Northern Virginia (Nova) Fishing Discussion/reports

[KHartman]

Been looking around on this thread but haven't seen much.  Anyone go out to Curtis Lake?  Have gone out there once or twice but only bank fishing.  Want to take the kayak out and tool around but curious if anyone has been there and found it to be a waste.  Seen a few people fish off the little dock/piers but only one or two boats.  So was hoping maybe this is just not a heavily pressured lake!

[TOXIC]

On 8/18/2018 at 9:01 AM, KHartman said:

Been looking around on this thread but haven't seen much.  Anyone go out to Curtis Lake?  Have gone out there once or twice but only bank fishing.  Want to take the kayak out and tool around but curious if anyone has been there and found it to be a waste.  Seen a few people fish off the little dock/piers but only one or two boats.  So was hoping maybe this is just not a heavily pressured lake!

My best spots were at the upper end of the lake in the creek channel that feeds it.  That was from a boat.  

[SeeNoSun]

Beautiful day on the Rez.  I caught 5 and this one was the biggest at 20" / 5.25 lbs.

 

 

 

[s freud]

Nice fish! Are you very Sun sensitive, or do you just prefer a wicking base layer? If so, what kind is that? Tight lines!

[Junger]

2 hours ago, SeeNoSun said:

Beautiful day on the Rez.  I caught 5 and this one was the biggest at 20" / 5.25 lbs.

That's a hog! We've had some very nice days in the DMV these last few, and I'm finally getting out tomorrow to finally enjoy it.

[SeeNoSun]

1 hour ago, s freud said:

Nice fish! Are you very Sun sensitive, or do you just prefer a wicking base layer? If so, what kind is that? Tight lines!

I believe in SPF everything.  Skin cancer is no joke. All clothing choices in the photo are SPF 50.

[Choporoz]

Sure was a beautiful weekend....3 day weekend....almost 19 hours on the water....good thing the weather was nice....anybody catching anything?  Three different bodies of water  - all pretty muddy and bites few and far between in each

[Junger]

I went on a trip out on the Piankatank river last weekend on the Dragon Run. Caught about 14 LMB with the largest at 2.5lbs. Fishing was tough with wind and muddy water. Funniest catch was a 8" white perch on the Spro 40 rat. I also had a good size bowfin on a popper, but it came off at the boat when I was about to get the lippers on it. Best results were on a weightless purple ribbon tail worm along wood cover.

 

This was the main river on the small cut that goes around Sherwin Island along the C&O Canal near Widewater on Sunday. The river here is usually almost fully slack...so much debris on the main river as well.

 

 

[TOXIC]

No fishing for me last weekend.  Boat work.  Repair Power Pole and replace oil linkage connector that broke off my motor running the Potomac in some big nasty water.  I'll be getting on it this weekend.  Rapp or Potomac, hasn't been decided.  I'm leaning towards the Rapp.  I figure it will be the cleanest from the reports I have gotten.  

[Ed Dunn]

Went finishing out of Fountain Head on the Occoquan Reservoir yesterday.  Over all it was a slow day but had something very strange happen which I wanted to run by every one.  Was fishing a jig off of a point early morning when I got a nice solid bite.  The fish was strong and for the life of me couldn't get it to the surface.  Mind you I was using a 7ft med/heavy rod with 50lb braid on it and the rod was bent is half.  Was pulling the boat as it swam to either side.  I no joke fought this thing for 3-4 minutes before I felt the tension on the rod loosen and a fish come to the surface.  What was on the the hook was underwhelming and was probably no more than a 2 1/2 lb bass.  We filmed it because we were expecting a monster.  The only thing I could think of was I hooked the bass initially and maybe a LARGE catfish grabbed the bass (the bass did look a little messed up, tail fin split badly etc).  Was moving too fast to be a snapping turtle which I have caught many times on a jig at the Res.  Has anything like this every happened to any one?  Very puzzling, there is no way a 2 1/2 lb bass would give me that much trouble, I catch them all the time on my lighter tackle and they are in the boat in no time.

