Categories
MLF BIG-5

Monsoor Holds Lead Heading into Final Day at Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at the Mississippi River presented by OPTIMA Batteries

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Yamamoto Baits pro Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, Wisconsin, brought a  five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 5 ounces, to the scale Friday to retain his lead after day three of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at the Mississippi River presented by OPTIMA Batteries. Monsoor now enters the fourth and final day of competition as the No. 1 seed in the Super Tournament that features 200 of the world’s best bass-fishing anglers from FLW and Major League Fishing (MLF) competing for a piece of the $1.3 million prize pool.

Monsoor has crossed the stage with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 42 pounds even, which gives him a slim 1-pound, 1-ounce lead over second-place pro MLF angler Zack Birge of Blanchard, Oklahoma, who caught five bass today weighing 13 pounds, 2 ounces. Birge has weighed in 15 bass totaling 40 pounds, 15 ounces in his three days of competition.

“It was pretty tough, today. At noon I only had 7½ pounds, and I went through around 50 fish to even get that,” said Monsoor, who has one prior win – on the Potomac River in 2017 – in Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit competition. “Right at the end of the day I pulled up to a weed bed and caught my biggest fish of the day, and two other nice ones. You just have to keep plugging away and never give up out there.

“I caught more fish today than I had on the first two days combined, but I just couldn’t find the big ones,” Monsoor said.

Monsoor spent his morning on two offshore spots in Pool 8, near the Black River. His first spot was producing until an altercation with a local water ski boat in the same area shut it down.

“That kind of wrecked my morning,” said Monsoor. “I’ve been here all my life, and I’ve never had anybody do that before. They ski there all the time. I fish there all the time. There’s never been a problem. That took the edge off right away. I was having fun until that. I was going to catch some fish there, too. But he shut it down.”

Monsoor managed to catch around 10 pounds off of his second area before running into his three bigger fish later in the day.

With numerous top-10 finishes and six career victories on the Mississippi River in various levels of FLW competition, a victory on the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit is the only trophy that has eluded Monsoor here in La Crosse. With one day left, Monsoor said all he can do is fish as hard as he can.

“The big FLW events are my worst tournaments,” Monsoor went on to say. “The worst! I couldn’t do any worse. And I’ve had the best practices before these events. This is the first one it hasn’t screwed me on. So, I want this one really bad. All you can do is fish as hard as you can, and nobody fishes harder than me. I know that. I don’t stop.”

The top 10 pros advancing to the final day of competition on the Mississippi River are:

 1st: Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, Wis., 15 bass, 42-0
 2nd: Zack Birge of Blanchard, Okla., 15 bass, 40-15
 3rd: David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn., 15 bass, 40-8
 4th: Scott Wiley of Bay Minette, Ala., 14 bass, 40-5
 5th: Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tenn., 15 bass, 39-12
 6th: Tyler Stewart of West Monroe, La., 15 bass, 39-9
 7th: Kyle Hall of Granbury, Texas, 15 bass, 39-0
 8th: Bailey Boutries of Daphne, Ala., 15 bass, 37-13
 9th: Clark Reehm of Elm Grove, La., 15 bass, 37-10
 10th: Cody Meyer of Auburn, Calif., 14 bass, 37-9

Finishing in 11th through 30th are:

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 11th: Clayton Batts of Butler, Ga., 15 bass, 37-3, $14,000
 12th: Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich., 15 bass, 37-2, $14,000
 13th: Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Ark., 15 bass, 37-2, $14,000
 14th: Adrian Avena of Vineland, N.J., 15 bass, 37-1, $14,000
 15th: David Gaston of Sylacauga, Ala., 15 bass, 36-15, $14,000
 16th: Bradford Beavers of Summerville, S.C., 14 bass, 36-14, $14,000
 17th: Casey Ashley of Donalds, S.C., 15 bass, 36-14, $14,000
 18th: Paul Elias of Laurel, Miss., 15 bass, 36-13, $14,000
 19th: Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla., 15 bass, 36-13, $14,000
 20th: Matt Lee of Bremen, Ala., 15 bass, 36-10, $14,000
 21st: Dustin Connell of Clanton, Ala., 15 bass, 36-9, $11,000
 22nd: Jacob Wall of New Hope, Ala., 15 bass, 36-3, $11,000
 23rd: Kurt Mitchell of Milford, Del., 15 bass, 35-15, $11,000
 24th: Alton Jones Jr. of Lorena, Texas, 15 bass, 35-10, $11,000
 25th: Chad Warren of Sand Springs, Okla., 15 bass, 35-8, $11,000
 26th: Jon Englund of Farwell, Minn., 15 bass, 35-5, $11,000
 27th: Matthew Stefan of Junction City, Minn., 15 bass, 35-4, $11,000
 28th: Darrell Davis of Dover, Fla., 15 bass, 35-2, $11,000
 29th: Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 34-14, $11,000
 30th: Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif., 15 bass, 33-14, $11,000

Full results for the entire field can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Overall there were 217 bass weighing 497 pounds, 6 ounces caught by 48 pros Friday. The catch included 36 five-bass limits.

The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at the Mississippi River presented by OPTIMA Batteries is hosted by Explore La Crosse.

In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Super-Tournament competition, the full field of 200 pro anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Wednesday and Thursday. The top 50 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advanced to Friday. Now only the top 10 pros will continue competition on Championship Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

FLW anglers are vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the Tackle Warehouse FLW TITLE presented by Toyota, the Pro Circuit championship. The 2020 Tackle Warehouse FLW TITLE presented by Toyota will be held on Lake Michigan in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, Aug. 24-29.

