Search
Subscribe
Monday, December 15, 2025
Home Blog Page 57

Poche Leads Wire-to-Wire, Wins Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 5 at the James River

Brian Carter
-
0
Poche Leads Wire-to-Wire, Wins Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 5 at the James River

Alabama pro holds on with 12-15 limit on final day to win by 4 ounces and earn $80,000 payday

RICHMOND, Va. (June 22, 2025) – Pro Keith Poche of Pike Road, Alabama, has a sterling record when it comes to riverine fisheries, with a bevy of Top 10s and wins on rivers proper plus high finishes plucked from the upper reaches of reservoirs. At Stop 5 Presented by 7Brew Coffee on the James River, Poche led the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals event from the start after catching the biggest bag of the event on Day 1 – 23 pounds, 15 ounces. On Day 3, he tallied 12-15 for an even 53-pound total and the win, surviving 20-pound charges from Chad Mrazek and Dustin Smith and staying well clear of his closest competition at the start of the day.
 
The win is Poche’s third with MLF and his first at the Invitationals level, and he pocketed $80,000 for his efforts. It also sends him into next week’s Bass Pro Tour Zenni Stage 6 Presented by Athletic Brewing Company at the Potomac River (just up the Chesapeake Bay) with some prime time tidal momentum.

Link to Photo Gallery of Day 3 Championship Sunday Weigh-In
Link to Photo Gallery of Day 3 on-the-water Highlights
Link to Video of Fish-Catch Highlights of Day 3 from the James River

Famous for running a Gator Trax aluminum boat with a 150-horsepower Mercury, Poche is a master when it comes to getting where others can’t. This week, he caught all but one of his weigh fish out of a hard-to-reach creek off the James, which he could access at any water level – a feat that others in larger tin rigs and standard fiberglass boats couldn’t accomplish.

“That was the X-factor in the whole deal, my boat and motor,” said Poche. “I mean, having that Gator Trax with a Mercury allowed me to win. I could get there. No nobody else could. It doesn’t matter how many fish are in there if you can’t get there. That was the difference.”

In practice, Poche scouted the area, which he’s leaned on before in James events, and he immediately liked his chances.

“I went in there first thing, and it was tough to get in there,” he said. “There’s trees down everywhere in there, it’s just nasty. Looking at the tide, there were some boats, I think, that went in there. I could tell stuff was disturbed. But, the first day of the tournament, I knew it was going to be low tide. Ain’t nobody gonna get in there. Like, they could try, but they ain’t gonna get there. So, I felt good about it, knowing that at least I can get there before anybody else – even if I had to pass them in the ditch, because I knew they could not make it all the way.”

As it happened, Poche was the first in the area and made hay, blasting nearly 24 pounds right out of the gate. In the creek, which led into a backwater pond, he did his damage in two key areas – one deeper section as well as the mouth of the pond.

“It’s really two key spots in there,” he explained. “A little hole halfway back or three-quarters way back. It has steep banks, and it was just a little dip. They stay there waiting for the water to go back and forth. And early morning, the tide was coming out, the water was clean, and they would feed. And then, of course, the other spot was right there at the pond.

“I think that each day catching fish in those small little areas, there’s just only so many that live there,” he said. “But, I did all I could. I cleaned house.”

This week, the fishing in the creek was a little different than Poche has experienced before, but it didn’t slow him down.

“That water’s going back and forth. Before, typically, when it’s going in the pond, that’s when I caught them,” he said. “But this time, it had to be coming out. And I don’t know why, but I think it was the water color. I think the river got dingy, and then when that mud pushed in there from the river, the fish aren’t used to that in there.

“They’re used to that clean water in there, and it would scatter them. But when it turned and it would start sucking that clean pond water out, they’d set up and feed.”

Across the event, Poche didn’t need anything super fancy to get the job done. He used a 5/16-ounce shaky head with a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent The General for a lot of his fish, as well as a crankbait and vibrating jig. For the shaky head, he used 15-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon, an Abu Garcia Zenon reel and a 7-1, heavy, Fenwick baitcaster.

