Fishing the Potomac

[The Fat Panther]

Hey guys, hows it going?

Let me start by introducing myself, my name is Tommy, I'm 15 years old and have been fishing for largemouth bass for the past few years at my beach house. At my regular house the potomac river is less than a mile away (easy walk). Only problem is that I am limited to a point where a creek meets the potomac.

Theres a small dock in the creek but I think the max depth from the dock is about 10-15 feet.

You can go to the point and wade out a little bit depending on the water level but I just cant seem to catch any fish, (LMB or SMB)

I believe I have a decent smallie setup it's a st. croix premiere rod I thnk it's 6' and rated for lighter lures, it's more of my finnesse rod for soft plastics, topwater etc... It's paired with a shimano sahara 3000 FD reel spooled up with 6lb braid. Is that a good smallie setup?

So can anyone give me pointers on how to fish for them from one spot? It's a small possibility that I might be able to use a neighbors kayak though but probably not.

One last question, has anyone tried the G Loomis bronzeback rods? I might save up for one to use with my ambassadeur 5501 C3. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

-Tommy

[Dan:]

I am going to PM you a local website for fisherman from the Ashburn area. They are a great bunch of guys that are extremely willing to help new anglers. Many of the members are actually high school guys like yourself who are new to the fishing scene. They also make fairly frequent kayak and canoe trips on the Potomac and almost always have an extra canoe or kayak to share. Just make sure you ask your parents before you meet up with any of them. I can assure you they are a great bunch of guys but I'm guessing your parents would really want to know before you meet people from the internet.

[The Fat Panther]

Hey dan thanks for the link! I will be sure to look into that tomorrow.

[Dan:]

no problem. If you ever go on one of their excursions and you meet someone named Dan, it will probably be me.

[The Fat Panther]

Anyone help on the rod suggestions?

[roadwarrior]

Your rod & reel sounds fine to me, but you should lose the braid.

8-)

[The Fat Panther]

Will a mono leader a couple of feet long work? I would hate to see all of that braid go to waste. I suppose I could just buy another spool though.

[Md]

All I use on my spinning outfits is Fireline Crystal with an 8 lb. Seagar fluorocarbon leader about 6-8 ft. long. The sensitivity is unbelievable and it hardly twists at all. I realize Fireline isn't really braid, but buy some flouro, use a Uni to Uni knot to tie it to your braid, and give it a shot. You won't be disappointed.

[The Fat Panther]

Yeah thats the main idea I was going for a uni to uni connection, I would get the sensitivity of braid with the stealth of flourocarbon which I would only use when smallie fishing. (although I guess it couldn't hurt to do it for LMB too)

But has anyone tried the bronzeback series G Loomis rods?

[ballsbluff]

Hey Dan:

I live in Leesburg and fish the Potomac near Balls Bluff park.  Could you PM me the link to the local website you were talking about as well?  

Thanks