HENRICO, Va. (July 21, 2025) – Boater Brian LaClair of Denton, Maryland, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 13 ounces, Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on the James River. The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Shenandoah Division. LaClair earned $4,745 for his victory.
The tide could not have set up much better for LaClair. His goal was to fish areas where the tide was at least three-quarters of the way out, because the low tide best positions fish to feed. He immediately started up north on a low tide then followed the tide out, working his way downstream using a Lowrance tide chart to time his arrival in each area.
“The tide worked all the way down the river,” he said. “I just ran the tide once it got to a certain point. I fished all my areas then I moved another 10 or 12 miles down the river. Those fish were feeding good in all the places I went.
“I just tried to utilize all my time throughout the whole river and the day. That was it.”
LaClair caught most of his weigh-in fish on a brown jig, with a drop-shot tossed in, too.
“I was fishing hard cover, all wood, no grass, no nothing else,” he said. “Just laydowns, drop-offs, wood. That’s all I’ve been fishing.”
The top 11 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Brian LaClair, Denton, Md., five bass, 18-13, $4,745
2nd: Jason Holder, Powhatan, Va., five bass, 16-3, $2,214
3rd: Michael Downes, South Chesterfield, Va., five bass, 16-1, $1,978 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th: Logan Buttolph, Doswell, Va., five bass, 15-9, $1,133
5th: Broderick Luckey, Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 15-2, $886
6th: Austin Burton, North Prince George, Va., five bass, 15-1, $775
6th: Keith Estes, Spring Grove, Va., five bass, 15-1, $775
8th: Brian Bersik, Chesterfield, Va., five bass, 14-14, $814
9th: Jonathan Hamilton, Newburg, Md., five bass, 14-13, $907
10th: Raymond Jones III, Mocksville, N.C., five bass, 14-12, $491
10th: Chris Brummett, Lynch Station, Va., five bass, 14-12, $491
Tournament winner Brian LaClair and boater Jonathan Hamilton of Newburg, Maryland, split the Big Bass Boater award, each taking home $317 for catching a bass that weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces. Fan Zhang of Arlington, Virginia, won the co-angler division and $2,531 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 6 ounces.
The top 11 co-anglers finished:
1st: Fan Zhang, Arlington, Va., three bass, 11-6, $2,531
2nd: Roland Burton, Hopewell, Va., three bass, 9-0, $1,157
3rd: Thomas Driscoll, Annandale, Va., three bass, 8-12, $738
4th: Glenn Eskin, Henderson, N.C., three bass, 8-11, $517
5th: Jeff Turner, Morris, Ill., three bass, 8-9, $424
5th: David Williams, Fredericksburg, Va., three bass, 8-9, $524
7th: Joe Dixon, Alton, Md., three bass, 8-5, $332
7th: Douglas Washburn, Bracey, Va., three bass, 8-5, $332
7th: Zack Queeney, Atco, N.J., three bass, 8-5, $332
10th: John Robinson, Montpelier, Va., three bass, 8-1, $245
10th: Dubi Mejia, Geoergetown, Del., three bass, 8-1, $245
Zhang also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $317, catching a bass that weighed in at 7 pounds, 1 ounce – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After four events, Broderick Luckey of Lynchburg, Virginia, now leads the Fishing Clash Shenandoah Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 935 points, while Douglas Washburn of Bracey, Virginia, leads the Fishing Clash Shenandoah Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 896 points.
The next event for BFL Shenandoah Division anglers will be held Sept. 6-7, at the Potomac River out of Marbury, Maryland.