Fat Boy

Nice fish Lee, sounds like a fun action filled morning!

Glad to see you back Sean, good report Ken. Dew, sure, next time you see me give me a holler. Went to BH again today, fished with my buddy Howard out of his crawdad from about 1 PM until sunset. We started off slow, Howard with 5 bass on a plastic worm and I got one decent one on a Baby Brush Hog. I did fish some big baits targeting tiger musky for a good amount of time, but no follows or hits. At one point we trolled for a little while and the only action that I had was snagging and losing my musky spinnerbait in a submerged tree. Try breaking off 80 lb. Suffix 832, it ain't easy while trying not to sink a crawdad! My buddy Howard caught a huge yellow perch trolling a spinnerbait for muskies...pretty funny. Around 3 PM or so things began to pick up. I switched to a plastic worm and began to pick up some decent fish. Again, they weren't necessarily on wood, instead cruising and feeding along the first drop off, but we did find a few on the wood. I got one on a chatterbait at the end of the day, the only fish on hardware. Howard finished with a dozen and I got into a zone and wound up with 21 total (19 on the plastic worm). Only 5 were dinks, the rest were between 15 and 18" long. Some were fat, and some were spawned out with obvious bedding wounds. I think that for the most part, they are done but there may be a few males still protecting beds, although I didn't see any of them. I'm wondering if some are bedding deeper because that water is still pretty clear. There were a lot of boats out there today. Here are a few couple pics, but my 18" one didn't turn out. I'm ready to buy a real camera and stop using my Droid. The Droid is OK, but not reliable. The perch that thought he was a musky: Howard with a decent bass: Here's one with the black spot syndrome covering the tail: Howard with another good one: Takin' the shoes off, kickin' back, ketchin' bass: Spunky largemouth:

I fished BH with a buddy Dave on Saturday for about six hours. Sorry for the late report. I caught 15 bass of which four were dinks with the average about a pound and a half, with the biggest going 17". My buddy caught 17 with the smallest going 12", averaging two and a half pounds, with the biggest going at probably 18". He kicked my butt basically. I felt like I was a dog chasing his tail all day. Every time I tried to get a reaction bite going, he was hauling bass in on finesse stuff and I'd "have" to change back to keep up. Things would slow, and I'd try that reaction bite again, and he'd hook up. What worked? Nothing on the hardware although I had two soft hits/follows on a chatterbait. Soft plastics, 4 or 5" long, natural colors were the ticket...anything with a slow fall caught fish (Senkos, plastic worms, etc.). We were Texas rigging with light weight or no weight. The fish were cruising, not necessarily tight to cover. At times, bites came frequently while at others, especially later in the day, I struggled. I kept hoping to see what Kevin I. filmed last week, but it didn't happen. I did see a decent bass take a dying bluegill off the top of the water. Also, one one of the dink bass that I hooked, something huge followed it up. I just caught a glimpse so I couldn't identify it, same with Dave. But we think that it could have been a tiger musky perhaps, or a huge bass, not sure which. Are there big cats in there too? I've never caught or seen them, but I'd imagine so. Looking back, the numbers weren't all that bad. But man did we work for them. Here are a couple pics: This one was actually a double, the longer fish was his, the short fat one was mine...

Very cool Kevin, thanks for sharing. That definitely would get my blood pumped. I'd love to toss a Senko right in front of that bucketmouth!

Cool report Kevin! Ken, it sounds like a great time to toss a buzzbait too, or if you need something weedless, a fluke! Man, I haven't been out much lately...been chompin' at the bit to get out after work, but have had to work late amongst other things that demand my time

Allen's right about Rocky Gap. Senkos have been hot for me lately in the Central Maryland lakes. Since that's a bit cooler up there, I'd say that they'd be hot again in that area since they're about a week behind. Natural colors (smokes, pumpkins, watermelons).

