HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (March 7, 2022) – Boater Jake Monti of Mooresville, North Carolina, caught five bass Saturday weighing 17 pounds, 2 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Tournament on Lake Norman . The tournament was the season-opener for the Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division. Monti earned $9,158, including a $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.
“In practice on Friday I found a bed on the lower end of the lake where I saw a male locked on the bed,” Monti said. “He was about a 3½-pounder, and I could see the female sitting off to the side underneath a dock. I thought she would go about 6 pounds, because she was real wide across the back.
“Usually when the female is sitting off the bed like that you don’t have a real good chance of catching her unless you catch the male first and she moves up to protect the bed,” Monti added.
Monti said he had a good takeoff draw with boat No. 10, and he ran to the bedding pair of bass to start his tournament day. He said he targeted the pair with a Queen Tackle Tungsten Hammer Shake Shaky Head tipped with a Bizz Baits Cutter Craw.
“The female bit on the first cast I made there,” Monti said. “She ended up being a 5-pounder. The male bit on my next flip. So within the first 10 minutes of my day I had 9 pounds with two fish.”
Monti said he then made his way up the lake and focused on pre-spawn fish using a Rapala DT 6 Series crankbait as well as a Fluke. He said he caught about 20 keepers during the course of the tournament – none of which were short fish.
“I didn’t want to stay down the lake with the crowd down there, so I filled out the rest of my limit with pre-spawners,” Monti said.
“This feels amazing,” Monti said. “I’ve been waiting for one of these wins, and it feels great for my hard work to finally pay off.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Jake Monti, Mooresville, N.C., five bass, 17-2, $9,158 (includes $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Stephen Cannon, Wilkesboro, N.C.., five bass, 16-4, $2,357
2nd: Michael Webster, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 16-4, $2,357
4th: Chad Sims, Lancaster, S.C., five bass, 15-11, $1,520
5th: Ben Robertson, Walnut Cove, N.C., five bass, 15-5, $1,132
6th: Aaron Digh, Denver, N.C., five bass, 15-4, $1,037
7th: Kevin Farley, East Bend, N.C., five bass, 15-2, $1,858
8th: James Blankenship, Siler City, N.C., five bass, 14-13, $1,049
9th: Chris Dover, Blacksburg, S.C., five bass, 14-12, $754
10th: Shane Lineberger, Lincolnton, N.C., five bass, 14-4, $627
10th: Ben Hudson, Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 14-4, $627
Farley had a 6-pound, 13-ounce largemouth that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $915. Chris McMillan of Charlotte, North Carolina, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,829 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 11 pounds, 4 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:
1st: Chris McMillan, Charlotte, N.C., five bass, 11-4, $2,829
2nd: Alex Ortiz, Asheboro, N.C., five bass, 11-2, $1,414
3rd: Hunter Harwell, Maiden, N.C., five bass, 10-9, $945
4th: Jonathan Strickland, Graham, N.C., five bass, 10-8, $660
5th: Travis Ruff, Connelly Springs, N.C., five bass, 9-12, $542
5th: Wayne Smelser, Wytheville, Va., five bass, 9-12, $542
7th: Byran Lefever, Statesville, N.C., five bass, 9-9, $471
8th: Mike Shatley, North Wilkesboro, N.C., five bass, 9-6, $400
8th: Hunter Carpenter, Lincolnton, N.C., four bass, 9-6, $400
10th: Justin Strickland, Roseboro, N.C., five bass, 9-4, $330
Kyle Allred of Lexington, North Carolina, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 12 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $457.
https://dev.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bfl-norman-3722.html
BFL News Archive