On stage, Poche was emotional as always.

“I was worried all day,” he said. “I felt like I needed more. I couldn’t hold it back, I couldn’t hold it back, man. It feels good to get it done.”

The top 30 pros at the Invitationals Stop 5 at the James River Presented by 7Brew Coffee finished:

1st:        Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., 15 bass, 53-0, $80,000
2nd:      Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, 15 bass, 52-12, $30,000
3rd:       Dustin Smith, Trussville, Ala., 15 bass, 51-13, $20,000
4th:        Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 15 bass, 51-12, $18,000
5th:        Britt Myers Jr., Lake Wylie, S.C., 15 bass, 47-12, $17,000
6th:        Mitch Crane, Columbus, Miss., 15 bass, 47-6, $16,000
7th:        Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., 15 bass, 46-1, $15,000
8th:        Cal Lane, Grant, Ala., 14 bass, 45-15, $14,000
9th:        Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 15 bass, 45-14, $13,000
10th:     Blake Hall, Rogersville, Ala., 15 bass, 45-3, $12,000
11th:     Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 15 bass, 44-0, $10,000
12th:     Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., 15 bass, 44-0, $10,750
13th:     Chaz Carrington, Suffolk, Va., 15 bass, 43-1, $10,000
14th:     Matt Baty, Bainbridge, Ga., 15 bass, 42-10, $10,000
15th:     Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La., 15 bass, 42-9, $10,000
16th:     Kyle Cortiana, Broken Arrow, Okla., 15 bass, 42-1, $10,000
17th:     Blake Smith, Lakeland, Fla., 15 bass, 41-15, $10,000
18th:     Cole Breeden, Lebanon, Mo., 15 bass, 41-13, $10,000
19th:     Cody Petit, Arundel, Maine, 15 bass, 41-13, $10,000
20th:     Jimmy Washam, Stantonville, Tenn., 15 bass, 40-4, $10,000
21st:     Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, 15 bass, 40-4, $9,000
22nd:    Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 40-3, $9,000
23rd:    Kyle Goldstein, Paso Robles, Calif., 15 bass, 40-1, $9,000
24th:     Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., 15 bass, 39-11, $9,000
25th:     Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., 13 bass, 39-10, $9,000
26th:     Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 15 bass, 38-8, $9,000
27th:     Robby Lefere, Jackson, Mich., 15 bass, 38-1, $9,000
28th:     Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., 15 bass, 37-13, $9,000
29th:     Christian Greico, New Bern, N.C., 15 bass, 36-13, $9,000
30th:     Ken Thompson, Roaring Springs, Pa., 15 bass, 34-6, $9,000

Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 149 bass weighing 404 pounds 14 ounces caught by the final 30 pros on Sunday. The catch included 29 five-bass limits.

The three-day MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 5 at the James River Presented by 7Brew Coffee was hosted by Richmond Region Tourism and featured professional bass anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000 and valuable points to qualify for the 2025 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship in September. The full field of anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 30 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, advanced to the final round on Championship Sunday.

Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 5 at the James River Presented by 7Brew Coffee will air as a two-hour episode, premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 25 on CBS Sports Network.

The next event on the schedule for Invitationals anglers is the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 6 at the St. Lawrence River Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches, set for July 25-27 in Massena, New York.





Poche breaks down his MLF Tackle Warehouse win on the James River

Brian Carter
-
0
Poche breaks down his MLF Tackle Warehouse win on the James River

What a season it has been for me covering events throughout the country & none gets any bigger than watching Keith Poche get the win today at the MLF Tackle Warehouse event right here on the James River. This video is about 7 minutes long, but we highlight & talk about what all went into getting this win & a check for 80 K.





Alabama’s Keith Poche Maintains Lead After Day 2 of Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 5 at the James River

Brian Carter
-
0
Alabama’s Keith Poche Maintains Lead After Day 2 of Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 5 at the James River

Pike Road, Alabama pro paces field into Championship Sunday with 3-pound, 1-ounce lead

RICHMOND, Va. (June 21, 2025) – After two days, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 5 Presented by 7Brew Coffee  on the James River has turned out to be a fantastic tournament. Though the river definitely tightened up a little on Day 2, the top performers still caught good bags, and some anglers rallied up the leaderboard in a big way. At the top, things remain relatively similar to Day 1 – though there’s certainly potential for shakeup on Championship Sunday.

