I was not excited about revisiting the tidal Potomac. I do not know what it is about tidal fishing but I just do not care for it. I need to spend more time fishing these areas to really grow my confidence. I had an opportunity to pre fish this area and I did not do well. I spent about 8 hours on the water and only yielded two very small fish. The water temperature was up and so was my confidence early in the morning. I found water in the mid 60's towards the upper end of Pohick Bay. I spotted a few large females but I was unable to get them to bite. As I ventured out into the main bay, I discovered water temperatures creeping into the 70's.
With warming water temperatures, I must admit I wasn't totally dreading the event. Mother Nature had different plans for the week of the tournament. Air temperatures dropped and I think there was a chance of rain the entire week. Not knowing what to expect the day of the tournament, I prepared for off colored and cold water.
The turnout was about the same as last year. Many of the same faces and a few new faces or some I may not have recognized. I did not hear much talk of strategy but I knew most anglers would leave left out of the launch. This area contains milfoil, a very productive creek channel and clearer waters. I decided to leave out of the ramp towards the right and fish a brush pile I had found the week before. Not far from this brush pile was also some rip rap that had a few lay downs I thought would be productive as the tide came in. With water temperatures in the mid 50's to start the day, I went with a weightless senko thinking the bass would be a bit slow moving. I was able to pull one bass off the brush pile but after a few hours i made the move towards the shoreline rip rap. I tied on a square bill crank bait and fan casted the entire bank. I decided not to travel far and really concentrate on this area. We fished an incoming tide, so I knew this area had to eventually turn on.
After focusing on the shoreline rip rap, I slowly got my limit. The bite was not constant but it seemed like the fish were slowly moving up into the cover along the bank. My largest fish on the day was 16-1/2" and I managed another 5th place finish. Thank you again to Matt Baden for putting on another great event.
