The locations
Piney Run: Tonight until midnight is the Full Moon Frenzy largemouth bass tournament. Call the park at 410-795-5165 for details. Top-water lures and Senkos worked on overcast days have been the best baits for targeting largemouth bass, says Jim Gronaw at the park office. Trolling deep water with nightcrawlers has resulted in bluegill catches up to 11 inches. Mike Gamber of Sykesville caught a 40.5-inch tiger muskie on a crankbait last week.
Prettyboy Reservoir: Fall-like days and cool nights have dropped the water temperature about 10 degrees to the mid-70s, says Duke Nohe of the Maryland Aquatic Resource Coalition. Early morning and evenings have produced the best results. Anglers should target bass at the points and humps in 35 to 45 feet of water. Pigs and jigs tipped with pork rind, French fries and spider jigs have been successful. White perch up to one pound are at 25 feet. Troll nightcrawlers on spinners.
Loch Raven Reservoir: The water is warm and the fishing remains good, says John Forbes at the Loch Raven Fishing Center. Bluegills are taking meal worms, wax worms and nightcrawlers in the coves. Bass and pickerel are at the edges of the grass beds. Entice them with spinnerbaits and rubber worms. White perch are in the deep water. Troll a spinner hook with a piece of worm; use about a half-ounce weight and a 2 1/2 -foot to 3-foot leader.
Liberty Reservoir: Low-light conditions continue to produce the best results for anglers targeting bass and walleyes, says Doug Geis at Old Reisterstown Bait and Tackle. Best baits are live crawfish and shiners; if you're using artificials, surface lures work best. Fishing from the Nicodemus Bridge has been slow. Deep areas of Keysers Run and Cooks Run have been the best locations for crappies. Minnows are best bait.
Susquehanna River: Furnace Bay's grass beds have a lot of bass. Cast spinnerbaits and plastics. Catfishing has been excellent in deep holes, with white perch sometimes mixed in. Anglers at Conowingo Dam have been using Bass Assassins, Storm Lures and small spoons.
Gunpowder River: Fishing has been superb, says Rocky Cox at Backwater Angler in Monkton, with clear water in the mid-50s. Small olives, size 18-20, have been hatching in the morning. Tan #10-12 hoppers, size 10-12, with a pheasant tail dropper have been a good option for the afternoon. Cox recommends 9- to 12-foot leaders of 6x tippet.
Middle River: Bass up to 3 pounds are hunkered in the grass beds, says Jerry Sersen at The Fishin' Shop on Pulaski Highway. Plastics and spinnerbaits are the best lures. Stripers are being caught in the Poole Island shoals on eels and white perch. Large perch are being caught in the same waters and at Tolchester. Crabbers have been having a field day on the Middle, Back, Bush and Gunpowder rivers. One crabber with 20 traps caught three-quarters of a bushel in three hours, working the tributaries.
Triadelphia and Rocky Gorge reservoirs: Last week's rains pushed the reservoirs to the brims, but the water is clear, says Hector Padilla, the WSSC officer at Brighton Dam. Anglers are catching catfish at Triadelphia on chicken livers and crawfish. Thomas Pryor caught a 14-pound, 8-ounce channel cat that measured 32 inches on Sunday on a crawfish. Largemouth bass and bluegills are being caught at both reservoirs. Low-light conditions continue to produce the best fishing.
Chesapeake Bay: Rockfish, bluefish and Spanish mackerel are rocking and rolling in Southern Maryland, says Ken Lamb at The Tackle Box in Lexington Park. Trollers targeting mackerel are using tiny gold-and-silver Clark spoons trolled fast with either small in-line weights and long leaders or No. 1 trolling planer. The best location for these fast-moving surface feeders is the mouth of the Potomac and about two miles east of Point Lookout. White perch fishing in the creeks is excellent. Use small spinner baits. It is not uncommon to catch a fish on as many as 30 consecutive casts in many locations in the Patuxent and its feeder creeks. A tiny bit of bloodworm, nightcrawler or squid on the lure is helpful. Capt. Jim Brincefield reports good chumming for rockfish, blues, croaker and spot at the Gooses using razor clams and cut bunker as hook bait. A few croakers have been caught at the mouth of the Choptank River. Bloodworms, clams, or peelers are good bait options for bottom fishing. White perch, catfish, and some striped bass have been biting well on peeler crab and nightcrawlers in the Wye River. White perch were also caught periodically at Hacketts, Tollys, and north of Thomas Point Light, although none of these locations provided consistent opportunities. White perch, small spot, catfish and occasional small bluefish were landed at the Choptank Pier using bloodworms and peelers.
