Weekend Fishing Report

Hallelujah, it seems the croakers have arrived.

Our dependable friend and fellow fisherman Ken Lamb, of the Tackle Box in Lexington Park, Md., sent a photo of local angler James Gilcrest holding up two beautiful croakers in the 17-inch range. Lamb said Gilcrest caught five of the “hardheads,” as Southern Marylanders call them, Tuesday from one of the rental boats from Quade’s Store (301/769-3903) in Bushwood on the St. Mary’s County side of the Wicomico River. He stopped when wind made fishing difficult. The tasty croakers are late in coming this year, but Gilcrest’s catch signals an end to the croaker drought. Reports of more Wicomico River hardhead catches are now reaching us.

Meanwhile, trollers on the Chesapeake Bay continue to hook large striped bass during the trophy season. However, strong winds have made some of the boat trips less than pleasant. Not to be outdone, surf and pier fishermen at Point Lookout State Park have scored. Some of the big fish, including a 19-pounder, have inhaled bloodworm baits.

If you like tidal water bass fishing, the Potomac has turned on just about everywhere. Even in the strong winds, we scored nicely this week. We found hiding spots in protected shorelines in the feeder creeks. Garlic-scented Zero worms did well for me, but lipless rattle baits or spinnerbaits can also do the job.

Don’t forget the special trout fishing day for children, Saturday, 8a.m. to 1p.m., at Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Park on Jackson Road in the White Oak area of Silver Spring. The Potomac-Patuxent chapter of Trout Unlimited, the Montgomery County Department of Parks and Planning and the Maryland DNR want young anglers ages 6 to 16 to fish for specially stocked trout in the park’s lake. Bait will be provided, but each child should bring rod and reel, hooks, bobbers, drinking water, snacks and lunch. The TU members will be on hand to help bait hooks, offer help on fishing techniques and demonstrate fly-casting. Information: pptu.org or 301/650-2087.

(RATINGS KEY: ****=EXCELLENT FISHING; ***=GOOD; **=FAIR; *=POOR.)

AREA 1: D.C. AND VICINITY

POTOMAC RIVER: 0-35 miles (***) — In the Fletcher’s Boat House area (Georgetown, off Canal Road) expect shad, rockfish, white perch and catfish and even some decent bass if you fish the Virginia shoreline. Largemouth bass are possible if you use short, scented plastic worms, medium-depth crankbaits in crawfish patterns or quarter-ounce spinnerbaits. Check around Columbia Island; the wood railroad bridge abutments adjacent to 14th Street Bridge; Washington Channel; Blue Plains; Fox Ferry Point and the Fox Ferry rock line; the sunken barges and discards outside the Spoils; Broad, Swan and Piscataway creeks; Bryans Cove; Dogue Creek; and Pohick Bay. Quite a few bass are spawning. Local bass guides Andy Andrzejewski (301/932-1509) and Dale Knupp (301/934-9062) are fishing all those places and others, including Pomonkey Creek and the busy Chicamuxen, Quantico, Potomac and Aquia creeks. Only the Nanjemoy has been a disappointment. It could be too many bass are pulled out of this creek and taken upstream to the Mattawoman during bass tournaments and then don’t return because of the distance. We haven’t heard of any croaker catches in the Port Tobacco vicinity and around the Route 301 bridge, but the Wicomico River at Bushwood has started turning up hardheads. Quade’s Store in Bushwood (301/769-3903) has seen some smiling croaker anglers who rented Quade’s boats. Croakers are also being hooked downstream from Tall Timbers to Point Lookout, but numbers haven’t been high — yet.

MATTAWOMAN CREEK: 40 miles (***) — We did well on largemouth bass near Sweden Point Marina. A partner and I used 3-inch Senkos and garlic/salt-scented Zero worms I had cut to about 31/2 inches with a red fat gap 2/0 worm hook. They worked over emerging grass beds in several large coves. However, another friend went into the creek specifically to hunt for crappies, using small minnows under a bobber around dock pilings and blowdowns. He found only two crappies in an all-day outing. What gives?

SOUTHERN MARYLAND LAKES: 40-50 miles (**) — Gilbert Run Park’s Wheatley Lake (Route 6, east of La Plata) turned up what was believed to have been a 9-pound-plus largemouth bass for Brian Malpasso. A DNR biologist used a length-times-girth formula to estimate the weight before it was let go. Malpasso used a plastic worm to lure the fish. We said in Tuesday’s paper that Malpasso’s bass had to be released because bass-keeping season had not arrived, but Parks official Tom Roland informed us such a bass could not be removed at any time because Wheatley now has year-long catch-and-release bass fishing only. Bluegills are active in the lake. St. Mary’s Lake (Route 5 south of Leonardtown, on Camp Cosoma Road) continues to be down because of repairs being made to the dam. The lake is not suitable for boat launching.

