HENRICO, Va. (July 23, 2018) – Boater Ben Jacobi of Richmond, Virginia, brought five bass to the scale Saturday weighing 19 pounds even to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Shenandoah Division tournament on the James River. For his win, Jacobi earned $4,009.
“It was basically the same thing I did last year,” said Jacobi, who also won the Shenandoah Division BFL tournament on the James River in 2017. “I stayed on the main river flipping hard cover and fishing creek mouths. I didn’t count out anything. Every spot I hit the fish were scattered around the cover, which was odd. They weren’t as shallow as I was anticipating. I had to fish my stuff from top to bottom to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
“I used an Arkie-head-style Hog Snatcher jig and creature baits,” continued Jacobi. “I always have some different stuff rigged up because the river seems to be in junk-fishing mode almost all year round. If they do bite a bait, it seems like I can go to other spots and they’ll bite it. They just have to tell you what they want that day.”
Jacobi, who also fished last weekend’s Piedmont Division tournament on the James River, went on to say that the fish were a bit lazier this time around.
“Last weekend I had several fish grab the bait at the boat,” said Jacobi. “I guess, with the lower pressure and the little bit of a cold front we had, they held tight to cover. I was kind of shocked at how much things changed from last week to this week.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Ben Jacobi, Richmond, Va., five bass, 19-0, $4,009
2nd: Keith Estes, Spring Grove, Va., five bass, 18-14, $2,205
3rd: Nick Disabatino, Oakton, Va., five bass, 17-5, $1,986
4th: John Duarte, Middle River, Md., five bass, 16-11, $935
5th: Bryan Elrod, Mechanicsvlle, Va., five bass, 15-5, $1,102
6th: Ryan Powroznik, Hopewell, Va., five bass, 14-12, $735
7th: Rick McFaul, Phoenix, Md., five bass, 14-9, $668
8th: Moo Bae, West Friendship, Md., five bass, 14-3, $601
9th: Robert Hinds Jr., South Prince George, Va., five bass, 13-13, $535
10th: Jason Holder, Powhatan, Va., five bass, 13-0, $468
Disabatino brought an 8-pound, 1-ounce, bass to the scale – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $550. Damon Reid of Bowie, Maryland, won the Co-angler Division and $2,280 Saturday after catching a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 1 ounce.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Damon Reid, Bowie, Md., five bass, 14-1, $2,280
2nd: David Deciucis, Chester, Va., five bass, 12-9, $1,002
3rd: Lenny Baird, Stafford, Va., five bass, 12-3, $868
4th: Christopher Atkins II, Goode, Va., five bass, 11-8, $468
5th: Cort Gardner, Jessup, Md., five bass, 11-7, $401
6th: Tevinn Rollins, Newport News, Va., five bass, 10-1, $418
7th: Micheal Sharp, Rixeyville, Va., five bass, 9-7, $334
8th: Lawrence Whitt, Newport News, Va., five bass, 8-11, $284
8th: Jamie Newton, Falls Church, Va., five bass, 8-11, $284
10th: Tony Toombs, Drakes Branch, Va., five bass, 8-7, $222
10th: Bill Naron, Beaverdam, Va., four bass, 8-7, $222
Reid also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $275.