New to DC and looking to explore the fly fishing scene

[James Loomis]

Hi everyone-

I've just moved to Washington from St. Louis, MO. I consider myself a novice fly fisherman and my experience has been limited to fly fishing for trout in the Missouri Ozarks. I want to develop my skills and further pursue fly fishing as a hobby, and think fly fishing around my new city would also be a great way to meet new people. I popped in the Orvis Arlington store today, and they suggested I post on here to introduce myself and to solicit advice for navigating the DMV fly fishing scene.

So, here I am! I'm eager to get out there start learning/meeting/exploring. Any advice on nearby trout fishing spots or meetups (I was told there is a monthly practice session in Georgetown; convenient for me as I live near) would be greatly appreciated. Sorry if this is a vague post-- it is hard to know where to start!

Best,

Jimmy Loomis

[Kevin KB]

James,

Welcome to the area.  While there are some good trout streams in the area, flyfishing is bigger than that here.  We have great carp fishing in the canal, lots of places with smallmouth and bigmouth bass, smaller panfish, gar, and don't overlook snakehead.  This is a diverse area and all those fish except for the trout can be caught in the Potomac river.

Kevin

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[jmcc...@gmail.com]

Hi Jimmy,

 

Welcome to the area!  You picked a good place to fish.  In my admittedly biased opinion, the DC area is the best kept secret in the country for fly fishing (or at least diversity of types of fly fishing) – we’re in easy driving distance of saltwater, mountain streams, chalk streams, warm stillwater, and a big tidal river system here, which I’m not sure you can replicate anywhere else in America. As Kevin mentioned, there is a ton more fly fishing here than just trout. I’ll go kind of season by season with a quick and dirty list of things to try and water to explore.  If you just google the water listed below, there should be more than enough items that come up for access points and directions.  Just be mindful that some might require access permits or separate license stamps.

 

Fall

Largemouth might be heating up again in neighborhood ponds

Stocked rainbows in VA/MD stocker streams (check the VDGIF/MD DNR sites for stocking schedules with COVID)

Brown trout in Mossy Creek, yellow breeches PA, or other spring creeks depending on rain

Catfish/Snakehead might still be good, but I’ll admit I’m no expert on these guys

 

Winter

Not much – good tying weather though. Spring creeks might still be OK

 

Spring

Potomac/Rappahannock shad run ~April (this is huge here) – try on the bank around Chain Bridge or rent a boat from Fletcher’s

Native trout season, ~March/April-early June – Shenandoah National Park and other mountain streams. Get a map of SNP and pick a blue line – usually there are trails that run alongside them.  The Rapidan is a good one to start with, but you might find it crowded

Trout stocking starts in designated VA/MD waters (again, check the VA/MD websites for schedules)

Brown Trout in VA/MD/WV/PA spring creeks (try some google or search the board here for specifics)

Largemouth spawn in neighborhood ponds and Potomac/tidal basin

Smallmouth spawn in Shenandoah River/other warmwater tribs

Stripers start downriver/bay in April; might find some schoolies during the shad run as well

Snakehead/catfish in Potomac and tidal areas

Maybe some carp in the canal or neighborhood ponds

 

Summer

It’s usually too hot for native trout, but you can try the stocker streams or maybe spring creeks

Bluegill spawn in neighborhood ponds (not kidding, especially on the fly)

LMB

SMB

CARP. I’ve found they’re more active in the summer depending on the heat and water level, especially in neighborhood ponds – there are some monsters around here

Snakehead/catfish in the tidal basin

Striper closer to the bay, if you’ve got access to a boat

 

Lastly, you might want to think about hitting up Rob Snowhite for a local guide session to get familiar with the area.  He’ll be able to give you a much more in-depth list of places to go and patterns to try for different local  species.

 

I think that’s it.  It’s a really cool mix of warmwater and coldwater here with our proximity to the bay and the mountains, so it’s easy to stay busy.  It’s a great place to be if you like to fish.

 

Have a blast

 

• J

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[caca...@gmail.com]

Welcome Jimmy,

   Everything James said above is correct,   Although I find that even with all this right here,  there can be a steep learning curve to know where to fish and not waste your time in the city.   Access can be tough and some areas can be very influenced by tide and flow making for a lot of wasted time when shore fishing.     I started fishing down here about 5 years ago when I started working down here (also right near G-Town).   I am also not an expert at fly fishing and while I do it quite a bit in the city,  I also find myself using spin and baitcasting gear just as often.  

If you want a place to start with out much needed help,  i suggest the tidal basin by the Ohio Dr bridge.  And, Yes you can fish on the steps of the Jefferson momument....and as a new Washingtonian I highly suggest you do. Thats not something you can say you did anywhere else.    You can fish the entire basin and catch every species in the river just by walking the wall and tossing a streamer.  Now is a great time to luck in to a monster smallmouth or blue cat.    A falling or rising tide,  closer to high tide is my preferred time to fish it  just cause the water is higher up the wall and the fish seem to move in closer to eat baitfish off the wall.  I try to hit the basin every few weeks and would be happy to meet up some morning before work to fish and show you the area.   

In addition to Rob,  and Orvis,  I would also suggest you stop in and see the Guys at District Angler just up spout run,  those guys would also be happy to point you in the right direction.    

The DMV is a monster of a fishery and while the potomac is in your front yard in DC,  it barley scratches the surface on what's available in this place.  

Nick

[Jamie Carracher]

One thing I'd say about winter here in D.C. is that for me there is basically just a month when it's not worth it to go out (Jan/Feb). And even then if you really were desperate you could go to Four Mile Run. And I'm sure there are people who would say every month is worth going out!

On Monday, September 21, 2020 at 12:34:10 PM UTC-4 James M. wrote:

[Yambag Nelson]

As others have posted, there is alot of fishing to be had around here beyond trout.  if you are interested in chasing trout, the mountain streams can fish all summer depending on rain.  However, the fish will be getting ready to spawn in the next few weeks and most people leave them around during that time.  The next couple of weeks should be ok though.

The shenandoah valley spring creeks are known for their terrestrial fishing and there is still a bit of that to be had.  You can also fish streamers if the water is up.  Some of them like Mossy can get pretty technical.  

The gunpowder in maryland is well known.  I don't love it but others certainly do.  It is close and lots of fish.  You can fish year round there.

The spring shad run is really the epitome of the DC fly fishing experience.  Truly an event unique to DC.