Pocomoke State Forest, Maryland

[freedomrules3]

Located in Worcester County Maryland is the Pocomoke State Forest. I have personally hunted this area for over 20 years.With 14,753 wooded acres in the Southwestern section of Worcester County, between Snow Hill and Pocomoke City, the state forest is famous for it's stand of loblolly pine and for it's cypress swamps which border the Pocomoke River. Pocomoke means black water, and there is good fishing in these waters. The river originates in the Great Cypress Swamp in Delaware and flows southwesterly 45 miles to the Chesapeake Bay. With the addition of 4000 acres recently acquired from the Cheasapeake Forest land acquisition it brings the total to nearly 18,000 acres.

Access is very easy as fire roads are cut into the forests in case of a forest fire . There are lots of parking places and some handicap hunting but most areas are walk in only. Whitetail Deer and Turkeys are plentiful but the forest is thick and you will find it is not a cakewalk by any means. the land lies flat as it is along the coastal plain of the Eastern Shore of MD.

A Worcester County map sold as a book which is very detailed is recommended for the excursion, you will find it priceless and is worth it. without it you will find yourself in high hunter population areas. like most public places the PSF is fairly crowded the first few days of firearms season, after that it is spotty at best and is very tolerable. I rarely see many hunters after the first few days. All in all i would give the Pocomoke State Forest a very high rating in my journeys along the public hunting trail of life . If ever in the area let me know and i can show you some good spots .
Rick

[ncboman]

I don't know how many know how much land 14,000 acres is but I can tell you it is big. It would take several years of aggressive hunting to cover it all and even then many spots would never be seen.

I love big tracts of public land like this. You can bet there are over a hundred, more likely several hundred big bucks calling the place home.

I'm really looking forward to exploring Pocomoke with Rick pointing me around. It's much better with someone that knows something about a place this size.

[freedomrules3]

a aerial of one of my favorite spots along the field at the top.
terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=11&Z=18&X=1160&Y=10551&W=2

heres a topo of the same flat lol
terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=2&S=11&Z=18&X=1160&Y=10551&W=2

[eshoremd]

i have the map that dnr sells. its very nice. rick are you aware that the atv trails have been closed for some time now. thats at least a little beneficial to us

[ncboman]

Rick, couple of questions;

I gather turkey are abundant in the area. Do you think there are turkey in all areas of the WMA?

Also, what kind of opening day pressure is on these areas. I'm sure there will be other hunters in some areas but will all of them be hunted or do you think some places won't see a hunter?

[freedomrules3]

i have seen birds nearly everywhere, where i havent seen them i would guess i just havent seen them lol. i have a few specific places that i can show everyone where they should stand a very good chance at a bird. now depending on how you want to hunt them is where i will send you, meaning if you are a run and gun guy , you need the bigger tracts of the woods on the west side of the river. if you are a bowhunter you will need to set up near a field adjacent to a clearcut or woods edge. the field will most likely be private but as soon as they step off of it they will be on public land.
our woods are marked very very good with big yellow paint markings on the trees along the property lines, nearly every border has just been repainted in the last few years, so you do know exactly where the private and public meet.

hunters, hmmm it is very hard to tell that because i generally hunt a specific area by corkers creek, the topo I posted is the very north part of the land north of corkers creek. the land south of corkers and east of 113 is a very good spot but you will have to travel back a ways towards the creek. i have at least 5 or 6 hotspots i can show youall. i will also show you on the map where the best places are once you get here.

one thing i wont overlook is the cheasapeake forest acqusition that just took place, went deer hunting in a few of the places and saw tons of turkey sign. the land was leased to hunting clubs before the state took it over and most of them never hunted turkeys at all. it is also now painted with yellow along the borders. i'll print out a map of these areas for everyone to go along with your worcester county map that doesnt show the newer public areas.

i think you will be pleased once you get here about how easy it is access wise and the turkey population is simply exploding, maybe not as many as SC has but plenty of birds everywhere. i will look into finding links for some better maps

[freedomrules3]

here is a link to the chesapeake forest tracts , check out worcester county, wicomico has some excellent land also and is just a half hour away. most of these will be adjacent to existing public lands so dont be discouraged by the acreage on some, they butt right against other state lands

www.dnr.maryland.gov/forests/chesapeakeforests/directions.html

[ncboman]

thanks Rick,

that is an excellent link.

I have a DeLorme Atlas & Gazateer and have been at study in it. ;D

that Pricilla's pussy tract has a nice ring to the name.

I see boat ramps close to the campgrounds. How wide is the river along there?

When I was up at Dave's, I noticed the Potomac River had a heavy current (probably aided by all the melting snow). Does the Pocomoke have such a heavy current?

I have a 12' aluminum boat that might be fun after hunting but if the current is strong it's of little use.

[freedomrules3]

it is a tidal river and many people use it to canoe on. matter of fact the state park rents canoes i do believe. the current generally depends on the tides. its pretty wide in some spots and narrow in others. wider around the state park and amazingly looks like the picture you posted in the bass fishing thread, the last one with the trees growing right outta the water. cypress swamps are along the river. the water is super dark actually black, not sure exactly why but helped name the river .

[ncboman]

the water is dark because of tannin that leaches from the decaying leaves in the swamps. The soil content under the water has some effect also.

The current I saw on the Potomac was not tidal. It was very strong going downriver, typical of dammed waterways.

The waters around my house are tidal blackwaters virtually unaffected by dams and there is no current whatsoever other than the tide or wind. I suspect the Pocomoke very similar.

A canoe trip down the Potomac would be almost impossible to end at the starting point I think. I assume this would be no problem at all on Pocomoke?

What I'm gettin at is this. If I wanted to put my jonboat over without any type of motor and just paddle around and fish, it would be no problem to go and return to the same boat landing, right?

[eshoremd]

nc, the current on the pocomoke is no where near as strong as the potomac. its very doable in a 12'er.

[ncboman]

thanks,

Call me old fashion but few things are as sweet as a flyrod in one hand and a paddle in the other, sculling along picking up bream and a nice bass every now and then.

[freedomrules3]

you'll need a tidal nr fishing license to fish on the pocomoke, 6 bucks for 5 days, man fishing is lots cheaper than hunting, freshwater is a little more.

www.dnr.state.md.us/service/fishinfo.asp

[eshoremd]

nc, i got a 3 and a 6 hp motors if you want me to bring one for ya

[ncboman]

eshoremd said:

nc, i got a 3 and a 6 hp motors if you want me to bring one for ya

I appreciate the offer Todd but I've got a trolling motor that bumps it right along.

Found out today I have to get another battery though. My old one did good for five years but wouldn't take a charge today. May have froze during the winter.