LA PLATA, Md. (Aug. 17, 2006) - Kenny Holloway of Eatonton, Ga., caught a 10-bass limit weighing 33 pounds, 7 ounces to lead day one of the Stren Series Northeast Division bass fishing tournament on the Potomac River.
"The area I'm fishing is just loaded with big fish," said Holloway, who finished in ninth place during the Stren Series event on Lake Erie. "However, there are barnacles on every lay-down and getting them into the boat is very difficult."
Holloway set the hook on 11 fish today, but could only boat five due to barnacles cutting his line.
"The smallest fish I had was three pounds," he said. "I'm not sure about a few that I lost, but they snapped 25-pound test line instantly." Holloway is fishing lay-downs with a combinations of jigs, spinnerbaits and crankbaits. He credits his success to the Zoom Ultra-vibe Speed Craw that uses as a trailer on the jig.
"Those claws really displace the water and I think that's what elicits the strikes in muddy water," he said. "It also looks like bait trying to flee away from the fish."
Rounding out the top five pros are Mike Hoskings of Dumfries, Va. (10 bass, 30 pounds, 9 ounces); Dave LeFebre of Union City, Penn. (10 bass, 30 pounds); George Acord Jr., of Lancaster, Penn. (10 bass, 28 pounds, 9 ounces); and David Borodziuk of Audubon Park, N.J. (10 bass, 27 pounds, 12 ounces).
Gary Cossaboom of Winchester, Ontario earned $650 for the Snicker's Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 6-pound, largemouth bass.
Butch Zadlo of Boone, N.C. leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award worth as much as $35,000, including a 519VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met. He caught 10 bass weighing 23 pounds, 13 ounces while fishing with pro Christopher Sumansky of Renfrew, Penn., who finished the tournament in 77th place.
"I've had some great partners the last two days," said Zadlo, who has seven Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League top-10 finishes to his credit. "I got to fish with J.T. Kenny yesterday and he taught me how to flip grass mats. That's something I always wanted to learn, but never really had the chance. It's amazing what you can learn from these guys."
Zadlo fished a Lucky Craft RC 1.5 and a jig around lay-downs to land his tournament-leading limit.
"The real trick is to bump the wood," he said. "You can make 10 casts to a lay-down and not get a strike. But as soon as that crankbait deflects off of the wood, they crush it."
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Kenneth Hoffman of Scotia, N.Y. (8 bass, 21 pounds, 14 ounces); Ryan Bowman of Seneca, S.C. (9 bass, 21 pounds, 12 ounces); Mark Condron of Wilton, Conn. (8 bass, 21 pounds, 2 ounces); and Shane Lehew of Charlotte, N.C. (8 bass, 20 pounds, 13 ounces).
Larry Church of Keysville, Va., earned $230 for the Snicker's Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 5-pound,12-ounce largemouth bass.
Anglers will take off from Smallwood State Park 6:30 each morning. Friday and Saturday's weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 40 Drury Road in La Plata beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Stren Series tournaments are four-day events consisting of three rounds. The entire field competes Wednesday and Thursday, and the top 20 pros and co-anglers - based on two-day accumulated weights - advance to day three. Anglers start at zero Thursday and compete for 10 spots in each division in the final round. Winners are determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.