Haven't been able to get out and do as much fishing this summer as I'd like......so I was happy to get down to the Potomac River this evening for some much needed river time. To my surprise, the fishing was poor. Very hot, muggy days with a touch of thunder clouds and an approaching frontal system usually treat me well and I expected to hook many fish. Not tonight.
Anyway, water level was 4' at the Hancock gage which is a bit higher than usual but the river looked very good and clear and wading was easy all the way to the mid river channel on the riffle/ledge rock where I was tonight. Air temp was about 90 degrees F with extreme humidity and water temp of 81 degrees. Only one fishermen to be seen and no bugs or surface activity. I started out high sticking a hellgrammite nymph through the pocket water and this produced a couple fish and one long line release of a bass in the low teens. Poppers got a couple too but the evening popper bite did not turn on. There were a bunch of sunfish in the slack, shoreline areas, mostly behind willow grass shoals and I got a bunch of 'em on a nymph - all big redbreasts and this kept the evening fun. However, the bass weren't much in the mood.
Anyway, water level was 4' at the Hancock gage which is a bit higher than usual but the river looked very good and clear and wading was easy all the way to the mid river channel on the riffle/ledge rock where I was tonight. Air temp was about 90 degrees F with extreme humidity and water temp of 81 degrees. Only one fishermen to be seen and no bugs or surface activity. I started out high sticking a hellgrammite nymph through the pocket water and this produced a couple fish and one long line release of a bass in the low teens. Poppers got a couple too but the evening popper bite did not turn on. There were a bunch of sunfish in the slack, shoreline areas, mostly behind willow grass shoals and I got a bunch of 'em on a nymph - all big redbreasts and this kept the evening fun. However, the bass weren't much in the mood.
