Rocky Gorge 5/7--struggled

[Severn Gary]

Hi Folks: I fished Rocky Gorge after work last night. Arrived 4:30, launched at 5:00 from the Supplee launch, fished until 7:45 PM. I fished the first downstream cove on the PG County side and caught one 2# largemouth on a green chartreause spinner bait (1/2 oz) and missed another one, but in one hour that was it. I switched to a white spinner bait and later to a red and white spinner bait, but got no further action. Ran them fast, slow, shallow, and deep. I then fished the next cove upstream PG side, from the Supplee launch, no luck. Crossed to the Howard County side and fished the second cove downstream from Scott's cove, and then another one downstream from that. No Luck. I was surprised, conditions seemed good, but no more luck. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fish Rocky this time of year?

thanks

Severn Gary

[DanMarino]

Welcome to fishing life at the WSSC reservoirs. You did well to catch one bass and have another strike. Anytime I catch a bass I am happy. The truth is that I catch way more fish on the Potomac River. Upper Potomac has lots of smallmouth bass that are easy to catch. Lower Potomac has largemouth bass that are easy to catch.

There are plenty of fish in the WSSC reservoirs, but they are difficult to locate. I typically catch more white perch and crappies than I do bass. But there are big fish and some nice pike too. So you never quite know what you will find.

[altterrain]

Glad to see I'm not missing much. I have my permit and new hitch extender to drop my yak in the reservoirs. Unfortunately, the pollen has gotten the better of me this year . Hopefully next week.

[DanMarino]

I'm actually fishing Saturday morning there. First trip of the year.

[perchy]

The middle section of the river near the 29 bridge area seems to hold more fish from my experience. It's a long paddle, but it's worth it. Good luck!

[perchy]

By the way, were you running a soft plastic trailer on your spinnerbait? That seems to help with the follows/missed fish.

[MarylandBassFishing]

I am heading there in the morning. If anyone wants to tag along I will put you on fish. I typically catch between 10-15 bass this time of year. 6AM-12PM. Theres plenty for all ~

[Severn Gary]

Thanks for the advice folks! Thanks for the offer MarylandBassFishing, but I'm on my way out the door for the Casselman River in Grantsville this morning. Doing an out and back (Mother's day takes it's toll!!). I fished the Casselman 10 days ago and came up with 10 trout on nymphs and 15 on surface flies. Going to give it another go today!
Perchy: Do you put a hook in the "soft plastic trailer" on your spinnerbait, or is it just a soft plastic connected to the hook?

thanks,

Severn Gary

[BassMoore]

i went yesterday and caught 9 . using a shakey head and 4 inch worm.. i got nothing near structure.. all in open water where beds would be.. also did not get any "bites" i was seeing my line move, kinda like they were just picking it up to move it off the bed.

I only do well in the gorge with spinner baits when its really windy. other than that i do pretty well usually avg 15 fish with soft plastics in there

suplee doesnt hold much quality fish either

[perchy]

Supplee and Scott's are both very hit or miss.

[perchy]

Severngary, what I like to do is rig a 5 inch soft plastic swimbait to the spinnerbait hook like in this picture. This increases the lure profile size and gives it enough bulk and vibration to get noticed draw out larger fish. It's not a numbers technique but I've caught some big fish this way. For numbers a 3 inch grub might be better.

A lot of online articles say that adding a soft plastic body lure to your spinnerbait helps in getting fish to fully commit because they can feel the water displacement from the added soft plastic grub or swimbait body. What happens sometimes when fishing a spinnerbait with just a skirt is the fish will swipe at it or follow and not sense enough mass or vibration when swimming behind it (fish have that lateral line organ that senses vibrations and displacement) and so the lure "feels" fake/artificial.

image.jpg

[MarylandBassFishing]

Gary,

Anytime you want to go just let me know. I am pretty flexible. I prefer to fish there early in the am (6am-12pm). I dont mind showing you some spots that hold good bass and sharing the presentations I use. I believe the "Snaggedline Community" should help one another!!!

Tight Lines

[Severn Gary]

I did get out to the Casselman in Grantsville yesterday for some fly fishing for trout. Real tough, bright sun, blue sky day with low flow (about as bad conditions as you can get, next to high and muddy). I only managed to get two brook trout, one native 4" and one stocked 13" on nymphs. Also got a nice smallmouth on a Micky Fin streamer. My son got six trout all on nymphs and wolly buggers. What a difference a few days make!

[Severn Gary]

Perchy: I just saw your picture of the grub on the spinnerbait. Thanks.