APPLING, Ga. (June 24, 2024) – Boater Matt O’Connell of Brooks, Georgia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds Saturday to win the MLF Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Clarks Hill. The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL South Carolina Division. O’Connell earned $6,805, including the lucrative $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.
O’Connell fished a Savannah River Division tournament on Clarks Hill a week prior and found some fish on brush piles. This time around, he realized the schools had set up a little bit shallower. He kicked the day off throwing a topwater.
“I used a CAST The OG to get a key fish early – a 4-pounder,” he said. “Last week, my biggest fish was like 3 1/2. Then I just kind of mixed in various other blueback baits; other topwaters, flukes, stuff like that. Basically, I caught most of my weight before 8 o’clock in the morning and then continued catching a bunch of other fish throughout the day, but they were mostly 1- to 2-pounders.”
A big boating event on the lake presented some challenges for O’Connell’s offshore bite in the middle of the day because he had to work around a lot of extra traffic. Thankfully, his first spot produced that 4-pounder, and his second put out a 4½ and 3¾ .
“My initial spot was a shallow hump,” he said. “There was a ton of bluebacks moving through. The fish would school around you off and on. The second spot wasn’t a hump. It was just a long point.”
After he left those areas, O’Connell targeted brush piles. The shining spot in the afternoon was a key cull that came with 45 minutes remaining. He was able to gain about a half-pound, giving him a solid cushion over second place.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Matt O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., five bass, 18-0, $6,805 (includes $2,500 Phoenix MLF Continency Bonus)
2nd: Aspen Martin, White, Ga., five bass, 16-15, $1,753
3rd: Jason Burroughs, Hodges, S.C., five bass, 15-10, $1,169
4th: Norm Attaway, Clearwater, S.C., five bass, 15-1, $1,258
5th: Hunter Eubanks, Landrum, S.C., five bass, 15-0, $672
5th: Logan Mills, Chapin, S.C., five bass, 15-0, $672
7th: Joe Anders, Easley, S.C., five bass, 14-15, $584
8th: Jeffrey Borne, Prosperity, S.C., five bass, 14-9, $526
9th: Tyler Campbell, Martin, Ga., five bass, 14-6, $438
9th: Jeff Coble, Manson, N.C., five bass, 14-6, $438
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Norm Attaway of Clearwater, South Carolina, caught a bass that weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $440. Braxton Spurlin of Ellenboro, North Carolina, won the co-angler division and $1,753 Saturday, after bringing four bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 14 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Braxton Spurlin, Ellenboro, N.C., four bass, 11-14, $1,753
2nd: Wayne Smelser, Wytheville, Va., five bass, 9-14, $876
3rd: Ross Doolittle, Greenwood, S.C., five bass, 9-13, $585
4th: Riley Smallwood, Shallotte, N.C., five bass, 9-7, $509
5th: Trent Killian, Bostic, N.C., five bass, 8-11, $351
6th: Carter Jefferies, Mount Pleasant, S.C., five bass, 8-4, $321
7th: Jacob Yaden, Evans, Ga., five bass, 8-1, $442
8th: Rodney Tapp, Inman, S.C., five bass, 7-12, $263
9th: Kevin Henderson, Honea Path, S.C., five bass, 7-8, $219
9th: Dale Ball, Asheville, N.C., four bass, 7-8, $219
Travis Ruff of Connelly Springs, North Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $220, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 11 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After four events, Joe Anders of Easley, South Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash South Carolina Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 955 points, while Trent Killian of Bostic, North Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash South Carolina Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 952 points.
The next event for BFL South Carolina Division anglers will be held Sept.7-8, at Lake Murray in Prosperity, South Carolina.
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