Looking for beginner fishing advice

My job gives me a ton of weekday time off work and with .22lr being in short supply I decided to give fishing a whirl as a semi-productive hobby to fill my time. I bought a little rig the other day and have been trying to fish this little pond where I live, but with no luck. No one has fished there in recent memory and with the freeze over this winter there may be no fish in it.

So I am looking for advice on where to try my luck. I don't want anyone's secret spot or anything, just a good basic place to get my line wet and maybe catch something. I read through the DNR pdf of all the laws and what not but it doesn't really give me much to go on and googling "good fishing spots Maryland" gives too many results to sift through.

I am in the Davidsonville area and would love any recommendations around an hour or less away. I don't mind doing a bit of hiking to get in and in fact kinda prefer it.

If any of you all also happen to be weekday fishermen and are willing to show me some pointers I promise to keep my mouth shut and provide the beer.

Look at the forums at Tidalfish.com. A lot of times you can get a ride on a boat for a few bucks in cash for fuel. Lots of guys there who will help you.

Might I recommend you try all the creeks, streams, rivers, bays, ponds, and lakes you can find.

I know of some fishing on the Potomac up near me, but we mainly go after catfish after dark.

Join a bass club as a non boater. That's the fastest way to learn.

Trout? Anything near you? Requires a stamp and there are closure time frames but, fishing during the week after the mad rush can still offer up some nice fish.

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/stocking/printversion.pdf

Plenty of choices

For fresh water you have a Patuxent River, tidal down near Upper Marlboro.
Old Severn River bridge pier.

Sandy Point State Park jetty. (Bay Bridge)

Wye Mills pond, Tuckahoe SP both better w/ boat

Check out Md DNR for maps, park info, license info, fishing reports. http://www.dnr.state.md.us/FISHERIES/fishingreport/


GOOD LUCK!

Could be a little early. I fished the westminister AG center last weekend and caught a few blue gills on waxworms. Same day I went to my local pond, caught nothing. In the summer you can catch 60 fish at a time in that pond. Let it warm up and I bet your luck will change.

Are you seeing any bait fish around the shore?

bunnielab said:

My job gives me a ton of weekday time off work and with .22lr being in short supply I decided to give fishing a whirl as a semi-productive hobby to fill my time. I bought a little rig the other day and have been trying to fish this little pond where I live, but with no luck. No one has fished there in recent memory and with the freeze over this winter there may be no fish in it....

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Small ponds can be tough to fish. Assuming there are fish there, you might need be more stealthy approaching the area. Lighter tackle, natural baits, smaller lures and use some finesse when casting, as to not create any unnatural disturbance.

You might also have better results when it warms up a bit more. If the water is still cold, you have to work your bait/lure extremely slowly to provoke a hit.

What are you using for bait and how are you presenting it?

A nightcrawler on a #6 hook with no weight, or rigged with a slip sinker should act as a fish finder. Cast it up around any sort of cover you notice, work it slowly and let the worm do the work. Focus on areas where cover and/or shallow water adjoins deeper areas. Drop-offs, logs sticking out over deeper water, etc.

So I am looking for advice on where to try my luck. I don't want anyone's secret spot or anything, just a good basic place to get my line wet and maybe catch something. I read through the DNR pdf of all the laws and what not but it doesn't really give me much to go on and googling "good fishing spots Maryland" gives too many results to sift through.

I am in the Davidsonville area and would love any recommendations around an hour or less away. I don't mind doing a bit of hiking to get in and in fact kinda prefer it.

If any of you all also happen to be weekday fishermen and are willing to show me some pointers I promise to keep my mouth shut and provide the beer.

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You can fish the Severn Run up toward Millersville when they stock it. Hatchery trout on light spinning tackle using commercial doughballs that resemble commercial trout pellets, LOL. You might as well catch them out of there as soon after stocking as possible, they'll die anyway. Check for the stocking schedule/open fishing dates.

I have not fished Patuxent ponds (Rt 424 west of 301, right turn on Patuxent Road, up a few miles on the left) in quite a few years. If nothing substantial has changed, you should be able to catch a few stunted bluegills and an 11-3/4" bass to entertain yourself. It used to really take a beating and it can be hard to catch anything, I've caught bass in there up to two pounds on weird stuff, like a 3" streamer fly and on Pork-Os when they first came out, but most larger fish in there were quite well educated and would ignore anything on the front row at the lure store.

The Patuxent River up your end holds white suckers up to about 15"-18" long and I've caught a bunch on a worm 3' under a bobber in various places along the river. Certain times of year, various species run the river, and I once caught a 10" striper just below Conway Road bridge. We put a 10' boat in where the river crosses Patuxent Road and drifted (+400 portages over trees and gravel bars) down to Conway Road and caught small specimens of almost every species of fish commonly found, including smallmouth, largemouth, channel cats, bluegills, rock bass, suckers...

I don't mind catching the smaller fish for fun. I usually use an ultra-light and unless it's a meat fishing trip (stripers, larger catfish, dolphin, etc.) on heavier tackle, I let everything go anyway.

The lakes at Columbia can be pretty good bass fishing from shore. We used to work them in May and really catch a lot of fish, but the season to keep them didn't open until June, and by then, the water is choked out by aquatic vegetation. The fish are still there, and will hit frogs worked through thin spots, just just buried in the grass and tough to hook and retrieve.

