Robbins Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division

APPLING, Ga. (June 20, 2022) – Boater Kameron Harbin of Abbeville, South Carolina, caught five bass Saturday weighing 20 pounds, 7 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on Clarks Hill Lake . The tournament was the fourth event for the Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division. Harbin earned $11,856, which includes a $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

“I found one area of the lake that I ran and had some very quality bites,” Harbin said. “I caught a 2-pounder right off the bat and then followed that up 30 minutes later with a 5-pounder. I just kept picking them off one by one all day long and caught my last good fish about noon.”

Harbin said he fished from the middle of Clarks Hill toward the upper end. He targeted shallow ditches in the backs of creeks with a Berkley J-Walker and a Berkley PowerBait Bottom Hopper Worm fished on a shaky head rig.

After catching 20 keepers during the tournament, Harbin said he felt confident in his weigh bag for the most part, but had a 2-pound fish he wanted to upgrade.

“I had a 5-pounder on that ended up spitting the bait out, and I thought, ‘That’s going to be the one that costs me the win,’” Harbin said. “I just didn’t think I had it won.

“I’ve had a lot of experience at Clarks Hill and fished it for many years,” Harbin added. “I’ve been close before in BFL competition and have finished second, so to finally get one wrapped up in a win feels really good.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Kameron Harbin, Abbeville, S.C., five bass, 20-7, $11,856 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:        Donald Miller, Harlem, Ga., five bass, 20-6, $1,913
3rd:        Tucker Veronee, Gilbert, S.C., five bass, 18-9, $1,141
4th:         Joshua Rockefeller, Harlem, Ga., five bass, 17-2, $799
5th:         Randall Clark, Hephzibah, Ga., five bass, 15-7, $685
6th:         Wesley Story, Clarks Hill, S.C., five bass, 15-3, $628
7th:         Tyler Walls, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 15-0, $771
8th:         Joshua Weaver, Monroe, Ga., five bass, 14-8, $514
9th:         D.J. Hadden, Appling, Ga., five bass, 13-1, $457
10th:      Danny Kirk, Midville, Ga., five bass, 13-0, $400

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Harbin also caught a largemouth weighing 5 pounds, 13 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – to earn the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $430.

Rennison Robbins of Jackson, South Carolina, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $1,928 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 11 pounds, 14 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

1st:          Rennison Robbins, Jackson, S.C., five bass, 11-14, $1,928
2nd:        Brennan Gunther, Mount Pleasant, S.C., five bass, 10-11, $956
3rd:        Cameron Mullis, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 9-13, $571
4th:         James Akins, Cumming, Ga., five bass, 9-12, $400
5th:         Kevin Henderson, Honea Path, S.C., five bass, 9-10, $343
6th:         Matthew Guffey, Simpsonville, S.C., five bass, 8-14, $314
7th:         Hunter Bailey, North Augusta, S.C., five bass, 8-0, $285
8th:         Arthur Harris, York, S.C., four bass, 7-12, $257
9th:         Joey Alexander, Salem, N.C., five bass, 7-11, $228
10th:      Heath Pieczynski, Forsyth, Ga., three bass, 7-8, $200

Robbins also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 8 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $215.

After four events, Jason Burroughs of Hodges, South Carolina, leads the Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 976 points, while Jacob Barfield of Conway, South Carolina, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 948 points.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 13-15 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee. Boaters will compete 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 fish for a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.

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, will advance 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 45 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 Pro Circuit 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.