MARBURY, Md. – As is often the case at the Potomac River, it’s hard for any angler to create a ton of separation in a multi-day tournament. Kickers are hard to come by, and with the ever-present fishing pressure on tournament days, it’s not always easy to get to and probe any given area or fully capitalize on golden opportunities.
For Keith Poche, who weighed in a tournament-best 17 pounds, 14 ounces on Day 1, it wasn’t a lack of consistency that closed the gap between himself and second, but he wasn’t able to match his Day 1 bag a second time at the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Northern Division season opener.
The Cecil, Alabama pro, who finished eighth at the Potomac on the Bass Pro Tour last season, brought 14 pounds even to the scales on Friday for a lead of just 6 ounces over Jonathan Kelley. Brody Campbell (31-6), Eddie Levin (also 31-6), Harmon Marien (31-5) and Nathan Reynolds (31-1) are all above the 31-pound mark over two days, while two more (Hayden O’Barr and Mike Iaconelli) have topped 30.
In other words: We’re in for some pre-July 4th fireworks on Saturday.
Fishing clean key for Poche to finish strong
“It’s very simple: I didn’t execute today,” Poche said of his Day 2 performance. “I did not put them in the boat. I don’t know why. Just one of them days. You’re just going down the bank and get a bite and set the hook and they get halfway to the boat and jump off. I could have had 15 or 16 pounds, easily.”
Poche had the bites to give himself a huge cushion heading into Day 3, but the combination of at least having those fish hooked and also being able to run some new water on Friday has Poche feeling confident – if a little disappointed – with one day left to fish.
“I like my chances if I can fish clean tomorrow and have the right bites and get them in the boat,” he said. “I may have it locked up.”
Each of the first two days, Poche started way off the beaten path, as he’s wont to do, over a beaver dam that’s more easily accessible with the high tide in the mornings. Unfortunately, the timing of that tide isn’t the same as it was during practice, and the fish haven’t been biting nearly as well. As a result, Poche says he plans on scrapping that area to start Day 3 and instead hit some other areas that aren’t as cumbersome to reach.
Still, Poche has an affinity for the Potomac and is no stranger to the precise timing required to rotate through areas or to knowing when to hunker down in a particular spot.
“I love this place,” he said. “This and the James River are two of my favorite places to fish. These tidal waters, they’re shallow, I understand the tide, I know where to be at certain times and I know what to look for.”
So far this week, that’s been basically anything that a bass might be hiding behind or under – laydowns, grass, current breaks, you name it. To get it done, Poche has relied on a trio of Berkley baits: a PowerBait swim jig in green pumpkin and orange, a Pit Boss (with which he says he’s caught 85-90% of his fish) and a wacky-rigged General.
As for Day 3, Poche isn’t too concerned about starting just ounces ahead of second.
“I don’t care if I win by an ounce,” he said. “I’d like to win by 4 pounds, but we just need to keep the hammer down.”
Kelley sticks to game plan, adds new water on Day 2
A surefire way to find yourself in contention on championship day at the Potomac is consistency. Kelley has certainly been consistent this week – he’s just done it in slightly inconsistent ways.
“Today, I had 3-pounders,” he said. “Yesterday, I actually had two bigger ones; I just made a mistake … and ended up weighing a 2.16 and a 2.29 and that hurt me. I discovered there was a lot of high 2s and 3-pounders in the area and I didn’t go to it yesterday in that section and that’s a regret.”
Kelley’s program is consistent with what many anglers have done this week; grass in the morning before shifting to pad edges as the water drops later in the day. That’s worked well for Kelley, though he hasn’t executed exactly as he thought he could during his practice period.
“I know where I’m starting (on Saturday),” he said. “It’s main-river grass. In practice, I saw a 4 1/2 (pounder) and two 5s. I know they’re there. They’re not biting. They kind of changed where they were, I’m assuming, and I just haven’t re-found them yet. With the water level being so low in practice and then it came up a bit, I think it shifted them a bit and brought some dirty water in.”
To combat the added dirty water, Kelley found a strip of cleaner water he leaned on heavily on Friday, though he admits he may have overworked that area for fear of one of the many tournament boats sliding in after he left.
“I found that clean water but then I kind of got stuck on that same line and got too nervous to go in and go out,” he explained. “At least tomorrow I can explore more. It got hard today with so many boats around. You try to go run somewhere and then somewhere you wanted to go there’s eight boats and you can’t just slide in.”
As for his championship day prospects, Kelley is confident he can replicate his first couple days on the Potomac, especially with Poche having weighed just 14 pounds for the 6-ounce lead.
“I’ve stuck with the power fishing, moving stuff, and fortunately it’s been enough to get me where I’m at,” he added. “I feel really confident. I think I can do what I did the last two days again.”
Top 10 pros:
1. Keith Poche – 31-14 (10)
2. Jonathan Kelley – 31-8 (10)
3. Brody Campbell – 31-6 (10)
3. Eddie Levin – 31-6 (10)
5. Harmon Marien – 31-5 (10)
6. Nathan Reynolds – 31-1 (10)
7. Hayden O’Barr – 30-3 (10)
8. Michael Iaconelli – 30-1 (10)
9. Seth Ellis – 28-10 (10)
10. Jonathan Lang – 28-9 (10)