# key bridge



## JettyPaul (Nov 28, 2003)

any reports from the 695 bridge under the key bridge?


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## Axon (Sep 8, 2002)

Someone posted that is no longer open to the public.


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## FL FISHERMAN (Sep 30, 2002)

I also remember someone saying that they were going to reopen it soon. Might have to check it out. Axon and I have done pretty good there before.


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## Blue Heron (Jun 12, 2003)

Hi guys,

About a month ago I posted the report that the pier under the Key Bridge is closed until further notice due to 9/11. The toll keepers at the "bay side" and the "inner harbor side" toll booths told me this. Someone else on the board said they got the same answer from them.

However, a couple of years ago a number of fishermen told me there is another place there that you can fish. But I don't know if it is open now.

There is a state office building (MTA police barracks?) at the first exit (Sparrows Point/Beth Steel) after the Key Bridge "bay side" toll booths. These would be the toll booths you'd hit if you were traveling east on 695 toward Essex (not the toll booths on the pier side of the bridge). 

Behind this building there is a little park with a few picnic tables for the employees I guess. It looks out onto a wide cove on the Patapsco River. The fishermen told me that this place is pretty good too. And I think they said you can fish at night. 

JP, how about you, Joe and I go on a scouting mission to see if this place is still available?

Blue Heron


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## JettyPaul (Nov 28, 2003)

were down - we wanna go saturday somewhere - checking around to see where would be good - this sounds like a plan


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## Blue Heron (Jun 12, 2003)

JP,

Give me a call or PM me. Saturday is good for me too. We may not want to case out the afore mentioned Key Bridge place tomorrow because it may be off limits. 

Blue Heron


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## Axon (Sep 8, 2002)

Please let us know what you find out. Had a good time fishing there


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## Blue Heron (Jun 12, 2003)

Axon,

JP, Joe and I decided to go fishing up the bay a little further in Joppatown MD. But this week I will try to take a run down to the Key Bridge again. I'll drive right to the pier under the bridge to see what the sign says on the gate. Also I'll go to the office building on that side and the "bay side" office building to see what the prospects are for the pier as well as the little park I mentioned above.

By the way, I've caught white perch and croaker there and saw some keeper rockfish caught (in the low 20"s). What kinds and sizes of fish did you guys catch on the pier under the bridge?

Blue Heron


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## Axon (Sep 8, 2002)

Caught some small keepers in the 20's also, but really had a blast with the boiling blues the year before last. I have seen others catch some good sized fish from the shore, right side of the pier. The best part is it was close when we just wanted to go for a few hours.

We also tried fishing from the small park on the otherside of the bridge(the side before you cross the bridge from the RT95 side). All we caught there was a fishing pole.


AX


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## FL FISHERMAN (Sep 30, 2002)

Axon said:


> *
> 
> We also tried fishing from the small park on the otherside of the bridge(the side before you cross the bridge from the RT95 side). All we caught there was a fishing pole.
> 
> ...


LOL that was me, but I tell you what it looked promising there though. Locals said they get a lot of flounder because of the sandy bottom there.


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## Blue Heron (Jun 12, 2003)

That small park that you referred to sounds like Fort Armistead Park. If it had a boat launching area to the left of a pier, and the pier was very wide (almost square) at the end, then it was Fort Armistead. Unfortunately Izzie destroyed the pier and the boat launch. But you can still fish all night from your car right at the water, down to the left of the pier. 

In the spring and fall they catch some 33"-36" rockfish there. Also, the year before last when you said you were there, was the last year of the drought. My friends and I fished there 5-6 times at night that summer. We caught blues, some small keeper rockfish along with some speckled sea trout. Some said the increased salinity due to the drought enabled the trout to make it that far up the bay. I never heard of any flounder there but man that would be great if it's true! That summer a lot of species of fish were caught where they weren't supposed to be. 

The DNR at Fort Armistead will often ask to look in your cooler and they come at least once a night. I caught what some young folks said was a weakfish (13" min). At that time I had never seen any kind of salt water trout. I believed them and put it in my cooler. A little later the DNR pulled up in a boat and started checking licenses and coolers. Thankfully an old man said to me, "Son can I have a look at your weakfish?" I obliged and he told me I had of all things a black drum! Ofcourse I surreptitiously threw it over the side. After the DNR left I checked my fish pictures and the man was correct. I thanked that man a lot! As many of you know a weakfish looks nothing like a black drum. That nice old man saved me from what could have been a nasty fine. That night as a novice, I learned never keep a fish if YOU don't know what it is, its keeper size and its creel limit. No fish is worth a fine and more importantly playing by the rules is the only way to fish. 

Blue Heron


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## catman (May 28, 2001)

Hey Blue...Do you remember Ramona's pier at the end of Miller Island Rd. We used to catch flounder there yrs. ago when there was a drought. It was also the best catfish hole around if you get there early enough to get the corner spot on the old barge. Man I miss that place.

Catman.


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## JettyPaul (Nov 28, 2003)

Me , joe , blue , and joe's son went fishing in jppatown under the amtrack bride looking for cats and perch. 1 white perch was caught and that was it. Lots of hits just no luck. We came during low tide and the water was murky. Big cats can be caught there though from what i hear. Let's see joe's son(2) scared the crap outta blue , I got in the water and still smell like the east river , and blue got lost coming back(about a 1/2 mile walk through the woods.) We used mostly nightcrawlers , some bloods , and some catfish nuggets. Was hot as hell out but the shade under the bridge made it somewhat reasonable.


