Maryland Fishing

To catch fish, you need to know where to fish.

Maryland provides a startling array of trout fishing opportunities, ranging from some surprising locations on the Eastern Shore all the way to the wild and roiling rivers of Garrett County in the western mountains. This book covers 100% of the stocked trout water in Maryland along with the better known wild trout streams. For each, Steve provides a description, directions and an itemized list of access points. However, knowing anglers judge water by "how it looks," he includes at least one picture (551 total) for each location, allowing you to make an informed judgment before burning the gas to visit any particular spot.

Given the availability of GPS technology on devices ranging from cell phones to car navigation systems, Steve includes 902 GPS coordinates to describe the stream boundaries as well as every known access point. Plug these into your navigation system for custom directions or into the Google™ satellite view for a bird's-eye perspective of the water and the surrounding terrain.

Add your own favorite wild streams using the methodological approach described in the chapter on "Blue Lining." Finally, Steve's chapter on "Stocked Trout Behavior" contains lessons learned from a number scientific studies. Understanding the movement dynamics of freshly stocked fish allows you to position yourself to maximize your catch!

Reviewed and checked by members of the Potomac-Patuxent and Northern Virginia Chapters of Trout Unlimited, Potomac Valley Fly Fishers, and the Annapolis Chapter of the Free State Fly Fishers.

Feedback included:
"Likely to be regarded as the 'Bible' for trout fishing"
"Your work is well prepared, it is impressive"

An Electronic book version (PDF format) is available from the CatchGuides site (color pictures and clickable links to Google™ for all GPS coordinates).

To catch fish, you need to know where to fish.

In this book, Steve shares his years of experience fishing one of the East Coast's best, yet most underrated, smallmouth rivers - the Upper Potomac. This book literally walks the reader 57 miles upstream starting at the Chain Bridge in the District of Columbia to end at Dam 3 above Harpers Ferry.

Given that a picture is worth 1,000 words, the book includes over 200 augmented with 42 maps and 45 tables of critical information that allow you to determine the right place to go and the right time to be there.

Other Potomac books assume you have a boat; this one assumes you fish on your feet. Steve dedicates the entire book to guiding you to locations where you can wade or fish from the shore. It includes 32 named chapters that discuss the major access points in Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia. Many contain additional information on minor access points within the same area; expanding the total geographic coverage dramatically. This book is "internet aware" and includes 208 GPS coordinates usable in Google Maps for precise directions as well as the satellite view to obtain a birds-eye perspective. In the eBook version available from CatchGuides.com, clicking on the coordinate automatically launches Google Maps.

To ensure this book reflected the broadest base of experience possible, Steve enlisted members of the Washington Metropolitan area's premier bass fishing clubs to "fact check" the book. Steve incorporated their comments and suggestions, resulting in a comprehensive perspective on this great river.

Comments from the fact checkers include:

"I read your book today and it is excellent. I have been a guide on the Shenandoah and Potomac for more than 30 years and your descriptions from Brunswick to Harpers Ferry are excellent."

"Wow, what a treasure of information! What a treat to read. Thanks for doing this."

Kayak and canoe fishing enthusiasts will find this book to be equally useful.

To catch fish, you need to know where to fish.

The Map Book shows how to get to the public access points on the North Branch of the Potomac between Westernport, MD and Wilson, WV; covering 30 miles of river. Where needed, the book includes pictures to show key turns to keep you from getting lost en-route to the stream.

The author recommends that you purchase the full 196 page version - "Trout and Smallmouth Fishing on the North Branch of the Potomac" that goes far beyond just giving you the directions to the access points for a few dollars more. It is only $14.95 and includes detailed guidance on how and where to fish the river once you reach the side of the stream. The only advantage to the bare bones Map Book is that it is smaller.

• ISBN13: 9780982396223
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

To catch fish, you need to know where to fish.

