Boater Wyatt Pearman of Hodgenville, Kentucky, and Strike-King co-angler Pop Catalin of Cookeville, Tennessee.

Cookeville’s Catalin Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division

BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. (Sept. 9, 2024) – Boater Wyatt Pearman of Hodgenville, Kentucky, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 37 pounds, 9 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Super Tournament on Dale Hollow Lake Presented by Suzuki Marine, which concluded Sunday. Hosted by Star Point Resort, the tournament was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Music City Division. Pearman earned $4,040 for his victory.

Major tournaments on Dale Hollow have been dominated by forward-facing sonar all season. This tournament was no different. Pearman weighed in two limits of largemouth bass, all caught using a jighead minnow and live sonar.

“I didn’t get to practice any,” he said. “I spend a quite a bit of time down here. So, I knew what was going to go on. I was just targeting bait out a little bit deeper with groups of fish on it and a few single fish.”

Pearman focused on main-lake areas. He fished a handful of areas the first day, eventually spending part of his afternoon scouting for day two. That strategy uncovered what was eventually the winning spot – a completely new spot for Pearman. He scanned it the first afternoon and didn’t fish it. Then the next morning, he returned to some of his known areas. Fishing was pretty slow, which eventually led Pearman to go check that new spot.

“I went through a 10-minute flurry where I caught two over 4 (pounds) and one that was almost 4,” he said. “It just looked right on the map. I had never fished it, and there was nobody fishing it. I figured it was going to be right, looking at how it set up, and sure enough it was.”

After that, Pearman ran to another area where he’d not yet been able to fish due to the wind on day one. This time, he was able to get on it and caught a final keeper to seal the win.

Making accurate presentations and leading the fish precisely were keys to getting bit. But winning was about more than just casting. It was all about making the right moves.

“This week for me it was all about decisions and timing,” he said. “Decision making is what won the tournament, for sure.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:          Wyatt Pearman, Hodgenville, Ky., 10 bass, 37-9, $4,040
2nd:         Isaac Peavyhouse, Jamestown, Tenn., 10 bass, 37-4, $2,145
3rd:         Jacob Woods, Loudon, Tenn., 10 bass, 36-15, $1,348
4th:         Chris Halfacre, Cookeville, Tenn., 10 bass, 35-3, $943
5th:         Nathan Reynolds, Nashville, Tenn., 10 bass, 35-3, $1,308 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
6th:         Tanner Rich, Byrdstown, Tenn., 10 bass, 34-7, $1,258
7th:         Michael Morrison, Stamping Ground, Ky., 10 bass, 32-15, $673
8th:         Garret Moon, Albany, Ky., 10 bass, 3-0, $606
9th:         Lee Sinclair, Albany, Ky., 10 bass, 31-13, $539
10th:       Griffin Heffington, Watertown, Tenn., seven bass, 20-11, $471

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Alex Wright of Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Tanner Rich of Byrdstown, Tennessee, tied for the Berkley Big Bass Boater award with bass that weighed 4 pounds, 10 ounces. They each earned $217 for those catches.

Pop Catalin of Cookeville, Tennessee, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,020 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of three bass to the scale that weighed 10 pounds, 10 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:          Pop Catalin, Cookeville, Tenn., three bass, 10-10, $2,020
2nd:         Jordan Garrett, Jamestown, Tenn., three bass, 8-14, $1,010
3rd:         Adam Radovic, Brecksville, Ohio, two bass, 7-0, $892
4th:         Brandon Crimmons, White House, Tenn., two bass, 6-8, $471
5th:         Shane Overly, Brentwood, Tenn., two bass, 5-11, $404
6th:         Bobby Hannah, Brandon, Miss., two bass, 5-4, $520
7th:         Eric Daniel Moore, Union, Ky., one bass, 3-11, $337
8th:         Dan Basham, Taylorsville, Ky., one bass, 3-10, $303
9th:         Larry Elliott, Enoree, S.C., one bass, 3-9, $269
10th:       Timothy Donayre, Madison, Tenn., two bass, 3-8, $236

Adam Radovic of Brecksville, Ohio, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $217, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 11 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

At the conclusion of the event, Jacob Woods of Loudon, Tennessee, was crowned Fishing Clash Music City Division Angler of the Year (AOY) with 1,344 points and earned the $1,000 payout, while Radovic won the Fishing Clash Music City Division Co-Angler of the Year race and the $500 prize with 1,286 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, have qualified for the Oct. 17-19 BFL Regional tournament on Clarks Hill Lake in Appling, Georgia. 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.