It wasn't the bite everyone expected at the Potomac today, and you can largely blame the wind. A sustained blow of around 20 to 25 mph ruined many stretches and played havoc with the grassbed bite, which resulted in a surprising number of one- and two-fish bags.
Even the top weights
were surprisingly light, with only eight tallies at 16 pounds or better.
Larry Nixon and Vic Vatalaro recorded the best limits today, and share the day-1 lead at the Potomac FLW Tour Open with 20-02. Both are fishing grassbeds, although according to Vatalaro, he's got a lot more company. Nixon had boats around him, but he was relatively shocked there weren't more, and since Nixon's the fourth boat out tomorrow, he expects to get right to his spot.
Vatalaro, on the other hand, has a middle-of-the-field draw once again tomorrow and isn't sure if he'll get on his water. He had several boats circling today.
Mike Iaconelli, who won the 2005 FLW Tour stop here, is 3rd with 17-07, followed by Glenn Browne with 17-04 and Bobby Lane with 17-03.
Lane won two fairly recent EverStarts here, and along with Ike, is one of a trio Bassmaster Elite Series pros inside the Top 10. Takahiro Omori, who's 9th, is the other Elite pro, and he boated the day's big bass (5-10).
The Potomac normally fishes small – the bass, which are now in the post-spawn, gang up in well-known grassbeds that as many as 20 or 30 boats might work at a single time. The wind, which all but made the east side of the river unfishable today, cramped the field even more.
There's less wind in the forecast for tomorrow, which could mean two things. One, the field might be able to fish the east-side grass tomorrow if the water isn't too thrashed. Two, some might be able to make longer runs. The wind stacked up the tide today and created menacing waves, which prohibited runs.
Here's a look at the current Top 10. Total weight is followed by distance from leader in red.
1. Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch, AR -- 5, 20-02
1. Vic Vatalaro -- Kent, OH -- 5, 20-02
3. Michael Iaconelli -- Pittsgrove, NJ -- 5, 17-07 (2-11)
4. Glenn Browne -- Ocala, FL -- 5, 17-04 (2-14)
5. Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, FL -- 5, 17-03 (2-15)
6. Aaron Hastings -- Middletown, MD -- 5, 16-15 (3-03)
7. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 5, 16-01 (4-01)
8. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, VA -- 5, 16-00 (4-02)
9. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 5, 15-14 (4-04)
10. Cory Johnston -- Peterborough, ON -- 5, 15-10 (4-08)
High tide occurred at about 7:00 this morning, and will occur about 45 minutes later tomorrow. So the field fished the very end of the incoming for a brief period this morning after launch, then an outgoing most of the rest of the day (although the outgoing was complicated by the wind).
Nixon Camped
> Day 1: 5, 20-02
Nixon's notched several Top 10s at the Potomac, dating back over decades, and said he's "always liked the place," but he comes to each event with the foreknowledge that he'll be fishing in a crowd.
"There's no hidden places here, and it's pretty much the same thing this week. But I did have a good area today that didn't have a lot of boat traffic, and I was able to put together a really good sack of fish. The wind was horrible though. I was fortunate that it wasn't busting me. It was blowing real hard where I was at – it was coming in on me – but it didn't muddy everything up.
Vic Vatalaro fished and protected a single 100-foot stretch inside a community grassbed.
"I was able to fish the way I wanted to. I had to put the Power-Poles down a lot to slow me down, and stop me occasionally. But I was able to fish and my water stayed good."
He outright avoided several places he might have fished because he knew they'd be muddy, and he noted that there may have been some severe thunderstorms yesterday that affected other areas. As he drove the river, he saw areas of mud that weren't necessarily wind-generated.
Vatalaro Camped Too
> Day 1: 5, 20-02
Vatalaro, like Nixon, camped in a community grassbed. Vatalaro, however, had a lot more company and had to play some defense throughout the day to protect his 100-foot area.
"Man, it feels great (to be leading)," Vatalaro said. "I didn't think 20 pounds would be in 1st, and I didn't even think I had 20 pounds. I thought I might be in the Top 10, so to be tied for the lead, I feel pretty good.