196 pages, 140+ pictures, 34 maps, and 61 tables document the fishing on 30 miles of the North Branch from Westernport, MD through Wilson, WV.

In addition to this traditional hardcopy version, it is offered as an eBook (www.catchguide.com) with the same content - the only difference is that the eBook is in color and has active links to additional information such as Google Maps. As a guide book, it is rock solid. According to the official review done by the North American Fly Fishing Forum, "I am a big fan of Guide Books and I find The CatchGuide eBook to be one of the best I have seen. It is a great tool and I can't even imagine the work that the Author put into publishing this eBook. I highly recommend it."

Steve Moore provides a detailed, focused guide to this single body of water. Prior books all cover a broad geography - "Maryland" or "Mid-Atlantic" and, necessarily, cannot be exhaustive on any single place. Beyond setting the stage, he does not talk about the North Branch in general terms because every mile offers a different fishing experience. As Steve literally walks you up the river, he shows the specific areas to fish and discusses what you will encounter. Steve tells you how to get there, where to park, how to get to the stream, and what to use in the spots he found most productive.

To catch fish, you need to know where to fish. Updated for 2012

The Rappahannock River is home to some of the biggest, meanest smallmouth bass in Virginia. These cantankerous beasts cruise silently in the quiet pools and fast runs below old trench lines marking the remains of violent Civil War battles or in remote, oddly named places like Snake Castle Rock. Steve Moore shares his years of experience fishing this premier river to guide you to the best water between the fall line in Fredericksburg and Chester Gap high in the Blue Ridge. Using 252 pictures and 23 maps to round out the descriptions, the book covers 25 access points that open up over 43 miles of water to wade fishing. Even though the book is oriented at anglers who fish on their feet, kayakers and canoeists will find it equally useful to identify the productive water to target as they float downriver.

Given we are in the internet age, Steve includes 279 GPS coordinates usable for customized directions via the Internet or loadable into a GPS receiver to guide your day on the water. Finally, any discussion of the Rappahannock must mention the superb fishing available during the spring shad run. Steve dedicates a chapter to where to go and how to catch the fish called the "poor man's tarpon."

The first few paragraphs of Steve's introduction provide perspective:

"In the Algonquian Indian language, Rappahannock means "rapidly rising and falling waters" and, every Spring, the river demonstrates why the name is appropriate. During that stormy season, flood waters charge downriver with fantastic velocity and violence causing the huge spikes in turbulence that are an inescapable lure to legions of kayakers. But the name is inadequate to describe the quality and variety of the fishery that exists under its roiling surface. Although the name is unlikely to change to whatever the Algonquian translation of "angler's heaven" is, in addition to smallmouth bass, you are likely to scream a panicked "FISH ON" as massive redbreast sunfish, carp or even yellow perch and channel catfish pull hard against your smoking drag once the season drifts from frantic Spring into calm Summer.

Granted, I do not cover all 184 miles of the Rappahannock from its dim origin at Chester Gap in the Blue Ridge to the tidal flats lining the Chesapeake Bay, but I do cover the 59 (43+ wadable) miles that represent the interesting core of the river for smallmouth bass fishing enthusiasts. Besides, below the bridge, the river runs wide, slow and sandy; becoming the domain of largemouth bass pursued by hard-eyed anglers leveraging every ounce of technology packed into supercharged bass boats.

Above the fall line, the high-powered bawl of a 200 hp Mercury engine is replaced by the quiet dip of paddles or the hushed slosh of ragged sneakers moving through the shallows. While the book is useful for kayakers and canoeists since the good places are good regardless of how you reach them, my focus is on those who fish on their feet - the sweaty grunt, the fishing infantry. The book includes the well-known angler's playgrounds at Snake Castle Rock and the Confluence - usually the restricted domains of kayakers and canoeists who reach these honey holes via a long downstream float. As I describe later, a short hike, coupled with a bit of perspiration, gives you the opportunity to fish normally inaccessible locations."