EUFAULA, Ala. (June 13, 2022) – Boaters Mike Cavender of Phenix City, Alabama, and Joe Durham of Albany, Georgia, both caught five bass Saturday weighing 19 pounds, 14 ounces, to tie for the win at the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Tournament on Lake Eufaula. Cavender and Durham each earned $3,514 for their victory.
“The first place I stopped at I caught two of the fish I weighed in,” Durham said. “Things went well the rest of the day, and I made some weight upgrades and filled out my limit.”
Durham said he caught 20 fish during the day – all keepers – by fishing ledges from Kiwiki Creek to the causeway with a Picasso Aaron Martens Heavy Cover Shock Blade Pro vibrating jig, a Duo Realis Crankbait G87 15A and a locally produced bladed jig that produced his biggest fish of the day.
“I’ve fished this lake for a long time, and this feels great,” Durham said.
Cavender, an offshore fisherman who said he has fished Eufaula for 27 years, said his experience on the body of water finally paid off at the event. He said he targeted 16 schools of fish in 10 to 20 feet of water around mid-lake and further north.
Cavender said he started the day targeting fish in 10 feet that he had marked under early cloud cover, and then transitioned to deeper water as the day progressed. His bait of choice was a chartreuse shad-colored Strike King Pro Model 5XD Crankbait.
“On my first cast I caught a 4-pounder,” Cavender said. “My second cast gave me a 3½-pounder. So I was happy.”
Cavender’s streak of quality fish continued, and he said he had a limit of 17 pounds in the first 30 minutes of the competition.
“I was just praying I could catch a 5-pounder and a 4-pounder and get 15 pounds total,” Cavender said. “I had no idea I was going to catch five 4-pounders.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Mike Cavender, Phenix City, Ala., five bass, 19-14, $3,514
1st: Joe Durham, Albany, Ga., five bass, 19-14, $3,514
3rd: Matthew O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., five bass, 18-3, $2,362 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th: Baylor Ronemus, Tiger, Ga., five bass, 17-9, $1,093
5th: Payton Morgan, Woodstock, Ga., five bass, 16-0, $937
6th: Bobby Padgett, Lagrange, Ga., five bass, 15-3, $820
6th: Buddy Benson, Dawsonville, Ga., five bass, 15-3, $820
8th: Ethan Greene, Eufaula, Ala., five bass, 14-14, $703
9th: Chandler Ray, Georgetown, Ga., five bass, 14-11, $625
10th: Will Harkins, Blairsville, Ga., five bass, 14-10, $547
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Blake Layfield of Sparks, Georgia, had a largemouth that weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $690. Noah Armstrong of Fayetteville, Georgia, won the Co-angler Division and $2,688 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 20 pounds, 7 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:
1st: Noah Armstrong, Fayetteville, Ga., five bass, 20-7, $2,688
2nd: Alan Ray, Georgetown, Ga., five bass, 14-13, $1,172
3rd: Thai-Son-Le, Macon, Ga., five bass, 13-9, $781
4th: Timothy Stone, Conyers, Ga., five bass, 11-6, $547
5th: Jeff Rikard, Leesville, S.C., four bass, 11-3, $719
6th: Jeff Cook, Columbus, Ga., five bass, 11-1, $430
7th: William Mercer, Cumming, Ga., five bass, 10-10, $391
8th: Zach Lineberry, Dothan, Ala., five bass, 9-15, $351
9th: Chris Davies, Milner, Ga., five bass, 9-14, $312
10th: Jeffrey Payne, Danville, Ga., five bass, 9-13, $273
Armstrong also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 15 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $345.
After four events, Kip Carter of Eatonton, Georgia, leads the Bass Fishing League Bulldog Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 969 points, while Donald Peppers of Good Hope, Georgia, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 946 points.
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