Hung up Paul and I decided to try out Pohick Bay in Paul's Jon boat. We met up at 5:30AM and ran into some complications (stupid road signs) and started fishing around 7. The water traffic was picking up and it was getting crowded fast. By the time we were on the water there were atleast a dozen other boats out there already fishing.

Paul started it off with a nice sized yellow perch on a senko!

Sorry for the funky pix, we both forgot our cameras!

Paul continued to kick my butt throughout the day with a few more fish including this nice one

which I think hit a spinnerbait but I'm not sure.

I finally caught one off of spinner bait throwing it between two trees. It wasn't big enough for pictures but it sure felt good to put a fish in the boat!

My buddy Jeremy met up with us later with his kayak and he was able to quickly put fish in the yak. no word on any pictures from him.

A few fish later, I finally caught a keeper

Paul followed up with a nice senko bass that got hung up on a stump (hung up paul got hung up, figures)

turned out to be the biggest fish of the day.

We noticed a lot of nets and traps in the bay and actually had to help a trapped carp get loose of a net. We then rolled up on a trap with crazy action inside and found...

....that I had horrible picture taking skills and this HUGE gar inside. That sucker was a good 3 ft long. There was a second gar in there that was about 1.5-2 ft long and a massive carp that topped them both. We must have spooked the carp enough to get out of the trap but the gar weren't so lucky.

We ended the day with a few more fish but nothing of size. It was a great day to be on the water and we felt me faired pretty well for it being our first time on this body of water.

Cool write up!  I'm considering making Pohick my next "new-water" run.  Researching where to rent a boat.  I'm excited to get on the Potomac for the first time!  

Andrew, good report and it sounds like you had a good day out on the water.  Just remember that the Potomac River conditions can change on a dime.  You should also check for small craft advisories before you go out and watch the sky for storms rolling in.  We got caught up in some real rough water one day, 2-3 foot waves.

Great post. Looks like a good time!

Rondef.....where would I go to check for small craft advosories?  I had a hell of a time on Hunting Run Monday when that front moved in and that was on a reservoir, I had my 55lb trolling motor on 5 and was dead in the water against that wind.  I would hate to get caught up on the Potomac in something like that.  Sorry for the hijack!

Rondef.....where would I go to check for small craft advosories? I had a hell of a time on Hunting Run Monday when that front moved in and that was on a reservoir, I had my 55lb trolling motor on 5 and was dead in the water against that wind. I would hate to get caught up on the Potomac in something like that. Sorry for the hijack!

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=22151

....is a place to start.  They have a "Marine" feature.

Sorry about the temporary hijack.

I bought a Midland two way radio with the weather alerts built in for less than $50.  I check it every time before I leave the house and I keep it in my tackle box when I am out fishing.  If the sky looks questionable I turn it on to find out what is going on.  It has a rechargable battery to boot.

Yeah, we also forgot to check the tides! Once the fishing slowed we realized it was low tide. It was a good 1.5-2' below what it was when we launched.

Do you get small craft advisories for reservoirs and small lakes? I'd assume just the bays and the major rivers?

Wild write up Andrew.  Thanks for the post.

I've seen some huge carp out in that cove left of the launch at pohick (all the way at the end of the parking lot where the kayaks launch).  My friend and I also saw three gar swimming together last year there when we launched his jon.  Wild site.

That is crazy that it was trapped in the net though.  Looks like you guys got some good fish though, definately one of the more interesting trips I've heard of lately lol.  

How's the hydrilla and mats doing over there?  I know last year at this time it was hard to get the prop through some of that stuff in the shallow bays.  

Glad to hear ya'll had fun.  Keep slayin em' and posting up.  Looks like it's actually getting pretty active in here again.

Thanks Jay, trying to post up more but haven't really been out. This was the first time in a while that I was able to clear my schedule for some fishing.

I didn't see much hydrilla or matting just the lily pads, but I had other things on my mind that day so I could be mistaken.

I've been slackin' this year. Hopefully I'll be able to get out some more soon.

Thanks again for posting Andrew.  The weeds don't seem to be an issue yet.  Last year's dead algae is another story....  Every cast would retrieve a bait covered in it in a few spots.  

Tides in fresh water certainly was an interesting experience for me.  I'll definitely keep that in mind next time out.  As for the weather, I always try to keep an eye on it.  I grew up fishing Lake Ontario where 3 foot swells can sneak up on you quickly.

2 years ago my buddies and me got caught in this mess on a lake on the NY/Canada border...

Our camp was on the far shoreline.  Yikes!