Keeping the lead after boxing 16 pounds,  2 ounces on Day 2, Keith Poche is up to a 40-1 total. Just 3-1 behind him, Cal Lane caught 16-5 to stay in second with an even 37 pounds, and Banks Shaw moved up from fifth to third with 16-15 for a 36-1 total. In fourth and very much in the running, Blake Hall caught 17-7 on Day 2, which moved him up from sixth and brought his total to 35-15.


Link to Photo Gallery of Day 2 on-the-water Highlights
Link to Video of Fish-Catch Highlights of Day 2 from the James River

While Poche didn’t come close to matching his 23-15 bag from Day 1, he didn’t need to. The way the James is fishing this week, that sort of weight is a huge outlier. It could also be the key to an eventual win, as he’s playing with a solid cushion heading into Championship Sunday.

Today, Poche mined the same area he did on Day 1, though he branched out as the day went on.

“It’s not a big area. I mean, I’m about to touch both sides of the bank,” Poche said. “It’s really a small deal. And there’s only so many that live in these places, and so many that are going to be active and aggressive. So, I caught the aggressive ones first. And now today, I had to finesse them a little bit, throw my shaky head with The General and work in there. I was very fortunate to get a 4 1/2-pound bite pretty early on.”

That 4-pounder buoyed Poche’s bag and kept the rest of the field from making up much ground on him.

With some of his other options getting fished by competitors or eliminated due to the projected tide, Poche is a little unsure of his status for Day 3. Still, he’s ready to sweat it out in 95-degree heat on a river he loves.

“This is my favorite place to fish; this whole shallow, tidal deal, I love it,” he said. “I’m thinking I need another 15 pounds. That’s what I think, and then whoever’s closest to me is going to have to bust 18 or 20 again.”

Each of the top three pros have fished away from the Chickahominy, and this week, they’re making the James River proper look really good – in fact, there’s no need to leave Richmond. Fishing hard cover, flowing water and some hard-to-reach places, Cal Lane stayed right on pace on Day 2.

“Two good days in a row is not very common on the James River, I don’t believe,” Lane said. “So, I’m super thankful for it. I think that I could go out there and catch 10 pounds very easily. You always want more, but I was thankful for it for sure.”

Lane said he spent the day “junk fishing” and figures he has about seven or eight places to rotate though, though he’s sharing a few of them with other anglers. If things come together tomorrow, he said he’d be thrilled to get the win.

“I’ve really tried to develop a pattern, and I just can’t figure one out at all,” said Lane. “So, it’s more a couple of little spots. To win would be incredible. It’d be a dream come true for sure. And if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be, and I’m just going to go out and have fun.”

Probably the hottest angler this side of Jacob Wheeler, Banks Shaw has basically locked up Polaris Rookie of the Year and Fishing Clash Angler of the Year with his performance this week. He’ll head north to the St. Lawrence with a solid lead in the points, and it looks like he’s going to be hard to handle next year on the Bass Pro Tour.

But before all that, he’s got a tournament at the James to wrap up, and he has a legit chance to go back-to-back after winning Stop 4 on Pickwick.

“I think I’m around the right fish,” said Shaw who has not burned much gas on the week. “I’m definitely in the right area. It’s kind of getting reloaded right now as we speak. I have a lot of places, I feel like, that are a little different compared to what most people have. Like, most people just have one little area or little backwater they’re in. And I have one area, but it’s all main river.

“There’s a lot of fish moving around, moving in and out, and I’ve definitely noticed some places reloading and changing throughout the week. So, there’s really no telling what could happen.”

Shaw got dialed on the main-river bite early in practice, and the conservative approach has him in the hunt to win.

