Freshwater Fishing Report, May 28 Update:
Freshwater fishing remains solid. Anglers headed to local lakes, ponds, streams, and rivers are leaving with smiles on their faces. At St. Mary’s Lake and Deep Creek Lake, the bass bite is officially on and in post-spawn mode. Anglers reporting from both lakes had solid days fishing with baby bass-colored flukes and crankbaits. Most bass were sticking close to submerged timber and structure, as has been the tale throughout most of the lakes and reservoirs in our area since the spawn ended. In fact, most lakes and reservoirs across Delmarva are producing right now. Multiple reports indicate that the bite is highly active throughout the day.
Snakeheads had a fine week— anglers reported catching them in shallow, grassy areas on both western and eastern shores. They can be tempted by topwater, and a few were reported on chatterbaits and minnow this week. While a number of good reports came from Blackwater, several were also generated from the Magothy (a surprising number including fish up to eight pounds on white paddletails), creeks off the Patapsco, the Gunpowder, and the Havre de Grace area. A fry ball spotting has been reported (but unconfirmed as of yet) with guarding fish hitting topwater on the east side but not yet on the western shore.
Trout management waters continue to produce for put-and-take fishermen. There are still plenty of trout to go around, and water levels remain on the low side throughout most of the mountain streams and creeks. Hopefully, the forecast rains will bring levels up a bit without swamping us. The western and northern streams and rivers holding wild fish including brookies and browns are producing plenty of fish on both nymphs and dry flies. We also had a reader report from the Shenandoah this week of an excellent smallmouth bite on Rebel Wee Craws.
Another interesting report: where cicadas are coming out, topwater action is hot... including on carp. Evidently even they eat these things?! Anyway, where they're around we're told you can fly fish for them with cicada-like topwater flies. Interesting!
Catfish reports are unrelenting. Pick your river: the James, the Rappahannock, the Potomac, the Patuxent, the Susquehanna — pretty much any trib seems to be riddled with them as soon as you get about halfway up (or in the case of the Susky, anywhere at all). We heard from one angler who claimed to have caught 36 — yes, 36 — in the Potomac this week. We heard from another targeting snakeheads with minnow in the Pax who was fooled time and again by channel cats slurping up his minnow. Cats… cats… cats.
Freshwater Fishing Report, May 21 Update:
Contributor Eric Packard spent a day in Mallows this week and enjoyed a solid bass bite, though snakeheads remained elusive at that locale (more on them, later). When the Tackle Box checked in, they let us know that close by St. Mary’s Lake was another hot place to be for bass this week. In high-gear, they’ve been eager to take action-packed surface and subsurface lures. Early in the day and later in the afternoon are the best time during the super-sunny days we had this week, although action didn’t slow down too much and the Tackle Box reported plenty of pictures of fat bass coming over the counter this week. Just outside the shallows along the beginning of drop-offs were the best spots for the bass. At Deep Creek, the story is largely the same. Square-bill crankbaits in crawfish colors were hot.
In most of the region’s reservoirs, the stretch of consistent weather has given the fish plenty of time to spawn and bass have shifted into post-spawn mode. Contributor Eric Packard also hit Tridelphia this week and found them willing to hit spinnerbaits and wacky worms near shoreline structure and noted that once the sun was up they were already looking for (and being caught from) shaded areas. A few pike also hit his lures, mostly in deeper 15- to 20-foot areas. Readers hitting Lake Anna report that the fish have become more structure-oriented and docks are a good bet, but crappie have already begun to shift to deeper structure. We also had our first report this week of a cicada Brood X impact, from Centennial Lake in Columbia, where a reader said bass could be seen swirling on the critters and were then fooled by small yellow-green Jitterbugs.
Anglers across the region are still enjoying the trout bite, which has proven unshakable throughout spring. In areas where fish were stocked there are still many available, clarity is good, and trout are highly active and biting. Anglers focused on wild fish will be crossing their fingers for a bit of rain, however, as water levels have begun to drop below normal through much of the western portions of the region. As of this week the streams and rivers were still very fishable but getting noticeably low; look for deep holes and keep your movements down to a creep to avoid spooking the fish in these conditions.
