Mattawoman Creek

[Poolz1]

Ive never fished Mattawoman but have been itching to do so for 2 years now. I am heading down on Monday and was hoping to get some advice. There is a lot of info in this forum for Mattawoman, so much so its almost overload. Looking for a good put in spot and whatever tips that would useful for a newbie at mattawoman.

Matt

[Turtle135]

Two free places to put in. For your first trip down there I would suggest "Slavins".

http://www.dnr.maryland.gov/boating/...onCharles8.pdf

If you fall in love with Mattawoman (like I have) there is also a launch at the 225 Bridge Crossing. That launch is a little more rustic. Depending on the tide that one can involve some dragging, navigating around fallen trees and if we have had a lot of rain getting back to the launch at the end of the day can be tricky.

What are you targeting? Bass, Catfish, Snakeheads?

[gliebig]

We put in under the bridge at high tide. It was an easy paddle out, but we came back in at low tide and had to do a good bit of yak dragging.

[Poolz1]

I will mainly be going after bass and snakeheads. Never hooked into a snakehead. I will be bringing some frozen cut bait just in case I get the urge for some cat fishing. Since this is a little bit of a hike for me I plan on going at it pretty much all day. Plan on using top water and chatter baits for snakeheads and bass. From what I have read this seems like the best thing to use. I am a littlemout of my element here....mainly use to smallmouth fishing in the Potomac. This plan sound reasonable?

Would you recommend heading north (or left) from the boat ramp? Just a MD fishing license ok?

[bruce19365]

I was down last week, bass were IN the pads, snakeheads in the pockets and the open areas with some grass and "scum" covering surface. We caught NADA trying to fish the front edges of the pads. We used 4" & 5" hollow body swim baits, tossed them several yards back in the pads and shook & dragged them through the pads which produced bass and I would recommend using braid on a MH rod when fishing the pads. Snakeheads (and a few bass) went after Rage Toads or hollow body frogs. If you don't have the HBSB you can use flukes, but I did better on the former.

I would suggest launching at Slavin's. Follow rte 210 (Indian Head) to the last street on the left before you reach the entrance to the Navy base. Make the left turn and follow that street until it ends at the ramp. It's free, easy access and good parking. I would also suggest heading to your left from the ramp and fishing the creek towards it's source, you can go back about 2.5 or 3 miles. Concentrate on the pads and the open areas around them and you should catch 'em.

Maryland TIDAL license is OK.

[Poolz1]

Great tips and advice. Much appreciated. Looks like I may have to hit up the tackle shop before I head down. I was planing on one M rod that I have rigged with 8lb mono and one MH rod that I have 10lb braid on. I am use to using just a light action rod with 6lb test for fishing the potomac. Makes those smallmouth a little more fun to catch.

[bruce19365]

You won't find smallies in Mattawoman. I recommend no less than 20# braid (30# is probably better) for fishing in pads. Snakeheads on light tackle - that would be a challenge...

This is the type of fishing I'm talking about - light tackle will frustrate the heck out of you.


As I said, we caught NOTHING along the outside edges of the fields of pads, where you might get away with light tackle but I doubt it. Any fish hooked on the outside will run for the veggies. You need to get 6' - 8' deep in pads, then drag them out. Stout rods, braid, and good hooks are essential. Spinning rods will work just fine but I definitely prefer a bait caster for these conditions. The creek is open to paddle around but the fish are not in the open water - at least that we found. We had 3 guys over 2 days, nobody caught fish in "open" water.

[Poolz1]

Wow! 30lb braid. I will take your advice and rig 2 spools with 20-30lb. Since this may be the only time I have this year to make it down there, I def want to bring the right equip. Feel pretty good with the rods I'm bringing but will string my spools with a little heavier line. Again, thanks for the tips.

