Fitzpatrick by Ounces at Table Rock
Hays makes history as a co-angler in Regional Championship
Boater Roger Fitzpatrick of Eldon, Missouri, brought a three-day total of 15 bass to the scale weighing 38 pounds, 4 ounces to win the no-entry fee Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Regional Championship at Table Rock Lake. For his victory, Fitzpatrick earned $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and automatic entry into the 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American Championship, June 3-5, at Douglas Lake in Dandridge, Tennessee.
“I caught most of my fish on a 1-ounce Omega Football Jig,” said Fitzpatrick. “The area I was fishing was slick, with no wood or rock – the only thing that jig hung on was the jaw of the bass I kept pulling out.”
Fitzpatrick said the fish in his honey hole were abundant.
“My co-angler and I got a limit within a half hour on the spot on day one,” said Fitzpatrick. “The second and third day it took me until about 11 a.m. to get a limit. I culled seven or eight times on the final day, but I was only culling ounces – I told her I’d already made the All-American, but the only chance for a win was to go shallow and catch a couple big ones.
“On the second dock, I flipped a ½-ounce Omega Flippin’ Jig and caught a 4-pounder and then a 3-pounder.”
Fitzpatrick said those two fish were the difference makers in his 4-ounce victory.
“This is amazing,” said Fitzpatrick. “God’s got a plan and He is so good.”
The top six boaters that qualified for 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American:
1st: Roger Fitzpatrick of Eldon, Mo., 15 bass, 38-4, $60,000
2nd: Shane Long of Willard, Mo., 15 bass, 38-0, $10,000
3rd: Brandon Booth of Bryan, Texas, 15 bass, 31-8, $5,000
4th: Eric Olliverson of Lampe, Mo., 12 bass, 31-7, $3,000
5th: Josh Busby of Rogersville, Mo., 13 bass, 30-14, $2,500
6th: Hunter Litchfield of Macomb, Ill., 15 bass, 29-10, $1,800
Rounding out the top 12 boaters:
7th: Beau Browning of Hot Springs, Ark., 12 bass, 28-4, $1,600
8th: Richard Ballard of Sulphur, La., 112 bass, 27-7, $1,400
9th: Mike Roller of Purdy, Mo., 12 bass, 26-14, $1,200
10th: Audie Prewitt, Jr. of Benton, Ark., 13 bass, 26-10, $1,000
11th: Brad Morgan of Ashdown, Ark., 11 bass, 25-14, $1,000
12th: Jared Miller of Norman, Okla., 10 bass, 22-3, 1,200
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Busby 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.
Hays makes history
Melinda Hays of Hot Springs, Arkansas became the first woman to win a Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship in FLW history. Hays weighed 10 bass over three days totaling 22 pounds, 4 ounces and took home the top co-angler prize package of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard. Hays will be only the fourth female angler in FLW history to qualify for or compete in the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American.
The top six co-anglers that qualified for the 2021 All-American:
1st: Melinda Hays of Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 22-4, $50,000
2nd: Cedric Jackson of Sicily Island, La., eight bass, 18-3, $5,000
3rd: Chase Fitzpatrick of Eldon, Mo., seven bass, 17-1, $2,500
4th: Ken Coats of Claremore, Okla., six bass, 16-14, $1,500
5th: Jake Elledge of Broken Arrow, Okla., six bass, 16-3, $1,000
6th: Kanon Harmon of Benton, Ark., seven bass, 16-0, $900
Rounding out the top 12 co-anglers:
7th: Jason Swanson of Waterloo, Iowa, seven bass, 15-2, $800
8th: Troy Sippl of Sussex, Wis., six bass, 13-14, $700
9th: Josh Castleberry of Jessieville, Ark., six bass, 13-2, $600
10th: Jonathan Jones of Grain Valley, Mo., three bass, 11-4, $500
11th: Troy Carrell of Woodville, Texas, five bass, 10-14, $500
12th: Bradley Thacher of Preston, Minn., four bass, 10-2, $500
The Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Regional Championship on Table Rock Lake was hosted by ExploreBranson.com. It featured the top pros and co-anglers from the Arkie (Arkansas), Cowboy (Texas), Great Lakes (Wisconsin) and Okie (Oklahoma) divisions.