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Joppatowne quarry

Question: 
12K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  walkerdeb218 
#1 ·
I helped dig that quarry. Spent a good part of my life there...
There is a lot of history to that quarry.
I have fished it for over 25 years. I have seen just about every specie of fish come out of there. The water and surrounding land were condemned at one time. I see a lot of questions about that place
Maybe I can help
 
#3 ·
turn onto Joppa farm Rd. go passed the post office and bear right onto Shore dr.
1/4 mi down on the right is a big brown gate on wheels...that is it....park on the road- beyond the bike lane and walk through the gate down the dirt rd. keep bearing left.
There are holes in the fence you can go through also....
Careful, lot of fill on that land and in that water.....
 
#5 ·
Joppa sand and gravel quarry

People do fish there obviously ignorant of the sewage discharge just up river at the J towns treatment plant. Also the land was a toxic dump in the 80s. It was not cleaned up...the land still leaches whatever heavy metals and toxins that are found in the sewage waste that was spread over the entire property. The crappie all have worms but they are fun to catch. I have seen all the following caught there-bass,rockfish ,crappie,northern pike,pickerel,shad,bluegill,blue, white and yellow perch,shad,trout and catfish. Needless to say I would not recommend eating the fish and you may want to limit exposure to the water.
It is a shame this place could have been a true fishing heaven.:
 
#6 ·
I used to Bass fish there a lot about 25 years ago, back then you could walk a good part of the shore line and cast. now theres so many more homes, the only entrance I know of is climbing through that fence and im not sure if thats legal, they wouldn't have a fence if they didn't want people there would they?
 
#7 ·
fence

Yep it is legal to climb through the fence. That quarry is now part of Gunpowder state park. That fence cost $70,000 and surrounds the entire property it even stretched across the river blocking entrance into the quarry. It was put there to keep people off the toxic land...it didn't work. People cut holes in it and came in anyway. The state gave up. People just kept coming in refusing to believe there was any danger.
 
#10 ·
I fished there almost every day during the summer months when I was a youngster. Caught one of my largest bass ever there. A little over 7#. The church folks used to yell at us to leave, and the neighbor use to let us walk onto their property to use the quarry. Most of the folks who lived there were really nice, and the church people were mean and cranky. I loved that place. I found out how to get to it by the bay, plus found several other channels that feed it. All contained big bass, all were great to fish. We would fish for crappy on a large log that was lying into the water. I mean a big tree. We would load up on crappy and go home and clean and eat the hell out of them. I guess that is why I now glow in the dark. LOL > lv2bass
 
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