MARBURY, Md. – The MLF Toyota Series Presented is set to open the 2024 Northern Division with the first event of the season this week on the Potomac River. Competition days are Wednesday through Friday.
“This is going to be a really good tournament,” said Toyota Series pro Todd Langford of Great Falls, Virginia, who has eight career top-10 finishes and one victory on the Potomac in MLF competition. “Guys are going to catch them everywhere. The fish are all postspawn and they’re biting a little bit better than they were a few weeks ago.
“I don’t expect to see a ton of big fish – 5-plus-pounders – but numbers are good right now,” Langford continued. “There is more grass than ever. Maybe the big ones are just hiding better. But lately it’s been taking around 16 pounds a day to win some local tournaments and in May that is a little bit off.”
Langford said that he doesn’t expect forward-facing sonar to play much of a role in this tournament, but that anglers will likely be catching fish on a variety of baits, including frogs, swimbaits, ChatterBaits and (Yamamoto) Senkos.
“The fish are biting pretty good and everything is going to work,” Langford said. “The key is going to be finding something to yourself. All of the creeks will be in play, and it’s going to be so important to find the little areas that people may have overlooked, so you’re only sharing the areas with a couple of guys as opposed to 40 others.”
Langford went on to predict that the winner would likely have a three-day total right around 50 pounds.
“It’s very tough to duplicate the big bags right now,” Langford said. “I expect the winner will have one big day – around 20 pounds, and then back it up with a couple of 15-pound days. Weights are going to be tight.”
Anglers will launch at 6 a.m. ET each day from Smallwood State Park, located at 2750 Sweden Point Road in Marbury. Weigh-ins will also be held at the park and will begin at 2 p.m. each day.
