KIMBERLING CITY, Mo. (April 4, 2022) – Boater Landon Edwards of Springdale, Arkansas, caught five bass Sunday weighing 19 pounds, 1 ounce, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League tournament on Table Rock Lake . The tournament was the second event for the Bass Fishing League Ozark Division. Edwards earned $6,000 for his victory.
“I caught a lot of fish today,” said Edwards, who said he fished around Kimberling City and the James River. “I found bait, and where you found bait is where you found fish. I was just looking for birds diving for bait and then using my graph to find fish. I’d roll up on a school and start smashing them.”
Edwards said he caught 30 bass over three pounds during the course of the day and described the action as “insane.” He relied on a jerkbait, weighted with lead tape and wire on the hooks to get the bait down to the depths where fish were holding. A Rapala Jigging Shad Rap Ice and a small Keitech soft plastic bait filled his limit. He targeted bass in 100 feet of water that were suspended in depths from 10 to 60 feet.
“Wherever they were blowing holes in the baitfish is where I was catching them,” Edwards said. “I rolled up early to my spot where I knew they were loaded, made a cast and caught a 5-pounder, then caught a few more good ones. Then the sun came up and they got a little finicky. So I started throwing the little Keitech and hitting them in the face with it, and they just couldn’t resist it.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Landon Edwards, Springdale, Ark., five bass, 19-1, $6,000
2nd: Ryder Mains, Wellsville, Kan., five bass, 19-0, $3,000
3rd: Joe Grafeman, Camdenton, Mo., five bass, 18-13, $2,500 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th: Jacob Wade, Mountain Grove, Mo., five bass, 18-12, $1,400
5th: Graden Hansen, Sachse, Texas, five bass, 18-7, $1,200
6th: Dustin Blevins, Harrison, Ark., five bass, 17-14, $1,300
7th: Matt Ells, Mount Vernon, Mo., five bass, 17-0, $2,000
8th: Tim Merkh, Bennington, Kan., five bass, 16-3, $850
8th: Cole Breeden, Eldridge, Mo., five bass, 16-3, $850
10th: Cole Anderson, Bentonville, Ark., five bass, 16-2, $665
10th: Eric Olliverson, Lampe, Mo., five bass, 16-2, $665
Ells had a 6-pound, 10-ounce largemouth that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $1,000. Shane McGinnis of Springfield, Missouri, won the Co-angler Division and $3,000 Sunday after catching five bass weighing 14 pounds, 7 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:
1st: Shane McGinnis, Springfield, Mo., five bass, 14-7, $3,000
2nd: Drew Boehle, Saint Charles, Mo., five bass, 14-3, $1,500
3rd: Easton Blankenship, Iberia, Mo., five bass, 13-14, $1,000
4th: D.J. Pugh, Overland Park, Kan., five bass, 13-12, $700
5th: Kory Ries, Union, Mo., five bass, 13-4, $600
6th: Mark Horton, Lees Summit, Mo., four bass, 11-1, $625
6th: Jeff Moss, Oronogo, Mo., four bass, 11-1, $825
8th: Walter Dechau, Pontiac, Mo., five bass, 10-15, $450
9th: Chris Bardill, Highland, Ill., three bass, 10-13, $400
10th: Taylor Surly, Bella Vista, Ark., four bass, 10-11, $350
Michael Mulberry of Galena, Missouri, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 6 pounds, 1 ounce. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $500.
After two events, Landon Edwards of Springdale, Arkansas, leads the Bass Fishing League Ozark Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 499 points, while Jeff Moss of Truesdale, Missouri, leads the Co-Angler Division AOY race with 483 points.
https://dev.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bfl-table-rock-2-4422.html
BFL News Archive