The Bay was covered with floating cracked ice on all but the main channels. Our first stop was at Linchester Lake. The main lake was covered with ice but the spillway was free of ice and running strong. We fished there from about 9 to 1 and got nothing. Saw about 3 yellows and a pike(missed) caught by a person fishing from the bridge and shore next to the bridge, casting up towards the spillway.

From there we went to the bridge over the Choptank on Back Landing Road. Got nothing. Fished there only about 10 minutes of the icoming tide. From there we went to Blackwater low bridge. I got a small yellow perch and a few taps on a minnow under a bobber(which incidently we used during the whole day.) Fished from the bulkhead on the far side of the bridge near the telephone pole. Fished about 15 minutes and then went to the high bridge. We stopped there and dunked the minnows for about 3 minutes before giving up for the day. Incidently the Blackwater also had some thin ice along the shoreline, but not enough to prohibit fishing because it was only over the shallow water. The weather for today was partly cloudy and fairly calm. Temperatures probably got up around 40 degrees.


February 2, 1968 Friday
Gas and Electric Company Bulkhead
TOTAL CATCH: nothing!

The groundhog didn't see his shadow today. And likewise I didn't see any fish for the short while that I waded at the Gas and Electric Plant. The reason he didn't see his shadow was because of the clouds, fog and rain which made this a rather miserable day to be on the water. I waded for only about an hour or less right around noon. The tide was quite high and the water was cold. And although the weatherman said the temperatures were around 50 degrees it was the combination of the cold and the rain that made my hands too cold to go on fishing.

After quiting fishing we rode over to Klien's(on the Seneca) to see how the fishing was. Wally's and Stan's cars were there but we didn't see either of them. We did talk to Bill Klien though. He had just come in from checking his gill net. He had made a pretty good haul. He had about 4 nice rock(1 1/2 to 3 lb) and 3 nice pike plus a whole tub full of plump white perch and a few crappies.

We could see the ice on the cove from where we stood on the pier. These last few warm days had not taken their toll as much as we had expected. Bill said that not too long ago the ice had been thick enough for him to skate completely across the creek in front of his pier.  Well, that's the scoop for today. Incidentley the bait I was casting at the power plant was a #3 Mepps with a minnow


.February 4, 1968 Sunday
Gas and Electric Company Power Plant
TOTAL CATCH: nothing!

Went wading at the Gas and Electric Plant today. Casting a #3 Mepps with minnow got nothing. I fished for about 45 minutes around 11 AM. The tide was low, only about 1 1/2 to 2 ft. of water around the pilings. I didn't see any ice on either Back or Middle River on the ride here. Water was slightly clouded. Temperatures wer supposed to be around 40 degrees, but again it was my hands getting cold that caused me to come in. The winds which were about 15-20 MPH didn't help much either. George said he saw three guys in an aluminum boat that had 2 pike and a perch on the stringer. Saw 2 other guys wading. The winds kept the skies clear and sunny.


February 8, 1968 Thursday
Eastern Shore Ponds and the Corsica River
TOTAL CATCH: one small pike

On this day Dad, Wally and Stan headed for the Eastern Shore destinations unknown. There first stop was at Smithville. Laboring under strong winds and bitter cold they managed to catch nothing but a small pike  which happened to hook himself on Stan's line. Full of eagerness and zeal they headed back up norht to the Corsica River where they got plenty of practice at starring at their bobbers. Since there were no fish to eat, Dad stopped at the Acme Supermarket where he bought the provisions for his lunch. These consisted of a carton of warm pepsi, a package of rolls and last but not least a package of Eskay lunch meat. Loaded with the leftover supplies and sporting an empty creel these 'sportsman' headed home. Completely satisfied with this day outdoors they planned their next fishing trip on the long ride home. I will describe this trip next.


February 9, 1968 Friday
Seneca Creek
TOTAL CATCH: 8 pike

At about 10 AM today Dad and Wally headed out on the Seneca to test their tidewater fishing skills. The exceptionally high tide relieved the fatter of the two sportsman from the problem of climbing down into the boat, while the strong winds threatened to throw the skinny one out of the boat. They headed for the cove next to the power plant where they anchored there with 2 poles and an anchor. Either through skill or luck the skinny one proceeded to catch fish, pickerel to be exact. Four fish and three cigars later the fat one finally pulled in a fish. And soon afterwards followed it with another one.   After that brief flurry of action he settled down to smoking cigars and netting two more of his friend fish. Oblivious to the wind and cold they headed back to the dock to the tune of  8 squirming pickerel rattling on their stringer.


February 26, 1968
Eastern Shore
TOTAL CATCH: a small yellow perch

The sky was just turning light and the sun was not due up for another half hour when we pulled out of our driveway headed for Gail's Bait Shop. We intended to have our minnow bucket filled with a pint of lively Bear Creek minnows. I sensed something wrong as we crossed the Wise Avenue bridge when I didn't see the bright red lights which usually read, "Gail's Sales." The familiar sound of gravel on the underbody of the car as we pulled into the stores parking lot brought back memories of the many days we had stopped here to get bait. But the prospects of getting bait today were as bleak as this unlighted store.Not bait today. The sign says CLOSED>

Our action from here was a clear as the glassy smooth ice which covered Bear Creek. We had to have bait and our only hope was the tackle shop on Hanover Street. The sun which was hanging just over the eastern horizon mad driving difficult as we headed down Poti St. We were unsure of exactly were we had to turn so my father hung in the far lefthand lane of this four laneed, one way street. This was a mistake, but after some quick thinking and a few U-turns we were back on the right track and in short order we were parked in front of the bait shop. I might add that the proper lane was actually the inside left hand lane. From this lane you can make your right hand turn onto Hanover Street.

