Zechman Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division

BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. (April 3, 2023) – Boater Lee Sinclair of Albany, Kentucky, caught a five-bass limit weighing 23 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Dale Hollow Lake. The tournament, hosted by Star Point Marina & Resort, was the second event of the season for the BFL Mountain Division. Sinclair earned $6,336 for his victory.

“I started out in a pocket and caught a couple of fish, but the wind started getting bad in there, so I hit a few more pockets mid-lake,” said Sinclair. “I ended up finding some fish schooled up, and I pretty much lived on them the rest of the day.”

Sinclair said he used a Damiki Vault Blade Bait exclusively during the tournament, in 30 feet of water, to catch his bass. The blade bait produced eight keeper largemouth and three or four smallmouth short of the 21-inch keeper restriction during the tournament.

“Once I got on the fish, it was pretty steady,” Sinclair said, who had posted three second-place showings at Dale Hollow – one in 2022 and two in March 2023. “But I have seen a lot of big bags weighed in on Dale Hollow, and I didn’t know for sure what I had would win.

“After coming in second so much it feels good to finally win one,” Sinclair added.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Lee Sinclair, Albany, Ky., five bass, 23-5, $6,336
2nd:       Travis Lloyd, Jamestown, Tenn., five bass, 19-0, $2,868
3rd:       Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, five bass, 18-15, $2,300
4th:        Pat Eichmann, Nancy, Ky., five bass, 18-8, $2,085
5th:        Andrew Haunert, Blue Ash, Ohio, five bass, 18-3, $1,067
6th:        Grant Adams, Campbellsville, Ky., five bass, 17-13, $978
7th:        Michael Morrison, Stamping Ground, Ky., five bass, 17-6, $844
7th:        Paul Speer, Brookville, Ohio, five bass, 17-6, $844
9th:        Brandon Maynard, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 16-14, $712
10th:     Clifton King, Sweetwater, Tenn., five bass, 16-13, $623

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Pat Eichmann of Nancy, Kentucky, caught a bass that weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $840.

Sean Zechman of Mount Vernon, Kentucky, won the Strike King co-angler division and a total of $2,668 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 16 pounds, 6 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:        Sean Zechman, Mount Vernon, Ky., five bass, 16-6, $2,668
2nd:       Tommy Glass, Union, Ky., five bass, 14-9, $1,544
3rd:       Gary Haraguchi, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 14-0, $888
4th:        Gilbert Jolly, Livingston, Tenn., four bass, 13-13, $823
5th:        Garret Moon, Albany, Ky., five bass, 13-7, $534
6th:        Brett Maynard, Lexington, Ky., five bass, 12-12, $489
7th:        Mark Wenger, Louisville, Ky., five bass, 12-10, $445
8th:        Jeff Johnston, Nashville, Tenn., four bass, 12-7, $550
9th:        Larry Elliott, Enoree, S.C., four bass, 12-6, $356
10th:     Lucas Devere, Berea, Ky., four bass, 12-3, $295
10th:     Todd Isaacs, Carrollton, Ky., four bass, 12-3, $295

Tommy Glass of Union, Kentucky, and Brent Clark of Bowling Green, Kentucky, each caught a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 14 ounces to split the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $420.

After two events, Lee Sinclair of Albany, Kentucky, leads the BFL Mountain Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 499 points, while Gilbert Jolly of Livingston, Tennessee, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 490 points.

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. 19-21 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury 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 outboard.

The 2023 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 2023 All-American event will take place May 31-June 2, on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina. The event is hosted by Visit Oconee SC.

Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X 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.