RockvilleMDAngler

I now have New Angler and CMatthews in my boat so I am full. I have fished the Occoquan River several times but this is not the type of area with a lot of secret spots. Bridge Pilings, docks, old wooden pilings, pads, and rip rap are all visible and hold fish. If you have a depthfinder then you will definitely see the drop offs that are everywhere. As you make your way out to Belmont Bay be sure you stay within the channel markers or you might find yourself stuck at low tide. I am going out to have fun and show some people what a world-class fishery the Potomac is, winning is definitely a second priority for me (especially since there is no money on the line :-) ); so if anyone is struggling feel free to ask me and I will show you where and how we have caught our fish.

We have a high tide at 9:52 and a low tide at 3:55 at high point in Occoquan. This means that the bite will be ON in the first hour and a half of the tournament and will be solid right before a 3:00PM weigh-in (assuming we weigh in at 3:00PM). Should be a really solid day if the weather cooperates.

Whoever PMs me first can have the third spot. The third person will have to split the $8 launch fee with NewAngler. Any other boaters want to come out and fish??? I know guys like Eli and Thai will be fishing and I can't think of a better place to fish this time of year than the Occoquan! (OK maybe Blue Plains but it will be packed!)

You dont know what cramped is until you fish 3 on a 12" John boat.....tell em Dan... I used to have a Sea Eagle SE9 inflatable boat with a 50lb trolling motor and I once took three people out.... needless to say it was not fun. That boat was only 9 feet long!

I am fine with a third if they are OK with the cramped conditions. On a small boat a third would need to pack lightly in terms of tackle.

If absolutely necessary I can fit three but my boat only fits two on plane. No big deal if we are not leaving the no-wake zone. Whoever goes as #3 will have to stand in the recessed part as my boat is only 16'2". Here is a pic:

Wacky rigged senko twitched slowly on the bed. A tube is also killer since the tentacles keep moving even when the bait is still.

I have not fished Occoquan in several weeks but I did fish it in early March with similar conditions and absolutely tore up the 12"-14" fish. Unfortunately I was in a tournament with a 15" minimum so it was all for not, but it was still a great time. Sorry to have hijacked the meet-up quanjig. I have nothing against Burke and don't want everyone to cater to my preference but it seemed like more people had experience with the Potomac and Burke has a tough reputation (especially on this board). With this being one of the last weekends where fishing won't involve frozen fingers I was going to fish the River no matter what. Occoquan has a lot of deep structure, drop offs, pilings, wood, docks, pads, dying grass etc. Even if there are no monsters brought in I think everyone will catch fish even if they just focus on the community holes. If you are having trouble finding fish and you see me on the water I will be happy to tell you what is working for us.

Since there is no money on the line we can do this rather informally. Each fish has to be caught and weighed and photographed before being released. Biggest 5 fish per boat (team tournament). Pictures must show the scale weight (and please be sure to zero your scales before weighing the fish). We can post all the pictures on this thread after the tournament but at the ramp we can go over our weights and determine the winner. New Angler welcome aboard! My boat is not huge so try to keep it to six rods or less. Lets kick some butt! PM me for more info on what to throw.

This is gonna be great! Occoquan Regional is a great launch site. If we only have two boats then we might need to go three-to-a-boat. Any other boaters interested? I think launching at 8:00 is a great idea, what time do we want to do the weigh-in? Should this be a paper tournament or should we weigh our fish? 5-fish limit or biggest fish? If we do an actual weigh-in someone is going to need to bring a weigh bag, I have a digital scale.

If we are concerned about people with small boats then why not launch out of Occoquan? Burke lake is an OK fishery but there will be a lot of frustrated people at the end of the day. If we launch out of the Occoquan River everyone will catch fish. The ramp in the back of Occoquan is nice and there is plenty of room for a weigh-in. There is a 1.5 mile no-wake zone where the smaller boats can fish with no problems, that same zone is a great cold water fishery. Guys with bigger boats can head out and fish the whole Potomac river if they like. If it is anywhere on the river I am down and will bring my boat with room for a co-angler, but I am not wasting an awesome late fall day on Burke Lake.

