Fishing spot for a beginner

[Drew]

I am taking a lady friend fishing for her first time and am trying to come up with a spot that is easy to access, close to DC and doesn't require waders. My first inclination is the canal, but I've never hooked into a fish there. I've also heard that it is drained right now. Is that true? If not, any advice on what lock to target?

We don't need the world's greatest fishing destination. Just a place to spend a few hours practicing casting and hopefully catching a few fish that is relatively easy to access.

Also, I'll be posting a fishing report on my recent Guadalupe River trip in Texas shortly!

Thanks,

Drew

[Danny Barrett]

not sure how chainbridge is right now.  but its a pretty area in my opinion with easy parking, and all you really need are boots and can fish from the rocks.  if i ever wade there, i dont go past ankle deep.  

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Dan Barrett

 

32 Highland Ave.

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[Matthew Longley]

I've never fly fished from Chainbridge, only spun, but is there enough room to backcast there?  Seems the rocks drop pretty steep.

On Wednesday, November 28, 2012 10:54:35 AM UTC-5, Danny Barrett wrote:

not sure how chainbridge is right now.  but its a pretty area in my opinion with easy parking, and all you really need are boots and can fish from the rocks.  if i ever wade there, i dont go past ankle deep.  

On Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 10:37 AM, Drew <drewsm...@gmail.com> wrote:

I am taking a lady friend fishing for her first time and am trying to come up with a spot that is easy to access, close to DC and doesn't require waders. My first inclination is the canal, but I've never hooked into a fish there. I've also heard that it is drained right now. Is that true? If not, any advice on what lock to target?

We don't need the world's greatest fishing destination. Just a place to spend a few hours practicing casting and hopefully catching a few fish that is relatively easy to access.

Also, I'll be posting a fishing report on my recent Guadalupe River trip in Texas shortly!

Thanks,

Drew

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[Danny Barrett]

i fish there heavily during shad run.  if you park right near the bridge, walk under it to the stream.  maybe 40-60 yards up river of the bridge, there are 2 deep pools.  it was easy back casts in my opinion.  i snagged some saplings behind me occationally.  im just not sure whats in there right now., fish wize.  during shad run im not sure if id even fish anywhere else.  i always make sure im down there way before light.

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[Paul Kalajainen]

You do have to be aware of the rocks behind you, but I had no problem with a full back cast.  If you're using something heavier like a large clouser minnow it takes some more effort to keep your back cast high enough, but certainly do-able.

Paul

[Richard Farino]

I wouldn’t really call Chain Bridge a good spot for beginners, with the tough wading, sketchy rocks, dangers, etc.

 

Drew – what’s your driving distance limit?

 

 

R

 

 

Richard Farino

Urban Angler VA | 108 N. Washington Street  2nd Floor | Alexandria, VA 22314

(703) 527-2524 | fax: (703) 527-3313 | ric...@urbanangler.com

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[Terry C]

If I were going to take a " lady friend" fishing for the first time I would go to the Tidal basin  a couple of hours before dark, hoping the fishing isn't that good and she gets board quickly, then a romantic trip around the monuments, etc  ;)

[Aaron O]

I second the Tidal Basin idea.   There are fish in there and its a great visual if there not biting.  I would just be very cognative of your back cast and the amount of tourists walking by.  If you fish to the side of the Jefferson memorial (right side if your looking at it with the water behind you) you would have more space for back casting and less tourist walking by.  Just dont mind the duck droppings.  This is also a great spot for sunset as the sunset is right in front of you.  I would just plan on fishing the in coming or out going but skip the high tide (the water will be over the ledge and give you less space for casting).

 

 

 

Aaron

[Brendan]

I always find significant others to be far more enthralled by the idea of fly fishing than the reality of dating someone who is into it. Not to say there aren't a good number of female anglers, most of whom could kick my ass in terms of technique, but they get the pick of the litter and i'm not it.  Have taken several girlfriends out casting, even put them on a couple nice fish and tried mixing in a bottle of wine and italian store subs... but the romantic notion they have of brad pitt and montana quickly dissipates into cold hands, acknowledgment of the seemingly pointless notion of attempting to trick fish only to release them, and the distance the stench of cheap cigars can create in a relationship.... They then realize they'd rather stay home and let you have 'guy time,' which turns into disgust when guy time hits 50, if not 70,80,100 days a year. Maybe if they're loving and supportive they try to mix in some tying gifts like a new fly vice for christmas but that quickly consumes more and more of the time when you're not on the river and in the off-season. Then a work left in progress can spark some not so friendly dismissals of the entire sport, questions of what's more important (hint: trick question, don't answer), and demanding that you make a choice.... 

If you're serious about the girl and the sport.. borrow some waders for her, wake her up at five, drive three hours to a cold stream with tough fishing, eat a lunch of gas station goodies followed by a swisher cigar and a tall boy that's been sitting in your bag, and if she still loves you by dark... get out the ring. saves you a bunch of time and money on the whole overrated courtship ritual.  :) 

or...if you rather see the above scenario play-out over a year or two....  the tidal basin is nice. gravelly is also a good option. you can do alright there without wading and for some reason people find planes flying 100ft overhead to be romantic. worst comes to worse at gravelly, break out a spin rod, throw a hot dog on a hook and let her fight a catfish. 

