Indiana’s Patterson Wins Co-angler Division

BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. (Aug. 25, 2020) – Boater Matt Stanley of Alexandria, Tennessee, brought a three-bass limit to the scale weighing 11 pounds, 7 ounces to win the 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Mountain division event at Dale Hollow Lake in Byrdstown, Tennessee. For his victory, Stanley earned a total of $5,965.

“I’ve only been to this lake a handful of times, and never in August, so I was running around like a chicken with his head cut off just fishing brush piles,” said Stanley, who earned his fifth career Bass Fishing League victory. “I caught them from 25 to 38 feet deep. My biggest came in 38. The key was getting lucky and catching the two big ones – I had one that was five (pounds) and one that was close to five.”

Stanley said that he caught his fish on a drop-shot rig and an 8-inch Nichols Ben Parker Flutter Spoon.

“I fished everything from Goat Island to the Dam, just keying in on brush piles on points,” Stanley went on to say. “I was fishing deep – it seemed to be deeper than anybody else.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:

1^st:       Matt Stanley of Alexandria, Tenn., three bass, 11-7, $5,965

2^nd:      Tristan Abbott of Somerset, Ky., three bass, 10-2, $2,175

3^rd:       Josh Tramel of Smithville, Tenn., three bass, 10-1, $1,451

4^th:       Gilbert Jolley of Livingston, Tenn., three bass, 9-12, $1,015

5^th:       Dylan Wright of Murfreesboro, Tenn., three bass, 9-10, $870

6^th:       Mike Devere of Berea, Ky., three bass, 9-3, $761

6^th:       Tim McDonald of Paintsville, Ky., three bass, 9-3, $761

8^th:       William Merrick of Mount Juliet, Tenn., three bass, 8-14, $1,153

9^th:       Mitchell Major of Lancaster, Ky., three bass, 8-12, $580

10^th:     Blake Smith of Byrdstown, Ky., three bass, 8-7, $482

10^th:     Marcus Jackson of Rockwood, Tenn., three bass, 8-7, $482

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Stanley also earned the day’s $615 Boater Big Bass award with his largest fish, a bass weighing 5 pounds event.

Merrick took home an extra $500 as the highest finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member. 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.

Jason Patterson of Markle, Indiana, earned the win in the Co-angler Division Saturday after catching a three-bass limit weighing 8 pounds, 1 ounce. Patterson earned $2,175 for his victory.

The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:

1^st:       Jason Patterson of Markle, Ind., three bass, 8-1, $2,175

2^nd:      Billy Gardner of Livingston, Tenn., three bass, 7-11, $1,088

3^rd:       Alec Lancaster of Hendersonville, Tenn., three bass, 7-7, $616

3^rd:       John Fitzpatrick of Baxter, Tenn., three bass, 7-7, $616

5^th:       Sam Loveless of Somerset, Ky., three bass, 6-14, $435

6^th:       Allen Neal of Whitley City, Ky., two bass, 6-8, $706

7^th:       Josh Artis of Huntington, W.Va., two bass, 6-7, $363

8^th:       Joey Von Hoene of Erlanger, Ky., two bass, 6-6, $326

9^th:       Scottie Cook of Hustonville, Ky., three bass, 6-4, $290

10^th:     Ryan Joshi of Knoxville, Tenn., three bass, 5-9, $254

Neal caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 1 ounce. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $307.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on Dale Hollow Lake was hosted by Star Point Resort. The tournament was the fourth of five events in Mountain Division.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Mountain 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 Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee, hosted by the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council. 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.

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.