Are you throwing a floating frog or a buzz frog?

That definitely happened :-) Well d**n wish I woulda known, good to meet ya Marc! Had I known that was you guys I would have made more of an effort to talk. I'm sure I will run into you guys again. Down there prob not lol that place is a bust in my book Was that your first time fishing there? Usually that place is always good for a limit, especially in the early spring and winter. The water was really stained from all the rain but when it clears up a senko will slay em.

I got one about two weeks ago, and I think I had one wake up today throwing a frog. I hit up the creek this afternoon and didnt get a bite. Before dark I moved to the front of riverside and got a few on a frog. I haven't had a frog bite in a while. I thought it was too cold for them but maybe I am wrong. What kind of frog are you throwing and what kind of cover are you throwing it in?

That definitely happened :-) Well d**n wish I woulda known, good to meet ya Marc! Had I known that was you guys I would have made more of an effort to talk. I'm sure I will run into you guys again.

That definitely happened :-)

If this is going to be on the Potomac I would be interested as long as I can be off the water no later than 2:30. I have a dinner that I have to go to that night which starts at 5:00 and I will need to get dressed and put the boat at my storage location in Damascus. I have a 16'2" bass boat with 90hp Yamaha.

I fished 4 mile on Saturday in my skeeter. I saw about four guys fishing from shore near the BMW dealership, was that you guys? The water was very stained and I didn't catch anything in 4 mile but I did well at Blue Plains and the Spoils. Crankbaits, carolina rig, and 5" senkos skipped under the blue plains docks did well. Biggest fish was 4lbs 9 ounces from the blue plains docks.

I caught around 50 3-4lb smallmouth on 3" senkos on a drop shot for 5 straight days at Bob's Lake in Westport Canada this summer. Throw that drop shot out in 30+ feet on a point and just let it sit there, I got slammed! I don't throw them in grass beds or on a Carolina Rig but for skipping docks and fishing rocky structure in 35 feet of water they are awesome. A 3" senko still looks like a minnow and will catch big fish.

I don't think there is a better drop shot lure than a 3" senko. They also work great on slider heads skipped under docks.

Unfortunately I did not hit the water today as the rain scared me off. I regretted my decision by noon but by then I was ready to watch the NFL. I hope to get out next weekend and hopefully the bite will still be strong.

If the weather cooperates I am gonna be launching out of Belle Haven on Sunday and fishing the Belle Haven/Ft. Washington/Mt. Vernon area, anyone else gonna be out? I haven't hit the river in weeks as I had tournaments on Anna and the Middle River and then had two funerals to go to. I hope I didn't miss the fall action! Are the snakeheads still biting?

Is anyone familiar with the Susquehanna flats? I will be fishing a tournament there this weekend (which is being held out of the middle river but we are allowed to drive to other ramps as long as we leave at the middle river at the launch time) and I have never fished it. Normally I would pre-fish the area before a tournament but I was unaware that I could drive my boat out of the Middle River and launch at Havre De Grace, since the Middle River is dead right now I have to fish unfamiliar waters. Are the flats mostly grass beds? Are there channels? How high is the grass right now? Any help would be appreciated! I would be happy to share info on the Potomac River.

If you catch one I am sure it would put up one hell of a fight but I have no idea how to get one to bite. In the winter you will see them stacked up near warm water discharges. I have seen them so thick that I could walk over them in Blue Plains and Four Mile.

The Ribbits are a pretty large toad with a lot of plastic that can get in the way of the hook, try a smaller toad and see if that helps. When the fish splashes keep reeling slowly until you feel the weight. When I was first told to wait on the hookset I stood there and waited without reeling which was just as bad as setting the hook immediately. Reel slowly so the line stays tight.