Mattawoman Action?

[Magothyman]

Friends-- is there any action this time of year at Mattawoman Creek? Was thinking about going down there mid-week. Thanks for any info--
Al

[whenican]

I was about to write a fishing report from friday eve: 7/17, incoming tide: lots of bugs, I caught 1 fat, chunky 17" LMbass. I saw no snakeheads at all. A few small wp were being caught from the pier @ Slavins....but maybe the snakeheads weren't hungry? I may go back as well in the eve. What day were you thinking of going?

[RustedAngler]

That creek is a straight shot across the river from where I'd like to put in for that area..just haven't figured out the rules or stipulations of that spot..I found the put-in on google images, I've been jotting down addresses with intent to check them all out when I return home in early September.

Yak-Put-In.jpg

[whenican]

@ RustedAngler: your VA saltwater license is good in Mattawoman Creek because it's tidal water( Md & VA licenses reciprocate in tidal waters). Slavins launch is free. We are wishing you a safe return so you can fish with us Snaggedliners.

[RustedAngler]

Thanks!! The last month and couple weeks are going to be the roughest..I'm learning the true limits of my patience at this point...still new to the area so I need to locate this Slavins launch. I "live" in Dumfries.

[whenican]

@RustedAngler: Additionally, u need to also sign up for free for the saltwater registry for NOAA...since u will b in MD waters.

[Mark]

Magothyman,

John Veil and I took a late afternoon charter trip to Mattawoman (via Jon boat) on 7-17. Before we started the guide said action had been slow recently and he was right. In roughly 6 hours of fishing and hundreds of casts we boated 3 fish despite the fact that cloudy conditions promised a good surface bite.

This is the largest of two largemouth bass I caught.

Mattawoman A 71715.jpg

I caught it on a surface weedless plastic toad retrieving the lure through tight vegetative cover. The smaller bass I boated hit a Pop R in open water in the main creek channel close to shore. I had another bass hooked but lost it in the weeds and I got two other swings at my lures during the evening but no hookups.

John got this impressive snakehead:

Mattawoman B 71715.jpg

It was 29 inches and over 8 pounds. It happened to be the first of only two strikes John had all night. It hit the same style plastic toad that I was using. The snakehead was lying close to a grassy shoreline in heavy vegetation and hit John's lure immediately. It put quite a bend in his rod. The other strike of John's was a bass that threw the hook after a short surface dance.

As I said the fishing was slow despite all signs pointing to a good evening. If a similar bite prevails you can expect a few good fish but a lot of casts.

Good luck if you go.

[phoenixkeith]

man i miss the good ole days on the potomac . the bass fishing has been bad the last few years compared to previous years . it use to take 20 pounds to even come close to winning and that was the guy in the back of the boat . hopefully just a trend and the river will bounce back . the weekend tournament pressure on that river is insane . other factors are the health of the river and lack of grass in areas that were once covered and dare i say the dreaded monster fish that have taken over .

[silasvirus82]

I'm going to Mattawoman tomorrow night, putting in at the headwaters. Looking for my first snakehead!

[DanMarino]

Mr. Veil, cool snakehead there!

[RustedAngler]

out of curiosity, are you all "dispatching" all snakeheads or catch&releasing some?

[Mark]

out of curiosity, are you all "dispatching" all snakeheads or catch&releasing some?

Our guide said the DNR is adamant that they not be stored alive in the boat. The concern of course is to stop transportation of them to be released in other waters. Clearly they are here to stay. Frankly, I believe there is some concern among those who make money fishing for them that the snakehead population has lessened greatly. Our guide's Mattawoman snakehead catch totals have diminished in each of the past three years. He remarked that they are not easy fish to catch. Also, he said the one John caught was the largest he has seen this year.

[phoenixkeith]

the bow fisherman are whacking and stacking em . they show themselves well at night under a spotlight

[silasvirus82]

If I can catch more than one I'm only keeping the first one. I really want to try one at the dinner table.

[J.A. Veil]

If I can catch more than one I'm only keeping the first one. I really want to try one at the dinner table.

They are an excellent fish for the table -- firm white meat with no fishy taste.