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1/29/2014

Bundle up

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nation's river

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Four Mile Run is about the only bet left in town. 

Fish the discharge pool with a sinking or intermediate line with a #2 clouser or crayfish pattern or work the power poles and rip-rap with small clousers and streamers on an intermediate or floating line. 

If nothing big offers, tie on a pheasant tail or small crazy charlie and clean up on the robust blue gill and sunfish population. Don't be afraid to scale down your leader/tippet combo as these fish have been pressured all winter and are starting to get weary....

 If you're up for the challenge of sight fishing carp, this is a good time of year to do it but be prepared to fish through some crowds.

Stay fly.

trout water

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While fishing in the District and our Nation’s River has taken a backseat to our region’s trout water in the past month or so (since our river has been mostly frozen over during that span) – action has been solid nonetheless. Bundle up!

This time of year I really tend to focus on the trout game, particularly the spring creeks and tailwaters (Mossy, both Beaver-VA and Beaver-MD, Gunpowder, and Lower Savage) as these fisheries tend to be the most consistent temperature and production wise in our area.

 That said, free stones and delayed harvest streams can also be very productive this time of year as well since these fisheries are typically stocked throughout the winter (Passage, Stony Mill, and Hogue Creek are a few within an hour or so drive) and FISH GOTTA EAT.

 As long as they aren’t completely frozen over, you can catch fish.

Recent trips to Beaver Creek VA, Mossy Creek, and Passage Creek have all produced quality hookups–even with highs comfortably sitting in the low to upper30s for most of the past month. When the temps drop (aka WINTER trout fishing) you can go two routes to stick a few fish – chuck meaty streamers on sink tip or full sinking lines or nymph deep and thoroughly.

 While nymphing definitely will produce this time of year and is for the most part the “comfort method” by most –streamers ultimately find your actively feeding fish….and on average, your bigger ones.

As you probably know, it’s a pain in the ass switching out your sinking line and steamer get up for a floating line and double nymph rig… and vice-versa…so while it can be a burden, I will often start out the day carrying two rods with me in the winter.

 If one technique clearly trumps the other, the less productive set up goes back in the car around lunch time or whenever I can ditch it safely.

Employing the two rod technique will allow you to effectively cover every water type without FOMOP (fear of missing out on pheesh). That said, you’ll still have to re-rig your nymph set up when it inevitably snags a rock or gets hung up in a spiteful branch…..

Every fish caught gives clues as to what they are reacting to on a given day. Sometimes it’s a certain color that sets them off. Other times, it’s all about the swing or the speed of your retrieve. In my experience, trout (and most fish this time of year) really aren’t into expending a ton of calories when the water is chilly…unless the meal they’re pursuing is worth it. And to my knowledge –it’s pretty hard to resist taking a bite out of a steak dangling in front of your face…..

Enter the protein-packed streamer.

But when the streamer bite isn’t working, whether it due to lock jaw or evil fish, get your nymphs out and try to get down as deep and as drag free as possible. Try a combination of an attractor nymph (San Juan, Y2k, flash back hare’s ear or pheasant tail) with something tiny and natural (#18-22 zebra midge, cressbug, small pheasant tail, or hares ear—no flash). The key is getting your flies down where they need to be.  if you’re not getting bit with the indicator, remove it and fish naked. You won’t feel the takes per say (at least on the better fish as they simply suck in nymphs and chill), but by anticipating where and when you’ll get bit you can set appropriately. It may feel like you’re randomly setting without rhyme or reason, but I promise this technique produces…especially on more pressured waters.

A few staples in my fly box this time of year are my golden retriever variation (#StarFox), black or olive wooly buggers, and a larger sculpin or fingerling trout imitation. Ranging from size #2-6, these patterns are effectively fished in a variety of ways. Swing em, strip em back slowly, or dead drift em through your favorite runs and deep pools near the bottom to find actively feeding fish.

 On top of those morsels, I keep a number of small, home-brewed midge and stonefly patterns in the #18-22 range in case I’ve got to get my hands dirty and chuck small stuff.

Don’t be afraid to try out multiple patterns in the same hole.

Now on to some HotSpotting:

Beaver Creek VA fished well at the end of December as we timed up our trip right as an oncoming front was approaching the Valley. Pre-front and frontal conditions are incredibly hard to beat on the Shenandoah Valley spring creeks. As a rule of thumb, the better the weather – the worse the fishing.  Fishing through the mild weather and rain, new FlyTimesDC sniper Connor Donnovan and I managed to stick 10 big rainbows up to 21” with the big fish of the day coming unbuttoned on a size #18 purple and black #Remidge in the first hole of the day.  As the weather system moved through and we shifted to more of a post-front pattern, the bite died off almost entirely. Swinging #Starfoxes got the majority of the bites, but Connor’s homebrewed articulated leach in olive and black scored him a solid 19” bow when swung underneath a footbridge. An olive and chartreuse #Runwayspecial dead drifted in the riffles also produced a few takes.

