LAVONIA, Ga. (Sept. 12, 2022) – Boater Alex Prince of Blue Ridge, Georgia, caught 10 bass weighing 38 pounds, 6 ounces, to win the two-day MLF Phoenix 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 Savannah River Division. Prince earned $6,121 for his victory.
Prince said he started the tournament hot out of the gate Saturday morning, catching good fish at his first location on the main lake throwing a topwater bait.
“They were just biting, and we were catching,” the 23-year-old Prince said. “There was wind, and the weather was good.”
However, Prince said things changed for him on Sunday, and he only had 10 pounds in the livewell at noon. Then the sun came out, the wind picked up, and the fish turned on.
“They started biting, and I culled three times with three of my biggest fish,” Prince said. “I was chasing big schools of fish that were roaming, and I was catching them on a fluke-style bait rigged on a 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook. I also caught a couple on a walking bait.
“The key thing for me on Sunday was when the sun came out, they sat up on the brush, and you knew where they were instead of chasing them around,” Prince added. “I caught them anywhere from 15 to 30 feet deep.
“It was an awesome day,” Prince added. “I’m just a young kid who likes to bass fish. I never dreamed of winning one of these. I know the Savannah River division has some of the best fishermen in the country. This win is such a blessing.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Alex Prince, Blue Ridge, Ga., 10 bass, 38-6, $6,121
2nd: Emil Wagner, Marietta, Ga, 10 bass, 35-8, $3,760 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF5 contingency bonus)
3rd: Tyler Campbell, Martin, Ga., 10 bass, 34-15, $2,041
4th: Bradford Beavers, Summerville, S.C., 10 bass, 33-6, $1,428
5th: Cole Wilson, Nicholson, Ga, 10 bass, 32-5, $1,224
6th: Jayme Rampey, Liberty, S.C., 10 bass, 31-14, $1,122
7th: Justin Tingen, Moore, S.C., 10 bass, 31-2, $1,020
8th: Collin Smith, Honea Path, S.C., 10 bass, 30-12, $1,758
9th: Matthew O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., 10 bass, 29-9, $1,116
10th: Justin Raines, Easley, S.C., 10 bass, 29-0, $714
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Collin Smith of Honea Path, South Carolina, caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 12 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – to earn the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $840. Cody Hawkins of Travelers Rest, South Carolina, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $3,449 Sunday after catching a two-day total of nine bass weighing 24 pounds, 14 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:
1st: Cody Hawkins, Travelers Rest, S.C., nine bass, 24-14, $3,449
2nd: Caleb Warrington, Watkinsville, Ga., 10 bass, 22-7, $1,517
3rd: Brody Bowen, Cleveland, Ga., 10 bass, 20-12, $1,010
4th: Damon Phillips, Anderson, S.C., 10 bass, 20-9, $708
5th: Lee Polatty, Abbeville, S.C., eight bass, 17-12, $607
6th: Kevin Henderson, Honea Path, S.C., nine bass, 17-4, $556
7th: Zach Pringle, Newton, N.C., eight bass, 16-5, $506
8th: Corey Veal, Royston, Ga., 10 bass, 15-13, $445
9th: Jacob Turner, Hodges, S.C., six bass, 15-6, $1,054
10th: Darren Jeter, Candler, N.C., 10 bass, 15-3, $354
Hawkins also caught the largest bass in the Strike King Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 4 ounces. The catch earned him the Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $416.