I walked in and asked the old fellow behind the counter for a pint of minnows. While he was dipping the minnows I asked him, "Have you heard of anyone having any luck on the eastern shore." He replied,"You're only the second customer I've had today and I haaven't heard from any of the fella's who went out yesterday. I think everything is frozen up over their anyway." As you can tell I came out of that shop with about as much information as I walked in with. And to top it off I found out he had only given us a half pint of minnows.

From here we went to Anglers on Rt. 50 just west of the bay bridge. They didn't have any minnows and like the old fellow on Hanover St. they didn't have any idea how the fishing was on the Eastern Shore. We had thought tha someone would be able to give us some suggestions on where to fish. But we were as much in the dark as we were when we began. We had the whole day to spend so we figured we'd try a little bit of everything.

As we crossed the bay bridge we could see for miles in all directions. The whole bay was covered with ice. The fact that the ices was thicker on the Eastern Shore side than the Western made us wonder if we weren't heading in the wrong direction. But we were determined to fish the Eastern Shore and we did.

We set our course for the Blackwater River knowing that this river very seldom freezes over. As we crossed the Rt. 50 bridge over the Choptank River there was ice as far as we could see. This only served to justify us in going to the Blackwater River. If there was any chance of fishing it would be in the Blackwater.

It was about 9 AM when we turned off Rt. 335 and entered the wildlife refuge. Our first stop was at the bridge just past the refuge visitor center. We had been deceptively warm in the car. The sun beating down on the windshield combined with the car heater had made the ride extremely comfortable. So when we stepped out into the cold we really felt it! Regardless we set up our rods with bobbers and minnows and cast our rigs from the lee side of the bridge. We stood there about 5 minutes trying to convince ourselves that we would soon be rewarded by the bite of a fish for enduring the cold wind which swept over the partially burned out swamp and right up our backes. We couldn't.

We packed up our rods in the car and headed back up the road. As we crossed the low bridge which spans the river a little further downstream we saw a fisherman setting up his lines. We decided to stop and give it a try. We figured that if he was nutty enough to stand out in the cold we were nutty enough to join him. Actually it wasn't as cold as before. The wind was hitting us from a different angle and its force was broken by some trees along the shore. The fishing proved fruitless, but we did pick up some information in talking with the fisherman. He mentioned getting yellow perch when fishing here about two weeks ago.He also said that they only hit on the high tide. The tide now was low, about as low as it could get. So we decided that if we didn't get anything here in about 15 minutes we'd give up on this place and try somewhere else. We stared hopefully at our bobbers for the last 15 minutes but had to give it up as a lost cause. The only action we saw while standing there was when the other fisherman pulled in a water-logged board which he managed to hook on his first cast. The tidal waters of the Blackwater hadn't paid off for us so we headed for fresh water, Higgins Mill pond. The ice along the shore cracked defiantly as we hopped in the car.

We were at a loss as to how to find the place so we stopped at a sub shop, ate lunch and asked the proprietor for dierections to the pond. They went something like this, "You go down about 3 miles to Vinces, a blue grocery store with Tydol gas pumps in the front. You make a right at the road just before the RR tracks. From there it is about 1/2 mile to the pond." His directions proved accurate and we were soon there. It didn't take us long to realize that we couldn't fish there. The whole pond was covered with a thin layer of ice except for a small portion of open water near a bridge. We backtracked out to Rt. 50 and headed north. When we reached Rt. 331 we turned right and headed east to Preston, MD and Linchester Lake. Only about 10 of Linchester's 22 acres were covered with ice and the water was clear. Below the spillway where I intended to fish the water was very clear and a little lower than normal. I had seen a man wading below the spillway when I visited here in the fall. The vision of him catching fish while I stood on the shore catching nothing prompted me to don my waders and see if those fish were still around. My father fished the spillway from the shore for a while and I waded out into the icy cold waters to try my luck.

I waded out to about the center of the spillway and cast toward shore. Just about the time my father moved to the upper lake I got a bite. He hit on the down-drift and began swimming the bobber against the current. It went under. I heaved back on the rod and I was onto a fish. Well, it wasn't exactly a big fish. It was a sickly little yellow perch covered with white slime which managed to get away before I could land him. But that was the first fish I'd had on my line all day and even it felt pretty good. Encouraged by the prospect of action I flipped my bobber back out and let it drift down with the current. I had a few taps but didn't land a fish.  made another cast a little closer to shore. I got a bite. This time the fish dragged the bobber about 10 ft. before taking it under. He put up a good fight but a 7 inch perch was no match for my tackle and I soon had him in my creel. I kept him in hopes that I would catch some more fish, but the action stopped as quickly as it started. By then I was getting cold from the icy water so I headed back to shore to have my father take a picture of me with my prize catch. I reciprocated by taking a picture of him holding his prize fishing rod. After taking the photos I slipped the fish back in the lake and headed for greener waters.

We drove back up 313 to Back Landing Rd. and then down to the bridge over the Choptank. The tide was high and still coming in as we dropped our lines in the water in hopes of catching a fish. But as things went this day we didn't even get a bite. This stop concluded our tour of the eastern shore for this day. We had traveled 230 miles and came up with only one fish. Not too good I'd say, but not too bad when you consider that Shelsby, a local outdoor writer, came down the same day and returned with absolutely nothing.


March 4, 1968 Monday
Eastern Shore
TOTAL CATCH: nothing!

Dad and Stan went to the eastern shore today. They fished all over the place and didn't catch a thing. Weather was windy and cold. They fished the Corsica and some ponds. The highlight of the day was when they  had two boys rescued from an island in Unicorn Lake near Millington. My father heard someone yelling for help and discovered that there were two boys on an island waving there arms and yelling there heads off. Stan went to Millington to get help while dad stayed behind. Stan went to a grocery store and the grocer sent him to Millington Volunteer Fire Dept. When the fire truck got there they didn't have any way to get out to the boys so they searched around found a boat with no oars. They went back to town to get a set of oars and returned. The fought the winds going out to the island and coming back. The boys were glad to be rescued and they told dad there story. The said they had used an old leaky boat they had found on the lake and taken it out to the island. The boat either floated away or sank while they were on the island. Either way they were stranded and would have stayed that way had dad not noticed them.


