Enjoy Great Fishing In Maryland

Guide to fishing in the Old Line State

Major Lakes & Species
Lake Sizes & Locations
Maryland Fish Species & State Records

Maryland offers a diverse fishing experience with a variety of species available in its warm water fisheries, cold water fisheries, ponds, lakes, and rivers. Anglers in Maryland can target a wide range of gamefish, making it an angler's paradise. The purpose of this page is to share basic information about the best fishing lakes in the state, plus the species found in each lake.

In the warm water fisheries of Maryland, anglers can find popular species such as largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, and chain pickerel. The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries provide abundant opportunities to catch striped bass (rockfish), bluefish, white perch, and catfish. Deep Creek Lake and Liberty Reservoir are renowned warm water lakes known for their excellent bass fishing, while the Potomac River offers diverse fishing opportunities for multiple warm water species.

For those seeking cold water fisheries, Maryland's lakes and reservoirs provide fantastic trout fishing. Loch Raven Reservoir, Prettyboy Reservoir, and the Savage River Reservoir are popular destinations for trout anglers, with rainbow trout, brown trout, and brook trout being the primary targets. These cold water fisheries offer pristine settings and ample opportunities for anglers to test their skills in pursuing these coveted trout species.

Maryland's ponds, lakes, and rivers also contribute to its rich fishing scene. Ponds throughout the state provide accessible fishing spots, often stocked with various species like bass, trout, sunfish, and catfish. The lakes, such as Deep Creek Lake and Greenbrier Lake, offer larger bodies of water with a diverse range of fish species. Meanwhile, rivers like the Potomac River, Susquehanna River, and Patuxent River provide excellent opportunities for both warm water and cold water fishing, depending on the targeted species and specific sections of the rivers.

Being a coastal state, Maryland offers a wide variety of fishing including both saltwater and freshwater. We concentrate on the freshwater, and primarily on the lakes and reservoirs. There are many additional fishing opportunities in the creeks, streams and rivers throughout Maryland as well. Here, you can fish for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, channel catfish, blue catfish, black crappie, white crappie, walleye, rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, brook trout, brown trout, bluegill, redear sunfish, rock bass, warmouth, white perch, yellow perch, stripers, chain pickerel, muskie, northern pike and tiger muskie in local lakes, rivers, ponds and/or streams.

Major Maryland Lakes & Species

Lake & Fish Chart

This chart shows angling destinations, cross referenced with the major fish species found in each. For a detailed list of primary fish species in MD, plus state fish records, see the list below.