Ippoliti inches closer to EverStart Series Potomac River title

Gerber snares top spot in Co-angler Division

MARBURY, Md. – A mainstay on the Walmart FLW Tour from 2000 to 2007, Frank Ippoliti of Mercersburg, Pa., made a decision in 2008 to forgo the rigors of competitive tournament fishing in order to concentrate on his thriving car dealership business. Although he fished two EverStart Series events (both in 2008) as well as a few weekend BFL events over the past several years, Ippoliti’s fishing career had mostly become an afterthought.

That was, until today.

Bolstered by an 18-pound, 12-ounce catch, Ippoliti easily grabbed the overall lead in the EverStart Series Northern Division contest on the Potomac River. And he couldn’t have been happier.

“The last year I fished the FLW Tour was back in 2007. I’ve fished some BFL tournaments here and there, but that’s all I really have time for these days. My car dealership business has been just really busy,” he said. “I was trying to (register) for some EverStart tournaments earlier in the year, but it didn’t really work out until now.

“Even though I’ve been away for a while, you quickly remember that fishing is still fishing,” Ippoliti continued. “If you’re on them, you’re on them.”

And today Ippoliti was on them.

“I live about an hour and 20 minutes away from here, so I’m pretty much just fishing some old haunts,” he said. “I have this one area where there is a bunch of grass and lily pads on a flat. Depending on the time of day, you have to cross that flat in maybe 6 inches of water at low tide. So if you’re not from around here, you’re not going to take a chance on that spot. But it’s just a great area to fish in the fall. There are plenty of good fish in there, as well as some 6-pounders. And if the conditions are right, you can really catch a monster bag.”

Although Ippoliti claims the conditions aren’t yet optimal to bust a huge stringer from that location, the Pennsylvania native isn’t complaining.

“I started out the day throwing topwaters and landed a 4 1/2-pound bass on like my third cast of the day on a buzzbait,” he said. “It was my biggest fish of the day, but then the dirty water came in and I didn’t get a bite for another 20 minutes. So I moved around, picked up a jig and started flipping. I caught two more fish and had a limit by about 11:30 a.m.”

Ippoliti then targeted one of his favorite docks where he managed to cull out another 2-pounder to seal his overall lead.

However, despite his long layoff from big-gun events, he said it was necessary to walk away from the sport for a short time to concentrate on further developing his business. As a result, Ippoliti said that it’s actually made him a stronger competitor.

“The big benefit for me is that I no longer have a financial burden when I’m fishing,” he said. “There are no repercussions now. I can fish exactly how I want to fish, and there’s a lot less pressure.”

With the weather scheduled to make some significant changes over the next few days – more rain and the possibility of an incoming cold front – Ippoliti cautioned that he still has a long way to go before he can even think about hoisting a trophy.

“I’m not really worried about the cold front,” he said. “But I am concerned about (increasing amounts) of dirty water affecting my areas. If we get some rain tonight, I’m not really sure what’s going to happen.”

Johnston nets second place

Using a total catch of 17 pounds, 7 ounces, Cory Johnston of Peterborough, Ontario, grabbed hold of the runner-up spot heading into Friday’s second round of EverStart competition.

“I lost a couple of fish, but overall it was a good day,” he said. “Right now I’m doing a little bit of everything. But I’m primarily using a custom jig a friend of mine makes called the Punisher jig. I used that a lot while flipping some heavy grass. Overall, I caught about 20 fish today, and I was able to leave my (prime) fishing area alone after that. I had a limit by around 9 a.m.”

Johnston said that his key area is a stretch of real estate that contains a series of small rock pockets ensconced in grass and weeds.

“I’m specifically looking for rocks that are mixed in with the weeds, it’s kind of like a spot within a spot,” he said. “The fish are really slow coming. But when you do catch them, they’re quality fish.”

McDonald on a roll

Mike McDonald of Randleman, N.C., landed in third place overall with a total catch of 16 pounds, 12 ounces. And like the other top contenders, McDonald believes he’s on the type of fish necessary to make a significant run at a tournament title.

“I’m on these fish big time,” said McDonald. “I probably caught 20 or 30 fish today, so I’m pretty happy. We eventually figured something out that I don’t think anybody else has figured out yet, so that feels real good.”

McDonald said that he’s targeting bass in 6 inches to 2 feet of water, targeting unspecified “vegetation” using a combination of jigs and “moving baits.”

“I’m excited about tomorrow,” he said.

Best of the rest

Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Md., used a catch of 16 pounds, 4 ounces to grab fourth place overall. Meanwhile, Mike Hoskings of Spotsylvania, Va., finished the day in fifth with a catch of 16 pounds, 3 ounces.

Joe McGoey of Omemee, Ontario, won the day’s Big Bass award in the Pro Division after landing a 5-pound, 6-ounce largemouth.

For a full list of the day’s results, click here.

Gerber grabs overall lead in Co-angler Division

Robert Gerber of The Plains, Va., took over the No. 1 spot from the back of the boat after landing a total catch of 14 pounds, 6 ounces.

“Overall everything went pretty well today,” said Gerber. “There was a good bite midmorning, but by the afternoon it definitely got a lot tougher. But I got paired up with a really good boater who put me around the fish. All I had to do was catch them.”

And catch them he did. Gerber targeted largemouth bass with ChatterBaits in about 2 to 4 feet of water to land his first-place stringer.

“I was mostly looking for sparse grass,” he said. “And I’m going to be doing the same thing tomorrow, assuming my pro partner is fishing grass again. We’ll just have to see what happens.”

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top five co-anglers after the first day of competition:

2nd: Terry Stevens of Sterling, Va., 14-3

3rd: Jerry Pyles of Middltown, Md., 13-10

4th: John Robinson of Fairfax, Va., 13-6

5th: Rodney Treadaway of Decatur, Ala., 13-5

R.C. Cooper of Nashua, N.H., won the day’s Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division.

EverStart Series action continues with Friday morning takeoff, scheduled to take place at 7 a.m. at Smallwood State Park, located at 2750 Sweden Point Road in Marbury, Md.