Martin Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Lake Guntersville

“I started off close and got three keepers in the livewell early,” Martin said. “They came on a Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap. I made a run and ended up catching a limit and started culling. About noon I caught two 6-pounders, so I kept fishing that area.”

Martin said he caught seven to 10 keepers, with a total of 12 fish caught.

“I was just covering a lot of water and hitting a lot of spots,” Martin said. “When it’s that cold in the morning it’s just a matter of finding the right spot that hasn’t been hit hard or guys haven’t picked off.”

Martin said he fished the Rat-L-Trap in varying retrieves to understand what the fish were doing and the color of bait he chose varied with the color of the water. Martin said he would go to a shad-colored-bait when the water was clearer, fishing it hard when they were actively biting and slowing his retrieve as the bite slowed.

“It just worked out for me,” Martin said.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Casey Martin, Brownsboro, Ala., five bass, 26-14, $6,000
2nd:        Jim Leary, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 25-2, $4,500 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Bonus)
3rd:        Mickey Beck, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 22-1, $2,000
4th:         Cole Wade, Athens, Ala., five bass, 20-14, $1,400
5th:         Brian Merriman, Falkville, Ala., five bass, 20-8, $1,200
6th:         Brad Ableman, Watervliet, N.Y., five bass, 20-6, $1,100
7th:         Andrew Clayton, Westpoint, Tenn., five bass, 17-13, $1,000
8th:         Brandon Bright, Crossville, Ala., five bass, 17-9, $900
9th:         Ian Hudson, Toney, Ala., five bass, 17-6, $800
10th:      Corey McMullen, Gurley, Ala., five bass, 17-5, $700

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Leary’s 7-pound, 8-ounce largemouth was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $1,000.

Luke Salvail of Huntsville, Alabama, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $3,000 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 19 pounds, 5 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

1st:          Luke Salvail, Huntsville, Ala., five bass, 19-5, $3,000
2nd:        Justin Stringer, Hartselle, Ala, five bass, 18-15, $1,500
3rd:        Jake Staley, Tuxedo, Ga., five bass, 18-8, $1,000
4th:         Michael Morrison, Stamping Ground, Ky., five bass, 17-12, $700
5th:         Allen Rhodes, Decherd, Tenn., five bass, 15-7, $600
6th:         Bennett Slinkard, Huntsville, Ala., three bass, 15-4, $550
7th:         Kyle Holt, Section, Ala., five bass, 13-14, $500
8th:         Rick Webster, Knoxville, Tenn., four bass, 12-3, $450
9th:         Randy Wilson, Murfreesboro, Tenn., four bass, 12-1, $400
10th:      Robert W. Spurgeon, Jasonville, Ind., three bass, 11-15, $350

Roger Barnette, of Elkmont, Alabama, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 9 pounds, 11 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $500.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Sept. 24-25 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama. Boaters will compete for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The 2022 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 Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six Regional Championships 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 2022 All-American will be held June 2-4 at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.

The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division will also earn priority entry into the MLF Toyota Series, the pathway to the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.