Meridianville’s McNeil Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division

GADSDEN, Ala. (July 22, 2024) – Boater John Kellett of Odenville, Alabama, caught a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 15 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Neely Henry Lake. Hosted by the City of Gadsden, the tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Bama Division. Kellett earned $3,926 for his victory.

Neely Henry is traditionally a shallow-water angler’s kind of fishery, but in summer, the fish can be a tad stingy – until the conditions are right.

Kellett experienced a “switch” first hand during the BFL after cloudy, rainy conditions took over.

“I didn’t have but one 15-ounce fish in the boat at 10 this morning (Saturday),” he said. “Once the rain started coming in, I could feel the barometric pressure change.”

Kellett figured out he could run the same water over again in the rain and catch fish that were shut down in the morning.

“The fish were there. They just weren’t biting (in the morning),” he said. “Once I started going back through again, I started catching them.”

Kellett estimates he landed 15 to 20 keepers in a two-hour window. He caught them on a mix of baits, including a swim jig, a frog and a Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer. He even caught one fish flipping.

“It was just a little bit of everything,” Kellett said. “I was just running around as much as I could, spot hopping. It was a one-fish-here-one-fish-there kind of deal. I was just focusing on grass.”

Kellett ran about a dozen grass spots. He’d spend five minutes in an area, then pull up and run to the next, repeating the process throughout the heart of the day.

“I knew they were there. I mean, it was some of my favorite spots,” he said. “I just kept running them over and over, and they just started eating. I just put my head down and grinded, really.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        John Kellett, Odenville, Ala., five bass, 14-15, $3,926
2nd:       Kyle Dorsett, Springville, Ala., five bass, 13-14, $1,963
3rd:       Kris Colley, Ragland, Ala., five bass, 13-12, $1,309
4th:        Harry Peyton II, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 13-3, $1,416 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
5th:        Grant Williamson, Equality, Ala., five bass, 13-0, $785
6th:        Robert Robinson, Mobile, Ala., five bass, 12-13, $1,250
7th:        Blake Davenport, Jemison, Ala., five bass, 12-8, $654
8th:        Stihl Smith, Alexander, Ala., five bass, 12-7, $589
9th:        Clayton Barnes, Clanton, Ala., five bass, 12-1, $523
10th:     Austin Shields, Lake View, Ala., five bass, 11-11, $758

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Robert Robinson of Mobile, Alabama, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $530.

Larry McNeil of Meridianville, Alabama, won the Strike King co-angler division and $1,963 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 14 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:        Larry McNeil, Meridianville, Ala., five bass, 11-14, $1,963
2nd:       Reid Hale, Jasper, Ala., five bass, 10-6, $981
3rd:       Marcus Corbett, Anniston, Ala., five bass, 10-5, $655
4th:        Colt Hinson, Andalusia, Ala., five bass, 10-2, $458
5th:        Michael Stevenson, Leitchfield, Ky., five bass, 9-8, $393
6th:        John Burt Jr., Montgomery, Ala., five bass, 9-5, $608
6th:        Kade Lucas, Reform, Ala., five bass, 9-5, $343
8th:        Mark Black, Selma, Ala., five bass, 9-3, $278
8th:        Daniel Arnberg, Auburn, Ala., five bass, 9-3, $278
10th:     Thomas Eyler, Ashford, Ala., five bass, 8-13, $229

John Burt Jr. of Montgomery, Alabama, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $265, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 1 ounce – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Kyle Dorsett of Springville, Alabama, leads the Fishing Clash Bama Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 978 points, while Reid Hale of Jasper, Alabama, leads the Fishing Clash Bama Division Co-angler of the Year race with 942 points.

The next event for BFL Bama Division anglers will be held Sept. 14-15, at the Alabama River in Prattville, Alabama. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional tournament on Santee Cooper Lakes in Clarendon County, South Carolina. 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.

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.