Goodbye Minnesota :(

[mainbutter]

Howdy folks, I've been pretty quiet lately but I just wanted to share a few of my life changes this summer with the community here. I'll keep it to the big points:

- Wife(at the time was my fiancee) got into grad school (George Washington U in DC)

- We got married, went on a honeymoon to Hawaii

- I spend countless hours trying to find a new job out in DC

- Wife started grad school

- I landed a job, quit my old job, packed up our apartment and moved our stuff across the country, lived in her parents basement for my final 2 weeks at the old job

- just started the new job out here on Monday.

It's been hectic summer to say the least, but after what has felt like 2 straight months of craziness I hope now that we've 100% moved and I've started a new job I can feel a little settled.

I didn't really get a good chance to give Minnesota a proper farewell. I didn't have the opportunity to bow hunt this year with my longbow, didn't chase muskies ONCE this season, and only got the canoe out twice. It's a sad breakup between me and the Midwest, but I hope to return after the wife gets her degree in two years.

In the meantime.. we DID go check out the ocean (a quick 2.5ish hours drive away, easy for a weekend) for a few days. I caught some shark bait AND we went crabbing, all in all fun times. Stay tuned for what I hope to be some cool pics over the next year, I'm giving myself these two years to chase my dream of landing a big shark from the beach! I bought and refurbished a daiwa 900h (big 9/0 conventional reel) to stick on a big beefy rod, and will be trying to find weekends to camp overnight drowning some chunks of stingray on huge hooks.

Here's our short weekend, caught a stingray (now processed into big shark bait chunks in our freezer, and a few crabs too small to keep. By the way, this stingray was harder to pull in and land than a 40lb king salmon.. just nuts!! I thought I'd hooked a freight train.

I hope living in a big city like DC doesn't make me go crazy (it probably will), but I'm telling myself that chasing some big ocean fish will make me tolerate it for two years. Wish me luck!

[JP Z]

Good luck Man! Although living even remotely close to the ocean can't be that bad Just don't let DC pollute you, I hear there are a lot of criminals there and not just in congress.

[BoxMN]

Congrats, and good luck! You will always find good outdoor activities no matter where you go, looks like you got a good start

[MN BassFisher]

Good luck in your (and your wife's) new adventure! Make the most of living somewhere new while you can and enjoy fishing in a different style and for some new species.

[DTro]

Good luck on your adventure! I hear there are some big blue cats in the Potomac

[B-man715]

You guys will make it work and have a fun time doing it

My wife and I almost moved to Baltimore too for a promotion last year.

My main concern was if there was any fishing and hunting opportunities available.......

Turns out there is a few nice public chunks of woods open to bowhunting near, and some vast woods to hunt over in Virginia.

Sounded like some good walleye fishing was available in the Potomac, very near you.

And of course world-class striper fishing and duck hunting on Chesapeake Bay

I hope you have time to get out and explore!

Don't forget us on HSO and post up pics and stories of all the fun you will have

[ClownColor]

If you go shark fishing from shore, send me a PM...I've caught dozens with a simple cheap rig of a rope, bike break cable a large hook. It's fun and it'll remind you of tip up fishing for northers back here in MN.

[ozzie]

Good luck and keep us updated with your new adventures!!

[mainbutter]

Don't worry guys I'll still be popping in!! I seriously hope I have some great fishing experiences to share. I very well might be able to get some big ocean fish, or hopefully stick a hook into one of those blue cats dtro mentioned. I've seen catfishing the Potomac featured on outdoor channels

[Ufatz]

If you check around you will also find some dandy small mouth fishing IN the Potomac and around the area.

[Down Deep]

North Carolina's outer banks are not that far away. Great shore fishing for flounder and a variety of seasonal migrants.

[Mr.Seaguar]

Everything you want to learn about fishing is on a Youtube video. There are even youtubes about fishing in storm drains.

[delcecchi]

OBX

[Down Deep]

OBX - I saw those stickers on some cars when I was there last year.

