LEXINGTON, N.C. (June 19, 2023) – Boater Rodney Bell of Salisbury, North Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to win the MLF Bass Fishing League (BFL) on High Rock Lake. The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Piedmont Division. Bell earned $5,024 for his victory.
“I started early with a buzzbait and caught one doing that,” said Bell. “It was extremely crowded where I was, and I live on High Rock, so I switched creeks to get away from the crowd.”
Three of Bell’s six BFL wins have come on High Rock Lake, and his knowledge of the fishery, especially the mid-lake area where he fished during competition, paid off during the tournament. His relocation quickly produced a 4½-pounder and a 6-15 bass, the Berkley Big Bass of the day.
“When I caught that big one, I decided I was there for the duration of the day,” Bell said. “I settled down and fished docks and laydowns with an E&L Lures jig and a couple of bass came on a worm. I stayed shallow all day long and caught nine keepers.
“I’ve fished probably 150 of these BFL events, but it’s always special to win at home,” Bell added.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Rodney Bell, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 21-1, $5,024
2nd: Travis Donaldson, Cleveland, N.C., five bass, 20-9, $2,197
3rd: Ryan Powroznik, Hopewell, Va., five bass, 20-3, $1,464
4th: Junior Roberts, Alexandria, Va., five bass, 18-4, $1,025
5th: Evan White, Roanoke Rapids, N.C., five bass, 18-2, $879
6th: David Wright, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 17-1, $1,775 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
7th: Chad Poteat, Mount Airy, N.C., five bass, 16-13, $1,232
8th: Ron Wolfarth, Oakboro, N.C., five bass, 16-3, $659
9th: Dennis Burdette, Pembroke, Va., five bass, 15-8, $586
10th: Ladd Whicker, Winston-Salem, N.C., four bass, 15-1, $513
Bell also caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $630. David Deciucis of Chester, Virginia, won the co-angler division and a total of $2,379 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 14 pounds, 12 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: David Deciucis, Chester, Va., five bass, 14-12, $2,379
2nd: Hank Cooke, Emporia, Va., five bass, 13-10, $907
2nd: Cornell Badra, Clarksburg, Md., four bass, 13-10, $907
4th: Eric Nelson, Gainesville, Va., five bass, 13-5, $509
5th: Ben Dacey, Powhatan, Va., five bass, 12-15, $786
6th: Matthew Noraas, Pamplin, Va., five bass, 12-1, $400
7th: Vernon Adams, Clayton, N.C., five bass, 11-15, $363
8th: Mekye Barnes, Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 11-14, $327
9th: Bobby Henderson, Charlotte, N.C., two bass, 10-13, $603
10th: Tim Privette, Jr., Wendell, N.C., five bass, 10-9, $254
Bobby Henderson of Charlotte, N.C., earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $312, catching a bass that weighed in at 6 pounds, 13 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After three events, Evan White of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, leads the BFL Piedmont Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 719 points, while Timothy Kinder of Fairfax, Virginia, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 720 points.
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