Timing and tides

American Fishing Series field working through Potomac puzzle

MARBURY, Md. – Rarely does the phrase “right place at the right time” stand more applicable than in a tidal fishery like that of the Potomac River, which hosts the FLW American Fishing Series Northern Division tournament.

With its depth fluctuating based on the Atlantic Ocean’s ebb and flow, the Potomac throws another level of challenge at those who would pursue its bass bounty. Today’s rising and falling water opened doors of opportunity for some, while others got the wood slammed in their faces. The pro field generated 58 limits, including a pair of 20-plus-pound bags from first and second place anglers Peter Yanni and Allan Engelmeyer.

With a leaving tide bottoming out shortly after takeoff, anglers fished incoming to high water most of the day. Considering that daytime highs reached the upper 80’s, it’s no surprise that the Potomac bass made good use of the rising water to push deep into the hydrilla and milfoil.

The high outgoing tide, which pulls fish out of dense cover and makes them more accessible typically brings the fireworks. That stage occurred in the early afternoon today, so those with early flights missed most of the show. Of course, every rule has its exception and Engelmeyer made his mark early by weighing 20-13 out of the first flight.

Others reported brief flurries of action early at the start of the incoming. More common was the tale of teasing reaction bites with frogs and picking apart grass clumps with flipping baits. Reports seemed to indicate that crankbaits, spinnerbaits and other “chase” tactics caught mostly the smaller males, while catching the heavier females required more targeted presentations.

Co-angler John Stanco said he entered the tournament with an assumption of frogs and flipping. However, when he found himself struggling with a tough bite, he reached into his bag of finesse tricks and caught four bass on a dropshot.

Hailing from Gaithersburg, Md., Yanni relied on flipping Berkley Chigger Craws and Texas rigging Berkley 10-inch Power Worms. Targeting isolated grass clumps, he worked with the water flow to get his baits into the optimal positions.

“I presented (my baits) properly with the movement of the tide,” Yanni said. “I just kept mixing up the baits all day.”

A strong practice in which he found fish sufficient for 17- to 18-pound bags put Yanni in the right frame of mind going into the tournament.

“The key for me was my confidence,” he said. “I put in my practice time and really worked hard. I’ve been catching big bags for the past week. My goal was to make the top-10 and fish (in the finale) on Saturday. I really think I have a chance to do that.”

Although he weighed in about an hour after Engelmeyer, Yanni also reported an early start to his action. Fishing upriver from the launch site at Smallwood State Park, he secured his limit by 8 o’clock.

“I had one primary area and I went there first, but it didn’t produce anything,” Yanni recalled. “So I ran upriver to my secondary `backup’ spot, I flipped in there and my first fish was a 5-7. It was just one after another. I caught seven or eight fish, but then I slowed down to preserve my fish because I need 20 more pounds (on day two) and 20 more on Saturday.”

Wooten winds in third place sack

Knocking on the door of another 20-pound bag, Huddleston, Va. pro Thomas Wooten fished the grass and sacked up a limit weighing 19-12. Wooten worked a swimming jig along grass edges and also flipped a green pumpkin/re Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver.

Getting away from large stretches of grass and targeting isolated areas where weeds had gathered was intrinsic to his success.

“I found a little section with some mats and right now there are not a whole lot of mats on the river, so they’re holding fish,” Wooten said. “Around 8:30 to 9 o’clock, they turned on pretty good and then around 11:30 to 12, they came in again. I had a pretty good sack by about 11 o’clock.”

Schmitt flips into fourth

Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Md. found a limit of 18-2 and made a good start for himself by placing fourth. A devoted jig fisherman, Schmitt flipped a black and blue jig and caught 30 fish.

“I do the same thing every time – flipping on the main river,” he said. “I target isolated clumps way out. I caught them all day long.”

Gregory Wilder of Brooklyn Park, Md. took fifth place with 16-14. George Short of Baltimore, Md. earned Big Bass honors with a 6-pound, 9-ounce largemouth.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top-10 pro leaders at the FLW American Fishing Series Potomac River event:

6th: Bruce E. Ring of Front Royal, Va., 16-3

7th: Adam Janerella of Jersey Shore, Pa., 15-13

8th: Darrin Schwenkbeck of Varysburg, N.Y., 15-13

9th: David Barker of Emmitsburg, Md., 15-12

10th: Otis Darnell of Linden, Va., 15-11

Hamilton sets the co-angler mark

Russ Hamilton of Manassas, Va. leads the co-angler field with 16 pounds, 15 ounces. He caught two of his five fish on a black Spro Popper Frog and filled out his limit with a 3/8-ounce purple jig with a green pumpkin Berkley Chigger Craw trailer. One of his frog fish was the largest of his division – a 6-11.

Hamilton said he chose the popper style frog because its splashy presentation enabled him to integrate into the fish behavior he observed. “The bass were chasing bait on top so I went to that technique and it worked out for me.”

Lynn Johnston of Peterborough, Ont. finished second with 14-10 and Edwin Jackson of Marshall, Va. took third with 14-3. In fourth place, Dave Kovack of Lancaster, Pa. had 13-4 and Gary McClain of Chesapeake, Va. was fifth at 13-4.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top-10 co-angler leaders at the FLW American Fishing Series Potomac River event:

6th: Bob Bagheri of North Bethesda, Md., 12-12

7th: Nickolas Wolf of Bloomingburg, N.Y., 12-6

8th: Keith Diluzio of Northeast, Pa., 12-4

9th: Jeff Zeisner of Arva, Ont., 11-15

10th: Larry Church of Keysville, Va., 11-13

Day two of FLW American Fishing Series action on the Potomac River continues at Friday’s takeoff, scheduled to take place at 6 a.m. (EST) at Smallwood State Park located at 2700 Sweden Point Road in Marbury, Md.