Upper Potomac Smallmouth Bass

Type: Nontidal
Region: Western
Location: Upper Potomac

Steve Peperak and I managed to put a few nice Potomac River smallmouth in the boat recently. The river has been high and cloudy with the fishing generally tough, but there are some nice bass to be caught. Tubes, hair jigs and the like are always good choices, but our recent fish came on deep diving crankbaits. Fishermen will need to keep in mind that poor yearclasses in 2008 and 2009 have resulted in fewer 13 - 16" fish this year while the average to slightly above average yearclasses produced during 2011 and 2012 should result in good numbers of 8 - 13" fish. Please consider recording the results of your Potomac River smallmouth bass trips in our online volunteer angler survey. Information on the volunteer anlger suveys can be found at:http://dnr2.maryland.gov/Fisheries/Pages/survey/index.aspx. Fishing catch rates are used by managers in conjunction with annual electrofishing surveys to monitor population trends.