Easley’s Wilson Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division

ANDERSON, S.C. (Aug. 19, 2024) – Boater Matt O’Connell of Brooks, Georgia, won the MLF Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine two-day Super Tournament on Lake Hartwell Presented by Suzuki Marine on Sunday with a cumulative total of 10 bass weighing 30 pounds, 7 ounces. His daily weights were 14 pounds, 6 ounces on Saturday and 16 pounds, 1 ounce on Sunday. Hosted by the Anderson Convention & Visitors Bureau, the tournament was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Savannah River Division. O’Connell earned $7,776, including the lucrative $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

Though O’Connell said Hartwell is fishing a little weird right now, his winning pattern involved a mix of pretty typical summertime baits and tactics for a blueback herring lake.

“There is a typical blueback pattern going on where the fish are out on bait or on shoals and humps,” he said. “And there’s some schooling going on kind of intermittently throughout the day. I actually probably saw more schooling in the afternoon both days, but it was super tough to catch the schoolers.

“I essentially just got big bites both afternoons. I had 9 pounds at about noon each day and managed to catch about a 4-pounder yesterday (Saturday) out deep over timber. And that pretty much kicked my bag up with a bunch of 2 1/2-pounders. And then today (Sunday) I had probably 9 pounds at noon, and from probably 12:30 ’til 2:30, in about a two-hour period, I caught a 4-pound spot and 5-pound largemouth on the CAST The OG (Floater). It’s a big topwater.”

A couple factors flipped the switch in the afternoons. Part of it was the wind picking up, especially on day two, which made the fish more active. The other factor was timing. O’Connell located some fish during afternoon hours in practice and noticed they just weren’t on those spots in the mornings during the tournament. But come afternoon, they repositioned on brush or on areas where he could be target them more easily, versus roaming like they were in the mornings.

“Day two, I just started running more of the shallow stuff because it was windy,” he said. “Shallow being relative –25 feet or less. The conditions and the fish just combined to give me an opportunity. The fish were being much more aggressive in the afternoon at least.”

O’Connell relied on forward-facing sonar throughout the tournament to “scope” a mix of structure and cover, including brush piles, the ends of points and deep timber.  In addition to the OG topwater, he fished a CAST Fishing Co. Echo soft jerkbait on an under-spin as well as a soft jerkbait without the jighead.

“I probably fished 60 spots today,” he added. “That’s pretty normal for the blueback herring deal. There was one area I spent probably an hour fishing that was over timber around bait, but that was the only time I settled in anywhere.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Matt O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., 10 bass, 30-7, $7,776 (includes $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:       Brandon Martin, Lula, Ga., 10 bass, 29-3, $2,238
3rd:       Justin Tingen, Moore, S.C., 10 bass, 27-13, $1,492
4th:        Spencer Sato, Gainesville, Ga., 10 bass, 25-13, $1,045
5th:        Wesley Sandifer, Chapin, S.C., 10 bass, 23-11, $895
6th:        Joe Anders, Easley, S.C., 10 bass, 23-5, $821
7th:        Scooter Ligon, Dahlonega, Ga., 10 bass, 22-1, $746
8th:        Alex Prince, Blue Ridge, Ga., 10 bass, 21-5, $671
9th:        Daulton Smith, Martin, Ga., 10 bass, 21-0, $597
10th:     Hayden Seabolt, Dawsonville, Ga., 10 bass, 19-12, $522

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Lucas Black of Saint Simons Island, Georgia, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $525.

Chris Wilson of Easley, South Carolina, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,500 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of eight bass to the scale for 13 pounds, 3 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:        Chris Wilson, Easley, S.C., eight bass, 13-3, $2,500
2nd:       Corey Veal, Royston, Ga., seven bass, 12-11, $1,119
3rd:       Colby Elliott, Blairsville, Ga., seven bass, 12-1, $748
4th:        Mark Garrett, Walhalla, S.C., eight bass, 9-14, $622
5th:        Mark Yarborough, Salem, S.C., eight bass, 9-10, $448
6th:        Russell Woodson, Jonesville, S.C., six bass, 8-14, $410
7th:        Chris Worley, Eastanollee, Ga., five bass, 7-13, $373
8th:        Scott Gerbers, Blackstock, S.C., four bass, 7-9, $336
9th:        Brian Heredos, Simpsonville, S.C., five bass, 6-15, $298
10th:     David Allen, Mableton, Ga., four bass, 6-3, $261

Wilson also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $262, catching a bass that weighed in at 3 pounds, 15 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

With the qualifying season now concluded, Joe Anders of Easley, South Carolina, is the 2024 Fishing Clash Savannah River Division Angler of the Year (AOY) with 1,325 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Todd Huntley of Inman, South Carolina, won the 2024 Fishing Clash Savannah River Division Co-angler of the Year title with 1,285 points and the $500 prize.

Next up for the Savannah River Division, the top 45 boaters and co-anglers based on season 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.

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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.