March 27, 2018
Activity from all species is increasing as the water temperature stabilizes. Hickory shad are being caught in decent numbers as well as an uptick in striped bass activity. Smallmouth have been found staging for their annual migration to their spawning grounds.
March 25, 2017
March 20, 2017
March 11, 2017
As the water temperature dropped over the last few days the rockfish bite has become particularly tough. Fortunately the slow rockfish bite coincided with the annual migration of smallmouth to their upriver spawning grounds. The smallmouth provided few days of...
March 8, 2017
February 25, 2017
Shad in February? Not as crazy as it sounds. Never before has a shad been caught in February at Fletcher’s Cove. The record is still safe but came within inches of being broken before an American shad threw the hook at the boat.
February 20, 2017
A streak of unseasonably warm days caused the water temperature to jump into the mid 40’s. With the jump in temperature came the years first signs of spring on the Potomac. A handful of cormorants were spotted which is typically an early sign of fish activity....
March 31, 2016
This seasons early warm weather has made predicting the shad and striper runs very difficult. Previous years data and reports mean almost nothing when the season starts so early and the river remains so remarkably low. Striper fishing has remained good since the...
March 18, 2016 – A New Season Begins
A string of 75º plus days early in March started one of the earliest spring runs in memory. The first hickory and American shad were caught on March 11th and the first striper the day before. Since then the bite has remained slow for shad and, for the most part,...
September 16, 2015 – Topwater bite continues
August 20, 2015
For the first time in years NPS did not drain the C&O Canal between Georgetown and Lock 5 over the winter. As expected this has given the resident fish population the the canal to chance to settle in, grow and multiply. The result has been one of the most...
August 19, 2015
Low water levels can be a blessing and a curse. On the downside it tends to leave long stretches of river seemingly lifeless but on the other hand it concentrates fish into predictable area such as deep water or the few places left with significant current....
July 12, 2015
The last several weeks have been very frustrating for anyone trying to get out on the Potomac. Afternoon thunderstorms in the watershed over the last month have made fishing opportunities few and far between. The river has been unseasonably high and murky at times...
