Milledgeville’s Henry Wins Rescheduled Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Lake Sinclair
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – Boater Matt Henry of Milledgeville, Georgia, caught five bass Sunday weighing 21 pounds, 6 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Sinclair . The tournament was the third event of the regular season for the Bass Fishing League Bulldog Division, and the second event in a two event Bass Fishing League double-header on Lake Sinclair over the weekend. Henry earned $6,434 for his victory Sunday.
“I had three of my weigh fish in the first hour,” Henry said. “Then it got brutally tough for the next three to four hours. I kept being stubborn doing what I was doing, knowing I needed two more good bites to probably win it.”
Henry said his bait of choice during competition was a Spro Dean Rojas Bronzeye Poppin’ Frog, fished over grass and around seawalls in the lower half of the lake. His approach resulted in 15 keepers and no short fish.
After targting the shad spawn early in the morning, Henry said the bite slowed down and then came back late in the day.
“I only had four keepers up until the last hour, then I caught quite a few at the end,” Henry said. “Both Saturday and Sunday it was that way.”
Henry said he lives and works on Lake Sinclair and is very comfortable fishing the body of water.
“This win feels good,” said Henry, who recorded BFL wins on Lake Oconee in 2010 and on Lake Eufaula in 2011. “It’s been 11 years since my last BFL win, so it’s been a while trying to get that third one.”
The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
- 1st: Matt Henry, Milledgeville, Ga., five bass, 21-6, $6,434
- 2nd: James Barnett, Locust Grove, Ga., five bass, 18-8, $2,364
- 3rd: Kip Carter, Eatonton, Ga., five bass, 17-6, $1,576
- 4th: Shane Salisbury, Newnan, Ga., five bass, 14-12, $1,103
- 5th: Steven King, Cumming, Ga., five bass, 13-7, $946
- 6th: Andrew Allen, Waterloo, S.C., five bass, 13-1, $1,067
- 7th: Mitchell Grimsley, Hiawassee, Ga., five bass, 12-14, $788
- 8th: Steve Stanfill, Dawsonville, Ga., five bass, 12-8, $709
- 9th: Joshua Weaver, Monroe, Ga., five bass, 12-7, $1,131 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
- 10th: Brad Stalnaker, Eatonton, Ga., five bass, 12-6, $552
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Henry had a largemouth that weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $705.
Joe Morgan of Woodstock, Georgia, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,364 Sunday after catching five bass weighing 14 pounds, 2 ounces.
The Top 10 Strike King Co-anglers were:
- 1st: Joe Morgan, Woodstock, Ga., five bass, 14-2, $2,364
- 2nd: Garrett Brown, Trion, Ga., five bass, 13-5, $1,182
- 3rd: Todd Collins, Sparta, Ga., five bass, 13-2, $788
- 4th: Noah Armstrong, Fayetteville, Ga., five bass, 10-15, $512
- 4th: Wes Wilson, Cornelia, Ga., five bass, 10-15, $864
- 6th: Jesse Hultberg, Marietta, Ga., five bass, 10-6, $433
- 7th: Devereaux Adams, Powder Springs, Ga., five bass, 10-2, $394
- 8th: Carlos Guzman, Fayetteville, Ga., four bass, 9-10, $355
- 9th: Joe Goodman, Winder, Ga., five bass, 9-4, $315
- 10th: Robert Enke, Columbus, Ga., five bass, 9-0, $276
Wilson caught the largest bass in the co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 15 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $352.
After three events, Kip Carter of Eatonton, Georgia, leads the Bass Fishing League Bulldog Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 734 points, while Chris Pfrogner of Dawsonville, Georgia, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 710 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 2022 All-American will be held June 2-4 at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.
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.