alexofoakton Posted September 19, 2011 Posted September 19, 2011 Today I was turned away from Occoquan Park on the Occoquan River due to road repair so I drove up to Fountainhead Park on the Occoquan Reservoir and spent 4 hrs. trying all kinds of techniques and places to catch a bass. No luck. Not even any serious bites. Has anyone caught any bass at Occoquan Reservoir lately and how did you do it? Quote
mudkart Posted September 20, 2011 Posted September 20, 2011 Today I was turned away from Occoquan Park on the Occoquan River due to road repair so I drove up to Fountainhead Park on the Occoquan Reservoir and spent 4 hrs. trying all kinds of techniques and places to catch a bass. No luck. Not even any serious bites. Has anyone caught any bass at Occoquan Reservoir lately and how did you do it? http://fountainheadbassclub.com/pictures/2011/ It's a great fishery. There are some on this site that know it better than me, maybe they will chime in. Without knowing more, I really cannot help you (are you fishing from a boat or the bank?, depth?, lures?, etc.). From shore, it may be a waste of time, IDK, access is very limited. If you have a boat, it is worth your time getting to know the place. Quote
flippin4it. Posted September 20, 2011 Posted September 20, 2011 The rez is a great fishery. Not alot of shore fishing that would be productive. But from a boat the place is incredible. I hope Quanjig puts in his $.02. Quote
alexofoakton Posted September 20, 2011 Author Posted September 20, 2011 Well some of the pictures that people referenced are pretty impressive. Looks like the Fountainhead Bass Club is pretty serious with its tournaments every other weekend. In my case, I have a Tracker bass boat with a 50 hp outboard (can't use) and a 80# minn kota, which gets me to 4-5 mph so I can get about, but wouldn't want to go all the way to the dam. There must be some good areas within 2 miles of the park ramp? Quote
rgrdave Posted September 20, 2011 Posted September 20, 2011 I've been fishing the shore of the reservoir for weeks now, mainly by the Lake Ridge Marina, and have had VERY little success. I've treid every type of bait, different times of the day, and even rented a boat once and have only caught two fish. The bass and channel cat are delicious but not worth the effort in my opinion. If somebody can share the secret to make this body of water productive, I sure would appreciate it. Quote
mudkart Posted September 20, 2011 Posted September 20, 2011 Well some of the pictures that people referenced are pretty impressive. Looks like the Fountainhead Bass Club is pretty serious with its tournaments every other weekend. In my case, I have a Tracker bass boat with a 50 hp outboard (can't use) and a 80# minn kota, which gets me to 4-5 mph so I can get about, but wouldn't want to go all the way to the dam. There must be some good areas within 2 miles of the park ramp? With that rig I would be on the Potomac rather than the rez. PM'd also. Quote
quanjig Posted September 21, 2011 Posted September 21, 2011 The res is an awsome fishery! Always ranked highly in the state. Tough to fish from shore tho. It's difficult to say why you didn't catch any fish, more info please. The bluffy areas this time of year hold fish, jigs and trig worms, senko type baits. Shallow on points. Isolated grass. Medium running cranks. Where did you try? As a side note, don't feel that you are not fishing well. I don't know anyone who has fished there for the first time and just destroyed them. This place has a way of humbling you quickly. Time on the water here is a big key to success! Quote
Bigbarge50 Posted September 21, 2011 Posted September 21, 2011 Yeah possibly my favorite place to fish in NOVA. Not a rip on you, because we all have our days where nothing works, but there are some serious fish in there. I have always had lot of luck with jigs in sunken trees there and rolling spinnerbaits down ledges. I know lots of other people have had a lot of luck with other techniques. I have never heard of someone not catching with a jig there. It must be frustrating to have the big engine and not let it rip on there. Some of us are puttering around an inflatable and a 55lb thrust trolling motor..... so some *** here. I imagine the river might still be a little muddy. Also maybe the rapid changing pressures with this weather moving through could have had some effects on the fish? I would say that body of water offers soooooo many different types of cover and depth that fish have lots of chances to move when conditions change. In my opinion it is body of water where fish will not always be in the same spots, they have lots of options and they tend to use them. Quote
rgrdave Posted September 21, 2011 Posted September 21, 2011 Don't have a boat. Can anyone suggest spots and techniques for shore fishing the res..?? Quote
quanjig Posted September 21, 2011 Posted September 21, 2011 Bull run marina offers the best shore fishing in my opinion Quote
