Elgin’s Richardson Bests Field at Two-Day Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament on Lake Wateree

Jackson’s Robbins Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division

CAMDEN, S.C. – Boater Michael Richardson of Elgin, South Carolina, caught 10 bass weighing 24 pounds, 6 ounces, to win the two-day MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Wateree in Camden, South Carolina. The tournament was the fifth and final regular-season event for the Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division. Richardson earned $4,668 for his victory.

“I started out Saturday morning with a ¼-ounce shaky-head with a green pumpkin worm, as well as a junebug worm,” Richardson said. “I caught a 4 ½-pounder under one of the docks that put me into second place Saturday.”

Richardson said he targeted mid-lake docks and seawalls in two to three feet of water to catch his winning stringers.

“On Sunday we had cloud cover and wind, and it hurt my bite a little bit,” Richardson said. “It stayed cloudy until 11:30 or so, and we had 10 to 15 mile-per-hour winds. I had one fish that came on a popper at 9:30 and another at 10:30 on a popper.”

Richardson said he relocated down the lake and pulled into a pocket and filled his limit for the victory.

“This feels awesome,” Richardson said. “It’s especially nice to win on your home lake.”

The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

• 1st: Michael Richardson, Elgin, S.C., 10 bass, 24-6, $4,668 
• 2nd: Jacob Norris, Lugoff, S.C., nine bass, 21-11, $2,334
• 3rd: Jason Burroughs, Hodges, S.C., nine bass, 21-4, $2,757 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF5 contingency bonus)
• 4th: Thomas Steven Phillips, Lugoff, S.C., nine bass, 20-11, $1,089
• 5th: Chuck Howard, Elloree, S.C., seven bass, 13-15, $934
• 6th: Chad Sims, Lancaster, S.C., five bass, 13-4, $856
• 7th: Kameron Harbin, Abbeville, S.C., six bass, 13-0, $778
• 8th: Fisher Rodgers, Camden, S.C., seven bass, 12-10, $700
• 9th: Jay Jefferies, Mount Pleasant, S.C., five bass, 12-10, $622
• 10th: Robert Clarke III, Pineville, S.C., six bass, 11-9, $545

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

James Gibbons of Timmonsville, South Carolina, caught a bass weighing 4 pounds, 14 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – to earn the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $547.

Rennison Robbins of Jackson, South Carolina, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,608 Sunday after catching a two-day total of eight bass weighing 16 pounds, 7 ounces.

The Top 10 Strike King co-anglers were: 

• 1st: Rennison Robbins, Jackson, S.C, eight bass, 16-7, $2,608
• 2nd: Rodney Tapp, Inman, S.C., five bass, 9-3, $1,167
• 3rd: Jerry Neuner, Rutherfordton, N.C., three bass, 7-10, $779
• 4th: Denvelle Ketron, Kingsport, Tenn., four bass, 6-8, $995
• 5th: Harold Addison II, Columbia, S.C., three bass, 6-5, $667
• 6th: Terry Jarvis, Inman, S.C., three bass, 5-11, $428
• 7th: Stephen Britt, Chapin, S.C., two bass, 4-15, $389
• 8th: Dean Dalton, Keeling, Va., two bass, 4-14, $350
• 9th: Carter Jefferies, Mount Pleasant, S.C., two bass, 4-13, $311
• 10th: Rusty Forsyth, Fort Myers, Fla., two bass, 4-1, $272

Robbins also caught the largest bass in the Strike King Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 3 pounds, 10 ounces. The catch earned him the Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $274.

With the regular season now complete, boater Jason Burroughs of Hodges, South Carolina, won the 2022 Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with a five-event total of 1,349 points to earn the $1,000 boater AOY award. Thomas Pennell III of Boiling Springs, South Carolina, won the 2022 Strike King Co-Angler South Carolina Division AOY race with 1,281 points and earned the $500 Strike King Co-angler of the Year award.

Now, the top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will advance to compete in the Oct. 13-15 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee. Boaters will compete 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 fish for a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The 2022 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 Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six Regional Championships 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 top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division will also earn priority entry into the MLF Toyota Series, the pathway to the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour. 

Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, AFTCO, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Gary Yamamoto Baits, General Tire, Lew’s, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Revital Outdoors, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X, YETI and Yo-Zuri.
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.