MARBURY, Md. – To the surprise of nobody who pays attention, Bryan Schmitt closed out the win in the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Northern Division event on the Potomac River. The seventh Toyota Series-level win of his career, it’s his fourth win on the Potomac alone and further cements his status as the best tidal fisherman in America.
The victory also extends his own record for Toyota Series wins, which he first set in 2021 when he won at Lake Toho.
Sacking up bags in the mid-teens every day, Schmitt weighed 15 pounds, 4 ounces on Day 3 – his biggest bag of the week – for a 44-15 total. In second, Samuel Fish made a valiant run up the leaderboard with 17-7 on the last day for 43-9. Christian Greico tallied 43-4 for another great Potomac finish.
Diverse game plan leads to consistency for Schmitt
While most everyone else in the field bounced up and down the leaderboard, Schmitt simply crept up every day until he was where he needed to be. A master on the Potomac, he used all his wiles this week, fishing grass, rock and everything else.
“It was a no-brainer approach,” he said of Day 1. “With the clouds, I had a couple small grass stretches that I think were overlooked. They might not have had a ton of fish, but they had some chunks, some decent 3-pounders. I really leaned on them hard Day 1. It was shallow hydrilla, and that was all winding my swim jig.”
Then, Schmitt added a fish on a drop-shot off a dock post, and he kept the mix up rolling from there.
“The day before the tournament and Day 1, we had clouds,” Schmitt said. “That kind of triggers a bite. When you reverse that here and the sun finally pops out, it gets tough. Day 2, I wasn’t able to catch any fish in the morning in the grass – I had to rely on some hard structure, docks, a couple isolated deep logs. And at the end of the day, for like 2 1/2 hours, I punched mats, and one was a good one.”
Day 3, Schmitt continued to tap his encyclopedic Potomac knowledge.
“Today, I ran the same pattern – some wood, some docks – and I caught 13 pounds pretty easy,” he said. “But I felt like I needed to run something new. So, I ran to this one spot that my wife and I fished 20 years ago. It’s an old underwater rock jetty. Dude, I pulled up, and I caught a 3-6 right away. Then my co-angler catches a 3 1/2, and if they’re there, they’re never by themselves. Well, I didn’t position the boat right, and he catches a 4. Then I caught another one, and then I ran to some grass late, and caught one almost 3 on a frog that probably upgraded me half a pound.”
By the end of the tournament, Schmitt had used just about every rod on deck to get the job done.
“It was 100% history of the river, knowledge of the river, and having a few things different up my sleeve,” he said.
For baits, Schmitt used a 3/8-ounce Hayabusa Lil’ Schmitty Swim Jig with a Missile Baits Chunky D trailer in the grass. For hard stuff, a Missile Baits Magic Worm on a drop-shot and a SPRO Little John MD got the call. Schmitt also used a SPRO Bronzeye Poppin’ Frog, and a Missile Baits D Bomb accounted for his punching fish. Of particular note, Schmitt used his signature Fitzgerald swim jig rod when he was swimming his signature jig.
It never gets old
On stage, Schmitt was emotional when he earned the win in front of family and friends.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself when we come around here, and there was a definite opportunity,” he said. “I wanted it real bad. I feel very rewarded. I’m really blown away, seriously.”
He’s also thrilled to extend his own record, which is growing increasingly hard to top.
“It means something to me,” he said. “To say I have a record in fishing, and to extend on it, it means a lot. This is satisfying, to win here against these guys. It’s hard – it’s so hard. It’s very rewarding. It means a lot to me.”
Top 10 pros
1. Bryan Schmitt – 44 – 15 (15) – $33,869
2. Samuel Fish – 43 – 9 (15) – $14,028 (includes $1,000 Phoenix Bonus)
3. Christian Greico – 43 – 4 (15) – $11,086
4. Anthony Buzzeo – 41 – 3 (15) – $8,405
5. Matt McCluskey – 41 – 3 (15) – $7,564
6. Bryan LaBelle – 40 – 15 (15) – $6,724
7. Aaron Dixon – 40 – 14 (15) – $5,883
8. Brady Lunsmann – 40 – 14 (15) – $5,043
9. Jason Burger – 40 – 8 (15) – $4,202
10. Emil Wagner – 39 – 12 (15) – $3,362