Don't give up on it because the fishing can be awesome, and there are some real pigs in there. Think of each trip as a learning experience. If you're not getting the result that you want, try something else. If you know that fish are there, it's often a change in presentation or color. If you aren't sure about fish being there, try a different spot, either a local change (like a deeper spot) or a big change (a different part of the lake), etc. There are no secret spots on the lake from shore, so for every area, there should be a trail to get you along a fishable shoreline. You can't go wrong with plastics of some sort, so if hard baits aren't producing, go with plastics. Have some for different presentations (surface film like flukes, slow sinking like Senko style baits, plastic worms of varying lengths used with matching hooks - and vary the weight from no weight, to not much weight, to more weight to get the lure to the fish either suspended or on the bottom, wherever you think they are). For this lake, the vast majority of the time the natural colors will work nicely, although all black can be very good too. If the fish are aggressive, go bigger, if they're finicky, try a 4" worm. Tube jigs also work well, and I like to Texas rig them, but whatever works for you so that you can fish into the cover and not hang up. Everyone has their favorite brands, so I won't go there. That's my approach for catching numbers of bass. Now, if you're after that one big bite on that one big fish, think big baits, and expect to get skunked once in a while, but when you do get bit, it will be a good fish. So, what I try to do is achieve a balance for having fun and catching numbers while also looking for big fish. During prime bites or when it's good, I'll catch a few then go to a bigger bait to try for a big fish. Now, of course, if I'm having a lot of fun catching decent ones, I will just have fun and keep on doing it. It all depends on the mood of the fish and my mood. Bottom line is, BH is a good lake...and well worth figuring it out.

It's like anywhere else Dew, you can have good days or bad days. There are some spots better than others, and I'd try different access areas of the lake and hike a bit to get away from the crowds. Find cover, and you'll find fish, find structure, and you'll find fish. When it gets weedy, find places where you can effectively fish the weed edges (deeper areas). And fish lures that won't hang up and are cheap (spinnerbaits/buzzers/topwater or plastics). Part of the fun of learning a new lake is to explore. You will find some spots that other people may not know about except for a few anglers that know the lake inside out. The good thing about BH is that most of the shoreline is public, although there are spots where access is limited because of trees, etc. where you can't get a cast in. But there are other places that you can hike to that have plenty of room. Use Google Maps and zoom in to help you find access and structure.

Excellent report Peter. I can't think of a better way to bond than to spend time outdoors with your daughter. You have a great attitude, and seem like you're enjoying every moment. Next thing you know, she'll be winning women's bass tourneys!!!!

