BUCHANAN, Tenn. (Sept. 12, 2022) – Boater Richard Meuth of Henderson, Kentucky, caught 10 bass weighing 30 pounds, 8 ounces, to win the two-day MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League tournament on Kentucky-Barkley Lake s in Buchanan, Tennessee. The tournament was the fifth and final regular-season event for the Bass Fishing League LBL Division. Meuth earned $5,460 for his victory.
Meuth said he had a good practice near Paris and found areas that were holding fish keying on bait and cover. He said he fished water stretching five miles in both directions of takeoff on the first day of competition.
“I caught 10 to 12 keepers Saturday and had a really good day,” Meuth said. “I didn’t lose any fish and fished really clean.
“However, Sunday morning, the baitfish were gone,” Meuth added. “I went to my spots and they were just gone.”
Meuth said he changed his approach and headed north toward the dam and focused on areas he was familiar with. He utilized a shaky-head rig and jigs, and targeted brush piles, rock piles and stumps with baitfish in 8 to 20 feet of water. Meuth said finding fish on his Humminbird electronics and Garmin Livescope were key to his success.
“I had a five-keeper bite day there and was blessed enough to put all five of them in the boat,” Meuth said.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Richard Meuth, Henderson, Ky., 10 bass, 30-8, $5,460
2nd: Keith Amerson, Bethel Springs, Tenn., nine bass, 29-12, $2,730
3rd: Ramie Colson Jr., Cadiz, Ky., eight bass, 25-11, $1,820
4th: Carl Norris, Clarkson, Ky., seven bass, 24-13, $1,274
5th: Steve Freeman, Eddyville, Ky., seven bass, 24-6, $1,392
6th: Lance Freeman, Eddyville, Ky., eight bass, 23-8, $1,201
7th: Kevin Meunier, Lamar, Ind., six bass, 22-12, $1,622
8th: Lloyd Pickett Jr., Bartlett, Tenn., eight bass, 21-1, $819
9th: Dan Martin, Elmhurst, Ill, Ind., eight bass, 20-13, $728
10th: Edward Gettys, Paris, Tenn., seven bass, 19-7, $637
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Kevin Meunier of Lamar, Indiana, caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 5 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – to earn the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $712. Colin Fogerty of Memphis, Tennessee, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $3,086 Sunday after catching a two-day total of four bass weighing 16 pounds, 6 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:
1st: Colin Fogerty, Memphis, Tenn., four bass, 16-6, $3,086
2nd: Charlie Kuebler, Jasper, Ind., five bass, 13-9, $1,365
3rd: Ronald Franks, Hermitage, Tenn., five bass, 12-15, $909
4th: Brant Gish, Evansville, Ind. four bass, 12-13, $937
5th: Bradley Miller, Guthrie, Ky., four bass, 10-2, $546
6th: Chanler Fleetwood, Vallonia, Ind., four bass, 9-11, $501
7th: Ryan Ridgeway, Thompsonville, Ill., three bass, 8-7, $455
8th: Tim Burke, Petersburg, Ky., three bass, 8-2, $410
9th: Robert Burnette, Madisonville, Ky., two bass, 7-2, $564
10th: Brady Kendall, Paducah, Ky., three bass, 6-11, $469
Fogerty also caught the largest bass in the Strike King Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 2 ounces. The catch earned him the Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $356.