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Danger Kelly Wins BFL Tournament on South Holston Reservoir

Virginia’s Austin Wins Co-angler Division

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 1, 2020) – Boater Danger Kelly of Somerset, Kentucky, brought five bass to the scale Saturday totaling 14 pounds, 14 ounces to win the 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event on South Holston Reservoir in Bristol, Tennessee. For his victory, Kelly earned a total of $3,021.

“I took a huge gamble and put all of my eggs into one basket – the shad spawn,” said Kelly, who earned the first victory of his FLW career. “It was an all or nothing deal, because all of my fishing time was going to be from 6:45 a.m. to 8 a.m. As soon as the sun was out the shad spawn would die, and my pattern was done.

“I targeted bass on the main-lake that were located on laydowns and submerged timber near the flooded bushes and trees along the shoreline,” Kelly continued. “It was extremely difficult casts – I had to get my lures back behind the rocks, behind bushes and under low-hanging branches. I couldn’t get a clean hookset. I knew it was going to be tough. I lost six fish, but I managed to put five nice smallmouth in the boat.”

Kelly’s bait of choice was a Strike King swimjig (Chartreuse Sexy Shad) with a Strike King Rage Swimmer swimbait (Pearl Flash).

“I ended up catching one or two more during the day, but I never culled. The five that I caught in the morning were the five that I brought to the scale,” Kelly went on to say. “I knew that committing to the shad spawn was going to be a huge gamble and I was either going to win or take dead last. I’m thankful that I had a great day and caught enough early to get the win.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:

1^st:       Danger Kelly of Somerset, Ky., five bass, 14-14, $3,021

2^nd:      Corey Neece of Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 13-14, $2,011

3^rd:       Jaime Ratliff of Abingdon, Va., five bass, 13-9, $1,007

4^th:       Eddie Richards of Corbin, Ky., five bass, 13-8, $705

5^th:       Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn., five bass, 13-3, $604

6^th:       Bryan Leonard of Blountville, Tenn., five bass, 12-15, $554

7^th:       Jeffrey Mahaffey of Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 12-14, $504

8^th:       Jerry Gallogly of North Tazewell, Va., five bass, 12-6, $453

9^th:       Brandon Stanley of Johnson City, Tenn., five bass, 11-14, $403

10^th:     Ken Vicchio of Bluff City, Tenn., five bass, 11-13, $352

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Tyler Altizer of Abingdon, Virginia, brought a 4-pound, 8-ounce bass to the scale to win the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $345.

Neece 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.

Will Austin of Abingdon, Virginia, won the Co-angler Division and $1,683 Saturday after catching four bass weighing 11 pounds, 7 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:

1^st:       Will Austin of Abingdon, Va., four bass, 11-7, $1,683

2^nd:      Henry Bryan of Sevierville, Tenn., four bass, 10-14, $755

3^rd:       Joshua Jernigan of Rocky Top, Tenn., five bass, 10-4, $504

4^th:       Dennis Lane of Rutledge, Tenn., four bass, 9-6, $352

5^th:       Fletcher Griffith of Hendersonville, N.C., four bass, 9-0, $302

6^th:       Jim Thrift of Kingsport, Tenn., four bass, 8-15, $277

7^th:       Justin McGaha of Knoxville, Tenn., four bass, 7-13, $252

8^th:       Ben Arnold of La Follette, Tenn., three bass, 7-0, $227

9^th:       Jacob Linkous of Rogersville, Tenn., three bass, 6-14, $201

10^th:     Curtis Brown of Loudon, Tenn., two bass, 6-4, $167

10^th:     Chris Hamby of Harriman, Tenn., three bass, 6-4, $167

Austin also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 4 pounds, 1 ounce. The catch added to his winnings as he earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $172.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on South Holston Reservoir was the second of five qualifying events in the Volunteer Division.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Volunteer 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 the James River in Richmond, Virginia, hosted by Richmond Region Tourism. 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.

by AnglersChannel

Jacob Wheeler Wins Toyota Series Tournament at Pickwick Lake

FLORENCE, Ala. (May 30, 2020) – Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour angler Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, brought five bass to the scale weighing 17 pounds, 11 ounces to win the three-day Toyota Series at Pickwick Lake event Saturday in Florence, Alabama. Wheeler’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 56-8 earned him the win by a 5-pound, 8-ounce margin over second-place angler Buddy Gross of Chickamauga, Georgia, and earned Wheeler the top payout of $38,545 in the second tournament of the 2020 Toyota Series Central Division season.

“I truthfully can’t even believe that just happened,” said Wheeler, the reigning MLF World Champion who earned the first Toyota Series win of his career. “I’ve competed at all levels, and it is so tough to win one of these Toyota Series events. A lot of pros compete in them, but they also have the great local fisherman that know their home bodies of water so well. They’re extremely hard to win, so to come out today with the victory – I am tremendously tickled.”

Wheeler said that he had no magic spot on Pickwick Lake, but estimated he fished around 30 different places throughout the week, throwing a variety of baits.

