By MLF Communications Staff
RICHMOND, Va. (June 13, 2024) – The MLF Bass Pro Tour is set to visit the James River this week for the sixth event of the 2024 season.
While the James River has hosted numerous bass tournaments over the years, this will be the BPT's maiden voyage on the fishery. The majority of MLF experience is limited to a few BFL tournaments, several Toyota Series events, the 2003 Forrest Wood Cup and a Pro Circuit event in 2022.
Charlottesville, Va.'s Martin Villa will be competing in the tournament and said he’s looking forward to an excellent event on one of Virginia’s big bass factories.
“The James River is an exceptional tidal fishery,” said Villa. “It’s very versatile, so anglers will definitely be able to play to their strengths and catch them in a variety of ways, anywhere from cranking to ‘scoping. The river has a lot of vegetation around it with a pretty heavy tide and it is very fertile.”
Although fish typically spawn later on a tidal fishery, Villa said the spawning season should be wrapped up by the time the tournament hits the river, making for a great postspawn event.
“I expect to see a lot of shallow-water angling, with guys flipping, throwing topwater baits and squarebills,” said Villa. “I think we'll see guys doing really good flipping creature baits and soft plastics and throwing a frog. It really could be won multiple ways. It’s a known spinnerbait hole and a known jig hole, but it really just depends on the mood of the fish.”
The James River is Virginia’s largest tributary to the Chesapeake Bay and Villa said viewers can expect to see bass caught all across the river.
“It’s massive, with a lot of nooks and crannies, so the competition will really go down all over the river,” said Villa. “I think it will take 45 to 50 pounds to make the cut into the Knockout Round, and we’ll definitely see some big fish caught throughout the event – there’s potential for some good Heavy Hitters fish opportunities.”
Anglers will launch at 7:30 a.m. ET each day from Osborne Landing, located at 9530 Osborne Turnpike in Richmond. Takeouts will be held at the landing beginning at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW! livestream and ScoreTracker coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The tournament will feature anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The 39 Anglers in Group A compete in their two-day Qualifying Round on Tuesday and Thursday, with the 40 anglers in Group B on the water Wednesday and Friday. After each two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the anglers who finish first through 10th from each group advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 20 anglers compete to finish in the Top 10 to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round, when weights are again zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on the final four days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. MLFNOW! will be livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
