MARBURY, Md. (June 22, 2013) – Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Md., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 16 pounds, 2 ounces Saturday to win the Series Northern Division tournament on the Potomac River with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 52 pounds, 8 ounces. For his victory Schmitt earned $37,554.
It was during practice two weeks ago that Schmitt found a location he had never fished before. It was an area that was easily overlooked as it was a spot where in the past grass had never grown. The only way he found this sweet grassy patch was on his depth finder.
“I was very lucky to find this spot and then to have it all to myself for three days,” said Schmitt. “I was fishing the mouth of a creek mid river. I think the area was holding post spawn fish that were coming off the bank, I was in about 3- to 4-feet of water. I fished the area all three days, exclusively on the final two days.
“It got tough today, especially in the afternoon,” continued Schmitt. “All the boats and jet skis muddied the water and it was a slow pick once the traffic started. I probably caught 25 keeper fish today but I had 15 of those fish in the first hour and then slowly gained ounces throughout the day.”
Schmitt indicated that all his fish came off black and blue jigs.
The top 10 pros on the Potomac River were:
1st: Bryan Schmitt, Deale, Md., 15 bass, 52-8, $37,554
2nd: David Hooker, Stafford, Va., 15 bass, 45-4, $14,083
3rd: Jason Tibbetts, Centreville, Va., 15 bass, 43-15, $9,388
4th: Robert Grike, Dumfries, Va., 15 bass, 43-0, $8,450
5th: Terry Olinger, The Plains, Va., 15 bass, 42-7, $7,511
6th: Mike McDonald, Randleman, N.C., 15 bass, 42-3, $6,572
7th: Shayne Berlo, Fairfax, Va., 15 bass, 42-0, $5,633
8th: Rodney Mosley, Woodbridge, Va., 15 bass, 40-1, $4,694
9th: Gilbert Gagner, Highgate Springs, Vt., 15 bass, 38-7, $3,755
10th: James Steiner, Levittown, Pa., 15 bass, 37-6, $2,817
Gagner caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division on Friday – a 6-pound, 2-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $274. Josh Demaury of Troutville, Va., won the co-angler division and a Ranger Z117 with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 37 pounds, 3 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers on the Potomac River were:
1st: Josh Demaury, Troutville, Va., 15 bass, 37-03, Ranger Z117 with 90-horsepower outboard
2nd: Derek Brown, Charlottesville, Va., 15 bass, 36-1, $4,787
3rd: David Williams, Fredericksburg, Va., 15 bass, 34-0, $3,830
4th: Lenny Baird, Stafford, Va., 15 bass, 33-2, $3,351
5th: Scott Macrobbie, Linthicum, Md., 15 bass, 31-2, $2,872
6th: Thomas Bavaro III, Joppa, Md., 14 bass, 30-3, $2,394
7th: Andy Dick, Wilmington, Del., 15 bass, 30-2, $1,915
8th: Alex Antipenko, Brooklyn, N.Y., 11 bass, 28-13, $1,436
9th: Billy Dehart, Burlingame, Calif., 13 bass, 26-15, $957
10th: Marvin Reese, Gwynn Oak, Md., 12 bass, 26-13, $766
Andy Dick caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division Friday – a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $182.
The EverStart Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of four tournaments where competitors are vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the Strike King Angler of the Year title, which allows them to fish the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup.