1973 Fishing Report Archive -- Fishin' with Rick Holt

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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 eighth  year of record keeping -- the 1973 fishing log. This year I was preoccupied with college and during the summer I spent 45 days on the Appalachian Trail pursuing one of my new passions, backpacking, so I didn't do very much fishing. You can read my Appalachian Trail Journal here.

Wednesday
January 24, 1973
Conowingo Creek

Rick and Barry. First trip of the year. Got licenses at Gail's and minnows at Ski's ($1/pt.) Headed for Conowingo first. Tried little cove just above dam on North side of river. Partly iced over. Saw two guys just leaving who had no luck. It was windy and cold but not bitter.

Fished here only for about 20 minutes. Got nothing. From there went up to Conowingo Creek. Fished near bulkhead a while. Got nothing. Went up above bridge on west side and had some pretty good fishing till dark. Fished shad darts about 3 ft. under bobber. Most fish caught fairly close to shore. They hit very lightly, barely moving bobber. Had to strike at almost any motion of bobber to get them. In about 2-3 hours fishing we got approximately 30 crappies of medium to small size. Threw them all back.

Total catch: approx. 30 crappies

Thursday
January 25, 1973
Stemmers Run
Frazers Lake
Conowingo

Rick and Barry. Went first to Stemmers Run. Fished about 20 minutes with no luck. Then to Frazers Lake. 20 minutes. No luck. Then to Conowingo Creek. Fished east side first, no luck. Walked upstream trying to cross bridge. Made precarious crossing by maneuvering logs and boards as a ramp to jump to rock in stream. Went back downstream on opposite shore and fished in same spot as yesterday and got nothing. Moved about 100 yds upstream and began catching fish. Some fast fishing till we quit just before dark because of cold and tired. Water level was down about 2 ft. from yesterday which was about 3 ft. down from normal.

Total catch: 30-40 crappies.

Sunday, January 28, 1973
Dundee Creek

Rick alone. Started out sunny but became overcast as the weatherman had predicted. Fished first cove past mouth of Saltpeter. Got nothing. Back in to old favorite spot and got one small yellow. 11 am - 1 pm. Launch $1.

Total catch: 1 small yellow

This entry was in Dad's handwriting:
Thursday
February 8, 1973
Chambers Lake
Smithville Lake

Dad and Stan. Chambers Lake in Federalsburg. Stan caught 3 pike. 1-15", 1-17" and 1 throwback. Also missed 1 fish. Dad Caught 1 bass about 2 1/2 lbs. and missed one fish. Also tried at Smithville Lake. No luck. Spillway had too much current to fish. Also stopped at P. Landing in Grasonville. No luck. Weather cloudy, rainy and windy and about 45*.

And so ends the 1973 logbook as my interest in other activities like backpacking and bicycling consumed my free-time and my free time shrunk with college responsibilities. Life goes on without fishing for a while...