patred

It doesn't look like the Potomac went up that much and is already on the downswing up at Paw Paw: http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Gauge2/view/state/MD/ Pat

Look for areas below riffles. Fishing for 2+ hours Saturday evening on the Potomac, I caught seven and missed one 16-incher (plus numerous other hookups on fish I didn't get a chance to see) just wading a section of riffles/rocks that stretched almost the entire width of the river (see Google Earth pic). Water wasn't very deep. I used a swimbait to catch three that were around 12 inches (and the miss on the 16-incher) then used a Ned Rig to catch four dinks and a catfish in about 30 minutes. I wanted to try topwater as the sun was going down but felt dehydrated (standing in the middle of a river!) and quit. Pat

I've caught a few fish just below the dam on the Maryland side, but you have to wade out some. It's really shallow right there in the static water. One cookie-cuter smallmouth and a real catfish a few weeks ago. There's a video on YouTube of the Maryland DNR doing a survey there and electroshocking walleye and muskies! There's a pool of water created by that big point/island that has a bunch of panfish and really small largemouth. Never caught anything there, though, except a bunch of small walleye over the winter when water temps were in the 30s. I usually start past the big section of riffles down river. Just keep walking until you stop seeing empty tubs of chicken livers. Pat

Nothing at Dam 4 except catfish. Like these. It's best to try someplace else. Pat

Looks like the right lure to use ... near Dam 4 Friday night, six on the same TRD finesse worm, one on a Shadow Rap, one on a Berkley Gulp crawler and a catfish on the crawler, too. Pat

Have you caught anything above Daniels Dam? It doesn't look too fishy for smallmouth. Hit it a few times last year, lots of low flowing water over a sandy bottom, not very many big rocks for cover.

Thought I finally hooked into a beast of a smallmouth today on the Potomac (biggest so far is 16 inches). This fish was STRONG! As I'm fighting the fish, I was wondering just how big ... 18? ... 20? Finally saw the fish in the murky water when it got within a couple feet of me. It wasn't a beast smallmouth. It was Mr. Whiskers, and apparently Mr. Whiskers likes jerkbaits.

I fear bacteria and leeches, so I wear waders. Pat

The Little Patuxent River has them but don't expect anything big. I assume the Middle Patuxent has them, too, since the "rivers" meet up near Savage Mill. Pat

Antietam Creek, you can park at the campground, usually plenty of parking, and then walk or bike the C&O Canal trail. There are a few access spots either downriver or upriver within a mile in each direction. Pat

I use americanwhitewater.org for gauge readings. Pat

Are these the jigheads: http://reeveslureco.com/product/weedless-round-jig-heads/ Pat

Caught 20 smallmouth yesterday and six today on the Potomac River near Antietam Creek. Biggest one was just over 15 inches (pictured) with a handful 12" and above. River was stained and looked to be a couple feet higher than normal. Tried the Ned Rig for the first time and it caught all but three of them. The other three were on a Shadow Rap including one fish that was just over 11 inches that I swear it was going to be a bigger fish when I was reeling it in -- he was ANGRY! Pat

I think you need a parking pass to park in the college lots but parking at the MARC station should be free. Pat

When I went with the guide a couple weeks ago on the Susquehanna, we launched from Riverfront Campground in Duncannon (just north of Harrisburg). It looked like the area would be OK for wading, but I didn't really investigate it much. It's right where the Susquehanna meets the Juniata. Pat

Reminds me of fishing one time on the Potomac last year using 3" worms and catching nothing but 10-11-inch smallmouth. So I switched to a 4" worm and caught 9-10-inch smallmouth. Pat

I went there today and caught two smallmouth bass, one at 15" and the other around 10. But not fishing in the pond. Pat

My best trip to Walking Fish Pond was walking right past it to the Little Patuxent River and catching a 15" smallmouth, a channel catfish and a fallfish. Pat

Went out yesterday on the Susquehanna River with Jason Shay from Ken Penrod's guide service. I "re-started" fishing again last year, fishing the Potomac River and some on the Little Patuxent. Caught a bunch of fish but nothing over 16 inches. This would be my first time on the Susquehanna. My friend Kirk, who hadn't fished much in 20 years, joined me. The weather was calling for rain, but luckily it stayed away for the most part. Jason got us in some good spots and between the three of us, we got over 40+ fish. For awhile there, we got NOTHING under 14 inches. Kirk got a nice one around 18 inches, then I got one around 18 awhile later. And then I landed this one that measured right at 20! Jason said while a 20-inch fish isn't uncommon, there have been people who have fished multiple times with Penrod's guides on the Susquehanna and not gotten one. Above is an average size smallmouth for the day with one of my old Mitchell reels. This one is from 1959 and had a workout in 2016! We mainly used Rapala Shadow Raps and X-raps but got a few on tubes. Such a great day fishing! Pat

I always check the river levels on the Potomac before fishing, usually monitoring throughout the week if I'm thinking of heading up over the weekend. Americanwhitewater.org is the site I use, although there are others. Pat

There's a parking area on the C&O Canal just downriver from Harper's Ferry where there is easy access to the river. It's just off of 340 upriver from Brunswick. Pat

Is there much difference in action between the X-rap and Shadow Rap? I started using Shadow Raps last year and have caught smallmouth (and walleye and catfish and failfish) with them but keep reading about recommendations for X-raps. Pat

Dam 4 is the only spot on the Upper Potomac where I've seen other people fishing nearly every time I've been there. Most places, I'll fish for a few hours and not see anyone else other than people on the C&O Canal Trail. Pat

Beat the old record by a pound! http://www.delaware-surf-fishing.com/andrew-klein-bests-the-delaware-state-largemouth-bass-record/ Pat

How do you rig those with the wire going through the body of the tube? Seems like you'd have to bend the wire or .... ??? Pat