Maryland's Who's who!

[Logan S]

14 hours ago, Team_Robbins_Fishing said:

Hey everyone! new to the forums and wanted to say hello. 

 

I fish mainly the potomac but want to try to fish the upper bay because I keep hearing good things. Was wondering if anyone had any tips/hints to get started. not sure how similar it is to the potomac beyond it being tidal

 

 

They are similar in ways and different in others ...

 

The tidal stuff obviously and the shallow cover fishing (mostly grass) are where they're similar....You can fish the Bay without re-rigging your Potomac stuff.

 

On the Bay you can target fish in deeper water (more than 6') more often.  Smallmouth are also more of an option on the Bay, there are small windows during the year where you can catch really nice smallmouth.  It's still dominated by largemouth, but smallies play a much bigger part than they do on the Potomac.  The Bay also fishes smaller than the Potomac in general...There's a ton of water up there for sure, but there are less of the major tributaries that make up a huge percentage of the fishing area on the Potomac.  

 

The Bay is also a little more hazardous in terms of navigation overall, so make sure you pay attention to where you're going (especially in the Susky).  

 

Starting out, attacking it with the same mindset as the Potomac will get you going in the right direction and once you get some time on the Bay you'll start to tailor your approach to it's nuances.  

[Team_Robbins_Fishing]

On 8/17/2020 at 11:37 AM, Logan S said:

They are similar in ways and different in others ...

 

The tidal stuff obviously and the shallow cover fishing (mostly grass) are where they're similar....You can fish the Bay without re-rigging your Potomac stuff.

 

On the Bay you can target fish in deeper water (more than 6') more often.  Smallmouth are also more of an option on the Bay, there are small windows during the year where you can catch really nice smallmouth.  It's still dominated by largemouth, but smallies play a much bigger part than they do on the Potomac.  The Bay also fishes smaller than the Potomac in general...There's a ton of water up there for sure, but there are less of the major tributaries that make up a huge percentage of the fishing area on the Potomac.  

 

The Bay is also a little more hazardous in terms of navigation overall, so make sure you pay attention to where you're going (especially in the Susky).  

 

you get some time on the Bay you'll start to tailor your approach to it's nuances.  

So far I've spent about 20 hours on the upper bay the past week and caught 6 fish the biggest being 4 pounds. unfortunately all the fish have been caught in the same 100 yard stretch on a dinger. do you by chance have a favorite search bait? lol i can only throw a weightless worm for so long before I lose my patience.

 

thank you for the advice. from what i understand the upper bay is better in the spring/early summer than it is now.

[Logan S]

5 hours ago, Team_Robbins_Fishing said:

So far I've spent about 20 hours on the upper bay the past week and caught 6 fish the biggest being 4 pounds. unfortunately all the fish have been caught in the same 100 yard stretch on a dinger. do you by chance have a favorite search bait? lol i can only throw a weightless worm for so long before I lose my patience.

Pretty much the same as the Potomac - Bladed jigs, spinnerbait, shallow crank, etc...Depends on what you like I guess.  You can also cover a lot of water flipping/pitching by doing it while moving around instead of picking apart an area to death.  

 

5 hours ago, Team_Robbins_Fishing said:

thank you for the advice. from what i understand the upper bay is better in the spring/early summer than it is now.

No problem...Yes that's true, but pretty much everywhere is better in spring and early summer than they are in August.

[Brian Martalus]

I moved to far NW DC on the MD border last fall and have traditionally been a fly guy for trout and smallies, being from NJ originally. After some early spring wild trout fishing In the Catoctin mountains, I have started to target smallies in a big way. I have heard of 50-100 fish days on the upper Potomac a decade ago, but it seems like the population is way down due to spring time floods, catfish etc.  I have started to hone in some good spots and get have gotten some quality fish in the 14-16 class most times, but not big numbers. I am actually happy when I get the 6-10 inchers as it means there are some different year classes in the area. I usually wet wade with my daughter, but once went Alone to a perfect spot by Harpers ferry and got skunked fishing from dawn to to noon- that was frustrating. I like to fish around creek mouths so I can find fish in the main river and the trib to hedge my bets. I have even found quality smallmouth in DC in the rock creek and I never see anyone else fishing it. My biggest smallie of the year was a 3 plus pounder in May while fishing for shad by The chain bridge in DC followed by a 6 pound walleye on the next cast. Although not bass, the white perch and shad run was pretty nuts this year by the chain bridge! I do hope the smallies had a good spawn this year and rebound on the Potomac!

[Brian Martalus]

Here is a nice one from just above Harpers Ferry on the MD size. Got this one on a basic silver number 3 mepps spinner but most of my summer river bass have come from small 1.5-2 inch crank baits that look like baby bass or blue gills. Also have started to get smallies and LMB on the surface with a 75 whopper plopper

[fishwizzard]

13 hours ago, Brian Martalus said:

I have heard of 50-100 fish days on the upper Potomac a decade ago,

I’ve heard the stories as well and I think we’ve missed the boat on them. I’ve only been seriously bass fishing for five or six years now and my last few trips up around Harpers ferry have been extremely disappointing. I’ve had some decent days there in the past, but between the limited parking and difficult conditions, I never made a trip up there in the spring. 
 

