A “super-sensitive” rod with a good tip was important for
determining the difference between bites and grass. Smith
used a 7-foot, 6-inch, heavy-action Duckett Micro Magic bait-
casting rod and 15-pound-test fluorocarbon line.
“Normally, I like to fish that bait on a 7-3 medium-heavy,
but I was having some trouble getting them out of the grass,
and that 7-6 was really important for getting them out of
there,” he explains.
preseNtatIoN KeYs
Smith found that his main spot offered a good
morning and afternoon bite, but as is characteristic
of tidal fisheries, consistency was elusive. Daylong
diligence was essential. He had to keep baits in the
water and keep fishing the entire time.
He reports a strong morning bite, when bait was
in the area and the fish were active. Plus, the outgo-
ing tidal stage provided a good bite. The tide bot-
tomed out at about 10:30 on day one, 11:20 on day
two and 12:10 on day three in his primary spot. After
that, the action really slowed.
Day three saw Smith wrapping up his effort with a
limit of 16 pounds, 8 ounces, most of which came on
that morning tidal drop. His three biggest keepers –
including a 5-pounder – bit within the first hour of
competition.
During a late-morning lull, Smith briefly left his
ditch area and worked an outside grass edge inside
Aquia Creek. Only a glacial pace could tempt a bite,
and doing so added one keeper.
“I had cast my worm, and I was drinking a bottle of
water. When I stood up, I had one on,” Smith says.
“That’s how slow it had to be. That’s the only reason I got
that bite. With the nerves and other boats in my area on
day three, I could not slow myself down enough. So, the
only worm bite I got was when I stopped for a drink.”
Smith caught most of his fish on a 4.8-inch Keitech swimbait in bluegill flash
rigged on a 6/0 wide-gap hook with a 1/4-ounce belly weight. He added a few
more keepers on a 7/16-ounce Gambler Southern Swim Jig with a purple
Yamamoto Swimming Senko, a 1/2-ounce watermelon ChatterBait with a Keitech
Swing Impact trailer and an unweighted green pumpkin Yamamoto Senko.
coNdItIoNs
fishery type: tidal river
air temperature: mid- to upper 80s on days one and
two; low 90s on day three
Water temperature: 76 to 84 degrees
Wind: NE at 5 to 10 mph on day one; E-NE at 10 to 15
mph on day two; NE at 5 mph on day three
precipitation/cloud cover: cloudy with occasional
light rain on days one and two; mostly sunny and
warm on day three
moon phase: waxing gibbous
Water clarity: from several inches to 2 feet depending
on wind, flow and vegetation
predominant Lake features: shallow wood, grass,
docks and ditches
co-aNgLer cHamp
top fIve
1. caseY smItH
macedoN, N.Y.
total Weight: 51-06 (15 fish)
Winnings: $39,208
davId WILLIams
frederIcKsburg, va.
total Weight: 44-15 (15 fish)
Winning program: A big day-two limit of 16 pounds, 7
ounces lifted David Williams to the lead, and capitalizing
on his final-round opportunities allowed him to run away
with the co-angler win.
Williams relied mostly on a SPRO popping frog in the
leopard frog pattern and occasionally backed that up
with a Dave’s Tournament Tackle swim jig with a Zoom
Super Chunk trailer. Making long casts across the milfoil,
Williams worked the frog with a mixed cadence of repeti-
tive pops and pauses.
2. cHarLIe macHeK
mIdLotHIaN, va.
total Weight: 49-11 (15 fish)
Winnings: $15,481
august-september 2016 I fLWfIsHINg.com
3. roN NeLsoN
berrIeN sprINgs, mIcH.
total Weight: 48-02 (15 fish)
Winnings: $11,763
4. aaroN HastINgs
mIddLetoWN, md.
total Weight: 47-00 (15 fish)
Winnings: $9,802
5. brYaN scHmItt
deaLe, md.
total Weight: 45-12 (15 fish)
Winnings: $9,110
105