Pacemaker Fishing Forum

Welcome Aboard!

You are not logged in.

#1 Feb-07-11 6:47AM

Salmo
Member
Registered: May-05-10
Posts: 72

Up River Report

So on Sunday I got a few hours free before the super bowl as my wife had an open house and her sister took my son Ryan to a puppet show.  Okay then, I thought the two of us would go fishing but I guess not.  I fought with myself for at least 20 minutes about where to go.  DC warm water I thought?  Dickerson?  It's a nice day, I know the stoneflies would be hatching well.  A phenomenon that happens on the Potomac on the first nice day in mid winter.  They hatch up and down the river but the fish will not come up to feed on them unless you are downstream from the warm water.  It can be a blast with a 5wt catching everything under the sun from carp to catfish to bass and sunfish on top water, mid winter, with a 5wt fly rod.  But then I thought about muskie so up river I go to Washington County. 

First ramp I stop at not far from harpers ferry still has snow on it and a lot of down woody debris.  No problem, I have a 4x4 and the boat is light enough.  I have a 14' sea nymph with a 9.9hp 4 stroke and trolling motor.  It's a decent upper river boat when you put a 2x4 between the transom and the engine.  I can float in 5 inches of water and use the engine in 8 inches.  Well, the snow is there but I figured I'd get out.  I pulled in nose first, pulled around and got ready to drop the boat.  I thought I'd try driving out over the steep hill up to the tow path just incase before I dropped the boat but that was no use.  I didn't have enough traction and was skidding back down the ramp towards the river.  This is not good I thought.  I was stupid not to bring a shovel but it was almost 50 degrees!  What happens later when I'm coming out and this stuff refreezes I thought.  I even called a friend near by who could pull me out but it was his wife's birthday.  I didn't have the heart to ask him, just invited him fishing, once I was already there, I originally wanted to fish alone, I can go faster.  Oh well.  I eventually had to clear the ramp with my boots and with a paddle.  I somehow managed to drive up hump of a hill and decided not to push my luck.  Off to another ramp.

Next stop another 15 miles further west.   I figured I'd try big slack water as I've never been there before.  Most of me wanted to go below dam 4 but I was in one of those exploratory moods.  I finally made it to big slack water ramp almost 45 minutes later.  Those roads are treacherous, have hair pin turns and bumps in the roads all over the place that I would have loved to have known about when I was a teenager.  Well, Big slack water above dam 4 was completely Frozen!!  There was hardly any ice near Harpers Ferry but slack water was jam packed!  Unbelievable.  Then there was Taylors landing but that is another very steep ramp and one screw up means you're swimming.  No thanks.  Then someone mentioned Westernport.  I had never been there before and this person I met was nice enough to show me how to get there. I followed him for 10 miles.  Okay then, it's now near 3pm and I'm heading another 10 miles further west to Westernport.  It was open but a LONG ramp meaning I was driving in the water to launch my skiff.  Finally I'm fishing but I'm not at all familiar with this seciton.  There's a dam a short distance down river that You DO NOT want to go over.  It's just a giant pipe really but that would mean disaster.  Up here the water was a lot dirtier with only a few inches of Visibility.  But the confluence of Conocecheaque creek was clear and the DNR rate the Conocacheaque as one of the better smallmouth rivers in the state of MD the last few years with excellent spawning success and adult fish numbers per mile.  But I was after muskie, not bronze backs.  Giant lures were the order of the day.  "If you're going to get skunked, you might as well do it throwing something big."  That's a line I learned from a fletchers regular quite a few years ago.  I like that line.  You just never know. 

Well, no fish for me.  I made it home just in time for a super bowl party.  Fishless again.  I think I'm hitting the bay later this week. I hear the bite is OFF THE HOOK.  I need a fix bad.

Last edited by Salmo (Feb-07-11 7:31AM)

Offline

 

#2 Feb-07-11 7:51AM

Ernie
Administrator
From: Ashburn VA
Registered: Feb-03-06
Posts: 15564

Re: Up River Report

But you tried....and you tried hard!!

The bite at the plant is nuts. Dennis Fleming was texting me yestareday...driving me nuts!

Francis was up on the Potomac as well....White's Ferry.


Time to go fishin' again!

Offline

 

#3 Feb-07-11 9:38AM

Salmo
Member
Registered: May-05-10
Posts: 72

Re: Up River Report

I was getting those same text messages too.  Almost convinvced him to go back out with me later that afternoon.  Oh well.  Cooler weather coming which usually turns that place off.  We shall see.  This is not normal to have this many fish around now, it's usually a March bite for the most part like later in March too.  In march you can hit the discharge then cruise the open bay looking for gannets with a good chance you'll find them.

Offline

 

Board footer

Powered by PunBB
© Copyright 2002–2005 Rickard Andersson