Passage Creek VA known as a quick fix with fairly thrashed stockers (no color or tails), Passage has actually gone up in my book this year as it has produced a few fish pushing 20” in the past couple weeks. Fishing the C&R section on a Sunday with a few members of the FlyTimesDC crew (Kevin and Connor)- Kevin stuck a few very nice fish dead drifting his homebrewed golden retriever in the deeper pools. While the water remains tantalizingly sexy and deceptive in that it looks easy to read, the key has and always will be getting your flies down DEEP AND ON THE BOTTOM. The gradient and fast flows can make that somewhat simple sounding task difficult. For streamers, a sinking or intermediate line is a must for getting your flies down in the deeper pools where the big, holdover fish live. For flies, the #starfox has been on fire this winter but any gold retriever or black or olive woolybugger can get the job done. It’s all about getting that fly down. If you lose confidence with the streamer game of openly see fish giving you the fin, switch up to a double nymph rig and throw the tiny stuff (#18-22 midge, pheasant tail, hare’s ear, etc).

Whatever you do, dress appropriately and above all else,

Stay fly.


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11/18/2013

we're not done yet!

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Nation's River

PictureSwing your favorite streamer and hold on!
After a mild weekend, the Nation’s River is back around the 50 degree mark (after spending most of last week in the mid-40s). Despite the colder water temps last week, feeding fish could still be found in areas with depth variation, current, and bait. With temps on the rise this week, look for the bite to pick up a bit.

Albeit sluggish, the resident striped bass bite remained a strong option for those willing to brave the wintry weather at places like Gravelly Point and the outflows of Little Hunting Creek and Pentagon Marina. Swinging streamers and clouser minnows to these fish on sinking lines and a few feet of 0-3x tippet remains the go-to technique for this time of year. But if stripers aren’t your thing you have a couple other options!

Look for largemouth bass to move shallow on sunny days and to hold in areas with dark bottom or hard cover (both will warm faster than surrounding areas and thus, hold more bass in winter). Think areas near deep water close to shallow water. Tidal creeks can also be a great place to find bass this time of year with Four Mile Run, its warm water discharge, and an outgoing tide the prime place to be. For flies, think like a spin-fisherman (who are almost exclusively using soft plastics, slow-rolling spinnerbaits, or jerkbaits this time of year) and bring out your deadliest baitfish imitations or clawdads. FISH SLOW…..or throw small woolybuggers, crazy charlies,  and big nymphs to panfish/carp/whatever you find in there…..There are few places with a more eccentric fishery than 4MR….especially in the winter.....

Carp on the C&O remains a strong option as well…..

Hotspotting

With ideal tides last week, I ended up getting to fish Gravelly Point a few times before and after work. Fish were hanging slightly deeper than normal but that’s to be expected when the river dips into the mid-40s and it's dark out. Despite these less-than-ideal conditions, I was able to land a dozen or so stripers up to 18” over the course of a couple trips.  Swing streamers on sinking lines…nothing really too new to report here!

Stay fly.


Trout water

PictureThis 18" WV bow munched a sz20 zebra midge
With most of the leaves gone, now is the time to start thinking micro-midges and dries or swing for the fences with streamers and CHUCK THE MEAT for that fish of your life. 

BWOs, zebra midges, and sculpin patterns are all solid bets as far as flies go this time of year on the wild trout streams in our region. 

Flashier attractor nymphs and woolybuggers remain the go-to on local DH streams. Just remember to taper your expectations. While fantastic fishing days certainly still exist, it’s still the early stages of winter. Things are starting to slow down and food is generally smaller in size……

After travelling for most of October, I finally had time to fish one of my favorite trout waters in the region this past weekend—West Virginia’s Smoke Hole canyon. 

Fishing the C&R section on Saturday with my buddy Andrew, we managed to get on the water at 10am and fished all day until a 4:30 sunset pushed us off the water and back onto the road.

Having last fished Smoke Hole in the midst of September, I was accustomed to hungry, aggressive trout that were looking up for food and asking few questions about what drifted in front of their fezzes… What I found on Saturday was the exact opposite of those trout.

Arriving around 10am, the sun was just starting to peak over the canyon walls and shine on the cold, crystal clear water. From the get go, I could tell this was going to be a game of light line and small nymphs.

After cleaning up on egg patterns, stimulators, and terrestrials earlier in the fall, I did not find a single taker on any of those patterns Saturday. Instead, most of the action came on the zebra midge trailing said egg….which despite the refusals  still worked well in tandem as an attractor fly.

 On top of the midge takes, there were a few monster blow ups and a snapped line on both a dead drifted and swung #Runwayspecial. Always cool to see a new pattern get some love and that fish were still aggressive enough to commit – but by far, the fly of choice on Saturday was a size 20-22 zebra midge.  

Expect the pattern of smaller nymphs, midges, and dries to continue as water temps keep dropping….and remember—streamers will find your active fish.


Stay fly.


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11/4/2013

Harvest time

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Nation's River

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We are in the midst of an awesome schoolie striper bite right now, people!

 Fish are definitely around and feeding when the opportunities present themselves (low light, moving water, and bait in the water). That said— get out while you can. All good things eventually come to an end.  