March 9, 1968 Saturday
Eastern Shore
TOTAL CATCH: nothing!

Dad took George fishing today. They got a pint and a half of minnows at Gail's and headed for the Eastern Shore. They hit Blackwater and then went to Linchester Lake. They had no luck at any of these places. Dad talked to a lady fishing the Blackwater bridge who he said mentioned something about having most of her luck fishing near the ends of the bridge rather than in the middle. From Linchester they went to the Corsica for a while where they fished but didn't catch anything. They did see a few fish caught, though very few. Although the weather was fine today (the temps got up around 70 with not too much wind) this day was actually a loss. They came back minus one bobber, swivel and hook which dad lost in the Blackwater.


March 10, 1968 Sunday
Magothy River, Mill Creek
TOTAL CATCH: nothing!
Corsica River
TOTAL CATCH: 9 yellow perch and 1 white perch

With the weather report as it was yesterday it was debatable as to whether we would go fishing today or not. The weatherman predicted rainy periods and winds of 10-20 mph. We finally decided to go but then we had trouble deciding where to go. My father had just been on the eastern shore yesterday and had not caught a thing. He had seen a few perch caught in the Corsica, but not enough to make him want to go today. We arbitrarily decided to go to the Magothy.

We got up about 3:30 AM and went to the White Coffee Pot in town for breakfast. After 5 AM Mass at Our Lady of Pompei we headed east. On Rt. 2 just before we got to the boat livery cutoff we stopped at a tackle shop, B&M or G&M, or  something like that. Dad went in and bought some prepackaged sandwiches for us to eat for lunch.

Wehn we pulled into the boat livery parking lot, which is on Cypress Creek by the way, there were four other cars waiting there. We took our place in line and waited for the place to open up. They opened the gate at dawn and shortly after we were on the water fishing. I will not dwell on the fishing since we did not get a single bite the whole time we were there. I will mention where we fished though. We first headed for Mill Creek, then back out to the front of a boathouse just west of the mouth of Mill Creek (where dad knoew there was a weed bed.) Then we headed back over to Blackhole creek and from there we went back to the main river just above Cypress Creek, then back to Mill Creek, our last stop before heading in. We fished with bobbers and minnow and cast with shad darts and minnows. It rained lightly the whole time we were there, but we didn't see any of the high winds that were predicted.

We got back to the dock about 11:30 AM. It had just stopped raining. While we were unloading the boat there were about a half dozen fisherman preparing to go out. They said they had come to fish the high tide and the reason we weren't catching anything was because we had fished the low tide. They were probably right, but I didn't like the way they seemed to be laughing under their breath.

Since we still had the whole afternoon left and I offered to pay the bridge tolls my father decided to try fishing the high tide at the Corsica River. We pulled up to the Fertilizer plant at the Corsica about 12:30 PM and began fishing. There were about a dozen other fisherman. We saw fisherman fishing near the bridge pull in a yellow perch just as we were getting out of the car. We fished with minnows and bobbers. The bank we were standing on was slowly being covered as the tide came in. The farther it came in the more we had to move back to keep from getting our feet wet, and the harder it became to cast. We moved closer and closer to the bushes and reeds behind us.

The fishing though not spectacular was not disappointing. The fish would bite about 5 minutes apart. That is to say someone within sight would pull in a fish about every 5 minutes. Between us my father and I caught about 10 fish. One of them was a white perch(which dad caught) and the rest were yellow perch. Only one was a ned( I caught that one! It was about 11 inches.) We gave up fishing at 4:30 PM and headed home.

When we got home I read the fishng news in the paper. What I read kind of surprised me. The paper said that they were catching rock in the Magothy at Beechwood Grove on the upper Magothy. It said they were catching them on darts and minnows fished very slowly.   The fish were up to 12 pounds and averaged 3 pounds. The column said you could get boats near the bridge which spans the upper river. The fishing report looks promising for the near future all over the bay and I think the perch will begin their big run in about 2 weeks.


March 15, 1968 Friday
Corsica River
TOTAL CATCH: 8 yellow perch

Today Dad, Stanley and another firefighter went to the Corsica River to try their hand at catching yellow perch. They got a late start since they were coming off night work and didn't get on the river till about 9 AM or a little later. They fished on the part of ther river near the fertilizer plant which I described in the March 10 report.  They kept low behind the bank to protect themselves from the cold wind coming from the east. This wind was the plague of their trip. It made fishing cold.and coupled with the outgoing tide it swept most of the water right out of the river. This low water cut their fishing short. Although they had their lines in the water all day they didn't catch any fish till the tide began to change at about 3 PM. It was then that they caught the eight fish that were their total catch. Actually only 6 could be considered keepers. The largest was a 12" male. There was also an 11" roe perch. The rest were small males. Dad caught 4 of the fish. He also mentioned seeing a kid catching carp. He also said that when the tide was out it was very evident that the water was extremely shallow in the entire area(boaters couldn't use their motors.) They quit fishing in time to get home about 6:30 PM, leaving when the fishing was just getting good.


March 16, 1968 Saturday
Corsica River and Linchester Lake
TOTAL CATCH: 3 yellow perch

I took off from work today and my father and I headed for the Eastern Shore. We had about a half gallon of minnows which dad had collected from other fisherman fishing the Corsica yesterday. The first part of our plan was to fish the Corsica till about 9 AM when the tide wold be going out and the fishing slowing down.. That gave us 3 hours of fishing and during that time I managed to catch 3 yellow perch, two bucks and one roe, all good size. Gumfordson's law caused dad to loose his only good bite of the morning. When the tide started out we headed for Salem.