Sounds good Peter, will do...glad to see you out fishing and posting again. My buddy Howard and I plopped the Crawdad into Triadelphia Reservoir yesterday. I was curious about the pike, but our primary goal was to just fish and have a good time, no pressure, and to take what the lake gave us. We started out bass fishing and struggled a little while until we finally put together a pattern. I caught 11 bass, all but two were keeper sized fish with the biggest largemouth going 18". Howard caught a few less than me but managed a nice smallie that made me jealous Senkos were the ticket for the bass, although I had a couple light hits on a Rat-L-Trap and caught one bass on a plastic worm. Of the 11 bass, three were smallies. I'm sure that I could have caught more bass but we spent a lot of time with the panfish, because, well, it was pretty fun catching fish after fish so easily. Here's a pic of one of the bass: Here's Howard's smallie: In between bass catches, we also found the crappie which were spawning and extremely easy to catch. I lost count after catching 48 crappie, with a dozen green sunfish, eight bluegills and a yellow perch mixed in, all hammering a 2" Kalin's grub. I managed to lose a massive crappie right before lipping it that would have been well over 15" long, with a mouth that looked like it could inhale a tennis ball. I giggled like a school kid as I was fighting it on the ultralight, which may have sent enough vibrations down the Nanofil line to work the hook loose. I also was curious about catching a Pike, so...after catching about half the crappie, we moved on and I changed my focus to pike. I didn't bring any musky rods and used my bass flipping rod as my pike set up. I lobbed glider for about 45 minutes and had a follow, but not from a pike, but rather a 6" yellow perch!!!!!!! I couldn't believe that it was interested in such a big lure, pretty funny. After that, I tossed a Mepps Musky Killer spinner, and then an 8" Jake for a while. No northern follows at all after an hour and a half. I also saw a sign that they had stocked tiger muskies in the lake, but they're probably like the Black Hill relatives being old and perhaps dying off by now. But I had hoped to raise one anyway, but no luck. With an hour or so to fish, I had the Mepps on and had a hit! I worked that spot over again and again with the spinner, went to a Hell Hound, then tried a Rapala Magnum X-Rap...nada. I wondered if it was even a pike at all, so I changed back to the Senko and sure enough, had a hit at that very spot, and it turned out to be my biggest largemouth at 18" long, which was my 10th bass of the day. Dang. But, not a bad consolation prize. After that, I decided to keep fishing the Senko and wouldn't you know it, on the way back to the ramp in a place that I wouldn't have thought, I had a pike follow it to the boat. I tried to go into an F8 but it spooked and shot off in a different direction from whence it came. I went back to the bucktail but couldn't tempt it to hit again, never saw it again. I estimated it to be in the mid 30's and pretty fat. Time was almost up and the wind had picked up, so we headed back before the batteries would be drained. Yesterday was about catching fish and having fun. But that follow gave me confidence that next time, I may leave the other species stuff at home, and fish bigger baits for pike. And who knows, I may get a HUGE tiger if any are still alive.

Well, I fished a pond w/Monocacy and shook off the skunk monster! No big ones, but lots of action on Senkos. He caught several bass too on plastic worms, Senkos and lizards.

Welcome to the three new guys! Great guys on here for sure. I've been skunked that past four trips in a row: Trip 1: trolled the Bay for stripers near the Bay Bridge - skunked, no hits... Trip 2: musky fished, had a musky roll on my lure but missed, no other action, skunked again... Trip 3: trolled the Bay for stripers near Pt. Lookout - skunked, no hits... Trip 4: trolled the Bay for stripers near the Bay Bridge again, one hit, no hook ups, skunked again... You'd think that I'd learn. I've never been skunked in back to back trips (save for one time during foul weather where I couldn't stay home), much less four trips in a row. I H8 trolling. I miss bass fishing. I hope to get out tomorrow evening for some willing largemouth - I hope.

That's what it's all about Kevin. Each time out builds on your experience and makes each trip that much better. Sorry you lost the big fish. At least you fought it, and next time might end in a positive way. Isn't that why we always go back?

Nice report Bill...Good luck fishin' the 'Mac!

Allen, that's a nice day anywhere, especially at BH! Congrats!!!

I was able to get out yesterday for a few hours. I have one really hot spot that always pays off with a big fish or two that I stopped at. My first five casts either snagged the cover or something else went wrong. I lost the jig half of my chatterbait on the first cast, without snagging, coming back with only the snap and the blade. Somehow, the blade slipped out of the jig eye, and it went flying out to oblivion. I pulled out another one to replace it, and the snap was missing. I pulled out another one and my cast went one inch too far into the cover and hung up. I was able to free it but it went flying over my head, snagging my other rod hanging on my back and into the brush behind me. After getting it out of the sticker bushes, untangling my line, and getting it back I noticed that my trailer was gone. I replaced it. The next cast went too far to the left and hung on an overhanging branch, I flipped it off and it flew back at me and hit me in the chest. Ouch, it hurt. My next cast did the same thing and I yelled out a word that I never use that scared a blue heron away. I settled down and finally made a good cast and caught my first bass, a twelve incher, but it was a start. After that, I caught nine more bass and finished with ten on the day, all but three were over 14" with a fat one going 18" long. I tried to get a picture but my Droid would not cooperate. I yelled that word at the top of my lungs again. I'm glad that nobody was around to hear me either time. I figured that getting another pic of a three pound bass wasn't worth waiting for my phone to work properly and risk his life, so I released it without a pic. I caught 7 on a chatterbait, so the reaction bite was still on. I didn't see any cruising the bank or on beds yet. The other three were on a plastic worm. I also caught one 10" crappie on a worm. I had a nice hit on the worm, then it began to swim off and I set the hook into what I thought was a big bass. But my excitement of that prospect changed quickly to surprise and disappointment quickly, but humerous at the same time. I managed to land this critter, fair hooked on a plastic worm, my weirdest catch of the year so far: I can sum things up about this weird trip...Friday the 13th!

