At the beginning of April, Karen and I went out on the Potomac River with Jeff Greene of Shallow Water Fishing Adventures in search of smallmouth bass. I was really excited to be going out with a guide who knew the river. We launched from Edward's Ferry on the Maryland side. Unfortunately, the weather and the river didn't cooperate. It was a nice day but cold, and the river was still kind of high from the winter runoff. Between the three of us, I caught the only fish, a 10-inch smallmouth. I think Jeff felt bad for our bad luck, so he gave me a "free fishing trip card" to use later in the year.
The trip wasn't a total loss. We mainly used three-inch tube baits, and even though we didn't have much luck, I got some and used them with pretty good success a few weeks later at Antietam Creek.
About a month ago, I e-mailed Jeff about the July 4 weekend, but he said he was booked. His next available date was July 10, so I went for that day.
In the upcoming weeks fishing on the Little Patuxent, I had little success. Actually no success. Some bites but no fish. I was thinking maybe the changing season would mean a change of lures, and I could learn something from Jeff. In the days leading up to July 10, I kept an eye on the water levels for Edward's Ferry. There was a spike of water up to 12 feet around June 29 after some heavy rain storms, but since then, the water levels were gradually going down. The forecast called for thunderstorms on Thursday, but they never materialized. So things were looking good for Friday!
The trip wasn't a total loss. We mainly used three-inch tube baits, and even though we didn't have much luck, I got some and used them with pretty good success a few weeks later at Antietam Creek.
About a month ago, I e-mailed Jeff about the July 4 weekend, but he said he was booked. His next available date was July 10, so I went for that day.
In the upcoming weeks fishing on the Little Patuxent, I had little success. Actually no success. Some bites but no fish. I was thinking maybe the changing season would mean a change of lures, and I could learn something from Jeff. In the days leading up to July 10, I kept an eye on the water levels for Edward's Ferry. There was a spike of water up to 12 feet around June 29 after some heavy rain storms, but since then, the water levels were gradually going down. The forecast called for thunderstorms on Thursday, but they never materialized. So things were looking good for Friday!
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| Weekday fishing on the Potomac, and nobody else in sight! |
I got to the boat ramp around 6:45 a.m., and Jeff was already there. He put the boat in the water, I hopped in, and we were off!
The first spot, Jeff tied on a Heddon popper topwater lure for me while he used a small buzz bait. The good thing about getting a guide, you get to use all his stuff! Although it would have been nice to use some of my Mitchell reels, I'd rather default to the pro for lure and line selection.
Anyway, neither of us had much luck with the topwater lures. Not a hit, not a boil. Jeff was lamenting all the rain we had been having -- the river was a little higher than he said it usually was this time of year (5.75 feet by the American Whitewater web site), and visibility was less than a foot in most plaes.
We switched over to three-inch Wacky Worms, which I had never used before. They were rigged on a small weedless jighead, very similar to what I've used for larger "Texas rigged" plastic worms, albeit without a sliding bullet sinker. Jeff showed me what to do with them -- very similar to the tube jigs but they could be fished a little faster. Jerk, retrieve slack line, jerk again, etc. Or slow things down and leave the worm sitting on the bottom for a couple seconds.
The first spot, Jeff tied on a Heddon popper topwater lure for me while he used a small buzz bait. The good thing about getting a guide, you get to use all his stuff! Although it would have been nice to use some of my Mitchell reels, I'd rather default to the pro for lure and line selection.
Anyway, neither of us had much luck with the topwater lures. Not a hit, not a boil. Jeff was lamenting all the rain we had been having -- the river was a little higher than he said it usually was this time of year (5.75 feet by the American Whitewater web site), and visibility was less than a foot in most plaes.
We switched over to three-inch Wacky Worms, which I had never used before. They were rigged on a small weedless jighead, very similar to what I've used for larger "Texas rigged" plastic worms, albeit without a sliding bullet sinker. Jeff showed me what to do with them -- very similar to the tube jigs but they could be fished a little faster. Jerk, retrieve slack line, jerk again, etc. Or slow things down and leave the worm sitting on the bottom for a couple seconds.
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| First fish and biggest of the day -- 12 inches |
And ... success! I started off catching a 12-inch smallmouth and caught several more -- but nothing bigger throughout the day.
We also tried white Chatterbaits and caught a few smallmouth. Again, another lure I never used before. They are kind of a cross between a spinnerbait and a buzzbait. The little blade vibrates, but the lure runs under the surface. We had numerous hits with this lure and most of the time you could see the fish hitting the lure. But most times the fish would grab it and let it go. Very frustrating. Jeff had even hooked up trailer hooks, the fish were like magic and wouldn't actually get hooked most of the time. Very frustrating.
We also tried white Chatterbaits and caught a few smallmouth. Again, another lure I never used before. They are kind of a cross between a spinnerbait and a buzzbait. The little blade vibrates, but the lure runs under the surface. We had numerous hits with this lure and most of the time you could see the fish hitting the lure. But most times the fish would grab it and let it go. Very frustrating. Jeff had even hooked up trailer hooks, the fish were like magic and wouldn't actually get hooked most of the time. Very frustrating.
I ended up landing seven smallmouth and two panfish, like this dufus that thought he was a bass. I think both were redbreast sunfish. I think Jeff caught a dozen or so smallmouth and one dumb panfish. No fish over 12 inches for him either. But it was a beautiful day on the water -- didn't see anybody else out on the water -- and compared to the first trip in April, a whole lot more successful. More than 20 fish between us, and a whole lot more nibbles and bites and fish that did the no-hands easy release beside the boat.
A couple of funny things. Carp are often seen jumping in this part of the river. You hear a splash behind you and see the water boiling and think "smallmouth!" But Jeff said they are carp. At one point, a carp jumped within inches next to the boat! Jeff nearly fell into the water because it splashed right behind him. Also, as I was reeling in one of the smaller smallmouth, I got it next to the boat, and his smallmouth buddy was chasing after him! "Hey dude, where you going? Let me go with you!"
A couple of funny things. Carp are often seen jumping in this part of the river. You hear a splash behind you and see the water boiling and think "smallmouth!" But Jeff said they are carp. At one point, a carp jumped within inches next to the boat! Jeff nearly fell into the water because it splashed right behind him. Also, as I was reeling in one of the smaller smallmouth, I got it next to the boat, and his smallmouth buddy was chasing after him! "Hey dude, where you going? Let me go with you!"
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