LAVONIA, Ga. (April 3, 2023) – Boater Darren Ashley of Calhoun Falls, South Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 25 pounds, 13 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Lake Hartwell. The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL South Carolina. Ashley earned $5,500 for his victory. Ashley’s day started off with smaller fish, but he adjusted his approach, and the location changes he made helped build up what would turn out to be a final weigh-in bag that ran away with the tournament.
“I started off with a 2½-pounder and a couple of other little ones, then told my co-angler I wanted to hit a spot I knew of before the sun got up too high on it,” said Ashley, who now has three career BFL wins and 20 top-10 finishes. “So, I hit it and caught a 5-pounder there.”
Two stops later Ashley said he caught another bass that went for 4½ pounds. He relocated to yet another spot, and added a 6-pounder on the second cast there. Ashley said at that point his two smallest fish weighed 2.70 pounds each.
“It was getting to be a little after lunch, and I told my co-angler I wanted to head to the opposite side of the lake,” Ashley said. “I don’t usually fish over there much, but I knew if I got bit, it would be a 4-pounder.”
Ashley said he ran to the new spot, fished for 10 minutes, and caught a 4-pounder that put him at an estimated weight of 24 pounds. Ashley said all of his bass fell for a white-trash-colored Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper.
“I caught tons of fish,” Ashley said. “I jumped around and caught tons of spotted bass. I tried hard to cull that last fish, and I must have caught 15 more fish, but I couldn’t cull that last one.
“I caught about 40 fish, but I should have done something different to get rid of that last 2.70 fish,” Ashley added. “I could have had 27 or 28 pounds.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Darren Ashley, Calhoun Falls, S.C., five bass, 25-13, $5,550
2nd: Greg Rikard, Leesville, S.C., five bass, 17-14, $3,885 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
3rd: Bradford Beavers, Summerville, S.C., five bass, 17-4, $1,609
4th: Dan Geurtsen, Asheville, N.C., five bass, 17-1, $1,127
5th: Aaron Digh, Denver, N.C., five bass, 16-10, $966
6th: Christopher Chavis, Guyton, Ga., five bass, 16-8, $845
6th: Conrad Manuel, Pilot Mountain, N.C., five bass, 16-8, $845
8th: Michael Richardson, Elgin, S.C., five bass, 16-6, $724
9th: Lucas Murphy, West Columbia, S.C., five bass, 16-5, $644
10th: Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., five bass, 16-2, $563
Ashley also caught a bass that weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce to earn the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $720. Bobby Young of Hephzibah, Georgia, won the co-angler division and a total of $2,381 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 14 pounds, 1 ounce.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Bobby Young, Hephzibah, Ga., five bass, 14-1, $2,381
2nd: Rob Uzzle, Hampton, Va., five bass, 14-0, $1,191
3rd: Arthur Harris, York, S.C., five bass, 12-13, $791
4th: Brandon Hendrix, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 12-12, $556
5th: Benjie Winkler, Cleveland, Ga., five bass, 12-9, $476
6th: Adam Seagle, Lincolnton, N.C., five bass, 11-5, $417
6th: Wesley Mullins, Guyton, Ga., five bass, 11-5, $417
8th: Darvin Cannon, Columbia, S.C., five bass, 11-2, $337
8th: Todd Huntley, Inman, S.C., five bass, 11-2, $337
10th: Brian Ruppe, Irmo, S.C., five bass, 11-1, $264
10th: Harold Addison II, Columbia, S.C., five bass, 11-1, $814
Rob Nicholson of Union Mills, North Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $355, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 14 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After three events, Greg Rikard of Leesville, South Carolina, leads the BFL South Carolina Presented by Mystik Lubricants Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 690 points, while Stephen Sprouse of Pauline, South Carolina, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 712 points.