When country clubs host golf tournaments, members become spectators. However, in professional bass fishing, regional and local groups deny similar exclusivity to pro tournament anglers. When the pros come to town, hotels and campgrounds, restaurants, gas stations, and tackle shops benefit. Fishing license sales generate fisheries department revenue.
Should local anglers yield to pro circuits? Many locals view sportsmanship as having respect for the sport and staying off the water. Not every angler participates in competitive bass fishing, however every bass angler benefits from the sport.
Pro anglers develop new rods, reels, lines, hooks, and lures. For top pros, it’s a question of respect for the sport. If competitive fishing is truly a sport, what would justify fishing during their competition? They’re interfering with outcomes. At worse, some anglers feel they should compete with top pros. Others follow pros to ascertain their spots, only to beat pros to their spots in the morning.
Guides maintain a unique perspective. Some invite clients to fish during practice periods to meet pros. It’s a treat to meet fan friendly anglers like BassCat/Yamaha pro Michael “Ike” Iaconelli. Wise guides know where off-limits release areas are located and treat their clients to non-stop action.
When the best compete, fans should want to stay off their field of play. Most pros welcome crowds, if a respectful distance is observed. The biggest fan etiquette violation is casting while watching. Bringing a glove to a baseball game doesn’t entitle you to take the field.
Bass fishing sport supporters are willing to relinquish home waters saying the short-term impact isn’t worth getting upset about. Fans encourage giving the guys a break and going elsewhere, taking a day off, or spending time with their wife. Iaconelli says pros aren’t trying to give off the vibe that they own the water, just that they’re trying to make a living and essentially do their job.
Iaconelli questioned why fans would compete on top level tournament days. He accepts those who have limited opportunities to get on the water. These individuals have less impact. But a few feel entitled to compete for water, claiming pros should be able to deal with the added fishing pressure as just another obstacle to overcome. Extra anglers don’t apply interference evenly. Leaders can expect crowds on subsequent tournament days.
MD DNR posts registered tournaments on their website. Top trails release schedules nearly a year in advance. There’s no excuse for accidental scheduling of events during pro events.
On a recent Ike Live episode, the successful pro ignited the highly controversial topic of tournament anglers getting priority to fish a lake.
“You should be able to fish wherever and whenever you want. BUT…if you are a fan of the sport of tournament bass fishing and you know there is a major tour on that location, why would you hold a tournament the same time?”
Pros commit their lives to growing the sport. Without them everyone would be fishing with a cane pole and bobber. Let them play through.
Author Capt. Steve Chaconas is Potomac bass fishing guide & freelance writer. Potomac River reports: nationalbass.com. YouTube video channel NationalBassGuide
SEPTEMBER 2026
Finally, a break in the heat…nights are getting a bit longer to allow water to cool overnight, making early morning topwater bites even better! It’s also a good time to put the pedal to the trolling motor and move with the fish. At lower tides, fish will position on outside grass edges and will move in with tides. This is the least amount of grass I’ve ever seen on the Potomac this time of year. This means any grass will be worth fishing and all hardcover, including docks!
Starting with topwaters. Mud Puppy Boogie Buzz buzzbaits with 2/0 stinger hooks on Gamma 30-pound test Torque braid over grass and near docks and wood are a good choice. Try poppers…smaller and faster in clear water…work up in size. Start with natural colors and go darker. When water has a bit of chop or a bit stained, go to darker patterns. More chop; bigger. Shorter casts when fishing stained water and longer casts when water is calm and clear. Use a 7’ medium heavy action graphite rod. For clear calm conditions, walking topwaters anywhere around grass or wood. Replace worn feathered hooks adding light flash and action. Feathers pull together when moving baits, then open while sitting to get second chance bites. Try red hooks! Topwater bite can last all day.
Hollow frogs and soft plastic toads are great in thick grass or areas with floating debris. Hollow frogs float over grass and can be twitched over holes! Great choices…throw both on GAMMA Torque 50-pound braid. Soft plastic Toads can be worked on top or just below the surface with weighted swimbait hooks with a centering screw lock.
Spinnerbaits and shallow cranks work when topwaters slow. Speed is key. Also, Wake baits work over grass. Chop or stained water, cloud cover at higher tides, the 3/8-ounce spinnerbait, willow/Colorado combination and a white skirt, burned around and near cover produces hard strikes. Faster reels spooled with 16 or 20-pound GAMMA EDGE Fluorocarbon and a 7’ medium heavy rod cover wider areas. Bump and rip. At lowest tides, use 1/4-ounce spinnerbaits with gold blades in all but the clearest water. For clear water, use double willow nickel blades and with firetiger skirts.
Try the Woodrow Wilson Bridge pilings and drops and in and around Spoils, Smoot Bay (National Harbor), Belle Haven Cove, and the Fort Washington lighthouse. Fish might not be grouped; however, these spots replenish. Boat channels in grass around main river docks are target areas. Crank the Wilson Bridge, Fox Ferry, and Spoils. On sunniest days, get tight to cover. With clouds, fish use cover as a current break. Fish will tell you where they are positioned and on what type of cover. Water temperatures range from 75 to 80+ degrees.
Backs of Swan, Piscataway, and Little Hunting Creeks are good spots to pitch plastics and jigs. Green pad beds around Mount Vernon and Dogue Creek hold fish. Wind-blown mats hold fish too. Punch through the grass canopy especially on sunny days. Get reaction strikes with a 1-to-1.5-ounce tungsten weight pegged. A 5/0 flipping hook with Mud Puppy 3” Mad Craws and 60lb GAMMA TORQUE braided line with a 7’6” flipping stick with a strong reel will get the big ones out!
Drop shot bridge pilings, docks, and deep grass edges with 12–18-inch leader. Using 12-pound test Gamma Edge leader tied to 15-pound Gamma Torque braid and 3/16-ounce BULLSHOT bullet shaped split shot weights, rig Mud Puppy Custom Lures DS (drop shot) worms on 2/0 hooks. Pitch and let settle on the bottom and gently shake. Find cover with your weight, leave to aggravate fish into biting.
Swim swimbaits on a 7/0 swimbait hook with adjustable ¼ ounce weight to make any bait a good swimbait. Rip free from grass. Watch for bites on fall. In areas without a lot of grass or wood cover, use an open hook. For the bigger baits, a swimbait jig hook with a 90-degree line tie works well, especially around docks or rip rap. For smaller 3.8 size swimbaits, try the ¼ ounce head with a 60-degree line tie and a screw lock. This will come over cover well.
Split shot rigs on 10-pound test Edge leader tied to 15-pound Torque braid in deeper areas in front of the grass lines at falling tides and on hard bottom deeper areas. A 3/16-ounce Water Gremlin Bullshot bullet–shaped split shot comes through cover well. Fluorocarbon lines like GAMMA EDGE help you feel bites and get baits down faster. Mud Puppy Custom Lures 5” Jiggle Stick worms work well rigged on a 3/0 hook or wacky rigged…add 1/8-ounce weight to get to the bottom to dead stick! Slowly drag and stop! When you hit cover leave as long as you can!
Pitch 4-inch MIZMO green pumpkin tubes…green pumpkin with orange tails to grass edges, docks and scattered deeper grass. Quarter-ounce Mud Puppy Custom Baits insert tube heads provide the best open water action. In heaviest cover Texas rig 3/0 Tube hooks with 1/8 or 3/16 weights.
