GROVE, Okla. (Oct. 24, 2022) – Boater Phillip Lunceford of Stigler, Oklahoma, brought a three-day total of 15 bass to the scale weighing 39 pounds, 7 ounces, to win the MLF Bass Fishing League Regional Event on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma. For his victory, Lunceford earned $61,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000. Lunceford also received automatic entry into the 2023 Bass Fishing League All-American Championship.
“In September, Grand Lake goes through what I call the ‘fall blues,’” Lunceford said. “It’s a transition period. In practice I ran seven or eight spots I had fished in September, and I caught a limit pretty quick. I tried to expand on that, but a cold front came in and changed it.”
Lunceford said that October is traditionally a good time for a topwater bite, but he couldn’t get bass to react during the tournament. Instead he focused on what worked for him in practice, and in the first 10 minutes of the opening day of the tournament he had two fish for eight pounds in the livewell. The same tactics worked on the second day, then the weather changed.
“The wind blew on the last day, and I knew I probably couldn’t fish the areas I had been fishing, but I had to go look at them,” Lunceford said. “I couldn’t run in that wind, so I turned around and fished some stuff in practice from Sailboat Bridge up to near Neosho. Once I ran those spots, I just started fishing history.
“I’m 41 years old, and I’ve been going to Grand Lake since I was 15,” Lunceford added. “The win felt great because it was 20-something years of redemption of letting multi-day tournament wins slip through my fingers.”
The top six boaters that qualified for the 2023 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were:
1st: Phillip Lunceford, Stigler, Okla., 15 bass, 39-7, $61,000
2nd: Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 15 bass, 38-11, $11,000
3rd: Shane Long, Willard, Mo., 15 bass, 38-7, $5,000
4th: Travis Harriman, Huntsville, Ark., 15 bass, 38-5, $4,200
5th: Chris Huselton, Conway, Ark., 15 bass, 37-14, $3,000
6th: Dustin Lippe, Blue Eye, Mo., 14 bass, 35-6, $2,300 (including $500 Phoenix MLF contingency
bonus)
Rounding out the top 10 boaters were:
7th: Graden Hansen, Grove, Okla., 14 bass, 35-4, $1,600
8th: Derek Felton, Willard, Mo., 13 bass, 35-2, $1,400
9th: Mike Feldermann, Galena, Ill., 15 bass, 34-9, $2,200
10th: Travis Mosley, Benton, Ark., 12 bass, 34-7, $1,100
The top four boaters from each division that earned a $1,000 bonus for placing highest in the event were:
Arkie: Chris Huselton, Conway, Ark., 5th Place, $1,000
Cowboy: Clark Moore, Nacogdoches, Texas, 26th Place, $1,000
Great Lakes: Mike Feldermann, Galena, Ill., 9th Place, $1,000
Ozark: Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 2nd Place $1,000
Lippe took home an extra $500 as the highest finishing Phoenix MLF Bonus member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League tournament if all requirements are met.
Cody Carl of Lake Lotawana, Missouri, weighed in 12 bass over three days totaling 25 pounds, 10 ounces to win the top Strike King co-angler prize package of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.
The top six Strike King co-anglers that qualified for the 2023 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were:
1st: Cody Carl of Lake Lotawana, Mo., 12 bass, 25-10, $50,000
2nd: Chris Bunk, Sullivan, Mo., nine bass, 24-4, $5,500
3rd: Aaron Calvert, Russellville, Ark., 11 bass, 21-7, $3,000
4th: Daniel Bryant, Scott, La., 10 bass, 19-14, $2,100
5th: Steve Duncan, Amarillo, Texas, eight bass, 19-4, $1,200
6th: John Hankins, Atkins, Ark., eight bass, 18-9, $900
Rounding out the top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:
7th: Stephan Gross, Laneville, Texas, nine bass, 18-5, $800
8th: Randy Allen, Russellville, Ark., eight bass, 18-2, $900
9th: Larry Weeks, Ridgedale, Mo., seven bass, 17-10, $600
10th: Albert Ignacio, Dallas, Texas, nine bass, 17-4, $550
The top four Strike King Co-anglers from each division that earned a $500 bonus for placing highest in the event were:
Arkie: Aaron Calvert, Russellville, Ark., 3rd Place, $500
Cowboy: Daniel Bryant, Scott, La. 4th Place, $500
Great Lakes: Nicholas Oates, Marengo, Ill., 18th Place, $500
Ozark: Chris Bunk, Sullivan, Mo., 2nd Place $500
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