It was two weeks after our inaugural trip, and our boat was hitting the waters of Liberty Reservoir just as the sun was rising.  Although it was mid-April and it was snowing the previous week, this day’s forecast showed bright, clear skies and mild temperatures.  Yet it was only in the mid-40s as we made our way north from the boat ramp.  Event thought the water temperature in this deep area was only reading 52 degrees, the surface was rife action as walleye were breaching left and right.

Our first stop was near the buoys at Plumber’s Point (3), where the fish were jumping all over the place.  Unfortunately we could not figure out what they wanted.  We tried throwing poppers, drop shots, plugs, jigs, and swimmers.  Not even a single bite.  It didn’t appear that the fish were going after food, so why the breaching?  Perhaps this has something to do with the walleye’s spawning habits?

We decided to keep going.  We rounded the corner and headed west down Morgan Run towards Route 32.  About a quarter mile past the first outcropping, we found a shallow shelf that jutted out about 150 yards from the southern bank.  The water was no more than 12 feet deep and very clear.  We could clearly see some very large walleye that would turn tail when we got too close.

Again we tried throwing a variety of lures, and again ended up without a bite.  However, the spot showed a lot of promise, and will certainly be hot with action once the summer weeds grow in.  For now, the water temperature was still only about 54 degrees, so we decided to keep moving on to warmer waters.

We kept moving westward and finally came into view of the Sykesville Road Bridge (9).  It was a sunny day and the air temperature had gone into the 60s, so there were plenty of fishermen along the shorelines.  We dropped in our trolling rods, now with brand new Penn reels, and used out trolling motor to pass under the bridge.  We stayed along the north-east shoreline as the reservoir took a turn northward.  Finally the water temperature was hitting 58 degrees.

The action was all very close to the shoreline, so the shoreline anglers were likely having some luck.  We started throwing Senko lures in a variety of configurations: Texas rigs, jig heads, drop shots.  There were a few bites, but nothing landed yet.

We eventually crossed over to the western shoreline, and found a great spot (10) where we both finally started pulling up some small-to-medium sized large mouths.  They were all around 13 inches and probably no more than 1.5 pounds, but still fun to catch.

After an hour or two, we decided not to press our luck with the motor range this week and started heading in.  We only stopped a few more times, once to help a shoreline angler get his lure out of the trees (we’ve all been there).

Overall, it wasn’t an amazing day of fishing, but we did manage to land a few.  From the few people we talked to, it sounds like everyone else had about the same luck as we did.  However, we both enjoyed this western branch of the reservoir much more than the eastern side.  We will certainly return as the fishing season quite literally heats up.

It was a bright, cold day in April and all the clocks were striking thirteen. Meanwhile a couple of April Fools were trolling their way through several miles of deep water in search of hybrid striped bass.

It was our inaugural trip of 2016, and we decided to take on a relatively new challenge: Liberty Reservoir. We had done quite well last season in the shallow, familiar waters of Loch Raven and decided to try our hand at this massive reservoir fed by the Patapsco River. We had ventured out to Liberty two or three times in the past, but had yet to catch a fish.

Loch Raven, our regular stomping grounds, is rife with an ever-changing topography and tons of structure in the form of trees, rocks, and weeds. It’s almost impossible to throw your lure in the water and not find a potential fishing hole.

Liberty, on the other hand, has vast stretches of very deep, very flat areas. These features allow a hybrid freshwater breed of striped bass to thrive in this habitat but also makes it exponentially much more difficult to be successful when fishing.

A hundred yards from the boat ramp, and the depth finder shows over 100 feet of water below us. We would barely be able to sink our lures to the bottom even if we let out all of our line. Not that it would make a difference – this early in the year, the fish are migrating to warmer, shallower waters in preparation for the spring spawning season.

The weather was chilly and overcast, with a light drizzle that didn’t seem to want to let up. Despite the inclement weather, our goal was to hit the eastern branch of the reservoir and follow it as far north as possible, while slowly trolling some very large lures behind us. With water temperatures around 55 degrees, fish will typically avoid chasing after anything unless it’s worthwhile, so we stuck with lures that were five inches or larger.

After a couple hours, we felt that we were progressing too slowly. We made it past the Deer Park / Nicodemus Road bridge; however, we still found ourselves in 50+ feet of water as we snaked through a windy, narrow but deep channel in the lake.

We finally came to a clearing around a peninsula that engulfs Murray Road in Finksburg. We got a little excited as the depth finder started showing 30 feet or less, and the water temperature rose to 58 degrees. The rain also stopped and the sun started shining between the seams of some very large, but fast moving clouds.

We finally anchored up in a few places along the eastern shoreline and started using our casting rods. We tried out a variety of artificial worms, minnows, spinners, and craw fish, but didn’t even get a bite. We actually had a bit of trouble finding structure as most of the area remained flat and clear.

After circling around the east side of the peninsula to no avail, we decided to drop our trolling lines back into the water and head around to the west side. We rounded the tip and turned north, finding an area that shallowed in the range of 5 to 8 feet. Suddenly one of the trolling rods bent in half and the line started running.

We killed the motor, and the fight was on! The cheap reel on our trolling rod was struggling as the fish did all it could to shake loose. We were both thinking the same thing: striped bass! The line shot up as the fish turned toward the surface. As it breached, we saw that it was indeed a bass, but not the kind we expected. What we actually had was a massive largemouth.

After some more fighting, we were finally able to bring the behemoth close enough to net. It was a perfect hook right through the lip. So while it wasn’t a striper, it was certainly a beauty and nothing to be disappointed about. Official weight and measure: 4.3 lbs and 19 inches!

After the excitement died down, we continued to explore the rest of the west side of the peninsula. We found a nice area along the western bank where several trees from a sunken island were poking through the water. We anchored up and started trying out a variety of low-snag lures. Dropping close to the shore, we managed to land another largemouth bass. It was too small to bother with a measurement but ensured that nobody on the boat would leave that day without a catch.

A short while later, our luck ran out. We decided to start the long journey back to the boat ramp and stop at a few spots along the way. We did find a couple of decent places closer to the Deer Park Road bridge but didn’t get a single bite.

Even more unfortunate was that our motor was starting to lose its mojo. It still ran, but not at the same aggressive pitch we started with. A glance at the map made us nervous when we saw how much water we had left to cover.

We headed back at full tilt; no more stopping or trolling. By the time we joined up with the western branch of the reservoir, the boat motor was down to at least half speed. By the time we passed Plumber’s Point, half our batteries had given out and we limped back the rest of the way at less than a quarter of our maximum speed. The 20 mph gusts of head wind didn’t help, but we did manage to make it back to the boat ramp with some of our dignity intact.

So in the end, we received a little taste of humility as to the actual range of our 48-volt Ray motor. However, our spirits were high as we loaded the boat on the trailer knowing that we both managed to bag a bass. Overall it was a good early start to the season, and we look forward to the next round of fishing at Liberty Reservoir.