April Meet & Greet at Fletcher's Boat House, DC :: April 14

[jaybird0730]

4/6/12 Fletcher's Cove Surveillance

All - Okay, so I have to admit, I got so excited at the reports coming in from Fletcher's Cove that I decided I had to go down and check it out. Good news is I live fairly close; Bad news is that I left without about 45 minutes of daylight left when I decided to leave the house.

As it was, upon my arrival, there were other anglers on the banks and I saw about 100 fish circles in the river. The bite was on. I had a fish on in 3 casts and landed him. I had another one on in the next 3 casts, but apparently must have foul hooked him because he shook off right as I was raising him out of the water and he lost a gill.

At that point I started switching up the lure, because I was casting into a shady spot with how the sun was falling and it seemed like I wasn't getting enough flash from the lure. I had a few more tags, but nothing I could hang onto.

Oh well... as it is, I unfortunatley will be out of town for the M&G; however some intel on the entrance and the tunnel.

I've measured the tunnel and it is 7' at the lowest point. An SUV with a yak on top won't make it in most cases. Also - no boat trailers allowed due to the tight turning radius. If I get another chance, I will verify the measurement on the tunnel height.

[jaybird0730]

Fletcher's Cove Observations

Hi to All -

I am seriously bummed that I won't be able to attend this meet and greet, since it is more toward my neck of the woods, and seeing as how I am really looking forward to meeting some folks on this fine board.

However, in my effort to contribute, I'll share some observations about what might work regarding logistics. In my last post, I mentioned the height of the tunnel being 7', so SUVs with a yak on top won't make it to the lower parking lot. In going back today, I noted that the entrance to the site could pose a problem depending on your approach - be that from the North heading Southbound.

(IF you are arriving from the South, then skip this part)

IF you are heading South on Canal, then as you approach Fletcher's Cove, you will have to make a very tight right hand u-turn to make the turn clean. It's so tight that instead what I do is pull over and go in reverse to the first parking lot.

Then I make a 3 point turn to do a 180 to go front end down toward the tunnel.

IF the crew are arriving early AM then most traffic will be heading IN. So the conditions won't be so hazardous.

Today I scouted the scene again, entering as I just described, and had to wait for another car to exit, because the entrance is only 1 car length wide. Traffic behind me was impatient, honking to me and not understanding the deal.

Many people on the river today. And no small numbers also angling from the shore (DC side) to the point where I saw 2 boats get tangled in lines from the shore fishermen as they hugged the shore moving up/down the river.

So be careful.

I don't carry an anchor on my yak, but would consider rigging one for this trip especially. The river flow will push you south even if you hug the shore. And the middle is fraught with boulders. So depending on tidal levels, current and wind, it could be an interesting situation.

Saw many Shad again tonite (2nd recon of the day) both north and south of Fletcher's Cove

Also talked to a guy who was seeing some bite from the resident catfish after the AM bite turned off from the Shad.

The dogwoods are in a slow full bloom around here (judging by the ones on my street at least), so hopefully that portends a steady bite over the next couple of weeks.

[chex]

Thanks for the useful info jaybird. Good stuff!

And also thanks to mmanolis2001, bigfluke and old cajun for the reports. Hope they're still biting a week from now!

[camelbird]

Fished yesterday with some buddies out of a boat, super windy for a yak..

Caught 30+ Hickory shad / herring, a few big hickories, everything on either white/red or orange/chartreuse darts.

Caught a few monster Blue Cats on cut bunker just below Fletcher's cove in about 50ft of water. Biggest 35-40lbs

Saw a guy across the river who caught a nice sized striper and saw a ton of people fishing for white perch.

River is pretty clear and quite low for this time of year. Water temps have generally stabilized - not too shabby

[chex]

Whoa! That's a nice cat!!

[ictalurus]

Wow, thanks for all the recon info. Is that area too rocky for a Hobie? Will I lose a grapple anchor?

[new2yaks11]

Can you catch them just swimming a twister tail? I've caught shad on Susquehana and Choptank doing that? I'd really like to fish this M&G just not familiar with that area at all.

[PotomacTide]

I went out a few times over the past 2 weeks at Fletchers. The bite is fantastic right now. The first cast I put in on Saturday yielded two Shad on one line.

What to rig... The proper rig will make all the difference right now at Fletchers. A lot of people will rig a tandem dart set up, but i just rig 2 darts on a single line and found it worked fantastically well. The trick right now at Fletchers seems to be color selection. Hot pink darts with black heads with yellow tails seems to be all the rage this year at Fletchers. I tried so many different combinations and caught nothing except with hot pinks with black head and bright yellow tails 1/8 and 1/4 oz both work. I've observed others catching on chartreuse darts. I also caught a couple on red and white darts but nothing seems to be as successful as hot pink. They sell them at the boathouse, but it looks like they almost sold out last week.

Someone asked about anchors... Well, I lost a river anchor the first time I went out there, so I dont recommend them. I noticed that the row boats that they rent use flat boulders for anchors and they work just fine even out int the current. they simply wrap jute around a rock. I guess the flat rock is easier to slide out if it gets wedged under a boulder. Worst case scenario is that you lose a 20 pound rock to the potomac. Lots of rocks on the nature trail out there but I noticed that the rocks come in all shapes and sizes except for 20 lbs and flat.

Kayak launching ... Be sure to bring your kayak carts even if you think you can make it through the tunnel to the lower parking lot. Either that or have a buddy help you carry your yak to the closest launch . Im happy to help carry when im not in the water. The dock is not for public use unless you are renting a boat from fletchers. Dont plan on launching around the sides of the dock. The tides been very low and its been a sinking mud pit lately.

[PotomacTide]

Movie clip from my Shad fishing trip at Fletcher's this weekend.

[ame]http://youtu.be/B8oBxYZqYB4[/ame]

[Meadeo]

So is there a general idea on how many people are planning to attend this M & G?

I am 50/50 right now but plan to go if i can.

Meadeo

[ictalurus]

If you buy a license online, can you print it, or does the office mail it to you? I went through the process but couldn't tell if they would mail it or not.

I'm still not sure if I'll make this one.

[fishyaker]

If you buy a license online, can you print it, or does the office mail it to you?

You can definitely print the DC fishing license online.

[Shady]

I plan to attend and will bring gear to target for shad, cats, and perch.

[jsnyd86]

I just bought my license, so I guess I'm going. Never been there before so I hope the mentioned current isnt too strong. Hows the bite for everything else? I guess if all else fails I can go for cats. Ill need to try and make a cart before then.

[fishyaker]

yak to borrow?

I'm a yak-less newbie, but am considering going this Saturday just to meet some folks on the forum and do some shore fishing.

Would anybody going be willing to let me try out their yak for a few paddles? I'm interested in buying my own yak soon, but am trying to test as many out as possible before taking the plunge. PM me if you might be up for this. Thanks!