Possible Snakehead/bass fishing this saturday morning 9/13 2024

SimonSays reply :

Heya guys,

I've been wanting to snakehead fish for a while now and this weekend, weather permitting, seems like a good time for me and Ron who knows the location of some snakeheads.

The plan so far is early this Saturday morning at the Chopawamsik Bay on the Quantico Marine Corp Base or Aquia Harbor. I've never been to either of these places but from what Ron has told me they both have launch fees ($10 for the Base and unknown amount for the Harbor) refer to Ron's post below about fees. These places also have nice bass populations so if you're not interested in snakeheads you can target the bass!

More info to come later in the week. If you're interested, chime in!

EDIT:Just to keep info up top so you don't have to sift through it...

Directions:

The location that sells the fishing permits is off of Route 95 (exit 148). You head west once you get to the end of the ramp and follow up until you see the military checkpoint. There will be a road on the left hand side just before this checkpoint and there will be a white building on the left (a hunting weigh-in station), this is the building where you buy the permits. The drive to this building from the highway is only about 5 minutes. The drive from this building to Chopawamsic Bay will take us about 15 minutes.

Possible Lures/Tackle:

As for baits, I have been catching the snakeheads on worms, toads, shad and spinnerbaits in the shallow water. The toads and shad I use are the Strie King Rage Tail baits. This area has a lot of grass mats and lilly pads that can be interesting to navigate through. On the plus side Jason, my friend and I have also caught large numbers of nice bass here as well. The Cavitron works well here at high tide in the shallow water, it also works well in the channel and further into the bay at low tide.

rondef reply :

Actually the Chopawamsik Bay does not have a launch fee. I base fishing permit is required and it costs $10 for one year from the date of purchase. This permit gives you access to all of their lakes, ponds and the two bays off of the Potomac River and you don't have to pay a launch fee when you have this permit.

Aquia Harbor I think is around $10 to launch at the marina for one day.

Chopawamsik has been providing quite the snakehead experience this year. I have caught six or seven snakeheads in this bay alone.

Simon this will be a lot of fun.

Guys there is also some good bass fishing here.

A.Do? reply :

I might be in if I get all my work done and not forced to come into the office! sounds like it'll be fun...and wet... Bring the rain coats!

eddieinva reply :

oh man I REALLY WANT IN on this snakehead experience.. I'll check to see if i can get SAT free from family obligations

ptomacbass reply :

do i need a boat. if not maybe my dad will let me come if thats okay.

rondef reply :

You can come in mine if you want, I have room.

ptomacbass reply :

thanks rondef i hope my dad will let me go. if i go i think i'll use a ragetail shad or a shallow crank.

rondef reply :

The shad and toads work well there for both snakeheads and bass. Cavitron and spinnerbaits work well for bass there to.

Sam reply :

Ron and Simon,

Don't forget the big tournament out of Leesylvania on Saturday.

Over 200 boats are expected.

We have our club tournament out of Hope Springs on Sunday.

With you two guys fishing and over 200 boats on the Potomac I sure hope there are some bass around for me to catch.

rondef reply :

Sam, not many bass boats come into Chopawamsic because the bay is really shallow and they can end up getting stuck in there when the tide is low. At High tide the water is about 4 to 5 feet, at low tide it gets as low as 1 foot deep in spots. The area we will be in really can only be accessed via canoe or Yak.

ptomacbass, I have extra toads if you don't have any.

Guys we will need to meet up at the Quantico location that sells the permits and then head to Chopawamsic. Ptomacbass I can pick you up if you need a ride.

High tide will be at 6:09 AM at Chopawamsic Bay low tide is at noon. Remember one thing about snakeheads, they love shallow water. I have been catching them in this bay in water two feet deep or less.

One more thing, you may want to have a metal leader tied on because the snakeheads have cut both my braid and monolines in the past.

SimonSays reply :

Quote
Sam, not many bass boats come into Chopawamsic because the bay is really shallow and they can end up getting stuck in there when the tide is low. At High tide the water is about 4 to 5 feet, at low tide it gets as low as 1 foot deep in spots. The area we will be in really can only be accessed via canoe or Yak.
ptomacbass, I have extra toads if you don't have any.

Guys we will need to meet up at the Quantico location that sells the permits and then head to Chopawamsic. Ptomacbass I can pick you up if you need a ride.

High tide will be at 6:09 AM at Chopawamsic Bay low tide is at noon. Remember one thing about snakeheads, they love shallow water. I have been catching them in this bay in water two feet deep or less.

Great info Ron - Where exactly is the location that sells permits?