With water temps in the low-mid 50s and nighttime lows bound to push temps lower later on in the week, now is the time to swing often and furiously.  Just because it’s 45 degrees out today doesn’t mean we’re done just yet. Got the tide? Let it ride...at least for the next few weeks….

With ideal, low light conditions on the outgoing tides last week, I was lucky enough to get on the water a couple times to take advantage of my favorite fall pastime on the Nation’s River—swinging streamers for stripers.

 Hitting Gravelly Point for a morning session last Tuesday with Orvis Bethesda Fishing Manager, Trent Jones, we proceeded to hook into a few decent schoolies in the 14-16” range before work beckoned us back to the real world. While the fishing certainly wasn’t dynamite (fish were holding deep and acting sluggishly), we managed to stick a few in the deeper water and garnered a few empty handed-whacks by getting our flies down in the water column with intermediate and full grain sink lines. Even though the action wasn’t fast and furious, the presence of chunky schoolies more than inspired a return trip….

So naturally, after helping my saintly mother hand candy out to the myriad of monsters, ghouls, and miniature pop culture icons that visited our home Thursday night – I hopped in Buffy and made the short jaunt over to Gravelly for a little trick or treating.

With the vast majority of New Columbians exercising their right to dress in silly garb, get weird, and instagram the shit out of themselves, I knew the outgoing tide at GP would be all mine.  Donning the waders and making my way to the inlet that quiet night, conditions…well…they couldn’t have been better.

A new moon kept the sky dark. The air temp was in the upper 60s. The tide was flowing out of Duck Pond at a solid pace. From the moment I got there at 8pm until I left the park around 10, fish were popping off in a big way. By working my way down the inlet, casting to the bank, and letting the fly swing through the main current – I managed to pick off a dozen or so stripers up to 20” with the majority of schoolies playing a size or two up from their usual variety (14-18”).



Fish were caught on a few different streamers I’ve been tying up recently, but for the most part any baitfish pattern or clouser minnow in sizes 2-6 will get the job done. It’s more a matter of getting the fly down at this point.


trout Water

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Haven’t gotten a chance to play in the wild trout streams recently, but Delayed Harvest trout streams have received their first stockings of the season. Time to bring out your attractor nymphs (flashback pheasant tails, hare’s ear, etc), Y2Ks, and olive or black woolybuggers. Accotink, Holmes Run, Passage Creek, and Stony Mill should all be fishing well right now. 

Get out there before the fish are poached out. 


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10/28/2013

time to ball...in the fall

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nation's river

PictureSwing for stripers in areas with moving water
With water temps now in the low 50s and reaching the mid-upper 50s on warmer days, we still have a river full of life –albeit one that is playing a tad differently these days.

After getting some much needed rain a few weeks ago, the Nation’s River is now back to normal with clear, safe flows at a tad over 3000CC.  However, gone are the days of smallmouth madness, breaching snakeheads, and wailing the grass with topwaters for pig largemouth. The smallies are moving to their winter holes, the snakeheads have their heads in the mud (literally, they bury themselves for winter), and largemouth have been pushed from their summer hydrilla haunts to areas with hard cover and depth change. But as the saying goes, when a door closes a window opens. We’re not done yet.

Swinging bait fish patterns (size 2-6) on 3x leaders with an intermediate or sinking line in areas with current (think Tidal Basin, Gravelly Point, and mouths of tidal creeks on tide changes…..Rock Creek Park, Little Hunting Creek, Four Mile Run, etc….) have been producing consistent schoolie striper action for the past month or so.

 With the hydrilla dying off, baitfish are now essentially homeless…which is a terrible thing to be when you’re a baitfish. Fishing areas with significant tidal changes in low light hours (early/late in the day) will produce good shots at stripers and the typical mixed bag action that our unique river tends to offer up. Look for the crappie bite to really heat up as it starts getting colder out…..

If stripers aren’t your thing, the carp game is still going strong on the C&O Canal and with clear water, now is also the time to take your shots at Four Mile Run. Blind casting for carp without seeing any probably cause (mud trails, tailing fish, etc), while not entirely impossible to be successful, is a tall order. Be patient and wait to find some fish before casting. Small soft hackles, nymphs, or a well-placed woolybugger will get the job done. Remember, it’s all about presentation. Loud casts or lining the fish (casting over its back) won’t get you in the game…

Happy hunting....

Above All Else,
Stay fly.

Streamer lunchbox

trout water

PictureChelsea isn't the only one showing off fall colors













If the Potomac doesn’t strike your fancy, you can always head to the mountains where the leaves aren’t the only colors that are changing.

Brookies and browns are starting to get aggressive in preparation for the spawn and are showing off some AWESOME fall colors while most of your favorite DH streams have probably received their first stockings of the season…It’s a good time to be a trout bum.

 Think BIG or SMALL this time of year….meaning, meaty streamers or the tiniest nymph or dry in your box (“small for fall”). In addition to small dries and nymphs –long leaders (10-12ft of 6x-7x) are essential this time of year in order to get bit as fish are spooky. Be stealthy when entering the water and as a rule of thumb—if it's brook trout water— stay out.

