2009 MBFN Tournament Trail

       >President's Message

July 18, 2009

Top  Finishers (left-to-right) Boaters, Tim Legrand ( 3rd place), Scott Sewell (2nd place) and Ed Riley (1st place).  Riders, Tom Cole (1st place), Rich Exline (2nd place) and Kevin Mahoney (3rd place).

Riley and Cole Tops in July Potomac Trail Tourney
RESULTS>>>

By Fredrick Matos

Boater Ed Riley and rider Tom Cole were the clear victors in the Potomac Tournament Trail event held on July 18, 2009, the third Trail event of the year. It wasn’t even close as Ed finished a little over two pounds ahead of Scott Sewell in second; and Tom finishing a pound ahead of Richard Exline. 

The day began with temps around 60-65 degrees, cool enough to warrant a sweatshirt for long boat runs. But it warmed up nicely to the mid-80’s in the afternoon. Winds gusting up to 20 mph from the northwest presented the biggest weather challenge. The winds resulted in choppy waters, causing some anglers to seek protected areas. The water temp was 79 degrees at the Smallwood State Park launch area; and the low tide in Mattawoman was at 10:42 AM followed by high tide at 4:11 PM. Forty-four anglers participated, catching a total of 159 fish.

Ed Riley’s day began with a bang as he boated a 5-pounder on his first cast, or flip would be a more accurate description since he wasn’t really casting. “He hit it on the fall, and I felt the weight on my line,”said Ed. “I was in Piscataway Creek, a secondary location that I used first because it was protected from the wind. I spent only a half-hour there before the winds came. I then moved to the main river north of Piscataway . Some of my preferred locations in the main river were “blown out” with muddy water, so I was looking for the cleanest water.” 

Ed is a very highly regarded angler and a veteran of many bass tourneys. He hails from  Woodbine in Howard County , and belongs to the Skeeter Owners Club, a group that meets in Beltsville. Ed filled out his limit by 8:15, and was culling the rest of the day. His five-bass total weight was 15-07 lbs with a very nice 5-01 lunker. Ed just missed the overall lunker prize, getting edged by Bill Booth by only one ounce.  

Ed used the same rig all day: a Strike King 3/8 oz “Flippin’ Bug” jig in a watermelon color, coupled with a Strike King Rage Trailer on a Shimano Crucial flipping stick, rigged with a new Curado 201E7 reel spooled with 80-lb test braid. He flipped the jig into holes in the milfoil, a process that worked very well for him as he boated about 12 keepers. “The milfoil gives the bass much more cover than the hydrilla, and the bass prefer it because they can move around faster,” Ed related.  “But this time of year, I would throw a frog if the water was low.”

MBFN Conservation Director Scott Sewell boated five bass for 13-06 lbs, finishing just five ounces ahead of Tim Legrand, even after Scott was penalized for a dead fish. Scott began the day at the mouth of Mattawoman Creek, but the wind and choppy water necessitated motoring his big Nitro over to Leesylvania on the Virginia side. The weather was nice and calm over there with very clear water, but there was no bite at all. Motoring further south to a spot by the power lines, still fishing on the Virginia side, proved to be very productive as Scott caught fish on a number of lures including a spinner bait, a white buzz–type frog, a buzzbait, and a black/blue colored Berkley Sink Worm rigged wacky style on a weedless hook. There were some very productive areas around the laydowns, and secondly, throwing the worm into the grass was the most productive technique.

The Sink Worm proved to be Scott’s best lure, and he threw it into the grass, catching most of his keepers with it. But in the afternoon, a couple of fish around 4 lbs each slipped off about 10-12 feet from the boat. “If I had them, I would have won the tournament,” Scott lamented. The big ones slipped off of a 2/0 hook that Scott soon upgraded to a 3/0, but it was too late as the bite had disappeared. Scott uses only spinning tackle, spooling all of his reels with smoke-colored 20 lb-test Berkley FireLine, a hybrid type of line.

Tim Legrand’s five bass weighed in at a good 13-01, locking him into third place, two ounces ahead of Ryan Abey. Tim’s from Millersville in Anne Arundel County , and is active in the Mud Bugs Bass Club.   

In Tim’s own words: “I caught all of my fish within a hour-and-a-half, and there wasn’t much of a bite the rest of the day. I fished in Chicamuxen Creek, a location recommended by my rider, Pat Knight.  We discussed locations and strategies during the week, and I followed Pat’s recommendation that turned out to be an excellent choice. I prefished the area the day before the tourney with a friend, and I decided to try a swimbait, the first time I used one. I caught some nice bass with it, so I decided to try it again during the tournament. I caught all of my bass on a  a Yum Money Minnow swimbait using a Kevin Van Dam Signature baitcasting rod, and a Quantum 7.0:1 burner reel spooled with 50-lb test braid. During high tide, I easily worked the minnow over the top of grass that was thinner because of the high water.”

Ryan Abey weighed in a 12-15 bag for fourth place, just two ounces behind Tim Legrand in third. Ryan’s from Millington in Kent County , and belongs to the Liberty Bassmasters club. 

