Patapsco Tributaries
By Tim Sherman

As a fisherman, I find intrigue with the thought fishing new waters. Writing this seems rather odd in that I am a life long Baltimorean and I am referring to the Patapsco -- one of central Maryland’s largest river -- as new waters. I have fished the main body of the river on occasion, trolling for rockfish or bottom fishing for perch. Yet I have never had the opportunity to fish the tributaries that feed it. I recently teamed up with Captain Jerry Sersen of Reel Perfection Charters to explore several of the feeder systems.

Captain Jerry has vast knowledge of many of the upper Chesapeake Bay river systems. He admitted that he had not fished the waters of Bear Creek and the Middle Branch in several years. He also acknowledged that he had never ventured into several of the other creeks. Sersen mentioned that several years ago, there was an untapped largemouth bass fishery in the Middle Branch, which was the primary reason for our exploration.

We launched at the boat ramp in Turner Station, where it was a fast run out of Bear Creek and out into the Patapsco. As we motored quickly past the Key Bridge, all that is Baltimore appeared to me as I had never seen it. Old Glory flew majestically over Fort McHenry with the brightly sunlit Baltimore skyline in the distance. We veered off to the right of the Fort and headed to the Middle Branch. Quickly, another of Baltimore’s landmarks appeared. The Hanover Street Drawbridge is an arched marvel of architecture. “They don’t make ’em like that anymore,” I remarked to Captain Jerry as he pulled back on the throttle after we past beneath.

Sersen stepped on to the bow and deployed the trolling motor. Within a few minutes he hooked the day’s first fish, a sizable chain pickerel that spat back his favorite rattle trap before he could land it. Neither one of us expected the pickerel to be in these waters. A few casts later, Captain Jerry landed a hefty yellow perch. With these two species coming to the hook, the prospect of catching largemouth bass looked promising. Yet Captain Jerry raised concern that he hadn’t marked any underwater grasses that were present on his last visit two seasons prior. We worked our way past the Middle Branch Mooring (a marina) and along the western-most cove. I said, “It’s a wonder we haven’t caught a white perch yet.” Almost immediately Jerry hooked one on a small crankbait.

After catching few more white perch and circumnavigating the back end of the Middle Branch. Captain Jerry motored us out to a couple of cover east of the Hanover Street bridge. One was a prototypical marshy looking area, but here too, was devoid of grass. The outermost cove resembled many coves on the Potomac that are strewn with scuttled barges. Neither of these coves, nor the return trip to the bank that yielded the perch and pickerel, yielded a bite.

We had exhausted our waters in the Middle Branch. From here we were out on a fact finding mission. Our destination was Curtis Creek. My daily commute often takes me over the beltway bridge that traverses it. I often take a quick glance to notice the strong current that flows beneath. I’ve also been told of a shoreline with a drop off just mere yards from the bank. The noise from the traffic overhead was deafening as we fished beneath the bridge. I had hoped for a bite or two from early season stripers, but none were present. Captain Jerry and I found the long bank with the steep drop. We also found plenty of hard cover between the drop and the shore. There were no bites here either, but we have stored these areas away for a return visit in the fall.

With winds stirring from the south and thunderstorms in the forecast, Captain Jerry thought it best that we head back to Bear Creek. Here he showed me several coves where we landed and released several more white perch and yellow perch. While we didn’t set the water on fire with our catch, Sersen and I found several new areas with the potential of being great striper haunts -- both in the Middle Branch and Curtis Creek. This was truly a day on the water well-spent.