Hey guys or gals , new to the area and to BASS RESORCE. Have been fishing Lake Anna so far looking forward to trying out the Potomac.

I did have a ? I live near Ashburn. I have a 04' Triton tr-186. Now before I go out and tear the lower unit off , do guy's launch bass boats out of Algonkian boat ramp or is it to shallow?  Thanks :-?

Welcome to the forum.

Best place to be on the web.

I don't fish NOVA other than for the Potomac and some private ponds in Maryland but I am sure the guys will fill you in.

The NOVA guys are super.  You will really like them and learn a lot.

Glad you are with us.

Hey guys or gals , new to the area and to BASS RESORCE. Have been fishing Lake Anna so far looking forward to trying out the Potomac.

I did have a ? I live near Ashburn. I have a 04' Triton tr-186. Now before I go out and tear the lower unit off , do guy's launch bass boats out of Algonkian boat ramp or is it to shallow? Thanks :-?

Welcome to BR. I fish the Potomac quite a bit, and I have never heard of Algonkian boat ramp. Where is that located?  Most of the ramps I've seen on the Potomac, and other places where you can run an outboard motor, are generally pretty good. There are though, plenty of other things in the Potomac that can tear your lower unit off, or rip a hole in your boat, so you might want to get a good chart of the river and study it before you go out.

Welcome to NoVA!

Algonkian is up past the fall line of the Potomac that separates the tidal from the non-tidal portion of the river.  If you had an aluminum jet boat I'd say go for it.

You can launch for free at Gravelly Point, just north of Reagan National Airport.  It's tricky to get to since it can only be accessed while on GW Pkwy headed north.  Next best places is to try are Pohick Bay, Occoquan Regional Park, and my favorite, Leesylvania State Park in Woodbridge.  

If you're interested, my bass club, the New Horizon Bass Anglers, has a meeting this Thursday, 7pm,  at the Fairfax County Government Center.  We have some outstanding anglers that love to talk fishing  and share the knowledge.  

Check out our website: www.nhbayouthfoundation.org.

I've fished the bank at Algonkian and some of the other nearby parks. Up that far is more smallie territory. Very rocky and I wouldn't go very fast in a boat up there. There are some nice bank spots in some of the parks up that way though.

I don't know what the level is at Algonkian right now.

Welcome to the board and VA outdoorsman!

I hope you caught fish at Lake Anna......Sam has dubbed it "One Fish Anna".  I have to tend to agree with him!  You really don't need to drive all the way down there when you have the Potomac in your backyard.  The fishing on the Potomac is FANTASTIC and the fish are much easier to catch!  

My fishing on the Potomac revolves around the aquatic vegetation.  Early before the hydrilla gets high, I like to throw a Bandit Footloose.  Once the hydrilla is high I like to throw a horny toad on top.  

My partner likes a spinnerbait in sporadic grass but I prefer a chatterbait.  Some guys like to toss brush hogs at grass clumps.  

If you find a hole or drop off a Blue fleck power worm or Black and Blue jig will catch nice fish as well.  Moving water is the key and I like the outgoing tide best.  

Get a map and talk to someone about navigating the river.  There are large sections that are less than a foot deep on low tide.  There are stumps, logs and rocks waiting for you if you don't learn where you can run.  If you are in a shallow creek keep track of the tide.  If you wait too long the water may leave you high a dry until the tide comes back in.  

I prefer the Occoquan River with Aquia as my second choice.  A lot of guys will say Mattawoman on the other side of the river.  Study up on it and get out there and catch a ton of fish!

to the forum.  I launch my boat out of Occoquan, Leesylvania or Pohick, they are all good to launch from.

The Virginia guys (myself included) are coming out of the woodwork!   We may need our own forum soon.  

Welcome outdoorsman.

Thanks for the replies. To answer some ? ' s. Yes I have caught some fish on Lake Anna in some of the nastiest conditions one being last Sunday. I've been out there three times with two bites and two fish.

So whoever said " one fish anna " you were pretty close. They were quality fish though. One 4#8oz the other 5# even.

I'm looking forward to fishing the Potomac here the next couple of weeks. Idon't mean to intrude on anybody's plans , but would it be possible to meet one of you guys out there to kinda of show me around? I'm not looking for fishing spots but showing and explaing the river and tidal systems. I have never fished a tidal river system yet. We could take my boat  , use my gas , hell I might even buy you a beer. Or if that is to weird , I'll meet you out on the water in seperate boats and we could chat it up for a minute or two and that would be fine too. Got to get back to work ......see ya!

Outdoorsman, due to weather for Saturday... pending a small craft advisory on the Potomac for Sunday my dad and I are launching out of Leesylvania and headed across river to fish Mattawoman Creek.  If there is a small craft we will launch out of Burke or head out to another lake around here with a launch.  Maybe Germantown.

Anyway, if you wanna meet up in the am and follow and fish alongside let us know.

Your not going to want to run your boat in the upper Potomac, it is shallow. The lower is more your speed. If you want to fish the spoils, blue plains and the DC area your going to want to launch out of Gravely Point or Belle Haven. Basicly you need to look at what part of the Potomac your wanting to fish and then launch from any one of the marinias or public boat launchs. The way things ae looking, my buddy Drums just scored a Stratos and I'll be fishing the Aquia area shortly. Until then the occaquan resivour and a little pond hopping will have to do.

If you haven't done so already, buy a good map of the river.  I recommend the GMCO map of the Tidal Potomac River.  You can find it at Dick's, Gander Mountain, and BPS.