Lachniet’s big day carries him to victory at James River
April 25, 2025
RICHMOND, Va. — Ryan Lachniet saved the best for last on his home waters of the James River.
The Gum Spring native landed a 20-pound, 4-ounce limit on the final day of the Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier presented by Lowrance to take the victory with a three-day total of 53 pounds, 6 ounces.
“This is pretty awesome,” Lachniet said. “I’ve been pretty close to winning a few times lately and to finally get a win is pretty cool.”
After a rather difficult practice period, Lachniet opened in sixth with 16-6 before jumping into a tie for second on Day 2 with a 16-12 limit. His final-day limit gave him a nearly 2-pound advantage over his roommate Connor Jacob. Illinois native Erik Brztowski claimed third with 49-2.
“This place is fishing for April, and I wasn’t really on that much,” he said. “I had only caught three or four good ones in practice, so when I caught 16 on Day 1 I felt pretty good about it. And it just got a little better throughout the tournament.”
The Top 3 finishers are all under the age of 24.
A Campbellsville University angler, Lachniet is now qualified for both the Strike King Bassmaster College National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops at Cherokee Lake in July and the Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship at Upper Mississippi River presented by Lowrance in late October.
Two more good finishes in Division I of the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by SEVIIN and Lachniet will qualify for the three-tournament Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers division.
Throughout the tournament, Lachniet made long runs downriver to target cypress trees that held the final wave of spawning largemouth. Females were hard to come by, he said, as he didn’t land any until the final day of the tournament.
He targeted those spawners with an ⅛-ounce drop shot paired with a 6-inch morning dawn Roboworm. An ⅛-ounce Owner shaky head with a green pumpkin Big Bite Baits Nekorama also produced a couple of quality bites.
“I tried to fish enough cypress trees to where I was bound to run into some good fish eventually,” he said. “I needed the tide to be a little higher for the trees. It didn’t set up right when it was lower, so I waited to hit that stuff at the end of the day.”
On Day 2, however, the 22-year-old did all of his damage with a Megabass Magdraft swimbait on a well-known community hole. When he arrived at the start of Day 2, he was shocked to see no one else fishing it and landed all of his weight in a 30-minute flurry.
“The fact no one was on it was a surprise to me,” Lachniet said.
To open Day 3, Lachniet returned to his tide-driven area and landed a 3-pounder and two 2-pounders, but he noticed the tide wasn’t quite how it needed to be, so he started a long run to his next area. On his way, he pulled over to a spot he has landed quality bass in the past and it paid off again this time.
“I had caught a big one there once or twice, so I stopped and fished down the stretch for 45 minutes. I flipped up to a tree and one bit it, and it is an almost 6-pounder. I thought I had a chance if I could catch one more big one.”
As the day shortened, Lachniet made a move to a creek closer to takeoff at Osborne Landing and landed two 3-pounders and then a 5-pounder with 30 minutes left to upgrade to his final tally.
“This is definitely the most important 20-pound bag I’ve caught out here,” he said.
Jacob, meanwhile, qualified for his second-straight Nation Championship with bags of 15-12, 17-6 and 18-3. The 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour competitor will get another chance to qualify for the Classic at the Nation Championship.
“I finished 13th in the Open at La Crosse last September,” he said. “I have got some schools out there, and I hope they are still there (when I get there).”
After spending the first two days of the tournament in a gravel pit in the Appomattox River catching spawning and postspawn largemouth, the Auburn University grad moved out to the main river and landed his Day 3 limit on “baby ledges.”
Those breaks started in 6 feet of water and dropped to 15 feet of water, and when the tide was right Jacob could target those bass with a Megabass Vision 110 jerkbait.
“It was exclusively current-oriented,” he said. “You had to have a slow enough current to get the jerkbait to them. They would sit in the crevices, and you couldn’t really get a bait to them. I came back this morning and it was slow enough to where the bass were feeding and would come up and look at the jerkbait.”
Brztowski, the Day 2 leader, fell to third on the final day. Opening the tournament in second with 17-12, the 22-year-old jumped to the lead with 18-13 before finishing the tournament with 12-9.
“Today it just wasn’t meant to be. I lost a 3-pounder at 1:55 today that might have lifted me to the win, but my hook never popped out of the plastic. It’s just how it goes sometimes.”
Several different baits played a factor for Brztowski. For spawning largemouth, he threw a Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog in tilapia magic on a ¼-ounce Texas rig around cypress trees and knees as well as a Berkley The General.
