Glad you are here

[Fish Tank]

Just relocated to Northern Virginia. I spent the last 16 years fishing in Alaska and loving every minute of it. I'm dying to get the boat on the water in this area but don't know the first thing about where, when, and how to fish the potomac, chesapeake and the salt water. I signed up to get some insight, tips & tactics. I'm hoping to find some local readers to set me off in the right direction. I currently live in Fairfax, but I'll be moving to my new home in Fredericksburg in a few weeks. I'm interested in any good fisheries, but think stripers in particular might be a hoot. Any info you could pass on would be greatly appreciated. Thanx!

[Doublerunner]

I don't know the area but

[Smokinrocks]

FishTank,

Where are you trying to fish? The Potomac river is great fishery if you fish the right spots and use the correct baits at the right tides. I also fish the Potomac River very often and have had lots of sucess catching smaller striped bass year round in the 16-25 inch class. I fish all the way from Chain Bridge to Cobb Island, using various methods including trolling, jigging, casting crank baits and also live bait fishing. The D.C area is good for catching smaller resident striped bass in the 16 inch class, but the farther down the Potomac the better your chances of catching bigger fish as the water becomes saltier and deeper. Some good places to launch are Pohick Bay, Occoquan regional Park which are closer to fairfax. I also live in the Fairfax area in Chantilly and also have a boat, but also do alot of fishing from the shore. It seems that many baits do not seem to work in this stretch of river, but i do have a few baits that seem to always have sucess and a few secret spots that I always seem to catch nice size striped bass in the lower portion of the Potomac from the 301 bridge and below. If you are seriously interested in learning more let me know and I can let you know about a few spots where I can almost guarentee you will catch some nice sized fish if you are willing to catch the tides right and put in some effort. I know not many people fish this stretch of the river for striped bass and if they do, they do not seem to want to share any information as when i first started fishing this river I posted many times with many views, but no responses. Seems most people are just looking to take others people info and are not really willing to share. I will gladly help you out if you want some help. I also have a website about fishing the Potomac River for rockfish and can give you the link and im sure than can help you out some. I am also willing to give up a couple of the most productive lures if you are serious about catching some stripers. Get back to me and I will give you my Email and we can further our conversation. Until then tight lines and good luck!

[Doug Wager]

Hey Fish Tank
As I am new I found your thread helpful & interesting , I have no place to start. I am a senior citz and fed up with PWC so a new place would help. Thanks Doug

Originally Posted by Smokinrocks

FishTank,

Where are you trying to fish? The Potomac river is great fishery if you fish the right spots and use the correct baits at the right tides. I also fish the Potomac River very often and have had lots of sucess catching smaller striped bass year round in the 16-25 inch class. I fish all the way from Chain Bridge to Cobb Island, using various methods including trolling, jigging, casting crank baits and also live bait fishing. The D.C area is good for catching smaller resident striped bass in the 16 inch class, but the farther down the Potomac the better your chances of catching bigger fish as the water becomes saltier and deeper. Some good places to launch are Pohick Bay, Occoquan regional Park which are closer to fairfax. I also live in the Fairfax area in Chantilly and also have a boat, but also do alot of fishing from the shore. It seems that many baits do not seem to work in this stretch of river, but i do have a few baits that seem to always have sucess and a few secret spots that I always seem to catch nice size striped bass in the lower portion of the Potomac from the 301 bridge and below. If you are seriously interested in learning more let me know and I can let you know about a few spots where I can almost guarentee you will catch some nice sized fish if you are willing to catch the tides right and put in some effort. I know not many people fish this stretch of the river for striped bass and if they do, they do not seem to want to share any information as when i first started fishing this river I posted many times with many views, but no responses. Seems most people are just looking to take others people info and are not really willing to share. I will gladly help you out if you want some help. I also have a website about fishing the Potomac River for rockfish and can give you the link and im sure than can help you out some. I am also willing to give up a couple of the most productive lures if you are serious about catching some stripers. Get back to me and I will give you my Email and we can further our conversation. Until then tight lines and good luck!

[Smokinrocks]

Where are you located and where are you trying to fish? I just put my boat in storage for the winter and can't wait for the spring spawning run. I know there are still some active fish throughout this stretch of the river for the winter. Let me know and I can get back to you with some info!

[redfish12]

Originally Posted by Smokinrocks

FishTank,

Where are you trying to fish? The Potomac river is great fishery if you fish the right spots and use the correct baits at the right tides. I also fish the Potomac River very often and have had lots of sucess catching smaller striped bass year round in the 16-25 inch class. I fish all the way from Chain Bridge to Cobb Island, using various methods including trolling, jigging, casting crank baits and also live bait fishing. The D.C area is good for catching smaller resident striped bass in the 16 inch class, but the farther down the Potomac the better your chances of catching bigger fish as the water becomes saltier and deeper. Some good places to launch are Pohick Bay, Occoquan regional Park which are closer to fairfax. I also live in the Fairfax area in Chantilly and also have a boat, but also do alot of fishing from the shore. It seems that many baits do not seem to work in this stretch of river, but i do have a few baits that seem to always have sucess and a few secret spots that I always seem to catch nice size striped bass in the lower portion of the Potomac from the 301 bridge and below. If you are seriously interested in learning more let me know and I can let you know about a few spots where I can almost guarentee you will catch some nice sized fish if you are willing to catch the tides right and put in some effort. I know not many people fish this stretch of the river for striped bass and if they do, they do not seem to want to share any information as when i first started fishing this river I posted many times with many views, but no responses. Seems most people are just looking to take others people info and are not really willing to share. I will gladly help you out if you want some help. I also have a website about fishing the Potomac River for rockfish and can give you the link and im sure than can help you out some. I am also willing to give up a couple of the most productive lures if you are serious about catching some stripers. Get back to me and I will give you my Email and we can further our conversation. Until then tight lines and good luck!

Smokin- Do you still fish this area often? Have you been down around the 301 bridge yet this year? I fished the powerplant some during the hook and line season this spring with a buddy of mine who has the license. They did well, but I missed the fish.

I'm planning on going down there next weekend to see if I can find some fish around the bridge from my kayak, if not I'll probably just try to see if the hardhead have started yet.

I'd be interested in learning more about how you fish this area! I've been focusing on shad by chain bridge most of the past few months, but I've got that itch for Rock!