Last year, I visited Swain's Lock and fished from the picnic area downstream to the tip of Glady's Island.  I recently purchased GMCOs ProSeries map of the Upper Potomac River which covers the Potomac from Great Falls up to Dam 4.  It's perfect in that it shows all the areas on the Potomac where you can wade.  As I reviewed the map, I noted that on my trip to Swain's Lock last year I had not waded in the right place.  Last year, I hopped in the water at the picnic area and worked my way downstream to the tip of Glady's Island.  I can only assume that with the low water levels from the drought last year, that section was wadeable as an exception to the rule.  With all the rain this year, low water has not been an issue.  Given that, it's more important than ever to know exactly where you can go. According to the map, I needed to move upstream from Swain's Lock Road and fish along a narrow, unnamed island that stretches for about a quarter mile along the Maryland side.  On this day, I only had an hour so I decided to hit the southern tip of that island.  When I pulled up to the Swain's Lock parking area, I was surprised at the number of cars there; much more than last year.  Even though I had a hard time finding a parking place, I was not too concerned because I know this is a starting point for many runners, hikers and bike riders.  I had a brief chat with another fisherman who was gearing up.  This was the first time he had fished here and was going to go directly to the shore and fish downstream from the picnic area.  I shared the intelligence from the map and we parted ways.  As I walked in, I encountered a young guy carrying a huge smallie -- this thing had to be about 18 inches long.  The guy was almost in tears as he explained to everybody who passed him that he normally catches and releases and only had to keep this one because the tube lure he used had hooked the fish too far down to get out.  While I was sad to see the loss of such a trophy fish, I was thrilled that there are other people who share my perspective on releasing smallies.  There was a conservation officer on site who was checking licenses.  I'm always glad to see these guys in action and I'm happy to show my papers whenever asked. I walked the hundred yards through the picnic area to the southern tip of the unnamed island.  I splashed across the short 20 foot stretch of water that separated the island from the mainland and began working my way out into the stream.  So far, the map was accurate.  This section was wadeable and was about 3 feet deep with exceptions for the random deeper hole.  Prior to coming, I had checked the gauge and saw that the river was running at normal levels.  It was encouraging that this was wadeable at normal flow.  Time to get to work -- I worked the same rig I described in my earlier post on the Sycamore Landing access point.  I used the same bass rig with small crappie lures with a 1/32 ounce sliding sinker at the end of a short Airflo sink tip.  I had the identical results as I had had upstream at Sycamore.  I caught as many bluegills as you would care to haul in along with several decent sized smallies.  I did not catch any that were trophy size but the smallies I did catch were between 10 and 12 inches long.  I cast a longing gaze on the far side of the river, but knew that I did not have time to wade all the way over there to check out the Virginia side. From watching the other fishermen, it was clear to me that most folks stick to the banks and work near the picnic area rather than moving upstream.  According to the map, the good wading section goes all the way across the river from the narrow island to Watkins Island; which sits in the middle of the River.  I could see that the faster current flow was closer to Watkins Island.  Based on my limited experience, increased flow means more food, and that translates to more smallies.  Given the success I had fairly close to the narrow, unnamed island, I knew it would be better over there.  On my next visit I will walk farther up and try around the rock beds that I could see upstream The bottom of the river in this section is a little bit tricky.  Unlike Pennyfield Lock and Sycamore Landing, there are a number of awkward rocks on the bottom; each with the intention of making you slip.  I recommend that you to wear a life vest when wading not only here, but anywhere in the Potomac. Bottom Line: As you can see from the ratings above, this is pretty much a "red" area.  What saves it is the proven size of the bass available as well as the nice scenery.  Also, I believe that the pressure drops off dramatically the farther you move from the picnic area.

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. While the C&O canal trail parallels the river for miles, there's not much of a open trail right next to the river.   Any trail that does exist disappears as soon as you cross the narrow stretch of water to hit the bottom of the wading area.  This fact moves the overall rating for this stretch from a red to a yellow.  At some point within the next two weeks, I will come back here to check out the rocky area upstream of where I fished. 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: Secrets Revealed?  No. In addition to Penrod's book, the GMCO Map series provides endless detail on where to fish on the Potomac as well as other rivers up and down the east coast.

Looking downstream from the lower tip of the island.  Most people fish from the brown area on the left

Looking upstream - intriguing rocks that I need to investigate