Just recently started fishing again and have some questions

bigb201 · January 09, 2012, 06:55:31 AM

Hello everyone,

I recently got back into bass fishing after a 10 year break. I live near annapolis, but I don't enjoy bay fishing. I grew up around here and always fished a few ponds in the area and spent most of my time fishing the little patuxent river. Funny enough our favorite spot was behind the lake where the first snake head was caught.

My question is now that I'm older (34 tomorrow) I would like to start fishing some of the lakes and reservoirs around Maryland. I do not have a boat yet and here is my dilemma. I have tried researching as much as I can before I post all of these questions. I am in the market for a small jon boat 12-14 ft. I am leaning towards a 14 ft. because I am around 220 lbs. and most of my friends are as well and it seems that a 14 ft. would put us towards the weight limit. thoughts on boat selection? would a fishing Kayak be a better choice? anyone selling a cheap jon boat or kayak?

here are the rest.
I would like to know all of the places I could fish a jon boat. I know the major reservoirs like loch raven, pretty boy, and tridelphia. But there does not seem to be a good guide or list of spots to use a jon boat. should I contact the local parks or DNR? It seems the more I talk to people the more places I find out you can use a boat and I wonder if there is a running list?

Also any other general hints, thoughts,tips or suggestions are appreciated. I'm just tired of fishing from the shore.

I forgot to mention how I got back into fishing. I work on the ICC and we have a small pond next to our job which has been off the beaten path for many years. I was in the attic one day and saw my fishing gear, went out in late November and ended up catching 15 bass in an hour. Needless to say I was hooked again.

Thanks in advance
Brian

Creel Limit Zero · January 09, 2012, 09:34:32 AM

Hi Brian,

It is good that you got back into bass fishing. It's a great sport, and very fun. There are a lot of options in terms of lakes, just not that many near Annapolis. You have the big 3, Loch Raven, PrettyBoy, and Liberty. You have the 2 at Triadelphia and Rocky Gorge. There is Black Hills in Gaithersburg, Piney Run in Eldersburg, and a few other small lakes here and there that you can get in.

Here is a link from MD-Dnr that is their Freshwater "Fishing" hot spots...

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/recreational/fwhot.html

I would certainly go with the larger of the jon boats, you mentioned a 14 ft, go ahead and get at least that, and go even larger if you can. What will happen, is you will get out there in a 14 ft. jon boat and then see some other guys with reservoir rigs, all decked out. Then you will want to deck out your jon boat, and will quickly increase the weight in your boat.

Good luck to you bud, let us know how you do and feel free to ask any other questions you might have...

bassmaster3541 · January 09, 2012, 11:15:25 AM

Brian, I fish out of an aluminum row boat which is the same shape as a canoe but with a flat back, and it is a little wider than a canoe. It has 3 seats and I can stand up in in and fish with at least 1 if not 2 friends and no problem with all of us standing in it. I'm not sure of the exact length, but it is around 14 ft or so, it is an old grumman. First of all, I wouldn't be overly worried about what the weight limits are on the boats. My boat says the weight limit is 360 lbs. and I have had over 700 in it before and had absolutely no problem at all, not even close to going under. It's harder to paddle around with this much weight, naturally, but it is completely fine other than that, so I wouldn't make your decision only based on that. Also, I wouldn't restrict yourself to only fishing larger lakes, it is fun to go out and fish them and you can catch some nice fish, but In my opinion it much more fun to go out on a descent size pond all the time and really know it and find where the big fish are. My personal best (11 and a half) came out of a small pond no more than a mile long and 300 yards across, where you can easily cover the entire pond in a day. So a smaller boat you can get into smaller places, like the one you mentioned got you back into fishing, may be a better choice for you.

bigb201 · January 09, 2012, 03:16:12 PM

Thanks for the replies guys. I am now leaning towards a flat back canoe due to being able to strap it to the top of my jeep

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bigb201 · January 09, 2012, 03:18:13 PM

Here's a pic of one of the bass I pulled out of the pond

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bassmaster3541 · January 09, 2012, 04:46:48 PM

thats exactly what I do, I have a jeep cherokee an thwor it right on the top, it's heavy but ts easy to get the hang of doing it, I can take mine on and off my jeep by myself. Just so you know, you made need a couple 2x4's to put on the rack depending on what you have on there, my boat is a little too wide so I have a 2 boards strapped to the roof with wire so it will fit, and that works fine for me. My boat is basically the same length of my jeep if that gives you a better idea how long it is. might be a foot or 2 shorter than the jeep.

yak-aholic · January 09, 2012, 05:30:38 PM

Why don't you give the kayaks a look... The SINK (sit inside kayaks) are self bailing so you don't have to worry about water coming over the side and swamping you. There are some with weight ratings over 500lbs. I have a Native Magic 14.5 with a 450# rating. My brother who is probably 250#-280# has been fishing out of a Ocean Kayaks Trident Prowler 15 and I believe it's rated for 550# or so. The Trident line can be had in an 11', 13', or 15' model with the 13' probably being the best compromise. Also, there is the Wilderness Systems Ride 115 and Ride 135 that are great boats. If you PM me your e-mail address, I have a few websites I could share with you that would be great places to post your questions if you're interested in kayak fishing.

bigb201 · January 09, 2012, 06:49:52 PM

Thanks for the reply. My main question about the kayaks would be the storage space for tackle and the stability. Also how hard is it to stay in one spot with a wind? Thanks in advance
Brian

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yak-aholic · January 09, 2012, 08:55:47 PM

First of all, I have to correct what I said earlier. I was completely wrong about the SINK kayaks being self-bailing. I know better and don't know what I was thinking when I typed that. What you want to look at is a SOT (Sit on Top) kayaks are the ones with scupper holes and that will self-bail. All of the kayaks I mentioned in my last post were of the SOT variety.

Can't carry a lot of tackle, but I have had as much as 5 3600 series Plano trays and something like the liqui-locker used for Gulps to store a variety of plastics in their bags. Probably close to 20 bags of plastics. A milk crate with some 1-1/4" pvc tubes attached for rod holders. I usually carry 4, but can carry up to 6. Most fishing SOT kayaks have what is referred to a tank well in the rear. This is a recessed area in the rear of the kayak that was originally designed for scuba tanks, etc... since they were used for scuba diving. This area is where you would put your crate.

As for holding your position in the wind, we use an anchor trolley. You can search youtube to see several ideas on anchor trolleys. A drift sock can be used to slow your drift or drag chain or anchor depending on if you want to sit still or slowly drift along.

bassmaster3541 · January 09, 2012, 11:34:32 PM

I think it is much easier and more convenient to have the flatback canoe. You buy it and other than buying an anchor for it, it is ready to go. I have 15 rods that I always have with me that are right behind my seat where I paddle from and are not in my way of casting at all. My buddy sits in the backseat, with his rods laying inside the boat on both sides of him, and we have 4 Large tackle bags with 6 plano boxes in each, a spinnerbait box, a plano box full of jigs, a cooler, and a net all on the floor between us and on top of the middle seat. And with all of this and me and my buddy in the boat, there is still plenty of room for us to both standup in the boat with no balance problems at all ( might take you 2-3 trips just to get used to it) and none of the stuff is in our way. Even if you don't have this much stuff, which I'm assuming you don't just starting up again, i'm just giving you an example of how much room there is in one and how easy they are to use.