Black Wins Bass Fishing League Tournament on Neely Henry

GADSDEN, Ala. (June 13, 2022) – Boater Lee Black of Danville, Alabama, caught five bass Saturday weighing 15 pounds, 6 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League tournament on Neely Henry Lake. Black earned $4,315 for his victory.

“I started off and ran about 40 minutes to my first place, and it was kind of slow for the first two hours,” Black said. “I had four fish in the livewell, and one that weighed 3½ pounds. Then, about noon, the bigger fish started biting and I caught three 4-pounders.”

Black said he focused on an upriver section of Neely Henry and caught 10 bass, including eight keepers, during the course of the day. He said a vibrating jig accounted for most of his keeper fish. He added that two of his biggest fish came while flipping a Z-Man Palmetto BugZ creature bait.

“I have fished a lot of BFL events and have finished second and third, but never have won one,” Black said. “It feels good to finally get one.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

                1st:        Lee Black, Danville, Ala., five bass, 15-6, $4,315
                2nd:       Kris Colley, Ragland, Ala., five bass, 15-0, $2,767
                3rd:       Wes Logan, Springville, Ala., five bass, 14-15, $1,439
                4th:        Scott Chatham, Kingston, Ga., five bass, 13-7, $1,007
                5th:        Mark McCaig, Oxford, Ala., five bass, 13-5, $1,563 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
                6th:        Taylor Parker, Lake View, Ala., five bass, 12-8, $1,441
                7th:        Jason Nixon, Wetumpka, Ala., five bass, 12-3, $683
                7th:        Bradley Jones, Aragon, Ga., five bass, 12-3, $683
                9th:        Beau Gregory, Tallassee, Ala., four bass, 11-14, $575
                10th:     David Wesson, Southside, Ala., five bass, 11-12, $503

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Colley had a largemouth that weighed 5 pounds, 11 ounces that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $610. Mike Langdale of Sycamore, Georgia, won the Co-angler Division and $2,657 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 11 pounds, 6 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

                1st:        Mike Langdale, Sycamore, Ga., five bass, 11-6, $2,657
                2nd:       Kade Kitchens, Southside, Ala., five bass, 10-8, $1,079
                3rd:       Johnny Suratt, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., five bass, 10-5, $717
                4th:        William Maddox, Trussville, Ala., five bass, 9-13, $503
                5th:        Jon Huffine, Powder Springs, Ga., five bass, 9-8, $413
                5th:        Rodney Thompson, Highland Home, Ala., five bass, 9-8, $413
                7th:        Justin Nalley, Fayetteville, Ga., five bass, 9-2, $360
                8th:        Cameron Petras, Biloxi, Miss., five bass, 9-1, $324
                9th:        Daniel Buswell Jr., Fayetteville, Ga., five bass, 8-13, $288
                10th:     Michael Corbett, Oxford, Ala., five bass, 8-9, $252

Marrell Deering of Rome, Georgia, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 5 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $305.

After four events, Robbie Robinson of Mobile, Alabama, leads the Bass Fishing League Bama Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 961 points, while Mike Langdale of Sycamore, Georgia, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 979 points.