“I tried to find little 3- to 5-fish schools that were a little out of the way off the beaten path, and then when a community hole opened up I’d stop in there and try to catch a few fish. I caught fish from 10 feet to 30 feet, and I was constantly changing my baits based on where I was fishing,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler said that his key baits this week were a Rapala DT20 crankbait (Caribbean Shad), a Texas-rigged Googan Baits Mondo Worm and a 6-inch Lunker Log stick bait, and an Accent Ol’ Big Spinnerbait. He also mixed in some other baits, including a scrounger and a swimbait.

“My electronics setup was a huge deal for me this week, as well,” Wheeler went on to say. “Instead of signing with one company, I’m running Lowrance, Garmin and Humminbird units this year and that really helped me tremendously when I was finding those 3 to 5 fish schools.”

The top 10 pros on Pickwick Lake finished:

1^st:       Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tenn., 15 bass, 56-8, $38,545

2^nd:      Buddy Gross of Chickamauga, Ga., 15 bass, 51-0, $14,936

3^rd:       Michael Bean of Bowling Green, Ky., 15 bass, 49-9, $11,563

4^th:       Michael Brewer of Lawrenceburg, Tenn., 10 bass, 48-13, $9,636

5^th:       Justin Atkins of Florence, Ala., 15 bass, 48-12, $8,673

6^th:       Marshall Deakins of Dunlap, Tenn., 15 bass, 47-15, $7,709

7^th:       Brent Anderson of Kingston Springs, Tenn., 15 bass, 46-4, $6,745

8^th:       John Murray of Spring City, Tenn., 13 bass, 44-15, $5,782

9^th:       Jimmy Washam of Covington, Tenn., 13 bass, 39-11, $4,959

10^th:     Ricky Robinson of Greenback, Tenn., 10 bass, 36-14, $3,854

A complete list of results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Seth Davis of Harrison, Tennessee, took home an extra $1,000 as the highest finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $35,000 per event in each Toyota Series tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.

Washam brought an 8-pound, 9-ounce largemouth bass to the scale Friday – the largest fish weighed by a boater in the event – to earn the day’s Big Bass award of $141.

Josh Lockard of Somerset, Kentucky, won the Co-angler Division Saturday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 48 pounds, 7 ounces. For his win, Lockard took home the top prize package of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard motor, worth $33,500.

The top 10 co-anglers on Pickwick Lake finished:

1^st:       Josh Lockard of Somerset, Ky., 15 bass, 48-7, $33,500

2^nd:      Phil Williams Jr. of Jamestown, Ky., 13 bass, 36-13, $4,868

3^rd:       Nathan Woodruff of Iuka, Miss., 14 bass, 33-14, $3,894

4^th:       Chris Quaintance of Muscle Shoals, Ala., 11 bass, 32-4, $3,502

5^th:       Clint Pegg of Columbus, Miss., 12 bass, 31-14, $2,921

6^th:       Andrew Gordon of Columbus, Miss., 12 bass, 29-11, $2,434

7^th:       Todd Lee of Jasper, Ala., 11 bass, 29-1, $1,947

8^th:       Benton Peoples of Bardstown, Ky., 11 bass, 26-8, $1,704

9^th:       Bryan Dowdy of Florence, Ala., 11 bass, 25-10, $1,460

10^th:     Samuel Maxwell of Vincennes, Ind., 10 bass, 23-12, $1,217

Quaintance weighed in the largest bass in the co-angler division on Thursday, bringing a 7-pound, 3-ounce bass to the stage. He earned the days Co-angler Big Bass award of $95.

The Toyota Series at Pickwick Lake was hosted by Florence/Lauderdale Tourism. It was the second of three regular-season tournaments in 2020 for Central Division anglers. For a complete schedule, visit FLWFishing.com.

The Toyota Series consists of eight divisions – Central, Eastern, Northern, Plains, Southeastern, Southern, Southwestern and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International division. Anglers who fish all three qualifiers in any of the eight divisions and finish in the top 25 will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning $235,000 cash, including a $35,000 FLW PHOENIX Bonus for qualified anglers. The winning co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard. The 2020 Toyota Series Championship will be held Dec. 3-5 on Lake Cumberland in Burnside, Kentucky, and is hosted by the Somerset Tourist & Convention Commission and the Burnside Tourism Commission.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Toyota Series on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

by AnglersChannel

Ranger Pro John Murray leads by an ounce on Pickwick

May 29, 2020  by Rob Newell

Five years ago legendary western pro John Murray moved from Arizona to Spring City, Tenn., for one very specific reason: to learn how to fish Tennessee River lakes, especially to better understand the Tennessee River’s current and bass’ relationship to it. Today, Murray’s move to Tennessee paid off as he took the day-two lead in the Toyota Series Central Division event on Pickwick Lake. On day one Murray weighed in a respectable 16 pounds, 4 ounces. Today, he added 22 pounds, 10 ounces for a two-day total of 38 pounds, 14 ounces. He now has a slim one-ounce lead over Jacob Wheeler going into the final day.

Top five patterns

Complete results

“Tennessee River tournaments invariably are always on tournament schedules,” Murray says. “And nearly every time I’d go to a Tennessee River lake in the summer, I just bomb. I finally got tired of it and moved out here to learn these lakes.”

