RICHMOND, Va. — Anderson Jones knew he would have to win the 2026 Strike King Bassmaster College Series at James River presented by Bass Pro Shops if he had any chance of leaving eastern Virginia as Lunkers Trail Team of the Year recipient.
His strategy was risky, but with conditions trending in his favor, all the ingredients came together to do just that.
In his final regular season College Series event, the Lander University senior claimed his second career victory, landing a two-day total of 40 pounds, 11 ounces to outlast West Alabama’s Phillip Herring & Parker O’Bryan and the rest of the 170-boat field. His first win came at Clarks Hills in 2024, a vastly different fishery than the James River.
His trophy will also join the 2025 College Classic exhibition trophy from Eagle Mountain Lake, a tournament he won with a remarkable 35-pound limit.
“I can’t really believe it,” Jones said. “I told myself that if I wanted a shot at winning points, I’d have to win. It’s crazy it happened again. Everything added up perfectly.”
The 24-year-old opened the tournament by catching 23-15, a limit anchored by an 8-10 largemouth that earned Big Bass of the Tournament honors before landing 16-10 on the final day. With the win, Jones claimed Lunkers Trail Team of the Year honors and punched his ticket to the College Classic Bracket presented by Lew’s, a goal he had come so close to achieving the previous two seasons.
Even though winning was the objective, Jones went into the tournament with a relaxed attitude wanting to make sure he enjoyed his final regular season event.
“I wanted to have fun regardless of the outcome. My college career is coming to an end,” Jones said. “I got second in points the last two seasons, but I didn’t want to put extra pressure on myself this week. I just wanted to fish how I fish during a fun weekend.”
With a change in tide, and a congregation of teams in certain areas, Day 2 was much tougher on the field. Only one 20-pound bag crossed the scales and most teams struggled to reach 13 pounds.
Heading into the tournament, Jones knew he wanted to target the Florida-strain bass that live in the Chickahominy River despite the long run and a gas gauge that was only semi-accurate. In the river, he found one small area of vegetation in less than 6 feet of water, a mix of hydrilla and another thicker grass, that held quality largemouth.
“Finding that super green, healthy grass was super key,” he added.
A red 17mm HideUp Coike produced all of his bites. While he couldn’t see individual bass on his forward-facing sonar, he could pitch the bait to the edges and the bass would reveal themselves. He rigged it on a Ryugi quad hook with a 1/8-ounce nail weight.
With the moving water, positioning the bait was a bit of a challenge.
“I would have to predict where the bait would drift,” Jones said.
The outgoing tide cycle wasn’t favorable during practice, but on Day 1 Jones arrived just in time to enjoy an hour of out-going tide. In that time, he landed all of his limit. With an early boat number on Day 1, Jones enjoyed less traffic in his area. He counted five boats in the vicinity Friday, but when he arrived on Day 2, more than 20 boats were already in the general area.
“I had a feeling there would be more boats in there today,” he said. “Where I caught them, there were 25 boats plus boats. A lot of the same baits being thrown at the same fish. I was startled. The tide was reaching its end when I pulled up.”
Jones made the most of the final push of outgoing tide, landing three quality largemouth before the tide slacked off and the bite died for him and the rest of the teams around him. From there, he moved to his secondary area and landed two good bass, one off a cypress stump and another cruising along a shade line.
Now that he is qualified for the Bracket, Jones can go into the Strike King Bassmaster College National Championship at Leech Lake presented by Bass Pro Shops with a similar attitude he used at the James River.
Herring and O’Bryan were the most consistent team of the week, catching limits weighing 18-14 and 18-6 to earn their spot in the College National Championship.
“I grew up on the Pascagoula River, so the tide is normal for me,” Herring said. “I understand how it works and what the bass do, so that helped a lot.”
Instead of joining the crowd in the Chickahominy, the West Alabama duo stayed closer to takeoff in the James River to maximize their fishing time. On Day 1, a tributary that led to a backwater pond produced all of their bites during the outgoing tide cycle. A ChatterBait and a Berkley Pit Boss were key in that area.
The second day, Herring and O’Bryan stayed even closer to takeoff and tossed the new Berkley Moeba and a Berkley Cull Shad around main river current breaks like laydown trees, wing dams and stumps.
“We started on trees that stuck out way further than anything else,” O’Bryan said. “Then anything that stuck out so the bass could sit behind and have bait rush by them.”
Troy University’s Colton Trotter and Barrett Choquette finished third with 36-11 followed by Hunter Owens and Jackie Hatfield from Carson-Newman University in fourth with 34-13. West Alabama’s Daylon Milam and James Dubose rounded out the Top 5 with 34-6.
The Top 10 percent of the field earned berths to the 2026 Strike King Bassmaster College Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops at Leech Lake in Minnesota.
Jones claimed Lunkers Trail Team of the Year points with 714 points, just two points more than second-place Luke Wyle and Trey Richardson from Auburn University. Carson-Newman’s Riley Brown and Nolan Gray finished third with 710 points.
The Henrico Sports and Entertainment Authority and Richmond Region Tourism hosted this tournament.