Henrico’s Hamilton Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on James River
Apex’s Joyce Wins Co-angler Division
HENRICO, Va. – 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,” said Hamilton, who earned his first career FLW win. “I mainly rotated between a shaky-head rig 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 continued. “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 finished the tournament as follows:
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.
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 finished as follows:
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.
The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American.
The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American will be held Nov. 11-13 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina and is hosted by Visit Anderson. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division earn priority entry into the FLW Series, the pathway to the FLW Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour, where top pros compete with no entry fees.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, FLW and its partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe.
FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show while Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. Acquired by Major League Fishing in late 2019, FLW is expanding its programming in 2020 to the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel as well as on-demand at MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).
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