Matoaca’s Crowder claims victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League event at the James River
Virginia’s Wood and Rustin tie atop Strike King co-angler Division
HENRICO, Va. – Boater Kermit Crowder of Matoaca, Virginia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 10 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the James River. The tournament, hosted by Richmond Region Tourism, was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Piedmont Division. Crowder earned $5,830 for his victory.
“My day started off kind of slow,” said Crowder. “I made a run to the Chickahominy (River) and caught two quickly on a frog. I had planned my day to catch them all on a frog, but it just didn’t work like that.”
Crowder said in practice he had success on topwater baits, but his frog bite didn’t work out as expected on tournament day. He switched to a swimjig and found more bites he needed.
“They were just spread out, slow, throughout the day,” said Crowder, who lives 45 minutes from the James River. “There wasn’t one thing that worked and did it all. Whatever was in front of us was what we fished.”
Crowder said late in the day he landed a bass that weighed a little more than five pounds and he estimated his tournament weight to be between 18 and 19 pounds.
“My co-angler said he thought I had the winning weight,” Crowder said. “We started making the hour run back to weigh-in, and I thought then that I might have a shot at winning.”
Crowder’s weight proved to be enough for the win, and he said he was thankful for his eighth Major League Fishing victory.
“I’m not a spring chicken anymore, so this win feels really good,” the 66-year-old Crowder went on to say. “Just to win one running around with these young boys is a hard thing to do.”
The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
- 1st: Kermit Crowder, Matoaca, Va., five bass, 22-10, $5,830
- 2nd: Frank Poirier, North Prince George, Va., five bass, 20-12, $2,305
- 3rd: Keith Roberts, Hurt, Va., five bass, 16-15, $1,536
- 4th: Aaron Dixon, Bel Alton, Md., five bass, 16-2, $1,076
- 5th: Christopher Wingfield, Richmond, Va., five bass, 15-10, $922
- 6th: Dennis Burdette, Pembroke, Va., five bass, 15-8, $1,345 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
- 7th: Ryan Lachniet, Gum Spring, Va., five bass, 15-6, $729
- 7th: Evan White, Roanoke Rapids, N.C., five bass, 15-6, $729
- 9th: Chris Moore, Mechanicsville, Va., five bass, 14-10, $615
- 10th: Jonathan Bailey, Peterstown, W.V., five bass, 14-8, $538
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Billy Clark of Disputanta, Virginia, caught a bass that weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $670.
Rickey Wood of Smithfield, Virginia, and Michael Rustin of Henrico, Virginia, tied atop the Strike King co-angler division Saturday. After contingency awards, Wood earned $2,128 and Rustin won $1,728 after they each brought five bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 15 ounces.
The Top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
- 1st: Rickey Wood, Smithfield, Va., five bass, 12-15, $2,128
- 1st: Michael Rustin, Henrico, Va., five bass, 12-15, $1,728
- 3rd: Sean Tobatto, Greensboro, N.C., five bass, 11-15, $768
- 4th: Timothy Kinder, Fairfax, Va., five bass, 11-9, $688
- 5th: Robert Wedding, Welcome, Md., five bass, 11-5, $661
- 6th: Cornell Badra, Clarksburg, Md., five bass, 11-3, $423
- 7th: Thomas Lang, Virginia Beach, Va., five bass, 11-1, $384
- 8th: Rich Knisely, Disputanta, Va., five bass, 10-15, $326
- 8th: Kyle Whisnant, Gastonia, N.C., four bass, 10-15, $326
- 10th: Jared Sutton, Chester, Va., five bass, 10-11, $269
Rumnea Kelly of Boyds, Maryland, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $335, catching a bass that weighed in at 7 pounds even – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After four events, Evan White of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, leads the BFL Piedmont Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 963 points, while Timothy Kinder of Fairfax, Virginia, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 967 points.
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. 5-7 BFL Regional tournament on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. Boaters will fish 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 compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.
The 2023 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 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X 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.