Co-angler Victory Goes to Tennessee’s Bible

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 19, 2020) Boater Josh Butler of Hayden, Alabama, brought a three-day total of 12 bass to the scale weighing 29 pounds, 3 ounces to win the no-entry fee Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Regional Championship at Lake Cherokee. For his victory, Butler earned $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and automatic entry into the 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American Championship, June 3-5, at Douglas Lake in Dandridge, Tennessee.

“I feel very blessed this week,” said Butler. “I stumbled out of the gate on day one with only two fish weighing five pounds, but I rebounded the second day with 13 pounds and finished out strong on the final day to bring home the win with a decent limit of 10-7.”

Butler said his key to victory was the amount of time he spent graphing and marking brush piles on Lake Cherokee.

“I found 35 to 40 good brush piles, varied from 12 to 35 feet, but caught the majority 25 to 28 feet,” continued Butler. “I fished from the 25E bridge to the dam and caught most of my key fish throwing a morning-dawn-colored 6-inch Roboworm on a drop-shot rig.

“This is my first regional win and my first trip to the All-American and it means the world to me,” said Butler “This is one of the toughest tournaments to qualify for and I feel blessed. I’m excited and ready to get after it.”

The top six boaters that qualified for 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were:

            1^st:       Josh Butler of Hayden, Ala., 12 bass, 29-3, $68,000

            2^nd:      Timmy Thompkins of Myrtle Beach, S.C., 11 bass, 28-7, $10,000

            3^rd:       John Duvall of Madison, Ga., 12 bass, 27-7, $5,000

            4^th:       Dale Pelfrey of Rockwood, Tenn., 11 bass, 26-11, $3,000

            5^th:       Chris Martinkovic of Hamilton, Ohio., 14 bass, 26-6, $2,700

            6^th:       Brant Grimm of Church Hill, Tenn., 11 bass, 26-1, $1,800

Rounding out the top 12 boaters were:

            7^th:       Josh Smith of Hamilton, Ohio., 11 bass, 22-2, $1,600

            8^th:       Derek Miller of Grant, Ala., eight bass, 21-15, $1,400

            9^th:       Charles Willis of Dayton, Ohio, eight bass, 20-12, $1,200

            10^th:     Bill Dunn of Maynardville, Tenn., nine bass, 20-4, $1,000

            11^th:     Clabion Johns of Social Circle, Ga., nine bass, 17-3, $1,000

            12^th:     Nick Gant of Myrtle Beach, S.C., six bass, 15-0, $1,000

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Butler also took home an extra $7,000 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.

Don Bible of Knoxville, Tennessee, weighed in nine bass over three days totaling 20 pounds, 2 ounces to win the top co-angler prize package of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The top six co-anglers that qualified for the 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were:

            1^st:       Don Bible of Knoxville, Tenn., nine bass, 20-2, $50,000

            2^nd:      Rex Henry of Hixson, Tenn., seven bass, 15-6, $5,000

            3^rd:       Jeff Rikard of Leesville, S.C., seven bass, 15-0, $3,000

            4^th:       Andrew Starnes of Chapin, S.C., six bass, 13-5, $1,500

            5^th:       Dax Liner of Mineral Bluff, Ga., eight bass, 13-4, $1,000

            6^th:       Daniel Buswell, Jr. of Fayetteville, Ga., five bass, 11-14, $900

Rounding out the top 12 co-anglers were:

            7^th:       James Ross of Akron, Ohio, four bass, 11-1, $800

            8^th:       Steve Sorrell of Beaver Creek, Ohio, five bass, 11-0, $700

            9^th:       Matt Brown of Harriman, Tenn., five bass, 10-10, $600

            10^th:     Jordon Smith of Middletown, Ohio, five bass, 9-14, $500

            11^th:     Scott Sayasing of Grantville, Ga., four bass, 8-7, $500

            12^th:     Nicholas Ray of Milledgeville, Ga., four bass, 8-1, $500

The Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Regional Championship on Lake Cherokee was hosted by the Jefferson County Department of Tourism. It featured the top pros and co-anglers from the Buckeye (Ohio), Bulldog (Georgia), Choo Choo (Alabama/Tennessee) and South Carolina divisions.

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 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American will be held June 3-5 at Douglas Lake in Dandridge, Tennessee, and is hosted by the Jefferson County Department of Tourism. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division earn priority entry into the Toyota Series, the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour.