On 8/25/2016 at 0:13 PM, shsabres said:

@JeepFisher: I tried the spot you were talking about...don't waste your time...I didn't get so much as a bite on multiple different styles to include Senko, Ned rig, top water, frog..NOTHING. The water SMELLS terrible. Every cast brought up nothing but sludge. It was disgusting. Another example of how people are ruining our waterways because it was nothing but litter!!

That sucks but sadly not surprised. Was a nice area 30 year ago but sadly started going downhill fast in the late 90s early 2000s that made my family  move away. 

Hit Swains lock on the canal yesterday and walked north, fishing to the bridge and back.  Not a bite.  Water was Gin clear and very, very low.  Only saw two keeper bass.  Threw senkos and grubs (threw a jog for a little bit but weeds are too thick and the buzzbait was also a waste of time).  Plenty of fingerlings followed the lures, but that was it.  The river also looked very low and slack.  Not sure I will be going back to the canal anytime soon, seems the water conditions are not going to allow for much in the way of fishing.  

2 hours ago, Bigbarge50 said:

 Not sure I will be going back to the canal anytime soon, seems the water conditions are not going to allow for much in the way of fishing.  

I am saddened to hear the level is still so low, it is one of my favorite fisheries.  

Ive never fished the canal but work out there sometimes id like to give it a whirl lol

On ‎8‎/‎7‎/‎2016 at 1:30 PM, patred said:

The only legal-sized smallmouth on the Little Patuxent.  Caught it today, so not worth going back because he won't bite on anything else.

Pat

So I finally got out there today and got my first smallie!  Man, stream/river fishing is a totally different experience from pond hopping.  I had a great time.  I got him on a heddon torpedo.  Looking for some more tips, etc... for tackle and lures at this time of year.  I was using my lightest setup I have...12lb mono on a shimano spinning reel and medium rod.  Should I go lighter? Can I use braid? (hate memory).  Also saw a snakehead...and cast at his direction a few times and nothing.

You guys are honing in on my smallie spots 

I do my small river fishing with a ML rod spooled with 10lb braid with a 8lb YZH hybrid.  I mainly fish ned rigs for them, but have been branching out into other finesse baits.  So far I have had good luck with 3" senkos, the ~3" KT swimbaits rigged on small jigs, small, solid bodied tubes, and sometimes slider rigs.  

If anyone ever wants some company, I am always up for some smallie action if I am free.  

Hello All,

 

Thanks for the replies and I am seriously eager to hit the water!! my sons are coming into town for the first time in 4 yrs and we are heading out Friday. I don't mind driving further if its a great fishing spot. But I am going to try the spots you guys have suggested and go from there.

Sort of confused about the licenses. I have a boat fishing license but no sure if my sons need an inland if we go there? true or not?

Lately I've been using Z-Man worms and swimbaits on the Little Patuxent.  I usually carry two rods, one medium-light spincast rod with 6-lb fluorocarbon for the worms (or anything else to bounce off the bottom) and a medium spincast rod with 8-lb mono for the swimbaits (or topwater and jerk/crankbaits -- although water is too shallow right now for the latter, though).  Caught five smallmouths on Sunday including one that was 13 inches.

Pat

3 hours ago, patred said:

Lately I've been using Z-Man worms and swimbaits on the Little Patuxent.  I usually carry two rods, one medium-light spincast rod with 6-lb fluorocarbon for the worms (or anything else to bounce off the bottom) and a medium spincast rod with 8-lb mono for the swimbaits (or topwater and jerk/crankbaits -- although water is too shallow right now for the latter, though).  Caught five smallmouths on Sunday including one that was 13 inches.

Pat

Nice! thanks!

 

22 hours ago, Bunnielab said:

You guys are honing in on my smallie spots 

I do my small river fishing with a ML rod spooled with 10lb braid with a 8lb YZH hybrid.  I mainly fish ned rigs for them, but have been branching out into other finesse baits.  So far I have had good luck with 3" senkos, the ~3" KT swimbaits rigged on small jigs, small, solid bodied tubes, and sometimes slider rigs.  

If anyone ever wants some company, I am always up for some smallie action if I am free.  

If i can find a weekend to go out there ill hit you up.  I usually grab an hour or two before work while i can until it starts getting light too late in the morning.

With the canal being low and clear I've been fishing the river when I can. Smallmouth have been somewhat harder to get with the low and clear conditions. I have had some success with whole/chunked sunfish fished on the bottom. Caught my first flathead and a couple decent blues as well. Anyone else catch cats in the stretch above dc? Mainly been trying for big specimens as I don't eat them.

Haven't been able to get out much lately. Got these 2 fish in the past 2 weeks.

LMB on a whopper plopper 130

SMB on a popper

Tried Gwynns Falls during lunch and got these little guys. Anyone ever fish here?   Looks like some decent size trout hugging the bottom but I may be wrong. The werent interested in anything I threw? 

Fished the Potomac and the canal a a few different spots today and yesterday.  Tough fishing all over, was lucky to grind out a single fish at most spots.  Had a monster LMB slurp up my jig at Dickerson, but I freaked out and set the hook too soon.  

Lat spot I hit today was Hapers Ferry.  The water was low so rockhopping was super easy. 

Started catching right away, maybe one to two tiny smallies at each decent pool. Then, right as a tubing group was passing by, I hooked into this fella:

I was using my new bfs combo and it was a great fight, I wasn't sure I could get him in at first, I think I need to look at the drag, I had to lock it all the way down to keep any progress on him.  Easily the biggest smallie I have caught to date and a nice end to the trip.

 

Does your new bf fish?

I'm pretty sure by bfs he means bait finesse. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyone ever fish Dead Run where Rt 70 ends in Woodlawn at the Park and Ride?

Finally got some bass out of the large pond at Governors Bridge.   This brings my total to 5, out of like a hundred trips.  

Caught this weird bass on the South River the other day:

FINALLY got back out Sunday to take advantage of the uptick in river level. Finally enough water to float my boat. Fished the Upper Potomac for only 3 or so hours and only managed 2 smallmouth. River was FULL of floating grass from the recent water level rise making fishing tough. 14" on a 2.75" Mizmo tube and an 18" 2#13oz on a Whopper Plopper 90. The bigger of the two made the trip worth it.

So, I haven't posted at all in here over the summer. But now that fall is here the fish are getting bigger.

My normal during the week fishing spot was Culler lake in Frederick since it's 5 mins away from me, has been drained, dredged, and is under going restoration this past summer.  Lucky for me I work at Ft. Derick and they have a pond there that, from what I've seen, is not heavily fished.  Over the summer it was a very productive but also a dink feast.

In the last 2 weeks all the big boys have come out to play.  They have been crushing the top water in the morning. One morning I caught 11 in an hour with a just quick trip around the pond.  A few of the bigger ones

Normally I get out to the Potomac in my kayak, but every time I had a chance to get out it seemed like it would rain, so didn't really get as much smallmouth fishing in as I would have liked.

I also hit my least favorite place in Frederick this week, Whittier lake.  I can't figure that d**n place out. I may have caught 3 or 4 total fish out of that place in the last 2 years.  Anyway, finally lucked into this guy Monday night on a chatterbait.

 

All in all, it was a fantastic numbers year for me, but I've had to wait until Fall to get into the bigger fish.  Well worth the wait.

 

Got out for a short session on the Potomac at the usual spot. Water was higher and much colder than the last time. I caught this 16" smallie 5 feet from the bank behind a boulder that last time was in about 8" of water.

 

 

 

I hit the potomac near the chain bridge today. I was looking for smallies and didn't find any but I was surprised to find several schoolie sized striped bass. Largest was this one, just 1/2" short of legal size. Rest were in the 15-18" range.

I finally caught one of the bruisers in Allen Pond that have been taunting me for a year now.

There were four or five of them cruising around in the shallows by the bank/wall.  Yesterday I threw a jointed jerkbait, a t-rigged worm, and a senko both ways at them to no effect.  Returned today with a slow-sink jig.  I got nothing for about 45 min, then saw the school again and pitched my jig about 10' in-front of them.  It got hit right away.  

A bit later I caught this smaller one on a chatterbait also tight to the bank.

I have never had much luck there, but it is so close to my house I go once a month or so.  I am going to hit it up more often this winter and try to jig around the deep part more and ignore the better looking natural shoreline that has never produced much for me.  

 

Went to canal at Dickerson and water level was lowest I've ever seen.  Some parts were only few inches deep and water was so low, that no water was flowing through drainage pipe near parking lot.  All the feeder creeks were bone dry too.

Either it's intentionally being drained, or lack of rain is having major impact.  Just hope that one of my favorite place doesn't get ruined.

I took a bike trip south of Hancock this weekend.  Didn't get to fish much but caught a few smallies in the river by Dam 5.  Saw a ton of great water both in the river and the canal and really need to head up there with my kayak this winter.  Anyone have the lowdown on Little and Big Pools?  The look promising but the wind was up when we passed.  

This is my first year striper fishing and the last week has been on fire.  Have caught probably 20 fish in 4 trips but only 3 or 4 legal size.  Man do they fight harder than i'm used to.