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post fishing reports for liberty lake here....

First time fishing Liberty Reservoir on 08/14.

Air temp - 85-95 degrees.
Water temp 84-88
Water clarity - very clear 8 - 10 feet in some areas.

Fished 6:30 AM - 10:00 AM.  Would have fished longer, but the wife came and had to get back. 

Hit several small 10-12"  largemouth bass along rocky shore lines - most hit along points.  Only fished the east shore line, north of the Libery Road bridge.  Hitting on 5" Yum Dingers in green pumpkin with a chartreuse tail.  Also hit a 3" chartreuse grub.  Alot of fish breaking water, but they didn't seem interested in a buzz bait of a baby torpedo.  I intended on throwing a zara spook as well, but never got around to it.  Threw a few shallow running cranks and spinner baits over points too, but same results, only small bass.  If you love catching alot of small bass, this is the place to go, there are alot of rocky points, north of the libery road bridge and to the east shoreline. 

There also seemed to be a tremendous amount of carp in there as well, so all you carp anglers, get on out there.

As for the bass, lots of small ones, but didn't seem to pull anything over 12 inches out.  I did have one real strong hit, but missed the hook set, so I know the big ones are in there.  Just have to find out where they are.   ;D  Looking forward to the next time. 

Great Report Creel Limit Zero, thanks for the update. Even catching a bunch of smaller fish is a blast and there is a lot to learn from the patterns you find. Great Job :toot:

Fished Liberty Reservoir today 08/21 from 6:30 AM until 12:30 PM.

Air temp 84-92
water temp 82-87
water clarity - 6-8 feet
~sun and wind up to 5-20 MPH was 5 MPH early on, but quickly went up to 20 by about 8:00 AM

Never really had much success fishing in alot of wind, but I read a thread here on Ultimate Bass about some different ways to approach the winds, and it helped me out alot. 

When I got there, I hit the first cove just North of the Liberty Road bridge, directly north from the first boat ramp.  There appears to be an old boat ramp in this cove, at least it is a slow gradual decline in the water that is cemented.  Doesn't appear like it was ever used as a boat ramp, but never the less it provides some structure on both sides of the ramp.  The gravel and rocks fall about 12-18 inches on both sides of the cement.  I positioned my boat in the most shallow past of this ramp and cast a 3.5" green pumpkin tube.  I had it travel just off of this cement and did small 12 inch jerks like a cray fish, hit three nice bass all in about 5 feet of water.  One was a 1.5 pound smallmouth, haven't caught one of those in a while, so I was excited.   ;D

After that the wind picked up dramatically, so I decided to try the few things I remembered from the thread.   :-*  One was to look for structure that the fish will be able to get relief from the wind and current caused by this wind.  Well the second cove I went in had several large boulders in 8-10 feet of water.  So I C-rigged a worm to get it down and threw it just past the boulder, and jerked it, then let it settle, right past the side of the boulders I thought the fish would be holding.  Fourth cast, bang, a nice 3 pounder. 

The other thing I remembered was to cast into the wind, and drag it across some wind swept points.  Well there is tiny little rock island north of the libery road bridge.  I went up there with the same carolina rigged worm and cast into the wind, and dragged it past the points, hit another 3 bass there.   :shocking:

Well, I now am a believer, you can catch nice fish with a strong wind.   ;D  Thanks to the Ultimate Bass forum!   ~c~

Here is the thread for all interested readers. 

http://ultimatebass.com/bass-fishing-forum/index.php/topic,2073.0.html (http://ultimatebass.com/bass-fishing-forum/index.php/topic,2073.0.html)

Fished Liberty Reservoir 09/03 this past weekend.

6:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Air Temp 66-84
Water temp 79-83
Sunny, relatively no wind in the morning, picking up to 10 MPH around 9:30 AM
Water clarity - 8 feet

Another successful outing at Liberty Reservoir.  My fatherand I started fishing some shallow rocky shore lines.  These went from 2-6 feet of water.  I was throwing a Gambler Lures Ugly Otter in EP's secret (Ultimate Bass Contest winner) ;D  father was throwing a hand poured senko knockoff in green pumpkin and orange tail.  We were catching smallmouth bass like crazy.  In the first 2 hours we boated around 10 smallmouths, and one largemouth.  Smallmouths all ranged from 12-14 inches, but my father caught a 17" and I caught a 19".  My largest smallmouth ever, I'm estimating in the 3.5 pound range.   ~c~ 

We were both throwing our baits weightless, and most of the strikes occured when we threw them up against the rocky shoreline.  The shoreline consisted of mostly large rocky boulders, so the best technique was actually throwing the bait and knocking it off of the boulder.  But keep the cast with a tight line, because they were hitting it as soon as it hit the water.  If you cast the bait with even the slightest splash, nothing, but knocking it right off of these boulders and them falling in with almost no splash seemed to be the ticket.   :-*

Around 9:30 when the  ~sun started getting high and the temps increased, the bite stopped, so we started searching for some new patterns.  For the next 2 hours we couldn't seem to develop any pattern.  We were focusing on drop offs in the 15' range and bouncing plastic baits carolina rigged up the surface.  Also cast them over points that went from 25' to 10' back down to 25' but this didn't work.  Around 11:30 I noticed one of the shorelines in the cove was getting smacked pretty good with the wind.  We went over there and my father grabbed the old senko knockoff and skipped into a tree standing in water with some overhanging branches.  Bang, a nice 17" Largemouth.  We kept focusing on this new found pattern for the next 30 minutes or so, and nothing. 

Around noon, we decided we needed to get start heading back.  My father grabbed the deep diver and trolled back.  Used a Rapala DT14 in Fire tiger, and got an extra 13" largemouth trolling over a point described above, going 25-10-25.  I think he got the hit after it bounced off of one of the sunken boulders in about 12 feet of water.   :-*  Didn't try that before, may have worked. 

All in all, a very nice day on the water with my father.  It was so enjoyable we decided to do it again tomorrow.  Will post this report shortly!   ;D

Awesome indepth fishing report Creel Limit Zero, thank you for sharing your trip with us ~c~ ~c~

No problem, my pleasure.    ~c~

Nice report Creel  ~c~ ~c~ and another great day with Dad on the water. ~c~ ~c~

Fished Liberty on Sunday from 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM on 09/25

Cloudy and overcast - 77 degrees at 2:00 down to 68 degrees at 7:00.  mostly no wind
Water temp 77-81
Water clarity 4-8 feet  Mostly 8 feet, but a couple of coves in the upper stretches had a little lower clarity

First started throwing spinner baits around rocky shore lines in 5-15 feet of water.  Didn't have much success doing this, so started bouncing a jig with an ugly otter trailer off the same rocks, and wiggling it next to big boulders.  This produced one smallmouth around 11 inches.  As we kept going North on the same shoreline, we found a couple of sunken timber off the shore where it was going from rocky shoreline to sandy shoreline.  Still in 5-15 feet of water.  Switched to a T-rigged Yum Dinger in green pumpkin and chartreuese tail.  Dad had a T-rigged red/orange Senko.  Threw these into the laydown, which had no leaves on it, just branches all over it.  Just let it sink through each gap in the branches, and this proved to do the trick, pulled several nice largemouths from each tree.  Dad had a real lunker on that he had trouble pulling it out of the timber.  The line was really rubbing up against one of the branches, and it ended up doing too much damage.  He was able to pull it from the timber, but as the fish got closer to the boat and did one last ditch effort dive to deeper water, it snapped the line.  He was quite disappointed, but it can happen when you are light lining timber with 6 pound test line.  I also think his reel is getting up there in years, so the drag isn't so good.   ~shhh

We targeted several more laydowns like these, all of them appeared to have alot of baitfish in them, so after throwing the plastics through every hole in the timber, I would run a crankbait and bounce it off the timber if possible, this got a few more bites, including one dink that was like 4 inches.  Really cracked me up because I was throwing a crank bait that was bigger than the bass.   lo

The bite started to slow, but a real productive day for my Dad and I, had around 11 fish between the two of us, well, 11-1/2 if you include the dink.   ;)

Creel you were out fishing with your Dad so that was a good day just to start off with  ~c~ ~c~ and great report and glad ya'll caught some fish too  ~c~ ~c~

Yup, really excited that they are moving back into town.  Gives me a fishing partner that's will to get up before the  ~sun and fish.   ~c~

talked to my neighbor mark tonight and he went out yesterday evening to this spot we know, ill try to get directions for you guys. its about 10 minutes form nicodemis bridge. Anyway, he caught 3 bass he said, ranging from 14 to 18 inches. I dont know what he was using but it was probably some crazy looking lures he bought at Doug's. I'll try to get more information

Any information would be helpful, I think I'm going to Liberty tomorrow for a few hours.   ~c~

He was using live crayfish, Reisterstown Bait and Tackle should have some of those if your willing to use live bait. He didn't know the street names though. I'll make sure to read the sign snext time we got out, in march its also a great spot for rainbow trout, with them spawning in the pools of the stream that lead into the cove.

Certainly going to have to check that out in the spring, would love to see that!

I went out today and fished around nicodemis bridge from the shore for about an hour before the rain started. I caught two bass, one smallmouth about a foot long and one embarassingly small largemouth, maybe 7 inches. Both were on purple tubes with crawdaddy scented smelly jelly

creel did you have any luck on the 30th?

Been meaning to post a report, just been lazy.   ::)

I did catch a couple of bass.  It appeared to look like one of those days where I was going to pull them in like crazy.  2nd cast of the day I caught a nice 18 inch largemouth on a rapala suspending crank bait in baby bass.  I cast into one of those laydowns and just ran it over the top of it, and out it came to smack it pretty hard.  That was around 4:00 in the afternoon, fished until 7:00, but only got one more 10 inch largemouth.  And I busted the sheer pin off of my trolling motor too.   :'(  Going to go get another to fix it tonight, hope it works out okay.   ::)

haha our motor is out of commision to, it's up at Beck's Gunsmithing being fixed now. I'm starting to switch over to saltwater fishing now, My neighbor and I are planning a day trip to Ocean City to fish the surf and OC and Indian River inlets, the big bluefish and rock are really starting to move in now. Theres even a few drum mixed in  :)

Fished Liberty Reservoir 10/09 6:30 AM-11:30 AM

Cloudy temps 55 to 65 degrees
Water temp 74-77
Water clarity 2-5 feet

Just received about 10 inches of rain between Friday and Saturday from the tropical storm.  It appeared that the reservoir was a good 2 feet higher than the previous weekend. 

We started out by strolling up as far North from the boat docks as possible before the anticipation of fishing made us pull over to a cove and fish. The first cove we fished was on the same shore as the water treatment plant, just south of the plant.  This cove has alot of structure in it, and some good depth changes.  In one corner of the cove there was a nice bush sitting in 2-6 feet of water.  We started out throwing plastics into each piece of structure there was there.  I threw a chartreuse and white Kinami 5" flash.  Dad was throwing a purple 10" Berkley power worm.  I pulled two nice fish out of the bush, one 18".  Dad couldn't seem to get a bite so he switched over to my Kinami 5" flash.  Well that didn't help him either.   ;) 

We fished several other lay downs in the cove, but none of them seemed to hold the fish like the bush did.  Unfortunately, we couldn't seem to find any other piece of structure that was similar.  So we decided to head up North further in the reservoir in search of those migrating shad.  I started throwing a 5-1/4" Yo-zuri suspending crank in tennessee shad.  Dad was still throwing those 5" Flash.  Neither of us were finding any fish.   :'( 

We finally made it up to where Morgan Run dumps into the reservoir,  ~sweat that was a long stroll.  We fished a couple of points and got one more bite, a 12 incher on a chartreuse and white 1/2 ounce spinner bait, with 4 willow leafs.  We couldn't seem to develop a good pattern except for that nice bush in the one cove.  This weekend I plan on venturing as far North into the reservoir as possible.  I want to fish the shore lines and trees up North of the route 140 bridge.  I figure I'll find the shad there, and hopefully the bass too.   ;D

Good report Creel and like you said find the shad and you will find the Bass  ~c~ ~c~

anyone hear about the rockfishing this fall?

I'm hearing good things about the rockfish this fall in the Chesapeake.  I have yet to get out there and do some fishing for some rocks.   :'( 

Fished Liberty 10/16 from 6:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Water clarity 2-5 feet, The further up in the reservoir we got the less clarity it was.
Water temp 66-69
Air temp 55-70
Party cloudy
Windy - 15 MPH with 25 MPH gusts

Fishing was tough this past Sunday.  We got out there with great ambitions.  Had crank baits and spinner baits rigged up to do some searching.  We went out over points and laydowns.  The water levels were about as high as last weekend, still up from the lows of the summer but still about 5-6 feet lower from the high levels it was at in Spring.  Tried throwing to shallows with some jerk baits and shallow cranks.  Tried over points in 6-15 feet of water.  Carolina rigged some drop shot worms, split tail grubs, and ugly otters.  Tried bouncing a deep diving crank bait over rocky points.  Finally tried to dead stick a tiki flash and a jig and pig over several different types of structure and points.  No matter what we tried, we were not able to get a bite from anything.  We didn't even have any blue gill or sun fish pull on any of our worms, just nothing. 

After trying different methods of fishing over all different kinds of structure, we decided to give it up around noon and at least catch some fish.  We tied on a small #8 hook and an 1/8 ounce split shot on a couple of rods.  Opened up a can of corn, and threw out half of the can over a small section of a cove.  Threw the corn next to a lay down in the back of the cove, in 2 - 8 feet of water.  There were alot of carp swarming the area.  We set up about thirty feet from where we "chummed" with the corn, and ate a sandwich.  15 minutes later there were a good 10-12 good sized carp in clear view feasting on the corn.  We cast right into the middle of them and "bang" got some nice carp.  We caught 5 good sized carp, all around 3-6 pounds a piece, and had our line break 3 times when we couldn't pull that carp from the laydown before it got wrapped up in it.   ~xyz  At least we caught something.

After that we headed back to the dock.  We talked to about 10 other anglers at the dock when we were leaving, and all of them were as frustrated as we were.  Of the 10 anglers, all of us were fishing for bass, and only one smallmouth was pulled from all of us.  That was an 9 incher the angler said. 

