As soon as the ice had melted on boat ramps along the upper tidal Potomac River earlier this week, you could spot the occupants of bass boats and aluminum flat-bottoms casting lures or baits in search of yellow perch, crappies, catfish or bass in the feeder creeks and the main body.
Our little gang of regulars had a relatively easy time finding yellow perch in several Charles County waters, but they weren’t found everywhere, something that will change when the spawning run starts later this month. We had to hunt and peck to find small schools in as much as 20 feet of creek water, but when we located a few, they would nibble on artificial dropshot shiners or small grubs on 1/8-ounce jig hooks that often could be fished straight under the boat.
Reports of crappie catches have come in from Spoils Cove, above the Wilson Bridge, and several johnboaters have scored on cold-water catfish - mostly blue “cats.” The big catfish inhaled slabs of alewife or perch fillets just outside the Piscataway Creek, along the channel drops at the Greenway Flats and upstream of Broad Creek, within sight of the Wilson Bridge. The one fish that has been elusive in the Potomac’s feeder creeks is the largemouth bass.
If it’s saltwater species you prefer, you almost have to go down to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay or the adjacent Atlantic Ocean, where Ken Neill of the Peninsula Salt Water Sport Fisherman’s Association has been dropping his lines.
“Striped bass fishing is red-hot one day and stone-cold the next,” he said. “Actually, some of the red-hot times are lasting only a couple of hours, but when [they do] it really is hot.”
Neill said Virginia’s Cape Henry has been as good a place as any to start.
“Fish are being caught from Wachapreague, Va., to Kitty Hawk, N.C.,” he added. “A smaller class of rockfish is available along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel for catch-and-release fishing.”
Neill also pointed out that tautog action has been good on the coastal wrecks, including the Tower Reef and the Triangle Wrecks. The offshore wrecks are also good for large sea bass. Fine catches of blueline tilefish are available along the 50-fathom curve.
Blackfin and bluefin tuna are being hooked along with false albacore by boaters coming out of Hatteras, N.C.
Lake Gaston turns up bass - Marty Magone said he has been catching a steady succession of largemouth bass in Virginia’s Lake Gaston, a good many of them in the 5-pound-or-better class.
“Main lake points with submersed grass were very good a few days ago,” he said. “I nailed six nice bass up to 5 pounds, 10 ounces. The water temperature was 44, and I caught all my fish on the Lucky Craft Flash Minnow, casting to 3-foot depths and slowly bringing the bait out to eight feet.”
Kerr Reservoir shows ’cats — Not much is happening at the reservoir, also known as Buggs Island Lake, in south-central Virginia. However, some of the diehards do connect on blue catfish of size, as well as a few crappies and maybe even a white perch.
The “Chick” delivers The Chickahominy River near Williamsburg has given up blue catfish in the 30-pound range. If you can get your hands on a few eels or menhaden and cut them into bottom baits, you will score.
It’s catfish time on the James The Dutch Gap area clear down to the Appomattox River has turned up deep-channel blue catfish. If you try your luck in the barge pits - some call it the “Graveyard” - there’s a fair chance of finding crappies on bobber rigs baited with small live minnows.
Virginia trout guide - The Old Dominion contains more than 2,800 miles of trout streams in addition to ponds, small lakes and reservoirs. The state says it has a total of 2,350 miles of wild trout streams and some 600 miles of water inhabited with stocked trout. So check out the www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/trout/site and plan a trout outing. But don’t forget to have all the proper licenses when you do.
Look for Gene Mueller’s Outdoors column Sunday and Wednesday and his Fishing Report on Thursday, only in The Washington Times. E-mail: gmueller@washingtontimes.com. Mueller’s Inside Outside blog can be found at www.washingtontimes.com/sports.
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