Maryland's Who's who!

[basser89]

Got a reply from my DNR contact today regarding the tiger muskies in Black Hills. Here's what he said, "The last year that tigers were obtained from PA was 2006. Tigers from that stocking would most likely be 36 inches or larger."

Sorry I was off on when I thought the last stocking took place. Not sure what I was thinking then. My contact did copy the central regional manager to see if he could provide me with some more information. If he replies, I'll share that info as well.

Nick, if he does reply, I'll ask him if he could shed some light on what that all black fish you saw as well.

[Fat Boy]

Brian, that's a nice UP bucketmouth you got there. Looks like you might have found one of my spots, LOL. There are some real pigs in the river, if you target them, you'll find more of them. They hold a lot shallower than people think in a moving body of water especially during the summer. Shade is the key I've found. In my opinion, it's one of the UP's best kept secrets! And, guess what? I've caught some decent ones in the UP as far up river as Hancock.

[Fat Boy]

Oh yeah, Sean, ask your contact if they are planning on stocking more tigers in BH if you get a chance to talk to him again. I heard a rumor that they might resume that program (not sure where'd they be getting their fish though).

[BrianinMD]

Fat Boy, not sure I found "a spot", there was no reason for the LM to be where it was. It was out in the main current in a shallow rocky area. Was throwing a crank for SM got a bite and set the hook. Could feel something on it but it felt small so was just reeling in quickly. Got it to about 5 feet from the boat and it surfaced then took off.

There are some good LM farther up, my personal best is a 7.25lb LM and it came out of Big Slackwater.

[slaynbass365]

Fat Boy, not sure I found "a spot", there was no reason for the LM to be where it was. It was out in the main current in a shallow rocky area. Was throwing a crank for SM got a bite and set the hook. Could feel something on it but it felt small so was just reeling in quickly. Got it to about 5 feet from the boat and it surfaced then took off.

There are some good LM farther up, my personal best is a 7.25lb LM and it came out of Big Slackwater.

How far up are we talking? I've never really fished in the river for much other than cats and panfish, would be cool to actually pull a LM outta there but I feel like the general area that we are in are more for small mouth.

Also, I tried the canal in Dickerson. Got one nice strike but was too busy messing with my reel and it happened as soon as it hit the water. It was on a jig and by the time I pulled my rod back he had spit it out I guess. Stayed for about 45 minutes flipping to all the fallen trees, then moved to a private pond by my house and managed to get a few there. It was about 37 degrees out and the bite was slow but was still nice to catch some fish and try out a new spot.

[BrianinMD]

Yeah, the upper Potomac has way more smallies than LM, but there are some decent LM up into the Hagerstown/Hancock areas. I would not necessarily fish for LM along that area, a lot better to go for smallies. Typically you end up getting good numbers of small smallmouth but you weed thru them for the bigger ones. There are some 3-4 pound smallies around and I know of a couple 5lb ones. Just don't expect a number of the bigger ones. You were talking about kayak fishing some of those spots are not bad at all for kayaks if you are comfortable with moving water.

[slaynbass365]

Yeah, the upper Potomac has way more smallies than LM, but there are some decent LM up into the Hagerstown/Hancock areas. I would not necessarily fish for LM along that area, a lot better to go for smallies. Typically you end up getting good numbers of small smallmouth but you weed thru them for the bigger ones. There are some 3-4 pound smallies around and I know of a couple 5lb ones. Just don't expect a number of the bigger ones. You were talking about kayak fishing some of those spots are not bad at all for kayaks if you are comfortable with moving water.

I'm not a fan of moving water haha I'd rather keep my kayak in the lakes. You'd think it'd be the other way around since you can typically just stand up in the river and the water will rarely be above your head....as opposed to the depth of the lake, which actually freaks me out a bit when in the kayak.

[Hellbenderman]

I believe the black fish Nick saw was a gold fish. I have seen quite a few large gold fish/koi at BH including a mostly black with a little white. I would not doubt it if there was an all black about. I saw many of these back at the stick ups in the spring. As far as re-stocking muskies, I hope they ask for opinions before they do it. I and many others believe that not stocking muskies has allowed the bass population to flourish, and I for one don't want to see stocking of muskies resume at BH....EVER!

[slaynbass365]

I believe the black fish Nick saw was a gold fish. I have seen quite a few large gold fish/koi at BH including a mostly black with a little white. I would not doubt it if there was an all black about. I saw many of these back at the stick ups in the spring. As far as re-stocking muskies, I hope they ask for opinions before they do it. I and many others believe that not stocking muskies has allowed the bass population to flourish, and I for one don't want to see stocking of muskies resume at BH....EVER!

