Potomac River Day 3 Coverage
McMillan and Warren are surging
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2:22 That’ll do it
There’s about an hour of fishing left before weigh-in starts at 4 p.m. ET, and we haven’t got anything new to report since the last update. With that, we’re shuttering the blog for the afternoon. Be sure to come back for weigh-in – it’s going to be wicked tight and only the top 10 fish tomorrow!
2:05 Behrle has a limit
Robert Behrle has filled his limit and culled up slightly, but it’s still pretty tiny. Today has been brutal for him. He’s had five bites in the last 10 minutes or so, so there might be something happening for him finally.
2:00 Speak of the devil
Well, maybe it’s not slow. Tom Monsoor just re-took his lead with a cull to get up to close to 16 pounds. Michael “Real Deal” Neal just culled to over 15 pounds as well – it’s likely he’ll get a camera on FLW Live tomorrow too.
1:55 It’s a little slow now
The tide is high and almost slack now, so the fishing might stay tough for a bit here. Nonetheless, with check-in not until 3:15, the pros still have plenty of time to figure out something new or get a really key bite. We’ll see, but for now it’s been pretty slow for a while.
1:30 Cap’n Cobb
Ol’ peg leg just stuck a beauty of a 3-pounder to get up to within a hair of the top 10. Cobb has a touch more than 13 pounds in the boat now.
1:10 Monsoor and Neal cull
Tom Monsoor has added a little more to his bag and should have more than 15 pounds now. Michael Neal has had a sneaky good day and has about that as well.
12:53 Sprague with another dandy
Jeff Sprague just culled up with a nice 3-pounder. He’s got 15 pounds now and is threatening for a camera on the final day.
12:37 Meninger keeping pace, Cobb culling
Jason Meninger says his deal has been more in the afternoon, and that seems to be the case. He’s got like 13 pounds, and if there’s more on the way he ought to have a good shot at a top 10. Brandon Cobb is culling ounces now – his limit is probably around 11 pounds.
12:33 Surman with a good one
Mike Surman filled his limit a while ago and just culled with a nice 3-pounder. He’s got about 14 pounds now and has jumped up into the very crowded 46-pound range.
12:08 Johnston limits
Chris Johnston surprisingly done pretty badly today. There’s a lot of time left of course, and Chad Warren is proof of how fast it can happen, but the Canadian pro only just filled his limit. He probably has around 11 pounds now, and he’s close to falling out of the top 10.
Jason Meninger has a limit as well, and just culled up past 10 pounds.
11:58 Upshaw, Behrle, Young
Andrew Upshaw has culled twice in short order now. He’s slinging a vibrating jig now and has more than 10 pounds now. Robert Behrle just landed his fourth – it’s not big and really reinforces his dismal day. Andy Young has had a little flurry as well, and he’s got about 14 pounds now too.
11:50 Jocumsen limits in style
Carl Jocumsen just filled out his limit with a 4-pounder. With that, he’s got nearly 15 pounds and seems to have a good shot at making the cut, especially if he can box up one more big one.
11:40 Dudley limits, others
David Dudley finally has his limit for about 11 pounds. Cody Meyer has caught a bunch of small keepers lately and has 12 and change in the boat. Carl Jocumsen is chipping away – he’s got four, but one is a 3-pounder and one is a 4-pounder.
Warren says he wants one more good bite from his starting area, but he’s also still there to protect it. Apparently there are quite a few local boats fishing around as well.
11:27 Voyles and Young add
John Voyles has a good little day going. He just culled out a small one with a 3-pounder and has more than 12 pounds in the boat now. Andy Young just made a good cull as well, and he’s back in the top 10 (unofficially) with more than 11 pounds.
11:22 Monsoor gets a good one
Tom Monsoor just popped a 3-pounder to cull up to perhaps 16 pounds. With that, he’s moved into an unofficial tie with Chad Warren.
