Hamilton Takes James River W
Joyce claims co-angler title in Piedmont Division event
Local boater Jeff Hamilton of Henrico, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 17 pounds, 9 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event on the James River in Henrico, Virginia. Hamilton earned a total of $3,756 for his victory.
“I stayed in the Chickahominy, bouncing around to a couple of different spots,” says Hamilton, who earned his first career FLW win. “I mainly rotated between a shaky head and a (Z-Man Evergreen JackHammer) ChatterBait. Later in the day the clouds started blocking the sun and we had a little bit of shade, so I picked up a Pop-R and ended up culling three or four times. I also caught my biggest fish – around 5 pounds – on it.
“The key was to just keep moving,” Hamilton continues. “I was just rotating spots, letting them rest for a little bit, then I’d keep moving. The lucky 5-pounder at the end of the day helped a lot, too.”
The top 10 boaters:
1st: Jeff Hamilton of Henrico, Va., five bass, 17-9, $3,756
2nd: Chris Daves of Spring Grove, Va., five bass, 17-3, $1,878
3rd: Jacob Powroznik of North Prince George, Va., five bass, 16-13, $1,743
4th: Ryan Powroznik of Hopewell, Va., five bass, 15-14, $876
5th: Robert Ramsey of Hubert, N.C., five bass, 15-12, $751
6th: Todd Harris of Clemmons, N.C., five bass, 15-1, $689
7th: Chris Atwell of Mechanicsville, Va., five bass, 14-12, $626
8th: James Wall of Greensboro, N.C., five bass, 14-5, $563
9th: Rob Uzzle of Hampton, Va., five bass, 14-4, $1,001
10th: Michael Coleman of South Chester, Va., five bass, 14-2, $438
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Jacob Powroznik won the day’s $490 Boater Big Bass Award after bringing a 5-pound, 7-ounce bass to the scale.
Uzzle took home an extra $500 as the highest finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.
Joyce wins co-angler title
Keith Joyce of Apex, North Carolina, won the Co-angler Division and $1,878 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 16 pounds, 4 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers:
1st: Keith Joyce of Apex, N.C., five bass, 16-4, $1,878
2nd: Victor Riveras of Newport News, Va., five bass, 13-6, $939
3rd: Brad Hendrix of Greensboro, N.C., five bass, 11-2, $627
4th: Ryan Drewery of Petersburg, Va., five bass, 10-9, $438
5th: Nathan Grose of Summersville, W. Va., five bass, 10-8, $376
6th: Eric Hubbard of Broad Run, Va., five bass, 10-5, $344
7th: Tim Garner of Margo, Va., five bass, 10-0, $297
7th: Matt Hall of Woodlawn, Va., five bass, 10-0, $297
9th: Aaron Anders of Wake Forest, N.C., five bass, 9-12, $250
10th: Tracy Gravely of Petersburg, Va., five bass, 9-7, $208
10th: Doug Griles of Providence Forge, Va., five bass, 9-7, $208
Michael Baldwin Jr. of Petersburg, Virginia, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 4 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award and earned $245.
The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on the James River was the fourth of five qualifying events in the Piedmont Division.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Piedmont Division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 22-24 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia, hosted by the Gainesville Convention & Visitors Bureau. Boaters will compete for a $60,000 prize package, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new 18-foot Phoenix bass boat with a 200-horsepower outboard.