thompsonius: The Potomac river near Brunswick is like 2 or 300 yards wide and not that rapid-y. How much of a sissy does this guy have to be to not be able to get to shore?

Unfortunate guy: "Help, I'm drowning!!"

Fishermen: "Stand up."

When they found him he was probably covered in raw sewage. The Potomac is still one of the dirtiest rivers in the country. Raw sewage regularly flows into it when it rains and the sewage treatment plant is overwhelmed. Illegal aliens and poor black people still fish in it though and eat the fish, even though signs say it's not safe to do so. Oh, the guy was probably covered in snakehead fish too. They're everywhere in there.

I grew up float fishing the upper Potomac, Rappahannock & Rapidan rivers.
Point feet downstream, lean back, get to a rock & push off hard, toward shore. It's not brain surgery.

For some reason, people completely freak when they see water flowing through rocks.

That said, I wonder whether they used a Rapala or a Beetlespin to land him?

fappomatic: I grew up float fishing the upper Potomac, Rappahannock & Rapidan rivers.
Point feet downstream, lean back, get to a rock & push off hard, toward shore. It's not brain surgery.

For some reason, people completely freak when they see water flowing through rocks.

That said, I wonder whether they used a Rapala or a Beetlespin to land him?

Fff, river fish? Man, try fishing in the ocean sometime - I once caught a kayaker on an Atom plug, thing had to be 700lbs!

WarszawaScream: fappomatic: I grew up float fishing the upper Potomac, Rappahannock & Rapidan rivers.
Point feet downstream, lean back, get to a rock & push off hard, toward shore. It's not brain surgery.

For some reason, people completely freak when they see water flowing through rocks.

That said, I wonder whether they used a Rapala or a Beetlespin to land him?

Fff, river fish? Man, try fishing in the ocean sometime - I once caught a kayaker on an Atom plug, thing had to be 700lbs!

Were you running teasers out on riggers to bring him closer, or was it a blind shot luck toss?

TravisBickle62: I used to kayak and fish both the upper and lower Potomac, dude is a wussy. All he had to do was kick towards shore.

Also the Potomac is the cleanest urban river in the country so long as you stay away from the Anacostia, which is far downstream from where this dude was. It is a very popular kayaking river.

O RLY?

Potomac is the #1 Most Endangered River in the Country

If you asked anybody in D.C. how much money it would take for them to jump into the Potomac River and take a swim, you will probably get responses ranging from thousands of dollars to "never in my life". Even though the river that borders D.C. and Virginia is an iconic geographical feature often associated with the history of America, it's easily one of the filthiest rivers in the area due to an overabundance of pollution and human activity that has lead to a gradual decay in the quality of the water.

From Wikipedia:
In 2005 two federal agencies, the US Geological Survey and the Fish and Wildlife Service, began to identify fish in the Potomac and tributaries that exhibited "intersex" characteristics, as a result of endocrine disruption caused by some form of pollution. On November 13, 2007, the Potomac Conservancy, an environmental group, issued the river a grade of "D-plus", citing high levels of pollution and the reports of "intersex" fish

His name was Bob.

Damn you, subby.
You made me chortle
i never chortle.

/Stupid tuber
//Before anyone gets cute: chortle n. A snorting, joyful laugh or chuckle.

Thanks to Fark, every time I read "potato" I think of the downsy kid.

/i'm a bad bad person

fappomatic: WarszawaScream: fappomatic: I grew up float fishing the upper Potomac, Rappahannock & Rapidan rivers.
Point feet downstream, lean back, get to a rock & push off hard, toward shore. It's not brain surgery.

For some reason, people completely freak when they see water flowing through rocks.

That said, I wonder whether they used a Rapala or a Beetlespin to land him?

Fff, river fish? Man, try fishing in the ocean sometime - I once caught a kayaker on an Atom plug, thing had to be 700lbs!

Were you running teasers out on riggers to bring him closer, or was it a blind shot luck toss?

