Potomac Blue Cats

The winter itch to hit the water has been bad recently with all the cold weather we've been having. I planned all week to get out in search of some fish and the next question was where and for what species? Stripers? Yellow perch? Pickerel? Catfish? Dave and I decided to give the potomac a try and it was the first time I had fished this section of the River. We launched from Jones Point Park under the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and headed up to the Waste Water Treatment Plant. I was surprised at how shallow the Potomac is after you cross to the other side. At times it was so shallow in the middle of the river I could't use the mirage drive. Dave hooked up with a 23" Striper casting and shortly after I had my Shimano Baitrunner singing. I knew the fish was a decent size because it made some good strong runs and was giving me a nice fight. I finally got it yak side and got the fish grips on it. The blue cat ended up being 33.5" and was my biggest fish in a kayak to date!

After another hour we had each snagged a few gizzard shad on casts but had nothing else to show for our efforts. The storm they had been calling for all week to come in Sunday night started a little earlier than expected. With a steady rain coming down we made the trip back to the bridge to try for some cats around the pilings. Action was steadier at the bridge and I ended up with 7 cats.

Overall, it was good to get some pullage in between this cold winter weather.