Simply put, if you’re attempting to get your last few brookies of season before the SPAWN IS ON, please don’t wade in the stream. You’ll squash native brookie redds and ultimately be a hindrance to the survival plight of a unique, national treasure-ish strain of brook trout who have been swimming in these streams since the dinosaurs last walked the earth. Don’t be a hindrance, bro.

Now on to some hot spotting…….

I’ve mostly been fishing Beaver Creek in Maryland and the South Fork of the North Branch of the Potomac in Petersburg, WV recently and often. One is a technical wild trout stream, the other a mecca for jumbo stockers with a healthy population of holdovers and wild trout also mixed in. Yet, both waters (and most waters within the region) are fishing in similar ways.

 Small stimulators and dries in the riffles and quiet presentations to the head of pools has been producing well at Beaver. Last week I took a dozen or so wild browns (up to 11”) imploring this strategy. But the flies and casts –although an integral part of your fishing success—are not the only pieces of advice to take away from this report. It’s important to be stealthy on Beaver. Dark clothes, limited body movement when wading, and reading the water/choosing your spots versus “beating up the water” and trying to force feed these wild fish will markedly improve your experience. If dries or small, NATURAL nymphs aren’t your jam, chuck the biggest, ugliest fly in the deep pools and undercuts in the bank and hold on.

The Smoke Hole/Eagle Rock section of the South Fork continues to fish well as the bigger browns get aggressive in their pursuit to spawn. Big browns and jumbo rainbows should be the name of the game from here on out. Any of the above listed techniques will help put you on fish but I’ve found drifting egg patterns under a Chernobyl ant or indicator beetle to be absolutely deadly on the South Fork. As the season progresses or if nothing strikes the beetle, switch over to a small white indicator and an egg-natural nymph double rig….or dead drift a golden retriever/dark woolybugger (size 6 in black, olive, etc) and wait for the fireworks.

Happy hunting....

Above All Else,
Stay fly.


Fish porn

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9/3/2013

cool down to heat up

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 After the coolest August the District hath ever seen, this past week reminded us why Labor Day isn’t the end of summer. Air temps returned to the low-mid 90s and that ugly humidity thing reared its head again sending water temps into the low-mid 80s and fish scampering to find cooler water. Despite the warm water (it peaked at 86 degrees on the Tidal Potomac last week!), fishing remained strong with solid all day opportunities for smallmouth and largemouth bass, carp, catfish, snakeheads, and panfish on the Nation’s River and its tributaries. For those seeking trout, dry fly action for brookies is on fire in the mountains and the spring creeks are producing some slabs and Hawg Johnson encounters as summer creeps to an end. Last week I fished Hagerstown’s Beaver Creek with Orvis’ Trent Jones and Rock Creek Park a handful of times before and after work, neglecting my usual weekend trip up to Harper’s Ferry in lieu of a free boat ride to Annapolis for some crabs, brews, and celebration of non-laborious activities. 

Beaver Creek fished okay last Thursday as Trent and I set out before sunrise in an attempt to find Hawg Johnson and bring him to instagrammed justice. Although we were ultimately unsuccessful in taming this leviathan, Trent did well fishing a small stimulator in skinny water and some of the narrower pools, sticking several average sized Beaver browns that were looking up due to a ton of field hoppers and other terrestrials coming off the bank. In addition to terrestrials, fish were rising on something incredibly small that neither of us could make out on the surface. Oh well. Some parts of the trout equation will always remain a variable. That’s what makes it fun. While Trent fished dries, I spent most of the day fishing a variety of streamers (size 2-6 sex panther and size 6 Moss Boss in fall fish patterns) looking for an encounter with Hawg.  

Fishing in the couple honey holes behind the shop, I managed to get a couple solid browns (16-18”) to flash on a Moss Boss but ultimately they weren’t into getting stuck in the face and to my chagrin, aborted their missions to feast at point blank range. What a tease. After thoroughly harassing every fish in the stretch behind the shop, Trent and I meandered over to the special regs section by the church. As we came to the second footbridge pool (aka Land of Giants), I managed to crawl myself into position so that I could make a cast without being detected by the 30 or so browns in the pool. On the first cast my hopper landed right on the bubble line and a large brown (20” or so) rose up to investigate…and promptly put the fly on his nose before submerging to the depths…. like a coward.

I’ve had some spooky encounters with large fish on Beaver, but at this point, the bigger fish were toying with my emotions.  After a few more presentations and refusals, Trent and I decided to see if things were better downstream. Although conditions were right, fish continued to be fussy, as they neither wanted any part of streamers and hopper dropper set up nor the slightest interest in any of Trent’s smaller surface offerings. After fishing our way back up to the second foot bridge to fish for the last hour of the day, Trent and I decided to split up. He’d go investigate some of the pools we neglected up stream and I’d keep swinging for Hawg at the footbridge….