“The first day of practice, I was like, ‘I’m leading AOY, I want to play it safe. If I can stay up here and catch them, that’s what I’m gonna do.’ First day of practice, the first hour or two, I caught 14 pounds up there by the ramp, and I was like, ‘Alright. that’s pretty good.’”

From there, Shaw explored the rest of the system.

“I didn’t really know how good it actually was,” he said. “And then the next two days of practice, I ran around and didn’t really catch anything. I went to the Chick for a half a day and fished the barge pits for a lot. And then the last day, I went back up there and just dialed it in. And then I realized what was really going on in that area, how many fish were in it that last day of practice. And I knew I was definitely on to something.”

Shaw has fished incredibly well this year – he’s on pace to do even better than Alec Morrison did in his AOY season
last year. But even he doesn’t have words for the possibility of going back-to-back.

“That’d be crazy,” he said. “I mean, I haven’t even really been thinking about that. Coming into this tournament, I didn’t think about winning at all. I just wanted to do good here. And now, to be in this position, I mean, it’s definitely an unreal feeling. It doesn’t even really feel normal. I don’t even really know what to say about it, honestly.”

The top 30 pros advancing to the final day of competition on the James River are:

1st:        Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., 10 bass, 40-1
2nd:       Cal Lane, Grant, Ala., 10 bass, 37-0
3rd:        Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 10 bass, 36-1
4th:        Blake Hall, Rogersville, Ala., 10 bass, 35-15
5th:        Mitch Crane, Columbus, Miss., 10 bass, 34-9
6th:        Britt Myers Jr., Lake Wylie, S.C., 10 bass, 32-3
7th:        Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, 10 bass, 31-7
8th:        Dustin Smith, Trussville, Ala., 10 bass, 31-7
9th:        Blake Smith, Lakeland, Fla., 10 bass, 30-12
10th:      Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 10 bass, 30-4
11th:      Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., 10 bass, 30-2
12th:      Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 10 bass, 29-3
13th:      Matt Baty, Bainbridge, Ga., 10 bass, 29-1
14th:      Chaz Carrington, Suffolk, Va., 10 bass, 28-13
15th:      Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., 10 bass, 28-10
16th:      Cole Breeden, Lebanon, Mo., 10 bass, 28-9
17th:      Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., eight bass, 28-3
18th:      Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 10 bass, 28-0
19th:      Kyle Goldstein, Paso Robles, Calif., 10 bass, 27-12
20th:      Cody Petit, Arundel, Maine, 10 bass, 27-9
21st:      Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., 10 bass, 27-2
22nd:     Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La., 10 bass, 27-2
23rd:      Jimmy Washam, Stantonville, Tenn., 10 bass, 27-0
24th:      Ken Thompson, Roaring Springs, Pa., 10 bass, 26-13
25th:      Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., 10 bass, 26-11
26th:      Robby Lefere, Jackson, Mich., 10 bass, 26-11
27th:      Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, 10 bass, 26-11
28th:      Kyle Cortiana, Broken Arrow, Okla., 10 bass, 26-4
29th:      Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 26-3
30th:      Christian Greico, New Bern, N.C., 10 bass, 26-0

Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 460 bass weighing 1,079 pounds, 10 ounces caught by 96 pros Saturday. The catch included 88 five-bass limits.

Pro Cody Petit of Arundel, Maine, earned the Day 2 Berkley Big Bass award of $1,000 after bringing a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces to the scale.

The three-day MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 5 at the James River Presented by 7Brew Coffee is hosted by Richmond Region Tourism and features professional bass anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000.

In Tackle Warehouse Invitationals competition, the full field competed in the two-day opening round on Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 30 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, now advance to the final round on Championship Sunday, where they will compete for the grand prize of up to $115,000. The winner of the Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 5 at the James River Presented by 7Brew Coffee will be determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative weight.

Anglers will launch at 6:30 a.m. ET on Championship Sunday from Osborne Landing, located at 9530 Osborne Turnpike in Richmond, Virginia. Weigh-in will be held at the landing and will begin at 2:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and weigh-in events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW!® live stream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and Rob Newell will break down the extended action live on Championship Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 5 at the James River Presented by 7Brew Coffee will air as a two-hour episode, premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 25 on CBS Sports Network.