In Ryan’s own words: “We launched at 6:25, and I had my limit in 20 minutes. I fished the weed beds in the main river on the Virginia side between Leesylvania and Quantico where the grass wasn’t very thick. The tide came in so the grass was submerged. I caught my first four fish on a buzzbait, and then I switched to a Texas-rigged Senko in an Okeechobee Craw color that is green pumpkin and sapphire blue. I caught 25-30 keepers all day, without any short fish at all. I was looking for bass over 2 ½ lbs all day, but I just couldn’t get any big ones. I culled until 10:45, and then the bite stopped.” 

Ron Kelly and Bill Booth finished fifth and sixth respectively, with12-02 and 10-12 bags.  Ron is from Glen Burnie and belongs to the Guy Brothers Pro Staff Club.  Bill captured the  overall tournament lunker prize with a nice 5-02 bass that he caught in the early afternoon, around 1:00 PM. His bass edged Ed Riley’s lunker by only one ounce. He caught the big one in Mattawoman on a heavy 1 ½ ounce Jewell jig with a Zoom chunk trailer that he punched through the grass. Bill’s gear was a medium-heavy baitcaster spooled with 40-lb Power Pro braid. This is Bill’s first year in the MBFN tournaments, but he says that he’s been in a few local club tournaments before the Potomac Trail. He added that he also caught a snakehead on a top water lure. Bill’s from Pasadena and belongs to the Mud Bugs Club in Bowie . 

One name is missing from the top of the Trail finishers this year, and that’s Brett Quader, the 2008 Angler of the Year.  I wondered what happened to Brett, so I called and talked with him. Brett explained: “I’ve been very busy with family commitments, and my locksmith business has been super busy. I was only able to fish one Trail, and that was the July event in the Potomac.”

On the rider side, Tom Cole took the top prize with a nice 11-05 bag. He recently moved from Annapolis to Mechanicsville in St. Mary’s County, but he remains a member of the Champions Choice Bassmasters in Glen Burnie .  The Potomac was only his second MBFN tourney, having started club tourney fishing with Champions last summer.

“I credit boater Pat Loewy for putting me into the fish in Quantico ,” said Tom. “ He prefished it the day before, and caught a 6-poundert there.”

“We fished in Quantico Creek all day, and I had my limit by eight o’clock,” Tom revealed. “Pat was getting a lot of hits and blow-ups on surface lures like a buzzbait, but he wasn’t hooking them.  I culled twice before he had a fish in the boat.”

In Tom’s own words: “I caught my fist bass at 6:20 on a Ima Roumba crank bait, a Japanese lure that runs like a shallow wake bait. But I caught most of my 12 or 13 keepers on frogs, either a Stanley Ribbit, or Strike King Rage Shad. I caught my biggest bass on a spinner bait. I used several rods, but most of my fish were caught on a Carrot Stix baitcaster rod, a medium-heavy that’s seven feet-three inches long. I give credit to the Ardent reels that enabled me to cast a country mile and cover a lot of water on each cast.” 

Richard Exline’s nice 10-05 bag was good enough for second place on the rider side, edging Kevn Mahoney by a mere two ounces. Richard is from Sharpsburg , near Hagerstown , and belongs to the Sharpsburg Bassmasters club.

In Richard’s own words: “We fished the Virginia side of the main river, a few miles north of the launch site. Dave  Kashuba, my boater, selected a great spot because Dave caught at least 15 keepers, or three limits. I caught a total of five bass, but they were all keepers. I caught three on a top water lure, a Snag Proof Wiggle Wog with a green top and a yellow bottom. It resembles a mouse, and it’s an old lure that may not be made any longer. I used it because it worked for me before, and I believe that the yellow bottom had a lot to do with its attraction. I also caught a couple bass on a white spinner bait.”

Richard also related a story about their problems out on the water:  “Dave, my boater, was throwing a buzzbait, and it got tangled and bounced back so fast that it hooked Dave in his index finger very deeply.  I had to push the big barb all the way through to get it out. Then the rope on Dave’s trolling motor broke, requiring some time to repair. But we were catching fish for most of the time.  Dave was a great boater, very polite and we had some good conversations. Overall, I had a great time.” 

Kevin Mahoney from Gaithersburg and the Big Dawg Bassmasters club finished third, two ounces behind Richard Exline in second.  Kevin prefers finesse fishing.  “They call me the ‘Senko King’ in my club,” he revealed.  He caught his bass on the Virginia side near the storage tanks near Leesylvania.  “I used a five-inch green pumpkin Senko that I Texas rigged with a 1/8 oz weight. I fished the edge of beds.  I also used a 10-inch Berkley Power Worm that I let fall, picked it up, let it fall, etc. I used baitcasters and have my Curados spooled with fluorocarbon.” 

Jim Hitt finished a solid fourth, followed by Nathan Moore.  Jim’s active in the Quick Release Bassmasters in Baltimore , while Nathan’s a member of the West Mar Bassmasters in Jefferson .