Y'know...at first glance I was like, "that looks like a big gold fish, or a small black catfish". Good to know im not the only one whose seen them!

[Fat Boy]

Fat Boy, not sure I found "a spot", there was no reason for the LM to be where it was. It was out in the main current in a shallow rocky area. Was throwing a crank for SM got a bite and set the hook. Could feel something on it but it felt small so was just reeling in quickly. Got it to about 5 feet from the boat and it surfaced then took off.

There are some good LM farther up, my personal best is a 7.25lb LM and it came out of Big Slackwater.

7.25 lb. is a big fish anywhere much less the UP. Big largemouth are in there more than most people would think. Most people target smallies, and when that happens you'll mostly get smallies. Yeah, the population of smallies far exceeds largemouth numbers, but the quality of the largemouth is quite good when you find them.

Your bass was probably in transition to a preferable habitat feeding on it's way. I've only caught one largemouth in strong current like that, a four pounder on the Doah while smallie fishing, an eddy along a log jam against a bridge, in a spot that you'd think smallies would prefer better. I caught it on a plastic worm, my only LM of the day.

That said, you can target big largemouth by using bigger spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, jerkbaits and skirted jigs by fishing likely largemouth holding spots. Plastic worms and Senkos can be hot too. You may not get twenty LM bass in a day, but you can get as many as a dozen, some pigs. Plus, most smallies hitting those large lures will be big as well.

How do you target big largemouth in a smallmouth river? Slack water. Deep is better but don't overlook shallow slack water in the summer. Shade is most important, and if there is wood, so much the better. Creek mouths also will hold them. If you're targeting them, you have to think outside the SM box. Shorelines on both sides of the river have plenty of holding spots for the most part. The slack areas behind large grassy islands are also good spots for LM, especially if there is any woody cover around. Another thing, slower sections of river have more LM than the faster pocket water. Creek mouths can also hold some nice largemouth.

Most people fishing for smallies aren't using baits that largemouth prefer, but once in a while they'll catch a few. Also, normally, when smallie fishing, the spots that don't look good for smallies are where the LM are. I've put together some nice limits on both smallies and largemouth in certain sections of the upper river tossing big spinnerbaits when that bite is hot.

I actually found out by accident, coming out of the river from wading to leave the river and spooked a massive largemouth. At first I thought it was a fluke, then, a few weeks later did the same thing at another spot. The type of water that they were holding in didn't look like a good fishing spot. It was shallow, but shady, silty with sticks, leaves and wood along the bottom, and most importantly, very slow current there.

A boat is better, but you may find some when fishing the shore or wading. Unfortunately, the nasty places that you might avoid wading through (mucky bottoms, silty, fallen trees and such) are where the largemouth hang out. Fishing from shore is possible, but you have to avoid overhanging trees, brush, and watch out for slippery steep muddy banks.

[slaynbass365]

Anyone else gonna do some fishing this weekend? I anticipate a slow bite, but will be out both today and tomorrow regardless. Tomorrow the new kayak goes in the water

It's about 6am and im shore fishing today...i'm still debating where I want to go this morning.

[Hellbenderman]

So, Nick, did you take the yak out? Did the DF work ok? Did you catch anything?

[slaynbass365]

Havent gotten it out yet...missed a nice weekend to do it too. I have the electronics all hooked up and ready to go, just gotta find time away from the kids when there is still daylight haha

[dcfdpipeman]

OK, fishing is slow I guess. Something to make you laugh

Btw - I normally don't post/email these but this is pretty darn funny!

[basser89]

I've seen that one before but I still got a laugh out of that one Peter. LOL!

I did manage to sneak out at lunch today for a little while. Managed a dink on a RatLTrap.

[basser89]

Hey Nick,

You find your way over to Dickerson yet?

[slaynbass365]

Hey Nick,

You find your way over to Dickerson yet?

I did, actually. I fished a good length of the canal with no luck, it was the day after we got that snow and it was still about 32-33 out. Didnt make it to the actual river tho.

[LSummers]

Apparently my original post got moved and then deleted when I questioned it :|...So I'll just post in here since it really only applies to MD guys.

Fish On Bass Anglers is looking for new members for the upcoming season, both boaters and co-anglers. FOBA strives to provide a fun and competitive environment for both beginning and experienced anglers. I had a longer, more informative post written but the real information is easily found on our website, www.fishonbassclub.com. It's a great way to learn new techniques and fish new water. Our tournament locations include Lake Anna, Lake Gaston, Black Hills, Potomac, Conowingo, Deep Creek, and several more (there are 13 each season). We meet on the first Wednesday of every month (except December) and tournament season runs from March thru October.

