Potomac River

[TOXIC]

I had friends out on the Potomac Friday out of Hope Springs and at the end of the day the wind was so bad that they had 4 foot rollers inside the creek going under the tressel to the launch.  A guy in a brand new Skeeter who was pre fishing the creek took off to go back to his truck/trailer and as my buddies were loading up he came back in white as a ghost. He said there were 6 footers out on the main river and that he was a Lake Erie guy so he was sure on size.  He said there was no way he could make it back.  He tied his boat up at the dock and one of my buddies drove him to his truck/trailer at SMALLWOOD!! Kudo's to him for making that drive for a stranger!!  Fishing for them was t-o-u-g-h.  5 boats no bass.  They did get a striper, catfish and a snagged shad.  I went out with them on Saturday and although the wind was down we had bluebird post frontal conditions.  I managed 1 bass all day (in Quantico Creek) and there were 3 other bass caught all in Accapo Beach area.  Big tournament out of Smallwood and they ALL went North and tore them up.  Some good bags were weighed.  Too bad we are so centered on down South.  We may launch on the base this Saturday and run North.  Water was pretty stained from the winds Friday.  That's the thing about the Potomac, they can be on fire in one area and lockjawed in another.  

[brotekind269]

Nice report.... I'm still waiting for the nice hot summer grassy (calm) days at Aquia. I have to be a little more selective on when I go out with my 1984 16ft aluminum. With those conditions, I would have capsized in the parking lot. 

 

Flowers are blooming, I think i'll hit the Rappa next week.  

[TOXIC]

When it turns on in the Aquia Creek area, it'll be lights out for at least 2 weeks.  

[brotekind269]

I would greatly appreciate a little nudge, when its go time.

 

I'll read any other updates or reports you feel like posting.

[TOXIC]

Will do.  I don't have a problem sharing info.  

[Sam]

Toxic, the Potomac can become a very dangerous river if the winds pick up.

 

The Potomac can become a very dangerous river if the winds don't pick up.

 

I have put in at Hope Springs and had to go up creek due to the dangerous water conditions.

 

Always keep one eye on the weather when you fish the Potomac.

 

Better to be safe than sorry.

[InFishingWeTrust]

  On 4/5/2018 at 11:39 PM, Sam said:

Toxic, the Potomac can become a very dangerous river if the winds pick up.

 

The Potomac can become a very dangerous river if the winds don't pick up.

 

I have put in at Hope Springs and had to go up creek due to the dangerous water conditions.

 

Always keep one eye on the weather when you fish the Potomac.

 

Better to be safe than sorry.

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I seen some where the Potomac is in the top ten most danderous rivers in the world. Might have been a youtube video don't remember exactly but believe so. So cant say how creditable it is. 

[TOXIC]

Oh how I know.  I've had my share of Potomac baptisms.  Took a buddy out of Hope Springs and ran down to the Chop (when it was still open to fish from the main river).  While in there we noticed the tops of the trees were swinging pretty good and some dark clouds were moving in.  We donned our rain gear and started to head out.  Once we got out of the channel and into the main river there were true 5 footers (wind against the tide).  I had 2 options....beach the boat and wait it out or make the run back down river.  My buddy who has fished the Potomac all his life voted to beach the boat but I felt we could make it if I took it slow and tacked the waves properly.  We made it back in 3 hours!!  Never stuffed any but I had my boat vertical more than once.   It was getting pretty dark by the time we got back.  My biggest problem isn't with the waves and rough stuff, I've run a lot of big water, it's the never ending flow of big junk that comes down.  I've seen docks, 50 foot trees, kitchen appliances, and semi tires still on the rim.  Not to mention the 1 million crab pots you have to run around.  Hard to beat the fishing though.

