Re: {Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} New To DC and looking for Smallies

First,  

Safety.  The biggest issue is respecting the river.  Wading between little-falls and Great-falls is possible, but can be dangerous. The bottom is just like the rocks around the area, jagged with drop offs and places to get your foot caught (which are also places for fish to hide).  I personally don't like to fish it when the little falls gauge is above 3.8.  Further upstream, the river gets shallower and isn't as bad.  I don't wade in the spring myself.  I wait for the water to warm up and wet-wade when the water gets warmer.   I don't wear a PFD, but swamped waders scare me in the Potomac.

Check the forecast (see the links below),  The prediction is for the river to rise quite a bit this week.  You probably don't want to be wading next weekend.

There are a few people who guide out of Harpers Ferry.  I've used Mark Kovatch (https://www.mkfs.com) and been happy.  

Three  sites to keep an eye on for water levels.

Little Falls Gauge:

  http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=lwx&gage=brkm2

  http://waterdata.usgs.gov/md/nwis/uv?01646500

A smorgasbord of sites on the potomac:

  http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/river.php?wfo=lwx&wfoid=18691&riverid=204497&pt%5B%5D=141310&pt%5B%5D=141409&pt%5B%5D=143473&pt%5B%5D=147711&pt%5B%5D=143020&allpoints=142429%2C142823%2C141310%2C141409%2C143473%2C147711%2C143020%2C143237%2C146040%2C146039%2C147887%2C142226%2C142557%2C147888%2C144544%2C143815%2C147891%2C147896%2C143552%2C142034%2C141459%2C144298%2C149321%2C146038&data%5B%5D=hydrograph

Carl

--

Carl Zmola

On Sat, Apr 30, 2016 at 10:51 AM, Lisa Friday <friday.lisa@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello all, I am looking to make my first trip out to the Potomac next Sat (May 7th) and I'm looking for suggestions on where to wade. I'm aware that the rain may make it difficult to wade next weekend so it could just turn into a scouting trip. I do like to catch fish but I also like to get away from the crowds so I'm not afraid to may a hike to a more secluded fishing hole. Any suggestion on areas I should look into would be greatly appreciated. I have a 6 and an 8 weight rod and a large supply of wolly buggers, crayfish and closures. Any suggestions on which rod to use and favorite patterns would also be helpful. Also, do you guys suggest using a PFD when wading?

Thanks!
Lisa

--
http://www.tpfr.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/b8552b14-b67e-4bc8-a1dc-1a87b50e2432%40googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

--
http://www.tpfr.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/CAK8gq%2BEnYM%3Di0-4fwbYd5Atsy_wyaJWPo7BS2xCjFZdWijNj%2BA%40mail.gmail.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.