Rickman’s Burgess Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division

GALLATIN, Tenn. (June 17, 2024) – Boater Robert Timms of Clarksville, Tennessee, caught a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Old Hickory Lake. Hosted by Sumner County Tourism, the tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Music City Division. Timms earned $3,526 for his victory.

For Timms, it was a last-minute decision to enter the tournament. And even though he’s a recent transplant to Tennessee from Connecticut, he had some good background to go on during the tournament.

“I got into the tournament like three days ago,” he said on Saturday. “I signed up just to do something on the weekend. I never even practiced, which probably helped me for once.

“I fished a benefit tournament two weeks ago and took second place,” Timms added. “I went to that same spot (that he fished in the benefit tournament) and it was loaded. They were there.”

The key spot was a point in the back of a creek arm.

“There was some milfoil that sits off the point in 4 to 5 feet of water,” he said. “It drops off to 8 to 10 feet. I could see on my (Lowrance) ActiveTarget that the fish were moving in and out, and there’s a lot of bait in the area. They were feeding on the bait. I started throwing a ChatterBait up on the point and bringing it out, and those fish were coming up and just crushing it.”

While Timms could see fish on his ActiveTarget unit, he was primarily fan-casting across the point instead of casting to specific fish. He caught his limit using a white and chartreuse Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer with a 4-inch Keitech Easy Shiner trailer in the sexy shad color.

Timms was pretty well done by about 10 a.m. – his winning weight anchored by a 5-pound, 9-ounce fish that earned the Berkley Big Bass award among boaters.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Robert Timms, Clarksville, Tenn., five bass, 14-11, $3,526
2nd:       Jacob Hudson, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 14-3, $1,578
3rd:       Michael Stout, Gallatin, Tenn., five bass, 12-12, $894
3rd:       Nathan Reynolds, Nashville, Tenn., five bass, 12-12, $894
5th:        Terry Steele, Sparta, Tenn., five bass, 12-9, $605
5th:        Cody Mackie, McMinnville, Tenn., five bass, 12-9, $605
7th:        Matt Underhill, Lascassas, Tenn., five bass, 12-3, $999 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
7th:        Jason Dies, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 12-3, $499
9th:        Brady Duncan, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 12-2, $421
10th:     Brent Sain, Manchester, Tenn., five bass, 12-0, $368

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Timms caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $370.

Parker Burgess of Rickman, Tennessee, won the Strike King co-angler division and $1,535 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 10 pounds, 15 ounces.

The top 11 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:        Parker Burgess, Rickman, Tenn., five bass, 10-15, $1,535
2nd:       Gary Haraguchi, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 9-5, $768
3rd:       Douglas Gibbons, Dunlap, Tenn., two bass, 9-0, $513
4th:        Taylor McMullen, Oxford, Ga., five bass, 8-2, $332
4th:        Jason Barr, Fort Campbell, Ky., four bass, 8-2, $432
6th:        Trenton Webb, Goodlettsville, Tenn., five bass, 7-9, $281
7th:        Jenn Nolan, Hitchcock, Tenn., four bass, 7-6, $256
8th:        Daniel Nolen, Lexington, N.C., four bass, 7-5, $230
9th:        Wayne Crouch, Jamestown, Tenn., three bass, 7-2, $181
9th:        Teddy Baggett, Nashville, Tenn., three bass, 7-2, $181
9th:        Barry McEntire, Lebanon, Tenn., two bass, 7-2, $361

Barry McEntire of Lebanon, Tennessee, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $180, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 14 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

Music City Division anglers competed again on Old Hickory Lake on Sunday in an event that was originally scheduled for May 11 on Center Hill Lake but had to be cancelled due to high water. Sunday’s tournament was the division’s fourth event this season. Jacob Woods of Loudon, Tennessee, now leads the Fishing Clash Music City Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 971 points, while Wayne Crouch of Jamestown, Tennessee, leads the Fishing Clash Music City Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 975 points.

The next event for BFL Music City Division anglers will be held Sept. 7-8, at Dale Hollow Lake in Byrdstown, Tennessee. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

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 qualify for the Oct. 17-19 BFL Regional tournament on Clarks Hill Lake in Appling, Georgia. 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.

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.