Lakes or Ponds Near Columbia?

[UnkleRob2020]

I recently moved to Columbia. Are there any lakes or ponds that are productive fishing spots? I have fished Lake Elkhorn once in the past few years and got skunked...although I had not learned to fish a Senko yet :--)

[kuljc]

I like to go to Elkhorn. it's easy to get to and not too hard to throw your kayak in (you'll need a CA sticker). I never caught anything big there though, usually just for fun. Centennial is tough fishing, and you need to pay to launch your yak. I've read that all the main Columbia lakes are pressured fairly hard, but I'm not huge into freshwater so you might have better luck than me.

I was at Elkhorn recently and there was a LOT vegetation everywhere. It was also fun during the cicada invasion.

I usually fish a creature bait, ned rig, or live bait.

[bignose]

Hey Rob,

Using the advanced search function look up a thread titled: "Fished Wilde Lake 12/5 and 12/7"
It is a lengthy discussion ( 3 pages) of my adventures fishing the Columbia Ponds over the past 30+ years.

Search also for the thread: "Permit for Columbia Lakes."
In this thread I give my opinion and experiences of the Howard County area ponds.

Stu

[dsaavedra]

You're not that far from Triadelphia and Rocky Gorge, two of the larger reservoirs in the area. They should provide lots of fishing opportunities - I have heard good reports from Triadelphia this year since its been closed for the past several seasons. There's an active thread on it in the Maryland section of the forum.

The several smaller ponds throughout Columbia proper probably get hammered by bank fishermen day in and day out, they might be tough. That's not to say they should be overlooked... If you can only get out for a short time in the evening and manage to trick even just 1 or 2 bass you can chalk that up as a win.

You're also right in between the upper reaches of the Patapsco River and Patuxent/Middle Patuxent River. I know you asked about lakes and ponds but these two rivers offer some fun fishing opportunities too. Largemouth, smallmouth, snakehead, fallfish, many different types of sunfish, stocked trout, carp, chubs, and more inhabit these rivers and are great fun on ultralight tackle. Parts of these upper reaches might be too small/shallow/rocky/swift to comfortably fish from a kayak, but shore or wade fishing in these reaches can be lots of fun. It is one of the few things I miss about living in Catonsville and Laurel.

[lordofthemanor]

Dave,
Getting older and my back isn't what it used to be so I sold my kayaks 2 years ago. Just wondering if any of those spots offer shoreline or wading opportunities?
Thanks,
Bruce

[Mark]

I have fished Centennial Lake only twice, once in May 2019 and again this year in May. On both occasions I was a volunteer for Heroes on the Water (HOW). I don't know if boat traffic was restricted on those occasions for HOW. But I was impressed with the size of Centennial, the lack of crowding, its habitat and the ease of launching.

On each occasion I caught lots of bluegills and very nice largemouth bass 16 to 20 inches. I was surprised at the size of the bass because I figured the lake gets heavy pressure. In fact there is a sign at the launch saying that there are too many small bass in the lake. But there are so many areas with excellent bass and bluegill habitat not reachable from shore that I think kayakers have an advantage to find larger fish in shallow water. Opportunities are there for good fishing.

Bruce -- There is a fishing pier near the launch and many walking paths around the lake that provide shoreline access.

[dsaavedra]

Dave,
Getting older and my back isn't what it used to be so I sold my kayaks 2 years ago. Just wondering if any of those spots offer shoreline or wading opportunities?
Thanks,
Bruce

Not sure about the two larger reservoirs, but most if not all of the smaller lakes/ponds in Columbia are like community parks with walking paths all the way around, should be plenty of shore fishing opportunity. The rivers are also wadeable, but sometimes getting to a spot can require a hike through the woods, and once you're there you're walking on slippery rocks and uneven ground.

[bignose]

Not sure about the two larger reservoirs, but most if not all of the smaller lakes/ponds in Columbia are like community parks with walking paths all the way around, should be plenty of shore fishing opportunity. The rivers are also wadeable, but sometimes getting to a spot can require a hike through the woods, and once you're there you're walking on slippery rocks and uneven ground.

