Maryland's Who's who!

[Deleted account]

I've never done well with large baits around here.

Snuck back out today and got 2. Warmed up nicely in the PM. Even saw a couple of turtles swimming around.

[Deleted account]

Went back out yesterday looking for pickerel again, and again 0 pickerel, but 6 bass and one crappie with the biggest going a hair over 3. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'm not fighting the wind today. 

[fishwizzard]

On 12/19/2018 at 4:52 PM, reason said:

I've never done well with large baits around here.

Snuck back out today and got 2. Warmed up nicely in the PM. Even saw a couple of turtles swimming around.

I had enough success to keep throwing them and I would say I do catch larger bass on them then I do my usual finesse plastics, but not by an insane margin and the hit rate is far far worse.  Mostly I figure that if I am gonna be cold and not catch fish, I might as well not be catching bigger fish.  

 

I cheated on the 68 Special yesterday and went to the fallback-pond, which is a small, shallow marsh surrounded with either dense thorns or chest-high grass, no open bank to speak of.  It was amazing, 12 bass in like 2 hours and without all the normal thorns and grass I didn't get a single cut or tick!  None of them were of any reasonable size, but it was a nice reminder that I can occasionally catch a bass.  

[Logan S]

FOBA is going to host 4 semi-open events this year.  These are 'semi' open because we'd like one participant per boat to be a member, but that's not a 100% hard rule...If you want in, PM me and I can probably make it happen (I'm the President ).  These are fundraisers for FOBA so a portion of all entries go toward club operations.

 

(3) Boater/Co-Angler format tournaments at Black Hill (Little Seneca Lake)

• $25 per angler ($20 to pot, $5 to FOBA)
• Pays 2 places, 80% to 1st, 20% to 2nd...For each division
• Catch-Weigh-Release format (MLF style), identical and calibrated scales provided by FOBA
• 5 bass limit, 12" minimum size
• Likely to be slightly shorter than normal tournament day (~7 hours)
• Dates:  March 16th** - May 8th - August 24th
  • **March date subject to change due to causeway construction...will be rescheduled if needed

 

(1) Team Tournament on the Potomac River (Pohick Bay Regional Park)

• August 10th
• $100 per boat ($80 to pot, $20 to FOBA)
• 5 bass limit per team, 12" minimum size (traditional weigh in, boats must have livewells)
• 6:00AM to 3:00PM

 

I'm personally leaving the back deck of my boat open for non-FOBA members for these tournaments and I know some other boaters are as well.  If anyone is interested feel free to post or PM me...The only reason these aren't 100% open is that we don't want them to get bigger than we can manage - We want non-members to have some connection, people here are BR can be 'connected' via me  (within reason).  Eventually we are hoping to host some bigger true open tournaments, so this is sort of a trial run into that arena.  

[Junger]

May 8th is a Wednesday, is that a typo? But I'm very interested in going on one of these...my wife said no to me joining FOBA as a member....this year.

[Logan S]

Just now, Junger said:

May 8th is a Wednesday, is that a typo? But I'm very interested in going on one of these...my wife said no to me joining FOBA as a member....this year.

It's accurate, we are going to try for a weekday event...It's contingent on interest though.  We may move it to a weekend if the interest isn't there.  This change would happen early, not like the week-of.  I think it will probably be moved, but it's ultimately up to the Tournament Director that's organizing it.  

 

 

[Munkin]

How many boats are you expecting? Last time I went to BH and you guys were having a tournament it looked like the D-Day invasion.

 

Allen

[Logan S]

9 hours ago, Munkin said:

How many boats are you expecting? Last time I went to BH and you guys were having a tournament it looked like the D-Day invasion.

 

Allen

Our normal tournaments at BH are usually 18-20+ boats, but I'm expecting these to be smaller.  We are thinking that if we can get 10 boats or so it'd be a good turnout.  