I think the lake was in the fall turnover stage after all the other anglers complained of the lockjaw.  May not be the case, but to not even get any bites from some blue gill makes you wonder where all the fish went.  We tried many different methods, so maybe it was in the turnover stage.  Well, I'll be back this coming weekend to check it out again, if it was in turnover on the 16th, that means the 23rd they'll be back into the fall feeding frenzy.   :-*

I hope so....i will be up there this weekend....but ofcourse fishing from the shore.  But thats ok i like walking around out there very nice place.  I know its going to be a rainy weekend so i'll probably start under the Nicademas bridge.

All right PettrOoo.  I would think the bite is going to get real hot this weekend!  Good luck to you, and let us know how you did!  I'll probably be there on Sunday, so hope you don't catch them all.   ;)

Nice fish in the avator too.   ~c~

Creel limit zero

I am not that familiar with liberty.  Where abouts do you like to fish.  Like i said  the other day i went was my first bass there a bit bigger than the one in the pic.  Any grassy areas that i might beable to find walking around.  Also a man told me when i was there that the stripers are hitting at liberty also....have you herd anything about that.  Well anyway good luck on sunday....stay dry   ~rain  ~rain  ~rain

I have heard the striper bite has started in Liberty, but I have yet to get one of those guys.  I think the best action for those guys are at night over the rocky shore lines that are wind swept.  Unfortunately, you can't be on the water at night, so you would have to do it from shore. 

As for grassy areas, there are not too much of those, but there is alot of structure in the upper areas of the lake, and with the falling water temps and shad migration this is where they are.  I would suggest 3 areas, in this order.  Go to the Route 140 bridge, I think there is sufficient parking up by the bridge, but if not there should be just up the road on Glen Falls Rd.  This is where the Pataspco dumps into Liberty, and there is a nice pool just North of the bridge.  Or go to Route 91 South off of Route 140, and take a left onto Cold Saturday Dr.  I don't remember if this is a private road with posting or not, I haven't went here in a couple of years.  I never had an issue, and you are pretty close to the water here.  The last one is off of Route 32, North of Route 26.  This is also part of the upper reaches, since Morgan Run dumps into the Liberty here.  You do have to do some shore walking to get closer to Morgan Run, but there are some good paths.  This area always has lots of people fishing, as there are always 5-6 cars parked next to the bridge.  My suggestion is to first try the 140 bridge, I think you'll be satisfied.   ;D

Wow thats great thank you for the help...i will probably check it out this weekend.  I went near the nic bridge this past weekend i did not catch a darn thing ~xyz :'( ... atleast it was a very nice day.  Did you end up out there this past weekend if so how did you do.

Yeah, I fished Liberty on Friday afternoon - 10/21 from 2:45 PM to 4:45 PM. 

Cold and  ~rain
Air temp was 44-48
Water temp 59-63
Wind - 15 MPH with 25-30 MPH gusts.  I don't mind 15, but the gusts brought the  ~rain in sideways.   :'(
Clarity - 4-6 feet

Fished the rocky shorelines North of Liberty road bridge.  With the  ~rain and wind, didn't want to commit going to far North.  Frustrating day out there with the cold and rain.  We tried to fish quickly, and hit as much as possible.  I Carolina rigged an ugly otter in EP secret, two others were fishing a double willow leaf spinner bait and a crank bait.  Tried to cover as much water as possible.  We only caught 2 dinks before we gave up.  I wasn't getting any bites on the ugly otter, but on one point I had two follows on it when swimming it up to the boat.   :-*  I thought then, maybe a nice weight to get it down there and swim it over the point would work.   :'(  Sure didn't.  They seemed to be active when I saw the follows, and I saw on one shallow sandy shoreline a couple of bass cruising the flats, but couldn't convince them to grab anything either.   ~xyz

I think a couple of more hours out there we may have found a pattern, but with the  ~rain and cold, we decided to call it a day and grab a couple  ;PEP)   ~c~

I had great luck at Liberty on Sunday, we had planned a trip to Ocean City but it fell through so we headed to Nicodemus Bridge. I caught about 50 crappie and one largemouth in two hours, the largemouth was small since I had been fishing for crappie with little shad darts. If your looking for rockfish, I'd suggest live lining crappie off the bridge or an even better spot is the one cove north of the bridge.  If your coming up the lake from the boat ramp it will be the big cove on the right past the bridge. if the water is muddy, the stripers and pike will probably have herded the crappie and white perch in to the cove and be sitting at the mouth waiting for them to come out. Jumbo shiners or live crappie would be the best bait. But like always this time of year its hard to predict what coves they'll be in so don't limit yourself to that one. If all else fails, its always fun to catch dozens of crappie off the bridge with a chance at some around a pound. :)

All right Crawdaddy.  FYI, when using crappie caught as live bait in Liberty I believe is against the rules.  I don't believe you can use anything caught in the reservoir as bait in the reservoir.  I was reading that this past weekend and was shocked.   :shocking:  Just be careful if you see any Park police.   :-*  I rarely ever see any on Liberty though, only once all year. 

Wow that sounds like a great day.  I was in the area near the nic bridge sunday also.  Had no luck but i was not trying for cappie i wanted to check that out but it just looked way to crowded for me.  But anywho do you guys know anybody with one of these SeaEagle boats.  I was checking them out online they look really nice.  Seems like they would fit me nicely i normally don't fish to much with a buddy or anything so i don't need anything bigger.  Price is not to bad.  I also live in a apartment so i really don't have anywhere to park a jon boat with trailer.  Let me know if you guys have herd anything about these boats.  seaeagle.com  the advertisement on this site

I do not know anyone with one of those SeaEagle's, but looking at their site they do look nice.  I also have seen quite a few people on the different reservoirs with canoes too, with a trolling motor attached to it.  Might be something to consider, so if someone does want to go you would have the room, plus it's small for pretty easy storage.   :-*

Sorry I havent commented ina while, still a little ashamed after the live crappie incident. But guess what, I had two huge hits this weekend on live crappie, so you can take your laws and stick them up your ^-^

I'm not ever sure if that is correct, I just think I saw that somewhere in some literature I got from the boat ramp permit.  Did you catch big largemouths on those crappie or where they stripers?  Where were you at when you got those hits?

Hit Liberty Reservoir on Sunday 8/19 from 5:30 AM - Noon.  There was a reservoir bass club launching from the same ramp, but somehow I just jumped in front of the line, launched my boat, and got out of there in a hurry.  Can you say 30 second back down and launch.   ~SM 

Anyway, cloudy all morning, still dark when we took off, light started coming out as we made the first cast.  Started out chucking spinnerbaits in the AM, nothing for the first minute.  Dad grabs a senko and throws it to a stump I just smacked with my spinnerbait as I retrieved it back, and pulls in a 4 pounder.   ~xyz  I put that spinnerbait rod down and started pitching a worm from there on out.  We did real well most of the morning until around 10:00, then it slowed down.  We ended up catching about 15 bass, almost all keepers, with 3 over 3 pounds.  Sure would've liked being at the weigh in to see what the club got.  If it was a team tourney, we would've had close to 15 pounds as a team, but neither of us would've had over 11 solo.  Around 11:30 the  ~rain started, we are 3 miles from the ramp, and going 4.5 MPH on the TM takes a bit to get back.  We finally get to the ramp, a bit after 12, put the boat on the trailer, and by the time we get in the car the rain stops.   ~rant

Oh well, great day on the water.   ~c~

Is Liberty Reservoir the same place as Lake Liberty, in Liberty, KY?

No, Liberty Reservoir in Maryland... Carroll County. For years, I've heard it called Liberty Lake also.

Let's keep these going. I'm a big fan of Liberty.

I went fishing there today, Oct. 9, 2010.
We caught 8 bass (5 LM, 3 SM) and 3 Sunnies. Biggest Largemouth was 14 1/2" and biggest smallmouth was 16 1/4". Everything was caught on crankbaits.

What do you all find works best here? I've had a good bit of luck with cranks, but I'm open to try anything.

i read the post from aug but if its still a tough bite try throwing tubes youll proboly get some strippers as well and the bass will be a bit bigger. id throw white, smoke, or what ever is the hot color out that way watch out with the white and smoke colors the strippers love em. hope this helps

Strippers??? I could use some strippers, right now!!!  lo

i was planing on fishing liberty this sat but didnt make it did anyone go and get anything big  bass  or strippers 

anyone know the water temp? I havent been out in about 2 weeks last time it was 45* wondering if its near or into the 50s yet.

no its still 46 degrees

Anybody get any fish this year yet? How deep are they?

I had no luck 2 weeks ago. Although I think I was fishing way too shallow. Only 20' or so might have dabbled into the 25' range. Im just new and dont know the patterns yet.

I know its late but I plan on hitting liberty tomorrow (sat 4/9/11) I dont know much about the patterns this time of year im thinking of running towards 32. Since i've never been over that way yet. if anyone has any tips or wouldnt recommend going this way all help is appreciated. Im just looking to learn to fish better or more productive. I dont know if anyone has run across me I have a grey starcraft and a lil ranger pulling it. well good luck if anyone else hits it this weekend cya on the water.
-Tim

Hey T, havent been to Liberty for a few weeks. Going up the 32 way wouldnt be a bad idea. I tend to stay away from Liberty/Prettyboy this time of year because the Loch is sooooo on fire! So, given the water temp in the high 40's try secondary points with jerbaits/jigs.

I'll be looking for you out there and will say "Hey" if I see ya....good luck!

yeah I didnt have much luck. It was a good day tho for the most part lite winds temp didnt get up to high tho wish I would have brought my cover alls. water temp was mostly at 50 lower lake was 49. But yeah I need to learn to fish that lake better and find the secondary points Im a novice. I have never fish loch raven and I only have permits for liberty and prettyboy. But thanks for the info maybe i'll get out there this week or next for a night. yeah just look for the grey boat or grey truck

Liberty has beat me more than I have beat it thats for sure! It can be a tough lake at times.
FYI, secondary points are easy, they are basically points inside of a cove....to keep it simple. Good Fishin'................

Ah thanks I was just about to ask that. but I felt stupid. it was still nice to get out and relax tho.

I know most are hitting loch raven. But for those who are hitting liberty whats the water temp? and hows the bite. I plan on going out 5/1 if weather looks good.

I haven't hit it up this year.  I'm going next weekend.  Let us know how you do.  :)

This weekend I'm working tomorrow and fishing Potomac on Sunday. 

Well I did better then I thought. Caught my first bass of the year, first was one was only about a pound but number 2 was a bit bigger( both were caught on a leadhead with a gulp minnnow). caught both and missed 4 more on fallen timbers in about 15 foot. water temp was 64 with about 6 foot visibility. went up around deer park and tore into some white perch all about 10" and thats how i finished the day. I wanted to catch one on a jig but couldnt get any to bite.

went friday after work me and a friend had our best day so far caught 10 7 keepers biggest 4# most around 2# orange jigs with worms water 63 stained ps t them perch makenice eatin filets be there on sat hope 2 c u im in a red s10

Went out yesterday 5/7 started out a decent morning caught 2 12" bass. tried to find some perch to bring home but couldnt finished out the day without another fish in the boat mossed a few more but nothing caught. water temp was 63 this time fish still in about the 15-20' range and holding to laydowns from what I found.

fished on 5-8 water was clear 63 degrees little to no winds me and a buddy fished for strippers in the morning got a nice one 30.5inch's 12# at 10 went up in the coves caught 4 2 a piece all over 12 none over 14 green jig withpower worm and a small silver and black crank bait

had a good day on liberty on sun. for our RAM tourny.   my partner and i focused on smallies, since the LM bite still isnt quite on there yet.   we had our limit by 730, with a solid team weight of just shy of 18lbs to win the tourny.    our best 5 were 20.75 SM, 18.50 SM, 18 SM, 17.5 LM and 17 SM.   we fished main lake points with plastics and deep diving cranks to catch the fish.

...no pics.

Quote from: BassthumbJE on May 16, 2011, 03:50:20 PM
had a good day on liberty on sun. for our RAM tourny.   my partner and i focused on smallies, since in the LM bite still isnt quite on there yet.   we had our limit by 730, with a solid team weight on just shy of 18lbs to win the tourny.    our best 5 were 20.75 SM, 18.50 SM, 18 SM, 17.5 LM and 17 SM.   we fished main lake points with plastics and deep diving cranks to catch the fish.

...no pics.

Congrats !!!

Nice bag!!!

Sounds like a good days work to me. ~c~ ~c~

thanks guys, liberty is definately "on" right now.... everyone caught fish in our club tourny and most caught limits.  now is the time to be out there, because come july and august that place gets awefully tough!!

Have you guys run into any accidental walleyes lately?

not yet this year, last year one of the guys in the club got one around 8lbs. 

OK thanks.I fished up there in the late 80s with guide Brad Beach.We caught some in the 2-3# range.I'd like to give it a try again.Someone mentioned Pike in there?Do they mean Walleyes?

i know eyes and stripers are there, but i have not seen a northern in there yet, wouldnt doubt it though.

wish we had more places to fish for muskie, liberty would be ideal, but i dont think they are there either.

They put some Tigers in pretty boy many years ago.A few were caught accidently by bass fishermen and I imagine the rest died off.I fish occasionally for them in my jet in the upper Potomac.I took a guy up there last june who has fished many times for them in NY on the St.Lawrence River at his family's cabin.He hooked many and has had many follows but never landed 1.I met him at a landing where I had hooked 1 and raised several.We were there maybe 2 hrs and he hooked & lost 1 and had a follow.He had all top notch Musky gear.We then drifted about 4mi. into the  night without much more than a few smallies.We were coming up on a spot that was good for eyes after midnight so we switched to Walleye gear.I got us into position slid the anchor over and he he ties into a Musky on a small 4in.stick bait on 8# mono.He's frantic and worried to death he'll lose it.He says dip him when he comes by and then starts to horse it in.I said relax   ,take your time,enjoy the fight,that's what we came here for.The ski makes a pass by me and I drop the net to intercept,the ski lunges for the bottom and I miss him.Awhile later the ski makes another pass and this time I scoop him up.He's shaking shaking like a leaf and really excited.We snap a pitcha & let him go.It was a hell of a night running rocky riffles under the moonlight .That reminds me...it almost june again..I'll bet he's all set to go again.

