Langford Wins Two-Day Phoenix Bass Fishing League event on Smith Mountain Lake

Co-angler Victory Goes to Woodlawn’s Hall

HUDDLESTON, Va. (Sept. 21, 2020) Boater Todd Langford of Great Falls, Virginia, brought a two-day total of 10 bass to the scale weighing 33 pounds, 4 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Piedmont Division Super-Tournament at Smith Mountain Lake. For his victory, Langford earned $5,065.

“The best fishermen in the state compete in these events. They’re super tough to win, so when you’re fortunate enough to get one, it feels really great,” said Langford, who earned his second career win. “I didn’t catch a ton of fish, but the ones that I did catch were good ones.”

Langford said that he targeted flats in the mid-lake area that had fish pulled up feeding.

“It got cold this week, which really helped – they were eating,” said Langford. “I caught all of my fish this week on a Steve Robert’s Cheeseburger jig. Steve is a local legend down here – they call him the godfather of jig fishing. He made me a half-dozen of these jigs a few months ago and they were just eating it this weekend.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:

            1st:       Todd Langford of Great Falls, Va., 10 bass, 33-4, $5,065

            2nd:      Bobby Rakes of Max Meadows, Va., 10 bass, 32-5, $2,532

            3rd:       Bryan Humphreys of Lewisburg, W.Va., nine bass, 28-5, $1,687

            4th:       Travis Christian of Riner, Va., 10 bass, 27-7, $1,182

            5th:       Trevis Towe of Daleville, Va., 10 bass, 26-13, $1,013

            6th:       Ben Reynolds of Callands, Va., 10 bass, 25-9, $929

            7th:       Tyler Trent of Nathalie, Va., 10 bass, 24-13, $844

            8th:       David Williams of Maiden, N.C., 10 bass, 23-11, $1,260

            9th:       Martin Villa of Charlottesville, Va., seven bass, 20-12, $675

            10th:     Derik Hudson of Concord, Va., 10 bass, 19-2, $791

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Mike Miller of Trinity, North Carolina, earned the day’s $311 Boater Big Bass award with a 5-pound, 2-ounce bass.

Chad Pilson of Bassett, Virginia, took home an extra $500 as the highest finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.

Matt Hall of Woodlawn, Virginia, earned the win in the Co-angler Division Saturday after catching a two-day total of seven bass weighing 22 pounds, 14 ounces. Hall earned $2,466 for his victory.

The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:

            1st:       Matt Hall of Woodlawn, Va., seven bass, 22-14, $2,466

            2nd:      Tim Garner of Margo, Va., nine bass, 22-2, $1,233

            3rd:       James Roten of West Jefferson, N.C., eight bass, 16-8, $823

            4th:       David Mills of Wirtz, Va., five bass, 16-1, $723

            5th:       Jacob Yelton of Christiansburg, Va., six bass, 15-2, $493

            6th:       Jacob Zimmerman of Warrenton, Va., five bass, 12-10, $452

            7th:       Brandon McCallister of Wytheville, Va., six bass, 11-7, $411

            8th:       Chris Jackson of Marshall, Va., three bass, 9-13, $370

            9th:       Terry Graham of Leesburg, Va., three bass, 9-0, $477

            10th:     Adam Lester of Huddleston, Va., four bass, 8-13, $288

Graham earned the event’s Co-angler Big Bass Award of $148 with, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 6 ounces.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on Smith Mountain Lake was the fifth and final qualifying event in the 2020 Piedmont Division.

Now the top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Piedmont Division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 22-24 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia, hosted by the Gainesville Convention & Visitors Bureau. Boaters will compete for a $60,000 prize package, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new 18-foot Phoenix bass boat with a 200-horsepower outboard.

The 2020 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 co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six 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 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American will be held Nov. 11-13 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina and is hosted by Visit Anderson. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division earn priority entry into the FLW Series, the pathway to the FLW Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour, where top pros compete with no entry fees.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on FLW’s social media outlets at FacebookTwitterInstagram, and YouTube.