Co-angler Victory Goes to Tennessee’s Bible
Boater Josh Butler of Hayden, Alabama, brought a three-day total of 12 bass to the scale weighing 29 pounds, 3 ounces to win the no-entry fee Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Regional Championship at Lake Cherokee.For his victory, Butler 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.
“I feel very blessed this week,” said Butler. “I stumbled out of the gate on day one with only two fish weighing five pounds, but I rebounded the second day with 13 pounds and finished out strong on the final day to bring home the win with a decent limit of 10-7.”
Butler said his key to victory was the amount of time he spent graphing and marking brush piles on Lake Cherokee.
“I found 35 to 40 good brush piles, varied from 12 to 35 feet, but caught the majority 25 to 28 feet,” continued Butler. “I fished from the 25E bridge to the dam and caught most of my key fish throwing a morning-dawn-colored 6-inch Roboworm on a drop-shot rig.
“This is my first regional win and my first trip to the All-American and it means the world to me,” said Butler “This is one of the toughest tournaments to qualify for and I feel blessed. I’m excited and ready to get after it.”
The top six boaters that qualified for 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were:
1st: Josh Butler of Hayden, Ala., 12 bass, 29-3, $68,000
2nd: Timmy Thompkins of Myrtle Beach, S.C., 11 bass, 28-7, $10,000
3rd: John Duvall of Madison, Ga., 12 bass, 27-7, $5,000
4th: Dale Pelfrey of Rockwood, Tenn., 11 bass, 26-11, $3,000
5th: Chris Martinkovic of Hamilton, Ohio., 14 bass, 26-6, $2,700
6th: Brant Grimm of Church Hill, Tenn., 11 bass, 26-1, $1,800
Rounding out the top 12 boaters were:
7th: Josh Smith of Hamilton, Ohio., 11 bass, 22-2, $1,600
8th: Derek Miller of Grant, Ala., eight bass, 21-15, $1,400
9th: Charles Willis of Dayton, Ohio, eight bass, 20-12, $1,200
10th: Bill Dunn of Maynardville, Tenn., nine bass, 20-4, $1,000
11th: Clabion Johns of Social Circle, Ga., nine bass, 17-3, $1,000
12th: Nick Gant of Myrtle Beach, S.C., six bass, 15-0, $1,000
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Butler also took home an extra $7,000 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.
Don Bible of Knoxville, Tennessee, weighed in nine bass over three days totaling 20 pounds, 2 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: Don Bible of Knoxville, Tenn., nine bass, 20-2, $50,000
2nd: Rex Henry of Hixson, Tenn., seven bass, 15-6, $5,000
3rd: Jeff Rikard of Leesville, S.C., seven bass, 15-0, $3,000
4th: Andrew Starnes of Chapin, S.C., six bass, 13-5, $1,500
5th: Dax Liner of Mineral Bluff, Ga., eight bass, 13-4, $1,000
6th: Daniel Buswell, Jr. of Fayetteville, Ga., five bass, 11-14, $900
Rounding out the top 12 co-anglers were:
7th: James Ross of Akron, Ohio, four bass, 11-1, $800
8th: Steve Sorrell of Beaver Creek, Ohio, five bass, 11-0, $700
9th: Matt Brown of Harriman, Tenn., five bass, 10-10, $600
10th: Jordon Smith of Middletown, Ohio, five bass, 9-14, $500
11th: Scott Sayasing of Grantville, Ga., four bass, 8-7, $500
12th: Nicholas Ray of Milledgeville, Ga., four bass, 8-1, $500
The Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Regional Championship on Lake Cherokee was hosted by the Jefferson County Department of Tourism. It featured the top pros and co-anglers from the Buckeye (Ohio), Bulldog (Georgia), Choo Choo (Alabama/Tennessee) and South Carolina 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
