Articles

Farm Creek to Belmont Bay

-by Andy Andrzejewski

Farm Creek is a short, shallow stream that enters the Potomac just north of Neabsco Creek. The entrance into this creek is very shallow but once inside, the water drops to four feet in depth. The first part of the creek has some spatterdock pads as well as some other grasses and a small feeder ditch immediately on your right side as you enter. This depth lasts for approximately 200 yards at which time you will come to a narrow area that looks like it may have been an old earthen dam, but in fact, is the remains of a gravel road. A wooden bridge used to span the creek at this point and the pilings remain. The pilings are not visible at high tide so use caution and only your electric motor when proceeding beyond this point. On the right shoreline at this location is a beaver hut. The beaver hut and the old pilings are probably the most unusual features in this area and they do hold bass.

Proceeding beyond this point is best suited for small boats or aluminum boats. Although passage is fairly easy at high tide, low tides can create complications for heavier boats.

The creek beyond is more like a shallow bay than a stream. It has plenty of pads and fallen trees and isolated wood to fish but access is limited. The creek itself goes only several hundred yards and then you will run out of enough water to even float a small boat.

However, at this point you will see an opening that exits back to the main river. This opening appears to have been caused by erosion but it may have been a natural outlet at one time. The area abounds with fallen trees and sunken logs and has been one of the more bountiful areas to fish.

As you exit the creek in this area, you will be in what most anglers call Occoquan Bay. We will continue along the bay later, but first let's return to the southern most entrance to Farm Creek.

Just north of the creek's entrance lies a rock jetty. This jetty begins about 50 yards off of the shoreline and extends into the river for almost 70 yards. The jetty is about four feet wide and is made up of rocks about the size of a pro seat in a bass boat.

Yes, it holds bass as well as rockfish. The GPS coordinates for the outermost edge of the jetty are N38-36-620, W77-14-730. Since it is located in a close proximity to Farm Creek, I call it the Farm Creek Jetty. It is a major navigation hazard and has collected many an unknown boater's lower unit. When operating a boat in this area, I would recommend staying at least 300 yards offshore.

As you clear the jetty, swing in against the Virginia shoreline and fish the myriad of logs and trees which lay in the water. This area was responsible for a B.A.S.S. tournament victory as well as many local tournaments. fish all the way to the end of the tree line and the beginning of the boat piers. The boat piers also hold bass.

Just past the old piers, a new community has been established along the shoreline. This may result in even more piers being built in this area providing even more opportunities for bass anglers.

Past the residential area, you will come to Featherstone and a marina basin. This is Time and Tyde Marina and the boat slips and pilings as well as the launch ramp in the far left corner all hold fish.

The shoreline proceeding north pat the marina is very shallow and offers limited fishing opportunities until you come to Marumsco Creek.

The entrance to Marumsco Creek is very narrow and shallow with a hard gravel bottom. Access to this creek is recommended on the high end of the tides. Entry and exit is best made on trolling motor power which can sometimes be complicated by the high rate of current created by the narrow entrance way, but once inside the creek, the water deepens quickly and a variety of fishing opportunities exist.

Spatterdock fields are abundant and the outside bends are littered with logs, remains of duck blinds, pilings, and other obstructions. The creek is narrow but has good water depth for several hundred yards. If you spend time in here you can come away with a good limit of bass.

As you exit Marumsco Creek and continue north along the shoreline, you will see that the bank is riprapped beginning at Deep Hole Point and continuing to Taylors Point at the Occoquan River. It is shallow along this area but very fishable and there are many old duck blind footings, some water outflows, as well as lay down trees and scattered logs. There are times and conditions when this shore can be very productive.

Several hundred yards off the shoreline, in Occoquan Bay, you will see a small rock island. This man made island has no name on any chart or map, but some people refer to it as Smoot's Island. It has five to six feet of water surrounding it and is certainly worth fishing.

We are now at Belmont Bay and the Occoquan River. We'll review these areas on our next Potomac River Tour, which will be available on the Internet in early spring. Just go to our web site, www.reelbassadventures.com and you will find the next tour under the article section.