# NoVA Urban Fishing-Four Mile Run



## AtlantaKing (Jul 7, 2002)

So, after sweating my butt off simultaneously trying to cut my grass and man the grill (mmm, country style ribs opcorn, I decided to take the afternoon off and go see if I can get some pullage. Since it was already 3pm Sunday afternoon, I couldn’t go too far, so I bounce on down to Alexandria for some urban combat fishing; park over by the Toyota dealer and walk down to Four Mile Run. I was worried that the water would be all muddy from the rain, but much to my surprise, it was high, but fairly clear…nice! :fishing:

So I walk down to the water to take a look and get rigged up, and I see a nice 18-20” long snakehead finning down the shoreline. Cool! Apparently, it didn’t get the memo that they were supposed to be super-aggressive and hit anything, because I proceeded to whip the water into a froth and threw every lure I had at it, and it just sat there, looking at it! It did look at my Mr. Twister grub longingly before turning its nose up at it. After that, it must have gotten bored, because it swam into deeper water and disappeared. 

Not to be discouraged, I check my grub and make sure the bait’s on the up and up, and mosey down the shore. A little ways further, I see another snakehead hanging out near the shore, so I toss my grub at it. Three casts, no go. I try a Rapala, no go. Then, I busted out the Senko wacky rig and tossed it at the fish. While I would love to regale you with stories of just how amazing the Senko was, how the fish hit with abandon, a fight with a worthy foe of epic proportions, champagne showers falling from the heavens and lovely ladies flock to me to witness my mad skillz, it just wasn’t so. The snakehead must have thought the Senko was a hand grenade or something because it just took off running for cover. Weird. 

Truth be told, at that moment, I felt kinda dumb myself throwing a green, soft plastic French fry :redface: thinking it’ll work, but hey, the Senko hype must come from somewhere. So I figured since I had to take out a second mortgage to afford the durn things (Senko’s are expensive!!!), I should try them a bit more. I toss it up against one of the bridge pilings that support the US-1 roadway and let it slowly sink. While it was doing that, I was picking out the [email protected]#@^% birdsnest in my reel...my spinning reel! LOL.  When I got the birdsnest picked out and go to reel, I notice I was hung up…but the hang-up was moving! Holy cow, it’s a fish, and a nice one at that! After a short fight, I pulled up my personal best largemouth bass! Behold, my 15” LMB of glory! OK, so a 15” (but chunky) LMB is probably nothing spectacular, but I’m a lousy bass fisherman and my previous personal best would be dwarfed by the bunker I use for bait on the beach. Whoa, this Senko thing, although stupid looking, actually works! :fishing:

After I put the fish back, and regain my breath, I straighten up the bait and walk down the bank to make another cast. A few casts later, bam, another chunky LMB; although only about 12”, it fought nicely. Sadly, my poor Senko worm looks like it got run over by a bus after two bass, so I swap it out for a fresh one. Since the bite seemed pretty good and the Senkos cost a small fortune, I decided to try the Bass Pro Shops knock-off. Although not quite as soft as a Senko, it was cheaper and the bass didn’t seem to care, as I caught 6 more bass before I got too thirsty and left. All in all, a good trip and only a few minutes from home! 8 bass total, the smallest being about 9” and the biggest my PB at 15”. On top of catching my PB, I think I’ve also caught the most LMB in one day.  Sorry, no pics as I didn't think I'd catch anything so I left the camera at home :redface:

P.S. From the top of the bridge, I saw a huge snakehead hanging out near the drop-off...the black and white patterns on its side were very distinctive and I'd estimate it to be at least 24" long!


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## HuskyMD (May 19, 2000)

Are you still supposed to kill them if you catch snakehead?


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## Outrigger (Nov 6, 2006)

Thanks for the posting AtlantaKing…it definitely brought a chuckle of laughter and a smile to my face during a time of personal sadness..this past week i had to make the agonizing and soul-searching decision to undo life support from my ailing father.. two weeks ago he was a happy-go-lucky, lawn-mowing retiree and the next thing i know i’m pulling 24hour vigils in the intensive care unit at Fair Oaks Hospital when a still undiagnosed, raging infection had set in..i’m laboring to work up the gumption to hit AI tomorrow maybe one last time before returning to work.

As for tackling those metastasizing snakeheads, i trust you were swathed in camo, donned some combat-worthy broganz, and sported a lucky chapeau festooned with spangly ribbons of lunker-luring talismans courtesy of Bass Pro…as a kid i used to ride past there and catch slithery eels upstream from one of the stream-spanning concrete structures…but nowadays repeated reports of sewage dumping even where Four Mile Run enjoys protected watershed status has scared me away from dropping a line in there.


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## yankem (Aug 9, 2007)

I drive over that bridge every night on my way home and I used to see an elderly black guy always fishing that bridge around 6pm. Looked like maybe one of the mechanics from the Toyota dealer. ANyway I always wondered if he was catching some good stuff there. I guess he was 

Its sad I live so close to one of the best bass fisheries in the nation and yet spend all most 95% of my time fishing the BAY which can be 1 to 2 hours away depending where I decide to fish. I live 5 minutes from the Potomac River. This year ive been fishing with a friend and ive been to Dogue Creek (Grist Mill Park- GW Parkway) a couple times and we've torn them up over there. Very easy to fish right from the bank. The creek is about 10 feet wide but holds lots of fish. We've caught some snakeheads, fat bass, catfish, and a couple shad all on lures.

Anyway im kinda depressed right now I didnt get to do any fishing this past weekend with the weather being so nice. Think I may have to get sick this week and take a day off 

Thanks for the report AtlantaKing!!


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## bassnut (Jun 4, 2006)

Congrates on the catch!!! Senkos or senko style stick worms are one of, if not, my favorite fresh water lures. Most of the stick style worms work regardless of brand. My favorite ones of all are the Strike King Zeros in pink Bubble Gum rigged wieghtless texas style with a 4/0 hook or wacky with a 1/0circle hook. :fishing:


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## AL_N_VB (Apr 3, 2002)

Good read CT.....

Guess the next question is....when you caught the snake head... would have you:

1) Eaten it
2) Killed it
3) Killed it then reported it
4) Kept it as a pet in your fresh-water aquarium


****These choices were intended to be light hearted and funny****


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## adp29934 (Dec 30, 2008)

Nice report, and very well written I might add.


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## AtlantaKing (Jul 7, 2002)

Outrigger, my hopes and prayers go out to you and your family. I can't imagine what that's like 

Yes, you're still supposed to kill the snakeheads when you catch them...but I'm not sure if I'd have eaten it from there :--| But, just for you Al, I might keep it in my cooler, under a few Bud Lights, and leave the cooler unlocked...just for you! 

Hey, Yankem, lemme know when you want to get together and do a NoVA Urban Combat Bass Fishing tour!


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