Vick Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (May 23, 2022) – Boater Bobby Drinnon of Rogersville, Tennessee, caught five bass Sunday weighing 17 pounds, 15 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on Cherokee Lake Presented by Lithium Pros . The rescheduled tournament, hosted by the Economic Development Alliance Jefferson County, was the fourth of the season for the Bass Fishing League Volunteer Division. Drinnon earned $4,806 for his victory.

“I had a late boat draw, so I started pretty close to takeoff because I didn’t really have any place specific to go,” Drinnon said. “I just had a simple shad spawn pattern I was running. I just ran as much of that water as quickly as I could and had all of my weight by 8 o’clock.”

Drinnon said the early catch didn’t give him much comfort, because he didn’t cull a fish after 8 a.m. He said he caught the early bass on a homemade jig by throwing toward the bank in less than three feet of water and retrieving it back steadily. Drinnon said he caught 15-20 bass during the course of the day, including one he lost. All of the bass during the tournament were keepers except one.

“Overall, it was a great day, and I’m really blessed,” said Drinnon, who had three BFL wins in co-angler competition before switching to the boater side. “I knew how good the bite was, and there were a few others who figured out the bite as well, because the weights were really tight.

“I was really nervous about it, to be honest,” Drinnon added. “I felt I really needed the one that I had lost. I thought that was going to cost me, but it ended up working out.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:        Bobby Drinnon, Rogersville, Tenn., five bass, 17-15, $4,806
2nd:       Dale Pelfrey, Rockwood, Tenn., five bass, 17-7, $3,403 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
3rd:       Brian Vicchio, Gray, Tenn., five bass, 16-7, $2,330
4th:        Brant Grimm, Church Hill, Tenn., five bass, 16-4, $1,121
5th:        Jeff Knight, Cleveland, Tenn., five bass, 15-1, $961
6th:        Timothy Wacker, Clinton, Tenn., five bass, 15-0, $1,281
7th:        Joshua Short, Bean Station, Tenn., five bass, 14-11, $801
8th:        Bill Humbard, New Market, Tenn., five bass, 14-3, $721
9th:        Matthew Rock, Bristol, Va., five bass, 14-0, $641
10th:     Kevin Powers, Unicoi, Tenn., five bass, 13-15, $561

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Vicchio had a largemouth that weighed 5 pounds, 14 ounces that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $725.

Stephen Vick of Dandridge, Tennessee, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,343 Sunday after catching five bass weighing 13 pounds, 6 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

1st:        Stephen Vick, Dandridge, Tenn., five bass, 13-6, $2,343
2nd:       Jason Vaught, Powell, Tenn., five bass, 11-1, $1,172
3rd:       Chris Hamby, Harriman, Tenn., five bass, 10-13, $781
4th:        Matt Hall, Woodlawn, Va., four bass, 10-3, $547
5th:        Brandon Hartgrove, Hilton, Va., three bass, 9-15, $469
6th:        James Roten, West Jefferson, N.C., five bass, 9-8, $430
7th:        Steven Byrd, Maryville, Tenn., five bass, 9-7, $391
8th:        Michale Conn, Ermine, Ky., four bass, 9-2, $351
9th:        Henry Bryan, Sevierville, Tenn., five bass, 8-15, $312
10th:     Tanner Shannon, three bass, 8-9, $273

Denvelle Ketron of Kingsport, Tennessee, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 15 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $345.

After four events, Jacob Woods of Loudon, Tennessee, leads the Bass Fishing League Volunteer Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 911 points, while Brad Barton of Middlesboro, Kentucky, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 953 points.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 20-22 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Smith Lake in Cullman, Alabama. Boaters will compete for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The 2022 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 Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six Regional Championships 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 2022 All-American will be held June 2-4 at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.

The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division will also earn priority entry into the MLF Toyota Series, the pathway to the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour.

Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, AFTCO, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Gary Yamamoto Baits, General Tire, Lew’s, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Revital Outdoors, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X, YETI and Yo-Zuri.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.