Fishing Saturday: Help a newbie!

[BigtimeBG]

Hey all. I have fished a lot in the past but have really not been able to get myself out around here much. The urban nature, where to park, etc. has been hard for me to figure out. This Saturday looks like solid weather so I'm really hoping to spend as much time out fishing as possible... flies or spinning rod. My ask is basically for any suggestions / help. Down to literally where to park would even be helpful since that seems to be hard to figure out at some spots. And honestly, if anyone wants to show a newbie around, I'd love to learn both the area and more about fly fishing since I've only dabbled in it.

I have waders and a 5wt rod (grew up trout fishing in central PA) plus some traditional spin casting stuff meant for bass mostly.

Sooo... What would you do this Saturday if you had the day?

• Where would you go to fish? ... if nothing was biting, where would you try next?
• What flies/lures would you use?
• What time of day would you go? (new to this tidal thing so not sure which is better)
• What type of fish would you target?

Really open to any/all ideas and thanks so, so much for any help in advance!

[Connor Donovan]

If you want to fish in DC, I'd hit Fletcher's boat house and rent a row boat for the day. It's DC's historical fishing spot. They sell all the spinning tackle you'd need at the boathouse as well as fishing licenses and snacks. For types of flies/lures, I'd start with ones imitating baitfish and crawfish or top water patterns fished along the banks or near structure. But it being August, dropping some hot dogs down to the bottom on spinning gear in the middle of the river is probably the golden ticket to catch some fish. 

But if you have the time, rent a canoe for a day's float on the South Branch Shenandoah.  It's a great river for smallmouth fishing using the same lure/fly imitations as mentioned above with plenty of info on outfitters and access points in other threads in this group.

[namfos]

Get a copy of this, http://www.gmcomaps.com/product/upper-potomac-river-pro-series/

And this is useful too, http://amzn.to/2fybU5v

Mark

[BigtimeBG]

Thanks for the ideas! I'd love to do the South Branch but tomorrow looks a bit spotty with T-storms. I'd hate to go all that way and not be able to be out on the water much.

Question on the "it being August" comment... I'm assuming fishing it just slower due to the heat right? Are there are areas that are better than others this time of year? 

[BigtimeBG]

Those look like AWESOME resources. I'm definitely buying them. Thanks a ton Mark!

[Brian Cohen]

The Shenandoah often has different weather than.in DC - and is low right now, so thunder storms might not be a problem.   Call murrys fly shop or one of the canoe rental outfitters  for an.update. 

Closer to home, consider Riverbend Park - will be better than Fletchers right now.  

Brian

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network.

From: BigtimeBG Sent: Friday, August 11, 2017 12:28 PM To: Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders Reply To: tidal-potoma...@googlegroups.com Subject: {Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: Fishing Saturday: Help a newbie!

--
http://www.tpfr.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to tidal-potoma...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/992b8f36-e82c-4da5-8a96-257c2119e36b%40googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[BigtimeBG]

Awesome. Is Riverbend tidal? If so, any idea the "better" times tomorrow? Seeing that I can rent a kayak up there seems perfect to put around the more shallow water there.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders+unsub...@googlegroups.com.

[Brian Cohen]

It is not tidal (it's ‎above the fall line) and yes, kayak rental is the way to go.   Go as early as possible.   Upstream on the MD side is deep and the best spot. 

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network.

From: BigtimeBG Sent: Friday, August 11, 2017 5:03 PM

To: Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders Reply To: tidal-potoma...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: {Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: Fishing Saturday: Help a newbie!

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-...@googlegroups.com.

To post to this group, send email to tidal-potoma...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/fffa1930-9587-46b4-a997-1deaab96f5ae%40googlegroups.com.

[Carl Z.]

With the rain, you have to be careful and keep an eye on the gauges.

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/md/nwis/uv?01646500

http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=lwx&gage=brkm2

3.8ft at littlefalls is the point where I fish only from shore. The less familiar you are with a section, the more careful you should be.

The water level on the Potomac in this stretch (Little Falls up to whites ferry) is heavily influenced by rainfall up in the headwaters.

If rain hits the Monocacy basin or Shenandoah basin, it takes a bit of time for the water to make it down to us.

If you're new to the area, just remember to respect the Potomac.  People die in the river every year, though that is mostly in the Great Falls to Fletcher's section.   August usually isn't a problem since thunderstorms don't usually cover a big enough geographic area to raise the river down here, but this year has been a bit strange.

Carl

--

Carl Zmola

On Fri, Aug 11, 2017 at 5:07 PM, Brian Cohen <brian....@gmail.com> wrote:

It is not tidal (it's ‎above the fall line) and yes, kayak rental is the way to go.   Go as early as possible.   Upstream on the MD side is deep and the best spot. 

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network.

From: BigtimeBG Sent: Friday, August 11, 2017 5:03 PM To: Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders

Reply To: tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders+unsubsc...@googlegroups.com.

To post to this group, send email to tidal-potoma...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/992b8f36-e82c-4da5-8a96-257c2119e36b%40googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

--
http://www.tpfr.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders+unsub...@googlegroups.com.

To post to this group, send email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/fffa1930-9587-46b4-a997-1deaab96f5ae%40googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

--
http://www.tpfr.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders+unsub...@googlegroups.com.

To post to this group, send email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/20170811210742.9400409.25543.3451%40gmail.com.

[Morgan Cosgrove]

Four mile run. 

On Thursday, August 10, 2017 at 6:26:52 PM UTC-4, BigtimeBG wrote:

[namfos]

I particularly like the Weverton sector just down from Harpers. Downstrream from Dam #5 can be good in August too, but that's upstream a ways, past I-81.

Mark

[Connor Donovan]

Bigtime - yes, definitely slower fishing this time of year, at least at Fletcher's, compared to the spring and early summer.  

[MelserBonilla]

South fork Shenandoah was awesome from Noon till I stopped at 9pm. No rain or much of cloud cover on Saturday. River lvl and flow was great.