Categories
BASSMASTER Elite Series/Opens

Hartman Maintains Lead At Bassmaster Elite Series Event On Lake Champlain

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. —

Reversing his game plan, Day 1 leader Jamie Hartman of Russellville, Ark., added 20 pounds, 3 ounces to Thursday’s weight of 22-1 and retained the top spot in the Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain with a two-day total of 42-4.

Hartman ended Day 1 by stopping on a rocky point close to the tournament site and catching a 4-pounder 10 minutes before the 3 p.m. weigh-in began. Friday, he started on this spot and quickly lit up the BASSTrakk leaderboard by securing a solid limit of smallmouth in less than two hours.

“I took a lot of pressure off this morning in the first hour and a half, I had 18 1/4 pounds,” said Hartman, a New York native who moved away from his home state to pursue a career in professional bass fishing. “Then I figured I only needed two more 4-pounders, but it took all the way to the last two hours to do it.

“That spot was on my way to a big flat I wanted to fish in the lake’s north end, so I just said I’m going to start there and see if the fish were there, and they sure were. Hopefully, they’ll reload and I’ll get on them tomorrow morning.”

Having fished this spot in years past, Hartman said his nearly immediate bite on Day 1 told him the point held greater potential than he had anticipated. With Friday’s calm, clear conditions contrasting Thursday’s partly cloudy and increasingly breezy complexion, he started Day 2 expecting fireworks and the bass mostly cooperated.

Hartman caught those early fish on a Carolina rig with craw bait on a 3/0 Owner extra-wide gap hook. He used a 1-ounce weight and a 3-foot leader, which helped him keep his bait above the grass.

“The spot had scattered grass and rock, so the Carolina rig was absolutely perfect, and my hookup to landing ratio is really good,” he said. “I said I was going to put it in my hand this week before we started because I lost so many fish last week [at the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite on the St. Lawrence River]. I said I’m going to swing with the big one this time.

“I was using a steady retrieve and whenever I’d come through a patch of grass, I’d pop the rig to snap it out of that grass. They’ll whack it every time when I do that.”

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By midmorning, he decided he was not going to upgrade on his starting point, so he made a move to avoid burning up too much of the spot’s population. Heading to his northern flat, he focused on scattered grass in about 10 to 15 feet.

“I didn’t want to keep hammering my starting spot,” Hartman said of his plan to manage the bass. “I didn’t even go back to it on the way in. I didn’t want to catch another one off that spot; I need them for tomorrow.”

When the Carolina rig failed to produce, Hartman went to a 1/2-ounce Riot Baits Lil’ Creeper jig with a swimbait trailer. He was again targeting smallmouth but ended up making a key cull with a largemouth around 2:30 p.m.

Seth Feider of New Market, Minn., is in second place with 41-8. After anchoring his fourth-place Day 1 catch of 20-1 with a 5-4 largemouth, Feider added a limit of 21-7 Friday that included another huge largemouth that went 6-6.

Feider caught Friday’s big fish by targeting boat docks with milfoil and flipping a 5/8-ounce Outkast Tackle jig with a chunk-style trailer. While largemouth on marina docks produced most of his Day 1 weight, today told a different tale.

“I did most of my damage this morning on smallies; I ended up weighing four smallies and one buckethead (largemouth),” Feider said. “My smallmouth spot was a grass point in 10 to 12 feet on a big flat. I caught two on drop shot and two on a crankbait.”

Koby Kreiger of Alva, Fla., is in third place with 40-1. After posting 18-1 Thursday, he added 22 pounds on Day 2. Noting that a Heddon Super Spook Jr. and two jerkbaits — a Lucky Craft Pointer 100 and a Megabass Vision 110 — produced his fish, Kreiger said today’s calm, sunny conditions plus a cleaner performance yielded a better sack.

“It slicked off, which made it easier for me to see the fish and for them to see my bait,” Kreiger said. “Yesterday, I jumped off a couple and today, I fished clean.

“I’m fishing a great big flat in 10 feet with isolated rocks and isolated grass patches on it. I can see them pretty far out with my Humminbird 360; that shows me what’s in front of the boat when I’m drifting.”

Feider is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 6-6 largemouth.

Saturday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:45 a.m. ET at Plattsburgh City Marina. The weigh-in will be held at the marina at 3 p.m.

Live coverage of the event will be available starting at 8 a.m. on Bassmaster LIVE at Bassmaster.com with simulcasts on ESPN2 and ESPN3. Check local listings for ESPN2 times.

The tournament is being hosted by the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau, City of Plattsburgh and Clinton County with support from the Office of the Governor of the State of New York.

Categories
BASSMASTER Elite Series/Opens

Late-Day Bonus Helps Hartman Take Lead At Bassmaster Elite On Lake Champlain

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. —

An afternoon decision paid off big for Jamie Hartman of Russellville, Ark., who nabbed a day-ending bonus that helped him claim the Day 1 lead of the Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain with 22 pounds, 1 ounce.

At the day’s conclusion, Hartman’s name appeared next to three of the Top 10 Big Bass — a 5-pounder, a 4-14 and a 4-4. He also added a 4-0 just 10 minutes before the weigh-ins opened at 3 p.m.

“I upgraded in the last few minutes on the way in; I was pretty much done and I just hit something on the way in, made three casts and caught a 4-pound smallmouth,” said Hartman, a native New Yorker. “That spot was just a steep drop with some grass on top of it.

“I’ve fished it in the past and I’ve never caught a big fish off of it, but I’ve caught some decent fish. I was basically scouting for tomorrow, so after catching a 4-pound smallmouth, I think they’re there.”