It was a nearly blind toss; I was on the beach following a group of birds that were working the surface over a bluefish blitz, trying to make that one cast that was just far enough to each them - next thing I know WHAM! the pole's bent in half and line's flying off like it's tied to a jet ski. (And let me tell you, you want a real good fight? Jet skiers'll give you a real run for your money!) Took nearly two hours to get that sucker into shore, swear I was more tired'n he was when I finally got him out of the water.

Of course my camera was back in the car way down the beach, and I wasn't going to throw something that size on the roof of my Saturn and take it home, so I threw him back in after getting the measurements. Hopefully someone else'll get the same enjoyment that I did.

WarszawaScream: fappomatic: WarszawaScream: fappomatic: I grew up float fishing the upper Potomac, Rappahannock & Rapidan rivers.
Point feet downstream, lean back, get to a rock & push off hard, toward shore. It's not brain surgery.

For some reason, people completely freak when they see water flowing through rocks.

That said, I wonder whether they used a Rapala or a Beetlespin to land him?

Fff, river fish? Man, try fishing in the ocean sometime - I once caught a kayaker on an Atom plug, thing had to be 700lbs!

Were you running teasers out on riggers to bring him closer, or was it a blind shot luck toss?

It was a nearly blind toss; I was on the beach following a group of birds that were working the surface over a bluefish blitz, trying to make that one cast that was just far enough to each them - next thing I know WHAM! the pole's bent in half and line's flying off like it's tied to a jet ski. (And let me tell you, you want a real good fight? Jet skiers'll give you a real run for your money!) Took nearly two hours to get that sucker into shore, swear I was more tired'n he was when I finally got him out of the water.

Of course my camera was back in the car way down the beach, and I wasn't going to throw something that size on the roof of my Saturn and take it home, so I threw him back in after getting the measurements. Hopefully someone else'll get the same enjoyment that I did.

If you live anywhere near Central Va, we need to go fishing. Speaking of jetskis, I did a lot of I-95 fishing until I snagged a guy on his Harley. I had plenty of line and my kid kept the ol' Penn reel cool with buckets of water. I was grateful for the 1200lb Kevlar line, let me tell ya. The only down side was all the meth and opiates that made for a tough meal. We ate the glass baking dish instead.

fappomatic: If you live anywhere near Central Va, we need to go fishing. Speaking of jetskis, I did a lot of I-95 fishing until I snagged a guy on his Harley. I had plenty of line and my kid kept the ol' Penn reel cool with buckets of water. I was grateful for the 1200lb Kevlar line, let me tell ya. The only down side was all the meth and opiates that made for a tough meal. We ate the glass baking dish instead.

I'm on Long Island (NY, there's orange people here oh god help), but if I head down that way at all I'll have to track you down!

And WHOA, ain't never been able to hook any Harley's up this way - too many of those Yamaha and Suzukis schooling around and scaring 'em off, they're supposedly making a comeback though. Biggest I ever snagged was a Trojan 4000, but there was no way I was landing it. Fighting that thing was like fighting a skate; just kept on moving back reeeaaalll slow, and any time I made headway it would throw the brakes on. Finally snapped the line and got away, not before I got a real good look at it though... got those plates memorized for next time.

The Homer Tax: Also, people go into the Potomac on purpose? ewwww..

he was in harper's ferry. he alcohol probably was a factor. all the tubers there go in the river and get wasted.

kindms: It says that fisherman could hear him so he had to be pretty close to shore and it doesn't say they needed anything special to get him out

If the guy wasn't tripping ballz he has no excuse.

the river around there is very narrow and the current is not that strong. it boggles my mind why he would not swim to shore.

This is the river situation he was in:

some 35 yrs ago used to tube the Esopus upstate NY. then the local LEO's found out how fun it was to make tubers come ashore to bust them for a joint or a beer. in the middle of no where, in the boonies, where you went to be away from people. that was the end of that.

Hey, you try swimming while holding onto a tuba!

/DNRTFA