Occoquan on Sunday 4/29

[camelbird]

I'm heading out to Occoquan tomorrow if anybody wants to join. It will be tough with this front moving through, but always better than work.

Planning on being there around 8am

Justin

[ictalurus]

How you do? I wanted to fish it with my father Friday evening, but we didn't feel like dealing with the howling wind. I didn't get a chance to fish Saturday or today (Sunday).

[camelbird]

First time fishing Occoquan

Started the day at about 7:30ish, wicked fog, went straight across and started to fish the docks with a b/b chatterbait and senko wacky rigged. Fished super slow near deep water and cover/timber all the way up to the mini island. Fished the island, Occoquan side with deep diving cranks, flukes and b/b jigs. Nada.

Worked my way past the docks to the steel walls, fished the walls in 12ft of water, caught my first LMB, about 1 lb - caught on the b/b chatterbait.

About 10 minutes later I met up with wardog, and he referenced a DNR posting of the numerous amounts of fish that are further up towards the dam. I’m sold - as I wanted to potentially catch a striper and have read reports of snakeheads that far up.

We both worked the shoreline up to the water overflow with nothing to show for. Wardog saw some shad/herring following his bait up but couldn’t get them to bite, tried a chartreuse dart – nada.

We fished all the way up to the boulders and then it started to get tight and crowded with 3 boats, 3 kayaks, 4 shore fishermen. At this point I was kind of put off by the cramped fishing and decided that Wardog’s suggestion of down river was the way to go.

We made power moves down past the ramp on our way to the 95 bridge. We fished the Occoquan side on the sharp walls with Spinnerbaits and jigs. I caught my second LMB this one being a little bigger at about 2 lbs. Fish was caught in about 7-10ft of water on a shaky head / havoc crawfish.

We made our way down to 95, caught one about 1.5lbs off a pylon in 17ft of water - Chartreuse 6” BKD strikes again.

Made it down to route 1.. wardog hooks into something nice as his ugly stick bends in half. Up comes a nice 3lb largemouth. Nicely done, especially around the wooden pylons.

We fished a few more spots down river all were shallow near lily pads/spatterdock with White Spinnerbaits and White Chatterbaits. He caught two decent bass on two casts, I caught a decent one, then of course I lost the biggest fish of the day, decided to turn my camera on. User error, D@&#!, bass was a solid 5lbs.

The rest of the day involved drifting the flats around the mouth of the river with my new favorite lure – a flat bottom shaky head jig with a 4” havoc black and blue crawfish. I caught 3 cats up to 6lbs on the havoc, 6 more bass, biggest going about 3lbs. Guy next to us caught a 12lb snakehead earlier.

My last fish of the day was a 3.5lb bass in 20ft of water on the chartreuse BKD.

Productive lures:
White Spinnerbait
White Chatterbait with trailer
Heavy shaky head jig with 4” Havoc Crawfish black and blue
6" Chartreuse BKD - 1/2 oz jighead

Tally:
11 LMB (Biggest 3.5lb)
3 Channel Cats (Biggest 6lb)

Wardog it was a pleasure fishing with you all day, we’ll have to meet up again. Thanks again for the tour

Justin

[ComeOnFish]

That was an awesome day!!!
One thing… I lost (probably others) so many fish when trying to take videos before landing fish.
I hope you have a solid hook set next time you bring a lunker to the gunwale.

Joe

[camelbird]

Pics:

2lb - 4" havoc craw on flat bottom shaky head - 12ft of water - slow

2lb -1/4oz white chatterbait with 4" white fluke trailer - 2ft water near spatterdock - mod

3lb - 4" havoc craw shaky head - 3ft water near spatterdock - slow

3.5lb - 6" BKD - 20ft water on bridge pylon - quick jig

Lost a 5lber next to the yak when I was reaching to turn the camera on - hooked on white chatterbait in 2ft of water near spatterdock - mod/fast

[cptwardog]

Great day

I was glad to have been the tour guide and am equally glad to have got us on some fish. I fished mainly the white spinner bait, but swtiched to the jig and trailer when drifiting on the flats near Bellmont Bay which was super productive for Justin. All in all my tally was 11 LMB (most I am guessing were in the 1.5 to 3 lb. range with my calibrate eye). Justin missed that one which was a conservaitve 5 lbs.

I live on the other side of the Occoquan park boat launch (in the smaller homes not the mansions on the river) and go out as much as I can. If anyone ever wants to go and our schedules permit I can give a guided tour. Again, Justin, had a great time and look forward to fishing with you again. My contact info: warfel.brian@gmail.com phone: 703 850-7421