Fogerty Claims Strike King Co-Angler Division

BUCHANAN, Tenn. (Sept. 12, 2022) – Boater Richard Meuth of Henderson, Kentucky, caught 10 bass weighing 30 pounds, 8 ounces, to win the two-day MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on Kentucky-Barkley Lake s in Buchanan, Tennessee. The tournament, hosted by the Henry County Tourism Authority, was the fifth and final regular-season event for the Bass Fishing League LBL Division. Meuth earned $5,460 for his victory.

Meuth said he had a good practice near Paris and found areas that were holding fish keying on bait and cover. He said he fished water stretching five miles in both directions of takeoff on the first day of competition.

“I caught 10 to 12 keepers Saturday and had a really good day,” Meuth said. “I didn’t lose any fish and fished really clean.

“However, Sunday morning, the baitfish were gone,” Meuth added. “I went to my spots and they were just gone.”

Meuth said he changed his approach and headed north toward the dam and focused on areas he was familiar with. He utilized a shaky-head rig and jigs, and targeted brush piles, rock piles and stumps with baitfish in 8 to 20 feet of water. Meuth said finding fish on his Humminbird electronics and Garmin Livescope were key to his success.

“I had a five-keeper bite day there and was blessed enough to put all five of them in the boat,” Meuth said.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Richard Meuth, Henderson, Ky., 10 bass, 30-8, $5,460
2nd:        Keith Amerson, Bethel Springs, Tenn., nine bass, 29-12, $2,730
3rd:        Ramie Colson Jr., Cadiz, Ky., eight bass, 25-11, $1,820
4th:         Carl Norris, Clarkson, Ky., seven bass, 24-13, $1,274
5th:         Steve Freeman, Eddyville, Ky., seven bass, 24-6, $1,392
6th:         Lance Freeman, Eddyville, Ky., eight bass, 23-8, $1,201
7th:         Kevin Meunier, Lamar, Ind., six bass, 22-12, $1,622
8th:         Lloyd Pickett Jr., Bartlett, Tenn., eight bass, 21-1, $819
9th:         Dan Martin, Elmhurst, Ill, Ind., eight bass, 20-13, $728
10th:      Edward Gettys, Paris, Tenn., seven bass, 19-7, $637

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Kevin Meunier of Lamar, Indiana, caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 5 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – to earn the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $712.

Colin Fogerty of Memphis, Tennessee, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $3,086 Sunday after catching a two-day total of four bass weighing 16 pounds, 6 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

1st:          Colin Fogerty, Memphis, Tenn., four bass, 16-6, $3,086
2nd:        Charlie Kuebler, Jasper, Ind., five bass, 13-9, $1,365
3rd:        Ronald Franks, Hermitage, Tenn., five bass, 12-15, $909
4th:         Brant Gish, Evansville, Ind. four bass, 12-13, $937
5th:         Bradley Miller, Guthrie, Ky., four bass, 10-2, $546
6th:         Chanler Fleetwood, Vallonia, Ind., four bass, 9-11, $501
7th:         Ryan Ridgeway, Thompsonville, Ill., three bass, 8-7, $455
8th:         Tim Burke, Petersburg, Ky., three bass, 8-2, $410
9th:         Robert Burnette, Madisonville, Ky., two bass, 7-2, $564
10th:      Brady Kendall, Paducah, Ky., three bass, 6-11, $469

Fogerty also caught the largest bass in the Strike King Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 2 ounces. The catch earned him the Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $356.

With the regular season now complete, boater Jordan Hartman of Benton, Kentucky, won the 2022 Bass Fishing League LBL Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with a five-event total of 1,268 points to earn the $1,000 boater AOY award. Pat Rapp of Hawesville, Kentucky, won the 2022 Strike King Co-Angler LBL Division AOY race with 1,243 points and earned the $500 Strike King Co-angler of the Year award.

Now, the top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will advance to compete 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.