MARBURY, Md. – For a guy who almost didn’t fish – for two reasons – Chris Dillow of Waynesboro, Va., made a pretty good showing on the final day of Stren Series Northern Division competition on the Potomac River.

On a day that saw a cold front bringing steady winds of 10 to 15 mph and holding daytime temperatures to the low 60s, Dillow caught the day’s biggest limit – 16 pounds, 9 ounces – and rose five notches to the top spot with an even 62 pounds.

A realtor between fishing trips, Dillow was working on a land deal that had to be finalized before the Flipping wood produced the final round's heaviest stringer - 16-9 - for Chris Dillow.tournament started if he was to compete. Fortunately, the parties involved came to terms the afternoon prior to the event, so Dillow packed his gear and got ready to drive to Maryland.

That’s when he encountered the second road block. With more co-anglers than boaters, tournament management was working hard to pair all would-be competitors, but Dillow was five deep on the waiting list.

“I told my wife that I’d just go ahead and take my boat down with me and see what happens,” Dillow said. “If I can’t get in as a co-angler, I’ll just wing it and go as a boater. That’s what I did. I got that (real estate deal) signed by noon, hopped in the car and came over here with no prefishing.”

A steadfast devotion to one lure would see Dillow through a tournament marked by dramatically A homemade bait dubbed different weather, compounded by the water fluctuations of a tidal environment, and lead to a $25,000 payday. His “Dillow’s Perfect Jig” – a homemade 3/8-ounce bait – sports a 4/0 Gamakatsu hook, a limber rubber skirt, a crawfish-pattern paint job and a green or brown trailer.

“Today I was doing a lot of running, and I was trying to hit as much wood as possible,” Dillow said. “Once I got to a spot, I would slow down and work it methodically.”

Jigging delivered a limit by about 9 a.m. All told, Dillow caught a dozen keepers on this very challenging day. With the fish turning lethargic in the colder conditions, Dillow said he altered his jig to fit a fish’s mood.

“I had to thin out the weedguard (filaments) because the fish were biting so lightly,” he said. “I couldn’t feel a tick or anything, so I had to thin that out to get a hook set in them.”