BFL Winning Patterns – July 18-19
A glance at how the weekend’s Phoenix Bass fishing League action unfolded
The weekend of July 18 featured eight Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine events spread across six different divisions. With a pair of double-headers mixed in, it was an action-packed weekend on the water.
Below you can read up on how the winners got it done.
You can click here to see the full schedule and click here or call (270) 252-1000 to enter a tournament.
Great Lakes Division – Mississippi River at La Crosse – July 18
Randy Wieczorek of Buffalo City, Wis., brought a three-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 11 pounds, 9 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event on the Mississippi River. For his victory, Wieczorek earned $5,463.
Wieczorek spent his tournament day fishing in Pool No. 7, throwing a jig and a frog to bring three nice largemouth to the scale.
“I was catching largemouth all the way up to the lock and dam to Pool No. 6,” Wieczorek says. “Most of the fish I caught early came flipping a black and blue jig around wood and in a little bit of eelgrass. I caught my bigger one fishing a frog in the slop.”
Hoosier Division – Ohio River at Tanners Creek – July 18
Boater Mike Seal of Richmond, Ind., brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 11 pounds, 2 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event on the Ohio River. For his victory, Seal earned a total of $4,127.
“I’ve fished around 60 of these events, and it feels good to finally earn a win,” says Seal. “It was a pretty slow day – I threw a worm and had six keeper bites. I didn’t burn more than a ½ gallon of gas.”
Seal’s worm of choice was a 7-inch Berkley PowerBait Power Worm.
LBL Division – Kentucky Lake – July 18
Drew Boggs of Lebanon, Tenn., brought three bass to the scale Saturday weighing 13 pounds, 13 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. For his victory, Boggs earned $5,082.
“I wanted to make a run to fish about an hour south,” says Boggs, who earned his seventh career BFL win. “I made it almost all the way – about five minutes from stopping – when my engine started knocking and I knew something wasn’t right.
“So I sat down in the first area and ended up staying there for a long time,” Boggs continues. “I ended up catching two on a football jig in brush piles and one on a deep crankbait on a ledge.
“By the time I left, my engine was knocking so badly that I was only able to fish two more stops before I made it back. It took quite a while – I had to troll in the last two miles. It was extremely tough, but I was very blessed. I caught nine keepers, and my best five would have been around 22 pounds.”
Michigan Division – Lake St. Clair – July 18
Ryan Hochstetler of Shipshewana, Ind., brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 22 pounds, 9 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event at Lake St. Clair. For his victory, Hochstetler earned a total of $6,972.
The tournament was the first of five events in the Michigan Division presented by A.R.E. Truck Caps.
“I was fishing in Anchor Bay, north of the North Channel,” says Hochstetler, who earned his first career victory in FLW competition. “I was fishing a shallow weedline in 4 to 6 feet of water.”
Hochstetler's key baits were a Duo Realis Spybait and a drop-shot with a Duo Realis V-Tailshad.
“I found these fish two weeks ago, and they stayed there along with the bait,” Hochstetler says. “I put in a lot of hard work for this, so winning feels really good.”
Mississippi Division – Pickwick Lake – July 18
It was a double-header for weekend bass anglers this past weekend in Iuka with the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on Pickwick Lake events. Boater Dayton Scott of Memphis, Tenn., brought a three-bass limit to the scale totaling 12 pounds, 6 ounces to win Saturday’s event and earn $5,575
It was a unique win for 18-year-old Scott, who just wrapped up his High School Fishing career as he fished in his last High School tournament last weekend. Saturday was Scott’s first ever BFL tournament, and the young angler had a special day.
“I thought I’d do okay, but the Good Lord blessed me with an 8½-pounder that helped me get my weight,” Scott says. “Most of my fish came on a swim jig, but the big fish came on a Texas-rigged 7-inch Strike King Cut-R Worm (green pumpkin).
“I noticed in practice that the ledges were getting pounded, so I tried to key on shallow flats where they were pushing bait,” Scott continues. “I fished near State Line Island and caught most of my fish in 6 feet of water.”
Mississippi Division – Pickwick Lake – July 19
Brent Anderson of Kingston Springs, Tenn., brought in three bass weighing 12 pounds, 8 ounces in Sunday’s event to earn his eighth BFL win and the top prize of $5,394.
“My experience guiding on this lake has taught me that I could not win out deep,” says Anderson. “I ran up the river and fished anything that looked good – some water willows, laydowns and stumps.
“I caught them on a worm, a jig, a ChatterBait and a few on a topwater,” Anderson continues. “The key bait was the worm – a plum-colored Zoom Ol’ Monster. I fished anywhere from 6 to 10 feet.”
Piedmont Division – Kerr Lake – July 18-19
It was a double-header for weekend bass anglers this past weekend in Henderson with the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on Kerr Lake events.
Boater Ronnie Baker of Providence Forge, Va., had a very successful weekend, winning both events back-to-back. Baker brought a five-bass limit to the scale totaling 16 pounds even to win Saturday’s event and earn $3,466, then backed it up with another five-bass limit on Sunday – this one totaling 14 pounds, 15 ounces – to earn the win $3,122.
“Winning is hard enough, but to win two in a row against this field of anglers is unbelievable,” says Baker, who had one prior career victory coming into the weekend. “Going back-to-back is a dream come true.
“I stayed mostly in Nutbush Creek both days; I maybe ventured out a mile,” Baker continues. “I rotated through the same four or five spots both days. There is a lot of shad out on the points, and they reload overnight.”
Baker caught the majority of his fish in 12 to 15 feet of water on an unnamed ½-ounce swim jig with a green-pumpkin Zoom Speed Craw, although he also mixed in a ½-ounce football jig on Sunday.
“They bit good until about 10 (a.m.) each day, then it really slowed down,” Baker says. “You could still catch a few after 10, but it was a grind.”