HENDERSON, N.C. (May 2, 2022) – Boater Kevin Chandler of New London, North Carolina, caught five bass Saturday weighing 18 pounds, 12 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League tournament on Kerr Lake . The tournament, hosted by Vance County Tourism, was the third event for the Bass Fishing League Piedmont Division. Chandler earned $3,804 for his victory.
“Fishing wasn’t extremely good; I’ve caught them a lot better than what I did today,” Chandler said. “I caught one right off the bat throwing a spinnerbait. So that kind of got the day rolling.”
Chandler said he used a War Eagle spinnerbait to catch his early bass. He caught one under a pier on a jig, two on shallow brush laydowns, and landed several 14- and 15-inch bass for the next couple of hours before catching another solid 4-pound bass to add to his weigh-in total.
“I caught 10 or 12 keepers, but I only caught five really good ones all day,” Chandler said. “It’s been a while since I’ve won, so this feels great.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Kevin Chandler, New London, N.C., five bass, 18-12, $3,804
2nd: Tyler Trent, Nathalie, Va., five bass, 17-8, $2,402 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
3rd: David Williams, Newton, N.C., five bass, 16-5, $1,267
4th: David Wright, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 15-15, $1,088
5th: Eric Johnson, Partlow, Va., five bass, 14-2, $761
6th: Brian Calloway, Danville, Va., five bass, 14-1, $697
7th: Johnathan Crossland, Chapin, S.C., five bass, 13-12, $1,134
8th: Greg Chuhta, Germantown, Md., five bass, 13-10, $539
8th: Richard Hodges Jr., Camden, N.C., five bass, 13-10, $539
10th: Billy Shelton III, La Crosse, Va., five bass, 13-8, $644
Ryan Harrell of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $505 with a largemouth that weighed 5 pounds, 6 ounces. Nathan Reeves of Lynchburg, Virginia, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,002 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 12 pounds, 8 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:
1st: Nathan Reeves, Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 12-8, $2,002
2nd: Travis Ruff, Connelly Springs, N.C., five bass, 10-11, $951
3rd: Tony Toombs, Drakes Branch, Va., five bass, 10-10, $634
4th: Callahan Cochran, Chantilly, Va., five bass, 10-4, $444
5th: Pat Kendrick, Bumpass, Va., five bass, 9-14, $580
6th: Mekye Barnes, Raleigh, N.C., four bass, 9-10, $601
7th: Greg Ravitsky, Palmyra, Va., four bass, 9-7, $269
7th: Justin Lee, Liberty, N.C., four bass, 9-7, $269
7th: James Calhoun, Norfolk, Va., four bass, 9-7, $269
7th: William Dalton, Laurel Fork, Va., four bass, 9-7, $269
Barnes caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 2 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $252.