Memorial Day Morning on C&O Canal

[namfos]

Out on the canal at Anglers/Widewater yesterday. Arrivedbefore 9am and hiked up the towpath. Looked dewatered above Lock 16 so I fished back to the parking area from there.  Lots of sunfish, a couple of LMBs came to hand. Magic fly was a black and white Yuk Bug. There were also a number of shad or herring to be seen swimming in the shallows - no idea how they made it up that far. Yesterday was by far the busiest I've ever seen the towpath in that sector - it was like a volksmarch with a few bike riding MAMILs (middle aged men in Lycra) thrown in for good measure. I must have spoken to close to 10 people who seemed amazed to one degree or another that there are, OMG, there are fish in the Canal! ;-) One couple walked by with a stroller. The husband was heard to say the wife, "I'd like to take up fly fishing sometime..." Yours truly was prompted to ask, "So what's stopping you?" 

Pics here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151613317548094.1073741827.673318093&type=1&l=dff33d888a

Mark

[FlyTimesDC]

Sounds like a good time. Epic SUP action btw. 

[Danny Barrett]

all your pics were taken around lock 10? I had no idea the water was that big up there.  

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[Nedak]

Mark-

That has been my lazy go to spot (when I don't feel like going all the way to Gravelly or 4MR) since it warmed up.   Did you see the goldfish hanging in the shallows about 50 yards from the opening of Widewater?  I have throw a bunch of stuff at him to no avail.

John

On Tuesday, May 28, 2013 9:08:56 AM UTC-4, namfos wrote:

[otmastiff]

where is this...or what is the typical put in/take out spot?  Thanks!!

On Tuesday, May 28, 2013 9:08:56 AM UTC-4, namfos wrote:

[wbfst...@gmail.com]

I was on the canal for a spell yesterday afternoon, between Chain Bridge and Fletchers.  I was using poppers (yellow worked best -- nobody was interested in orange) and an Orvis floating beetle.  I landed numerous sunfish and almost landed a small largemouth who managed to get away.  Just as I was wrapping up around 7:30, I had a visit from a beaver who was meandering through the canal.  When he spotted me, he hung around for a while, and then decided I was neither threatening or interesting, and swam on.

A great day, and I managed not to hook anyone on the tow path during my back casts.    

On Tuesday, May 28, 2013 9:08:56 AM UTC-4, namfos wrote:

[John Kaden]

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=38.982231,-77.224624&ll=38.979028,-77.218308&spn=0.022119,0.045447&num=1&t=m&z=15&iwloc=near

Park here.  Walk down to canal and head north.

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[namfos]

The Old Anglers Inn restaurant is on MacArthur Blvd around mile marker 12, just below Great Falls, well above Lock 10, which is inside the Beltway.  Across the road from the restaurant is a parking area that fills quickly.  On summer weekends, I get there around the time the sun is coming up and I almost have the place to myself, or I go late in the day and walk out when it's getting too dark. Widewater is a short walk up the towpath towards Great Falls, maybe 2- or 3-10ths of a mile farther up. The upper end of Widewater is Lock 15  - check out the handy Great Falls map here: http://bit.ly/110JP2m.  It's this patch of water that got me thinking I need to get a kayak some day. If you're there in the middle of a nice weekend day without a boat, forget about fishing, there's too many mobile backcast hazards (a/k/a pedestrians and cycling MAMILs)

Mark

[namfos]

Like Nedak says for the map: park, walk.  Lots of kayakers park here and put in on the big river, or they put in on the canal to get upstream to the heavy water.  The kid and his father in fishing 'yaks yesterday both had wheel sets tied down on the back of their boats.

Mark

[namfos]

Yeah, John, it's my lazy spot too when I don't feel like driving to Harpers or farther up the big river. I saw that one goldfish a little over a week ago.  When a man jogging with his two daughters approached me on my way out, he asked, "Are there fish here?" (some days I just cannot believe how disconnected folks are from the natural world, but at least this guy was outdoors with his kids) I told him, "Sure, and if you keep moving up about another 50 yards you'll see a largish goldfish..." At that, his daughters took off to find it and started calling, "Daddy! Daddy, look! ..." When my daughters were young, on Sundays that my wife worked a part time gig, I would take them to lunch and then a ride in the car. At the time we lived in PA's Lehigh Valley and nearly every one of those Sunday rides in the car also involved scouting trout water. ;-)  Now I do it on my own, the wife hates "pointless" rides in the car. Which sort of brings me back to my asking that guy on the towpath, "So what's stopping you?"  ;-)

Mark

[namfos]

Been meaning to try down there too sometime. Lots of roll casting and casting parallel to the bank, no doubt.  

Mark

[otmastiff]

Thanks for the info greatly appreciated!  Just bought a sup and saw those pics...never been in that water and it looks really nice.

[namfos]

Danny: here's another wide spot along the C&O - http://goo.gl/maps/NHR1M -  I might check it out if I decide to fish below Dam 5 on Father's Day weekend (or I'll venture into PA for trout)

Mark

[Danny Barrett]

Thanks.  If you venture into PA, feel free to shoot me an email. I have been living in Pittsburgh for about 8 months.  The Coburn, PA area has some awesome streams.  And that weekend is suppose to be the BWO hatch(but size 10 drys).  I plan on being over there for it.

Dan

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[namfos]

One of the brothers who runs the nearby appliance sales/repair store is very big on Yellow Creek below Raystown Lake and above Bedford. We jawboned about it a couple of years ago when he came to fix the fridge - glad he didn't charge me for the fishing talk. ;-) I've been thinking about there - although I might just go for Upper Potomac (Harpers or Dam 5 and /or Big Pool) if water's not too high.

Mark

 

On Wednesday, May 29, 2013 10:20:42 AM UTC-4, Danny Barrett wrote:

Thanks.  If you venture into PA, feel free to shoot me an email. I have been living in Pittsburgh for about 8 months.  The Coburn, PA area has some awesome streams.  And that weekend is suppose to be the BWO hatch(but size 10 drys).  I plan on being over there for it.