Freshwater Fishing Report, January 30 update:
The freshwater bite has been great recently, largely due to an exceptionally strong crappie run pretty much anywhere they’re available, and it’s providing the top opportunity in our region right now for those who want to get a reliable bend in their rods. The reservoirs (for crappie), the Pocomoke (perch, crappie, bass, and pickerel) the James (catfish and crappie), and the eastern shore mill ponds (pretty much all of the above) have all been good bets. In ponds, bluegill are also remaining active this month and freshwater correspondent Jim Gronaw has been finding them in the Mason-Dixon zone, willing to bite on tiny jigs tipped with maggots.
Tochterman’s and the Tackle Box both suggested stocking up on shad darts and minnow before hitting any of these areas. Crappie have been quick to take orange, pink, chartreuse, and yellow shad darts near shallow structure, as well as minnow suspended by a bobber. Anglers fishing minnow are getting a much larger variety of species, oftentimes picking up a huge mix. Bass are also taking Bass Assassins and imitation crayfish in many of the reservoirs, and in Lake Anna jigging spoons worked deep has been producing some fish.
The MD DNR stocked 3,040 more trout through Maryland this week. In Baltimore County, Standsbury Park Pond received 750 rainbow trout; in Charles County, Hughesville Pond received 140 rainbow trout; in Howard County, the little Patuxent River was stocked with 1,100 more rainbow trout; in Montgomery County, Lake Needlewood received 750 rainbow trout; and in Prince Georges County, Governor Bridge Pond was stocked with 300 rainbow trout. As for those who would like to chase native fish, rain mucked things up a bit late last week and conditions are just returning to acceptable in many areas. We weren’t able to find anyone who could confirm that the trout are back in action from Mossy Creek clear up to the Gunpowder, but all the USGS gauges show that water levels are back to normal around the dial and the weekend should—should—provide decent conditions.
What about ice fishing…? *Sigh* At least for the time being, forgeddaboudit.
Freshwater Fishing Report, January 24 update:
With the Bay quiet, the freshwater front is getting plenty of attention. Inland lakes, reservoirs, ponds, and streams are all providing plenty of choices. Eastern shore spots which remain a bit warmer than those on the Western side, like the Blackwater, the Pocomoke, the Wicomico, and the mill ponds, were hot spots this week due to their crappie bites. Clyde’s and Tochtermans both let us know that these areas have taken a little bit of searching before getting into the fish, but once anglers do, they’re getting ‘em with pink, orange, yellow, and chartreuse shad small jigs with twister tails, Panfish Assassins, Bobby Garlands, and similar plastics. Yellow perch have been hanging around these in upper tidal water areas as well, taking minnow suspended by a bobber. They’ve typically been deep and holding around structure or channel edges, with the best bite often in the mornings and in tidal areas, late in an outgoing or early in an incoming tide.
On the western side, we’ve been told that some northern areas have been hit with thin ice and are in standby mode, but many spots with current or good wind exposure remain open and a warm-up this weekend should re-expose a lot more potential fishing territory. Freshwater Correspondent Jim Gronaw sent us a few pics of nice bass and jumbo bluegills that hit spinnerbaits (the bass) and hair jigs (the ‘gills) this week in the Mason-Dixon zone. And The Tackle Box reported that anglers have been enjoying relaxing days fishing St Mary’s Lake. The crappie bite remains good for anglers fishing with minnows suspended deep. They’ve been accessible to shoreline and water-going anglers, hanging around the exposed stumps and the spillway.
Anglers who enjoy ice fishing have had their attention drawn by Deep Creek, which did lock up during the recent plummeting temps. However, we haven’t received any reports of safe ice thus far and with rain forecast all weekend the outlook is not good for drilling holes in the immediate future.
Freshwater fishermen a bit farther south may be distracted by the Richmond Fishing Expo this weekend, which runs today through Sunday at Meadow Event Park. Those who can resist the temptation my want to probe the upper Western shore tribs, where the James is producing the biggest blue cats, but the Rap and Potomac are both good bets for decent numbers in harvestable size ranges. Fresh cut gizzard shad and sunfish are top baits and plenty of people are soaking chicken breast on bottom, too. Crappie are also still biting, mostly in deep areas with structure on minnow fished behind small jigs.
Freshwater Fishing Report, January 17 update:
Inland lakes, reservoirs, ponds, and sounds were speckled with boats throughout this week, with warm weather making the excellent freshwater bite even sweeter. At Deep Creek Lake, while many bemoan the absence of ice those fishing the open waters have found the bass and crappie bites have been excellent around drop-offs. Deep Creek Outfitters reported that soft plastic imitation baits and spinners are working well for the bass, and crappie are taking minnow. Walleye are biting on live jumbo minnow, too. The Baltimore reservoirs are also providing a good crappie bite, and have been a good place to visit for shore-bound anglers. However, the next few days are looking blustery, so if you’re not up for getting pummeled in the wind, heading to a leeward bank and tossing minnow out seems like a good bet.
The Eastern Shore has also been providing lots of freshwater action both in the millponds and in the tributaries. Clyde’s let us know that the yellow perch bite in Wye Mills has been especially notable. The fish coming out of the area are consistent once you get into them, and even better, have been super-chunky. Contributor Peter Turcik hit Smithville mid-week and reported some nice largemouth bass, while Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow and Fishing Reports Editor Mollie Rudow headed to the Snow Hill area of the Pocomoke last weekend and were met with a steady flow of action despite windy conditions. Yellow perch and bass were gobbling up minnow fished in the channels, while plenty of pickerel did their best to ruin the leaders.
