Any Suggestions for the Cacapon River?

[DaveSurfs]

Good evening,

Heading up near Berkeley Springs WVa this weekend and will likely float the Cacapon Friday afternoon/evening (T-Storms permitting), and then float the confluence of the Cacapon and Potomac down to Hancock, MD on Saturday. Sunday's destination is up in the air, but will likely try and get a couple hours Sunday morning before heading back south.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Rob Snowhite's recent podcast has me interested in trying the Booglebug with woolybugger dropper for Smallies. I figured I'd also try crayfish imitation, and a couple baitfish patterns.

I'll be fishing a 9'0" 5Wt from a Kayak. 

Any suggestions appreciated.

One other thought, if the T-Storms come up bigger than forecast Friday afternoon and the rivers silt up, any suggestions on where to find cleaner water? should I be looking to trace blue lines on Google Maps and seek higher altitudes?

Thanks,

Dave

[tsm...@gmail.com]

Dave. I had no advice for you as I've never fished or floated there.
I would be interested in hearing how it went......I hope that you got in before those storms?!

Tim

[Bryant Foreman]

Quite the delayed response, but I went up and wet waded the Potomac portion right across from Great Cacapon a few weeks ago.

Wollybuggers and white clousers worked well for smallies up there. They were on the smaller side, but a couple fun fights and some cool scenery. Hope your trip was successful, would love to here how floating the Cacapon went!

-Bryant

[Andrew Sarcinello]

I've been getting curious about this river and would love to hear how the float went!  I checked out the mouth this weekend, looks like a cool stream.  Caught a few sunnies. 

Does anyone know if there is boat access anywhere in the town of Largent?  Feel free to PM me.

[Tom Moran]

As I'm new to the forum I am mining old threads and found this one.

My family has a cabin on the Cacapon, adjacent to the town of Great Cacapon, perhaps 2 miles from the confluence with the Potomac.  It's a fantastic wading river - low and clear in the summer, and small enough that if you stand in the middle you can easily reach either shoreline with moderate casting skills.  The river has generally been fishing well the last 5 years - quite a few 16"+ smallies to go with the hordes of smaller ones and very willing redbreast sunnies.  Slower stretches may have largemouth, and you will find suckers in the riffles. 

There are also a lot of rock bass, though they are small and have no fight in them.  Catfish are present but not commonly caught unless using bait.  There are carp in places;  bluegill, green and pumpkinseed sunfish are also all present.   We've caught crappie before but they are very rare.

For those who wish to float fish, I HIGHLY recommend the Rt 127 to "Cacapon Crossings", a 9 mile float that is remote and with few people using the river.   I used to lead an annual trip for the Potomac River Smallmouth Club back in the day and the flyrodders in the group generally were very pleased with this stretch.  

Here are a couple of videos, some underwater (will disprove any ideas of a lack of redbreast sunfish in the river)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrOdGvRuERU

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbXRug8G8v89Jw8YJclMInKJje15FBv9Q

With respect to Largent, I've done the stretch from the Crossings to Largent, which is also about 9 miles, and much of it is deep and slow, a bit boring.  There is a small store in Largent that you used to be able to use for takeout but I would strongly suggest calling them first.  

The stretch immediately above 127 is a highly entertaining float trip for paddlers.  Compared to the 127-Crossings trip it is more challenging paddling and less quality fishing.  

Tom

[Dave DiEugenio]

Great info Tom.

Thanks for the rundown.

Tight Lines,

Dave

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[Andrew Sarcinello]

Great info, Tom! Thanks.

Do you know if there are any large toothy fish in there? There's a book out there (primarily meant for paddlers) that claims there are both pike and musky in the Cacapon. I could see muskies but highly doubt there are pike. Hence my interest in the slow water below Largent.

[Tom Moran]

Tiger muskies were stocked in the Potomac, and I've seen accounts that they were able to reproduce (they are supposed to be sterile) so that there is a viable population.  All the accounts of muskie I've seen has them at the mouths of rivers and creeks, which for the Cacapon is a very short section where Rt 9 crosses the first time headed west out of Berkeley Springs.  There is a public access point at the bridge.  Jay Stauffer's "The Fishes of West Virginia" (see Google books, you may be able to get this loaded free) has none of the Esox family in the Cacapon except for Northern Pike, and that finding way upstream, perhaps in the Lost River section.  My guess is there is a dam/lake up there somewhere, as they are not really stream fish.  No pickerel.  Stauffer mentions the state record Muskie coming from nearby Sleepy Creek, almost assuredly at the mouth.  There are videos on Youtube of muskie being caught on the area.

