SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (May 2, 2022) – Boater Jacob Gardner of Arab, Alabama, caught five bass Saturday weighing 19 pounds, 8 ounces, to win the MLF Bass Fishing League tournament on Lake Guntersville . The tournament, hosted by the Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce, was the fourth event of the season for the Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division. Gardner earned $5,119 for his victory.
“This feels pretty awesome,” Gardner said. “I’m originally from Idaho and have only been bass fishing for eight years now. I caught my first bass when I was 20 years old, and I moved across the country to chase the dream of tournament fishing.”
Gardner said he had caught 14 or 15 pounds by 8:30 by flipping grass with a Berkley Powerbait Crazy Legs Chigger Craw rigged with a 3/16-ounce tungsten weight and a 3/0 hook. The bite slowed for him around 11:30, so he made a run up the river. The location change paid off with back-to-back 5-pounders, and Gardner was on his way to victory. Gardner said he caught 13 fish during the course of the day, including eight keepers.
“I figured it would take 21 or 22 pounds to win, and I figured I had 17 or 18,” Gardner said. “When you catch back-to-back 5-pounders, it’s something special, but I didn’t figure I’d have enough to get the win.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Jacob Gardner, Arab, Ala., five bass, 19-8, $5,119
2nd: Charles Hemm, Huntsville, Ala., five bass, 19-3, $2,059
3rd: Jesse Rigsby, Old Hickory, Tenn., five bass, 19-1, $2,439 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th: Daniel Davis, Albertville, Ala., five bass, 17-13, $1,161
5th: Will Robinson, Columbia, Tenn., five bass, 16-13, $824
6th: Dawson Lenz, Newnan, Ga., five bass, 16-11, $755
7th: Kyle Palmer, Winchester, Tenn., five bass, 16-7, $886
8th: Eddie Walker, Pinson, Ala., five bass, 16-0, $618
9th: Walker Brown, Loretto, Tenn., five bass, 15-12, $549
10th: Keith Miller, Chattanooga, Tenn., five bass, 15-9, $480
Rigsby earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $565 with a largemouth that weighed 5 pounds, 11 ounces, the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division. Jackson Mitchell of Mulga, Alabama, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,159 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 16 pounds, 12 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:
1st: Jackson Mitchell, Mulga, Ala., five bass, 16-12, $2,159
2nd: Randall Kramer, Signal Mountain, Tenn., five bass, 15-14, $1,030
3rd: Dennis Sandoval, Decatur, Ala., five bass, 15-11, $887
4th: Craig Dye, Canton, Ga., five bass, 15-7, $480
5th: Marcus Corbett, Anniston, Ala., five bass, 14-13, $412
6th: Kevin Lankford, Hollywood, Ala., four bass, 14-11, $378
7th: Justin Stephenson, Jasper, Ala., five bass, 13-6, $343
8th: Frank Spacil, Downers Grove, Ill., five bass, 12-10, $309
9th: Vaughn Dennis, Moody, Ala., five bass, 12-8, $275
10th: Preston Kendrick, Mt. Olive, Ala., five bass, 12-0, $228
10th: Ethan Shaw, Raymond, Miss., five bass, 12-0, $228
Anthony Doby of Harvest, Alabama, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 6 pounds, 1 ounce. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $282.
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