11:08 Young limits
Andy Young is flipping flooded trees on the high tide and he’s just filled out his limit. It’s not too big, but one or two more decent fish could keep him in the top 10.
11:00 LeHew limits
Shane “Big Fish” LeHew has a small limit now. He needs to put the pedal down hard these next few hours if he’s going to fish on Sunday.
10:50 Some Warren details
Chad Warren is fishing a popper in the back of a shallow bay. The tide is coming in, and there’s a lot of submerged grass and whatnot, but the water is quite clear. He just landed a big snakehead, but hasn’t caught another bass in a while.
10:35 Dudley is moving, others
With just four in the boat, David Dudley is moving to his juice – he says the tide is right. Andy Young has three now after plucking a small keeper off a laydown. Mike Surman has three in the boat as well, and two of them are pretty good. Carl Jocumsen has had a slow morning – he’s just got two. Michael Neal has about a 12-pound limit.
10:35 Warren strikes
Chad Warren just smoked a 4-pounder. He’s got more than 19 pounds now and has unofficially moved from 13th to first.
10:30 Four for Upshaw
Andrew Upshaw just boxed up a 3-pounder and then a dink to get to four keepers.
10:10 Morgan is culling
Andy Morgan has now assembled a limit for about 11 pounds and just made his first cull. With so many guys absolutely wrecking them this morning it’s a little odd to see last year’s Angler of the Year just plugging along.
9:57 Upshaw and Young update
Andrew Upshaw has had a pretty dismal morning so far. He’s got just two keepers in the boat so far. It’s the same deal for Andy Young, but at least he has a big one.
9:55 Big Mac
Brandon McMillan is throwing a weightless Senko on a stretch of grass he thinks has some bream beds or hard spots mixed in. He says he’s running low on Senkos, just like yesterday, and wants to give a shout-out to his wife and mom.
9:45 Warren
Our estimate on Chad Warren is a little shaky, but he’s for sure having a great day. We think he’s got about 18 pounds, which would put him really close to catching Monsoor. Also fun – he’s catching them all on a popper.
9:40 Warren and Big Mac
Chad Warren is cooking – he’s culled again and now has about 16 pounds in the boat. Brandon “Big Mac” McMillan is pulling off similar heroics – he just boated a 5-pounder and has more than 17 pounds now.
9:20 Warren is surging
Chad Warren has had a pretty good morning and is catching steady. He’s got 13+ now and just caught a pair of nice 3-pounders that really helped him out.
8:50 Three for Behrle, Monsoor notes
Robert Behrle has his third in the box now, it’s not big, but everything helps.
Tom Monsoor has moved off his swim jig mostly, and his better fish today have come on a swimbait. Not a hollow belly, but something solid, perhaps a Yamamoto Swim Senko. He also just culled again, adding another ¼ pound to his total.
8:36 Monsoor with another good one
Tom Monsoor just caught another 3-pounder and is at about 14 pounds now. He’s got almost a 4-pound lead now, though most of his closest competitors haven’t finished limits yet.
8:30 Sprague culls
Jeff Sprague has culled out one of his 2-pounders with a 3-pounder and is sitting close to 14 pounds now.
8:17 McMillan with another big
Brandon McMillan is cooking today. He just landed another solid 3-pounder and is really close to or perhaps past the 15-pound mark.
8:13 Warren limits
Chad Warren just finished his limit and then culled with a nice 3-pounder. He’s got about 11 pounds in the boat.
8:05 Monsoor culls again, Voyles limits
Tom Monsoor has caught a few others that are no help and just made a very small cull. He’s got about 13 pounds total now. John Voyles just finished his limit now as well, but it's probly about 10 or 11 pounds.
7:54 Another for Johnston, others
Chris Johnston has plucked a 2-pounder from some main-river grass with a swim jig for his second. Andrew Upshaw is on the board now with a small keeper as well. Andy Morgan’s first fish is a 2-pounder, and John Voyles has four decent keepers in the boat now.
