Pennsylvania’s Lorenzo and New York’s Sperling Earn Wins at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Double-Header on Lake Cayuga
Co-angler Division Victories Go to New Jersey’s Nichols and Wotanowski
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UNION SPRINGS, N.Y. (July 27, 2020) – It was a double-header for bass anglers this past weekend in Union Springs with the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on Lake Cayuga events.
Boater John Lorenzo of Kane, Pennsylvania, brought five bass to the scale Saturday totaling 21 pounds, 6 ounce to win the first event of the weekend and earn $4,037, while boater Chris Sperling of Cato, New York, brought in a limit of bass weighing 21 pounds, 4 ounces, on Sunday to earn the win and the top prize of $11,761, including the lucrative FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency award.
“I was fishing mostly the mid- to south-lake area, fishing grass with a homemade green-pumpkin-colored jig,” said Lorenzo, who earned the third FLW win of his career. “The key was to keep moving – the fish were widely scattered, and you wouldn’t get more than one or two bites at each spot.
“I spent a week here before the event just marking waypoints,” Lorenzo continued. “Each waypoint that I marked was just one or two bites, and I had to hit all of them.
“I’d been in quite a drought. I won an event in 2005 and again in 2010, but it was a long time coming for this third one,” Lorenzo went on to say. “It feels awesome to get a win here on of my favorite lakes in the country.”
The top five boaters on Saturday were:
1st: John Lorenzo of Kane, Pa., five bass, 21-6, $4,037
2nd: Mike Shumanis of Bethlehem, Pa., five bass, 20-8, $2,019
3rd: Tyler Conde of Chepachet, R.I., five bass, 20-6, $1,345
4th: Joe Labarbera of Montrose, Pa., five bass, 20-2, $1,442
5th: George Yund of Glenmont, N.Y., five bass, 20-1, $807
Complete results for Saturday can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Clifford Chilson of Liverpool, New York, brought a 6-pound, 4-ounce bass to the scale to win Saturday’s Boater Big Bass award of $545.
Labarbera was the highest-finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member and took home an extra $500. 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.
Tim Nichols of Pittsgrove, New Jersey, won the Co-angler Division and $2,019 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 18 pounds, 15 ounces.
The top five co-anglers Saturday finished as follows:
1st: Tim Nichols of Pittsgrove, N.J., five bass, 18-15, $2,019
2nd: Logan Fitzpatrick of Pennsville, N.J., five bass, 18-8, $1,009
3rd: Chad McDonald of Berkeley Springs, W. Va., five bass, 17-3, $675
4th: Chris Hurley of Carlisle, Pa., five bass, 16-14, $471
5th: Bill Spindler of Turnersville, N.J., five bass, 16-5, $370
5th: Travis Miller of Colchester, Conn., five bass, 16-5, $370
5th: William Allie of Wynantskill, N.Y., five bass, 16-5, $370
Matthew Karll of Boyertown, Pennsylvania, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division Saturday, weighing in at 5 pounds, 11 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $272.
On Sunday, anglers competed on the same fishery but with different conditions – a strong wind was now in play for competitors.
“I kind of bounced around throughout the day, mainly on the south end, but I did come back north near the end of the day and caught a couple of key fish in the grass,” said Sperling, who earned his first career FLW victory. “I was fishing in 15-feet-of-water, just deep cranking.
“The key for me Sunday was the wind – on Saturday we didn’t have any and I really struggled – but I knew it was going to blow, so I just put the crankbait in my hand all day,” Sperling said.
Sperling’s crankbait of choice was a ghost shad-colored Spro Little John DD 70.
The top five boaters on Sunday were:
1st: Chris Sperling of Cato, N.Y., five bass, 21-4, $11,761
2nd: Tyler Conde of Chepachet, R.I., five bass, 19-15, $1,529
3rd: George Kunkel of Bath, Pa., five bass, 19-15, $1,529
4th: Casey Smith of Macedon, N.Y., five bass, 19-4, $856
5th: Michael Sentore of Gloucester City, N.J., five bass, 19-0, $934
Complete results for Sunday’s event on Lake Cayuga can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Evan Luta of Bradford, New York, brought a 6-pound, 1-ounce smallmouth bass to the scale Sunday to earn the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $470.
Sperling was the highest-finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member and took home an extra $7,000.
Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey’s Mike Wotanowski won the Co-angler Division and $1,835 Sunday after catching five bass weighing 19 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top five co-anglers Sunday finished as follows:
1st: Mike Wotanowski of Lake Hopatcong, N.J., five bass, 19-10, $1,835
2nd: Michael Burke of Breinigsville, Pa., five bass, 17-0, $918
3rd: Thomas Dellinger of Womelsdorf, Pa., five bass, 16-13, $612
4th: Henry McKee of Haddon Heights, N.J., five bass, 16-10, $428
4th: Kyle Smith of Williamstown, N.J., five bass, 16-9, $602
Smith caught Sunday’s largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 6 pounds, 6 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $235.
The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Double-Header on Lake Cayuga was hosted by the Village of Union Springs. The events were the first and second of five qualifying events in the Northeast Division.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Northeast Division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 8-10 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on the James River in Richmond, Virginia, hosted by Richmond Region Tourism. 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.