Rocky Gorge Reservoir fishing: Northern Pike, Walleye, Blue Catfish
Target species: Northern Pike, Walleye, Blue Catfish
Best months: May, Jun, Oct, Nov for Northern Pike
Second window: May, Jun, Oct, Nov for Walleye
Boat: 2 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Scott's Cove Recreation Area, 1 lane.
The reservoir
Rocky Gorge Reservoir covers 670 acres in Maryland, across 3 counties: Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's. It is a reservoir: 90.6% of it is 40 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is 106 feet (32.2 m). Our records hold 4 species for this water.
Depth: down to 106 ft at the deepest measured point
Deepest measured point: 106 ft (32.2 m). 90.6% of the water is 40 feet or shallower. We hold 81 depth contours for this water, drawn from 223,660 soundings.
- 0–5 ft: 6.5% of the water
- 5–10 ft: 15.4% of the water
- 10–15 ft: 16.4% of the water
- 15–20 ft: 15% of the water
- 20–25 ft: 12.4% of the water
- 25–30 ft: 10.6% of the water
- 30–35 ft: 8.1% of the water
- 35–40 ft: 6.2% of the water
- 40–45 ft: 4.1% of the water
- 45–50 ft: 2.1% of the water
- 50–55 ft: 1.7% of the water
- 55–60 ft: 0.8% of the water
- 60–65 ft: 0.5% of the water
- 65–70 ft: 0.4% of the water
3 target fish, led by Northern Pike
- Northern Pike — Best months: May, Jun, Oct, Nov.
- Walleye — Best months: May, Jun, Oct, Nov.
- Blue Catfish — Best months: Jul, Aug, Sep.
Also recorded here: Common Carp.
Water and conditions
Water temperature averages 59°F across the year. The coldest single reading we hold is 36°F and the warmest is 80°F; the warmest monthly average is 76°F. pH averages 7.5. These readings span 2016–2024.
Monthly average water temperature: Jan 41°F · Feb 40°F · Mar 43°F · Apr 49°F · May 58°F · Jun 66°F · Jul 74°F · Aug 76°F · Sep 76°F · Oct 69°F · Nov 59°F · Dec 47°F
2 ramps and launches on this water
On this water we hold 2 trailer ramps and 1 shore access point.
- Scott's Cove Recreation Area — 1 lane. Brighton Dam Visitor's Center. 10972 Harding Rd., Laurel, MD 20723 · phone 301-206-4386 (4FUN) · website wsscwater.com/watershedmaps
- Supplee Lane Recreation Area — 1 lane. Brighton Dam Visitor's Center. 16904 Supplee Ln., Laurel, MD 20707 · phone 301-206-4386 (4FUN) · website wsscwater.com/watershed
Shore access for bank fishing
- Brown's Bridge Recreation Area — Brighton Dam Visitor's Center. 2220 Ednor Rd., Silver Spring, MD 20905 · phone 301-206-4386 (4FUN) · website wsscwater.com/watershed
Fee and opening hours are blank for all 3 places in this list: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.
Season by season
- Winter (Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, 40–47°F) — Steady but no peak: Northern Pike, Walleye.
- Spring (Apr, May, Jun, 49–66°F) — Biting: Northern Pike, Walleye.
- Summer (Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, 69–76°F) — Biting: Northern Pike, Walleye, Blue Catfish.
- Fall (Nov, 59–59°F) — Biting: Northern Pike, Walleye.
What is hard here
Only 2 public ramps are on file, so the launch decides where you fish. Winter water drops to 40°F, and the warm-water species stop feeding well before you do.
Where this data comes from
- Maryland Geological Survey — Maryland Geological Survey: depth soundings: class A, a survey of the bottom.
- USGS RESSED — USGS RESSED reservoir sedimentation database: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
- Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
