hawghuntin

Thanks for the info. Great weather on Tuesday so I left work at 4:30 and hit maybe a mile of traffic before pulling over at Turkey Run. It's a short 1/4 mile hike down to the river. Found out a trail a runs along the river bank so fishing the VA side is just a matter of trail access. The section I fished had deeper pools sandwiched between shallow sections with a strong current. Probably a better idea to wade from the MD side. I found numerous spots to make accurate casts from the bank. Fished for over an hour and only caught this funny looking trout . Didn't see anyone on the trail or river so had the place to myself. Going to try accessing the trail from one of the Arlington parks next week.

All - I discovered this site a month ago and have enjoyed reading the forums. I live in VA and work in DC with two kids under 4 and it seems never ending house projects. Have been bass fishing since grandpa took me out on Smith Mountain in the late 70's in his 14' aluminum vhull. I have mostly fished VDFG waters, local NOVA ponds (did some fence hoping growing up), my cousin's farm ponds down 29, and the upper tidal Potomac. I plan to start breaking up my commute to work and back home by squeezing in a few hours on the upper Potomac somewhere off GW. I know there are a couple places to access the river on foot off the parkway and also from some of the Arlington parks that run down to the river. Any info on which spots provide the quickest access and are the easiest to fish from the bank would be much appreciated.

You will get around fine in a 17' Nitro. If you get caught in a "small boat in big water situation" just slow down and use your head. If its been blowing steady you're probably not going to be out there so the worst situations you will probably encounter are micro bursts/thunderstorms that can roll through anywhere or specifically at Mattawomen if the tide is pushing hard and the wind starts howling in the right direction the waves can stack up. If you see the weather changing fast seek shelter (it's hard to put the rods down when the bite really picks up right before a storm!) and if you're entering/exiting a tributary where the waves are stacked up at the mouth try to stay in the channel because the waves will lay down in the deeper water.

When Hurricane Isabel was approaching the main captain at Dandy Riverboats in Alexandria asked me to take the smaller boat out and anchor up while the storm passed. We got a late start heading downriver and after he couldn't get his anchor to hold in Belmont we took both boats across to Mattawomen. At mid river the waves were 7 to 10 feet - never thought I would see that on the Potomac - reminded me of Alaska. Alexandria was a mess the next morning - twisted or missing docks, boats washed on shore or off their trailers, and I'll never forget the big cabin cruiser sitting on the bottom at the end of the city dock with just its antennas sticking out of the water. Anyone else remember that storm?