For prespawner and postspawners, a Tight Rope Bite Getter Spinnerbait and a crankbait produced key bites.
Austin Burton of North Prince George, Va., claimed Big Bass of the Tournament honors with a 6-13 largemouth he landed on Day 2.
Jim D’Ambra from Hanover, Mass., won the nonboater division with a three-day total of 29-13. The Nation veteran landed limits each day. He finished Day 1 tied for first with 13-13 before taking the lead for good on Day 2 with 9-12. He wrapped up the tournament with 6-4.
Connecticut’s Gary Belanger finished second with 27-0 and also landed the Big Bass of the Tournament, a 7-9 he landed on Day 1. Massachusetts angler David Tsao finished third with a total of 25-7.
The Top 13 boaters and nonboaters punched their tickets to the Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship at Upper Mississippi River presented by Lowrance scheduled for Oct. 22-25 in La Crosse, Wis. The final Qualifying tournament is scheduled for July 16-18 at Lake Erie.
Richmond Region Tourism and Visit Henrico County hosted the event.
2025 Bassmaster Nation Series Title Sponsor: Mercury
2025 Bassmaster Nation Series Presenting Sponsor: Lowrance
2025 Bassmaster Nation Series Platinum Sponsors: Progressive, Toyota
2025 Bassmaster Nation Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2025 Bassmaster Nation Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew’s, Lowrance, Triton Boats, VMC, Yokohama
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2025 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at James River presented by Lowrance 4/23-4/25
James River, Richmond VA.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Ryan Lachniet Gum Spring, VA 15 53-06 0 $9,267.00
Day 1: 5 16-06 Day 2: 5 16-12 Day 3: 5 20-04
2. Connor Jacob Peoria, IL 15 51-05 0 $4,015.00
Day 1: 5 15-12 Day 2: 5 17-06 Day 3: 5 18-03
3. Erik Brztowski Lemont, IL 15 49-02 0 $2,834.00
Day 1: 5 17-12 Day 2: 5 18-13 Day 3: 5 12-09
4. Austin Burton North Prince George, VA 15 47-04 0 $3,280.00
Day 1: 5 13-09 Day 2: 5 16-15 Day 3: 5 16-12
5. Harmon Marien Eagle River, WI 15 47-04 0 $2,055.00
Day 1: 5 16-07 Day 2: 5 16-00 Day 3: 5 14-13
6. Brian LaClair Denton, MD 15 46-10 0 $1,890.00
Day 1: 5 15-03 Day 2: 5 15-09 Day 3: 5 15-14
7. Brian Post Janesville, WI 15 45-03 0 $1,772.00
Day 1: 5 17-14 Day 2: 5 12-12 Day 3: 5 14-09
8. Greg Alexander Hebron, MD 15 43-03 0 $1,653.00
Day 1: 5 11-04 Day 2: 5 15-05 Day 3: 5 16-10
9. John Smith Elkview, WV 15 42-13 0 $1,530.00
Day 1: 5 16-00 Day 2: 5 13-09 Day 3: 5 13-04
10. Brody Luckey Lynchburg, VA 15 42-13 0 $1,063.00
Day 1: 5 15-04 Day 2: 5 12-00 Day 3: 5 15-09
11. Ricky Fulk Shenandoah, VA 15 42-11 0 $945.00
Day 1: 5 14-07 Day 2: 5 15-13 Day 3: 5 12-07
12. Jeremy Radford Huntly, VA 15 42-09 0 $827.00
Day 1: 5 12-04 Day 2: 5 15-15 Day 3: 5 14-06
13. Nick Poe Goodview, VA 15 42-08 0 $650.00
Day 1: 5 13-04 Day 2: 5 16-02 Day 3: 5 13-02
14. KC Choosakul Cameron, NC 15 41-06 0 $650.00
Day 1: 5 10-12 Day 2: 5 18-06 Day 3: 5 12-04
15. Cody Bertrand Dyer, IN 15 40-15 0 $650.00
Day 1: 5 15-06 Day 2: 5 15-00 Day 3: 5 10-09
16. Whitney Stephens Waverly, OH 15 40-11 0 $650.00
Day 1: 5 13-04 Day 2: 5 13-14 Day 3: 5 13-09
17. John Conway Jr Henrico, VA 15 40-10 0 $650.00
Day 1: 5 15-12 Day 2: 5 14-12 Day 3: 5 10-02
18. Tj Milton Chester, VA 15 40-02 0 $650.00
Day 1: 5 15-11 Day 2: 5 12-07 Day 3: 5 12-00
19. Craig Morris Frankford, DE 15 38-01 0 $650.00
Day 1: 5 12-09 Day 2: 5 14-03 Day 3: 5 11-05
20. John Lewis Centreville, VA 15 36-03 0 $650.00
Day 1: 5 15-10 Day 2: 5 12-09 Day 3: 5 08-00
——————————
BIG BASS OF TOURN
Austin Burton North Prince George, VA06-13 $0.00
——————————
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 104 562 1291-13
2 100 550 1235-03
3 20 100 276-03
——————————
224 1212 2803-03
2025 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at James River presented by Lowrance 4/23-4/25
James River, Richmond VA.