My dad and I fished Liberty today. I caught 2 LM and 3 SM and he didn't catch any. Fished soft plastics in coves and on points.
Here is the biggest. Measured 19 inches. My new Personal Record. Released.



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Nice smallie.That made it a good day.

Capt. Nick, I agree, we need some muskie (preferably not tiger) in Liberty or Prettyboy. Tiger's are steril and don't thrive. Me and my brother-in-law went to Canada last year for a first time muskie fish. We both had several follows and hook ups, but both only landed 1 each. I landed 42" and he landed a 46". I am hooked on muskies now.

anyone hitting the lake on monday? im gunning for an early start and hoping the widn stays down like they're calling for.

New Maryland state record Muskie caught in the Potomac River...
http://www.dnr.maryland.gov/dnrnews/pressrelease2011/051011.asp

Quote from: luv2bass on May 26, 2011, 07:51:15 AM
Capt. Nick, I agree, we need some muskie (preferably not tiger) in Liberty or Prettyboy. Tiger's are steril and don't thrive. Me and my brother-in-law went to Canada last year for a first time muskie fish. We both had several follows and hook ups, but both only landed 1 each. I landed 42" and he landed a 46". I am hooked on muskies now.

They are 'Thee" freshwater challenge".Glad to read you each caught 1.My friend's was 40in.Everyone's dream is the "fity incher"Unfortunately,there's no Musky inc. clubs in Md. I'd like to see some pure strain stocked in Md's portion of the Susky like Conowingo Lake & below the Conowingo  Dam.I also fish for them in Pa. up to Harrisburg.They do well there.I once fished with Guide Glenn Peacock on the susky flats.He told me a story when he once cast a Bass bait to a log on the flats.Well,that 'Log" turned out to be a Musky and destroyed his Bass lure.He didn't land it but it sure surprised him.There are a few in there,some stocked by DNR from Pa. fish comm. & some come through the Dam.I know alot of people that would love to see some more.

Quote from: 20inchbass on May 22, 2011, 06:51:29 PM
My dad and I fished Liberty today. I caught 2 LM and 3 SM and he didn't catch any. Fished soft plastics in coves and on points.
Here is the biggest. Measured 19 inches. My new Personal Record. Released.

Hey...saw you made the MD DNR "Anglers Log" with this fish....All I can say is "can I have your autograph"? JK
Congrats on a nice post and fish!
Peace
ES

Thanks Capt. Nick and englishspringer for the comment on my fish. It truly was a big bass. Hope I can catch another.

anyone know the water temp?

Prettyboy surface temperature today was 75... i think Liberty is probably close to that....  ~fff

went out water temp was 82*. didnt catch any bass but it wasnt for lack of trying. but I did catch a slab crappie in my book 14" biggest one i've personally ever caught. so one question does anyone have a good crappie recipe?

Quote from: TProud on May 30, 2011, 05:55:55 PM
went out water temp was 82*. didnt catch any bass but it wasnt for lack of trying. but I did catch a slab crappie in my book 14" biggest one i've personally ever caught. so one question does anyone have a good crappie recipe?

Crappie are good no matter how you cook them but they make great by beating some eggs, breadcrumbs, and frying em' .

fished tonight caught my first bass ever off a jig, I do see now why a stiffer rod would help with jigs a medium was a bit too limber. was about a 15" (might have been a bit bigger) smallmouth. caught in about 15 foot of water fought like crazy maybe my first jig fish really fun. oh by the way what anyones experiences with beavers on liberty? I fish right next to a beaver hut from shore and dont know their temperament. the conditions were both storms must have just missed the lake and the wind was light. (size 13 boot)

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Be very careful with beavers.  Someone got bit last year at Loch Raven by one.  They usually let you know if you are to close.  If the tails are slapping the water you are best off leaving the area.  They are alot faster then they look.

TomD.

Just started fishing Liberty again this year.  It's been a while since I've had a reservoir rig on Liberty, but I've got another one now and I'm back on the reservoir.

From what I've seen there seems to be a lot more grass up the Morgan Run way.  It's growing in the coves and off most of the points.

Been catching some largemouths and smallmouths off the weeded points or off the deep drops inside of coves.  No great numbers or sizes, but having fun on each outing.  The jitter-bug and rubber minnows seem to be doing it for me.

Tight lines.........

been hittin liberty pretty hard. I live right in eldersburg so its very convenient. the stripers have been biting on the boat and on the shore. Also getting good amounts of walleyes in the lower reaches of the lake. got this one not too long ago

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this one wasnt too bad. just free lining perch

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hey all

total novice here ... caught absolutely nothing all summer at loch raven (bank fishing) and was kinda bummed about how trashed it is ...

walked in to liberty yesterday to the cove before the liberty rd bridge with my 5 year old and caught three fish in an hour!  2 little sunnies and then a keeper largemouth on a rattlin rap ...

can't wait to fish there more ... even the bank fishing at liberty res is great.  really pretty, really big, and damnit i caught some fish!!

Jay

Quote from: stihl660 on September 16, 2011, 07:17:15 PM
this one wasnt too bad. just free lining perch

j~w I just started fishing again this year with my 4 year old son at Liberty....can't say that I've cought anything like that. I caught more from shore then from our boat but only been out on the boat a few times and more trolling around then fishing.

Quote from: stihl660 on September 16, 2011, 07:17:15 PM
this one wasnt too bad. just free lining perch

That is a huge fish, nice work.  What did that one weigh, looks like it might have hit 30 pounds.   ~c~

10/9/11
Fished from 5 til 7pm only landed one lost 2 others. It was one heck of a night. caught my biggest fish out of liberty to date. I was fishing from 24 foot and working it til shore. caught a smallmouth that is aprox. 19-20 inch. I didnt have a tape on me so i can only guess, I could barely wrap my hands around the fishes mid section. this is my favorite place to fish and its only 10 min from home.

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Sweet fish!   ~c~

 ~gf

Where can you park when you go to Liberty Reservoir...where are the best places to access the water

i havent been to nicodemus yet but im pretty sure you can park along the road. route 32 is pretty good by the bridge just be careful and make sure your out by dark i've almost gotten a ticket there and my truck towed for being 15 min into dusk/ sundown. around the boat ramp is also good. also try google maps and see where it come close to other road some you can park on and some you cant. i havent tried bollinger mill to see if you can.

Anyone know how the fishing has been in Liberty from shore with the cold weather moving in? Thinking of giving it a try one morning soon....

i've never had a good morning bite but last i went out i got bites but nothing hit. but that was just before the snow and rain so that might have hurt me.

Quote from: TProud on October 12, 2011, 04:17:34 AM
i havent been to nicodemus yet but im pretty sure you can park along the road. route 32 is pretty good by the bridge just be careful and make sure your out by dark i've almost gotten a ticket there and my truck towed for being 15 min into dusk/ sundown. around the boat ramp is also good. also try google maps and see where it come close to other road some you can park on and some you cant. i havent tried bollinger mill to see if you can.

yes they have nothing to do but look for dangerous fisherman  v~and give them tickets for parking a little late fishing . ^-^ maryland is trying anyway it can to make money off of us  ~rant

they did that to me on route 32 bridge. i was 15 min after the sun went down and he was about to tow my truck. he said that they are afraid of a terrorist attack to poison the watershed. but i lucked out he wrote the wrong county code on the ticket and they dropped charges.

so apparently terrorists can only poison the watershed at night?  Anybody know the water levels at Liberty lately - difficult to shore fish?

last i was there about a week ago it was about a foot - 2 foot down maybe. shore fishing was ok but nothing hit unless i was deep.

Thanks for the reply. 

I'm goin out to Liberty this weekend with a buddy. We've had absolutely no luck at other places. Any advice for this time of year would be much appreciated :)
Also, parking around the liberty bridge? Anyone know of any?

if Nicodemus bridge is open yet i dont know  thats the place to go close parking and i had good luck there before  just take a drop net in case you hit the big one   but you can walk down to the bottom  and fish

Anyone know if beavers eat crayfish? I hooked either a beaver or the biggest fish i have ever hooked. i have a browning with 18#s of drag and i couldnt gain any line on this fish.

probably a rockfish last summer my son hit one and  he couldnt gain any line on 30lb test it pulled our 14 foot boat around for an hour we had six boats in a circle waiting to see what came up he played it good and at last minute it bent the hook straight and he lost it  and we were fishing for them  with big hooks one of the guys there said it had to be a big hybrid

Yeah, probably a striper but maybe not. I went to Liberty today and absolutely smashed 'em! 20" sm, 19.25" sm, 19.25" sm, 17" sm, 16" sm, 15" lm, 14" sm, 13" sm, some yellow&white perch too. They were eatin' today!!

Nice goin Smartbass! From a rig or shoreline?  Hoping to get out soon myself

How did you catch 'em smartbass?  Jerk bait, jig, worm? 

I was fishing from my boat, I had the entire lake to myself except for one other crappie fisherman. I didnt have to go far they were caught on the lower lake. Hey Creel, I gotta keep it quiet for a minute....I have 2 tournaments over the next 2 weekends. Just sux, that I was on the boat by myself and had nobody to enjoy it with......always happens that way!  ~rant

I got some good pics though.....

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Sounds good smartbass, good luck in the tourneys.   ~c~

good luck!

hey guys, new to this forum, i was looking at heading to liberty reservoir to try and snag a few stripper. any helpful hints or tips for this area would be great. probably be fishing from the shore, since both boats we use are used in other rivers, i dont think we can take it out on the reservoir.

Went out today from 7-11 and caught 2 GIANT smallies! A 20" and 20.5" ..... Liberty is quickly becoming my favorite lake......where are these fish in August?





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Nice catch!! 

anyone worked the shore by Nicodemus bridge lately with any luck? Would love to find a nice smallmouth or two...

I worked it for a few minutes a couple weeks ago but the wind was blowing so hard it was a struggle and i yielded 0 for results. All of my fish this year are coming down lake but that is a good area you are asking about espec in the warmer months.

Thanks for the reply smartbass.  got out this morning to try it, and with the water level so high, not many options from the shore.  Managed 1 small LM but thats it.

I have a question regarding registration renewal. I have my form infront of me telling me the amount of fees due. it says 0$ is that because its less then 1 hp and an older boat? im just curious if this is common or if dnr made a mistake. my boat is only run off trolling motors. just trying to get things straight before im scrambling because i waited til the last minute in 3 months.

As long as the trolling motors are under 7.5 hp, the sticker usually is free.

kk thanks. i lost the envolope they gave me do i just mail it to a dnr office or is their a department i have to address it to. sry im very forgetful

You can mail it to the DNR office in Annapolis-I don't have the address handy but i am sure you can find it online at the DNR's website.

kk thats what i was wondering, i didnt know if i was a certain department but just the main office is great i'll get that off now then. thanks

Hey guys, never fished liberty just the other 2 reservoirs.  Any advice on where to start??  I have topo maps on the boat but its a big body of water to start guessing.  Thanx

Nevermind.  I fished it the last 3 days and it turns out I did fine.  Thanx for all the tips..<())))))>{

we just fished there a couple times but everyone is pretty tight lipped about where to fish  we just worked our way up to the dam and had some good results we took notice where all the boats were holding up and on the way back hit them spots and got a couple more . but we also found out even when they were tearing them up if we didnt use or figure  out what the fish wanted we didnt get any fish me and my son never throw the same type lure and the first to catch one we switch up  good luck this year getting that big one 

Fished our way up to the DAM. What DAM are we talking about here.

sorry about  that i was refering to pretty boy in that post at liberty we go left over to the bridge and fish all the coves to the right of us then go up to the floating orange balls right in the middle is where we hooked a giant rockfish that never made it in the boat

What a difference a week made.  Between myself and a 2 other fishing buddies we caught over 80 bass in 3 days last week.  Someone must of flipped a switch this week(or the thermostat!!).  Not even close, I can count on one hand this week.  First time I ve ever fished Liberty.  This reservoir is quickly becoming my favorite, especially after I caught my best Lm ever and she was a hog.  Thanx to the guys at the ramp and on the water that gave me some tips...I will say that I dont think the bass cared what lure/color I was using last week.  They were hitting almost everything I threw at them.  Hope someone turns the switch on at Prettyboy soon

I went out with my 2 boys friday evening fishing from a spot near the bridge.......we didn't see a fish and had no hits. We chalked it up as our first practice session, had fun with the kids anyway. We are novices.....maybe that's the real problem.

Anyone have any recent fishing reports?? thinking of switching it up tomorrow

I fished Liberty yesterday.  The smallie bite was awesome.  Caught nearly 20 fish.  Best 4 smallies easily weighed 20#.  This fish I did not have a weight cause I dropped and broke the scale on a 4# 8oz smally but I do have the dimensions, 24 1/2 Length by 18 1/2 Girth.  Only caught 3 fish under a pound and only 1 Lm.  All fish were caught in deep structure(20-30ft) using various lures.  Face is blurred to protect the fisherman lo

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Nice fish, looks like Liberty already dropped several feet since I was there a few weeks ago. 

Thats a pig goosehunter! I just used an online weight calculator, and although I know its not perfect, it said your fish was 10.88 lbs. Either way, that may have been a state record. Great fish, can't wait to get back out there myself!

Well, my friend, pics are hard to judge....but in my non-professional opinion you are probably holding the MD State Record Smallmouth!! Sure wish I could of netted that one for ya, I would of kissed her more times than you did! LOL You like like an average size man and judging your hand in comparison to that fish it is nothing short of a MULE!

I keep hearing you are thinking of joining REBEL, when you coming aboard???

FISH ON!!

goose , that fish is awsome. you got to take me out there to tackle some of those smallies my friend. ive never fished liberty from a boat before , just the shoreline. i would love to go out and slam smallies all day. it would be a big change from the raven....................lmk 23

HMMMMMMM?

