steveb1

Yes. 1/2 ounce.

I'd be willing to bet the large rolls are carp. They are already very active. I was fishing a water discharge near Quantico, pulling a silver buddy out of the heavy stream into the slack eddy, and hooked up with a 20lb carp. Had a terrific battle for over 10 minutes. I'd get him close to the boat and then he'd rip out 30 feet of line. I'd rather catch bass, but that was a lot of fun.

I couldn't pass up another of these gorgeous days, so I took a day off and went fishing. The bass were very hungry, The key for me today was finding warm water along sandy or pebble banks. Average main river temp was 56 degrees, but the bite was in more protected water with a temp of 59 to 61. I was using Sonars and rattle traps.

I've caught a few Snakehead this year and last. Common patterns - very shallow weedy still water. They will attack just about anything that moves near them, so save your expensive frogs and throw plastics. Pretty much anything rigged weedless, but I use buzz frogs that can be presented in a variety of ways, buzz it across the top of the grass, or let sink into the holes, or twitch along the bottom. Target very very very shallow water, over two feet and you're too deep.

I went fishing out of Algonkian Park for the first time this season in the upper Potomac and was amazed by the lack of grass mats. What's going on? I mean, no grass anywhere, for as far as the eye could see. Normally the river has grass mats all over the place by mid-August. I also went over the Point Of Rocks bridge recently, and there was no grass there either.

Rebel BumbleBug slays them! Best color is beatle metalic green. This is my alltime favorite for Bluegill.

I am already getting Spring Fever. I plan to get out early this year for the Perch run on the Potomac. Is Occoquan river a good spot for Perch? I know its going to depend on the weather, but when approximately is the earliest that Perch can be expected to be caught?

I've been in there a few times. It's hit and miss for bass, but there are plenty of snakehead. I've had better luck for bass on the grassbed out in front of the bridge before you enter the creek.

I'm going to head out of Leesyvania tomorrow and will be fishing the tidal portion of the Potomac. I'll probably head over to either Mattawomen or Quantico creek. I have been told that with the fall weather, the bass will move up into the creeks following the bait fish to fatten up for the winter. But, its supposed to very cold tonight with tomorrow being sunny and cool, and I am wondering if the fish will stay in the deeper (warmer?) water in the morning and wait to move up into the shallows until the afternoon, after the sun has time to warm things up. So the current idea is to fish the the offshore points at the heads of the creeks in the morning with crankbaits and spinner baits, and then move into the creek channels as the day warms up. Looks like I am going to miss low tide (7:30AM) by about a half hour. Looking for input on general patterns to employ on the Potomac this time of year.

I caught my second Snakehead yesterday in Powell's Creek. I've had three other Snakeheads bite off my line. The Snakehead I caught yesterday was ~5lbs. If you want to catch Snakeheads just target very shallow weedy areas well back into the creeks. Throw anything that a large mouth would be interested in. They will hit topwaters, buzzfrogs, lizards, jigs, etc.. The first one I caught was in Quantico Creek, and the ones that bit me off were in Mattawoman. They will definitely (eventually) become a very popular sport fish. They're big, they fight extremely hard, and they are very good to eat (PCB levels aside).

Where's everyone going to be this weekend? I'm planing on launching from Leesylvania and heading to Quantico Creek. Going to start on grass edges casting into the thicker stuff with a buzz frog, and alternating with a weightless Senko into the pockets. If things don't work out there, I'll head over to Mattawomen and try the same pattern in the grass along Marsh Island, and also try a chatterbait or spinnerbait parallel to the grass.

You could launch out of Pohick Bay State Park without any trouble on a quiet day. Pohick Bay is very shallow and the waves don't get that big. Launch, turn left follow the shore and head for the pads. There is a feeder stream that you can follow way back into the pads. Be prepared to land a monster Snakehead.

By far, the largest and most scenic lake to shore fish in the Sterling area is Beaver Dam Creek Reservoir in Ashburn.

But where's the fun in that? Thousands of people are paying big money to get into Six Flags, for a ride we're getting for the cost of gas.

Went out from Leesylvania on Sunday and crossed over to Mattawomen for the first time. The way over was smooth, but the way back was rough. I was totally clueless on how rough the Potomac can get. I am extremely glad I decided to get a 19' boat, instead of the 18's I was originally looking at. Went all the way in to the very back, and worked my way out. Mostly throwing plastic worms and lizards on wood or structure where I could find it. Did pretty well (for me anyway), caught 11, with my best five weighing in at 12 lbs. Mattawomen is a sea of grass. I am more comfortable in fishing wood and banks. Ok, survey time. How do you fish the grass in Mattawomen?