Richard Jonzack had played up this place so well that I just had to go and try it out. The only trouble was he didn't vive me good enough directions. We searched all over the Salem area for the Chicawicomico River but never ran across it. We had to give it up as a lost cause or we would have wasted our whole day riding. As it was we got to our next stop, Higgins Mill Pond at about 12:30 PM. The water was high and the multitide of fisherman that were there were not catching anything, so we headed back up north.

We decided enroute to give Linchester Lake a try. It would give dad a chance to catch some shut-eye and we did want to see how the fishing was. It was quite windy when we got there.. I fished in the upper lake. The only thing I managed to hook in the 15 minutes I fished there was a tree limb(and even that got away!) There were about 10 fisherman below the spillway, I only saaw oneof them with a fish, a small yellow perch.

We left Linchester and went back up to the Corsica to catch the evening tide. Stan and his two friends were there bottom fishing off the point near the fertilizer plant near the wooden bulkhead. They had about 10 fish between them. We fished near Stan for about 20 minutes. Dad had one bite. It was still very windy and the water was very low. I could see carp jumping on the other side of the river, big carp. They must have been thick because I saw a kid snagging them there this morning. It was the same kid dad had seen yesterday. He cast parallel to shore and brought his line back in long sharp jerks. We quit fishing right after Stan left and got home about 4:30 PM.


March 21, 1968 Friday
Corsica River
TOTAL CATCH: 10 yellow perch

Dad and Vern went to the Corsica River near the Fertilizer plant where they fished all day. They got ten yellow perch between them. Out of the 5 brought home 3 were roe perch. One was about 14", another 12". It was sunny, not very cold, not too windy. Hight tide was about 1 PM.


March 22, 1968 Saturday
Millington and Corsica River
TOTAL CATCH: 2 1/2 dozen yellow perch

Dad and Vern went to Millington and Corsica near the Fertilizer Plant. Lots of small yellows at Millington. Less but bigger at Corsica. About 2 dozen at Millington and about 1/2 dozen at Corsica. High tide about 2 PM. P.S.- Stan got a couple of  buckets full in the stream near the farm machinery.


March 25, 1968 Monday
Corsica River, Wye Mills, Higgins Mill pond
TOTAL CATCH: Dozen yellow perch, a few small white perch

Dad, Vern, Rick. Sunny cold morning (night had been down near freezing.) 7:15 AM start from Baltimore.

1) Corsica, by tractors, 20 minutes, nothing. Lots of people, 1 or 2 fish seen caught by waders farther up in stream. Tide out, little breezy. Rode by Fertilizer Plant, very low tide and nobody fishing. Then past 213 steram, people fishing but saw no fish.

2) Wye Mills. Stopped, saw few fish caught, didn't fish. Breezy. Chilly.

3)Higgins Mill Pond. I had one bite but missed it. Vern and I both lost rigs to snags. Breezy, chilly. Were the only ones there.

4)Millington. Lots of people, Dad got 1 keeper yellow. I got some small whites on small twitchi-like lure under bobber(would hit just as bobber finished drift.) Got some throwback perch on bottom fished minnows. Saw white perch caught on twitchie under bobber(same guy also had stringer of about 25 yellows.) Some whites and yellows saw caught on bloodies. First part of incoming tide.

5)Eat. then to Corsica 213 stream(rode by tractors and saw guys with nets full of hundreds of yellows. Said they got them way back up in the fresh water part.

We walked upstream. This is where I got 9 small keeper perch. Vern got 1 small perch in the tidewater section on the other side of the bridge. I probably could have caught more fish, but they wanted to leave. Used polaroid glasses(don't even know you have them on.) Used fishing vest which was very convenient. It was sunny all day.


March 26, 1968 Tuesday
Magothy River
TOTAL CATCH: 5 pike, 2 yellow perch

Dad and Wally

1)Mill creek. tide low. casting shad darts. No fish. Saw pike and a few yellows caught. Fished till 10 AM

2)Blackhole Creek. Wally got a pike. A big one got away, probably a carp. Fished till 2 PM

3)Mill Creek. Rough water.on the way over. 4 pike. 2 small yellows. Incoming tide. Stayed fairly late in the evening.


March 27, 1968
Northeast River
TOTAL CATCH: 1 carp

Dad and Wally. Don't know too much about what went on this day. Dad mentioned that the water was muddy. They got their boat in Havre De Grace and went across the flats to the Northeast River hoping to encounter clearer water. They didn't. Didn't get anyting but one carp which Wally accidently snagged.


March 31, 1968 Sunday
Gas and Electric Company bulkead
TOTAL CATCH: nothing!

Dad dropped me off her at about 5:30 AM I waded out on the far side of pilings then came back on the inside and fished awhile. Didn't get a hit on either the #3 R&W Mepps or the Muddler Jig-a-doo which I used. Unsnagged a guys line on the way in. Talked to him for about 1/2 hour about fishing and hunting. He said he got some good perch in the Corsica not too long ago.. Said he used to catch bluegills in Middle River. He was a lawyer and had been practicing law for 2 years. Short, dark hair. He offered me a ride home and I accepted. He had a red volkswagen with a dent in each fender.

I saw one guy who was wading go in over the top of them. There were about 8 guys wading near the piling when I left. Cars were lined up on both sides of the road all the way back to the parking lot. Too crowded. Saw one white perch caught. Lawyer said he saw a carp laying on the shore. Got home about 9 AM. He dropped me off at Two Guys. Little chilly. Did get breezy towards the end of the time I was there. Sunny after sunrise. Good incoming tide.


