APPLING, Ga. (June 17, 2024) – Boaters Jason Burroughs of Hodges, South Carolina, and Hampton Rowland of Appling, Georgia, each caught five-bass limits weighing 21 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to tie for the win at the MLF Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Clarks Hill Lake. The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Savannah River Division. For his share of the win, Burroughs earned $9,741 thanks to the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus. Rowland earned $2,841.
On tournament day, Burroughs and Rowland went in opposite directions, so to speak. Burroughs fished shallow and Rowland stayed out deep.
“I decided to fish shallow and fish for bream eaters,” Burroughs added. “I caught them on a popping frog and a Buckeye buzz bait.”
Burroughs ran a milk run of shallow pockets and caught his fish from shallow grass and bushes. He added one late offshore kicker that boosted him from 19 pounds to his winning weight.
“It really went down early,” Burroughs said. “I had all of them but one by 9 o’clock. I actually caught one out deep late in the day. But everything had already died (up shallow), and I fished one little swing and caught one deep late.”
Rowland’s day worked in reverse.
“I actually didn’t catch my first fish until probably 9:15,” he said. “I messed around trying to catch some schooling fish thinking they were going to school that morning, and they never did.”
He spent the rest of the day cycling as fast as he could through 50 to 60 offshore spots – mostly rocks and humps.
“It’s my home lake, so I’ve got a lot of hours there,” he said. “So I just kind of fished off memory and past. I don’t have time to go like I used to. I just picked up the (3/4-ounce football) jig and went to work. That’s what I love to do.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Jason Burroughs, Hodges, S.C., five bass, 21-1, $9,741 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
1st: Hampton Rowland, Appling, Ga., five bass, 21-1, $2,841
3rd: Kyle Brown, Easley, S.C., five bass, 17-2, $1,084
4th: Eric Allen, Powder Springs, Ga., five bass, 15-10, $760
5th: Matt O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., five bass, 15-5, $776
6th: Caleb Hudson, Lincolnton, Ga., five bass, 14-13, $597
7th: Justin Raines, Easley, S.C., five bass, 14-10, $515
7th: Brandon Martin, Lula, Ga., five bass, 14-10, $515
9th: Joe Anders, Easley, S.C., five bass, 14-6, $434
10th: Hogan Benson, Boiling Springs, S.C., five bass, 14-3, $380
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Rowland caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 8 ounces, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $400. Kevin Henderson of Honea Path, South Carolina, won the co-angler division and $1,603 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 15 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Kevin Henderson, Honea Path, S.C., five bass, 12-15, $1,603
2nd: Matthew Johnson, Evans, Ga., five bass, 10-11, $801
3rd: JD Carter, Honea Path, S.C., two bass, 10-9, $725
4th: River Huffman, Young Harris, Ga., five bass, 9-14, $374
5th: Chase Gurkin, Simpsonville, S.C., five bass, 9-2, $321
6th: William Thomas Cowart, Danielsville, Ga., five bass, 8-14, $294
7th: Matthew Hamilton, Hoschton, Ga., five bass, 8-10, $267
8th: Gibson Huntley, Inman, S.C., two bass, 8-8, $240
9th: Rodney Tapp, Inman, S.C., five bass, 8-1, $314
10th: Matthew Guffey, Simpsonville, S.C., five bass, 8-0, $187
JD Carter of Honea Path, South Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $192, catching a bass that weighed in at 6 pounds, 15 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After four events, Joe Anders of Easley, South Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash Savannah River Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 955 points, while Andy Burgess of Greenville, South Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash Savannah River Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 938 points.
The next event for BFL Savannah River Division anglers will be held Aug. 17-18, at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina.
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