Freshwater Fishing Report, September 27, 2019 Update:
Snakeheads have put on the fall feedbag, and just yesterday Apex Predators sent us this pic of a gnarly Potomac snake.
Reports from Blackwater are also good, with catches of up to a dozen fish reported by some anglers with the best fishing on low or dropping tides when the fish aren’t splashing around back in the woods trying to eat small mammals (or something). Topwater frogs are best in the higher water/lilypad areas, while big bull minnow and spinnerbaits are producing in open water. Bridge anglers have been doing best with minnow a foot under a bobber; the bigger the minnow, the better. We also got reader reports of good snake action in the Gunpowder and the Bush this week. The fall snek run is on!
In the region’s reservoirs, bass are still most active during the early morning and late afternoon, typically keeping to the shallows during these times. The bass can be easily enticed with crankbaits, topwater plugs, plastic frogs, and spinnerbaits. The Tackle Box reported that fishing at St Mary’s Lake and the Calvert County Ponds has been absolutely stellar, with anglers catching over 30 bass a day. They also reported that these areas are holding crappie, bluegill, and pickerel that are eager to take small minnows or lures. Most of the crappie are still holding deep throughout the region, over structure and around bridge pilings in 15 feet or deeper water.
Many freshwater anglers throughout Maryland are eager for trout stocking to begin in October, but those hunting the brookies and native fish in western zones have been finding it challenging because water levels in the smaller creeks and streams has gone down significantly. Put your sneaky shoes on and consider stealth a key, if you want to fool these fish into biting right now. Otherwise, monitor the Trout Stocking webpage, to see when the fish get planted. Note: the DNR said in their report this week that around 26,000 trout will go into the water this fall, and they’re larger than usual.
Freshwater Fishing Report, September 19, 2019 Update:
Through the region, bass fishing has entered its fall stride in a big way thanks to the past couple chilly nights. If you enjoy casting for largemouth in any of the region’s reservoirs or large lakes, now’s the time to get out on the water – contributor Eric Packard hit St. Mary’s Lake yesterday and experienced magnificent action, catching a grand total of 49 bass. (His effort at hitting the 50 mark was stymied, when the last fish turned out to be a pickerel). Meanwhile, we received reader reports from the Baltimore reservoirs, Lake Anna, the upper Potomac, and Chesdin of serious up-ticks in the bass action. Same goes for Deep Creek, where the Outfitters reported that as boat traffic has settled down from the summer, the bite has picked up and many spots are now accessible through the day. Topwater is still best applied early and late, though on recent overcast days the action has stretched well into the late morning hours. In direct sun, sub-surface divers and swimbaits are doing the trick. We didn’t get any real-time reports from the Eastern Shore millponds this week, but if history is any indication the bass in these waters should also be on fire right now as their shallow depths tend to cool quickly and the fish react to temperature swings overnight.
Crappie are also on the fall feed, with solid reports of action coming from the beaver dams and mid-lake weedbeds at Piney Run, standing timber just about anywhere, and the bridges at Lake Anna. Dropping small minnow on hair or marabou jigs and jigging two-inch red/white tubes are both proven tactics.
Trout anglers have decent conditions in the rivers, with just about all in the region now running on the low side but clear and clean. In a couple weeks Maryland will start fall stockings, and the DNR says 26,000 fish will go into put-and-take areas next month. There’s no advance notice of these stockings but you can keep tabs on where the fish go by checking the trout stocking website regularly, where alerts will go up after the fish are released.
Snakehead anglers also enjoyed solid action this week, and the effectiveness of big bull minnow seems to be skyrocketing as the fish are beginning to move out of the thickest cover and hunt around the periphery of lily pads and weedbeds. Bobbers set at a foot to 18 inches have been doing the trick over in Blackwater, where the bite at the bridges is improving. Spinnerbaits have also been working well. Good snake reports also came in this week from the Bush, Susquehanna, and Mallows Bay, again with bull minnow standing out as the top bait pretty much everywhere. And… oops! We forgot to send out a congratulations last week to Damien Cook for taking first in the Blackwater Snakehead open with 42.25 pounds of slimy snakage.
Freshwater Fishing Report, September 13, 2019 Update:
The freshwater fishing scene remains active, starting with area rivers which are now running at normal or below normal flows in most areas. Terrestrials will take trout, but those areas with low waters means spooky fish so stay in stealth mode. In larger streams and rivers smallmouth should be in prime form right about now and if history is any indication crayfish-imitating crankbaits will be a top producer; check out this Smallmouth Bass how-to by freshwater contributor Jim Gronaw, to get in on the game at rivers like the Monocacy, Big Pipe, the Shenandoah, and so on.
Reports from Deep Creek Lake, Lake Anna, Loch Raven and the Baltimore reservoirs, and St. Mary’s Lake have continued to provide steadily talk of good bass action for fishermen. An early trip to any of these areas has been producing for those armed with spinner baits, chatter baits, topwater plugs, and plastic frogs. The bass have still been retreating into deeper water during the heat of the day, but hitting the shoreline and nearby structure during morning and evening hours has been consistently exciting. After the bass have turned off, the Tackle Box reported that at St. Mary’s the crappie bite around the spillway and deep-water stumps is normally still popping. Deepwater structure should prove the ticket to crappie throughout the region, with minnow being the best bait (at the risk of putting the minnow through some serious trauma).
What about the snakes? On the Western Shore including in the Gunpowder, Potomac, and Rappahannock and their tidal creeks, snakeheads are biting. Using plastic frogs, chatterbaits, or minnow has been a good move in these areas. The bite at the Blackwater has dropped off the past few days from what we heard, but seems to fluctuate weekly and every tidal cycle brings another question-mark.
Freshwater Fishing Report, September 6, 2019 Update:
In the reservoirs throughout the region fish returned to their summer patterns with this week’s warm-up. Bass are being caught best at daybreak and dusk, on topwater and spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, or plastic frogs near the shoreline. Once the sun’s up, probing underwater points near drop-offs is more effective. Contributor Eric Packard confirmed the topwater reports, hitting several southern ponds and lakes the past week and finding topwater frogs were a top offering. Crappie have been deep and holding on structure in the reservoirs, with minnow out-catching anything else.
Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow reports that the bass dominated the action on a Blackwater trip last week, and the snakes were much more finicky than the largemouth. The snakeheads had moved up incredibly shallow and you heard them rolling “back in the woods” beyond casting range. The two snake attacks that he did have were triggered while probing tiny fingers of skinny water and casting topwater frogs through tree branches and into algae-covered swamp. Bass hit both topwater and spinnerbaits cast close to the shoreline in more open water. Reports from both the upper tidal Potomac and the Rappahannock were similar, with more bass biting than snakeheads and topwater proving the main choice among both the anglers and the fish.
In the western rivers, smallmouth seemed to wake up this week and provided good action, particularly in the Shenandoah. Water levels have been mostly stable and average although there are some outliers where thunderstorms dumped some water the past few days. The Gunpowder in particular has seen some runoff and is running above average at the moment (as this report is published). Fortunately it looks like the incoming weather event will miss western portions of the region and impacts will remain localized.