Freshwater Fishing Reports

Freshwater Fishing Report, July 31 Update:

The summer heat dome has been brutal across our region recently, but cooler temperatures look to be arriving. The western trout areas will be a good escape for cooler air and water temperatures. Mossy Creek Fly Fishing gave us their latest fishing forecast and said that fishing is still best in the early mornings before the hottest part of the day. Their mountain streams have good flows, lots of shade, and cooler water temperatures that make for comfortable wet wading. After the latest round of rain, anglers should be looking to throw big bushy dry flies, beetles, ants, and droppers for brook trout. The larger rivers are running a tad dirty, but bass fishing for smallmouth should pick up once water clarity reaches two or three feet, and topwater fishing should be much better once visibility gets to four or five feet.

Several reader reports of good bass fishing came in this week, both from reservoirs (Deep Creek and Lake Anna) and from local ponds. All shared one similarity: there was good action up until eight or nine o’clock, then it petered out and was done by 10 o’clock in the morning. One reader said spinnerbaits were doing the trick and another had excellent luck putting bluegill under a bobber. Some crappie were reported as well. Snakehead fishing reports have also been good as we are in the peak of the summer bite. Most of the fish are located in areas with thick vegetation or in marshy areas. Anglers on the Potomac River are doing well with topwater frogs over grass beds. The Potomac tributaries are known for producing big fish, and we have heard of several double-digit snakeheads caught across several areas of the river in recent weeks. Damien Cook of Lowland Outfitters has also enjoyed a hot snakehead bite on recent guided trips around the Blackwater area. On a recent kayak guided trip, he put his anglers on nine snakeheads and another trip saw half a dozen caught. Swimbaits, spinners, and chatterbaits have been working well along the marsh banks and in open water.

Freshwater Fishing Report, July 25 Update:

FishTalk’s Zach Ditmars reports excellent Potomac River blue catfish action in DC (with Capitol Blues Fishing Charters and Fish the Potomac charters) after winning a slot in the CCA catfishing raffle. 50 or so eating-sized fish and one larger blue cat eating a mix of eel chunks and mackerel. The mackerel drew more bites, but an eel chunk remained on the hook for one fish after the next. Blue catfish are a reliable target in most of the Chesapeake Bay tidal rivers. The Susquehanna, Potomac, Rappahannock, and James Rivers are notorious for producing trophy sized blue catfish upwards of 50 pounds. These fish will be residing along deeper channel edges to seek out cooler water temperatures. Smallmouth bass are also very active in our region’s freshwater rivers right now, and they are in their full summer pattern. Deeper holes in the rivers will be good places to fish when the sun is up, shallower runs and riffles can offer great topwater opportunities in low light conditions. The Monocacy is a popular river for smallmouth anglers to fish and it is a great location to wade fish. The summer can produce big number days as long as the water is clean. The upper Potomac is another river that offers great opportunities for wade fishing. Make sure to check local USGS flow gauges before hitting the river to make sure conditions are safe.

FishTalk contributor David Rudow reports that snakehead are active on the lower Eastern Shore, and he enjoyed a decent evening bite during a kayak trip this week. Topwater frogs were the ticket. Another reader fishing on a tributary of the Potomac River wrote in and said that the snakehead fishing has been very good in areas with thick vegetation, especially hydrilla. The snakes are biting throughout the day, with topwater frogs being the go to for fishing the grasses. Fry ball season is also still in full swing and on calm days it has been fairly easy to spot them bubbling at the surface. Bass fishing has also been good across the region and Bassmaster is hosting the St. Croix Bassmaster Open event on the upper Chesapeake Bay this week. The results after two days of fishing have shown some impressive bags so far, with the top 10 anglers all over 34 pounds. The upper Chesapeake Bay on the Susquehanna Flats and the North East River has a robust bass fishery that attracts professional anglers for national events every year.

Freshwater Fishing Report, July 18 Update:

The summer heat has ramped up, and fish are responding much like we are. More active in the mornings and evenings. Readers hitting the area ponds and lakes report that bass are biting, but it’s mostly an early morning game. One said that the action was solid up to 9:00 and then the fish shut down. FishTalk contributor Eric Packard made it out on his kayak at St. Mary’s Lake during the heatwave this week. Eric caught 14 largemouth bass, three pickerel, three yellow perch, and six crappie. That’s a great day on the water. Another angler fishing St. Mary’s Lake recently put together a full stringer of crappie, a few yellow perch, and even a few jumbo bluegill. Most of the fish were caught using small panfish jigs. A reader fishing a private southern Maryland pond reported that the bass bite was slow until the last hour of light where he had good topwater action, throwing frogs next to shorelines with thick brush. Most of the bass he caught were sitting within a foot or two of the bank and were very reactive to his frog lure.

