By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor
Prior to last week, Brennon McCord’s only exposure to Washington, D.C., was the pictures and videos he’s seen on television or online.
He made sure his first in-person visit was a memorable one.
After doing the touristy thing for a couple days with his girlfriend, McCord settled in at the Potomac River and overcame a three-pound deficit on the final day to capture the BFL All-American title.
McCord’s weights increased all three days and his 16-03 limit on day 3 was the heaviest of the 10 finalists and more than enough to propel him to the victory.
For a 22-year-old from southern Illinois who works as a journeyman lineman, pulling off a rally on a tidal river to collect a six-figure payday and berth in this summer’s Forrest Wood Cup still didn’t seem real a couple days later.
“Fishing buddy tournaments back home, (the All-American) is all everybody talks about,” McCord said. “It’s just an accomplishment to make it. For me to win it, I’m still in shock. It hasn’t sunk in yet.”
With no history to go on, McCord’s pre-tournament research pointed him toward Mattawoman Creek, a well-known arm tributary of the Potomac with a reputation for producing solid fish and stringers. Prior to the river going off limits, he spent a couple days on the water with the hope to find correlations between his research and the eye test.
“I watched a bunch of old Bassmasters and FLW Tours and mainly found that I needed to find areas to catch them with the tide high and low,” he said. “I stumbled upon a few good spots to do that. I decided to pick one creek and try to find a sweet spot within the creek. I stayed in there for three days of practice and everything worked out for me.”
Here’s a rundown of how McCord reigned at the Potomac:
Practice
McCord fished the two days immediately preceding the off-limits period, which lasted May 20-29. The 49 competitors were allowed to return to the water for a final practice day the day before the tournament began. McCord found some places that remained consistent, which proved to be important.
“The first Saturday I went out, I didn’t find much,” he said. “It was pretty tough. The next day is when I found the spot I wound up winning off of. I was mainly looking for grass and the spots I caught them had good grass, but there wasn’t a lot of it there. It had them concentrated down into smaller areas.”
It didn’t take long for him to narrow down his bait choices. He prefers shallow, muddy water back home and a vibrating jig seemed to fit the Potomac program.
“I pretty much knew what I was going to be throwing,” he added. “That place fits my style of fishing – I just needed to find the right areas.”
Competition
> Day 1: 5, 13-11
> Day 2: 5, 15-13
> Day 3: 5, 16-3
> Total = 15, 45-11
Amid the build-up to the All-American, McCord said he was able to tamp down his emotions and keep his focus on the job ahead.
“I fish tournaments every Saturday and Sunday with my dad and he’s got me conditioned to not get all wound up,” he said. “When I was at the dock that first morning my nerves were going, but once we got out there, I got that under control.”
It took about 20 minutes after making his first stop to catch his first keeper. He finished a decent limit by 9:30 a.m. and then made a couple moves in hopes of catching a couple upgrades.
“It wasn’t happening,” he said.
He moved to the very back of Mattawoman where he’d located a small patch of milfoil in three to five feet of water. Slinging a vibrating jig at low tide, he culled out every fish he had and finished the day with 13-11.
“I felt lot better about it than when I went back there,” he said. “I felt like needed 16 or 17 (pounds on) day 1 to be in the hunt to win.”
He began Friday on the same spot from day 1 and had a 13-pound limit within a half hour.
“I caught more fish and they got bigger,” he added.
Then came a lengthy lull that extended into the afternoon. He eventually returned to where he’d started and caught two upgrades to give him 15-13 and push him up to fourth place with 29-08. Joseph Thompson, meanwhile, retained the lead with a second straight 16-pound stringer that gave him 32-10.
McCord’s starting spot was occupied by a local on the morning of day 3 and he admits it took him a little while to settle down.
“They weren’t budging and it had me in panic mode,” he said.
He caught a 4 1/2-pounder, though, to break the ice.
“That settled me down,” he said. “I felt like I was going to catch a decent limit, but I didn’t know when it was going to happen. Everything was totally different on day 3 compared to the first two.”
The tide cycle was a little later on Saturday and McCord said that had the baitfish scattered out.
“It was a grind,” he added.
He decided to revisit the back of Mattawoman, but he made a couple stops first. He caught a keeper off a boat ramp with a wacky-rigged worm, then played a hunch on a pocket with two little ditches in it.
“When the tide was out, the bait seemed to get up and under the spatterdock (pads),” he said. “I was idling past it and my gut told me to stop and make a few throws.”
He came away with three solid keepers – all on a vibrating jig – in 15 minutes to boost his confidence.
From there, he worked his way to the back of the creek, stopping short of where he’d fished on day 1. Eventually, he began targeting the milfoil patch and caught one more upgrade to give him 16-03 on the day.
