Matthews Branch

How to Fish It

Matthews Branch is classic snakehead water — a tidal creek where these fish tuck into whatever cover they can find and ambush from it. Look for pads, matted grass, and laydown wood along the margins; snakehead will sit tight to the edges of that cover, especially where sun-warmed shallows meet a deeper channel. On calm mornings, watch for rolling fish or subtle wakes pushing through the grass lines — that's your cue to slow down and work the area thoroughly.

Because this creek is tidal (Woodbury Creek is the nearest NOAA station, about 1.5 miles off, and gives a solid read on the swing here), timing matters as much as location. High water lets snakehead push deep into flooded grass and pad fields where they're tough to reach. As the tide turns and starts to ebb, baitfish and frogs get pulled out of that skinny cover and funneled toward defined edges and current seams — that's when snakehead turn aggressive and the topwater bite really fires. Plan to be on the water as that fall gets underway.

Shore access is workable, with mapped parking nearby, closest about 0.65 mi from the water, making a walk-in approach reasonable. For those wanting to cover more of the creek's twists and cover, a boat ramp about 1.77 miles away opens it up to kayak or small boat approaches, letting you slip quietly along the grass lines and pockets that bank access can't reach.

Tackle-wise, keep it simple and weedless. Walking-style topwater frogs and buzzbaits fished right over and along the pads draw violent strikes, especially on that falling tide. Chatterbaits worked along grass edges and wood cover out fish that aren’t quite ready to blow up on top. Rig weedless soft plastics for pitching into the thickest slop when the bite gets tougher midday. Spool up with 40-65 lb braid — Matthews Branch fish will bury you in cover the instant they're hooked, and stout line