 Three monster flashes, one brief take (I pulled the hook out of his mouth), and one snapped line were all I had to show for an hour of pool gazing.  As usual, Beaver provided a nice challenge, beautiful wild fish, an escape from the doldrums of the city, and a brief encounter with Hawg Johnson. We left around 1 for a burger and beers at Whitlow’s, a meal so satisfying that I almost forgot about that monster brown…almost.  I’ll be back for him this week. You can bet on that.

Rock Creek Park continued to fish well this weekend despite reports of a body being found near Beach and Joyce Road on Labor Day around 6pm. Although the body (an apparent homicide victim) was found several miles upstream from legal fishing waters, it’s a powerful reminder for would be anglers to bring some sort of protection with them in the park, especially if fishing near dusk. That said – dry fly action (small terrestrials or poppers) for panfish has been insane in the last hour or so of the day (almost non-stop) while the bass bite has slowed down a little bit due to warming water temps.  Despite the climbing temps last weekend, bronzebacks are still being caught (albeit less frequently) on dead drifted streamers and clawdad patterns fished along channel ledges or dragged on the bottom near structure. Surprisingly, I’ve been finding more fish downstream around the Graveyard.  These skinnier channels that feature deeper water around the banks have been harboring small gangs of smallmouth bass (up to about 16”) that you can actually sight cast to or blind cast to and see erupt from the rip rap along the bank. Very cool. Other than that, Rock Creek Park was its familiar self with a few stray channel cats mixed in on the smallmouth bite. I expect action to pick up this week with our nighttime lows in the 60s and 50s dropping water temps back into the fish friendly 70s. Expect fish to be in their familiar haunts, albeit much more active.

With the NFL starting on Thursday (HTTR), pumpkin beers on the shelves, and cooler weather on the way I can’t be happier. Actually, scratch that. I want another piece of Hawg.


Stay fly. 


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8/26/2013

Fall is coming.

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Picture
Where the hell did summer go? I can’t believe it’s almost Labor Day. It seems just like yesterday we were sticking shad and stripers at Fletcher’s Cove dreaming about the possibilities of an endless summer filled with snakehead taco nights, natitude, and listening to “Get Lucky” just one more time. Back when it was 90 degrees in April…two weeks after it snowed…..CRAZY!

But as it is, summer draws to an unceremonious close without a single snakehead taco night (my only beast slid out of my net!), a city void of natitude, and inevitably - listening to “Get Lucky” just one more time. It’s safe to say that life is sweet and our river is in a good place.  Plus pumpkin beers are back. Hell yes.

In a month or so, the Nation’s River will be a wildly different fishery. Knock on wood we have a solid fall push of striped bass. But right now, smallmouth bass are on fire, dry flies fished late in the day and terrestrial hopper-dropper rigs during the middle of the day have been sticking their share of trout, and reports of snakeheads being caught down river continue to come in here and there inspiring those delusional enough ( I kid) to try and catch them on flies. With that said, last week was spent fishing Rock Creek Park, the C&O Canal, and Harper’s Ferry for bronzebacks and carp.

As of this writing, our Nation’s River sitting in the upper 70s, low 80s (and closer to 70 in the mountains) – most fish are happy and can be actively found feeding in their usual summery haunts.  With rain only in the forecast for Wednesday, the hot bite we’ve been experiencing should only continue into and through Labor Day weekend. Tan and gold streamers fished in sizes 4-8 have been slaying panfish and smallmouth bass in Rock Creek and Harper’s Ferry. Blue poppers fished early and late in the day are equally as deadly.  For bigger fish, try dead drifting a big crawdad pattern downstream into the deeper holes with some split shot and wait for that thump. Fish are fairly spooky due to the water clarity. Expect the usual mixed bag of bass, catfish, and panfish with a possible shot at a carp or two. While Harper’s and Rock Creek continue to consistently bend rods this time of year (as most smallmouth fisheries do…check out the James, Susquehana, or Shenandoah too!), I ran the risk of getting skunked and spent Sunday on a mission to get slimed on the C&O.

Let me say this first before everyone gets the wrong idea, jumps in their vehicle, and speeds on down to Lock 7 to chase carp– the C&O Canal is not a place for purist, snobby fly fisherman. It is not an ideal place to go fly fishing by ANY MEANS. There is a ton of foot traffic, absolutely no back casting room, and if fortunate enough to hook into a golden bone – challenged with a very limited bank to land the fish. With that said, I was in a forgiving mood on Sunday and up for a challenge. Having only fished the C&O Canal a handful of times and never seeing a single carp, I figured it was time to change that.

I arrived at Lock 7 near Glen Echo with an improved mindset, a pack of bonefish leader, and a box of ugly munchkin carp flies ready to chase down the man in the golden suit around noon. After taking a right and walking a mile or so up towards Lock 8 I grew a tad disheartened. I saw plenty of bass and bluegill, but not a single carp. No mud trails either. The water was too deep to sight fish in most parts and generally stained. If there were carp here, they weren’t helping me out at all. However, my misadventure to the North wasn’t completely useless as a large, deep storm/drainage pool adjacent to the trail warranted some eyeballing.

