Flyfishing in DC

I travel to our nation's capital, Washington, D.C., a fair bit. Heck, I used to live there and met my wife there.

This week I got off my evening flight from Seattle, and headed straight for Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, to visit a new fly shop that has been open just a month. Urban Angler is a high-end shop in New York City that has just expanded into the D.C. area.

My cab stopped outside the fly shop in a historic town founded before 1750.  I rolled  my bag in to chat with the lone manager about local fishing. The very helpful manager told me that decent fishing is 3-4 hours away in Pennsylvania or West Virginia, but there is some worthwhile flyfishing for enthusiasts within casting distance from the Kennedy Center.

The Potomac has been disappointing this year due to bad weather. But come April I am told to fish a 6-weight, 250 grain sink line at Fletcher's Cove near Georgetown. There I might find some good sized American Shad (see photo and link below)

I bought a couple of unique flies thar are supposed to work wonders with DC-area shad. As Arnold would say, "I'll be back."