LITTLE SENECA LAKE: 30 miles (***) — Black Hill Regional Park (off Route 117, near Boyds, 301/972-9396) and nearby Seneca Creek Lake (Clopper Road, Gaithersburg, 301/924-2127) will turn up fat bluegills, some fine catch-and-release bass, catfish and, in the latter’s case, maybe a tiger muskie.

WSSC RESERVOIRS: 20-30 miles (***) — (Triadelphia, off Route 97 or Route 650 in Montgomery County; Rocky Gorge, off Route 29 in Montgomery County) Catch-and-release bass are a sure bet if you work the deeper coves where spawning activity is getting under way. Plastic worms or lizards can work this time of year. Crappies and bluegills are available, usually in brushy spots where a small white/red shad dart under a bobber can see instant action — even more so if you tip the hook with a tiny piece of nightcrawler.

PATUXENT RIVER: 25-60 miles (***) — Rockfish are active at Cedar Point, Naval Air Station anglers say. The stripers also have made their presence felt at Hog Point and Goose Creek, says Ken Lamb of Lexington Park’s Tackle Box. Lamb reports that some surf casters used bloodworm-baited hooks to catch stripers and several used Sassy Shad lures on weighed jig hooks to lure their fish. Croakers have been hooked by nighttime fishermen at the naval base. Although you might not be able to utilize the naval facility, it will give you an idea where the fish have been, and you can reach them in a boat. These croakers are just the first ones to show. Many more will arrive shortly as the water temperatures rise.

OCCOQUAN RESERVOIR: 25-30 miles (***) — From the Fountainhead Park (Route 123, Fairfax County) area, ranger Smokey Davis reports, “Rain, wind and cold front may have bothered fishermen, but it had little negative effect on the fish.” Good numbers of bass, crappies, bluegills and catfish are hooked. Water conditions are excellent. Soft jerkbaits are great for bass hunters, while live minnows are best for crappies.

BURKE LAKE: 29 miles (***) — (Ox Road, Route 123, Fairfax County) Bluegills, crappies, bass and catfish are active. Go for either, you will have good success.

AREA 2: CENTRAL, WESTERN MD.

UPPER POTOMAC RIVER: 35-100 miles (***) — Smallmouth bass fishing is getting into gear. Good catches of small to medium size bass are taken on tube jigs, short worms, tiny crankbaits or inline spinners from Washington County to Montgomery County. Occasionally, smallies in the 3-pound range are taken. Walleyes and tiger muskies are around, but they mostly are accidental catches made by bass anglers.

DEEP CREEK LAKE: 210 miles (***) — Lake guide Brent Nelson (301/596-5712, evenings) figures the smallmouth and largemouth bass will turn on again quickly this weekend even after a nasty cold front moved through a few days ago. The walleye bite also continues, and some beautiful yellow perch and sunfish are hooked in the coves.

SUSQUEHANNA RIVER: 65-100 miles (***) — Some decent shad action continues in Deer Creek, with bass hookups increasing inside the river. Surprising numbers of smallmouth bass are taken along the rock beds in Port Deposit. The Susquehanna Flats are beginning to show much improvement for striper fishermen, but strong winds have spoiled many an outing this week.

AREA 3: CHESAPEAKE BAY

MARYLAND: 45-75 miles (***) — Rockfish of note are taken up and down the bay, including in some well-known areas like Bloody Point, James Island, Calvert Cliffs, CP Buoy and Hooper’s Island Light. Slow-trolled umbrella rigs loaded with white or chartreuse Sassy Shads or single parachute bucktails are the main methods of finding a whopper rockfish. This week has been windy, and the fishing often was a chore, but big stripers came to the net all the same. There are so many rockfish in the bay that the dark-hour seawall, surf and pier anglers in Point Lookout State have scored. If you use bloodworms at Point Lookout, you might hook a big striper and some fat croakers as well.

VIRGINIA: 75-150 miles (*) — The state’s trophy striper season begins Sunday in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. It runs through June 15. Minimum size is 32 inches. Only one fish per angler a day. Meanwhile, in the lower Chesapeake, down around Kiptopeke, Cape Charles and the Cabbage patch, everybody is waiting for the black drum to start biting. The big, bottom-feeding brutes are there, but recreational catches have been few and far between. This weekend could be when it all changes. Heading up the bay toward Northumberland and Westmorland counties, croakers are being hooked slowly but surely. The catches will be frantic within the week. Rappahannock River fishermen find plenty of croakers inside the river mouth.

AREA 4: EASTERN SHORE/MD.

CHOPTANK RIVER: 120 MILES (***) — (Route 50 east to Cambridge) Water conditions are good, even if it rains now and then. Wind has been a problem, but some decent bass, crappies and catfish are possible upstream of Denton.

POCOMOKE RIVER: 140-170 miles (***) — (From Snow Hill down to Shad Landing) Although most of the bass will be on the small side, occasional lunkers are hooked by worm fishermen near Shad Landing. Four-inch-long red or watermelon Senkos, dabbed with Smelly Jelly, have been effective. Catfish are plentiful.