Hartman’s late-day bonus spot exemplified the type of habitat he eventually settled into. Finishing his day with a mixed bag of three smallmouth and two largemouth, Hartman actually got off to a slow start but eventually turned his day around by adjusting his location.

“I went up north and the water was so calm that it was tough for me to get bit at all,” he said. “I ground it out for a while, got a couple of bites and made one move. When I finally made the move to go fish what I wanted to fish, it all came together. I bounced around to several different spots within the same area, making decisions on what to fish.”

Hartman generally described his area as a mix of rock and grassbeds in 12 to 15 feet. The key, he said, was targeting the right type of grass, specifically taller patches of milfoil.

“I was watching my electronics and making sure I was around patches of grass,” he said. “I was making sure I was in the high enough grass.”

Hartman caught his bass on a mix of soft-plastic presentations. Although he tried to get the fish interested in reaction baits early, a Carolina rig proved most productive.

“I tried to catch them on a swimbait like I did in practice. But there was no wind, so they wouldn’t eat it,” he said.

With the grassy shallows of the Ticonderoga area at Champlain’s lower end presenting the tempting potential for big largemouth, Hartman admitted he considered making the 70-mile run.

“When I had a slow start, I thought I had made the wrong decision by not running to Ti, but I slowly started to put it together,” he said. “I just kept reminding myself: pick off one at a time. They’re good ones, so we’ll keep going.”

Buddy Gross of Chickamauga, Ga., is in second place with 21-2. Noting that Champlain’s smallmouth have often confounded him in the past, Gross mainly focused on largemouth Thursday. But with the lake about 4 feet below normal, he caught them in places where he has targeted smallmouth.

“I had spent a lot of time looking for structure for smallmouth, but the largemouth took over some of my spots and it’s really helping a lot,” Gross said. “As low as the water is, it’s pulling the largemouth out to the first places on the drops, and it’s making them a little easier for me to find them.”

Fishing the lake’s north end, Gross caught his fish on a prototype bullethead jig from Nichols Lures with a Zoom Chunk trailer and a Z-Man Jack Hammer ChatterBait with a Zoom Z-Craw trailer. The latter, he said, proved most strategic in finding his bites.

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“I used moving baits to cover a lot of water,” he said. “I haven’t been getting a ton of bites, but when I do, it has been quality. So, I’m having to run a whole lot of water.”

Micah Frazier of Newnan, Ga., is in third place with 20-8. Targeting solely smallmouth, he committed to the lake’s north end where he targeted offshore humps, shoals and boulders in 15 to 40 feet.

“I caught my fish on a drop shot with a Yum Warning Shot and a 3/8-ounce weight,” Frazier said. “I had a midmorning flurry, and then I caught a couple of bigger ones later once the sun came out.”

Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Md., is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 6-2 largemouth.

Friday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:45 a.m. CT at Plattsburgh City Marina. The weigh-in will be held back at the marina at 3 p.m.

Live coverage of the event will be available starting at 8 a.m. on Bassmaster LIVE at Bassmaster.com with simulcasts on ESPN2 and ESPN3. Check local listings for ESPN2 times.

The tournament is being hosted by the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau, City of Plattsburgh and Clinton County.

Categories
MLF BIG-5

Monsoor Vaults into Lead on Day Two of Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at the Mississippi River presented by OPTIMA Batteries

LA CROSSE, Wis. (July 30, 2020) – Local pro Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, Wisconsin, caught a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 8 ounces, to vault to the top of the leaderboard on day two of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at the Mississippi River presented by OPTIMA Batteries in La Crosse. Monsoor’s two-day total of 10 bass weighing 28-11 will give him a 12-ounce advantage as the event enters into day three of competition in the four-day Super Tournament that features 200 of the world’s best bass-fishing anglers from FLW and Major League Fishing (MLF) competing for a top cash award of up to $160,000.

After starting the day in seventh place, Monsoor caught a limit in Pool No. 8 consisting of two smallmouth and three largemouth bass Thursday to move into first place. He says that the tournament is still completely up for grabs with two days of competition remaining and the fishery changing each day.

“I can’t believe that the River has been fishing as tough as it has been, but I had more weight today than I did yesterday so I guess it wasn’t too bad,” said Monsoor, a 17-year FLW pro veteran who has 25 previous top-10 finishes on the Mississippi River in FLW competition. “Yesterday I started out in Pool 7 and it did not work out. My two starting spots I didn’t get a bite – and I thought I could catch a limit at both. But that’s La Crosse – it can change overnight.

“Today I hunkered down in Pool 8 and it worked out a little better,” Monsoor continued. “I tried everything. I threw a topwater, I threw a popper, I threw a buzzbait, a football jig, a swimming jig, a Senko, and a homemade Bitsy Bug. All my weight is coming on the jig, but I’m trying other stuff. I see some big fish feeding but they ain’t biting. I don’t know why, yet.”

Monsoor said he remains on the lookout for the “big bite”, and that he almost had it in the boat late yesterday.

“Near the end of the day yesterday I thought I had snagged a stick, because it wasn’t fighting – it wasn’t moving. Then it came to the surface and opened its mouth – it was a 4- or 5-pounder – and the hook flew out. I’ve got good hooks, but the fish just didn’t get all of it. That bass would have been another couple of pounds, at least.

“That’s why this is still anybody’s tournament,” Monsoor went on to say. “I could get nothing tomorrow, and somebody else can catch a big bag. You can just stumble into them. I’m going to keep looking because I haven’t really found them yet.”

