Freshwater Fishing Reports

Freshwater Fishing Report, September 12 Update:

The cooler temperatures provide excellent conditions to fish for largemouth bass in our area's ponds, lakes, and reservoirs. Bass will be more active throughout the day, but fishing the mornings and evenings will still be a good bet, especially if you want to throw topwater lures. FishTalk contributor Eric Packard was out this week fishing a southern Maryland farm pond and reports that he caught 11 largemouth bass and seven crappie. The bass were caught on a shaky head jig with a Rapala Crush City Customs Janitor Worm in sprayed grass color. The crappie were caught on a small jig with a white twister tail. As we progress into fall, aquatic vegetation will begin to die off. The edges of these grass beds will be perfect locations to target largemouth bass. Whether it be arrowhead fields, hydrilla, waterweed, or other varieties, keep an eye out for these transition zones when fishing. Crappie will also be more active with cooler water temperatures, and the best time to target them is fall through spring when the weather is colder. Crappie are often found suspended near submerged structures such as trees, fallen wood, docks, rock piles, and bridge pilings.

The lack of rain has lowered water levels in our region’s freshwater rivers and streams. This has created good conditions to wade for smallmouth bass. A few of the more productive rivers include the Susquehanna, Potomac, Rappahannock, and James. A reader wrote in with a report after fishing the Monocacy south of Frederick last weekend. They said that the smallies were very active, but the fish were all on the small side. They caught over 20 smallmouth bass on jigs and swimbaits, but all were under 16 inches. When the water is running low and clear, anglers should use stealthy approaches and make long casts to avoid spooking fish. This rule also applies if you plan to fish the western trout streams. There are good opportunities right now in Maryland’s gear-restricted catch and release trout management waters. Anglers can find more information on area regulations on the Maryland Department of Natural Resources website. We are also approaching the start of stocking season, which usually starts in October, so be on the lookout for that.

Freshwater Fishing Report, September 5 Update:

The freshwater bite is going strong as temperatures have been below average over the past month. Contributor Eric Packard says the cool weather has kicked the freshwater fish into high gear, and at St. Mary’s Lake he was recently catching “every which way.” Largemouth bass, crappie, yellow perch, pickerel, and bluegill were all hitting with the best bite on a Wacky Worm fished over a weedbed in five to eight feet of water. Lipped plugs, shaky heads, jerkbaits, and Beetle Spins were catching, too. Another reader fishing a pond in southern Maryland said that the bass have been active in the evenings lately. While bank fishing, he caught half a dozen bass up to three pounds while throwing a chatterbait with a black and chartreuse paddletail. The smallmouth rivers have been running low and clear for the most part, as we have had very little rain over the past month. The Upper Potomac, Upper Rappahannock, Upper James, and the Monocacy are all in prime shape for wade fishing. Smallmouth anglers have been enjoying a great bite in these waters recently with crawfish imitations, swimbaits, and jigs all working.

FishTalk contributor Adam Greenberg checked in this week with a report from the Eastern Shore. He said he recently spent a few hours in the afternoon running around fishing spots in the vicinity of Cambridge searching for snakehead. He tried three areas and only caught one fish, though at the first two spots he had several blow ups on his topwater frog, the fish just missed it. At the third spot, he was pitching a weedless hook with an underspin and a white paddletail to half dead pad fields when he connected on a fish. As the weather cools off, seasonal aquatic grasses will begin to die off. The edges of these areas are great locations to search for predatory fish looking to ambush bait. As fall approaches, trout fishing is appearing on many anglers radar. Mossy Creek Fly Fishing reports that fishing in the western trout zones has been technical lately as water levels have been steadily dropping in recent weeks. They say that mountain streams are running very low and will require long leaders, a sneaky approach, and smaller flies in 14-16 range to keep from spooking fish. Spring creeks are seeing a lot of tricos, ants, beetles, and big grasshoppers along with hex hatching in the evening hours. Any cloudy weather and rain we get will present great opportunities for streamer fishing.