09/07/2026
The Guide. The tidal Potomac Fishing Report - forecast for fall of 2026.
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Full day (7hrs) - bass, snakehead, fall striper is 525 for 1 or 2 anglers.
Half day (4hrs) - bass, snakehead, fall striper is 325 for 1 or 2 anglers.
Weekday after Work Special - 4 hrs - 295 and starts currently at 330 pm.
The 2026 season (spring/summer) overview - in short the entire 2026 season fell below expectations. I started in late February but Match is when I expect my biggest fish. In March and April I had some good days. Chicamuxen wood, Aquia milfoil and docks, Pohick wood, and of course - a crowded Belmont. I had my best days in Aquia but as a long time client remarked - when I’m running to Aquia there must be an issue. There was an issue - there was a lack of cover to hold a significant amount of fish in one area. I found it in aquia but it disappeared as fast as it appeared.
Summer - summer led to more grass but it is hydrilla and it’s good until it’s not good because it will grow too thick and too shallow. Bass spread out but come to edges on low tides where they are accessible. This was good fishing but small creeks get pounded and at one point - I actually watch bass run away from baits. Some creeks developed grass edges late but I just didn’t find many of them as good as past few years. Of course, August was not good at all for me except some occasional days on docks or in obscure places up north.
Bad things usually happen in slow motion - not all at once. That is true from people, to extinctions, to debt. The lack of milfoil didn’t just happen - it’s been disappearing and thus year was abysmal. I hate to think if the area near the mouth of Belmont doesn’t have grass next year. The south side of occoquan across from Belmont was the “spot” for several earlier springs but early grass hadn’t existed for at least 3 seasons. Chicamuxen - nothing for at least 2 seasons. Mattawoman - nothing that I ever found which means the pad stems and wood. Aquia had my best stretch of milfoil but it died very suddenly. All this isn’t good for me because the little grass that does appear means it gets pounded - one day there was 50 boats at mouth of Belmont. Also, the lack of grass means there is no place for a concentration of fish which means I have to move around a lot.
There just seems to be an abundance of fish that look exactly the same -between 1 and 2.5 pounds. I didn’t catch a lot of fish over 4 pounds and I didn’t catch many giants that I can remember. Maybe I was just off but I see the weights of local tournaments and I believe the trend is 2 pounders.
The snakehead fishing was abysmal for me. I had more success in April and May than in June and July. The early milfoil in aquia held some of the biggest snakeheads that I’ve seen in years - on two consecutive casts we caught two that were 14lbs and then had another that didn’t fit into the net and broke a rod before it escaped. However, the rest of the year except for a couple of trips required huge effort just to get a strike.
I’ve had a lot of trips the past two years and that takes away a lot of my personal fishing time to search. Maybe that has hurt a little but I was everywhere from the back of dogue to Potomac creek to docks to - well everywhere except no DC for me this year.
I remain optimistic because I still had a lot of fish caught but not in comparison to other years. The fall will tell me a lot and I look forward to it.
Fall means frogs and for some people punching is the way to catch bigger fish. However, the areas that people punch and frog are exactly the same.
Buzzbaits and topwater - the alwives and silversides will start coming into the tributaries. The bass are all about the food.
The wild celery, grass lines and pads are not my thing in the fall but if baitfish is popping - especially where grass flats drain into a little deeper water - there are fish.
DC - the hard cover is where I used to go for consistent fishing.
I look forward to the presence of schooling stripers in the river and the tributaries. I love catch and release of these fish while using bass tackle. I don’t keep these fish and mash down my barbs to avoid killing a fish. The season started on September 1 and runs through December 5. You are allowed 1 fish per person between 19 and 24 inches. I had a great year in 2025 and found many new areas. I do wish the police would check more boats for violations of the striper regulations at this time of year because I can assure they are occurring. I mean how hard is it to check - these “pirates” are usually returning to leesylvania or Smallwood but it’s leesylvania where I see the problem. I sometimes wonder if more enforcement of striper poaching occurred - would the lawful recreational always be the first punished with regulations.
The fall is one of my favorite times to fish. Frogs and buzzbaits. Wakebaits and topwater. Stripers on bass gear. Cool weather and a hoody. A potomac void of boats and annoying people. It’s heaven on earth - for me.
