September is my favorite time of the year to fish on the Upper Potomac so when Carl Craig, the owner of Fly Fishing Benefactors, suggested that we go out fishing I instantly recommended heading up to the Harpers Ferry area. In earlier posts, I had fished both up and downstream of the optimal ledge structure just above Knoxville Falls. I hoped, and that hope was confirmed, that most people would be thinking about doing something else this late in the season. When we arrived at the edge of the river after walking on a short path from the small parking area, we were pleasantly surprised to see that we were the only ones on the water. The Knoxville Falls area has two well-known ledges that represent the optimum place to fish in this small section. One of these is the Weaverton Ledge and the other is the Old Mill Ledge. I sent Carl out on Weaverton and I began fishing my way out onto Old Mill. In this book, Fishing the Upper Potomac, Ken Penrod remarked that this particular spot is the most perfect smallmouth bass fishing habitat on the river. In small focus, that habitat is bounded by these two ledges. Anyone who crawls out onto these major rock structures is likely to have a good day of fishing. Today was no exception. Close to the shore, the river runs across a 25 yard shallow shelf that is pockmarked with 2 or 3 foot deep holes. All of these hold as many sunfish as you care to catch and a decent population of smaller smallmouth bass. This was the first day I was using the Fly Fishing Benefactors mountain pack rod that I had ordered. I wanted to do a test run to see if it would properly cast my normal six weight line. In effect, I was "simulating" a broken rod crisis and wanted to make sure that this 9 foot, seven piece rod would perform. I was pleased to see that it handled the fish near the bank without any problems. The casting was easy and I did not see or detect any difference in my ability to present the six weight line on the five weight pack rod. Reassured that it would perform, I waded out onto Old Mill Ledge and began to fish the deep pool upstream as well as the many cuts in the ledge itself where the river pushed through to run across deeper holding locations downstream. There was a little bit of surface activity underway so I tied on the standard blue size 6 popper and began to flip it at likely locations. With a river running crystal clear, I had a good view of the underwater structure using my polarized glasses. In short order, I was rewarded with crushing smallmouth action. While nothing big hit the popper, plenty of 10 to 13 inch smallmouth ripped into it with abandon. Fishing downstream into the cuts, I switched over to streamers and tied on a special pattern that my fishing buddy Lon’s son created. It was a buggy looking thing that he called a red velvet ant. I added a small split shot about 12 inches above the fly and let it drift in the seams where the water ran through the gaps in the ledge. I could not keep the sunfish off this thing! In addition, a good number of 12 to 14 inch smallmouths were happy to chomp at it as well. In short, this day, in this location, was spectacular. The mountain pack rod continued to perform well and I did not see any issues with using the six weight line. In fact, there was a slight wind blowing up the river and I appreciated the extra weight to punch a fly into the stiff wind. Carl had cautioned to make sure that the pieces did not work loose over time. I did not have any problems with this at all. When I checked the rod, everything was still tightly bound together. This is not a concern that is unique to this particular rod, but is shared amongst all pack rods. The more pieces you have, the more you need to pay attention to making sure that they do not work loose with the constant bending and flexing of the rod as you use it. Bottom line: I hated to see this day come to an end. It was one of those perfect fishing events that lock themselves into your mind’s eye and provide a reference point for comparison on future trips.	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: Secrets Revealed?  No.  This is a very public location that is documented in the following places: Maryland DNR  Penrod - Fishing the upper Potomac River Tell a friend about this article by clicking on this link Date Fished: 9/20/2009
Weaverton Ledge looking upstream from Old Mill	Downstream to Knoxville Falls from Old Mill
Old Mill Ledge - wide and pretty easy to walk on	The ledge goes all the way to Virginia and has great tailwater