April 11, 1968 Thursday  
Dundee Creek
TOTAL CATCH: 4 eels, 2 cats, 2 tiny sunnys, 2 small yellow perch, 1 medium white perch

Dad and I went to Dundee today. Noticed signs saying park property on the road to the marina. We took boat # 18 and headed out. Water was calm, but by the time we anchored the wind had picked up. From then on out it blew constantly at about 15 mph from the NE. We had pretty cloudy skies. The temps seemed about 40 degrees though city temps got up around 65 degrees today. The tide was high when we got there but was going out all the while we were there. Bites today were few and far between. Dad got 4 eels, 1 white and one tiny yellow perch. I got 1 yellow and two cats and a couple of tiny sunnys. We fished near and next to the usual duckblind. Adjusting bobbers so that they would sit up straight. Cats, eels and 1 white perch and my yellow perch caught within casting distance of the blind. One tiny yellow and 2 sunnys way out but still in front of the blind. We fished from about 6 AM to 1:30 PM. All fish caught on minnows under bobbers. I did cast a muddler jigadoo and yellow tarheel but had no luck. 6 HP ran fine.


April 21, 1968 Sunday
Dundee Creek
TOTAL CATCH: a few perch and one bass

Dad and I went today. Don't remember anything about this trip, except that we didn't do too well as far as the fish go. The yellows weren't biting too well. I did get a bass though. It weighed 2 lbs. and was 15" long. The eels are still around. No weeds yet. I believe we had a pretty good tide all day. There was some wind , but not too much.


May 2, 1968 Thursday
Dundee Creek
TOTAL CATCH: very few perch, couple eels

Dad and Vern went today. They caught less than half dozen perch and a few eels. That's all I know. Weeds aren't up yet.


May 3, 1968 Friday
Loch Raven
TOTAL CATCJ: 50-60 crappies

Dad and I went today. Left fishing center about 6:10 AM. Trolled out to the mouth of Goetze's Cove. Got a couple hits there but didn't land anything. Headed out to bridge #2 with lines out the back. Had minnows on shad darts. Fished around the left side of left piling for a while. Got some crappies there but nothing spectacular. Then moved over to the right side of the left piling. Dad got most of the fish casting out. I got some of mine that way and some jigging straight down. There was a guy fishing from the piling. He didn't do too well. I could see fish when looking through my polaroid glasses. We had to tie to the bridge with fishing line. There was no rope around the piling. We fished there till a stong puff of wind snapped the line holding the boat and then headed back to the fishing center cove with too long stringers hanging out the back and our two rods. With the wind behind us we had no trouble getting back. Talked to a colored fellow in Goetze's Cove who said he got a few small yellows. He seemed to be bottom fishing and he was happy to be fishing even though he wasn't doing too well. We trolled around in the deep water off of the point near the center. Then we headed back in to get a couple cokes. We got some cokes and then headed back out to a submerged tree that was within sight of the fishing center pier. I got a couple of hits and missed a good crappie that made my drag slip. I did make one fruitless cast with a blue plastic worm. There was a guy fishing up in the cove to the side of the fishing center. Didn't see him get any. We headed in when dark clouds, thunder and lightning threatened rain. We got the car loaded just in time before the rain really started falling. Our total catch was about 50-60 crappies. We dropped them off at the engine house.


May 5, 1968 Sunday
Loch Raven
TOTAL CATCH: 60 crappies, 2 sunnys

Rich alone today. Dad dropped me off here at 5 AM on his way to work. I had to wait till 5:30 for the fishing center to open. I trolled straight out to #2 bridge with my 2 lines out the back dragging plain shad darts. No hits on the way out. Pulled my lines in when I got near the bridge and tied up by throwing a clothesline rope over the bridge supports under the bridge. Wedged my boat under the piling with an oar. Got a crappie on my first cast with a plain shad dart. Cut that fish up and used it for bait. I caught my first few fish by casting straight out, but then settled down to jigging. I got most of my fish jigging today. Fished there till about Noon when some guys fishing from the piling above me became too annoying. I made lots of noise when leaving and not without purpose.

The partly cloudy skies had cleared at about 10 AM. There was a little breeze blowing, but it did not hurt my rowing in the least. Although it had been a little chilly in the shade of the bridge it was actually too hot for my coat while I was rowing. I trolled down along the shore to Dead Mans Cove, then went up into the cove and went up onto shore to answer a long ingnored call of nature. I noticed that there were paths through the woods. It seemed that by following the path you could get from Dulaney Valley Road to the point where the cove meets the main reservoir. I trolled out of the cove and straight across the middle of the lake and the up the other side back to the bridge.

I saw a very amusing and gratifying sight when I got up to the bridge. I saw the patrol boat chasing away the guys who were fishing from the pilings. When I got back to the bridge I was forced to tie up out in the middle of the bridge away from the pilings because I didn't wish to be fished over top of. But that glorious patrol boat came along and performed its duty. Not that I wasn't catching fish out there because I did catch a few, but for some reason I have more confidence when fishing near the pilings.That is where I caught most of my fish. I also had seen the guys who were fishing from the piling with their stringer of about 25 fish between the 3 of them. To me the fishing is better near the pilings whether I'm catching them or not. I did not move over as close to the piling as I had in the morning because the wind was blowing hard out of the south coming up from the dam. I was within casting distance of the piling(left side of piling on left)

I fished in this spot till 4 PM. I caught fish all the while. The fish were biting deep during this period. I forgot to mention that when I was fishing in the morning I had been putting  the fish into the minnow bucket since I had no minnows. Sometime before Noon I had stuffed this bucket(that is the inner section) to the busting with crappies (and also two medium sunfish). And I had begun a stringer. Actually at Noon when I left I had only one fish on the stringer. I added about a half dozen more when out away from the piling and about 20 more when fishing near the piling. Some of the later fish were pretty good sized white crappies. I might point out that when I got big white crappie they seemed to be elongated like perch. The big blacks that I got were more rounded. Either way the big crappies put up a good fight when coming up from way down deep which incidently is where I got them. I might also add that the big ones seemed to inhale the bait and head down slowly It took a lot of concetration to get the crappies today as it always does. I had my line in the water almost continuously and I tried to concentrate my whole effort into watching the rod tip.

