COLUMBIA, S.C. – Shallow water aficionado, Keith Poche, felt right at home in Richmond, Virginia on the James River claiming his third Major League Fishing victory and his first at the Invitationals level. Poche started Day One off strong, catching the biggest limit of the event with 23 pounds, 15 ounces, anchored by two six-plus pound largemouth. He hunkered down the next two days and leaned on his unique backwater approach to edge out a stacked field and add another milestone to his growing tournament resume.

Poche relied on a hard-to-access creek off the main river that produced all but one of his 15 bass. Utilizing the small aluminum boat that Poche has become well known for, he knew that very few competitors would be able to access the creek and pond that he was fishing. He checked the area in practice and knew based on the tide he would be the only one capable of fishing the area.

The plan couldn't have worked out any better for Poche—he was the first one to the area on Day One, quickly putting just under 24 pounds of fish in the boat. His two key areas, a small deep spot in the creek that had steep banks where the fish schooled until the tide switched, and the mouth of the pond where he got key bites every day of the tournament.

Days Two and Three provided more of a challenge for Poche as his hard-to-reach area was running out of fish. He scratched up 16 pounds, 2 ounces on Day Two, enough to maintain his lead, and added 12 pounds, 15 ounces on the final day. The narrow victory of 4 ounces was enough to earn the title and collect an $80,000 payday.

“I knew this was going to be a tough event to win, but going in I felt like I had a real shot,” said Poche. “After Day One, I was confident—but as the fishing got tougher each day, the doubt started to creep in. I kept grinding, and luckily, I was able to hold on and edge out the win against a strong field. All day, it felt like I was one bite short, so it feels really good to close it out and get the job done.”