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Washington, D.C. – The final day of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour event on the Potomac River held all the ingredients for a spectacular finish. Tidal conditions, bass embedded in the grass and a backdrop consisting of some of the most historic sites in our Country were just part of the recipe available on Father’s day at the Potomac.
The first two days saw 200 anglers scramble to find a place in the top ten. When Saturday’s round began bass fishing fans witnessed a great compilation of ten fishermen roar out of the Nation’s Capitol in search of the weight necessary to win a possible $125,000.00.
The field consisting of the all time money winner in FLW history, David Dudley, long time pro and one of the best to make a living with a rod and reel, Mark Davis, as well as other stalwarts in the fishing world, used Saturday to position themselves for the final day. Also competing on Father’s day was expectant daddy, Bobby Lane who has recently returned to his rookie style.
To back track a little, the entire field started Thursday in Manbury, MD., possibly the best fishing area in the whole Potomac basin. More than half of the 200 anglers brought limits to the scales on each of the first two days. Knoxville angler, Jack Wade led the charge into the weekend with a two day total of 37-13.
Fellow top ten competitor, David Dudley commented on the potential of this great fishery, “Give this river two more years of grass growth and it will compete with legendary bass factories like Lake Champlain.”
The launch site was changed to Ancostia Park for the weekend. The move resulted in longer runs and less fishing times for the pros. The local fishing agencies offered a small respite on the last two days as the minimum length limit was scheduled to change from 15 to 12 inches on June 16th.
Chris Baumgardner started the final day with a one pound lead over friend and fellow competitor, David Dudley. Although Chris might have snuck into the finals in 7th place, he dominated the last two days of the tournament. On Sunday, the Yamaha pro brought 16-14 to the scales to run away with the win and a check for $125,000.00.
David Dudley entered this event in fourth on the all time money list of professional bass fishermen. Bolstered by a 20 pound bag on Friday, David went on to amass 26-9 over the next two days and finished in second.
Bobby Lane tried to ride the expectant father wave of momentum but came up short on Father’s day with a final combined weight of 24-12.
The Final Results
1. Chris Baumgardner 33-5
2. David Dudley 26-9
3. Bobby Lane 24-12
4. Ken Wick 24-3
5. Mark Davis 23-10
6. Jack Wade 22-10
7. Shad Schenk 21-7
8. Jerry Williams 21-2
9. Ray Scheide 20-7
10. Sandy Melvin 14-5
Baumgardner Wins in the Capitol
Chris Baumgardner, the Snickers pro, grab the win on the Potomac with a last day limit of 16-14. His two day total of more than 33 pounds gave the North Carolina angler his first FLW Tour victory.
Chris milked a 200 yard stretch of milfoil all week and culled through 10 – 12 keepers a day to bring a total of 73-03 to the scales. “I caught one ore two fish every pass down that grass,” he said. “The bite definitely picked up when the tide got right.”
Baumgardner used a combination of brown and black/blue Chatterbaits to catch his fish on the last two days. “I through a white and chartreuse Chatterbait the first couple of days, but Andy (Montgomery) turned me on to the brown one. I don’t know if it matched the crawfish in the area or what, but it got the better bites.”
The tools of the trade for Chris this week were an American Rodsmith 6 foot 10 inch medium heavy rod, an Abu Garcia Revo reel and 17 lb Trilene fluorocarbon line. “That trilene line is awesome,” commented Chris. “You have to have some backbone to get those fish out of the grass.”
When asked about his win this week on the Potomac, Chris had a few insights to share. “I don’t know who said it, but when it is your time, it’s your time. I lost two big fish on Friday and really shouldn’t have made the cut. I caught that big fish and it gave me enough weight to get in the finals.”
His primary area was a long stretch of milfoil that the bass were using to spawn or recoup from spawning. “The big fish hadn’t laid her eggs yet. A lot of the fish I caught had bloody tails from either being on a bed or just coming off one.”
The $125,000.00 payday won’t make the Yamaha pro’s career but it definitely makes the next few months easier. “I have some great sponsors, but fishing can get expensive. This win will really help the financial part of being out on the water.”
With his first place finish on the Potomac, Chris moved up from 25th to 13th in the AOY standings virtually ensuring him a spot in the upcoming Forrest L. Wood Cup.
David in Second
David Dudley made some bad decisions on Thursday and found himself in a hole with just 12-12 on day-one. He regrouped and found 20 pounds worth of bass on Friday to jump into the finals. His 15-07 on day-three left him just one pound out of the lead right behinf eventual winner Chris Baumgardner. On Sunday, David again misread the conditions and finished the tournament with a limit of 11-02, more than six pounds off the pace.
“My fishing was good today, I just made the wrong decision on where to be at different times,” said the Castrol pro. “I was either 20 minutes early or 20 minutes late at each spot.”
David mainly used a Zoom Baby Brush hog in green pumpkin/green tied to Berkley Fluorocarbon and spooled on a Revo reel. He went against the grain and stuck with the smaller 3/16th ounce weight. “I changed areas each day looking for the right conditions,” he said. “The current really positions the fish and if your are off by six inches on the presentation, then they wont bite.”
He went on to describe how important his presentation was, “The bait needs to look real in the current. The lighter weight helps the bait appear natural. I have a lot of experience in current situations and I like fishing these type areas. I was fishing wood and grass and I had to flip at each target differently.”
