WOODBRIDGE, Va. (March 14) -- GEICO pro angler Christiana Bradley showed up to Leesylvania State Park for this past weekend's 2011 Potomac River Bass Fishing event with high hopes, but dicey conditions made the fish hard to find and she wound up 18th overall with three fish weighing 7.94 pounds.
"The river was flooded this weekend so only 47 boats that showed up," Bradley said. "We ended up 18th out of the 47 boats. It was tough but we were satisfied with our performance."
It was the first event of the season for Bradley, who was joined by her husband Mike, so they arrived early and tried to scout out some good spots. Unfortunately, rainy conditions made it hard to navigate the vast river.
"All in all we felt pretty good about our results considering we had such a tough practice," Bradley said. "When it rains it makes the water very muddy so it's tough for the fish to see the bait and that really changes the fishing conditions."
Bradley worked hard to catch her three fish, and was hampered by the fact she couldn't use her regular techniques.
"Due to the muddy water we had to spend a lot of time in the same area and hope the fish would eventually see the bait," Bradley said. "Usually we do so a bunch of running around from spot to spot but this weekend that wasn't the case.
"Only seven of the teams met the (five-fish) limit and unfortunately we weren't one of them. We just had the three fish that were under eight pounds. The winning team had 17.71 pounds."
Although the fishing was tough, Bradley was excited to start her season with a brand-new Bass Cat boat.
"We picked it up the Friday before the tournament," Bradley said, "so we're still breaking in the new GEICO Bass Cat. It performed well and we're looking forward to using it all season.
"You know, we learned a bit here and now we'll head to Lake Norman in North Carolina and start practicing for the next tournament. Fishing has it's ups and downs but it's still so much fun. I can’t wait to get back on the water."
The Bassmaster Southern Open, Bradley's next tournament, runs from March 24-26 on Lake Norman near Charlotte.