McFaul Wins Bass Fishing League Tournament at Potomac River

MARBURY, Md. (May 19, 2025) – Boater Rick McFaul of Phoenix, Maryland, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on the Potomac River. The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Shenandoah Division. McFaul earned $4,584 for his victory.

Mother Nature tried her best to foil McFaul’s plans today, forcing him to default from Plan A all the way to “Plan C,” he said. But it ended up working in his favor.

“We had some extreme weather conditions today,” McFaul said. “The recent rains had a flooding effect on the river. There was a massive amount of dirty water and debris flowing down the river. So everything I had found in practice was taken out by the conditions – the wind and the dirty water. So I found a little patch of cleaner water on the Virginia side of the river and literally Power-Poled down and just fished one 50-yard stretch for about five hours.”

The 50-yard stretch is a community hole grass bed ranging from 3 to 5 feet deep. After catching about 15 pounds from that spot, McFaul headed back toward the weigh-in in Mattawoman Creek. It was about 1:30 when he left. Because he gave himself plenty of time to deal with rough water, McFaul arrived early and had time to make one last stop in Mattawoman. He pulled up on a stretch of wood and promptly boxed two fish over 4 pounds each to cull up to the winning weight. 

“I think one of the reasons why I was able to do well today was there was no place to go,” he said. “I really think the conditions forced me to settle down and not move because I didn’t have any other options, really. One of the mistakes I always make, and I think it’s just my personality – I tend to move around a little too much and get impatient.”

McFaul fished three primary presentations on the wood and grass. He fished a swim jig, a soft stick bait and a Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer Baby Jack. At just 1/4 ounce, the Baby Jack stayed right above the top of the grass for an effective presentation. It’s also the lure that produced his biggest fish.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Rick McFaul, Phoenix, Md., five bass, 18-11, $4,584
2nd:      Todd Langford, Great Falls, Va., five bass, 17-9, $2,292
3rd:       Robert Henderson, King George, Va., five bass, 16-13, $2,129 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th:        Roy Dixon, Welcome, Md., five bass, 16-8, $1,070
5th:        Brian Laclair, Denton, Md., five bass, 16-4, $917
6th:        Brian Warfel, Woodbridge, Va., five bass, 15-11, $840
7th:        Ron Rousseau, Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 15-7, $726
7th:        Andrew George, Poplar Branch, N.C., five bass, 15-7, $1,401
9th:        Joe A. Zombek II, Scranton, Pa., five bass, 15-4, $611
10th:     Travis Garrett, Charlottesville, Va., five bass, 14-14, $535

Andrew George of Poplar Branch, North Carolina caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $675. Steven Lloyd of Summit Point, West Virginia, won the co-angler division and $2,355 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 10 pounds, 13 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Steven Lloyd, Summit Point, W.Va., three bass, 10-13, $2,355
2nd:      John Robinson, Montpelier, Va., three bass, 10-5, $1,152
3rd:       Jason Hensley, Chesterfield, Va., three bass, 10-4, $768
4th:        Zhengrong Tang, Berwyn, Pa., three bass, 9-15, $538
5th:        Richard Williams, Sutherland, Va., three bass, 9-14, $461
6th:        Melvin Smitson, Baltimore, Md., three bass, 9-8, $423
7th:        John Lambert, Fredericksburg, Va., three bass, 9-7, $719
8th:        Ashton Crickenberger, Charlottesville, Va., three bass, 9-6, $326
8th:        Matthew Ross, Barton, Md., three bass, 9-6, $326
10th:     Brayden Fong, Bluefield, W.Va., three bass, 9-4, $269

John Lambert of Fredericksburg, Virginia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $335, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 3 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After three events, Ben Reynolds of Callands, Virginia, now leads the Fishing Clash Shenandoah Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 713 points, while David Rosenbaum of Leesburg, Virginia, leads the Fishing Clash Shenandoah Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 695 points.

The next event for BFL Shenandoah Division anglers will be held July 19, at the James River out of Henrico, Virginia.