Murray gave credit to his Spring City, Tenn., neighbor Wesley Strader for teaching him some of the finer points of fishing Tennessee River current. Today, Murray utilized those lessons well.

“I’m not out there fishing the deep places and the deep schools,” Murray says. “I’m fishing more of the 7- to 10-foot range, on top of bars. I think this heavy current has the fish and shad pushed up on those places. If this current wasn’t running this hard, I don’t think they would be up where I’m catching them. Those shallower places are providing the necessary breaks that I’ve learned are so critical on these lakes.”

In addition, Murray believes there is some sort of shad spawn going on up on the shallower bars he is fishing. He can’t physically see visible evidence of the shad spawning, but he can electronically see them thanks to his forward-looking sonar.

“My boat is setting out, but I’m using that to scan across the tops of those bars and I every now and then a flurry of activity come across the screen,” he explains. “I believe that activity is big schools of shad spawning on and crossing those bars. At times I can literally see them being chased by bass.”

Hence Murray’s 22-pound, 10-ounce catch, which started with three 5-pounders first thing this morning. His key baits have been a big worm and big jig cast up into the areas where he sees the activity on the screen, about 45 feet in front of the boat.

“I have to make the casts at the right angle in that current to get the bite,” he says. “If I cast across the bar, that fast current bows the line too much. So I have to cast more parallel with the bar so I can bring the lure down the bar with the current.”

Obviously, Murray’s Tennessee River current lessons are starting to pay off. With another big bag tomorrow, he could get one of the biggest paydays of his storied career: winning a tournament on the river system that has been a thorn in his side for so long.

Top 10 pros

1. John Murray – Spring City, Tenn. – 38-14 (10)

2. Jacob Wheeler – Harrison, Tenn. – 38-13 (10)

3. Buddy Gross – Chickamauga, Ga. – 37-2 (10)

4. Michael Brewer – Lawrenceburg, Tenn. – 36-15 (10)

5. Ricky Robinson – Greenback, Tenn. – 36-14 (10)

6. Michael Bean – Bowling Green, Ky. – 35-14 (10)

7. Brent Anderson – Kingston Springs, Tenn. – 35-5 (10)

8. Justin Atkins – Florence, Ala. – 35-1 (10)

9. Marshall Deakins – Dunlap, Tenn. – 34-13 (10)

• 10. Jimmy Washam – Covington, Tenn. – 33-2 (10)

by AnglersChannel

Gross leads Pickwick with over 24 pounds!

Story & Photos Courtesy of FLW

Buddy Gross won his first FLW Tour event on Pickwick Lake in May of 2016 fishing a shad spawn on eelgrass along the Tennessee River channel. Today, Gross rekindled those old memories from four years ago to bring in 24 pounds, 1 ounce and take the day one lead in the Toyota Series Central Division event on Pickwick.

Top five patterns 

Complete results

While he is fishing the same general area where he won before, Gross says the cover is much different this time around.

“Last time it was all about the eelgrass,” he says. “This time the eelgrass is not as dominant – it’s not as tall – to create current breaks. This time there is more hydrilla there. But the common denominator is the shad spawn. The shad are still spawning, but it doesn’t last long. I caught a few big ones quickly, but it died fast.”

Gross says he normally likes to fish out much deeper on Pickwick than the 6- to 7-foot zone he is targeting now. But since he had a late boat draw (128) he figured the best deep community spots would be covered up, so he took a chance on the shallow grass first thing this morning because the spot was “open” and the gamble paid off.

Though Gross didn’t want to give up his exact baits just yet, he did say they are all big gizzard shad imitating baits.

“They are big baits and difficult to fish in that stringy hydrilla,” he adds. “I fought the grass all day, constantly slapping baits in the water to clear them. But if I could ever get a bait to come through the right zone clean, it would get inhaled.”

Gross has an earlier boat position tomorrow morning, which will give him a few more precious minutes in the height of shad spawn to make hay.

“There was no one on it this morning and no one ever tried to stop on it all day, so I should have it to myself first thing tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it.”

Top 10 pros

1. Buddy Gross – Chickamauga, Ga. – 24-1 (5)

2. Justin Atkins – Florence, Ala. – 21-14 (5)

3. Brent Anderson – Kingston Springs, Tenn. – 20-8 (5)

4. Michael Brewer – Lawrenceburg, Tenn. – 19-11 (5)

5. Josh Butler – Hayden, Ala. – 18-14 (5)

6. Seth Davis – Harrison, Tenn. – 18-13 (5)

7. Sloan Pennington – Childersburg, Ala. – 18-8 (5)

8. Keith Amerson – Bethel Springs, Tenn. – 18-6 (5)

9. Jacob Wheeler – Harrison, Tenn. – 18-2 (5)

10. Jason Lambert – Michie, Tenn. – 17-9 (5)

Complete results

Corkern leads co-anglers

Daniel Corkern of Florence, Miss., leads the Co-angler Division after day one with a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 4 ounces. Corkern is no stranger to Pickwick as he has racked up three top 10’s in the Phoenix Bass Fishing League. This is his first Toyota Series event and he has now put himself in the pole position going into day two.

by AnglersChannel