Late in the summer, lock 10 became the destination for my after work fishing break. Lock 10 is just a jump south of I495. As soon as you get off the exit, you'll see the sign for Lock 10 and the parking lot beyond it. This parking lot actually serves Both Lock 10 and Lock 9.  Lock 9 is just a little bit farther down on the tow path and it does not have its own parking area on the Clare Barton Parkway. Like every other spot on the Maryland side of the Potomac, you walk across a short bridge to the tow path and then have options to go up or down river. Lock 10 has an obnoxious "do not wade" sign posted at the tow path. If you look at the map you can see that during high water conditions the current here would be pretty strong coming out of the compressed area upstream. Given that, I decided to walk down the tow path to find another place where I could gain access to the river where I would not have the problem with wading. It turns out that this is the right strategy to follow regardless of the sign. If you walked to the river on the trail in back of the sign, you'll find yourself facing a small island and if you look to your left (downstream), you will see a big bay that is featureless and probably too deep to wade. By walking farther down the tow path and then cutting over to the river, you end up in the rock area just south of the bay. That was my destination today. I walked about a quarter-mile down the tow path and then followed a small path through the brush that eventually led to a cut that would be full of water when the river is running full. I walked down the cut and climbed over the hill that protected the cut from the river and eventually got to the shore. You have a good view of the American Legion Bridge if you look upstream.  Downstream, it looks like any other place on the Potomac River. You see numerous rocks poking out of the water with no sign of built-up structure on the shore. It turned out that where I hit the shore, there was a well defined rock ledge that led directly out into the center of the river. I began fishing my way out the ledge and found numerous deep spots and pockets on either side that all produced the usual crop of bluegills and a couple medium size smallies. As a reflect on my time downstream of I495, I realize that all the smallies I catch and release down here are in the 12 to 14 inch range. It's not until you go up above Pennyfield or Seneca the you start to pick up the bigger fish. As usual, my bass rig continued to be productive as both the smallies and the bluegills enjoyed grabbing the small 2 inch grubs that I flipped at the end of my fly line. Beyond that, there's nothing distinctive about this particular place. Given a choice of this access point or Lock 8 or 7, I would go downstream to 8. I believe it offers better wading and more fish. Bottom Line: The more I get to know and fish the Potomac River, the more I believe this is a great treasure for all of us who live in this area. You can go other places, like the South Fork of the Holston or out to the North Branch, and can wish to live out there to enjoy the great fishing both of those rivers provide. The Potomac is just in our backyard but it is a fishery on par with either of those. The only problem, of course, is that is so close that we discount it in favor of the three-hour drive to get to somebody else's backyard.	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: Secrets Revealed?  No.  This is a very public location that is documented in numerous freshwater fishing reports on the Maryland DNR website as well as in Fishing the upper Potomac River