Fishing in Washington DC

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Dalleinf
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Fishing in Washington DC

Post by Dalleinf » Sat Sep 14, 2019 5:54 am

I will be attending a conference in your fine capital in early October. I hope to find a few hours to fish the Potomac / Tidal basin. Most likely from shore.
Being from North Europe, my knowledge on lures/patterns for early fall fishing in DC is quite low. I read that bass are quite aggresive during fall transition - do I bring mostly moving baits (spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits) ?
Any input much appreciated.
Cheers Michael

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Re: Fishing in Washington DC

Post by Houndfish » Sat Sep 14, 2019 8:27 am

Dalleinf wrote:
Sat Sep 14, 2019 5:54 am
I will be attending a conference in your fine capital in early October. I hope to find a few hours to fish the Potomac / Tidal basin. Most likely from shore.
Being from North Europe, my knowledge on lures/patterns for early fall fishing in DC is quite low. I read that bass are quite aggresive during fall transition - do I bring mostly moving baits (spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits) ?
Any input much appreciated.
Cheers Michael
Hello! I live in the area and can help you out. Google up “DC Tidal Basin”. It is a man-made cove off of the Potomac River on the edge of DC where a lot of the monuments and memorials are located. It is fishable from the concrete walkway that surrounds it and there could be almost anything in the brackish water of the lower Potomac. Largemouth bass, striped bass, very aggressive blue catfish, snakeheads, shad, white perch, the list goes on and on.

Send me a PM to remind me and I’ll mark up a satellite map for your showing some of the easier access points. In terms of lures, pretty much anything that is a baitfish imitator will work, emphasizing things that have a lot of flash or thump as the water is often quite murky/stained. Spinner baits, lipless crank’s, under spoons, stuff like that. The bottom is incredibly snaggy so bring extras as there’s no real tackle store anywhere near DC.

It’s generally the best fished on a rising tide or a falling tide but because of where it’s located it’s a very unique place to fish due to all of the monuments visible around it.

Unfortunately DC does not have many good bank fishing opportunities for bass, but there is a spot just across the river in Virginia called Four Mile Run that is a very popular bank spot for bass and steak head. There is a ton of information online about it but I have never been there myself. The Old Chesapeake and Ohio Canal runs through the edge of the city through the Georgetown neighborhood And I have caught quite a few nice smallmouth out of it over the years, but it has been drained for the last couple years for repair and it’s only in the last couple of weeks been refilled, so I’m not sure what the fishing conditions will be like. It runs right through the middle of a shopping and entertainment district so again is another really unique place to fish but depending on the water conditions might be fairly unproductive.


Once you get your schedule firmed up let me know and I will do what I can to hunt up information for you.

Dalleinf
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Re: Fishing in Washington DC

Post by Dalleinf » Sat Sep 14, 2019 8:31 am

Thank you very very much for all that info! =D>
I am heading to a dinner party but will hassle you soon ;)

Houndfish
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Re: Fishing in Washington DC

Post by Houndfish » Sat Sep 14, 2019 8:51 am

Dalleinf wrote:
Sat Sep 14, 2019 8:31 am
Thank you very very much for all that info! =D>
I am heading to a dinner party but will hassle you soon ;)
No problem, happy to help. That was all dictated into my phone so please excuse any grammatical nonsense.

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uljersey
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Re: Fishing in Washington DC

Post by uljersey » Sat Sep 14, 2019 8:55 am

My suggestion would be not to overthink it too much ... I would tend to primarily stay with the baits and techniques that are successful for you now. That being said, the advice you were given by Houndfish is sound, really can't go wrong with baitfish imitators in this region of the country. Perhaps fitting some of your baits with inline single hooks will lessen the chance of snags.

Enjoy your stay here and best of luck.

Aquaftm45
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Re: Fishing in Washington DC

Post by Aquaftm45 » Sat Sep 14, 2019 5:04 pm

Watch a bunch of episodes of 1Rod1Reel on youtube. He is a good watch and fishes that area regularly.

Dalleinf
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Re: Fishing in Washington DC

Post by Dalleinf » Sat Sep 14, 2019 9:48 pm

Thanks guys. Yes, will also try my usual inline spinner w single hook. Weather is not for fishing today so youtube is on :D

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Re: Fishing in Washington DC

Post by Aquaftm45 » Tue Sep 24, 2019 8:59 pm

Dalleinf wrote:
Sat Sep 14, 2019 5:54 am
I will be attending a conference in your fine capital in early October. I hope to find a few hours to fish the Potomac / Tidal basin. Most likely from shore.
Being from North Europe, my knowledge on lures/patterns for early fall fishing in DC is quite low. I read that bass are quite aggresive during fall transition - do I bring mostly moving baits (spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits) ?
Any input much appreciated.
Cheers Michael
This "Catfish and Carp" Guy is a good dude. He is having a fishing meetup on OCT 12th at the tidal basin. Worth checking out if that is your timeframe.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzWn_g ... gSt4AaABCQ

Dalleinf
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Re: Fishing in Washington DC

Post by Dalleinf » Tue Sep 24, 2019 9:57 pm

Thank you for the info/link - I will be sure to check out his videos.
Unfortunately, I am “only” in the US from Oct 1st to 6th.

On a side note, are all Walmarts created equally? I was wondering if I can find cheap Rooster Tail spinners at the Walmart on H Street.

Houndfish
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Re: Fishing in Washington DC

Post by Houndfish » Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:11 pm

Dalleinf wrote:
Tue Sep 24, 2019 9:57 pm
Thank you for the info/link - I will be sure to check out his videos.
Unfortunately, I am “only” in the US from Oct 1st to 6th.

On a side note, are all Walmarts created equally? I was wondering if I can find cheap Rooster Tail spinners at the Walmart on H Street.
I would be surprised if the H Street Walmart has much tackle. You might have better luck ordering from a US site and having them delivered to your hotel. You might be able to get same-day Amazon delivery but the pricing will be awful.

I still own you a map of the C&O canal around Georgetown, I am out of town w/o a computer but will send one over this coming weekend.

Dalleinf
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Re: Fishing in Washington DC

Post by Dalleinf » Wed Sep 25, 2019 5:10 am

With regard to Walmart, OK thanks for the intel. May just find some stuff on auction site for hotel delivery :)

Houndfish, thank you for all the help and the map that you already gave me. You have been a huge help =D> and owe me absolutely nothing.

Dalleinf
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Re: Fishing in Washington DC

Post by Dalleinf » Thu Oct 03, 2019 11:27 am

Just a quick update.
Went to the tidal basin this morning from 09-ish until noon. Plenty of activity with incoming tide but, alas, no fish in hand.
In many ways a very interesting fishing spot that is for sure.

Walmart on H-street does not carry any fishing tackle, but I have had some nice lures, eg many Lucky Craft baits, delivered to my hotel...Lucky Craft are not sold in DK, so nice to find some cheap baits in the US.

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