Andrew - most of my most frequented creeks - Nanjemoy, Mattawoman, Allens Fresh (which is really the upper reaches of the western shore Wicomico, not to be confused with the Eastern Shore Wicomico) - there is a place where the marsh seems to end, and you enter a much narrower stream with wooded banks. This is where I have consistently found pickerel in these particular places. The bass fishing is poor up here, but in season perch and shad might be found. Look at Allens Fresh - the public trail (I'm assuming you can launch a car top boat there) would mark the starting point of what I would consider the upper reaches.
Misha - excellent question. In all candor, I never target pickerel, I target bass and jacks find me! Generally, they orient to cover as do bass, but with some significant differences. In these quiet upper reaches I just described, I have reliably found them in stream center, because we're talking a creek width of maybe only 20 feet or even less in places. So really, they can be anywhere, and they will move a substantial distance if they like the look/sound of a bait.
Let me use the Pocomoke as a different example - LOADED with large pickerel, but loaded means you might catch 3 in a day along with the bass. They are hefty, though. Honestly, I'm usually spin fishing on that river, and I have found them at the base of cypress trees, sometimes tight to shorelines but they will also follow a bait all the way back to a boat and hit just as you are ready to lift your bait from the water - a stunner! Duck blinds can be productive, they seem to love hiding in a bunch of sticks and racing out to savagely attack a bait. Unlike bass, they rarely can be found deep. I might fish 6-10 feet at a drop off and can be assured of not catching a jack. But throw into a pad field and all bets are off. And unlike bass, they can even be found in thinner pad fields, whereas bass orient better to densely vegetated areas. If flyfishing the Pocomoke, first of all I'd use large streamers of bright colors - pickerel like flash, chartreuse and fluorescent orange. A 4" streamer, allowed to sink 1-2 feet would be about right. If you come across a blind, cast parallel to the wooded sides, even flip one inside if you can. Try pad fields, again flipping into the edges as deep as you can without getting hung up. Consider using a weed guard.
Somebody mentioned Myrtle Grove - that's near Mattawoman. I'd skip the lake and head back to the two large canal/ponds in the far reaches. This presents a great opportunity for casts parallel to the shores. That place used to have a reputation for a lot of pickerel. It might be fun to hike through the woods to Mattawoman Creek itself (WAY upper reaches) and see if you see anything in there. I bet they get yellow perch runs end of Feb and into March. Mickey Finn will take perch readily.
I took this picture of my friend Bill in Nassawango Creek, a trib of the Pocomoke. There is a really nice campground (Shad Landing State Park) and for anyone who's never been there I can't recommend it enough. Beautiful cypress, as pretty as a tidal river can get. But 3 hours from DC.
On Tue, Feb 13, 2018 at 6:19 PM, Andrew Sarcinello <andysarce@gmail.com> wrote:
Many thanks, Tom!--I second Misha's comment - frankly I felt a bit lost out there on a fairly large tidal river.I was also wondering about this quote:"With respect to spots closer to DC, every Md tributary has pickerel, and as a rule they are much more readily found in the upper stream reaches, much more so than mid-stream or near the mouth of the Potomac. Port Tobacco, Nanjemoy, Mattawoman, Piscataway all have decent populations of fish. Of these, Mattawoman and Piscataway offer some shoreline access - Piscataway where 210 crosses, and Mattawoman at the Route 225 crossing"Could you clarify what you mean by the upper reaches? To me, with the mindset of a trout fisherman who considers the place where a stream becomes large enough to support a 4" trout as the "upper reaches", those road crossings mentioned would be at the lower reaches. Perhaps you are thinking upper and lower in terms of where it is big enough to float?
On Monday, February 12, 2018 at 5:14:09 PM UTC-5, Tom Moran wrote:Hello folks, I just stumbled onto this forum and this thread caught my eye. As a lifelong resident of the area who has lucked into a few "jacks" over the years, thought I'd chip in my two cents.As noted elsewhere the eastern shore is really good, and a step above this side of the bay for pickerel. The Pocomoke is loaded with big ones, it's not unusual to catch 24" jacks there. BUT, like nearly all tidal rivers, shoreline access is VERY limited. Andrew, you would expand your possibilities 100 fold by investing in a modest canoe or kayak. This would open up every single tidal creek to you, and the Md creeks in particular are real gems for this region.With respect to spots closer to DC, every Md tributary has pickerel, and as a rule they are much more readily found in the upper stream reaches, much more so than mid-stream or near the mouth of the Potomac. Port Tobacco, Nanjemoy, Mattawoman, Piscataway all have decent populations of fish. Of these, Mattawoman and Piscataway offer some shoreline access - Piscataway where 210 crosses, and Mattawoman at the Route 225 crossing, where there is a nice privately owned kayak launch (free and open to the public) but lots of trails along both banks. (and poison ivy everywhere!). These two sites are close together so you could try both in the same day. Both also feature herring, yellow perch, and perhaps some shad in the late Feb to March time frame. And plenty of bass.Once famous among DC anglers for its yellow perch run, Allens Fresh is another opportunity. There is public parking at the 234 crossing (actually in between two crossings), with a trail through the woods to a public spot. It's been years since I fished there, but my dad and I caught our first pickerel ever there in the upper stretches. I believe that there are likely trails all the way upstream from here, but it is densely forested. Look however at Google satellite map of the area - you'll see a few exposed bars, if sand you can step out into this open space in just a few places (as long as the tide is out). A mile or so further up Budd's Creek road is another stream crossing. Again I haven't been there in decades, in 1971 it was a channelized culvert with rip rap thrown about, but it did contain fish (bass, perch, sunfish) and looking at the map now it appears that mature trees have overgrown the edges. There is almost certainly good cover (fallen trees) now and the low flow in places presented opportunity to step out into stream center onto sand bars exposed, and get unobstructed casts. Call that a guess rather than a promise.Good luck with your efforts!Tom
On Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at 3:40:50 PM UTC-5, Andrew Sarcinello wrote:Dear TPFR'ers,I'm planning on doing a lot of exploring this winter in search of these toothy mini monsters. I've done extensive research on my own, and it seems like there just aren't many places within an hour of northern VA where I live that have them. Some places I've read about include Mattawoman Creek, Severn and Magothy Rivers (which are almost entirely private property), lower parts of the Patuxent River, and just about everywhere on the Eastern Shore. I've only gotten around to exploring Tuckahoe Lake and Creek and have had good success there, but that's far enough to basically demand a full day trip with the short winter days. They really hit flies with a vengeance, and I'd like to find somewhere closer to chase them.One of the biggest problems I'm finding is accessing the places they live on foot. I do not have a kayak or other watercraft. Tuckahoe Creek is basically a swamp with a lot of braided channels and muck, and unless you're close to the trail crossings and other heavily fished access points, it takes a lot of effort just to find solid ground to get into casting position.Appreciate any help others can offer - whether it is spots to check out or just general tips on fishing for them with flies from shore. Feel free to message me directly, I'm willing to share info I've gathered in exchange.Here's one I caught this weekend in Tuckahoe Creek on a mud minnow pattern.TIA,Andrew
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