During the week is favorable to catching fish

During the week is favorable to catching fish

Last weekend, I took my kids fishing at St. Mary’s Lake for some mother-daughter fun. By fun I mean none of the kids hooked another’s eye, and they all were breathing when we packed up to go home.

Plenty of families were outside enjoying our Southern Maryland waters during the Memorial Day weekend, despite the mostly cloudy conditions and occasional rain.

At St. Mary’s River State Park, the parking lot was

REEL REPORT

packed and the boat ramp was busy all morning and afternoon, according to one park police officer I chatted with as she was checking windshields to ensure everyone paid the entry fee. The shoreline was crowded with anglers of all ages, dog owners taking their

pooches for a swim and kayakers paddling by.

It can be hard to catch fish under those conditions. When the shoreline is so crowded, you’re rubbing elbows with the person next to you. If you can find some time to visit your favorite fishing spot during the week, you will find the conditions much more favorable for catching fish than the weekends from now through Labor Day.

Anthony Hancock, assistant manager at Gilbert Run Park in Dentsville, said the fishing conditions haven’t changed much over the past week with the up and down temperatures and off and on rain keeping the fish in a state

of limbo.

The bass bite has been consistent, although most are on the small side. Hancock said topwater lures are a productive way to target bass on an overcast day. On sunny days, he recommends focusing on slower-moving presentations to tempt the bass.

The bluegill in Wheatley Lake still have not started to spawn in any great numbers. Most of the big ones are holding in 5 to 8 feet of water near adjacent spawning areas. A small piece of nightcrawler under a bobber is the ticket to catching them. Hancock suggests adding a split shot or two to get the bait a little deeper where pre-spawn bluegill are holding.

Ken Lamb of the Tackle Box in Lexington Park (301-863-8151) reports the Town Creek Pier is open on the weekends and fishing there has been very good at twilight and into the night. About one in five rockfish have been keepers and spot, croaker and perch are plentiful there, too. The Patuxent opened completely for rockfish yesterday.

Life Outdoors Unlimited guide Ken Penrod (240-447-2206) saod the upper Potomac has been the “perfect river” and the “best it’s been in years” when water levels are safe.

The “ledge pattern” has