Face blacked out, no leaves on the trees, overly dressed for the weather?????

Awsome fish no matter, but some things that make you say HMMMMMMMMMMMM?

Quote from: DCTRACKER on April 23, 2012, 09:17:28 AM
HMMMMMMM?

Face blacked out, no leaves on the trees, overly dressed for the weather?????

Awsome fish no matter, but some things that make you say HMMMMMMMMMMMM?

I can see leaves, plus since when is a sweat shirt over dresing? I mean if it was early in the morning it was probably quite chilly. Plus maybe he blocked out his face because this is the Internet and you never know who might see it. I find no problems with his story or fish.

anyone heading out saturday? planning on hitting the water at sun up. gonna head up towards nicodemus. hopefully get some on a jig and trying throwing cranks for once.

Caught a couple of tadpoles on Liberty yesterday, this being the smallest lo.  Saw LM males on beds and the females on the end of our lines.  Here is something we found out that may help.  If you can find schools of bluegills(smaller in size) the bass will be close by.

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Nice bass goosehunter! I'm planning on going to Liberty Sunday, i really want to get on some smallmouth but i won't pass up and largemouth  ;D

Wow I had my best day ever on Liberty today! We got on the water by 7:30 or so. I started throwing a spinnerbait but produced nothing. Started throwing a senko and got my first fish not long after. Long story short, we fished till about 3 o clock. I caught 11 bass my dad caught 14 bass.  Of our 25 bass, 23 came on senkos, one on a tube (my biggest smallmouth) and one a crankbait. I also caught 2 rockbass (didn't know Liberty had rockbass), caught a big yellow perch and so did my dad, and we caught probably 20 sunfish. All of those came on senkos as well. It was warm and overcast, making the smallies come up I guess. Almost all of our bass were females and full of eggs. My smallmouth measured 17.5" and was my biggest bass of the day, my dad caught a largemouth also measuring 17.5." I did see some monster bass up in the shallows though that wouldn't bite and there were carp everywhere.

*Forgot to say that the biggest smallmouth came on a tube, not a senko. But it was the only fish I caught on a tube.

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I was up there 5/5 caught about 25 keeps and two SM over 4lbs no LM over 3 thou...

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk 2

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Slow day about 12 fish between my buddy and I.  Water temp started at 61 then hit around 68 before we left at 1:30.  We started passed the Nicodemus bridge.  The bite was much better deeper and south of the bridge.  Caught a mix of smallies and Lm.  This was the best fish by far of the day, darn minnows.  Good fishn

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Nice smallie! I'm headed out in the morning. Gonna start shallow to pick up some fish and some confidence hopefully  ;D . Then I'm gonna go deep to try for bigger fish.

Hey all, just fished Liberty for the first time on the 10th.  A decent day of shore fishing.  Got lucky and got permission from a few land owners to cut thru their property to fish come coves and points  Also fished the Nicodemus/Deer Park  bridge area.
Pulled a nice 3 pound bass at the bridge on my very first cast into Liberty, using a crankbait with a bluegill pattern and a 10ft or so depth.  Thought she was a snag at first because it felt like I was pulling in a big branch drifting to the right, then BAM, she exploded and put up a fun fight.  Nothing else for a while after that, then had a 12-15 pound carp hit my Chatter bait...hooked in the mouth, so maybe it was just aggravated by the lure....I love catching fish like that...carp on lures....crappie on 7 inch jerk baits....and big bass on panfish rigs.
Moved over to a spot off some private property....owner asked me not to share.  Nice cove with easy access to more coves.  Started catching 1 pound smallies, bouncing a soft plastic crawdad off the bottom.  There were a lot of ledges and big boulders in the water.  My dad was catching largemouth by running spinners along the shoreline....all 1 to 2 pounders.  Caught a few decent panfish while throwing jig heads with spinners, and an assortment of soft plastics thrown on the jigs.
Plan on hitting Liberty frequently.  Gonna buy a cheap kayak and throw and trolling motor on it....no need to spend a bunch of money on a boat that will be limited on where I can take it.  Also going to shore fish the hell out of this place.  My dad's in his late 50s, so we didn't do a ton of hiking around, but I'm good to cut through the forest and fish pretty much anywhere.
I'm happy to take any tips you guys have on Liberty, and as I learn, I'll share my reports.  I'm also harassing the folks that manage the lake about trying to get a few more areas on the shore where shore fishermen can park, or where we can put in boats....I was told I can't just pull-up and drop a kayak in the water at the Deer Park bridge....I also found plenty of great areas, but with "No Parking" signs...I know it's a drinking reservoir, but a little more access for the shore guys should be permitted.  I'm also trying to convince them to do some sort of boat/canoe/kayak rental, or allow a person to start that business.  I know it's an upstream battle, but I've got plenty of free time....when I'm not fishing.
Lastly, are there and stripers/rocks biting yet, and where could I get some from the shore? 

Finally getting a chance to post here.  Haven't even put a pic on my acct yet.  I'll get to it.  I'll agree with all of those in love with Liberty this year!  The SM fishing has been the best that I can remember in years!  After having my canoe disappear this year - long story - I've been tied to the shoreline.  Blessing in disguise!  To date this year - 3 SM over 4 lbs (biggest at 4.96) - lots over 3  - and too many to count over 2.  ALL this from the shore.  Who woulda thunk it??  Carolina rig has been wicked this year.  Narrowed it down to 3 1/2 inch tubes behind a half ounce egg sinker.  They absolutley smash it!  Been mostly morning fishing - but 2 of the 4 lbers were in evening.  Would love to get into some stripers as well.  Got some ideas for places to fish them.  Harder from shore i know.

Pretty good day.  14 fish total.  Water temp was right around 71.  Water was crystal clear.  Caught 2 smallies over 4# in 20 ft of water.  Caught a hog of a large mouth shallow in a tree.  Berkley fluro is JUNK, lost 3 fish on it.  None on any of my other lines..  If anyone is going this weekend hit trees shallow.  I was sight fishing the later part of the day and every largemouth I casted to took the bait.  The shade is also good if its in a tree.   Good fishing

Quote from: goosehunter4499 on May 18, 2012, 03:48:13 PM
Pretty good day.  14 fish total.  Water temp was right around 71.  Water was crystal clear.  Caught 2 smallies over 4# in 20 ft of water.  Caught a hog of a large mouth shallow in a tree.  Berkley fluro is JUNK, lost 3 fish on it.  None on any of my other lines..  If anyone is going this weekend hit trees shallow.  I was sight fishing the later part of the day and every largemouth I casted to took the bait.  The shade is also good if its in a tree.   Good fishing

Good info.  I'm heading out there tomorrow.  Do you mind letting us know the general area of the lake you were fishing?

Sorry Ben, there were some guys prefishing for a tourny on Sunday where I was and out of respect for them and the time they put in, location will just remain as Liberty.  I will say soft plastics and stickbaits were the main lures.  Caught 1 smallie on a topwater

Quote from: goosehunter4499 on May 18, 2012, 06:11:14 PM
Sorry Ben, there were some guys prefishing for a tourny on Sunday where I was and out of respect for them and the time they put in, location will just remain as Liberty.  I will say soft plastics and stickbaits were the main lures.  Caught 1 smallie on a topwater

No worries man, completely understandable!

Hit liberty up on the 19th.  Saw plenty of good sized largemouth in the shallows, but couldn't get them to bite anything I threw at them.  Caught a lot of smaller bass though.  Between them, and the huge schools of panfish, I don't know if the bigger bass ever even saw my lures.
Wasn't in any decent smallie areas, so nothing to speak of there.
Lots of small yellow perch as well.....they seemed to love the Lucky Craft jerk bait I was throwing...and semi-translucent gold color, 3 inches long.  Couldn't find any bigger fish that liked it though.
Saw a lot of dead white perch, just floating along.  Definitely saw over 30-40 of them.  Mostly down by the old boat ramp/water treatment plant.
I wasn't able to walk a lot of shoreline, or even be very mobile in the areas I stopped at.  Had my two little sons with me.  I probably could have found more fish if I had left them at home, BUT they're fun to bring along.....if I could just get them to stop throwing rocks...

Hello im new to liberty lak and looking for tips for on shore fishing location. I plan on heading out tomorrow afternoon with my wife to try our luck with the panfish and bass. Plan to do some bobber fishing with worms and throw some crayfish jigs or maybe some spinners. Any help regarding good on shore locations, suggested bait, or recent fish patterns would be greatly appreciated! 
Good luck to everybody!

Quote from: fishsticks2007 on May 25, 2012, 02:19:55 PM
Hello im new to liberty lak and looking for tips for on shore fishing location. I plan on heading out tomorrow afternoon with my wife to try our luck with the panfish and bass. Plan to do some bobber fishing with worms and throw some crayfish jigs or maybe some spinners. Any help regarding good on shore locations, suggested bait, or recent fish patterns would be greatly appreciated! 
Good luck to everybody!

Search this on Google Maps
Oakland United Methodist Church‎
5901 Mineral Hill Road
Sykesville, MD 21784, or just punch in the address on a GPS.  Go to the end of Oakland Road.  There is parking at the end, and you can fish off either side.  Plenty of shoreline to checkout around there.  The sections I've fished in that area weren't great for smallies, but had a lot of largemouth, perch, and panfish.

Thanks for the tips! Any idea of water depth around that area? What about structure to fish?

Quote from: fishsticks2007 on May 26, 2012, 12:41:59 PM
Thanks for the tips! Any idea of water depth around that area? What about structure to fish?

Not sure about depth.  I was fishing fairly shallow areas, hitting bass on beds.  There are a number of fallen trees in that area, just gotta hike around and hit them up.  I know there are plenty of drop-offs, but I didn't see a lot or rocks/boulders in that area.

I will be buying a small bass boat soon and cant seem to find the restrictions regarding the electric motor only rule. Would I need to remove the gas powered outboard from the boat or simply remove the prop? Also is there a limited number of permits issued for the lake? Maryland has very scetchy dnr website with limited info as I can tell.

Quote from: fishsticks2007 on May 26, 2012, 09:56:11 PM
I will be buying a small bass boat soon and cant seem to find the restrictions regarding the electric motor only rule. Would I need to remove the gas powered outboard from the boat or simply remove the prop? Also is there a limited number of permits issued for the lake? Maryland has very scetchy dnr website with limited info as I can tell.

Not only can you not use the gas motor on these lakes, but you may as well not even have it. If you get a permit to fish liberty, prettyboy, or loch raven, you cannot take your boat anywhere else, period. Its the law. So there is no point in having the gas motor because you will never be able to use it. That's why no one on the reservoir ever has one, because if you have a permit for any of the lakes, that boat can only be used on those 3 lakes and nowhere else.

And yes there is a limited number of permits. For loch raven I think they only sell 600 and if you want one of them you have to buy them as soon as they open in the spring or they sometimes sell out. For liberty and prettyboy there is a joint permit but its a lot and I don't think they ever sell out.

Wow md is strict! Thanks!

Quote from: fishsticks2007 on May 26, 2012, 12:41:59 PM
Thanks for the tips! Any idea of water depth around that area? What about structure to fish?

Any chance on a report?  I'm just starting off my bass fishing career and looking for spots to start.  Like you, I'll be fishing from shore and since I have little to no practical experience in bass fishing aside from what little research I've done the last week or so, I'd love to here from others so I'm not idly throwing my time away.  Plus its a nice little drive away from where I'm at (Odenton) so I'd rather not waste time when I don't have too.

Regards,
Chris

The suggested on shore location looked like it would be decent but its a small clearing which already had people fishing  there, so we left and went to Piney run park. They wanted $10 to enter the park so we turned around just went to Triadelphia reservoir. No luck there. Going to buy a boat soon so we can actually fish not just fight for a few feet of shore. Good luck and post how you did!

Quote from: fishsticks2007 on May 27, 2012, 07:54:54 PM
Good luck and post how you did!

Thanks for taking the time to respond and the well wishes Sticks!  I'll be sure to throw up some posts and hopefully a few pics of success to go with it!  Good luck to you as well and enjoy the money pit (I'm just jealous I can't afford one right now!).

Regards,
Chris

Quote from: fishsticks2007 on May 27, 2012, 07:54:54 PM
The suggested on shore location looked like it would be decent but its a small clearing which already had people fishing  there, so we left and went to Piney run park. They wanted $10 to enter the park so we turned around just went to Triadelphia reservoir. No luck there. Going to buy a boat soon so we can actually fish not just fight for a few feet of shore. Good luck and post how you did!

From the parking lot, there were trails off both sides.  One side only has a small clearing, and then a couple other areas with a little room to cast.
The other side has access to a lot of shoreline.  It's a bit of hiking, but I walked for 30 minutes and still didn't come to a spot I couldn't keep walking along the shore.

Quote from: BenFishing on May 29, 2012, 08:48:02 AM
From the parking lot, there were trails off both sides.  One side only has a small clearing, and then a couple other areas with a little room to cast.
The other side has access to a lot of shoreline.  It's a bit of hiking, but I walked for 30 minutes and still didn't come to a spot I couldn't keep walking along the shore.

if you go to the second boat ramp walk to the left there is a trail all the way around to a small island   you will see it as you crosss the bridge walk through the water about a foot deep and fish from the other side no one will bother you there we use to fish there years ago some guy use to wade out and catch bass with a fly rod and flys . and some times you will hook up with a striper 

anyone heading out this weekend? Im thinking about trying sunday out hoping the water will have settled down.

I said that once I got around to it, I'd post a photo of the first fish I caught at Liberty.  This girl was 2 1/2 to 3 pounds, caught in early May.  The lure she hit is right above her head.



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We went fishing today, the first day of bass season. There was a tournament being held but we didn't have any trouble fishing where ever we wanted to (which probably means we weren't fishing in the right places haha). But between my Dad and I we caught 14 bass and a few sunfish as by-catches. No real big bass. I caught 2 early on topwater then the rest of the bass came on senkos. Then as we wear headed back in to the dock we came across a very small fawn that couldn't get back up the bank. So we coaxed it along to a spot where it could finally get back up the bank and he/she ran off.


