New to Maryland

[TNBankFishing]

Afternoon BR crew! I’ve recently accepted a new job in MD and have found a place to stay in Columbia. I spent an hour walking the two nearest lakes to my house and they were choked to death with vegetation. The lakes were Wilde and Kittamaqundi, both were unfishable. 
 

My neighbor recommended Centennial lake as a better option, but what do y’all think? I’m currently shore bound at the moment, and I’m not looking to buy another kayak or boat within the next year. 
 

I knew going in MD isn’t going to touch Tennessee in terms of bass, but the coastal fishing is a huge draw. 

[Junger]

Centennial will be less grassy on the rock wall side. Lake Elkhorn is also grassy, but fishable with a frog on the other side of the grass from the bank. But all those Columbia lakes are pressured and you'll want to fish early or late. There's also Little Patuxent River at Savage Mills on the other side of I-95 that you can hike, and has trout/snakeheads. If you have access to a kayak you can fish Rocky Gorge Reservoir from two landing areas.

 

[Susky River Rat]

You’re probably about an hour from the wingo dam. Could go there and rub shoulders with people. 

[Buzzbaiter]

Centennial is butt, imo. It’s really pressured and crowded, so I wouldn’t bother unless you know some top secret Japanese techniques to fool them. All the lakes in that area are pressured, but Kittamaqundi isn’t too bad; you just need to know how to approach it. Texas rigs and toads will get that job done. Fish Florida for a minute, and Kittamaqundi becomes light work. Granted, I haven’t fished there in a while, but it seems the lake hasn’t changed much.

 

The big three reservoirs are nice if you’re on the bank. Not too experienced with loch raven, but it’s not a bad place at all. You can rent a boat if you need, but launching your own will be difficult because of the regs. Liberty Reservoir is great for bank fishing. There’s trails to take you all over, so long as you’re fine with hiking, and maybe some bushwhacking. The major parking lots can be crowded on weekends, although you can usually walk away from most people. Generally, people don’t walk more than a mile from their put-in point. Regarding the actual fishing, Liberty is wood-oriented. There is some SAV that comes up, but it’s strategically negligible, imo. Loch Raven is more of a grass fishery, but not nearly to the same extent as Kittamaqundi, for instance. Fishing over the grassbeds can be solid, but there’s also wood to fall back on. I have very limited experience with Prettyboy, but iirc it’s similar to Loch Raven, only with a stronger smallmouth population. All three of the main reservoirs are largemouth dominant, however. Piney Run Reservoir is starkly different than the big three. It’s mostly pads, and everyone frogs. If you can flip and punch, you’ll be ahead of the rest. Piney run has an entrance fee and is moderately pressured.

 

Rocky Gorge, Clopper Lake, Lake Elkhorn, Wilde Lake, and Tridelphia are close to Columbia, but I haven’t fished them.
 

On the smallmouth front, the piedmont isn’t that great. The obvious choice for central MD smallies is the Patapsco. Great for numbers, iffy for size. It can get crowded, so be mindful of that. It’s worth the drive to head west for brown fish. The Potomac and all of its tributaries are solid. The Conococheague is good for numbers, with some big ones in the mix. The Monocacy wasn’t good to me in the past, but I hear it’s rebounded significantly; I’ll need to check it out. The main Potomac, especially the lower section, is where you go to target big smallmouth, at least I’ve heard. The Susquehanna is the Potomac’s eastern counterpart. The shad run is over, but you should be able to find plenty of other species to mess with over there. Flatheads, rockfish, snakehead, eels, suckers, and of course the smallmouth. The Susquehanna is touted as being one the of best smallmouth fisheries east of the Appalachians. I don’t have enough experience there to verify that verdict. I will say that wading the Susquehanna with  swim shorts and a pair of old sneakers will probably be difficult. The western rivers are kinder to that sort of fishing. 
 

While you’re in God’s Country, you should check out some of our other offerings, such as snakehead, rockfish, and brook trout. Aside from that, that’s about all I have to offer. If you have any questions, I’ll try to answer them. I’m honestly not that experienced fishing the area, or fishing in general. There are people on this forum that have been getting ‘er done in MD since before I was in diapers, so take their advice over mine. Above all, explore and figure stuff out for yourself. There are opportunities in central Maryland as long as you look for them. Good luck

[TNBankFishing]

9 hours ago, Buzzbaiter said:

Centennial is butt, imo. It’s really pressured and crowded, so I wouldn’t bother unless you know some top secret Japanese techniques to fool them. All the lakes in that area are pressured, but Kittamaqundi isn’t too bad; you just need to know how to approach it. Texas rigs and toads will get that job done. Fish Florida for a minute, and Kittamaqundi becomes light work. Granted, I haven’t fished there in a while, but it seems the lake hasn’t changed much.

