Mabelvale Boater Houchin Wins Two-Day Phoenix Bass Fishing League event on Lake Hamilton
Co-angler Victory Goes to Maumelle’s David Dam
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Boater Quincy Houchin of Mabelvale, Arkansas, brought a two-day total of nine bass to the scale weighing 23 pounds, 5 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Arkie Division Super-Tournament at Lake Hamilton. For his victory, Houchin earned $13,460, which includes the lucrative FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency payout.
“There were a lot of great anglers fishing this event with a vast amount of experience on this lake, so it feels good to pull out a win,” said Houchin. “I was in second place at the end of day one and was worried about being so close to a victory and losing it. That would have been a hard pill to swallow, but it come through.
“I started out yesterday with a (River2Sea) Whopper Plopper and covered a ton of water fishing shallow, windy points, rock and brown grass,” Houchin continued. “I actually lost my fifth fish several times Sunday, but finished strong to bring home the fifth BFL win in my career.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:
1st: Quincy Houchin of Mabelvale, Ark., nine bass, 23-5, $13,460
2nd: Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 21-14, $3,442
3rd: Adam Wright of Benton, Ark., 10 bass, 21-8, $1,820
4th: Evan Barnes of Hot Springs, Ark. 10 bass, 21-2, $1,274
5th: Brian Bean of Hot Springs, Ark. 10 bass, 20-4, $1,092
6th: Kevin Brown of Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 18-10, $1,001
7th: Carl Cole of Little Rock, Ark., 10 bass, 18-5, $910
8th: Josh Ray of Alexander, Ark., 10 bass, 16-12, $819
9th: Chris Layton of North Little Rock, Ark., nine bass, 15-11, $728
10th: Bill Hughan of Little Rock, Ark., 10 bass, 15-9, $637
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Shuffield earned the day’s $712 Boater Big Bass award with a 5-pound, 1-ounce bass.
Houchin took home an extra $7,000 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.
David Dam of Maumelle, Arkansas, earned the win in the Co-angler Division Sunday after catching a two-day total of eight bass weighing 16 pounds, 15 ounces. Dam earned $2,730 for his victory.
The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:
1st: David Dam of Maumelle, Ark., eight bass, 16-15, $2,730
2nd: John McCullar of Benton, Ark., six bass, 12-12, $1,721
3rd: Ethan Sutton of Hot Springs, Ark., six bass, 12-12, $909
4th: Ron Knight of Hot Springs, Ark., seven bass, 10-7, $637
5th: Matt Russell of Prairie Grove, Ark., eight bass, 10-7, $546
6th: Chris Cusick of Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 10-3, $501
7th: Zachary Morrow of Lonsdale, Ark., eight bass, 9-8, $455
8th: Josh Castleberry of Jessieville, Ark., seven bass, 8-13, $410
9th: Melinda Hays of Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 7-14, $364
10th: Dakota Scott of Benton, Ark., seven bass, 7-3, $319
McCullar earned the event’s Co-angler Big Bass Award of $356 with a fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 6 ounces.
The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on Lake Hamilton was the fifth and final qualifying event in the 2020 Arkie Division.
Now the top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Arkie Division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will advance to the Oct. 22-24 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri, hosted by Explore Branson. 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).
# # #