Daves Wins James River Regional
Bae claims co-angler honors
Pro Chris Daves of Spring Grove, Virginia, brought a three-day total of 15 bass to the scale weighing 50 pounds, 1 ounces to win the no-entry fee Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Regional Championship on the James River. For his victory, Daves earned $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and automatic entry into the 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American Championship, June 3-5, at Douglas Lake in Dandridge, Tennessee.
“We had extremely low tides the past few days, which put the fish off the bank and right where I like to fish,” says Daves, regarding the key to his victory.
“I fished drops on the lower end of James in the mouth of the Chickahominy River, at a depth of 4 to 5 feet, with a chartreuse square-bill crankbait,” continues Daves. “I also caught several key fish on a ribbontail worm.”
Daves says he grew up fishing this river and Wards Creek.
“Fishing on your home lake, you normally get the local jinx, but this time it worked out for me, so it feels good,” says Daves.
The top six boaters that qualified for 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American:
1st: Chris Daves of Spring Grove, Va., 15 bass, 50-1, $60,000
2nd: Jason Burger of Bridgeton, N.J., 15 bass, 45-11, $10,000
3rd: Chris Baldwin of Lexington, N.C., 15 bass, 44-6, $5,200
4th: Keith Estes of Spring Grove, Va., 15 bass, 44-4, $3,000
5th: Jason Thomas of Lexington, N.C., 15 bass, 43-10, $2,500
6th: Chad Poteat of Mount Airy, N.C., 15 bass, 43-9, $1,800
Rounding out the top 10 boaters:
7th: Chris Dover of Blacksburg, S.C., 15 bass, 41-11, $1,600
8th: Jason Barnes of Concord, N.C., 15 bass, 41-9, $1,400
9th: Cole Huskins of Gastonia, N.C., 15 bass, 40-9, $1,200
10th: Steve Colgin of Lanexa, Va., 15 bass, 40-1, $1,000
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Thomas 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.
Bae notches another co-angler title
Moo Bae of West Friendship, Maryland, weighed in 15 bass over three days totaling 35 pounds, 5 ounces to win the top co-angler prize package of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.
The top six co-anglers that qualified for the 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American:
1st: Moo Bae of West Friendship, Md., 15 bass, 35-5, $50,000, including Phoenix 819 Pro boat w/200-hp outboard
2nd: David Mills of Wirtz, Va., 15 bass, 33-11, $5,000
3rd: Rod Mackinnon of Middletown, N.Y., 14 bass, 30-3, $2,500
4th: Travis Garrett of Charlottesville, Va., 13 bass, 30-3, $1,500
5th: Terri Davis of Chilhowie, Va., 15 bass, 27-15, $1,000
6th: Robert Wedding of Welcome, Md., 11 bass, 25-12, $1,150
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:
7th: Cody Lewis of Ooltewah, Tenn., nine bass, 22-2, $800
8th: Nick Coker of Knoxville, Tenn., 13 bass, 21-12, $700
9th: Bradley Smith of Cherryville, N.C. 14 bass, 21-3, $600
10th: Gregory Chuhta of Germantown, Md., 12 bass, 20-11, $500
The Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Regional Championship on the James River was hosted by Richmond Region Tourism. It featured the top pros and co-anglers from the North Carolina, Northeast, Shenandoah and Volunteer divisions.