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nice going on the fish  we never did have any luck fishing there  what color senkos were you using i have only caught a few  bass on green and white mixed senkos thanks to a post on here

Quote from: LURECOLLECTOR on June 16, 2012, 08:20:18 PM
nice going on the fish  we never did have any luck fishing there  what color senkos were you using i have only caught a few  bass on green and white mixed senkos thanks to a post on here

honestly, 90% of our bass come off of senkos this time of the year and all spring. We use green-pumpkin or watermelon with red flake. It all depends on how cloudy it is, but usually it doesn't make a whole lot of a difference. But I'm going to start experimenting with more colors a little just for fun.

Quote from: 20inchbass on June 17, 2012, 08:20:51 PM
honestly, 90% of our bass come off of senkos this time of the year and all spring. We use green-pumpkin or watermelon with red flake. It all depends on how cloudy it is, but usually it doesn't make a whole lot of a difference. But I'm going to start experimenting with more colors a little just for fun.

Don't know if it will do any good, but I'd try cotton candy.  A few years ago, that color was everywhere, and it worked great for me.  Now, I can't find it anywhere.  I have a few curly tails left, and those are doing me good so far.  I need to search the internet again to see if I can find the cotton candy senkos.

bass tackle depot has cotton candy senkos made by ouzo,wacky worm also has them but the color is different from most other makers but does work

Quote from: BenFishing on June 18, 2012, 07:58:57 AM
Don't know if it will do any good, but I'd try cotton candy.  A few years ago, that color was everywhere, and it worked great for me.  Now, I can't find it anywhere.  I have a few curly tails left, and those are doing me good so far.  I need to search the internet again to see if I can find the cotton candy senkos.

I do have some so I'll give them a try next time.

Quote from: BenFishing on June 18, 2012, 07:58:57 AM
Don't know if it will do any good, but I'd try cotton candy.  A few years ago, that color was everywhere, and it worked great for me.  Now, I can't find it anywhere.  I have a few curly tails left, and those are doing me good so far.  I need to search the internet again to see if I can find the cotton candy senkos.

You can try the ouzo senkos that @rhutch recommends or you can look into zoom soft plastics they still make a few different types in cotton candy colored baits I have nice luck with the zoom salty centipede

I went Sunday and became really frustrated. I finished with 7 largemouth topping at 14.5 inches for the biggest, my Dad caught none. Not a great day to say the least. All were caught on T-rigged soft plastics on weed beds. I'm planning on fishing the edges of those weed beds next time.

Just curious - saw a guy with a chain pic on the MD DNR fishing report - said it was caught in Liberty??  Anybody ever catch a pickle in Liberty???  Loch Raven they're everywhere - but Liberty?? :shocking:

Quote from: BigBee on July 24, 2012, 06:56:35 AM
Just curious - saw a guy with a chain pic on the MD DNR fishing report - said it was caught in Liberty??  Anybody ever catch a pickle in Liberty???  Loch Raven they're everywhere - but Liberty?? :shocking:

i saw it too and questioned it as well. I've never seen nor caught one but that's not to say they aren't in there.

I've have just started shoreline fishing Liberty this summer.  So far i've been hiking around the northern part, mostly from Deer Park road access.  Any pointers on location and lures would be VERY appreciated.  So far I have not come home without a catch - but I'll spend the whole morning with only 1. 

Well this time of the year @ Lib from shoreline is tough.  I usually jump out to other places - BUT starting to get cooler nights which is good! ~c~  Gotta get up early to get the first hour of daylight and from my experience topwater can rock!  Smallies LOVE pop-r's in Liberty!  Evening can be good too - and stay an hour or so after dark can be good as well.  As fall gets here and the water cools down jump back to a spring pattern - points and mouths of coves.  Little trickier than spring because the vegetation and weeds are more prevalent so some lures harder to work - but can't go wrong with a carolina rigged anything - even live minnows - LONG casts and slow retrieves.  You're gonna lose some tackle because of rocks down there (rocks=smallies) but you will def. find the smallies from the shoreline.  So it's gonna only get better from here until winter.  I hate summer fishing! >:(  Good luck!

Fished liberty today for about 6 hours.  Caught a bunch of quality fish.  Water temp started at 76 then got to about 81 before we left.  No luck on topwater.  Cranks and soft plastics were the ticket.  The best fishing was main lake points in the 16-25 ft range.  This hog was 22".
Good fishing

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Goose499 -- That is a really Nice Largemouth (above)..... My friend Jason Rawlings and I, were fishing Liberty today, out of my boat and we caught "a bunch" of really nice smallmouth and a few largemouth also...we caught most of our fish throwing topwater and spinnerbaits.. from 6 am to 1 pm..  here is a pic of the biggest smallmouth caught.....it jumped 4 ft out of the water...wish i had it on video... Nice fish Jason....

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Ditto on your fish.  Nothing like catching those smallies on topwater especially big ones...

I'm curious to know, as I've been itching to try for those stripers, if anyone can tell me when the bite for them starts to pick up??

Thanx, Good fishing

Wow I would love to catch a smallmouth that size, liberty seems to have some real trophys. whats the odds of catching a big smallmouth from shore?

Zam, I think your odds are pretty good.  I see alot of shore fisherman catch really nice fish.  Find those rocks and you'll be good to go.  I'm not sure where to tell you to go but I think a good starting point would be somewhere off the 32 bridge.

Thanks, I may try it tomarrow morning, I've fished near the 26 bridge, oakland mill rd and nicodemus bridge but I've never caught a smallmouth there, never really ever targetted them though

Goose... im not a expert on rockfish at all...they are hard to locate consistently but my favorite time to catch them is in mid October through December.... and live bait free lined has worked best for me....water temperatures below 65... low light mornings, evenings and cloudy days are best... but it is a hit or miss deal... spend many hours to catch one, but when you hook one it makes it worth it.... 

Zam .... My advice on the smallmouth is get yourself near rocks and/or gravel... and main lake points "tend" to hold more smallies then coves....but they can be caught in lots of places..and all over the lake....the spots you named are good....  The Rt32 area is good, but south of the rt32 bridge in the fall seems better "for me" for the smallmouth, i catch more largemouth above/north of the bridge. .... I perfer the liberty Rd area for smallies... and up around oakland pt near the orange floats and the points within walking distance of that are good.. you just might have to walk around some... and cover ground.. the water is starting to drop.. it needs to drop 5 more feet or so, to make walking shoreline easier... also i have had a boat permit for liberty for 31 years, but still my biggest smallmouth to date came when shoreline fishing.... i still do a lot of shoreline fishing,,, your odds are very good... Good Luck tomorrow....

Quote from: hellbendernut on September 02, 2012, 07:56:17 PM
Goose... im not a expert on rockfish at all...they are hard to locate consistently but my favorite time to catch them is in mid October through December.... and live bait free lined has worked best for me....water temperatures below 65... low light mornings, evenings and cloudy days are best... but it is a hit or miss deal... spend many hours to catch one, but when you hook one it makes it worth it.... 

Zam .... My advice on the smallmouth is get yourself near rocks and/or gravel... and main lake points "tend" to hold more smallies then coves....but they can be caught in lots of places..and all over the lake....the spots you named are good....  The Rt32 area is good, but south of the rt32 bridge in the fall seems better "for me" for the smallmouth, i catch more largemouth above/north of the bridge. .... I perfer the liberty Rd area for smallies... and up around oakland pt near the orange floats and the points within walking distance of that are good.. you just might have to walk around some... and cover ground.. the water is starting to drop.. it needs to drop 5 more feet or so, to make walking shoreline easier... also i have had a boat permit for liberty for 31 years, but still my biggest smallmouth to date came when shoreline fishing.... i still do a lot of shoreline fishing,,, your odds are very good... Good Luck tomorrow....

Thanks! I ended up fishing around the oakland pt area, I only caught one small largemouth, but I lost three fish that felt nice. I didn't expect to do to well my first time but I plan on putting in some time in the area

Went up yesterday from around noon till sunset caught a few of small largemouth all along the shore from the boat ramp. I must say having the shore to walk around and the lighter weed cover makes it worth the hour ride and a welcome increase in fish compared to LRR.

Biggest out of the four I caught
(https://www.ultimatebass.com/bass-fishing-forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi46.tinypic.com%2F2u4pkir.jpg&hash=bd336b625916ef118ac5249449cd74579ae24fc6)

Hey, everyone. I'm making my first trip out to Liberty for the first time tomorrow. I have a good plan for what I'm doing tomorrow, but I was wondering if anyonewould be so kind to let me know if they feel the bite is gonna be off because of this cold front coming through tonight. If so, any ideas to alleviate the effect? I'm really excited to finally get out there.

Went for the first time yesterday. On the water by 8:00am and stayed until 1:30pm. Water surface temp was 63-64 degrees. Windy, very windy. 10mph WNW wih gusts up to 23 mph on the main lake. There was some topwater action going on early, but we decided to move to the back of a few coves with feeder creeks to try and see if there was bait back there in light of the recent rain.  Threw spinners, topwater, cranks, and some other stuff. No dice. Worked the points with the wind too. Ended up just flipping soft plastic to deadfall and caught a few small LM with the largest being a little over a pound. In fairess, we really didn't go too far from the ramps. My first impression is that it is a beautiful, clear lake with the great potential to catch big fish. I'm looking forward to getting back out there soon. Btw, anyone know where "the canyons" are in the lake?

the canyon is above nicodemus bridge about a mile. fished up there last week caught a lot of small fish with a few keepers. biggest was tryin to be 2 lb

How is the water level at Liberty these days?  Is it low enough to walk the shoreline?  Thanks in advance.

The water has rose a lot in the last couple weeks. you can still walk the shoreline in most places but the shoreline is smaller

Thanks, Zam.  Gonna head out there today.

One thing to always remember about smallies is to be near deep water.  They are very different than LM bass.  LM may cruise the shallows, smallies will cruise from deep water to shallow'er' water to bust baitfish and crawfish.  Gotta be near the deeper waters.  If the fall will be anything like the Spring - hold onto your rod!  Working a carolina rigged lizard or tube was 'the bomb' in the spring.  More BIG smallies than I can ever remember - ALL from the shoreline.  Maybe this weekend will produce a few???

Getting to be that time of year again! 

Heading out to Liberty this weekend, to see what I can find.  Hopefully, I'll have some fish to talk about.

My partner and I are headed to liberty tommarrow to do some work and some fishing.

Didn't do much out there.  Got a late start, and only had a few hours out there.  The further north I went, the muddier the water got.  Down south, it had more of a green tint.  Caught one 3 inch yellow perch, on a 3 inch jerk bait, not counting the inch long bill.  Mostly, scouted out lots of shore fishing areas, since the leaves haven't really come in yet, and it was easier to move around.

Anybody doing any good at Liberty lately? Are the fish moving up?

I'll be hitting Liberty next weekend . Anyone smacking Smallies yet?

Oddly - NO...  not yet.  :'(  A few here and there but not knocking 'em dead yet.  Been hitting evenings - time to do the first light thing sometime this week..  LM different story - they seem to be everywhere in the shallows???  Last year smallie fishing was fantastic.  I guess gotta be patient...  ANy body else?

Dad and I fished from 4:30 to 7:30 tonight, caught 15 bass and Dad caught 3 big rock bass. This one was the last one of the evening, also the biggest of the day.

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That fish is about a pretty as she can be! Noce job

Well, how did anyone fair this past weekend with the sunny, warm weather??  Only able to spend about 2 hours Saturday evening - my son landed 4 - 3 SM and 1 LM.  One smallie was almost 3.5 pounds, a big, skinny male.  The LM had about a dozen big black spots on it.  I'll have to see if I can post a pic.  Weird.  Also all 4 fish had tears on their lips.  Kinda strange, but nice to see him pull a few out from the shoreline.  Using a 4" tube on a Carolina rig - on secondary points...  Water is still HIGH.

 :help: Are there any maps of liberty available?

Best one is right on the MGS website - a bitmap for Liberty.  Shows the depth contours - all you need to target smallies.  It's invaluable - and it's FREE   ~c~

Quote from: BigBee on May 08, 2013, 01:21:40 PM
Best one is right on the MGS website - a bitmap for Liberty.  Shows the depth contours - all you need to target smallies.  It's invaluable - and it's FREE   ~c~

MGS site?  Only one I know is the one on the Maryland DNR site, is that what you mean?

I think it may pull from the same site - Maryland Geological Survey...

Thanks, I'll check it out. 

Leaving Liberty now. Caught 4 bass today. War Eagle gold/chart spinnerbait. The pattern was find a point, fish the breakwater castin parallel to structure ( Downed trees )

Dad and I fished today. Stayed in coves most of the day, didn't feel like fighting the wind. I caught 10, he caught 5. I lost one at the boat and broke off one. Would've been so much nicer without the wind but it was still enjoyable.

So where are the smallies this weekend all?  Back on secondary points yet?  The largies seem to be up close around any kind of wood or structure, but haven't really patterned the BIG smallies yet.  A few descent ones here and there... ~cf

Welp, fished for 2 hours this am.... SKUNKED! Not a bite. Lots of boats were out, I figured with the dark skies and little ripple in the water the bite would be good... NOPE.

Ravenge!!! Caught 6 bass today from 7 to 9:30 am. All were very quality fish. Largest was around 5, Smallest was about 3lbs. Great morning. 3 were from sight fishing. The biggest one I saw roaming the shallows just as I cast about 40 yards... go figure.. I burned it in as fast as I could , got near her... gave it a twitch and BAM, instant drag puller. Very strong fish. I saw MANY bass in the 4-6lb range, most were finicky.   I got to see a nice spectacle!  I saw some sort of baitfish busting on the surface about 80 yards out... Im guessing shad. Welp, either Stripers or large bass were destroying them, the bait was flying out of the air and the Unknown Ambushers were doing serious damage. This was going on for a good 20 mins. They were pushing closer and close to me, but just not close enough to reach. No big deal though, I'm just glad to see such a thing!

Damn - a great morning!  Haven't had one of those on Liberty yet this year.  Heading out for a little tonight.  No 5 lb smallies yet this year.  We'll see how it goes.  What baits are working?  I'm still Carolina riggin' it.  Maybe a jerkbait right at dark...

