tboydva

Here's a little more information. Fish don't "drown" out of water. Fish gills exchange oxygen with their surrounding medium. Water can dissolve far less oxygen (milligrams per liter) than air (air is ~20% oxygen). If the fish gills are moist, oxygen-rich air can diffuse through the water into the fish's gills. With the increased stress on the fish, and being out in the air, the gills will dry out quickly (thus doing the fish in). Having them out for photos and high fives should do no harm. I consider bass relatively weak table-fare, so don't keep 'em. An occasional channel cat does make it's way home though. If you want to kill a fish humanely, drop them in ice water. This slows their metabolism but is thought to not be "painful" as cold-blooded creatures naturally "slow down" when they get colder. This is about the only way to kill a catfish!

Didn't seem like much action going on for the first hour or two. Then, weightless senkos came to the rescue. I suspect my buddy and I caught over 60 bass for a full day. Haven't had a Potomac or Shenandoah day like that in 4-5 years for sure. Aside from the one fish, nothing probably over 13-14".

Went on an annual fishing trip with a bunch of buddies last weekend. The theme revolves more about what's in the cooler than what's in the water, but I always bring my gear! Floated the upper Potomac upriver of Romney, WV. After catching countless small bass, I landed this slab! Didn't have a ruler or scale (rented canoe). Put the picture in my engineering package and after measuring my hand and scaling - the average gives me 23.4". My previous PB is 22". This beast's tail was the same size as my hand! Can anyone give me an estimate on the weight? Felt like 4-5 lb, but I don't have a feel for SMB (mostly only weigh LMB with the scale on my boat). From my trips and one of my buddies, this year has been great on both the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers - far better than the past 3-5 years.

This is a bit scary, but just yesterday I was thinking about an old lure that we used on the very same waters (Shenandoah, upper Potomac - and the Cacapon River). It was called a floppy (rubrex - French lure). Seems like you can find them on ebay and it was a very popular lure in Australia (they made a saltwater model). These lures were made out of rubber and had an adjustable lip. We always called them "Mr. softy" (which in late middle age is something no guy wants to hear!). I moved back (from the West coast) to the region after years away in the mid-90s. Although the floppy was a memory even then, we had days with a fish every cast. Small Rapalas used to absolutely kill. Sadly, I think those days are over (unless the 7-9 year cycle is applicable to these rivers?). I've floated the Shenandoah and had single-digit days. Same for the upper Potomac. I keep thinking I should buy a floppy off ebay and see how it works now? Hard to toss out a "collector" bait though....

I've traveled these waters many times. I can tell you that I always go very slow in two places on your track. Counting from the top (the way points - dotted circle); between number one and two there are some wicked fouls. My Navionics chart shows a channel there - and I've always motored on through. Last time out, I hit something HARD. I couldn't find anything on my motor or hull that looked damaged, but my depthfinder was showing 6 ft when I whacked it. I'll check my GPS unit (I think I marked it). Right at point 7, it can be ugly. I've seen guys blow through this area. I have a deep V aluminum... I go way slow and often trim up my outboard and go with the trolling motor (can be very good fishing at Fox Ferry point). You can also use the tide(s) to your advantage. If low, go slow. Between 4 adn 5 it can be shallow, but I've never "hit" anything in that region. I have to read up on exporting, but I'll try and upload my tracks...

I've never fished Phelps, but have heard decent things. I fished other areas in this region (I own an acre of land near Columbia). The little Alligator River has some decent bass fishing. Never fished it in the Fall, but the Spring is quite good. Might be a bit of haul in a kayak. You can launch here. You can alos fish in the Scuppernong. I haven't fished for bass here (was going for Stripers), but I saw lots of bass fishermen who all confirmed that it's decent. You can launch a boat here. A word of caution perhaps. The areas I outlined and Phelps (especially from what I hear) are very prone to strong afternoon (and sometimes morning) winds. A guy was telling me about getting blown all the way across Phelps and having to hike back to his car. The two areas I recommended might perhaps provide more wind cover than the circular lake? I'm hoping to make it down in October myself! If so, see you on the water!

I guess if I were you, I would try launching at Bellhaven Marina just south of the Beltway on the Virginia side. I see people kayaking there. You could try heading into the marsh north of the ramp which is shallow except for the small channel. Or, you could go south to Dike marsh. That usually is pretty weedy by mid-summer. South of Dike marsh, there are more marshy areas with extensive weed beds (on the VA side). Morning high tides offer good topwater fishing in these areas. I often head across river to the MD side (I have a powerboat) and fish Broad creek (I think that's what it's called) or go further south to Piscataway creek (that would give you a heck of a workout). I've also launched out of Gunston which has some good grass beds too. You can launch further north at Gravely Point (just north of National Airport) and head upriver to the next cove (there's a marina - but I can't place the name - they have a ramp, but there's a fee). Lots of weed beds there.

There's a lot of Potomac in the DC area... Any specific area you plan to fish? You can get up to the fall line above Georgetown and be in strong tidal regions as you transit down to DC proper and below the Wilson Bridge. Many different habitats. Give me a target area and I can give you some ideas.

Welcome. I'm in the NoVA area, but have fished a bit in the Staunton (and Maury River) long ago. Keep thinking of getting back down to that area. I bought a jet boat a couple of years ago and fish the upper Potomac, Shenandoah - and even tried the CaCapon once (but was too nervous to run up too far). The Staunton looks like it would be jet boat friendly. If I make it down your way, I'll send a PM. Welcome again.

Don't try this at home... American: Elijah Craig Blended scotch: Black Bottle Single Malt scotch: Lagavulin Irish whisky: ??? Haven't tried enough to determine a favorite For some reason, I favor Kentucky whiskeys over Tennessee ones. I only have 'em after I get back to the dock though! A few light beers are OK for on the water.

You might check out iBoats forums. There are lots of threads in the Restoration Forum covering aluminum painting. Here's one for instance. Prep is the most critical part. If you're paint isn't pitted (or you don't care about painting over pitting), you could probably get away with a good cleaning, solvent "final rinse" and a good priming. As mentioned, "flipping" the boat to get full hull access is the pain. If you have a grinder, get a stainless wire wheel (make sure you use stainless for aluminum), and you can clean up the metal very quickly. Best of luck!

There's tons of fishibale habitat in the Potomac. The tidal Potomac holds LMB (lots if you can find them) and the upper Potomac (upriver of Great Falls for instance) has LMB and SMB. Lots of places to launch a boat and some shore fishing available. Enjoy!

I don't have any experience with your line, but I have tried other fluorocarbon lines (can't remember exactly which) that broke easily and I was very dissatisfied. I've gone completely to BPS fluor (in a white box). In my experience, you can't break that stuff! When I first started using it, I made the mistake of wrapping the line around my hand to break it off. Got a nice cut for the effort. Like BobP, I use it until the spool gets empty. If you can afford it, I'd try different lines to see others might perform more up to expectations.

Not sure about finesse techniques (not something I've done a lot of), but other plastics can work well in the Potomac. Weightless senkos, double tail hula grubs, jerk baits can all work well. You can access the river at several places close to DC. Turkey Run park is off the GW parkway - you can walk down to the river. You can also try the Rt 123 bridge, Riverbend and/or Difficult Run. Try to find an area below (or right above) riffle cuts (if you can find a "pool" below). The last two summers have been slower for me, but there are fish out there! Enjoy. TJB

I have the white river model. Works great and it pumps up fast using the hand pump (I think I bought it from BPS). It only takes about 20 pumps and it's ready to go. I like this for smaller streams. For $80, it's a good deal I think. I guess it depends on your location? TJB

You can launch a boat there - but it gets pretty shallow as summer goes on. The ramp is really steep at the top. However, when you get the bottom it flattens out, so if the water is low, it's tough to get a boat off the trailer. There's another ramp at the Route 7 bridge that is a bit deeper. You can run a bit further up too (although I'm relatively new to my jet boat - so I'm a bit cautious still!). Enjoy the 'Doah.

Watermelon double tail hula grubs (or pumpkin) can be deadly as well as weightless senkos. The doah has suffered in the past 10-15 years. There are still fish to catch, but the numbers were unbelievable in the early 80's and 90's.

Thanks gents! Took my other boat (Lord, the wife is going to be jealous) over to the Bay (near Oxford, MD) today in the rain and cold. Striper bite was wide open. My two old friends (both visiting) and I quit counting at 100! Hopefully, we'll see you Northern VA locals out there on the Potomac or the Doah this Fall!