[Choporoz]

Had a monster on a crankbait on Sunday....turned out he was wrapped around a sunken tree limb....or two.  Couldn't have gone two pounds, but for a couple minutes I thought I had a state record flathead

[sc1978]

had it happened to me when saltwater fishing. I was reeling in a nice speckled trout and as I was reeling it in, It got heavy and then lite. I thought I lost it but when I pulled up it was just the head of the trout. everything else was eaten off by a huge blue fish.....

[Ed Dunn]

Was definitely not caught under a log cause it was pulling the boat and moving fairly quick and pulling out line, it was wild.

[Dfosterf]

Please delete

[Choporoz]

Fished my first kayak tournament on Saturday...on Aquia.  Went in a little confident, because I've fished tidal Potomac quite a bit the past few years, and I had a decent couple of pre-fish days, even though I'd never been on this creek before that.  I settled on four main areas, all within less than a mile of each other.  Very first cast of the morning, I blew up my frog/med swimbait rod reel with a backlash like I haven't seen in years.  Despite spending way too much time with it several times during the day, it is still fouled...lol.

I had looked at tide schedule,  but didn't take it into account,  nearly as smartly as I should have.  Tides were opposite what they were on my pre-fish days.  I have always had a lot of success in Potomac grass and pads with chatterbaits and that held true the previous week.  Not so much on Saturday.  I worked it hard, but couldn't keep the snakeheads and catfish off long to hook a bass. 7 snakeheads in an outing is a PB of sorts....maybe fun any other day, but maddening when they're chewing up clock....made even worse when one made off with a PopMax.  The day was a grind.  I scored a couple of small keepers  on Structure Bugs, but nothing from my pre-fishing panned out until five minutes before 'lines-in' when I was back working the chatterbait and reached a limit, and my best fish of the day, which at 16.5 wasn't anything I'm too proud of...but satisfying at the time.

Finished middle of a large pack, so not too disappointed for first one, but definitely a bit humbling.   

Two very different and interesting other experiences out there: one guy running and gunning over eight miles struggled; another spent all day on same short stretch of very shallow docks and took third.  Funny, I'd looked at those docks pre-fishing and discounted them completely,  because of the lack depth in the area....I love fishing docks, but have always skipped those entirely in less than 3 feet of water at high tide.  Every outing is a learning experience. 

[TOXIC]

Good report.  Grass in the river is hard to find this year it seems.  I have been in Florida for the last week and just started reading all of the reports.  Aquia is kinda my home creek as is Quantico and some main river spots in between.  

[Choporoz]

USCG is conducting a survey about Potomac.  Mostly nav related, but it leaves room for most any suggestions.

https://wtop.com/local/2019/05/coast-guard-wants-public-feedback-on-stretch-of-potomac-river/

*I also posted this in the MD who's who thread

[Choporoz]

Anyone have any experience on Pelham the last couple years?  Headed there this weekend for a charity yak tourny.

[Choporoz]

So....Pelham.....lovely lake - much of the shoreline un/under developed....great facilities on South end...another improved boat launch on north end...no gas motors...beautiful...but very tough

 

The fishing, however, was awfully slow.

Wife and I prefished Friday for about 4-5 hours - she caught two...I was skunked. 

Fished a charity kayak tournament on Saturday -- I think there were 27 boats - maybe 30 scorable fish caught in eight hours.   We raised over $1600 for a veterans support organization, so it was absolutely successful.   However the closest thing to a reliable bite was deadsticking finesse worms...and that is tough tough tough on a breezy day.

[Seafury]

On 9/3/2019 at 2:26 PM, Choporoz said:

So....Pelham.....lovely lake - much of the shoreline un/under developed....great facilities on South end...another improved boat launch on north end...no gas motors...beautiful...but very tough

 

The fishing, however, was awfully slow.

Wife and I prefished Friday for about 4-5 hours - she caught two...I was skunked. 

