Blue Heron
08-30-2005, 12:05 PM
Hi folks,
For those not familiar with Rocky Point Park, it's in Essex, MD, on the north side, of the mouth of the Back River. Part of the park faces Hart/Miller Island. That's where I fished this morning.
I got there at about 5:30AM and had 2 lines in the water by 5:45AM. It was still quite dark and I initially needed to use my head-lamp. High tide was at 5:38AM. I felt kind of hopeful because I thought there was a reasonable chance of catching a keeper rock.
Using my 12' Solaris, I caught a couple of spot on bloods. One I used for bait. On my 9' Socorro (made by Shimano) I was casting large and then medium sized poppers. During the fall run here, medium to large poppers are often the most consistent lures that catch the biggest fish. Today nobody went for them. I changed to a medium sized rattle trap and that produced three small rockfish around 12".
I left around 8:30AM because the winds increased and I thought a storm might be brewing. If the bite is on at Rocky Point it usually ends when about a quarter of the sun is peeking over Hart/Miller Island, which is around 7:30 to 8. So it seemed like a good time to leave.
One significant piece of info that came from this relatively lackluster outing is that Rocky Point Park appears to be open 24/7. In the past they had a caretaker that lived on the premises who opened the gate at 6AM every day. He also rounded up the fishermen at dusk every day.
So now, I don't know what the cops would do if they found fishermen there from after dusk to 6AM. But I suspect they wouldn't really care.
I'd love to go there around 5AM because now you'd have about 1 1/2 hours to fish before sun up. Also, going from an hour before dusk till 10 or 12 would be good too. However, I'm not that adventuristic anymore. I generally believe whenever possible fish with a buddy, especially at places and times when you may be the "Lone Fisherman". Hey even the Lone Ranger had a sidekick and Tonto saved his butt many a time.
This park is considered a good place in the Upper Bay to catch rock from the shore, especially from about 10/15 - 11/15. Most fall runs produce some nice stripers here.
One last note. Technically from Memorial Day till after Labor Day they usually charge admission. Baltimore County thinks this park is so wonderful that they charge $7.00 for each person in the car! (Boaters however can launch for free.) If you get there before the booth opens, 7:30AM, at the latest, you can get in for free. I don't know what time they close the admission booth at the end of the day.
Blue Heron
For those not familiar with Rocky Point Park, it's in Essex, MD, on the north side, of the mouth of the Back River. Part of the park faces Hart/Miller Island. That's where I fished this morning.
I got there at about 5:30AM and had 2 lines in the water by 5:45AM. It was still quite dark and I initially needed to use my head-lamp. High tide was at 5:38AM. I felt kind of hopeful because I thought there was a reasonable chance of catching a keeper rock.
Using my 12' Solaris, I caught a couple of spot on bloods. One I used for bait. On my 9' Socorro (made by Shimano) I was casting large and then medium sized poppers. During the fall run here, medium to large poppers are often the most consistent lures that catch the biggest fish. Today nobody went for them. I changed to a medium sized rattle trap and that produced three small rockfish around 12".
I left around 8:30AM because the winds increased and I thought a storm might be brewing. If the bite is on at Rocky Point it usually ends when about a quarter of the sun is peeking over Hart/Miller Island, which is around 7:30 to 8. So it seemed like a good time to leave.
One significant piece of info that came from this relatively lackluster outing is that Rocky Point Park appears to be open 24/7. In the past they had a caretaker that lived on the premises who opened the gate at 6AM every day. He also rounded up the fishermen at dusk every day.
So now, I don't know what the cops would do if they found fishermen there from after dusk to 6AM. But I suspect they wouldn't really care.
I'd love to go there around 5AM because now you'd have about 1 1/2 hours to fish before sun up. Also, going from an hour before dusk till 10 or 12 would be good too. However, I'm not that adventuristic anymore. I generally believe whenever possible fish with a buddy, especially at places and times when you may be the "Lone Fisherman". Hey even the Lone Ranger had a sidekick and Tonto saved his butt many a time.
This park is considered a good place in the Upper Bay to catch rock from the shore, especially from about 10/15 - 11/15. Most fall runs produce some nice stripers here.
One last note. Technically from Memorial Day till after Labor Day they usually charge admission. Baltimore County thinks this park is so wonderful that they charge $7.00 for each person in the car! (Boaters however can launch for free.) If you get there before the booth opens, 7:30AM, at the latest, you can get in for free. I don't know what time they close the admission booth at the end of the day.
Blue Heron