Potomac River

[Nitrofreak]

I am looking forward to this event, my tournament partner and I are headed there this Saturday to do a little scouting in Aquia, maybe take a ride up the river to expand on some water to get to know the river a little better.

 

Next weekend is our clubs classic 2 day event, we have done ok there in the past, we were close last year so we are hoping to improve overall by putting in some work, both of us are limited with how much time we can put in on the water so this is a rare practice day for us but we will take it.

 

Who else here likes the Potomac ?

[Deleted account]

Oh yeah, live 20 minutes from a ramp on the Mattawoman, and 30 from Smallwood. I don't fish it as much as I used to, cause I remember when it was really good, and I have big fish closer by, but it's still a great fishery. 

[RichF]

I'm in the DC area and have fished the Potomac a couple times.  Did a couple BFLs as a Co-angler and did really well.  Can't say that I actually like the fishery though.  Coming from upstate NY, I'm not used to the crazy community hole fishing that often happens on the river.  Snakeheads are cool though.

[Nitrofreak]

I look forward to this place almost as much as I do as when we go to the Chick, the Potomac has tons of little secrets that reveal themselves when tide is out and usually end up producing both quality and numbers, pretty cool place to explore !!

 

I have not been out there when it’s bad as of yet in reference to the weather/water conditions and heavy traffic, can’t say I’m looking forward to that day but we did get caught in a pretty nasty storm last year.

[TOXIC]

I would almost call it my home water since I have fished it and guided on it for over 25 years but it has been suffering the last 4 or 5 years due to sparse grasses.  I might be a little spoiled from the good years but it has caused us to branch out and fish some other bodies of water.  Make no mistake, there are still loads of good fish in the Potomac but there are also a LOT of tournaments and it has a well deserved reputation of making a lot of anglers huge a-holes for some reason.  

[CountryboyinDC]

I still haven't figured out fishing even one creek of the tidal Potomac, and fishing from a kayak, it's rare to fish more than one creek an outing.  I do want learn more, but I still prefer to fish the upper Potomac and Shenandoah when I have the option.  I am thankful that we have this fishery up here.  Makes living in this traffic jam a lot more palatable.

[Bird]

Fish the Potomac quite a bit but only the upper. 

The lower is very popular and it's reputation draws many a fisherman. 

 

Heading to the south branch of the Potomac for a week, where it runs into Jennings Randolph. 

Lots of Smallmouth and LM half the size of lower. 

 

Good luck, stay safe and have fun. 

[Junger]

I don't like fishing the main stem, but prefer the small tidal creeks when they push shallow after spawning and before they go back deeper in the late fall. Yeah, not a big fan of community hole fishing either and would rather go way back into the pads and grass away from other boats. I also don't enjoy flipping docks/walls all day either.

 

 

[Choporoz]

3 hours ago, Nitrofreak said:

Who else here likes the Potomac ?

Me.

 

I have only fished it from a kayak, however.   Been in Aquia maybe a half dozen times.   Most of my time has been in Occoquan and Gunston Cove.  But I have put a lot of time on Mattawoman, too.  I haven't been out for about 3 weeks, though.   Grass was just starting in a lot of spots.   Wood should still be good.  Some big girls were already spending time in the pads.  Pads can be needle in haystack...or, hopefully, a goldmine now.    Whatever your game plan, don't ever waste last 60 minutes of outgoing tide running.  That's the golden hour most days

[Steveo-1969]

I’ve never fished the lower Potomac, but I spend 98% of my fishing time on the Upper Potomac. Yes I love it!

[afree]

I am moving to Alexandria from Seattle in a few months, and this is a great thread to follow, I know next to nothing about the bass fishing on the Potomac. 

 

Anybody have any contacts that guide in the Fall in the area? Doesn't have to be Potomac, I am open to anywhere

[Nitrofreak]

Sorry guys, I haven’t been able to keep up with the thread since work gets in the way as well as having to come home and work on my mother in laws kitchen I have been remodeling, I’m glad to see all of the posts on the Potomac and it’s probably going to take me a little while to respond to some/all of the replies, awesome job peeps !!!

11 hours ago, Choporoz said:

Me.

 

I have only fished it from a kayak, however.   Been in Aquia maybe a half dozen times.   Most of my time has been in Occoquan and Gunston Cove.  But I have put a lot of time on Mattawoman, too.  I haven't been out for about 3 weeks, though.   Grass was just starting in a lot of spots.   Wood should still be good.  Some big girls were already spending time in the pads.  Pads can be needle in haystack...or, hopefully, a goldmine now.    Whatever your game plan, don't ever waste last 60 minutes of outgoing tide running.  That's the golden hour most days

Since you quoted me I will start with you my friend.

