Hamilton Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division

HENDERSON, N.C. (Sept. 12, 2022) – Boater David Wright of Lexington, North Carolina, caught 10 bass weighing 29 pounds, 1 ounce, to win the two-day MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina. The tournament, hosted by Vance County Tourism, was the fifth and final regular-season event for the Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division. Wright earned $8,448 for his victory, including the lucrative $2,500 Phoenix MLF5 contingency bonus.

“What normally happens on Kerr this time of year is you find suspending fish,” said Wright, who notched his 14^th career BFL win. “And a lot of fish can be caught suspended, but they’re all 1½-pounds or 2-pounders. So, I decided I would fish the way I’ve always fished, and that’s around cover.

Wright said the majority of his bass fell for a shaky-head, but he also caught a few on a drop-shot rig and a Zoom Trick Worm. He focused on finding bait in the mid-lake area that was holding close to the bottom, on breaks in 12 to 20 feet of water.

“Most of my friends out there were catching 2-pounders, so I moved just a bit more shallow and was catching 3-pounders, and that was the difference,” Wright said. “Of course, they caught a lot more than I did, but I was catching just a little bit bigger fish.

“I’ve been bass fishing for 45 years, and I still enjoy it about as much as I did when I started this,” Wright added.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          David Wright, Lexington, N.C., 10 bass, 29-1, $8,448 (includes $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:        Tyler Trent, Nathalie, Va., eight bass, 24-7, $2,824
3rd:        Tommy Jones, Salisbury, N.C., nine bass, 22-6, $2,082
4th:         Jeffrey Davis, Raleigh, N.C., 10 bass, 22-3, $1,318
5th:         Derik Hudson, Concord, Va., 10 bass, 21-11, $1,630
6th:         Aaron Digh, Denver, N.C., 10 bass, 20-9, $1,035
7th:         Robert Walser, Lexington, N.C., eight bass, 19-7, $1,691
8th:         Ryan McGee, Battleboro, N.C., eight bass, 18-13, $847
9th:         Brandon Pritchett, Goode, Va., eight bass, 18-11, $753
10th:      Michael Birr, Franklinton, N.C., nine bass, 17-7, $659

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Robert Walser of Lexington, North Carolina, caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 8 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – to earn the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $750.

Craig Hamilton of Salisbury, North Carolina, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,924 Sunday after catching a two-day total of six bass weighing 16 pounds, 6 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

1st:          Craig Hamilton, Salisbury, N.C., six bass, 16-6, $2,924
2nd:        Mekye Barnes, Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 13-3, $1,612
3rd:        Curtis Vick, Boydton, Va., five bass, 12-9, $1,140
4th:         Sean Tobatto, Greensboro, N.C., seven bass, 12-3, $659
5th:         Roy Burgess, Newton, N.C., three bass, 9-3, $565
6th:         Jerry Pruitt, Vale, N.C., four bass, 8-7, $518
7th:         Jay Kleinfeld, Winston Salem, N.C., four bass, 8-1, $471
8th:         Gregory Haverlock, Concord, N.C., three bass, 7-15, $799
9th:         Jon Mitchell, Wendell, N.C., four bass, 7-11, $377
10th:      Alex Ortiz, Asheboro, N.C., three bass, 7-9, $329

Gregory Haverlock of Concord, North Carolina, caught the largest bass in the Strike King Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 1 ounce. The catch earned him the Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $375.

With the regular season now complete, boater Aaron Digh of Denver, North Carolina, won the 2022 Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with a five-event total of 1,318 points to earn the $1,000 boater AOY award. Trevor Wright of Chesterfield, Virginia, won the 2022 Strike King Co-Angler North Carolina Division AOY race with 1,234 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. 20-22 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on the James River in Richmond, Virginia. 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.