Freshwater Fishing Report, September 25 Update:
Trout anglers continue to experience sub-par conditions, as water levels are low in many of the northern and western areas of our region. Streams farther south are looking a bit better, as they received more of the recent rains and have also had time to settle down from the initial impact. Mossy creek reports that smallmouth action can be expected to drop as temps continue to fall but brook trout are a good bet; nymphs and dry flies are the ticket. Contributor Eric Packard traveled out to Hunting Creek in an effort to avoid the recent blustery winds and targeted brown trout with limited success. He noted that while many areas in the southern section of our region have been blasted with rain in recent weeks that’s not true for northern areas, so the creek was running very low and fishing was very difficult. He also mentioned that several of his western shore snakehead hotspots had been slow recently, with topwater frogs supplying the few and far between blow-ups.
Speaking of snakeheads: we had a couple of reports from Blackwater and one from the western shore (Calvert County) of some success, but overall slow action, likely due in no small part to the weather. That said, it does sound like minnow are becoming the best offering and Snakehead Destroyers were called out more than once. Lure-caught fish were on chatterbaits and swimbaits, though if the weather calms a bit and we have some strong sunshine, topwater could start happening again at any time.
Largemouth are grooving on the changing weather, and reports from the reservoirs and lakes around the dial are of a solid bite. Contributor Jim Gronaw found his PB kayak bass at around 23-inches this week, which hit a five-inch Shimmy Stick. The Tackle Box notes that crappie will be active with these cooling temps, too.
Freshwater Fishing Report, September 18 Update:
In the rivers, bass have been a bit finicky depending on where you are and what the conditions are like. Contributor Eric Packard fished the upper Pax with FishTalk team member David Rudow and caught some bass, but noted that they weren’t biting with abandon last week. In the Gunpowder, bass and snakehead are active. Bass are moving around structure, with jerkbaits and chatterbaits hot. Tochterman’s crew member Tim Campbell reported that the Bush River and Dundee Creek are also hotspots. In the shallows, they’ve been hitting number three and four Mepp’s Aglias without hair, chatterbaits, and ZMans. What happens in the next few days, of course, all depends on how much rain fall and where it lands…
B&B Tackle let us know that Lake Marburg’s crappie bite is off the hook. They’re hanging around structure and widely available right now, hitting little shad and spinners. The small Berkley Gulp! Minnows are working well for them and for perch as well. For the bass, chatterbaits have been getting them to bite in the lake. We didn’t have any first-hand reports from the Baltimore or VA reservoirs this week but we’d expect the same to be true; both crappie and bass should be working hard to fatten up for the coming winter. The one hitch, of course, is the recent rainfall; as we were prepping our report some areas of Virginia and southern parts of Maryland were getting hit pretty hard – hopefully, flooding won’t muddy up the waters too much. Contributor Jim Gronaw checked in and let us know that the up-river smallmouth fishing had indeed been a bit sketchy, though some anglers are getting them. Once again, just where you go and how recent the rains were will be important factors in the coming days.
Snakehead reports continue to be better from eastern shore anglers than those probing western shore haunts. Actually, we only heard from one reader who had success on the west side this week (just two fish, with one nice at 28 inches) while several checked in from the Blackwater zone with catches of four to six fish. Still not stellar but it seems like a fall bite is in the making, and topwater was the move. Just for the record, we also heard from a couple of anglers who zeroed on the snakes but did catch a few bass.
Freshwater Fishing Report, September 11 Update:
Reservoirs are a good bet these days, with some of the rivers and streams just now getting back to normal (Mossy Creek is reporting that the Shenandoah should be good this week but the James needs more time to drop). Deep Creek Outfitters is anticipating a lull in boat traffic post-Labor Day, which is great news for anglers in that area. Largemouth and smallmouth both remain active in the lake, and are still in summer behavior patterns. The topwater bite has been excellent recently, especially in the mornings and evenings. There’s still enough heat to make the fish lethargic during the day. The same pattern is true in Lake Anna, where a similar drop in traffic should allow for better fishing in the near future.
Snakehead fishing has still been on the slow side on the western shore. We heard from three readers who tried various areas north of Baltimore and off the Potomac, who all skunked on the snakes and caught only bass. Eastern shore snakers did better but not fantastic, with two to five fish being the norm. Remember that if you’re headed for Key Wallace there are new parking restrictions in effect, with a lot in front of Wildlife Drive available to anglers. You’ll have around a third of a mile to hike as a result, but you can drop your gear first then drive back. (Reports are that the shoulders were getting worn away by all the cars parking on them).
One more note on the freshwater front, we heard from a reader that while catfish fishing up the James has been a bit slower than usual recently and the water’s very high at the moment, there was scuttlebutt of a fish in the 90 to 100 pound class caught this week in the Dutch Gap area. (We’ll update this report if we can get confirmation).
Freshwater Fishing Report, September 4 Update:
Rain this week has mixed up the freshwater scene a bit, although its impacts have been localized and one stream or river to the next can have very different conditions. The storms Thursday night had a bigger impact than even the hurricane in some areas, so be prepared to move on when presented with churned water and muddy conditions. Assuming you can find some clean water, large and small mouth bass remain active in the Baltimore area reservoirs, Deep Creek, and the Virginia reservoirs, though lakes with high traffic can be expected to get busy this weekend. As a general rule the best fishing has been on the shoreline structure early and late, and a bit deeper off underwater points and drop-offs once the heat of the day kicks in. Contributor Eric Packard hiked into St. Mary’s Lake one day this week and enjoyed a catch mostly of largemouth bass on frogs. As water temps begin cooling down, the bass should only grow more and more aggressive.
Snakehead sharpies reported an on-again, off-again bite this week. We had one reader report of a few fish in the Potomac, but we also heard from some hitting other western shore areas (the Gunpowder and Back River) that they couldn’t get them to bite. Reports from the Blackwater were better but not great, with one to four fish the range. Chatterbaits and frogs were top picks for those finding success.