Freshwater Fishing Report, October 25, 2019 Update:
Fishing in the lakes and reservoirs has been steadily getting better, with great bass and crappie action. St. Mary’s Lake, Deep Creek Lake, the Baltimore reservoirs plus Piney Run, Lake Anna, and the tidal Potomac have all been great areas popping up in the conversations. Smallmouth bass and largemouth bass have moved into winter mode, however, and are moving to deeper water. Drop offs, edges, and submerged structure have been great places to locate them. Both species will take crankbaits and grubs. Deep Creek Outfitters suggested using imitation crayfish to tempt smallmouth bass. Crappie have also moved to deep water, and are holding around structure. Using live minnow is a great way to land them.
Snakehead reports have been up and down, with good days and not so good days depending on the weather. The folks at Anglers had one of their crew in the field this week at Blackwater, and while the morning was quiet, once the sun warmed things up significantly the fish came on. Chatterbaits proved most effective with the Addiction Thumper a stand-out offering. We also heard from the folks from Apex Predators, fishing the Virginia side of the Potomac, who scored some snakes plus enjoyed good largemouth fishing this week.
The fall stocked trout have been providing exciting action throughout the region. Powerbaits have been working well for them. Check each state’s stocking pages (scroll down for the links), as a ton of fall fish have been planted at this point.
Freshwater Fishing Report, October 18, 2019 Update:
Though the weather's been tough fall temps have made for great freshwater fishing, with plenty of bass, crappie, and trout available. Speaking of trout: fall stockings are now in full swing. Delaware announced last weekend that White Clay Creek received about 1,250 fish between 12- and 14-inches, plus some larger trout. This week in Maryland, Evitts Creek, Evitts Pond, Wills Creek, Avalon and Daniels in the Patapsco, the South Branch of the Patapsco, Carroll Creek, Accident Pond, Piney Run Reservoir, Cunningham Falls Lake, Rainbow Lake, Centennial Lake, the Little Patuxent River, the Middle Patuxent River, Antietam Creek, Blairs Valley Lake, and Greenbriar Lake were all stocked with fish. In all, over 7,400 rainbow and goldens were planted this past week in Maryland, alone. In Virginia, Potts Creek, Big Cedar Creek, Elk Creek, Little River, Dismal River, Big Stoney Creek, the Tye River, Norton Reservoir, Douthat Lake, and Cripple Creek were all stocked.
A couple reader reports came in from the snakehead grounds this week, but most talked more about wind and difficult conditions more than anything else. Hopefully this weekend will be a bit better – it certainly should be, and a decent fall bite should hold up for a couple more weeks. Meanwhile, Delmarva lakes are providing excellent bass action as they move into their fall behavior mode, eager to hit spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and soft plastics throughout the day. Contributor Eric Packard dodged gusts several days this week and found that bass were extremely active and favored a red worm on a ned rig.
Otherwise, in the area lakes and reservoirs crappie are schooled up around structure and will take minnow under a bobber and tubes. Deep Creek is providing especially noteworthy action, with walleye available and now biting strong on large shiners fished near rocky drop-offs.
Freshwater Fishing Report, October 10, 2019 Update:
Fall trout stockings are now well underway in Maryland and Virginia. Between the upper Gunpowder, Morgan Run, Bear Creek, Casselman Creek, Great Seneca Creek, and Stansbury Park Pond, around 2,700 fish were planted in Maryland this week (scroll don to see the link to the DNR’s stocking schedule). In Virginia, Douthat Lake, Cowpasture River, Stony Creek, Peak Creek, Jackson River, Roanoak River, Chestnut Creek, Big Brumley Creek, Big Tumbling Creek, Little Tumbling Creek, Tinker Creek, and Mint Springs Lake all received stockings this week. (You can find the details at the VDGIF Daily Trout Stocking Schedule).
Those who would prefer to chase a different sort of “transplanted” fish – snakehead – have continued filling our “in” box with reports of excellent catches this week. We heard again from Apex Predators finding snake action in the creeks on the VA side of the Potomac, readers fishing in the Back and Gunpowder Rivers, and of course while snakehead fishing in the Blackwater. Generally speaking, minnow seem to be the best offering at the moment. Contributor Eric Packard joined several other kayak anglers for a foray into that neighborhood last weekend (note: the Egypt Road soft launch is now closed due to hunting season) and reported that although it was windy and chilly they caught a mix of snakeheads and largemouth bass plus a monster white perch. Remember that in the Blackwater in specific, it only takes one bright, sunny day to quickly warm up these waters and trigger a bite.
Meanwhile, Contributor Jim Gronaw reports that in the Mason-Dixon area ponds and lakes the panfish are biting strong and the fat crappie and slab ‘gills are being complemented by the occasional bass. He also noted that on a recent trip out to Deep Creek, he and his son Matt did well on a nice mix of fish including pike, pickerel, smallmouth bass, and largemouth bass. Reports from The Tackle Box were similar, with freshwater fish putting on the feeding bag and fattening up for winter. Both shoreline structure and deeper structure are holding fish at this point, and during the cloudy days this week the fish often fed in the shallows throughout the day. If you’re a topwater fan, this is prime-time!
Freshwater Fishing Report, October 4, 2019 Update:
Fall freshwater action has kicked into high gear, people – well, at least in some ways it has. Trout fishing on the whole has been stifled by low water, and Maryland’s fall trout stocking still hasn’t begun (see the trout stocking web page for updates). FishTalk team member David Rudow reports that the low water made fishing in the Gunpowder difficult this week, and while it was possible to spot trout swimming close by, they were spooking fast and it was nearly impossible to get them to strike. We note that Freshwater Report section sponsor District Angling has a seminar on "Autumn Patterns of the Gunpowder River" which may be of interest of fly anglers hitting these waters, scheduled for next Saturday the 12th. Keep an eye on their Facebook page, for updates.
On the flip side of the coin, snake hunters are enjoying an excellent fall pretty much everywhere. We received several pictures of fatties from the guys at Apex Predators, who fish the creeks off the Potomac, and we had reports from readers fishing areas as diverse as the Bush River, the Gunpowder, the Transquaking, the Rappahannock, and of course Blackwater. Many different offerings led to success (topwater, spinnerbaits, and chatterbaits were all mentioned) but big bull minnow a foot under the bobber sounded like the winning offering.
Meanwhile, bass are now clearly in fatten-up mode. Contributor Eric Packard let us know that hitting some farm ponds with Wacky Worm rigs resulted in literally dozens of bass. Beetle Spins got the crappie and bluegill biting, as well. Reports from Deep Creek and the Baltimore area reservoirs are also strong, with a topwater bite in low light and jigs or divers working best around drop-offs and submerged points after the sun’s high in the sky. And in Lake Anna, word is that both stripers and largemouth are prowling around schools of shad and trolling white or pearl shad-shaped deep-divers or jigging spoons and plastics beneath the shad will get the predators hitting. Along with the bass, crappie are in the mood to eat as much as possible right now, and The Tackle Box is reporting that "all the fish seem very hungry" in freshwater this week. Small minnow on hair jigs or marabou, two-inch tubes, and small twister tails will all get the crappie biting. A reader fishing an undisclosed Eastern Shore millpond also reported fast action on crappie up to 14-inches, on minnow suspended under a bobber and fished over weedbeds.