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Mid-summer 2007, I found a new "enemy". Smallies! With the trout action over and the itch to fish still strong, smallies were the logical replacement target. John kicked me over the top on this one when he talked me into going up to Harper's Ferry. With that small taste of smallie action on a long rod, this new fly guy was hooked deep and firm.
The Basswife was a bit nervous when I told her we were going out on a river as she is overly cautious regarding rapids, but once we got to the boat launch, she was ok. The river is very broad at the Riverbend launch point. It stretches out from Virginia with rocky outcrops to the right and left with a wide, deep stretch reaching over to the Maryland shore. The launch itself is an improved concrete ramp that drops steeply into the river with a handy flood gauge painted on the wall to keep you from doing something stupid... if you look at it.
The river near the ramp is flat and shallow, causing me to push out with the canoe paddle strongly before I could drop the electric motor and kick it on. We motored upriver to scope out the territory. The first challenge was that the current was decently strong - even during this drought year - and fought to push the canoe back if we ventured into the middle. I steered to the right and skipped through the shallow areas outside of the main current seam to allow us to make reasonably rapid progress.
River looks good. Scenery is nice - nothing but a wooded shore with the rocks and islands hunkered in the flow. Once I appreciated the issue with the current and the canoe, I had to figure out how to deal with it. While the Basswife could just start fishing, I had to deal with the drift. This was a huge distraction to fishing! I deployed the wind sock in an attempt to slow us down, but that did not really work well. It will work fine in the wind, but failed in a current. I ended up having to point the Basswife downstream and throw the motor into reverse; anxiously trying to balance the speed of the motor against the gentle breeze and the current. I finally got the hang of it and could keep the canoe reasonably stable by flipping between the lower two reverse speeds.
Great! We worked a bit downstream, picked up a few smallies and bluegills (of course). I wanted to get out and wade some of the rock formations, but the Basswife gave me "the look". Even though I got her to wear her bathing suit in anticipation of such an event, she was not anxious to slip and trip on the rock slop that coated every ledge. Rats. Canoe-bound for the day. The upside of that was that we could cover more ground and get a better feel for the area.
I continued to work downstream with the current. We discovered that the river downstream of the launch was not only very, very deep but also had a dense population of smallies. The Basswife was pulling a decent number of fish with spinners and I switched to streamers in an effort to get to the bottom. The Patuxent Special appeared to be the "go to" lure for this stretch. I used the version with the weight on the front in about a size 12.
It did not appear that there was good access to the river from the shore on the Virginia side except for the area immediately around the launch. I did not see anyone fishing outside of the 50 yard radius of the launch. On the Maryland side, the C&O canal trail parallels the river with plenty of movement. However, none of that was on the shore - must be more bikers and hikers than fisherman. All this convinced me that this was a boater's section of the river. With the basscanoe, we could move fast, get to where we wanted to fish and then move on.
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Remember to refer to my rating explanations - these are based on what I look for - so RED for Physical Fitness translates to easy physically - you do not need to be in shape to fish this section. I prefer terrain that is tough to get into and out of.
I took my son Chris back here the following weekend and we had a great time off the tip of Glady's Island. While we were fishing this spot, another guy in a life jacket (no pontoon or boat) drifted down, fishing as he went. He called out to us that he had hooked into a 2 lb smallie at the tip of the island. When asked, he said that he just floats down from upstream in the jacket, stopping where it looks good to fish and continues on; eventually getting out to walk back upstream and do it again.
If you do this, be sure you get out on the Maryland side to leverage the quick and easy walking on the C&O path to get back upstream. Interesting technique! I may have to try that after work in the summer...
Bottom line: The Potomac is a real fisherman's playground. As long as the water levels are Ok and the river is not blown out and brown from upstream runoff after a rain, you will have a good day here.
Getting there: Here's the link to the Riverbend Park site. The directions link on the site is pretty comprehensive. To net it out, take exit 44 from the beltway, go about 4 miles or so and then turn right on River Bend Road. There will be a sign there for the park. Stay on this for a little over 2 miles and turn right on Jeffery Road. It will take you to the visitor center. You can pay the launch fee in the trailer that is next to the launch ramp. There is also a large nature center with bathrooms that sells a variety of park kind of stuff as well as some food and drink items. |
