Captain Teddy Carr, owner of Outdoor Action with Teddy Carr guide service, literally wrote the book on Virginia’s Lake Anna, and might decide to write the book on the Potomac River since he just won the Toyota Tundra Weekend Series Championship, North East Division, on the famed river.
“This river has been fishing lights-out,” Carr said. “I had one day to practice and I headed up north to take advantage of the low tide for a longer period of time. Low water concentrates the fish and usually equals a good topwater bite, and I always like to at least get my limit on topwater early then have the rest of the time to cull.”
During his practice day Carr found a small limit of fish early but it wasn’t what he knew would win the tournament. It was about time for the tide to turn so he picked up a Boogie Bait and hit the trolling motor to head over to the weeds and noticed a small channel and hump. It was about 10:30 a.m.
“In about five minutes I caught a five- and a four-pounder at that spot and I got away from it like it had the bird flu,” Carr said.
He headed back to that area first thing on day one and didn’t get his first fish until 9:30. It was a four-pounder he caught on a 5-inch Yum Dinger in green pumpkin while junk fishing and waiting on the tide. He didn’t get bit for another hour.
“My mentality is run-and-gun,” Carr said. “I was literally talking to myself on the front of the boat, telling myself that I had to stay there instead of going somewhere else. My co-angler finally asked me, ‘Are you talking to me or yourself?’”
At around 10:30 Carr pulled out another fish for the livewell, which made him more comfortable. He got into position as the tide came in and the first fish he caught on the Boogie Bait weighed 6 ½ pounds. He followed up that fish with a three-pounder, then 10 minutes later a four-pounder.
“It was a 20 minute bite,” he said. “I was out of there after that. We had a couple hours and I tried to upgrade my coangler’s fish.”
After the Day One weigh in Carr sat in second place by only .12 ounces with a sack weighing 19.07 pounds.
The second day dawned with perfect frog fishing weather, but after his coangler missed two big bass Carr put away his frog and tied on a Pip Zqueek Buzzbait to work the outside edge of the weedline. Within five minutes he had his first fish, a four-pounder, and added another 2-pound chunk a few casts later.
He moved in and started flipping a Craw Papi and caught a couple more bass to fill in his limit and culled once with a fish he caught on a Booyah jig. It was then that he made the move that probably won the tournament.
“My coangler was swimming a jig and catching two-pounders,” Carr said. “I looked at him and said, ‘Dude, we’re making a move.’ We went back to the outside edge of the weeds and I picked up the Boogie Bait. In three casts I culled with a three-pounder. Then as the tide switched we moved back in and I caught two more about the same size, but it was that three-pounder I caught on the outside edge that did it for me. The quality fish just weren’t in the weeds I caught them out of the day before.”
Carr was in the last flight in and after he learned how much weight it would take to win he was a little anxious. It would take a solid 14-pound bag to win and he knew he had about that, but that it would come down to ounces. His sack weighed 14.4, just enough to win the shooting match.
“It was just what I needed,” he said.
Outdoor Action with Teddy Carr is the most trusted and respected guide service in the Mid-Atlantic with guided trips for largemouth, smallmouth and striped bass, and guided hunts for waterfowl and turkey. Go to www.fishingwithteddy.com for more information on Teddy and his service.
The lures Carr used to win this tournament were:
Boogie Bait, 3/8-ounce, in black and blue.
Pip Zqueek, ¼ ounce, black and red.
Craw Papi, black and blue shadow.
YUM Dinger, 5-inch, green pumpkin.