It's not as hot on the East Coast as it was last week. That's about the extent of the good news coming from anglers following practice for the Potomac River Bassmaster Elite Series.
Some reported that they caught quite a few keepers over the past 3 days, but the vast majority of those fish weighed less than 2 pounds. Others went long periods without a bite in the lukewarm tidal water near the nation's capital.
Consider Missouri's Chad Brauer, who's in his 12th year as a tour pro. On Tuesday, he fished for 14 hours and never got bit – the first time he's ever gone an entire practice day without so much as a nibble.
"This is about my seventh or eighth trip here, and this is the toughest I've seen it," he said. "Usually it's not a problem catching fish. Fortunately I did a little bit better (Wednesday)."
The recent hot spell pushed water temperatures over 90 degrees in many places, and they're still in the mid to high 80s. The grass is more abundant than in recent years, and the fish are widely scattered. And even when they're located, it's difficult to entice them to bite.
As always, somebody will figure something out. But if action doesn't pick up quickly, it's likely that competitors will be able to parlay a couple of 9-pound bags into a $10,000 check.
New Jersey's Mike Iaconelli, the Angler of the Year (AOY) leader, has a strong history here. He's struggled in the last two Elite Series events, so that past success gives him confidence as he attempts to solidify his hold on the top slot in the next-to-last event of the season.
Other anglers farther down in the standings will jockey to get into – or maintain – positions among the Top 36. That's the cutoff for entry into the 2007 Bassmaster Classic.
Before getting into more information about the bite, here's more 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: 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 and some clouds in the forecast.
> Water temp: Mid to upper 80s
> Water visibility/color: Everything from muddy to crystal-clear, depending on location.
> Water level: Normal
> Fish in: 0-5 feet
> Fish phase: Summer
> Primary patterns: Spinnerbaits, topwaters (morning), flipping and pitching plastics and jigs in the grass, jigging the ledges and rocks
> Winning weight: 55 pounds (4 days)
> Check weight: 18 pounds (Top 50 after 2 days)
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 2 for the Potomac
> Biggest factors: The tide and the crowds
> Wildcard: Someone fishing a non-grass pattern in a remote area
Grass Gone Wild
Iaconelli won the FLW Tour event here less than 14 months ago, but conditions are entirely different now. For one thing, those fish were divided between the post-spawn and early-summer phases, whereas these are locked into the summer pattern. For another, there's a lot more grass to be sorted through this time.
"The main thing here is finding concentrations of fish, and it's so hard to do right now because of the amount of vegetation," he said. "The grass is just everywhere.
"It was a lot easier in the past when there wasn't as much of it. Now you just have to work harder to catch the same fish."
His lead in the AOY race shrank at the last event at Champlain, where he had his worst finish of the year (66th). For this event, his confidence is buoyed not so much by last year's win, but rather his long history on the venue.
"Because I've had some success here over the years, it helps," he said. "If I'm catching them a certain way, I know where to go to find the same conditions."
The AOY chase is on his mind, but he said it won't affect his decisions this week.
"I've practiced the same way I have for all the other tournaments, and I'm just going to focus on the patterns and baits and keep letting the fish tell me what to do. I'm going to go fish hard and if it's meant to happen, it'll happen. If not, I'll try again next year."
Rick Morris has a lot of experience and a lot of high finishes on the Potomac.
Tide not on Their Side
The daily ebb and flow of the tide plays a huge role in fish location and mood at the Potomac. A few areas are good when the tide is coming in, but the vast majority are more productive when it's headed out.
"The outgoing tide draws the fish out of the grass, and they're easier to pinpoint," said Virginia's Rick Morris, who's fished about a dozen tournaments here. "A lot of the fish that are offshore move up to feed at that time, and the ones that are way back in the lily pads and the grass come out to the edges where you can fish for them.
"Unfortunately, we'll never be on a dead-low."
Anglers depending on the tide better hope they catch strong bags on day 1. They'll get an hour less of outgoing on each subsequent day.
"The tide will be okay on the first day, but after that it just gets worse," said John Crews, another Virginian. "We get more and more incoming as the tournament goes on."
Not Much Elbow Room
The Potomac usually fishes relatively small because most of the field keys on the same areas (grassbeds, creeks, etc.) and the fluctuations of the tide take certain areas out of play at particular times.
There's more grass this time, but Morris said not all of it will be productive.
"A lot of the grass is has poor oxygen quality around it," he said. "There's also an algae bloom going on, and that's hurting the oxygen quality. All of that just combines to make the fish very difficult to locate.