Mike, what I used to do was to use an ADC County Map, pick out bridge crossings and check them out. If there was parking and the area wasn't posted, or there was some sort of access, we'd give it a try. Of course, it also assumes that it's a wadable stretch of water too. If the fishing was good, we'd return, otherwise, we'd try other spots. Fishing Report 4/9/12 My buddy Howard and I went out yesterday in his crawdad. They were calling for 25-30 mph winds, so of course, our bad luck with the weather continued. But we are determined to get our fishing time in. We picked a tidal creek of the Potomac that most likely would provide us some protection from the winds. Fortunately, we were able to hang along a shoreline that protected us from the wind for the most part. I did OK considering that we fished maybe a 1/2 mile of shoreline at the most. I finished with 11 largemouth with the biggest at 18", only two were short fish. Rat-L-Traps caught the most fish, followed by T-rigged plastic worms. The worms may have produced a bit better had the wind let you fish them without blowing your line all over or the boat. It was fun and better than work though. Pics: Spunky... Fat and Spunky... Howard caught this one as a nuclear explosion went off (kidding...my phone camera takes pics like this sometimes and I have no clue why)... I caught this one on the way back to the ramp with zero fishing time left, last desperate cast kind of thing: I lost a big bass that wrapped up in the cover while my buddy was changing batteries with the anchor down. I gave the fish slack but it wouldn't free the line. I felt it pulling, it would come up and jump, boil on the surface, and there was nothing that I could do until the boat became mobile again. I was helpless, and so was the bass. After the boat was under power again, we motored up and the bass boiled again, and was gone, leaving my lure snagged below in the cover. I tried to free it and it broke off. I lost both the fish and my favorite Rat-L-Trap. I cried. You can't replace those fish catching cranks with the paint all beaten off, and scarred by hook rash and teeth marks. Luckily, after that, I pulled out a new one brand spankin' new out of the box, changed out the hooks, and caught three more. I guess I have a new favorite trap now and I'll use it until all of the paint is gone on it!

Nice smallie Allen!

My only concern about this tactic by the MD DNR is that even though money is a great motivator to catch and kill snakeheads, it also could be a motivation for someone to raise and continually stock more to perpetuate the cycle.

Thanks Kevin, glad that you liked it. I've had a blast writing the blog. When I was younger, if someone would have told me that I enjoyed writing, I'da laughed my butt off. I have no idea what changed in me. LOL

Day's one and three, lipless cranks were the ticket for both species: Steve with a big blue cat caught on a lipless crank

I'm not going to go into details other than my buddies did about the same as I did over the weekend while fishing with them on the Upper Tidal Potomac. We fished several locations, and the main theme was if you find the grass you'll find the bass. Lipless cranks worked best, but on woody cover when we did fish it we found some decent bass too. Chatterbaits and plastic worms were the ticket at those spots. I caught 37 largemouth in 20 hours of fishing and not one was less than 15" and the biggest went 19". One of my buddies landed a 21.5" bass on a plastic worm. We also spent a fair amount of time looking for stripers and managed to catch some schoolies. I landed 19 stripers over the weekend. While fishing the plastic worms, we also landed some other bonus species like long yellow perch and a few slab crappie. After a weekend of catching good numbers of decent size bass, the result is "bass thumb". I blogged jokingly about it, and you can get the link to my blog from my profile. Hope you like that post too. Here are some pics, I have more but I'm only going to share some of my favorites...enjoy: My buddy Steve with an approx 6 lb. largemouth Here's a fatty...and a decent size bass too Typical striper for the weekend, they went 20-25"...we did see a larger one roll on the surface, but nobody hooked any of that class: My buddy Howard with a nice bass: Me again, this one on a plastic worm: Most of them on the second day were on chatterbaits:

