Co-angler Victory Goes to Paducah’s Dunn

BUCHANAN, Tenn. (Sept. 14, 2020) Boater Keith Amerson of Bethel Springs, Tennessee, brought a two-day total of six bass to the scale weighing 22 pounds, 7 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine LBL Division Super-Tournament at Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. For his victory, Amerson earned $5,376.

“I came into this event really confident,” said Amerson. “I feel like I’ve had an opportunity to win every event we’ve had this year, but it finally came together the past two days and I got the bites I needed for my first BFL win.

“I was dreading today because of the cloud cover, but I went to my first stop where I caught a 4-11 yesterday and ended up catching a five pounder and two more, which got me to my limit before 7:30 this morning,” Amerson continued. “That settled me down and allowed me to run my points and catch seven keepers throughout the rest of the day.”

Amerson said he was throwing a Strike King Rage Thumper Worm with a ½-ounce Strike King Tour Grade Tungsten Weight throughout most of the tournament.

“I’ve caught just about every bass I’ve weighed on that combination this year, just dragging it around on shallow bars and shallow humps,” said Amerson.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:

            1^st:       Keith Amerson of Bethel Springs, Tenn., six bass, 22-7, $5,376

            2^nd:      Marty Sisk of Evansville, Ind., six bass, 20-9, $2,563

            3^rd:       Bill Schroeder III of Benton, Ky., six bass, 19-12, $1,709

            4^th:       Drew Boggs of Lebanon, Tenn., six bass, 16-14, $1,196

            5^th:       Ramie Colson, Jr. of Cadiz, Ky., six bass, 16-14, $1,025

            6^th:       Jeff Johnston of Marion, Ark., four bass, 16-11, $1,570

            7^th:       Edward Gettys of Paris, Tenn., six bass, 16-1, $1,354

            8^th:       Ryan Kirkpatrick of Benton, Ky., six bass, 15-15, $769

            9^th:       Billy Schroeder of Paducah, Ky., four bass, 14-2, $683

            10^th:     Gary Singleton of Dickson, Tenn., four bass, 13-5, $598

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Johnston earned the day’s $630 Boater Big Bass award with a bass weighing in at 8-pounds even.

Gettys 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.

Wesley Dunn of Paducah, Kentucky, earned the win in the Co-angler Division Saturday after catching a two-day total of five bass weighing 13 pounds, 7 ounces. Dunn earned $2,434 for his victory.

The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:

            1^st:       Wesley Dunn of Paducah, Ky., five bass, 13-7, $2,434

            2^nd:      Jeff Turner of Plainfield, Ill., five bass, 11-3, $1,217

            3^rd:       Johnny Brantley of Medon, Tenn., four bass, 10-13, $813

            4^th:       Frank Haysley of Louisville, Ky., four bass, 9-11, $568

5^th:       Alan Brasher of Decaturville, Tenn., four bass, 9-10, $487

            6^th:       Orville Gowen of Leitchfield, Ky., four bass, 9-6, $446

            7^th:       Pat Rapp of Hawesville, Ky., four bass, 9-3, $606

            8^th:       Jojo Walsh of Lyles, Tenn., three bass, 8-4, $365

            9^th:       Chuck Ledbetter of Fort Campbell, Ky., two bass, 7-13, $617

            10^th:     Dave Roberts of Indianapolis, Ind., two bass, 7-10, $284

Ledbetter earned the event’s Co-angler Big Bass Award of $292 with a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 7 ounces.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes was the fifth and final qualifying event in the 2020 LBL Division.

Now the top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the LBL Division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will advance to the Oct. 8-10 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Chickamauga Lake in Dayton, Tennessee, hosted by Henry County Tourism Authority. 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.