Wheatley Lake (Gilbert Run Park)

Wheatley Lake is a 75-acre flood-control lake in Charles County's Gilbert Run Park, east of La Plata, and one of the lakes DNR names as an excellent place for largemouth bass in Southern Maryland. It also holds bluegill, redear sunfish, black crappie and channel catfish, and DNR stocks it with rainbow trout. The park has piers, a ramp and boat rentals.

When to fish

• Spring: stocked rainbow trout; crappie and bass move shallow as the water warms.
• Summer: bass and sunfish along the grass edges, with the grass thickest around the shoreline.
• Fall: a good bass season; the park closes for the season after the third weekend of November, though walk-in fishing is still allowed.

Where to fish

• The grass beds around the perimeter, which hold fish but can make some shoreline spots harder to fish.
• The deeper water near the dam: most of the lake is shallow.
• The park's piers, for families and trout anglers.

How to fish it

The grass around the shoreline can make bank fishing tricky, so the piers or a boat help. You need a trout stamp to fish for trout.

Getting there

Gilbert Run Park is on MD 6 east of Oliver's Shop and is run by Charles County. It's open March through November, with a vehicle entry fee on weekends and holidays from April through September; after the season closes, park outside the gates without blocking them and walk in. Boats are limited to electric motors. You need a Maryland nontidal fishing license.