A funny (or sad) thing happened on the way to Tuckahoe Lake in Ridgely, Maryland, during a sunny Monday morning. I stopped by Unicorn Lake in Millington beforehand to gauge conditions and hopefully drop the jon boat in for some bass fishing. In fact, Unicorn was planned to be my unicorn for the day. But the drive from the Annapolis area, across the bridge, through the farm fields, and to the lake was for naught. That piece of water was choked out even more than during my July visit that I wrote about a couple posts ago. My return to the millponds was off to a disappointing start. But with Tuckahoe in my back pocket, I was able to salvage my shore visit and fish for largies.
By the time I made the pivot and drive to Tuckahoe, the sun had already crested four fingers above the horizon and wind conditions picked up a touch, with puffs upwards of 10–12 knots pushing north to south. This made my initial launch and move uplake toward some pad fields slow and the fishing slightly tricky. Maintaining position at my first-chosen spots was not going according to plan. But, I fished onward and slung some baits into juicy looking water nevertheless.
I hadn’t fished Tuckahoe properly in quite some time. Years…as in maybe a decade. I forgot just how shallow this water is, with most of the lake hovering around 3 feet deep. Even at the dam. Toward the north end of the lake, near the lilies, the water is even a smidge shallower at 1 to 2 feet. My hope was to find the early-fall topwater bite in and around these pads. So, I threw a sizable frog on the baitcaster into the thick of the green and twitched my way through the slop and open holes of water. No bites. I worked a small jerkbait parallel to the edges of these pad fields. Nada. Sheesh.
Next, I moved further uplake where the old cypress tree stumps riddle the shallows. It’s like navigating through a mine field—but a potentially very fishy one. In this area, I worked a wacky rigged stickworm over, under, and around these stumps. And yet…still no bites. I was beginning to think Tuckahoe is a bit** lake with no fish to show. But then I found some water…very pretty water.
Just north of the lake is where Tuckahoe Creek feeds into the area and in a shallow draft boat you can push into this creek, which is seldom wider than a single-lane country road. But…the water is a touch deeper than the lake proper with most of this snaking creek reaching about 4 to 5 feet. Much of the creek’s shoreline has scattered laydowns, overhanging brush, and pops of lily pads. It looks, feels, and is very fishable water. Some say there are snakeheads in this water, but I did not come across any.
My chosen style of fishing? Just slowly, silently pushing the jon boat northward along the creek and casting that wacky worm at every fishy looking spot. Though my simple fish-finder/sonar didn’t pick up much, I could see plenty of small sunfish hovering in many spots—proof of life. And it didn’t take too long to find a couple willing largemouth bass on the end of the line. This pleased me.
After an hour-and-change of fishing up through the creek, I u-turned to make way downstream and homeward to the boat ramp. Along the way, I crossed paths with a school group canoeing and learning about this piece of water and its role in the greater Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Tuckahoe is prime water for this type of experience. On a weather-abiding day, this bit of nature is absolutely gorgeous. It also feels remote.
A neighbor of mine recalled memories of dynamite pickerel fishing in this part of Tuckahoe, which has me considering whether or not to make a return trip come colder temperatures. Though I’m not convinced that this fishery is what it once was (seems neither is Unicorn), one truly doesn’t know until they fish it…again and again, season after season. So, I’m likely to return to the millponds at least a few more times to see what I can catch from them in the months/seasons ahead.
See y’all on the water again, real soon!
