Skunked on the Potomac!

[euroshowoff]

I need some help when fishing the Potomac. I went out today and it was definitely low tide and it rained all night last night.  I could not get close to any shoreline or doxks because the water was so shallow and there was so much grass. I saw other bass boats but they were a good bit from the shoreline as well. How do you fish through all that grass on the Potomac?

[Nitrofreak]

4 minutes ago, euroshowoff said:

I need some help when fishing the Potomac. I went out today and it was definitely low tide and it rained all night last night.  I could not get close to any shoreline or doxks because the water was so shallow and there was so much grass. I saw other bass boats but they were a good bit from the shoreline as well. How do you fish through all that grass on the Potomac?

Low tide you need to move out to the outside of that grass line where the deeper water is, what I learned from my trip there last week is that when it's tough out there it pays off to go looking for areas that will hold the better chance for some residential fishing, fishing for fish that are resident fish that is, the place is so big and the creeks are so big that I figured there would be fish there in those creeks that don't even know the Potomac actually exists, good amounts of bait present helped with that a lot, fishing the bends of these creeks during tidal movements is really no different than fishing some of the Shenandoah river system, the only difference being that I noted was the predictability of where the bass will stage, the Potomac offers a bit more of that predictability with the tidal fluctuations IMO.

Being brand new to the body of water I actually targeted stained areas, stained water is a little more forgiving when it comes to your presentations so I opted for having that flexibility, not sure what kind of experience you have on the Potomac but being new to the place it helped me a bunch.

 

[everythingthatswims]

Don't feel bad, she's ROUGH this time of year 

[Choporoz]

Even if we knew the answers to the first half dozen questions that come to mind, you'd still get iffy and conflicting advice. 

What depths were you in?  Depending on your location, the depth changes you are looking for might be 10 inches or 10 feet.

What tide situation?  Low tide can present real challenges, but either side of it can be good....Outgoing said to be good...not every day, though.  Good fishing at slack tide the other day.....   

Where were you fishing?  Main stem? Bays? Coves?   Tributary?

Could you find grass lines?  Can be tough in a chop, but smoother waters can be a real blessing.    Even areas that seem to be a jungle will have cuts and edges if you look hard enough.

[Logan S]

As a general rule, the fish follow the tide...In with the incoming, out with the outgoing.  It's not an absolute rule, but it's good to keep in mind when you are new to tidal water bass fishing.  Find an edge, a depression, some hard cover, or anything else that breaks up the uniformity of a huge grass bed and you'll be around bass.  

Tide and timing are more important during the heat of the summer than most other times...But if you're new to the tides don't overwhelm yourself.  Early morning and late evening should be decent fishing no matter the tide so make sure you're on the water early and/or late.  This will help you find productive areas and techniques to gain some confidence.  Those mid-day windows of activity this time of year are purely tide-driven and location dependent and it will take experience to predict them...And even when you think you know, it'll come back and humble you real quick sometimes .  

[Choporoz]

Paddled around Gunston Cove with Heroes on the Water last night.  Over three hours and I think I had one bite.  Fish were seen, but they weren't interested.  One guy (out of nearly a dozen fishing) got a couple.  Rest of us got the stink on.  If anything, the grass is even thicker than it was a week ago.  Hard to find edges and holes with any chop at all.  Tried punching, but I haven't figured out how to do that effectively from a kayak yet.  Potomac is a great river, but she doesn't always give up her bass willingly.

[Red Bear]

drop shot purple worms like that guy made hank parker do on his show on the potomac...

[Bigbarge50]

On 8/4/2016 at 9:47 AM, Choporoz said:

Potomac is a great river, but she doesn't always give up her bass willingly.

So true.... she is a fickle one