LAVONIA, Ga. (Oct. 2, 2023) – Boater Matt O’Connell of Brooks, Georgia, caught 10 bass weighing 31 pounds, 5 ounces, to win the two-day MLF Bass Fishing League tournament on Lake Hartwell in Lavonia, Georgia. The tournament was the fifth and final regular-season event for the Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division. O’Connell earned $14,448 for his victory, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF contingency bonus.
“I got to Hartwell on Thursday and started looking around to see how things were setting up,” said O’Connell, who finished second in the Phoenix Bass Fishing League 2023 All-American Championship at Lake Hartwell in June. “I found some big schools set up in places, and that led me down the path I would continue on for the rest of the weekend. I just picked up all the different blueback (herring) style baits and ran all over the lake fishing the big schools and brush piles and dialing it in as the weekend continued.”
O’Connell said he caught more keepers than short fish during the two-day event but never felt confident his weight would be enough for a win.
“I thought after Day 1 if I could duplicate that weight, I might have a shot at a win,” O’Connell said. “My goal was to get the same weight, basically. But at Hartwell, anybody can catch 20 pounds, and a bunch of guys had 11, 12, and 13 pounds after the first day, so I was super worried.
“This win definitely feels good,” O’Connell continued. “I’ve fished close to a hundred BFLs and hadn’t won one, and it definitely feels a little different than when you finish second or third.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Matt O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., 10 bass, 31-5, $14,448 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Joe Anders, Easley, S.C., 10 bass, 28-14, $2,824
3rd: Emil Wagner, Marietta, Ga., 10 bass, 27-2, $1,882
4th: Robert Clarke III, Pineville, S.C., 10 bass, 26-11, $1,318
5th: Bradford Beavers, Summerville, S.C., 10 bass, 25-4, $1,130
6th: Scott Hamrick, Denver, N.C., 10 bass, 24-8, $1,035
7th: Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., 10 bass, 24-7, $1,691
8th: Chris Dover, Blacksburg, S.C., 10 bass, 23-4, $847
9th: Brad Benfield, Demorest, Ga., 10 bass, 23-1, $753
10th: Jeremy Bouldin, Kings Mountain, N.C., 10 bass, 23-0, $659
Troy Morrow of Eastanollee, Georgia, had a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 10 ounces that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $750. Wesley Mullins of Guyton, Georgia, won the Co-angler Division and $3,199 Sunday after catching a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 20 pounds, 15 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Wesley Mullins, Guyton, Ga., 10 bass, 20-15, $3,199
2nd: Bobby Henderson, Charlotte, N.C., 10 bass, 17-9, $1,812
3rd: Thomas Pennell III, Boiling Springs, S.C., 10 bass, 17-7, $940
4th: Kevin Henderson, Honea Path, S.C., 10 bass, 15-5, $659
5th: Ashley Klaus, Thomson, Ga., nine bass, 15-4, $565
6th: Dylan Locklear, Elgin, S.C., seven bass, 14-13, $518
7th: Jacob Yaden, Evans, Ga., 10 bass, 14-13, $621
8th: Mark Garrett, Walhalla, S.C., 10 bass, 14-1, $424
9th: Rob Nicholson, Union Mills, N.C., nine bass, 13-13, $377
10th: Lonnie Drusch, Sumter, S.C., nine bass, 13-9, $329
Mullins also caught the largest bass in the Strike King Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 14 ounces. The catch earned him the Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $375.
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