PRATTVILLE, Ala. (May 9, 2022) – Boater Chris Rutland of Wetumpka, Alabama, caught five bass Saturday weighing 17 pounds even to win the MLF Bass Fishing League tournament on the Alabama River. The tournament was the third event for the Bass Fishing League Bama Division. Rutland earned $4,825 for his victory.
“I caught nothing at the first three or four stops that I made,” Rutland said. “Finally I caught a little fish mid-morning, then another little one, and then just totally abandoned my game plan.
“I owe my co-angler a lot of credit for the change,” Rutland added. “I was fishing pretty quick-moving baits, and he was dragging, and he had a limit before I had even caught a fish.”
Rutland said he changed to a Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog and caught “seven or eight” fish – including a 6-pound Berkley Big Bass and two that weighed 3½ pounds – from 11:30 to 12:30. Rutland said he pitched the frog, paired with a 3/8-ounce weight, into wood that was in shade.
“Those bass were very aggressive with the frog,” Rutland said. “You threw in there and picked it up, and they’d be leaving with it. They were either there immediately or not at all.”
Rutland said he considers the Alabama River and nearby Lake Jordan his home waters.
“I’ve been fishing the Alabama River for years, and I’ve had a lot of success here over the years,” Rutland said. “So it feels really good to win this tournament here.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Chris Rutland, Wetumpka, Ala., five bass, 17-0, $4,825
2nd: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., five bass, 16-1, $2,418
3rd: Scott Wiley Jr., Bay Minette, Ala., five bass, 14-7, $1,413
4th: Taylor Luna, Millbrook, Ala., five bass, 14-5, $988
5th: Robbie Robinson, Mobile, Ala., five bass, 13-14, $847
6th: Dennis Perrigo, Rienzi, Miss., five bass, 12-12, $1,176
7th: Conner Neal, Hoover, Ala., five bass, 12-9, $670
7th: Joseph Lamar, Deatsville, Ala., five bass, 12-9, $670
9th: Lamar Landreth Jr., Smiths Station, Ala., five bass, 11-14, $1,065 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
10th: Kyle Dorsett, Springville, Ala., five bass, 11-13, $494
Rutland’s largemouth that weighed 6 pounds even was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and also earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $590. Kane Harper of Ranburne, Alabama, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,118 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 12 pounds, 3 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:
1st: Kane Harper, Ranburne, Ala., five bass, 12-3, $2,118
2nd: Brannon Jones, Montgomery, Ala., five bass, 11-12, $1,059
3rd: Daniel Corkern, Florence, Miss., five bass, 11-9, $856
4th: William Chadick, Auburn, Ala., five bass, 11-4, $494
5th: Anthony Davis, McCalla, Ala., five bass, 10-15, $719
6th: Edward Kennedy, Wetumpka, Ala., five bass, 10-9, $388
7th: Chris Harcrow, Dawson, Ala., four bass, 10-5, $453
8th: Larry Harvey, Montgomery, Ala., five bass, 10-1, $318
9th: Mike Langdale, Sycamore, Ga., five bass, 9-11, $282
10th: Caleb Whitehurst, Andalusia, Ala., five bass, 9-7, $247
Davis caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 6 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $295.
After three events, Robbie Robinson of Mobile, Alabama, leads the Bass Fishing League Bama Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 722 points, while Mike Langdale of Sycamore, Georgia, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 729 points.
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