Cover image: Eric Packard fished St. Mary’s Lake this week, catching Crappie by just lightly bouncing a small jig off of the bottom. Right: Eddie Weber caught this 24″ pickerel in the Severn River this past week!
There aren’t a whole lot of people out fishing on the main bay right now due to the freezing cold temperatures and winds, and most of the eastern shore mill ponds and creeks, normally great for yellow perch and crappie, are mostly frozen over, so our report this week focuses on the rivers!
Pickerel: There are still good numbers of nice sized pickerel being caught in the rivers, especially the Magothy, Severn and Patapsco. Live minnows are working well along with slowly retrieving paddletails. We got several new lures in this week that are going to be excellent for pickerel including the new Zman Mini Chatterbaits and Mepps Bronze Slammers! You can also never go wrong with a jerk bait this time of year. Work it slowly giving nice pauses, remember that these fish are sluggish in the cold water!
Panfish: If you can find water that isn’t iced over in the creeks and upper parts of rivers such as the Severn, Magothy or Choptank, there will be yellow perch and crappie. Use a very small jig with a piece of worm or artificial bait, or use live minnows on a shad dart, bobber or bottom rig!
Catfish: Another fun option for winter fishing in our area is Catfish! The upper Potomac is, of course, a hot spot. Many people say that this is the best time of the year to fish it! There are also nice sized catfish up our way in the Magothy, Severn and Patapsco! Use any type of cut bait!