Eric Law, of Primm Springs, Tenn., Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division

BUCHANAN, Tenn. (Aug. 26, 2024) – Boater Jake Lawrence of Buchanan, Tennessee, weighed a two-day total of six fish for 27 pounds, 3 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Super Tournament on Kentucky-Barkley Lakes , which wrapped up on Sunday. Boaters competing in the tournament were limited to three bass per day due to the summer heat. Hosted by the Henry County Tourism Authority, the tournament was the fifth and final regular-season event for the BFL LBL Division. Lawrence earned $12,517, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

It’s been one heck of a run for Lawrence. In the last two seasons, he’s won two Toyota Series tournaments on the Kentucky-Barkley system, he’s won three BFL Super Tournaments – including two in a row in the LBL Division – and he won the Tackle Warehouse Invitational on Lake Eufaula back in May. He also finished second in the AOY race in his first season fishing the Invitationals and is currently in first in the Toyota Series Plains Division AOY standings, with a first- and second-place finish on the season. Lawrence is an absolute powerhouse on the western reservoirs of the Tennessee River and is expanding his game around the country.

So, it comes as no surprise to see him atop the standings in a stacked LBL Division Super Tournament field. For Lawrence, however, the approach needed to win on Kentucky-Barkley this time was a bit non-typical. For starters, he was able to stay close to the launch in Paris, Tennessee.

“It just seems like every tournament, I always seem to find them on the total opposite end of the lake,” he said. “It was really nice (this time). I think I only burned about 25 gallons of gas in two days, which I never do that.”

The other change is that Lawrence wasn’t as dialed as he likes to be in late summer. This is a tough time of year anywhere in the Mid-South region, but he’s usually able to use practice to pattern a depth and a couple presentations to do well in end-of-season tournaments. This event had the bass roaming and at multiple depths, so it was all about adapting and figuring things out during competition hours.

“Things were changing it seemed like every day in practice,” he said. “I fished Wednesday, Thursday and half a day on Friday, and it seemed like every day the fish were in different places and they would act different as far as the baits they’d react to. It was kind of a unique deal. We just put the boat in and went fishing and made it happen.”

Lawrence began each morning throwing a topwater lure, using Garmin LiveScope to scan shallow bars for carp so he could avoid areas where they were congregating. On day one, the topwater put about 12 pounds in the livewell. On day two, it wasn’t nearly as productive, landing just one 3-pounder.

The rest of each day, he went hunting bass with LiveScope and mixed it up with a variety of lures, including a 5-inch Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm and a prototype spinnerbait from Buckeye Lures. The spinnerbait wound up being his primary bait on Sunday, and even though he dialed in on that lure, the fish didn’t come easy. He had to make constant adjustments.

“It was primarily shallow bars,” Lawrence added. “If you could find some brush, it was good. But honestly, I found a ton of fish just kind of roaming around on the bars, which is kind of unique. We don’t do a tremendous amount of that here.”

The best areas were mostly on the main lake and ranged from 3 to 10 feet deep. Avoiding carp and relocating roaming bass throughout the day were the biggest challenges. Lawrence said he looked at 75 to 100 spots during the tournament. Once he had a decent limit in the boat, he’d head for the drops in the mouth of the Big Sandy. He said this area is renowned for being home to big largemouths, so he went there to upgrade.

“I was going literally as fast as I can go,” said Lawrence, who landed a 6-pounder on Sunday to seal the win. “It’s a numbers game. Again, you don’t know where the next one’s going to come. So, it was really, really important to keep the trolling motor on 10 and roll around the lake.”

Reflecting on his recent success, Lawrence was proud of the support he’s received from Phoenix Boats. Just this season, he’s won more than $78,000 in Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus money. That’s money that he and his wife put toward a down payment on a new home.

There’s nowhere else that you can get that,” he said. “I just can’t imagine any other opportunity like that. I certainly cannot thank Phoenix enough for what they’re doing and how aggressive they are with their tournament fishermen. And why not? They make the greatest tournament boat on Earth, and the company is full of the greatest people on Earth.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Jake Lawrence, Buchanan, Tenn., six fish, 27-3, $12,517 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:       Edward Gettys, Dover, Tenn., six fish, 24-0, $2,759
3rd:       Harbor Lovin, New Concord, Ky., six fish, 22-12, $2,559
4th:        Eli Lubbehusen, Huntingburg, Ind., six fish, 21-8, $1,287
5th:        David Hames, Trezevant, Tenn., six fish, 20-10, $1,103
6th:        Harlan Thomas, Paducah, Ky., six fish, 19-12, $1,012
7th:        Levi Kohl, Edinburg, Ill., six fish, 19-11, $920
8th:        Ryan Kirkpatrick, Benton, Ky., six fish, 19-11, $828
9th:        Curt McGuire, Buchanan, Tenn., six fish, 19-7, $736
10th:     Keith Claridge, Oakland City, Ind., six fish, 19-6, $644

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Harbor Lovin of New Concord, Kentucky, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 7 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $720.

Eric Law of Primm Springs, Tennessee, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,759 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of five bass to the scale for 15 pounds, 15 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:        Eric Law, Primm Springs, Tenn., five bass, 15-15, $2,759
2nd:       Ed Daniell, West Frankfort, Ill., five bass, 15-10, $1,529
3rd:       Ethan Wheeler, Water Valley, Ky., five bass, 13-15, $1,019
4th:        Gabe Montgomery, Jackson, Mo., four bass, 13-8, $644
5th:        Zach Falder, Sedalia, Ky., five bass, 13-6, $552
6th:        Brant Gish, Evansville, Ind., five bass, 12-12, $506
7th:        Hunter Holguin, Knoxville, Tenn., four bass, 11-8, $460
8th:        Daniel Nolen, Lexington, Tenn., four bass, 11-0, $414
9th:        Cory York, Benton, Ky., three bass, 10-12, $368
10th:     Adam Lucas, Cape Girardeau, Mo., four bass, 10-6, $322

Danny Robinson of Fairland, Indiana, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $360, catching a bass that weighed in at 6 pounds even – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

At the conclusion of the event, Levi Kohl of Edinburg, Illinois, was crowned 2024 Fishing Clash LBL Division Angler of the Year (AOY) after finishing the season with 1,319 points and earned the $1,000 prize. John Lovin of Fayetteville, Ohio, won the Fishing Clash LBL Division Co-angler of the Year title with 1,312 points to earn the $500 award.

Up next for LBL Division anglers, the top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will compete in the Oct. 3-5 BFL Regional tournament on Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee. 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.