Fished a charity kayak tournament on Saturday -- I think there were 27 boats - maybe 30 scorable fish caught in eight hours.   We raised over $1600 for a veterans support organization, so it was absolutely successful.   However the closest thing to a reliable bite was deadsticking finesse worms...and that is tough tough tough on a breezy day.

Good work raising money for our vets. 

My stepson graduated Navy basic training in July, Hoorah! 

 

Just posted a NoVa report in this category, perhaps I could have put it in this thread, but wanted it to get exposure I guess lol. 

 

Fished Pelham once about a month ago for an hour or so from the boat ramp shoreline.

 

1 decent Crappy and several pan fish. We were not overly amused. Then found out the crooked county of Culpepper charges extra fees to fish there, and every body of water in their county, and hauled ass out of there.

 

We never keep fish anywhere, unless we were to catch a record, which is only pipe dreams lol

 

Doubtful we will ever be returning to fish anything in Culpepper, can't support that behavior, you don't own Lakes, rivers and streams, they belong to every American Citizen, and we must all take care of them together, not with your iron hand of taxation. That's my opinion. 

 

On another note, perhaps when we see cleaners, aka illegals and other visitors abusing our fisheries, we should all ask them nicely to put them back, if It's legal take out, and if needed, and your a person of means, pay them food money to put them back. If their taking illegal, call the cops on the spot and bust them out whatever it takes. We have to reclaim our fishing resources. They have taken over, and overburdened enough systems.... Ask, then enforce by any lawful means possible.

 

I knew this was going on for years now but had not been fishing so turned a blind eye like a fool, but this sucks. I hate to say this but there also needs to be a total state ban on taking most all fish on all fresh water fisheries that are basically dead now, certainly all of NoVa waters, idk about South VA. I grew up in NoVa and remember fishing with my dad when fish where still here and big, great memories reduced to sparse minnows now.... 

 

Anyway, looking forward to hearing more about local NoVa fishing, now that I reawakened my fishing spirit after being dormant for 4 years. To many hobbies lol. 

[Choporoz]

16 hours ago, Seafury said:

My stepson graduated Navy basic training in July, Hoorah!

Hooray, maybe.  Let's leave 'hoorah' to the jar heads ...   USN Ret.

 

16 hours ago, Seafury said:

 We were not overly amused. Then found out the crooked county of Culpepper charges extra fees to fish there, and every body of water in their county, and hauled ass out of there.

 

Doubtful we will ever be returning to fish anything in Culpepper, can't support that behavior, you don't own Lakes, rivers and streams, they belong to every American Citizen, and we must all take care of them together, not with your iron hand of taxation. That's my opinion.

I can't entirely agree.  The fees seemed more than reasonable to me.  (Although they did waive them for our event.)

The launches (Two of them!) were first class.  That doesn't come cheap.  I suppose they could allow McMansions to surround the lake and use real estate taxes to cover costs.  This wasn't a natural lake, as I'm sure you're aware.  So, I guess if they made it, maintain it, and make it available to you and I....well, I will share the cost.

16 hours ago, Seafury said:

On another note, perhaps when we see cleaners, aka illegals and other visitors abusing our fisheries, we should all ask them nicely to put them back, if It's legal take out, and if needed, and your a person of means, pay them food money to put them back. If their taking illegal, call the cops on the spot and bust them out whatever it takes. We have to reclaim our fishing resources. They have taken over, and overburdened enough systems.... Ask, then enforce by any lawful means possible.

 

I knew this was going on for years now but had not been fishing so turned a blind eye like a fool, but this sucks. I hate to say this but there also needs to be a total state ban on taking most all fish on all fresh water fisheries that are basically dead now, certainly all of NoVa waters, idk about South VA. I grew up in NoVa and remember fishing with my dad when fish where still here and big, great memories reduced to sparse minnows now.... 

 

I had no idea that it was illegals doing the poaching.  Thanks for that enlightenment.

