MARBURY, Md. – The second day of Zenni Stage 6 Presented by Athletic Brewing Company on the Potomac River was the polar opposite of Day 1 in terms of weather as the sweltering heat shifted to much cooler, rainy conditions. The bass bite stayed sizzling, though. Leading the way and winning the Qualifying Round for an automatic berth to Sunday’s Championship Round was Oklahoma’s Zack Birge with a two-day total of 145 pounds, 8 ounces on 68 scorable bass.
While SCORETRACKER® saw some wild shifts in some anglers’ weights between the two days, Birge stayed steady. He caught 78-7 Friday (on 34 scorables) compared to his 34 for 67-1 on Thursday – the only angler to surpass 60 pounds and 30 bass both days to help him earn his day off ahead of the Championship Round.
Two other anglers crossed the 70-pound mark Friday, including Casey Ashley with 76-7 on a day that saw him briefly overtake Birge for the lead in Period 2. Spencer Shuffield rose from 39th to seventh after a 71-11 day, with over 50 pounds of that in Period 3.
Birge’s early bite urges him to go for it
This marks Birge’s third time automatically qualifying for the Championship Round on the Bass Pro Tour, but it wasn’t even a consideration when the day started. He had a solid first day, finishing in fifth place, but he was over 23 pounds behind Day 1 leader Keith Poche. After a strong morning bite on Day 2, Birge changed his thinking and contemplated gunning for the top position.
“Winning the round wasn’t even in my mind; I was just going to go out and try to catch a few and make the Knockout Round,” he said. “I started the day catching them pretty well, and I was right there in the lead or close to it. I thought, ‘Dang, I better reconsider some things here.’ After Period 1, I decided to run back and get to an area where I knew there were a bunch of fish.”
The gamble to go for the win was in the back of his mind throughout the mid-morning hours.
“It’s a catch-22 situation because, on the one hand, you get to skip tomorrow, but if you don’t win, you can end up burning yourself by catching all those fish,” he said. “I knew if I could catch enough to advance and have that day off, I wouldn’t have to touch those areas again and can let them rest a bit.”
This is Birge’s third trip to the Potomac River, and things have gotten better every time.
“I came here my rookie year on the FLW Tour and have never been more frustrated after an event because I caught so many fish but never could get a kicker and didn’t get a check,” he said. “The next time, I was able to figure it out a little more and cash a check, and this time, sitting in this position, it feels really good.”
Fishing for bass relating to vegetation, Birge has mixed it up with a vibrating jig and a worm. He reports that the tide hasn’t been to his liking, but any water movement – incoming or outgoing – has been the key.
“I really like it when the tide is low, but it’s been high for a long period of the day, so I’m just trying to get around where there’s a good population of fish and just fishing what looks good,” he said. “I’m fishing my bladed jig on an Alpha Angler Rebound rod with 20-pound Yo-Zuri T7 fluorocarbon and fishing the worm on the same line but on an Alpha Angler Zilla-Vaader rod.”
Looking ahead, Birge is confident in what he’s doing and shares that he isn’t fishing around other competitors.
“I haven’t seen anybody fishing the same stuff, which is good because, hopefully, those fish will be fresh when I get back out there,” he said. “I feel pretty good about my chances because I feel like my fish are not as pressured as some other anglers’ areas, but I know it’s going to take some big weight. You’ll need to catch at least 80 pounds on the last day to have a good shot to win.”
What’s next for Stage 6
The Top 20 anglers of the 66-angler field have advanced; 19 will fish tomorrow, and Birge will take a day off to see which other anglers will join him in the Championship Round.
Other notes:
- The hot weather returns tomorrow with a forecasted high of 90 degrees, but the Potomac has shown that the bass here will bite rain or shine, comfortable or scorching.
- Luke Clausen caught the Berkley Big Bass of the day, a 5-1 largemouth, the largest bass caught in the event. He finished inside the check cut in 29th place and will take home an extra $1,000 for the Berkley Big Bass award.
- Coming into the event, Jacob Wheeler had a comfortable 38-point lead in the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year race, but things are now slightly tighter. After a slower day today, Wheeler ended up in 34th place. Jake Lawrence, his closest pursuer, gained some ground as he ended up in 23rd place. Three points behind Lawrence was Drew Gill, who gained a point on him as he finished up in 22nd. With just one event to go, things could still get very interesting on Saginaw Bay.