HUDDLESTON, Va. (April 11, 2022) – Boater Jim Jarvis of Timberville, Virginia, caught five bass Saturday weighing 19 pounds, 13 ounces, to win the MLF Bass Fishing League tournament on Smith Mountain Lake. The tournament was the second event for the Bass Fishing League Shenandoah Division. Jarvis earned $4,981 for his victory.
“I started off the day on one of my rock piles,” Jarvis said. “I wasn’t feeling it. I had found some beds earlier in the week, so I ran to them and caught all of my fish on the beds with a drop-shot and a Roboworm.”
Jarvis said he caught eight keepers during the tournament – seven on the Roboworm and one on a Strike King Thunder Cricket Vibrating Jig.
“I didn’t know if I could win the tournament, just because of the quality of fishermen on the lake,” Jarvis said. “But by 2 o’clock I figured I was good enough for a top-5 finish. But, when I caught the last one at 3:30 and it put me close to 20 pounds, I thought then I might have a shot.
“This win feels great because I’m a river guy, so to win one on a lake is an accomplishment for me,” Jarvis added.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Jim Jarvis, Timberville, Va., five bass, 19-13, $4,981
2nd: Billy Kohls, Huddleston, Va., five bass, 19-6, $2,490
3rd: Bryan Elrod, Mechanicsville, Va., five bass, 18-4, $1,662
4th: Chris Brummett, Lynch Station, Va., five bass, 17-8, $1,762
5th: Ryan Powroznik, Hopewell, Va., five bass, 17-7, $996
6th: Dennis Burdette, Pembroke, Va., five bass, 17-0, $1,631
6th: Chris Atwell, Mechanicsville, Va., five bass, 17-0, $1,371 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
8th: Chad Green, Moneta, Va., four bass, 16-14, $747
9th: Boogie Atkins, Greenville, Va., five bass, 16-0, $664
10th: Rick Tilley, Vinton, Va., five bass, 15-9, $581
Burdette had a largemouth that weighed 6 pounds, 7 ounces that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $760. Brandon Miskell of Vienna, Virginia, won the Co-angler Division and $2,458 Saturday after catching four bass weighing 15 pounds, 11 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:
1st: Brandon Miskell, Vienna, Va., four bass, 15-11, $2,458
2nd: Seth Brogan, Montvale, Va., three bass, 9-15, $1,229
3rd: Matthew Rock, Bristol, Va., five bass, 9-12, $817
4th: Fred Mojica, Taneytown, Md., four bass, 9-10, $573
5th: Scott Howard, Bedford, Va., five bass, 8-10, $492
6th: Wyatt Novak, Virginia Beach, Va., three bass, 8-7, $451
7th: John Robinson, Fairfax, Va., three bass, 8-5, $389
7th: Jeramy Evans, Forest, Va., three bass, 8-5, $389
9th: Anthony Pulley, Chester, Va., three bass, 7-13, $428
10th: Jeff Rollins, Roanoke, Va., three bass, 7-11, $272
10th: Phillip Ragland Jr., Rustburg, Va., two bass, 7-11, $472
Leon Deatrick of Orrtanna, Pennsylvania, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 11 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $375.
After two events, Ryan Powroznik of Hopewell, Virginia, leads the Bass Fishing League Shenandoah Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 492 points, while Jeramy Evans of Forest, Virginia, leads the Co-Angler Division AOY race with 491 points.