AVOIDING COMMERCIAL FISHING GEAR

Few things can spoil an enjoyable fishing trip more than having your prop fouled by a crab pot line, being caught up in a gill net or trapped in a pound net. Here are some tips to help you avoid encounters with various commercial gears regularly set and fished in the Potomac River.

Crab Pots – generally can be found from the mouth of the river to Mount Vernon from April through November, with June, July, August and September the most active months. Crab pots are cube shaped wire devices 24 inches on an edge with a line attached to a buoy on the surface. Pots are generally set in relatively straight lines parallel to the shore.

When traveling in shallow waters and buoys are in the area, remember the effective water depth could be 2 feet less than your depth sounder shows because crab pots raise 2 feet above the bottom.

When traveling in deeper waters stay clear of the buoys because, just like your boat at anchor, the buoy (boat) is not directly over the pot (anchor). The tides can stretch the line and carry the buoys some distance from the pot.

Pound Nets – The largest and most visible commercial gear because of the 100 to 150 stakes driven into the river bottom, extending several feet into the air and up to 1,200 feet in length. They can generally be seen in waters less than 30 feet deep, from the mouth of the river to the Possum Point area from March through mid-December.

When traveling at night use your spotlight. Pound nets are required to display 3 vertical bands of red or green reflective tape on each end of the net and a series of white horizontal bands every 150 feet in the middle. The RED tape is on the end pole the furthest from the MD shore; the GREEN tape is on the pole furthest from the VA shore. The color system is just like the federal aids-to-navigation – "Red Right Returning".

Note: Click here for information on "Fixed Gear ID Requirements".

Anchor Gill Nets – Fished from November through March in areas with water depths less than 36’ MLW throughout the river. The nets are generally set perpendicular to the shore in rows extending from the shore to the channel edge. Each end of the net is marked with a spar buoy that displays a red or green flag and 3 vertical bands of red or green reflective tape. The RED tape and triangular red flag is on the buoy furthest from the MD shore, the GREEN tape and the square green flag is on the buoy furthest from the VA shore. The color system is just like the federal aids-to-navigation – "Red Right Returning".

Note: Click here to view illustrations of "Gill Net Marking Requirements".

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