Fishing on the Potomac

Type: Tidal
Region: Southern
Location: Potomac River

Sorry it has take so long but this is for real. I have been fishing the Potomac at Fletcher's Landing about a mile north of Georgetown. I rent out a boat there and bring an 55 hp electric motor with 2 batteries. With this kind of fishing it is essential to have the electric motor. In the spring during the shad run in May I accidently found my secret weapon. The secret weapon: A large shad dart in any bright color with a small Gulp Alive minnow in yellow or black. While fishing for shad, I started catching large blue and channel catfish to my astonishment. I have also caught them on cut bait but got tired of the smelly herring bought at the shack, so I have gone strictly with this my secret weapon.

The Potomac on the Virginia side has a lot of holes 20 to 50 feet deep with these fish stacked up in the holes. What I do is motor upstream to the Chain Bridge until the current overpowers my motor and then I drift. As I drift I position the boat sideway and cast upstream about 50 ft, this will keep your bait on the bottom where the big boys are. I use one rod of medium action and one with ultralite tackle. You will get a lot of snags but if you motor upstream 95% of the time you will get the lure back as it is getting caught on gaps between the rocky bottom. Sometimes I drift back done past the buoy located off the point about 1/4 mile past the fishing center where the water is 30 to 50 feet deep or I make a long run in a deep hole and motor back up river for another drift. If your line goes straight down you are not on the bottom. Sometimes a combination of wind and tide will overcome the current. In this situation cast downstream and place the motor on low and start an artificial drift.

The size of the blue catfish on this setup is amazing with average fish being over 10 lbs and 1 over 50 lb. I actually caught one close to 30 lbs on my ultralite that would have spooled me had I not palmed the spool and pumped. Since they tend to move downriver with the boat in drift it helps dramatically. I have hooked into at a 25 lb fish on every trip. My son hooked into a giant one that fought him for over a half hour. When he got it to the surface, I estimated the fish to be over 50 lbs. The fish rolled on the surface and bent the hook. Be sure to bring a hand help lip grabber and a needle nose pliers as their lips are like rubber and it allows you to not touch the fish and remove their protective slime.

On previous late spring trips I have caught rockfish, a 2 1/2 lb crappie, several walleye, white perch, hickory shad, white shad, and smallmouth bass on the Maryland side (much shallower. On four consecutive short back drifts I caught the large crappie, then a 3 lb walleye, a 3 lb smallmouth, and a large white perch. While most people on shore were catching baby rockfish. Everyone I caught was a keeper ranging from 2 lbs to 7 lbs. The rock also hit well on medium diving crank baits in flourescent yellow or white while trolling in a S pattern crossing over close to the edge between the deep water VA side to the shallow MD side.The rock are there up into early June and return in the fall as I am told.

Anyway I hope that you enjoy the river as much as I do. It is absolutely serene and beautiful as you pass a bunch of water falls. Handle the fish quickly and practice release and return. The boats are large enough to bring the kids and your significant one for a lifetime of memories.