Top 10 Baits from the Potomac River
What got it done in tough tidal conditions
The final event of the Costa FLW Series Northern Division wasn’t the whack-fest the first two were. Instead of willing smallmouths and stupid largemouths, the bass on the Potomac put up a fight. Nonetheless, the tops pros figured out how to catch them pretty consistently, with a variety of off-beat choices and Potomac River staples.
1. Mike Hicks mixed it up all week, but swapping topwaters and mixing in a swim jig on the final day keyed his win. He threw a Lobina Rio Rico the first two days and then switched to a perch-colored Team Daiwa TD Pencil in the calmer water on the final day. His swim jig of choice was from Lil’ Hustler, and he trailered it with a Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper. Hicks caught a few on a split-shot rig at the end of day two, and also added fish on a vibrating jig from Lil’ Hustler and a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver.
2. Gregory Wilder led the first two days and did basically all his damage with what he calls a “green pumpkin Senko,” which is a Zoom Trick Worm in either merthiolate or bubble gum. Mostly he fished it weightless on braid with a fluorocarbon leader, but he occasionally added a nail weight when the tide was higher.
3. A trio of topwaters did it for Travis Manson. He relied on a black River2Sea Whopper Plopper in the 90 size, an old 3/8-ounce buzzbait doctored to squeak more and a Savage Gear popping frog.
4. Bradley Staley says he pretty much stuck with one bait the whole week – a 3/8-ounce Dave’s Tournament Tackle Vibrating Jig in the Potomac killer color with a Zoom Speed Craw for a trailer.
5. Ed Casey caught a few on a Yamamoto Senko, but his primary bait was a Terminator Spinnerbait with a Zoom Tab Tail Grub for a trailer.
6. Mike Blake says he threw a whole variety of swimming baits this week. They included a Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog thrown blank on a Z-Man ChatterBait, a Zoom Speed Worm, a Dave’s Tournament Tackle swim jig in a shad pattern and a Keitech Model 1 Tungsten Casting Jig paired with a YUM Christie Craw.
7. Moving up from tenth on the final day, Charlie Reed Jr., says he mostly stuck with a homemade 3/8-ounce swim jig in green pumpkin trailered with a Strike King Rage Bug and Rage Craw.
8. Joseph Wood did some work with a Yamamoto Senko and a few other baits, but his big bites came on a Missile Baits D Bomb.
9. William Kramer had a great day one and could never quite back it up. He caught them on a LIVETARGET Hollow Body Frog on day one and also used a spinnerbait and a homemade swim jig in black and blue or green pumpkin with a 3-inch Berkley PowerBait Chigger Craw as a trailer.
10. Flipping was the deal for Jason Kervin this week. For the most part, he flipped a Missile Baits D Bomb with a 1 1/4-ounce tungsten weight. After losing his last big weight on the final day, he tried it out with a pair of ¾-ounce weights with no success.