Billy Kohls Wins Smith Mountain Lake Basskings with 22.05 lbs

Brian Carter
-
0
Billy Kohls Wins Smith Mountain Lake Basskings with 22.05 lbs

CLICK TO SEE RESULTS





Poche takes 3 lb lead into Chamionship Sunday at MLF Tackle Warehouse on the James River

Brian Carter
-
0
Poche takes 3 lb lead into Chamionship Sunday at MLF Tackle Warehouse on the James River





Marler Seals the Deal on Eufaula

Brian Carter
-
0
Marler Seals the Deal on Eufaula

Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons

After a storm-delayed start, the 2025 NPFL Stop Four ended with fireworks. Texas pro Chad Marler stole the show on Finale Friday with a clutch 17-pound, 11-ounce bag, anchored by a jaw-dropping 8-1 largemouth that rocketed him into first place. His two-day total of 33-12 was enough to hold off Alabama’s Gerald Swindle, who nearly pulled off a comeback of his own with a two-day total of 31-11.

The final day proved tougher for much of the field—big bags were harder to come by, but the shallow bite held strong. Anglers sticking with bushes and flipping or burning spinnerbaits were still able to grind out solid weights. Marler made the winning move by abandoning his day-one area and trusting a new stretch of water he hadn’t touched since practice—a gamble that paid off big with the day’s biggest bass.

Rounding out the top five: Mike Quinlin finished third with 30-9, KJ Queen in fourth with 30-4, and Greg Hackney just two ounces back in fifth at 30-2.

Spinnerbait Pays Big for Marler

Texas pro Chad Marler came to Eufaula with redemption on his mind. His last trip was a tough one—but this week, he got his revenge. Armed with two versions of a custom-built Hilandero Blades Spinnerbait, Marler committed to burning it through the bushes and triggering reaction bites.

“I was 4×4 with that bait, just crashing it through the cover,” he said. “I settled into a tight little area on day one, caught a good one early, and just leaned on it. There were other guys around, but I stuck it out and made it work.”

On Finale Friday, he called an audible. Instead of returning to his day-one zone, Marler ran to a new stretch of water he hadn’t touched since practice.

“I left that area alone during the last day of practice, just in case I needed it,” he said. “I didn’t know if it’d be clean or dirty, but I had a feeling. The water was a little clearer, and those big girls were ready to eat that spinnerbait.”

His timing proved perfect. Another angler was on the stretch he wanted, so Marler gave them space and kept grinding until they moved off.

“I slid in and on the third cast, she ate it—an 8-pounder,” he said. “When she jumped, I just started praying she’d stay buttoned up. Got her in the livewell and had to take a minute to process it. I was blessed today, plain and simple.”

Marler had a quick limit and that giant kicker sealed it. On a day when many of the leaders struggled, he made every bite count.

“If you didn’t have your fish by 10:30, you were in trouble,” he added. “I caught the right ones at the right time, and it all worked out.”

Swindle Swings to Second with Bush-Flipping Gameplan

Alabama pro Gerald Swindle made a hard charge on Finale Friday, nearly pulling off the comeback—if not for Chad Marler’s Oklahoma giant. Swindle committed his two practice days to fishing flooded bushes and split time between a lower creek arm and one further upriver, ultimately deciding which to focus on for the tournament.

“On the first morning, I was headed to my area, and I wish I could say it was the plan, but I looked over and saw a bunch of white birds in the trees,” Swindle said. “I pulled in and started catching them instantly.”

With a Buckeye spinnerbait in hand, Swindle worked the area efficiently. His plan was to stay in a single creek, adjust as needed, and avoid running around. That extra fishing time paid off.

“The only real run I made was late this afternoon,” he said. “I told the camera guy we had ten minutes left, slid into a little protected pocket, and flipped up a 4.5-pounder. I needed every one of those minutes.”

On Day One, Swindle keyed in on the outer edges of the bushes—where other anglers were flipping the visible ones, he targeted the hidden stuff.

