 |
| South Branch Report 2004 |
| June 8, 2004 |
| The South Branch of the Potomac is still here and as beautiful as ever. The water on this day is clear, 72 degrees and flowing just right. I am wading "wet" and it feels good. The time is 6:00 pm. As I stand here gazing at this breathtaking sight, my heart races. The above picture was taken on this evening and has been "doctored" somewhat to more closely resemble my artistic view of the river. I fished both this weedbed and the deeper section on the other side. I caught five healthy smallmouth, but 12" was the largest. The big ones are hard to find since the fishkill some two years ago. Sunfish and largemouth are on the increase. I think they are filling the space left by the reduction in smallmouth as well as being able to tollerate less pure water. All fish were caught with poppers. As faster water approched, so did the number of bass. This is the first time this year that the river has been at a wade fishing level. Hopefully the large amount of rain will help cleanse the river. All in all a great evening. |
| June 24, 2004 |
 |
| The South Branch hasn't been fishing too good lately so I took a day and traveled to here head-waters in Pendelton County for a day with the trout. The fishing was good using a deer winged dry fly, but the peacefulness and beauty were overwhelming. What a great day in such a beautiful place will do for the spirits. |
| July 16, 2004 |
| I fished 2 hours with my fishing buddy, David. He was in his pontoon and fishing his favorite gitzit tube bait. I was wading and fishing a white popper for the most part. The river was perfect for wading. It was 1.9' on the Springfield gauge. Water temperature was 78 degrees. It was 6:00 pm and sunny. I caught six smallmouth and one largemouth. The largest was 13". The fish were all in moving water and the action picked up as I moved closer to the riffle. I caught one smallmouth in the riffle on the Smallmouth Seeker and it had a hellgrammite in its throat. It was, of course, an enjoyable evening. |
| August 8&14, 2004 |
| For details click on this link Floating the South Branch or enter from home page. |
| September 4, 2004 |
| This day again had me and my two fishing buddies floating the South Branch. The float was six miles and the water was extremely low ( 1.3 on the Springfield gauge). It was a beautiful day. Not a cloud in sight. Maybe not the best for fishing. The day was a great success with everyone catching fish. The catch extended over 100 as a total for all three of us. The fish were, for the most part, in moving water below riffles and in the shade. The top water bite didn't heat up until later in the afternoon. Below are pictures of the best fish caught by each of us, |
 |
| David Barb and a 18" largemouth |
 |
| Todd Hott and a 16" largemouth |
 |
| Me and a 17" smallmouth |