MARBURY, Md. — In a fishery as well known (and pressured) as the Potomac River, any changes from the norm can make a big difference.
Well, there certainly have been some noteworthy happenings this spring on the fishery. And the result should make for a fun event when the Potomac hosts its first Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine event of the year on Saturday, a Shenandoah Division stop presented by Suzuki Marine.
What to expect
The Potomac River has seen far less fishing pressure this spring than in years past. A significant sewage pipe spill back in January will do that.
That kept anglers away for a good majority of the early part of the year, which gave the bass a reprieve from the constant fishing pressure while the spill got cleaned up. That rest ended up being a boon for anglers once they returned to the river earlier this spring.
“Oh, the river has been fishing really well this spring,” says former Bass Pro Tour angler Martin Villa. “The lack of fishing pressure really helped.”
As did a particularly warm spring, which pushed the fish to spawn earlier than normal. Villa figures close to 80 percent of the bass have spawned in the fishery, especially after last week’s full moon. And while there will still be fish spawning into June, that is definitely a bigger population in postspawn for this time of year than normal.
What does that mean for this fishing?
“It’s going to trigger that coveted topwater bite,” Villa said.
While most associate the fishery with vibrating jigs and soft-plastic stickbaits, locals drool for the postspawn topwater bite, which is as lights out as any in the country. Best of all, the grass hasn’t quite gotten up enough yet to choke out certain areas. All the major creeks – Mattawoman, Aquia, Quantico, Chicamuxen and more – will be in play for the pattern.
Obviously, the other key factor will be playing the tides, which Villa says will determine a lot of patterns.
“You’re going to see anglers chunking and winding for awhile,” says Villa. “And then that bite will die with a tide, and co-anglers tossing drop-shots will start whacking them. So, everyone will switch to soft plastics.
“Everyone knows the drill, and everyone is going to catch fish.”
Baits to bring
Anglers could probably show up to this event with one tackle box and some bags of soft-plastics and be fine.
In that box: a vibrating jig, swim jig and a popper. Toss in some drop-shot components and worm hooks to drag some soft-plastic stickbaits around. Anything more than that, and they might be overthinking it.
What will it take?
The sheer number of bass in the 16- to 20-inch range on the fishery is staggering. Villa says it’s a factory for them. The key, as always, is catching those 5-pound-class kickers, which may be harder to come by in this event considering it’s freshly postspawn.
With that, Villa figures 18 pounds is a solid benchmark for the win.
“If someone can find an area where the fish are little more postspawn and a little fatter, that will be the winning area,” Villa said.