“Every good bite came from those out-of-sight bushes. Whenever that Buckeye bumped one, they’d crush it,” he said.

But Day Two started off weird. His first bites were small, and he missed a better fish. Knowing something had changed, Swindle adjusted—but didn’t abandon the spinnerbait entirely.

“I picked up a Zoom Brush Hog and started flipping,” he said. “You usually don’t connect right away with a switch like that, and I lost a couple in the bushes. But the next bite was a 4.5—and that one really helped.”

Water clarity wasn’t a major factor. Swindle fished the Dutch Creek area, which had slightly cleaner water than surrounding zones.

“I could see about ten inches,” he laughed. “But the fish bit, and I love fishing this kind of stuff. The mud actually rolled in heavier today, but I think it helped more than hurt.”

Top Ten:
Chad Marler 33-12
Gerald Swindle 31-11
Mike Quinlin 30-9
KJ Queen 30-4
Greg Hackney 30-2
Buddy Gross 29-10
Brandon Cobb 29-2
Tommy Biffle 29-2
John Cox 28-9
Hunter Baughman 28-2

FINAL LEADERBOARD





Brian Latimer Talks Day 1 of MLF Tackle Warehouse on James River

Brian Carter
-
0
Brian Latimer Talks Day 1 of MLF Tackle Warehouse on James River





Keith Poche Grabs Lead on Day 1 of Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 5 at the James River

Brian Carter
-
0
Keith Poche Grabs Lead on Day 1 of Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 5 at the James River

Alabama angler catches 23-15 limit to take early lead in three-day event

RICHMOND, Va. (June 20, 2025) – Day 1 of Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 5 Presented by 7Brew Coffee on the James River surpassed most pregame expectations, with five pros cracking the 19-pound mark and 15 pounds extending all the way down to 17th place. In the lead, pro Keith Poche of Cecil, Alabama, blasted 23 pounds, 15 ounces, establishing an advantage of almost 4 pounds over second, where pro Cal Lane of Grant, Alabama, caught 20-1. In third by a hair, Columbus, Mississippi, pro Mitch Crane  caught 20 pounds himself, and the Top 10 is a real who’s who of Invitationals and river rat talent.


Link to Photo Gallery of Day 1 on-the-water Highlights
Link to Video of Fish-Catch Highlights of Day 1 from the James River

Give Poche a river, ideally with some hard-to-reach places, and you’ve about got a guaranteed Top 10 with a good shot at a win. Friday, Poche returned to weigh-in super early after battling livewell trouble. He really didn’t need extra time – his damage was done in a few hours.

“This is my third event here on the James River, and that’s the third time I fished this particular area,” said Poche. “I’ve caught big ones there every time. This is probably the best start I’ve had there. It’s just a hard-to-get-to place and doesn’t get fished a whole lot.”

Poche got bit early and often on Day 1, but the bite didn’t last for him.

“They just live there,” he said. “But, you know, it’s all timing. The tide’s got to be right. I could go there tomorrow and catch nothing. I mean, that’s just part of it. When they shut down today, they shut down. I caught mainly the ones that were feeding. Now, there were probably more there that I scattered, spooked a little bit when I started catching them. Will there be more later tomorrow? Possibly. It’s just getting the bites and getting them in the boat.”

In April of 2022, Poche finished runner-up in a Bassmaster Open on the James, where he caught 17-6 on Day 1 and then two limits over 20 pounds. He got edged out only by Kenta Kimura, who blasted two bags over 23 pounds on the last two days. Last year, in the Bass Pro Tour event at the James, Poche had a mediocre finish – he wasn’t able to keep pace from a numbers perspective.

This time, things might be setting up in his favor – claiming an early lead certainly doesn’t hurt. Plus, if things go sideways, Poche may have another ace in the hole.

“I do have a Plan B, but it’s a little sketchy, and the water has got to be at a certain point for me to be able to get in there,” he said. “I can probably catch them just as good. I don’t know about 24 pounds, but I can catch them good really, really quick. And nobody can get there. I’m the only one that can get there.”