I haven't canoed the stretch beginning at Largent yet.  The slow stretch I was referring to above was from the Crossings to Largent.  I have done the entire river from Capon Bridge (Rt 50) downstream except for that portion.  

Below is a link to a nice map showing public access points.  If you are going to go through the Old Cacapon power plant dam, the guidance is to portage to the left, but at lower levels it is MUCH easier to go straight over the dam at the fish ladder.  You pull up adjacent to the dam, climb out and carry your boat down the ladder.  But this area below the dam is prime fishing, especially in spring as fish tend to move upstream over the winter and concentrate at the base of the dam.  

There is another low dam downstream from there that will dump you over if you don't observe the barely perceptible notch and hit it.  The base of this low dam also holds fish well, especially now when levels are up a bit.

http://www.cacapon.org/images/Cacapon-Water-Trail-Guide-Web-Version.pdf

On Fri, May 25, 2018 at 7:51 AM, Andrew Sarcinello <andy...@gmail.com> wrote:

Great info, Tom! Thanks.

Do you know if there are any large toothy fish in there? There's a book out there (primarily meant for paddlers) that claims there are both pike and musky in the Cacapon. I could see muskies but highly doubt there are pike. Hence my interest in the slow water below Largent.

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[westbrid...@gmail.com]

I have a place on the cacapon about 6 miles up stream from the rt 9 bridge and will be there this weekend too.  excellent fishing, but it is still pretty damn high.  https://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?01611500 

I dont really like to float much above 600cfs if i want to catch fish and above 1000 i woudl imaging woudl not only be pretty hairy,  but would also mean teh potomac is way up too.  I dont know if it will drop that much until the end of the weekend.   the confluence is suppose to be a great musky spot.   

This is early so i would say closers and any minnow imitator is your best bet as welll,  but they will crush a popper or diver early and late too.   If its fishable i plan to focus on push water and eddies at teh bottom of the rapids.  

On Tuesday, June 20, 2017 at 10:44:08 PM UTC-4, DaveSurfs wrote:

[Andrew Sarcinello]

The only musky I've had follow on the Potomac was right at the mouth of Cacapon. Need to get back up to that area. Misha and I went this winter once (Potomac, not Cacapon, but same area) when water was a chilly 34 degrees, didn't see a fish...haven't gotten around to it since.

I'm thinking I'll try to do a Cacapon float sometime later this summer for bass and just keep my eyes peeled for muskies.

[Andrew Sarcinello]

Thanks for the link!

Tiger muskies ARE sterile so I am not sure I believe those accounts but I can easily see some of those larger pools being big enough to hold muskies, especially above the old power plant dam. I'd feel better about my chances if I knew that muskies (pures, not tigers) had been stocked directly into middle portions of the Cacapon. Otherwise I'm not sure how they'd get in the river above the power plant dam.

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[Tom Moran]

Andrew, don't wait to long to do a Cacapon float - when river levels get to summer low flow, while you can still do the trip, you will drag bottom quite a bit.  I rather enjoy the extremely technical aspect of finding a chute of water through riffles, but it can be challenging.

Typically May is the best month in my experience, but obviously river levels vary with weather impacts.  Also, you'll need another vehicle for a shuttle unless you work an arrangement for a ride.  To my knowledge there's no Uber or Lyft service out there.  I've walked into general stores (like in Great Cacapon) and been successful in getting a ride up from where I left my vehicle for takeout.  A quick $20 for someone might work.

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[westbrid...@gmail.com]

No muskies in the cacapon,  at least none above the dam....The ones that come up are from the Potomac at the mouth and most reports ive read have all been at or close to the confluence.  

[Andrew Sarcinello]

Thanks for the tips, for the shuttle I'll just try to find a float partner, I typically won't go it alone on a new float. I'll try to get out there before flows drop if my schedule allows, I'm not sure that it will. Though there is still plenty of rain in the forecast

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[Andrew Sarcinello]

Dam! appreciate that info. Still seems like good bass water.

[Tom Moran]

Upon further research, I was able to get an Uber estimate of fare between Forks of Cacapon (near 127 put-in) and Wolf Hollow Court Paw Paw (near Potomac Crossings takeout) for $11-$13.  

Here's what the Cacapon looks like just below the main dam.  We had carried left (before we learned the fish ladder technique) and launched at the first water available.  There is an overflow to the far right that must be avoided as it would flip a boat.

Thanks for the link!

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