Maryland fishing

Sunnie on the Monocacy

I’ve fished the Monocacy River at the Monocacy National Battlefield before, but I’ve never been to this particular site. It’s not far from Rt. 270 or 355. To find it go into the Monocacy Battlefield State Park, and drive toward the Worthington House, park there and then walk a 1/4 mile or so to the river.

Walking to the Monocacy River

I had my shorts on and my fishing vest – I thought of bringing waders, but it’s September – so I walked right into the water. Some places were waist deep, some were ankle deep. I thought, ” This is an excellent flyfishing spot!” But, today I had my Ultralite spinning gear, and my lure of choice - a 3″ sinking silver-sided rapala. The bluegills were all over the rapala, and as the afternoon moved on, the smallmouth bass started to bite.

Monocacy River

I waded the river almost a mile down, and every other cast was either a bite, or a hook-up. I caught and released seven fish, and had many more bites. It was a great opportunity for me to hone my casting into the holes on the right-side of the river.

After I called it a day, and walked back to my car, I was met by Officer Brown, a very nice park ranger who checked my fishing license, and then gave me a lot of great information about the park. Apparently she has kayaked the river and knows it well. It’s good to see that our park rangers are doing their job. And, I’m also glad I had my fishing license with me!