By MLF Communications Staff
MARBURY, Md. – The second-to-last MLF Invitational of 2023 gets under way Saturday at the Potomac River. The will feature a roster of 150 professional anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000 and an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2024.
The tidal fishery is a very familiar destination for MLF and many of the pro anglers competing in this tournament, as the Potomac River has hosted countless major bass-fishing tournaments. Historically, milfoil has always played a huge role on the river, but that hasn’t totally been the case in tournaments as of late. Eelgrass and star grass have become important players. Notably, some of the best eelgrass stretches have been on the main river, which has expanded the playing field a little bit as well.
Green Lane, Pa. pro Grae Buck has quite a bit of experience fishing on the Potomac River, and he believes we’re headed for another good event on the historic fishery.
“The fishing should be pretty strong, and (the weather) won’t be too hot,” Buck said. “The majority of fish should be postspawn and getting into their summertime patterns, when they’re eating. My favorite time to fish the Potomac is early May, but the fishing should be fun and this will be a good one.
“I’ll be interested to see what the weights are this year,” Buck continued. “When we were there in ’21, the average was way higher than I thought it would be. I didn’t see that coming, I knew we would catch fish, but I thought 12 pounds a day would make a Top 50.
“The last few years, it seems like the river is getting stronger and the weights are getting higher,” Buck said. “Overall, the weights have gotten stronger, and I think that has a lot to do with the grass. It’s not necessarily milfoil, there’s other grass, but it lets the fish have more habitat to grow in.”
The full field competes in the two-day opening round on Saturday and Sunday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the Top 50 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, will advance to the final round on Monday.
The winner will be determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative weight and will receive an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2024. In addition, the season-long Invitational AOY will also earn a berth into REDCREST 2024.
Anglers will launch each day at 6:30 a.m. ET from Smallwood State Park, located at 2750 Sweden Point Road in Marbury. Weigh-ins will also be held at the boat ramp daily beginning at 2:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the live on-the-water action all three days of competition online on MLF NOW! beginning at 7 a.m. CT at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
