SCOTTSVILLE, Ky. (June 27, 2022) – Boater Dylan Wright of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, caught five bass Saturday weighing 17 pounds, 5 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Tournament on the Barren River . The tournament was the fourth event for the Bass Fishing League Mountain Division. Wright earned $4,796 for his victory.
“I got to my first spot and nobody was on it,” Wright said. “I caught a limit on it pretty early and then moved to a different spot about 9 o’clock and stayed there and just culled up throughout the day. All in all, it went pretty smooth.”
Wright said he had never fished the Barren River before, except for two practice days in the week leading up to the event. During the tournament he focused on mid-lake points with a shaky-head rig, tipped with a Roboworm, casting into 10 feet of water on points and dragging his bait into depths around 20 feet. Wright said his method resulted in 25 keepers and no short fish during the course of the day.
“This feels real good,” said Wright after posting his first BFL win. “I’ve had some tournaments that I’ve left the lake and just felt terrible, and I’ve also had some close calls, like last week in the Music City Division’s Old Hickory Lake event where I finished second, so to finish this one on top feels great.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Dylan Wright, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 17-5, $4,796
2nd: Aaron Singleton, La Grange, Ky., five bass, 16-14, $2,398
3rd: Dalton Smith, Taylorsville, Ky., five bass, 16-8, $1,595
4th: William Merrick, Mount Juliet, Tenn., five bass, 15-14, $2,834 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
5th: Dwight Fox, Gainesboro, Tenn., five bass, 15-13, $919
5th: Grant Adams, Campbellsville, Ky., five bass, 15-13, $919
7th: Anthony Bowman, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 15-11, $799
8th: Nick Ratliff, Vine Grove, Ky., five bass, 14-15, $719
9th: Stephen Whobrey, Scottsville, Ky., five bass, 14-14, $639
10th: Talmadge Marcum, McKee, Ky., five bass, 14-11, $560
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Merrick also caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 7 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – earning him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $715.
Travis Lloyd of Jamestown, Tennessee, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,533 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 17 pounds, 7 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:
1st: Travis Lloyd, Jamestown, Tenn., five bass, 17-7, $2,533
2nd: Brent Clark, Bowling Green, Ky., five bass, 16-15, $1,453
3rd: Gilbert Jolley, Livingston, Tenn., five bass, 14-3, $1,187
4th: Taylor Wisniewski, Lexington, Ky., five bass, 13-15, $701
5th: Jeff Hartgrove, Mt. Sterling, Ky., five bass, 13-3, $472
6th: Wayne Crouch, Jamestown, Tenn., five bass, 13-2, $433
7th: Bert Kissick, Danville, Ky., five bass, 12-13, $393
8th: Josh Gadd, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 12-9, $354
9th: Matthew Short, Florence, Ky., five bass, 12-7, $315
10th: Lucas Devere, Berea, Ky., five bass, 12-0, $275
Lloyd and Clark both caught bass weighing 4 pounds, 15 ounces in the Co-angler Division to tie for the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award. Each angler received $173.
After four events, Michael Morrison of Stamping Ground, Kentucky, leads the Bass Fishing League Mountain Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 957 points, while Todd Stopher of London, Kentucky, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 947 points.