Anglers employed several different strategies last week at the Potomac FLW Tour Open in Maryland. Winner Luke Clausen worked the back of a creek, where he targeted pre-spawn and spawning fish in emergent coontail.

Fourth-place finisher Bryan Schmitt, who won the 2010 Potomac EverStart,

fished right next to Clausen all 4 days. Bobby Lane, who finished 3rd, focused on milfoil.

Here are more details about how Lane and Schmitt caught their fish.

3rd: Bobby Lane

> Day 1: 5, 17-03
> Day 2: 5, 18-08
> Day 3: 5, 14-06
> Day 4: 5, 15-04
> Total = 20, 65-05

"All I did was flip milfoil all week," Lane said of his pattern. "I weighed I think one fish on a frog, but I basically flipped a (Berkley HAVOC) Craw Fatty and Pit Boss all week long."

He noted that he did fish some coontail in practice, but didn't find any congregations or size there. He chose milfoil because he's used to fishing it and it's "the main grass here."

The morning high tide came an hour later each day, and his best tide was the second hour of the outgoing. "That's when I caught almost all my big fish," he said. "They were right in the center of the mats. In the middle of the tide, the grass would get up to about 4 feet in the middle, and by the end of the tide it would be 1.8 (feet). I was catching them at about 2.9."

> Flipping gear: 7'6" All Star flipping stick, Abu Garcia Revo SX casting reel (7:1), 65-pound Spiderwire UltraCast braid, 5/0 Mustad flipping hook, 1 1/4- and 1 1/2-ounce weights, Berkley HAVOC Craw Fatty and Berkley HAVOC Pit Boss.

> The Craw Fatty is a bait that Lane designed.

> Frog gear: 7'1" heavy-action All Star rod, Abu Garcia Revo MGX casting reel (7.9:1), 50-pound Spiderwire UltraCast braid, Spro Broneye frog65 (leopard).

> The Revo MGX is not yet available to the public.

  • Main factor in his success – "The Potomac River. It is what it is. When I rolled the boat off the first day of practice and saw the grass matted up on high tide, I knew it was probably going to be a fun week."

  • Performance edge – "My Power-Poles were huge, because the wind blew the first 2 days and I'd never have been able to catch some of the fish and position myself perfectly on the mats without my Power-Poles. Also, I had a very long run every day and my brand-new Yamaha 250 SHO and Skeeter FX20 were amazing. And my Minn Kota 101 Fortrex plowed through the grass every single day."

    4th: Bryan Schmitt

    > Day 1: 5, 15-07
    > Day 2: 5, 13-02
    > Day 3: 5, 19-00
    > Day 4: 5, 17-03
    > Total = 20, 64-12

    As mentioned above, Schmitt fished next to Clausen all 4 days, although Schmitt was a little further out in the creek.

    "I was fishing the outer stretch of the same strip Luke was fishing," Schmitt said. "I was targeting it with a Brush Hog, swimjig and ChatterBait. Luke had the inner stretch – further into the creek – and I was further out toward the end of the creek. We were on the same, exact deal.

    "I felt the fish were a mix (of phases)," Schmitt added. "They spawn throughout that whole creek. There was almost this big circle of milfoil surrounding us, and then there was like three football fields of open, sparse young grass that we were fishing. You'd have a wave of post-spawners and they'd get into it, and also spawners. It was just a really, really good spot. The bait was there, and the grass was growing by the minute. I think the fresh grass was a lot of the reason it was so good."

    For all his baits, Schmitt used Bass Pro Shops CarbonLite rods, Shimano Curado casting reels and P-Line fluorocarbon (15- and 20-pound).

    His Brush Hog was the candy bug color.

    His Z-Man ChatterBaits were 3/8-ounce in black/blue and brown/gold.

    His swimjig was a 3/8-ounce Dave's Tournament Tackle swimjig in junebug, tipped with a Strike King Rage Chunk in black/blue.

    He mostly threw the Brush Hog in low water, and the ChatterBait and swimjig in higher water.

  • Main factor in his success – "I'd have to say it was the swimjig. It produced the best bites and it was consistent almost throughout the whole tournament. You could pick it up and chuck it around a little bit in both low and high water."

  • Performance edge – See "main factor" above.

    Notable

    > Pattern information for 2nd-place Mike Iaconelli and 5th-place Michael Williamson will be published at a future date.

    Much of the tackle referenced above is available at the BassFan Store. To browse the selection, click here.