A river full of life: pick your poison

The shad run is in full swing from Fletcher's Cove to Chain Bridge. Fishing the incoming tides with any sort of pink shad treat has been the ticket. Full grain sink tips and a foot or two of 0x-3x tippet tied directly to the leader loop is my preferred set up. It keeps the fly down in the water column and you don't burn through your good trout/bass leaders in the process.

 Fishing from shore has led to mixed results. Low tide offers ideal maneuvering room and current but also boasts the least productive fishing. Finding a rock near a good current seam is key at low tide. If you're fishing too shallow, you'll be losing a lot of flies. If you're fishing deep, stay in that spot. Don't jump the gun at the first rock you find, look for the perfect rock (my perfect rock is one near a point on the main current...so I can get my fly deep without having to make a long cast). It makes all the difference.

 If you're interested in fishing from a boat, be sure to get to the boathouse BEFORE 6am on the weekends - there is a shortage of boats and they tend to go quickly this time of year due to demand. As for fishing- reports of American Shad catches have become more frequent as the water warms up. Additionally snakeheads, smallmouth, and stripers are starting to become more frequent by-catches (bonuses) on that stretch of river. Expect action to stay hot for the next couple weeks and into mid/late-May if water temps don't rise too quickly.

Stay fly.

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Largemouth bass and crappie are going fat kid right now in preparation for their spawn. Look for fish staging near their eventual spawning homes (think hard bottom - i.e. gravel, rocks, etc). Areas like the slack water at Gravelly Point and Little Hunting Creek, rip rap at Four Mile Run and Rock Creek Park, and shoreline at Duck Pond are ideal spawning habitat and thus - should be avoided as far as wading goes for the next few weeks as to not disturb spawning beds. Pursuing these fish from shore or boat is the ethical way to fly fish for bass in these next few weeks. If you must wade, be careful to not walk through beds. This river's bass fishery is one of the best in country and as a local - something I take immense pride in as a DC native. Help keep it that way by being aware on the water and not wading in places like this.

Striped bass are starting to come back to Gravelly Point (if they ever left) and areas with good amounts of bait and current. Fishing the outgoing tides at night or in low-light hours has produced several good fish (14-17") this past week. Fly selection is fairly standard this time of year as the river is flush with Herring. Throwing clouser minnows or streamers that imitate this protein rich forage on intermediate streamer lines will do you right. Olive and white clouser minnows, puglisi streamers, and my new creation - The Sex Panther - are solid options. This time of year is simple - don't try to out think yourself. Just think: Bait fish, bait fish, bait fish......

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