ON TOUR
COSTA FLW SERIES
DEtaIls
aug. 24-26, 2017
presented by plano
hosted by charles county
board of commissioners
costa flW series Division: Northern
POTOMAC RIVER
LA PLATA, mD.
By Jody White
y cha
CONDITIONS
Weather | overcast on day one; otherwise clear and
sunny
air temperature | mid-60s to low 80s
Water temperature | mid-80s
Water clarity | 1 to 3 feet, but dirtier in places due to
recent rains
Wind | fairly strong from the north on days one and
two; light and from the north on the final day
moon Phase | waxing crescent
Predominant Lake features | coontail, milfoil,
hydrilla, lily pads, docks and laydowns
fishery type | mid-Atlantic tidal river
Winning angler
mike hicks, goochland, va.
Winning Weight: 48-10 (15 fish)
stat Line: this was hicks’ eighth top-10 finish on the
potomac river in flW competition
Winning baits
100
Hicks mixed it up all week, but swapping topwaters and
adding a swim jig to the lineup on the final day assured his
win. He threw a black Lobina Rio Rico popper the first two
days and then switched to a perch-colored Team Daiwa TD
Pencil (shown above) in the calmer waters of the final day. His
swim jig of choice was from Lil’ Hustler Tackle Company, 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.
target areas
Hicks says he typically tries to stay away from community
holes, but the popular grass beds in front of Aquia Creek pro-
duced the bulk of his weight, especially in the mornings. He
started all three days of the tournament throwing a topwater
around topped-out grass near the mouth of Aquia and
added a pair of key fish from that area by throwing the TD
Pencil late in the morning on day three.
fLWfIshIng.cOm I OctOber 2017