Eric's Southern Maryland Freshwater Report

Type: Nontidal
Region: Southern
Location: St. Mary's Lake

Southern Maryland fresh water fishing this past week has been great fun. Fishing at Saint Mary�s River Watershed State Park ($3 to get in) and Hutchins Pond State Park (free) produced some nice bluegill, bass and trout.

While fishing on St. Mary�s Lake (250 acres) this past Monday, I caught largemouth bass on plugs over Hydrilla grass. I caught a few, the biggest being 13 inches, I spoke to other anglers and they claimed to catch only one bass each... may just be their cover story? Bass fishing has slowed on the Lake. I did fish Wednesday at the spillway pond and caught nearly twenty bluegill/sunfish. Some were big enough to be keepers if you're willing to haul them back to the car from the dam area. The bluegill/sunfish were rising for dry flys and a few took a woolly bugger. The river below the pond is nearly a creek for the 1/4 mile I walked back. No fishing there.

Hutchins Pond on Thursday produced some holdover rainbow trout from the October put-and-take stock. I released the ones I caught so, if your willing, they are still there. I took them on a brown woolly bugger while fishing the back end of the pond and casting towards the center of the pond, between both banks. I also took some decent bluegill too.

The trout are surfacing so keep a lookout. Once you spotthem, cast to the spot then retrieve slowly. They may tap the woolly bugger but not take it. But be patient, cast back to the same spot, wait for it, then set the hook. Fun stuff!

On Friday I went back to Saint Mary�s Lake for chain pickerel. Maybe? I hear striper are on the move in the Patuxent River. We will see!