Strike King Co-angler Victory Goes to Murfreesboro’s Haraguchi

COUNCE, Tenn. (Oct. 17, 2022) – Boater Timothy Kelley of Irmo, South Carolina, brought a three-day total of 12 bass to the scale weighing 42 pounds, 13 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regional Event on Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee. For his victory, Kelley earned $60,868, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000. Kelley also received automatic entry into the 2023 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American Championship, May 31-June 2, at Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina.

The South Carolina angler said he found a spot that had produced a couple 5-pound bass over a few days of practice fishing, so he decided to stick to that area during the tournament.

“I ran straight to that spot on the first day of the tournament, sat the boat on my waypoint and sat there for 8½ hours,” Kelley said. “I relied heavily on my Minn Kota Talon Shallow Water Anchorsto hold the boat position steady to target biting bass.”

Kelley said he stayed near a bluff ledge on the edge of a four-foot flat that was holding palm-sized gizzard shad. The baitfish gathered on an underwater point near the steep drop off.

“About every 45 minutes to an hour, I’d throw my topwater up there and the bass would just blow up on it,” Kelley said. “I knew what I was going to be doing for the next two days.”

Kelley said he returned to the same spot on the second day of the tournament, and while the bites were few and far between, they were quality ones. He spent all day picking apart the area with one bait – an Ima Little Stik, a herring-style, pencil-popper bait that Kelley said is popular back home on South Carolina fisheries.

“After the second day when I jumped up to fifth place and left the fish biting, I told my co-angler, ‘Things are about to get interesting,’” Kelley said. “Sure enough, on the last day I had the limit I weighed in by 9:30.”

The top six boaters that qualified for the 2023 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were:

1st:          Timothy Kelley, Irmo, S.C., 12 bass, 42-13, $60,868
2nd:        Drew Boggs, Lebanon, Tenn., 15 bass, 41-14, $10,668
3rd:        Tony Eckler, Lebanon, Tenn., 14 bass, 37-4, $5,836
4th:         Edward Gettys, Paris, Tenn., 13 bass, 37-3, $3,400 (including $500 Phoenix MLF contingency bonus)
5th:         Robert Holland, Columbia, S.C., 11 bass, 36-4, $2,934
6th:         Jason Lambert, Michie, Tenn., 13 bass, 36-0, $1,740

Rounding out the top 10 boaters were:

7th:         Ryan Deal, Evansville, Ind., 13 bass, 34-11, $1,547
8th:         Stu Moyer, Hardin, Ky., 12 bass, 33-15, $1,353
9th:         Carl Norris, Clarkson, Ky., 11 bass, 29-10, $1,160
10th:      Joshua Newsome, Rock Bridge, Tenn., 10 bass, 27-13, $1,063

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The top four boaters from each division that earned a $1,000 bonus for placing highest in the event were:

Bama:                     Tommy Gunn, Cusseta, Ala., 12th Place, $1,000
LBL:                       Drew Boggs, Lebanon, Tenn., 2nd Place, $1,000
Music City:            Tony Eckler, Lebanon, Tenn., 3rd Place, $1,000
South Carolina:      Robert Holland, Columbia, S.C., 5th Place, $1,000

Gettys took home an extra $500 as the highest finishing Phoenix MLF Bonus member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the Phoenix MLF Bonus contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.

Gary Haraguchi of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, weighed in 11 bass over three days totaling 29 pounds, 2 ounces to win the top Strike King co-angler prize package of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The top six Strike King co-anglers that qualified for the 2023 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were:

1^st:           Gary Haraguchi, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 11 bass, 29-2, $50,000
2^nd:          Brian Umstead, New Brockton, Ala., seven bass, 20-5, $5,346
3^rd:          Barry Gunter, Trafalgar, Ind., eight bass, 20-4, $3,020
4^th:           Bobby Simmons, Chancellor, Ala., seven bass, 18-14, $1,454
5^th:           William Chadick, Auburn, Ala., seven bass, 18-1, $969
6^th:           Bullet Helms, Charlotte, N.C., seven bass, 17-13, $1,372

Rounding out the top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

7^th:           Mike Langdale, Sycamore, Ga., seven bass, 17-12, $975
8^th:           Damon Brown, Mayfield, Ky., eight bass, 17-4, $678
9^th:           Philip Wright, Bedford, Ky., seven bass, 16-10, $581
10^th:        Wayne Crouch, Jamestown, Tenn., five bass, 15-14, $1,033

The top four Strike King Co-anglers from each division that earned a $500 bonus for placing highest in the event were:

Bama:                     Brian Umstead, New Brockton, Ala., 2nd Place, $500
LBL:                       Barry Gunter, Trafalgar, Ind.., 3rd Place, $500
Music City:             Wayne Crouch, Jamestown, Tenn., 10th Place, $500
South Carolina:       William Chadick, Auburn, Ala., 5th Place $500

The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regional Tournament on Pickwick Lake was hosted by the Hardin County Convention and Visitors Bureau. It featured the top pros and Strike King co-anglers from the Bama, LBL, Music City and South Carolina divisions.

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, advanced 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 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 Invitationals 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.