Fishing Potomac River, north of 301 bridge.

[sutor623]

Hey guys just had a question for any of you guys fishing the Potomac. My buddy says he has fished the Potomac about a dozen times in his bass boat. He got me all siked about fishing there. I have a 16' Starcraft Aluminum V-hull, with a relatively flat bottom. It is a little over 5' wide, nice high sides, and cuts through the chop pretty well. On a very windy day it will beat the heck out of ya, but that is only if you are in a hurry. It's got a 65hp on the back and 4hp backup. He swears up and down that if we stay north of the 301 bridge on a nice, sunny day that we will have no issues, seeing as he used to take his bass boat out there with no issues at all. Should I try this, or is it just plain stupid?

 

[dingbat]

Re: Fishing Potomac River, north of 301 bridge.

Pick your days and you'll be fine

 

[sutor623]

Re: Fishing Potomac River, north of 301 bridge.

Pick your days and you'll be fine

Cool Dingbat. Just the guy I needed to hear from. Reputable member that fishes the bay. Should I watch out for windy days, like 10MPH gusts or more like 20-30MPH gusts? And should I stay north of the 301? I mainly want to fish for Striper, as I am used to fishing for the landlocked ones at Lake Anna and need a change. Get tired of constant the 6-7 lbers. And man they are picky eaters in there!

 

[dingbat]

Re: Fishing Potomac River, north of 301 bridge.

I wouldn't get out of bed on a day that the winds exceed 15 knots in that boat.

Three things to watch for with winds.
1. The direction of the winds relative to the tide. Wind going against a tide will beat you to death.
2. Winds blowing up and down the river are much worse than winds blowing across it.
3. You can usually catch a break on the leeward side of the river.

As for the fishing, good luck in your search for ?monster? fish. You?re about 6 weeks to late or 6 months too early, depending on which way you look at it, for anything of size. Most fish this time of the years are going to be in the #3-4 range.

 

[sutor623]

Re: Fishing Potomac River, north of 301 bridge.

Cool. Thanks a lot for the experienced info! Trust me I agree with you, in this little tinny I try and stay home with 5mph winds or more. I am actually not planning on heading out there until fall, just trying to wrap my mind around the idea of it right now. Three more questions if you desire to answer them.

1.) What do you mean by Leeward side of the river? I plan on putting in at Aquia Harbour, as it is the closest site to home.
2.) What things should I look for on the weather report to keep me from driving 2 hours for nothing?
3.) Crosswinds on the Potomac are pretty common right? Does the whole land breeze, sea breeze thing apply here, meaning that in the morning during the seabreeze I'd ideally be looking for the tide going out, so that it follows the sea breeze?

 

[dingbat]

Re: Fishing Potomac River, north of 301 bridge.

Cool. Thanks a lot for the experienced info! Trust me I agree with you, in this little tinny I try and stay home with 5mph winds or more. I am actually not planning on heading out there until fall, just trying to wrap my mind around the idea of it right now. Three more questions if you desire to answer them.

1.) What do you mean by Leeward side of the river? I plan on putting in at Aquia Harbour, as it is the closest site to home.
2.) What things should I look for on the weather report to keep me from driving 2 hours for nothing?
3.) Crosswinds on the Potomac are pretty common right? Does the whole land breeze, sea breeze thing apply here, meaning that in the morning during the seabreeze I'd ideally be looking for the tide going out, so that it follows the sea breeze?

1. You want to be on side of the river the wind is come from. Winds out of the south, you want to be on the south shore.

2. Forget the weather forecast. Learn to make your own forecast using the buoy data, past observations and common sense. If I listened to the Weather Service I might as well sold the boat years ago.

3. A sea breeze is the result of the temperature differential between the land and the water. It has nothing to do with the tide.

Why are you looking at an outgoing? Generally speaking, as long as you have current you should be able to catch fish. Just remember, tide and current are two different things.

 

[sutor623]

Re: Fishing Potomac River, north of 301 bridge.

Thanks again. I just wanted to pick your brain. Looks like I have a lot to learn about coastal waters! I went to the national buoy site and boy, what a headache! I just do not want to look like and idiot on coastal waters, with too small of a boat, endangering the lives of my passengers. I am trying to be able to plan a trip a few days in advance, and be able to predict whether or not it is worth the trip out there or not. I guess worst case scenario is I drive all the way out there, and the water looks treacherous, so I turn around and come back home.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Fishing Potomac River, north of 301 bridge.

Don't worry too much. Your a long way from "coastal" water that far up the river.

Listen to the NOAA forecast. If they're calling for 1.5-2' on the river you don't want to be out there.

Keep in mind that 2' is the average. Be prepared for waves quite a bit larger than that. On the Bay, a 2' day will have lots of 3-4' thrown in to keep you on your toes.

 

[sutor623]

Re: Fishing Potomac River, north of 301 bridge.

Great! So let me make sure I've got this right. Is it typical to see 2' swells that far up river? And to clarify, when they are calling for 2' swells, that is the average, so expect some in the 3-4' range correct? And let me add a YIKES!!

 

[R Socey]

Re: Fishing Potomac River, north of 301 bridge.

The weather forcast are great, just add. If they say 10-20 mph winds = 30. I fished the Potomac for years in a 16' Starcraft 70hp 2, stroke Yammy above Woodrow Wilson bridge. The river is close to a mile accross up there. When it gets rough is when the flow is high on a outgoing tide, and the wind is blowing up river. We made it back from Blue Plains to the airport in a 35mph south blow with the situation I decribed. My brother hurt his back, and wouldn't go again in my boat. He bought a 16' Lund with a 25hp, and we go in that - go figure. Like Dingbat said, stay on the shore that the wind doesn't effect as much, and learn the area, and you will soon realize your limitations - whare your vest!

 

[sutor623]

Re: Fishing Potomac River, north of 301 bridge.

Thanks for the added experiences R. I am going to be very cautious out there for a while. I just dont have much experience running this boat on anything over 1' chop. This thing will beat the living hell out of you, even in 1' chop.

 

[sutor623]

Re: Fishing Potomac River, north of 301 bridge.

Oh another question for you R. Was it even worth trying to fish out there on a moderately windy day in one of those aluminum boats?

 

[R Socey]

Re: Fishing Potomac River, north of 301 bridge.

You know a small boat can handle more under power than not - alot more. What guys do is run to a protective spot through open water.
You are going to have to experiment - push the envelope a little at a time. My Starcraft 74, sliced a little chop well, and it had plenty of power. I ran it out to the Gaveston TX jetties, Harbor key Fla from Big Pine key, out into the Atlantic out of Oregon Inlet NC a few miles, out into the Chesapeake Bay MD more times than I can count. I can tell you that I probably shouldn't of have - if I would have had motor trouble my life would have been in the balance!
Yes it was, the fish don't mind the wind. It depends on how bad you want to fish - as long as your relatively safe; you no your limitations, go for it. When your living on the edge, your really living