I had fished at Pennyfield Lock before and was curious about the quality and character of the water upstream. Given that, I walked up the towpath and cut over to intersect the river where Muddy Run joins river. As I waded out, I was startled at the difference in the water temperature between Muddy Run and the mainstream of the Potomac. Muddy Run was running cold at 75; starkly different from the Potomac itself that was pushing 82°. Recognizing an opportunity at the junction based on the difference in temperature, I edged upstream and began to fish the confluence of these two bodies of water. As it turns out, there is a deep hole at that junction. Anything deep and cool will hold smallmouth bass. After failing to attract any attention with poppers, I switched to deeper searching patterns that I could bump along the bottom. Those were immediately productive and I was able to catch a decent number of 10 to 12" smallies as well as assorted sunfish - all just standing at the upper junction of the confluence. Once I spooked that pool as a result of the fish catching action, I moved upstream. The bank on river left is fairly deep and I had to wade cautiously along the shoreline to find a place where the river became shallower and would allow me to move into the center channel . Nothing presented itself as wadable, so I returned to the confluence  As I headed back, I watched a kayaker drift downstream in the middle of the river. He was fishing and was pulling in decent numbers of smallies just as I was. When he left the river via Muddy Run to paddle to the takeout, I walked over to talk to him and he confirmed that small grubs where the pattern of choice for him. I had noticed that he was having good luck over by a small island just downstream of the junction and resolved to investigate that before leaving. Since I had already fished upstream from the Junction, I moved my attention downstream to exploit the cool water below the pool where I have had such good luck. There's a long, broad and deep hole downstream of the Junction that - even though it has a sandy bottom - holds fish in the upper sections.  The sandy bottom peters out into a section of gravel and a few small boulders but remained an interesting. I saw a few large carp cruising around but did not catch any smallies once I fished downstream.  After plumbing the depths of this area, I turned to the right towards the center of the river and fished upstream and around the island.  The rocks return with a vengeance in this area with good structure and plenty of fish within 20 or 30 feet of the island in all directions. I saw that I could move to the Virginia shore from the island and fished my way over.  The vegetation was thick in many places and that made it hard to find good spots to fish - you just know the big guys are huddled under the waving fronds of grass where they remain oblivious to your lures... they just can't see them. Bottom line: Pennyfield Lock is always a good choice; particularly early in the year. With late summer, the vegetation grows thick and dense in this area and you will have a hard time finding a place to fish closer to the common access point. Upstream near Muddy Run, it seemed like the vegetation was less dense and there was a greater opportunity to catch fish. Date Fished: 08/14/2009	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 Fishing the upper Potomac River Tell a friend about this article by clicking on this link
Upstream from the confluence	Downstream from the confluence.  The island is at the right in this picture
Thick vegetation on the Virginia side	Looking back towards the access point