Virginia’s Reynolds Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Kerr Lake
Christianburg’s Blankenship Wins Co-angler Division
HENDERSON, N.C. – Boater Ben Reynolds of Callands, Virginia, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Sunday weighing 16 pounds, 9 ounces to win the 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event at Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina. For his victory, Reynolds earned a total of $4,350.
The tournament was the third of five events in the Shenandoah Division presented by A.R.E. Truck Caps.
“It feels awesome to get this win,” said Reynolds, who earned his third career win in BFL competition. “I fished mostly up towards Clarksville. I didn’t go all the way into the rivers, but I did get pretty close to that end of the lake.
“I started off the morning shallow, but I didn’t do much,” Reynolds continued. “Then I went to a deep spot and caught them pretty good there. In the afternoon I made a little move to go back shallow and I caught another big one. That was the key to my victory – making the move back shallow.”
Reynolds said this his baits of choice were a worm and a Dirty Jigs flipping jig.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:
1st: Ben Reynolds of Callands, Va., five bass, 16-9, $4,350
2nd: Martin Villa of Charlottesville, Va., five bass, 16-6, $2,175
3rd: Jason Tibbetts of Centreville, Va., five bass, 14-5, $1,451
4th: Bryan Elrod of Mechanicsville, Va., five bass, 13-13, $1,015
5th: Tom Wilkinson of Oxford, N.C., five bass, 13-12, $870
6th: Derik Hudson of Concord, Va., five bass, 13-7, $798
7th: Chris Brummett of Lynch Station, Va., five bass, 12-11, $725
8th: Robert Grike of Dumfries, Va., five bass, 12-8, $616
8th: Ben Jacobi of Richmond, Va., five bass, 12-8, $616
10th: Otis Darnell of Linden, Va., five bass, 12-7, $508
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Bennett Owen of Capron, Virginia, earned the day’s $615 Boater Big Bass award with a 4-pound, 15-ounce bass.
Mark Inman of Greensboro, North Carolina, 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.
Mark Blankenship of Christianburg, Virginia, earned the win in the Co-angler Division Sunday after catching a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 8 ounces. Robertson earned $2,175 for his victory.
The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:
1st: Mark Blankenship of Christianburg, Va., five bass, 13-8, $2,175
2nd: Lenny Baird of Stafford, Va., five bass, 11-10, $1,088
3rd: Colin Bennett of Axton, Va., five bass, 11-5, $726
4th: Ben Dacey of Chesterfield, Va., four bass, 11-0, $707
5th: Carl Whipple of Manassas, Va., five bass, 10-6, $435
6th: Brandon Cox of Ruther Glen, Va., four bass, 10-0, $399
7th: B.K. Kelley of Colonial Heights, Va., five bass, 9-1, $363
8th: Johnnie Hopkins of Durham, N.C., five bass, 8-13, $326
9th: Steven Jacobs of Sandford, N.C., five bass, 8-12, $290
10th: Jeff Mellott of Warfordsburg, Pa., four bass, 8-4, $254
Costas Melendez of Grottoes, Virginia, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds even. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $307.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Shenandoah Division presented by A.R.E. based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 8-10 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on the James River in Richmond, Virginia, hosted by Richmond Region Tourism. Boaters will compete for a $60,000 prize package, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new 18-foot Phoenix bass boat with a 200-horsepower outboard.
The 2020 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 co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments 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 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American will be held Nov. 11-13 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina and is hosted by Visit Anderson. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division earn priority entry into the FLW Series, the pathway to the FLW Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour, where top pros compete with no entry fees.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, FLW and its partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe.
FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show while Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. Acquired by Major League Fishing in late 2019, FLW is expanding its programming in 2020 to the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel as well as on-demand at MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).
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