7:43 Monsoor culls
Tom Monsoor just made another good cull with a solid 3+. If he keeps plugging away he might be on track to extend his lead a little by the end of the day.
Robert Behrle had a slow start, but he’s on the board with two small keepers now.
7:35 Monsoor and Sprague are culling
Tom Monsoor just culled out a dink with a 3-pounder to boost him limit up, and Jeff Sprague has culled up a bit as well.
Brandon McMillan and Michael Neal each have finished off their limits as well. Time to start culling while the tide is still low!
7:30 Three limits
Jeff Sprague, Tom Monsoor and Anthony Gagliardi have all boxed up limits now. Sprague’s is the biggest of the bunch, going about 11 or 12 pounds.
7:20 McMillan, Monsoor
Brandon McMillan has three in the boat now, and they’re all solid. We’ve got him at nearly 9 pounds for just three. Tom Monsoor caught another as well – he’s now one shy of a small limit.
7:10 Monsoor with a change
Tom Monsoor has swapped from his swim jig and is now soaking a fluke or a stickbait. He’s caught two pretty quick on it, and has three keepers in the boat now.
7:08 There are a stupid amount of fish being caught
Jeff Sprague is up to three keepers now – he’s fishing in front of Leesylvania and just landed a nice 3+ that will go a long want. Tom Monsoor has another as well, Anthony Gagliardi has two keepers in the boat (caught on a popper), Chad Warren is on the board and Brandon McMillan has his second.
Good things happen when the tide is low on the Potomac.
7:00 Voyles, Sprague, Dudley, Monsoor
John Voyles and Jeff Sprague are turning into Potomac hammers before our very eyes. Moments ago, they each started the day with a 2-pounder. David Dudley just added a solid 2-pounder as well, and Tom Monsoor broke the ice with a 2-pounder too.
6:55 Meyer and McMillan
Cody Meyer started off with a 2+ and Brandon McMillan just popped a 3.5 to get his day started. If he catches another 20 pounds today he’ll be real scary going into the final day.
6:46 Keepers already
Four pros are already on the board. Starting in Mattawoman, Chris Johnston has boxed a 2+ and David Dudley has one keeper. Andy Young just landed a 3-pounder and Michael Neal has a regular keeper in the box.
6:40 Day three is going to be a dandy
Day three of the FLW Tour presented by Costa Sunglasses on the Potomac River has started with ideal conditions. There was some rain overnight, but today should just be another humid, summertime day on the Potomac. Tom Monsoor has the lead, but the weights behind him are packed as tight as can be – it should be an interesting day on the river. Considering how good the place has been fishing, there’s definitely some comeback potential – heck, Brandon McMillan jumped into the top 20 on day two on the strength of a 20-7 catch and Casey Scanlon weighed 19-7 the same day.
Most of the usual Potomac patterns are working, but the grass bite is definitely dominating. Between Senkos, frogs, flipping and swimming, if it works in grass it’s working this week. So get ready, FLW Live should have a pile of fish catches and the top 20 is studded with stars and folks who can flat catch ‘em.
Conditions
Temperature at takeoff: 71 degrees
Forecast high: 83 degrees
Sky: Cloudy
Precipitation: 60 percent chance of rain, afternoon thunderstorms possible
Wind: S at 8 mph
Tide (at Mattawoman): Low at 7:26 a.m., high at 2:04 p.m., low at 7:43 p.m.
Tournament details
Format: All pros and co-anglers will compete for two days. The co-angler champion will be crowned on day two, and the field will be cut to the top 20 pros on day three and the top 10 pros on day four. The winners will be determined by total cumulative weight.
Takeoff Time: 6:30 a.m. ET
Takeoff Location: Smallwood State Park, 2750 Sweden Point Rd., Marbury, Md., 20658
Weigh-In Time: 3 p.m. ET on days one and two; 4 p.m. ET on days three and four
Weigh-In Location: Smallwood State Park all days
FLW Live: Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. ET to 12:30 p.m. ET