Despite catching his biggest limit of the week, he wasn’t confident that he had a shot to win.
“I didn’t think I’d even be close,” he said.
Back at the ramp, he was scared to ask any of the other finalists about their day.
“My nerves were shot,” he said. “In chatting with a couple guys, I could tell everybody had a tougher day. I talked with (Joe) and he told me he didn’t catch ‘em. That told me I may have a good shot at it.”
He said the decision to head to the back of the creek on Saturday and make those extra stops along the way was the key to his win.
“That changed my attitude,” he said. “You can’t get down on yourself, but there were a few times there I was second guessing myself. Going back there was the best move I made.”
Winning Gear Notes
> ChatterBait gear: 7’5” heavy-action G. Loomis NRX jig/worm casting rod, Shimano Core casting reel (7:1 ratio), 17-pound Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon line, 3/8-oz. Z-Man EverGreen JackHammer ChatterBait (spot remover), Zoom Z-Craw Jr. trailer (white pearl).
> He caught one keeper off a laydown on day 2 flipping a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver under a 5/16-oz. Pro Tungsten worm weight.
Much of the tackle referenced above is available at the BassFan Store. To browse the selection, click here.
Final Results
1. Brennon McCord – West Frankfort, Il -- 13-11 (5) -- 15-13 (5) -- 29-8 (10) -- 16-3 (5) -- 45-11 (15) -- $100,200
2. Joseph Thompson -- Coatesville, Pa -- 16-8 (5) -- 16-2 (5) -- 32-10 (10) -- 11-13 (5) -- 44-7 (15) -- $21,100
3. Bryan New -- Belmont, NC -- 13-6 (5) -- 15-2 (5) -- 28-8 (10) -- 13-10 (5) -- 42-2 (15) -- $20,000 + Ranger Cup ($8,000)
4. Chris Martinkovic -- Hamilton, Oh -- 13-6 (5) -- 14-1 (5) -- 27-7 (10) -- 14-0 (5) -- 41-7 (15) -- $14,500 + Ranger Cup ($7,000)
5. Troy Morrow -- Eastanollee, Ga -- 15-10 (5) -- 12-15 (5) -- 28-9 (10) -- 12-4 (5) -- 40-13 (15) -- $13,000 + Ranger Cup ($6,000)
6. Doug Ruster -- New Palestine, In -- 15-11 (5) -- 15-1 (5) -- 30-12 (10) -- 9-1 (4) -- 39-13 (14) -- $12,000 + Ranger Cup ($5,000)
7. Robert Walser -- Lexington, NC -- 12-14 (5) -- 14-15 (5) -- 27-13 (10) -- 11-14 (5) -- 39-11 (15) -- $12,500 + Ranger Cup ($4,500)
8. Seth Davis -- Harrison, Tn -- 11-14 (5) -- 15-12 (5) -- 27-10 (10) -- 11-8 (5) -- 39-2 (15) -- $10,000
9. Ronnie Baker -- Providence Forge, Va -- 14-8 (5) -- 13-8 (5) -- 28-0 (10) -- 7-2 (3) -- 35-2 (13) -- $9,000
10. Moo Bae -- West Friendship, Md -- 13-9 (5) -- 16-4 (5) -- 29-13 (10) -- 5-0 (3) -- 34-13 (13) -- $8,000 + Ranger Cup ($3,000)
The following anglers missed the cut and did not compete on day 3.
