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RICHMOND, Va. — Garrett Paquette has had a good relationship with the James River.

Michigan pro Garrett Paquette finished in fourth place during the Basspro.com Bassmaster Open held in 2017 on the James River. The Opens circuit will visit the James River again July 25-27. Photo by Andy Crawford/B.A.S.S.

In 2016, he and his partner Zak Fadden of Schoolcraft College finished eighth in a Carhartt Bassmaster College Series event on the James. Then in 2017, Paquette placed fourth in a Bassmaster Open there, earning a check for $10,812.

But as he prepares for next week’s Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open on the James River, Paquette expects to see a completely different fishery than he’s experienced in the past.

“The last time I was there (in 2017), it was at the end of July,” said Paquette, who’s now a successful rookie on the Bassmaster Elite Series. “So, we’re going at the same time of year.

“But one thing you always have to prepare for when you fish the James River is the tides — and the tides this year are going to be completely different than they were last time I was there.”

Competition days will be Thursday through Saturday, with daily takeoffs at 6 a.m. ET from Osborne Park & Boat Landing. Weigh-ins on Days 1 and 2 will be held at the landing at 2 p.m., and the final-day weigh-in will be at 3 p.m. at the Bass Pro Shops in Ashland, Va.

The James River has served as the venue for 11 previous major events. The tide was a factor for all of those tournaments — and as Paquette said, it will be for this one as well.

“The things that worked for me last time, I just can’t see working for me until maybe Day 3,” Paquette said. “I’m kind of getting nervous about it already.”

To deal with the tidal fluctuation that comes from the James River’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, Paquette said anglers will basically have two choices.

“One way to approach it is to find an area with fish and sit in there all day — high tide, low tide or whatever — and just kind of change presentations throughout the day,” he said. “The other thing that works when fishing tides is just fishing really specific targets and running the tide, just moving around the river and hitting the specific stretches you want to fish at just the right time.”

With the current tidal predictions, Paquette expects that latter strategy to be particularly tough. He believes 13 to 14 pounds per day will put an angler in good position to win — and he thinks employing all of the typical river-fishing methods will be the key to amassing that weight.

“The cool thing about the James is there are no secrets,” Paquette said. “It’s very rare when someone even gets a Top 10 and you look back and say ‘Wow, I didn’t think of that.’

“It’s very basic river fishing — flipping, frogs, ChatterBaits, spinnerbaits, maybe a Pop-R-style bait and then finesse fishing.”

The James River was the site of three Bassmaster Classics in 1988-90. More recently, the fishery has hosted six Opens since 2011, including the 2016 event won by former Elite Series pro Charlie Hartley and the 2017 tournament won by current Elite angler and Virginia resident Rick Morris.

“Because it’s going to be so hot and the tides aren’t going to be perfect, I think it’s going to be a little stingier than it has been at times in the past,” said Paquette, who has five career Top 10 finishes with B.A.S.S. “But it’s still going to be a great tournament.”

2019 Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: Basspro.com

2019 Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2019 Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Series Premier Sponsors: Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha, Abu Garcia, Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Talon

2019 Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Lowrance, T-H Marine, Carhartt

2019 Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open at James River Host: Richmond Region Tourism and Henrico County

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 510,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), radio show (Bassmaster Radio), social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, BassPro.com Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.

FLW Tour rookie Hensley Powell cashed an extra $500 check for his 5th place finish at Lake Champlain thanks to being the highest placing LEER Cover Cash participant in the final event of the 2019 FLW Tour regular season.

The Tennessee native exploited one primary spot just south of Fort Ticonderoga to catch 73-lbs and 12-ounces over the four-day event. Powell located the area early one morning during official practice due to spawning alewives and knew he had found something special. Ultimately the baitfish weren’t as active during competition days, but the bass certainly were.

Powell mostly relied a 3/8-ounce Z-Man Evergreen Chatterbait Jack Hammer to catch both largemouth and smallmouth bass from his area. The FLW Tour rookie noted his stop-and-go retrieve was crucial. As nearly every single fish he caught ate his lure as he stopped reeling and let the Chatterbait slowly flutter to the bottom, mimicking an injured alewife.

While Powell missed the upcoming FLW Cup on Lake Hamilton in Arkansas this year, his 5th place finish on Lake Champlain gave him the positive feedback he was looking for and some momentum going into next year.

“This year served as a big time learning curve for me,” Powell admitted. “I fished two divisions of the FLW Costa Series last year to qualify for the Tour and was fortunate enough to do well in both. But there were definitely a lot of differences between doing that, and fishing against the guys on the FLW Tour this year. I learned a lot and I’m really looking forward to 2020.”

Powell bought his LEER 100XL truck cap just before the 2019 Tour season began. He had never owned a truck cap before but his experience traveling and fishing the Costa Series events in 2018 convinced him it was time for a cap.

“Last year I would store all my fishing gear in my truck cab at nights while on the road,” Powell said. “That became exhausting and I knew I needed to get a truck cap when I qualified to fish the FLW Tour. I liked the look of LEER’s products and I had heard about the Cover Cash program, so it was an easy decision. It’s amazing to me more anglers don’t take advantage of contingency programs like LEER Cover Cash. They’re missing out!”

When asked what he’d spend his $500 of bonus money on, Powell quickly responded with FLW Tour expenses for his sophomore season. He is ready to come out swinging in 2020.

Whether you fish professionally like Hensley, or you compete regionally/ locally you can still take advantage of LEER’s Cover Cash program. As long as you own a LEER truck cap or tonneau cover the program is FREE to join, and you’ll be eligible for payouts in over 200 bass and walleye fishing tournaments. You don’t need to win an event to get paid either; you just have to be the highest finishing registered program participant.

For a full list of events, follow this link: https://leercovercash.com/events-payouts . Register on the Cover Cash website or give Chip a call at (918) 742-6424 if you’d rather call than click and we’ll get you signed up!