Striped bass between Occoquan and 301

[Ted Wolf]

Does anyone have any pointers for fishing striped bass between the Occoquan river and 301 bridge.  I see mostly people fishing the bottom for catfish, and most of the bass fisherman working the creeks for largemouth.  Is there any potential in this stretch of the Potomac, or do you need to go past 301 for the salinity?  Does anyone know of any guides that work this particular area, especially geared towards the fly fishermen?

[HeaveToo]

I catch a lot of stripers on the fly in the Occoquan River.  Look for current.

Other places are around too.  Check out the information by searching this board for the info.

[Bob R]

About midway between Occoquan and the 301 bridge there are a couple of man made stone islands on either side of a caution buoy/light.  I'm not sure what the area is called but it is off shore of Caledon State park on the VA shore.  Working the islands on a moving tide can be very productive.  The fish hold very tight to the rocks, you basically have to bounce your fly off the rocks to get close enough. 38.349695, -77.197868 these are the coordinates from google maps if you want to zoom in and take a look.  There is another set of islands just like this further down stream that I haven't fished as much but would assume they hold fish as well.  Of course dawn and dusk are best but I've caught fish all day.  Pulled a 27" Saturday morning and a smaller one we didn't measure. 

On Monday, September 22, 2014 3:44:48 PM UTC-4, Ted Wolf wrote:

[Ted Wolf]

Thanks for the info.  I think I will make the run down river towards Caledon this weekend and see what I can get into.  Should workout well with the outgoing tide starting around 7 AM.

 HeaveToo, do you need to get way up into the rocks by the Occoquan dam to be productive with the stripers, or is there any navigable water just below the rocks that can be good as well?

[HeaveToo]

I go back as far as I can get into the Occoquan.  In the end of September it usually gets productive.  That is if they are releasing water from the dam because you need water flow to get them to come up.

I checked it today.  There is MAJOR construction in Occoquan.  They are tearing down that old building that was right near the area I am talking about (Part of the Fairfax water treatment complex).  It is shut down in that area and they aren't releasing water from the dam.  I hope that this doesn't go on much longer because it is getting close to GO time for this area.  Two years ago the stripers were THICK in that area because the baitfish were piled up there.  I caught a lot of other species too, but I had a 40 fish day where I was catching fish on most casts.  If they don't let water flow it is useless to fish that area.

On Monday, September 22, 2014 3:44:48 PM UTC-4, Ted Wolf wrote:

[HeaveToo]

Bob....You are talking about the Nav marker for Mathias Point, right?

Down the Potomac there is a similar place, in the salt water area, off of Ragged Point.  I have caught stripers trolling through that area while sailing out to the bay on my Sailboat.

There is always the infamous Gravelly Point. 

For some reason the Stripers focus on current.  They also like low light. 

Stripers on the fly are one of my favorites!!!

On Monday, September 22, 2014 3:44:48 PM UTC-4, Ted Wolf wrote:

[Bob R]

The one I've had luck at is in the Fairview Beach area.  When heading down stream, after passing Aquia and Potomac Creeks, the river makes a big turn to the left, it's in this area. 

The one at Mathias Point is farther down river, where the power plant and 301 bridge first come in to view.

On Monday, September 22, 2014 3:44:48 PM UTC-4, Ted Wolf wrote:

[HeaveToo]

I fished the Occoquan today.  The conditions were right; for a while.  After about 2 it was like the water was shut off and the water was barely flowing.  It was a bit odd.

None the less..IT HAS BEGUN!

First fish of the day was close to 24" and it fought well.  The hit about ripped the rod out of my hands and it took off.  It took a little of line off of the reel. 

While the water was flowing I caught 4 fish.  This was from around 1:15 to 2.  I also had a few hook-ups where I lost the fish (at least 4). 

I noticed that the quality of the fish that I was landing was better than the ones I caught last year.  They were MUCH fatter.  Even the smaller schoolies were heavy. 

Another thing I noticed is that the bait is starting to bunch up in the back of the river.  If the water if flowing tomorrow I will go again, two hours after high tide.  The conditions are right so, when there is current, it has the potential to be awesome!

[Ted Wolf]

Last Saturday I went to check out the Occoquan by the dam.  Unfortunately, they had traffic into Old Town shutdown for an arts and crafts festival. Hope to check it out soon.  I did get out on the Potomac Sunday, between Mathias point and Fairview Beach area.  There is some really good structure at the outflow of the Nanjemoy Creek.  There were breaking fish everywhere in the early morning, but had no luck with top water flies.  As soon as the current started moving out from High tide, it was a different story.  Started catching stripers and croaker almost every cast from about 11 AM to 1 PM.  All were under 14”, but had a blast.  Used a sinking line and clouser.  Thanks again for the tips. 

[john]

Was going to give it a try this weekend, going to fish from shore do you fish from the quarry side? I assume you park on the Occoquan side and take the footbridge over. Is it better to fish at high tide, falling tide, rising tide? Was going to take either a switch rod or spey rod, what rods do you use from shore? I take it clousers and half and halfs are the flies of choice any certain color combos. Sorry for all the questions just want to be prepared, thanks for any info.

[HeaveToo]

I kayak in.  I don't know the actual legality of walking in and going all the way to the back.  I have seen people do this but I think that there may be no trespassing signs.

I launch from under the 123 bridge.  I can't use the normal launch at the end of the town of Occoquan because it is blocked off right now (under the foot bridge).

On Monday, September 22, 2014 3:44:48 PM UTC-4, Ted Wolf wrote:

[Lost Sailor]

Illegal to fish from the rocks, game warden will stroke you a ticket. From shore you have to stay on occoquan side of the foot bridge.

[Bob Sivinski]

Is there a good place to park near the bridge?  It looks like a lot of private businesses.

[Bob R]

There's plenty of public parking.  Sometimes on weekends it can be hard to find a spot by the footbridge if your fishing from the shore, but you can usually find a spot just a short walk away.