R1Peacock

I’ve lived in the area for 20 years and frequent Longarm Dam / Lawrence B. Sheppard Reservoir 2-3 times per month (live 12 minutes from the ramp). Back when my wife and I first moved to the area we use to take walks on the dam (Pre 9/11) and use to see smallmouth in the shallows near the riprap. I use to regularly catch smallmouth along the riprap and in the area of some of the long submerged points. In 2002 I was fishing one of the coves up from the boat ramp with a crankbait and caught my personal best smallmouth from there measuring 23 inches (5 lb+ class fish). In the nearly 20 years since catching that fish I have caught no smallmouth. Plenty of 3-5 pound largemouth but no smallmouth. Walking the shoreline with my dog I seldom even see anymore smallmouth. Has anyone caught any decent smallmouth in recent years? The lake can be hard to fish when the water goes down. Since Impounding Dam Reservoir can’t hold sufficient water Hanover now draws water from Longarm Dam. They posted signs in recent months alerting about reduced water levels due to water demand for the surrounding area.

Lee, If your at the Rt. 40 bridge you will need to walk south about 100 yards or so before the river opens up into deeper pools. This depends of course on rainfall. In addition if they have not already I know there were plans to dismantle the old dam some time in late 2009 or 2010. This will also impact the river flow in the immediate area. The smallmouth are river fish and it doesn't take much to hold fish in an area. The water is mostly knee deep with a few areas deeper. You can walk the railroad tracks south and look for an area that looks good. You can also park in Ellicott City and walk north. If you park at the church and walk through the park you can enter the river at several places. Contact me direct and I can talk to you more about several locations. Take a look at Bing Maps. The best areas that I fished when I was young ran parallel with Westchester Avenue from about Rest Avenue to about St. Johnsbury. In that stretch there is an area we use to call Sandy Point. South of Sandy Point is an area that is waist deep for about 100 yards. r1peacock@aol.com

I grew up in the area and use to fish the Patapsco River several times a week. Using small Rebel crankbaits such as the Wee Frog or a simple Chartruese Twistertail should result in a 50 fish day with no problem. The fish in the Patapsco are not that big. If you catch a 16 inch Smallmouth consider it a trophy. Most will be in the 10-12 inch range. There are sections of the river that you can have to yourself if you don't mind driving a short distance. I use to fish the Rt. 40 bridge to Ellicott City Section when I was young and had it all to myself. You can park at a church near Rockwell Ave and Westchester Ave and walk a short distance through the woods to the river. I now have a boat and either fish the Upper Bay or Potomac. I have not fished the Patapsco for many years. Each year I say I'm going to swing by my old neighborhood but I never find the time. Most of the river in that section is knee deep with a few deeper pools. The only warning I will give is pay attention to the weather. The river can rise quickly after a storm and remain high for several days. --- Good Luck

Do you have a boat or are you walking the shore? I have fished there a few times in a boat and know of a few areas that hold fish. Basically now due to the colder temps you need to cover as much water as possible to find a location that is holding fish. You need a good search bait such as a Bandit Flat Maxx (Shallow Diver) in Salad Bar color. The Flat Maxx works great in cooler water situations due to its rolling action. You can also try a 1/8 oz. Shaky Head rigged Strike King 4 inch Finesse Worm in Green Pumpkin / Red. If it gets colder your gonna want to use a blade bait such as a Cicada or Silver Buddy. Look for something baitfish can relate to (rocks, grass edges, tree branches, drainage pipes). When the sun is out at it's warmest concentrate on hard objects that hold heat.

Just saw your post..... A little late to help with your tournament but I can help for any fishing in that area in the future. Contact me direct and I can send you safe navigation trails in Lowrance Format as well as a .pdf map I made that shows areas that hold fish in the Dundee, Flats, Northeast River areas etc.... Rich r1peacock@aol.com

If you are fishing from the shore I would shy away from Piney Run. Piney Run has limited shore line opportunities since it is only 300 acres of which most is surrounded by private land owners. Since Liberty Reservoir is owned by Baltimore City there is plenty of shore line on both the Baltimore County and Carroll County shore. Boating has its pros and cons for each. The biggest con for Liberty is that you have to get a permit and sign an affidavit which limits your boating use to only Liberty, Loch Raven and Prettyboy Reservoirs. I think Loch Raven even charges an additional fee. The biggest con for Piney Run is that it is small in size and can get crowded. It draws a great deal of Kayaks and Canoes and those people are mindless when it comes to avoiding areas you are fishing. Piney Run also develops huge grass beds that can further limit the area to fish starting in mid June. You can fish the grass edge and small holes in the grass but any downed trees and stumps are impossible to reach. May is the best time to fish Piney Run from a boat. There are several points that extend to deeper water and have submerged stumps that fill up quick with spawning fish. There is also areas of submerged stumps throughout the reservoir that offer good quality bass fishing. The key to Piney Run is locating the many stumps that are submerged. If you have a 20 fish day you had a bad day. You should easily catch 30+ fish during the month of May with a few females weighing 5 pounds or more. You may also get a surprise. Piney Run has some pretty huge Muskys that love crankbaits and spinnerbaits. The best baits to use to catch numbers is a wacky rigged 4 inch Senko or a Yamamoto Shad Shaped Worm. If you want larger fish stick to jigs and spinnerbaits. Since I have a 20 foot bass boat I have never boated on Liberty. But growing up in the area I will warn you to pay close attention to the weather. Several areas of Liberty are wide open and winds can kick up some nasty waves that can impact your boating if you have a small boat.

