I decided to take a vacation day on Friday and headed up to Brunswick to check out the area downstream of the Harpers Ferry Bridge. The map noted that the area from Knoxville Falls heding upstream had plenty of good structure and rapids. My hope was that the faster water would suppress the growth of grass as well as provide the rocky environment that would attract smallies. After finding a parking place and paying attention to the caution in the "getting there" section, I walked across the railroad tracks to follow the well defined, beaten trail to the water's edge. Prior to going down the trail, I ran into another fly fisherman and asked him if he had fished here before. He said he had been here many times and that the entire stretch was good.  His personal preference was to go downstream. With that, I made up my mind to move upstream -- no need to fish together and add the perception of pressure to a body of water that is so huge that it can't possibly be pressured. The first thing I noted when I hit the water was that the terrain upstream towards the Harpers Ferry Bridge was marked by a series of rock ridges running perpendicular to the shore. Not knowing where to go and what part would be better than any other part, I started to fish my way out one of the ridges. Here's a critical detail about this geography. The ridges are the high points between drop-offs that, in many cases, are too deep to wade. So once you commit to one of these rocky peninsulas, that's the track you are on. It looks like it's in "in and out" attack sequence. Wade out on the peninsula, return, go upstream, repeat. I picked up the usual sunfish and small smallies but nothing very large or exciting. After working a few of these rock ridges, I went back to the shore and hopped back on the tow path to walk farther upstream. I came to a wide, park like area at the river's edge and decided to fish out from there on another rocky ridge that stretched towards Virginia. Like the others, it was deep on either side and my movement was limited to the narrow ribbon of rocks. Out in the middle of the river, I could see an old duck blind that looked like it was in an ideal position for the hunting season. I continued to fish in this vicinity for another hour and then decided to move to another location. Nothing to brag about on this day -- nothing big and actually not much in terms of quantity either. Even the sunfish here did not line up to attack my popper or the subsurface presentations that I launched. On the way back to the truck, I ran into another fisherman on the trail and struck up a conversation. He said that the best fishing in this part of the river was from the park-like area up to the bridge. Ouch… I should've gone farther and almost felt like turning around and moving back but knew that that was where he was going, so I abandoned that plan and continued back to the truck. Bottom Line: This place merits additional investigation. The river is exceptionally wide with plenty of rocky protrusions providing hiding and holding places for all sorts of fish. I measured the water temperature and it was a high 84° -- I wish that I had a swimming pool that could maintain that temperature! Maybe that's why I did not have better luck -- I have to blame this on something because this is such a nice looking area! Date Fished: 08/21/2009 Secrets Revealed?  No.  This is a very public location that is documented in the following places: Maryland DNR  Fishing the upper Potomac River Tell a friend about this article by clicking on this link	Pressure Trout Size N/A Physical Fitness Bass Size Access Regulations Hard to Find Stocking Scenery Overall Remember to refer to my rating explanations - these are based on what I look for - so RED for Physical Fitness translates to easy physically - you do not need to be in shape to fish this section.  I prefer terrain that is tough to get into and out of. Getting There:   I hate to do this, but I support the site by selling books.  My book on the Upper Potomac - "Wade and Shoreline Fishing the Potomac River for Smallmouth Bass" is available in both ebook format (instant download) or traditional print. This book walks the 57.3 miles upstream from the Chain Bridge in DC to Harpers Ferry, WV using words, annotated maps and over 200 pictures to provide you exact references while removing any doubt about what to expect in each section of the river.  The 230+pages include detailed directions, 42 maps, 45 tables and 208 GPS coordinates - more detail than you will see in any other fishing guidebook. You can purchase the eBook version for $9.95 by clicking on the buttons below:        To purchase the traditional print version:
Upstream from the entry point	Downstream - nothing like a sunrise on a great river
You can see one of the rock ridges extending in the river	Upstream to the bend
Great shoreline structure	Looking back at the park like area