Co-angler Honeycutt triumphs in James River debut
An ambitious decision by co-angler Keith Honeycutt to fish the Rayovac FLW Series Northern Division tournament on the James River paid off with his second victory this season. Honeycutt, of Temple, Texas, weighed a three-day total of 30 pounds, 10 ounces and won the event by a margin of 3 ounces.
Riding the momentum of his recent Walmart FLW Tour co-angler win on Lake Eufaula, Honeycutt was noticeably elated by his accomplishment.
“Man, I don’t know what to say,” he states. “You just never know when you’re going to win again. When I won the Tour event on Grand Lake (2013), I said ‘That’s probably it; I’ll probably never win again, but I’ll just keep fishing.’”
With the Texas Division of the Rayovac Series done for the year, Honeycutt’s competitive nature pushed him to reach into unfamiliar territory.
“I talked my traveling roommate into signing up for the Northern Division since we’re done with the Texas Division. I’d never been here, heard about it, wanted to come here,” notes Honeycutt. “So we flew down here with a couple of rods and a back pack full of tackle. We just showed up and went fishing.”
On day one, Honeycutt caught his fish on a Chatterbait. He tried the bladed bait again on day two, but after nabbing a couple of key fish on a Rebel Pop-R, he stuck with the topwater for all of day three. Aggressive strikes told him he had the right look.
“I like to throw a baby bass color after the fish have spawned, but I really don’t think they were hitting it for the color,” Honeycutt admits.
Honeycutt heaped praise and appreciation on his pros. He drew third-place Kelly Pratt on day one and Ryan Powroznik on day two. He ended up paired with Powroznik again for the final round. Both pros, Honeycutt says, positively influenced his tournament performance.
Powroznik intentionally skipped over fishable spots to allow his co-angler a shot at catching the fish he needed to win. Both pros, Honeycutt notes, offered advice and encouragement.
“I’m beyond blessed,” he says. “I can promise you I’m not gonna wonder when I’m ever going to win again, that’s for sure.”
The rest of the top-10 co-anglers:
2. Rick Harkness — St. Mary’s, West Virginia — 30-07
3. Tyler Sheppard — Hermitage, Pa. — 28-09
4. Matt Hummel — Lancaster, Pa. — 28-02
5. Robert Bruguiere — Mechanicsville, Va. — 27-13
6. Steven Kocell — Waxhaw, N.C. — 25-07
7. David Underwood — Waco, Texas —22-07
8. Gavin Stone — Chester, Va. — 22-05
9. David Williams — Fredericksburg, Va. — 21-09
10. Zachary Francis — Abingdon, Va. — 20-08