Annapolis

Hi, My 7-year-old son and I are headed to WV for a couple days---Shepherdstown area, near Harper's Ferry. I understand that there might be some decent shore-fishing opportunities for SMB this time of year. Just wondering if folks have any pointers about where that might be, specifically? Any good public access spots, knowing we won't have a boat? Thanks in any case!

Hi, Newbie here---to this site, that is. I'm about to attempt Snakeheads for the first time on Tuesday. I had to tackle up a bit in preparation: a few new topwater frogs, couple of chatterbaits, and I dug out my topwater plugs, including a couple of the medium-sized Whopper Ploppers. I'm also taking an old-schooler: a weedless Johnson Silver Minnow. Maybe a swimbait. I'll be using spinning gear on M and M/H rods, strong braid. Not sure yet whether I'll be fishing from kayak or just targeting spots from shore. Might begin with the latter and then resort to the former after a couple hours if I'm getting skunked. Whenever I take on a new species like this I always like to seek out advice from more experienced anglers. I've been reading around online a lot and watching YouTube videos, so I have (I think) a decent sense of what my strategies ought out to be, namely, sight-fishing when/where possible and tossing directly to where I'm seeing boils; otherwise looking for heavy cover (spatterdock, etc) in shallows and casting right into the thick of it. Does this seem right? Do you tend to go along the edges of the spatterdock fields or right up in it? (The latter, I assume, would work well with a weedless lure like a frog, but not with something like a Whopper Plopper or a chatterbait, as I assume they'd get caught in the stuff.) Is open water worth trying? Also, I've read conflicting advice on re-trying a spot once you hit one: some folks say if you're lucky enough to get one, you're better off moving to a new spot because it's unlikely there'll be two in the same area; other folks say that they do school up, so it pays to keep hitting the same spot. Maybe time of year matters for that? Basically, I'm asking: any tips for a novice? Anything you wish you knew your first time out for snakes that you'd be willing to share? My planned location is Dorchester County, MD: Blackwater NWR. I've been there hiking with my family once, but that's it. So if anyone has specific location advice, I'd be extremely grateful, though I understand if folks are tight-lipped about that. Thanks in advance for whatever you can share. This is a terrific site!