Georgia’s Hicks Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Lake Chickamauga

Chattanooga’s Bradford Wins Co-angler Division

HIXSON, Tenn. (March 9, 2020) – Boater Derek Hicks of Rocky Face, Georgia, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 22 pounds, 10 ounces to win the 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event at Lake Chickamauga in Hixson, Tennessee. Hicks earned a total of $5,519 for his victory.

“Lake Chickamauga is my home waters, so it feels pretty nice to get a win here,” said Hicks, who earned his second career victory in Bass Fishing League competition. “I fished the lower end of the lake all the way to above Dayton – about 25 different spots in that 20-mile stretch.

“I was targeting shallow rock – 1½- to 3-feet-deep,” Hicks continued. I caught my fish on three baits – a 5/8-ounce Stan Sloan Zorro Bango Blade spinnerbait, a Sonny McFarland Flat-Shad crankbait and a homemade 5/8-ounce brown jig.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:

            1^st:       Derek Hicks of Rocky Face, Ga., five bass, 22-10, $5,519

            2^nd:      Seth Davis of Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 21-4, $4,345

            3^rd:       Justin Freeman of Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 19-0, $1,837

            4^th:       Steve Barnes of Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 18-3, $1,288

            5^th:       Brian Hatfield of Spring City, Tenn., five bass, 18-2, $1,104

            6^th:       Chase Henley of Kingston, Tenn., five bass, 17-11, $1,012

            7^th:       Brian Elder of Locust Grove, Ga., five bass, 17-8, $920

            8^th:       Derrick Blake of Rockwood, Tenn., five bass, 17-5, $782

            8^th:       Kevin Drake of Cleveland, Tenn., five bass, 17-5, $782

            10^th:     Jay Fagan of Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 16-15, $644

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Davis brought an 8-pound, 7-ounce bass to the scale to win the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $885.

Davis also took home an extra $500 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.

Jeff Bradford of Chattanooga, Tennessee, won the Co-angler Division and $2,760 Saturday after catching a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 1 ounce.

The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:

            1^st:       Jeff Bradford of Chattanooga, Tenn., five bass, 21-1, $2,760

            2^nd:      Adam Godsey of Harriman, Tenn., five bass, 14-15, $1,380

            3^rd:       Joshua Jernigan of Rocky Top, Tenn., five bass, 14-1, $918

            4^th:       Elliott Gault of Leesburg, Ala., four bass, 12-15, $644

            5^th:       Wayne Hancock of Cumming, Ga., three bass, 12-12, $552

            6^th:       Thomas Pierce of Calhoun, Ga., two bass, 12-11, $506

            7^th:       Tony Pendley of Oakman, Ala., five bass, 12-7, $460

            8^th:       Ryan Wallace of Odenville, Ala., three bass, 10-8, $564

            9^th:       Shane Browder of Lynnville, Ind., four bass, 9-4, $368

            10^th:     Gene Delk of Georgetown, Tenn., three bass, 9-2, $322

Adam Hickman of Caledonia, Mississippi, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 8 pounds even. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $442.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Choo Choo Division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 16-18 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Lake Cherokee in Jefferson City, Tennessee, hosted by the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce. Boaters will compete for a $60,000 prize package, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new 18-foot Phoenix bass boat with a 200-horsepower outboard