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Dad and I set out at about 11am from the Occoquan Regional Park boat launch across from the town of Occoquan in search of yellow perch, crappie, and bass. I had some location tips from generous fellow TFer, but we didn't get to hit any of them because the place was packed with other fishermen. I was jigging a 1/4oz silver buddy in either silver or gold and a 2" chartreuse or white grub, while Dad hit the shoreline with black or electric blue worms. My fishfinder was on the fritz, so I was jigging blind based on where I thought the channel was. We fished until almost 3pm when I had to head home, but we didn't have any hits all day. I didn't see anyone else catch anything either, and the few people I heard at the boat ramp didn't have much luck, either. We fished up as close to the dam as we could get, down to between the 95 and Rt 1 bridges. There was still a good bit of ice on the water when we started, but almost all of it melted by the time we left, except for the shadiest places on the southwestern shore.
The water temperature was ~39* for most of the day, and the water was totally fresh.
Here are some pics of the area:
Up by the dam:
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Upstream of the park:
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There are tons of docks and bridge pilings to fish around, but many of the docks were completely surrounded by ice. In addition to the docks, there are lots of other types of structure, including rock walls, fallen trees, and some drop-offs. The the traffic coming from the 95 bridge was deafening, there are tons of marinas where really big boats are docked, so I would probably fish this area mostly during the week when things were quieter. The river is pretty narrow by the park and doesn't really open up until downstream of Rt 1, but it's all a no-wake zone, so it's probably not too bad even when there are lots of big boats moving around. The Occoquan Park is really nice, has restrooms, a kayak launching area ($5 for out-of-towners), and lots of parking. In all, it was a pretty nice outing and a good relief from cabin fever.
The water temperature was ~39* for most of the day, and the water was totally fresh.
Here are some pics of the area:
Up by the dam:
Upstream of the park:
There are tons of docks and bridge pilings to fish around, but many of the docks were completely surrounded by ice. In addition to the docks, there are lots of other types of structure, including rock walls, fallen trees, and some drop-offs. The the traffic coming from the 95 bridge was deafening, there are tons of marinas where really big boats are docked, so I would probably fish this area mostly during the week when things were quieter. The river is pretty narrow by the park and doesn't really open up until downstream of Rt 1, but it's all a no-wake zone, so it's probably not too bad even when there are lots of big boats moving around. The Occoquan Park is really nice, has restrooms, a kayak launching area ($5 for out-of-towners), and lots of parking. In all, it was a pretty nice outing and a good relief from cabin fever.
