Freshwater Fishing Reports

Freshwater Fishing Report, March 21 Update:

Many of our favorite freshwater fish are getting more active as water temperatures warm with springs arrival. Contributor Eric Packard says the panfish are waking up for spring, and a micro-jig under a bobber has proved effective. In a short outing he caught eight crappie plus some ‘gills. Packard also hit a couple farm ponds earlier in the week and said that the bass are now shifting into high gear for spring. He and another angler caught a nice selection of fish including some over three pounds. They were vigorously attacking spinnerbaits and jerkbaits. We also got a report of a great catch from northern Baltimore this week of a hybrid striper – WTG, William!

Snakehead anglers have been taking advantage of the warming trends in recent weeks and the fish are becoming more active across the state. Days when the air temperatures get above 60 degrees have been best and when they have approached 70, the fish have been most active. Fishing in the afternoons during the warmest part of the day, and when water temperatures are the warmest, has been key for getting fish to bite. That pattern will continue for much of spring.  A few anglers have even reported topwater action already and we heard of successful reports from Blackwater, the Potomac, and Baltimore area creeks. Grass and other vegetation have yet to grow in thick, so moving baits such as spinners, chatterbaits, inline spinners, and Rat-L-Traps will be great options to throw.

This Saturday, March 22nd, is youth trout day in Maryland and stocking crews have made sure that there are plenty of fish in waters across the state for youngsters to get out and target. Anglers under the age of 16 will be able to fish all closure one areas from 6:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. The creel limit will be two trout per child younger than 16 years of age. Waters that have been designated as closure zero areas will be open for all anglers to fish. The traditional opening day of trout season is on Saturday, March 29. The start time is 6:30 a.m. for all closure one trout management waters. More information for closure areas, regulations, and stocked waters can be found on the Maryland DNR trout stocking website. Mossy Creek Fly Fishing is reporting better fishing in the western trout areas. Dry fly fishing is improving as caddis are hatching on the mountain streams and on the spring creeks. They expect anglers to continue to catch more fish subsurface for the next few weeks until insect hatches get thicker. Virginia DWR has also been out stocking fish across the state and there are plenty of opportunities no matter where you live. Stocking and regulatory information can be found on the Virginia DWR trout stocking website.

Freshwater Fishing Report, March 14 Update:

The spring spawning runs have kicked off big time. Contributor Eric Packard says crappie and bass have both reacted to the change in the weather, and he enjoyed a good bite in Indian Creek this week. That followed up on some decent yellow perch fishing at Mattawoman. And the Angler in Chief says they’re running full swing at Hillsboro, so get out there and enjoy some spring-like yellow perch action ASAP. A reader reports that by midweek the number of whites in the mix at Hillsboro grew, reporting two dozen yellows and one dozen white perch. They also said that other anglers there had caught a significant number of white perch casting small lures. Shad have also started their spring run and there were reports of fish being caught on both the Rappahannock and Potomac. The first shad of the year at Fletcher’s Cove was caught last Friday by an angler fishing about a half mile north of the cove. This week there were a few more hickory shad caught by shoreline anglers throwing spoons and darts, but the bite is not hot yet. Down on the Rapp, anglers are reporting hickory shad starting to show up in the Fredericksburg area. Again, not a ton, but this is just the start, and more fish will continue to show up in the coming weeks.

Trout fishing season is also off to a strong start although the official start of trout season in Maryland isn’t until March 29th. Pre-season stockings are still rolling out and several locations across the state have received fresh fish. From the mountains of western Maryland to the lowlands of southern Maryland, trout are in ponds, lakes, creeks, and rivers. It is a great time to get out and fish for them as the weather is warming up too. Out in Virginia, Mossy Creek Fly Fishing reports that streamer and nymph fishing have dominated all of the trout waters this week, but they are excited for improving dry fly conditions. They encourage anglers to load up heavy on attractor nymphs and streamers for stocked fish. The mountain brook trout streams are also in excellent shape and their reports have been good from our local streams from the calmer warmer days last week. Attractor nymphs and small streamers are working well. Dry droppers were picking up some fish on the dry fly and as water temps rise, they expect to see increased numbers of fish caught on top! Anglers can find all the stocking and regulatory information on the Virginia DWR trout fishing website and the Maryland DNR trout fishing website.

Freshwater Fishing Report, March 7 Update:

Perch runs are on a lot of anglers minds as the weather has finally started to trend warmer. Contributor Eric Packard hit several of the usual perch run hotspots early this week, but reports nada, zip, zilch, and zero at Mason Springs and Allen’s Fresh. He noted speaking with several other anglers who had an identical experience. Packard also hit Lake Collusion but found only catfish willing to bite. Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow reported the same perch-wise from the upper Pax, but said anglers fishing at the boat ramp reported catching some white perch on bloodworms along with the catfish they had reeled in. Down in Virginia, an angler fishing north of Aylett, Virginia on the Mattaponi reported catching a few yellow perch and one white perch on minnows at the beginning of the week. Another angler fishing near Little Falls on the Rappahannock says that there has been decent action for yellow perch in the area and some big ones too. He pulled two citation sized fish out of the river this week. Next week's forecast is calling for warm temperatures for a few days in a row which might trigger the perch run to ramp up across the region.

Trout fishing is in full swing right now as stocking crews have been hard at work getting more fish out for anglers to target. Maryland stocking crews have stocked over two dozen locations across the state this week and there will be more on the way. We had several reader reports showing success. One fishing in Prince Georges County caught a quick limit of rainbow trout throwing Berkley Powerbait Mouse Tails, but said the shorelines were crowded. Another reader fishing a central Maryland stream said he had to fish a few holes, but once he located the fish, it was a quick limit. Out in the western trout areas, Mossy Creek Fly Fishing reports that they are getting good reports coming in from their local brook trout waters with North, Dry, Skidmore, and some of the larger SNP streams fishing well. Virginia DWR is out stocking fish including North River DH, Dry River, Hone Quarry, Jackson, and more have been stocked in the past week. Anglers can find the latest stocking information on the Virginia DWR trout stocking website and the Maryland DNR trout stocking website.