Wet Feet

[AtticaFish]

New responsibilities at work limit my breaks, finally got out the last two days at lunch...... ahhhhh. Not much notable about the fishing but sure nice to get my feet in the river. Water level is low and pretty clean.

Yesterdays hole. Is a favorite of mine and may have taken a picture or two of it in the past....

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Only one fish and caught it above the ledge in one of the deeper channels...

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But did get to see a pair of juvenile eagles. One flew off and the other hung around and watched me fish...

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Today hit the dam in town. Probably taken this picture a hundred times too...

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Only place in this river system (below the dam anyway) that i catch as many LMB as SMB. Second one had a scar healing up...

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Last one - just wanted to take a picture of the log jam. Would have gotten closer, but didn't want to walk through and blow up the hole i was fishing. We had some record flooding in spring and there is a lot of changes to some of the holes i used to fish and lots of timber moved around. One of the reasons i love the river so much is that it is always a little different.

 

[Bucko]

that's my kind of lunch break!

 

[StumpHunter]

I always like seeing the pics you take of your fishing waters. Looks like some good places for the fish to hold. Thanks for sharing the pics.

 

[Jig Man]

Your makin me hungry....

 

[Pup]

Nice pictures that are great reminders that I need to get out and wade fish.

 

[Radtexan]

Now thats a lunch hour !!!!! Great pics as usuall..Wish I had somewhere like that with-in 500 miles.

 

[AtticaFish]

Glad you like the pics..... sure nothing special in the way of fish, but drops the blood pressure even just walking out the door at lunch knowing i am going to be up to my knees in a few minutes. Always wonder the rest of the day is the customers can smell the river on me. I do have xtra 'oderant in my desk, but doubt that will cover the scent of the river.

Pup - Always like getting out in the water with the fishes....... something about it when you see the fish come up and swirl at a lure just a few feet from your knees. Had about a 2 foot gar come up within rods length today, then disappear.

RadTex - A little more than 500 miles but you are more than welcome any time. Sign up for another Roppe Corp. visit!

 

[CrappieHappy]

Good Times....

 

[JSC]

Glad to see pixes of that pretty water ... waiting for my river to get down so that I can find all the new changes ... hate to find them with my lower unit .. but .. it does happen after high water moves things around at the very mouth of the river feels like you are going to ground any time or take on a new log .... not only are logs moved but the very bottom changes from deeper to shallower.

Looks like that jig is working.

 

[hookup]

Looks like allot of potential in the waters in the first couple pix.

We have a marina down the street from work into the lower Potomac - a buddy invites me out allot for lunch, but knowing him, once I step foot on his boat, there's no comming back to work.

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

I'd check out that log jam for sure, might have some deeper water under there that might hold the biggest smallie in that stretch of river. Everyone that rides in my truck asks about that funny smell in my truck and I just say " The river".

 

[Hawnjigs]

Was wondering why no lunch break reports recently.

Hmm, numbers seem down from your previous posts and fish look skinny.

 

[AtticaFish]

hookup - The deeper runs are limited with the nearly solid bedrock river bed, most people know right where they are and fish it hard. Creel limit of 5 bass per day with no size limit really hurts. A little farther North, the river widens, deepens and has more restricted limits - better fishing but it is out of reach during lunch.

JungleJim - Wife refuses to ride in my car because of the river smell.

.....out again today but only had about half an hour to fish since it is payday & needed to head to the bank also. Less fishing time but more fish today. Moved down stream of the dam about a mile or so today and hit a hole that gets very little pressure. There is an underwater ledge that can not be seen and drops off to about 3' deep right now.......... not an obvious spot to the usual shoreline bucket fisherman so it hardly ever gets fished. Caught 9 total and some larger fish today.

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1/8 oz. black-n-blue sili skirt zonker tail

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[Hawnjigs]

Ah, now thats a better bite with healthier fish - did the water level rise? Do you think the flared sili-skirt helps guard the hook?

 

[Lost Pole]

You take advantage the way I do. I don't have much tolerance for the bank though. Of course we don't have the beauty or freedom you do. And mocassins are usually the main problem. Whatcha gotta usually look out for?
Pictures are motivational though and have missed the lunch show. BEAUTIFUL fish. Wish i knew more about em. Will have to try an document my free Sunday excursion the same way.
Just hope I don't waste it

 

[Bucko]

seeing those smallies has me chomping at the bit to get out for them! great smallmouth fishing up here too.

 

[AtticaFish]

Hawnjigs - No rise in water level, but it did rain some last night. This is only about a mile down stream from the dam, but the river splits in three directions about 50 yards below the dam, then all comes back together in the area i fished today. A lot wider here but only deep water is around the ledges and grooves in the bedrock. Majority is only ankle or calf deep. This particular channel is right down the center of the river. As for the skirted jigs........ don't really think they help block the hook, but do believe the bulk they create helps keep them out of cracks. They slow the fall a lot also and create a ton of movement - the whole package just looks very alive in the water, either moving it quickly or slow crawl along the bottom.

Lost Pole - About the only thing i have to worry about is slipping and falling and getting all wet then have to go back to work. Only happened once in the 15 years i have fished at lunch. There are some large water snakes but they are pretty harmless unless you provoke them. They usually hang in the brush over the bank and hit the water and are gone very quickly. Seen some large snapping turtles also, but more spotted sand turtles. The fish hold tight along or under anything they can. Ledges, boulders or logs - anything that makes darker shadows in the water are worth a cast or ten. The small channel cut in the bedrock at this spot is maybe 5 yards across and 25 yards long at most and steps down to 2'-3' of water. All but 1 fish was caught from it. The other fish (largest of the day, last picture) was caught at a different ledge that actually steps up as the water travels downstream. It was only in about 1' of water and rushed out from the ledge as my jig jumped by.

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

I guess I need to add black/blue jigs to my smallie bait list.