 

The very first time I set eyes on the place was with the RAHF (Reel American Hero’s Foundation) I happened to take out an ambassador from Jamaica and the one rule we had was once we caught our second bass (boat captains) we had to spend our time teaching our veterans how to fish, well, this cat had never made a cast in his life “literally”, all he had ever done was open the bail and fished vertical, we never caught a fish but he was enjoying the opportunity to fish from the bow and learning how, where and why we fished for bass, I’ll have to find a pic but by 10AM I had my 2 bass plus a 10.2 lb. Snakehead, the rest of the day was fun, it was spent in Aquia as a matter of fact.

 

Anyway, I am no tidal guru one might say so I really appreciate the heads up !!

 

My plan for Saturday is to soak up Aquia and see what she has to offer since the creek had since been sucked dry by the storm systems last year, I was actually thinking about focusing on the mouth and specifically the grasses at the mouth of Aquia as well as the docks on the right as you enter the creek but now I want to investigate the bends in the upper creek too... thanks buddy for ruining my plans ??????

14 hours ago, RichF said:

I'm in the DC area and have fished the Potomac a couple times.  Did a couple BFLs as a Co-angler and did really well.  Can't say that I actually like the fishery though.  Coming from upstate NY, I'm not used to the crazy community hole fishing that often happens on the river.  Snakeheads are cool though.

This is something that a lot of anglers face down here, coming from NY that has to be really strange for you, I’ve always wanted to get up there and fish for those amazing smallies y’all have, to visit and fish places like 1000 islands and lakes like Champlain would be a dream come true, I envy you my friend.

[Nitrofreak]

13 hours ago, TOXIC said:

I would almost call it my home water since I have fished it and guided on it for over 25 years but it has been suffering the last 4 or 5 years due to sparse grasses.  I might be a little spoiled from the good years but it has caused us to branch out and fish some other bodies of water.  Make no mistake, there are still loads of good fish in the Potomac but there are also a LOT of tournaments and it has a well deserved reputation of making a lot of anglers huge a-holes for some reason.  

Rest assured I will not become one of those, there are some areas I find truly interesting and want to explore, I am wanting to go up to the first bridge and just past that there appears to be a parking deck, maybe a gravel dump, possibly ballast from a ship maybe in that general area and it looks like barges that have been sunk in another area close to there as well, if I may ask, I am looking to get my DC fishing license since the line appears to be just past the bridge, would you have a site suggestion that you use to get yours ??

[RichF]

1 hour ago, Nitrofreak said:

This is something that a lot of anglers face down here, coming from NY that has to be really strange for you, I’ve always wanted to get up there and fish for those amazing smallies y’all have, to visit and fish places like 1000 islands and lakes like Champlain would be a dream come true, I envy you my friend.

I grew up about 25 mins from Clayton, right in the heart of the 100 Islands.  It's heaven up there.  Not just the smallie fishing either.  There are tons of small lakes nearby that are loaded with nice largies.   If you ever get an opportunity to get up there, do it! If you can brave the colder weather, October is primetime!

[Choporoz]

8 hours ago, Nitrofreak said:

I was actually thinking about focusing on the mouth and specifically the grasses at the mouth of Aquia as well as the docks on the right as you enter the creek but now I want to investigate the bends in the upper creek too... thanks buddy for ruining my plans ??????

 

Ha!  I can't imagine getting into the creek and not spending at least a few minutes working the first big round bend.  Too much good stuff there.  As to the storms....I was in Pohick a couple months ago after a week of sustained NW storms....full moon and low tide....the entire bay was mud....I couldn't paddle through areas that are typically 3.5 FOW at low tide.  I'm still cleaningmud from stuff.  But, somehow....within a week, the fish were right back where they were supposed to be.

[TOXIC]

12 hours ago, Nitrofreak said:

Rest assured I will not become one of those, there are some areas I find truly interesting and want to explore, I am wanting to go up to the first bridge and just past that there appears to be a parking deck, maybe a gravel dump, possibly ballast from a ship maybe in that general area and it looks like barges that have been sunk in another area close to there as well, if I may ask, I am looking to get my DC fishing license since the line appears to be just past the bridge, would you have a site suggestion that you use to get yours ??

I believe you can get a DC license on-line now but be aware, you need a boaters safety certificate as well.  Also I believe what we call Generals Row is off limits.  The bank in front of Quantico is also restricted. I never venture into DC water so you will need to check the regs.  The only time I ever fished up there was for a wounded soldiers event out of Columbia Island Marina.  We normally put in at Hope Springs because I have a buddy that lives 3 miles from that ramp and has a season pass.  If we are going to fish Quantico creek, we will sometimes put in at the base at Hospital Point.  You need clearance to get on the base right now.  My areas of expertise are from Potomac Creek up to and including Belmont Bay. As for Aquia Creek, I have spent a lot of time in there all the way to Arkendale.  Don’t waste your time going up the creek.  While I’m sure there are some bass up there they are few and far between even though it looks really fishy.  We have never had really good luck up there except for Crappie.  Maybe it’s time for us to start hitting the river again.  ??

[Junger]

A nice 5lber today at Mattawoman on the last hour of incoming just off a spatterdock point.

 

 

Zero boats around me, gotta love it.

