Tidal Bass Update

Type: Nontidal
Region: Central
Location: Potomac River

It was a hot day on May 1, 2010 when anglers of the Bass Fishing League (FLW) were working the waters of the Potomac River for largemouth bass. The largest bass caught was a little over 6 pounds by John Lorenzo. Nearly 500 bass were caught and 98% of them survived the angling stress throughout the tournament. The bass appeared to be biting on blue-and-black jigs. Some anglers were successful fishing the mainstem grasses. When tracking bass over their spawning grounds in Chicamuxen Creek, we found that several bass had moved upstream and into coves, which is pretty typical of tidal bass during the spawning season. A few anglers had been worked the docks of Smallwood State Park. The docks provide good fishing for black crappie and sunfish and also bass, which were released at the docks following the FLW tournament. Grasses at the dock are steadily coming in, but not in an abundance to hurt fish movement around the pilings. After a few days, the bass will be moving away from the docks. Some fish that were caught were obviously females that had not spawned. Those females will likely release their eggs into a male�s nest sometime soon. The spawning season for largemouth bass generally ends in June before water temperatures reach their highest of the year.