patred

Snakeheads haven't been reported above Great Falls on the Potomac AFAIK, so they probably shouldn't be above Savage Mill on the Little Patuxent unless someone put them there. Pat

That's about all I've been catching the river smallmouth on lately. Pat

Fished the Upper Potomac on Sunday and caught nine fish -- eight smallmouth and a sunfish. One smallmouth was about 14 inches and another was 12, but the rest were dinks. Caught the majority with a Z-Man TRD Finesse Worm with a couple on a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper. Today I hit another part of the Upper Potomac I had never fished before and caught eight fish -- six smallmouth, one tiny largemouth and a sunfish. It was actually the first largemouth I've caught on the Potomac -- seen little ones here and there but never caught one until today. It might have been six inches. One of the smallmouth was 15" (first picture) and fought like a ... well ... a smallmouth that thought it was bigger than it was! Everything today was on a Z-Man worm. Also saw something lurking against the bank (second picture).

Caught this smallmouth on the Upper Potomac over the weekend. Only about 13.5 inches, but check out the tail. Also on one side right below the dorsal fins, it looks like it had been stabbed, and there's another mark on the other side. Maybe tussled with a boat prop or trolling motor? Definitely a healthy fish otherwise because it fought like a typical smallmouth. Pat

Caught another smallmouth today that reminded me of this fish. Pat

I saw a few fish like that on the Little Patuxent late last year. Not that many, though, two or three at a time (if they were even different fish) swimming together. I thought they were trout but when I got a better look they were almost solid gray in color and had more of a football shape. Pat

From the Susquehanna last month, my tube hanging from the smallmouth's jaw, another tube (not ours) in the middle, and a live crawfish to the right. Pat

Got a couple smallmouth yesterday on the skinny "river" near my house, one 12" and another 11." Also lost one that was around 12 and another around 10. Also caught a fallfish, but those little b astards shouldn't count for anything. Interest was half and half on swimbaits and Z-Man TRD finesse worms. Pat

Finally something decent on the Little Patuxent, a 12"+ smallmouth. Hadn't caught much this year except a couple dinks and a bunch of fallfish (which fight like wet socks). Pat

Where on the Little Patuxent can someone on the other side of the river not cast to your side of the river? Asking for a friend. Pat

I like keeping my spots* secret, but it was kind of funny when I went to my "secret spot" on the Little Patuxent a couple weeks ago. I've NEVER seen anybody fishing this one section. But on one of the sandbars I found a new plastic bag with two curly tail grubs. It wasn't dirty like it washed up there -- someone had to have dropped it. I felt violated because somebody had been fishing in MY spot! Pat *Unless we're talking the Potomac, then I'll mention at least where I parked.

I started using the Z-man worms last spring* and fished them heavily for the rest of the year. I don't think I ever had to replace a worm because it was torn up. Only replaced a worm when the jig got snagged. * Caught a 15" smallmouth on the Potomac on the very first cast with a Z-man worm. Pat

I don't remember where I heard it, here or another forum but the best lure for smallmouth is something that resembles your pinky finger. Tube or plastic worm, about 3" long, put it on a jighead and bounce it off the bottom. Pat

Sometimes don't feel like a true fisherman using them. Cast out, reel in steadily so they swim just below the surface. Catch fish. Bass Pro Shops makes a "Sassy Sally" which looks almost exactly like the Little Dippers, but they don't have quite the same action. Pat

For most of last year, I used TRD Finesse worms (Ned Rig) and the Reaction Innovations Little Dippers. Maybe 75% of the fish I caught were on those two. I mainly fish the Upper Potomac and a smaller "river" near my house. Pat

If you want overkill, try Knipex mini bolt cutters. They slice hooks like butter. Pat

Reminds me of an encounter I had last year with the pickerel's largest cousin on a creek right where it fed into the Potomac. Just sat there and looked at the Zara Spook then slowly swam away. Kept casting and casting and later had a smaller muskie (only about two feet long) look at it, then just settle on the bottom of the creek. Pat

I'm not sure if it applies, at least when registering my car trailer, it's wayyyyy cheaper to get Maine tags, and registration is for five years. I would imagine it would be the same for boat trailers??? Just about all my "car friends" have Maine license plates on their trailers. Pat

Just keep some bass. Not everything but impose a personal slot limit, like only keep largemouth between *** inches. Pat

Lately I've been using Z-Man worms and swimbaits on the Little Patuxent. I usually carry two rods, one medium-light spincast rod with 6-lb fluorocarbon for the worms (or anything else to bounce off the bottom) and a medium spincast rod with 8-lb mono for the swimbaits (or topwater and jerk/crankbaits -- although water is too shallow right now for the latter, though). Caught five smallmouths on Sunday including one that was 13 inches. Pat

More likely carp. I didn't catch anything near Dam 4 the other night either. Had one 11-12" smallmouth on that freed itself within a few feet from me, and one other hookup (didn't see it) and that was it. Usually I do pretty good there. Pat

The only legal-sized smallmouth on the Little Patuxent. Caught it today, so not worth going back because he won't bite on anything else. Pat

Ain't no smallmouth in that river ... stay home!! Pat

Ten were on a swimbait and one was on a TRD Finesse worm. The first six were all sub-10-inch "cookie cutter" fish, then I landed the 16 incher. Then some more dinks, then the last one was 12 inches on the worm. Pat

Caught 11 smallmouth this morning near Antietam Creek, including one 16-incher. Three hours of fishing basically in one long section of riffles/rapids. Pat