Virginia’s Daves Win at Two-Day Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Potomac River
Welcome’s Wedding Wins Co-angler Title
MARBURY, Md. – Boater Chris Daves of Spring Grove, Virginia, brought a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 26 pounds, 2 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Shenandoah Division Super-Tournament on the Potomac River. Daves earned a total of $5,197 for his victory.
The tournament was the fifth and final qualifying event of 2020 in the Shenandoah Division presented by A.R.E. Truck Caps.
“I know these (BFL) wins are few and far between, so it feels great to get a win this weekend,” said Daves, who earned his fourth career win in FLW competition. “It was fairly easy fishing on Friday, but it got very tough on Saturday. The key was just keeping my head down, chunking and winding, and fishing hard.
“I caught them all out of grass in about three feet of water,” Daves continued. “My key bait was a green-pumpkin-colored Zoom Speed Worm.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:
1st: Chris Daves of Spring Grove, Va., 10 bass, 26-2, $5,197
2nd: Ryan Powroznik of Hopewell, Va., 10 bass, 25-12, $2,598
3rd: Otis Darnell of Linden, Va., nine bass, 25-5, $1,733
4th: Rick Chenoweth of Fredericksburg, Va., 10 bass, 25-4, $1,213
5th: Danny Shanz of Summerton, S.C., 10 bass, 24-13, $1,039
6th: John Duarte of Middle River, Md., eight bass, 21-3, $1,605
7th: Robert Grike of Dumfries, Va., nine bass, 19-6, $866
8th: Bryan Elrod of Mechanicsville, Va., eight bass, 19-4, $780
9th: Tom Bateman of Welcome, Md., eight bass, 18-1, $693
10th: Carlton Owens of Franklin, Va., eight bass, 17-1, $606
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Duarte earned the day’s $652 Boater Big Bass award with a 6-pound, 11-ounce largemouth.
Robert Wedding of Welcome, Maryland, earned the win in the Co-angler Division Saturday after catching a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 19 pounds, 9 ounces. Wedding earned $2,599 for his victory.
The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:
1st: Robert Wedding of Welcome, Md., 10 bass, 19-9, $2,599
2nd: Michael Nelms of Hartwood, Va., eight bass, 18-2, $1,299
3rd: Lazarus Durham of Dumfries, Va., seven bass, 16-13, $867
4th: Troy Pipkin of Sterling, Va., seven bass, 13-4, $606
5th: Matt McCluskey of Ashburn. Va., seven bass, 13-0, $520
6th: Josh Hale of Roanoke, Va., five bass, 12-4, $476
7th: William Lisenby of Centreville, Va., five bass, 12-0, $759
8th: John Poos of Manassas, Va., four bass, 11-11, $390
9th: John Castro of Lorton, Va., six bass, 10-11, $346
10th: Austin Burdette of Pembroke, Va., six bass, 9-11, $303
Lisenby caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds 10 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $326.
The Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Super-Tournament on the Potomac River was hosted by the Charles County Board of Commissioners.
Now 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, advance to 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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