NANTICOKE RIVER: 120 miles (***) — (Sharptown ramp off Route 313) Bass hunters using Mann’s Baby One-Minus lures around marsh banks downstream of Sharptown have had more than one surprise in the past week as chunky rockfish climbed onto the treble hooks. No, they could not be kept. Some fair to good largemouth bass action is possible in the quiet pockets of coves and creeks. The bass are on beds in many instances.

AREA 5: CENTRAL VIRGINIA

LAKE ANNA: 82 miles (***) — (Route 208, Spotsylvania County) Bass increasingly are entering the spawning beds. In fact, some of the locals say the bass might be done spawning in some parts of the lake. I find that hard to believe, but I’m not there to verify it right now. Of course, plastic lizards and centipede worms are the lures to use now. Crappies are active around boat docks and sunken brush piles. Occasional striper catches are possible for Sassy Shad trollers.

RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER: 47-100 miles (***) — (Fredericksburg to Leedstown) Shad, herring, white perch and a few rockfish are possible. Water conditions have been good. Downstream tidal bass anglers aren’t doing much. Even the catfish fans aren’t tearing up the bottom feeders. The upper freshwater parts above Fredericksburg will turn up some fat smallmouth bass for tube and spinner casters.

LAKE BRITTLE: 59 miles (***) — (Route 793, off Route 29) Go for the crappies and sunfish. The bass are on the beds or are coming off them. Catches are iffy.

LAKE ORANGE: 75 miles (***) — (Concessionaire: 540/672-3997; look for left turn sign on Route 20 before entering town of Orange) The bass are spawning, and some will strike viciously when they see a plastic lizard. Crappies, catfish and sunfish are biting.

LAKE GASTON: 179 miles (***) — (Route 46, Gasburg) Local bass and crappie anglers score nicely. Word has it the bass spawning is over. Crankbaits worked around docks and creek bridge abutments can do well on the bass.

KERR RESERVOIR: 185 miles (***) — (Route 58, Clarksville) The bass are spawning or have finished. It all depends who’s doing the talking in local tackle shops and small-boat marinas. Word has it that more than one dozen crappies were caught here last week that weighed two or more pounds.

CHICKAHOMINY RIVER: 160 miles ([**) [-] (Williamsburg area) Crappies and bluegills are biting, and they will jump on a tiny 1/32-ounce white or chartreuse shad dart some three feet under a bobber. Bass fishing has seen better days. Catfish, however, are hungry.

JAMES RIVER: 115 miles (**) — (Tidal Richmond area and downstream) The blue catfish spawn is either under way or about to start and that has slowed bites from the big fish. But white perch, a few bass and some shad are seen in the upper tidal reaches. Wind has been a problem.

AREA 6: WESTERN VIRGINIA

SHENANDOAH RIVER: 75-85 miles (***) — The Route 340, Front Royal, Luray and Bentonville areas have been good for bass strikes from smallmouth and largemouth species. Water conditions are fair, not great.

SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE: 210 miles (**) — (Route 122, east of Roanoke) Bass are entering the bedding stage now. Remember this mountain lake is behind lowland impoundments as concerns spawning. Landlocked stripers cooperate between the “S” Curve and Indian Creek from what we hear.

UPPER JAMES RIVER: 130 miles (*) — (Route 6, south of Charlottesville, Scottsville) Smallmouth bass fishing went down the tubes when the rain raised and discolored the water. Maybe next week will be better.

AREA 7: ATLANTIC OCEAN

MARYLAND: 153-175 miles (**) — (Route 50 to Ocean City) Strong winds have curtailed much of the fishing in these parts, but flounder are in the backwaters and tautogs continue to be in the inlet, where green crab baits will find a fish now and then. Offshore headboats have found big tautogs on some of the wrecks. No sea bass yet, and although there are a few Boston mackerel in the offshore waters, apparently there aren’t enough to warrant headboat runs.

VIRGINIA: 210 miles to Virginia Beach (***) — Ken Neill, of the Peninsula Saltwater Sport Fishermen’s Association says that the tuna fishing has been very good near the Outer Banks when the wind has allowed boats to venture into the ocean. Look for big bull red drum to arrive in Virginia’s barrier island and Chesapeake Bay waters soon. They’re heading north of Hatteras as we write this. Flounder fishing can be fine on the Eastern Shore, in Chincoteague, Wachapreague, Metomkin and Oyster, but the wind has been horrible. For charter boats, call Virginia Beach Fishing Center, 757/422-5700.

EVENTS

La Plata boat/RV show — Saturday and Sunday, at Charles County Fairgrounds, La Plata, Md. Information: Wayne Smith, 301/645-3994.

Trout Unlimited chapter meets — May5, at McLean VFW Post 8241. Public invited to discuss multistate “Back to the Brookie” program. Information: nvatu.org.

Outdoor ethics awards dinner — May9, 6p.m., at Holiday Inn, Leesburg, Va. The Izaak Walton League recognizes enforcement of local game laws. Information: loudouniwla.org or Mike Phillips 703/777-8678.

You can e-mail us at gmueller@washingtontimes.com.