"Everybody'll be running the creeks and the grass, and it's going to fish very small – smaller than ever. And the Stren guys are coming in right on top of us (the Potomac Northeastern Stren begins next week – Ed.), and they're already practicing. That's just going to add to the frustration.
"It's crazy – I don't know what else to say. But I like it tough, and I'm pretty confident that I'm going to get a check."
Aaron Martens said there are some good-sized fish to be caught – he just has to figure out how to catch them.
Big 'Uns Hard to Fool
Aaron Martens is one of those who's catching plenty of keepers, but quality is another story.
"There's no size to them," he said. "The bigger ones are really spooky, and I think it's a combination of the summer pattern, the moon phase and all the pressure they get.
"I can't figure out the 3- and 4-pounders. I know they're there, but I haven't caught one over 3 yet."
He fished in a benefit tournament here in late June and said he and his nephew were catching 100 fish a day and "a lot of them were 2 1/2 to 5 pounds, and we got two or three over 6. They're still there – I can see them in the grass – but they're real timid and spooky."
Crews said that's typical for August on the Potomac.
"There'll be a bunch of fish caught, but the size won't be what it was at the June (2005) FLW," he said. "Fishing gets tougher in general, and usually only the smaller ones bite. When the water gets this hot, the bigger ones go into a little bit of a funk.
"The fish are there, but everybody fishes right past them – myself included."
Top 10 to Watch
Here, in no particular order, are BassFan's recommendations for the Top 10 to watch in this event.
1) Kevin VanDam – The No. 1 angler in the BassFan World Rankings has made four straight Top 10s, and three of those were Top 3s. He's finished among the Top 10 in 64% of the tournaments he's fished this year and he has a win here to his credit (the 1997 Maryland Top 100). Leaving him off this list would be beyond foolish.
2) Denny Brauer – He was a Top 10 regular when the tour stopped here annually in the 1990s and he won the '98 Maryland Top 150. He also has momentum after his win at Champlain and an 11th-place showing at the American Major. He's having a strong year that's getting better as it goes along.
3) Aaron Martens – When fish are around but hard to catch, he's as good as anybody. His practice wasn't great, but he says he's got some good fish pinpointed. He'll eventually discover a way to catch a few of them.
4) Rick Morris – He lives in nearby Lanexa, Va., and was another guy who could always be found near the top here in the '90s. He's struggled this year (93rd in the points), but could salvage something with a good outing.
5) Dean Rojas – There may be a short time window in the morning when the bigger fish will take topwater offerings, and Rojas is just the angler to capitalize on such an opportunity. Also, he has to finish high to keep his AOY hopes alive.
6) Mike Iaconelli – He badly wants to win the AOY, and this event offers a chance to take a big step in that direction. His record here is very good and he's confident that he can adapt to whatever the conditions present.
7) John Crews – He's fished tournaments here since he was a teenager and is well-versed in the nuances of the tide and its effect on fish location. If anybody finds something off the beaten path, it might very well be him.
8) Greg Hackney – This was where he sewed up the FLW Tour AOY with a Top 5 last year. He's no longer in the Elite Series AOY picture, but is overdue for a strong finish in a full-field event.
9) Brent Chapman – He's been steadily climbing in the AOY standings for more than two months and needs to gain one more spot to get inside the Bassmaster Classic cutoff. That should be enough incentive to continue his good run.
10) Tim Horton – Another guy who can boast of a win here ('99 Maryland Top 15). He has four Top 10s this year, but nothing higher than 8th. A tough shallow-water event might be just what he needs to improve upon that.
Notable
> Crews said that with all the grass removing sediment from the water, there are areas where the bottom is entirely visible at depths of 5 or 6 feet.
> Morris said his experience on the Potomac amounts to "several hundred days. Some have been good and some have been bad, but this is the toughest I've ever seen it."
> John Murray's practice was "hit and miss," whereas fellow BassFan Big Stick Jarrett Edwards' was a struggle. To read their reports, click here.
Launch/Weigh-In Info
Anglers will launch at 6 a.m. EST each day at Sweden Point Marina in Smallwood State Park (2750 Sweden Point Road, Marbury, Md.) Weigh-ins will be held at 3 p.m. at the same location.
Weather Forecast
Here's the Weather Channel's forecast for the tournament days.
> Thur, Aug. 10 – P.M. T-Storms – 86°/69°
- Wind: From the S/SW at 6 mph
> Fri, Aug. 11 – Partly Cloudy – 84°/61°
- Wind: From the N at 9 mph
> Sat, Aug. 12 – A.M. Clouds, P.M. Sun – 82°/61°
- Wind: From the E/NE at 5 mph
> Sun, Aug. 13 – Sunny – 88°/68°
- Wind: From the S/SW at 4 mph