I normally run the upper channel across the top of the Flats from Havre De Grace to get into the North East River. Can you run directly across the mouth of the Northeast River (west to east) to get to Cara Cove? Do I need to come into the North East River a bit to pick up the channel or is there safe water across the mouth?

Unless things have changed recently you should have no problem launching your boat there. I've launched there a few times in the past. Parking can sometimes be a problem depending on tourist and people watching the planes take off. Be carefull as you leave the ramp area. Your in a section off the Potomac called Roaches Run and as you exit into the main river the airport side contains a few snags. GMCO makes probably the best map of the Potomac. It outlines all of the channels and depths throughout the river. You can pick up the Pro Series Tidal Potomac River map at Bass Pro Shops for under $10.00. You can also order it as well from their website www.gmcomaps.com A great book to pick up about the Potomac is Ken Penrod's Tidal Potomac River Fishing Bible. It's a few year old but the book offers some great detail about the river and a thorough guide to specific areas to fish. It is broken down creek by creek from north to south so it is very easy to follow. I'm not sure if the book is sold at Bass Pro Shops. I bought mine at a seminar and know you can buy it on Penrod's website.

I'm probably going to head out this weekend to do some fishing in the Susquehanna Flats area. I've fished the area in the past numerous times. On my way back from the Northeast I wanted to try north of the bridges around Garrett Island. Does anyone have any pointers for smallmouth / largemouth. Thanks.... Rich Peacock Westminster, Maryland Champion 198 Elite / 200HP VMax

I've been going to the show since the late 80's and I have notice a decline every year. I would not expect to get a good deal on anything that is new this year. Most of the deals will be on closeouts or discontinued items. You can find a few new baits but I'd rather sit at home and surf the internet to do that. A friend of mine runs probably the largest booth there www.hawgheadbaits.com. If I were you I'd go to Outdoor World and Cabelas if your looking for common lures.

I grew up in Catonsville and fished the Patapsco river almost daily growing up. I have not fshed it for several years since getting married. Each year I promiss myself that I'm going to fish the river again but for whatever reason I never seem to get the time. I mostly fish the Potomac and Upper Bay now out of a $40K Bass Boat but I still miss those days when i was younger on the river. You can fish all day on some sections and have the entire river to yourself -- tons of wildlife, deer, beaver, etc... Growing up my friends and I would spend the day wading the section from the Route 40 Bridge down to Ellicott City. I have also fished on the river north of the Route 40 Bridge (Daniels Area) and south near Elkridge in the State Park. No matter where you fish on the river you can expect to catch the same thing. Plenty of bluegill and tons of small smallmouth bass. You can use any number of artificial lures for either species (beetle spins, small crank baits and small twister tail grubs in Chart or Chart with Silver Sparkle always worked for me). Watch the weather before you go fishing. The river will rise rather quickly during a thunderstorm. Several people drowned over a three year period back in the late 80's - early 90's. The river is mostly shallow (knee deep) but there are several holes that get deeper. You will catch a lot of fish starting in mid to late April through the Fall. Most of the smallmouth will average under 12 inches with maybe one a year over 14 inches. Its still a blast on ultra-light gear. In good water you can have a 50 fish day easily. --- Good Luck Rich Westminster, Maryland

If your fishing Strike King 3x worms the "Bite Me" Shakey Jighead is great. Same one said to be used by KVD. They are sold by packs of 4 or 25. Best value around is http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/Search/bite%20me.aspx The 3x worm stays on this head and will not come off.

I've been looking to replace my prop on my Minn Kota Trolling Motor. Kipawa Props makes a replacement for my motor. The company claims that their props give more speed and power at reduced trolling motor settings and an increase in battery life. Has anyone ever used one of these props? I've read reviews and all are possitive except one that said it overheated the motor. Anyone have any experience with these props????? Thanks, Rich Westminster, Maryland 2004 Champion 198 Elite w/Yamaha 200HP VMAX

You can vent... I worked at the Baltimore BPS store and know how things can be. Bass Pro would advertise stuff on the front page knowing it would be a hot seller and only get a couple of the product in. I went to the Classic in Harrisburg this past weekend... Why I have no idea. Crowded and they had nothing I wanted.... Watch FLW and BASS and what do they mostly mention it seems -- Shakey Head Fishing. I go to BPS on Sunday and they have 4 pegs slotted for Strike King 3x Finesse Worms and a few pegs slotted for Shakey Head Jigheads.... Everything was gone and I got there at 9:00 in the morning. They also advertised their high end Gortex rain gear on sale. I get there and the only size they have is 3XL -- What the heck is that...... I think I'll stick with internet ordering. No crowd and you can normally find what you want..............

I damaged my skeg loading my boat back on the trailer early last year at the ramp (low water and I hit bottom pretty hard). The impact took a pretty good chunk off the bottom of my skeg on a 200HP Yamaha VMAX. I purchased the stainless steel "Skegpro". It is about a 2 1/2 inch piece of stainless steel that slips on the skeg. You then need to drill one small hole and fasten a very small nut and bolt. I've had my boat on the water since the installation at speeds +/- 70 mph and have seen no performance difference. I grazed a rock late last year after the installation and it did not even scratch the stainless steel. Well worth the investment and 1/2 hour installation time. I have never seen or spoke to anyone that used the new polymer skeg guards. My only worry would be it eventually coming loose and if you hit something hard I'm sure it would show damage easier than the stainless steel. If I want to remove mine I just loosen the nut and bolt and take it off. How do you remove one that is glued on? Also any marks on mine can be easily buffed out with a fine grade steel wool. I'm not talking you out of the polymer version --- I'm just posing thinking questions that I would ask myself in a similar situation....