Wayne Vaughan weighed a 16-01 limit today and is the day-1 leader at the James River Bassmaster Northern Open.
The Chester, Va., angler is 6 ounces ahead of Elite Series pro Randy Howell, whose weight was reduced 2 pounds to 15-11 after he made a cast with six fish in his livewell. Fletcher Shryock, another Elite Series angler, is 3rd after he bagged 15-09.
“The day did not go at all as I expected it would,” Vaughan said. “There was all that mud, and the water never went down, so I just went fishing. Then, when the water finally started to go out, I ran four or five spots and caught everything I weighed in.”
He spent most of the day in the crowded Chickahominy, but his late-in-the-day run produced one key fish close to the Osborne Landing weigh-in site.
Here's a quick look at the Top 12 following the first day at the James:
1. Wayne Vaughan: 16-01
2. Randy Howell: 15-11
3. Fletcher Shryock: 15-09
4. Kelly Pratt: 15-07
5. Joseph Sancho: 15-04
6 (tie). Mike Hicks: 14-07
6 (tie). Mike Iaconelli: 14-07
8. Ken Golub: 14-06
9 (tie). Horce Linwood Boltz: 14-04
9 (tie). Kyle Fox: 14-04
11: Bryan Elrod: 14-02
12. Wil Hardy: 13-13