The top 20 pros after day two on the Mississippi River are:

            1st:       Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 28-11
            2nd:      Scott Wiley of Bay Minette, Ala., 10 bass, 27-15
            3rd:       Bailey Boutries of Daphne, Ala., 10 bass, 27-14
            4th:       Zack Birge of Blanchard, Okla., 10 bass, 27-13
            5th:       Bradford Beavers of Summerville, S.C., 10 bass, 27-9
            6th:       Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich., 10 bass, 27-4
            7th:       Tyler Stewart of West Monroe, La., 10 bass, 27-3
            8th:       Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tenn., 10 bass, 27-2
            9th:       Clark Reehm of Elm Grove, La., 10 bass, 26-7
            10th:     Clayton Batts of Butler, Ga., 10 bass, 26-1
            11th:     Kyle Hall of Granbury, Texas, 10 bass, 25-7
            12th:     Matt Lee of Bremen, Ala., 10 bass, 25-7
            13th:     David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn., 10 bass, 25-7
            14th:     Mike McClelland of Blue Eye, Mo., 10 bass, 25-4
            15th:     Jon Englund of Farwell, Minn., 10 bass, 25-1
            16th:     Dustin Connell of Clanton, Ala., 10 bass, 25-1
            17th:     David Gaston of Sylacauga, Ala., 10 bass, 24-15
            18th:     Casey Ashley of Donalds, S.C., 10 bass, 24-13
            19th:     Kurt Mitchell of Milford, Del., 10 bass, 24-12
            20th:     Jesse Wiggins of Logan, Ala., 10 bass, 24-11

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Full results for the entire field can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Jim Tutt of Longview, Texas, won the $500 Berkley Big Bass award Thursday in the pro division after bringing a fish weighing 4 pounds, 10 ounces to the scale.

Overall there were 797 bass weighing 1,774 pounds, 3 ounces caught by 190 pros Thursday. The catch included 119 five-bass limits.

The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at the Mississippi River presented by OPTIMA Batteries is hosted by Explore La Crosse.

In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Super-Tournament competition, the full field of 200 pro anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Wednesday and Thursday. The top 50 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight now advance to Friday. Only the top 10 pros will continue competition on Championship Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

FLW anglers are vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the Tackle Warehouse FLW TITLE presented by Toyota, the Pro Circuit championship. The 2020 Tackle Warehouse FLW TITLE presented by Toyota will be held on Lake Michigan in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, Aug. 24-29.

MLF pros competing in the Pro Circuit Super Tournaments will fish for prize money only. No points will be awarded toward any championship or title to MLF competitors. Only the original Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit anglers will compete for the AOY title throughout the remainder of the season. AOY points in the final events will be awarded based on Pro Circuit anglers finishing order. The top-finishing FLW pro will receive “first-place points” regardless of where he finishes in the overall standings, and so on.

Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. CDT each day from Stoddard Park, located at 502 Forest Lane, in Stoddard. The weigh-in each day will also be held at Stoddard Park and will begin at 4 p.m. Attendance is limited to competing anglers and essential staff only. Fans are encouraged to forgo the daily takeoffs and weigh-ins and follow the event online through the expanded four-day “FLW Live” on-the-water broadcasts and weigh-in coverage at FLWFishing.com.

Television coverage of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at the Mississippi River will premiere at 7 p.m. EDT, Sept. 11 on the Outdoor Channel. Running now through Dec. 27, FLW will air 312 hours of Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit action on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long episode goes in-depth to break down the final rounds of each regular-season competition. Episodes premiere in Friday night primetime slots on the Outdoor Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel.

Categories
MLF BIG-5

Virginia’s Pike and Estes Tie for Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Potomac River

MARBURY, Md. (July 27, 2020) – Boaters Cody Pike of Powhatan, Virginia, and Keith Estes of Spring Grove, Virginia, both brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 16 pounds, 9 ounces to tie for the win at the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. Estes earned a total of $4,262 after contingency awards, while Pike took home $10,262, including the lucrative $7,000 FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency award.

The tournament was the fourth of five events in the Shenandoah Division presented by A.R.E. Truck Caps.

“Today was a slow grind for me, and everything that I caught came fishing extremely slow in the grass with soft plastics and Strike King creature baits,” said Estes, who earned his second career win in FLW competition. “The key was just being patient. I love river fishing – especially when there is an outgoing tide – so I had to wait for the small window at the end of the day with the outgoing water and it paid off for me in the end.”

“I was fishing grass – not the thick matted hydrilla, but the sparser deep grass,” said Pike, who also picked up the second win of his FLW career. “It had to be the deepest grass that you could find. I caught them all on a black-and-blue-colored 3/8-ounce Dave’s Tournament Tackle Swim Jig.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:

            1st:       Keith Estes of Spring Grove, Va., five bass, 14-14, $4,262

            1st:       Cody Pike of Powhatan, Va., five bass, 14-14, $10,262

            3rd:       John Duarte of Middle River, Md., five bass, 14-5, $1,451

            4th:       Mike Roselle of La Plata, Md., five bass, 14-4, $1,215

            5th:       Carlton Owens of Franklin, Va., five bass, 14-0, $870

            6th:       Chris Brummett, Lynch Station, Va., five bass, 13-12, $798

            7th:       Todd Langford of Great Falls, Va., five bass, 13-9, $689

            7th:       Robert Henderson of King George, Va., five bass, 13-9, $689

            9th:       Ben Jacobi of Richmond, Va., five bass, 13-8, $580

            10th:     Jack Dice of Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 11-10, $508

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

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Cavin Young of Prince George, Virginia, earned the day’s $615 Boater Big Bass award with a 5-pound, 8-ounce largemouth.

Pike took home an extra $7,000 as the highest finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.

Jonathan Patkus of Columbia, Maryland, earned the win in the Co-angler Division Saturday after catching a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 10 ounces. Patkus earned $2,175 for his victory.

The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:

            1st:       Jonathan Patkus of Columbia, Md., five bass, 12-10, $2,175

            2nd:      Cornell Badra of Clarksburg, Md., five bass, 12-0, $1,088

            3rd:       Matt McCluskey of Ashburn, Va., four bass, 11-2, $726

            4th:       Richard Hare of Fredericksburg, Va., five bass, 10-3, $507

            5th:       Mark Blankenship of Christiansburg, Va., five bass, 10-1, $435

            6th:       Timothy Kinder of Manassas, Va., five bass, 9-14, $899

            7th:       Austin Burdette of Pembroke, Va., five bass, 9-7, $363

            8th:       Alex Titus of Annandale, Va., five bass, 9-6, $326

            9th:       John Poos of Manassas, Va., five bass, 9-1, $272

            9th:       Bernie Scheiner of Burke, Va., four bass, 9-1, $272

Edward Dustin of Fredericksburg, Virginia, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 4 pounds 4 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $307.

Categories
BASSMASTER Elite Series/Opens

Johnston Battles Rough Water To Win Bassmaster Elite At St. Lawrence River

CLAYTON, N.Y. — His home waters were off-limits this week, but that didn’t stop Canadian standout Chris Johnston from winning the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River with a whopping four-day total of 20 smallmouth bass that weighed 97 pounds, 8 ounces.

The first Canadian to claim an Elite title, Johnston was the only competitor to break 20 pounds each day. Hailing from Peterborough, Ontario, he placed second on Day 1 with 27-0 and held that position for two more days with weights of 24-12 and 23-0.

Entering Championship Sunday a little more than 2 pounds off the lead, Johnston added a final limit of 22-12 to surge ahead of Connecticut pro Paul Mueller and win by a margin of 1-10. Mueller had led the event all three days going into the final round.

“This has been a crazy year fishing-wise for me; I had two of the worst tournaments probably in my career and to bounce back and win on the St. Lawrence, of all places, is just incredible,” said Johnston, who finished 71st and 59th in the first two Elite Series events this year. “I’ve wanted a big tournament win on the St. Lawrence River bad, and it finally came together.

“I’ve watched Bassmaster my whole life and even if you’d asked me three or four years ago, I didn’t think I’d be here in this position. It’s been surreal. I can’t even describe how cool it feels.”
 

Throughout the week, Johnston used several baits, including a tube, a Ned rig and a black hair jig. On Sunday, he caught his fish on a drop shot with a green pumpkin Berkley Flat Worm. He needed a 3/8-ounce tungsten weight for proper presentations on Lake Ontario, where steady 6- to 8-foot waves made everything more difficult than it had been the three previous days.

The first two days saw Johnston plucking early keepers from a rocky point inside the river and then moving out to fish Lake Ontario rockpiles in 20 to 40 feet. On Saturday and Sunday, he did the majority of his work in the Great Lake.

The tournament’s first three days offered mostly calm conditions, but Sunday saw strong southwest winds which created conditions so rough that many anglers who qualified for the Championship round elected to stay in the safer confines of the St. Lawrence River. A lifetime of experience told Johnston Lake Ontario held his best opportunity to catch a winning bag, so he committed to one key area with several rockpiles in 20 to 50 feet of water along a 500-yard stretch.

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“The biggest thing with the weather is just getting to your spot,” Johnston said of his safety-conscious navigation. “Once I got there, I just went upwind and drifted into the spot and then held on the spot as long as I could. Then I’d blow off the spot and do another drift.”

In 2019, Johnston experienced the inverse of this year’s finish, leading the St. Lawrence event for three days before settling for the runner-up position.

“Finishing second last year makes this win all that much sweeter,” Johnston said. “I can’t wait to get home and celebrate with family and friends.”

Johnston earned $102,000 for his victory. 

Mueller finished in second place with 95-14. After leading the event for three days, he found the rough waters of Lake Ontario less generous. In the Championship round, he added 18-15 to his previous weights of 27-1, 25-1 and 24-13.

He targeted rockpiles and rock breaks in 17 to 21 feet and caught all of his fish on a drop shot with a Berkley Flat Worm in the natural shad color. Uncertain of how long it would take him to run back through the rough water to the weigh-in site, Mueller left the lake around 1:45 p.m. and ended up with time to fish the river.

“Honestly, I think I feel like I left too early because I didn’t know how rough it was going to be,” Mueller said. “I felt like everything else I did today was flawless. I should have pushed it to the max, but I had no idea how long it was going to take to get back and that’s just inexperience on a body of water with that type of wind.”

Mueller’s second prize earnings came to $27,000. He will also take home $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program.

Brock Mosley of Collinsville, Miss., finished third with 84-2. His daily weights were 24-2, 19-13, 20-4 and 19-15.

Celebrating the birth of his second child on Wednesday, Mosley bucked the overwhelmingly smallmouth-heavy trend and targeted St. Lawrence’s robust, but largely overlooked, largemouth population around residential docks and flat rock shoals.

“I caught all of my fish on a 3/8-ounce green pumpkin Z-Man Jack Hammer ChatterBait because I could cover a lot of water,” Mosley said. “That was the key. I had to cover a lot of water to run into a good one.

“I used a couple of different trailers so I could fish an area with one trailer and then go back through it with a different trailer. I ended up catching a few smallmouth, too, but I caught them fishing for largemouth.”

Mueller won the race for Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the week with his 7-13 smallmouth. The bass, which he described as the “fish of a lifetime,” was just 7 ounces shy of the New York state record and is believed to be the largest smallmouth ever caught in a B.A.S.S. event.

The tournament was hosted by Jefferson County in cooperation with the Village of Clayton and the 1000 Islands Clayton Chamber of Commerce.

2020 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite At St. Lawrence River Title Sponsor: SiteOne

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Abu GarciaBerkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Skeeter Boats, Talon, Yamaha

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops,Carhartt, Garmin, Huk Performance Fishing, Mossy Oak Fishing, Rapala

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Conservation Partners: AFTCO, Huk

2020 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite At St. Lawrence River Local Hosts: Jefferson County, Village of Clayton, 1000 Islands Clayton Chamber of Commerce

Categories
MLF BIG-5

Miss. Scott Wins Saturday, Tenn. Anderson Wins Sunday at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Double-Header on Pickwick Lake

IUKA, Miss. (July 20, 2020) – It was a double-header for weekend bass anglers this past weekend in Iuka with the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on Pickwick Lake events.

Boater Dayton Scott of Memphis, Tennessee, brought a three-bass limit to the scale totaling 12 pounds, 6 ounces to win Saturday’s event and earn $5,575, while boater Brent Anderson of Kingston Springs, Tennessee, brought in three bass weighing 12 pounds, 8 ounces on Sunday to earn the win and the top prize of $5,394.

It was a unique win for 18-year-old Scott, who just wrapped up his High School Fishing career as he fished in his last High School tournament last weekend. Saturday was Scott’s first ever BFL tournament, and the young angler had a special day.

“I thought I’d do okay, but the Good Lord blessed me with an 8½-pounder that helped me get my weight,” Scott said. “Most of my fish came on a swimjig, but the big fish came on a Texas-rigged 7-inch Strike King Cut-R Worm (green pumpkin).

“I noticed in practice that the ledges were getting pounded, so I tried to key on shallow flats where they were pushing bait,” Scott continued. “I fished near State Line Island and caught most of my fish in 6 feet of water.”

The top five boaters on Saturday were:

            1st:       Dayton Scott of Memphis, Tenn., three bass, 12-6, $5,575

            1st:       Steve Hughes of Mooreville, Miss., three bass, 11-13, $2,288

            3rd:       T.A. Cook III of Booneville, Miss., three bass, 11-10, $1,525

            4th:       Jennings Earnest of Guin, Ala., three bass, 11-0, $1,068

            5th:       Bryan Waldon of Falkner, Miss., three bass, 10-11, $915

Complete results for Saturday can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Casey Taylor of Smithville, Tennessee, brought a 9-pound, 4-ounce largemouth to the scale to earn Saturday’s Boater Big Bass award of $665.

Johnny Suratt of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, won the Co-angler Division and $2,288 Saturday after catching three bass weighing 13 pounds, 4 ounces.

The top five co-anglers Saturday finished as follows:

            1st:       Johnny Suratt of Lawrenceburg, Tenn., three bass, 13-4, $2,288

            2nd:      Kiowa Terry of Hamilton, Ala., three bass, 11-3, $1,144

            3rd:       Brian Toth of Pearl, Miss., three bass, 10-13, $762

            4th:       Farley Fondren of Maben, Miss., three bass, 10-12, $534

            5th:       Anthony Rasberry of New Albany, Miss., three bass, 9-15, $458

Eddie Armstrong of West Point, Mississippi, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 8 pounds, 15 ounces, to win the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $332.

On Sunday, winning boater Brent Anderson also caught his fish shallow.

“My experience guiding on this lake has taught me that I could not win out deep,” said Anderson, who earned his eighth career BFL win. “I ran up the river and fished anything that looked good – some water willows, laydowns and stumps.

“I caught them on a worm, a jig, a ChatterBait and a few on a topwater,” Anderson continued. “The key bait was the worm – a plum-colored Zoom Ol’ Monster. I fished anywhere from 6 to 10 feet.”

The top five boaters on Sunday were:

CHECK OUT ALL THE NEWEST GEAR FROM ICAST

            1st:       Brent Anderson of Kingston Springs, Tenn., three bass, 12-8, $5,394

            2nd:      Michael Wooley of Booneville, Miss., three bass, 12-3, $2,197

            3rd:       Randy Craft of Seminary, Miss., three bass, 10-13, $1,464

            4th:       Ben Webb of Mooreville, Miss., three bass, 10-11, $1,025

            5th:       Andy Coy of Corinth, Miss., three bass, 10-9, $2,009

Complete results for Sunday’s event on Pickwick Lake can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Coy brought a 6-pound, 9-ounce bass to the scale to win Sunday’s Boater Big Bass award of $630.

Coy also picked up Sunday’s FLW PHOENIX BONUS of $500 as he was the highest-finishing member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.

Cameron Petras of Biloxi, Mississippi, won the Co-angler Division and $2,197 Sunday after catching a three-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 4 ounces.

The top five co-anglers Sunday finished as follows:

            1st:       Cameron Petras of Biloxi, Miss., three bass, 11-4, $2,197

            2nd:      Chris Estes of Shannon, Miss., three bass, 11-0, $1,098

            3rd:       John Swords of Collierville, Tenn., three bass, 10-6, $733

            4th:       Todd Ware of Meridian, Miss., three bass, 10-5, $513

            5th:       Billy Robertson of Waterloo, Ala., three bass, 10-4, $439

Scott Kirk of Houston, Mississippi, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 6 pounds, 5 ounces. The catch earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $157.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Double-Header on Pickwick Lake was the second and third of five qualifying events in the Mississippi Division.