"I'm fishing an area that has a lot of boats – a gigantic weedbed with boats up and down it. I hunkered down and stayed in one 100-yard stretch, never moved, and veered people off it. I caught every fish on that one little area. It kind of reminds me of fishing a point, where you get schooling fish, or a ledge at Kentucky Lake that's loaded with fish. You catch them and catch them, then it slows down, then all of a sudden you catch three or five more, then it slows down again. I hope I have enough there to make it for 4 days."
He noted he saw Iaconelli in the same grassbed, and there was a boat that tried to get on his spot a little too often. So with his middle boat draw tomorrow, he's not sure what he'll find when he gets there.
He did note that his Power-Poles were a big key. He sunk them and kept quiet, whereas a lot of other boats were covering water, running their trolling motors and perhaps spooking fish.
"This grassbed is gigantic," he added. "It's a mile-long stretch of weeds, and being boat 83 today, I thought there'd be no way I'd get that spot. I pulled up and for 200 yards one way there were boats, and the same thing for 200 yards the other way. But there were none where I wanted to fish. I was amazed. I got lucky."
Mike Iaconelli said the crazy wind today created a 'blowout tide' and that wasn't a good thing.
3rd: Ike Says 'No Pressure'
> Day 1: 5, 17-07
Iaconelli grew up a tidal fisherman, and still loves it. He said he didn't fish his winning 2005 spot today, but did check it in practice. Instead, he fished the same community grassbed as Vatalaro, plus some other stuff, and said a few key details helped him produce bigger bites.
Also notable for Ike is he feels no pressure, and he's fishing loose and having fun.
"There's no pressure to do well with points. I don't have to worry about making the championship, because I missed Okeechobee. I'm just out there fishing. A lot of guys are in a different situation – points, consistency, making the championship – but that's not me. And I love tidal water. This is just like the Delaware, but with grass, and that's where I grew up fishing. It's a good feeling, and this is definitely a good start for me."
Just like Nixon, Ike said there are "no secrets" here and no "magic areas." It all comes down to grinding it out in the community holes and finding a way to separate your presentation from the others.
However, Ike is running somewhat of a one-two punch, and it's a standard formula he always uses in tidal water.
"When the water's high, I'm running isolated hard targets. When the water's a little lower, that's when I fish the grass. That helped me make the Top 10 (in 2005) and it's not a strategy that's specific to the Potomac. I've been doing that since my Federation days on the Delaware.
"But I'll tell you, the challenge today was the wind. It shifted around 10:30 and created a blowout tide, and that's not good. Any extreme in the tide – whether a blow-in or blowout – the fish position different and kind of freak out. It's like pulling the plug in a bathtub. I'm going with the same plan tomorrow, but I'll keep my fingers crossed there'll be a little less wind out there."
4th: Browne Camped Too
> Day 1: 5, 17-04
Browne, a Florida pro, is one of the better grass fishermen in the field, and it's not a surprise at all to see him near the top. He referenced how similar the conditions are to Okeechobee: He got into heavily trafficked grassbeds, bunkered down and caught them.
"I'm pretty happy with it," he said. "It was really, really windy and really hard to fish shallow. I am a little surprised though. I figured I had about 15 pounds, so I'm pretty tickled to have 17.
"I've got one area and I just happened to get lucky and the wind didn't affect the area too much, so I could get in there and fish," he added. "I had quite a bit of help in there, but hopefully they'll go find some other places tomorrow with the wind laying down a little bit."
He estimated he caught 35 keepers above the 15-inch minimum length that's in effect through mid-June. His day started with a couple of good bites, he had a limit by 8:30 and then got "a bite or two here and there" the rest of the day.
"It's a pretty big area, and there's several grassbeds in the area," he noted. "Bobby Lane's not far away, and I room with Chad Morgenthaler (15th) and we fished the same area. So I'm sure it's going to get tougher. But I've got some other stuff I can scramble around to. Tomorrow I think I'll go there again, put the trolling motor down and leave it down all day like today."
5th: Lane Fished East A Little
> Day 1: 5, 17-04
Lane's in the hunt to possibly record his third Potomac win in about 4 years.
"I like it," the Florida pro said. "I love the Potomac, and I'm very fine with 17 pounds. There was a lot of wind, and although a limit wasn't tremendously hard, it didn't really go as planned. I thought the guys would catch them better, but it wasn't easy. We had a northwest wind, so everything on the east side got absolutely trashed. I fished a little on the east side today, and that's where I actually caught my biggest one. But you burn your trolling motor and it wasn't easy to fish there.
