Pacemaker Fishing Forum

I put my kayak in around 1200 by the Toyota dealership and headed downstream.  Right when I put in I could see some large goldfish swimming around.  The tide was fairly low at the time and I could see the bottom in most spots until I got a few bridges downstream.  Underneath one I could see a good size fish and it showed some interest in my spoon but never bit. 

A little further down I started casting between the supports of the train bridge and the Metrorail bridge.  Something absolutely nailed it and had my rod bent in half for a few seconds before it got off.  I made a few more casts there and had a big one on, maybe not as big as the though.  It pulled me across the span of the two middle supports of the train bridge.  After a minute or so I was getting close to getting it in and I was now up against the bridge support.  Then the spoon pulled out. ARRRG!!  I never even got a chance to see what it was.  I think there's a good chance it was big cat. One of the hooks got spread open some.  I bent it back and kept on using it.

I got out on shore underneath the last bridge since there were fish breaking the surface all over the place.   I worked there on down a ways.  I was getting hits on the spoon and a spinner bait close to shore.  One cast upstream towards the bridge my spoon hit one of the beams and bounced over some pipes getting hung up.  I really didn't want to lose it so I got in the kayak and strategically place myself under the spoon as best I could with the current moving me around.   I yanked on the line not really sure whether the lure would even fall once the line broke because even with slack line the spoon wasn't dropping.  When the line snapped it did fall, bounced on the front of the kayak and into my lap. Woohoo.  The line snapped just above the knot.

I fished there for a little while longer getting nothing. I did get to see both USCG helicopter take off from DCA though.  The tide had been coming in this whole time and I think it was now heading out.   I started working my back upstream.  I got up past where I put in and made some casts around the powerline support in the middle of the run.  Then I started working between it and the south shore where it's the deepest.  I hooked onto another big fish.  I was getting dragged all over and close to the shore.  I thought I would land this one.  Once again after a minute of fighting it got off.  I'm getting some new hooks for that spoon.  I think I need a bigger spoon too.

I fished that area from the shore under dark and was only able to get a 6 or 7" LMB.  It wasn't even worth taking a picture.