North Carolina’s Hamrick Bests Field at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Kerr Lake

Virginia’s Rock Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division

HENDERSON, N.C. – Boater Scott Hamrick of Denver, North Carolina, caught five bass Sunday weighing 19 pounds, 8 ounces, to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on Kerr Lake. The tournament, hosted by Vance County Tourism Development Authority, was the fourth event of the season for the Bass Fishing League Shenandoah Division. Hamrick earned $6,415 for his victory.

“I fished Kerr Saturday and finished fourth in the BFL North Carolina Division event, and I had found something and keyed in on it and knew I could probably catch them again Sunday,” Hamrick said. “I was fishing a Shooter Lures jig and I caught more than 20 keepers.

“It started out a little slow, but I had a limit after about an hour,” Hamrick said. “I knew I had a good one in the box, and I thought if I could get another big one in the box I’d have a good shot at winning.

“I figured it would take 16 or 17 pounds to win,” Hamrick said. “Once I got to 15 pounds and caught the day’s 5-3 Berkley Big Bass, I knew it was pretty much over.”

Hamrick has notched 41 Top-10 finishes and five career wins in Phoenix Bass Fishing League competition, and Sunday’s win was his second victory on Kerr Lake.

“I’ve won a lot of big tournaments there, but the BFL field is the best of the best on Kerr Lake, so it’s pretty cool,” Hamrick said.

The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

• 1st:        Scott Hamrick, Denver, N.C., five bass, 19-8, $6,415
• 2nd:       Chad Poteat, Mount Airy, N.C., five bass, 16-1, $3,060
• 3rd:       Tyler Trent, Nathalie, Va., five bass, 15-2, $2,074 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
• 4th:        Ron Rousseau III, Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 14-9, $1,101
• 5th:        Mark Blankenship, Christiansburg, Va., five bass, 14-5, $944
• 6th:        Tyler Purcell, Townsville, N.C., five bass, 14-0, $865
• 7th:        Greg Fernandez, Chesterfield, Va., five bass, 13-8, $787
• 8th:        Rob Digh, Denver, N.C., five bass, 13-1, $708
• 9th:        Jeffrey Davis, Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 12-2, $629
• 10th:     Broderick Luckey, Roanoke, Va., five bass, 12-1, $523
• 10th:     Aaron Falwell, Forest, Va., five bass, 12-1, $523

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Hamrick’s largemouth that weighed 5 pounds, 3 ounces was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $695.

Matthew Rock of Bristol, Virginia, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,360 Sunday after catching five bass weighing 14 pounds, 5 ounces.

The Top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

• 1st:        Matthew Rock, Bristol, Va., five bass, 14-5, $2,360
• 2nd:       Alex Ortiz, Asheboro, N.C., five bass, 11-0, $1,180
• 3rd:       Wes Dacey, Henrico, Va., five bass, 10-1, $887
• 4th:        Rickey Wood, Smithfield, Va., five bass, 10-0, $551
• 5th:        Safulla Rana, Warrenton, Va., five bass, 9-9, $472
• 6th:        David Slaybaugh, Colonial Heights, Va., three bass, 9-5, $780
• 7th:        Pat Kendrick, Bumpass, Va., five bass, 8-13, $593
• 8th:        David Williams, Fredericksburg, Va., three bass, 8-12, $484
• 8th:        Carl Enos, Bracey, Va., five bass, 8-12, $334
• 10th:     Lenny Baird, Stafford, Va., three bass, 7-14, $275

Slaybaugh caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 5 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $347.

After four events, Chris Brummett of Lynch Station, Virginia, leads the Bass Fishing League Shenandoah Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 941 points, while Lenny Baird of Stafford, Virginia, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 930 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 the James River in Richmond, Virginia. 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.