MARBURY, Md. (June 15, 2017) – Pro Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas, grabbed the early lead Thursday after Day One of the FLW Tournament on the Potomac River with five bass weighing 19 pounds, 11 ounces. Wendlandt will begin Day Two with a 5-ounce advantage over second place angler Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, Wisconsin, in the four-day event that features the world’s best bass anglers competing for a top award of up to $125,000.
“To be honest, I didn’t really think I’d catch them like that today,” said Wendlandt, who won on the Potomac River when the FLW Tour last visited in 2015. “I really struggled early on. I only had three fish in the boat at noon. I thought I would do better later on in the day, but couldn’t get anything going then either. The middle of the day was really the only time I did well.”
Wendlandt said he caught around 18 keepers throughout the day, and that the bulk of his weight came from one area.
“I practiced from Washington D.C. all the way down to just about as far as you can go on the river, and it was the best place that I found,” said Wendlandt. “There were a lot of boats in there today, so I think tomorrow could be a lot harder. At some point I may just have to bail and go do something else.”
Wendlandt said that there are still plenty of options for him to catch a decent limit, even if his primary area is overcrowded.
“The Potomac River is a unique fishery because you can catch them from grass one day and out of wood and rocks the next,” said Wendlandt. “Everything can be good, it just depends on the tide. I guess I’ve been good at knowing the right places to fish at the right time.”
The top 10 pros after Day One on the Potomac River are:
1st: Clark Wendlandt, Leander, Texas, five bass, 19-11
2nd: Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 19-6
3rd: Kurt Dove, Del Rio, Texas, five bass, 18-14
4th: Carl Jocumsen, Frisco, Texas, five bass, 18-11
5th: Robert Behrle, Hoover, Ala., five bass, 18-10
6th: Clark Reehm, Huntington, Texas, five bass, 18-2
7th: Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 18-1
8th: Andy Young, Mound, Minn., five bass, 17-15
9th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 17-8
10th: Chris Johnston, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, five bass, 17-7
Dove caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 15 ounces – the largest in the Pro Division – which earned him the day's $500 Big Bass award. Overall there were 752 bass weighing 2,160 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 160 pros Thursday. The catch included 135 five-bass limits.
David Larson of Mound, Minnesota, leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 12 ounces, followed by Mark Horton of Nicholasville, Kentucky, in second place with five bass totaling 17 pounds, 2 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers after Day One on the Potomac River are:
1st: David Larson, Mound, Minn., five bass, 17-12
2nd: Mark Horton, Nicholasville, Ky., five bass, 17-2
3rd: Ryan Cannon, Bullard, Texas, five bass, 16-13
4th: Douglas Colson, Cadiz, Ky., five bass, 16-8
4th: Richie Eaves, Nauvoo, Ill., five bass, 16-8
6th: Larry Kempler, Bluemont, Va., five bass, 16-0
7th: Greg Mansfield, Burnsville, Minn., five bass, 15-13
8th: Jason Williams, Alexandria, Va., five bass, 15-8
9th: Larry Mulllikin, Lauderhill, Fla., five bass, 15-6
10th: Keith Honeycutt, Temple, Texas, five bass, 14-15
Eaves earned $250 for the Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division with a 4-pound, 14-ounce largemouth. Overall there were 481 bass weighing 1,275 pounds, 14 ounces caught by 152 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 44 five-bass limits.