Categories
MLF BIG-5

Indiana’s Hochstetler Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Lake St. Clair

HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (July 20, 2020) – Boater Ryan Hochstetler of Shipshewana, Indiana, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 22 pounds, 9 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event at Lake St. Clair in Harrison Township, Michigan. For his victory, Hochstetler earned a total of $6,972.

The tournament was the first of five events in the Michigan Division presented by A.R.E. Truck Caps.

“I was fishing in Anchor Bay, north of the North Channel,” said Hochstetler, who earned his first career victory in FLW competition. “I was fishing a shallow weedline in 4 to 6 foot of water.”

Hochstetler said that his key baits were a Duo Realis Spybait and a drop-shot rig with a Duo Realis V-Tailshad.

“I found these fish two weeks ago, and they stayed there along with the bait,” Hochstetler went on to say. “I put in a lot of hard work for this, so winning feels really good.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:

            1st:       Ryan Hochstetler of Shipshewana, Ind., five bass, 22-9, $6,972

            2nd:      Dawson Johnson of Luck, Wis., five bass, 21-14, $2,236

            3rd:       Mike Raber of Wolcottville, Ind., five bass, 21-8, $1,492

            4th:       Mark Modrak of China Township, Mich., five bass, 21-6, $1,043

            5th:       Hayden Scott of Ann Arbor, Mich., five bass, 21-3, $894

            6th:       Troy Stokes of Brownstown, Mich., five bass, 20-13, $820

            7th:       Beau Bickford of Findlay, Ohio, five bass, 20-9, $708

            7th:       Tim Gillies of Union City, Mich., five bass, 20-9, $708

            9th:       Tom Beale of St. Clair Shores, Mich., five bass, 20-7, $596

            10th:     Tony Mitchell of Plainwell, Mich., five bass, 20-3, $496

            10th:     Russel Buffa of Fenton, Mich., five bass, 20-3, $496

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

CHECK OUT ALL THE NEWEST GEAR FROM ICAST

Gary Solomon of Clinton Township, Michigan, claimed the day’s Boater Big Bass Award of $650 after bringing a 6-pound, 1-ounce bass to the scale.

Hochstetler was also the highest-finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member and took home an extra $2,500. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.

Nicholas Ireland of Davison, Michigan, won the Co-angler Division and $2,571 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 20 pounds, 7 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:

            1st:       Nicholas Ireland of Davison, Mich., five bass, 20-7, $2,571

            2nd:      Joseph Sittler of Fort Wayne, Ind., five bass, 20-6, $1,125

            3rd:       Scott Lutz of Bremen, Ind., five bass, 19-7, $752

            4th:       Calvin Fitch of Kokomo, Ind., five bass, 19-4, $525

            5th:       Trent Norman of Union, Ky., five bass, 19-3, $450

            6th:       Kendra Mueller of Pinckney, Mich., five bass, 18-4, $393

            6th:       Tony Grubb of Ann Arbor, Mich., five bass, 18-4, $393

            8th:       Nicholas Veselka of Fishers, Ind., five bass, 17-15, $337

            9th:       Evan Ellis of Greentown, Ind., five bass, 17-13, $300

            10th:     Logan Roller of Tremont, Ill., five bass, 17-10, $262

Ireland also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 5 pounds, 12 ounces. The catch added to his winnings as he earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $322.

Categories
MLF BIG-5

Virginia’s Baker Goes Two-for-Two – Wins Both Days of Phoenix Bass Fishing League Double-Header on Kerr Lake

HENDERSON, N.C. (July 20, 2020) – It was a double-header for weekend bass anglers this past weekend in Henderson with the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on Kerr Lake events.

Boater Ronnie Baker of Providence Forge, Virginia, had a very successful weekend, winning both events back-to-back. Baker brought a five-bass limit to the scale totaling 16 pounds even to win Saturday’s event and earn $3,466, then backed it up with another five-bass limit on Sunday – this one totaling 14 pounds, 15 ounces – to earn the win $3,122.

“Winning is hard enough, but to win two in a row against this field of anglers is unbelievable,” said Baker, who had one prior career victory coming into the weekend. “Going back-to-back is a dream come true.

“I stayed mostly in Nutbush Creek both days; I maybe ventured out a mile,” Baker continued. “I rotated through the same four or five spots both days. There is a lot of shad out on the points, and they reload overnight.”

Baker said he caught the majority of his fish in 12 to 15 feet of water on an unnamed ½-ounce swimjig with a green-pumpkin Zoom Speed Craw, although he also mixed in a ½-ounce football jig on Sunday.

“They bit good until about 10 (a.m.) each day, then it really slowed down,” Baker said. “You could still catch a few after 10, but it was a grind.”

The top five boaters on Saturday were:

            1st:       Ronnie Baker of Providence Forge, Va., five bass, 16-0, $3,466

            1st:       Ben Reynolds of Callands, Va., five bass, 15-13, $1,733

            3rd:       Mike Miller of Trinity, N.C., five bass, 14-11, $1,155

            4th:       Ryan Harrell of Roanoke Rapids, N.C., five bass, 14-7, $1,244

            5th:       David Wright of Lexington, N.C., five bass, 14-5, $1,193

Complete results for Saturday can be found at FLWFishing.com.

CHECK OUT ALL THE NEWEST GEAR FROM ICAST

Harrell brought a 5-pound, 11-ounce largemouth to the scale to earn Saturday’s Boater Big Bass award of $435.

Wright picked up Saturday’s FLW PHOENIX BONUS of $500 as he was the highest-finishing member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.