[Charles Chi]

haha, your post was too funny for me not to reply.
My wife used to fish with me always until we had our son. Now she wants me to find friends that fish so I could go with them instead of her.
After she stopped, the questions of what's more important started coming up... but truth be told, those questions always come up when you do anything that is addictive.

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[Drew Smith]

I'd say about 30-40 minutes from DC.

[Matthew Longley]

I went hiking in Big Gunpowder State Park a few weekends ago with my old lady and another lady friend, and it was a really nice walk, though we didn't do any fishing. We parked in the parking lot off BelAir and walked south.  Not sure if people fish in that area or not (I think most go north of that), but it was really nice.  Maybe an hour from DC?

[Dalton Terrell]

Brendan,

Looks like you need to take notes from Matthew here.

Dalton

[Lane Smith]

Brendan's post was a funny read, but kind of sad too because I think it is perfectly representative of the life cycle of any long term relationship. Men draw emotional/spiritual/etc substance predominantly through work and escapist solitary acts of self gratitude (fishing, working on cars, sports) while women draw theirs from social activities with community and family; from the proximity and quality of their interpersonal relationships. The two wellsprings are such worlds apart it is depressing. The constant interplay of compromise and sacrifice to maintain relationships is staggering. I'm sure evolution confered some kind advantage which led to this divide, but it still sucks.

If you really like that girl don't take her fishing. Lie to her about your work hours when you need to and practice activities of personal fulfillment in secrecy.

[Joshua Delmonico]

I think widespread generalizations about either sex are just that generalizations and are a path to disillusionment. I enjoy both time to myself and social activities with community and family. Find someone who you enjoy spending time with and who feels the same about you with similar goals and values and it won't matter if you are in a cardboard box with no fishing rod or on a stream during a 100 year caddis hatch...

From: Lane Smith <jlane...@gmail.com>
To: tidal-potoma...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2012 4:56 PM
Subject: Re: {Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Fishing spot for a beginner

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[Matthew Longley]

Amen Joshua, couldn't agree more.

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[Drew Smith]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on good beginner spots.

So, just to clear this up...I think "Lady Friend" was a bit misleading. Friend who happens to be a lady would be a  better phrase to use. No relationship beyond that we used to work together and go running sometimes!

Thanks Again

Drew

[Charles Chi]

While there are plenty of guys that would teach a female friend how to fish... there aren't many women that will want to fish that have never fished before. Think about that and realize that you're the one that is mislead =P

-Charlie

[r...@robsnowhite.com]

That changes everything. Take her to four mile run. 😋

Sent from my iPhone

[Charles Chi]

I agree with rob, take her to 4mr. Go to the end of S Eads St. and park on the road. Walk down the stairs and there's plenty of fish right there.

-Charlie

[Lane Smith]

I agree, 4mile run. The trash doesn't make for a romantic locale, but the fishing is good! Sorry for the generalizations. I know they are just that. Call me disenchanted. At least there's fishing :)

[namfos]

Try the Widewater area of the C&O near Great Falls on the Md. side -  Towpath near Anglers has been repaired (took 4 years) and parking's a bear these days near Old Angler's Inn so it might be worth it to pay the fee to enter Great Falls Park and then walk down the towpath to suitable water, such as the outfall from some of the locks.  You'll get lots of practice with roll casts and watch your back cast because of the numbers of bikers, walkers and runners that are bound to be out given this weekend's weather forecast.

[NixieDC]

Aaron and Terry,

Exactly where do you go on Tidal Basin? I fished there a few months back, beautiful warm summer night, on east side of Basin near bridge, probably 100-150 yds west of Jefferson Memorial.

Any other suggestions for good locations there?

On Wednesday, November 28, 2012 1:58:32 PM UTC-5, Aaron O wrote:

[Aaron O]

I have one friend that concentrates on the outgoing bridge (not sure the name of it but I think its on the east side) right under the large weeping willow tree or casting to the side of the bridge ( I keep on getting caught in the tree so I gave up on that spot).  I also know a lot of other guys (including Rob Snowhite who is a local fly fishing consultant) that suggest fishing not just one area but walking the edge of the water and fishing the edge of the wall where fish will hide for safety.  I'm sure this is the best answer however I have had no luck trying this out myself.  The only place I have any luck is the spot I mentioned before.  I like it because I have more space for my back cast and less tourists walking behind me.  That being said, I have had little luck there since the spring but at that point I was catching small mouth, yellow perch, blue gills and channel cats.  I will be fishing there today after work so If you want to stop by and pick my ear or drop a line, let me know.

 

 

[Senor_denito]

I usually fish near the outgoing bridge at the start of an outgoing tide.  I myself haven't had much luck casting along the walls, except for landing some bluegills, crappie, and a perch which I believe feed off the walls.  I tend to cast out as far as I can, wind permitting, and vary my retrieves.  While it was warmer I also found the outgoing bridge area to be productive at night.