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Upper Bay
By Tony Lohr The Maryland State Qualifying Tournament was held on the This year’s alternate, tournament veteran JR Robertson,
President of Middle River Bassmasters, is no stranger to the state team.
He has qualified three times since he started fishing tournaments in the
seventies. He started Saturday by flipping soft plastics and Senkos to a
bulkhead surrounded with grass. After catching three fish on a ChatterBait
off of a rock pile incased by grass patches, he transferred his focus
solely to areas where bulkheads and pilings met grass beds. On Sunday,
Robertson returned to Boater Steve Deridder of Bass Magic Bassmasters took eighth place with an 18lb 3 oz bag. Deridder spent Saturday in Joppatowne pitching a black and red finesse worm on a texas rig to the edges of timber and grass lines working the bait very slowly. On the first day he boated five throwbacks but also managed to get five good bites using his methodical presentation. On Sunday Deridder changed his presentation to suit the changing conditions when the worm bite suddenly died off. He hurled a black tube into the murky waters of Joppatowne focusing on wood and rocks, landing two small fish and three keepers. Deridder thanks partner Doug Stierhoff for being an excellent net man and great company during the two day event Boater Brandon Pyles landed himself in seventh place with an 18lb 6oz bag plucked from the waters of Joppatowne. On Saturday Pyles landed between 15-20 fish throwing a 5/16 oz peanut butter and jelly Jewel jig to laydowns and rock piles in 8- 12 feet of water. Noticing that the water had become more stained on Sunday, he changed his lure to a 1/8 oz green pumpkin Cabin Creek spider jig and focused on the same type of cover. He had consistent action all day, enough to capture seventh place in the tournament. This will be his second year fishing for the state team. Darin Hoover of Upper Bay Bassmasters procured his 19lb 7oz
bag from the stained waters Seneca Creek. Saturday he tried top water
baits during the incoming tide then switched to a 3/8 oz ChatterBait and
fished it over the grass until he filled his livewell. Sunday he returned
to Seneca, focusing on shorelines and offshore grass lines, throwing a
concept lure and a purple worm. Angler Jerry Sersen ran to Seneca Creek on day one and
decided to key on the grass beds. He had practiced for two days and found
that the better bites could be found casting spinnerbaits into grass beds.
Sunday Sersen found that the fish had moved out of the grass beds and were
piled into the area between the grass line and the shoreline, seeking
water that was slightly clearer. Sersen found success pitching a brush hog
against the reed line, then as the flood tide retreated found success
throwing a one minus in coves near the mouth of the creek keying in on
that clearer water located between the grass line and the shoreline. “You had to find the clearer water to get the bites.” Sersen ranked fifth in the tournament boasting a bag of 19lbs 12oz. Michael Payne of Bass Magic Bassmasters credits his club
and his partner Rodney Bailey for his forth place 21 lb 5oz bag that was
hoisted out of the Kirk Wagner of Upper Bay Bassmasters II was surprised that
such low weights qualified for the state team. An experienced “What hurt the tournament was three back to back cold
fronts during the spawn,” said Wagner. Wagner decided, due to the weather conditions, to fish
finesse baits but also, go for a big fish bite. He decided on throwing a
finesse jig to hard cover with the mindset that he could more accurately
cast to fish that were positioning around hard cover. “Cold front situations can force fish deep into grass
beds,” stated Wagner. “With the grass beds being so massive it can be
difficult to know where to present the bait. Fish position differently on
hard cover so anglers can make more accurate casts and fish more
efficiently.” On Saturday Wagner fished an area where he knew bass had been spawning. The bite was light and soft which cost Wagner three quality fish. He found it hard to get a decent hookset on the better fish with such a small hook. On Sunday he returned to the same type of area landing four short fish and two four pounders, upping his weight to 21lbs 10oz and placing him in third for the event. Steven Lapp of Central Maryland Bassmasters decided to make the short run to Joppatowne finding the water stained and in the low 60’s. Lapp focused on wood, grass, and rock piles to earn his 21lb, 5oz bag. Lapp used a black and blue jig and a green pumpkin finesse worm. Lapp also pitched a green pumpkin brush hog into the cover to haul out his catch. Unlike other anglers Lapp had action all day boating fifteen keepers on day one and six keepers on day two, as well as an abundance of short fish on day two. Lapp finished in second place with an impressive 25lb, 5oz bag. Non-Boater Greg Russell of Skeeter Owners Club stayed close to the launch fishing the grasses of Dundee Creek. Russell used finesse tactics to charm his bass out of the depths. He started by throwing a Mann's One Minus and after boating a fish decided to slow down. He threw a floating worm on day one keying in on the area between the inside edge of the grass line and the shoreline. The second day he fine tuned his techniques to a greater extent and changed his tactics. He switched to a lighter line and a darker colored worm and cast the worm with no weight allowing the wind to move the lure. Then Russell waited for a twitch telling him that a fish had moved in on the lure. On day one Russell landed seven fish netting five keepers, and day two a surprising eight keepers with two throwbacks. The combined weight was enough to take first place and Russell weighed in a healthy 26lb 9 oz bag. The day one lunker was split when Allan Amernick of Upper Bay Bassmasters II and Jim Pittsnagle of Northern Shenandoah Bassmasters weighed in two identical beauties each weighing 4 lbs 14 ounces. Jim Gallion of Bayside Bassmasters nabbed the biggest fish of the tournament. His day two lunker, weighing 5lbs 8 ounces, earned Mr. Gallion $450 as well as some bragging rights. Roger Trageser, Kelly Comer and their crew of volunteers
invested hours of time to insure that the event was well organized and ran
smoothly. Because of their commitment, participants enjoyed two days of
intense fishing. Facing poor weather conditions, most of the anglers found
success by fine-tuning finesse presentations and keying in on specific
cover or structure. The winners will join Mr. Bass champion Rich Weldon of
Big Dawg Bassmasters and represent |
