Rayovac FLW Series Northern Division Headed to the James River
OutdoorHub 08.12.14
The Rayovac FLW Series is headed to the James River Aug. 21-23 for a tournament presented by Mercury when as many as 300 pros and co-anglers will take to the water for the final stop of 2014 in the Northern Division.
“I like how much you have to think at the James,” said FLW Tour pro Adrian Avena, a two-time Forrest Wood Cup qualifier. “The tide forces you to change up and think on your feet and make a lot of decisions.
“The tournament actually falls on a tide that isn’t very good,” said Avena. “There will be a low tide early in the morning and then incoming water throughout the day. The window of opportunity won’t be very long. The first couple hours will be crucial. This event will come down to putting yourself in the right place in the morning and then just covering a lot of water.”
Avena said anglers would likely fish in the James River itself as well as run to the Chickahominy River, about 40 miles from takeoff.
“The reason the Chickahominy is such a popular area is because it has a large population of fish and there is more grass there than in any other part of the tributary,” Avena explained. “Running to the Chick is a bit of a gamble, though. It happens in every tournament – the majority of the top-10 fishes in the Chick, but the bottom 1/3 of the standings comes out of there too.
“It will be textbook fishing,” said Avena. “If you go to the Chickahominy you’ll be fishing around a lot of vegetation. Baits like a topwater frog or a buzzbait could be good in the morning, and swimjigs, ChatterBaits or some type of soft plastic will produce too. In the James it will be classic river fishing with a spinnerbait or crankbait, and maybe throwing some finesse baits or dragging a jig.”
Avena predicted that the winner would bring in about 44 pounds of bass over the course of the three-day event.
Anglers will take off from Osborne Landing located at 9680 Osborne Turnpike in Richmond, Va., at 6:30 a.m. each day. Weigh-ins will be held daily at the launch site beginning at 2:30 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Pros will fish for a top award of $40,000 plus a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup guidelines are met. Co-anglers will cast for a top award consisting of a Ranger Z117 with 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $5,000 if Ranger Cup guidelines are met.
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 Rayovac FLW Series Championship. The 2014 Rayovac FLW Series Championship is being held Oct. 30-Nov. 1 on Wheeler Lake in Rogersville, Ala.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Rayovac FLW Series on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