(NON_BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Jim D’Ambra Hanover, MA 9 29-13 0 $3,006.00
Day 1: 3 13-13 Day 2: 3 09-12 Day 3: 3 06-04
2. Gary Belanger Plainville, CT 9 27-00 0 $1,968.00
Day 1: 3 13-13 Day 2: 3 08-00 Day 3: 3 05-03
3. David Tsao Newburyport, MA 9 25-07 0 $859.00
Day 1: 3 08-05 Day 2: 3 09-10 Day 3: 3 07-08
4. John Sirichman Monogahela, PA 9 24-02 0 $795.00
Day 1: 3 07-09 Day 2: 3 07-00 Day 3: 3 09-09
5. Steven Conde Chepachet, RI 9 23-13 0 $588.00
Day 1: 3 09-06 Day 2: 3 06-04 Day 3: 3 08-03
6. Craig Ferguson Emporia, VA 9 23-12 0 $494.00
Day 1: 3 09-00 Day 2: 3 08-07 Day 3: 3 06-05
7. Bill Roberts Jr Williamsburg, VA 9 22-07 0 $441.00
Day 1: 3 08-00 Day 2: 3 06-13 Day 3: 3 07-10
8. Adam Richardson Littleton, NC 9 22-05 0 $412.00
Day 1: 3 05-12 Day 2: 3 08-11 Day 3: 3 07-14
9. Blake Rogers Florence, SC 9 21-15 0 $387.00
Day 1: 3 07-04 Day 2: 3 06-01 Day 3: 3 08-10
10. David Roddy Inman, SC 9 21-07 0 $344.00
Day 1: 3 10-08 Day 2: 3 06-03 Day 3: 3 04-12
11. Ernest Weathersby Leominster, MA 9 21-05 0 $344.00
Day 1: 3 04-15 Day 2: 3 10-05 Day 3: 3 06-01
12. Anthony Paschall Cumberland, VA 9 21-03 0 $301.00
Day 1: 3 06-15 Day 2: 3 07-02 Day 3: 3 07-02
13. Joshua Hall Palmyra, VA 8 21-01 0 $258.00
Day 1: 3 08-13 Day 2: 3 07-10 Day 3: 2 04-10
14. Nathan Minnix Goodview, VA 9 20-15 0 $258.00
Day 1: 3 04-13 Day 2: 3 11-04 Day 3: 3 04-14
15. Emil Rostello Jr Wayne, NJ 9 20-13 0 $215.00
Day 1: 3 05-10 Day 2: 3 09-07 Day 3: 3 05-12
16. Guiseppe Andreoli Coventry, RI 9 19-09 0 $215.00
Day 1: 3 10-10 Day 2: 3 04-00 Day 3: 3 04-15
17. Jeremy Willis Fountain Inn, SC 9 18-05 0 $215.00
Day 1: 3 07-10 Day 2: 3 06-01 Day 3: 3 04-10
18. Chris Merritt Chester , VA 9 17-13 0 $215.00
Day 1: 3 07-13 Day 2: 3 05-10 Day 3: 3 04-06
19. Brian Adams Clayton, NC 9 17-11 0 $215.00
Day 1: 3 07-01 Day 2: 3 06-03 Day 3: 3 04-07
20. Finn Erickson Sicklerville, NJ 7 15-03 0 $215.00
Day 1: 3 06-11 Day 2: 3 07-02 Day 3: 1 01-06
——————————
BIG BASS OF TOURN
Gary Belanger Plainville, CT 07-09 $0.00
——————————
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 60 204 436-06
2 61 202 403-01
3 18 57 120-01
——————————
139 463 959-08
