Top 5 Patterns from Potomac River Day 3

Pros adapt to rainy, windy conditions and uncooperative tides

Pouring rain, gusting winds, a remarkable act of kindness, an Angler of the Year title on the line – day three of the Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Ranger Boats on the Potomac River certainly was not boring.

To say the top 20 anglers were waterlogged after Saturday would be any understatement, but as nasty as the weather was, it wasn’t the biggest story of the day. Shinichi Fukae generously helped Clark Wendlandt retain his lead, while Scott Martin sealed the deal on his first AOY title. Meanwhile, a number of other anglers scrambled to adjust with what the weather and the Potomac are throwing at them.

Here’s how the rest of the top five caught their fish today.

2. Adrian Avena – Vineland, N.J. – 43 pounds, 6 ounces

Adrian Avena and Bryan Schmitt have been playing leapfrog all tournament, with Avena managing to jump out front today despite a big risk that didn’t pay off.

“With this weather I decided to start in a new place way down south where I thought I could catch a limit,” Avena says. “It didn’t pan out.”

Instead, he went back to his one area that hasn’t yet been blown out by the storms and sacked up a quick 12 pounds, 10 ounces. It could have been a bigger bag, though, had he not lost a good one.

“I’d fished clean all week up until today,” Avena says. “I lost one that really could hurt me. I’m hoping I can make it up tomorrow. I just have to hope my one area stays clear.”

3. Bryan Schmitt – Deale, Md. – 42 pounds, 1 ounce

Bryan Schmitt knows where the winning fish are located. Mother Nature is just not letting him fish for them.

First it was an issue of poorly timing the tides on day one. Then it was higher tides and mud on day two. Today, it was a more extreme version of day two, and Schmitt tried to commit himself to an area he knows holds the best fish. Instead, he couldn’t get them to bite in the ugly conditions.

“It’s been tough,” Schmitt says. “I know where I can win it, but I can’t even fish there anymore because it’s so muddy. Because I know what’s there, though, it’s hard to leave. It was a total waste. I had to scramble all day for what I got.”

Schmitt won’t make that mistake again on the final day, especially since the conditions are not looking any better with a chance for high winds.

“All my good areas are trashed,” Schmitt says. “Tomorrow I’m just going to go to where I think I can find clear water. I still have a chance.”

4. Andy Morgan – Dayton, Tenn. – 42 pounds

While the top three anglers remained unchanged from day two to day three, those three have quite the hounds nipping at their heels after Saturday.

The first is Andy Morgan, who has quietly managed to put together back-to-back 15-pound bags the last two days. Today’s version was almost all caught in the first few hours of the day.

“I knew the weather was going to be bad and that I’d have a small window to catch my fish,” Morgan says, “so I concentrated on those first three hours. I didn’t catch another fish that helped me after that until I culled with 30 minutes left in the day.”

Morgan has been making a run north to the D.C. area, and he did again today after his early limit. However, he’s pretty sure that area has been ruined by today’s weather. If it is, he’s not sure what to do tomorrow.

“I’m standing here trying to figure that out,” Morgan said after weigh-in when asked what he’ll do tomorrow. “I will really have to sit down tonight to try and come up with a plan, because right now I don’t have one.”

5. Scott Martin – Clewiston, Fla. – 40 pounds, 14 ounces

Scott Martin doesn’t often get nervous, but he admits he was nervous and then some going into day three. Tied with John Cox for Angler of the Year, Martin needed to just not finish 20th to earn the final feather in his FLW cap.

“It was a very stressful day,” Martin says. “Everyone was telling me ‘congrats,’ but I hadn’t won it yet. Anything could happen.”

Making matters more stressful was the fact that he knew all his areas were ruined by the weather. Martin instead changed up and stayed close to takeoff to start.

“Right off the bat I caught a 4-pounder,” Martin says. “By noon I had a limit, but I still felt I needed one more good fish. So I ran to a spot on the main river and caught another 4-pounder. Then I was finally able to get that stress off my back.”

Martin says with the AOY sewed up, the final day will be nothing but fun as he tries to go for the win.