Mattawoman is awake

[thedutchtouch]

Went out yesterday afternoon, it was pretty busy with boat/kayak traffic, talked to a few people that had caught some yellow perch and crappie, had a few very inconsiderate boaters come within 20 feet of me so I could tell they were bass fishing because I saw their senkos. I landed my PB blue cat, too big to measure so 36+ in hand estimated around 30 lbs, long and skinny for a blue. Also took home two smaller ones that will be released into lake crisco tonight.

[Big Mike]

Good day on the water. I like when cornmeal creek meets Lake Crisco. Congratulations on you PB blue.

[dsaavedra]

I fished Mattawoman on Satuday too, maybe we ran into each other. Towards the end of the day I was perch fishing in some trees near Slavins and I talked to a guy in a kayak who said he caught a blue cat so big he could barely get it in the boat. Earlier in the day I targeted bass around Marsh Island/Thoroughfare Island and the bass were not cooperating. I didn't even get a bite. I saw tons of bass boats but couldn't tell if they were catching anything.

[thedutchtouch]

Yep that was me, I asked if you were perch fishing but never thought to ask about snaggedline. It was fun start to the year having a fish that was too big to net, the dang thing got my legs nice and slimy. In hindsight I wish I'd have tried a bit harder to measure it (how long is "hanging off both sides of the kayak with the tail in the water?" I'm calling it 36 inches or so.)but oh well, the hook is out and it's swimming again. I ended up catching the two smaller ones later in the afternoon, they tasted great.

Nice to "meet" you.

[dsaavedra]

Oh cool. Shortly after you moved along upriver I managed to catch a FAT 11.5" yellow perch. Then a few minutes after that I hooked up with a 24" carp... now that was a wild ride on the 6' light perch rod I was using. It took me nearly 10 minutes to get it into the boat. I also managed a few nice size crappie and a pair of runt catfish earlier in the day. All caught on live minnows on a bottom rig. So the day turned out not to be a bust... it just took me 5 hours of bite-less bass fishing before I caught any fish.

20210313_141431.jpg
20210313_142717.jpg

[thedutchtouch]

Oh cool. Shortly after you moved along upriver I managed to catch a FAT 11.5" yellow perch. Then a few minutes after that I hooked up with a 24" carp... now that was a wild ride on the 6' light perch rod I was using. It took me nearly 10 minutes to get it into the boat. I also managed a few nice size crappie and a pair of runt catfish earlier in the day. All caught on live minnows on a bottom rig. So the day turned out not to be a bust... it just took me 5 hours of bite-less bass fishing before I caught any fish.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]27355[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]27356[/ATTACH]

nicely done. mattawoman has been hard for me to figure out, i'm getting the catfish dialed in somewhat (but then again, that could be just because they're verywhere and eat a lot) but haven't had much luck when targeting bass/snakehead/ perch, more practice and it'll come i suppose. where do you get your minnows? i've used mostly artificials and not fished with live bait much (unless i hook a small bluegill and then put it on the catfish setup) because i simply don't know where to find them.

[dsaavedra]

Mattawoman is tough. It's an insanely pressured body of water - you saw how many boats were out there on Saturday and that was just a run of the mill early season day, a lot of people probably haven't even dusted off their gear for the season yet... imagine later in the season when they start hosting tournaments out of Smallwood every weekend. Yet somehow it is (allegedly) still very productive. I get skunked there far more often than not. Occasionally I'll have a mediocre day (a handful of fish in a full day outing), and once I had an absolute banner day - me and 2 friends went out in a bass boat in early March several years ago and we put 91 bass in the boat between the 3 of us. I consider that an extreme outlier. I've only caught one snakehead there, and it was my first one ever (it remains my only west-side snake). Unfortunately I don't have any tips for fishing the creek because I hardly ever do well there.

I got the minnows from a ditch by my house. It's connected to a tidal creek and I can usually get mummichogs and other minnows if I set a trap.

[moc]

LOL.....Love it....Lake Crisco.

[Red_Beard]

Those tournaments are why always launch from Mattingly, and concentrate my fishing on the upper end of the creek. I have found the key to successful bass fishing in Mattawoman is to avoid whatever the trendy presentation is in bass fishing circles at the moment. Instead of a bladed jig, I'll throw a swim jig. Instead of a senko, I'll throw a fluke. Of course, I didn't bother to fish it at all last year what with all the extra people on the water. When even the less popular creeks are getting crowded, you know a place like Mattawoman is going to be a nightmare.

[ronaultmtd]

It used to be one of my close to home fishing holes...the fish there have a PHD in lure recognition and presentations...the fishing pressure is continuous and unrelenting- that said- there are plenty of blue cats there. I fished it twice early spring last year- both times for catfish...

[captmikestarrett]

I love Mattawomen and have guided there for 28 years now. Sometimes it gets very tough. Had a few zero's in my days.
Also had 60+ LGmouth days. Last year it yielded 29 Snakehead for my clients.

I avoid the crowds as it does slow the catching and not the fishing..LOL

Capt Mike

[Yinzguy]

I was only there once. At Slavins. Is (are) there any other places to launch a kayak on Mattawoman? Further upstream?

[dsaavedra]

There are 3 launch options on Mattawoman.

Smallwood State Park is at the downstream end, it's a $10 entry fee and is a bustling place. This is where all the bass boaters launch and where they host tournaments all the time.

Slavins is in the middle and is pretty small and quiet. Mostly kayakers and shore anglers. It's a free facility with a paved ramp, porta-johns.

At the wayyy upstream end of is Mason Springs Conservancy kayak launch. This is a very small facility (also free), with a gravel lot and a trail that leads down through the woods to a small floating "dock" (more like a small staircase leading directly into the water). This facility is kind of sketchy, lots of litter everywhere and it doesn't seem well maintained. I have found that it's also very difficult to launch or bring your kayak back in if the tide is low. The bank at the launch is very steep if the water is low, and there are a few spots in the creek downstream of the launch where the water gets too shallow if the tide is low and requires portage. I've used this launch 3 or 4 times and have decided I'm done with it, I'll be using Slavins from here on out.

[ronaultmtd]

Yep, the Route 225 launch put my ass floating out in the middle of the creek with my kayak sitting firmly up on the slick muddy bank...and I had all my regular clothes on just pulling the kayak down when I slipped, bounced once before the big splash and instant awareness of the icy cold water...that was it for me...have not been back...

[Yinzguy]

Thanks for the info on Mattawoman launches.