ANDERSON, S.C. (March 11, 2024) – Boater Will Hart of Danielsville, Georgia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 8 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Bass Fishing League (BFL) on Lake Hartwell. Hart earned $11,266, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory. Hart caught all of his fish on deep points using his Garmin LiveScope and a Damiki rig. The rig consisted of a Damiki Armor Shad with a Greenfish Bryan New Bad Little Shad Swimbait Head.
“They were out a little bit deeper in 30 to 35 feet,” he said, “just staged up getting ready to start moving up (to spawn) with the water temp rising like it is.
“It started off slow,” Hart added. “I had two fish at like 9 or 10 o’clock, and then I caught the 7-10 (Berkley Big Bass for the day) at like 10:30. Then I knew I had to just slow down. It was a grind. I caught a bunch of little fish, but it was a grind to get a decent bite.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Will Hart, Danielsville, Ga., five bass, 21-8, $11,266 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Kevin Chandler, New London, N.C., five bass, 20-13, $1,883
3rd: Joe Anders, Easley, S.C., five bass, 19-12, $1,256
4th: Dylan Akins, Flowery Branch, Ga., five bass, 18-13, $879
5th: Cole Wilson, Hartwell, Ga., five bass, 18-9, $753
6th: Bradley Day, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 17-6, $690
7th: Brendan Smith, Lavonia, Ga., five bass, 17-4, $628
8th: Justin Raines, Easley, S.C., five bass, 17-2, $865
9th: Lane Clark, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 17-0, $502
10th: Tallis Morrison, Royston, Ga., five bass, 16-14, $439
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Hart caught a bass that weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $500. Mark Yarborough of Salem, South Carolina, won the co-angler division and $1,878 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 16 pounds, 5 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Mark Yarborough, Salem, S.C., five bass, 16-5, $1,878
2nd: Kodell Keels, Columbia, S.C., five bass, 14-12, $1,184
3rd: Moldon Jordan, Andrews, S.C., five bass, 14-1, $627
4th: Michael Gauldin, Stokesdale, N.C., five bass, 14-0, $438
5th: Mark Lee, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 13-0, $360
5th: David Cooper, Rushville, N.Y., five bass, 13-0, $360
7th: Todd Huntley, Inman, S.C., five bass, 12-13, $313
8th: Rodney Tapp, Inman, S.C., five bass, 11-10, $382
9th: Danny Bickley, Chapin, S.C., five bass, 11-6, $250
10th: Ross Doolittle, Greenwood, S.C., five bass, 11-5, $219
Kodell Keels of Columbia, South Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $245, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 8 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
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