Articles

Chotank to Fairview Beach

-by Andy Andrzejewski

In this issue well sample some off the main beat streams as well as a few main river areas.

Directly across the river from Nanjemoy Creek is a small tributary known as Chotank Creek. It is situated on the Virginia side of the river between Mathias Point, south of the Chotank, and Stuart Point, north of the creek.

There are no ramps on the creek and can only be accessed from the main river by boat. Use caution when entering the creek. A very shallow, gravel and rock flat lies in front. I prefer to idle into the creek although some brave, or possibly less knowing boaters will enter the creek at speed. The creek is identifiable by the rip-rap shoreline on its upstream side. The rip-rap extends for several hundred yards and if you look closely you will notice that many of the rocks are old tombstones. The mouth of the creek is very narrow but opens into a wide but shallow bay as soon as you enter. The rock point at the mouth of the creek provides one of the best fishing opportunities for bass as well as stripers.

The shallow bay inside of the mouth is grass filled, as of this writing, and offers some cover for bass. As you travel across the flat, stay to the right side. Once across the flat, the creek will deepen to five and six feet of water. As with most small creeks, the outside bends are generally the deeper areas and have the better fishing. There is some wood cover, remnants of a few old duck blinds and some grass to target, but for the most part there is not a great deal of cover in this creek. You will only have about 1/2 mile of navigable water before it becomes too shallow to fish.

The Chotank meanders through private property and on occasion, a man who identifies himself as the property owner, may try to Bogart you into leaving, but it is a navigable stream and the water is public. The creek is not known for giving up large stringers of bass but some tournament anglers use it as a diversionary spot, when someone asks where they made their catch? they will often say, The Chotank.

As you leave the Chotank, turn north and follow the Virginia shore upstream. You will notice several areas where eagles nest. These buoys say Boats prohibited, April to October. There is an exemption to this prohibition, commercial boats, thats why crab pot lines are run inside of the buoys, and since legally licensed guide boats carry commercial decals, they too are exempt.

At the upper end of these buoys you will see an old wooden wreck on the shore. This wreck can on occasion give up some bass. There area in front of the wreck used to be covered with hydrilla. Many years ago we referred to this as the secret grass bed, because very few anglers knew about it. It was loaded with quality bass and more than one tournament was won on it. Over the years, the grass has changed to wild celery, sometimes erroneously called eel grass. There are still some good bass to be found here, but not in the numbers when it contained hydrilla.

Continuing upstream along the Virginia shoreline, you will find numerous downed trees. Although the water is shallow, they occasionally give up limits of good bass.

About one mile upstream of the secret grass bed you will come across a little stream with a bulkheaded entrance. I dont know the true name of the creek, but I have named it curmudgeon creek because of the attitude of the property owner who resides here. Beware, this is one nasty individual who will go to extremes to keep you out of the creek. He will go so far as to hurl rocks and wood at you and even call the police. You can only fish this creek for about forty yards and although it has some nice chunk bass in it, it is probably not worth the aggravation or risk of injury.

A short distance above Curmudgeon Creek you will encounter Fairview Beach and Marina. The entrance to the marina is a manmade, rock and concrete jetty. Fish it, it gives up some good bass. The marina is also feasible, although on week-ends you may find it too busy to your liking.

Next on our tour of the Potomac, we will cover Potomac Creek and Aquia Creek, possibly two of the best creeks on the entire tidal Potomac.