"The problem is, if the wind does lay down, I don't know if those east-side areas will clear up. It was real clear there, and now it's dirty. But I like the way this place is fishing, and like I said, I'm content with 17."
His best fish was a 4 1/2, and the rest were "nice chunks" at 3 1/2 or better.
About tomorrow, he said: "I'll start on the west side, but I'll be on the easy side in the afternoon. It'll depend on the wind though."
Notable
> Day 1 stats – 154 pros, 103 limits, 16 fours, 14 threes, 13 twos, 6 ones, 2 zeroes.
> Luke Clausen's best five were his only five today. He weighed 15-03 and sits in 17th. "I anticipated catching a lot more than five keepers," he told BassFan. "It was just really difficult to fish in that wind, and it dirtied up the water. I was fishing on the west side, but the wind was dirtying it up pretty bad. You didn't need to get far from the bank for it to get pretty dirty. Hopefully some stuff clears up. With less wind, the weights should be better. I was real surprised to see only two 20-pound bags."
> Brett Hite is in 18th, 2 ounces behind Clausen. Hite said: "I'm pretty excited. I kind of struggled the first couple of days of practice, but the last half of the last practice day, I found this wad of fish. I'm running a little pattern and there's a lot of fish in the area. But I'm kind of doing something a little different than the way everyone else is fishing."
Weather Forecast
> Fri., June 3 - Partly Cloudy - 79°/56°
- Wind: From the N/NW at 9 mph
> Sat., June 4 - Mostly Sunny - 82°/65°
- Wind: From the SE at 5 mph
> Sun., June 5 - Isolated T-Storms - 85°/65°
- Wind: From the N/NE at 6 mph
Day 1 Standings
1. Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch, Ar -- 5, 20-02
1. Vic Vatalaro -- Kent, Oh -- 5, 20-02
3. Michael Iaconelli -- Pittsgrove, Nj -- 5, 17-07
4. Glenn Browne -- Ocala, Fl -- 5, 17-04
5. Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, Fl -- 5, 17-03
6. Aaron Hastings -- Middletown, Md -- 5, 16-15
7. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, Az -- 5, 16-01
8. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va -- 5, 16-00
9. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, Tx -- 5, 15-14
10. Cory Johnston -- Peterborough, On -- 5, 15-10
11. John Mcgoey -- Omemee, On -- 5, 15-09
11. Derek Remitz -- Grant, Al -- 5, 15-09
13. Kyle Mabrey -- Mccalla, Al -- 5, 15-07
13. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, Md -- 5, 15-07
15. Chad Morgenthaler -- Coulterville, Il -- 5, 15-05
16. Allan Engelmeyer -- Severn, Md -- 5, 15-04
17. Luke Clausen -- Otis Orchards, Wa -- 5, 15-03
18. Brett Hite -- Phoenix, Az -- 5, 15-01
19. David Fritts -- Lexington, Nc -- 5, 14-11
19. Matt Greenblatt -- Port St Lucie, Fl -- 5, 14-11
19. Thanh Le -- Lake Havasu City, Az -- 5, 14-11
22. Nate Wellman -- Jenison, Mi -- 5, 14-08
23. Brent Ehrler -- Redlands, Ca -- 5, 14-05
23. William Kramer -- Gaithersburg, Md -- 5, 14-05
23. Rodney Mosley -- Woodbridge, Va -- 5, 14-05
26. Ron Shuffield -- Bismarck, Ar -- 5, 14-03
27. Shad Schenck -- Waynetown, In -- 5, 14-02