 

The big three reservoirs are nice if you’re on the bank. Not too experienced with loch raven, but it’s not a bad place at all. You can rent a boat if you need, but launching your own will be difficult because of the regs. Liberty Reservoir is great for bank fishing. There’s trails to take you all over, so long as you’re fine with hiking, and maybe some bushwhacking. The major parking lots can be crowded on weekends, although you can usually walk away from most people. Generally, people don’t walk more than a mile from their put-in point. Regarding the actual fishing, Liberty is wood-oriented. There is some SAV that comes up, but it’s strategically negligible, imo. Loch Raven is more of a grass fishery, but not nearly to the same extent as Kittamaqundi, for instance. Fishing over the grassbeds can be solid, but there’s also wood to fall back on. I have very limited experience with Prettyboy, but iirc it’s similar to Loch Raven, only with a stronger smallmouth population. All three of the main reservoirs are largemouth dominant, however. Piney Run Reservoir is starkly different than the big three. It’s mostly pads, and everyone frogs. If you can flip and punch, you’ll be ahead of the rest. Piney run has an entrance fee and is moderately pressured.

 

Rocky Gorge, Clopper Lake, Lake Elkhorn, Wilde Lake, and Tridelphia are close to Columbia, but I haven’t fished them.
 

On the smallmouth front, the piedmont isn’t that great. The obvious choice for central MD smallies is the Patapsco. Great for numbers, iffy for size. It can get crowded, so be mindful of that. It’s worth the drive to head west for brown fish. The Potomac and all of its tributaries are solid. The Conococheague is good for numbers, with some big ones in the mix. The Monocacy wasn’t good to me in the past, but I hear it’s rebounded significantly; I’ll need to check it out. The main Potomac, especially the lower section, is where you go to target big smallmouth, at least I’ve heard. The Susquehanna is the Potomac’s eastern counterpart. The shad run is over, but you should be able to find plenty of other species to mess with over there. Flatheads, rockfish, snakehead, eels, suckers, and of course the smallmouth. The Susquehanna is touted as being one the of best smallmouth fisheries east of the Appalachians. I don’t have enough experience there to verify that verdict. I will say that wading the Susquehanna with  swim shorts and a pair of old sneakers will probably be difficult. The western rivers are kinder to that sort of fishing. 
 

While you’re in God’s Country, you should check out some of our other offerings, such as snakehead, rockfish, and brook trout. Aside from that, that’s about all I have to offer. If you have any questions, I’ll try to answer them. I’m honestly not that experienced fishing the area, or fishing in general. There are people on this forum that have been getting ‘er done in MD since before I was in diapers, so take their advice over mine. Above all, explore and figure stuff out for yourself. There are opportunities in central Maryland as long as you look for them. Good luck

Trout fishing is on the list, I’m waiting for the remainder of our home goods to be delivered in a couple weeks for that gear. I’m used to wading clear water to target rainbows in the smokies so I’ll be excited to try for some out here. 
 

I’m going to want to buy a kayak to get off the shore but it’s hard to justify not knowing if we’re going to stay in Maryland. I hate moving so we downsized a ton before heading up. My job payed a bonus and full relocation and I have to stick it out for 12 months or I have to pay that back. Plus we’re renting now (close on our house in TN this month) and storing gear is going to be rough. 
 

Even trigs couldn’t make it through kittamaqundi this weekend. Each cast was pulling up half a pound of slop. I do have the gear for punching, but it’s still in transit. 
 

I’m happy to drive for better fishing, I’ll need to hit up the larger lakes this weekend and see if I can get on something.  
 

Thank you @Buzzbaiter for all of the amazing information. I appreciate you taking the time to educate me and I hope you have a great summer of fishing. 

[Buzzbaiter]

I meant to add this earlier, but more info about the area I’d recommend listening to the Fishing the DMV podcast. It’s great info, especially about smallmouth and tidal largemouth, but everything else too.

[Logan S]

Might consider hopping on a boat as a Co-Angler?  We've got Black Hill and Potomac coming up before the summer tournament break... Pretty easy going group and fun tournament experience.

 

www.fishonbassanglers.com

[TNBankFishing]

8 hours ago, Logan S said:

Might consider hopping on a boat as a Co-Angler?  We've got Black Hill and Potomac coming up before the summer tournament break... Pretty easy going group and fun tournament experience.

 

www.fishonbassanglers.com

Id definitely be interested in co-angling with folks on tourney day. Been a while since I fished from a boat vs. kayak but anything beats being stuck on the shore. Submitted a request to access the forum. Thanks for pointing this out Logan. 

[TNBankFishing]

Follow up question, where do y’all go for local gear? Is it just the outdoor world or bps? I’d like to spend money on a local shop instead of online when possible. I’ve only found some saltwater shops on the bay and one in Baltimore.