The larger central Maryland reservoirs are great options for fishing at this time of year as they have much deeper water than many of the local ponds and lakes. Their deeper waters can offer cooler water temperatures and relief from the blazing summer heat. Liberty, Loch Raven, Prettyboy, and Triadelphia all have unique freshwater angling opportunities. Each location has largemouth bass that often feed in the shallows during low light conditions this time of year. Once the sun gets up, they will transition to shaded shorelines, fallen trees, and deeper ledges. Triadelphia Reservoir and Loch Raven Reservoir have a healthy population of pike that are fun to catch and can get well over 30”. Pickerel are also prevalent in these waters, so there are plenty of toothy critters to target. Liberty Reservoir has land-locked striped bass that do not fall under the Chesapeake Bay no targeting closure. Anglers looking to find freshwater locations close to them should visit the Maryland DNR freshwater fishing hotspots website.

Freshwater Fishing Report, July 11 Update:

Largemouth bass are following the pattern of most anglers right now. That is to be more active in the early mornings and late evenings than in the middle of the day when air temperatures are hottest. Contributor Eric Packard says that despite the heat, bass are still willing to hit in some local ponds, and one afternoon early this week wacky worms were doing the trick. Largemouth bass will usually be the most active right at sunrise and right before sunset in the middle of summer. Overcast and rainy days can keep them active and feeding well into the day, and we have had plenty of rainy days recently to offer a longer bite window. On sunny days, they will seek cover from the sun along shaded shorelines, under fallen trees, and in deeper waters with structure or vegetation. In our larger central Maryland Reservoirs, bass and other gamefish can be found in the shallows near structure and near shoreline points with drop offs. Deep diving crankbaits can be a great lure to throw along the drop offs in deeper water.

This summer has been much different than last year as we have no shortage of rain. We have been in a consistent pattern of afternoon thunderstorms for several days during the week, and the western region’s trout waters have been exhibiting good flows thanks to it. We checked in with Mossy Creek Fly Fishing, and they said that most of the mountain streams are running strong, the spring creeks are full, and the bass rivers are at fishable levels. They report that mountain stream fishing has been good with most attractor dry flies, ants, beetles, and nymph droppers. When water levels surge, they recommend giving streamer fishing for brook trout a try. They will chase size 8 and 10 streamers, and you will be surprised by the size of some of the fish that you may catch! Right now, tricos are the best and most predictable hatch on the spring creeks, but Japanese beetles are starting to cover the streamside vegetation. The water in the larger smallmouth rivers has been a little dirty thanks to the rain, but clarity should be improving daily. Topwater fishing will pick up as clarity improves, and we are starting to see the annual cicada hatch. In higher water periods, anglers are doing best with crayfish patterns in the eddies or baitfish along the flooded vegetation and along the rocky shoals.

Freshwater Fishing Report, July 4 Update:

The summer heat has kicked in, and water temperatures are very warm in many of our ponds, lakes, and reservoirs. Fishing during low light hours will be best for largemouth bass anglers, but bluegill are usually willing to hit throughout the day. They can be spotted along shallow shorelines in most of the ponds in our region. They will usually bite nightcrawlers and small panfish jigs. A reader checked in after laying down the law on bluegill up at Deep Creek Lake last weekend. We are in peak season for vacationers at Deep Creek, so there will be a lot of boat traffic during most days. The best way to still have success when fishing there is to get an early start, or fish late in the evening. Smallmouth bass, pickerel, pike, sunfish, and perch can be caught by fishing around floating docks and in coves with shoreline structure. Deeper ledges will also be good ambush spots for bass and walleye. The larger tidal rivers such as the Susquehanna, Potomac, Rappahannock, and James have been offering good smallmouth fishing for the first half of summer. Flows have been high at times due to the several rounds of thunderstorms that have been moving through the area, but it is still fishable. Deeper holes and runs have been holding smallies willing to hit jigs, swimbaits, and topwater lures.

We are in the thick of fry ball season for snakehead fishing with reports of fry popping up all over the region. Reports Editor Dillon Waters had a good outing for snakeheads on a Potomac River tributary last weekend. He and another angler took their kayaks and landed a combined eight snakeheads and a handful of largemouth bass while fishing over hydrilla and lily pads. They only threw topwater frogs and most of the snakeheads were caught on fry balls. They spotted over a dozen fry balls throughout the trip with about half having parent snakehead guarding the fry. Their two biggest snakeheads were 32” and 34” with several others in the mid 20” range. FishTalk contributor Adam Greenberg also tried for snakehead this week, though he wasn’t as successful while fishing at a lake near Laurel. Adam said he saw plenty of fry balls and fish popping the surface, but the snakeheads just wouldn’t bite his frog. Snakeheads will usually be in thick vegetation this time of year, so topwater is usually the way to go. They also work great for fishing fry balls as you can pause the topwater over the fry and twitch it. This usually entices a bite if there is a parent nearby. FishTalk contributor Zach Ditmars found a nice early morning bass bite on a Calvert County pond this week. Topwater frogs and inline spinners with paddletails did the trick. Once the sun came over the trees, the bite shut down.