After scanning the pool for a few minutes, I saw a sunfish. LIFE! Followed by a big bass….Followed by another nice bass…followed by some flashes in the deepest part of the pool. Being the curious camper that I am, I managed to find my way down to the bank and began exploring. The water, crystal clear and void of pretty much all life except for its trapped residents, was anything but shooting fish in a barrel. I imagine this pool late in the day with topwater flies could be incredible. But that’s beside the point. More important is what I found in the pool. Sure the quality bass and panfish are a bonus, but what appeared to be a few left over hickory shad (definitely not gizzards) were happily swimming around in the shallows. Um, wtf, mate? I guess they didn’t get the memo to move on out while the water was still up in the spring. Just ask the interns on the hill though, there is nothing like a summer in DC! But back to carping, we’ll save Location X for another time.

Upon pulling myself out of the storm hole, it was back to trudging trails and straining eyeballs.  I walked the entire way back to Lock 7 without seeing a carp. But I wasn’t going to give up that easily. So upon reaching Lock 7, I kept walking toward Georgetown and Lock 6. Within five steps of the lock, I was immediately rewarded as I spotted my first carp of the day. Then I saw another one….and another… FIVE STEPS in the right direction was all it took! WTF! Unfortunately though, I was not alone in my pursuit of the man in a golden suit.

My discovery was quickly squashed by a competing Hispanic spin fisherman who promptly climbed down the lock wall next to me and— no exaggeration— began picking up boulders from the bank and attempting to drop them on the fish’s head. I’m not sure what I was more cheesed about – him trying to poach my catch, spooking every carp within a mile,  the blatant vandalism of NPS land, or this individual’s decision to kill an innocent carp for no goddamn reason in such brutal fashion. Needless to say, a few bystanders and I gave him a piece of our minds. I don’t think he’ll be doing that again… at least on the canal... in front of a  crowd…. #clownshoes.

After some brief unpleasantness with said poacher/vandal/clown shoes, I continued on my way down the canal towards Georgetown. After a hundred or so yards I got my second shot at a tailing fish. Lucky for me, the fish decided to show itself in a moment of relative serenity on the tow path. No joggers. No cyclists. Just me, the fish, and nature (sort of).  I was finally going to have my shot and stripped out a few feet of line. One mini false cast later and the fish was gone. My fly firmly entrenched in a thorn bush (nice). On days like this, where nothing seems to go right and the possibility of getting skunked gets realer with each refusal and boulder thrown via stranger, all you can do is try to stay on the top of your game.

Just because the fish are a-holes doesn’t mean you have to be one. Keep looking. Keep casting. Keep trying.  You’ll lose some battles – finicky fish, frayed leader, and failed knots the main culprits in futility – but never lose let yourself lose the war. All it takes is one bite or one dumb fish to change the entire outlook of a day. With that in mind, I did what I could and kept walking, looking for any trace of the elusively frustrating common carp.

Eventually I found a small pod of fish mudding in a fairly accessible stretch of water in between Locks 7 & 6 near a fallen tree. Being careful to not spook the fish with my presentation, I made sure to adequately lead the fish. If there is one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that you can’t lead a fish enough when sight fishing. Sure they are entitled to change direction or start munching from any old patch of river muck, but by studying the movements of a mudding fish and predicting where they will go, you up your odds substantially of not spooking the fish by laying a cast across its back. This proved true again on Sunday as after 4 hours of walking, maybe 10 total casts, and 6 carp seen – I landed my first C&O golden. A solid 5lb specimen who barely acknowledged the hook in his mouth and fought no harder than a roll of bounty paper towel (I’ve never seen that from a carp, ever). Regardless, there was no better feeling than hoisting that slimy beast from his algae ridden home, promptly realizing your hands are too slimy to use your iphone camera (I tried….had to use a windex wipe to clean the carp slime off the screen afterwards), and releasing said beast back to its lazy, goofy existence unharmed and undocumented (sorry instagram followers!).

So what can you take away from this report?

Bronzebacks are going for gold, goldens are going for bronze, and if there is  silver to be had here – fall is on the way with some stripers.

Stay fly.

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8/12/2013

Wild and wonderful

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Fishing for bass and panfish has been red hot in and around the Potomac recently. Topwater flies such as poppers or gurglers fished along weed edges and creek banks led to some explosive topwater strikes last week, while smaller streamers continue to fish well in the small creeks and tributaries. After thoroughly harassing the smallmouth population in Rock Creek via size 6 mossboss streamers most of last week, I decided to take the show on the road this weekend and head back up to Harper’s Ferry in search of some bigger bronzebacks and a golden ghost in honor of TLTFF’s #CarpWeek. After an incredibly rough start to the morning (Lagunitas Undercover is nothing to play with), good friend and former FlyTimesDC compatriot, Wes “Mantooth” Repass and I hit the road.

Arriving around noon to this Wild and Wonderful playground, the early morning overcast we drove through dissipated the minute we hit the water. Undoubtedly, this affected the smallmouth bite in one way or another, but more importantly, having no sunblock, was the theme of the day. As of this writing, a bandana tan line is clearly visible on my forehead. Thank you for that Buff…but back to the fishing.

