Hit the upper Potomac yesterday evening with 3wt7X for a nice summer evening. Water level on the river was 4.5' at the Hancock gage, which is a bit on the high side for mid July however overall conditions looked excellent to me. Water was crystal clear with good summer grass growth. I didn't get a formal water temp but it felt cool to the touch - would guess it to be pushing 80 considering that air temps were in the 90s.
Fishing was decent with a slow pick of small bass and sunfish (mostly greenies) before the sun set. Small bass were visible in the usual spots and, as is typical for the upper Potomac River, catfish were very abundant. We saw dozens of catties, usually in packs of 4-6 fish in the 12-18" size range. They'll hit a fly if you present it to them but we didn't catch any. Also saw a few carp and a muskie. When the sun set, the river picked up a bit. There was a steady popper bite for a short period and Josh brought a couple good fish to boatside (probably bass from the big 2007 year class on this river). Several bass were hooked when seen busting minnows right up against a rocky shoreline - always fun when you see this.
Altogether, we stuck perhaps a dozen or so bass. Not fast and furious fishing but a nice evening.
Fishing was decent with a slow pick of small bass and sunfish (mostly greenies) before the sun set. Small bass were visible in the usual spots and, as is typical for the upper Potomac River, catfish were very abundant. We saw dozens of catties, usually in packs of 4-6 fish in the 12-18" size range. They'll hit a fly if you present it to them but we didn't catch any. Also saw a few carp and a muskie. When the sun set, the river picked up a bit. There was a steady popper bite for a short period and Josh brought a couple good fish to boatside (probably bass from the big 2007 year class on this river). Several bass were hooked when seen busting minnows right up against a rocky shoreline - always fun when you see this.
Altogether, we stuck perhaps a dozen or so bass. Not fast and furious fishing but a nice evening.
