Schmitt steals the lead on Potomac

Miller manhandles co-angler division

MARBURY, Md. – Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Md. has some far out ideas about catching bass, but no one’s questioning the man leading the FLW American Fishing Series Northern Division tournament on the Potomac River. Schmitt entered day two in fourth place with 18 pounds, 2 ounces. Today, he advanced three notches with his limit of 21-3 and took the lead with 39-5.

Now, by “far out” we mean way off the bank, out near the middle of the main river. There, Schmitt locked his focus on the deeper grass beds where the fish received less angling pressure. More importantly, the deep stuff benefits more from the river’s water movement.

“I’m fishing deep grass in four to five feet – just the farthest grass I can see,” Schmitt said. “I think that the fish feel the tide more the farther out they are. I think that makes them more active.

One of the last few to weigh-in, Schmitt reported a drastic downturn in productivity, but a strong upturn in quality. He caught about 30 fish on day one and had a limit early, but today delivered about half that and compiling a limit took most of the day.

“I didn’t get the amount of bites I got yesterday, but I got bigger bites today,” Schmitt said. “I thought they would bite all day today, but they didn’t. I got them early and then late – about 7:30-8 and then 12-1:30. I lost two fish today that could have (given me) 28 pounds.”

Schmitt said he’s optimistic about Saturday’s final round. “I think I found a little sweet spot for tomorrow and I hope to do real good. I’d like to have the biggest fish I can have early so I can calm down.”

Chapman charges into second

Salt Rock, W.V. pro Bill Chapman scored the heaviest stringer of the tournament’s first two days – a 23-7 limit. That effort, combined with his day one, 11th place weight of 15-8 gave him a second place total of 38-15. Chapman’s day two bag included the Big Bass, which weighed 7-2.

Chapman began his day in a grass bed about a mile from the launch site at Smallwood State Park. He had located the spot during practice just a day before the tournament and, although it produced immediately on day one, he ended up culling those fish. Day two brought a different story.

“Today, I started on that spot again, but the fish had grown overnight,” Chapman said. “At 11 o’clock, I had about 18 pounds. I left and when to another spot and culled out three. I had one of those days you just dream about.”

Throughout practice and the tournament’s first two days, Chapman has relied solely on a black/blue jig and a Texas-rigged Packer Craw. In heavy cover, he throws a 1/2-ounce jig with a Zoom Super Chunk and uses a 5/16-ounce with a Zoom Chunk in thinner cover.

“I’m looking for two types of grass (hydrilla and milfoil) together,” Chapman said. “I have a little spot that has a ditch running through it that’s about a foot deeper than the surrounding area. When the tide gets low, the fish just migrate into that area.”

Olinger makes big move to third

Making a big-time advancement, Terry Olinger of Hume, Va. added 21-8 to his day one weight of 14-6 and raced up the standings 17 spots from 20th to third with 35-14.

Olinger started his day by throwing a black Spro frog over grass. He secured a 5-pounder, but that was all quality his first spot would yield. Making a move upriver, Olinger switched to flipping Sweet Beaver and throwing a swimbait. This move allowed him to fill out a limit.

“I was looking for grass beds that look alive and doing well,” Olinger said. “I’m finding the ones that are really green and that’s where the big fish like to live.”

In fourth place, Thomas Wooten of Huddleston, Va. experienced battery problems that interfered with his trolling motor use and threatened his live well. Fortunately, he made it through the dilemma and caught a limit weighing 15-12 to place fourth with 35-8.

Fifth place went to day one leader Peter Yanni, who missed his limit by one fish today and settled for a total weight of 34-9.

Best of the rest

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

6th: Chad Hicks of Rockville, Va., 34-5

7th: Josh Querrey of Summersville, W.V., 31-1

8th: David Barker of Emmitsburg, Md., 31-0

9th: Allan Engelmeyer of Severn, Md., 30-12

10th: Mike Hicks of Goochland, Va., 30-8

Chatterbait gives Miller co-angler lead

Frank Miller of West Nanticoke, Pa. made a big move from 15th place to the top spot in the co-angler division on the strength of his 20-pound, 4-ounce limit – the only co-angler bag of 20-plus pounds thus far. Miller’s huge day two effort sends him into the final round with a 31-11 total and a 4-pound, 4-ounce lead over second place co-angler Russ Hamilton of Manassas, Va.

With his boater working a dock pattern, Miller found his fish by throwing a 3/8-ounce black/blue chatterbait around grass adjacent to the structures. His best bites came late morning and early afternoon.

“A slower retrieve was the key,” Miller said. “If I moved the bait too fast, the fish wouldn’t locate it.”

Hamilton led the co-angler field on day one with 16 pounds, 15 ounces. He added 10-8 today for a second place total of 27-7. Gary McClain of Chesapeake, Va. placed third with 26-7; Larry Church of Keysville, Va. finished fourth with 25-12 and Claude Hicks of Rockville, Va. was fifth with 24-12.

Church won the Big Bass award with a dandy 8-pound, 5-ounce largemouth.

Best of the rest

” border=”1″ align=”left” />Rounding out the top-10 co-angler leaders at the FLW American Fishing Series Potomac River event:

6th: Lynn Johnston of Peterborough, Ont., 24-5

7th: David Williams of Fredericksburg, Va., 24-4

8th: Edwin Jackson of Marshall, Va., 24-2

9th: Dave Kovack of Lancaster, Pa., 23-7

10th: Andrew Luxon of Richmond, Ky., 22-10

Day two of FLW American Fishing Series action on the Potomac River continues at Saturday’s takeoff, scheduled to take place at 5:45 a.m. (EST) at Smallwood State Park located at 2700 Sweden Point Road in Marbury, Md.