It was high blue skies in mid-September when I pulled into the small parking lot at Lock 8 around 1600 in the afternoon. After a poor experience at Carderock, I was hopeful that Lock 8 would be better. I followed the trail down the hill and around the building that sits on the east bank of the canal to find the bridge to the tow path. Since I was under a time constraint, I walked directly to the river following the beaten trail through the thick brush. I continue to be amazed at how remote these areas of the Potomac feel. While I could see the American Legion Bridge upstream on my horizon, particularly when the sun reflected off the white panels of the large trucks as they rumbled by, looking downstream, all you see is wilderness. Hard to believe that this is the middle of the Washington Metropolitan Area. But, I was not here to sightsee, I wanted to catch some fish. On the day I was here, the river was at a manageable level and easy to wade. I always revisit the point that I wear my life vest and use a wading staff. While I have not been swept off my feet to tumble downstream (yet), the wading staff has protected me from many unwanted dips in the river. It's an easy wade out from the shore as there are plenty of rocks which run perpendicular providing a quick rock to rock hopping path into the mainstream. Closer to the bank, I used a small size 6 blue popper wherever I saw a log in the water. That provided a good warm-up with any number of bluegills volunteering to help me with my practice. Once out into the main current, I switched to my bass rig with a small 2 inch grub and started to pick up bigger smallies. I find that if I drop the grub down deep and bump it along the bottom of the river, it produces results often enough to where I think I might be good at this whole fishing thing. I used black-and-white as well as green and brown patterns to good success. It's interesting to note the you can create your own colors, to a certain extent, just by storing these things in the same plastic bag. I have a whole set of black-and-whites that are now black and green as a result of being mixed in with some chartreuse colored grubs. I don't know why, but it always seems like variations of green are the most productive on the Potomac. I did read an article in Bassmasters a few months ago asserting that silver and white or black-and-white were actually the two colors bass preferred. I need to put that guidance to better practice in the coming season. I continued to fish my way down river leveraging the bountiful supply of rocks to stay in water that was waist deep or less. The typical rock formation continued to run perpendicular to the shore which made it sporty to move downstream but easier to move farther into the current. Late in the day, I noticed a group of people over on the far bank and realized that I was across from the Turkey Run Recreational Area where had fished earlier in the summer. Comparing the two spots, I believe I prefer Lock 8. I caught more fish here and there was a sign that prohibited wading over on Turkey Run Park. As the sun dropped down, I started to fish my way back to the bank and I worked up the west side of the long skinny island that protects the trail leading up to the parking area. I continued to catch smaller smallmouth as well as bluegill in the tight stretch between the bank and the island. I started to hear voices in front of me and rounded the corner to see a Mom and her two daughters sitting debating how to attract the attention of the Dad who was out fly fishing behind me. They were disappointed that I was not he. Since I have already paid the bills to put my kid through college, I was equally glad I was not him. We moved up the trail and I could see him casting beautiful loops about 100 yards away from us. I reached for my whistle and started to blow; producing loud shrieks which echoed across the river as all four of us waved our arms. In short order, the Dad looked over, saw us, and waved in return. Satisfied that I had helped save the day, I headed up to the car and finished my commute home. Bottom Line: The Upper Potomac continues to be one of the best bass rivers that I fish. The accessibility to good water makes this more preferable than either the Rappahannock that only has a couple public access points. In addition, I believe that there is a higher population of fish living in the Potomac as it is impossible to cover the entire body of water and clean it out like the group of guys I encountered above Kelly's Ford at the Disabled Hunter access point were doing back in May.	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. The Potomac smallies seem to prefer grubs and worm patterns rather than traditional flies floated on top. I run into trouble using woolly buggers and other traditional streamers here because they hang up on the jagged rock formations that form the bottom of the river. It was that obnoxious trait that forced me to develop my bass rig which is really just a normal spinning rig downsized to be appropriate for a fly rod. 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 numerous freshwater fishing reports on the Maryland DNR website as well as in Fishing the upper Potomac River Date Fished: 09/17/2009
Looking up to the American Legion Bridge	Looking downstream - left bank
Downstream right bank	Looking over to Turkey Run