On the eastern shore, we had reports this week that snakeheads are lighting up the water and providing relentless action throughout the day. However, we also heard from a reader who fished tidal rivers this week that during low water the bite was very slow, and there were more splashing carp than snapping snakeheads. On the western shore, just about anywhere you go from Havre De Grace to Fredericksburg to Cambridge to Cecilton people are targeting and talking about them. Topwater action is on and chatterbaits were also mentioned by multiple readers as a good bet.
Freshwater Fishing Report, May 14 Update:
We’ve got to thank all the state agencies for their trout stocking efforts over the past year — put and take anglers have been slamming a healthy trout bite all over the PA/DelMarVa area. When water levels and conditions are right, the fishing has been absolutely excellent. Sporadic rains across the region have kept water moving and at decent levels for both native and stocked fish, without mucking it up. Stocked fish are being removed from the water at a pretty good clip, though, so if you want to target them and take home a meal, acting sooner rather than later would be a good move and in a few weeks, they may be thoroughly picked through.
In lakes and ponds, we’ve also seen excellent conditions over the past few weeks. Bass fishing is wonderful right now and as they’ve moved into spring feeding patterns, they’re highly active. At Deep Creek and Lake Anna, they can be found in the shallows now on beds and near structure, and at Deep Creek and the Baltimore reservoirs, alongside smallmouth. Contributor Eric Packard found the largemouth happy to pounce on wacky worms in green pepper (best bait), square-bill crankbaits, and paddle-tails this week, catching over a dozen in a half-day outing. We’re expecting the bass fishing will remain great and maybe get even better as the Brood X cicadas make their way out of the ground. They’ll be a prime food source for freshwater fish, including bass, and in the past have triggered nonstop feeding frenzies.
Most tribs with snakehead are producing excellently right now; they’ve been active and happy to hit crankbaits, plastic frogs, and other topwater/subsurface lures. Reports from the Blackwater remain positive, although the amount of snakehead caught in the past two weeks has dipped slightly. The snakehead are also a mixed batch size-wise. We’ve seen them ranging from the length of a large hot dog to north of your forearm. Reports from the west side are good too, particularly from Baltimore north, and reader reports of solid action in and around the lower Susquehanna (particularly around marina docks) have been coming in on a regular basis. Chatter baits, plastic frogs, and other surface lures were fingered as top bets.
For those who tried to tune in to Live With Lenny last night we apologize for the technical difficulties, evidently we broke the internets. The show has been rescheduled for next Wednesday evening at 5:00 p.m. when we'll have a striper season update and discuss targeting invasive species like snakeheads and blue cats with David Sikorski from the CCA.
Freshwater Fishing Report, May 7 Update:
Freshwater might’ve been the way to go this week — while many striper anglers were striking out, freshwater didn’t see a lull in activity. Snakehead fishing took off on both east and west sides, reminding anglers what kind of bite they can offer. Throughout DMV creeks and tribs, guys casting plastic frogs, buzz baits, poppers, and chatter baits were blasting them. Multiple readers reported plentiful catches throughout the day, with no real trend in when/why they were biting. While most snakeheads caught were average size, a few hit or surpassed forearm length. Away from the bare-bones shallows where most snakehead were caught, largemouth bass were going off.
Anglers who hit reservoirs reported an excellent bass bite, with spinners and soft plastics taking the cake with confirmed reports from St. Mary’s Lake, Deep Creek, and Western Branch, as well as the upper Potomac River. Later in the week when the weather was great, activity seemed to take a slight upswing. We also had reader reports from the Gunpowder just below the dam of a solid bass bite with lots of fish on beds and along the shorelines this week. They were hesitant to bite, but working on them with multiple casts (plastic worms) eventually triggered the attacks.
Trout stocking efforts were completed in Maryland and Delaware as April ended, but continue through this month in Virginia. In any case there are still plenty of fish in the water and post-stocking fishing should remain good for the near-term. Put-and-take anglers have been enjoying a steady catch with healthy conditions, all around. As for the wild fish, Mossy Creek is reporting that western rivers are running high and clear and brook trout fishing has been “off the charts.”
Across our range, crappie fishing has been excellent. The Eastern Shore Mill ponds are a highlight and still producing many, primarily caught on little shad darts and marabou jigs with minnow under a bobber, spinners, and tubes in open water near weedbeds and lilies. This action should be peaking or be just past the peak and won’t last much longer as the waters continue to warm up. Bass in the ponds are reported to be shallow on beds and of course pickerel are almost always in the mix.