One ounce never meant more

That's all that separates first from second at Stren Series Northern Division opener

MARBURY, Md. – Send 158 pros onto the Potomac River, where they catch 148 five-bass limits totaling 1,875 pounds, and when the dust settles, how much weight separates first from second place?

One ounce.

Hard to believe, but that’s all that separates Mike Hicks of Goochland, Va., from Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla., after day one of the Stren Series Northern Division season opener on the anything-but-peaceful Potomac.

Hicks has 19 pounds, 11 ounces, and Lane has 19-10. But neither pro pulled the best weight of the day. That distinction belongs to Doug Richardson of Newmarket, Ontario, who leads the Co-angler Division with – you guessed it – 19 pounds, 12 ounces.

OK, so let’s line ’em up. Who’s got 19-9? Well, nobody, but pro Chad Hicks of Rockville, Va., is in third place with 19-8, which, in this tournament, amounts to a staggering deficit of 3 ounces.

But have your own fun. Check the board in each division. The top 10 pros are separated by 2 pounds, 6 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers are separated by a relatively wide margin of 5 pounds, 12 ounces, but there’s actually 11 in the top 10 because there’s a tie at 10th place.

Now this is what a fishing tournament is supposed to be. Don’t be surprised if tomorrow there’s a massive overhaul in each division. At least half of the anglers who are down in the ranks after today said they’ll do a lot better tomorrow, and for once, perhaps that’s not a stretch.

No matter how they fished today, it worked; topwaters, plastics, crankbaits and jigworms all caught fish. When just 10 pros among 158 fail to catch a limit, the bite is on. There was disagreement as to what constituted the best conditions today. Some said the bite was best on the incoming tide, while others said it was during the outgoing. Some anglers will pray for wind tomorrow, while others want it to remain as calm as it was Thursday.

Everyone agrees that we could use a little less heat – the high temperature topped out at 92 – but tomorrow’s forecast calls for more of the same. Cooler temperatures would have a practical benefit. Several anglers today were penalized for dead fish at a rate of minus 8 ounces per fish. Fifth-place pro Dave Lefebre was hit especially hard as he had two dead fish.

Today’s best weights came early in the weigh-in, indicating that the morning bite was best. Tomorrow the flights reverse, so if that pattern holds, it should give anglers who were at the back of the pack today a chance to make up weight.

May everyone’s tomorrow begin like today did for pro Nick Gainey of Charleston, S.C., who’s in 13th place with 17 pounds, 1 ounce.

“I couldn’t catch a thing during the prefish,” Gainey said. “Then this morning, I go out there, and the first cast is a 5-pounder.”

Or how about Lewis Denny, an Indian Mound, Tenn., pro who’s in 11th place with 17-4?

“I had a limit in 10 minutes,” he said. “I culled five limits for the day.”

He wasn’t alone. Fourth-place pro Terry Olinger said he culled 20 to 30 fish. Second-place pro Bobby Lane said he had all his weigh fish by 9 a.m.

Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. in Smallwood State Park. Weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. Anglers who place 11th through 40th will get their checks, while places one through 10th will move on to fish Saturday. The final weigh-in is set for 4 p.m. at Walmart in La Plata, Md.

Top 10 professionals

1. Mike Hicks, Goochland, Va., 19 pounds, 11 ounces

2. Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 19-10

3. Chad Hicks, Rockville, Va., 19-8

4. Terry Olinger, The Plains, Va., 19-4

5. Dave Lefebre, Union City, Pa., 18-9

6. Thomas Wooten, Huddleston, Va., 18-6

7. Michael Ertel, Toms River, N.J., 18-2

8. Chris Baumgardner, Gastonia, N.C., 17-11

9. Chris Johnston, Peterborough, Ontario, 17-7

10. Stacey Smith, Stephens City, Va., 17-5

Top 10 co-anglers

1. Doug Richardson, Newmarket, Ontario, 19 pounds, 12 ounces

2. Gary McClain, Chesapeake, Va., 19-0

3. Edward Tunny Sullivan, Beaverdam, Va., 17-13

4. David Williams, Fredericksburg, Va., 15-8

5. Kermit Crowder, Matoaca, Va., 15-6

6. Mike Branham, Alexandria, Va., 15-3

7. Robert Clark, Woodbridge, Va., 14-7

8. Justin White, Slippery Rock, Pa., 14-6

9. Larry Drewett, Sterling, Va., 14-0

9. Micah Frazier, Newnan, Ga., 14-0