11. Kip Carter -- Mansfield, Ga -- 15-1 (5) -- 12-5 (5) -- 27-6 (10) -- $4,000 + Ranger Cup ($2,000)
12. Toby Corn -- Calvert City, Ky -- 12-8 (5) -- 14-14 (5) -- 27-6 (10) -- $3,000 + Ranger Cup ($2,000)
13. Jason Grape -- Attalla, Al -- 14-3 (5) -- 13-0 (5) -- 27-3 (10) -- $3,000
14. Ryan Bauman -- Fleetwood, Pa -- 12-12 (5) -- 14-6 (5) -- 27-2 (10) -- $3,000 + Ranger Cup ($2,000)
15. Nicholas Hoinig -- Port St Lucie, Fl -- 13-9 (5) -- 13-3 (5) -- 26-12 (10) -- $3,000
16. Tommy Williams -- Shepherdsville, Ky -- 13-13 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 26-10 (10) -- $3,000
17. Keith Hays -- Broken Arrow, Ok -- 11-8 (5) -- 15-1 (5) -- 26-9 (10) -- $3,000
18. Jason Reed -- Hollister, Fl -- 12-3 (5) -- 14-6 (5) -- 26-9 (10) -- $3,000
19. Gil Summerlin -- Guntersville, Al -- 13-10 (5) -- 12-15 (5) -- 26-9 (10) -- $3,000
20. Dennis Berhorst -- Holts Summit, Mo -- 12-10 (5) -- 13-10 (5) -- 26-4 (10) -- $3,500 + Ranger Cup ($2,000)
21. Cody Santel -- Benton, Ky -- 12-14 (5) -- 13-3 (5) -- 26-1 (10) -- $2,000
22. Ken Garbe -- Wyoming, Oh -- 8-14 (4) -- 16-14 (5) -- 25-12 (9) -- $2,000 + Ranger Cup ($1,500)
23. Jeremy Johnson -- Henryetta, Ok -- 11-2 (5) -- 14-10 (5) -- 25-12 (10) -- $2,000
24. Randy Wieczorek -- Buffalo City, Wi -- 13-6 (5) -- 12-2 (5) -- 25-8 (10) -- $2,000
25. Matt Stanley -- Alexandria, Tn -- 13-13 (5) -- 11-10 (4) -- 25-7 (9) -- $2,000
26. Lloyd Pickett Jr -- Bartlett, Tn -- 13-6 (5) -- 11-0 (5) -- 24-6 (10) -- $2,000 + Ranger Cup ($1,500)
27. Wade Ramsey -- Choctaw, Ok -- 11-6 (5) -- 13-0 (5) -- 24-6 (10) -- $2,000 + Ranger Cup ($1,500)
28. Stacey Edwards -- Milton, Ky -- 12-7 (5) -- 11-14 (5) -- 24-5 (10) -- $2,000 + Ranger Cup ($1,500)
29. Doug Thompson -- Mabelvale, Ar -- 15-15 (5) -- 7-15 (4) -- 23-14 (9) -- $2,000
30. Jason Crone -- Kalispell, Mt -- 14-11 (5) -- 8-15 (4) -- 23-10 (9) -- $2,000
31. Dylan Fulk -- Mount Pleasant, NC -- 12-2 (5) -- 11-2 (5) -- 23-4 (10) -- $1,500
32. Mike Feldermann -- Galena, Il -- 10-1 (4) -- 13-2 (5) -- 23-3 (9) -- $1,500 + Ranger Cup ($1,000)
33. Scott Beattie -- Lincolnton, NC -- 13-7 (5) -- 9-5 (5) -- 22-12 (10) -- $1,500 + Ranger Cup ($1,000)
34. Rich Fye -- Amboy, In -- 10-14 (5) -- 11-8 (5) -- 22-6 (10) -- $1,500 + Ranger Cup ($1,000)
35. Grant Kelly -- Milledgeville, Ga -- 12-4 (5) -- 9-14 (4) -- 22-2 (9) -- $1,500
36. Bob Brody -- Tunkhannock, Pa -- 11-10 (5) -- 10-8 (4) -- 22-2 (9) -- $1,500
37. Shawn Gordon -- Russellville, Ar -- 11-6 (5) -- 10-11 (5) -- 22-1 (10) -- $1,500 + Ranger Cup ($1,000)
38. Preston Craig -- Philadelphia, Tn -- 11-14 (5) -- 8-13 (5) -- 20-11 (10) -- $1,500
39. John Devries -- Fishers, In -- 6-6 (2) -- 14-3 (5) -- 20-9 (7) -- $1,500
40. Scott Towry -- Lawrenceburg, Tn -- 5-14 (3) -- 14-7 (5) -- 20-5 (8) -- $1,500 + Ranger Cup ($1,000)
41. Steven Wiseman -- Bryans Rd, Md -- 8-5 (4) -- 11-1 (5) -- 19-6 (9) -- $1,500 + Ranger Cup ($1,000)
42. Nick Uebelhor -- Loogootee, In -- 8-12 (4) -- 10-1 (5) -- 18-13 (9) -- $1,500
43. Brad Leifermann -- Andover, Mn -- 7-0 (3) -- 11-5 (5) -- 18-5 (8) -- $1,500 + Ranger Cup ($1,000)
44. Michael Fox -- Statesville, NC -- 11-2 (5) -- 6-3 (2) -- 17-5 (7) -- $1,500 + Ranger Cup ($1,000)
45. Scott Green -- Waterbury Center, Vt -- 2-6 (1) -- 13-9 (5) -- 15-15 (6) -- $1,500 + Ranger Cup ($1,000)
46. Matt Kinney -- Bunnell, Fl -- 9-3 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 9-3 (3) -- $1,500
47. Sean McAllister -- Checotah, Ok -- 4-12 (2) -- 3-9 (2) -- 8-5 (4) -- $1,500 + Ranger Cup ($1,000)
48. Jordan McMorris -- Bloomfield, NM -- 4-14 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 4-14 (2) -- $1,500
49. Travis Young -- Charlotte, NC -- 2-2 (1) -- 2-10 (1) -- 4-12 (2) -- $1,500