5" Senko, watermelon /blk spk . No weight, just rigged up weedless. Find structure with a little depth 3-6 ft.    As for smallies, I haven't caught one this year and have never caught one from the shore. Id be up for tips on that!

Gotcha...  yeah, smallies.  They are focused around bottom contours instead of cover.  Won't find them too often around trees etc.  That's why I run a Carolina rig a lot.  Narrow points and soft bottom flats close to deep water.  Have to find a map and find those points - and cast away from the shoreline as opposed to right against it in cover.  It's a little different - but worth it IF the fish are there.  They will absolutely hammer a bait - and then the aerial show and fight is on.  Tell you the truth - this time of the year I'll take whatever is jumping on the baits!! 

Right on. Ive caught plenty of Smallies just never seem to find them from the Shore. I was fishing at the very end of Oakland rd , ever pull any from there? I was gonna throw out a tube T-rigged but the Senko bite was soo good, I couldn't pass it up.

I fish the northern part of the lake.  It's nice from a boat but nothing wrong with strappin on the backpack and walkin it.  As I kid I logged many miles walkin shoreline - fallen tree to fallen tree.  Maybe the water will lower a bit and make it even easier for us shore guys.  If they had a launch in the northern section I'd be happy - but not making that trek.  So my boat fee money goes to Piney Run each year...  The holiday weekend should be outstanding!!  Get it while it's hot...

Another good evening at Liberty. Caught 9 bass, most were under 2lbs... Largest was just over 3. I had a bunch of bass following my Castaic Platinum Bass Swim bait, but only landed 1... It's funny watching a 14" bass eat 8" swim bait.  All other bass were caught on green/red spk Senko . Had a really nice strike on a LiveTarget frog... missed him.  Saw MANY  large bass cruising the flats. Usually rolling by too fast to target. I'm very pleased with the outing. I need to get better accuracy with my bait casters from the shore though.

Anyone have any luck at Liberty this weekend? I'm not gonna get out  :'(

Bad luck wknd!!   Hooked one GIANT LM on a jerkbait - lost it :(  Retied a bass assasin - little more weedless - got slammed again - got into a tree and broke off  ~xyz  Landed  couple of smaller LM - no smallies which is weird. Saw LOTS of LM in the shallows. Water is just so high shore fishing is tough!

I'm gonna be heading to Lib this evening or tomorrow. Probably goona fish the Nico portion... Eventhough Ive been slaying them on Oakland rd!

Boy Nicodemus area has been hit or miss this year.  Water is high too!  Last year's mild winter spoiled us!!

I've only been up there 2 times this year. Each time the bite was slow. Its not the easiest spot to fish via Shoreline either. lol

Where did all of the bass go in Liberty??   ~xyzPerfect night Wednesday to walk some shoreline. Caught 1 LM.  Maybe hit the foot mark if I smashed him out.  Terrible.  Didn't even see many fish.  Real disappointment.  Are they deep already??

Quote from: BigBee on June 07, 2013, 08:44:10 PM
Where did all of the bass go in Liberty??   ~xyzPerfect night Wednesday to walk some shoreline. Caught 1 LM.  Maybe hit the foot mark if I smashed him out.  Terrible.  Didn't even see many fish.  Real disappointment.  Are they deep already??

Nope... I've caught bass as recent as last week in less then 4 feet of water. There's still fond of small baitfish in shallows. Bass dont need to get deep yet. Plus , the water temps aren't really very high.

Damn - they were everywhere this morn...  3 LM shallow on jerkbaits - less than 3 lbers.  2 nice smallies - on 1/2 ounce swimming jig in about 15' of water next to downed tree.  Finally - a good morning!  Goo ~c~d time!

One of my slow days on Lib... Only caught 1 bass from 6-12:30. Did manage to catch a nice yellow perch (about 13")  on a sweet potato stick.  Saw tons of bass , some being very large  (6-8lb) . Also, the carp pop in Liberty needs to be thinned out!

Quote from: H8R on June 09, 2013, 02:06:39 PM
One of my slow days on Lib... Only caught 1 bass from 6-12:30. Did manage to catch a nice yellow perch (about 13")  on a sweet potato stick.  Saw tons of bass , some being very large  (6-8lb) . Also, the carp pop in Liberty needs to be thinned out!

Looks like it's time for me to smoke a few carp.  Great snack to take on fishing trips, or just to sit back with a beer.

Quote from: BenFishing on June 10, 2013, 08:55:29 AM
Looks like it's time for me to smoke a few carp.  Great snack to take on fishing trips, or just to sit back with a beer.

Found some spots that were LOADED. if you wanna know the loc, let me know!  Saw some in the 15lb range maybe more.  I love liberty soooo much more then Loch... and I don't have to pay tolls to get there!

Quote from: H8R on June 10, 2013, 04:00:42 PM
Found some spots that were LOADED. if you wanna know the loc, let me know!  Saw some in the 15lb range maybe more.  I love liberty soooo much more then Loch... and I don't have to pay tolls to get there!

Feel free to throw that info my way.  I fish both Oakland Roads, and off the east side, I usually see a lot of carp....often 10 to 20 per decent cove.  Though, I won't be keeping any large numbers.  Three or four 10 pound fish will be enough smoked carp to last me a few months.

I'm curious as to the smoked carp thing.  I thought all carp tasted like mud!  My kids love to throw some corn on a hook and catch carp.  Especially in the summer when you sometimes have to really work for the bass!  Any cooking tips?

Quote from: BigBee on June 11, 2013, 08:39:10 AM
I'm curious as to the smoked carp thing.  I thought all carp tasted like mud!  My kids love to throw some corn on a hook and catch carp.  Especially in the summer when you sometimes have to really work for the bass!  Any cooking tips?

Whether I'm going to be frying carp up, or smoking it, I always cut them at the lake.  It seems the longer the guts stay in them after they're out of the water, the worse they taste.

If you're gonna fry them, fillet them, cut the fillets into thinner strips, and let them soak in some milk for a few hours.  I've served them at fish fries and had people think it was striped bass.

When I smoke them, I keep the fillets whole, but I rip all the bones out with pliers.  Soak it in a brine...salt, sugar, and whatever else you wanna add....I've tried garlic, chili peppers, onions, and all sorts of other stuff.  Smoke them low and slow...too fast, and the outside burns and the inside stays raw.
I have had a couple nasty carp before, but it's always been traced back to shitty water or older fish.

My grandpa used to pickle some, but I'd have to say that is an acquired taste.

When it comes to carp, most people have never tried it, so don't believe them when they call it a trash fish.  And if they've only tried it once, who's to say it wasn't prepared properly....I've had bad tuna before....doesn't mean all tuna is bad.

Who woulda thought???  I may just give that a shot.  Thanks for the info! 

All right! Who wants to point me into a direction I could Shore fish for Smallies on Lib? Im itching for some! I wish I knew the darn depths of the place!  Im thinking North of the 32 bridge, the main point on the right seems like an ideal spot, barring the depth and bottom structure.

H8R, there is a map of Liberty on these links, as well as several other Reservoir maps.  Plenty of other useful Maryland links as well. 

http://www.ultimatebass.com/bass-fishing-forum/index.php?topic=97781.0 (http://www.ultimatebass.com/bass-fishing-forum/index.php?topic=97781.0)

As for what shoreline to use to go for smallies, I always go out on a boat so I can't really offer any good advice.  I know a few shorelines that can be productive at times, but no idea if they are easy to access...

Quote from: Creel Limit Zero on June 12, 2013, 10:34:00 AM
H8R, there is a map of Liberty on these links, as well as several other Reservoir maps.  Plenty of other useful Maryland links as well. 

http://www.ultimatebass.com/bass-fishing-forum/index.php?topic=97781.0 (http://www.ultimatebass.com/bass-fishing-forum/index.php?topic=97781.0)

As for what shoreline to use to go for smallies, I always go out on a boat so I can't really offer any good advice.  I know a few shorelines that can be productive at times, but no idea if they are easy to access...

Thanks man! I just printed them out out work with our blueprint machine .

Welp, did some good work at Lib today. Caught 7 bass, all on Mizzmo Tubes t-rigged, Silver sparkle. Most were caught over top of veg. Med speed retrieve with short burst .

For smallies - I'm a little nerdy about finding good spots....  I spend the winter studying bitmaps to find long points and steep drop-offs.  Then I get out in the late winter when vegetation is still off the trees and 'scout' those areas - maybe trim a few branches.  I try to cluster a few spots together so I can take kind of a walking tour if I have an hour or 2 to fish and hit 2 or three spots.  Most unfort. are looonngg walks!  Remember smallies are so darn different that LM!  Find those deep drops and ledges and you can catch them.  Last year I took a half day in late May and had 4 spots I wanted to hit.  Caught big smallies on the very first cast at all 4 spots!  So homework and maps can help!  Smallies do like the deeper water and are more bottom oriented - so you have to fish deeper and you will lose a ton of lures, so keep the wallet open!  That sucks.  You mentioned Mizmo tubes.  Smallies love 'em!

Quote from: BigBee on June 18, 2013, 08:23:33 AM
For smallies - I'm a little nerdy about finding good spots....  I spend the winter studying bitmaps to find long points and steep drop-offs.  Then I get out in the late winter when vegetation is still off the trees and 'scout' those areas - maybe trim a few branches.  I try to cluster a few spots together so I can take kind of a walking tour if I have an hour or 2 to fish and hit 2 or three spots.  Most unfort. are looonngg walks!  Remember smallies are so darn different that LM!  Find those deep drops and ledges and you can catch them.  Last year I took a half day in late May and had 4 spots I wanted to hit.  Caught big smallies on the very first cast at all 4 spots!  So homework and maps can help!  Smallies do like the deeper water and are more bottom oriented - so you have to fish deeper and you will lose a ton of lures, so keep the wallet open!  That sucks.  You mentioned Mizmo tubes.  Smallies love 'em!

I hear ya. The hardest thing so far is finding some sort of current . Ive found some 18+ ft of water about 20 yards off shore with gravel and a hump.. No current though. If I was boating, it would be much easier for sure. I think I'm gonna focus my efforts closer to Nico, as opposed to Oakland rd. A lot of that area is prime LMB stuff. Not a lot of flow though and pretty steady bottom for the most part.

Ive caught many Smallies on Mizmos , they're my favorite. I also have done well on Rebel craws and bitsy bugs. Really, anything that looks like a craw. I need to remember to down-size my baits. I usually fish Deep Creek and Harpers Ferry for Smallies.. Trying to figure out a more local spot on the Shoreline. lol

I'm trying to get out to liberty this weekend for the first time.  Anyone got any info for shore fishing? Where to park/what area to fish etc. 

I've never fished there before, but would like to try somewhere new.  Thanks

Quote from: FishNMd on June 20, 2013, 05:01:56 PM
I'm trying to get out to liberty this weekend for the first time.  Anyone got any info for shore fishing? Where to park/what area to fish etc. 

I've never fished there before, but would like to try somewhere new.  Thanks

Send me a PM.

Quote from: H8R on June 20, 2013, 09:35:35 PM
Send me a PM.

sent

How's everyone doing with the bass?

Also I saw some stripers are getting pulled out, and some big ones, anyone here get any?

Hmm. Good to hear about some Stripers. Sounds like I'm gonna be doing some live lining! ; )

Speaking of stripers - hooked into my first on Sat morn - 6" jerkbait.  Nailed 2 smallies average size and then this big guy.  Stayed down the entire fight then hit the surface when it was about 10 feet from me - spit it!!  Not huge - maybe a couple feet long.  Really pretty fish!  Bummer I could not land - but peaks my interest in fishing for them...

Anyone do any good this weekend? I didn't get out

Quote from: 20inchbass on June 30, 2013, 07:50:18 PM
Anyone do any good this weekend? I didn't get out

I went to Liberty and Centennial... put in a full day fishing.. and caught ZERO.
The first time in a long time I got skunked. I fished the Nico area as well as 32 bridge . I threw tubes, Senkos , crankbaits, Spro frogs , jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, Ribbits... you name it... zero.
I was just off today and very frustrated. Worked my arse off for no fish..

Darn Summer blues!!  I hate the hot weather - and water!  I managed to drag myself out of bed before 5 am on Sunday and hit my fav spot around 5:40 after the mile walk.  First half hour was crazy!  Caught a 12 inch LM on first cast.  Then I spotted a nice LM and cast a jerkbait in his direction.  He crushed it!  10 second of fight and he spit it.  Hooked into 4 more strong, HEAVY fish in the next few minutes - all on suspending jerkbait.  Get this - all 4 spit the hook!  Never had such a flurry of activity and land only one fish!  Was a blast though.  Then - bite off!  Nothing until I called it quits around 9ish.  Just a beaver, big blacksnake and me for the last 3 hours.  Summer at Lib can be a challenge from the shoreline!  Get 'em early, or wait for a cooler, cloudy/rainy day....

Quote from: BigBee on July 01, 2013, 08:14:30 AM
Darn Summer blues!!  I hate the hot weather - and water!  I managed to drag myself out of bed before 5 am on Sunday and hit my fav spot around 5:40 after the mile walk.  First half hour was crazy!  Caught a 12 inch LM on first cast.  Then I spotted a nice LM and cast a jerkbait in his direction.  He crushed it!  10 second of fight and he spit it.  Hooked into 4 more strong, HEAVY fish in the next few minutes - all on suspending jerkbait.  Get this - all 4 spit the hook!  Never had such a flurry of activity and land only one fish!  Was a blast though.  Then - bite off!  Nothing until I called it quits around 9ish.  Just a beaver, big blacksnake and me for the last 3 hours.  Summer at Lib can be a challenge from the shoreline!  Get 'em early, or wait for a cooler, cloudy/rainy day....

