Co-angler Division Victories go to Easley’s Waldrop and Travelers Rest’s Connor

ANDERSON, S.C. (Aug. 25, 2020) – It was a double-header for weekend bass anglers this past weekend in Anderson with the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on Lake Hartwell presented by Fish-Intel events.

Boater Trent Palmer of Cumming, Georgia, brought a three-bass limit to the scale weighing 13 pounds, 3 ounces to win on Saturday and earn $5,915, then local boater Derek Freeman of Anderson, South Carolina, brought a three-bass limit to the scale Sunday weighing 10 pounds even to win $7,263.

“I ran about 6½ miles from takeoff and caught around two dozen keepers throughout the day,” Palmer said.

The top five boaters on Saturday were:

1^st:       Trent Palmer of Cumming, Ga., three bass, 13-3, $5,915

2^nd:      Mark Bradley of Wellford, S.C., three bass, 11-8, $3,208

3^rd:       Tyler Thompson of Easley, S.C., three bass, 10-12, $1,640

4^th:       Tony Holliday of Piedmont, S.C., three bass, 10-5, $1,147

5^th:       Bo Price of Seneca, S.C., three bass, 10-3, $983

Complete results for Saturday’s event can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Bradley earned the day’s Boater Big Bass Award of $750 after bringing an 8-pound, 1-ounce largemouth bass to the scale.

Scott Allgood of Fair Play, South Carolina, 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.

Spencer Waldrop of Easley, South Carolina, won the Co-angler Division and $2,469 Saturday after catching three bass weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces.

The top five co-anglers on Saturday were:

1^st:       Spencer Waldrop of Easley, S.C., three bass, 6-10, $2,469

2^nd:      Cody Coker of Comer, Ga., three bass, 5-10, $1,235

3^rd:       Harold Addison II of Columbia, S.C., three bass, 5-8, $823

4^th:       Tony Everhart of Gaffney, S.C., three bass, 5-7, $576

5^th:       Josh Watts of Dahlonega, Ga., three bass, 5-0, $494

Tommy Cowart of Ila, Georgia, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 4 pounds, 1 ounce and earned him Saturday’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $372.

” src=”blob:https://anglerschannel.com/b35c9b78-3a2f-4632-8f3f-eac3675c0365″ alt=”A person holding a sign Description automatically generated” align=”right” hspace=”12″ v:shapes=”Picture_x0020_3″ class=”Apple-web-attachment Singleton” style=”width: 4in; height: 2.25in; opacity: 1;”>On Sunday, winning boater Derek Freeman threw a topwater bait to earn his win.

“I ran up a lot of the rivers, and burned through 40 to 45 gallons of gas,” said Freeman, a former College Fishing angler for Clemson University. “I was due for a win. I finished second here in a college event, and second in a BFL on Hartwell last year, so I was ready to get a W.

“I mainly threw topwater baits – a Whopper Plopper and a (Heddon) Zara Spook out deep. I caught five keepers.”

The top five boaters on Sunday were:

1^st:       Derek Freeman of Anderson, S.C., three bass, 10-0, $7,263

2^nd:      William Fordree of Six Mile, S.C., three bass, 9-11, $2,381

3^rd:       Randy Dover of Buford, Ga., three bass, 9-1, $1,585

4^th:       David Nichol of Gainesville, Ga., three bass, 8-14, $1,111

5^th:       Danny Kirk of Bartow, Ga., three bass, 8-13, $1,663

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

Kirk earned Sunday’s $710 Boater Big Bass award with a 6-pound bass.

Freeman was also the highest finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member and took home an extra contingency award of $2,500.

Van Connor of Travelers Rest, South Carolina, earned the win Sunday in the Co-angler Division after catching three bass weighing 9 pounds, 6 ounces. For his victory Connor earned $2,698.

The top five co-anglers Sunday finished as follows:

1^st:       Van Connor of Travelers Rest, S.C., three bass, 9-6, $2,698

2^nd:      Adam Thomas of Cleveland, Ga., two bass, 6-7, $1,174

3^rd:       Garry Hutchsion of Sharpsburg, Ga., three bass, 6-4, $781

4^th:       Will White of Wake Forest, N.C., three bass, 5-13, $548

5^th:       Greg West of Powder Springs, Ga., three bass, 5-11, $470

Connor also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 5 pounds, 14 ounces to add Sunday’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $350 to his winnings.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Double-Header on Lake Hartwell was hosted by the Anderson Convention & Visitors Bureau. The tournaments were the third and fourth of five events in the Savannah River Division.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Savannah River Division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 22-24 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia, hosted by the Gainesville Convention & Visitors Bureau. 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.