It paid off in my catching a lot of fish that had I been inattentive would not have even been noticed. The fish were hiting very lightly at times. As I said I fished till about 4 PM under the bridge and then headed back to the fishing center cove. At the time of my leaving and actually during the whole afternoon there were about 10 other boats scattered around the area of the bridge. When I headed back I had to fight a strong wind (about 20 mph) which made rowing a little difficult. And to make things worse the stupid oarlock kept sliding out of the bracket. After a good long hard row I made it back to the cove. There had been an old man following me in an aluminum boat and at times he was actually ahead of me. I could see some guys with an electric motor. They made very little headway at all. I left them far behind.

When I got to the fishing center cove I headed straight in to get a couple cokes. While I was there I sorted out my fish, putting them all in the big bottom of the green minnow bucket. The bucket was filled to the brim. Just as I was ready to head out some guy came up with a kid and asked me to take the kid out. I said I would if he got a life preserver. It was obvious we were going to have a thunderstorm when we were heading out, but we went anyway. We rowed out to the inside of the first point near the center. The anchor would reach bottom so it wasn't too deep. I told the kid to rig his lines like mine. We fished there for about 5 minutes and when we didn't get anything decided to try trolling.

The kid asked me if I had caught any fish and when I took the cushion off the minnow bucket his eyes liked to pop out of his head. The kid wanted to row so I let him do the rowing. This put me in a good position to catch fish and I did. It was in the deep water right out from that first point that I got about 4 fish and a couple more hits. The kid got nothing ( you can't row and expect to catch fish at the same time.) It was about 4:45 when we had come out. By 5:30 PM it was obvious that if we didn't head in we would get soaked. I had rain gear, but the kid didn't.

It rained slightly on the way in and the wind started blowing. The kid couldn't keep us on a straight course so I took over the oars and took us in. Just as the bow hit the shore it really started pouring. The kid took off and left me to empty the boat. But I'm not complaining. I had a great day! One bucket of fish, that's close to 60 crappies.

I took my gear up near the center and stood under the eve out of the rain listening to the radio while I waited for my father to come and pick me up. I saw lots of people leaving, some with fish, some without, all of them soaked. I might not have had the best catch of the day, but if it wasn't it was darn near close to it.


May 8, 1968 Wednesday
Loch Raven
TOTAL CATCH: 35 crappies

Dad and Vern today. Got about 35 crappies. Said they got all fish under bridge. Used shad darts with minnows.


May 14, 1968 Thursday
Loch Raven
TOTAL CATCH: 20 crappies

Dad, Rick and George today. Got all fish under bridge #2. 20 crappies in all. They were large on average. Creel census today. Guy mentioned that 90% of fishermans money goes into trout fishing. Said they were stocking pike and pickerel to cut down on crappie population and improve the size of the fish.


May 19, 1968 Sunday
Loch Raven
TOTAL CATCH: 42 crappies, 1 tiny yellow perch

Rick alone today. Dad dropped me off here about 5:20 AM. Time out on the receipt says 5:50 AM. I trolled straight out to bridge #2 with plain shad darts. Had no hits on the way out.. Fished on the right of the piling on the left. In about the 1st 15 minutes I didn't get any fish. I had about 4 hits, but couldn't land a fish. Finally, I got one and settled down to catching fish.

The wind was coming out of the north. I had the boat tied by the bow only. Had most luck fishing out of the front of the boat. Let lure get deep (lure with crappie meat) then retrieve slowly. It took a while to get this method down, but when I did I would get a hit on almost every cast. There was a guy with 2 kids in a boat to the right of me and a guy fishing from the piling on the left. Also a guy on the other side of the piling and a boat tied to some machinery on a barge which was tied to the bridge on the south side.

Had to 'go' so I went up into Dead Mans Cove. When I returned the guy with the 2 kids was in my spot. Wind had shifted to the south so I tied up on the north side of the bridge in a position about even with that where the guy with the 2 kids had been. I threw a line over a bridge support and attached one end to bow and one to stern. The boat settled in an east-west position with the bow to the east. Got one or two crappies and a small yellow perch here.

The water was extremely clear. Tot the yellow perch from a school which I could see. Fished here, ate lunch, rested. Left about 3 PM. Lots of boats around. At least ten. I might mention that a guy fishing on the left side of the right piling had left about Noon with a load of crappies, probably about 100. He was an old man fishing alone in a blue private boat.

I went to the fishing center and got a coke and went back out. Fished in the fishing center cove around the first point and up into Goetz's cove. Didn't get anything, but wasn't trying too hard. When in Goetz's cove I could feel a thunderstorm coming up. At first I thought it would pass by, but the wind changed. I got my rain suit on just as the rain started to fall. I waited a while sitting in the rain and then headed in. I had a little trouble seeing where I was going because of the hood, but I made it in on course.

I unloaded the equipment and put it under the eve of the fishing center, then I went to the front porch and watched the wet people come in. Saw a guy with a brown wide brimmed had and poncho who had two very large bass. He tagged and released them from the pier. Dad picked me up a little after 6 PM and it was still raining. It had been mostly sunny all morning. A little chilly in the shade of the bridge but in the sun it was hot. I had kept the fish in the inner part of the minnow bucket. Just before coming in from the bridge I had put them in the outer bucket and they filled it about 2/3. Most of them were dead and losing there color when my father came. 42 crappies in all.


