The 200-boat field at the Chevy Open (Potomac FLW) has been at it for a few weeks now, and most anglers report a similar story. The good spots are beat up and covered up, but decent fish are still there.
Many compared the Potomac right now to the Okeechobee Monkey Box this past January. The river's grassbeds are community holes with anywhere from 15 to 30 boats on each one. And four or five big local tournaments this past weekend pounded the same grassbeds.
All of which means the river is fishing very tight right now, and anglers who can do something a little different, then replicate it for 2 days, will have a distinct advantage over others who simply rotate along with the other boats in hopes of a big bite.
Before getting into more detail, here's some information on the river itself.
BassFan Lake Profile
> Lake Name: Potomac River
> Type of Water: Tidal river
> Surface Acres: Unavailable
> Primary structure/cover: Grassbeds (milfoil), wood (docks, barges, laydowns), shellbeds, ledges, rockpiles
> Primary forage: Name it and it's in here – various crawfish species, carp, yellow perch, minnows, shiners, herring, shad, bullhead
> Average depth: Less than 5 feet
> Species: Largemouths and some smallmouths in the upper reaches
> Length limit: 12 inches
> Reputation: Lots of numbers, but heavily fished
> Weather: Nice with temperatures in the 80s, but wind and possible showers the forecast for tomorrow (Wed.), then clearing
> Water temp: Low-80s
> Water visibility/color: Muddy to stained – 8 inches to a foot
> Water level: Normal
> Fish in: All depths
> Fish phase: post-spawn, some into their summer patterns
> Primary patterns: Spinnerbaits, topwaters (morning), shallow cranking the shellbeds and wood, flipping and pitching plastics and jigs in the grass, jigging the ledges and rocks
> Winning weight: 32 pounds (final 2 days)
> Cut weight: 28 to 30 pounds
> Check weight: 20 to 21 pounds for 50th place ($10,000)
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 3 for the Potomac
> Biggest factors: The tide and the crowds
> Wildcard: Someone fishing a non-grass pattern in a remote area
River Setup
The predominant pattern right now is definitely grass. The Potomac is a shallow river, and milfoil beds can be found up and down the river.
It's a tidal fishery and yes, the swings aren't as intense as the James River, but they're still important and the fish here like moving water. The general consensus is the grass-fish are the least affected by the tides – meaning they'll bite better during the off-tides – so that's where most of the field will focus.
Senkos and other plastics will probably dominate the grass bite, but crankers can get on some shallow wood and shellbeds, and spinnerbaits are almost always good here. There's rumors of ledge-fish too.
Gagliardi Sees Pressure
Anthony Gagliardi's 2nd in the FLW Tour points – 2 points behind Angler of the Year (AOY) leader J.T. Kenney. Gagliardi said he doesn't feel any AOY pressure, but he's seen a different kind of pressure, and he doesn't like it.
"I think the pressure's the big thing here. There were several big local tournaments this past weekend, and we've been here at least a week practicing. It's starting to take its toll. The river fishes pretty small to begin with, and there's been a lot of boats out there pounding on them."
He compared this tournament to the Okeechobee opener in Florida, when most of the field got jammed up in the Monkey Box. "You have to fight a lot of boats out there. It's real similar to Okeechobee. It's not as dramatic as the Monkey Box, but there are some similarities.
"If you make the cut, though, I think the grass will be pretty strong with only 10 boats out there."
He noted it's his first time on the river. "It's my first time here. I like it. And this is only my second time on a tidal water. But you don't have to be as concerned with the tide as we did at the James River in the FLW (Tour) Championship.
"That's what I like about it the most. You don't have to get your tide chart out. You can pretty much fish like you would do at any lake."
He also noted he'd rather be 2nd in the points right now than 1st. "I'd love for it (AOY) to happen. Regardless, I'm pleased with this year. It's easier coming into this tournament knowing you have to beat (Kenney) on his home lake. I put more pressure on him than myself."
> He thinks a 3-pound average (30 pounds) will make the cut.
