Ohio’s Shaffer Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Ohio River in Maysville
Louisiana’s Horne Wins Co-angler Division
MAYSVILLE, Ky. – Boater Dick Shaffer of Rockford, Ohio, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 8 pounds, 2 ounces to win the 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event on the Ohio River in Maysville, Kentucky. For his victory, Shaffer earned a total of $3,879.
The tournament was the third of five events in the Buckeye Division presented by A.R.E. Truck Caps.
“It’s been a long time – my last win was in 2011 – so I feel a lot better, now,” said Shaffer, who earned his 16th career victory in FLW competition. “I was just upriver, fishing main-river stuff. I haven’t been up in that area for four or five years, so I just went fishing blind.”
Shaffer said that he caught his fish on two baits – a Yamamoto Senko and a Zoom Speed Craw.
“I got lucky and caught two off of one stump on back-to-back casts,” Shaffer said. “Then I saw a green tree that looked good, so I stopped and fished it. I ended up catching four fish off of it.
“Late in the day I caught a fish off of a dock that culled me up a half-pound and that one ended up making the difference and getting me the win.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:
1st: Dick Shaffer of Rockford, Ohio, five bass, 8-2, $3,879
2nd: Roger Hahn of Fairfield, Ohio, five bass, 7-13, $1,940
3rd: Jamie Cunnagin of New Lebanon, Ohio, five bass, 7-7, $1,293
4th: Brandon Cline of Wheelersburg, Ohio, four bass, 7-4, $1,405
5th: Brody Campbell of Oxford, Ohio, five bass, 7-0, $776
6th: Donald Sibley of Strasburg, Ohio, five bass, 6-3, $679
6th: Ronald Nutter of Newark, Ohio, three bass, 6-3, $679
8th: Josh Smith of Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 6-1, $582
9th: Benjamin Quisno of Maineville, Ohio, two bass, 5-6, $517
10th: Brad Baldwin of Waynesville, Ohio, five bass, 5-5, $430
10th: Pete Justice of Sharonville, Ohio, four bass, 5-5, $430
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
David Spivey of Hamilton, Ohio, claimed the day’s Boater Big Bass Award of $515 after bringing a 4-pound, 13-ounce bass to the scale.
Cline was the highest-finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member and took home an extra $500. 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.
Michael Horne of Dodson, Louisiana, won the Co-angler Division and $2,197 Saturday after catching two bass weighing 5 pounds, 7 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:
1st: Michael Horne of Dodson, La., two bass, 5-7, $2,197
2nd: Austin Brock of Liberty Township, Ohio, four bass, 5-3, $1,170
3rd: Ryan Lancaster of Oxford, Ohio, three bass, 4-10, $646
4th: Jordon Smith of Middletown, Ohio, three bass, 3-13, $453
5th: Ryan Rich of Eaton, Ohio, one bass, 3-9, $372
5th: Derrick Sadlowski of Steubenville, Ohio, two bass, 3-9, $372
7th: Ron Weisenburger of Continental, Ohio, two bass, 3-7, $307
7th: John Lane of Findlay, Ohio, two bass, 3-7, $307
9th: Darrell Carroll of Independence, Ky., two bass, 3-2, $259
10th: James Wilcox of Cincinnati, Ohio, two bass, 3-1, $465
10th: J.R. Selke of Waynesville, Ohio, two bass, 3-1, $215
Horne also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 3 pounds, 13 ounces. The catch added to his winnings as he earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $257.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Buckeye Division presented by A.R.E. Truck Caps based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 16-18 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Cherokee Lake in Jefferson City, Tennessee, hosted by the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce. 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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