Also any tips on lures or tackle to bring?

eddieinva reply :

Hey Ron,

I just picked up a cavitron yesterday, and ran it all night last night.. SLAYED those bass.. itwas CRAZY.. my regular spinner baits.. no chance.. that cavitron is PROVEN. landed 5, missed 3.. my buddy landed 2 missed 2.. GREAT 30mins of fishing..

rondef reply :

Simon,

The location that sells the fishing permits is off of Route 95 (exit 148). You head west on Russell Road once you get to the end of the ramp and follow till it merges with Camp Barrett Road (aka MCB-4) and then turn left on MCB-2 it is a couple of hundred yards before the military checkpoint. There will be a white building on the left (a hunting weigh-in station), this is the building where you buy the permits. The drive to this building from the highway is only about 5 minutes. The drive from this building to Chopawamsic Bay will take us about 15 minutes.

I hope this information helps.

rondef reply :

Eddie, the natural reaction is to set the hook when you see the strike but pause for a moment let them take the bait under so you feel the weight of the bass and then set the hook. Since I started following this advice (I read here on the forum) I hardly ever miss a bass now.

I really like the Cavitron buzzbaits, they perform well and I always catch fish with them.

ptomacbass reply :

i hope i can come. my parents might not let me though because they might think something bad will happen. even if my dad came i might not be able to go. if i can though i've got some shads and buzzbaits. if i get a snakehead i'll probablly give it to rondef or simon so simon can "sink his teeth into it". i don't think i want to eat it because where i fish on the potomac there are always dead rats as big as cats floating in the water and tons of trash.

SimonSays reply :

Quote
where i fish on the potomac there are always dead rats as big as cats floating in the water and tons of trash.

Ooo, that's no good, lol

Hopefully that's not the care near the base, definitely want to see if they're any good to eat though!

ptomacbass reply :

turns out i can't go. my dad says i won't have the time and because i had been planning to fish our secret spot with him. maybe next time though. good luck guys. i hear snakehead tasts great simon.

rondef reply :

Good luck fishing with your dad, go catch some hawgs.

Nottoway reply :

Hey Guys,

Coming up Friday, fishing a tournament this weekend. I love to throw buzzbaits along the grass. Packed my top water box full of buzzbaits, however, after your post I think I have room or need, whatever the case, one more or 2,3,...

Where can I get a Cavitron buzzbaits??

Thanks, and I'll post what I find this weekend.

ptomacbass reply :

thanks rondef. we are also fishing gravelly point/haines point on sunday. maybe we'll get some nice rats ;D. have the bass started to move to the backs of the creeks yet? if so i'll try rock creek.

SimonSays reply :

Quote
Hey Guys,
Coming up Friday, fishing a tournament this weekend. I love to throw buzzbaits along the grass. Packed my top water box full of buzzbaits, however, after your post I think I have room or need, whatever the case, one more or 2,3,...

Where can I get a Cavitron buzzbaits??

Thanks, and I'll post what I find this weekend.

Dick's Sporting goods have them, don't know anywhere else in NoVa

rondef reply :

So who is up for this snakehead hunt Saturday?

SimonSays reply :

Me and you for sure,

Andrew - 50/50 right now depending on work

Eddie - is a maybe

Hung up Paul reply :

Is it too shallow for a 12ft jon boat/trolling motor with no heavy deck?

rondef reply :

It could be at low tide if you are not in the channel. I see other jon boats out there quite a bit.

A.Do? reply :

count me out, too much work to do :'(. I'll have more free time after our fiscal year is over (end of September) till then, very limited on fishing time.

Hope you guys catch lots!

A.Do? reply :

OMG! I just read a post in the northeast section about how BPS will give you a gift card for snakeheads caught and killed.

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/dnrnews/pressrelease2004/070104.html

Dude, this might be my ticket to new gear. ;D

EDIT: NEVERMIND, I just noticed it was from 2004

eddieinva reply :

i'm a no go for this wkend.. relatives.. need i say more.. bah!

rondef reply :

Simon, are you still up for this? My buddy and I are going out so long as there are not any thunderstorms in the area. A little rain usually does not stop us. There is only a 30% chance of rain tomorrow. Let me know what you want to do. We will catch fish snakeheads and bass at this spot.

SimonSays reply :

Yep, I'm still up for it

A.Do? reply :

Simon, you mind if Jeremy tag along? I know he wanted to go and don't want him to miss out just cuz I'm workin. I'll give him yo digits

SimonSays reply :

not at all, more the merrier!

rondef reply :

Simon, I just sent you a PM. I agree, the more the merrier.

SimonSays reply :

Alrighty, here's the deal!

Quantico Marine base, Fishing permit building. At 8:00AM

"The location that sells the fishing permits is off of Route 95 (exit 148). You head west on Russell Road once you get to the end of the ramp and follow up the hill until it merges with Camp Barrett Road (aka MCB-4) and then turn left on MCB-2 it is a couple of hundred yards before the military checkpoint. There will be a white building on the left (a hunting weigh-in station), this is the building where you buy the permits. The drive to this building from the highway is only about 5 minutes. The drive from this building to Chopawamsic Bay will take us about 15 minutes."

