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Potomac River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The nation's smallmouth river: ledges, grass and history from Harpers Ferry to the fall line.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
2,760 cfs
Air / High
62 / 63 F
Wind
NE 6 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 01638500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Potomac River feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. The river is running 2,760 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 6 mph, rising pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 63. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:44 AM-11:44 AM and 10:13 PM-12:13 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

MuskellungeExcellent

This band covers the spring spawn, which in Wisconsin runs at 49-60°F; spawning muskies eat little and rarely chase lures, Wisconsin DNR says. After the spawn, and again as fall water cools, work large lures along weed edges and structure.

Smallmouth bassGood

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

WalleyeGood

Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

In spring after ice-out, Iowa finds channel cats feeding on winter-killed shad on the shallow, warmer mudflats at the upper ends of reservoirs; cut bait on the bottom works there.

Tomorrow: Similar at 61 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Maryland requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $32.00 for residents. What a Maryland licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing smallmouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with MD DNR before you keep anything. The season dates for Maryland, read off the agency, are on the Maryland seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from POTOMAC RIVER AT POINT OF ROCKS, MD.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01638500.

4,67410,79016,9072,760 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 131 years of October 23

At 2,760 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 01638500 (POTOMAC RIVER AT POINT OF ROCKS, MD) is at the 56th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 131 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 2,290 cfs; the highest was 106,000 cfs and the lowest 736 cfs.

p10 1,332median 2,290p90 12,960

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 01638500; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp62 F
High / Low63 / 45 F
WindNE 6-7 mph
Pressure1026.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain6% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:28 / 18:20
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)58 F USGS
Water temp (seasonal)~62 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Potomac River this week

The best day on Potomac River this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 3 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 — fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 — Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
9:44 AM-11:44 AM and 10:13 PM-12:13 AM
Minor period
4:06 AM-5:06 AM
Sun
07:28 to 18:20
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 7 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Potomac River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Muskellunge illustration

Muskellunge

Fished from late spring into late fall where seasons allow

Muskellunge are solitary, fish-eating ambush predators of the pike family, holding in weed beds and other cover in lakes and rivers of the Great Lakes, upper Mississippi and Ohio basins. This band covers the spring spawn, which in Wisconsin runs at 49-60°F; spawning muskies eat little and rarely chase lures, Wisconsin DNR says. After the spawn, and again as fall water cools, work large lures along weed edges and structure.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. In spring after ice-out, Iowa finds channel cats feeding on winter-killed shad on the shallow, warmer mudflats at the upper ends of reservoirs; cut bait on the bottom works there.

When to come: the Potomac River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Smallmouth bass
Walleye
Muskellunge
Catfish (blue, channel)
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 62 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~62 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Potomac River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 68 F, wind to 9 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 9 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 72 F, wind to 11 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Maryland requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

MD/VA reciprocity on main stem (check tributary lines); snakehead harvest encouraged. Confirm MDDNR.

Access

Brunswick, Point of Rocks, Whites Ferry (upper); Fort Washington, Leesylvania (tidal).

About this water

The nation's river: 100-plus smallmouth miles above DC, premier tidal bass water below.

Fishing Potomac River: the full guide

The people's river

The upper Potomac is a smallmouth factory flowing past national history: ledge-rock wading at Harpers Ferry and Point of Rocks, summer topwater over grass, and float access the whole way. Below DC, the tidal river adds largemouth in spatterdock and the invasive-but-thrilling snakehead game.

Ledges and floats

The upper Potomac wades like a warm-water bonefish flat: ankle-to-knee ledges, smallmouth in every seam. Floats from Brunswick or Point of Rocks cover miles; wading at Harpers Ferry works the classic rock gardens. Tubes, buzzbaits at dawn, and crayfish patterns forever.

The tidal other-river

Below DC the Potomac turns tidal-bass famous: spatterdock, docks and grass from the Wilson Bridge south, snakeheads thick in the creeks. Tide windows rule exactly like the Delta: our report's moving-water logic applies verbatim.

Grass calendar of the tidal river

The tidal Potomac's bass fishery runs on vegetation clocks: hydrilla and milfoil green up through May, canopy by July, and the bite organizes around it: frogs and chatterbaits over the grass on outgoing tide, pitching the edges on the flood. Winter pulls fish to the deep marina basins and warm-water discharges. Every pattern here is tide-first: the same grass bed fishes opposite ways two hours apart.

Common questions

Which Potomac should I fish?

Above DC for wading smallmouth simplicity; below for tidal bass and snakehead drama. Same name, two complete fisheries an hour apart.

Which tide fishes best on the Potomac?

Outgoing, last two hours: bait funnels out of the grass and bass ambush the drains. Plan runs so you ride the falling tide down-river spot to spot.

Is fishing good at Potomac River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Liberty Reservoir37 miOccoquan Reservoir40 miShenandoah River43 miPatuxent River51 miGunpowder River53 miLoch Raven Reservoir55 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 01638500 — POTOMAC RIVER AT POINT OF ROCKS, MD
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:55 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 39.2732, -77.5459 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.