Southerly Wins Bass Fishing League Tournament on the Potomac River

MARBURY, Md. (April 25, 2022) – Boater Jeremy Southerly of Fulks Run, Virginia, caught five bass Saturday weighing 19 pounds, 6 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Tournament on the Potomac River. Southerly earned $5,154 for his victory.

“I started out on some sight fish I had found Friday afternoon,” Southerly said. “I caught them and had about 18 pounds by 9 o’clock.”

Southerly said he caught two of his early-morning fish in the southern part of the Potomac on a drop-shot rig and two others on a Zoom Speed Craw, before relocating to target fish mid-river. Southerly said he caught 20 bass during the course of the day, 15 of which were keepers.

“Everything just went really smoothly, and I never lost a fish,” Southerly said. “In order to get the win you have to fish clean, and every fish that bit I put in the boat.

“This win feels really good,” Southerly added. “These Potomac fishermen are a tough group to win against.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

                1st:        Jeremy Southerly, Fulks Run, Va., five bass, 19-6, $5,154
                2nd:       Joseph Thompson, Coatesville, Pa., five bass, 19-2, $2,577
                3rd:       Terry Olinger, Louisa, Va., five bass, 18-11, $1,719
                4th:        Jeffrey Ware, Warrenton, Va., five bass, 17-11, $1,203
                5th:        Travis Lively, Vinton, Va., five bass, 17-2, $1,031
                6th:        Fredderick Chandler, Mount Airy, Md., five bass, 16-5, $945
                7th:        John Duarte, Middle River, Md., five bass, 16-3, $859
                8th:        Kermit Crowder, Matoaca, Va., five bass, 15-13, $730
                8th:        Ryan Ingalls, Manassas, Va., five bass, 15-13, $730
                10th:     David Barker, Hagerstown, Md., five bass, 15-12, $601

John Lorenzo of Kane, Pennsylvania, had a largemouth that weighed 8 pounds, 2 ounces that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $795. Doug Jenkins of Saint Leonard, Maryland, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,577 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 18 pounds, 11 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

                1st:        Doug Jenkins, Saint Leonard, Md., five bass, 18-11, $2,577
                2nd:       Bryan Conley, Fulks Run, Va., five bass, 17-10, $1,288
                3rd:       Thomas Smith, Chester, Va., five bass, 16-8, $858
                4th:        Robert Wedding, Welcome, Md., five bass, 16-7, $601
                5th:        Shawn Holder, Washington, D.C., five bass, 16-4, $515
                6th:        Larry Freeman Jr., La Crosse, Va., five bass, 15-12, $472
                7th:        Michael Luckey, Roanoke, Va., five bass, 15-9, $408
                7th:        Tracy Gravely, Petersburg, Va., five bass, 15-9, $408
                9th:        Nathan Pulley, Chester, Va., five bass, 14-14, $344
                10th:     Andy Jones, Seaford, Del., five bass, 14-13, $286
                10th:     Tyrone Adams Jr., Fredericksburg, Va., five bass, 14-13, $286

Conley caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 4 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $397.

After three events, Chris Brummett of Lynch Station, Virginia, leads the Bass Fishing League Shenandoah Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 715 points, while Jeramy Evans of Forest, Virginia, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 694 points.