[Turtle135]

Actually to fish the tidal part of Mattawoman you would need one of these licenses:

1. Maryland Bay Sport
2. Virginia Fresh Water
3. Virginia Salt Water
4. PRFC

http://prfc.us/sports/Reciprocity_Guidelines.html

A Maryland Freshwater license does not cover the tidal waters down there. Mattawoman below the 225 bridge falls into the "MD tributaries above Rt. 301 bridge up to demarcation lines" section.

My favorite lures down there for bass and snakeheads: plastic worms, jig & craws, spinnerbaits, hollow bodied frogs

[Snakehead Hunter]

Don't disrespect Mr. Snakehead 30 lbs and no less. I love top water frogs. I usually like to fish during/around low tide so frogs work well. It's nothing less of spectacular when Snakehead attack top water frog. I can barely contain my excitement when they come out of the pad and chase the frog. I lost many SH because I set hook too early.

[hooked again]

Caught my first snakehead there last week on a live target hollow body frog. Had a second hit one 4 feet from the boat just reeling it in, but couldn't do anything about it. Both hits (and others in the past) were inside open pockets of the lily pads. Definitely wait to set the hook on a frog - let them take it down for a good couple of seconds of pulling then give a tug and then a good tug. Be prepared - it can be completely quite in the middle of the pads and then all off sudden they'll scare the crap out of you and strike.
I second the Slavins ramp and turn left up the creek. Lots of fun - good luck!

[wedge]

Matt, along with the hollow body frogs i would suggest you also throw a buzzbait across the tops of the grass areas. The snakeheads tend to favor the grass, especially at low tide. I was there last week and caught two SH on a buzzbait. As you leave the Slavins launch you can turn right or left and fish either side of the creek. On either side of the creek there's an area of grass that's just below the surface that is about 8' to 10' wide. I would work those with some topwater lures for SH, especially early morning or early evening while the tide is out. Good luck.

John

[Poolz1]

Will do, John. My goal is to catch a snakehead but to honest I would love to land a few nice largemouth. Since I live 5 miles from the upper Potomac River, I am use to 1/2lb smallmouths and a few 2-3lb catfish. It's not very often I get a chance to hit a place that can produce some larger fish. Haven't caught a largemouth bass (from my yak) in a few years.

Looking at the tide chart, it looks like low tide will occur pretty much at the time Ill be putting in. Have you fished that area on an incoming tide? Just curious if the strategy changes depending on tide. Like I said earlier, I am def out of my element here...different body of water, different fish, tides etc.

[mepps3]

At high tide, I have success fishing deep in the pads. You'll find decent sized pockets with bass in them. I use an unweighted 4 inch white worm, more of a minnow pattern, rigged weedless. Have caught a lot of bass 13-19" using this pattern. Once the tide turns and starts going out they put the feeding a bags on! Top water works great early in the morning. Good luck! FYI I use spinning gear and lighter line without major issues. Just move your kayak to help bring fish in!

[Poolz1]

Trip today was a big success. Ended up going at it solo and fished all day. HOT, but catching fish makes you forget about the heat a little bit. Hit the water at 6am. This was a whole new fishing experience. I am use to rocks and logs and figuring out how to fish pads and grass took me a little while. I was very discouraged at first as I didnt even get my first bite until around 11am. Hit my first bass on top water frog in the weeds way up where the creek starts to narrow and branches off into 3 tributaries. Almost 3lb. I then remembered some on here saying that you have to get back into the pads so thats what I started doing. With the combination of Top water frogs in the pads and spinner baits along the underwater grass, I was able to land 11 LMB 1 Snakehead and one (Perch)??? Not sure if it was a perch or what but it was decent size. I also hooked but lost several nice bass. The 1 snakehead weighed in at 1lb 6oz and was fun as hell to reel in. Largest bass was a bit over 4lb. The rest of the bass were ~1lb+ with several 1.5-3lb. I didnt weigh all of them. I am def a believer in Mattawoman and thanks again for all the advice. Without the tips on this forum, the trip would not have been such a success.