Bluff City’s Travis Lilly Earns Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Douglas Lake

Kentucky’s Brad Barton Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division

DANDRIDGE, Tenn. – Boater Travis Lilly of Bluff City, Tennessee, caught five bass Saturday weighing 16 pounds, 5 ounces, to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on Douglas Lake Presented by Lithium Pros. The tournament, hosted by the Economic Development Alliance Jefferson County, was the third event for the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Volunteer Division. Lilly earned $5,874 for his victory.

Lilly said he targeted the lower end of Douglas Lake near Flat Creek, fishing a shad spawn pattern and “whatever looked good.”

“The key was just junk fishing and being in the right place at the right time,” Lilly said. “I used a white homemade jig, a Lake Fork Flutter Spoon and an Azuma Timmy Horton Z Boss crankbait.”

The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

• 1st:          Travis Lilly, Bluff City, Tenn., five bass, 16-5, $5,874
• 2nd:        Corey Neece, Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 16-2, $3,045 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
• 3rd:        Eddie Ball, Newport, Tenn., five bass, 15-4, $1,898
• 4th:         Greg McDavid, Blountville, Tenn., five bass, 14-11, $1,487
• 5th:         Derek Turner, Jacksboro, Tenn., five bass, 14-4, $1,018
• 6th:         Mark Pappas, Dandridge, Tenn., five bass, 14-2, $933
• 7th:         Jeremy Shuman, Louisville, Tenn., five bass, 13-13, $848
• 8th:         Matthew Rock, Bristol, Va., five bass, 13-9, $721
• 8th:         Brant Grimm, Church Hill, Tenn., five bass, 13-9, $721
• 10th:      Corey Brooks, Louisville, Tenn., five bass, 13-8, $594

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Lilly had a largemouth that weighed 5 pounds, 7 ounces that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $785.

Brad Barton of Middlesboro, Kentucky, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,607 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 12 pounds, 2 ounces.

The Top 10 Strike King co-anglers were: 

• 1st:          Brad Barton, Middlesboro, Ky., five bass, 12-2, $2,607
• 2nd:        Keith Gunsauls, Dandridge, Tenn., four bass, 12-1, $1,635
• 3rd:        Don Raines, five bass, 11-12, $837
• 4th:         Hunter Cseledy, Waynesville, N.C., five bass, 11-11, $585
• 5th:         Peyton Kent, McDonald, Tenn., five bass, 11-7, $501
• 6th:         Jeremy Haney, Crossville, Tenn., five bass, 11-3, $460
• 7th:         Kiel Guin, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 11-0, $418
• 8th:         Nick Coker, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 10-14, $576
• 9th:         Dennis Putthoff, Old Hickory, Tenn., five bass, 10-13, $334
• 10th:      Thai Tatum, Lebanon, Va., five bass, 10-9, $277
• 10th:      Pop Catalin, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 10-9, $277

Gunsauls caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 12 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $382.

After three events, Jacob Woods of Loudon, Tennessee, leads the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Volunteer Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 694 points, while Brad Barton of Middlesboro, Kentucky, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 730 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. 20-22 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Smith Lake in Cullman, Alabama. 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 Toyota Series, the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the 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.