Co-angler Victory Goes to Maryland’s Bae
Pro Chris Daves of Spring Grove, Virginia, brought a three-day total of 15 bass to the scale weighing 50 pounds, 1 ounces to win the no-entry fee Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Regional Championship on the James River. For his victory, Daves earned $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and automatic entry into the 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American Championship, June 3-5, at Douglas Lake in Dandridge,Tennessee.
“We had extremely low tides the past few days, which put the fish off the bank and right where I like to fish,” said Daves, regarding the key to his victory.
“I fished drops on the lower end of James in the mouth of the Chickahominy River, at a depth of 4 to 5 feet, with a chartreuse-colored square-bill crankbait,” continued Daves. “I also caught several key fish on a ribbontail worm.”
Daves said he grew up fishing this river and Wards Creek.
“Fishing on your home lake, you normally get the local jinx, but this time it worked out for me, so it feels good,” said Daves.
The top six boaters that qualified for 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were:
1st: Chris Daves of Spring Grove, Va., 15 bass, 50-1, $60,000
2nd: Jason Burger of Bridgeton, N.J., 15 bass, 45-11, $10,000
3rd: Chris Baldwin of Lexington, N.C., 15 bass, 44-6, $5,200
4th: Keith Estes of Spring Grove, Va., 15 bass, 44-4, $3,000
5th: Jason Thomas of Lexington, N.C., 15 bass, 43-10, $2,500
6th: Chad Poteat of Mount Airy, N.C., 15 bass, 43-9, $1,800
Rounding out the top 10 boaters were:
7th: Chris Dover of Blacksburg, S.C., 15 bass, 41-11, $1,600
8th: Jason Barnes of Concord, N.C., 15 bass, 41-9, $1,400
9th: Cole Huskins of Gastonia, N.C., 15 bass, 40-9, $1,200
10th: Steve Colgin of Lanexa, Va., 15 bass, 40-1, $1,000
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Thomas took home an extra $500 as the highest finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.
Moo Bae of West Friendship, Maryland, weighed in 15 bass over three days totaling 35 pounds, 5 ounces to win the top co-angler prize package of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.
The top six co-anglers that qualified for the 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were:
1st: Moo Bae of West Friendship, Md., 15 bass, 35-5, $50,000, including Phoenix 819 Pro boat w/200-hp outboard
2nd: David Mills of Wirtz, Va., 15 bass, 33-11, $5,000
3rd: Rod Mackinnon of Middletown, N.Y., 14 bass, 30-3, $2,500
4th: Travis Garrett of Charlottesville, Va., 13 bass, 30-3, $1,500
5th: Terri Davis of Chilhowie, Va., 15 bass, 27-15, $1,000
6th: Robert Wedding of Welcome, Md., 11 bass, 25-12, $1,150
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
7th: Cody Lewis of Ooltewah, Tenn., nine bass, 22-2, $800
8th: Nick Coker of Knoxville, Tenn., 13 bass, 21-12, $700
9th: Bradley Smith of Cherryville, N.C. 14 bass, 21-3, $600
10th: Gregory Chuhta of Germantown, Md., 12 bass, 20-11, $500
The Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Regional Championship on the James River was hosted by Richmond Region Tourism. It featured the top pros and co-anglers from the North Carolina, Northeast, Shenandoah and Volunteer divisions.
The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American.
The 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American will be held June 3-5 at Douglas Lake in Dandridge, Tennessee, and is hosted by the Jefferson County Department of Tourism. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division earn priority entry into the Toyota Series, the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
About FLWFLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, FLW and its partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe.
FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show while Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. Acquired by Major League Fishing in late 2019, FLW is expanding its programming in 2020 to the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel as well as on-demand at MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).
By: CHARITY MUEHLENWEG, MLF
