Hughes Wins on Potomac River
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Jesepth Hughes of King George, Virginia won the American Bass Anglers Ram Truck Open Series Northern Division tournament, held March 25th on the Potomac River.
Running out of Smallwood State park near Marbury, Maryland, Jesepth caught five bass weighing 22.19 pounds. He anchored his bag with a 5.09 pound kicker. For the boater division victory, Hughes took home a check for $5,000.
“I ran down south and caught them all on a black and blue jig in 6-8 feet of water,” Hughes said.
In second on the boater side, Michael Roselle of Laplata, Maryland landed a five-bass tournament limit weighing 21.09 pounds with a 7.37-pound kicker. He collected $1,760 for second place. Roselle also had the big fish for the Boater Big Bass and collected an additional $950. This being the big fish of the tournament Roselle also receives an Abu Garcia Revo reel valued at $159.
“I caught everything on red and brown crankbaits in about six feet of water,” Rozelle said.
Matthew Caffi of Fairfax, Virginia took third on the boater side with five bass weighing 20.38 pounds. He anchored his catch with a 4.86-pound kicker to earn $1,170. “I caught them on a little bit of everything, moving and slow baits, and ran all over the river,” Caffi said.
Finishing fourth, Anthony P. Ebel of Davisonville, Maryland landed a five-bass limit weighing 18.00 pounds.
Marc Leone of Rohrersville, Maryland rounded out the top five boaters with five bass at 17.95 pounds topped by a 5.36-pound kicker.
In the co-angler division, Maurice Hudson of State College, Pennsylvania won with three bass weighing 13.73 pounds. He sealed his victory with a 5.42-pound kicker to pocket a check for $2,000. He also collected $350 for the co-angler big bass.
“We fished slow with moving type baits in various colors,” Hudson said.
Taking second for the co-anglers, David Wilt of Lititz, Pennsylvania brought in a three-bass division limit weighing 11.71 pounds. He collected $700 for the effort.
Brian Coots of Lexington Park, Maryland placed third among the co-anglers with three bass going 11.45 pounds. He anchored his catch with a 4.54-pound kicker to earn $425. “I went all over the place throwing a Chatterbait and crankbait in brown and root beer colors, real slow,” Coots said.
In fourth place among the co-anglers, Dennis Kroft of Frederick, Maryland brought in three bass for 11.04 pounds including a 4.40-pound kicker.
Michael Messick of Mechanicsville, Maryland finished in fifth place with three bass at 10.86 pounds topped by a 3.85-pound kicker.
Slated for April 22nd, the next divisional tournament will be held on Chesapeake Bay out of Anchor Boats Marina near North East Maryland. At the end of the season, the best anglers from across the nation advance to the 2018 Ray Scott Championship, to be held on the Red River in Shreveport, Louisiana.
For more information on this tournament, call Jeff Randall, tournament manager, at 256-777-6152 or ABA at 256-232-0406. On line, see www.ramopenseries.com.
American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers, the Ram Truck Open Series, the American Fishing Tour or the American Couples Series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com.