DeFoe takes down Stage 6 at Potomac for fifth Bass Pro Tour win
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| Ott DeFoe topped the field on the Potomac River with 78 pounds, 11 ounces on 32 scorable bass. Photo by Phoenix Moore |
By Tyler Brinks
Bass Pro Tour
MARBURY, Md. – After a week that saw Ott DeFoe near the top of SCORETRACKER® every day he was on the water, the Tennessee pro finally shot to the top when it mattered most, taking down the Zenni Stage 6 Presented by Athletic Brewing Company Championship Round for his fourth Bass Pro Tour regular-season win and fifth BPT win overall.
With a dominant final-day performance, DeFoe stacked up 32 bass for 78 pounds, 11 ounces to beat his closest pursuer in Ron Nelson by nearly 27 pounds. Nelson finished as the runner-up, his best finish on the Bass Pro Tour since joining the ranks last season.
DeFoe is one of the winningest anglers in Bass Pro Tour history, behind only Jacob Wheeler and Dustin Connell, but this marks his first individual win since Heavy Hitters in 2022. It’s his fourth regular-season BPT win, the first since 2021 on Florida’s Harris Chain of Lakes. He did it in typical DeFoe fashion, too, escaping the bulk of the 66-angler field and fishing far up a creek in the Potomac River backwaters.
Here’s how the Top 10 pros finished the Championship Round:
Ott DeFoe – 78 – 11 (32)
Ron Nelson – 51 – 13 (23)
Bradley Roy – 44 – 11 (20)
Cole Floyd – 43 – 11 (21)
Zack Birge – 41 – 09 (20)
Adrian Avena – 40 – 12 (20)
James Elam – 36 – 07 (18)
Keith Poche – 35 – 07 (15)
Spencer Shuffield – 31 – 01 (15)
Keith Carson – 30 – 01 (14)
DeFoe gets shallow and skinny for the win
Kicking off the event, DeFoe found himself in second place behind Keith Poche after catching 70-2 during the first day of qualifying, most of it early in the day in what would end being his winning area, the extreme backwaters of Neabsco Creek.
The second day, he didn’t catch near as much after abandoning his creek when he saw other competitors heading there ahead of him, qualifying for the Knockout Round in 14th, where he again finished in second place behind Nelson with 54-3. On the final day, he was back in his element and caught them steadily, especially midday during high tide as he began to pull away from the field.
“The place where I caught them today was my first stop on the first day of the tournament,” he said. “I saw them everywhere in practice and knew it had great potential. I had some other places where I could get bites, but with an early boat number on the first day, I had to go and see if I could get there first because it’s not a big area.”
Fishing the same general area as fellow Championship Round qualifier Keith Carson, both got off to fast starts the first day.
“[Carson] was in there with me as well, fishing a little different section, but it was a blistering start on the first day for both of us,” he said. “I had 40 pounds by noon, but I had a later boat draw the second day, and I drove there and could see some other competitors idling back in there. I opted to turn around and leave and really struggled most of the day and barely made it to the Knockout Round.”
DeFoe couldn’t make any other areas work but caught enough to advance. He was all-in on the area the final two days and took advantage of the tide schedule to get as far back as possible and reach bass in ultra-shallow water during the high tide, catching many of these fish he visually saw cruising due to the clear water.
“In practice, the best bite was mid-to-lower part of the outgoing tide when the water was really moving; kind of that mid-tide zone to the bottom end of the tide,” he said. “That’s when the bite made the most sense. We only got that the first day of the tournament, though. The high tide was the best for my deal because I could get so much further back. That was the most productive for me, especially today with how high the tide was during the final days of the tournament.”
Getting to ultra-shallow water was helped by the tide schedule, and DeFoe believes the recent excessive heat was also a benefit, pushing bass to the shelter in the cooler creeks.
“All of the major tributaries have a lot cooler water because it’s flowing, and then you have big pad flats and cover going in for bass to relate to,” he said. “With the extreme heat we had here, I believe it was a driving factor in why so many bass were up there. It also seemed like new fish were coming every day.”
Each day was slightly different in terms of DeFoe’s lure choice, but a green pumpkin and orange compact 3/8-ounce pitching jig and a wacky rig with a Sooner Run-colored Bass Pro Shops Wacky Stik-O Worm were two staples.
“The jig was a big player every day but the second day, and the wacky rig was the best for me today,” he added.
DeFoe is excellent at fishing moving water and getting shallow in creeks and rivers everywhere he goes. He also has plenty of tidal river fishing experience over the years, both on the Potomac and other locations, but this was easily his best result.
“Tidal water, in general, I’ve cashed a lot of checks, but I don’t know that I’ve ever had a Top 10 on a tidal fishery,” he said. “We’ve come to the Potomac quite a bit over the years, but this was by far my best finish.”
As an angler who’s frequently won events at all levels, DeFoe admits that his winning drought since 2022 has been on his mind.
“Andy Montgomery and I were able to get a win in the Team Series this last Fall, but it definitely has been weighing on me a little not winning one of these,” he admitted. “This also was my first Top 10 of the year. It’s been a funky year and not up to my standards, so this one feels really good to get it done.”
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