Monocacy River Fishing (MD – at Upper Potomac)

Since we were already there to fish the Upper Potomac, I reserved the last hour or so of the day to do a quick run up the Monocacy River. This will not be a very extensive discussion because, quite frankly, there’s really nothing to discuss. From reading other postings on the Internet, I know there are better sections, and I will need to work upstream to discover them.

As I mentioned in the post on the Upper Potomac, I chatted with a few other fishermen before we launched the canoe. In addition to discussing the possibilities on the Upper Potomac, I queried them on their experience moving upriver on the Monocacy. The consistent opinion was that there would be very few smallmouth upriver and those found would be scattered in a few deep holes that would require extensive reconnaissance to uncover. Now, that could have been a coded answer to protect a favorite fishing place, but I got the sense that I was getting an accurate assessment that this just was not a good fishing river. There may be other species up here that would be worth pursuing, but probably not smallmouth.

Part of the reason I believe I was getting the straight story was the environment of the river itself. The bottom is nothing but sand in the short stretch that I visited. Granted, there may be a boulder or two mixed in, but no bottom vegetation to provide good holding areas for bass. There is nothing to anchor a hard fighting smallie to any particular area. Having learned the hard way that a sandy, barren bottom is the same to a smallmouth as a desert is to us, I knew we would not encounter much as I kicked the trolling motor into gear and motored upstream.

The deeper parts of the short stretch that I visited is on the northern bank. The steep bank has a few trees that lean over into the river to provide shade for the fish over a few 4 to 5 foot deep spots.  If you’re interested in panfish, it’s certainly worth fishing those spots. Moving upstream to the bridge, the next deep spot was under it. It looked deep enough to hold something other than a panfish, but it was not productive to us. By this time, I had pretty much lost motivation to explore the river further. We moved a little bit farther around the bend just to be able to see what was upriver. The glare of the sandy bottom punched through the flat expanse in front of me and confirmed that moving further upstream would not reveal anything different than what we had already seen.

When I returned home, I did some quick research on the Internet and discovered that the Monocacy is regarded as a polluted river as a result of farming and livestock operations. The barren bottom may be an indication of the severity of that pollution in the lower section.

Monocacy River Fishing Bottom Line: While there may be a better fishing spot upstream, the area within a half mile of the boat launch is nothing but dead water.  I can assure you that, over time, I’ll find those better sections and let you know where they are.

Getting There: Take exit 22 from I270 and head west on MD109 (Old Hundred Road).  Turn right on Barnesville Road.  Turn left on MD95 (Mt Ephraim Road).  Turn right on Monocacy Road and follow it to the park.  Take the right fork, once in the park, to get to the boat launch.

Google Local Coordinates: 39.224607,-77.44945

Secrets Revealed?  No.  This is a very public location that is documented on the Maryland DNR 

Date Fished: 07/12/2009

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Looking downstream back to the boat launch

Upstream from the bridge – see the shine of the sandy bottom?

The bridge shelters the rare deep spot

 

Unless stated otherwise, this article was authored by Steve Moore

Articles on this site are out of date since some go back to 2006. Regulations and property ownership may have changed since publication. It is your responsibility to know and obey all regulations and not trespass on private property.

Disclaimer and Warning:  The contents of this site reflect the opinion of the author and you, the reader, must exercise care in the use and interpretation of this information.  Fishing is a dangerous sport.  You can slip and fall on rocks and sustain severe injury.  You can drown.  You can get hooks caught in your skin, face, eyes or other sensitive places.  All sorts of bad things can happen to you when to go into the woods to visit the places documented here.  Forests, streams and lakes are wild areas and any number of bad things can happen.  You must make your own judgment in terms of acceptable behavior and risk and not rely on anything posted here.  I disclaim all liability and responsibility for any actions you take as a result of reading the articles on this site.  If you do not agree with this, you should not read anything posted on this site.

Disclaimer and Warning:  The contents of this site reflect the opinion of the author and you, the reader, must exercise care in the use and interpretation of this information.  Fishing is a dangerous sport.  You can slip and fall on rocks and sustain severe injury.  You can drown.  You can get hooks caught in your skin, face, eyes or other sensitive places.  All sorts of bad things can happen to you when to go into the woods to visit the places documented here.  Forests, streams and lakes are wild areas and any number of bad things can happen.  You must make your own judgment in terms of acceptable behavior and risk and not rely on anything posted here.  I disclaim all liability and responsibility for any actions you take as a result of reading the articles on this site.  If you do not agree with this, you should not read anything posted on this site.

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