As many as 350 pros and co-anglers are ready to compete Aug. 24-26 in the Costa FLW Series Northern Division finale on the Potomac River. The tournament, presented by Plano, is the third and final regular-season event of 2017 scheduled in the Northern Division. Pros will be casting for a top award of up to $40,000 cash and a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
“This event is going to be all about grass fishing,” said FLW Tour pro Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Maryland, who has three career-victories on the Potomac River in FLW Series competition. “The grass is a lot thicker and way more developed than it was for June’s (FLW Tour) event. I think anglers are going to be surprised at the amount of grass out there.
“As for techniques, it’s going to be a pretty standard deal,” Schmitt continued. “We’ll see anglers throwing frogs, flipping jigs, using swimjigs, ChatterBaits, and (Yamamoto) Senko-style baits. It’s all going to come down to who can find those key spots where fish are congregating within popular areas.”
Schmitt said he expects Pomonkey, Piscataway and Occoquan Creeks to receive of a lot of attention from competitors.
“Anglers will definitely be watching the water clarity as well,” said Schmitt. “We’ve had a lot of rain this week and the river has been running high. If we get more, the river will still be fishable, but things will obviously be different. I’m hoping the water level stables out and it stays clear.”
Schmitt said he predicts it will take a three-day cumulative total between 51 and 53 pounds to win the event.
“Teams in recent tournaments on the river have consistently needed 19 or 20 pounds to win one-day events, so I think that’s a safe bet,” said Schmitt.
Anglers will take off from the Smallwood State Park, located at 2750 Sweden Point Road in Marbury at 6:30 a.m. EDT each day. Weigh-ins will be held at the State Park beginning at 2:30 p.m. each day. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public. The event is hosted by the Charles County Board of Commissioners.
In Costa FLW Series regular-season competition, payouts are based on the number of participants competing in the event. At the Potomac River, pros will fish for as much as $40,000 and a Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard if Ranger Cup qualified. Co-anglers will cast for a Ranger Z175 boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude outboard and an additional $5000 if Ranger Cup qualified.
The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western. Each division consists of three tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to fish in the Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2017 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 2-4 on Kentucky Lake in Paris, Tennessee.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 258 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros.
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
