Arwel Evans knew Tuesday was going to be a good day for fly-fishing. With the Potomac River and Tidal Basin overflowing onto the National Mall, there would be plenty of bugs and grubs that the fish would be interested in.
A flooded Potomac River and high tide came together Tuesday to push water well beyond banks. In the District, a couple feet of water spread out around the perimeter of the Tidal Basin, and ankle-deep water flooded the Georgetown waterfront, Navy Yard and the Wharf.
So Evans, 35, grabbed his pole and headed down to the Mall, and local photographer Loic Pritchett caught him in a surreal scene. Evans, who lives in Carmarthenshire, Wales, was on vacation in Washington. This surely made for an interesting trip.
“Were they biting?” I asked when he reached out to let me know that he was the mystery fisherman.
“Guess so,” he replied, with these photos attached.
Carp was the fish of the day. According to roughfish.com, the Potomac River around Washington has “excellent carp fishing with fish over 30 lbs a possibility.” In early summer, “carp begin spawning in successive waves, with some of the biggest fish of the year coming during this time period.”
Carpe diem, Washington.