Schmitt Wins Rayovac FLW Series Northern Division Event On The James River – Rayovac FLW Series – Northern James River (Aug. 21-23, 2014)

Schmitt said that he targeted two key outside bends of a creek channel that had a mix of grass and pads on them for his early morning weight before targeting thicker vegetation the rest of the day. Schmitt reported catching most of his fish on a 6th Sense Core X Swimbait with a 6/0 Owner Beast Hook. He said he used P-Line braid when targeting the thicker vegetation and P-Line fluorocarbon on the outside edge. Schmitt also caught a few fish on a Strike King KVD HC 1.5 Squarebill Crankbait.

“The first day I caught nine fish, the second day I caught five bass and today I caught six,” said the tidal-water expert. “If I didn’t have that little window in the morning I wouldn’t have even made the top 10.

“I was making an hour long run,” said Schmitt. “By the time I got to my spot in the morning it was starting to get bright. The tide was low enough for three more hours for those big fish to stay there, but they would disappear. I almost think it was some sort of morning frenzy that didn’t have anything to do with the tide.”

The top 10 pros on the James River were:

                1st:           Bryan Schmitt, Deale, Md., 15 bass, 52-12, $29,329 + Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower outboard

                2nd:          Wayne Vaughan, Chester, Va., 15 bass, 50-3, $11,365

                3rd:          Kelly Pratt, Williamsburg, Va., 15 bass, 48-1, $8,799

                4th:           William Shelton III, La Crosse, Va., 15 bass, 42-7, $7,332

                5th:           Chris Baumgardner, Gastonia, N.C., 15 bass, 37-3, $6,599

                6th:           Bo Boltz, New Kent, Va., 15 bass, 33-6, $5,866

                7th:           Shayne Berlo, Fairfax, Va., 15 bass, 32-0, $5,133

                8th:           Frank Poirier, North Prince George, Va., 15 bass, 31-11, $4,399

                9th:           Robert Whitehurst, Henrico, Va., 15 bass, 30-5, $3,666

                10th:        Straight Talk Wireless pro J.T. Kenney, Palm Bay, Fla., 13 bass, 28-7, $2,933

Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.

Wil Hardy of Harlem, Ga., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division Thursday – a 9-pound, 1-ounce bass that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $180.

Michael Crocker of Pasadena, Md., won the co-angler division and a Ranger Z117C with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor, with a three-day total of 11 bass weighing 27 pounds, 6 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers on the James River were:

                1st:           Michael Crocker, Pasadena, Md., 11 bass, 27-6, Ranger Z117C with a 90-horsepower outboard

                2nd:          David Williams, Fredericksburg, Va., 15 bass, 26-6, $3,719

                3rd:          Derek Brown, Charlottesville, Va., 15 bass, 26-5, $2,975

                4th:           Manuel Cruz, Clifton, N.J., 13 bass, 25-10, $2,603

                5th:           Lenny Baird, Stafford, Va., 15 bass, 25-6, $2,231

                6th:           Junior Allen, Biscoe, N.C., 15 bass, 24-7, $1,860

                7th:           Dick Gum, Woodbridge, Va., nine bass, 22-8, $1,488

                8th:           David Ball, Durham, N.C., 11 bass, 21-2, $1,302

                9th:           Cory Bechtel, Macungie, Pa., 13 bass, 18-10, $1,116

                10th:        Michael Martinez, Lanexa, Va., eight bass, 14-9, $930

John Shultz of Trucksville, Pa., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division Thursday – a 6-pound, 10-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $120.

The Rayovac FLW Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of three tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the opportunity to fish in the no-entry-fee Rayovac FLW Series Championship. The 2014 Rayovac FLW Series Championship is being held Oct. 30-Nov.1 on Wheeler Lake in Rogersville, Ala.

The Rayovac FLW Series on the James River was the third and final regular-season Northern Division event in 2014. For a complete schedule, visit FLWOutdoors.com.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow FLW on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWOutdoors.

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