Like Poche, Lane spent his time fishing places that were as far out of the way as possible, though he did it in a full-sized, fiberglass boat.

“It was a super blessed day,” said Lane. “I had a blast out there. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I just went out and had fun fishing today and jumped around, hit a bunch of different areas, and that’s the same game plan for tomorrow.”

When the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit came to the James in 2022, Lane finished 46th and made the sort of mistakes you’d expect from a sophomore pro. This year, Lane seems to have tightened things up across the board, and he’s got a chance to really show it this week.

“I think that I’ve got a couple deals to myself,” he said. “But you never know, just because this place is so big, and you can run around a lot and not see people on stuff that they may be on. I was looking forward to it; I really don’t like good practices, but I had an incredible practice.”

The top 20 pros after Day 1 on the James River are:

1st:        Keith Poche, Cecil, Ala., five bass, 23-15
2nd:       Cal Lane, Grant, Ala., five bass, 20-1
3rd:       Mitch Crane, Columbus, Miss., five bass, 20-0
4th:        Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, five bass, 19-9
5th:        Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 19-2
6th:        Blake Hall, Rogersville, Ala., five bass, 18-8
7th:        Ken Thompson, Roaring Springs, Pa., five bass, 17-12
8th:        Dustin Smith, Trussville, Ala., five bass, 16-13
9th:        Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., five bass, 16-10
10th:     Christian Greico, New Bern, N.C., five bass, 16-6
11th:     Britt Myers Jr., Lake Wylie, S.C., five bass, 16-0
12th:     Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., five bass, 15-11
13th:     Kyle Cortiana, Broken Arrow, Okla., five bass, 15-8
14th:     Matt Reed, Madisonville, Texas, five bass, 15-6
15th:     Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., five bass, 15-5
16th:     Jimmy Washam, Stantonville, Tenn., five bass, 15-4
17th:     Kelly Jordon, Flint, Texas, five bass, 15-0
18th:     Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., five bass, 14-10
19th:     Colby Miller, Elmer, La., five bass, 14-9
20th:     Robby Lefere, Jackson, Mich., five bass, 14-6
20th:     Lane Olson, Forest Grove, Ore., five bass, 14-6

Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 445 bass weighing 1,109 pounds, 2 ounces caught by 94 pros Friday. The catch included 81 five-bass limits.

Pro Mitchell Robinson of Landrum, South Carolina, earned the Day 1 Berkley Big Bass award of $1,000 after bringing a bass that weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce to the scale.

The three-day MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 5 at the James River Presented by 7Brew Coffee is hosted by Richmond Region Tourism and features professional bass anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000.

In Tackle Warehouse Invitationals competition, the full field compete in the two-day opening round on Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 30 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, advance to the final round on Championship Sunday, where they will compete for the grand prize of up to $115,000. The winner of the Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 5 at the James River Presented by 7Brew Coffee is determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative weight.

Anglers will launch at 6:30 a.m. ET each day from Osborne Landing, located at 9530 Osborne Turnpike in Richmond, Virginia. Weigh-ins will be held at the landing and will begin at 2:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and weigh-in events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW!® live stream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and Rob Newell will break down the extended action live all three days of competition from 7 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 5 at the James River Presented by 7Brew Coffee will air as a two-hour episode, premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 25 on CBS Sports Network.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Bubba, Deep Dive, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PirahnO2, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Tackle Warehouse Invitationals updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.





Schultz gives tips for fishing summer tournaments in a crowd

Bryan Brasher
-
0
Schultz gives tips for fishing summer tournaments in a crowd

During this scorching hot period of the summer when many anglers’ favorite lakes get a little overcrowded, they take the path of least resistance: They simply move to another lake.

But for a tournament angler, that’s simply not an option.

So, through years of trial and error — and perhaps a few choice words under their breath — they develop strategies for what can feel like fishing in a washing machine.

Florida pro Bernie Schultz, a veteran of 379 tournaments with B.A.S.S., has seen virtually every summertime crowd scenario you can think of, and he has a list of tips for thriving in the summer rush.

