Little Patuxent River
Fishing, stocking, and current conditions
Stocked monthly February through April in 2026: trout, 5 plants in all. One of 4 stocked waters on the Howard County record. A USGS gauge reports from this water, so the conditions card on this page is live.
Howard County · Maryland · see it on the national map
Water temp 58 °F at Patuxent R at Gov Bridge Natural Area nr Bowie MD, 5 km away USGS site 01594441 · read 8:35 pm this evening
The year here
stocked last 7 days announced ahead · tap a tick for details
What swims here
Trout
Stocking record 2026
Agency feed checked today.
| Date | Species | Size | Fish | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1mo | Trout | catchable | 1,000 | stocked |
| Mar 1mo | Trout | catchable | 1,000 | stocked |
| Mar 10 | Trout | catchable | 2,000 | completed |
| Apr 1mo | Trout | catchable | 1,000 | stocked |
| Apr 16 | Trout | catchable | 1,000 | completed |
When to fish Little Patuxent River
| Major periods (~2 h) | Minor periods (~1 h) | |
|---|---|---|
| Today | 9:44-11:44 am and 10:06 pm-12:06 am | 4:00-5:00 am and 4:17-5:17 pm |
| Tomorrow | 10:30 am-12:30 pm and 10:54 pm-12:54 am | 5:07-6:07 am and 4:42-5:42 pm |
Moon: waxing gibbous, 92% lit. These are solunar periods, the traditional feeding-time theory: majors around the moon's transit overhead and underfoot, minors around moonrise and moonset. Theory, not a measurement. Times are Eastern Time (EDT).
What the record actually says
- Last stocked Apr 16
- Water 58 °F at a gauge 5 km away, prime coldwater range
- Flow 84% of the seasonal median
Computed this evening, Oct 23 · Maryland fishing forecast
Gear for this water
It has been a while since the trucks came. The holdovers have spread out and wised up; downsize and fish natural.
For the trout (trout stocked 5 times here in 2026, moving water)
| Light spinning rod | 5 to 6.5 ft light or ultralight; short rods cast under branches |
| Inline spinners | 1/16 to 1/8 oz silver or gold; swing them across the current seams |
| Drifted bait | single salmon egg or half a crawler under light split shot, rolled along the bottom |
Suggestions follow from what the state actually stocks here and what kind of water it is, nothing else. No sponsored placements.
Nearby stocked waters
The closest waters with stocking pages of their own, straight-line miles from this one.
| Water | Distance | Most recent |
|---|---|---|
| Severn Run | 8.0 mi | Apr 21 |
| Greenbelt Lake | 9.8 mi | Mar 5 |
| Laurel Lake | 11 mi | Mar 10 |
| Lake Artemesia | 12 mi | Mar 5 |
| Schoolhouse Pond | 12 mi | Mar 3 |
Follow Howard County stocking: RSS / Calendar (iCal) / Print the schedule