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In early October '07, I rounded up the Basswife and the canoe and we made another expedition up to the Point of Rocks on the Upper Potomac. On my last business trip to Valley Forge, I had come back on Route 15 and noticed a broad channel on the Maryland side of the island that divides the river upstream of the Route 15 bridge. I was curious to see if it would be as good as the Virginia side where we had fished several times during the summer and enjoyed good success each time.
The river was running a little bit low and it took some scrunching to get the canoe across a shallow hump that trailed into the river downstream of the island. Once we survived that, I turned the canoe upriver with the goal of moving upstream and then drifting back, fishing as we went while allowing the trolling motor to hold us in place. I was surprised at how dramatically different this side of the Potomac was than the Virginia side.
On the Virginia side, the bottom of the river is mostly sand with a few deep cuts here and there. However, until you get up to the riffles which are about a mile from the launch point, you don't see much in terms of rocks. If you're fishing the Virginia side, you're fishing the deep spots or the shoreline where trees have fallen into the river to create habitat. The Maryland side is night and day different.
Over here, the bottom is full of rocks. They shelter deep pockets which harbor huge fish. We could see massive fish moving around through the clear water. Many of these were big catfish, but there had to be some smallies in there someplace. The challenge we had to fight on this particular day late in the season was the extreme amount of vegetation that protected the bottom. You could see the large fish moving in and out of the vegetation as we motored by. In addition, it was obvious that the canoe was spooking them giving the clarity of the water.
We motored up to the end to just above a major ridge that broke up the river, rigged up with 3 inch plastic powerbait grubs, and began to drift and fish our way downstream. We found it challenging to get the lures down into the deep holes. They were not very wide and, in many of these places, it was like fishing into a well. Sad to say, I did not master the weight management to really be productive in those spots. While we picked up some medium-sized smallies, all the big guys are still there.
In particular, just upstream of the bridge on the left-hand side of the river, there's a large rock that shelters a hole that has to be 15 or 20 feet deep. We tried to hold in the current and work this hard but I'm sure we were never able to get all the way to the bottom. There have to be some big guys sheltered there. After fishing our way down, I decided to let the canoe drift under the bridge to see what was on the other side.
That was a risky decision which thankfully did not have an adverse outcome. There's a break in the river where the water dumps over a small line of rocks which would present no challenge to a canoeist or kayaker but would to anyone who expected to use their trolling motor to move back upstream. I figured I could just get out of the canoe and push it up if I needed to, so I allowed us to drift over that ledge.
I'm happy we did because it was good fishing downstream and into the channel formed by the two islands. We saw a group of fishermen wading from the first island to the second, so it's not too deep down there either.
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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.
Purchase Switchfisher's books using the links to Amazon below for:
- Wade Fishing the Rapidan River of Virginia (more info)
- Wade and Shoreline Fishing the Potomac River for Smallmouth Bass
(more info)
- Trout and Smallmouth Fishing on the North Branch of the Potomac
(more info)
Bottom Line: I enjoy the Point of Rocks. It's a great place to fish both in and out of the canoe. Now that I know about the Maryland side, that's where I will use the canoe. The Virginia side is better for wading as it is shallower.
Secrets Revealed? No. This is a very public location that is documented in any number of places - notably Ken Penrod's book - or just ask the 50 people who will be under the bridge...
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