CLEWISTON, Fla. (Sept. 26, 2022) – Boater Nicholas Hoinig of Port Saint Lucie, Florida, caught 10 bass weighing 38 pounds, 6 ounces, to win the two-day MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League tournament on Lake Okeechobee in Clewiston, Florida. The tournament was the fifth and final regular-season event for the Bass Fishing League Gator Division presented by Revital Outdoors. Hoinig earned $8,075 for his victory.
Hoinig said he found his tournament fish late during his practice on Friday. He caught almost all of his fish that he weighed from that area, pitching a black and blue Gambler Fat Ace Stick Worm on a 5/0 Gamakatsu Heavy Cover hook with an Ark Fishing Tungsten Weight. He fished his rig with a heavy Ark Invoker Pro rod and 65-pound-test braid line.
“The fish were staging and getting ready to spawn,” said Hoinig. “It was just an early wave of fish that was coming up. I was one of two boats fishing in there; the third-place finisher was the only other guy in the area. I milked that area pretty good. I caught only one other fish I weighed in from another spot.
“This win feels awesome,” Hoinig added. “I’ve been fishing BFLs for eight or nine years and never won. I’ve had buddies win one and they all say, ‘You’re time is coming.’ I finally got it done, and it feels freaking awesome.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Nicholas Hoinig, Port Saint Lucie, Fla., 10 bass, 38-6, $8,075
2nd: Caleb Frazier, Beverly Hills, Fla., 10 bass, 35-2, $3,537
3rd: Ronnie Buck, Miami, Fla., 10 bass, 33-2, $2,359
4th: Eric Panzironi, Longwood, Fla., nine bass, 32-7, $1,651
5th: Bob Knoerzer, Winter Springs, Fla., nine bass, 30-6, $2,957 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF5 contingency bonus)
6th: Greg Jones, Sarasota, Fla., six bass, 29-4, $1,297
7th: Lance Pemble, Leesburg, Fla., 10 bass, 28-15, $1,179
8th: Douglas Sauls, Winter Garden, Fla., 10 bass, 28-10, $1,061
9th: John Adkinson, Winter Haven, Fla., 10 bass, 28-1, $943
10th: Ben McCann, Bradenton, Fla., 10 bass, 27-0, $825
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Bob Knoerzer of Winter Springs, Florida, caught a bass weighing 8 pounds, 15 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – to earn the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $1,042. Davis Dimauro of Longwood, Florida, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $3,537 Sunday after catching a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 20 pounds, 2 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:
1st: Davis Dimauro, Longwood, Fla., 10 bass, 20-2, $3,537
2nd: Daniel Valois, Coral Springs, Fla., eight bass, 20-1, $1,769
3rd: Robert Kinder, Tampa, Fla., eight bass, 19-5, $1,180
4th: Luis Lindstedt, Melbourne, Fla., 10 bass, 19-1, $825
5th: Tyler Nekolny, Coral Springs, Fla., 10 bass, 17-8, $707
6th: Mike Greenwell, Alva, Fla., seven bass, 17-6, $649
7th: J.P. Sims, Port Saint Lucie, Fla., seven bass, 17-5, $590
8th: Randy Paquette, Sarasota, Fla., eight bass, 16-9, $531
9th: Steven Hollingsworth, Lakeland, Fla., nine bass, 15-9, $472
10th: Jarrett Vick, Archer, Fla., four bass, 15-9, $934
Jarrett Vick of Archer, Florida, caught the largest bass in the Strike King Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 6 pounds, 3 ounces. The catch earned him the Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $521.
With the regular season now complete, boater Mark Lundgren of Saint Cloud, Florida, won the 2022 Bass Fishing League Gator Division presented by Revital Outdoors Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with a five-event total of 1,243 points to earn the $1,000 boater AOY award. Davis Dimauro of Longwood, Florida, won the 2022 Strike King Co-Angler Gator Division presented by Revital Outdoors AOY race with 1,330 points and earned the $500 Strike King Co-angler of the Year award.