Bill Lowen's success in this tournament can be attributed to finding an area in Swan Creek during practice, then expanding his knowledge of it as the tournament progressed. He initially thought low tide was the key. In practice he caught bass weighing 5, 4 and 3 pounds there at low tide.
Day 2 was when the lights really came on for Lowen. The first two mornings of the tournament, he fished in other areas before coming to this spot. On Friday, he figured out where the fish moved on high tide. That's when he knew he could spend all day in the area Saturday and catch fish.
"I caught 'em all day (Saturday) except for that little slack tide window," Lowen said. "My little area is unique. I can catch 'em as long as the water is moving either way – high tide or low tide. I can't catch 'em when it's slack dead."
Lowen will have a rising tide in his area, which is located in northern Chesapeake Bay, until about noon.
"I think 20 pounds is possible in there," Lowen said. "I saw some big ones in practice. I haven't caught a big one since this tournament started. Hopefully, Aaron misses his tide window, doesn't catch what he's been catching and I can sneak up on him."
Like a lot of these guys, Lowen is "junk fishing," with 15 rods on the deck. But the key bait for him this morning goes back to his Ohio River roots – a 1/4-ounce white Tim Poe's spinnerbait with hammered Colorado blades.