COUNCE, Tenn. (Feb. 28, 2022) – Boater Brent Anderson of Kingston Springs, Tennessee, caught five bass Saturday weighing 21 pounds even to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on Pickwick Lake . The tournament, hosted by Hardin County Convention and Visitors Bureau, was the second event for the Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division. Anderson earned $12,618, which included the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

“I ran to the mid-lake section and fished pretty much from Waterloo down to State Line Islands, and targeted mud lines where clear water was running into all of the mud,” Anderson said. “I used a Z-Man (Evergreen) Chatterbait Jack Hammer and targeted anything from 1 to 6 feet deep.”

Anderson said he used a combination of white, chartreuse/white and black/blue ChatterBaits, depending on water color to catch “about 20 keepers.”

“Where the mud started I would stay with the dark, and as it cleared up I would go to the light colors,” Anderson said. “A lot of what I was fishing I would run multiple times, and I would switch colors on my second trip.”

Anderson now has nine Phoenix Bass Fishing League wins under his belt.

“It’s a relief to start your year off with a win and have that momentum,” Anderson said. “The years I’ve done that have turned out to be really good years.

“I just try not to take these wins for granted,” Anderson added. “I’ve been doing this a long time, and they’re a lot harder to come by now. Guys are a lot better, technology is a lot better and information is a lot easier to gain. You never know when a win might be your last one.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:        Brent Anderson, Kingston Springs, Tenn., five bass, 21-0, $12,618, (includes $7,000 Phoenix Bonus)
2nd:       Chris Kirksey, Fairmount, Ga., five bass, 17-12, $2,309
3rd:       Blake Fritts, Florence, Ala., four bass, 16-13, $2,219
4th:        Nick Stickland, Sulligent, Ala., five bass, 16-11, $1,078
5th:        Garrett Warren, Hoover, Ala., five bass, 16-3, $924
6th:        Steve Stewart, Donalsonville, Ga., five bass, 15-8, $847
7th:        Brandon Bright, Crossville, Ala., two bass, 15-6, $770
8th:        Justin Atkins, Florence, Ala., five bass, 15-0, $693
9th:        Mickey Beck, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 14-9, $616
10th:     Chris Youngblood, Kingston, Ga., five bass, 14-7, $539

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Fritts had a 6-pound, 5-ounce largemouth that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $680.

 

Johnny Suratt of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,640 Saturday after catching four bass weighing 14 pounds, 8 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

1st:        Johnny Suratt, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., four bass, 14-8, $2,640
2nd:       Ethan Wheeler, Mayfield, Ky., four bass, 13-8, $960
2nd:       Jose Serna, Albertville, Ala., three bass, 13-8, $960
4th:        Craig Johnson, Trinity, Ala., five bass, 13-4, $538
5th:        Nicholas Gresens, Decatur, Ga., five bass, 12-7, $461
6th:        Teddy Baggett, Nashville, Tenn., five bass, 12-3, $423
7th:        Caleb Edgerton, Dayton, Ohio, three bass, 9-14, $584
8th:        Bob Thompson, Florence, Ala., three bass, 9-1, $346
9th:        Jason Long, Calhoun, Ga., three bass, 7-14, $307
10th:     Randall Kramer, Signal Mountain, Tenn., two bass, 7-3, $269

Suratt also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 6 pounds, 7 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $335.

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. 6-8 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Lake Murray in Prosperity, S.C. 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.