Gilmore Wins Bass Fishing League Tournament on Pickwick Lake

IUKA, Miss. (Feb. 21, 2022) – Boater Heath Gilmore of Meridian, Mississippi, caught five bass Saturday weighing 21 pounds, 15 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Tournament on Pickwick Lake. Gilmore earned $5,395 for his victory.

“I made a cold, long ride,” Gilmore said. “But it was worth it to find the transition fish in the ditches. I pulled up on the right ditch and caught the right size fish.”

Gilmore said he caught his seven fish of the day, all keepers, on a Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap focusing on ditches that were around six feet deep.

“I had to change the retrieve up,” Gilmore said. “I started the morning out using a yo-yo action, and as the day got warmer I moved it a little faster. I just tried all types of retrieves.”

Gilmore said the water temperature was 48 degrees when the tournament began but warmed up to 53 degrees as the day progressed, which allowed him to experiment with the different retrieves.

“I had seven bites all day,” Gilmore said. “It was a long day. It wore me out. But this win feels good. I’ve been fishing Pickwick about 20 years, and I’ve been close to winning a few times, and I finally did it. I love fishing Pickwick.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

                1st:        Heath Gilmore, Meridian, Miss., five bass, 21-15, $5,395
                2nd:       Aaron Harrelson, Glen, Miss., five bass, 20-07, $2,348
                3rd:       J.C. Coggins, Guntown, Miss., five bass, 19-7, $1,565
                4th:        Garrett Riles, Potts Camp, Miss., five bass, 19-1, $1,096
                5th:        Michael Wooley, Booneville, Miss., five bass, 16-12, $939
                6th:        Shane Cox, Iuka, Miss., five bass, 16-7, $861
                7th:        Max Moore, Fulton, Miss., five bass, 16-6, $743
                7th:        Kyle Horne, Olive Branch, Miss., five bass, 16-6, $743
                9th:        Luke Glasgow, Guin, Ala., five bass, 16-5, $587
                9th:        Mickey Beck, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 16-5, $587

Gilmore had a 7-pound, 7-ounce largemouth that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $700. Blake Koenigsberger of Columbus, Mississippi, won the Co-angler Division and $2,348 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 15 pounds, 10 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

                1st:        Blake Koenigsberger, Columbus, Miss., five bass, 15-10, $2,348
                2nd:       Cameron Petras, Biloxi, Miss., three bass, 14-12, $977
                2nd:       Teddy Baggett, Nashville, Tenn., five bass, 14-12, $977
                4th:        Sims Meredith, Tupelo, Miss., four bass, 11-2, $548
                5th:        Anthony Rasberry, New Albany, Miss., four bass, 11-1, $670
                6th:        Joey Tanner, Meridian, Miss., four bass, 11-0, $410
                6th:        Johnny Suratt, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., three bass, 11-0, $410
                8th:        Bob Thompson, Florence, Ala., five bass, 10-10, $352
                9th:        Jason James, Corinth, Miss., three bass, 9-6, $313
                10th:     Larry Gipson, Ridgeland, Miss., three bass, 9-3, $274

Corey Lindsey, of Southhaven, Mississippi, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 6 pounds, 11 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $350.