Advice on mattowoman creek

[Wheatonkayak]

Not looking for any secrets but just some general guidance, if possible, on mattowoman creek.

My buddy and launched at Mason Springs launch at 1030. Low tide at deep point was 11am ish. Paddled downstream about a mile to where the small creeks come together (maybe half mile). Worked the area pretty hard with topwater, soft plastics and hardbaits. Tons of bait. Saw gamefish moving and picked up a couple decent bass. Fished pretty hard until 230/3 with pretty minimal results.

It’s a beautiful area and seemed super fishy. Lots of cover, lots of bait and many areas with depth. Any general pieces of advice? I generally don’t fish the middle of the day- I did it this time bc it’s a new area. Any general advice would be much appreciated.

[DanMarino]

Mattawoman is a fun place to fish. I haven't been there for about 5 or 6 years now. I had the most success down there in April, May, and June. Lots of fun throwing Zoom toads through the lilly pads. I've caught bass there on all sorts of different lures, it just depends on how you like to fish. I would say fish whatever lure and technique you have the most confidence in. If that doesn't work, then put on a soft plastic worm or throw a chatterbait. Here is a list of fish species I have caught in Mattawoman Creek:
1. Largemouth bass
2. Snakehead
3. Yellow perch
4. White perch
5. Channel catfish.
6. Bluegill

[gliebig]

You'd think with as fishy as that place looks, you'd get bit every other cast.

[Wheatonkayak]

Yeah absolutely. Clear water, incoming tide, lots of bait. It was weird bc I wasn’t even catching a lot of microbass

[Red_Beard]

Mattawoman gets a lot of fishing pressure, and by this time of year all that pressure has really added up. I think its a very productive system, but its one with a lot of educated fish. With that in mind, I've always done best there with presentations that require a lighter touch - texas rigged creature baits, flukes, and swim jigs have always been my best baits there. I've tried topwater frogs, which you'd think would work a charm there, but they've produced nothing for me, save for a barred owl that I had to pull one away from twice!

[captmikestarrett]

I guide on Mattawomen in the summer and this August we went from 20 fish evenings to zero's in August. Not seeing any LGMouth either. It was like DNR shocked up all the LGMouth and restocked a lake somewhere. They have done that before BTW. They also released a whole bunch of fingerlings two maybe three years ago to help bring them back. LMBV took a heavy toll on the population many years ago.
Maybe fishing pressure is to blame.

Capt Mike