[delcecchi]

Stands for Outer BankX

[mpester]

I grew up just north of DC in Montgomery County, MD. You will have no problems finding good hunting and fishing all around MD and VA. The tidal part of the Potomac has great bass fishing and huge blue cats. Plus it has been invaded with northern snakeheads which I hear are fun to catch and they are good eating. The Potomac north of Great Falls is not tidal and has great smallmouth fishing. Wet wading in the summer is a great way to catch fish and cool off from the heat and humidity. As you keep heading north on the Potomac, you can start finding walleyes and muskies. Even further up, it has world class trout fishing. The entire Chesapeake Bay is great fishing.

Public hunting for ducks will be crowded but can be good. You kind of need to have deep pockets or rich connections to get in on the best hunting. If you think the public areas around MN are crowded, you will be shocked at what MD and VA offers. Way too many people but if you hit it right, it can be good.

Ocean fishing is what I miss the most now that I live here in MN. Assateague and Chincoteague offer good access to surf fishing but they are also crowded in the warmer months. My parents have a beach house on the Outer Banks and it offers the best surf fishing south of the Mason Dixon Line. I have had weeks down there where you catch fish on almost every cast. With the right permits, you can drive your truck right on the beach after you let your tire pressure down to 20 PSI's. The only thing I missed about that part of the world is sitting on the beach watching to ocean and waiting for a big red drum to take my bait.

Good luck out there. You will not enjoy your first commute when they get a half inch of snow but they will close your office more than likely. They cannot drive in the snow. The panic when they even predict snow is entertaining. The stores look like the end of the world is coming when they think they are going to get snow. They buy all the TP, bread, water and milk like they will never see the stuff again.

[BTL]

I've lived in the DC area my whole life other than a brief stint in MN. Unfortunately, our freshwater fishing is nowhere near as good as up there. Fortunately, the variety and size (not to mention taste) of fish you get in saltwater makes up for it. Shark season will be winding down soon but next summer they will be back in force, as always. You will be tired of stingrays before long, trust me. Good luck!

Quote:

Good luck out there. You will not enjoy your first commute when they get a half inch of snow but they will close your office more than likely. They cannot drive in the snow. The panic when they even predict snow is entertaining. The stores look like the end of the world is coming when they think they are going to get snow. They buy all the TP, bread, water and milk like they will never see the stuff again.

^And for the record, this is spot on.

[mainbutter]

Hey BTL any insight on how late in the year I can reliably chase sharks out of the chincoteague/assateague area? I'm hoping to get one more weekend of fishing in October, but may not bother renting a yak to do some actual bait drops if the sharks are long gone.

[BTL]

Hey BTL any insight on how late in the year I can reliably chase sharks out of the chincoteague/assateague area? I'm hoping to get one more weekend of fishing in October, but may not bother renting a yak to do some actual bait drops if the sharks are long gone.

I'm sure there are still some nice sharks around, but I don't know if there are enough to warrant targeting them. Right now everyone on Assateague is fishing for big red drum. Next month it will be stripers and blues.

[Queenswake]

Hey, Minnesotan here who has been living out in DC since 2001. The best freshwater fishing I have had is in the Occoquan Reservoir in Virginia. I don't know where in DC you are living, but it's very close but the coolest thing is that it's very serene down there. It's quiet with tons of wildlife and huge. You can rent jon boats at a couple county parks. It's great for both bass and crappie. There are some MONSTER crappie in there. When you find a school, you pull up some major slabs. Like northern MN size. I think it helps that most of the fishermen there go for bass. I have also tried for catfish once and had a monster on within minutes. This place gets really deep in spots so I can only imagine what lies beneath.

They have a bass tournament here every other Saturday and here are some of the pictures: http://fountainheadbassclub.com/5.html

Good luck and let me know if you ever need a fishing partner. Oh, and there are smallmouth and walleye in the upper Potomac, but I have never tried. I have a feeling they are fairly small though.

[mpester]

Check out the reports on the MD DNR page. I never got any walleyes in MD when I grew up there but I do see some large ones on this page from time to time. Some nice muskies as well. The Upper Potomac can be good for those two types of fish.

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/fishingreport/