Prior to fishing at Old Mill Ledge, Carl and I visited the Brunswick launch to check out the area underneath the Route 17 bridge. This is an exceptionally easy location to fish. After parking at the boat launch, we waded across the narrow channel that separates it from a small island that shelters the launch area from the main channel of the river. When we reached the shore and looked out over the broad river, I was disappointed to see the heavy vegetation clogging the shallow shelf that makes wading easy for a significant distance. Since we could see some decent gaps where the current was flowing strong, we decided to fish here for a while to see what developed. I waded straight out, parallel to the bridge, and began throwing small poppers and other surface patterns at the edges of the vegetation. I wasn't rewarded for my efforts. While a few sunfish took the bait, I only caught one tiny smallmouth. There is deep water here but, this late in the season, the vegetation had grown so long that it waved long fingers of stringy grass a significant distance over each hole. In my mind's eye, I could imagine massive smallmouth huddling underneath the undulating fronds; waiting in ambush for an unsuspecting sunfish to swim by. Unfortunately, the grass limited the flies I could use to top water patterns. There was no opportunity to get a weighted streamer down through the heavy grass to work all along the bottom where it would be interesting to those big smallmouth. That said, wading is easy in this particular location. The shelf is shallow and, at summer pool levels of the river, you can wade almost all the way over to Virginia if you pick your way carefully. Earlier in the season, I had had a great day working the shoreline from a mile upstream back down to the launch. That convinced me that this section of the Potomac is a "keeper". The additional constraint this experience added was to be here before the vegetation grows out of control and limits access to both the structure and the fish it holds. Bottom Line: The Brunswick boat launch area is a place that needs to be on your list to visit during the summer season. You'll have a good day without having to take a long hike to reach water. Even when I was here earlier in the summer, there were not many people fishing in this particular location. There are numerous boats, canoes and kayaks that launch from the ramp but they all tend to go either up or downstream leaving the bridge to those of us to fish with our feet planted on the bottom. Secrets Revealed?  No.  This is a very public location that is documented in the following places: Maryland DNR  Fishing the upper Potomac River Tell a friend about this article by clicking on this link	Pressure Trout Size N/A Physical Fitness Bass Size Access Regulations Hard to Find Stocking Scenery Overall 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. Getting There: I hate to do this, but I support the site by selling books.   My book on the Upper Potomac - "Wade and Shoreline Fishing the Potomac River for Smallmouth Bass" is available in both ebook format (instant download) or traditional print. This book walks the 57.3 miles upstream from the Chain Bridge in DC to Harpers Ferry, WV using words, annotated maps and over 200 pictures to provide you exact references while removing any doubt about what to expect in each section of the river.  The 230+pages include detailed directions, 42 maps, 45 tables and 208 GPS coordinates - more detail than you will see in any other fishing guidebook. You can purchase the eBook version for $9.95 by clicking on the buttons below:        To purchase the traditional print version:
Carl taking a cigar break	Check out the grass!