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## Blue Heron (Jun 12, 2003)

Hi Catfish!
I had only heard of Ramona's pier and went looking for it last spring. Now, there's a house smack dab at the end of Miller's Island Rd. where the locals said Ramona's used to be. 

The good news from that ride was I met a kindly older gentleman who allows me to fish from his pier on Chesapeake Ave. (off of Miller Island Rd.) He told me last week that whoever owns that house fixed up the pier recently. Ofcourse it's private now.

Here's something interesting my friend told me about that area. There are some small parcels of land between some of the houses on both sides of the peninsula that are owned by the Baltimore County Parks Dept. He said it's ok to fish on these areas that are posted as such. On the north side of the peninsula you'd be fishing the mouth of the Back River (across from Rocky Point) and on the south side you'd be fishing in the bay proper. I'm hoping to check it out this week when I check on the Key Bridge "MTA building park" area. I'll post my results. Maybe we'll have some new "secret" places to fish in Balto. County. 

Blue Heron


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## Blue Heron (Jun 12, 2003)

JP, 

OK let's see: 
Joe's two year old son did scare the H out of me. But he's a big bully! I was fishing very intensely and he snuck up behind me and said, "BAM!!!". I admit I did jump a foot or two. But I don't think it's fair that little two year olds can go around scaring full grown men like that!... (Actually Joe's son is one of the best behaved little guys I've seen in a long time. And he's a real trooper too!  )

Frankly JP, I thought you smelled like the East River before you jumped into the water. I should know cause I used to go out with a woman from Brooklyn and she smelled like the East River too.  

Yes I did get lost on the way back. But don't let JP fool ya cause it had to be at least a 5 mile walk thru the woods and up hill both ways! There's so many paths in those woods that they need to put up street signs. At one point I sat down on my fishing bucket to pick out a comfortable tree to spend the night in. Fishing with those young guys is like fishing with Lewis and Clark!

Really though I had a great time and a real adventure. It was a beautiful place. Next time we're going to one of my fishing spots where you can get out of the car - spit - and hit the water!  

Blue Heron


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## JettyPaul (Nov 28, 2003)

lmao well were going to gunpowder by the big falls bar in middle river in about 2-3 hours - no walk at all there catching them under the bridge thats right there


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## Blue Heron (Jun 12, 2003)

Thanks for the offer JP. I would go with you guys but I'm volunteering at the VFW carnival on Rt 7 tonight, Tues and Wed nights. Good luck! See you guys soon.

Blue Heron


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## Blue Heron (Jun 12, 2003)

*Key Bridge Pier Accessibility* 

1) This week I went to the pier under the Key Bridge and also talked to the officials in the admin. building. The pier gate is locked and No Fishing/No Trespassing signs are posted. However there is a fence along the water which was downed by Izzie. It's right at the parking area under the bridge - down a little hill to the water. Plenty of fishing space is located there. The sargeant at the desk said the pier is closed due to 9/11 until further notice. She also said if you fished by the downed fence, the worst that could happen would be that the MTA cops would tell you to move and some probably wouldn't say anything. 

2) Went to the MTA Police Building, that I described below. It's located at 695 - Exit 44 right after you pass thru the eastbound Key Bridge toll booths heading toward Sparrows Point/Beth Steel and Essex. Again talked to the sergeant at the desk. You can fish there any time, including nights. Park only in the Visitor parking spots. There are only about 8 of them (Best time might be after 5pm when there would likely be few visitors). I located two places that look good. First one is a path about 100' to the right of the Visitor parking. Again down a little hill and across some boards to the water, leads to a good sized beach. Second one is right behind the building. There is an obstacle course set up back there. Head toward the water and you'll see remains of an old foundation for a pier or a house. Three or 4 spots are available from the top of the foundation maybe six to eight feet above the water. 

*Edgemere MD area* 
3) Went to Edgemere MD, Miller Island Rd area and discovered there are 5-6 Balto. County Park fishing spots along Hinton Ave and the intersections of 1st St. thru 12th Sts. Signs say open from dawn to dusk. They are very small plots maybe 20-30' wide, between the houses on Hinton Ave. Some are actually right next to the property owners' decks. Pretty close quarters. They look out onto the Back River across from Rocky Point Park. To find them do a Mapquest search using the following info:
8720 MILLERS ISLAND RD, SPARROWS POINT, MD 21219

4) Catman - if you've read this far, I also found a $10 boat launch two houses from where Ramona's pier used to be on Millers Island BLVD. It's a crabbing equipment business. You can launch from 5am and need to be back by 10-11pm. Pleasure Island is about 200' to the right, off the launch pier. You can leave your $, along with your tag # in an envelope in the front storm door. 

I hope those of you from the Balto. area find this information useful. If anybody tries any of these places please post and let's see what you think of these "new" places.

Blue Heron


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## Axon (Sep 8, 2002)

Blue Heron

Thanks for your hard work I will definitely be checking some of these places out


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## Blue Heron (Jun 12, 2003)

Thanks Axon,

I plan on trying them also. It seemed like the MTA Police building Exit 44, was the most promising minus any parking problems. But under the bridge could be good too if they don't kick you out.

Blue Heron


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## catman (May 28, 2001)

You do man Blue. Thanks for the hard work investigating these spots. I've seen the house where Ramona's used to be. What a prime piece of land right on the point. I used to use a small boat launch in that area years ago when I had my Tracker bass boat. Thanks again for the hard work and excellent report. Just goes to show there are still public areas to fish from shore and fishing does exist north of the Bay Bridge.

Catman.


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