potomac river fletcher's/chain bridge i need help

[largestripedsmallmouth]

hi i'm new and i would like to know if sabikis will work for potomac river herring and where to fish at fletchers. i got out today with butterfish heads and a jerk bait and caught none. also will a cordell redfin work at fletchers?

p.s. i do catch and release all season

[Reelthing1323]

i use sabikis or plain gold hooks when i head up to fletchers........you have to cut the sabikis in half though.....only three hooks/line......or you can use mini shad darts......string three up your line and put a bell sinker at the bottom (i use a crappy knot to put on the sinker so i don't lose the whole rig when it gets caught in the rocks).......i netted a bunch of small gizzard shad a few days ago but the stripers didn't want them........i really need to locate some herring too

[largestripedsmallmouth]

thanks, and do you know if waking a cordell redfin when you have no herring will work? all i ever caught on herring was a crappie but it i barely ever used it and i probabbly was using it wrong. also what rigs do you suggest?

[Reelthing1323]

i'm sure the redfin will work when there are a few more fish in the river and the temp is up a little more......my fav lure is a bomber 16A in white or pearl.....i sometimes wake it but most times i work it with fast hard twitches a few feet under.....when are you heading up to fletchers again?? i haven't been up there yet this year, been focusing on the occoquan river mostly

[largestripedsmallmouth]

hopefully saturday if i am allowed to after i do student service learning hours and definatly on sunday morning. and by the way have you ever caught a walleye down there at fletchers?

[Reelthing1323]

i haven't really tried for walleye.....after the stripers and shad are finished i don't go up there a lot.....i usually go above great falls and wade around the upper potomac fishing for smallmouth.......i'm sure they are around.......i know a bunch of guys that catch them from fletchers up to the falls

[largestripedsmallmouth]

okay thanks i was just wondering because i thought i saw a walleye like fish swim out from a rocky cove. and by the way when do you think you'll fish fletchers next?

[Reelthing1323]

i may try friday morning....or an afternoon this week.....my weekend is shot because friends from out of town want to come see the cherry blossoms so i get to play tour guide instead of fish.....i'll pm you w/ my number and we'll see what our schedules are like

[Reelthing1323]

ok scatch that....i just got in from being sleeted on for a while.....i don't think the water is going to be fishable tomorrow morning.....this weather is supposed to last until tomorrow night......i'll let you know when i'm heading up there

[Reelthing1323]

ok scratch that again......i did head up to fletchers this morning when i realized it had stopped raining early enough in the night that the sidewalk was almost dry by 7am........i mainly fished for shad because i got the late start but did throw a rod with herring while i was throwing shad darts or some swim shads (funny how i'm fishing for or with shad.....anyway) caught about 20 hickory shad and had a striper pick up the herring long enough (about 2 seconds)to tell me i had my baitrunner drag too tight......i guess that will teach me to check my equipment before i start fishing......oh well the shad were fun and a few were pretty good size

[largestripedsmallmouth]

Congrats, and where did you get the herring?


also i might get down there sunday and monday (no school) but saturday i will probablly cast rattle traps for a shot at largemouth.

[Reelthing1323]

sadly enough i had to buy it......i still haven't been able to net or catch any

[Reelthing1323]

so i finally manage to get a few herring.........went to fletchers this morning and not a single striper....it was all cats........one was 40 lbs 8 ozs.......it was fun.....but still not a striper.......i actually threw him back with a little disgust........although not as much as a small cat

[largestripedsmallmouth]

was it a channel flathead or blue? and also i'll be out on sunday i didn't go to fletchers last weekend though because i fished for largemouth. we went down on the seventh though and caught nearly 40 herring we kept seven for bait but we ended up eating them because they were gonna freezer burn. I kept the heads to attract flies to pollinate the pawpaw trees along the canal though.

[Reelthing1323]

it was a big blue....there are a lot of them around right now.....its almost as easy as catching bluegill on a farm pond with nightcrawlers under a bobber......i may try to get up there this weekend......i have a bunch of herring and i'm going to get more this afternoon