 The rocking streamer bite I experienced most of the last two weeks was nonexistent on Saturday. Flies drifted through usually fishy haunts all vulnerable and ready to be devoured, but to no avail. No love from the pecker head smallies or sunfish either. Fish were lazy.  It was a slap in the face. Hell, I even walked through a couple holes I thoroughly covered with multiple flies only to see smallies scatter everywhere in mass exodus from my size 14 wader boots. Wes, a fairly accomplished fly angler himself, was also striking out.

What the hell was going on? Clawdads failed. Mossbosses sucked. Even the woolybugger, God’s secret weapon on his toughest days on the water, did nothing. I was a streamer dreamer living in a cruel, fishless world. It was time to change things up.

Moving out of the main flow of the river, I decided to focus my time and effort on the numerous riffles and smaller pocket water found near the WV bank. If you’ve ever fished pocket water out west, it’s a very similar ordeal. However, instead of throwing a parachute Adams and dropper for gorgeous trout – you’re tossing a booglebug popper with a damsel fly nymph trailer to the feisty neon-faced pumpkinseed sunfish and brutish bronzeback bass (smallmouth).  Sound like fun? That’s because it is.

At Harper’s Ferry, the pattern was fairly simple. Drift the popper through fast water. Pop it in the still pools near eddies. If nothing happened after a few drifts, move on to the next confluence of flows. Rocket science? No. A nifty way to fool finicky fish? Hell yes.  But that’s nymphing in general. After a slow start to the day, slowly but surely, the bite started turning on.

Over the course of the next few hours, 30 or so pumpkinseed sunfish, a rare red eye rock bass, and one bruiser smallie fell for my antics (the smallie rose from a deep pool to destroy a blue booglebug - epic). Unbeknownst to me – Wesley was also slamming fish in the face a little further upstream.

Although it started slowly, Saturday was a great day on the water and fairly typical action for this time of year on the Upper Potomac. While Harper’s may not be an average day trip for the time pressed angler, topwater action remains a solid bet in places like Four Mile Run, the weed edges of the Duck Pond, Constitution Gardens,  and Rock Creek Park. Bring a few poppers, a damsel fly nymph or crazy Charlie, and your favorite small streamers and hit the water in the first or last hours of the day!

Look for this hot/humid trend to continue until Wednesday. Then it’s nice and cool again through the start of next week. Make sure to get out and take advantage of these unseasonal conditions!

 Happy #CarpWeek!

Stay fly.

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7/31/2013

Time to get bronzed

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After spending a few weeks chasing stripers in the cool waters of Martha’s Vineyard, I returned to my beloved District with an embarrassingly bad National’s team, 100 degree days with 100% humidity, and Nation’s River on the verge of boiling (87 degree water). Fishing was tough. When the river is dirty AND hot – it’s a tall order getting any fish to take a fly. But then, out of nowhere, the oppressive heat and humidity disappeared. The cool night temperatures started cooling the water - a great thing for anglers looking to stay within the District – and now, I’m excited for the last few days of summer.

In Rock Creek Park, size 6 clawdads and legged woolybuggers dead drifted through the deeper pools have been producing well for large and smallmouth bass, carp, catfish, and panfish. While dead drifting clawdads can be productive, the real name of the game this time of year is throwing topwater flies. Dahlberg divers, weedless frogs, and poppers along the banks typically produce your larger bass, especially along the rip rap edges of the creek and any vegetation. However, this is a pattern you can employ pretty much anywhere right now – Four Mile Run. Little Hunting Creek, Duck Pond, Constitution Gardens– just find the nastiest stuff you can and try and put your fly in it.

While there are plenty of options within the District to keep a fly guy happy this time of year, one of my favorite summer activities is chasing bronzebacks where the Upper Potomac River and Shenandoah River meet near Harper’s Ferry, WV. A smallmouth enthusiast’s haven due to relatively easy wading, accessibility (a one hour and fifteen minute drive from DC), and the incredible amount of fish per mile – Harper’s Ferry is hard to beat as far as prime location for day trips.

Loaded with thousands of small islands and riffles, fish are pretty much everywhere. For an exceptional fishery, the fishing isn’t particularly technical though. A 4 or 5wt rod with floating line and 8 feet of 3x, a fly box with some clawdads, small streamers, and poppers, and decent wading boots are all one needs to take advantage of these fish filled waters. Fish will typically range from 8-12” with a few bruisers 15”+ mixed in on a good day, but for what they typically lack in size, these smallmouth will more than make up for in fight and numbers. Outside of bronzebacks, Harper’s Ferry offers opportunities at pumpkinseed sunfish (the prettiest fish on the river in my opinion), carp, and channel catfish.

For those you fancying trout, water flows are good in the park and brookie action remains steady. Action in the spring creeks (Beaver MD and Mossy Creek) has been solid as well if you’re fishing either early or late in the day. Much of the mid-day bite we were having has dissipated. Still, micro midges under a hopper or beetle will continue to produce for this time of year in Beaver. If you’re fishing Mossy, hoppers and beetles along the moss beds without the dropper (snags).  