Centennial Lake out at Clarksburg is pretty good fishing if you can find them. I've caught quite a few bass one day, then skunked another, then bang them again. You'll want to rent one or their canoes or bring your own.

If you want decent fishing for good-sized fish, you're almost going to have to be in a boat. Even a canoe will open a LOT of places, most notably tidal creeks and smaller rivers on the eastern shore, and tributaries to the Potomac like Nanjemoy Creek, Piscataway and Mattawoman.

There are times of year when you can catch good numbers of blues, stripers and catfish off Ft. Armistead and other public access places. Other than ponds, most fishing around your area is seasonal, where various species "run" at certain times. Yellow perch are probably coming on about now and can be fished from shore. White perch will be along soon, biting first in dark bottom areas where the water warms quickly in the spring (Chicamicomico River, for example). Stripers and blues have their peak seasons, and a good charter out of Annapolis at the right time of year can be very productive. We have been out and positively hammered 30" fish. Channel cats and blue cats run upstream at certain times of year to spawn, and often pile up at obstructions, such as at the base of a dam. We've had nights where we caught dozens of 5-8# fish. Some of the smaller dams upstream on the Potomac can be very productive and water quality is much better than it used to be.

If you don't mind a longer drive, the upper Potomac can be a lot of fun when it gets warmer. South of Frederick, we would put canoes in at Noland's Ferry and paddle up to Point of Rocks, then drift fish down. Lots of smallmouths, and channel cats, and even a few largemouths in the backwaters around those islands.

At Harper's Ferry, much of the water is wade-able and it is a well known smallmouth fishery.

We would go through Green Ridge State Forest and access the river off Outdoor Club Road. It is wade-able almost everywhere up there, from Little Orleans up to Paw Paw. There are smallmouths, catfish and pike. Nothing very big, but usually lots of action. They stocked the area with Northern Pike a few years ago and there should be an isolated monster or two by now, if they didn't die off.

Otherwise, there really isn't much to do around there.

Wow, thanks guys, and holy hell E.Shell, that is a lot to process, thanks for the info dump.

Tomorrow I am going to rig a 5 gallon bucket to an old pack frame I have so I can bring some beer/ice with me and hit the pond again around nightfall.

I guess I am still wondering how one knows exactly where it is and isn't ok to fish. I assume I just look around on google maps and find parks on the water and look around on their site and see if you can fish there? Fishing seems more "loose" than hunting, assuming you have a boat I guess?

Go to wal-mart and get these. Drag across the pond with a steady slow retrieve (throw in a couple small wrist snaps if you wish). If nothing hits them find a new spot

What's your bait? Small ponds work best with worms and dragonfly nymphs, along with light line and maybe a small bobber. Getting worms is easy right now. There are thousands all over my driveway.

I'm in Davidsonville too. Check out the patuxent bridge on rt4 just south of 301

Bisondice said:

Go to wal-mart and get these. Drag across the pond with a steady slow retrieve (throw in a couple small wrist snaps if you wish). If nothing hits them find a new spot

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I am going to try this today and see what I can find.

Marshmallow said:

I'm in Davidsonville too. Check out the patuxent bridge on rt4 just south of 301

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Great, thanks, exactly what I was looking for.

No matter how bad the fishing gets, do not eat the bait. I dont care what the asian guys on the peir tell you!

bunnielab said:

My job gives me a ton of weekday time off work and with .22lr being in short supply I decided to give fishing a whirl as a semi-productive hobby to fill my time. I bought a little rig the other day and have been trying to fish this little pond where I live, but with no luck. No one has fished there in recent memory and with the freeze over this winter there may be no fish in it.

So I am looking for advice on where to try my luck. I don't want anyone's secret spot or anything, just a good basic place to get my line wet and maybe catch something. I read through the DNR pdf of all the laws and what not but it doesn't really give me much to go on and googling "good fishing spots Maryland" gives too many results to sift through.

I am in the Davidsonville area and would love any recommendations around an hour or less away. I don't mind doing a bit of hiking to get in and in fact kinda prefer it.

If any of you all also happen to be weekday fishermen and are willing to show me some pointers I promise to keep my mouth shut and provide the beer.

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learn some good knots to tie...clinch knot is a good basic knot to learn to tie.

and palomar knot is very effective...I typically use this one.

Good call on the Meps Bison Dice!!! I don't have the skirted kind, worked like a champ on the pond that I fish. Caught 3 10-12" largemouth and two 8-9 inchers. Probably in about 25 minutes. Then something snapped my 6lb test like it was paper. Well brand new lure caught 5 fish worth 4 bucks in my opinion.

Marshmallow said:

I'm in Davidsonville too. Check out the patuxent bridge on rt4 just south of 301

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Drive by it everyday... yellow probably not running yet.. not much cars nor fishing going on..
did see a DNR police two days ago in the am.. must be checking license. Only saw two cars.. one have a cannoe (sp?) on his roof.

Also read md dnr's fishing report. They don't always give exact spot but a good general location and hot spots.

If it is the ponds I'm thinking about you are probably SOL. Don't even waste time on lures as they will snag and you'll get jack. Bring some cheese, canned corn and earthworms and fish them with a couple of split shot on the bottom. If nothings hits on those forget it.

The Pax, or if you have saltwater tackle, Sandy Point, Kent Narrows and Matapeake are close by.

As always Ed's advice is best.