[TOXIC]

Just to clarify, when I say not to go up in the creek, I mean up from Hope Springs.  From the train tressel  to to mouth is good fishing.  

[CountryboyinDC]

6 hours ago, Junger said:

A nice 5lber today at Mattawoman on the last hour of incoming just off a spatterdock point.

I always seem to manage a couple of snakeheads in the spatterdock at Mattawoman, but no bass.  I see it's not the fishery, it's the fisherman.

[Choporoz]

2 minutes ago, CountryboyinDC said:

I always seem to manage a couple of snakeheads in the spatterdock at Mattawoman, but no bass.  I see it's not the fishery, it's the fisherman.

I love the pad fields at Mattawoman.  Run my yak right up in the thickest areas.  Three primary presentations; I run chatterbaits through them, especially early in the day; buzzbaits and frogs across them when tide has tops at surface; and during the day, I work them with trigs and jigs - generally get to a good looking spot with hole(s) nearby, and then just sit quietly for a couple minutes, then start pitching. 

[CountryboyinDC]

17 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

I love the pad fields at Mattawoman.  Run my yak right up in the thickest areas.  Three primary presentations; I run chatterbaits through them, especially early in the day; buzzbaits and frogs across them when tide has tops at surface; and during the day, I work them with trigs and jigs - generally get to a good looking spot with hole(s) nearby, and then just sit quietly for a couple minutes, then start pitching.

I do a lot of the same things - not a very successful with a chatterbait, but I work frogs and swim jigs where there are gaps.  The spatterdock really holds a kayak in place if you find the right hole.  Some of the crew I tend to go with like Mattawoman better than the Virginia side, but from where I live it's so much easier to get to Mason Neck or Leesylvania that I tend to fish the creeks there when I go by myself.  One day I'll get more time to figure it out, right now I'll have to be happy with the few fish I catch from there.

[Nitrofreak]

19 hours ago, TOXIC said:

I believe you can get a DC license on-line now but be aware, you need a boaters safety certificate as well.  Also I believe what we call Generals Row is off limits.  The bank in front of Quantico is also restricted. I never venture into DC water so you will need to check the regs.  The only time I ever fished up there was for a wounded soldiers event out of Columbia Island Marina.  We normally put in at Hope Springs because I have a buddy that lives 3 miles from that ramp and has a season pass.  If we are going to fish Quantico creek, we will sometimes put in at the base at Hospital Point.  You need clearance to get on the base right now.  My areas of expertise are from Potomac Creek up to and including Belmont Bay. As for Aquia Creek, I have spent a lot of time in there all the way to Arkendale.  Don’t waste your time going up the creek.  While I’m sure there are some bass up there they are few and far between even though it looks really fishy.  We have never had really good luck up there except for Crappie.  Maybe it’s time for us to start hitting the river again.  ??

I have little experience on the Potomac, the times that I have been there have been exciting to fish, Aquia, Chicamuxen Creek are really the only two areas I have any limited knowledge of.

I have fished up in Aquia before and experienced the same, with exception to the bends which seems to produce every time I have fished up there.

 

There is so much to Aquia that makes me want to explore it in depth, I have not spent much time around the mouth of Aquia and it’s pretty much the reason I am heading there tomorrow but to also hopefully get up to other areas closer to the bridge in the D.C. area and a little beyond as well.

 

Thanks for the valued information my friend, it is truly appreciated !!!

 

 

[Nitrofreak]

10 hours ago, Choporoz said:

I love the pad fields at Mattawoman.  Run my yak right up in the thickest areas.  Three primary presentations; I run chatterbaits through them, especially early in the day; buzzbaits and frogs across them when tide has tops at surface; and during the day, I work them with trigs and jigs - generally get to a good looking spot with hole(s) nearby, and then just sit quietly for a couple minutes, then start pitching. 

I have tried Mattawoman a couple of times and really have not done well at all, I just don’t have enough experience there yet but I’m working on that ??

[Nitrofreak]

This was my very first outing on the Potomac, the guy on the left had never casted a set up before, his only experience was to open the bail and let the bait fall, there was a rule we had which was to catch our two fish as a boater and then spend the rest of our time teaching our veterans how to fish, I had my two by 10 am plus this 10.2 Snakehead that I took home for dinner, it was an absolutely amazing day spent teaching someone else about the sport we love.

[TOXIC]

4 hours ago, Nitrofreak said:

I have little experience on the Potomac, the times that I have been there have been exciting to fish, Aquia, Chicamuxen Creek are really the only two areas I have any limited knowledge of.

I have fished up in Aquia before and experienced the same, with exception to the bends which seems to produce every time I have fished up there.

 

There is so much to Aquia that makes me want to explore it in depth, I have not spent much time around the mouth of Aquia and it’s pretty much the reason I am heading there tomorrow but to also hopefully get up to other areas closer to the bridge in the D.C. area and a little beyond as well.

 

Thanks for the valued information my friend, it is truly appreciated !!!

 

 

Be very careful with all of this rain we have received.  The river and creeks will be rolling and muddy.