Lake Roland 3/18

[Shady]

I got possumed! I fished Lake Roland yesterday afternoon getting in some more practice with my new carrot stix baitcaster.

Lake Roland is located in Robert E Lee park, the park has been completely redone and now has a big parking lot with pretty good water access. I threw several different crankbaits and spinnerbaits for about 1.5 hours and had one fish on for about 10 seconds, but it didnt stay on. I think it was a small bass. I hope to check out this lake again in the future. To me the lake sort of resembles a mini loch raven. At the bottom end the banks are steep and the water was close to 11 feet at the deepest point, but at the top end there is more of a big wide flat with more of a flooded timber feel. Anyone else been there lately?

[zimm]

I had every intention to fish there Sunday but got lost in the honeydo list on Sat evening and overdid it
I did stop by on Sat afternoon to see what kind of traffic/ launch facilities the County may have put in place,

The launch :
50-75' drag/ carry to waters edge Parking seemed to be plentiful
noted 3 yaks and a canoe (no fishermen in them) and a few people bank fishing. I can see why they call it the Dog park
Posted hours:
Sun-Up to Sun Down
and the County still has "No Boating" on the Park rules sign this could be a diamond in the rough. looks like it might receive very little pressure on the main lake
It's on my list of places to spend some time

[HJS]

I grew up in Cockeysville, not too far away. Lake Roland is one if the oldest lakes in MD. I think it was built around 1860 (Civil War era!) and severed as Baltimore's water supply for many decades. So it has had plenty of time to fill in with sediment. I doubt it has ever been dredged or cleaned out.

Interesting side note: Lake Roland is formed by the damming of Jones Falls. Surprisingly enough, Jones Fall supports a significant population of stream-born brown trout all the way down to the lake.

[Shady]

There were a lot of people kayaking and canoeing, but I didnt see anyone else actually fishing. When I came in a ranger was there and asked how I did, he didnt even ask for my fishing license. Obviously, there is no problem with kayaking the lake

[Cliff]

I fished lake Roland last week and caught about 13 tiny largemouth bass. In fact I had to switch to a smaller spoon because the Mepps Aglia #5 I was using was too big for them. I did some research before going and found a post that said the lake had some issues back in 2008. A pump or something failed and the water level dropped to basically nothing. I did see a lot of large (10-15 lb.) carp swimming along the path on the Robert E. Lee side of the lake. Also, i talked to another angler there that claimed to have caught some 2-4 pound largemouth on the other side of the train bridge and around the bridge itself.

[edwonbass]

Is there a fee to launch and or fish there? I just got my Yak and want to try out some new spots. I have owned a canoe for years and have fished mostly Rocky Gorge.

[Cliff]

I did not have to pay in order to fish. There were a couple people kayaking but I did not go over to the launching area. However, I do not believe there is a fee to launch your kayak.

[Shady]

No launch fee. Next time, I'll have to try inline spinners. The one I hooked felt like it could have been a little over a pound or so...

[edwonbass]

Thanks. I will have to check it out soon.

[Laffingrrl]

I did not have to pay in order to fish. There were a couple people kayaking but I did not go over to the launching area. However, I do not believe there is a fee to launch your kayak.

What launching area? That's my haunt. Opposite the falls, around the bend after the bridge on the right is a bald eagle's nest.

If anyone goes to the dog park (at $125/year!) you're on the wrong side! Go up the windy road before Davies Tree service and you have a short walk to the water. Put in at the water, it's pretty basic. Hope it works for your Big Yaks! Park Rangers look to me like they're about 17 ...but they aggressively check licenses & ticket. 1st time in my life I've been asked!
I love it during the week when I think I'm the only one there. Weekends are kinda busy, not for me. Was there today on the bank, down to a dropshot with a bloodworm. It had a nice swim but that's all. Was thinking of doing the Hula to get a bite. Tomorrow I'll go past the bridge & see what's what.

[Yak Fish]

Thanks for the report. This lake is somewhere where I wanted to give a shot last year but never did. I also heard the same thing about the lake draining several years back so perhaps the fish are coming back. It'd also be interesting if there are trout in there. It sounds like you may be right Ryan, a spinner that could catch any number of species could help figure out what's in there.

[GaTech Redneck]

And here I thought I was alone! I just discovered this lake recently and bought an inflatable kayak to be able to get out on the water. I tried fishing this lake twice the past week. I caught a few small bass, but the biggest was only a pound or so max and I fished it pretty hard. There were a lot of carp at the far end where it gets shallow and muddy...Might be worth it for me to learn how to fly fish for them, but slinging hooks around from an inflatable sounds risky. I'll probably start going here more often though, so if you see me out there in a grey sea eagle inflatable come say hello.

[Shady]

I probably wont be fishing it anymore because the opportunities for much better fishing are heating up everywhere else. Might be worth it to try baiting the carp in with corn and then loading up a small but solid hook with it and casting to where you threw the corn.

That being said its definately a cool little lake for a paddle...