Georgia’s Hill Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division

ROGERSVILLE, Ala. (Sept. 30, 2024) – Boater Trent Suratt of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 37 pounds, 8 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Super Tournament on Wheeler Lake . The tournament, which concluded Sunday, was hosted by Florence-Lauderdale Tourism. It was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Choo Choo Division. Suratt earned $4,465 for his victory.

Suratt didn’t practice for the tournament, but based on the rainy conditions, he knew there’d be gates open on Guntersville Dam, which would position the fish on rock piles in the current. So he knew fishing the tailrace would probably contend for the win, as it often does on the Tennessee River. Yet, he actually started the tournament by running down to First Creek.

“I didn’t have but like 9 pounds (at 9 a.m.),” he said. “I knew I wasn’t going to win down there, so I just struck out toward the dam, got up there and caught them all within about 15 minutes. Then I stayed up there and beat on ’em today (Sunday). I just had one little rock pile that I caught all of them on.”

In two days, Suratt weighed in a mix of four smallmouth and six largemouth bass. He caught his winning fish on an undisclosed swimbait.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:          Trent Suratt, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., 10 bass, 37-8, $4,465
2nd:        Jimmy Carruth, Madison, Ala., 10 bass, 31-0, $2,233
3rd:         Corey McMullen, Gurley, Ala., 10 bass, 30-3, $1,998
4th:         Harry Peyton II, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 29-11, $1,542 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
5th:         Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 10 bass, 27-12, $893
6th:         Kent Ware, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 27-12, $819
7th:         Alan McCoy, Blountsville, Ala., 10 bass, 27-4, $744
8th:         Daniel Davis, Albertville, Ala., 10 bass, 26-15, $670
9th:         Donny Beck, Killen, Ala., 10 bass, 25-4, $595
10th:       Jason Henson, Rome, Ga., 10 bass, 23-13, $821

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Corey McMullen of Gurley, Alabama, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $510.

Tony Hill of Chatsworth, Georgia, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,233 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of 10 bass to the scale that weighed 23 pounds, 3 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:         Tony Hill, Chatsworth, Ga., 10 bass, 23-3, $2,233
2nd:        Brandon Bell, Starkville, Miss., 10 bass, 20-0, $1,116
3rd:         Red Calvert, Perdido Key, Fla., 10 bass, 19-8, $844
4th:         Brian Carroll, Glencoe, Ala., nine bass, 19-6, $521
5th:         Todd Mowery, Madison, Ala., 10 bass, 18-1, $447
6th:         Frank Mackin, State Line, Miss., nine bass, 17-13, $409
7th:         Jonathan Craig, Madison, Ala., nine bass, 17-2, $372
8th:         Ethan Wheeler, Water Valley, Ky., eight bass, 16-8, $335
9th:         Richard Bailey, Florence, Ala., seven bass, 16-4, $298
10th:       Mekiah Jack, Mount Juliet, Tenn., eight bass, 14-9, $260

Alvis (Slick) Jones of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $255, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 1 ounce – the largest co-angler catch of the tournament.

At the conclusion of the tournament, Dillon Falardeau of Hixson, Tennessee, was crowned the Fishing Clash Choo Choo Division Angler of the Year (AOY) with 1,289 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Todd Mowery of Madison, Alabama, won the Fishing Clash Choo Choo Division Co-angler of the Year race with 1,324 points and took home the $500 payout.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, have qualified for the Oct. 17-19 BFL Regional tournament on Clarks Hill Lake in Appling, Georgia. 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. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

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, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

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.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.