Gorsline grabs Potomac co-angler title
59-year-old ‘rookie’ wins his first Stren competition
LA PLATA, Md. – Fishing in his first-ever FLW Outdoors tournament, David Gorsline of Lynchburg, Va., earned top honors in the Co-angler Division at the Stren Series Northeast Division event at the Potomac River.
Fishing behind pro Mike Hoskings, Gorsline muscled into a five-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday and won $5,000 plus a new Ranger boat with a two-day total of 17-3.
“I had a great time this week,” he said. “This is my first FLW Outdoors tournament, so I’m just a 59-year-old rookie. And I had a blast this week.”
Gorsline said he caught most of his keeper bass Saturday on a jig with a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw, which he painted a special orange color for the occasion. Unfortunately, someone stole some of his tackle this week and he was short on bait coming into the weekend.
“I had one bait, and I caught two keepers on the Speed Craw yesterday until it broke apart,” he said. “So I superglued it and ended up catching four fish today on that one bait.”
Gorsline was coaxed into competing at the Potomac this week by his friend James Dudley, father of Wal-Mart FLW Tour pro David Dudley, who also competed here this week. (He finished 32nd in the Pro Division.)
“I owe a lot to Jimmy,” Gorsline said. “I’ve traveled with him to Stren Series tournaments up and down the East Coast, so I’ve been a part of this as an observer. But this was first time as a participant, and it was such a great experience. For instance, this guy over here, Mike Hoskings, he’s a Houdini on the Potomac River. He taught me a lot.”
Second place for the co-anglers and $4,000 went to Jeff Taylor of Olmstead, Ky., for a final weight of 15 pounds, 4 ounces. He caught a limit weighing 10-11 Saturday.
Friday’s co-angler leader Mike Orbell of Silver Spring, Md., failed to catch a keeper fish Saturday but still finished third with a final weight of 12 pounds, 15 ounces. He earned $3,420.
Christopher Burns of Moncure, N.C., finished fourth for the co-anglers and earned $2,420 with a final weight of 12 pounds, 12 ounces. He caught four bass weighing 6-14 Saturday.
Wednesday’s co-angler leader Butch Zadlo of Boone, N.C., finished fifth with a final weight of 11 pounds, 14 ounces. He earned $1,920.
Rounding out the top 10 finishers in the Co-angler Division at the Potomac River:
6th: Joshua Wagy of Dewitt, Va., six bass, 11-3, $1,820
7th: Kenneth Hoffman of Scotia, N.Y., four bass, 10-8, $1,720
8th: Leroy Harriott of Woodbridge, Va., three bass, 10-5, $1,620
9th: Michael Burchett of Pulaski, Va., three bass, 5-14, $1,520
10th: Gilbert White of Accokeek, Md., three bass, 5-4, $1,420
Standings update
Michael McMahon of Hackettstown, N.J., leads the Northeast Division co-angler standings with 574 points. He’s followed by Ryan Bowman of Seneca, S.C., a semifinalist here at the Potomac this week, in second place with 529 points.
Coming up
The next Stren Series event is a Midwest Division contest at the Detroit River at Trenton, Mich., Sept. 6-9.
The next Northeast Division event is the season’s fourth and final tournament. It is scheduled for Lake Champlain at Plattsburgh, N.Y., Sept. 27-30.