ANDERSON, S.C. (May 1, 2023) – Boater Jason Burroughs of Hodges, South Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Tournament on Lake Hartwell. The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Savannah River Division. Burroughs earned $12,346 for his victory, including the $7,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus for winning the tournament while competing in a Phoenix boat.
“This feels great,” said Burroughs, who earned his sixth career victory in MLF competition. “I have won a few of these BFL events before, but you never know when the next one is going to come. You can very easily have a 3-, 4-, 5-year window where you don’t win one, so I’m always very thankful to win one.
“I’m very pleased with how my day went,” Burroughs continued. “I fished from Andersonville to the dam, targeting the herring bite and fishing all main-lake points. I made probably 60 stops, just point to point to point to point.”
Burroughs credited three baits as being the key for him on Saturday.
“I caught some fish on a swimbait and some other key fish on a Buckeye Lures shaky-head and a Mule Skinner Baits trick worm.
“I was fortunate enough to the right bites,” Burroughs went on to say. “Everybody caught fish – there were a bunch of fish caught. But I had two 4½-pounders that went a long way.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Jason Burroughs, Hodges, S.C., five bass, 19-6, $12,346 (includes $7000 Phoenix Bonus)
2nd: Lane Clark, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 18-13, $1,963
3rd: Jayme Rampey, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 18-9, $,1309
4th: Chase Stewart, Ware Shoals, S.C., five bass, 17-10, $916
5th: Buddy Benson, Dahlonega, Ga., five bass, 17-4, $785
6th: Paul Marks, Cumming, Ga., five bass, 16-11, $720
7th: Adam Rice, Belton, S.C., five bass, 16-9, $621
7th: Tallis Morrison, Royston, Ga., five bass, 16-9, $621
9th: Anthony Moore, Colbert, Ga., five bass, 16-7, $523
10th: Justin Raines, Easley, S.C., five bass, 16-2, $458
Tim Eplee Sr. of Hendersonville, North Carolina, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $530. Darren Jeter of Chandler, North Carolina, won the co-angler division and a total of $2,228 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 15 ounces, just 1 ounce more than the second-place finisher.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Darren Jeter, Chandler, N.C., five bass, 13-5, $2,228
2nd: Shawn Malcom, Monroe, Ga., five bass, 13-14, $981
3rd: William Chris Bensel, Abbeville, S.C., five bass, 13-8, $1,005
4th: Jamison Bagwell, Chesnee, S.C., five bass, 13-1, $458
5th: Wesley Mullins, Guyton, Ga., five bass, 12-13, $393
6th: Harold Addison II, Columbia, S.C., five bass, 11-1, $560
7th: Kevin Henderson, Honea Path, S.C., five bass, 10-14, $310
7th: Justin Lemaster, Royston, Ga., five bass, 10-14, $310
9th: Ronnie Cutshall, Piedmont, S.C., five bass, 10-5, $262
10th: Johnny Hancox, West Union, S.C., five bass, 10-3, $229
Jeter also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $265, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 8 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After four events, Paul Marks of Cumming, Georgia, leads the BFL Savannah River Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 987 points, while Michael Miller of Greenville, South Carolina, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 952 points.
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