Any place else to stay around Mattawoman?

[WVKayakFisher]

This is all very fascinating to me. I'm over here in the heart of Methville, Appalachia and have been sort of thinking about relocating to that general area because of all the amenities relative to where I am---paved sidewalks, roads that aren't falling apart, fantastic parks, dramatically better schools, etc. I don't think it's in the cards for a few reasons, but I'm wondering if what's "bad" over there and "bad" here are comparable levels of "bad."

I realize that I SHOULD be branching out and finding other water---what I've really been doing is chasing my first ever trip there. We went for snakeheads, only caught one in 4 days, missed 80 bazillion, and each boated probably 20 bass a day over 2lbs, wasn't until the third day that we realized we shouldn't be frustrated. We haven't had a bass day like that since, but we've got the cats pretty well figured out. Less so the snakeheads, but it's more personal spazzing than it is not getting action. The problem is that Smallwood has so few campsites, and then there's just nothing...I'd love to try blackwater, but same situation, there's NOTHING anywhere close. There's a big difference for me in a $600 trip and a $200 trip, I'd rather take 6, $200 trips than 2, $600 trips!

I'm totally open to other suggestions with water LIKE mattawoman, here's a pic of all the places I've eyeballed---dropped on most of them, and I STILL prefer mattawoman/smallwood intensely.

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[ronaultmtd]

Bad is in the eye of the beholder, like beauty...and all based upon personal experiences...the good is obvious, less obvious is taxes that support good schools, roads, amenities and property values near such amenities...yeah, we do have some of the best public schools in the nation in Maryland, and they could be a whole lot better...all it takes is money...so trade offs are the key- are you ready for the good with the bad? I fish Mattawoman mostly for catfish- bass are OK, but I have a life-time of bass fishing behind me and mostly salt water fish nowadays...and mostly 40 miles south of where I live...snakeheads are fun to catch and good to eat, but...nothing beats big speckled trout in my book..not Stripers, not redfish, nothing...my favorite fish to fish for- smartest fish that swims is a gator trout over 5 pounds...

[mchottie]

Your map looks like a perfect opportunity for the 'SMOG' crew to chime in whether any of those are prime fishing areas.

[Big Mike]

Mallows bay is another option for snakehead and bass, plus you get to fish in the largest shipwrecked fleet in the Western Hemisphere. Very shallow in spots and pedal drives can bottom out on some of the hulls.

[WVKayakFisher]

I'm not a lmb fisherman. Day to day here I'm a smallie guy, and if it was in the cards to get back to living on the gulf I'd probably rarely touch freshwater at all, that said I love the swampy isolation of mattawoman and being out in the nothing with just me and the fish and the birds.

I've fished Mallows twice. First time we only stayed a few minutes because a big storm kicked up. The second time I brought way the wrong tackle but did hook and lose what would have certainly been close or over the state record snakie on a black chatterbait. Too many people, not enough swamp, BUT I'll likely head back to spend some time by the wrecks.

You are right though, cats on mattawoman are a great time. Only time I've ever seen better was down on the Rappahannock, catching them like bluegill so fast I could only run one rod.

[ronaultmtd]

I'm not a lmb fisherman. Day to day here I'm a smallie guy, and if it was in the cards to get back to living on the gulf I'd probably rarely touch freshwater at all, that said I love the swampy isolation of mattawoman and being out in the nothing with just me and the fish and the birds.

I've fished Mallows twice. First time we only stayed a few minutes because a big storm kicked up. The second time I brought way the wrong tackle but did hook and lose what would have certainly been close or over the state record snakie on a black chatterbait. Too many people, not enough swamp, BUT I'll likely head back to spend some time by the wrecks.

You are right though, cats on mattawoman are a great time. Only time I've ever seen better was down on the Rappahannock, catching them like bluegill so fast I could only run one rod.

Port Tobacco River is beautiful- no other way to describe it- similar to the St Mary’s River only Fifty-miles north...once you get to know this river...it has its moments- nuff said...


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[reddogge]

For a fishing motel cheap we've been staying at the Bel Alton Motel south of LaPlata for years. Cheap, clean but not fancy. All boats and trailers are securely locked in the back at night and secure. We park bass boats back there with never a problem.

http://www.belaltonmotel.com/