Please check out out website if you're interested...If you have any questions about membership you can email membership@fishonbassclub.com. You can also post in here and I will try to visit the site as much as I can (if I don't get booted from it ) to answer questions. I know we have at least a few members of the club on these forums so they can jump in as well. Thanks!

To the admin's who may see this, I'm sorry if you felt I was being critical in any way...that wasn't my intention. I just wanted to make sure the people in the area saw the post, I figured since this was the more local forum it would still be appropriate to post in...Sorry again.

Thanks,

Logan Summers

Tournament Director - Fish On Bass Anglers

www.fishonbassclub.com

[BrianinMD]

Hey there Mr. Summers

Fish on Bass Anglers is the club I have been fishing with for the last two years, and I have enjoyed every minute of it. It is a great group of guys to fish with, I have learned a lot fishing as a co-angler. I had thought about joining a club for awhile and kept hearing horror stories about how co-anglers were treated. First night I showed up at a meeting I knew no one, immediately two guys came up, and introduced themselves. I joined that night, and fished about half of the tourneys the first year. Had way to much fun so I ended up fishing all of them this year. Now I went out and bought a boat so I have to fish against Logan (who is also this years angler of the year) and the other boaters.

If anyone has any questions feel free to ask me also.

[wv]

We have gotten out a few times but just to Sharpsburg Pond and once at the Potomac. River was too high and fast. We caught a couple LM about a 1 1/2 at Sharpsburg one time and nothing the next. Looks like fishing is over for us. I would still like to hit Black Hills just to check it out because I'm sure the fishing wouldn't be good. Also the Dickerson thing sounds good but like Black hills it is a lenghty trip. I cross the river at Williamsport 5/6 days a week. I should try the warm-water there. I went one time but couldn't find it and left. I think somebody posted to park in the poweer plant parking lot and walk down to the spot. I'll give it a try before our licenses expire. Hard to beleive another year has nearly gone by. Really regret not going to the "get-together"...just too much work and my son wasn't able to go. Hopefully another one comes together in the spring. Once again thanks to Brian for offering his phone number and to Basser89 for the effort and a thanks to whomever was going to get us a boat. The fishing club sounds interesting but not likely unless the fishing was on Sundays and not Saturdays and Sundays. Might not post much so I'll take this oppurtunity to wish all Happy Holidays now.

[basser89]

I did, actually. I fished a good length of the canal with no luck, it was the day after we got that snow and it was still about 32-33 out. Didnt make it to the actual river tho.

Yeah, sounds like your timing wasn't the greatest for fishing the canal. Brian can confirm also, there are some good bass in there. Probably won't be able to hit the warm water itself for a couple weeks yet.

We have gotten out a few times but just to Sharpsburg Pond and once at the Potomac. River was too high and fast. We caught a couple LM about a 1 1/2 at Sharpsburg one time and nothing the next. Looks like fishing is over for us. I would still like to hit Black Hills just to check it out because I'm sure the fishing wouldn't be good. Also the Dickerson thing sounds good but like Black hills it is a lenghty trip. I cross the river at Williamsport 5/6 days a week. I should try the warm-water there. I went one time but couldn't find it and left. I think somebody posted to park in the poweer plant parking lot and walk down to the spot. I'll give it a try before our licenses expire. Hard to beleive another year has nearly gone by. Really regret not going to the "get-together"...just too much work and my son wasn't able to go. Hopefully another one comes together in the spring. Once again thanks to Brian for offering his phone number and to Basser89 for the effort and a thanks to whomever was going to get us a boat. The fishing club sounds interesting but not likely unless the fishing was on Sundays and not Saturdays and Sundays. Might not post much so I'll take this oppurtunity to wish all Happy Holidays now.

Good to hear you've got out some wv. Its definitely a shorter trip to Dickerson than Black Hills for you but it is still a decent drive. As I said above, I'll probably start hitting Dickerson sometime after Thanksgiving.

[dcfdpipeman]

Logan, my app is in the mail.. I got it from BrianMD..

Brian, can I have fishing poles back, I swear I sent it in....

[Hellbenderman]

Went out at Dickerson today. Water was high and moving fast, but pretty clear. Water temp mid 40s. No fish, not a single bite.

[basser89]

Thanks for the heads up Chris. Did you make to the discharge or did you fish down further?

I'm planning on hitting the discharge next saturday. Hopefully water levels are still good. I actually prefer it when the levels are about where they were over this past weekend.

[BrianinMD]

He was probably holding on for dear life with Kevin driving his boat....

Hopefully going to get out this weekend, calling for a lot more rain so not sure what the river may be like. May have to do another run down to Anna, not my favorite place to fish but at least get to run the boat.