Lane Likes Third
Bobby Lane left the gate on fire early in his career, but slowed down the last couple of years. He was excited about his return trip to the top ten and felt good about his performance this week. I fished a clean tournament,” he said. “I wasn’t on the fish to win, but one or two more bites might have put me in second. I happy with were I finished.
Bobby’s week was pretty simple. He stayed in one area for the most part and stuck with the same bait all week. “I had a long grass patch and I would make a run down it with a watermelon/candy Berkley Chigger Craw,” he revealed. “I’d turn around and go back down it with a green/pumpkin chigger craw.”
His gear included a Revo reel seated on a Fenwick rod and spooled with 60 pound Spider wire. He used a number 5 hook and a 1 or 1 3/8th ounce Silver weight. “The fish were suspended right under the grass and the silver weight help get a reaction bite from the bass.”
The Power-pole pro didn’t feel like he had a shot at the win on Sunday; he just wanted to stay in the top five. “I felt like my fish were going away and I really wanted a good finish. I made a decision late in the day to run back to Mattawoman creek and was able to cull a small fish. That one bite was worth $10,000.00”
Bobby is expecting a son and his wife is due on July 9th. The next stop on the FLW Tour is at Lake Erie and begins on the 10th on July. “Yeah, I know about the luck that follows the birth of a child out here on tour,” he laughed. “I don’t know if I will fly back before the tournament or what, but I am looking forward to that week.”
Ken Wicked Good on the Potomac
Ken Wick started the tournament just outside the 40 man cut for the Forrest L. Wood Cup. He need a good finish to ensure a spot in the championship and over the four days of competition the Idaho angler boated more than 50 pounds of bass and finished fourth.
I flipped laydowns in a small muddy creek all week long,” Ken said. “It was amazing how the same piece of structure would continue to reload.” He stated his best fishing time was when the low tide really started moving.
I could catch smaller fish when the tide was up, but my best fish came when the water started moving out.”
Ken strung together limits of 12-13 and 11-6 on the final two days and posted his best finish ever on the FLW tour. His tools for the week were a seven St. Croix rod, Revo reel and 17 pound Gamma Fluorocarbon line. At the end of his line was a 3/8 ounce Skinny Bear Bass Jig. “I caught 98% of my fish on that jig,” he claimed. “The best way to described it is it’s poofy. The skirt really flairs in the current.”
With his reliance on the low tide, Ken only had about an hour of prime fishing conditions each day. “When the water got right, the fish really fired. I caught three good fish off the same tree on three consecutive casts.”
Behind the Scenes
David Dudley borrowed a bag of Zoom Baby Brush Hogs from Chris Baumgardner prior to the start of the finals. Chris was leading at the time and said, “I hope this doesn’t come back to haunt me.”
Ken Wick stayed in his small creek all week in spite of harassment from a local resident of that back water area. “Right when the fishing got good, he would fire up his air boat and run back and forth between me and the camera boat,” Ken stated. “I think he thought I was catching his dinner.”
Bobby Lane earned $40,000.00 for his third place finish, but that was not the highlight of the day. “I was the highest finishing Land-O Lakes angler and that earned me a year supply a cheese,” he said. “That’s one less thing I have to worry about.”
With his second place finish at the Potomac, David Dudley is now at $2,330,410.00 career earnings with FLW and BASS. That puts David behind only Kevin VanDam in career earnings. KVD has earned just under $3 million fishing for a living.
The launch site for the final day was in the heart of D.C. and required anglers to idle for a great distance. On Sunday, the pros were afforded the opportunity to run the now wake zone first thing in the morning. “It took me 37 minutes to reach my spot this morning,” said third place finisher Bobby Lane. “It took and 1 ½ hours to return this afternoon.”
FINAL
STANDINGS
| Pl. |
Pro
Angler |
Hometown,
State |
Winnings |
| 1 |
CHRIS
BAUMGARDNER |
GASTONIA,
NC |
5 |
16-07 |
5 |
16-14 |
10 |
33-05 |
$100,000 |
| 2 |
DAVID
DUDLEY |
LYNCHBURG,
VA |
5 |
15-07 |
5 |
11-02 |
10 |
26-09 |
$50,000 |
| 3 |
BOBBY
LANE |
LAKELAND,
FL |
5 |
12-15 |
5 |
11-13 |
10 |
24-12 |
$40,000 |
| 4 |
KEN
WICK |
STAR,
ID |
5 |
12-13 |
5 |
11-06 |
10 |
24-03 |
$30,000 |
| 5 |
MARK
DAVIS |
MOUNT
IDA, AR |
5 |
11-09 |
5 |
12-01 |
10 |
23-10 |
$20,000 |
| 6 |
JACK
WADE |
KNOXVILLE,
TN |
5 |
10-14 |
5 |
12-00 |
10 |
22-14 |
$19,000 |
| 7 |
SHAD
SCHENCK |
WAYNETOWN,
IN |
5 |
8-13 |
5 |
12-10 |
10 |
21-07 |
$18,000 |
| 8 |
JERRY
WILLIAMS |
CONWAY,
AR |
5 |
11-15 |
5 |
9-03 |
10 |
21-02 |
$17,000 |
| 9 |
RAY
SCHEIDE |
RUSSELLVILLE,
AR |
5 |
7-12 |
5 |
12-11 |
10 |
20-07 |
$16,000 |
| 10 |
SANDY
MELVIN |
BOCA
GRANDE, FL |
5 |
10-04 |
4 |
4-01 |
9 |
14-05 |
$15,000 |
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