As a guy used to fishing ponds for largemouth & sometimes sunfish in Virginia, I am completely lost fishing for smallies in the Monocacy. My kids have recently taken a lot of interest in fishing for the first time, but I feel lost. We are mostly fishing from the shore & sometimes doing some wading, but we have little luck. We sometimes fish the Potomac from the Lander area, also with little success.

Any help anyone could provide on strategy, lures and areas to fish would be GREATLY appreciated by both me & my kids.

One other question...I have a small john boat with a live well & a trolling motor that I use in Virginia. Would that be effective in either the Monocacy (very shallow in spots) or in the Lander area or would I need to get an outboard?

Thanks in advance to any help or suggestions that anyone may have.

Even though it might not be the best option for your children I would have to suggest using jerkbaits for smallies. A few of us have hit the Potomac and Monocacy for quite a few years with very good results fishing them erratically. Bandit cranks in the footloose and 100 series are also a good option that most can fish easily. Basser89 on this  board hits some areas with a Jon boat and trolling motor but he knows the rivers extremely well so I would have to recommend an outboard in case you get into trouble.