The Upper Potomac River
by Barbara Fricke

Those of us who live in the Mid-Atlantic region are blessed with many great smallmouth fisheries that begin as small streams in the Appalachian and Blue Ridge Mountains. Of these fisheries, the one with the best public access is undoubtedly the Upper Potomac River because of the presence of the C&O Canal. The 184.5-mile Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park begins in Washington, DC and runs up the Maryland side of the Potomac River all the way to Cumberland in Maryland's panhandle. Along its path, the river forms the boundaries between Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. There is limited public access to the river on the Virginia and West Virginia sides.

History
After the Revolutionary War, there were various attempts to make the Upper Potomac River navigable for commercial purposes, beginning with George Washington's dreams of a northwest passage to Ohio. The most ambitious of these attempts was the construction of a canal along the river by the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company. President John Quincy Adams officiated at the elaborate groundbreaking ceremony at Little Falls on July 4, 1828. Ironically, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) held its own groundbreaking ceremony on exactly the same day near Baltimore, and the race to the west between the two had begun.

There is a towpath alongside the canal that was built for mule teams to pull barges loaded with cargo westward up the canal. The barges would then float down river on their return, loaded with coal, quarry stone, lumber, grain and other commodities from the western regions. Because of frequent floods, cost overruns, labor problems and competition from B&O, the company was many years behind its original three-year schedule, far exceeded its original $22 million budget and was always in debt. B&O readily made its way to West Virginia, and the now-obsolete canal had only reached as far as Cumberland when it was devastated by another tremendous flood in 1889 (the same year as the flood that destroyed Johnstown, Pennsylvania). The company filed for bankruptcy, and all plans to expand further west were cancelled. B&O gained control of the canal by buying up most of the company's debts and promising the bankruptcy court to keep the canal in working order. One of B&O's primary motives for taking possession of the canal was to keep it out of the hands of its competitors, so the railroad only halfheartedly ran the canal until another flood in 1924 caused it to cease operations. In 1938, B&O deeded the canal to the federal government for $2 million to cancel one of its own previous debts, and for the next few decades the canal remained in limbo while the government had other priorities and contemplated what to do with its unusual acquisition.

The C&O Canal managed to escape several plans for development, including one to turn it into a western bypass. It was declared a national monument in 1961 and became a national historic park in 1971. The National Park Service (NPS) then used the power of eminent domain to buy up most of the remaining private property between the canal and the river which gave the public nearly complete access to this entire stretch of the river. The history of the river and the canal makes a great story and has been grossly abbreviated for this article, so further reading is highly recommended.

Description of the Park; Camping Facilities
There are 74 lift locks along the canal, about half of which have roads leading to them and small parking lots. Some of the old lockhouses are still standing, and some of the old locks still work. The canal mostly follows the river, which is often within view or just hidden behind trees, but can be as far as a mile or more away where the builders took shortcuts. There are also a few areas in the upper regions where the river is calm and flat so no canal was needed, and the towpath was built right alongside the river for the mule teams to pull the barges. The flat and graded towpath is well-shaded in the summer and is perfect for hikers and bikers, so it can become quite crowded around the more populated areas and historic landmarks during nice weather. NPS maintains water in the canal from Georgetown to Seneca and conducts short rides on reconstructed barges in Georgetown and Great Falls from spring to fall. Elsewhere, the canal is mostly a dry ditch or an insect-infested swamp, but there are also areas of the canal near Little Pool, Big Pool and Hancock that have been maintained with water by local organizations. These permanently watered areas of the canal are also used for fishing and canoeing. Almost every kind of fish found in the river can be found in the canal as a result of floods, and many children have the canal as the site of their first fishing lessons.

The C&O Canal parkland is a wildlife preserve and guns, hunting, and trapping are not permitted, however there are several areas where designated hunting lands are adjacent to the park, such as by Dickerson and McKee Besher in Montgomery County and many locations in Allegany County. The park teems with wildlife, and bird watching is a popular pastime. Canada geese, blue herons, hawks, ospreys, egrets, kingfishers, mallards and wood ducks are common sightings. Occasionally you can spot a bald eagle or a wild turkey, and in the spring and fall, migratory birds use the park as a resting spot on their long journeys. Relic hunting and possession of metal detectors are also prohibited in the park. Horseback riding along the towpath is permitted from Swains Lock to Cumberland, except for in the Paw Paw tunnel.

Every five miles or so, and at least one mile from any parking areas, there are hiker-biker camping spots right by the river which are simply flat, grassy spots with a portable toilets, picnic table, fire ring and sometimes a water pump. There are about 30 of these free campsites, and they and available on a first-come, first-served basis and closed in the winter. There are several park-run campsites you can drive to (primitive facilities only) and also several non-NPS campgrounds that were allowed along the river, most notably the ones at Brunswick and Big Pool. Camping and building fires in non-designated areas of the park is prohibited, however, the NPS only owns up to the riverbank. The river itself is owned and controlled by Maryland's Department of Natural Resources. Camping on most of the islands in the middle of the river is permitted, and many people float down the river and spend the night on one of these islands for a weekend trip.

