Got out on the Potomac not too far upriver of DC this past Sunday morning, and stumbled upon a great topwater bite. I was fishing a Berkeley Choppo as I worked my way up river, and my first two fish were a 16" and 18" smallmouth, the later being my new PB for the river. Both came off the ends of laydowns breaking the current, and absolutely crushed my bait.
I got several other violent strikes on top as the morning wore on, but was not able to connect with any of them. In two cases, I got two explosive strikes on the same retrieve. These fish were literally launching themselves out of the water. Truly some of the most aggressive strikes I have ever seen. Despite the frustration of the missed strikes, I kept with the topwater longer than I probably should have because the strikes themselves were worth it. I eventually switched over to a chatterbait, the new mini-max in black and blue, and proceeded to catch a few more nice bass in the 14-16" range. The water was pretty stained, so power fishing was the game.
On my way back to the launch, I floated down the Virginia side of the river where the water was much clearer, so I wound up switching to a Roostertail spinner. This lead to several more bites, mostly smaller bass and few redbreast sunfish, but I did manage one decent 14"smallie on the spinner.
Wish I could have posted some photos, but for some reason I keep getting an error message when I try to do so. I have had nothing but technical difficulties with this new system.
I got several other violent strikes on top as the morning wore on, but was not able to connect with any of them. In two cases, I got two explosive strikes on the same retrieve. These fish were literally launching themselves out of the water. Truly some of the most aggressive strikes I have ever seen. Despite the frustration of the missed strikes, I kept with the topwater longer than I probably should have because the strikes themselves were worth it. I eventually switched over to a chatterbait, the new mini-max in black and blue, and proceeded to catch a few more nice bass in the 14-16" range. The water was pretty stained, so power fishing was the game.
On my way back to the launch, I floated down the Virginia side of the river where the water was much clearer, so I wound up switching to a Roostertail spinner. This lead to several more bites, mostly smaller bass and few redbreast sunfish, but I did manage one decent 14"smallie on the spinner.
Wish I could have posted some photos, but for some reason I keep getting an error message when I try to do so. I have had nothing but technical difficulties with this new system.
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