Potomac River Day 4 Coverage
It's do-or-die time for the top 10
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Live On The Water Feed – click here and scroll to the bottom of the page
Day 4 Takeoff Gallery – click here
Day 4 OTW Gallery – click here
2:00 p.m.: Only 45 minutes left to fish
The 2015 Walmart FLW Tour season is 45 minutes away from ending, and there's only one major title left for FLW to award – the Potomac River tournament champion.
It really is too close to call right now. Several quality fish have been caught since our last post here, but we're not going to spoil the fun by revealing who caught them.
For that, you'll have to check out FLW Live at FLWFishing.com at 4 p.m. ET to watch the day-four weigh-in from La Plata, Md.
Thanks for following along all season. We'll see you in Hot Springs, Ark., for the 2015 Forrest Wood Cup.
1:00 p.m.: Scott Martin is putting together a solid limit
The story thus far is that the top three pros still do not have limits. Adrian Avena is up to four keepers, but he doesn't yet have enough to catch Clark Wendlandt, who also has four. Bryan Schmitt is shy of his limit too.
Behind them, Andy Morgan has dock-fished his way to a limit of about 12 pounds, with plenty of time to upgrade. And in fifth place behind Morgan is the hottest pro in bass fishing, Scott Martin, the 2015 AOY. Martin has 12-plus-pounds. One observer estimated his weight to be even higher than that. Martin lit up the Twitter feed for about a 15-minute period when he put four keepers in the boat in quick succession.
This has been Martin's year. Could it be Martin's week too? You can find out at 4 p.m. ET on FLW Live.
The pros check in at 2:45 p.m. We'll post a final update to this blog in about an hour. In the meantime, follow along on the OTW feed at the link up above.
11:30 a.m.: Wendlandt moves closer to putting it away
He only has four keepers now, but Clark Wendlandt's fish are the right quality for winning his fourth Walmart FLW Tour event. His four fish, by our estimation, weigh about 9 1/2 pounds total. He needs to fill his limit and probably upgrade once or twice to put it out of reach, but he's got a great chance to make that happen. Wendlandt has been chucking a ChatterBait and swim jig all week and is keying on a specific area. He hasn't revealed all the details of what he's doing yet though. You can read more about it at FLWFishing.com after the tournament.
We're taking a quick break from the blog to film a midday update video where we'll get a better idea of the techniques being used on the water.
10:50 a.m.: The door is open for the top 10. Can anyone catch Wendlandt?
Clark Wendlandt hasn't put this tournament away by any means, but the two pros directly behind him in the standings aren't exactly running him down. Bryan Schmitt and Adrian Avena don't have limits. Schmitt just moved back to his primary spot and plans to camp there the rest of the day and live or die in that area. Avena has moved around a couple of times.
Scott Martin is chipping away. The 2015 AOY is one shy of a limit and is approaching the double-digit mark. He could catch the leader today with a couple more big bites.
Larry Nixon is also charging. He has almost 13 pounds now. He was 8 pounds back to start the day, though, so he has a long way to go.
9:20 a.m.: Wendlandt is on the trail of better quality fish
Clark Wendlandt doesn't have a limit yet, but the three fish he has in the livewell are all of decent quality. He's got a pair of 2-pounders and a 3-pounder. Most of his competition is scrapping with fish that weigh less than 2 pounds.
Second-place pro Adrian Avena has had a tough morning. He only has one keeper right now.
Bryan Schmitt, who's in third, has had to share water with a local, and the situation is getting under Schmitt's skin. He has two keepers right now and is rotating through about three spots.
Larry Nixon still has the hot hand today with more than 12 pounds in the box, but Randy Haynes and Jim Moynagh also have limits.
8:15 a.m.: Larry Nixon is on a roll
In his second consecutive top 10, Larry Nixon is putting a hurtin' on the Potomac River this morning. He's landed six keepers already and has culled up to 11 pounds. At this rate, he could work his way up into the mid-teens and take a shot at the leaderes. He's got 8 pounds to make up, but that's not an impossible margin. We've already seen major comebacks this season as proof that no lead is safe.
Of course, once the tide bottoms out, that might shut down Nixon's bite, so we'll have to wait to see how he negotiates the tidal change.
Each of the top five pros – Wendlandt, Avena, Schmitt, Morgan and Martin – has a single keeper. It's been slow for them thus far, but give them another hour or so to figure out how to handle the dirtier water in the system today and you'll see some better catches start rolling in.
7:30 a.m.: It's a new day on the Potomac
Starting from scratch – that's the theme of the Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Ranger Boats on the Potomac River this week. From changing, unpredictable tides to blistering heat, rain and wind, and even tornadoes, this event has showcased just about every summertime condition that Mother Nature can throw at an angler.
Clark Wendlandt has led the last two days and seems dialed in. His water is in good shape this morning, not blown out like he expected.
But behind Wendlandt are a couple of tidal hammers – Bryan Schmitt and Adrian Avena – who are hoping to snatch the trophy out of the veteran's hands.
It's cool and sunny this morning, with scattered cloud cover and a forecast for a west wind throughout the day. This afternoon we'll find out who can adapt to the post-frontal conditions to be crowned the final Tour champion of the season.
Join us as FLWFishing.com via FLW Live at 4 p.m. ET to watch the weigh-in.