Co-angler Victory Goes to Trion’s Brown
Boater Bryan Honnerlaw of Moore Haven, Florida, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Sunday weighing 22 pounds, 9 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Gator Division Super-Tournament at Lake Okeechobee. For his victory, Honnerlaw earned $6,817.
The tournament was the fifth and final event in the 2020 Gator Division presented by A.R.E. Truck Caps. Originally scheduled for two days, competition was canceled on Saturday due to Hurricane Sally.
“This win feels great, especially with how the day started,” said Honnerlaw. “I only had two fish by noon and was pretty upset around 12:30. The worst thing that can happen to you in a tournament is to get spun out, but I stayed positive and feel very blessed.”
Honnerlaw said the key to his victory was running to the river and letting himself calm down.
“After fishing a few places and getting little to no bites, I ran back to the river and fished a ledge with a Gambler Power Ned with a Gambler Fat Ace,” Honnerlaw continued. “I caught three big ones in a row before my co-angler caught a few good ones. Then I picked up a crankbait and caught another big one to finish out the day.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:
1st: Bryan Honnerlaw of Moore Haven, Fla., five bass, 22-9, $6,817
2nd: Doug Vest of Okeechobee, Fla., five bass, 22-2, $2,909
3rd: Brian Divito of Seminole, Fla., five bass, 19-9, $1,939
4th: Mitchell Liss of Grand Island, Fla., five bass, 19-2, $2,629
5th: Mark Lundgren of Saint Cloud, Fla., five bass, 18-3, $1,163
6th: Steve Boogie Brown of Altamonte Springs, Fla., five bass, 18-2, $1,066
7th: Gary Milicevic of Labelle, Fla., five bass, 18-2, $970
8th: Ron Veale of Okeechobee, Fla., five bass, 17-12, $873
9th: Justin Morgan of Okeechobee, Fla., five bass, 17-12, $776
10th: Chris Crow of Lake Placid, Fla., five bass, 17-2, $679
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Liss earned the day’s $772 Boater Big Bass award with a 7-pound, 10-ounce bass.
Liss also 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.
Andrew Pulliam of Spring Hill, Florida, earned the win in the Co-angler Division Sunday after five bass weighing 17 pounds, 11 ounces. Pulliam earned $2,909 for his victory.
The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:
1st: Andrew Pulliam of Spring Hill, Fla., five bass, 17-11, $2,909
2nd: Austin Baskette of Leesburg, Fla. five bass, 17-11, $1,454
3rd: Justin Brown of Frostproof, Fla., five bass, 16-0, $1,170
4th: Kenneth Hunnicutt of Jacksonville, Fla., five bass, 15-8, $679
5th: Theron Asbery of Longwood, Fla., five bass, 15-2, $968
6th: Nihad Basic of Saint Petersburg, Fla., five bass, 14-11, $533
7th: J.P. Sims of Port St. Lucie, Fla., five bass, 13-12, $485
8th: Doug Back of Monticello, Fla., five bass, 13-11, $436
9th: Ernie Thompson of Anthony, Fla., five bass, 13-11, $388
10th: Aaron Gengler of Lakeland, Fla., five bass, 13-6, $339
Asbery earned the event’s Co-angler Big Bass Award of $386 with a fish weighing in at 8 pounds, 7 ounces.
Now the top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Gator Division presented by A.R.E. Truck Caps, based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will advance to the Oct. 22-24 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia, hosted by Okeechobee County Tourist & Development Council. Boaters will compete for a $60,000 prize package, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new 18-foot Phoenix bass boat with a 200-horsepower outboard.
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 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American will be held Nov. 11-13 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina and is hosted by Visit Anderson. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division earn priority entry into the FLW Series, the pathway to the FLW Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour, where top pros compete with no entry fees.
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
By: CHARITY MUEHLENWEG, MLF
