Hampton’s Uzzle Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on the James River

HENRICO, Va. – Boater Rob Uzzle of Hampton, Virginia, caught five bass Saturday weighing 17 pounds, 15 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on the James River. The tournament was the fourth event for the Bass Fishing League Piedmont Division. Uzzle earned $7,152, including a $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

“I had a major change in plans during the tournament,” Uzzle said. “I had planned on staying up on the James River instead of running down to the Chickahominy River, but after checking the tides and seeing it would be low tide at 10:30, I felt like I needed to go on down to Gordon’s Creek and do my normal milk run. It ended up being the right decision.”

Uzzle said his approach varied greatly during the day, but it resulted in a quality five-fish limit that included four fish that weighed more than four pounds each and one that weighed more than 3 pounds. The fish fell for a buzzbait, a square-bill crankbait, a Profound Outdoors crankbait and a topwater popping bait.

“My four quality fish came on four different baits,” Uzzle said. “It was junk fishing at its finest. There was no topwater bite or crankbait bite. It was just me fishing the moment.

“To come out of the Chickahominy with more than 17 pounds at 11 o‘clock… not a bad place to be,” Uzzle added with a laugh.

The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

• 1st: Rob Uzzle, Hampton, Va., five bass, 17-15, $7,152 (includes $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
• 2nd: Harrison McCall, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 17-6, $2,526
• 3rd: Cullen Hoover, Chesterfield, Va., five bass, 16-1, $1,551
• 4th: Bryan Elrod, Mechanicsville, Va., five bass, 15-4, $1,086
• 5th: Frank Poirier, North Prince George, Va., five bass, 15-3, $930
• 6th: Scott Rogers, Midlothian, Va., five bass, 15-1, $853
• 7th: Kevin Chandler, New London, N.C., five bass, 14-13, $1,460
• 8th: Jason Agpalza, Woodbridge, Va., five bass, 14-11, $698
• 9th: Tim Chaffin, Quinton, Va., five bass, 14-4, $620
• 10th: Todd Langford, Great Falls, Va., five bass, 14-0, $543

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Chandler had a largemouth that weighed 6 pounds, 10 ounces that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $685.

Dustin Riddle of Hiwassee, Virginia, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,326 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 12 pounds, 7 ounces.

The Top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

• 1st: Dustin Riddle, Hiwassee, Va., five bass, 12-7, $2,326
• 2nd: Justin Faison, South Prince George, Va., five bass, 11-9, $1,163
• 3rd: Micah Mitten, Powhatan, Va., five bass, 10-6, $777
• 4th: Nathan Pulley, Chester, Va., five bass, 10-4, $578
• 4th: Gerrit Vanvoorhees, Lenexa, Va., five bass, 10-4, $628
• 4th: Greg Ravitsky, Palmyra, Va., two bass, 10-4, $820
• 7th: Callahan Cochran, Chantilly, Va., three bass, 10-2, $388
• 8th: Shaquille Freeman, Meherrin, Va., five bass, 10-1, $349
• 9th: Brandon Miskell, Vienna, Va., five bass, 9-14, $310
• 10th: Maurice Curley, Prince George, Va., five bass, 9-13, $257

Ravitsky caught the largest bass in the co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 8 pounds, 11 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $342.

After four events, Todd Langford of Great Falls, Virginia, leads the Bass Fishing League Piedmont Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 935 points, while David Deciucis of Chester, Virginia, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 952 points.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 6-8 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Lake Murray in Prosperity, South Carolina. 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.