[Choporoz]

I always keep an eye on weather reports.  And, still I get into some bad spots on the river (or more specifically, most of my 'fun' experiences were on the Occoquan, or Gunston Cove.)  The problem for me has usually been that I still get surprised at how fast it can go from glass to dangerous...can be less than five minutes.  Usually in the afternoon, when a predicted front comes through.  I've been known to stay out just a little too long at times.  Weather dot.com says 4 o'clock....but, I'm still out there at 3:35 when it crashes my party a little early

[TOXIC]

Oh, you can bet most of us (I don't) have the Sirrus Weather add on to their graphs and when the alarms start beeping, we start moving.  I just follow their lead.  

[Munkin]

Two years ago speared a wave which scared the crap out of me. Nothing like not being able to see your TM because it is hidden in a muddy wave.

 

Allen

[TOXIC]

It's amazing how much water can come over the bow when you spear one.  All of my bass boat buddies on Lake St Clair carry a spare 1000 gph pump with battery clips just for that scenario.  When you gotta get it out FAST!!  I've seen TM's, graphs and even consoles ripped out due to spearing waves.  Not fun.  

[ptomacbass]

I was out that same day (Friday the 30th). I was fine but had to take some ibuprofen when I got home.

 

Whatatscares me is the increased number of guys in little Jon boats out there on the main river. I think YouTube has something to do with it.

 

In a glass boat you're gonna come back alive if you have some idea of what you're doing. In a little aluminum you're playing with your life. If you don't know what you're doing, don't do it!  

[TOXIC]

I'm seriously considering joining a majority of my buddys and getting a GPS EPIRB for my PFD.  If you go into the river, wind and tide can put you a loooong ways from your boat and rescue.  I already switched back to a full vest pfd from the auto inflate style.  I just wasn't comfortable with it anymore.  Too many instances of non inflates and the lack of neck support in a possible ejection at speed.  

[TOXIC]

Here's an update.  First the sad news, we lost 2 lives on the Potomac Sunday.  15 foot glass bassboat capsized.  Prayers to the families. Pretty eerie how we were just talking about how bad it gets on the river.  This happened at the mouth of Mattawoman Creek.  

 

I was out Saturday and working on my boat Sunday.  It was pretty windy Saturday as well so we stayed in Aquia Creek and ventured out to the beach.  Fish are starting to move up and we caught our fish on a 1/4 oz rattletrap in green/orange.  I also caught a few on a Senko, Goby color.  

 

[RichF]

Very sad.  There seems to be a lot of that happening this year and it's not even May!  Be careful out there fisher friends!! 

 

On the lighter note, good to see the bass starting to chew out there.  Right on time for the BFL this weekend.  I'm hoping the fishing is better Saturday than it's been for me at Fountainhead.

[Sam]

Toxic, two anglers died in Mattawoman today.

 

Check it out.

 

https://***/outdoors/bass-fishing/Article/Two-Anglers-Dead-after-Bass-Boat-Capsizes-117432777

 

[TOXIC]

I saw that.  Thus the reason for my reference above.  Now for this weekend there's going to be a lot and I mean a LOT of flotsam and jetsam both man made and natural flowing down the river and to top it off there are some pretty big tournaments heading out.  Hopefully they will stay up North (launching from Smallwood and Leesylvania) since there are some big bags coming from up there.  I'm sure some will make the run to the beach and I'll bet good $$ there's some damaged props and Lower Units if they do.  I'll be out there Saturday but will launch from Hope Springs and stay in the creek out to the beach.  I'm sure the water color will be really, really bad but I've committed this year to being on the river a lot more and staying on fish all season.  

[ptomacbass]

Water at the beach is gonna be way cleaner than it will be farther north. Water is still rising and the debris and mud will be full force North of Smallwood on Saturday.

 

I'll be fishing the BFL Saturday and I'll be the first to tell you there's a really really good chance it's won at the beach. Doesn't hurt to say it here cause everyone knows it.

[TOXIC]

Yepper, everybody knows about the beach and there will be a chorus line of boats in there but I will say this from my experience last weekend watching 17 boats (including me) work the area.  The big girls have not moved up yet and since there was no real warming of the water during the week it will be tough to get a winning bag out of that area.  There's a lot of bucks and a few bigger females but I would be surprised if the winning bag comes from there.