APPLING, Ga. (June 20, 2022) – Boater Kameron Harbin of Abbeville, South Carolina, caught five bass Saturday weighing 20 pounds, 7 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Tournament on Clarks Hill Lake . The tournament was the fourth event for the Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division. Harbin earned $11,856, which includes a $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.
“I found one area of the lake that I ran and had some very quality bites,” Harbin said. “I caught a 2-pounder right off the bat and then followed that up 30 minutes later with a 5-pounder. I just kept picking them off one by one all day long and caught my last good fish about noon.”
Harbin said he fished from the middle of Clarks Hill toward the upper end. He targeted shallow ditches in the backs of creeks with a Berkley J-Walker and a Berkley PowerBait Bottom Hopper Worm fished on a shaky head rig.
After catching 20 keepers during the tournament, Harbin said he felt confident in his weigh bag for the most part, but had a 2-pound fish he wanted to upgrade.
“I had a 5-pounder on that ended up spitting the bait out, and I thought, ‘That’s going to be the one that costs me the win,’” Harbin said. “I just didn’t think I had it won.
“I’ve had a lot of experience at Clarks Hill and fished it for many years,” Harbin added. “I’ve been close before in BFL competition and have finished second, so to finally get one wrapped up in a win feels really good.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Kameron Harbin, Abbeville, S.C., five bass, 20-7, $11,856 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Donald Miller, Harlem, Ga., five bass, 20-6, $1,913
3rd: Tucker Veronee, Gilbert, S.C., five bass, 18-9, $1,141
4th: Joshua Rockefeller, Harlem, Ga., five bass, 17-2, $799
5th: Randall Clark, Hephzibah, Ga., five bass, 15-7, $685
6th: Wesley Story, Clarks Hill, S.C., five bass, 15-3, $628
7th: Tyler Walls, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 15-0, $771
8th: Joshua Weaver, Monroe, Ga., five bass, 14-8, $514
9th: D.J. Hadden, Appling, Ga., five bass, 13-1, $457
10th: Danny Kirk, Midville, Ga., five bass, 13-0, $400
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Harbin also caught a largemouth weighing 5 pounds, 13 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – to earn the day’s Big Bass Boater award of $430. Rennison Robbins of Jackson, South Carolina, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $1,928 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 11 pounds, 14 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:
1st: Rennison Robbins, Jackson, S.C., five bass, 11-14, $1,928
2nd: Brennan Gunther, Mount Pleasant, S.C., five bass, 10-11, $956
3rd: Cameron Mullis, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 9-13, $571
4th: James Akins, Cumming, Ga., five bass, 9-12, $400
5th: Kevin Henderson, Honea Path, S.C., five bass, 9-10, $343
6th: Matthew Guffey, Simpsonville, S.C., five bass, 8-14, $314
7th: Hunter Bailey, North Augusta, S.C., five bass, 8-0, $285
8th: Arthur Harris, York, S.C., four bass, 7-12, $257
9th: Joey Alexander, Salem, N.C., five bass, 7-11, $228
10th: Heath Pieczynski, Forsyth, Ga., three bass, 7-8, $200
Robbins also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 8 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $215.