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St. Mary's Lake is a Great Spot for Freshwater Fishing in Southern Maryland

Posted by Billy Rabbitt on Monday, July 4, 2022 at 12:46 PM By Billy Rabbitt / July 4, 2022 Comment

Located in between the Patuxent River and the Potomac River is one of the most amazing bodies of fresh water in the state of Maryland. Deep within the gorgeous terrain of southern St. Mary’s County is St. Mary’s Lake.St. Mary's Lake is a Great Spot for Freshwater Fishing in Southern Maryland

This lake is home to modern boat ramps making launching trailered boats, kayaks, and car toppers easy. It is also a great place to cast off from the shore taking a break in the middle of a hike around the lake. Perhaps the greatest part about St. Mary’s Lake is that it is rarely crowded.

St. Mary’s Lake is home to largemouth bass, crappie, pickerel, yellow perch, and sunfish. The terrain is very diverse creating interesting habitats that the freshwater fish in the area love. This terrain includes dikes off-shooting from the main lake, beaver dams, standing timber, and more.

There are Much Fish to Be Found Hiding Out in the Standing Timber

The crappie in St. Mary’s lake loves to reside in the standing timber. The area right next to the public boat ramps receives a lot of activity and is full of timber, but still holds quite a few fish. If you are trying to fish among the trees in the water be mindful of your boating technique, it can be easy to get caught up.

Fishing in the timber will also require a little bit of learning and trial by fire. Do not get upset if you sacrifice a jig or two while trying to cast into the tangled branches. If you are fishing from the shore, the trees closest to shore in the water are within casting distance from shore.

Also, Try Fishing from the Far East Side of the Lake

This area is a spillway for the lake just to the right of the boat ramps and right next to the dam. The waters spill into the dam and create the headwaters for the St. Mary’s River. If you are fishing from a boat hanging out near the spillway may grant you some success in catching crappie. Many fishermen have said that crappie hangs out in hoards near the spillway.

If you are hoping to take advantage of this freshwater fishing hotspot in southern Maryland from the land you can walk along the other side of the dam and benefit from the outflow of the spillway. Before making your trek along the dam make note of the location of the spillway to help you find this spot. There is a very small pond that is created from the spillway outflow that is often full of fish.

If you are an experienced shore angler you could wade down the shores of the St. Mary’s river from the dam. The first few holes along the river are a favorite hangout of bass and crappie.

If You are Interested in Catching Largemouth Bass

There are some areas of the lake that bass love to hang out in and if you are more interested in catching a bass you want to head to these hot spots. Two of the best spots for bass on the lake are near the entrance to the dikes that jut out from the lake nearest the boat ramps. These spots are really best accessed by boat. The areas where the lake bed drops off to much larger depths are where the bass love to be.

Bass also love the very far western edge of the lake as the water becomes more shallow. There are a lot of weeds and lily pads in this area, but the bass really like to hang out there. In colder months you can find pickerel here.

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