Aqualand Marina

The only thing keeping me from giving out a 5-​star review is the fact that these assbags lock the gate at 8pm! It was actually the weekend of the Summer Solstice… so you know, the LONGEST day of the year. I think it got dark at like 9:15 (sun ‘officially’ set somewhere around 8:45 or so), and these douches want you to be done fishing, cleaned up, and out the damn door by 8pm?!
I love this spot for the fishing. It’s only an hour south of DC, but the Potomac gets to maybe 50′ deep at parts (maybe more?) and it’s close enough to the Chesapeake Bay that the water is brackish (high salinity level i.e. ocean fish i.e. EDIBLE fish i.e. REALLY EFFIN BIG fish are up in there.
Last Friday (June 19) I was in my canoe (prolly not a good idea with all the waves and currents and stuff… my buddy’s $ 13k pontoon party boat couldn’t hack the waves there on a windy day) fishing for rockfish, bluefish, croakers, spot, spanish mackerel, flounder, and sea trout. I actually caught nothing but a shit-​ton of white perch which are good only for bait. I was right around the corner from the Aqua Land Marina, beside the power plant’s release gate that was making a 50′ current of dead fish (the shad/​herring run ended recently so there was a ton of dead fish being sucked into the current and flowed straight out). This was naturally a great place to park and try to scoop up the big boys that would invariably be parked on the outskirts, getting their fill on fish flesh. I heard something massive break the water and turned to see what looked like a shark about 40′ off the shore. Being 20′ off the shore, I wanted to believe that it WASN’T a shark and was only a log or something. So I just ignored it. Heart was pumpin’ though. About 20 minutes later I heard it again and turned to see what looked like a 5lb fish jumping out of the water (this usually means something bigger is chasing it to the surface, trying to eat it, thus referred to as a breaking fish). Then I saw what was chasing it. The dorsal fin was sticking out of the water (maybe a 10−16″ tall) and there was about 4′ of exposed back. Couldn’t see the tail or the head. That was definitely a shark. Most likely in the 6′-7′ range. I immediately paddled to the shore, dragging both the anchors, and started freaking out. I had to paddle back to the boat ramp and this guy is now 30′ offshore, in 6′ flats (that’s a very shallow place) that extend all the way back to my truck. In short, I’m in his eating zone and my canoe is anything but stable with all the shit I’ve got in it.
You may not have guessed it, but I ended up surviving. Got back with nary the further incident. I didn’t see him again, but I know where to find him. I went up to Bass Pros near BWI Airport and bought gear that could withstand a battle with a shark. I will be buying a real boat really soon and then it’s on. I am Ahab. Or at least Roy Schneider. And I’m gonna make that sonofabitch smile.
Yeah, so after researching the possibilities of sharks on the Potomac, it’s most likely that it was a nurse shark (which supposedly are docile, but google a picture of one, they’re hella scary looking) or a spiny dogfish (which I’ve actually caught before) that really doesn’t pose much of a real risk. However, in 1975 I think, commercial crabbers around the exact place on the Potomac I was at, netted 5 bull sharks accidentally. Bull sharks are one of the 5 – 10 sharks in the world that do NOT let go when they ‘accidentally’ bite a human. Most sharks hate pink meat. Bull sharks love it. And they’re as aggressive as a trailer-​park kid on meth.
This is why I got back to the truck, exhausted/​sunburnt, all late and stuff. Luckily, after being locked in, someone who has a slip there was leaving and let me out. The rates are good (like $ 8 to launch), there’s a small store with beer, maybe bait, tackle, limited snacks, and strange hours of operation. I think they sell gas there too. People shore fish to some level of luck (mostly catfish, which I do eat out there, they are fine). There is also a campground attached and it looks aight. One caveat, MD State Police have a station there and they will eyefuck you from a distance when you’re drinking on your boat and/​or trying to dock on the chincy little dock. So be careful.