28. Jt Kenney -- Palm Bay, Fl -- 5, 14-00
28. Pete Thliveros -- Saint Augustine, Fl -- 5, 14-00
28. Bryan Thrift -- Shelby, Nc -- 5, 14-00
31. Jason Cordiale -- Orinda, Ca -- 5, 13-15
32. Billy Micciulla -- Staten Island, Ny -- 5, 13-14
33. Lance Vick -- Mineola, Tx -- 5, 13-10
34. Craig Dowling -- Grant, Al -- 5, 13-09
35. Shinichi Fukae -- Palestine, Tx -- 5, 13-07
35. Dave Lefebre -- Union City, Pa -- 5, 13-07
35. Joseph Thompson -- Ridley Park, Pa -- 5, 13-07
38. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, Ar -- 5, 13-06
39. Fred Roumbanis -- Bixby, Ok -- 5, 13-04
40. Ishama Monroe -- Hughson, Ca -- 5, 13-03
41. Christopher Brasher -- Spring, Tx -- 5, 13-00
41. Bill Mcdonald -- Greenwood, In -- 5, 13-00
43. Greg Bohannan -- Rogers, Ar -- 5, 12-15
44. Wesley Strader -- Spring City, Tn -- 5, 12-14
44. Gregory Wilder -- Brooklyn Park, Md -- 5, 12-14
46. Andy Morgan -- Dayton, Tn -- 5, 12-13
47. Scott Suggs -- Bryant, Ar -- 5, 12-12
48. Chris Johnston -- Peterborough, On -- 5, 12-10
49. Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, Al -- 5, 12-09
50. Teddy Bradley -- Mishawaka, In -- 5, 12-08
50. Art Ferguson Iii -- St. Clair Shores, Mi -- 5, 12-08
50. Robert Pearson -- Herndon, Va -- 5, 12-08
53. Troy Morrow -- Toccoa, Ga -- 5, 12-07
54. Matt Herren -- Trussville, Al -- 5, 12-06
55. Leon Knight -- Guntersville, Al -- 5, 12-03
55. Jack Wade -- Knoxville, Tn -- 5, 12-03
57. James Donegan -- Leesburg, Va -- 4, 12-02
57. Darrel Robertson -- Jay, Ok -- 5, 12-02
59. Rob Johnson -- Schuylkill Haven, Pa -- 5, 12-00
59. Michael Murphy -- Gilbert, Sc -- 5, 12-00
61. George Cochran -- Hot Springs, Ar -- 5, 11-15
62. Scott Dobson -- Clarkston, Mi -- 5, 11-13
62. Blake Nick -- Adger, Al -- 5, 11-13
64. Richard Lowitzki -- St Charles, Il -- 5, 11-12
65. Ricky Windsor -- Huntingtown, Md -- 5, 11-11
66. Omari Navies -- Fort Washington, Md -- 5, 11-10
66. Jeremy York -- Loganville, Ga -- 5, 11-10
68. Chris Baumgardner -- Gastonia, Nc -- 5, 11-09
68. Bill Chapman -- Salt Rock, Wv -- 5, 11-09
68. Bill Day -- Frankfort, Ky -- 5, 11-09
68. Keith Monson -- Burgin, Ky -- 5, 11-09
68. Leo Reiter -- Goshen, In -- 5, 11-09
68. Mike Surman -- Boca Raton, Fl -- 5, 11-09
74. Randall Tharp -- Gardendale, Al -- 5, 11-08
75. Brandon Coulter -- Knoxville, Tn -- 5, 11-07
75. Ray Scheide -- Dover, Ar -- 5, 11-07
75. Michael Williamson -- Fort Smith, Ar -- 5, 11-07
78. Micah Frazier -- Newnan, Ga -- 5, 11-06
79. Sandy Melvin -- Boca Grande, Fl -- 5, 11-05
79. Jim Tutt -- Longview, Tx -- 5, 11-05
79. Barton Wines -- Marshall, Va -- 5, 11-05
82. Fred Martin -- North Little Rock, Ar -- 5, 11-04
82. Jay Yelas -- Corvallis, Or -- 5, 11-04
84. Mike Hicks -- Goochland, Va -- 5, 11-02
85. Derek Yamamoto -- Boulder City, Nv -- 5, 11-01
86. Keith Combs -- Huntington, Tx -- 5, 11-00
86. Brian Travis -- Conover, Nc -- 5, 11-00
88. Kevin Hawk -- Guntersville, Al -- 5, 10-13
88. Michael Mcghee -- Blackstone, Va -- 5, 10-13
88. John Voyles -- Petersburg, In -- 5, 10-13
91. Jacob Powroznik -- Prince George, Va -- 5, 10-12