The Patapsco river has a lot of smaller smallies in it along with a lot of aggressive red breast sunfish.  Between the two of them I have had one recorded 100 fish day and a few others that mush have been close.  The issue with the Patapsco is parking and crowds. It’s one of the only rivers in Central Maryland that isn’t a muddy eroded mess so it is very popular for swimming/waiting.  When the weather is nice it’s very very crowded pretty much every weekend and even weekdays now with kids being out of school.  It’s oddly never very full of people fishing, at least the spots I go to, but this year the amount of people in the water make it difficult to have a nice relaxing day fishing.  I am excitedly waiting for the temperature to cool down a little bit so let me and my chest waders can be alone on the river again. 

[Brian Martalus]

Things are cyclical with the big river-the population also crashed in the late 90s but then rebounded better than ever for some years. I see tons  of bait fish in the water that may also include young of year bass. Not sure of the growth rate of smallies on the Potomac but if we start catching lots of 4-6 inch bass next year, we will know things are on the upswing. I am from NJ originally and the Delaware can range from fair to awesome depending on the year. There is a lot of water to cover in big rivers like the Potomac and Delaware, so in bad years densities can be low and fish harder to hone in on.  As an old timer once told me, find the riffles and the rocks, and you will find the smallies. I have had good luck three times near one creek mouth so I am likely to hit it again this Saturday for a late afternoon/magic hour wade. If you are willing to hike 10-20 minutes in some rough conditions, you can find some decent spots with no one around.

[fishwizzard]

2 hours ago, Brian Martalus said:

If you are willing to hike 10-20 minutes in some rough conditions, you can find some decent spots with no one around.

That is my entire maryland fishing strategy.  Most of the spring/summer/fall my legs look like a legion of cats have been using me as a scratching post.  

[Brian Martalus]

Same- I don’t have a boat and don’t l

really like boat fishing. I did some floats this past week in WV in my brothers canoe-Every time we found a nice spot I jumped out so I could wade and fish-it’s probably my trout fishing roots, but I find it more enjoyable and am a lot more thorough and effective when I am on my two feet! Tight lines-after this week of hot weather we should have some great weather with cooler air and water temps, but still warm enough for wet wading and top water fishing! 

[Steveo-1969]

Welcome @Brian Martalus from a fellow boatless Upper Potomac wet wader!

[pgcountyfisher]

About a week of fishing on and off Bowie Ponds (school is keeping me close to home). 

 

I've lost two bass and one of those bass took my favorite lure.. Using my 4 pound rod to catch some smaller fish, bass took the lure and snapped the line. 

 

On the upside, I caught some fiesty Crappie, so it was kind of worth it. Except the part on losing the lure. 
 

On the flip side, this gentleman down in Upper Marlboro caught this monster. 

[fishwizzard]

Wet wading isn't just for nice clear rivers:

 

 

Over the last year or two I have gotten a lot bolder about wading into the gravel pit ponds/marshes that make up most of my SMD spots.

[Brian Martalus]

Nice Largie! Since I have moved into the area, I have been doing a bit more Stillwater fishing but at heart I am stream/river guy and can read moving water water then still. I did pick up this LMB on Easter Sunday in the tidal basin-I don’t have a scale but it felt like a bowling ball as I lifted it over the wall. Any thoughts on a weight estimate? It must have been shallow to spawn as I never caught another largie from that spot-white perch ran thick in late April and May As well as some big crappie and then only carp and catfish so I gave up on it. Wouldn’t want to wet wade the tidal basin!

[pgcountyfisher]

I know I post a lot, but great news! My Bass drought is officially over! 

A few things, the two on the grass fell off the lure before i had a chance to remove it, so it was quick pictures and put them back asap. Don't want to hurt what i am not going to eat!

The one on the backpack was a quick size comparison, that was the first one since May!

 

These were caught on a 5'5" Jawbone $30 DSP rod, 10 pound braid and a Bass Pro brand golden minnow jerkbait. This setup absolutely struggled! Any guesses on the weights? I measured my backpack and that bass comes out to 17-19 inches (and a passerby said it was probably 2.5-3 pounds), probably my new PB! but i am unsure on the size and weights on the other two.


 

 

 

All three of these were caught out of local Bowie ponds, from 4PM to 6PM. 

[Brian Martalus]

I am no good estimates but congrats on ending the drought!
 

I am monitoring the weather and river flows for a Saturday late afternoon/evening upper Potomac wet wade.  Flows look like they will be around 2.0 feet at point of rocks which is A touch high for this time of year but acceptable for wet wading, but there are calling for scattered storms in the afternoon. I will have to make a game time decision that afternoon as I prefer to not get struck by lightning.  How do river smallies react after a rain shower?

[roadwarrior]

2 hours ago, pgcountyfisher said:

I know I post a lot, but great news! My Bass drought is officially over! 

