LENOIR CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 8, 2021) – After a grueling couple of days on the water, boater Ryan Deal of Evansville, Indiana, brought a two-day total of five bass to the scale weighing 15 pounds, 3 ounces to win the no-entry-fee Bass Fishing League Wild Card Regional Championship tournament at Fort Loudoun and Tellico Lakes. For his victory, Deal earned $5,076 and automatic entry into the 2022 Bass Fishing League All-American Championship, as well as priority entry into the Toyota Series – the pathway to the Pro Circuit and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour.
Hosted by Visit Loudon County and the City of Lenoir City, the Wild Card Regional Championship is a no-entry fee, last-chance shot at the All-American for Bass Fishing League anglers that didn’t qualify for a Regional Championship in 2021. An optional side pot was available to anglers who elected to participate at the Wild Card tournament, with the top 20 percent of anglers who elected to participate in the optional pot receiving checks.
The top six boaters and top six co-anglers advanced to one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the 2022 Bass Fishing League All-American, which will be held June 2-4 on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.
Running way up the Tennessee River on Fort Loudon, Deal said he caught his fish in about 10 feet of water, chasing a current-based pattern that relied on a morning bite. Deal said his key bait was a ½-ounce Lunker Lure Rattleback Flipping Jig in green pumpkin with a matching Zoom Super Chunk Jr. trailer on 20-pound Sunline.
“The first day was definitely better,” Deal said. “I caught three good smallmouths early and a largemouth later in the day to bring in 12 pounds, 10 ounces.
“The final day was extremely tough,” continued Deal. “I kept catching 17½-inch smallmouth, but they’ve got to be 18 inches to keep, so I threw back about 10 pounds on Day 2 and only managed to catch one keeper the entire day.”
The Indiana native started fishing with Major League Fishing (MLF) when he was 16 years old and has fished more than 165 Bass Fishing League tournaments over the years.
“This is the third BFL event I’ve won, but my first Regional Championship win and my fourth time to qualify for the All-American,” said Deal. “I’m excited and looking forward to going to the All-American again.”
The top six boaters that qualified for the 2022 Bass Fishing League All-American were:
1st: Ryan Deal of Evansville, Ind., five bass, 15-3, $5,076
2nd: Perry Dawson of Rockwood, Tenn., seven bass, 14-2, $2,538
3rd: Kevin Powers of Unicoi, Tenn., seven bass, 13-12, $1,715
4th: Steve Phillips of Douglas, Ga., seven bass, 12-2, $1,544
5th: Darren Ashley of Calhoun Falls, S.C., five bass, 12-1, $1,372
6th: Wade Ramsey of Choctaw, Okla., seven bass, 11-11, $1,235
Rounding out the top 10 boaters were:
7th: Cameron Tull of Norman, Okla., five bass, 11-8
8th: Anthony Tardivet Mondo of Ooltewah, Tenn., four bass, 11-5, $1,452
9th: Jason Foster of Ripley, Miss., six bass, 11-4, $500
10th: Darrell Ivey, Jr. of Osage Beach, Mo., seven bass, 10-6, $1,392
Mondo took home an additional $354 for the Day One Big Bass award in the boater division with a bass weighing 4 pounds, 14 ounces. Mark Wedan of Florence, Alabama won the Day Two Big Bass award and $354 in the boater division, bringing a 4-pound, 2-ounce bass to the scale.
Foster took home an extra $500 as the highest finishing MLF Bonus member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Bass Fishing League tournament if all requirements are met.
Gary Meredith of Mount Juliet, Tennessee weighed in five bass over two days totaling 9 pounds, 1 ounce to win the co-angler division at the Wild Card Regional Championship and earn automatic entry into the 2022 Bass Fishing League All-American Championship, as well as priority entry into the Toyota Series.
The top six co-anglers that qualified for the 2022 Bass Fishing League All-American were:
1st: Gary Meredith of Mount Juliet, Tenn., five bass, 9-1
2nd: Jarrod Bailey of Salyersville, Ky., five bass, 9-0, $2,660
3rd: Gary Owens of Columbus, Ind., four bass, 8-2
4th: Brian Zelinskas of Beavercreek, Ohio, four bass, 7-7, $1,330
5th: Russell Woodson of Jonesville, S.C., five bass, 7-6, $899
6th: Kim Sapetti of Chatham, Ill., three bass, 7-5, $809
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
7th: Eric Tressle of Cornelius, N.C., four bass, 7-0, $719
8th: Don Bible of Knoxville, Tenn., two bass, 6-2, $842
9th: Damon Phillips of Anderson, S.C., four bass, 5-14, $575
10th: Jarrod Egolf of Walkersville, Md., two bass, 5-13, $753