[Jimmy]

I fished the York Ditch for about an hour today- pups are still plentiful. Caught and released several, all under 17 inches using pearl color 3" Storms. The bite was steady but not as good as I have seen it in the past. It was just good to catch some fish after being inside for a week to avoid sub-freezing temps.

 

[Rob Holtz]

I just happened to be in the area yesterday (Friday) afternoon and decided to check this place out that you guys have been talking about. My first impression was that it's a very small area, not much room for many fishermen. Are all the fish caught in the actual ditch or do you guys fish out in the river at all?

There was a guy fishing there when I walked up, he was catching quite a few smallish puppies (not legal size) and keeping them. I was about to read him the riot act when my female companion calmed me down enough to say her opinion was the guy really looked like he needed a meal and was probably fishing to put some food on the table. It was very cold out and the guy was way under dressed for it. He did look unkept and in need of a meal so I let it go even though my first thought was that if he was that hungry he would've been eating the shrimp he had instead of using it for bait.

What about all the no trespassing signs plastered everywhere? Do you guys ever get hassled by fishing right behind all those signs?

 

[Jimmy]

Rob, I got checked for a license there once and was told that I needed to get a permission slip from the main office. I went to the office and did so, and the slip is good for one year. Basically it released them off liability if you get hurt on the rocks fishing there. The lady that issued it told me that it really depends on the officer that checks you as to whether they tell you to get a slip and she said that most don't enforce it.

It can get crowded there, but there are not usually many problems. There are a lot of regulars there and since it is so crowded I have a hard time believing that the guy you saw wouldn't know the size limit for puppy drum.

 

[Rob Holtz]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm not planning on fishing there as it's about 100 mile round trip from my house in Va. Beach. I was just curious about the place and was in there area so I decided to check it just for GP.

The guy knew the regs, he told me they were undersized fish when I asked him if they were. He was hiding them inside a small concrete pipe. He told me that his wife told him he had to bring some meat home for dinner and that was the only reason he was keeping them. I don't know how many he had hidden inside the pipe but I saw him put 3 in there in the 15 minutes that I was standing there talking to him.