Dillow wins FLW co-angler title on Potomac

Virginia native nets $20,000 in first-place prize money

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Using a three-day catch of 47 pounds, 3 ounces, Chris Dillow of Waynesboro, Va., made up over 4 pounds on the day-two leader on the final day of competition to capture the co-angler crown by 8 ounces. And he couldn’t have been happier.

“I feel great. It’s very humbling,” said Dillow. “But I had a gut feeling heading back to weigh-in that I was going to win. I really felt good about today.”

Dillow’s final-day catch of 16 pounds, 6 ounces ultimately proved to be too much for the rest of the field. However, it was his back-to-back catches of 16 pounds plus over day two and day three – as well as his magical homemade jig – that really factored into his deciding margin of victory.

“The majority of the fish I caught in this tournament came on a homemade jig that I make in my own garage,” he said. “Today I only had two fish in the boat at around 1 p.m. and I was kind of sweating it. But the Lord blessed me today. And I was able to get some good keepers in the boat as the day went on. It’s just very humbling to be here onstage with all of these great anglers.”

Dillow said that he spent a good portion of the day fishing shallow, which wasn’t ideally suited to fishing his jig. But he made some adjustments, fishing a 3/8-ounce Dillow’s Perfect Jig when his pro led him into shallower water and a 1/2-ounce jig once they moved into deeper water.

“We’re fishing grass beds and stayed there all day,” he said.

Dillow used his jig successfully to win the 2008 EverStart tournament from the front of the boat and also used it to win a Federation event in 1989 on the same body of water.

“And now I’ve won tournaments here on that jig from the back and the front of the boat,” he said. “In 2008 I showed up as a co-angler, but there weren’t any slots left so I paid the extra money and signed up as a boater at the last minutes because I wasn’t leaving. And it worked out pretty well because I won that tournament.”

Dillow credited his partners over the course of the three-day event with much of his success.

“Today, I was with Ron Shuffield and he’s just a class act,” said Dillow. “Like I said, it’s just a humbling experience to be in the same boat with these pros.”

As far as his future is concerned, Dillow said he’s not entirely sure.

“I’m a realtor in my regular life but I’d love to find some sponsors so I could do this for a living,” he said. “But no matter what happens in the future, it was just an awesome week.”

Knick nets runner-up position

Although he felt like he fished well enough to win, Greg Knick of Ansonia, Ohio, had to settle for second place overall with a total catch of 46 pounds, 11 ounces.

“I was right there. I didn’t lose any fish today and I don’t think I lost any fish all week that would have made a difference,” he said. `I would have loved to have won. But I’m not disappointed at all.”

Knick said that he fished a Terry Bowden Cold Steele Tricky Finesse worm in a green pumpkin color, targeting a combination of grass and wood.

“Every fish I caught this week came on that worm,” he said. “Today, we spent most of the day fishing wood and a little bit of grass. I was kind of hoping that by the end of the day I’d be holding up that big check. It didn’t turn out that way but this finish is really going to help me qualify for the (Forrest Wood) Cup and that’s been my main goal all along.”

In the end, Knick said he’s leaving the Potomac with a number of outstanding memories.

“I had a super time,” said Knick, who walked away with over $7,200 in winnings. “This is just an awesome fishery.”

Reiter grabs top-three finish

Bolstered by a total catch of 44 pounds, 11 ounces, Leo J. Reiter of Greenup, Ill., finished the Potomac River event in third place.

“In the end, I was just too far behind coming into today,” said Reiter, who turned in a nice 15-pound, 14-ounce catch in the finals to propel him from seventh place to third overall. “I would have liked to have started a little higher up in the standings. If I had been able to do that, I think I would have had a real chance.”

Reiter said that he targeted bass using a combination of finesse worms, Senkos and Speed Craws.

“I was just fishing any piece of cover I could find,” he said. “I was making long casts and fishing as slowly as I could. I knew coming into today that it was going to be hard to get bites so I had to focus every minute of the day on what I was doing.”

In the end, Reiter said he will be leaving the Potomac River with his head held high.

“I had a great week. It was just an awesome experience,” he said. “This is my first top 10 on the FLW Tour and I’m proud of that. This has just been a phenomenal year.”

For his efforts, Reiter walked away with over $4,800 in prize money.

Reese falls to fourth

Coming into Saturday’s co-angler finals, day-two leader Marvin Reese of Gwynn Oak, Md., had a nearly 3-pound lead over the competition. Unfortunately for Reese, however, his day-three experience wasn’t quite what he was hoping for.

“It was a horrible day,” he said. “That just about sums it up. I just didn’t get the bites the today. And I only had three keepers all day.”

Reese said that he targeted grass all day long with a combination of jigs, worms, ChatterBaits and swim baits.

“I didn’t get the win, but I still had a great time,” said Reese, who ultimately recorded a total catch of 43 pounds, 2 ounces to earn more than $4,100 in winnings. “I was paired up with some great boaters, I was around fish all week and just had an amazing experience.”

Mulleins nets fifth

Ralph Mulleins of Cumberland, Va., snared fifth place overall after landing a total catch of 42 pounds, 8 ounces. For his efforts, Mulleins walked away with over $2,800 in prize money.

Rounding out the top-10 co-angler finishers:

6th: Philip Jarabeck of Lynchburg, Va., 41-12

7th: Rich Dalbey of Greenville, Texas, 40-11

8th: Nicholas Toman of Washington, D.C., 40-9

9th: Ronnie Baker of Providence Forge, Va., 40-4

10th: Chad Billiot of Raceland, La., 38-15

For a complete list of the day’s co-angler results, click here.

FLW Tour co-angler action resumes June 7-10 on Kentucky Lake in Murray, Ky.