Co-angler Victory Goes to Miami’s Yang

GROVE, Okla. (Oct. 5, 2020) Boater John Pilcher of Kansas, Oklahoma, brought a two-day total of 10 bass to the scale weighing 32 pounds, 1 ounce to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Okie Division Super-Tournament at Grand Lake. For his victory, Pilcher earned $7,922.

This was the fifth and final qualifying event in the 2020 Okie Division and was hosted by the City of Grove.

“The main thing was just sticking with it,” said Pilcher. “We didn’t catch much until about noon on Sunday, when the sun came out. It was pretty slow starting, so we ran 40 to 50 different spots and I lost a couple fish at the end, but we finished well.”

Pilcher said he mainly fished off-shore brush flats and ledges to secure his first Phoenix Bass Fishing League win.

“I fished from mid-lake down to the dam, in about 12- to 20-feet-deep,” Pilcher continued. “I caught most of my fish on a ¾-ounce Bass X Jig, a River2Sea Whopper Plopper and a buzzbait.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:

            1^st:       John Pilcher of Kansas, Okla., 10 bass, 32-1, $7,922

            2^nd:      Ed Barton of Vian, Okla., 10 bass, 31-15, $3,461

            3^rd:       Crawford Brantley of Grove, Okla., 10 bass, 31-14, $3,826

            4^th:       Toby Hartsell of Afton, Okla., 10 bass, 30-1, $1,615

            5^th:       Brian Dossey of Okmulgee, Okla., 10 bass, 29-11, $1,384

            6^th:       Lance Williams of Billings, Mo., 10 bass, 27-3, $1,269

            7^th:       Andy Newcomb of Camdenton, Mo., 10 bass, 26-14, $1,154

            8^th:       Chris Torkleson of Sand Springs, Okla., 10 bass, 26-10, $1,038

            9^th:       Shawn Kowal of Linn Creek, Mo., 10 bass, 26-1, $923

            10^th:     Christopher Johnson of Farmington, Ark., 10 bass, 26-0, $808

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Brantley earned the day’s $1,020 Boater Big Bass award with a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass and 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.

Lang Yang of Miami, Oklahoma, earned the win in the Co-angler Division Sunday after catching a two-day total of nine bass weighing 25 pounds, 11 ounces. Yang earned $3,461 for his victory.

The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:

            1^st:       Lang Yang of Miami, Okla., nine bass, 25-11, $3,461

            2^nd:      Matthew Cesar of Crane, Mo., eight bass, 19-6, $1,730

            3^rd:       Darin Comstock of Denison, Texas, eight bass, 18-7, $1,154

            4^th:       Sam Bremmerkamp of Joplin, Mo., eight bass, 17-8, $808

            5^th:       Harold Frazier of Okmulgee, Okla., eight bass, 16-15, $692

            6^th:       Chad Schmidt of Clearwater, Kan., seven bass, 16-6, $635

            7^th:       James Boston of Cabot, Ark., eight bass, 15-12, $577

            8^th:       Cord Colwell of Pryor, Okla., nine bass, 15-12, $519

            9^th:       Damon Duncan of Kansas, Okla., seven bass, 15-7, $461

            10^th:     Chris Bouchikas of Oktaha, Okla., eight bass, 15-0, $404

Steven McEver of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, earned the event’s Co-angler Big Bass Award of $510 with a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 4 ounces.

Now the top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Okie Division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will advance to the Oct. 22-24 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri, hosted by ExploreBranson.com. 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.