One of the greatest things about being an angler living in Chesapeake Country is that even when it comes to winter fishing, the angling season never really ends. Spring, summer, fall, and winter there’s always a fish to be caught somehow, somewhere. And one of the opportunities we winter anglers can take advantage of right now is millpond fishing on the Eastern Shore.
We’ve looked at some of these ponds individually in the past and talked specifics, but being successful at these venues requires looking at them, on the whole, in a unique way. That’s because they’re unique to the Eastern Shore, and while all of them have their own specific features and personalities, they also share some common traits that set them apart from other bodies of freshwater. Keep these commonalities in mind and you can be successful on your very first millpond trip be it on shore, by kayak, or from a small boat.
What are Millponds?
Millponds are just what the name infers: small impoundments that were originally dammed (often hundreds of years ago) for milling crops grown on the Eastern Shore. Most are fed and drain via a tributary feeder creek or two, often no more than a few feet across. And thanks to the Shore’s flatland geography, these ponds are very shallow, usually just four to six feet deep in most areas. The original feeder creek channel is often the lone depth change once you get a few feet off the shoreline. All hold bass, pickerel, catfish, crappie, bluegill, and some have perch as well. Many also have had snakehead populations established in recent years.
During the spring months fishing generally ranges from good to great. In the heat of summer some of the millponds are choked with weeds, the water can get quite hot, and at times fishing will be lethargic. In fall fishing is generally very good. During the winter it’s rare for these ponds to freeze and if they do develop ice it usually doesn’t last long thanks to temperature-buffering effects of the Shore being surrounded by water, low altitude, and a more prevalent breeze. In fact, it’s not unusual for Western Shore ponds to be iced over even as most or all of the Eastern Shore ponds remain ice-free.
How Will You Fish It?
- BY LAND – All of the public millponds have fishable shorelines to one degree or another, but at many access is limited to parks and launch areas with large portions of private property around the lake. Several also have public piers you can fish from, usually located at the launch area.
- BY KAYAK – All of the public millponds have soft launches and are protected enough to fish from a kayak in all but the windiest conditions year-round.
- BY BOAT – Many, though not all, of the millponds have a boat ramp. However, these are often small, narrow, and/or shallow. Some can handle an 18’ boat but most are more appropriate for smaller Jon boats.
Geography is Key
Whichever millpond is closest to your home or tempts you into breaking out the fishing rods, the geographic commonalities between them make it fairly easy to nail down some potential hotspots the moment you arrive. This sample illustration is of a millpond that doesn’t exist—let’s call it Lake FishTalk—but you’ll find these features no matter which one you visit.
- A – Deadfall; in some of the ponds there are also a few docks on the shorelines. This shoreline structure is usually good in spring and fall but may get overcome by weeds in the height of summer in some of the ponds. In the winter it generally doesn’t hold many fish but warm, sunny afternoons can be an exception.
- B – The feeder creek channel. In almost every pond this is one of the most important forms of structure. It’s usually only a foot or two deeper than the surrounding waters but in four to six feet of water, that’s substantial. Areas where it cuts close to shore (as just above the “B”) are usually hot zones year-round. The mouth of the creek where it opens up to the pond itself can also be a hotspot during all four seasons. Otherwise, expect to find fish in the channel during the summer and winter months. Note the small secondary feeder coming in from the right on the graphic; these can also be fish-magnets especially when structure like a fallen tree hits the slightly deeper waters.
- C – The dam area. This is almost always the very deepest spot in the lake, sometimes reaching 10’ or slightly more, and is usually best in summer and winter. There will often be just a few fish here and it can take some work to find them, but they tend to be the largest, most dominant fish in the pond.
- D – Fish-Attractors. Often these are someone’s leftover Christmas trees, but the state has placed brushpiles and trees in several of the ponds as fish-attractors. These tend to be good for crappie and sometimes bass. The time of year they’re productive tends to depend on the depth and location they were placed.
- E – Weedbeds – Weeds cover large swaths of open water in many of the millponds. During the summer they’re often impossible to fish because they’re so thick, but once they die back in the fall, through the winter, and into spring they can be red-hot for all the species in the lake. When there are clumps surrounded by open water in early spring the crappie and pickerel fishing in these weedy areas can be unreal.
If you haven’t yet made a venture to an Eastern Shore millpond, right now is a great time. Pickerel action rages through the winter, bass will bite surprisingly well, and panfish are always a possibility. Plus, many of these are within 15 or 20 minutes of each other so if you don’t get bites in one you can easily pull up stakes and try another, and another, all in the same day of fishing. Let the new angling adventures begin!
See Eastern Shore Millponds: Fantastic Freshwater Fishing for some locations and individual pond specifics.