Freshwater Fishing Report, February 25 Update:
Trout stockings continue at a rapid clip, with readers and Contributor Eric Packard reporting good luck with fast catches at recently enriched locations. Mid-week there may have been a weather-related lull in the action, however, as AIC Lenny Rudow reports hitting Tuckahoe Creek with a friend the day after 1,500 trout were dropped in yet catching zero fish and seeing just one caught among the dozens of anglers lining the bank. Interestingly, we heard a similar reader report from an angler fishing Beaver Creek where the fish appeared to be spooked or otherwise resistant to biting. It’s a good reminder that thanks to things like pressure changes and water conditions, there’s just no such thing as a sure thing when it comes to fishing. Still, the stockers provide a shot as close as it gets and by the end of the week we’d already heard from anglers catching their limit in hours. If you want to target these fish and haven't grabbed your March edition of FishTalk yet, be sure to snag one - there's a how-to feature by Freshwater Correspondent Jim Gronaw on how to target them, and the edition is now out on the streets.
Reports from the Eastern Shore millponds coming in late in the week were quite good, with anglers taking a mix of crappie, bass, and pickerel. Both minnow and jerkbaits were effective. Contributor Eric Packard also hit St. Mary’s Lake plus a southern Maryland farm pond and the bass in particular were hitting strong; he noted that 30-ish fish (between three anglers) struck jerkbaits.
The catfish action was also steady this week, particularly in the Susquehanna, where both shoreline and boat anglers targeting catfish enjoyed nonstop bites. In fact, one reader noted a rather epic 55-fish catch with a mix of blues and channels on cut bait and worms fished on bottom rigs.
Snakehead number two of 2022 popped up during the warm weather mid-week, proving that you can in fact target these fish year-round. Warm, sunny afternoons are the ideal time to go for ‘em, and while minnow are common winter baits, at least one of the two early birds so far were taken casting lures. Blackwater and its shallow, fast-warming waters will be a solid bet for those who can’t wait for summer to arrive.
We also had a catch of note to report this week, a 46-inch musky caught by Cliff Hutt on the James while out fishing with Sam Scott of Blue Ridge Musky. That’s one very sweet winter catch!!
Freshwater Fishing Report, February 18 Update:
Anglers looking for a fresh trout dinner have lots of options at this point, with stocking well underway in many areas. Readers checked in from multiple areas this week after hitting recently stocked ponds casting spinners (Junior J says they were rambunctious for Rooster Tails), float-n-flies, and Berkley Trout Nuggets with excellent success — some have reported limit catches during quick after-work stops at local ponds.
On the Eastern Shore at least some of the millponds are back in form after last week’s tough bite, and Contributor Eric Packard reports catching a nice mix of crappie, bass, and pickerel on his trip last weekend. However, he noted that the first pond he hit didn’t produce, and it required yanking the kayak and re-launching in another before locating the fish that were willing to bite.
We had reports of an active bite from the hardwater, with Dave Sikorski (of CCA-MD) hitting Cunningham Falls with six-to-eight inches of ice underfoot. He scored some panfish on small jigs. Anglers on Deep Creek managed to find some fish this week too, and yellow perch, walleye, and bluegill were all biting. A range of one to six fish seemed standard, for an overall average week. Minnows were getting the fish to bite.
Freshwater Fishing Report, February 11 Update:
The ice has left most waterways from the major metro areas and east, allowing far better access than we have had the last couple weeks prior. Contributor Eric Packard hit St. Mary’s Lake early this week, found 40-degree water, and found crappie and pickerel willing to bite. Later in the week he hit the millponds, where he discovered ice-free waters in the low-40s. However, he said it seemed that the pickerel had lockjaw and they played tough to get. Other lake and pond reports from the area were mixed: anglers using live minnows had some good luck mid-week, but we heard from a few guys who had a slow day casting plastics and spoons. Overall, the bite has been on and off, but this could just be chalked up to the weather.
As for ice anglers heading out west, as of early this week the ice was still in good shape with five-plus inches of the good black stuff reported near the park plus some thicker pockets of ice here and there. The bite was slow, though, with just bluegills and a few perch biting. Remember to be careful and check ice thickness wherever you go; there's another deep-freeze coming out there so it should be possible to find fishable ice through the next week or two.
No word from the winter cat hunters this week with the exception of the Potomac where one reader reported decent action on gizzard shad, but again we’d say the lack of intel is likely due to the awful weather last weekend and early in the week. No doubt today and tomorrow will see some additional effort thanks to this recent warming trend.
On the trout front, fish are going into the water in solid numbers. This week the Maryland DNR stocked in 11 different waterways in six different counties and Virginia put a mix of rainbows and brook trout in at a dozen locations since Monday. Contributor Packard hit one of the Calvert County stocked locations on Thursday and had nonstop action, as did another angler there he spoke with. The fish, literally by the dozens, were hitting wooly buggers and Panther Martin spinners and it was “like fishing in a barrel.” Here are your links to see where the trout have been stocked:
Freshwater Fishing Report, February 4 Update:
Those willing tromping out onto the ice amid wind and snow have been enjoying some good action at Deep Creek Lake, and we heard from several readers this week of decent if not red-hot ice fishing action. Yellow perch, walleye, and pike have all been on the prowl, as Nick found while pulling ‘em up through the ice holes.
We heard quite a few reports from anglers who hit the hardwater and managed to get into perch in a fair to good way with catches of a half-dozen or so fish plus a couple-few walleye common. Walleye were reported to be biting right at dusk. In Cherry Creek Cove the ice was reported to be four to six inches and beneath five or so inches of snow. Remember, a layer of snow can actually retard ice formation since it acts as an insulator, and it was noted that the ice thickness is not uniform — wherever you go, caution is required. With the late week warm-up ice in some areas could be unpredictable.
Contributor Eric Packard visited St. Mary’s Lake late this week and reported that the ice was gone, but the fish weren’t terribly cooperative. He found a few pickerel and a bass wiling to take minnow fished near bottom. As for the millponds, as of mid-week they were still iced in. The recent rain probably has them open again, but as we compiled the report we hadn’t received any firsthand confirmation.
On the trout front, Virginia has announced the need to postpone some recently scheduled stockings due to the weather. The Department of Wildlife Resources says they’ll make up the stockings and the same number of trout will eventually hit the water, just with a bit of (an understandable) delay. Note: The DWR also reminded us this month that the stripers and wipers are active in Lake Anna despite the chill, and shoreline anglers can get in on the “warm side” fishery at the Dike 3 access.