Ohh yea! I knew fishing was going to be tough at Lib with all of the rain we've been getting, coupled with a spike in water temp. Also, It didnt help that I didnt get in the water until about 8:30. That darn snooze button ! I was hoping the rain would've cam yesterday a long with some wind... I love throwing spinnerbaits! Its really the first time in about a couple years that I put in a full day and had nothing to show for it! My legs are torn up from sticker bushes and such. The great things is though... not a single skeeter bite. I'll be hitting Lib Thursday am, and Im gonna make sure my luck is different. Might grab some shiners and see If I cant find some bigguns ( i never fish live bait).

Yeah - my legs always look like I've been through a war.  And the dam poison ivy!  Last year I got a nice bout of Lyme disease too!  Oh well - what we will do for fish!  I don't do the live bait thing much either - but I used to Carolina Rig live bait some and found it better than say live lining or slip bobbers.  I used to live line one rod and move a Carolina on another??  Rocks can be the only obstacle.  Good luck!

Big ole brown turd slammed it while dead sticking...wish I had the camera ON...
(https://www.ultimatebass.com/bass-fishing-forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FOCK50p1.jpg%3F3&hash=cf04c05432844120b25557f04b226fc64e9eff6c)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Tv4je-IFh8&feature=youtu.be
Dont mind my busted chin...haha

Quote from: BigBee on July 01, 2013, 09:06:21 AM
Yeah - my legs always look like I've been through a war.  And the dam poison ivy!  Last year I got a nice bout of Lyme disease too!  Oh well - what we will do for fish!  I don't do the live bait thing much either - but I used to Carolina Rig live bait some and found it better than say live lining or slip bobbers.  I used to live line one rod and move a Carolina on another??  Rocks can be the only obstacle.  Good luck!

Last year, my dad was up visiting, and I took him walking around Liberty to do some fishing.  I forgot that he is allergic to poison ivy, and I'm not.  I don't think he'll wanna hit Liberty this year.  :embarassed:

FYI - there are no more fish in Liberty!!  OUCH - up at 5 this morning and down the lake at first light.  NOTHING.  Been a while since I have been totally skunked.  I'll blame it on the weather - can't be me - can it?  Anybody else having any luck at all??

My brother, myself and dad hit liberty for first time ever. We used to be loyal Loch Raven goers but since last summer moved closer to liberty. First chance to get out and our expectations were low with water temps up and our skills revolving around Large mouth catching...

My brother caught 19 LM
I caught 6 LM and dad caught 3

Our largest of the day was 19"/2.79lbs (mine) but my brother had one at 2.49 and 2.45lbs.

Amazing day running spinner baits by the shores... Not sure if we got lucky with a few days of cool rains and water turn over or if the LM always hit like that in liberty but we were pleasantly surprised.

That's an awesome day!  I kind of remedied my post earlier this evening. Only had about 30 minutes to fish so I hit a different area - a large, rather shallow flat.  Thought maybe some LM would be cruizin.  Instead - had almost a dozen blow ups on my topwater - hooked 4 - landed 3 - all smallies.  All 15"+ - largest almost 19" and 3.09 lbs.  All released as usual.  Awesome action for that short time frame!! Heddon baby torpedos and Pop-r's... 

I'll be heading to Lib. tomorrow, Hope to redeem myself!

And the verdict is in....  I'll wait until fall time to fish Liberty again unless Im on a boat.
Im just not patient of enough to keep pulling chunks of grass off of everything I throw except Topwater.
Maybe Im fishing the wrong spots but the weed line extends a good 60-70 ft from the shore, and that's just what's seen. Im a little frustrated overall. I need to go to the Eastern Shore to hit my favorite spots so I can gain confidence again...

Yep - you're not alone.  I love to throw Carolina rigs this time of year but can't in Lib - grass flats are choked with the real gooey grass that sticks to everything - and the I get hung up constantly on the rocky areas. Summer sucks ~xyz

Quote from: BigBee on July 05, 2013, 10:51:14 AM
Yep - you're not alone.  I love to throw Carolina rigs this time of year but can't in Lib - grass flats are choked with the real gooey grass that sticks to everything - and the I get hung up constantly on the rocky areas. Summer sucks ~xyz

I'll probably head to Loch tomorrow, hit up a rental or maybe Black Hills.
Im not doing myself any favors getting in the water late (arrived at 7:30 am)

Anyone that ever wants and hanger on that has a boat ? Let me know, I'll be glad to supply beer/soda/water/Food !

Anyone know of someone in the Woodbine area (+10-20 miles) that offers inexpensive indoor or outdoor boat storage?

Recently moved to the area and don't want to drive the boat 2hrs to where I used to store it.

Might consider boat-share for free garage storage.

you could find an older neighbor that needs there grass cut once a week and work out a deal that you could leave it there they usually  they don't drive and have a empty driveway and the family likes it because it always looks like some one is there and they feel safer for there parents or parent 

I will assume by the lack of posts for Lib that just about everyone - especially us shore guys - are having some issues??  Been hitting from the shore - even once at nighttime - with very little activity.  Bass are deep.  Even the smaller fish that were smashing topwater at dusk just a few weeks ago are gone.  Anyone having any luck at all??  Pickin up the bow and practicing in the absence of active fish!!

Quote from: BigBee on July 24, 2013, 02:29:27 PM
I will assume by the lack of posts for Lib that just about everyone - especially us shore guys - are having some issues??  Been hitting from the shore - even once at nighttime - with very little activity.  Bass are deep.  Even the smaller fish that were smashing topwater at dusk just a few weeks ago are gone.  Anyone having any luck at all??  Pickin up the bow and practicing in the absence of active fish!!

I haven't been out lately . Hopefully I'll have a lot more chances towards then end of August-Sept when it starts to go off!

 Went yesterday , only had2 hours to burn. I fished the Oakland road area , with zero luck. : )
The grass is in full swing! Hard to fish right now standing on the shore. The water level is starting to go down. Probably down 3-4 ft in my estimation. Hopefully it drops some more soon!

Quote from: H8R on August 05, 2013, 07:18:07 AM
Went yesterday , only had2 hours to burn. I fished the Oakland road area , with zero luck. : )
The grass is in full swing! Hard to fish right now standing on the shore. The water level is starting to go down. Probably down 3-4 ft in my estimation. Hopefully it drops some more soon!

Nobody messes with you about parking down at the end of the street? I took a drive back there when I get off work a few weeks ago and saw a few no parking signs back there I thought. If its cool to park back there, I may have to stop back soon. I only work about 10 minutes away from Liberty.

Quote from: Baltim0re28 on August 05, 2013, 08:46:48 AM
Nobody messes with you about parking down at the end of the street? I took a drive back there when I get off work a few weeks ago and saw a few no parking signs back there I thought. If its cool to park back there, I may have to stop back soon. I only work about 10 minutes away from Liberty.

Nope, no problems at all. Drive all the way down to the end and park. They have signs , but it's from Sunset-Sunrise, to me that says no over night parking. I always see a few cars and Ive been checked by DNR and there wasn't anything brought up about parking.

Thanks man, I appreciate the info.. And the quick response.

Wow, been a looonnngg time between posts.  Liberty can be tough in the dead heat of summer!  Was able to lip a few nice smallies last weekend from the shore - first hour or so in the morning after a couple of those cool nights we had.  They were hitting the Pop-R and jerkbaits well.  Had a couple ~3 lbs that were crushing the buzzbait!  A lot of fun.  Should only get better as the water cools!!

Quote from: BigBee on August 28, 2013, 08:15:12 AM
Wow, been a looonnngg time between posts.  Liberty can be tough in the dead heat of summer!  Was able to lip a few nice smallies last weekend from the shore - first hour or so in the morning after a couple of those cool nights we had.  They were hitting the Pop-R and jerkbaits well.  Had a couple ~3 lbs that were crushing the buzzbait!  A lot of fun.  Should only get better as the water cools!!

Awesome man! I want to catch some Smallies, badly! I can't wait for the end of September

Quote from: H8R on August 05, 2013, 08:57:46 AM
Nope, no problems at all. Drive all the way down to the end and park. They have signs , but it's from Sunset-Sunrise, to me that says no over night parking. I always see a few cars and Ive been checked by DNR and there wasn't anything brought up about parking.

I wonder if you guys are talking about the same Oakland Road?
Directly across the lake from the water treatment place, there is another Oakland Road, on the east side of the lake.  It is has no parking signs all over, and you most definitely will get into a bit of trouble if you are caught parking there.  The people that live there, don't like it, and there is an office for DNR/Land management at the end of the road, so they drive down it frequently.
On a side note:  Liberty Delight Farms, off that side of Oakland Road, has the best bacon I've ever had, and they sell so high quality beef and pork products!!!  Seriously high quality meat from that place.  I do the drive up there once a month, to load up my freezer!!!

Quote from: BenFishing on August 28, 2013, 10:53:54 AM
I wonder if you guys are talking about the same Oakland Road?
Directly across the lake from the water treatment place, there is another Oakland Road, on the east side of the lake.  It is has no parking signs all over, and you most definitely will get into a bit of trouble if you are caught parking there.  The people that live there, don't like it, and there is an office for DNR/Land management at the end of the road, so they drive down it frequently.
On a side note:  Liberty Delight Farms, off that side of Oakland Road, has the best bacon I've ever had, and they sell so high quality beef and pork products!!!  Seriously high quality meat from that place.  I do the drive up there once a month, to load up my freezer!!!

Don't know.. The is there also an Oakland Mills? Either way... over the bridge coming from Randallstown, make right at the liquor store , pass the boat ramps, make right on Oakland rd, follow back to dead end at what I think is SHA? Like I said, I can confirm this place is safe.

I had some success from the shore southwest of the nicodemus bridge on 8/23 while it was overcast, raining and in the low 70s. I was using an orange spinner under heavy tree cover. I haven't caught anything except bluegill for the past 2 months so this was a shock.

8" white perch
12" largemouth bass
16" largemouth bass

Hey guys, I plan on going to nicodemus bridge and doing some drop shotting. Is is worth it?

Water is getting REALLY low.  These cool mornings are really turning on the topwater action.  Awesome!!!  Not great size yet - but 12-16" smallies are everywhere!  Cover some ground along the shoreline - pay extra attention to cover and rocks!!  Fun stuff....

Quote from: BigBee on September 09, 2013, 08:13:38 AM
Water is getting REALLY low.  These cool mornings are really turning on the topwater action.  Awesome!!!  Not great size yet - but 12-16" smallies are everywhere!  Cover some ground along the shoreline - pay extra attention to cover and rocks!!  Fun stuff....

BigBee, awesome new man! Thanks for the update. I've been gone from Liberty for awhile from the grass. Can you point me to a general direction of the smallies?

I like up around the Nico bridge - but I think they'll be just about anywhere there is some rocks, wood/beaver dams and grass.  With the water lower you can reach out a little further and get close to some drop-offs and deeper water.  Early a.m. - late p.m.- and into dark.  They will blow up on Pop-R's and baby torpedos.  I nailed a couple nicer fish on a 1/4 ounce black buzzbait other morning.  I'll try to get a pic going here soon.

I fished off the bridge yesterday at dusk and got nothing. Just go to nightcrawlers? Do they like any color tipwater poppers?

If you're fishing from the bridge, Id use shiners or bull minnows. Make sure you get the bait from a certified zebra mussel free bait shop

Yeah - they do patrol that and will write u a citation.  Watershed police will grab any cent they can from you!  Can't go wrong with any color Pop-R.  I like yellow shades myself.  If u can walk some shoreline all the better.  Gives you a chance to find some aggressive fish.

Several this size.  FUN!!

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Quote from: BigBee on September 10, 2013, 08:58:37 AM
Several this size.  FUN!!

HEck yea man! Thats a nice fish! Of course... another little mini heat wave is looming..

Quote from: H8R on September 10, 2013, 09:12:18 AM
HEck yea man! Thats a nice fish! Of course... another little mini heat wave is looming..

Followed by a huge cold front!

Quote from: Creel Limit Zero on September 10, 2013, 12:18:24 PM
Followed by a huge cold front!

Which will wake these babies up!! : D

Quote from: H8R on September 10, 2013, 06:28:55 AM
If you're fishing from the bridge, Id use shiners or bull minnows. Make sure you get the bait from a certified zebra mussel free bait shop

Anything in the sykesville area that certifies this?

Quote from: pmoa on September 10, 2013, 05:21:11 PM
Anything in the sykesville area that certifies this?

I don't even know of one, other then Loch Raven fishing center

Don't know if it is still there, try Old Reisterstown bait and tackle.  I use to get craw dads there.  16 Westminster pike Reisterstown, MD 21136.

Quote from: Creel Limit Zero on September 10, 2013, 09:13:58 PM
Don't know if it is still there, try Old Reisterstown bait and tackle.  I use to get craw dads there.  16 Westminster pike Reisterstown, MD 21136.

Live craws are the ish, I get some every once in awhile from Clydes , to take to the stream.
Lets just say Smallies DESTROY them!! ; ) 

Sadly - Reisterstown Bait and Tackle is gone - been a few years ago.  Deer Park Gardens/Landscape sells minnows (corner of Deer Park Road and Berrymans Lane).  Live craws are the bomb - but they don't sell there.   

I'm going to stop by there.

Umm.. I caught 3 Smallies near Nicodemus bridge on a Excalibur Pop'n image jr... not to mention about 20 blue gills. 

Somewhat curiously ... I found these under neath the bank wash out. (https://www.ultimatebass.com/bass-fishing-forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F13%2F09%2F15%2Faqy2ygyt.jpg&hash=d21bc7b1aa6f09bf5d8c4df1d4f83d1019882723)
Lets hope they're deer bones!

Wow, no one on Liberty this week?  Mornings and evenings should be killer!!!  My schedule couldn't handle it this week - but should tomorrow morn.  Right before a front - yeah man!!!  Big smallies tomorrow morning ~gf

Quote from: BigBee on September 20, 2013, 12:43:39 PM
Wow, no one on Liberty this week?  Mornings and evenings should be killer!!!  My schedule couldn't handle it this week - but should tomorrow morn.  Right before a front - yeah man!!!  Big smallies tomorrow morning ~gf

If you were ever interested in a tag a long, let me know.

Wow. This weather is perfect for just about everything hittin. I want to fish!