A few things, the two on the grass fell off the lure before i had a chance to remove it, so it was quick pictures and put them back asap. Don't want to hurt what i am not going to eat!

The one on the backpack was a quick size comparison, that was the first one since May!

 

These were caught on a 5'5" Jawbone $30 DSP rod, 10 pound braid and a Bass Pro brand golden minnow jerkbait. This setup absolutely struggled! Any guesses on the weights? I measured my backpack and that bass comes out to 17-19 inches (and a passerby said it was probably 2.5-3 pounds), probably my new PB! but i am unsure on the size and weights on the other two.


 

 

 

All three of these were caught out of local Bowie ponds, from 4PM to 6PM. 

Congratulations!

 

[Nai]

On 8/26/2020 at 11:56 AM, Brian Martalus said:

I am no good estimates but congrats on ending the drought!
 

I am monitoring the weather and river flows for a Saturday late afternoon/evening upper Potomac wet wade.  Flows look like they will be around 2.0 feet at point of rocks which is A touch high for this time of year but acceptable for wet wading, but there are calling for scattered storms in the afternoon. I will have to make a game time decision that afternoon as I prefer to not get struck by lightning.  How do river smallies react after a rain shower?

If the river is high(er) they will probably be tight to cover and/or in spots with the least amount of current. I would try to throw a spinnerbait 

[Brian Martalus]

I ended up going today, thinking i would avoid the rain. Traffic and work was busier than expected so I didn’t get on the water till almost 6 with some light rain and lightning around. Within a minute I got a nice one on whopper plopper and he had bait fish coming out of his mouth. Some other bigger fish were splashing around banging bait in the shallow slack water below a creek mouth so I assumed I was going to have an awesome magic hour. I got two strikes but no more fish on a the whopper ploppper, another popper, and a small shallow diving crank bait. Then it stormed the whole drive home to DC.

[pgcountyfisher]

Hello Folks! i have some questions for you all!

I bought a bunch of Mepps spinners, mainly Chartreuse and white for the ponds around here. I love spinners, my go to. 

 

Anyway, for the sake of an experiment, i bought a pumpkin-green Z-Man Chatterbait and a black BOOYA Buzzbait. 

Any tips on how to run those in ponds and streams?

[Junger]

10 hours ago, pgcountyfisher said:

Hello Folks! i have some questions for you all!

I bought a bunch of Mepps spinners, mainly Chartreuse and white for the ponds around here. I love spinners, my go to. 

 

Anyway, for the sake of an experiment, i bought a pumpkin-green Z-Man Chatterbait and a black BOOYA Buzzbait. 

Any tips on how to run those in ponds and streams?

I love chatterbaits, I imitate baitfish with them when I use them, and in ponds that's usually bluegill. If it's a muck/algae bottom pond, I usually throw on a 5" grub tail and fan cast and retrieve it from the bank without letting it get gunked up on the bottom. You're trying to swim it past or near a bass' face doing that, and in a pond there could be deeper holes in the middle where they might hold, you just don't know so that's why I usually fan cast. If it's a rocky/gravel or less mucky bottom, I usually go with a swimbait trailer, like a Keitech fat impact swing, where I can slow it down and bang it into rocks, same thing though, I'll fan cast. With buzzbaits, I look for weed/grass edges and cast it along them. Or if you're on the bank, and there are some bushes or overhanging trees/branches, cast parallel to those. 

[Junger]

Took a hike from Swain's down the towpath just past the pump house. I threw a frog for a couple hours and hit any large duckweed mats with standing timber near it, and that was the ticket. Got 7 largies, with 4 of them under 1lb on the Spro Bronzeye Jr. I was skeptical about this frog because the hooks are so small, but it got the job done, but it did not last more than 5 fish before the plastic got all torn up. Best 3 over 1LB:

 

 

[fishwizzard]

11 hours ago, Junger said:

Took a hike from Swain's down the towpath just past the pump house. 

 

How are the mosquitoes out that way? All of my southern Maryland spots have been completely overrun this past week or so.  I started going out when it’s actively raining because that seems to be the only time I don’t get swarmed.

[Junger]

1 hour ago, fishwizzard said:

How are the mosquitoes out that way? All of my southern Maryland spots have been completely overrun this past week or so.  I started going out when it’s actively raining because that seems to be the only time I don’t get swarmed.

It's not awful, only a few bites on my hands which weren't covered, long sleeve pants/shirts and a gaiter took care of the rest except for one that got through my sleeve.

[pgcountyfisher]

I need to buy some more frogs... Lost my only one up at schoolhouse two weeks ago. 

I did have a very successful day on a little spinner there. Between my dad and I, we caught three crappie, one sunfish and a little Largemouth that was quite beat up. 

 

 

I have a bump board coming in the mail so i can finally start recording sizes. 

[fishwizzard]

8 hours ago, Junger said:

It's not awful, only a few bites on my hands which weren't covered, long sleeve pants/shirts and a gaiter took care of the rest except for one that got through my sleeve.

The hands are the worst.  I am about to break down and order a face net, but I don’t know what to do about my hands.