Most of the Columbia ponds have rather limited shore access, and on Wilde Lake the best access is on the restricted South Side. The unrestricted North Side is heavily vegetated with very few holes in the riparian habitat.
There are docks and some open patches on Kitty, and Elkhorn, but none of them have real great shore fishing locations. Those limited areas can get busy on weekends, and on Elkhorn right after trout stocking.

They are not very heavily fished from watercraft, Elkhorn I've seen 4-5 kayaks out there occasionally, Wllde Lake got a bit more pressure last year due to Covid restrictions, Kitty gets little pressure from boats. During the week there may be canoes full of kids out there.

I drove by Elkhorn at about noon today. It does not appear the CA is running a camp there this year, so no kiddies in canoes during the week.

Right all three of these ponds are unfortunately covered in 50% of their surface with swamp snot.

I've waded and fished the upper Patapsco from Sykesville down through Belle Grove. There are a few decent access points, mostly where roads cross over the stream, but areas like above Daniels Dam, that used to be a delight, have become crowded popular places. Maybe once school starts up in the Fall, but before the leaves drop.

I used to really enjoy the area between Route 40 and Ellicott City.
I'd park in Ellicott City, walk 3-4 miles up the railroad tracks and then fish all the way back to EC. Too much for me these days.
Also a lot of the places I used to park, like in Oella, are now posted with no parking-tow away signs.

The Belle Grove ponds area used to be mostly carp holes, but I understand that there is some decent snakehead fishing happening there.

The way upper Patuxent is more of a trout stream with a lot of restricted regulation water. Down behind Savage Mill is some access near the rapids.

[YakMonkey]

depends on what you are targeting

across the Eco-tots daycare
behind the loyola university
lake elkhorn
Centennial lake
lake behind whole foods..
Savage mill
patapsco daniels area
oxbow lake


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[lordofthemanor]

Thanks to everyone for their ideas. Some areas seem to offer promise, but the replies seem fairly pessimistic. I'll give some of the areas a try...but probably not until the Fall.

[Mark]

Thanks to everyone for their ideas. Some areas seem to offer promise, but the replies seem fairly pessimistic. I'll give some of the areas a try...but probably not until the Fall.

I didn't think I was pessimistic.

I do think it's wise to wait until cooler weather for small water fishing. But I also think kayaks give us advantages in those waters over shore anglers for certain, and over most boaters because we can reach areas they cannot while being more stealthy in the process. Conversely, I've watched many in Jon boats blindly follow shorelines chucking lures too large for the fish present, missing many good spots along the way and not considering other areas where the fish may be.

Take your chances in those sites. Think positive and fish smartly.

[bignose]

Ditto what Mark said:

I don't think that I was being pessimistic, just giving honest (for a fisherman) information, and realistic expectations.
There is a reason why this time of the year I prefer to load my canoe onto the car, and drive 45 minutes to fish the tidal creeks off of the Magothy and Severn, when I live 3 blocks away from Wilde Lake.

I did fish 4 acre Jackson Pond from my canoe this Spring during the cicada hatch a couple of times and did ok, but most of the pond is covered with matts of weeds right now and I don't like having to chop thru weeds in order to fish the open holes. Kittimaqundi is the same way. Elkhorn is marginally better.

I used to really enjoy fishing the Patapsco River both from shore and from my canoe above Daniel's Dam, but it has become a overcrowded, beach type of swimming hole with crowd control and parking problems.
Not my style of fishing.
I'll occasionally wet wade a few areas below Daniels and near Ellicott City, but I'm not able to do so often, one of the consequences us aging boomer fishermen have to accept.

[Memory Maker]

These were truthful replies not pessimistic. The GREAT thing about this website is that you get great truthful information that will save you a ton of wasted time and effort from a bunch of great people. I assume you didn’t really mean pessimistic. I think you really meant that it didn’t look like a great place to fish until the grass and algae subside.

[lordofthemanor]

You guys are correct. I should have used another word other than pessimistic. I do appreciate all of the input and ideas on this site.

[YakMonkey]

You guys are correct. I should have used another word other than pessimistic. I do appreciate all of the input and ideas on this site.

Columbia is a busy place so most of the spot is overfished. That’s all.

also Fal/Soring Stocked trout fishing is always fun


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