As the calendar rolls over to August 1st remember one thing: if it’s dark out, there’s a shark out.

Stay fly.

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6/10/2013

To heaven and back

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After spending the past weekend chasing redfish, tarpon, and snook in Siesta Key’s Garden of Eden – the Heron Lagoon – I returned to the realities of our Nation’s River. Since this is an urban fishing blog and supposed to be a Potomac River fishing report – I’ll give a brief recap of my adventures on the Treasure Coast. In four days I managed to jump 4 juvenile tarpon (8-15lbs), boat 12 or so snook up to 22”, and fooled 3 carefully sight casted reds (all over 26”) while spooking countless more. I’ll admit, there’s an obvious drop off between jumping tarpon in a mangrove wonderland and bopping snakeheads on the nose with big and ugly streamers in the Tidal Basin, but the tug is the drug and you've got to fish where you are (thanks to Matt Miles and the Urban Lines crew for that one). With Gravelly closed to wading anglers – I’ve had to change up my game to pursue our local striper population. But fear not, all is not lost.

Let’s make this clear - Gravelly Point is not the only place that consistently produces schoolie striper action in our district waters. The river is flush with these feisty game fish right now and will be for the next few weeks until water temps get too high and they retreat to deeper, cooler water. The challenge is finding areas that concentrate these aggressive game fish. In my experience, one can consistently find stripers in areas with current, depth change (think shallow water close to deep water), and lots of bait. Areas such as Chain Bridge, Little Hunting Creek, the Tidal Basin, Four Mile Run, and the mouth of Rock Creek Park on moving tides are all places to target schoolie action in the summer.

  This past week, I managed to get a few days on the water chasing stripers at Chain Bridge and Little Hunting Creek. Throwing a small striped bass imitation on full grain sinking line during the last few hours of the falling tide into the main current and stripping it through the eddy seam produced a few fish at Chain Bridge with the largest being a chunky 17”. Bites were not hot and heavy, but each fish was healthy. I’d love to see a moratorium put on the striper fishery so that these stocks could recover and the giant fish (50+lbs) we saw in the late 90s, early 2000s would come back. Outside of stripers - there was a lot of surface activity from spawning gar and a few rises that looked suspiciously like snakeheads. I didn’t see many hookups from the spin or bait fishermen, but the river is still full of fish. Working the outgoing tide at Little Hunting Creek produced a more consistent bite than the big, deep water at Chain Bridge. Swinging some smaller deceiver (size 6) patterns on a RIo intermediate streamer line produced well in the shadow lines, most fish were cookie cutter 10-13” but there were definitely some bigger fish mixed in as they were quite loud in their pursuits of fleeing baitfish.

With Andrea done tormenting our area, expect the river to be off color for a few days and water a tad higher than usual but nothing flood like as the river should be done cresting on Thursday (if more rain doesn’t ruin things). The rain dropped water temps into the low 70s so expect action to be solid this week for our river’s game fish population. In off color water, try fishing darker patterns (black & purple) near structure for largemouth, smallmouth, snakeheads, and catfish.  Tight lines.

Stay fly.

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5/6/2013

Swing for the fences

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Last week I fished Gravelly Point, the Duck Pond, Tidal Basin, Rock Creek Park, and Fletcher’s Cove via boat.

Action continues to be hot on the Tidal Potomac. Our run of larger striped bass (measured in lbs not inches) is underway at Fletcher’s Cove/Chain Bridge along with white perch, river herring, and the entire Shadams family (Gizzards, Hickories, and Americans). Fishing big clousers and streamers on full sink lines deep and jigging the fly back up through the water column has been an effective method for getting to these larger stripers.

To get as deep as possible, make your initial cast and mend/strip out line until you start seeing your backing. Once your line straightens out behind the boat, you’ve reached your max depth. If this still isn’t deep enough, try lifting the rod tip up and slapping the line down on the water to get the fly sinking again. The stripers won’t come on every cast, but for those willing to put in the time – the reward is certainly worth the effort.  If schoolies are more of your thing, check out Gravelly Point on an outgoing night or early morning tide.

It seems like everywhere I’ve checked out recently has some combination of herring, shad, or perch. Any place with a tide swing seems to be housing shad - the outflow at Gravelly Point/Duck Pond, Rock Creek Park, and Tidal Basin are a few of such places. Gar are also starting to become active again in the Duck Pond as they prepare to get their spawn on as well – start tying up rope flies.

Rain is in the forecast for Tuesday this week. Be sure to check the little falls gauge before heading out. I'll probably take a break from the Shadness Madness and pursue some trout this week.

The world is your oyster this time of year – shuck it.

Stay fly.

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    Wordsmith

    Remick Smothers is a native son of the District of Columbia and the founder of FlyTimesDC. 

    A self taught fly fisherman and fly tier, Rem graduated from Rhodes College with a double major in fly fishing and English in 2012. He has been celebrating the fly life ever since. Just remember, if it's dark out, there's a shark out. Above all else, stay fly. #flytimesdc

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