Virginia’s Austin Wins Co-angler Division

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 1, 2020) – Boater Danger Kelly of Somerset, Kentucky, brought five bass to the scale Saturday totaling 14 pounds, 14 ounces to win the 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event on South Holston Reservoir in Bristol, Tennessee. For his victory, Kelly earned a total of $3,021.

“I took a huge gamble and put all of my eggs into one basket – the shad spawn,” said Kelly, who earned the first victory of his FLW career. “It was an all or nothing deal, because all of my fishing time was going to be from 6:45 a.m. to 8 a.m. As soon as the sun was out the shad spawn would die, and my pattern was done.

“I targeted bass on the main-lake that were located on laydowns and submerged timber near the flooded bushes and trees along the shoreline,” Kelly continued. “It was extremely difficult casts – I had to get my lures back behind the rocks, behind bushes and under low-hanging branches. I couldn’t get a clean hookset. I knew it was going to be tough. I lost six fish, but I managed to put five nice smallmouth in the boat.”

Kelly’s bait of choice was a Strike King swimjig (Chartreuse Sexy Shad) with a Strike King Rage Swimmer swimbait (Pearl Flash).

“I ended up catching one or two more during the day, but I never culled. The five that I caught in the morning were the five that I brought to the scale,” Kelly went on to say. “I knew that committing to the shad spawn was going to be a huge gamble and I was either going to win or take dead last. I’m thankful that I had a great day and caught enough early to get the win.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:

1^st:       Danger Kelly of Somerset, Ky., five bass, 14-14, $3,021

2^nd:      Corey Neece of Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 13-14, $2,011

3^rd:       Jaime Ratliff of Abingdon, Va., five bass, 13-9, $1,007

4^th:       Eddie Richards of Corbin, Ky., five bass, 13-8, $705

5^th:       Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn., five bass, 13-3, $604

6^th:       Bryan Leonard of Blountville, Tenn., five bass, 12-15, $554

7^th:       Jeffrey Mahaffey of Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 12-14, $504

8^th:       Jerry Gallogly of North Tazewell, Va., five bass, 12-6, $453

9^th:       Brandon Stanley of Johnson City, Tenn., five bass, 11-14, $403

10^th:     Ken Vicchio of Bluff City, Tenn., five bass, 11-13, $352

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Tyler Altizer of Abingdon, Virginia, brought a 4-pound, 8-ounce bass to the scale to win the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $345.

Neece 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.

Will Austin of Abingdon, Virginia, won the Co-angler Division and $1,683 Saturday after catching four bass weighing 11 pounds, 7 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:

1^st:       Will Austin of Abingdon, Va., four bass, 11-7, $1,683

2^nd:      Henry Bryan of Sevierville, Tenn., four bass, 10-14, $755

3^rd:       Joshua Jernigan of Rocky Top, Tenn., five bass, 10-4, $504

4^th:       Dennis Lane of Rutledge, Tenn., four bass, 9-6, $352

5^th:       Fletcher Griffith of Hendersonville, N.C., four bass, 9-0, $302

6^th:       Jim Thrift of Kingsport, Tenn., four bass, 8-15, $277

7^th:       Justin McGaha of Knoxville, Tenn., four bass, 7-13, $252

8^th:       Ben Arnold of La Follette, Tenn., three bass, 7-0, $227

9^th:       Jacob Linkous of Rogersville, Tenn., three bass, 6-14, $201

10^th:     Curtis Brown of Loudon, Tenn., two bass, 6-4, $167

10^th:     Chris Hamby of Harriman, Tenn., three bass, 6-4, $167

Austin also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 4 pounds, 1 ounce. The catch added to his winnings as he earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $172.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on South Holston Reservoir was the second of five qualifying events in the Volunteer Division.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Volunteer Division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 8-10 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on the James River in Richmond, Virginia, hosted by Richmond Region Tourism. 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.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six 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 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American will be held Nov. 11-13 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina and is hosted by Visit Anderson. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division earn priority entry into the FLW Series, the pathway to the FLW Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour, where top pros compete with no entry fees.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.