Catch em early; catch em quick

Summertime lake visitors are often plagued by summertime hangovers, and that gives tournament anglers a window of opportunity they must utilize to be successful.

“In the summertime, water and air temperatures are high, and fish are active for less time during the day,” Schultz said. “So, it’s a matter of capitalizing on those brief windows when you can catch them on top, catch them with moving baits and catch them by covering a lot of water.”

Many a tough summertime tournament has been all but won with a single big topwater strike at sunrise thrown into a weigh-in bag with four more simple 12-inch keepers. While a 4- or 5-pounder can be big in any tournament, Schultz says it’s especially big in events when the thermometer might touch triple digits before weigh-in time.

Once the people come out

Inevitably, the Goody Powders will kick in, the headaches will fade, and the recreational lake users will emerge. And just to be clear, we know not everyone hits the lake at mid-morning because they were hungover — nor are we criticizing those who drink responsibly. We’re just saying we know that’s one reason summertime party people sometimes sleep in.

Anyway, once those people make their way out onto the lake, Schultz says it’s almost like you’re fishing a different tournament.

“Once the sun starts getting above the trees and the jet skis and party boats start coming out, you have to change your strategy,” he said.

If the tournament is on a reservoir with feeder creeks, he suggests ducking into one of the creeks because most recreational boaters will be on the main lake. 

“It’s nice to have options in feeder creeks or big coves that can give you somewhat of a separation from the traffic,” Schultz said. “The other thing is you might have to give up fishing shallow and move deeper. Fish often move off the banks and either suspend or go down and look for structure.

“Then it’s a matter of using your electronics and trying to find them that way, whether you fish with Panoptics, targeting individual fish throughout the water column or working specific targets deep.”

Boat traffic can wake em up

Though boat traffic is a turnoff for most anglers, Schultz says never doubt that it can actually improve the fishing on certain lakes. That’s right…improve.

“It doesn’t happen often, but boat traffic can make the bite better — especially with schooling fish,” Schultz said. “When things get really stale and stagnant, bass will school in the mornings and chase shad for a while and then they kind of give up when the temperatures get hot.

“When the surface starts to get choppy from all the boat wakes, sometimes that will wake the shad up and get the bass moving. That usually happens off to the side from where the boats are moving — or if you’re in a lake that’s heavily vegetated, it can actually happen in the boat lanes.”

Look for moving water

Few fisheries are more crowded with pleasure goers during the summer than Alabama’s Logan Martin Lake. That’s why many anglers avoided the central Alabama destination for more out-of-the-way Coosa River locales like Lake Mitchell and Lake Jordan.

But if you’re signed up for a tournament on a lake like Logan Martin during the peak crowd season, Schultz said, moving water can be your friend.

That can be a tailrace all the way on the upper end of the fishery, a small feeder creek or even rainwater runoff from a recent storm.

“It sounds contradictory, but moving water can actually be more stable during the summertime,” he said. “It provides oxygen, provides current which can bring cooler water temps. The shad are there, along with other forage, and it’s a great opportunity to catch fish — sometimes in big numbers.”





Keith Poche Leads Day 1 of Tackle Warehouse on James River

Brian Carter
-
0
Keith Poche Leads Day 1 of Tackle Warehouse on James River

Photo courtesy of MLF

You know you had a great day when you catch a giant sack & come in early to beat the heat & save your fish.





1...565758...1,532Page 57 of 1,532

Follow Us

The latest

Mike Stephens Wins CATT Lake Wylie! 5 Bass weighing gup at 16.05 lbs!

CATT Lake Wylie 0
Up next is the Lake Wylie Fall Final on...

Zack LeMaster & Josh Whalen Win 2025 Bass Cast Championship with 20.33 lbs

Smith Mountain Lake Tournament Results 0
CLICK TO SEE RESULTS We would like to thank everyone...

Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech Locks in Full Field of 150 pros for 2026

Breaking News 0
With every spot claimed, Pro Circuit momentum reaches a...

© 2023 The Bass Cast. All Rights Reserved.