I fully support legal harvesting for food.  In fact, contrary to your points, most lakes NEED selective harvesting to maintain healthy bass populations.  LOTS of reasons for a decline in big largemouths in a body of water.  Bucket fishermen isn't likely one of them.

[Seafury]

20 hours ago, Choporoz said:

Hooray, maybe.  Let's leave 'hoorah' to the jar heads ...   USN Ret.

 

I can't entirely agree.  The fees seemed more than reasonable to me.  (Although they did waive them for our event.)

The launches (Two of them!) were first class.  That doesn't come cheap.  I suppose they could allow McMansions to surround the lake and use real estate taxes to cover costs.  This wasn't a natural lake, as I'm sure you're aware.  So, I guess if they made it, maintain it, and make it available to you and I....well, I will share the cost.

I had no idea that it was illegals doing the poaching.  Thanks for that enlightenment.

I fully support legal harvesting for food.  In fact, contrary to your points, most lakes NEED selective harvesting to maintain healthy bass populations.  LOTS of reasons for a decline in big largemouths in a body of water.  Bucket fishermen isn't likely one of them.

Hey there Choporoz,

 

Nice to talk to you, thank you for your service.

 

You know that phrase intrigued me so I did some research.

 

All the Navy training videos showing Basic Training my wife and I watched while our son was in the process clearly had them all saying Booya.

At graduation, same thing, Booya, pronounced "B".

Googling says the official slogan is Hoorah for Navy/Coast Guard, Oorah for Marines and Army/Airforce says Hooah.

 

Can you shed some additional light on this? If you go watch the official Navy Basic training videos you can hear it yourself.

Perhaps something changed?

 

Wiki is not the Offical Government, but this is what a basic search comes up with.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooah

 

Notice the "See also" section listings.

 

Son is out in San Diego now almost half way through Sonar Tech school.

We are very happy for him.

 

I understand the county pays for maintaining that water, and I guess they built it to. I just don't like double taxes, and taxes on nature use. But some one has to pay, so I am somewhat torn on this issue.

Rubs me the wrong way.

 

Like most instances you can't ever be sure whose legal and who is not, but they usually have that vibe, and almost no English. Either way it's always Hispanics, I have never seen anyone else take buckets of fish home, or use cast nets to harvest them, though I am sure some do, this needs to stop, one way or another.

 

I don't mind some one taking a fish or 2 once in awhile to make diner, but my thing is the managed fisheries are depleted and stunted, everywhere up here, only the best pro types get anything close to decent fish. For this reason, we need a moratorium at least for a few years to let these fisheries recover, and then strict very low take out limits, and civil enforcement of poachers as best we can. It was not like this 30 years ago when I was a kid growing up and fishing all over this region, it's bad now, all bad.

 

I can't say I agree that fish need to be harvested for health, how does nature do it before we come along then? Doesn't make sense, unless we severely alter their environment some way that causes them to over populate and starve, which I literally have never seen or heard of in fisheries around here, or anywhere. We have the opposite, lack of fish.

 

As circumstantial evidence of this, look at the Snakehead invasion. Most affected fisheries had a bass boom in the years following confirmed invasion. This seems to be due to the bass eating the ridiculous over spawning Snakeheads many thousands of fry. I have yet to read of any fishery destroyed by the invasion. In fact most are well off now is what I have been reading, almost a bonus.

The Potomac River is rated the top bass river in the country apparently, and it is chock full of Snakeheads from all available evidence, yet doing fine.

 

Nature is very good at it's own balance, minus outside forces of course.

 

The cleaners buckets most always contain some large fish, along with many many smaller ones. Obvious reasons, large fish are harder to catch and smarter. But regardless, they take them all, and often, and everywhere.

 

It's a huge problem from my somewhat limited perspective.

 

 

Side note:

I even went fishing for lunch today at Waples Mill Meadow Park pond. 95% clogged with algae, mostly direct sun, no sign of fish, granted all I threw was a Booya frog for 30 mins lol. Didn't have anything but ultralight and didn't want to lose a lure in that muck.