[microotter]

Hi guys. I am not 100% sure that this is the correct spot to post this. Anyways, I recently moved to DC. My first year here I bought a DC license and fished a couple spots in the District for bass. I went out 3 short trips and caught 1 smallmouth and found a couple promising spots. My goal this year is to fish a lot more now that I am finally a little settled in to the area. I grew up river smallmouth fishing so I will probably stick to the Potomac, but I am open to other areas as well. 

 

I am debating which fishing license(s) to buy this year. I tried doing some research and it looks like there is reciprocity on the Potomac between VA and MD license. So I am thinking of buying a DC license and one from the other states. Any advice? I think that I will only be bank fishing. Unfortunately I didn’t bring my kayak with me as I don’t have a place to store it. I couldn’t find any place to store it at a reasonable cost close to the city. 

 

Maybe I will see some of you guys on the water!

[Joshua Vandamm]

8 minutes ago, microotter said:

Hi guys. I am not 100% sure that this is the correct spot to post this. Anyways, I recently moved to DC. My first year here I bought a DC license and fished a couple spots in the District for bass. I went out 3 short trips and caught 1 smallmouth and found a couple promising spots. My goal this year is to fish a lot more now that I am finally a little settled in to the area. I grew up river smallmouth fishing so I will probably stick to the Potomac, but I am open to other areas as well. 

 

I am debating which fishing license(s) to buy this year. I tried doing some research and it looks like there is reciprocity on the Potomac between VA and MD license. So I am thinking of buying a DC license and one from the other states. Any advice? I think that I will only be bank fishing. Unfortunately I didn’t bring my kayak with me as I don’t have a place to store it. I couldn’t find any place to store it at a reasonable cost close to the city. 

 

Maybe I will see some of you guys on the water!

Reciprocity is only for the Potomac. Lots of good fishing in VA tho....

On 12/19/2018 at 1:44 PM, fishwizzard said:

I am about 6-7 trips into "only throwing a 68 Special all winter".   Zero bass so far but today I got a little bump!  I think.  It is hard not to drift off in thought.  

 

 

LOL. Bump maybe.  

I’ve concluded that this just isn’t CA. Big Swimbaits are for 9+ lb bass and I’m not that patient.  

[Logan S]

20 minutes ago, microotter said:

Hi guys. I am not 100% sure that this is the correct spot to post this. Anyways, I recently moved to DC. My first year here I bought a DC license and fished a couple spots in the District for bass. I went out 3 short trips and caught 1 smallmouth and found a couple promising spots. My goal this year is to fish a lot more now that I am finally a little settled in to the area. I grew up river smallmouth fishing so I will probably stick to the Potomac, but I am open to other areas as well. 

 

I am debating which fishing license(s) to buy this year. I tried doing some research and it looks like there is reciprocity on the Potomac between VA and MD license. So I am thinking of buying a DC license and one from the other states. Any advice? I think that I will only be bank fishing. Unfortunately I didn’t bring my kayak with me as I don’t have a place to store it. I couldn’t find any place to store it at a reasonable cost close to the city. 

 

Maybe I will see some of you guys on the water!

You definitely need DC + others, since DC doesn't reciprocate with anyone .  As for the others, it depends on where you think you'll spend the most time outside of DC.

 

In MD, non-tidal waters are all covered on the MD Non-Tidal license...But all tidal waters, including the Potomac below DC are on a different license called the Bay & Coastal Sport (there's a couple small areas in VA not covered, but 99% of the tidal Potomac is covered on this).  This is annoying if you fish the tidal Potomac and Bay for bass like almost everyone around here does plus the non-tidal stuff like the upper Potomac and lakes.  If you're a bass fisherman in MD, chances are high that you need to have both.  

 

In VA, a VA Freshwater license will cover the Potomac downstream to the 301 bridge...Including MD waters.  Plus all the lakes/rivers in VA.  

