ON TOUR
T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE
By Capt. Steve Chaconas
BFL REGIONAL | JAMES/CHICKAHOMINY RIVER
photoS by Capt. Steve ChaConaS
WILLIAMSBURG, VA.
WINNING ANGLER
richard owen
Chester, va.
Winning Weight:
40-11 (15 fish)
details:
oct. 12-14, 2017
presented by Costa
Sunglasses
hosted by Sports
Williamsburg
t
76
here weren’t many
secrets regarding
Richard Owen’s win-
ning area on the James
River. The Virginia angler
targeted Osborne Landing,
the location of a tourna-
ment the weekend before
where hundreds of fish had
been released. More pre-
cisely, his prime spot was a
well-known rock jetty where
he was able to stay on his
fish during high tides. Owen
says that rather than dis-
perse into flooded cover
during high tide, the fish on
the jetty typically move up
and down the rock with the
tides.
Owen positioned his
boat far enough away from
the jetty to avoid spooking
fish and made long casts
above the jetty, into the
current, so the flow would
help bring his bait naturally
into the strike zone.
His approach was to
lighten up and slow down
with a 4-inch watermelon
Zoom Dead Ringer worm
bFL regional divisions:
n. Carolina, northeast,
piedmont, volunteer
on a 1/8-ounce Charlie
Brewer Spider Pro Slider
Head using 8-pound-test
Yo-Zuri Hybrid fluorocarbon
and a 6-foot, medium-
action Berkley Lightning
Rod spinning rod.
“You had to fish slow,”
says Owen. “When you
slowed down, you needed
to slow down some more.
You simply couldn’t fish too
slowly.”
Owen kept the rod tip a
bit above horizontal during
his retrieve, which allowed
room to pull-set. Hard sets
would break the line.
ALL-AMERICAN qUALIFIERS
boaterS Co-angLerS
2. James Wall
Greensboro, N.C. 2. Ben Arnold
La Follette, Tenn.
1. Richard Owen
Chester, Va.
3. Ralph Ray
Youngsville, N.C.
4. Chris Panetta
West Simsbury, Conn.
5. Chris Daves
Spring Grove, Va.
6. Jackson Pleasant
Raleigh, N.C.
adam lockler
Charlotte, n.C.
Winning Weight:
39-10 (15 fish)
1. Adam Lockler
Charlotte, N.C.
3. Henry McKee
Haddon Heights, N.J.
4. Michael Nelms
Hartwood, Va.
5. Colton Chambers
Elizabethton, Tenn.
6. Nathan Grose
Summersville, W.Va.
WINNING CO-ANGLER
Winning Program:
Lockler used a 7-foot,
3-inch rod and 20-
pound-test fluorocarbon
to launch a 1/2-ounce
four-blade spinnerbait
over grass. He replaced
one hammered nickel
blade with a No. 4 willow
and rotated between a
chartreuse/white skirt in
dingy water and a plain
white skirt in clear
water.
flWfIshIng.com I january 2018