May 30, 1968 Thursday
Loch Raven
TOTAL CATCH: 46 crappies and one small yellow perch

On this day my father dropped me off here and I was on the water by 6 AM. I headed straight for the bridge. When  just leaving the pier,which incidently was covered with 2 inches of water caused by an unusually long and heavy rain (this rainstorm had caused severe flooding in the Ohio valley) I noticed some private boats which seemed to have stopped and intended to fish right in front of the fishing center pier. And the few bits of conversation that I did hear seemed to indicate that this was where the crappies were. But undaunted I headed straight for the #2 bridge.

I had the wind at my back going out.It wasn't blowing hard but it was noticable. It tied on th left side of the left piling. Securing the front and rear of the boat with the same rope which I had thrown over a girder under the bridge. This situated me cross-wise to the wind and parallel to the center-line of the bridge road. I was within easy casting distance of the pile.

The skies were overcast iwht light-grey clouds. There was a reported chance of 40% precipitation. But I had nothing to worry about since I was in the protection of the bridge. When trolling out to the bridge I had passed a few other boats, but they gradually got out to the bridge. Some tied up, some kept going and some just drifted around obviously not familiar with the fishing here. At first I thought this was going to be 'just another one of those days when I couldn't get the first fish in the boat,' but I finally landed one about 8 1/2-9". I really wanted to keep him but I also needed him for bait. I cut him up and began casting the dart with crappie meat.

The fish weren't biting real fast. I got about 8 in the first hour. Of course, I missed quite a few that bit. I caught fish off and on till about 10 AM., then I saw a guy with a kid in his boat and offered to let him tie up to my boat.They tied up and then another boat tied to them. They were tied on the north side of my boat and the wind kept them away from me. I fished on the same side that they were tied up and caught fish occasionally. They didn't catch but one or two little ones.

At about 11AM I turned around and began fishng the other side of the boat. I hit into a bonanza. I caught fish on almost every cast till about Noon. The guys in the boats that were tied to mine actually got disgusted and left because I was catching so many fish and they couldn't get any. I slipped my 46th crappie on the stringer at about Noon. I could probably sat there and doubled my catch but I had to 'go' so I headed back in 'double-time.'

When I got back to the fishing center I got a couple of cokes and some 'junk' and rowed out from shore to eat my lunch. After eating lunch I rowed over to a stump over along the shore to the right of the fishing center. I just laid in the boat and listed to the radio. It was fairly warm and sunny. At about 3 PM the wind began to pick up and dark clouds floated in. A thunderstorm was on the way. I put on my rainsuit and was going to sit it out, but changed my mind. I got in just in time.

The storm hit at about 4 PM. I stood under the eave of the fishing center listeneing to the radio and talking to the guy taking the creel census. And luckily I was able to give the fish away. A couple of colored fellows noticed my bucket of fish and asked me if they could have a few. I gave them the whole bucket full. They had been out all day ahd hadn't caught a thing. They had tried to launch a boat with a 40 HP motor, but were turned away because of the law prohibiting it. Dad picked me up a little after 6 PM.


June 7, 1968 Friday
Loch Raven
TOTAL CATCH: 2 crappies

Dad alone. Hot, not too windy. Went to the stump to the right of the center. Sat anchor on stump and proceeded to catch 2 crappies on darts with minnows. 10:15 AM - 3:15 PM


June 13, 1968 Thursday
Loch Raven
TOTAL CATCH: 54 crappies, one bluegill

Dad and Rick. Under #2 bridge 7 AM to 2 PM. Got out before wind but wind came up soon out of the NW and blew hard all the time at about 10-20 MPH. Mostly sunny, cloudy towards the end. Tied to piling on left on the left side to a rope hanging down. Used minnows in the beginning and caught lots of fish. Dad got one about a pound and one about 3/4 of a pound on shad darts with minnows. Toward the end used shad darts with crappie meat. Caught fish more often but they averaged smaller. Used ice and styrofoam minnow bucket to keep minnows alive. Minnows would appear dead but when warmed up they would come to life.

When coming in made turn into fishing center cove too wide and had a hard time of it with the wind. Also when trolling out Dad got a fair bluegill on a shad dart with minnow near the point after the fishing center cove.


June 14, 1968 Friday  
Loch Raven
TOTAL CATCH: 46 crappies and a 22" Northern Pike

Dad and Stan. NW wind most of the day. And as was yesterday the water was cloudy. Fished to the right of the piling on the left under #2 bridge. Mostly sunny. Cool. Shad Darts with minnows all day.


June 20, 1968 Thursday   
Loch Raven
TOTAL CATCH: 28 keeper crappies, 1 smallmouth bass, 1 tiny bluegill, and a few perch

Dad and Rick. time out 10:15 AM after getting drivers license. Extremely strong NW winds. Made fruitless try at getting to bridge but the wind stopped us at the last point in sight of the bridge. We let the wind take us back in the direction of Schoolhouse cove. On trolling to end of cove caught about 4 keeper crappies. Water at the end of cove was real muddy. Wind could be felt but the water wasn't too rough.  Fished near the end of the cove for a while. Dad got one small yellow on a yellow twitchie

We went out a little further in the cove and fished off of a point in about 15 ft. of water. Got a few crappies and a smallmouth. Then moved out to deep water off the point almost to the middle of the cove and using a clothesline for an anchor rope we anchored. And began catching fish. This is where we caught the rest of the 28 keeper crappies that filled our stringer. We actually caught about 60-70 fish but only 28 could be considered keepers. We were fishing with minnows on shad darts. Dad occasionally used a yellow twitchie and on that he got mostly small fish.

We only relocated once and caught fish in the new location also.  While we were in the new spot which was a little closer to shore and up in the cove a bit further we caught fish from a school that was on the surface. Before long we moved over to a stump along the shore but didn't catch anything.

We left the cove about 6:30 PM and got back to the fishing center about 7:30 PM. I might mention that it was hot and sunny up in the cove and I got a good sunburn.


