Smallmouth Bass Stocking: Upper Potomac River

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources recently stocked 30,000 fingerling smallmouth bass in the Potomac River from Taylors Landing downstream to Edwards Ferry.

Freshwater Fisheries staff collected adult smallmouth bass from the Potomac in April to serve as hatchery brood. Staff at the Joseph Manning Hatchery spawned the bass in ponds with artificial nesting structures and reared the fry in fertilized ponds.

Once growth had been maximized in the ponds, the bass were transferred to indoor circular tanks where they were trained to feed on an artificial diet to accelerate growth to a stockable size of 2 - 3 inches.

The final step was transporting these fish to the Potomac River. 

An additional 5,000 fingerling smallmouth were generously provided by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. The Potomac forms Maryland's southern border and is popular with anglers from both states.

Several consecutive years of high river flows during the spring have reduced spawning success causing lower catch rates for anglers

The hatchery fish will supplement natural reproduction, accelerating the recovery of the fishery and improving fishing.

You can learn more about the department's smallmouth bass stocking program on our website.