During the final day of the Bassmaster Elite Series event on the Upper Chesapeake Bay, word began to spread that the series would return to Maryland in 2016. When B.A.S.S. released its 2016 Elite Series schedule, those rumors became fact.
The Elites will indeed be back in Maryland next summer. This time it will be on the Potomac River, another tidal fishery, from August 11 - 14 and will launch out of Charles County.
This will mark the third time in the last 11 seasons the series will hold a tournament on the Potomac. The last time was back in 2007. In fact, the Elites came to the Potomac in consecutive years both 2006 and 2007.
During the 2006 event, Kelly Jordan bested Skeet Reese by a mere 7 ounces. The following year, Reese flipped the script beating Jordan. But Reese's winning margin was more than 8 pounds.
Both of those events were held at the same time of year as the 2016 event. Both Jordan and Reese needed more than 60 pounds over the four day event to claim the top stop. Jordan hauled in 60-9 in 2006. Reese boated 66-0 during his victory in 2007 by flipping grass and wood cover in Nanjemoy Creek. His victory on the Potomac helped him essentially wrap up the Angler Of The Year title in 2007.
There's some more recent history on the Potomac, too. Back in June, Clark Wendlandt won the Walmart FLW Tour event. He used a jig and a ChatterBait around matted grass, wood and docks to bring 60-0 to the scales.
Not exactly the same time of year, but are you beginning to see a pattern here? Grass and wood, flipping and jigs, and a 60 pound sack will likely put anglers in a position to take home the $100,000 top prize.
And when the Elites do launch out of Charles County next year, they'll do it from Smallwood State Park according to the Charles County Government. It also says it is working with community partners to put together a two-day festival during the final two days of the tournament.