Greg Hackney wants to find somewhere he can fish alone, but has resigned himself to fishing with the masses.
Hackney Wants Alone Time
Greg Hackney, who's 3rd in the Tour points and No. 1 in the State Farm-BassFan World Rankings, loves rivers, but doesn't love a crowd.
"I've got really mixed emotions," he said. "I think it's really a fine fishery, but I think it gets beat up way too bad. I had in my mind that this was a great big place to fish. But it'll probably fish as small as any place we've been – or smaller.
"It reminds me of Okeechobee, with everybody ganged up together."
His quest to avoid the crowd cost him some key practice time. "I really shot a couple days of practice trying to hunt a place. It's eaten up my time, and I eventually had to get out there and fish with everybody else.
"It's funny, this place has to be an unreal fishery. You can watch 200 boats go down a bank, but you can still go over there and get a bite. There's just tons of fish in it."
And history confirms that belief. "I pulled up some history in local magazines from March until now," he said. "It takes 17 to 21 pounds to win every tournament they have here. That's 1-day weight."
And like Gagliardi, the AOY title isn't his main focus right now. "You always feel some (AOY) pressure, but the way things have been going for me this week, I really haven't been thinking too much about it. My goal is to just go out and fish a good tournament.
"I had as worse a practice as I've had all year. But I'm confident I can catch them. The area I'll start in – I don't know what'll be there, or how bad the crowd will be."
Nixon Notes Dirty Water
Larry Nixon is one of the few in the field with strong Potomac experience. "It's fishing pretty small," he said. "And we've had so much wind, it's dirtied up a lot of the water. The wind finally switched directions, and it's getting to the point where it's clearing back up. I think it'll be a pretty good tournament."
Like Hackney, he's kept an eye on recent local tournaments. "It's still absolutely a good river. One reason I say that, is it had four or five tournaments on Saturday, and it took 18 to 20 pounds to win all of them. There were a lot of fish caught."
He also noted another bite that could develop alongside the grass bite. "I think there's a lot of ledge fish going on too – drops, rockpiles and different things.
"I haven't won on the Potomac. I've had three or four Top 10s, but I've never fished it in May or June, and not with 200 boats. That's kind of a new deal for me."
> On the cut weight: "I think it'll take about 30 pounds to make the Top 10, but I don't know what after that. Right now, I'm more interested in having a good tournament and making the Championship."
Launch/Weigh-In Info
Anglers take off each morning from Smallwood State Park in Marbury at 6:30 a.m.
The Wednesday and Thursday weigh-ins will also be held at the park beginning at 3 p.m. The Friday and Saturday weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 40 Drury Drive in LaPlata beginning at 5 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
The community is invited to attend the free Family Fun Zone Friday and Saturday outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The Family Fun Zone, which opens at 3 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday, features interactive displays, product samples and games for the family.
Monte Burke, author of Sowbelly: The Obsessive Quest for the World Record Largemouth Bass, will also be in the Fun Zone to autograph copies of his new book.
Weather Forecast
Here's the Weather Channel's forecast for the tournament days. A weather system is expected to move through on day 1, with significant wind.
Wed., June 22 - Scattered T-Storms/Wind - 85°/58°
> Wind: From the NW at 17 mph
Thurs., June 23 - Sunny - 81°/57°
> Wind: From the E/NE at 7 mph
Fri., June 17 - Mostly Sunny - 85°/59°
> Wind: From the S/SE at 8 mph
Sat., June 18 - Mostly Sunny - 87°/66°
> Wind: From the South at 7 mph
Notable
> David Dudley knows the Potomac well. "I think it's fishing good," he said. "I think 29 pound will be the cut. I think 22 pounds to make the Top 50. There's a lot of good quality fish out there."
> The FLW Tour has never visited the Potomac, but numerous Bassmaster events have taken place here.
> Since this event is an FLW Open, 1st place pays $200,000.
> Some pros who don't make the cut will stick around. They'll fish with 40 servicemen and women who were wounded in the line of duty and are recovering at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center.
