Elm City’s Lacerte Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 30, 2024) – Boater Mark Inman of Greensboro, North Carolina, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 30 pounds, 7 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Super Tournament on Lake Norman . The tournament, which concluded Sunday, was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL North Carolina Division. Inman earned $7,340, including the lucrative $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

After a tough start to practice, Inman got a tip from a friend that helped him eventually piece together a productive pattern fishing a mix of a jig, shaky head and topwater. The key was running and gunning so he could get in front of new fish throughout the tournament.

“Once I learned the pattern, I gave it about 10, 15 minutes on a stretch of shoreline, and if I didn’t get bit I’d just crank up and go somewhere new,” said Inman, who weighed in 12 pounds, 6 ounces on day one.

Heavy rains at the end of the week certainly impacted the bite, as Inman eventually found himself hunting clean water on Sunday. The other key was being around baitfish.

“It wasn’t muddy when I started (on Saturday),” he said. “I caught about 12, 13 fish, but I only caught seven or eight keepers. Then today (Sunday), I started in an area that was close to it (where he fished Saturday), and I ended up losing a couple. I started looking down at the water, and I thought, they don’t eat good in this fresh water. I’ve got to move.

“I went to another place I caught fish yesterday and never got a bite. I told that my co-angler we’re going fishing. My daddy always said, ‘When your stuff gets burned up, you go fishing.’ That’s what I did today, and the good Lord blessed me. Everything just went right. I caught about 30 keepers.”

That impressive catch of 30 keepers included a big kicker that bit at around 11 o’clock. Inman thought he might’ve had it won at that point. Turns out, it wouldn’t have been enough. Thankfully, he landed a 3-plus-pounder late in the day, which culled him up to 18 pounds, 1 ounce – easily the biggest bag of the tournament – for the win.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Mark Inman, Greensboro, N.C., 10 bass, 30-7, $7,340 (includes $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:       Isaac Ledford, Dallas, N.C., 10 bass, 29-1, $2,270
3rd:       Kaden Buchmann, Mooresville, N.C., 10 bass, 26-7, $1,515
4th:        Mark Davis, Bear Creek, N.C., 10 bass, 25-12, $1,059
5th:        David Bright, Mooresville, N.C., 10 bass, 25-9, $1,033
6th:        Rob Digh, Denver, N.C., 10 bass, 25-7, $832
7th:        Michael Campbell, Pineville, S.C., 10 bass, 24-15, $1,289
8th:        Lucas Murphy, West Columbia, S.C., 10 bass, 24-14, $681
9th:        Scott Hamrick, Denver, N.C., 10 bass, 24-9, $605
10th:     Jake Monti, Mooresville, N.C., 10 bass, 24-5, $530

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Michael Campbell of Pineville, South Carolina, caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 7 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $532.

Jean Lacerte of Elm City, North Carolina, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,270 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of 10 bass to the scale that weighed 22 pounds, 2 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:        Jean Lacerte, Elm City, N.C., 10 bass, 22-2, $2,270
2nd:       Jason Hinger, Timberlake, N.C., 10 bass, 21-0, $1,385
3rd:       Eric Stanbery, Lewisville, N.C., 10 bass, 20-5, $757
4th:        David Deciucis, Chester, Va., 10 bass, 20-2, $796
5th:        Jerry Morris, Charlotte, N.C., 10 bass, 19-10, $454
6th:        Greg Mauldin II, Archdale, N.C., nine bass, 19-2, $416
7th:        Hunter Alexander, China Grove, N.C., 10 bass, 18-10, $378
8th:        Arthur Harris, York, S.C., 10 bass, 18-9, $341
9th:        Adam Radovic, Brecksville, Ohio, eight bass, 17-12, $303
10th:     Hunter Carpenter, Lincolnton, N.C., nine bass, 16-15, $265

David Deciucis of Chester, Virginia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $266, catching a bass that weighed in at 3 pounds, 4 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the tournament.

At the conclusion of the tournament, Scott Hamrick of Denver, North Carolina, was crowned the Fishing Clash North Carolina Division Angler of the Year (AOY) and earned the $1,000 payout with 1,320 points, while Lacerte, the co-angler tournament winner, also sewed up the Fishing Clash North Carolina Division Co-angler of the Year race with 1,338 points to take home the $500 prize.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, have qualified for the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional tournament on Santee Cooper Lakes in Clarendon County, South Carolina. 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.

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.