| February 23rd, 2024
Welcome back to the District Fishing Report! After a brief warm-up at the beginning of February, temperatures have dropped back down to what we would typically expect for late winter. Many anglers are still waiting for the weather to warm up before hitting the water, but others have been braving the cold to try and catch a fish.
Blue catfish have been the star of the show for many anglers this winter. The cold weather hasn’t deterred the bite and reports of big fish have been coming in over the past few weeks. One angler reported a great night bite on the upper Potomac fishing from shore where he landed 7 blue catfish with the three largest weighing 28, 33, and 36 pounds. He was also surprised when he caught an 18-pound flathead catfish. All fish were caught on cut eel. Another local angler caught one of the biggest blue catfish we have heard of in D.C. waters. The monster fish weighed 77 pounds and was caught in the area of Three Sisters Island. Some of the largest blue catfish in the Potomac are caught this time of year from now through the Spring. The stretch of river from Francis Scott Key Bridge up to Chain Bridge is notorious for producing big fish. Fresh cut bunker and cut eel are two of the more popular baits anglers prefer to use for targeting blue catfish. Another tactic that is becoming more popular for anglers fishing off boats is to jig large soft plastic baits for the catfish in the deep channels. Baits in the 5-to-10-inch range on 2-to-3-ounce jigheads are jigged vertically similar to how you would target striped bass. Hooking into a big blue catfish is a lot of fun on light tackle jigging gear.
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Angler Frankie Delaney holds up a huge 77-pound blue catfish caught on the upper Potomac.
We are right around the corner from the exciting spawning runs that come to our area in the Spring. The Hickory and American shad usually show up in early April and fishing tends to peak at the beginning of May. Now is a great time to do some gear prep so that you can hit the ground running once the fish start to show up. Shad will hit small metal spoons along with a variety of small jigs and shad darts. It is a good idea to have an assortment of different colored baits because the shad can be picky about what they want to hit from day to day. Most anglers use light or ultra-light rods with size 1000 to 1500 spinning reels. Sufficient fishing line is typically a 6-to-10-pound monofilament or braided main line tied to a 10-to-15-pound fluorocarbon leader. Fletchers Cove is one of the most popular shad fishing destinations on the Potomac. When choosing a spot for shad fishing, you’ll often do best where you can spot and cast to a seam in the current between sections of moving water. These visible barriers of slower-moving water tend to congregate the fish and are your best visual indication of where they’ll likely be staging. It is important to remember that both shad species are under a moratorium, so fishing for them is strictly catch and release. This fun fishing action will be here soon, so get ready for it now!
You can view the full set of Regulated Fishing Activities for The District on our Regulated Fishing Activities webpage. If you would like to buy a fishing license, please visit the Get a Fishing License webpage. Fishing licenses are sold on a calendar year basis. Anglers under the age of 16, or over the age of 65 are not required to buy a fishing license to fish in The District.
Upcoming Events!
DOEE is sponsoring a Fish Art Contest. DOEE and Wildlife Forever invite District students to enter their art and write a short essay online for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards! The contest uses art, science, and creative writing to foster connections to the outdoors and inspire the next generation of stewards! Enter by February 28th, 2024. For additional information, visit the Fish Art Contest webpage.
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