Carper Wins Bass Fishing League Tournament on Percy Priest

SMYRNA, Tenn. (April 25, 2022) – Boater Brian Carper of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, caught five bass Saturday weighing 17 pounds, 12 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Tournament on Percy Priest Lake. Carper earned $4,541 for his victory.

“I pulled up to my first spot and there was somebody already there, so I had another spot close by and made a pass down the bank that resulted in three keepers,” Carper said. “We went up and down that bank about 10 times over the next four or five hours.”

Carper said he relocated after catching a limit, but returned to that area and caught two on the other side of that island. Carper, who guides on Percy Priest, said he threw an Alabama rig with four 4-inch swimbaits and a 5-inch swimbait in the middle all day and targeted “typical smallmouth territory this time of year” – mid-lake gravel banks with boulders in 8 to 12 feet of water. Carper said he caught one keeper and two short largemouth as well during the day.

“This win is awesome,” said Carper. “I’ve been fishing tournaments for a long time, and I’m coming off of another tournament win, so I’m going to take it easy for a while and just enjoy being on Cloud Nine.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

                1st:        Brian Carper, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 17-12, $4,541
                2nd:       Joel Trevino, Mt. Juliet, Tenn., five bass, 16-9, $2,470
                3rd:       Joshua Newsome, Rock Bridge, Tenn., five bass, 13-5, $1,514
                4th:        John Smith, Christiana, Tenn., four bass, 13-4, $1,060
                5th:        Joey Mallicoat, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 13-0, $1,408 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
                6th:        Jay Melton, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 12-13, $833
                7th:        Matt Underhill, Lascassas, Tenn., five bass, 11-13, $719
                7th:        James Ball, Elmwood, Tenn., five bass, 11-13, $719
                9th:        Scott Brummett, Brentwood, Tenn., five bass, 11-9, $605
                10th:     Eric Blankendaal, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 11-7, $530

Paul Thomas of Signal Mountain, Tennessee, and Brent Anderson of Kingston Springs, Tennessee, both caught largemouth that weighed 4 pounds, 9 ounces in the Boater Division and split the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $660. Logan Stewart of Nashville, Tennessee, won the Co-angler Division and $2,193 Saturday after catching four bass weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

                1st:        Logan Stewart, Nashville, Tenn., four bass, 7-10, $2,193
                2nd:       Grayson Butler, Lebanon, Tenn., three bass, 7-2, $1,096
                3rd:       Pop Catalin, Cookeville, Tenn., three bass, 5-14, $730
                4th:        Chris Rushing, Gamaliel, Ky., one bass, 5-13, $822
                5th:        Ted Piechota, Berkley, Mich., two bass, 5-6, $439
                6th:        Dennis Putthoff, Old Hickory, Tenn., one bass, 5-4, $402
                7th:        Andy Miles, White House, Tenn., two bass, 4-14, $365
                8th:        Rocky Williams, Portland, Tenn., two bass, 4-12, $529
                9th:        Teddy Baggett, Nashville, Tenn., two bass, 3-14, $292
                10th:     Bob Wiles, Huntington, W.Va., one bass, 3-13, $256

Rushing caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 13 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $310.

After two events, Brent Anderson of Kingston Springs, Tennessee, leads the Bass Fishing League Music City Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 486 points, while Pop Catalin of Cookeville, Tennessee, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 495 points.