 

 

All that aside, great talking to you! Look forward to more stimulating conversations and gathering more info on the area fisheries as time marches on.

 

 

[Choporoz]

 

21 hours ago, Seafury said:

Nice to talk to you, thank you for your service.

You know that phrase intrigued me so I did some research.

All the Navy training videos showing Basic Training my wife and I watched while our son was in the process clearly had them all saying Booya.

At graduation, same thing, Booya, pronounced "B".

Googling says the official slogan is Hoorah for Navy/Coast Guard, Oorah for Marines and Army/Airforce says Hooah.

 

Can you shed some additional light on this? If you go watch the official Navy Basic training videos you can hear it yourself.

Perhaps something changed?

 

Son is out in San Diego now almost half way through Sonar Tech school.

We are very happy for him.

Congratulations.  I wish your son well. 

I can really shed no more light on the shouts.  Army and Marines are proud of theirs and use them in lots of situations and contexts....in uniform, or away from official duty/business settings.

Aside from some smaller communities within the Navy, there isn't really a Navy shout/cheer....except maybe from those with some connection to the Academy, who will willingly yell "Go Navy! Beat Army!" with minimal prompting.

21 hours ago, Seafury said:

I can't say I agree that fish need to be harvested for health, how does nature do it before we come along then? Doesn't make sense, unless we severely alter their environment some way that causes them to over populate and starve, which I literally have never seen or heard of in fisheries around here, or anywhere. We have the opposite, lack of fish.

 

As circumstantial evidence of this, look at the Snakehead invasion. Most affected fisheries had a bass boom in the years following confirmed invasion. This seems to be due to the bass eating the ridiculous over spawning Snakeheads many thousands of fry. I have yet to read of any fishery destroyed by the invasion. In fact most are well off now is what I have been reading, almost a bonus.

The Potomac River is rated the top bass river in the country apparently, and it is chock full of Snakeheads from all available evidence, yet doing fine.

 

Nature is very good at it's own balance, minus outside forces of course.

 

The cleaners buckets most always contain some large fish, along with many many smaller ones. Obvious reasons, large fish are harder to catch and smarter. But regardless, they take them all, and often, and everywhere.

 

It's a huge problem from my somewhat limited perspective.

 

Putting aside any snakehead discussion, because I don't see the relevance.

 

Certainly, we are affecting the environment in untold ways; fertilizer, shore development, dams, being some major ones off the top of my head.  In fact, few waters around here except the Potomac and tribs are natural in any sort of imaginable way. 

 

DGIF seems to do a pretty decent job in this state...sure, many have taken issue with some of their actions/inactions, but for the most part, they seem to garner more respect than DNR's in other states.  DGIF sets limits and slot limits to help 'manage' the fish populations and balances.  It if quite common for bass to become 'stunted' when not enough short fish are harvested.  Tons of dinks and few hawgs can result without management and isn't generally considered desirable. 

 

I have zero objective data on harvests by shore fishermen, but I just haven't heard from DGIF, nor wildlife biologists that there's a real negative impact on game fishing.  Might be, but I doubt it.  Regardless, I think we can agree that we shouldn't tolerate illegal taking.  But, if they have a license and respect bag limits, I have zero qualms with other fishermen harvesting.

[RichF]

Anyone hit up the Rez yet??

[Choporoz]

@RichF, I've been out there probably four or five times this year.  No more than three bass total to show for it.  I haven't learned to compete when the shad get so thick that you can snag one every other cast. 

 

I'd be interested to hear if anyone is getting out at Lake Ridge.  Nova Parks has closed up BRM.  (And ORP, so probably Fountainhead and Pohick, as well.)

 

I might understand if they staffed those ramps, but most are open when not staffed.  Seems crazy to shut 'em down -- especially hand launch sites.  What could be more socially distancing than solo kayak fishing?