rgrdave Posted September 21, 2011 Posted September 21, 2011 Thanks. Since I live in Woodbridge, Bull run is very far from my house. I was looking for some place on the other side. I typically fish the Lake Ridge marina but am getting NO action there. Bull run marina offers the best shore fishing in my opinion Quote
quanjig Posted September 22, 2011 Posted September 22, 2011 Last regular tx on Sunday if anyone is interested! Quote
flippin4it. Posted September 23, 2011 Posted September 23, 2011 l would be all about it, but l don't have a ride....... Last regular tx on Sunday if anyone is interested! Quote
Bigbarge50 Posted October 22, 2011 Posted October 22, 2011 For the silent Nova guys on here...... got out of work early on friday, so hit the Occoquan about 2pm. The water was very muddy (I launched out of bull run) and was about 63 degrees. Shortly after getting out a realized my battery was dead, so ended up doing a lot of rowing and did not cover a lot of water (got to marker 21 I think). Got some tugs on a yum money craw, but nothing landed. As soon as I saw the water clarity I knew it was not going to be a strong day, but the weather was gorgeous and as per usual the surroundings were fantastic, especially with the turning of the leaves. Worst day fishing beats the best day of work...haha. I do need to work on my muddy water tatics. I went with a Blue Black jig with a KVD trailer (probably should have stuck with my go to rage tail), a White double Colorado Spinnerbait, a Purple senko (that got switched with a green pumpkin fat Ika) and a rapala version of a torpedo (which got switched to a strike king chat/black square bill crank). All that got no action. The keel weighted money craw drew some tugs. Maybe I was a bit too shallow too, was focused on hitting between 2-8 feet, maybe the pressure changes post storms had them a bit deeper. Had heard that they were real active there in the 5ft range. Anyways was a good day, hopefully the insanity of work will allow another trip somewhere soon. Hope all the other VA guys are getting out and catching some fish. Quote
Eddie-NoVA Posted October 26, 2011 Posted October 26, 2011 For the silent Nova guys on here...... got out of work early on friday, so hit the Occoquan about 2pm. The water was very muddy (I launched out of bull run) and was about 63 degrees. Shortly after getting out a realized my battery was dead, so ended up doing a lot of rowing and did not cover a lot of water (got to marker 21 I think). Got some tugs on a yum money craw, but nothing landed. As soon as I saw the water clarity I knew it was not going to be a strong day, but the weather was gorgeous and as per usual the surroundings were fantastic, especially with the turning of the leaves. Worst day fishing beats the best day of work...haha. I do need to work on my muddy water tatics. I went with a Blue Black jig with a KVD trailer (probably should have stuck with my go to rage tail), a White double Colorado Spinnerbait, a Purple senko (that got switched with a green pumpkin fat Ika) and a rapala version of a torpedo (which got switched to a strike king chat/black square bill crank). All that got no action. The keel weighted money craw drew some tugs. Maybe I was a bit too shallow too, was focused on hitting between 2-8 feet, maybe the pressure changes post storms had them a bit deeper. Had heard that they were real active there in the 5ft range. Anyways was a good day, hopefully the insanity of work will allow another trip somewhere soon. Hope all the other VA guys are getting out and catching some fish. I was out at the res saturday morning. Caught two in the morning at 5ft of water. Later in the day was ripping them by the dam. No hawgs, but 5 LMB at 12lb 14oz. Not too shabby since I haven't fished the res all year. All front shallow cranks and white/chart spinnerbaits. Quote
Bigbarge50 Posted October 26, 2011 Posted October 26, 2011 Nice Eddie Water a little clearer? I would imagine down by the dam it would be clearer compared to up the bull run end.... correct me if I am wrong. Quote
quanjig Posted October 26, 2011 Posted October 26, 2011 Was out Sunday. Only fished down lake from fountainhead. Buddy said it was much cleaner down lake. Caught some shallow, caught some deep. Fish seem to be all over the place depth wise. Couple more weeks should make them a bit more predictable. Quote
Thomas Klem Posted November 11, 2011 Posted November 11, 2011 alex... I don't know much about Fountain Head but I try to stop at Lakeridge once a week on my way home from work and I can tell you it is tough. There is a lot of pressure. The last couple weeks I've been skunked more than I would like and if I catch two in two hours I consider the day a success. It's still nice to put a line in for an hour or two. Quote
Brick Posted December 11, 2011 Posted December 11, 2011 I started fishing the reservoir this year, and have learned a lot. I had heard that the fishing could be tough, but that there were some nice size fish in the lake. I found them on deep humps in the 15' range in the summer time. Quote
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