In 1999, the C&O Canal National Historic Park was designated a "trash-free park" and garbage receptacles have been removed. Plastic bags are provided at the parking lots, and visitors are expected to take their trash with them to dispose of elsewhere.

The River
The Upper Potomac River technically starts at Little Falls near the DC/Maryland line and is nontidal water. Just below Oldtown, Maryland, (above Paw Paw) the Potomac splits into the North and South Branches. Most of the Upper Potomac River is about 3/4 mile wide and slowly narrows as it reaches up to its origin as a deceptive trickle at Fairfax Stone near Kempton, Maryland. Numerous small islands dot the river and some very large ones split the river in half, making it look narrower. Watkins Island between Seneca and Great Falls, for instance, is about 600 acres. A few of these islands are still privately owned and they are posted. Some of the others are owned by The Nature Conservancy and other conservation groups, but most of them are owned by the State of Maryland. In the summer, the water is typically gin clear with a sand and rock bottom that is easily wadable in sneakers and shorts, all the way across in many places. The most notable exceptions to this are between Great Falls and Little Falls and near the dams. Wading around the falls and dams is treacherous and forbidden, although bank fishing is still popular in these areas. As is usually the case, the river above dams is deep and lake-like, so water skiers and jet skiers get mixed in with fishing traffic. Another exception is that certain areas, such as Carderock/Turkey Run, produce an unusual amount of algae, so felt soles are recommended for waders.

There were eight feeder dams made of low, rock rubble planned along the river to provide water for the canal, but only six were built and a few have been destroyed. Some of these were renovated and enlarged to provide water to towns and cities and two are now high-rock dams used to produce electricity (Dan No. 5 and Dam No. 4, above and below Williamsport, respectively), but none are higher than 20 feet. Great Falls, which is a steep 80 foot drop, is the largest impediment on the river, and fish ladders were built there in the mid-1800's to allow fish to migrate upriver, but in 1959, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built Little Falls Dam next to the old, ruined feeder dam to deliver water to the Washington Aqueduct, obstructing fish migration even further down river. It is only now in the late 1990's that a fish ladder is being built at Little Falls to correct this situation.

It is a surprise to many that the Potomac River has so much white water so close to the Nation's Capitol. Several Olympic kayakers are from the region and use the Potomac as their training ground. Great Falls is just outside the Beltway and is a Class VI rapid. Suicidal paddlers planning to go over Great Falls must first register with Maryland DNR. The area between Great Falls and Little Falls varies from Class I to Class III, and the area from Little Falls down to Chain Bridge, just over the DC/Maryland line, is listed an area of Class VI rapids. Further upriver there are sporadic sections of Class I to III rapids, especially around Harper's Ferry, so water levels and a good map should be studied before setting out in any sort of watercraft.

On the Virginia side, river access is available to the public at Turkey Run, Dranesfield Park, Riverbend Park, Algonkian Park and Balls Bluff. Riverbend and Algonkian have boat ramps, and there is a small fee charged for both park entry and use of the ramp. There is also a free boat ramp across from Point of Rocks maintained by the Virginia Department of Natural Resources. Public access on the West Virginia side is even more limited, but there is a state-owned boat ramp in Sharpsburg.

In Maryland, there are boat ramps at Pennyfield Lock, Riley's Lock, Edward's Ferry, White's Ferry (the last active ferry), Noland's Ferry, Point of Rocks, Brunswick, Dargan Bend, Snyder's Landing, Taylor's Landing, Big Slackwater, Williamsport, Four Locks, McCoy's Ferry, Hancock, Fifteen Mile Creek Aqueduct and Spring Gap. Most of these are free and maintained by NPS, but a few are private and charge a small fee. Also, many of the lock access points can be used to launch canoes, kayaks and small rafts, and there are various paths made to portage such craft that are marked on good maps. Beyond Cumberland, public access to the river becomes much more limited.

The Fishery
The most popular game fish in the Upper Potomac River is the smallmouth bass, but there are also catfish, sunfish, crappie, walleye, tiger muskies and carp. Largemouth bass can also be caught in the quieter pools. Catfish are actually more sought after than bass, but they are most often caught for food. Smallmouth bass in the Upper Potomac forage mainly on minnows (including spotfin shiners, bullnose minnows, spot tail shiners and darters), crayfish, stonecats and hellgrammites. An important aquatic hatch is the mayfly, the most common of which are the white miller and the march brown.

