Potomac River/ Chain Bridge Shad

[Rhino]

So you cannot call the DNR , as it is DC and the DC police and the one ranger could really care. I would say, most of the people snagging down there are snagging snakeheads which is sort of legal. I am glad you had a blast, Chain Bridge remains among the most interesting places to fish I have ever been.

Yes, the Potomac River east/south of Chain Bridge and just west/north of the bridge is DC water, and the land between the river and the canal on the DC side of the river is national parkland. The VA side is either VA or national park - not sure.

I observed a lot of disturbing things in my last two trips - snagging shad with a weighted treble, using cast nets, killing/keeping shad, and littering. The snagging was definitely targeted to shad, or at least killing a lot of shad. I called DC Dept of Energy and Environment to report what I saw. I would encourage others to do the same thing. The people I spoke to did seem very concerned and were appreciative of the report. It seems there have been issues with authority and capacity, but if they get enough reports/complaints this becomes a bigger priority. This is the person to write or call is:

Daniel P. Conner
Special Assistant to the Director, External Affairs
Department of Energy & Environment
Government of the District of Columbia
1200 First Street NE, 5th Floor
Washington, DC 20002
Desk: (202) 741-2138
Cell: (202) 329-6036

[jsnyd86]

Potomac River/ Chain Bridge Shad

This is the person to write or call is:

Daniel P. Conner
Special Assistant to the Director, External Affairs
Department of Energy & Environment
Government of the District of Columbia
1200 First Street NE, 5th Floor
Washington, DC 20002
Desk: (202) 741-2138
Cell: (202) 329-6036

Awesome! Thanks for the info. You'd think they would at least use hook and line to catch and keep them, instead of being glaringly obvious. it's not hard to do.

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[Hobie Matt]

So you cannot call the DNR , as it is DC and the DC police and the one ranger could really care. I would say, most of the people snagging down there are snagging snakeheads which is sort of legal. I am glad you had a blast, Chain Bridge remains among the most interesting places to fish I have ever been.

Yep, I dish there a lot and I'm good friends with the fletchers boat house people, today I watched them snag a ton of snakeheads, and huge ones,
They are primarily targeting snakeheads,
You wouldn't believe how many I saw them snag today..
the shad fishing is better downstream
And yeah
The Dnr does nothing there and dc doesn't enforce anything..
they cast net for herring there also,
Who knows how many rockfish get poached there, but up at chain bridge, especially at night it's ridiculous..
headlamps up and down the shore at night.

But anyway not much to do and the rest of the fisherman there are really respectful..

Good luck!


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