“There was a shad spawn going on, but there was so much bait in the water, the bass weren’t biting a crankbait like they usually do this time of year,” Casey said. “I throw a drop-shot year round, and I had flipped a drop-shot around during practice and was getting bit, so I figured it would be my key bait.”

Casey said he started his days by fishing wood in creeks while the tide was low, then fished current breaks and jetties with the drop-shot rig, as well as an Evergreen Flat Force 4 crankbait. Casey said he also stopped at riprap banks on his way back to Richmond every day. Casey said his efforts paid off with 30 keepers the first day and 10 on the second day of the tournament.

“I had 30 minutes to go on the last day and caught one close to five pounds,” Casey said. “I thought in my head that I had a good shot at winning then. And then at my last spot I caught another keeper that culled me up. At that point, I knew I had a real chance, and I couldn’t keep my emotions in check.

“I’ve fished my whole life and never accomplished something this big,” Casey added. “I’m still just messed up about it. I haven’t slept the last four days.”

The top six boaters that qualified for the 2023 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were:

1st:        Cody Casey, Chester, Va., 15 bass, 39-10, $60,000
2nd:       Brian Laclair, Denton, Md., 15 bass, 36-10, $12,200
3rd:       Chris Baldwin, Lexington, N.C., 15 bass, 36-5, $6,300
4th:        Keith Estes, Spring Grove, Va., 15 bass, 35-14, $4,200
5th:        Chris Atwell, Mechanicsville, Va., 15 bass, 34-5, $2,500 (including $500 Phoenix MLF contingency
bonus)
6th:        Michael Downes, South Chesterfield, Va., 15 bass, 34-4, $1,800

Rounding out the top 10 boaters were:

7th:        Chris Daves, Spring Grove, Va., 15 bass, 34-0, $1,600
8th:        Scott Thomas, Reading, Pa., 14 bass, 33-9, $1,700
9th:        Rick Hawk Hawkins, Roanoke, Va., 15 bass, 33-9, $1,200
10th:     Logan Anderson, Catawba, N.C., 14 bass, 33-6, $1,100

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Atwell took home an extra $500 as the highest finishing Phoenix MLF Bonus member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the Phoenix MLF Bonus contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.

Trent Killian of Bostic, North Carolina, weighed in 14 bass over three days totaling 27 pounds even to win the top Strike King co-angler prize package of $50,800, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The top six Strike King co-anglers that qualified for the 2023 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were:

1st:          Trent Killian, Bostic, N.C., 14 bass, 27-0, $50,800
2nd:         David Deciucis, Chester, Va., 15 bass, 26-4, $5,500
3rd:         Billy French, Hamilton, Ohio, 14 bass, 25-8, $3,200
4th:         Brent Jones, Okeana, Ohio, 12 bass, 24-15, $1,650
5th:         John Robinson, Montpelier, Va., 15 bass, 24-10, $1,500
6th:         Safulla Rana, Warrenton, Va., 14 bass, 24-1, $900

Rounding out the top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

7th:         Max Meister, Atco, N.J., 13 bass, 22-5, $1,300
8th:         Jesse Foster, Franklin, Ohio, nine bass, 22-2, $700
9th:         Travis Waterman, Fredericksburg, Va., 13 bass, 21-13, $600
10th:       David Paszkiewicz, Kearny, N.J., 11 bass, 17-10, $550

The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regional Tournament on the James River was hosted by Richmond Region Tourism. It featured the top pros and Strike King co-anglers from the Northeast, Shenandoah, Buckeye and North Carolina divisions.

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, advanced 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 top 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 Invitationals 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.