Red-Hot Keith Poche Takes Lead on Day 1 of MLF Bass Pro Tour Zenni Stage 6 at Potomac River Presented by Athletic Brewing

Alabama pro catches 36 largemouth weighing 80-2 to lead Day 1 on historic fishery, full field to complete Qualifying Round Friday

CHARLES COUNTY, Md. (June 26, 2025) – They say that momentum is real in bass fishing, and Pike Road, Alabama, pro Keith Poche proved that point on the Potomac River Thursday on Day 1 of Zenni Stage 6 at the Potomac River Presented by Athletic Brewing.

Less than a week after winning the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals stop just two hours south on the James River, Poche was the only angler to surpass 80 pounds on the Potomac and leads with 36 bass for 80 pounds, 2 ounces. Going into the second day, Poche will enjoy a 10-pound, 1-ounce advantage over pro Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tennessee, in second place as he looks to win for the second time in as many weeks on a tidal fishery in the Mid-Atlantic.

It wasn’t just Poche giving SCORETRACKER® a workout as the 66-angler field caught 1,217 bass weighing 2,572 pounds, 9 ounces, both easily the highest totals of the season. With so many bass biting, things are shaping up for an excellent finish this weekend.

Coming off his victory on the James, Poche certainly felt confident about coming into Stage 6.  On the James, he fished in the style he’s known for, accessing a shallow water backwater with his 18-foot aluminum boat to go places that heavier fiberglass boats simply can’t. That’s the same approach he took Thursday on the Potomac, but the results were even better than expected.

“I knew the place I found had some fish and knew the potential was there, but I had no idea it would be this good,” Poche said. “I’m just trying to keep this rolling, whatever it is, because it’s working.”

Poche shared that his best area had all the ingredients to harbor a big population of bass.

“I’m going way back into the creek and fishing shallow, but the water back there is moving, and it’s a lot cooler,” he said. “It’s a sandy creek with some shallow flats and deeper swings; when the tides out, they pull to those little deeper spots. When the water is up, they get up in the pads and grass along the banks. It’s been best with the falling tide, but I feel like I can get bit any time of day in there.”

While the falling tide has been his best bite, Poche was able to catch bass throughout the day and caught vastly more bass than the 36 that exceeded the 1-8 minimum for the event. His area is full of bass of all sizes, and he discovered it during practice by visually seeing them swimming around at low tide.

“When I went there in practice during a low tide, they were swimming everywhere,” Poche said. ” I found a few similar areas but didn’t hit them at the right tide, so I don’t know if they will be as good as this one, but they have potential if I need to try somewhere else.”

As for whether he plans to vie for the automatic bid to the Championship Round or to use some of his time to practice, Poche was emphatic with his response.

“One hundred percent I’m going to catch everything I can to try to advance. I’m not going to let up one bit,” he said. “You never know what’s going to happen during the Knockout Round. I know I have a 10-pound lead, but I’m going to have to do my part again, and I think I’ll need to catch at least 60 pounds tomorrow to have a chance to advance to the final day.”

Poche is employing a variety of lures to catch his fish, including the same Berkley PowerBait MaxScent The General on a shaky-head rig that accounted for his winning bass on the James River; a Berkley Pit Boss on a Texas Rig; and a Bama bream colored 3/8-ounce Berkley Swim Jig with a green pumpkin Berkley Power Swimmer on the back.

“It’s just shallow-water junk fishing,” Poche said. “The best bait for me today was that swim jig, that was my bread and butter, throwing it on 30-pound Berkley X5 braid, a 10.1:1 (Abu Garcia) Revo Rocket Reel, and a 7-1 heavy Fenwick World Class rod. That faster reel was a big deal because I’m burning that thing and pulling it through the current. I need to pick up the slack and hit them when it’s coming at me.”

As time expired on MLFNOW! Poche remarked on the sweltering conditions. The high was 93 degrees with a “feels like” temperature of 106 degrees, and there was hardly a puff of wind.

“The hottest tournament I had ever fished was here on the Potomac back in 2015, and this one blows it out of the water; it was brutal out there,” he added.

The top 20 pros in after Day 1 on the Potomac River are:

1st:        Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., Bossier City, La., 36 bass, 80-2
2nd:      Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 32 bass, 70-2
3rd:       David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 29 bass, 68-6
4th:        John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., 30 bass, 68-4
5th:        Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 34 bass, 67-1
6th:        Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., 27 bass, 64-7
7th:        Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 30 bass, 62-7
8th:        Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 28 bass, 61-7
9th:        Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 27 bass, 55-15
10th:     Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 25 bass, 55-10
11th:     Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, 26 bass, 52-7
12th:     Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 23 bass, 52-4
13th:     Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., 26 bass, 50-4
14th:     Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 25 bass, 50-2
15th:     Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 24 bass, 50-1
16th:     Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 22 bass, 49-7
17th:     Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C.., 23 bass, 49-6
18th:     Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 24 bass, 49-6
19th:     Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 22 bass, 46-12
20th:     Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La., 23 bass, 46-5

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 1,217 bass caught weighing 2,572 pounds, 9 ounces, by the 66 Bass Pro Tour anglers on Thursday. Both the number of bass caught and the total weight were new season-high totals for the circuit.

Abu Garcia pro Justin Lucas earned the Day 1 Berkley Big Bass Award Thursday with a chunky 4-pound, 12-ounce largemouth that he caught in Period 3 on a Berkley Slobberknocker. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day.

Hosted by the Charles County Government, Dept. of Recreation, Parks, and Tourism, the four-day event features 66 of the top professional anglers in the world competing for a $150,000 top prize, a share of the $6.49 million season purse, and valuable AOY points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2026, the Bass Pro Tour championship.

The full field of anglers compete in the two-day Qualifying Round on Thursday and Friday. After the two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the pro with the heaviest two-day total will advance directly to Sunday’s Championship Round. Anglers that finish 2nd through 20th will advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining anglers compete to finish in the top nine to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. In the final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $150,000.

Anglers will launch at 7:15 a.m. ET each day from Smallwood State Park, located at 2750 Sweden Point Road in Marbury, Maryland. The takeout will be held at the same location beginning at 3:45 p.m. daily. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on all four days of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. MLFNOW!®  will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

On Saturday and Sunday, June 28-29, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to visit the Village Green Park, located at 100 Walter Thomas Road in Indian Head, Maryland for the Hooked! on the Potomac Festival and MLF Fan Experience & Watch Party. Fans can watch the pros live on the MLFNOW!  big screen, enjoy free dessert, enter to win giveaways, listen to live music from country music artist Megan Barker, and cheer on their favorite pros. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel each day. The event also includes a youth casting contest. The Bass Pro Tour anglers, along with the PAW Patrol’s Skye and Marshall, will be on hand both days to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.

The Zenni Stage 6 at the Potomac River Presented by Athletic Brewing will feature anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The 2025 Bass Pro Tour features a field of 66 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2026 championship.

Television coverage of the Zenni Stage 6 at the Potomac River Presented by Athletic Brewing will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Nov. 1 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering on Saturday, Nov. 8. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, Bass Force, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sport Apparel, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Rapala, Star brite, Suzuki, Toyota and Zenni.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at FacebookX,  Instagram and  YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.