A nontidal fishing license is required on the Upper Potomac River, but Maryland grants reciprocity to Virginia and West Virginia license holders where those states border the Potomac, so no Maryland license is required in those cases up to Maryland's riverbanks but not into its tributaries. The 1999 Maryland fishing regulations have a closed season for black bass from May 15 to June 15 but catch and release is permitted (and encouraged) year round. The current regulations for black bass impose a 12" size limit with a daily possession limit of 5. There is also a special trophy bass area from Seneca Breaks to the Mouth of the Monocacy River and into the Monocacy River up to Buckeyestown Dam. In this section, no black bass under 15" may be kept, and only one over 15" may be in possession per day. Check the current regulations for changes and regulations for other species. In 1999, a Maryland resident's nontidal license cost $10, and a non-resident's license costs $15. There is also a 7-day license available for $7. A website for more information is www.dnr.state.md.us.

The 1999 Maryland regulations require PFDs for all persons aboard watercraft, including tubes, from November 15 to May 15, but there are no such regulations for waders. The river can be very dangerous, especially after heavy rains, so please exercise caution. River levels can be found on the weather pages of local papers, or by listening to the recording at 703-260-0305. A useful website for information is www.md.water.usgs.gov.

Maps, Guides and Resources
Mark Kovach has a professional float fishing guide service that specializes in the Upper Potomac River, particularly above Brunswick. His guide service uses large rubber rafts adapted for these waters and is somewhat geared to flyfishing. Ken Penrod has a professional guide service called Life Outdoors Unlimited (LOU) that guides the entire river and uses mostly jet bass boats and standard tackle for smallies. LOU will also take you to other lakes and rivers in MD, VA and PA. Another recommended guide service is Reel Bass Adventures, which is a group similar to LOU.

There is an annual magazine that comes out called "Fishing in Maryland". It currently costs $6.95 and is available from most bookstores and tackle shops in the area in the late spring/early summer. In this magazine are maps of the Chesapeake Bay and tidal Potomac River, which show depths and hot fishing spots. The Upper Potomac River maps are a bit sketchier with no depths shown, but good wading spots, hot fishing spots, towns, roads, islands and boat ramps are all marked. The map of the area from Brunswick to Seneca is provided by LOU. The map of the area from Dam No. 4 to Brunswick is provided by Mark Kovach. The magazine also has various articles covering different aspects of fresh and saltwater fishing in Maryland, trout stream maps, launch ramp guides, tide tables and fishing records. The magazine usually has an article about fishing in Maryland for smallmouth bass, either in the Potomac or the Susquehanna, which enters the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.

Penrod has written a book that covers from Paw Paw, WV to just above Great Falls, VA. It's a wonderful book and contains plenty of information and stories as well as little sketch maps of each boat ramp on the C&O Canal as he takes you down this section of the river. You can obtain it by mail through his website at www.penrodsguides.com or at many tackle shops.

A handy map to have is the NPS map of the C&O Canal, which you can pick up from many of their park offices in the area. This free map provides lots of good information, including campsites, regulations, roads, islands, towns, etc., but it is small and therefore not very detailed about the river itself. You can get a map by mail from: C&O Canal National Historic Park, Box 4, Sharpsburg, MD 21782-0004 or call 301-739-4200. For a list of maps and books about the canal you can write to: Parks & History Association, P.O. Box 40060, Washington, DC 20016 or call 202-472-3083. You can also read more about the park and print a map off the NPS website at www.nps.gov.choh.

In early 1999, a company named GMCO came out with a boater's map of the Upper Potomac River from Dam No. 4 to Great Falls ($8.95). It is good map for boaters and fishermen, showing (and grading) rapids, islands, good fishing spots, dams, hiking trails, camping sites and the like. It is also waterproof. Like the other maps, it also shows no water levels because the river changes too much seasonally and annually to give any accurate water levels. It does, however, show contours, which could give you an idea of the bottom structure. The above-mentioned guide services contributed information for the creation of this map. The best place to get this map is through ADC stores or its website at www.adcmaps.com. GMCO is a small operation that splintered off from ADC, and as of early 1999, the owner hadn't quite gotten his direct sales up and running yet.

A compact set of maps can be obtained from the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB). The Commission produced a lovely set of six, small strip maps that covers the river from Georgetown to Opequon Creek, so it has one of the few maps that details the river from Georgetown to Great Falls. These tricolor maps are detailed with place names, islands, rapids, fishing spots, portage spots, etc., and there are also text boxes on each map containing historical tidbits. A set of maps only costs $6.00. You can write to ICPRB at 6110 Executive Blvd., Suite 300, Rockville, MD 20852. Their website is www.potomacriver.org.

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Smallmouth fishing in the Upper Potomac River can be a rewarding and peaceful experience. The park is full of history and wildlife, and it is easy to forget that you are only a short drive from a major metropolitan area. If you stay away from the areas near the parking lots, you can almost have the river to yourself with just an occasional canoe floating by. Certain stretches are more populated with powerboats, but their operators are mostly respectful of waders and paddlers. Other areas are so rocky only paddlers, tubers and waders will be seen, especially when the water level is very low. The river changes too much to get any more specific, and it is vastly a different experience depending on whether you are a boater or a wader. Exploring it for yourself is half the fun. Scout well, whether by trail, computer, or paper, and when you fish for bronzebacks, please practice catch and release and debarb your hooks.