LEESBURG, Fla. (March 7, 2022) – Boaters Devin Vandalen of Umatilla, Florida, and Joey Bloom of Winter Springs, Florida, each caught five bass Sunday weighing 22 pounds, 7 ounces, to tie for the victory at the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Tournament on Harris Chain of Lakes. The tournament was rescheduled from Jan. 29 due to high water levels and unsafe conditions, and was the third event for the Bass Fishing League Gator Division. For their efforts, Vandalen and Bloom each earned $4,500.
“I fished shell bars on Big Harris and knew it was going to be hit or miss,” Bloom said. “I pulled up and saw a bunch of fish on my Lowrance ActiveTarget Sonar, so I threw a black and blue 13 Fishing Bubble Butt Worm and caught all of my big fish on that. I also caught a couple of keepers on a Tennessee Shad-colored Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap.
“This is my first BFL win,” Bloom continued. “I literally sat in the boat yesterday and cried. All of my family was there, and it was an amazing experience to have the people who support me there to see it. It is one of the coolest things that has ever happened in my life.”
Vandalen’s win was not the typical tournament day. He said his intention was to target bass on shell bars using a white Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer. He said he was a mile from his first spot when his lower unit malfunctioned.
“I made it to the bank and used the trolling motor to fish two miles of bank and ended up finding a shell bar and caught a small limit that went about 4 pounds,” Vandalen said.
Vandalen received a replacement boat from tournament officials and continued the competition.
“When I got the boat, I went to my other spot and I ended up culling all my fish out,” Vandalen said. “I caught my biggest fish at about 2 o’clock, and that was pretty much my day.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Devin Vandalen, Umatilla, Fla., five bass, 22-7, $4,500
1st: Joey Bloom, Winter Springs, Fla., five bass, 22-7, $4,500
3rd: Ben McCann, Bradenton, Fla., five bass, 21-15, $3,000
4th: Greg Jones, Sarasota, Fla., five bass, 20-0, $1,400
5th: Billy Jackson Jr., Ocala, Fla., five bass, 19-12, $1,200
6th: Santos Solis, Vero Beach, Fla., five bass, 19-2, $1,100
7th: Kyle Wieczorek, Nokomis, Fla., five bass, 18-4, $1,000
8th: Eric Panzironi, Longwood, Fla., five bass, 18-0, $900
9th: Mark Lundgren, Saint Cloud, Fla., five bass, 17-10, $800
10th: Tray Bozeman, Anthony, Fla., five bass, 16-7, $700
McCann had an 8-pound, 12-ounce largemouth that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $1,000. Randy Paquette of Sarasota, Florida, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $3,000 Sunday after catching five bass weighing 19 pounds, 12 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:
1st: Randy Paquette, Sarasota, Fla., five bass, 19-12, $3,000
2nd: Greg Fox, Bonita Springs, Fla., five bass, 16-9, $1,700
3rd: James Sponaugle, Auburndale, Fla., five bass, 16-2, $1,000
4th: Antoni Bicy, Lehigh Acres, Fla., five bass, 15-4, $700
5th: Walter McClure, Apopka, Fla., five bass, 14-4, $1,100
6th: Davis Dimauro, Longwood, Fla., five bass, 14-3, $550
7th: Kevin Thomas, Miramar, Fla., five bass, 13-8, $500
8th: Steve England, Soddy Daisy, Tenn., five bass, 13-6, $450
9th: Paul Giove, Punta Gorda, Fla., three bass, 12-11, $400
10th: Sean Ripley, Lakeland, Fla., three bass, 12-8, $350
McClure caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 8 pounds, 12 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $500.
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