Upper Tidal Patuxent River

[Slackdaddy]

I have a love/hate relationship with the upper "Tidal" Patuxent river: Huntingtown up to Route 4 bridge.
We live in the area and I am 3-20 minutes from 4-5 kayak launches on the Pax.
I typically fish larger feeder creeks and marsh areas of this stretch, sometimes the main river body up near rt4 and above.

I target Bass, Snakehead and catfish, I use chatter bait, buzz bait, paddletail swims, soft frogs. I have never had a ton of luck, I do occasionally catch a fish, usually a catfish or snakehead on the chatter bait. In comparison: I catch a fish one out of 2-3 trips out on the Pax, while if I go to the eastern shore (Black Water), I catch 5-10 on a morning trip.

The water of this stretch of the Pax is always a dark brown,, with a lot of micro suspended "matter" giving it that color. This is not suspended silt like after a rain, maybe plant life?
Does this stretch of the pax just have poor water quality that does not support much of a fishery ??

Really trying to figure this river out, but after 10 years, I still am not catching more than an occasional fish here.
Is there just not a lot of fish do to water quality ? besides "Bait-N-Wait" catfishing??

Any words of wisdom would be appreciated
Thanks,
Slack

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[DanMarino]

#BecausePrinceGeorgesCounty

I've always wondered the same thing about the Pax. I always assumed it was due to poor water quality and poor habitat created by us humans.

[dsaavedra]

I've had the same experience fishing that stretch of the Pax. It's frustrating because all the marshy areas look like they should be loaded with snakehead and bass but I usually come home empty handed. In fact I've only caught fish in that stretch once, just north of Jug Bay right before the Western branch, I caught 5 or 6 channel catfish on a deep diving crankbait of all things...

[rugbyfish]

I caught 5 or 6 channel catfish on a deep diving crankbait of all things...

It’s funny you say that. I caught a few channel cats on Mepps spinners in that same stretch several years ago.

[brianisoutside]

I fish it around the Bowie and crofton areas and it’s more of the same. Just stained water, most of it is soft muddy bottom. Not idea fishing for much other than catfish.


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[Slackdaddy]

Yeah, I know.
I keep trying REALLY hard to like this river,, but I average 1 fish every 2 outings (lure fishing for LMB, SH, Yellow Perch)
It is so close to home, and I love the 2 minute drive to a launch, scenery is great, but fishing is near zilch.

I fish it around the Bowie and crofton areas and it’s more of the same. Just stained water, most of it is soft muddy bottom. Not idea fishing for much other than catfish.


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[Slackdaddy]

One other observation,
Even though I have caught 3 snakeheads in over 20 outings on this stretch (over 3 years),, I have NEVER ever seen a single fryball, ever.

While on the flip side, when I fish Blackwater or some other secret bodies of water, I see multiple fry balls each trip.

While there ARE SH and LMB in this stretch, I believe the numbers are less than 5% of other tidal bodies.

[SpaceCadet]

Agreed - it's a strange river. I'm a few minutes from it like you, and have had much the same results. My only regular success is when I stick to the shore and fish for carp - plenty of big fish to be found. But I don't think they're the reason for the dirty water - I think that's down to all the huge amount of shallow marsh that drains into the river every low tide. It's a breeding ground for algae, plants, etc. In that sense the river is absolutely thriving, and I can paddle along there and see my sonar completely lit up with fish for 50 or 100yd stretches at a time. But catching anything other than catfish or the occasional SH on lures is ridiculously tough. I'm yet to see/catch LMB after five years on the river, but have heard anecdotal stories of folks finding pockets of them on the falling tide as they move out of the weeds into the main river.

I don't know what to tell you. It's such a beautiful, peaceful place to fish but... so frustrating!

[dsaavedra]

I wonder if it has to do with the tide? It really rips through there, some of the hardest tide I've paddled against. And the swing from low to high can be several feet! Maybe catfish are the only ones stubborn enough to put up with it.