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Bassmaster Elite Series Event on Potomac River
Promises Fierce Competition for Pounds and Points
July 30, 2007 - CELEBRATION, Fla. "When
the Bassmaster Elite Series returns Aug. 9-12 to the Potomac
River for the Capitol Clash presented by Advance Auto Parts in
Laplata, Md., competitors can expect to find more bass-holding
grass, clearer water and tricky tidal conditions as they compete
for a $100,000 top prize.
Although each fishery visited on the Elite circuit
presents unique challenges to the world's top bass pros, the
tides will make the Potomac River an especially tough venue.
Kelly Jordon will look to defend his Capitol Clash
title, which he earned in August 2006 with a total weight of
60 pounds, 9 ounces. The Mineola, Texas, pro said figuring out
how the fish move with the tides is tough.
"I'm sure the tidal conditions will be different
than last year, Jordon said. "They change every day. What
we catch will be dictated by the tide we'll have. If the tide
really moves during tournament hours, the fishing will be good.
The greater the tide fluctuations, the better the fishing.
Jordon said that although he wasn't able to pre-fish
the river (the official cutoff date was July 7), he has heard
that the water is clearer and the grass is plentiful conditions
that play to his strengths.
"Last year the fish were heavy in the grass
and I caught most of my fish flipping to the mats, he said. "I
will have more grass to flip to this year.
After the Capitol Clash, the 10th of 11 events
of the season, the pros will have one more chance to earn
points that count in the 2007 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler
of the Year race and toward qualifying for the 2008 Bassmaster
Classic in February on South Carolina's Lake Hartwell.
The season-long AOY race, its $125,000 top prize
and the prestige of the AOY crown is on Elite pro Jared Lintner's
mind.
Going into the Potomac event, Lintner was third
in the AOY standings, behind Skeet Reese and Kevin VanDam, who
are in first and second, respectively. Reese of Auburn, Calif.,
has 2,259 points; VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., has 2,239; and
Lintner of Arroyo Grande, Calif., has 2,037 " he's not so
far behind that he couldn't catch up.
"I have a positive attitude, Lintner said,
"and anything can happen, but look at Skeet. He's very comfortable
fishing tidal water, and Kevin VanDam catches them everywhere
we go. But still, I might be able to get a little closer.
Even if he doesn't advance, Lintner would take
home $30,000 if he maintains his third-place AOY standing, a
piece of the $601,000 that is paid out to the top 50 finishers.
Lintner said he didn't pre-fish for the Potomac
event. He's relying on his experience in last year's Capitol
Clash, in which he finished 20th. Like many other pros, he'll
do some research at home, then continue to put the puzzle together
when he hits the water Aug. 6 for three official practice days.
"No matter where you go on the river, there
are fish, Lintner said.
He's not a neophyte on tidal waters. He knows the
California Delta, a tidal fishery close to his hometown.
"I know what the fish tend to do on tide swings,
but at the same time (the Delta) is not at all like the Potomac,
Lintner said. "There, the big tide is 3 to 4 feet, compared
to 6 to 7 feet in the Delta, so there's way more current. But
it did help me last year knowing what the fish do on tides.
"Outgoing and low, I like better, he added,
"because low water puts the fish out on targets, and you
can pick them off easier.
Timmy Horton of Muscle Shoals, Ala., won a BASS
event in 1999 on the Potomac. With that win and a July 15 Elite
Series victory on Lake Champlain under his belt, he's ready for
another Potomac competition.
"I really like the Potomac, and every time
you've won on a fishery it gives you more confidence, Horton
said. "I pre-fished, and the fishing was really good. It's
clearer than it was last year, and there's more grass growing,
and that will spread the field out a bit.
Horton, Lintner and Jordon said they'll go for
an early topwater bite, then move on to flipping to grass. They
aren't likely to be alone in their choice of patterns; popular
wisdom has it that punching through the grass is the key to the
river's bass.
Most Elite anglers probably will stick to the lower
Potomac, also known as the Tidal Potomac, for all four days of
the Capitol Clash. The bass are plentiful everywhere on the river,
but it's 383 miles long, and anglers launch their boats each
day at the lower end, in Charles County below Washington, D.C.
Regardless of where the competitors choose to run,
they'll be fishing a waterway that's one of the nation's conservation
success stories. Once choked with toxins and algae, the revived
waterway today is among the country's top-rated black-bass fisheries.
The Capitol Clash's daily launches will be at 6
a.m. ET at Sweden Point Marina, 2750 Sweden Point Road, Marbury,
Md. Weigh-ins each day will be at Smallwood State Park in Marbury
beginning at 3 p.m. ET. Admission is open to the public and is
free.
As with every Elite-level tournament, www.ESPNOutdoors.com
will provide live, streaming video of the daily weigh-ins. Visitors
to the site also can access analysis, photo galleries, blogs
from Elite Series anglers. At 3 p.m. ET, Sunday, Aug. 12, fans
can catch Hooked Up with ESPN2 Outdoors personalities
Mark Zona and Tommy Sanders to preview the final weigh-in.
Fishing fans can catch all the drama of the Capitol
Clash by tuning into The Bassmasters on ESPN2 at 9 a.m.
ET Saturday, Aug. 18, on ESPN2.
Local sponsors of the Capitol Clash presented by
Advance Auto Parts include Charles County, Maryland.
Sponsors of the Bassmaster Elite Series include
Toyota Tundra, Purolator, Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Berkley,
Advance Auto Parts, Lowrance Electronics, MotorGuide, Evan Williams
Bourbon, Ramada Worldwide and Costa Del Mar.
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