June 23, 1968 Sunday
Loch Raven
TOTAL CATCH: 37 crappies, 3 smallmouth

Got my first chance to drive the car alone today. When coming over #2 bridge I saw Mike walking across. Stopped and made arrangements to go out together. On the water about 7 AM. Fished near the center of #2 span because other boats already near the pilings. Caught a 10" and a 9 1/2" smallmouth here (Mike got the bigger one.) and about a half dozen crappies. Then we moved over to the right of the piling on the left. Used minnows and at times crappie meat on shad darts. It was sunny and what little wind we had was out of the NW. The water was clear. Left the bridge at Noon and took Mike in. Then I came back out to Schoolhouse cove. Fished in the same spot as last trip, but didn't try too hard because it was hot. Got 2 small crappies. left here at 2 PM. Got back at 3 PM.


June 26, 1968 Wednesday
Loch Raven
TOTAL CATCH: 24 crappies

Dad and Rick.Electric motor today. Time out 6:20 AM. Headed straight for #2 bridge trolling. Riding in the wake of Ed Fento'd boat "Mink." Weather was great. Not real windy on the way out. Tied to right of piling on left. Fishing was slow wit spurts of action. Fenton was fishing the other side of the piling. The water was clear. Wind came up and switched directions at times throwing sand from the pilings into the boat. A few clouds came up but it remained sunny. We fished this spot till about 1:30 and got about 20 keeper crappies. Fenton had left about 11 AM so we moved over to the other side where he had been. Could see fish all around but they wouldn't hit. Only caught ones we couldn't see. Dot got an 11 1/2" on this side. Headed in about 2 PM with 24 crappies on the stringer. When we got in an old man who gave us some minnows also mentioned catches of 88, 61 and 25 pounds in the fishing contest on Saturday. Also mentioned grinding up small crappies in a meat grinder to attract crappies.


July 4, 1968 Thursday   
Loch Raven
TOTAL CATCH: 15 crappies

Rick alone today. Under #2 bridge got only 15 crappies. Divided about equally between the two times I was here today. Fishing at the bridge was split by a trip to Schoolhouse cove. Got nothing there. Fished on the right of the piling on the left.. One boat between me and the piling in the morning. Right next to the piling in the afternoon. Cool today. Actually a little chilly morning. Cloudy in the morning but cleared up. Breezy but not gusty from NW. Cleaned my fish in the boat. Used fishbag for the first time. Quit about 3 PM.


July 5, 1968 thru August 1, 1968

Been lots of places during this time. Haven't had time to keep specific records of each trip, but I will try to recount as accurately as possible. Had one good day under #1 bridge at Loch Raven for crappies. This was early in July, probably July 5th. On this day heard a guy talking about getting fish on the evening from shore near #1 bridge.

During vacation fished Ocean City in Sinepuxent Bay. Got 3 nicd flounder and 2 stingrays(I got both and landed them on my blue rod.) Dad caught one of the flounder and also a sea robin. Got all the fish while sitting still although we did try drifting. Fished from 9 AM - 2 PM.

Also during vacation fished Greenbrier Lake. Caught lots of bluegills. They were plump, hefty looking fish. Got them on hamburger and mostly on bread. These baits kept falling off the hook. Got one undersized bass here too on a tarheel(probably white.)

Last week of July fished Millers Island twice. First time got only one fish. It was windy. Second day caught about 15 white perch and one nice cat. Got them drifting over shell bed where duck blind use to be. All that was left was a stake. On the first day we fished Craig Hill Light. Got no fish there but landed a nice Berkley Rod with Penn Reel that got hooked on the anchor line. It was in almost perfect condition except for one broken guide which was probably broken by the anchor.

On July 28th fished Rocks State Park in Deer Creek. Using worms got one chub up above the big waterfall. Got one bluegill under the bridge leading to the 4H camp.

On August 1st went trolling on the bay. This trip cost us $13 dollars apiece. Dad and I didn't get any fish. Neither did Vernon. Wally got one and another firefighter got one nice one of about 5 or 6 pounds. The skipper got two pan size fish. The two bigger fish were caught chumming early in the morning below #16 piling. Wally lost one nice one trolling when we first got there. We trolled with wire line, heavy sinkers and small bucktails with porkrind. Could see lots of fish on locator but they wouldn't hit. Lots of other boats around. 5AM - 3PM. Sunny and hot.


August 13, 1968
Loch Raven
TOTAL CATCH: 15 keeper crappies

15 keeper crappies from about 30 in all under bridge. Dad and Rick.


Mid August
Upper Bay
TOTAL CATCH: 31 Rock, 39 white perch

Fished from Stans boat. Dad and me, Wally and Stan. Got 31 rock and 39 whites (nice size) chumming. Saw the fish breaking near Belvedere Shoal and started chumming. Fast fishing for about 1 1/2 hours. Off and on after that. Thunder shower coming home.


August 25, 1968 Sunday
Loch Raven
TOTAL CATCH: about 20 crappies

Dad and Rick. Hot. Variable breezes from the NW. Water 6 ft below normal. Slow fishing. Crappie on dart and twitchies. Small on the average. Got about 20. Only 10 could be called keepers. Quit 2PM. Gave fish to guy iin boat 66.Fenton says fishing slow last two days. Only got 10 tiny ones yesterday.


September 1968
Loch Raven

Wye River

Loch Raven once to try new Hydro-fin. Didn't fish. Hydro-fin was too slow for Loch Raven.

Also fished Wye Rive one time. Got a few barely keeper rock and some small needlefish.


October 1968
Dundee
TOTAL CATCH: 150 Yellow Perch, 2 White Perch.

First week of this month fihed Dundee Creek on a hint from Don Ambroziak. Did vey well. Foggy morning. Fog burned off and cold till it got up high. Got a fish on nearly every cast we made. kept about 65 yellow perch and 2 white perch. Tide had little effect. Threw back as many as kept.