By MLF Communications Staff
RICHMOND, Va. – Day 1 of the MLF Invitational event on the James River surpassed most pregame expectations, with five pros cracking the 19-pound mark and 15 pounds extending all the way down to 17th place. In the lead, Keith Poche of Cecil, Ala., blasted 23 pounds, 15 ounces, establishing an advantage of almost 4 pounds over 2nd, where Cal Lane of Grant, Ala., caught 20-1. In 3rd by a hair, Columbus, Miss., pro Mitch Crane caught 20 pounds himself, and the Top 10 is a real who’s who of Invitationals and river-rat talent.
Give Poche a river, ideally with some hard-to-reach places, and you’ve about got a guaranteed Top 10 with a good shot at a win. Friday, Poche returned to weigh-in super early after battling livewell trouble. He really didn’t need extra time – his damage was done in a few hours.
“This is my third event here on the James River, and that’s the third time I fished this particular area,” said Poche. “I’ve caught big ones there every time. This is probably the best start I’ve had there. It’s just a hard-to-get-to place and doesn’t get fished a whole lot.”
Poche got bit early and often on Day 1, but the bite didn’t last for him.
“They just live there,” he said. “But, you know, it’s all timing. The tide’s got to be right. I could go there tomorrow and catch nothing. I mean, that’s just part of it. When they shut down today, they shut down. I caught mainly the ones that were feeding. Now, there were probably more there that I scattered, spooked a little bit when I started catching them. Will there be more later tomorrow? Possibly. It’s just getting the bites and getting them in the boat.”
In April of 2022, Poche finished runner-up in a Bassmaster Open on the James, where he caught 17-6 on Day 1 and then two limits over 20 pounds. He got edged out only by Kenta Kimura, who weighed two bags over 23 pounds on the last two days. Last year, in the Bass Pro Tour event at the James, Poche had a mediocre finish – he wasn’t able to keep pace from a numbers perspective.
This time, things might be setting up in his favor – claiming an early lead certainly doesn’t hurt. Plus, if things go sideways, Poche may have another ace in the hole.
“I do have a Plan B, but it’s a little sketchy, and the water has got to be at a certain point for me to be able to get in there,” he said. “I can probably catch them just as good. I don’t know about 24 pounds, but I can catch them good really, really quick. And nobody can get there. I’m the only one that can get there (in his smaller aluminum boat).”
Like Poche, Lane spent his time fishing places that were as far out of the way as possible, though he did it in a full-sized, fiberglass boat.
“It was a super blessed day,” said Lane. “I had a blast out there. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I just went out and had fun fishing today and jumped around, hit a bunch of different areas, and that’s the same game plan for tomorrow.”
When the MLF Pro Circuit came to the James in 2022, Lane finished 46th and made the sort of mistakes you’d expect from a sophomore pro. This year, Lane seems to have tightened things up across the board, and he’s got a chance to really show it this week.
“I think that I’ve got a couple deals to myself,” he said. “But you never know, just because this place is so big, and you can run around a lot and not see people on stuff that they may be on. I was looking forward to it; I really don’t like good practices, but I had an incredible practice.”
Here's how the Top 20 stacks up after Day 1:
1st: Keith Poche, Cecil, Ala., five bass, 23-15
2nd: Cal Lane, Grant, Ala., five bass, 20-1
3rd: Mitch Crane, Columbus, Miss., five bass, 20-0
4th: Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, five bass, 19-9
5th: Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 19-2
6th: Blake Hall, Rogersville, Ala., five bass, 18-8
7th: Ken Thompson, Roaring Springs, Pa., five bass, 17-12
8th: Dustin Smith, Trussville, Ala., five bass, 16-13
9th: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., five bass, 16-10
10th: Christian Greico, New Bern, N.C., five bass, 16-6
11th: Britt Myers Jr., Lake Wylie, S.C., five bass, 16-0
12th: Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., five bass, 15-11
13th: Kyle Cortiana, Broken Arrow, Okla., five bass, 15-8
14th: Matt Reed, Madisonville, Texas, five bass, 15-6
15th: Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., five bass, 15-5
16th: Jimmy Washam, Stantonville, Tenn., five bass, 15-4
17th: Kelly Jordon, Flint, Texas, five bass, 15-0
18th: Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., five bass, 14-10
19th: Colby Miller, Elmer, La., five bass, 14-9
20th: Robby Lefere, Jackson, Mich., five bass, 14-6
20th: Lane Olson, Forest Grove, Ore., five bass, 14-6
Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Mitchell Robinson of Landrum, S.C., earned the Day-1 Berkley Big Bass award of $1,000 after bringing a bass that weighed 7-1 to the scale.
Anglers launch at 6:30 a.m. ET each day from Osborne Landing, located at 9530 Osborne Turnpike in Richmond. Weigh-ins are held at the landing at 2:30 p.m.
