LEESBURG, Fla. (Jan. 11, 2021) – Eric Panzironi of Longwood, Florida, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 24 pounds, 12 ounces to win the 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine at Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida. Panzironi earned $6,000 for his victory.
“I stayed on Harris all day, which was a short run for me but it worked out nicely,” said Panzironi. “I caught all my fish on a black-colored Zoom Magnum Trick Worm in 10 to 12 feet of mostly dirty water.
“The real key to the victory was the Garmin LiveScope. I caught every single one of my fish directly beneath my boat and I could see them all. I dropped down to them and they’d eat it – it was amazing.”
Panzaroni said he was excited to walk away with a win at the first tournament of the year for the Gator division.
“It’s awesome – I love it,” he said. “To start off 2021 with a win at my first event – I definitely have no regrets.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:
1st: Eric Panzironi of Longwood, Fla., five bass, 24-12, $6,000
2nd: Peter Thliveros of Saint Augustine, Fla., five bass, 22-7, $3,000
3rd: Joshua Parry of Saint Johns, Fla., five bass, 20-11, $3,000
4th: Jonathan Semento of Okahumpka, Fla., five bass, 19-8, $1,900 (includes $500 Phoenix Bonus)
5th: Tyler Sheppard of Jacksonville, Fla., five bass, 19-7, $1,200
6th: Grady Johnson of Saint Cloud, Fla., five bass, 18-7, $1,100
7th: Bill Troyer of Sarasota, Fla., five bass, 17-11, $1,000
8th: Robert Crosnoe of Inverness, Fla., five bass, 17-10, $900
9th: Grady Maynard of Umatilla, Fla., five bass, 17-4, $800
10th: McCoy (Simon) Borja of Fruitland Park, Fla., five bass, 16-9, $700
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Parry also caught the largest bass in the Boater Division, a 10-pound, 2-ounce largemouth, which was good for the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $1,000.
Semento took home an extra $500 as the highest finishing Phoenix MLF BIG5 Contingency 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 Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.
Mike Garrett of Pensacola, Florida, won the Co-angler Division and $3,000 Saturday after catching a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 3 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:
1st: Mike Garrett of Pensacola, Fla., five bass, 22-3, $3,000
2nd: Shaun Ireland of Lake Worth, Fla., five bass, 17-4, $1,500
3rd: Aymon Wilcox of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., five bass, 17-3, $1,000
4th: Justin Brown of Frostproof, Fla., five bass, 16-6, $900
5th: Bradley Phillips of Alachua, Fla., five bass, 15-11, $600
6th: Justin Bun of Lake Alfred, Fla., five bass, 15-0, $550
7th: Joshua Dunn of Mulberry, Fla., five bass, 14-7, $500
8th: Jason Cooper of Shelbyville, Tenn., five bass, 14-0, $450
9th: Bobby McMullin of Pevely, Mo., five bass, 13-12, $400
10th: Jake Stines of Plant City, Fla., five bass, 12-8, $350
Luke Cocke of Valdosta, Georgia caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 8 pounds, 2 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $500.
The 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on the Harris Chain of Lakes was hosted by Visit Lake County, FL.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Gator Division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 21-23 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on the St. Johns River in Palatka, Florida, hosted by the Putnam County Tourist Development Council. 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 Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury s outboard.
The 2021 MLF 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.
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