91. Derek Yasinski -- Senoia, Ga -- 4, 10-12
93. Scott Canterbury -- Springville, Al -- 5, 10-11
93. Donald Haskins Jr -- Baltimore, Md -- 5, 10-11
93. George Lambeth -- Thomasville, Nc -- 5, 10-11
93. Jonathan Newton -- Rogersville, Al -- 5, 10-11
97. Ron Wolfarth -- Oakboro, Nc -- 5, 10-08
98. Nick Larson -- Ball Ground, Ga -- 5, 10-05
99. Jay Keith -- Camden, Sc -- 5, 10-04
99. Daniel Welch -- New Martinsville, Wv -- 5, 10-04
101. Tim Mcdonald -- Prestonsburg, Ky -- 5, 10-02
102. Ernie Freeman -- Lothian, Md -- 3, 10-01
103. Tom Belinda -- Holidaysburg, Pa -- 5, 9-15
104. Gary Yamamoto -- Palestine, Tx -- 5, 9-13
105. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, Al -- 4, 9-12
106. Rusty Salewske -- Alpine, Ca -- 4, 9-11
107. Charlie Ingram -- Santa Fe, Tn -- 4, 9-10
108. Harry Moore -- Valley, Al -- 3, 9-08
109. Trevor Fitzgerald -- Belleview, Fl -- 5, 9-07
109. Ken Golub -- Pittsford, Ny -- 5, 9-07
111. Payden Hibdon -- Stover, Mo -- 4, 9-05
112. Randy Blaukat -- Joplin, Mo -- 4, 9-02
113. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, Al -- 2, 8-13
114. Glenn Chappelear -- Acworth, Ga -- 4, 8-12
115. Chad Grigsby -- Maple Grove, Mn -- 3, 8-11
116. John Cox -- Debary, Fl -- 4, 8-09
117. Dion Hibdon -- Stover, Mo -- 4, 8-08
118. Bo Cross -- Knoxville, Tn -- 4, 8-02
119. Jt Palmore -- Blackstone, Va -- 2, 8-00
120. Jake Morris -- Mc Kee, Ky -- 4, 7-12
121. John Shumate -- Finksburg, Md -- 4, 7-08
122. Anthony Clark -- Hyattsville, Md -- 4, 7-07
122. Anthony Gagliardi -- Prosperity, Sc -- 4, 7-07
124. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, Ok -- 3, 7-06
124. Thomas Wooten -- Huddleston, Va -- 3, 7-06
126. Bob Izumi -- Milton, On -- 3, 7-02
127. Lewis Denney -- Indian Mound, Tn -- 3, 6-15
128. J Todd Tucker -- Moultrie, Ga -- 3, 6-14
129. Gerald Brown -- Chickasha, Ok -- 2, 6-12
130. Darrell Davis -- Dover, Fl -- 3, 6-10
131. Chris Dillow -- Waynesboro, Va -- 3, 6-06
131. Steve Miller -- Mechanicsville, Va -- 3, 6-06
133. Kenneth (Boo) Woods -- Hazard, Ky -- 3, 6-05
134. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, Fl -- 3, 6-04
134. Mark Rose -- Marion, Ar -- 4, 6-04
136. Jim Moynagh -- Carver, Mn -- 2, 6-00
137. Koby Kreiger -- Okeechobee, Fl -- 2, 5-14
138. Peter Yanni -- Gaithersburg, Md -- 3, 5-12
139. Pete Gluszek -- Mt. Laurel, Nj -- 2, 5-08
140. Ron Brown -- Mount Pleasant, Sc -- 2, 4-15
141. David Borodziuk -- Audubon, Nj -- 2, 4-06
141. Ed Casey -- Whiteford, Md -- 1, 4-06
143. Patrick Farrall -- Ellicott City, Md -- 1, 4-05
143. Chad Pipkens -- Holt, Mi -- 2, 4-05
145. Daryl Biron -- South Windsor, Ct -- 2, 4-03
145. Mike Torrissi Jr -- Hammonton, Nj -- 2, 4-03
147. Paul Anthony -- Dawson, Ga -- 2, 4-02
148. Jamie Ferdarko -- Dubois, Pa -- 2, 3-07
149. David Barker -- Emmitsburg, Md -- 1, 2-06
150. Glenn Delong Ii -- Lexington, Oh -- 1, 2-03
151. Tom Spangler -- Corryton, Tn -- 1, 1-13
152. Harold Marietta -- Hunker, Pa -- 1, 1-11
James Charlesworth -- Gainesville, Va -- 0, 0-00
Pat Golden -- High Point, Nc -- 0, 0-00
Big Bass
> Day 1 -- Takahiro Omori -- Emory, Tx -- 5-10 -- $500