OK, so it's pure excitement that I'm posting here. For years, I've watched the jet boaters pop right up over riffles while I'm in my canoe steaming. As I've gotten older, I've also gotten more frustrated with the logistics required to move vehicles up and down river all to get on the water by 10:00 AM! With so little time and few days off, I want to make the most of it! So, with a deep-v already in the garage, no storage space and a screw loose, I finished my 2 year search (looking, discussing, wishing, complaining, etc). I just couldn't pass up this jet boat: It's a 2004 16 ft. Rhino jet boat. Here's the stern - with rod holders: Here's the tunnel hull with a Merc 60/40 jet drive (I've always been an OMC guy, but hey, gotta branch out a bit): My sometime fishing partner (but more into hip-hop now!): And perhaps my future fishing ally - torn between the stick-steer and his Nintendo DS!: The only downside is that I'm terrified of running upriver over riffles still. Took her out on the upper Potomac (in a stretch I know) yesterday. WOW!!! She really flies and from all my reading, one has to stay up on a plane - I know I ran over some spots that were less than ~10" deep. We ran up one stretch that on drifting back down (with the hull at full displacement) we scraped a few rocks. So - again, sorry if this seems like a brag, but I can't stand the excitement and I guess folks lurking here can appreciate it! The upper Potomac is turning on - was out for about 4 hours yesterday and we caught about 20 smallies - I caught one ~16", the rest were not spectacular. But hey, it's fishing on a "new" boat and a day out of work! The Shenandoah has several stretches where I've dreamed of taking a boat like this. And my brother-in-law has staked out areas of the Juniata (in PA) that are awaiting for early next month!

I use 3/16" jig head so the curly tail really "flutters" when it drops slowly to the bottom. I have two salt-water capable reels (a Cabelas one and a nice Shimano Curado). I use 17lb fluoro with a 7' casting stick (I prefer medium). Nothing really fancy, but it gets the job done! I've never hooked anything off the beach that's come close to spooling me (but I invite them to try!).

I fish down there every summer. I like to use Gulp swim grubs (3 or 4" white or silver). I put them on a jig head. Then I usually wade out so I can cast into the gully between the sandbar and beach. For "active" swimming fish (trout, drum), I swim the bait in. For flounder, let it hit the bottom, then wait. When you can't stand waiting any longer, reel it in a bit. Then let it drop. As far as I can tell, flounder have to be 15" or better to keep. You now also need a NC fishing license for the ocean.

There's also a ramp at Columbia Island. It's here http://maps.google.com/maps?q=38.87546,-77.049256&num=1&sll=38.87997,-77.10677&sspn=0.069506,0.128059&ie=UTF8&ll=38.875006,-77.050735&spn=0.007442,0.008336&z=17. You have to be coming South on the GW parkway to access it (unlike Gravely Point where you have to be going Northbound). It's actually very nice, but there's no real trailer parking... I generally unhook my trailer and take two spaces (but my trailer is easy to move around by hand). It's $5 to launch. Not sure how crowded it will be today. Sometimes even the dock master isn't there to collect the ramp fee...

I have fished it - the last time (last year) it was restricted to electric only. I grew up near there and my cousin actually owned the lake in the 70s and early 80s before transferring to the state (which expanded it and did the dam). I hooked a monster one night when some buddies and I camped out there. Black jitterbug. Never got it to the canoe... Thirty years later and I'm still lamenting that lost fish! Anyway, I've found it pretty tough these days as it's fairly small and gets quite a bit of pressure. There are some lunkers in there though (based on the photos). I have caught a few around the dam and one day in May (two years ago maybe) my high school buddy and I went (he was with me that fateful night when the monster got away) and hit them hard for about 2 hours on a green poppin' bug (fly rod). Probably the only bait they haven't seen a million times! Last time I was out that way, they were tearing up the adjacent property for a housing development. Used to be a real pretty area.

I can give you my 2c... I've fished these waters with inconsistent results (from unbelievable to underwhelming). The key to the stretches you mention is hitting the water high-enough, but not too high. Too high, and it's brown-out and (for me at least) hard to fish. Too low, and you'll be walking your canoe. I try every year to hit the stretch from Kelly's Ford down to the Rapp River Campground http://www.canoecamp.com/. The campground will let you park a vehicle (at least they have for us) with a fee and a ramp fee. It's all pretty reasonable cost-wise. They will ferry you too. So, I've caught my biggest SMB on the Rapp (one 22" and a 21" pig). I also ran the Mott's landing run (10 miler) and caught one fish (high-high water). What I (and friends) do each year is work some possible days in May on the calendar. Watch the weather and water gauge http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=lwx&gage=renv2&rssDate=1271718900 and try to hit it around 3.5' at Remington. Above 4' and I've had pretty slow fishing. Below 3' and your walking. For baits - I like senkos, tubes, swim grubs and Case helgramites/mad toms. If the water's not too high and brown, you can catch lots of fish. Camping is abundant about 6-7 miles downstream from Kelly's Ford. If you really get serious about tapping this pretty-magical resource, you can get the waterproof book here http://www.riverfriends.org/Default.aspx?tabid=125

As an older boat owner, I would suggest taking a look over at the iBoats forums (forums.iboats.com). If you work on your own boat, there's a wealth of information available and folks can be very helpful if you run into an "unsolvable" problem. Just be careful looking at the refurbish projects - you can get sucked into doing more than you might want! I am certainly one of those, "well, as long as I'm going to ... I might as well...." people!