Topwater, Trick Worm Take Brown to Victory

Williams lands co-angler crown on James River

Derek Brown of Charlottesville, Virginia, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 18 pounds, 4 ounces, Saturday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Shenandoah Division tournament on the James and Chickahominy rivers presented by Navionics. For his victory, Brown took home $4,729.

“I spent the majority of the tournament in Herring Creek,” says Brown, who earned his second win in FLW competition. “I trolled along a 50-yard stretch all day, back and forth.”

Brown targeted bass near lily pads and wood, catching most of his fish from the latter.

“In the morning I used a black and white-colored Lobina Lures Rico topwater bait with the incoming tide,” says Brown. “When the tide changed around 10 a.m., the bite changed. After that I began locating bass with the Rico and catching them on a shaky-head rig with a junebug-colored Zoom Trick Worm.

“I caught seven keepers and ended up with three of my limit-fish on the Rico and two on the Trick Worm,” says Brown. “It was a great day of fishing.”

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Derek Brown, Charlottesville, Va., five bass, 18-4, $4,729

2^nd:         David Keisel, Chesapeake, Va., five bass, 15-11, $2,364

3^rd:          Brian Stack, Nanjemoy, Md., five bass, 15-5, $1,576

4^th:          David Deciucis, Chester, Va., five bass, 15-3, $1,024

5^th:          Brett Meyn, Mechanicsville, Va., five bass, 15-3, $1,729

6^th:          Rick McFaul, Phoenix, Md., five bass, 14-5, $867

7^th:          Ed Loughran, Mechanicsville, Va., five bass, 14-2, $788

8^th:          Wayne Vaughan, Chester, Va., five bass, 13-12, $709

9^th:          Richard Owen, Chester, Va., five bass, 13-10, $631

10^th:        Kelly Pratt, Williamsburg, Va., five bass, 13-9, $524

10^th:        Shawn Hammack, Gasburg, Va., five bass, 13-9, $524

Complete results can be found here. 

Meyn caught an 8-pound, 9-ounce bass – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $705.

Williams wins co-angler title

David Williams of Fredericksburg, Virginia, weighed in five bass totaling 13 pounds, 7 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $2,364.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          David Williams, Fredericksburg, Va., five bass, 13-7, $2,364

2^nd:         Austin Burdette, Lindside, W. Va., five bass, 12-3, $1,182

3^rd:          Braxton Moore, Mechanicsville, Va., five bass, 12-0, $788

4^th:          Ryan Johnson, Elkridge, Md., five bass, 11-13, $552

5^th:          Dean Gibbs, Richmond, Va., five bass, 11-11, $473

6^th:          Mike Gardner, South Hill, Va., five bass, 11-4, $433

7^th:          Tevinn Rollins, Newport News, Va., five bass, 10-12, $394

8^th:          Gary Peters, Surveyor, W. Va., five bass, 10-6, $355

9^th:          Randy Ruffin, Norfolk, Va., five bass, 10-3, $315

10^th:        Zachary Whitt, Newport News, Va., five bass, 9-14, $276

Jim Petrous of Stafford, Virginia, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 2 ounces and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $352.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 6-8 Regional Championship on Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.