Richard Bates wins in a big way on the Chickahominy River
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In what turned out to be a lopsided victory Richard Bates scored a four pound margin of victory on the Chickahominy River May 12. “This was a personal best for me on this river. Everything just fell into place today. All my fish came fishing Zoom plastics shallow. There had to be cover of some sort to find the fish. Every bite came when my bait was in contact with wood of some sort. The big fish followed the bait out from wood and struck a few feet after I had contacted the cover,” said Bates.
Richard brought in the winning weight of 19.47 pounds, anchored by the big fish of the tournament at 6.34 pounds. In securing the win Richard claimed first place in a full field event and took home a check for $795 which includes the big fish pot. “Since its Mother’s Day weekend I think I’ll share! She only lets me go fishing when its tournament time, so maybe this will give me more opportunities on the water,” said Bates.
In a distant 2nd place was Danny Lamie with 15.70 pounds. Rounding out the money winners were Guy Fairweather in third with 14.86 pounds and division point leader John Gillis at 4th place with 14.45 pounds.
Of the 27 anglers that fished this event, 21 of them had a 5 fish limits of bass. 112 fish were brought to the scales with an average fish weight of 2.35 pounds!
Top 10 Finishers
| Place | Name | Fish | BB | Total | Points |
| 1 | Richard Bates | 5 | 6.34 | 19.47 | 200 |
| 2 | Danny R. Lamie | 5 | 0 | 15.7 | 199 |
| 3 | Guy Fairweather | 5 | 4.31 | 14.86 | 198 |
| 4 | John H. Gillis | 5 | 0 | 14.45 | 197 |
| 5 | James James T. Bland | 5 | 4.12 | 13.61 | 196 |
| 6 | Richard Plemons | 5 | 0 | 13.6 | 195 |
| 7 | Tim TJ L. Schmitz | 5 | 0 | 12.74 | 194 |
| 8 | Richard Rick G. Rodriguez Jr | 5 | 0 | 12.73 | 193 |
| 9 | Henry F. Davis | 5 | 0 | 12.28 | 192 |
| 10 | Calvin Hunter | 5 | 4.23 | 11.72 | 191 |
The next event for the Virginia division will be May 26 on Kerr Reservoir
For more information about this Division and future events visit http://www.drawtrail.com/2018DivPage.php?Division=13
or contact the local Director for Virginia Division 13 Gary Conner at 757-293-8651
The American Fishing Tour offers low cost, close to home bass tournaments that are designed for the weekend angler. All ABA anglers fish for money and points. The points advance the angler to their divisional championship and the top 500 anglers in the US are invited to the American Fishing Tour National Championship.
American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers, the ABA Open Series, the American Fishing Tour or the American Couples Series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com.
American Bass Anglers, Inc. is supported by Triton Boats, Mercury Outboards, Hydrowave, T-H Marine, Abu Garcia, Berkley, Livingston Lures, Best Western Hotels, Garmin, Maui Jim, Power Pole, Optima Batteries and GEICO. American Bass Anglers, Inc. can be contacted at (256) 232-0406 or visit AmericanBassAnglers.com