 

There's also a PRFC License that covers the Bay and ALL tributaries in MD and VA (except DC waters).  This would be Upper Bay, Potomac, James/Chick, Rapp, etc for bass fishing too.  Does not cover anything non-tidal in either state though.  Most people also need one of the MD or VA licenses that cover these waters anyway though, so not much reason to get this one.  

 

It sucks, you can stay within like a 10 mile radius of DC and still need 4 different licenses.  

 

Don't worry about the kayak, hop on a bassboat!  

 

[microotter]

Thanks for the information. I was initially thinking that the potomac north of DC would be easy to access on foot, but I will need to do more research. I generally prefer bank fishing rivers. The tournament looks fun. I might have to consider it. Although I have never done anything like it other than kayak fishing tournaments. 

[Logan S]

9 minutes ago, microotter said:

Thanks for the information. I was initially thinking that the potomac north of DC would be easy to access on foot, but I will need to do more research. I generally prefer bank fishing rivers.

Check along the C&O Canal, several different lock areas have access.  These would be in MD along the upper Potomac.  Don't know how far outside of DC you want to go, but many locks have parking areas and bass fishing in the canal and/or main river.  I used to bank/wade fish from Violets Lock quite a bit.

[fishwizzard]

 

 

1 hour ago, microotter said:

Thanks for the information. I was initially thinking that the potomac north of DC would be easy to access on foot, but I will need to do more research. I generally prefer bank fishing rivers. 

The Potomac is tough/dangerous for bank access until you get quite far north unless the river is very low. I love it though and hope the rain is more reaonable this year that it was last. 

 

The C&O canal is great but sadly all last year NPS had the water levels incredibly low, to the point where Widewater was really the only place worth going unless you were really looking for a grind. I hope whatever repairs they were doing are completed by next spring.  I haven’t been out to check the water levels since early fall, if you decide to head out and scout around let us know what the levels are like, if they’re back up to reasonable levels I’d be happy to meet up and show you a few spots.  

[microotter]

7 minutes ago, fishwizzard said:

 

 

The Potomac is tough/dangerous for bank access until you get quite far north unless the river is very low. I love it though and hope the rain is more reaonable this year that it was last. 

 

The C&O canal is great but sadly all last year NPS had the water levels incredibly low, to the point where Widewater was really the only place worth going unless you were really looking for a grind. I hope whatever repairs they were doing are completed by next spring.  I haven’t been out to check the water levels since early fall, if you decide to head out and scout around let us know what the levels are like, if they’re back up to reasonable levels I’d be happy to meet up and show you a few spots.  

Awesome. Will do!

[joruzzi]

Hey all,

 

Just starting to get into some river fishing on the susquehanna. I am from Baltimore, Maryland so I was looking for places to launch within a couple hours on the susky. Is the three mile island with the power plant a good place to start for winter fishing? Also, could I use a pedal yak? Thanks for any help

[fishwizzard]

Trying to move some of my finesse casting rods to fund a new toy, I would love to get these sold and am flexible on pricing for local pick-up sales.  

[fishwizzard]

Anyone want some cardboard rod tubes?  I need to clear out most of my hoard and I cannot bear cutting them up for the recycling bin.  

[Junger]

MoCo Boaters - where do you get your boat/trailer serviced?

 

Last year I bought my boat used, and didn't take it very far from home. This year I plan to drive it around a little more and want to make sure it's ready.

[microotter]

On 1/14/2019 at 8:32 PM, fishwizzard said:

 

 

The Potomac is tough/dangerous for bank access until you get quite far north unless the river is very low. I love it though and hope the rain is more reaonable this year that it was last. 

 

The C&O canal is great but sadly all last year NPS had the water levels incredibly low, to the point where Widewater was really the only place worth going unless you were really looking for a grind. I hope whatever repairs they were doing are completed by next spring.  I haven’t been out to check the water levels since early fall, if you decide to head out and scout around let us know what the levels are like, if they’re back up to reasonable levels I’d be happy to meet up and show you a few spots.  