Kevin I, nice report! Sounds like that crankbait is a hot lure. Change out the treble hooks and put premium ones on it (like Gamakatsus or something comparable).

I agree with Brian and Sean. Get used to it, then adjust and push your limits a little at a time by adjusting either or both the magnets and line tension knob. Accuracy is most important always. When fishing baitcasters, it's not a finesse approach anyway. At least in my case, I'm tossing big lures and am not worried about spooking fish with short casts. Rather, I'm thinking about covering water, lots of shorter casts that hit where you want will keep you in the strike zone more often than long inaccurate casts. The exception might be flipping and pitching, where the goal is to toss larger lures with little or no splash. Those are advanced techniques, and are important to learn, but again, even with those, accuracy is most important. But with spinnerbaits and topwater, the splash actually attracts bass to hit sometimes. Distance will come with experience.

Good luck Bill. Here's a belated 3/23 report: Sorry that I’m late getting this out. Mark and I met up at our secret spot only to find two other anglers working it. They were fishing ultralight tackle mostly using in-line spinners. They said that they each caught about 15 bass with the biggest at 16”. When I arrived, my buddy Mark had already caught several bass on plastic worms. I noticed that the water was up a little bit, which was nice to see. There was a lot of scum on the water’s surface. I guess it had turned over. The fish didn’t seem to mind. I caught this well fed fat 14” largemouth on a chatterbait on my first cast before catching up to Mark. I caught this next fish on the very next cast, followed by a backlash that cost me 10 minutes of valuable fishing time. These 14” fish seemed to be about my average on the evening. Mark with a chunky largemouth caught on a plastic worm. Mark had to leave soon after that, but the fish and I stayed until dark. Here’s another of those average ones: I really liked the colors of these fish. I finished the evening catching a small largemouth on a buzzbait. That was the first bass that I’ve ever landed on a buzzbait in Maryland in March. What incredibly good fishing weather we’ve had this early spring. I finished with 13 fat bass all around 13-15” on my favorite chatterbait (gold with white skirt, white ringworm trailer), and one dink on a buzzer. After catching several bass, I started getting a lot of hits but missing them. I added a trailer hook and that helped my hooking percentage quite a bit. Unfortunately, the trailer hook, making the lure not quite as weedless, caught a log making my cast about 1” too long from being perfect, and I lost my favorite chatterbait. Those Z-Man chatterbaits really get a lot of attention, but I’m not really happy with their hooks. I find them difficult to sharpen and keep sharp, and they’re dull right out of the package. I’ll be checking other brands to see if their hooks are any better. I’ve caught a lot of bass, and big ones, on that lure over the past several years, but that hook issue is their one drawback. Anyone have recommendations of one of these style lures with premium sharp hooks? The bass seemed really aggressive. I love the reaction bite, so that’s all I tried. I think that if I had fished a worm, my numbers would have been much better, especially if I had followed up my misses with the worm. I’ll admit it, I was lazy. If the fish hit and I saw that it wasn’t a big one, I moved on looking for the big bass. Picky, picky, picky… I didn't get any big bass. I know that these fish pictured in this post aren't all that big, but pictures help tell the story and they're much more pleasing to the eye than just text. My next trip out will be Friday morning Upper Tidal Potomac. We’ll test the waters for stripers and fish for bass if we don’t locate the rock.