HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (Feb. 26, 2024) – Boater Will Hammond of Huntersville, North Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 13 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Norman . Hosted by Visit Lake Norman, the tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL North Carolina Division. Hammond earned $4,359 for his victory.
“I started in a place where I really caught them in practice, but I didn’t catch them there – or on the next four or five spots – and at 11:30, I didn’t have a fish,” said Hammond, who said he lives five minutes from Lake Norman. “So, I started scrambling and caught one that weighed 3½ (pounds) on a Luhr Jensen Speed Trap on a boat ramp.
“I ran back down and fished some things I knew from the past and went to work on it with an Alabama rig,” Hammond added. “I caught two good ones, ran a bit more, and caught two more good ones. That’s the only five bites I had all day.”
Hammond said he focused on mid-lake areas and said at 1 o’clock he had only three fish for 10½ pounds and was worried about his chances for a good tournament finish. He hoped to just fill out a limit to earn a check.
“The last two months it’s been taking 19 or 20 pounds to win every Saturday, but it was tougher than I thought it was going to be,” Hammond said. “I’ve been working on getting a win here for several years, so to get this done feels very good.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Will Hammond, Huntersville, N.C., five bass, 16-13, $4,359
2nd: Chris Carnes, York, S.C., five bass, 16-0, $2,479
3rd: Logan Anderson, Catawba, N.C., five bass, 15-10, $1,952 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th: Tommy Jones, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 15-6, $1,017
5th: Brian Morgan, Maiden, N.C., five bass, 15-5, $872
6th: Chad Sims, Lancaster, S.C., five bass, 15-2, $799
7th: David Bright, Mooresville, N.C., five bass, 15-1, $726
8th: Cody Hoyle, Mooresboro, N.C., five bass, 14-6, $617
8th: Lucas Murphy, West Columbia, S.C., five bass, 14-6, $617
10th: Kevin Toler, Statesville, N.C., five bass, 14-2, $509
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Scott Beattie of Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 9 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $625.
Keith Wood of Mooresville, North Carolina, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,778 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 15 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
Mooresville’s Wood Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
1st: Keith Wood, Mooresville, N.C., five bass, 15-10, $2,491
2nd: Damon Phillips, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 14-14, $1,090
3rd: Jared Jones, Denver, N.C., five bass, 13-12, $725
4th: Hunter Alexander, China Grove, N.C., five bass, 13-10, $509
5th: Jean Lacerte, Elm City, N.C., five bass, 12-10, $436
6th: Jonathan Williams, Marshville, N.C., five bass, 12-2, $400
7th: Joel Cerv, North Wilkesboro, N.C., five bass, 10-15, $363
8th: Jerry Morris, Charlotte, N.C., four bass, 10-9, $477
9th: Nicholas Burke, Maiden, N.C., five bass, 10-6, $291
10th: Keyshawn Bratcher, Altamonte Springs, Fla., five bass, 10-2, $254
Keith Wood of Mooresville , North Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $312, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 4 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
The next event for BFL North Carolina Division anglers will be held April 13, at Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional tournament on the Santee Cooper Lakes in Clarendon County, South Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota and YETI.
