One of the prime May patterns that bass pro Kurt Dove looks for on the Potomac in warm weather are the spatterdock fields in the tributary creeks of the Potomac. Photo by Marc N. McGlade.

The tidal Potomac River is among the best largemouth bass fisheries in the country. Two- to 5-pound bass are quite common, with outstanding numbers of fish possible throughout the year. The month of May is an excellent time to catch fish from the popular tidal waterway that separates Virginia from Maryland.

The length of this river and the available creeks afford anglers the room to spread out. That said, the anglers and recreational boaters at the Potomac River have a reputation for needing a lesson in Southern Hospitality and manners. That should not be the case, as this river has plenty of water for anglers to chase springtime bass.

Tidal creeks dot the map along the Virginia and Maryland shorelines. Some of the creeks are quite large and hold largemouths throughout their length, while others are smaller and have less fishy-looking spots to try. There are also several main-river locales that are worthy of dropping the trolling motor and casting for open-mouthed bass, hungry for their next meal.

As fervent bass casters know, these eating machines will stuff anything into their wide gapes. At the Potomac, the list of bait is extensive; hence, their potbellies. Fisheries biologists have noted that largemouths chomp on the available bait choices of sunfish, gizzard shad, white perch, killifish, golden shiners and small goldfish. However, even with the presence of dozens of minnows and young-of-the-year fish species, the omnipresent prey is crawfish, particularly during certain periods of spring and fall.

That is one reason the condition of bass is excellent: There is an incredible amount -- and variety -- of forage. Largemouth bass are opportunistic and will eat whatever is most available at the time. Sunny afternoons in late winter or early spring will find them chasing killifish on shallow mud banks. Later in the spring, anglers find many medium and even large white perch regurgitated in livewells. Maybe that explains why big white spinnerbaits are so effective.

By summer, there are a huge variety of minnows including silversides, spottail shiners, silvery minnows and golden shiners. Young-of-the-year anadromous and resident species are also available, including white perch, yellow perch, gizzard shad, and recently, American and hickory shad have become more abundant. How could any species near the top of the food chain not be a chub with all of that available on the all-you-can-eat buffet?

This river, once dubbed a “National Disgrace,” is now a tidal river teeming with a large number of 1- to 3-pound fish in the population and a good number of 4- to 5-pounders. That imprints a much better impression in anglers’ minds than the cesspool that it once was some decades ago.

Potomac River largemouths tend to top out around 6 to 7 pounds. There are occasional fish that weigh more, but they are rare.

Kurt Dove, a touring professional bass angler who hails from Fairfax, Virginia, fine-tunes his tactics and techniques for the tournament trail by chasing the chunks that swim in the fertile Potomac River. Dove cut his teeth fishing the Potomac and, when he isn’t fishing a tournament in a distant location, he can be found fishing here. Perhaps that’s why he chose to attend George Mason University -- so he could stay close to his home water.

DOVE’S DO’S AND DON’TS
“The Potomac’s best fishing in the springtime (May) is in the creeks around the spatterdock fields and in the aquatic vegetation (milfoil beds),” Dove said. “They can also be in the main-river coves and eddies with grassbeds.”