TW_Staff
06-30-2009, 10:39 AM
The Potomac River Northern Stren was just the antidote to help Bobby Lane forget all about his dismal showing at the Mississippi River Bassmaster Elite Series. He won the event for the second time in 3 years and notched his second victory in three tournaments this month.
"Wins don't come around often and to go 2-for-3 is something pretty special," said the 35-year-old Floridian. "The neat thing is I won one on the ledges (the Kentucky Lake Bassmaster Elite Series), and now this one in the grass. I'm feeling pretty good about my fishing lately."
Because of his Florida roots, Lane is a grass-fishing expert, and he's developed a strong understanding of tidal systems. Those two attributes play well for him whenever he goes to the Potomac.
"I know what lives in the grass, and when I figure out what the tides are doing, I can put a hurting on them," he said. "Just about everybody's going to catch a limit there and even 12 pounds is no good. You have to find a way to catch some of those bigger fish."
He checked the places in Chicamuxen Creek that he'd exploited en route to his '07 victory and found them too muddy, and with grass that was in less-than-perfect health. That prompted him to focus on Mattawoman Creek, and particularly an area behind an island that was less than a 5-minute run from the launch in Marbury, Md. He found ideal conditions there.
"I caught two fish in practice a 6 1/2-pounder and a 5 1/2-pounder and I probably shook 50 off. The 5 1/2 was kind of skinny, but the 6 1/2 was real fat and healthy-looking.
"I saw where the tide was and what it was doing when I caught (the 6 1/2), so I stayed in that area another 2 hours and the flipping bite just exploded. I knew if everything went right, that was going to be the place."
When you figure the tides out, said the Lakeland, Fla, pro, you can catch some of the biggest fish in the area. The one thing I do every time I come here is work the tide to the best of my ability.
Competition:
Lane knew that his best action would occur on the last hour of the incoming tide, a period that started at about 9:00 on day 1. He picked up a couple of keepers on a frog right away, and then flipped up back-to-back 5-pounders from a couple of holes in the big mat behind the island.
When more boats came into the area, he moved to a nearby location and fished for about 30 minutes. That spot produced a 5 1/2-pounder, and his bag left him just an ounce off the lead.
On day 2, the magic hour began shortly before 10:00 and he had no problem catching a limit of 3-pounders. He didn't get any big bites, though, and dropped to 6th place.
He had to wait awhile for the tide to get right on the final day, but he caught a 6-pounder and about 10 small keepers in the preliminary hours. When 11:00 came around, the bite erupted.
"For about an hour and a half it was just ridiculous," he said. "I caught a 5-pounder and about 15 fish that were between 3 1/2 and 4.
"I knew I'd have a good shot at winning, but I had a feeling I was going to end up 2nd or 3rd because some of those guys fishing the main river had been weighing 19- or 20-pound bags. But those guys got pounded by the wind that day it was slick-calm the first 2 days and they said on stage that their water got dirty and the fish moved on them."
The wind wasn't a factor in his sheltered primary area.
"The wind actually made it easier to drift I think I scared some fish with the trolling motor the first 2 days when it was calm. I felt it, but it wasn't like there were rollers in there. It was just a steady, easy drift."
Winning Gear:
Flipping gear: 7'6" heavy-action All Star flipping stick, Abu Garcia Revo SX (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=AGRSX) casting reel (7.1:1 ratio), 65-pound Spiderwire Ultracast (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SWUC) braided line, 3/4-, 1- or 1 3/8-ounce Penetrator weight, 4/0 Reaction Innovations BMF hook, 4" Berkley PowerBait Chigger Craw (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BPCC) (green-pumpkin/blue fleck) or Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=RISB) (green-pumpkin).
He used the lighter weights during high tide when the mats were loosely bunched and the heavier ones when the grass was tightly compacted on a lower tide. "Some other guys were flipping in there with lighter weights, but they couldn't get into the deep stuff where the bigger fish were," he said.
Frog gear: 7'1" heavy-action All Star rod, same reel and line, Snag Proof Bobby's Perfect Frog (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SPPF) (tweety).
Main factor in his success "Having confidence in the area I was fishing."
