Fried Lemons

Couple fish from last week. Mainly a morning/evening affair.

2-3ft, about as good as it gets around here.

2 fish caught on consecutive casts over a weed bed. Missed a third from the same spot. Not as large as the one from last week but more typical of the fish I normally see swimming around this sector. Pretty sure there were more but they were spooked off.

Very different from Swain's but the widewater area by Old Angler's Inn holds the biggest bass in the C&O. The trouble is finding the fish. During the spawn I caught many 3+ fish holding in a certain spot but they are no longer there. Old Angler's has been low so I am positive that the fish are all confined to the widewater section. They are probably holding deep right now but if you can make it around dusk they can be caught shallow on topwater.

I needed a reprieve from the summer heat so I mixed some wading into my usual routine. I usually try to wade to the edge of the main channel but the water was higher than it was last year at this time. I was able to find fish holding in the deeper pools between the boulders. Any water I deemed too deep to safely wade across was fair game. I caught 6-7 fish in the 12-17.5" range within a 30 minute wade. The largest fish made 4 drag pulling runs in very shallow water.

I target bass at the C&O canal but with the amount of time I spend down there I can't help but notice this year the increase in the snakehead population. The first sightings of the fish in the canal were last year. This year I've been seeing juvenile to small sized snakehead at least once a week. Below is the largest one I have seen or caught out of there. Amazing how fast they grow. 24" and stuffed with eggs

Awesome fish, congrats

Fixed, thanks everyone for the input.

The release bar pops up when I try and reel.

It's definitely not a braid problem. I fished the reel a few times and this is the first time the problem has occurred.

I have a casting reel only a few months old and barely used. I've caught a few fish on it and had no problems on any of my trips. After about two weeks of sitting at home, I decided to take this reel out today only to find I could not get it out of freespool. When I engage the reel line still plays out. I have tried tightening down the drag and even at maximum, the spool still plays out line freely. Does anyone have any idea what the problem might be and how I might fix it? I am pretty new to casting reels and have never opened one up before.

Caught 2 3lbers at Swain's Lock today on a spinnerbait. Surprise catch of the day was a 14" yellow perch on that same spinnerbait.

I decided to dedicate today to fishing jerkbaits, which I have had very little success with before. I decided to try the C&O around old angler's inn. I walked about a mile and caught this 5.7 on the edge of some fast current. I am now a believer.

Pad crasher for best bang for your buck. Live target if money is not a concern. The live target is more durable though so that could be a consideration.

I went to Swain's Lock today. Had to walk a long way, but I found the bigger fish. All caught on a 2" power grub on a 1/16 jig of all things. Also hooked into a 10lb+ carp but unfortunately the hook bent after a long tussle. 19" 20"

Swain's is a great place to go frogging in the summer once the surface mats up. I caught my pb there last year.

Went to the C&O today. The fish were hitting shallow crankbaits banged against cover.

Check out the exsence dc.

I've only fished fletcher's in the spring, but if you can make it during the shad runs, the fishing can be spectacular. White perch, american shad, striped bass, and blue catfish can all be had from shore. It gets very crowded on weekends though. I have heard the slackwater pools around the Chain Bridge hold snakeheads during the spring runs. There is a population which migrates up there to spawn. Supposedly they are difficult to catch at that time though.

They changed it back while I was checking out.

The river around Violette's lock is a good place to start. The river is shallow and rocky so you will have to wade to reach the main channel.

The C&O canal is a long body of water with easy shore access along its length. The bass fishing can be great if you know where to look. As a bonus it runs parallel to the Potomac river. There are a few good smallmouth spots which can be accessed from the canal towpath if you like wading.

One lure I haven't seen mentioned yet is 1/8 kastmaster spoons. These have the benefit of casting much farther than other lures in the same weight class.

I noticed these from a sale on TW and they caught my eye. Does anyone have experience with these baits? They look like a pretty solid leech imitation.

Congrats! Is that a gulp nightcrawler?