MARBURY, Md. (Sept. 14, 2025) – To the surprise of nobody who pays attention, Bryan Schmitt closed out the win in the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Northern Division event on the Potomac River . The seventh Toyota Series-level win of his career, it’s his fourth win on the Potomac alone and further cements his status as the best tidal fisherman in America.
The victory also extends his own record for Toyota Series wins, which he first set in 2021 when he won at Lake Toho.
Sacking up bags in the mid-teens every day, Schmitt weighed 15 pounds, 4 ounces on Day 3 – his biggest bag of the week – for a 44-15 total. In second, Samuel Fish made a valiant run up the leaderboard with 17-7 on the last day for 43-9. Christian Greico tallied 43-4 for another great Potomac finish.
While most everyone else in the field bounced up and down the leaderboard, Schmitt simply crept up every day until he was where he needed to be. A master on the Potomac, he used all his wiles this week, fishing grass, rock and everything else.
“It was a no-brainer approach,” he said of Day 1. “With the clouds, I had a couple small grass stretches that I think were overlooked. They might not have had a ton of fish, but they had some chunks, some decent 3-pounders. I really leaned on them hard Day 1. It was shallow hydrilla, and that was all winding my swim jig.”
Then, Schmitt added a fish on a drop-shot off a dock post, and he kept the mix up rolling from there.
“The day before the tournament and Day 1, we had clouds,” said Schmitt. “That kind of triggers a bite. When you reverse that here and the sun finally pops out, it gets tough. Day 2, I wasn’t able to catch any fish in the morning in the grass – I had to rely on some hard structure, docks, a couple isolated deep logs. And at the end of the day, for like 2 1/2 hours, I punched mats, and one was a good one.”
Day 3, Schmitt continued to tap his encyclopedic Potomac knowledge.
“Today, I ran the same pattern – some wood, some docks – and I caught 13 pounds pretty easy,” he said. “But I felt like I needed to run something new. So, I ran to this one spot that my wife and I fished 20 years ago. It’s an old underwater rock jetty. Dude, I pulled up, and I caught a 3-6 right away. Then my co-angler catches a 3 1/2, and if they’re there, they’re never by themselves. Well, I didn’t position the boat right, and he catches a 4. Then I caught another one, and then I ran to some grass late, and caught one almost 3 on a frog that probably upgraded me half a pound.”
By the end of the tournament, Schmitt had used just about every rod on deck to get the job done.
“It was 100 percent history of the river, knowledge of the river, and having a few things different up my sleeve,” he said.
For baits, Schmitt used a 3/8-ounce Hayabusa Lil’ Schmitty Swim Jig with a Missile Baits Chunky D trailer in the grass. For hard stuff, a Missile Baits Magic Worm on a drop-shot and a SPRO Little John MD got the call. Schmitt also used a SPRO Bronzeye Poppin’ Frog, and a Missile Baits D Bomb accounted for his punching fish. Of particular note, Schmitt used his signature Fitzgerald swim jig rod when he was swimming his signature jig.
On stage, Schmitt was emotional when he earned the win in front of family and friends.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself when we come around here, and there was a definite opportunity,” he said. “I wanted it real bad. I feel very rewarded. I’m really blown away, seriously.”
He’s also thrilled to extend his own record, which is growing increasingly hard to top.
“It means something to me,” he said. “To say I have a record in fishing, and to extend on it, it means a lot. This is satisfying, to win here against these guys. It’s hard; it’s so hard. It’s very rewarding. It means a lot to me.”
The top 10 pros at the Toyota Series at the Potomac River finished:
1st: Bryan Schmitt, Deale, Md., 15 bass, 44-15, $33,869
2nd: Samuel Fish, Chelsea, Ala., 15 bass, 43-9, $14,028 (includes $1,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus)
3rd: Christian Greico, New Bern, N.C., 15 bass, 43-4, $11,086
4th: Anthony Buzzeo, Bel Alton, Md., 15 bass, 41-3, $8,405
5th: Matt McCluskey, Ashburn, Va., 15 bass, 41-3, $7,564
6th: Bryan Labelle, Hinesburg, Vt., 15 bass, 40-15, $6,724
7th: Aaron Dixon, Bel Alton, Md., 15 bass, 40-14, $5,883
8th: Brady Lunsmann, Citrus Springs, Fla., 15 bass, 40-14, $5,043
9th: Jason Burger, Bridgeton, N.J., 15 bass, 40-8, $4,202
10th: Emil Wagner, Marietta, Ga., 15 bass, 39-12, $3,362
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Jamie Newton of Falls Church, Virginia, won Thursday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass Award, catching a bass weighing 5 pounds, 12 ounces, while Christian Greico of New Bern, North Carolina, brought a bass weighing 5 pounds, 3 ounces to the scale Friday to take home the $500 Berkley Big Bass Award for Day 2.
Justin Bronson of Glenn Dale, Maryland, won the Co-angler Division Saturday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 37 pounds, 12 ounces. Bronson earned the top co-angler prize package worth $33,500, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard motor.
The top 10 co-anglers at the Toyota Series at the Potomac River finished:
1st: Justin Bronson, Glenn Dale, Md., 15 bass, 37-12, Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp outboard
2nd: Jesse Colie, Bel Alton, Md., 15 bass, 37-11, $4,378
3rd: Corey Henderson, King George, Va., 15 bass, 34-6, $3,422
4th: Cornell Badra, Clarksburg, Md., 15 bass, 31-3, $2,995
5th: Safulla Rana, Manassas, Va., 14 bass, 30-9, $2,567
6th: Kade Wesner, Lancaster, Pa., 15 bass, 30-0, $2,139
7th: Michael Duarte, Baltimore, Md., 15 bass, 29-15, $1,711
8th: Tim McGlenn, Welcome, Md., 14 bass, 29-10, $1,497
9th: Keyshawn Bratcher, Altamonte Springs, Fla., 14 bass, 28-11, $1,283
10th: Glenn Hall, Wellsville, N.Y., 13 bass, 28-7, $1,219
Co-angler Glenn Hall of Wellsville, New York, earned Thursday’s $150 Berkley Big Bass co-angler award with a 4-pound, 15-ounce bass, while Friday’s Day 2 $150 co-angler award went to Marvin Stith of Piscataway, New Jersey, who weighed in a 4-pound, 13-ounce bass.
With all three regular-season events in the Toyota Series Northern Division now complete, pro Brody Campbell of Oxford, Ohio, was crowned the Fishing Clash Northern Division Angler of the Year (AOY), earning the AOY payout of $5,000 with 750 points, while Glenn Hall of Wellsville, New York, was named the Co-angler of the year with 737 points, taking home the $2,000 prize.
The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at the Potomac River was hosted by the Charles County Recreation, Parks and Tourism. It was the third and final regular-season tournament for the Toyota Series Northern Division. The next event for Toyota Series anglers will be Sept. 25-27 at the Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri. For a complete schedule of events, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The 2025 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern and the Southwestern – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International and Wild Card divisions. Anglers who fish in any of the five divisions or the Wild Card division and finish in the top 25 will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning up to $235,000 and a qualification to REDCREST 2026. The winning co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard. The 2025 Toyota Series Championship will be held Nov. 6-8 on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma, and is hosted by the City of Grove Convention & Tourism Bureau.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Toyota Series updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