Performance edge "My Power-Poles and my Minn Koto Fortrex 101 (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=MKFBM). The trolling motor got me through the grass quietly and with the Power-Poles, I could sit on a mat and fish it perfectly from a distance, even with the wind blowing."
TW Staff
"Wins don't come around often and to go 2-for-3 is something pretty special," said the 35-year-old Floridian. "The neat thing is I won one on the ledges (the Kentucky Lake Bassmaster Elite Series), and now this one in the grass. I'm feeling pretty good about my fishing lately."
Because of his Florida roots, Lane is a grass-fishing expert, and he's developed a strong understanding of tidal systems. Those two attributes play well for him whenever he goes to the Potomac.
"I know what lives in the grass, and when I figure out what the tides are doing, I can put a hurting on them," he said. "Just about everybody's going to catch a limit there and even 12 pounds is no good. You have to find a way to catch some of those bigger fish."
He checked the places in Chicamuxen Creek that he'd exploited en route to his '07 victory and found them too muddy, and with grass that was in less-than-perfect health. That prompted him to focus on Mattawoman Creek, and particularly an area behind an island that was less than a 5-minute run from the launch in Marbury, Md. He found ideal conditions there.
"I caught two fish in practice a 6 1/2-pounder and a 5 1/2-pounder and I probably shook 50 off. The 5 1/2 was kind of skinny, but the 6 1/2 was real fat and healthy-looking.
"I saw where the tide was and what it was doing when I caught (the 6 1/2), so I stayed in that area another 2 hours and the flipping bite just exploded. I knew if everything went right, that was going to be the place."
When you figure the tides out, said the Lakeland, Fla, pro, you can catch some of the biggest fish in the area. The one thing I do every time I come here is work the tide to the best of my ability.
Competition:
Lane knew that his best action would occur on the last hour of the incoming tide, a period that started at about 9:00 on day 1. He picked up a couple of keepers on a frog right away, and then flipped up back-to-back 5-pounders from a couple of holes in the big mat behind the island.
When more boats came into the area, he moved to a nearby location and fished for about 30 minutes. That spot produced a 5 1/2-pounder, and his bag left him just an ounce off the lead.
On day 2, the magic hour began shortly before 10:00 and he had no problem catching a limit of 3-pounders. He didn't get any big bites, though, and dropped to 6th place.
He had to wait awhile for the tide to get right on the final day, but he caught a 6-pounder and about 10 small keepers in the preliminary hours. When 11:00 came around, the bite erupted.
"For about an hour and a half it was just ridiculous," he said. "I caught a 5-pounder and about 15 fish that were between 3 1/2 and 4.
"I knew I'd have a good shot at winning, but I had a feeling I was going to end up 2nd or 3rd because some of those guys fishing the main river had been weighing 19- or 20-pound bags. But those guys got pounded by the wind that day it was slick-calm the first 2 days and they said on stage that their water got dirty and the fish moved on them."
The wind wasn't a factor in his sheltered primary area.
"The wind actually made it easier to drift I think I scared some fish with the trolling motor the first 2 days when it was calm. I felt it, but it wasn't like there were rollers in there. It was just a steady, easy drift."
Winning Gear:
Flipping gear: 7'6" heavy-action All Star flipping stick, Abu Garcia Revo SX (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=AGRSX) casting reel (7.1:1 ratio), 65-pound Spiderwire Ultracast (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SWUC) braided line, 3/4-, 1- or 1 3/8-ounce Penetrator weight, 4/0 Reaction Innovations BMF hook, 4" Berkley PowerBait Chigger Craw (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BPCC) (green-pumpkin/blue fleck) or Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=RISB) (green-pumpkin).
He used the lighter weights during high tide when the mats were loosely bunched and the heavier ones when the grass was tightly compacted on a lower tide. "Some other guys were flipping in there with lighter weights, but they couldn't get into the deep stuff where the bigger fish were," he said.
Frog gear: 7'1" heavy-action All Star rod, same reel and line, Snag Proof Bobby's Perfect Frog (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SPPF) (tweety).
Main factor in his success "Having confidence in the area I was fishing."
Performance edge "My Power-Poles and my Minn Koto Fortrex 101 (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=MKFBM). The trolling motor got me through the grass quietly and with the Power-Poles, I could sit on a mat and fish it perfectly from a distance, even with the wind blowing."
TW Staff