Hayden’s Butler Wins Two-Day Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event presented by Fish-Intel on Lake Guntersville
Kentucky’s Fouts Wins Co-angler Division
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GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. (Aug. 31, 2020) – Boater Josh Butler of Hayden, Alabama, brought a two-day total of 10 bass to the scale this weekend weighing 32 pounds, 3 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Choo Choo Division Super-Tournament at Lake Guntersville presented by Fish-Intel. Butler earned a total of $15,533 for his victory, including the lucrative $7,000 FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency award.
“Of the 10 fish that I weighed in, I caught them on probably six different baits,” said Butler, who earned his first career victory in FLW competition. “I had a smorgasbord. I caught them on a crankbait, a spoon, a drop-shot rig, a shaky-head rig and a swimbait. Total junk fishing.”
Butler said that he fished down-lake, covering 8 to 10 different spots from the State Park down to the dam.
“I caught them all out deep, 18 to 25 foot,” Butler said. “That’s how I love to fish – I live and die out deep. I’ve been so close in the past – a couple of top-3 finishes, a bunch of top-5s, so I’m so glad to finally get the monkey off my back and earn a win.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:
1st: Josh Butler of Hayden, Ala., 10 bass, 32-3, $15,533
2nd: Rusty Cooper of Gurley, Ala., 10 bass, 31-13, $3,766
3rd: Jay Fagan of Lebanon, Tenn., 10 bass, 30-14, $2,510
4th: Kyle Pridgen of Panama City, Fla., 10 bass, 30-6, $1,758
5th: Ryan Salzman of Huntsville, Ala., 10 bass, 29-12, $2,669
6th: Jordan Wiggins of Cullman, Ala., 10 bass, 29-11, $1,381
7th: Ethan Franklin of Empire, Ala., nine bass, 29-9, $1,255
8th: Derek Remitz of Grant, Ala., 10 bass, 28-5, $1,130
9th: Jim Leary of Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 28-4, $1,004
10th: Jeff Cannon of Douglasville, Ga., 10 bass, 27-14, $879
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Salzman brought a 7-pound, 10-ounce largemouth bass to the scale to win the Boater Big Bass award of $1,162.
Butler 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.
Benjamin Fouts of Morehead, Kentucky, won the Co-angler Division and $3,766 Saturday after catching a two-day total of nine bass weighing 23 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:
1st: Benjamin Fouts of Morehead, Ky., nine bass, 23-10, $3,766
2nd: Hayden O’Barr of Gurley, Ala., 10 bass, 21-10, $2,383
3rd: Luke Mason of Somerville, Ala., eight bass, 21-9, $1,255
4th: Bryce Morrison of Collierville, Tenn., seven bass, 20-9, $879
5th: Gage Tankersley of Dayton, Tenn., eight bass, 19-8, $753
6th: Robert Barnett of Flintstone, Ga., eight bass, 18-11, $691
7th: Reese Petitti of Birmingham, Ala., seven bass, 17-10, $628
8th: Kevin Lankford of Hollywood, Ala., seven bass, 17-2, $565
9th: Jake Stines of Plant City, Fla., seven bass, 15-15, $502
10th: Randy Hill of Athens, Ala., seven bass, 15-12, $439
Jon Lawson of Cartersville, Georgia, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 12 ounces. The catch earned him the Co-angler Big Bass award and added $581 to his winnings.
The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Super-Tournament on Lake Guntersville presented by Fish-Intel was hosted by the Marshall County Convention & Visitors Bureau. It was the fifth and final qualifying event in the 2020 Choo Choo Division.
Now the top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Choo Choo Division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will advance to the Oct. 16-18 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Lake Cherokee in Jefferson City, Tennessee, hosted by the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce. 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 April 30 through May 2 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.