Nick Schooley reply :

Hey guys, Im kind of new here but I wanted to let you know, they dont start selling permits till 10:00 am, so if any of you need to get permits you might want to get them earlyer. (at least thats how it was this summer when I went out there... Killed half a day of fishing. >..)

anayway good luck, I hope you catch some big ones.

SimonSays reply :

uh oh...I need one =/ what day of the week was it that you went?

SimonSays reply :

So I just googled the marine corp and fishing liscences...referred me to a place Lunga something? I called them and they said that their computers have been down for 3 days now and to go to The Marine Corp Exchange to buy the liscence, they open at 8am.

Can I get access to the exchange w/o being a member of the military?

Nick Schooley reply :

yes you can get into the exchange but the only thing you can buy is a fishing pass, they sell them at the sporting goods counter, however when I went it was on a saturday and the counter didnt open till 10am even though the exchange opened at 8am. I dont know if that has changed or not... you might want to call them to find out, and or go out there today and get your pass... I may see yall out there cause I was thinking of heading to chop creek if the weather wasent too bad...

rondef reply :

Simon,

Call this number it is for the gamecheck station I mentioned. They have no problems with selling the base fishing permit, the computer has nothing to do with it. They open up at 8:00 AM tomorrow.

703-784-5329

SimonSays reply :

Ahh, just gave them a call, they open at 8am tomorrow. Looks like I'll be out there then.

ptomacbass reply :

good luck guys. if i get a snakehead near gravelly point i'll post some pics.

rondef reply :

I just got back in. I missed one big snakehead when he missed my toad. I also missed a nice bass about 4lbs when he threw my Manns -1 right next to the canoe. I did catch one bass not picture worthy. Simon sorry I bolted without saying bye, my buddies daughters car broke down on the side of the high way so we had to pack up quickly and leave.

ptomacbass reply :

cool rondef. i wonder how winter snakehead fishing will be?

SimonSays reply :

Quote
I just got back in. I missed one big snakehead when he missed my toad. I also missed a nice bass about 4lbs when he threw my Manns -1 right next to the canoe. I did catch one bass not picture worthy. Simon sorry I bolted without saying bye, my buddies daughters car broke down on the side of the high way so we had to pack up quickly and leave.

np at all, we did pretty well, but no snakeheads though. My friend Jeremy started the day off nicely hitting a 3.5lber on a spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) in the first 15mins, while I kept kitting Yellow perch with a black spinner. About an hour later I hit a 2.5 lb catfish on the black spinner. We then paddled our way into the pads and had so many fish try and strike our frogs but for some reason they were missing completely...they would hit the bottom of the pads where our lure had just ran past...weird. I ended up landing an ~1lb lmb on a frog there. On our way back we fished some laydowns, I skipped a black generic senko and hit a 3.5lber.

We threw everything to try to entice those snakeheads but nada! next time we'll get em

decent size yellow perch

Little cat

Jeremy and his 3.5lber

My 3.5lber

rondef reply :

Simon, Congrats on the two 3.5lb lmbs. I had an 8lb lmb hit me on a spinnerbait from those lay downs earlier this summer, I lost him at the canoe, I was ticked. As for the frogs, I think the bass have problems coming through the pads since there are so many and there is not much open water. The hookup ratio in the spring was much better when there were a lot less pads. If you head out to the open water of the bay and head up the left side there are scattered pads, which I wanted to fish, but we got cut short today. Those pads are scattered and the frog hookup ratio there is much better. Next time we go out I will not ask my buddy to come so we can spend the day and I can show you the spots further up into the bay as well as the trophy bass managed pond.

SimonSays reply :

Thanks, Ron, we didn't get a chance to go out that far either, now that we have the passes maybe we can get out earlier and make our way towards the bay faster, those top water hits were really nice! just no hookups! >

rondef reply :

Simon, the bass you are holding looks bigger than 3.5lbs. Those are some nice looking hawgs.

flippin4it. reply :

Quote
Simon, the bass you are holding looks bigger than 3.5lbs. Those are some nice looking hawgs.

Looks dead on to me! Nice fish Simon, a 3.5 pounder is a nice tourny sized fish.

kiko13 reply :

Nice job Simon and Jeremy! Sorry you didn't get any snakeheads but I bet you learned lots about that area!

Ernie

A.Do? reply :

Goood job team Hobie! Sorry couldn't make it out. Jeremy got me a fishing permit so let's try this again in October (at least that's the soonest I can make it).

slomoe reply :

Nice job guys, Looks like a good time.

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Possible Snakehead/bass fishing this saturday morning 9/13 2024

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