I was driving along the canal this morning from around Chain Bridge into DC. The Canal looked full to me. I pulled over and looked at it for a minute and it had a nice green color too. Was the canal low in that area last year or only as it made it’s way west?

[fishwizzard]

1 hour ago, microotter said:

I was driving along the canal this morning from around Chain Bridge into DC. The Canal looked full to me. I pulled over and looked at it for a minute and it had a nice green color too. Was the canal low in that area last year or only as it made it’s way west?

I honestly don’t know, most of my canaille fishing is from Swain’s Lock heading north.  The watered part of the canal isn’t really a continuous stretch of water due to a lot of the lock gates being kept closed and I don’t know the Chain Bridge section well enough to hazard a guess on whether it’s level will influence the level of the northern stretch.  

 

Now that It’s staying light out a little longer I’ll probably make a trip up that way in the next few weeks to scout things out and will report back.

[Munkin]

On ‎1‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 6:58 PM, Logan S said:

You definitely need DC + others, since DC doesn't reciprocate with anyone .  As for the others, it depends on where you think you'll spend the most time outside of DC.

 

In MD, non-tidal waters are all covered on the MD Non-Tidal license...But all tidal waters, including the Potomac below DC are on a different license called the Bay & Coastal Sport (there's a couple small areas in VA not covered, but 99% of the tidal Potomac is covered on this).  This is annoying if you fish the tidal Potomac and Bay for bass like almost everyone around here does plus the non-tidal stuff like the upper Potomac and lakes.  If you're a bass fisherman in MD, chances are high that you need to have both.  

 

In VA, a VA Freshwater license will cover the Potomac downstream to the 301 bridge...Including MD waters.  Plus all the lakes/rivers in VA.  

 

There's also a PRFC License that covers the Bay and ALL tributaries in MD and VA (except DC waters).  This would be Upper Bay, Potomac, James/Chick, Rapp, etc for bass fishing too.  Does not cover anything non-tidal in either state though.  Most people also need one of the MD or VA licenses that cover these waters anyway though, so not much reason to get this one.  

 

It sucks, you can stay within like a 10 mile radius of DC and still need 4 different licenses.  

 

Don't worry about the kayak, hop on a bassboat!  

 

 

So I have a boat but am not familiar with Conowingo or the Upper Bay. Ae there non-boaters that I could be paired up with that know these areas?

 

Allen

[Logan S]

8 hours ago, Munkin said:

 

So I have a boat but am not familiar with Conowingo or the Upper Bay. Ae there non-boaters that I could be paired up with that know these areas?

 

Allen

Sort of, more for Conowingo than the Bay...The issue is going to be the fact they are random-draw tournaments, so getting a particular co-angler would be luck of the draw.  You could try arrange a practice trip with any co-angler or boater though before the tournament.  There's also an option to fish as a co-angler for those, but as a boater you go to the back of the priority list to get on a boat and you'd still be competing against the other boaters.   

 

While both places definitely have navigation hazards, it's pretty easy to stay in safe areas on both for newcomers with a little guidance.  There are plenty of boaters with experience on both that'd be happy to break out a map and give you a run down of things at a meeting....I'd do it myself.  Conowingo is really easy to stay in safe water with some quick guidance.  The Bay is a little trickier, but still not too bad with a quick primer.  

[Choporoz]

On 1/4/2019 at 9:17 PM, Logan S said:

 

(1) Team Tournament on the Potomac River (Pohick Bay Regional Park)

• August 10th
• $100 per boat ($80 to pot, $20 to FOBA)
• 5 bass limit per team, 12" minimum size (traditional weigh in, boats must have livewells)
• 6:00AM to 3:00PM

Logan, I am not going to be able to join this year,  but I am interested in the Aug 10 tourny as a non-member/non-boater.

[Logan S]

56 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

Logan, I am not going to be able to join this year,  but I am interested in the Aug 10 tourny as a non-member/non-boater.

No problem....Just keep in touch about it once we get closer.