Trout anglers: Maryland continued off-season stocking the past week with 3,605 more fish being released, into Calvert Cliffs Pond, Hughsville, Wheatley (900 there alone), Allen’s Pond, Cosca Lake, Melwood Pond, and Tucker Pond. Here’s the 2020 Trout Stocking Schedule for the state. And in Virginia, the VDGIF has announced its 2020 stocking dates for March, April, and May. Meanwhile in the creeks and rivers, water levels are just a tick below normal while runnign clear and the recent warm weather provided some excellent opportunities; the Gunpowder for trout and the upper Potomac for smallmouth and walleye. Mossy Creek is also reporting prime conditions for mid-winter, with dry flies, nymphs, and streamers all working well for native brook trout in the creeks. They also noted prime conditions for musky in the James and Shenandoah.
Meanwhile in the Blackwater… we’ve been warning you, people, that a sudden warm-up can trigger a snakehead bite very rapidly – and this one sure did. Most folks weren’t reporting huge numbers but lots of catches of three to six fish came in from anglers hitting the bridges last week. Minnow fished near bottom were the best bait but chatterbaits and swimbaits also took a few fish. We can expect that the abrupt change in the weather means it’ll be a lot tougher this weekend, but keep a sharp eye on the weather because it only takes a couple of warm, sunny days to kick it back into gear.
Freshwater Fishing Report, January 10 update:
This week, Contributor Eric Packard traveled the Chesapeake’s Eastern Shores in search of winning pickerel for the CCA Maryland Pickerel Championship while hitting numerous millponds, and reported that Smithville Lake is producing hefty numbers of pickerel – this past Sunday alone, he and Zach Ditmars caught 23 pickerel and 12 bass between them, with the largest three pickerel breaking the 24-inch mark. Packard also reported good days at Geary Millpond and Johnson’s Lake. The majority of the pickerel were caught on minnows, and Packard landed bass using Rat-L-Traps and four-inch paddle tails.
Crappie fishing also remains strong throughout the area, with Tochterman’s noting a good bite in Liberty around the Nicodemus bridge. Shad darts tipped with a minnow have been the best way to land multiple species here, especially the crappie that love to hang mid-depth around the bridge. Word of more great crappie action came from Apex Predators in Potomac Creek, where they’re catching them literally by the dozens. The Tackle Box also chimed in about the crappie fishing, reporting that fishing at St Mary’s Lake remains consistent for anglers targeting the species, with plenty hanging out by the spillway and near the deeper stumps. The best way to catch them has been with minnows and shad dart.
Catfish anglers have been probing the Western Shore rivers with solid success, and although the bite’s not what you might call fast and furious (water temps in most areas are running in the mid-40s, after all) plenty of fish are being caught including some big ones – we heard about blues over 40 pounds coming from both the Potomac (near DC) and the James (in the Hopewell to Dutch Gap zone) in the past week.
Trout stocking update for Marylanders: The Maryland DNR stocked an additional 4,850 golden and rainbow trout this week in Carroll County and Allegany County. Lake Habeeb (Rocky Gap) gained an additional 3,500 golden and rainbow trout, and 1,300 golden and rainbow trout were added to Piney Run Reservoir. The Free State has certainly let a lot of trout go free in its water, this fall.
Freshwater Fishing Report, January 3 update:
Welcome to 2020, anglers! We at FishTalk would like to wish everyone a happy new year and we hope you have some fabulous fishing adventures as a new season dawns. And if you want to start 2020 off with a bent rod you have plenty of options right now, starting off with a trip to the reservoirs. Savage River just got loaded up with 3,450 stocked trout, and the folks at Tochterman’s mentioned that Liberty has been producing some nice stripers between 25 and 35 inches. They weren’t sure what the successful anglers had been using, but said they were lure anglers for sure, not guys using bait. Good reports of crappie fishing continue to come in from all corners, ranging from the Eastern Shore millponds to the upper Potomac (where Apex Predators experienced utterly epic catches of over 100 fish in the past week) to St. Mary’s Lake to Lake Anna. An unfortunate note about Anna for shoreline anglers: the fishing area on dike three is shut down, apparently for good. VDGIF says the shoreline will still be available for fishing, but due to safety concerns the platform has to go.
Wait a sec – we moved on from the Eastern Shore millponds a bit too quickly. Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow and contributor Eric Packard both report that ponds up and down the shore from Unicorn to Smithfield to the Salisbury area have remained hot, sometimes with bass biting better than anything else and other times with pickerel taking the lead. Crappie and yellow perch have also been in the mix, at times. Minnow suspended three feet under bobbers and small swimbaits have both been productive.
In western areas the warm weather means ice fishing possibilities are on hold for the time being, but on the bright side, trout are biting in the rivers and creeks (and on top of that, over 4,000 trout were released into Deep Creek this week). Tochterman’s mentioned that they spoke with some customers having good luck on mostly small trout in the Gunpowder, as well. If you want to take up the buggy whip and you're located near the nation's capitol, don't forget that alternating Saturdays District Angling is offering fly tying and technique-oriented clinics. Their 2020 schedule hasn't been posted just yet but if you're interested give them a shout (703/268-7500) and they can fill you in.