New this year, DNR is offering a special youth trout fishing day on Saturday, March 23 for anglers who are under the age of 16. This is a great opportunity for our young anglers to essentially have the popular put-and-take trout management waters all to themselves.
Parents, relatives, and friends should start thinking about setting the stage for those young anglers who need some instruction and equipment. For those under the age of 4, a trip to one of the many community ponds that are stocked can be a great choice for some simple bobber and bait fishing with a push-button closed-face spinning outfit. Get the kiddos out on an open lawn and have them practice casting to a target with a rubber sinker just to make it fun. Those a little older and knowledgeable may be ready for a trip to a stocked creek or river. In all cases, familiarize them with casting because if you cast for them, you need to have a fishing license and trout stamp to be legal.
Trout are not the only game in town this time of the year. Fishing for smallmouth bass and walleye is excellent in the upper Potomac River and to a slightly lesser extent in the lower Susquehanna River. A variety of soft plastic swim jigs, grubs, soft craw jigs, and crankbaits are all good choices to cast near current breaks and submerged ledges.
The colder months of early spring are a great time to fish for chain pickerel in the upper tidal waters and freshwater ponds and lakes. The heavy growth of grass beds has yet to begin, so there is a lot of open water and chain pickerel are looking for any kind of structure to hold near to ambush baitfish. Sunken wood is usually the most available structure. Casting a variety of lures that are rigged with single inline hooks work well for this mostly catch-and-release fishery.
Deep Creek Lake and reservoirs across the western and central regions are coming to life and offer a variety of fishing opportunities for yellow perch, crappie, largemouth bass, and smallmouth bass. Most will respond to smaller lures that are fished deep and slow this time of the year. Check the DNR website to explore locations you may not have fished before.
It is still a little too cold for northern snakehead activity but as March moves on, fishing large minnows under a bobber or popping cork near shoreline brush can offer up a few fish. The sunny afternoon shores of a body of water will often attract northern snakeheads to warmer waters.
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Jay Ferguson
Who I Am
My name is Jay Ferguson, and I am a lifelong resident of the Deep Creek Lake area. I am also co-owner of the real estate side of Taylor Made. I have been in the real estate business for 21+ years now and I LOVE what I do! I have to say, my career really took off when I co-founded the real estate side of Taylor Made in 2014. Its been an amazing experience, building a real estate company from the ground up and achieving so much so quickly! In August 2016, we purchased Long & Foster Real Estate Deep Creek, where I had started my career in 2000. In 2018, we on-boarded virtually every agent from Coldwell Banker Deep Creek Realty as they closed up shop and the real estate family grew even more! We now have over 40 sales agents and have expanded to West Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well. Taylor Made is the #1 vacation rental company at Deep Creek with over 475 vacation rental homes, and over one hundred thousand yearly visitors. Its amazing what we have accomplished using the principles of honesty, teamwork and customer service!
Personally, my wife Jessica and I enjoy traveling and especially spending time in the outdoors, hiking and exploring the many diverse areas that Garrett County is naturally blessed with. We have raised two wonderful children here, Kayleah (22) and Noah (13). In the summer, we love spending time on the water with friends & family and enjoying the lake life! We are both active in our church, our community & local school activities, and we fill our schedule with plenty of volunteer efforts. I currently serve on the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity. I am proud to say that I was named Deep Creek Time’s Favorite ‘Community Champion’ in 2019. I was also named Garrett County Realtor of the Year in 2018-19, as well.
I really enjoy promoting my hometown. I am very proud of the resort area that has developed over my lifetime and look forward to growing the area even more! Deep Creek Lake has been described as ‘The Lake Tahoe of the east', and I think that speaks volumes about the potential to own property here! Deep Creek Lake isn't really a town or city by itself; it's comprised of three towns: Oakland, Swanton & McHenry, Maryland. I am very passionate about my hometown and am impressed with how many people know about it as we travel around the country. Deep Creek Lake is an amazing place to visit and even better place to live! During the pandemic in 2020, our market exploded and more and more people left their primary residence in the city to live here permanently. With distance learning in schools and tele-commuting becoming the ‘norm’, many more people were drawn to the area to ‘live where they love to play’.
Why You Want Me Working for You: In addition to being an owner, I am consistently one of the top-producing agents in the entire area and the Associate Broker of record for Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales. I have 21+ years of experience and I am a problem solver. There aren’t many situations that I have not encountered and I have a strategy for almost every scenario that you may encounter. I
have extensively trained in all areas of real estate & emerging technologies, and also have trained as an appraiser, as well as served as a full-time Broker. I have a strong knowledge of the industry, as well as many trusted local contacts & affiliations that allow me to perform at a very high level and deliver results. I have a great deal of respect for my peers in this industry and have strong working relationships that I would love to put to work for you.
Call me to discuss your situation - I know I can be of great service to you & others you care about!
Honesty. Integrity. Results.
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