Give it a little bit longer to cool off and the bite will be on!  Got out for a little bit over the weekend - a bunch of small fish but nothing over a foot or so.  Once the grass starts dying off a little bit it will be time to hit the topwater, jerkbaits and Carolina rigging minnows.  Getting there - gotta be patient. 

Wow, been another week plus with no entries.  Anybody fishing Lib??  I only had a short window to take my daughter on Sunday evening.  She just fished worms and caught a ton of sunnies and two LM.  Less than a foot.  I broke out the topwater right before dark and landed 2 LM and one SM.  Biggest around 15 inches.  I think if I'd of fished seriously maybe could have pulled some nice ones out.  The cool weather is really getting the fish going.  The lake is SUPER low - so if you're like me and like to find aggressive fish - walk some shoreline!  Can't go wrong in low light times with a topwater, jerkbait or buzzbait.  Cover some water - find the mean fish!! >:( 

Fished Liberty on Wednesday and today.  Caught 9 keepers today, biggest at 18.75".  No top water bite to be found, caught them all on a shakey head and a craw bait worked on the grass line.  Had a few more keepers on Wednesday, but not much size.  Grass is everywhere!

Well Saturday at first light the topwater bite was crazy.  They were smashing the Torpedo so hard it was scary!!  A few nice SM's and then it turned off like a switch.  Dead for about an hour until I hit the Carolina rig - using a 3" brown tube.  Landed a few LM (no SM) on that - biggest maybe 16 inches or so.  A good morning overall.  And yes - the grass is everywhere!!! 

My favorite spots for shore fishing require some hiking. Last week I got some mean looks from hunters while I stomped by in my orange hat. Now I feel guilty about going out.

Also the water level sucks, it was nice walking the shore without bushwhacking.

Got blanked at Lib. today. I haven't been on my game lately . I just can't find a pattern from the shoreline. This weather certainly isn't helping matters!

Does anybody know what the ice situation on Liberty is? I drove by Loch Raven today and there's a lot of open water. I was thinking that Liberty might warm sooner because it's farther south. Be awful nice to get out tomorrow.

I have not been over it in a couple of weeks, but my friend said it is still pretty much completely iced over last night. 

almost clear still some ice in ends of coves. hopefully they will open this weekend

According to the recording on the Baltimore Department of Public Utilities phone, Liberty and Prettyboy are open as of today.

So what in the world is happening at Liberty???  No posts for a LONG time from anyone.  This spring has been very slow for me so far.  I usually have lipped a few 4 lb smallies by now but this year ZERO.  A few big largemouths but few smallies.  Weather?  Anybody pulling anything out of Lib? 

Quote from: BigBee on May 01, 2014, 10:57:30 AM
So what in the world is happening at Liberty???  No posts for a LONG time from anyone.  This spring has been very slow for me so far.  I usually have lipped a few 4 lb smallies by now but this year ZERO.  A few big largemouths but few smallies.  Weather?  Anybody pulling anything out of Lib?

I've been doing pretty well at Liberty on the shore. but I havent gone since all of this rain. I landed a nice 17" smallie and some 18-19" LMB.

Yeah, I've been doing okay there, too. I've heard of some people really crushing it. Heading out this morning. I'll post when I come back.

RT, how'd you do?

We launched at 630 and fished til 630. 12 hours of fishing totaled 45 on senkos, chatterbaits, jigs, spinnerbaits. Not a single fish above the "Y". All fish came in clearest water we could find. We ventured up to SM alley but never got a bite as the water was filthy. Turned around came back down to the clear water and started smashing them again. Water temp 60.

Craziest thing....45 bass, not a single smallie or Kicker, biggest bass maybe 3lbs.

Great day on the water though. It was beautiful out there!

Wow, that's weird  :-\  Same here - lots of LM - several really nice ones in the 3-4 lb range - but ZERO smallies!  Beats me???

OK - nevermind - problem solved!  BIG smallies found this past weekend.  Sat morn was just killer.  Largest SM 5 lb 3 oz female!  A long 22 inch male that weighed just 3 lb +a little on the very next cast.  7 fish landed all told in about 2 hours.   A blast of a morning to fish.  Most in 6 - 10 foot of water and were crushing my favorite carolina rigged 3" tube.  They can't resist them!  Liberty smallies finally up and rockin!

Quote from: BigBee on May 12, 2014, 12:22:25 PM
OK - nevermind - problem solved!  BIG smallies found this past weekend.  Sat morn was just killer.  Largest SM 5 lb 3 oz female!  A long 22 inch male that weighed just 3 lb +a little on the very next cast.  7 fish landed all told in about 2 hours.   A blast of a morning to fish.  Most in 6 - 10 foot of water and were crushing my favorite carolina rigged 3" tube.  They can't resist them!  Liberty smallies finally up and rockin!

Glad to hear it BigBee! We should call you BigSmallEE!

I did okay INO, but no freakin' 45. I stayed above the Y and never had the sense to come down. Guess I'll know better next time, which will be Sunday. If we get the flood we're supposed to get tomorrow, no telling what will be going on there.

Fished Liberty yesterday 6-4. Water temp 68ish. Caught 22, biggest was a few 3lbers. Typical pattern...toss up close to the bank and deadstick a senko and they would find it. My biggest did come on a chatterbait in SM Alley. Water was dirty and the wind sucked mostly all day.

Dad and I fished today, got out late, fished 7-12:30. Caught 21 between us, 6 were smallies. The biggest of the day was this spawned-out smallie, at 18.5 inches.

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Quote from: 20inchbass on May 26, 2014, 01:28:52 PM
Dad and I fished today, got out late, fished 7-12:30. Caught 21 between us, 6 were smallies. The biggest of the day was this spawned-out smallie, at 18.5 inches.

She's a big girl, a week ago probably a football!

Not sure where everyone else is finding them - but fishing from the shore they still seem to be on main lake points more consistently than anywhere else??  My biggest to date this year 5 lb 3 oz.  Most SM are around 2 pounds or so.  The vegetation is getting a little thick which is making it trickier to fish.  The fish I'm getting seem to come at first light - in 4 -6 feet of water.  Waiting for more top water action to heat up but just not there yet for me???

Well - thought I would try to resurrect this thing!  Liberty has been awful quiet lately.  A few spotty LM here and there but the rain - muddy water - and hot weather has been the pits - at least for me.  Catching some good cats to occupy my time until the cool down...  Anyone having any luck on Lib???

BigBee- that is a typical summer pattern for the reservoirs- they will be up shallow early and as soon as the sun hits the water, they retreat back down to deep water. As it gets closer to sunset, they will start roaming the shallows again, would be a good time to start throwing some topwaters.

Weekday Warrior Tourney was July 9th.

Top 3 had over 20lbs. 22lbs won. 8 fish.

My buddy caught over 30 keepers, 50 fish. Had his limit by 8am and just couldn't get any KICKERs.

I got about 20 out there last Sunday morning but nothing over 15". And I really didn't start catching any numbers until 11:00. I was finding them in the weeds. Of course, finding the weeds in the first place is the hard part.

Its time to bring this back up to the top. Hopefully more people talk about it this year

I was guilty of being a quiet one last year - will change for 2015.  First hand intel is really important at Liberty  I think.  Haven't ventured out yet but this weekend may be the first.  These warm days are such a tease.  I'll post when I can - hopefully a good spring like the one of 2013!

I think I might be heading there this weekend too. Will post results if I go.

My buddy is out there now. Texted me he is coming home.....too cold, no bites.

I am thinking of hitting this place after I drop off my GF at school on Saturday and fish until I pick her up.

Does anyone have any recommendation shore fishing spots that I should check out ..
I am thinking of hitting the one near the 32 bridge there ..

Quote from: cbburke on April 16, 2015, 11:37:30 PM
I am thinking of hitting this place after I drop off my GF at school on Saturday and fish until I pick her up.

Does anyone have any recommendation shore fishing spots that I should check out ..
I am thinking of hitting the one near the 32 bridge there ..

Oakland Road, on the west side of the lake.  You can fish off both sides of that peninsula, and off the south side, I have found some good largemouth and yellow perch.

Hiking around 32, I found some ok crappie spots, around this time, last year.

Fishing under the bridge at Nicodemus/Deer Park, I've been able to find some good largemouth...standing under it, on the west side, mostly.  There is a slow slope, then a ledge.  I usually run crank baits through there....if you throw a bottom bait, it will probably get snagged in all the line the people on the bridge lose.
On the east side of the bridge, that little cove hasn't done me any good until the weather gets warmer....same with the trail on the other side....lots of shallow water areas.

The boat ramp area has a lot of shoreline to fish.....I've hiked a lot of it, and found white perch and largemouth.

All of the areas I know for smallies have me going through private property, and I've asked the land owners if it is ok if I cross through their land....most say no, but I have a few that have said it is ok...usually the people wither bigger plots of land, like farms.

Man - Thanks for the detail information on this

I really like the area around 32.  I have caught some great smallies thee over the years - the Eldersburg side away from the Irving Ruby cove.  Slow drag a tube or soft plastic.  This sun should get them up on some points and flats.  I think the high water will pose some problems unfort.   >:(

Wow - another long stretch with no Liberty updates?!?  My excuse - been tough this Spring!  My daughter actually hit one big smallie a few weeks back in the mid-3 pound range - but mostly small fish other than that.  The lake heated up really fast - bummer!  I was able to get out the other day and score on a ton of fish - using small soft plastics mainly - most of them 1-2 pound LM's - including my personal best 6.5 lb LM and a 16" crappie.  Fish are active right now - pattern is difficult to find though.  Most fish in the 4-10 foot area - mostly around timber.

Thanks for the report  ~c~ ~c~ on catching your PB LM ;D

It's funny - I usually fish big bass type baits - Carolina rug, jerkbaits, etc.  Fishing a 2 inch minnow soft plastic I caught about a dozen 1-3 lb bass - tons of white perch - yellow perch - a 20" + catfish - big crappie and the huge LM.  It was a blast - something I usually don't do.  So downsize and fish small when things are slow - you never know?!?!? 

Your right you just never know what will work. ;D That's why we have so many baits lo lo

I've been fishing Liberty almost every weekend this summer, and the fish are still there and biting. Getting on the back edges of the grass and drop shotting a roboworm or a dreamshot in 15 to 20 FOW has been the ticket for the last month. If you hit the right areas catching 20 to 30 fish isn't a problem. We've been catching everything from .75 lbs to 4 lbers. Most guys don't like this hot weather, but when you find them they're usually stacked up, so you can pull out a bunch from a single spot when you find them...

Thanks for the report and I would love to catch 20 to 30 fish at one time. ~c~ ~c~

Quote from: Lipripper on August 15, 2015, 07:54:07 AM
Thanks for the report and I would love to catch 20 to 30 fish at one time. ~c~ ~c~

No problem at all, I'll be out there tomorrow morning going at it again. I was going to go this morning, but when 3:30 got here this morning my body wasn't feeling what my heart was so back to bed I went. I'll post up a how I did tomorrow

Quote from: MDbowhunter on August 15, 2015, 08:24:03 AM


No problem at all, I'll be out there tomorrow morning going at it again. I was going to go this morning, but when 3:30 got here this morning my body wasn't feeling what my heart was so back to bed I went. I'll post up a how I did tomorrow

lo lo I know how that feels. ;D

Anyone fish the Rt. 140 area?  Haven't seen too many reports from that area.  I used to fish that area years ago for Crappie and used to crush them up there.

Anyone with any luck for smallies or LM in the area. A buddy of mine used to do fairly well with the stripers in that area as well.

Thanks

Bowhunter - how did you do the other day?

Also, what do you mean by back edges? Just a lil confused if you are in 15-20 feet.

I've been struggling over there this year. Can't thank you enough for helping us amateurs.  lo

Well I made it out Sunday, I never went any further then the water plant, and I stopped counting after 15 fish. It was a mixed bag of smallies and LM, from .75 to around 3lbs.


Bassnbuck, I'm fishing the back edge of the grass. Your grass line will start about 10 yards off shore and will continue out until it stops and you'll hit hard bottom. These back edges are where the fish are at, I try to find areas where the grass ends and I'm in 15 to 20 FOW. If you find these areas you'll find fish. The fish cruise up and down this edge looking for bait to pop out of the grass.

Quote from: MDbowhunter on August 20, 2015, 06:44:20 AM
Well I made it out Sunday, I never went any further then the water plant, and I stopped counting after 15 fish. It was a mixed bag of smallies and LM, from .75 to around 3lbs.


Bassnbuck, I'm fishing the back edge of the grass. Your grass line will start about 10 yards off shore and will continue out until it stops and you'll hit hard bottom. These back edges are where the fish are at, I try to find areas where the grass ends and I'm in 15 to 20 FOW. If you find these areas you'll find fish. The fish cruise up and down this edge looking for bait to pop out of the grass.

Thanks for the report and also for the information. 8)

I have truly been struggling these last few weeks. I've been visiting my favorite spots and searching for new ones and I have to admit, I feel like I've taken several steps backwards.

I normally switch between jigs and spinners. And in this heat I run my spinners deep, slam them into anything I can find, and while I've probably lost half my salary in lures, I normally leave with at least one "near citation" large mouth.

Not this year, they're out there, but my normal tactics aren't working, they'll follow by lures to where I can see them. But they just aren't interested. I've changed my colors, tried a few new lures, increased and decreased my retrieve, changed my action, but it's always the same, they follow it in and just stare at it.

My gut tells me it's because I'm working the drop offs backwards since I'm fishing from the shore, but I've pulled it off in the past. Any ideas?

whats going on with liberty .......................has anyone caught anything worth noting?

ALSO........should this post have a pin in it or
is that just for post that has been stopped ?.......................................................23

I have not seen many posts about anyone catching anything I think everyone has stopped fishing or keeps it  to them self . even on lochraven  post its just a few. the fish are always there its just if you know where they are and what they want. I never really figured out liberty but caught a few good fish even a red eye bass   the best spot I liked was way in the back where the kids have a bike ramp and fort you can see from the water   good luck this summer fishing   

I've yet to even get out fishing this year!  Either busy or the weather has been bad!  Especially the wind!