Arab’s Jacob Gardner Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Lake Guntersville
Mulga’s Jackson Mitchell Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. – Boater Jacob Gardner of Arab, Alabama, caught five bass Saturday weighing 19 pounds, 8 ounces, to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Guntersville event. The tournament, hosted by the Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce, was the fourth event of the season for the Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division. Gardner earned $5,119 for his victory.
“This feels pretty awesome,” Gardner said. “I’m originally from Idaho and have only been bass fishing for eight years now. I caught my first bass when I was 20 years old, and I moved across the country to chase the dream of tournament fishing.”
Gardner said he had caught 14 or 15 pounds by 8:30 a.m. by flipping grass with a Berkley Powerbait Crazy Legs Chigger Craw rigged with a 3/16-ounce tungsten weight and a 3/0 hook. The bite slowed for him around 11:30 a.m., so he made a run up the river. The location change paid off with back-to-back 5-pounders, and Gardner was on his way to victory. Gardner said he caught 13 fish during the course of the day, including eight keepers.
“I figured it would take 21 or 22 pounds to win, and I figured I had 17 or 18,” Gardner said. “When you catch back-to-back 5-pounders, it’s something special, but I didn’t figure I’d have enough to get the win.”
The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Jacob Gardner, Arab, Ala., five bass, 19-8, $5,119
2nd: Charles Hemm, Huntsville, Ala., five bass, 19-3, $2,059
3rd: Jesse Rigsby, Old Hickory, Tenn., five bass, 19-1, $2,439 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th: Daniel Davis, Albertville, Ala., five bass, 17-13, $1,161
5th: Will Robinson, Columbia, Tenn., five bass, 16-13, $824
6th: Dawson Lenz, Newnan, Ga., five bass, 16-11, $755
7th: Kyle Palmer, Winchester, Tenn., five bass, 16-7, $886
8th: Eddie Walker, Pinson, Ala., five bass, 16-0, $618
9th: Walker Brown, Loretto, Tenn., five bass, 15-12, $549
10th: Keith Miller, Chattanooga, Tenn., five bass, 15-9, $480
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Rigsby earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $565 with a largemouth that weighed 5 pounds, 11 ounces, the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division.
Jackson Mitchell of Mulga, Alabama, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,159 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 16 pounds, 12 ounces.
The Top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:
1st: Jackson Mitchell, Mulga, Ala., five bass, 16-12, $2,159
2nd: Randall Kramer, Signal Mountain, Tenn., five bass, 15-14, $1,030
3rd: Dennis Sandoval, Decatur, Ala., five bass, 15-11, $887
4th: Craig Dye, Canton, Ga., five bass, 15-7, $480
5th: Marcus Corbett, Anniston, Ala., five bass, 14-13, $412
6th: Kevin Lankford, Hollywood, Ala., four bass, 14-11, $378
7th: Justin Stephenson, Jasper, Ala., five bass, 13-6, $343
8th: Frank Spacil, Downers Grove, Ill., five bass, 12-10, $309
9th: Vaughn Dennis, Moody, Ala., five bass, 12-8, $275
10th: Preston Kendrick, Mt. Olive, Ala., five bass, 12-0, $228
10th: Ethan Shaw, Raymond, Miss., five bass, 12-0, $228
Anthony Doby of Harvest, Alabama, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 6 pounds, 1 ounce. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $282.
After four events, Casey Martin of Brownsboro, Alabama, leads the Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 933 points, while Justin Stephenson of Jasper, Alabama, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 933 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 Phoenix 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.