Among the many Eastern Shore ponds, Smithville Lake stands out as one of the more productive waters, offering fly fishers with an assortment of fish species to target. Its populations of largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie and chain pickerel provide for year round fishing opportunities. During the winter months, fly fishers can cast for those toothy top predator chain pickerel even when the waters are too cold for other fish species. With the onset of spring[...]

While striped bass remain the king here in Chesapeake country, there’s a newcomer on the block vying for the top spot in a fly angler’s heart. To many bay area anglers speckled trout have always been an exotic catch, a species associated with more southern climes. But with the influx of small boat and light tackle guides, increased access to vast areas of the bay’s shallows has awakened fly fishers to the qualities of this[...]

In the spring, Maryland’s Chesapeake swells with silver: shad and river herring. Like salmon, these fish are anadromous: the adults run upstream into fresh water to spawn, then return to the Atlantic Ocean to live for the rest of the year. The new generations develop from fertilized eggs suspended in stream currents to swimming fry and then juveniles, feeding and growing over the summer before migrating to the ocean, where they somehow meet the adult[...]

Maryland is home to the nation’s first state-wide Fly Fishing Trail. I’ve had experiences at many of its 48 sites. In fact last spring in late May I was hiking near a trail site along the Upper Savage River at Big Run State Park. I had been hiking for just under an hour - about two miles upstream from the road - in search of the elusive Green Drake mayfly and brook trout, Salvelinus Fontinalis[...]

Results of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources 2017 young-of-year striped bass survey in the Chesapeake Bay shows the fish is reproducing in strong numbers. The annual survey’s index is 13.2, above the 64-year average of 11.7. Striped bass, popularly known as rockfish, is Maryland’s state fish. The fish spawns in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries each spring. The survey is conducted annually to track the reproductive success of this important species and help[...]

The Hagerstown Valley sits atop miles of underground limestone caverns which support Maryland’s largest spring creek, Beaver Creek, which rises up with cool water just below South Mountain in Washington County. The Catch and Release stretch begins below the Albert Powell Fish Hatchery and Interstate 70. This section down to Route 40 has a healthy naturally reproducing stream population of brown trout. Beaver Creek provides fly fishers with this unique, sometimes challenging opportunity to cast[...]

The tidal Patuxent River flowing through Prince George’s County has a wide variety of fish which readily strike at fishing flies. As the river widens at Jug Bay, fly fishers can choose from bluegill, crappie, channel catfish, blue catfish, white catfish, chain pickerel, largemouth bass, striped bass, yellow perch, white perch, carp and northern snakehead. This is a fish menu which will keep you busy from early spring to late fall. You will need access[...]

Even being surrounded by the City of Salisbury on all sides, Johnsons Pond has a well deserved reputation as a productive fishery. With much of the pond’s shoreline lined with trees, casting your fly towards these shallow-waters, particularly where there are lily pads, brush or other structure in the water, will lead to some strikes by hungry fish. You can also cast to tree falls, points of land, and submerged cedar trees especially along the[...]

Bring your own kayak and push out into the bay reeling in bass, or hook up with a guide like Don Goff, kayak fishing guide (featured in this video) or Working Class Outdoorsmen (also featured) to bowfish for the invasive snakehead. You can even find local spots like MacGregor’s Restaurant & Tavern (also featured above) These guides will help you plan the trip and answer any questions you might have. Also, we suggest visiting Maryland[...]