Perez Closes on the Co-Angler Side
Florida angler goes wire-to-wire for first FLW win
Richard Perez started strong on day one with a limit worth 15 pounds, 4 ounces. Though he trailed off each of the next two days, he did enough for the co-angler win in the Costa FLW Series presented by Plano on the Potomac River. After his big catch on the first day, the Naples, Fla., angler brought a small limit to the scale on day two and just two keepers in on the final day for a total of 28 pounds, 3 ounces. That earned him the trophy, $350 and a new Ranger Z175 with a 90-horsepower outboard.
Perez says he threw a green pumpkin Yamamoto Senko on a light Texas rig and a black Lobina Rio Rico to catch his fish.
“If it was bright and sunny out I couldn’t get bit on the topwater, but as soon as it got cloudy or there was a little bit of wind I’d pick it up and wouldn’t put it down,” says Perez. “That’s when the better bites came and that’s what did it for me.”
Perez also fished the FLW Tour event on the Potomac in June, and he says that practicing for it with Billy Shelton went a long way toward this win. Perez has fished 31 FLW events as a co-angler, and this is not only his first top-10 finish, but also his first win as well.
“It feels great, I’m so excited,” says Perez. “I was starting to wonder. I’ve fished all the events this year, and driven to every one, so it’s been a long road. My goal was to make the championship, I knew that this was my last opportunity, and that was the main reason I came. This got it done and I’m going home with the trophy. I’m so excited.”