Pacemaker Fishing Forum

Looks good!  I will have to check it out.

Should be a good place to go after work during the week once the water level drops.  Much easier to get on the river than at Kepheart.

It will also be a good way to access the warm water in the winter.

POR is at 5 ' tonight and falling.....probably running a bit fast until Tuesday or Wednesday.

Yesterday, a friend and I did our first trip out of this place. Launching is difficult. They did build a small launch platform which would work ok when the water is higher, but on most days, it's a problem. Yesterday it was about 2 feet above the water level, and the shoreline there is at a 45 degree angle and very slippery. Figured out how to get the kayak in without falling and killing myself or losing my yak, but it wasn't fun. The Northern Virginia Regional Parks guys need to re-examine this and perhaps find a way to make the entry more gradual and less slippery. I've seen slide/roller ramps at Deep Creek State Park that would help, but there may be better solutions. I considered trying to launch next to the platform because it wasn't quite as steep, but the shore was covered with poison ivy so I ruled that out.

Now for the rest of the trip. This launch point puts you in just below  the upper end of Mason Island. The river is very shallow here...mostly around 2-3 feet. No visible rocks nearby. Water is very fast and difficult to paddle upstream. Also tough to anchor up. Found some small riffles about 1/4 mile upstream from the launch and this was where I caught my only 2 fish in two hours of fishing...an 11" smallie and a large bluegill...both on a white roostertail spinner.

After 2 hours of fishing I gave up. Getting the kayak back up onto the launch area was also challenging but easier than launching for some reason.

When I got home, I checked my books and maps to find out more about that section of river. Found the following, "note: when the river level at POR is above 2' this section is extremely fast." No wonder I  had such difficulty paddling upstream...yesterday POR was at 2.35' in the morning.

Conclusion: I won't be fishing here unless things improve at the launch and then only when the water flow is slower.

Bruce

Last edited by Bruce (Jul-08-14 3:19AM)

I had the same experience as Bruce a few weeks ago.   Definitely not the easiest place to launch.  My yak even rolled over off the platform, luckily the only thing that ended up in the water was a bottle of water.   Even with my motor on max I was only able to do about 1.5mph upstream. 

Fishing was decent for me though.  Most of the places I expected to have fish did.  The best spot was on the MD side just below a creek where a shallow grassy area juts out.   There is some slack water and eddies there.  In the middle of the river in this area it's 6-7ft deep and stays that way all the way up to Dickerson at least.  This explains why the river speeds up when it gets shallower downstream.

I caught one 11.5 and two 12.5" smallies, and some smaller ones.  Also caught some redbreast sunnies, a large bluegill and even a white perch.

Another update. I spoke to John Lewis who is one of the contact points within Northern Virginia Regional Parks system for the new White's Ford Park. (703-779-9372) I shared my views on the difficulty of using the launch site and suggested two changes that would make it safer and more user friendly. He seemed grateful for the feedback and said he would talk to his boss to see what they might be able to do to improve things. If anyone wants to give John (or Ben Bilko) some feedback, their number is above.