The mighty Potomac River is legendary in the annals of American history and in fishing lore. From its headwaters in the Allegheny Mountains, the Potomac winds 405 miles along the Maryland and Virginia border before entering Chesapeake Bay. The tidal stretch of the Potomac River, beginning upriver from Washington, D.C., stands apart as one of the world’s greatest tidal largemouth bass fisheries. The quality of the Potomac’s natural, cultural and historic resources led to its designation as an American Heritage River in 1998.