Overnight rains the unknown factor on day three
How much fell and how will it affect fishing?
MARBURY, Md. – Thunderstorms rumbled through southern Maryland Friday night, but if and how the rain might affect the final day of the Stren Series Northern Division tournament on the Potomac River is uncertain.
Normally a significant rainfall affects river fishing more than lake fishing, for a river funnels the rain into a narrow channel, raising water levels and muddying up the water. But exactly how much rain fell last night was the topic of the morning among the 10 pros and 10 co-anglers who have made the final cut at this season opening event. The general consensus was that it rained harder farther north and that that water might take awhile to get this far downstream. In other words, it might not be a factor at all.
Going out with the lead today is Dave Lefebre of Union City, Pa., who with 39 pounds has a 1 pound, 1 ounce lead over second place Chris Dillow of Waynesboro, Va. The remaining pros in the top 10 are all within six pounds of Lefebre.
On the co-angler side, David Wilder of Baltimore is leading with 31 pounds, 4 ounces, giving him a 1 pound, 10 ounce lead over second place Claude Hicks. The remainder of the top 10 is within six pounds.
Sean Stepp, who’s in ninth place in the pro division with 33 pounds, 5 ounces, is making his second appearance in the top 10 since starting on the Stren Series as a co-angler seven years ago. He was born and raised in this area and now lives on the Potomac River.
After a day one bag of 12 pounds, 9 ounces that had him in 62nd place, Stepp rallied on day two with 20 pounds, 12 ounces, the second heaviest bag among pros that day.
“This is one of those places where you can never give up,” Stepp said Saturday morning while preparing to launch. “You can go all day with nothing, then pull into a spot and catch 20 pounds in 20 minutes.”
Which is pretty much what he did yesterday, salvaging a tournament that had appeared lost.
Stepp said the river is fishing at least two weeks behind how it normally would in late June, the result of a long, cold winter and wet, cool spring. Also, the wind has prevailed from the northeast through much of the past several months, he said, and that holds the water in the river as the tides don’t go down as low as they normally do.
“It’s been tough for me to figure out exactly what’s happening here until yesterday,” Stepp said.
Stepp’s technique yesterday was to punch through weed mats with ¾-ounce tungsten weight paired with Reaction Innovations plastics. He said battling big bass through the mats is easier than small bass.
“They blow a bigger hole,” he said.
Another bag like he had yesterday and Stepp might be a factor in this tournament before it ends today in the parking lot at Walmart in La Plata.
“I left them biting yesterday,” he said, “and I feel like I can go back there today and catch ’em again.
But how about that rain? Might it change things?
“As long as it didn’t muddy up where I’m fishing,” Stepp said. “We’ve had so much rain that the ground is so saturated and everything just runs off.”
Weigh-in begins at 4 p.m. at Walmart in La Plata.
Today’s weather
Temperature at takeoff: 69 degrees
Sky: sunny
Wind: NW at 9 mph
Pressure: 29.77 and falling
Sunrise: 5:47 a.m.
Forecast: sun and clouds mixed; high of 86; wind NW at 5-10 mph