Now that summer is upon us, I've started to visit the Upper Potomac again on the one day a week I have to work in Gaithersburg.  Even though I began visiting the Potomac with regularity late last season, there still is a lot of water that I have not seen.  This day was to be no exception.  In the past, I've just run up and down River Road, which parallels the Potomac, and looked for access points.  My latest map recon revealed that Sycamore Landing Road would lead me to the water's edge.  The turn was easy to find and was marked by a sign for the McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area. The parking lot is small and looks to be a key launch point for individuals who are going to either canoe or kayak.  From the parking area, there is a 20 foot, fairly steep hill that leads to the water's edge.  There is no improved boat launch ramp in this area.  Canoeists and kayakers need to plop their boat into the water right from the shallow beach that forms the shore.  Before I geared up, I did a quick look at the edge of the water.  It looked pretty deep, and I wondered if I would be able to wade here.  As it turns out, there's just a small, deep trench that runs next to the bank in this area.  On the day I was here, it was about 3 feet deep and easy to negotiate.  Once across the trench, you are on a wide, shallow shelf that is typically about 2 feet deep.  The shelf extends almost to the middle of the river. As I worked my way out, I encountered a number of potholes of deeper water which made me glad that I was wearing my life vest.  One misstep and you will find yourself floating in the water.  I can swim fairly well, but I'm not sure that I can swim and hold onto my fly rod at the same time. I strongly recommend that you wear some kind of a life vest while on this river -- it can get deep. I decided to try something a little bit different today.  Rather than go with a top water presentation, I decided to work the bottom.  When you look at the pictures below, there is no structure above the water to fish.  That makes any cast, anywhere about the same.  Without a target, it seemed like floating poppers or terrestrial patterns on top would be a random guess.  Given that there was a bit of current, I decided that I wanted to make sure that my lure got to the bottom quickly where it could bounce along.  With that, I attached in Airflo extra fast sinking tip to my fly line ending with tippet material tapering from 2X to 4X. I tied on a small barrel swivel because I knew that anything bumped along the bottom would cause the line to twist.  Then, in the best bass fashion, I put on a 1/32 oz sliding weight and tied on a size 4 hook to which I attached a small plastic crappie lure.  Obviously, this is not traditional fly fishing -- rather -- it's bass fishing adapted to a fly rod. As I worked my way out to the center of the river, I began casting into the shallow section.  Granted, using a sinking leader was overkill in the shallow water, but I wanted to get some practice and gain a feel for this new set up.  After I got the hang of it, I found I could get a decent cast and began picking up small smallies, as well as any number of bluegill.  Eventually, I worked my way to the edge of the shallow area in the middle of the river.  I don't know whether I just hit the edge of a large hole or if this was the drop-off that would slope to Virginia.  In any case, I began to cast up and across the river and fished the lure back in traditional streamer fashion.  I would let it sink all the way to the bottom and give it a periodic twitch as it drifted downstream.  The action was constant.  I was picking up either a bluegill or a smallie on every fourth or fifth cast - more of the former than the latter. The bluegills in this stretch of the river are fairly massive and were the size of my hand.  Most of the smallies were small, ranging between eight and 12 inches.  However, I did tie into a big boy who shook loose before I could bring him to hand.  The crappie lures seemed to be just the trick on this day.  I was using some small paddle tail YUM brand plastics as well as some Southern Pro one-inch black and white Shad/Minnow patterns.  The most popular with the smallies was the Shad/Minnow.  I assume that as the lure twitched its way downstream, it looked very much like a wounded or distressed fish. When it was time to go, I had a challenge trying to find my way back to the shallow shelf.  I had wandered downstream and had deep water on both sides.  It took a while to feel my way back to the shallow section and then slosh my way to the shore -- another reason to keep that life vest on.  I did see one other fisherman wading when I was on the river and there were a number of boats that drifted by fishing with the current.  From the delighted screams of the kids on one boat, I knew they were having a good day as well. Bottom Line: It looks like there is a lot of wadeable water off this access point.  I will come back here are a few more times and enter the water at different points to determine how far up or down river is actually wadeable.  There are no rock ledges in this section.  The bottom has a few scattered rocks, but is mostly sand, silt, and mud.  I found my wading staff to be more useful to test the depth in front of me than being needed to retain my balance.  As you walk, you will kick up a cloud of mud and silt.  Given that, I recommend you work your way up the river throwing quartering casts upstream and to the side.  That will keep your lure out of the mud cloud.	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  The Upper Potomac is well known as a bass river.  Ken Penrod detailed every aspect of the river in his book. In addition, GMCO Maps have all the details of where to wade, marked good fishing structure, as well as the canoe/boat access points.  Note - this link does not take you to the "Upper Potomac" map - it goes to the Potomac farther south.  I have not found an online source for the Upper Potomac.
Upstream from entry point	Downstream from entry point
Typical smallie (all fish were released)	Picture of another fisherman to give you a perspective on how far out into the river you can wade.