Carl Enos of Bracey, Virginia, won the Co-angler Division and $1,905 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 13 pounds, 4 ounces.

The top five co-anglers Saturday finished as follows:

            1st:       Carl Enos of Bracey, Va., three bass, 13-4, $1,905

            2nd:      Victor Riveras of Newport News, Va., three bass, 10-1, $846

            3rd:       Joseph Kozlinski of Fayetteville, N.C., three bass, 9-15, $564

            4th:       Barry Burford of Charlotte, N.C., three bass, 9-10, $567

            4th:       Robert Raymond of Farmville, Va., three bass, 9-10, $367

Enos caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 5 pounds, 2 ounces, to win the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $212.

The top five boaters on Sunday were:

            1st:       Ronnie Baker of Providence Forge, Va., five bass, 14-15, $3,122

            2nd:      David Wright of Lexington, N.C., five bass, 13-15, $2,061

            3rd:       Martin Villa of Charlottesville, Va., five bass, 13-14, $1,043

            4th:       Tim Wiltfong of Wake Forest, N.C., five bass, 13-8, $728

            5th:       Paul Worthington of Benson, N.C., five bass, 12-2, $624

Complete results for Sunday’s event on Kerr Lake can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Curtis Talbott of Forest, Virginia, brought a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass to the scale to win Sunday’s Boater Big Bass award of $375.

Wright also added Sunday’s FLW PHOENIX BONUS of $500 as he was the highest-finishing member.

Mike Shatley of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, won the Co-angler Division and $1,561 Sunday after catching a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 12 ounces.

The top five co-anglers Sunday finished as follows:

            1st:       Mike Shatley of North Wilkesboro, N.C., five bass, 14-12, $1,561

            2nd:      Eric Hawks of Galax, Va., five bass, 13-13, $781

            3rd:       Eric Osborne of Jefferson, N.C., five bass, 11-13, $521

            4th:       Michael Abel of Portsmouth, Va., five bass, 11-6, $364

            5th:       Samuel Jones of Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 11-4, $312

Vernon Adams of Raleigh, North Carolina, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 4 pounds, 15 ounces to earn Sunday’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $187.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Double-Header on Kerr Lake was the second and third of five qualifying events in the Piedmont Division.

Categories
MLF BIG-5

Tenn. Boggs Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes

GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (July 20, 2020) – Boater Drew Boggs of Lebanon, Tennessee, brought three bass to the scale Saturday weighing 13 pounds, 13 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. For his victory, Boggs earned $5,082.

“I wanted to make a run to fish about an hour south,” said Boggs, who earned his seventh career BFL win. “I made it almost all the way – about five minutes from stopping – when my engine started knocking and I knew something wasn’t right.

“So I sat down in the first area and ended up staying there for a long time,” Boggs continued. “I ended up catching two on a football jig in brush piles and one on a deep crankbait on a ledge.

“By the time I left, my engine was knocking so badly that I was only able to fish two more stops before I made it back. It took quite a while – I had to troll in the last two miles. It was extremely tough, but I was very blessed. I caught nine keepers, and my best five would have been around 22 pounds.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:

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            1st:       Drew Boggs of Lebanon, Tenn., three bass, 13-13, $5,082

            2nd:      Scott Patton of Dayton, Tenn., three bass, 11-3, $2,541

            3rd:       Daniel Langton of Evansville, Ind., three bass, 9-14, $1,157

            3rd:       Ronnie Getz of Sunman, Ind., three bass, 9-14, $1,157

            5th:       David Young of Mayfield, Ky., three bass, 9-11, $1,342

            5th:       Keith Amerson of Bethel Springs, Tenn., three bass, 9-11, $782

            7th:       Kevin Caskey of Madisonville, Ky., three bass, 9-10, $680

            8th:       Tim Smiley of White Pine, Tenn., three bass, 9-7, $612

            9th:       Harold Buchmeier of Gilbertsville, Ky., three bass, 9-0, $544

            10th:     Mason Fleetwood of Vallonia, Ind., three bass, 8-15, $452

            10th:     David Hames of Trezevant, Tenn., three bass, 8-15, $452

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Young claimed the day’s Boater Big Bass Award of $560 after bringing a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass to the scale.

Patton was the highest-finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member and took home an extra $500. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.

Wesley Dunn of Paducah, Kentucky, and Brian Huber of St. Peters, Missouri, tied for the win in the Co-angler Division Saturday after both anglers brought in three bass totaling 8 pound, 7 ounces. For their wins, each angler brought home $1,503.

The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:

            1st:       Wesley Dunn of Paducah, Ky., three bass, 8-7, $1,503

            1st:       Brian Huber of St. Peters, Mo, three bass, 8-7, $1,503

            3rd:       Jeff Harris of Lexington, Ky., two bass, 8-0, $943

            4th:       Frank Haysley of Louisville, Ky., three bass, 6-9, $468

            5th:       Richard Baker of Jackson, Tenn., three bass, 6-4, $401

            6th:       Charlie Kuebler of Jasper, Ind., three bass, 5-14, $368

            7th:       Gary Hill of Germantown, Ohio, three bass, 5-13, $334

            8th:       William Holden of Cincinnati, Ohio, two bass, 5-11, $284

            8th:       Chris Coates of Bethpage, Tenn., two bass, 5-11, $284

            10th:     Orville Gown of Leitchfield, Ky., three bass, 5-10, $234

Harris caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 6 pounds, 4 ounces. The catch earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $275.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes was hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau. The event was /the second of five qualifying tournaments in the LBL division.