New to the area and looking for suggestions

[Drew C]

Hello all!

I recently moved to the area from central Virginia and have almost no experience fishing this region. Would appreciate any suggestions for 1-day float trips (or wade trips) within 1.5 hours of DC. Not looking to burn any favorite spots but rather direction on rivers to try and any tips you're willing to share about them! 

Ideally, I would float these rivers in my raft but am not opposed to going on foot if needed. Main interests are smallmouth, trout, musky and striper, but I'm open and willing to try anything else in the relatively close area.

Thank you in advance for the help in getting started!

[HermanyorFlorida]

Depending on where in the area you are, ie where the 1.5 hours would start from, the Potomac above Great Falls, the main stem Shenandaoh and the Rappahannock are the best rivers for traditional float trips.  These are smallie, carp and to a much lesser extent musky waters.  Below the fall line, the rivers are less float trip friendly.  You will find campgrounds on them, but I don't know if the distances between them are reasonable for that.  In the tidal part of rivers you will find stripers, largemouth bass, snakeheads, white perch and blue catfish.

Happy to go into more detail if you have questions about a particular river.

[Doug Graebner]

I know Duncan McGrath used to do float trips on the Potomac between Old Angler's and Glen Echo, so there's a bit below Great Falls you can do as well. For trout you're going to need to wade mostly within that range-the standard rivers to start with in your stated range I suppose are Beaver Creek, Hunting Creek, and Gunpowder Falls in MD.

[Yambag Nelson]

South Fork of the Shenandoah would probably be the best float within an hour and a half.  There are canoe rental places that you can use for a shuttle if you are doing it alone..