COLUMBIA, S.C. – The final day on the boater side was dramatic, and the same was true of the co-angler competition at the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American on Lake Murray.
Moving up from sixth with three bass for 11 pounds even on the final day, Zachary Howell totaled 28-6 on nine bass to win the event and $50,000. Fishing his first All-American and earning his first-ever win with MLF, the Iowa angler edged James Ramsey, who weighed 26-9 on eight bass, and Jordan Smith, who wrangled eight for 25-1.
Howell wasn’t alone on the water
As far as the fishing went, Howell wasn’t doing anything that the fish on Murray hadn’t seen before.
“My dad and brother, we came down here and practiced,” he said. “We couldn’t really figure them out – it annoyed us a bit. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but my boaters had us around fish, and I was just throwing the right bait at the right time and got some fish in the boat.”
That bait was, of course, a Zoom Fluke in white and chartreuse.
“It was the same thing every day,” Howell said. “Day 1, I caught two on a Fluke and then one on a drop-shot. Then, it was a Fluke bite the rest of the way. Just like everybody else, you had to hit them early, because around 10 or 11 o’clock, the bite shut off.”
The main story is that Howell almost didn’t come to the event, as his grandma Rose was in the hospital, dying of cancer.
“She’s been in the hospital the last three weeks battling cancer; she’s been battling cancer for over a year,” Howell said. “She wasn’t doing well. We went and saw her last week, and we were talking about the tournament, and I told her initially that I wasn’t going to go because of how sick she was. I wanted to be around family. She grabbed my hand and told me to ‘Go win $50,000.’ She passed away on Tuesday. I couldn’t help but think that she had a front row seat up there.”
Howell has real-life uses for the paycheck: He wants to re-power his Phoenix and pay off his truck. But those are not likely to be his primary takeaways from the week.
“I don’t think it’s sank in yet. It’s an unreal feeling,” he said after winning. “I never thought something like this could happen to me. I gave it hell this week, but I couldn’t help but think that my grandma was watching over me.”
Top 10 co-anglers
1. Zachary Howell – 28 – 6 (9) – $50,000
2. James Ramsey – 26 – 9 (8) – $10,050
3. Jordan Smith – 25 – 1 (8) – $6,000
4. Dustin Forrest – 24 – 10 (9) – $5,000
5. Mason Franklin – 24 – 4 (7) – $4,500
6. Wayne Smelser – 23 – 1 (7) – $4,000
7. Tyson Giesbrecht – 20 – 9 (6) – $3,500
8. Darren Kelly – 20 – 4 (9) – $3,250
9. Jordan Clayton – 18 – 0 (5) – $2,500
10. Jeff Rikard – 17 – 5 (7) – $2,000