Peavyhouse Wins Bass Fishing League Tournament on Dale Hollow Lake

BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. (March 20, 2023) – Boater Isaac Peavyhouse of Jamestown, Tennessee, caught a five-bass limit weighing 23 pounds, 7 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Dale Hollow Lake. The tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Mountain Division. Peavyhouse earned $13,943, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

Peavyhouse said he ran around a lot during the tournament, hitting spots from mid-lake to the dam to produce a winning weight. He said he looked for suspending fish in 30 to 50 feet of water with his Lowrance ActiveTarget Sonar Kit. A Damiki rig with½-ounce Damiki Rig Jig Heads provoked the bikes he needed.

“I started off the day with a little over 20½ pounds in the first 45 minutes,” said Peavyhouse. “That calmed me down quite a bit, and after that, I just went big fish fishing the rest of the day.”

Peavyhouse said he culled bass three or four times after his initial flurry and was throwing back good bass that just wouldn’t improve his final weight.

“I caught about 20 keepers, and I threw back another 20-pound limit,” Peavyhouse said. “I never lost a fish. It was one of those deals where it was just meant to be.

“I’m a local, and I’ve been fortunate enough to weigh a lot of 22- to 24-pound bags,” Peavyhouse added. “So, I never felt like I had it won. I knew as tough as it was this week that people would have to earn it to beat me, but I never felt like I had it won.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

                1st:        Isaac Peavyhouse, Jamestown, Tenn., five bass, 23-7, $13,943 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
                2nd:       Lee Sinclair, Albany, Ky., five bass, 21-7, $2,722
                3rd:       Josh Womack, Gallatin, Tenn., five bass, 21-6, $2,679
                4th:        Christian Nash, Allons, Tenn., five bass, 20-1, $1,270
                5th:        Alex Wright, Bowling Green, Ky., five bass, 19-7, $1,089
                6th:        Bryce McDonald, Paintsville, Ky., five bass, 19-4, $952
                6th:        Cole Logsdon, Brownsville, Ky., five bass, 19-4, $952
                8th:        Bennie Mutter, Glasgow, Ky., five bass, 18-10, $817
                9th:        Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, five bass, 18-9, $1,246
                10th:     Jarrod Conn, Burgin, Ky., five bass, 17-8, $635

Josh Womack of Gallatin, Tennessee, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $865.

John Fitzpatrick of Baxter, Tennessee, won the co-angler division and a total of $3,032 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 16 pounds, 13 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

                1st:        John Fitzpatrick, Baxter, Tenn., five bass, 16-13, $3,032
                2nd:       Lukas Owens, Berea, Ky., five bass, 15-11, $1,310
                3rd:       Keith Bridges, Spring City, Tenn., five bass, 14-11, $877
                4th:        Glen Alan Ruth, Frankfort, Ky., five bass, 13-3, $611
                5th:        James Wheatley, Coxs Creek, Ky., five bass, 12-15, $502
                5th:        Jeff Sears, Byrdstown, Tenn., four bass, 12-15, $502
                7th:        Anthony Scott, Byrdstown, Tenn., five bass, 12-11, $437
                8th:        Gilbert Jolley, Livingston, Tenn., five bass, 12-0, $593
                9th:        Michael Weimann, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 11-2, $349
                10th:     Mike Bowman, Cincinnati, Ohio, four bass, 10-7, $306

Fitzpatrick also earned the Big Bass co-angler award of $412, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 5 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.