Day: August 31, 2020, The National Angler

Alabama’s Butler Wins Two-Day Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event presented by Fish-Intel on Lake Guntersville

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. (Aug. 31, 2020) – Boater Josh Butler of Hayden, Alabama, brought a two-day total of 10 bass to the scale this weekend weighing 32 pounds, 3 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Choo Choo Division Super-Tournament at Lake Guntersville presented by Fish-Intel. Butler earned a total of $15,533 for his victory, including the lucrative $7,000 FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency award.

“Of the 10 fish that I weighed in, I caught them on probably six different baits,” said Butler, who earned his first career victory in FLW competition. “I had a smorgasbord. I caught them on a crankbait, a spoon, a drop-shot rig, a shaky-head rig and a swimbait. Total junk fishing.”

Butler said that he fished down-lake, covering 8 to 10 different spots from the State Park down to the dam.

“I caught them all out deep, 18 to 25 foot,” Butler said. “That’s how I love to fish – I live and die out deep. I’ve been so close in the past – a couple of top-3 finishes, a bunch of top-5s, so I’m so glad to finally get the monkey off my back and earn a win.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:

1^st: Josh Butler of Hayden, Ala., 10 bass, 32-3, $15,533

2^nd: Rusty Cooper of Gurley, Ala., 10 bass, 31-13, $3,766

3^rd: Jay Fagan of Lebanon, Tenn., 10 bass, 30-14, $2,510

4^th: Kyle Pridgen of Panama City, Fla., 10 bass, 30-6, $1,758

5^th: Ryan Salzman of Huntsville, Ala., 10 bass, 29-12, $2,669

6^th: Jordan Wiggins of Cullman, Ala., 10 bass, 29-11, $1,381

7^th: Ethan Franklin of Empire, Ala., nine bass, 29-9, $1,255

8^th: Derek Remitz of Grant, Ala., 10 bass, 28-5, $1,130

9^th: Jim Leary of Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 28-4, $1,004

10^th: Jeff Cannon of Douglasville, Ga., 10 bass, 27-14, $879

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Salzman brought a 7-pound, 10-ounce largemouth bass to the scale to win the Boater Big Bass award of $1,162.

Butler took home an extra $7,000 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.

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Benjamin Fouts of Morehead, Kentucky, won the Co-angler Division and $3,766 Saturday after catching a two-day total of nine bass weighing 23 pounds, 10 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:

1^st: Benjamin Fouts of Morehead, Ky., nine bass, 23-10, $3,766

2^nd: Hayden O’Barr of Gurley, Ala., 10 bass, 21-10, $2,383

3^rd: Luke Mason of Somerville, Ala., eight bass, 21-9, $1,255

4^th: Bryce Morrison of Collierville, Tenn., seven bass, 20-9, $879

5^th: Gage Tankersley of Dayton, Tenn., eight bass, 19-8, $753

6^th: Robert Barnett of Flintstone, Ga., eight bass, 18-11, $691

7^th: Reese Petitti of Birmingham, Ala., seven bass, 17-10, $628

8^th: Kevin Lankford of Hollywood, Ala., seven bass, 17-2, $565

9^th: Jake Stines of Plant City, Fla., seven bass, 15-15, $502

10^th: Randy Hill of Athens, Ala., seven bass, 15-12, $439

Jon Lawson of Cartersville, Georgia, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 12 ounces. The catch earned him the Co-angler Big Bass award and added $581 to his winnings.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Super-Tournament on Lake Guntersville presented by Fish-Intel was hosted by the Marshall County Convention & Visitors Bureau. It was the fifth and final qualifying event in the 2020 Choo Choo Division.

Now the top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Choo Choo Division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will advance to the Oct. 16-18 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Lake Cherokee in Jefferson City, Tennessee, hosted by the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce. 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 April 30 through May 2 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.

New York’s Leadbeater Wins Two-Day Phoenix Bass Fishing League event on Chesapeake Bay

NORTH EAST, Md. (Aug. 31, 2020) Boater Richard Leadbeater of Haddon Heights, New York, brought a two-day total of 10 bass to the scale weighing 32 pounds, 10 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Northeast Division Super-Tournament at the Chesapeake Bay. For his victory, Leadbeater earned $4,122 for his efforts.

“I’m so pumped – this feels unreal,” said Leadbetter, who was fishing in his first career event as a BFL boater. “I was fishing on the south end of a big grass flat, for the most part. I also mixed in a little bit of backwater fishing.

“Timing the tide was really the key,” Leadbetter continued. “I made some good adjustments throughout the day – knowing when the time was right to get out of certain areas and into others.”

Leadbetter said that he caught his fish on a Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer and a War Eagle spinnerbait.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:

1^st: Richard Leadbeater of Haddon Heights, N.Y, 10 bass, 32-10, $4,122

2^nd: Zachary Page of Smyrna, Del., 10 bass, 24-4, $2,061

3^rd: Harry Nurk of Elkton, Md., eight bass, 24-2, $1,374

4^th: Luke Shrader of Barrington, N.J., 10 bass, 23-3, $962

5^th: Marcus Griffin of Northeast, Md., seven bass, 19-0, $824

6^th: Anthony Cicero III of Elizabethtown, Pa., seven bass, 18-15, $756

7^th: Steven Wiseman of Bryans Road, Md., seven bass, 18-13, $687

8^th: Barton Wines of Marshall, Va., seven bass, 18-8, $618

9^th: Al Fiorille of Mount Airy, Md., nine bass, 18-1, $550

10^th: Ryan Bauman of Fleetwood, Pa., six bass, 18-0, $938

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Bauman earned the day’s $457 Boater Big Bass award with a 6-pound, 1-ounce bass.

Joseph Thompson of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, 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.

Moo Bae of West Friendship, Maryland, earned the win in the Co-angler Division Saturday after catching a two-day total of six bass weighing 15 pounds, 8 ounces. Bae earned $2,061 for his victory.

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The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:

1^st: Moo Bae of West Friendship, Md., six bass, 15-8, $2,061

2^nd: Henry McKee of Haddon Heights, N.J., six bass, 14-10, $1,260

3^rd: Adam Simpson of Gaithersburg, Md., four bass, 10-7, $686

4^th: Tim Nichols of Pittsgrove, N.J., four bass, 9-9, $481

5^th: Kenny Ibberson of Lindenwold, N.J., three bass, 8-7, $412

6^th: Travis Miller of Colchester, Conn., two bass, 7-3, $578

7^th: Chris Sanno of Landisburg, Pa., two bass, 6-4, $344

8^th: Chad McDonald of Berkeley Springs, W. Va., three bass, 6-0, $309

9^th: Fred Serge of Lamberville, N.J., two bass, 5-4, $275

10^th: Aaron Wilkie of North Bennington, Vt., two bass, 4-7, $740

McKee earned the event’s Co-angler Big Bass Award of $229 with, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds even.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on the Chesapeake Bay was the fifth and final qualifying event in the 2020 Northeast Division.

Now the top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Northeast Division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will advance to the Oct. 8-10 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on the James River in Richmond, Virginia, hosted by Richmond Region Tourism. 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 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.

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