| Boater winners Jason Burroughs of Hodges, South Carolina, and Hampton Rowland of Appling, Georgia, and Strike-King co-angler winner Kevin Henderson of Honea Path, South Carolina. |
| Honea Path’s Henderson Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division APPLING, Ga. (June 17, 2024) – Boaters Jason Burroughs of Hodges, South Carolina, and Hampton Rowland of Appling, Georgia, each caught five-bass limits weighing 21 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to tie for the win at the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Clarks Hill Lake . Hosted by Visit Columbia County, Georgia, the tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Savannah River Division. For his share of the win, Burroughs earned $9,741 thanks to the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus. Rowland earned $2,841. On tournament day, Burroughs and Rowland went in opposite directions, so to speak. Burroughs fished shallow and Rowland stayed out deep. “I decided to fish shallow and fish for bream eaters,” Burroughs added. “I caught them on a popping frog and a Buckeye buzz bait.” Burroughs ran a milk run of shallow pockets and caught his fish from shallow grass and bushes. He added one late offshore kicker that boosted him from 19 pounds to his winning weight. “It really went down early,” Burroughs said. “I had all of them but one by 9 o’clock. I actually caught one out deep late in the day. But everything had already died (up shallow), and I fished one little swing and caught one deep late.” Rowland’s day worked in reverse. “I actually didn’t catch my first fish until probably 9:15,” he said. “I messed around trying to catch some schooling fish thinking they were going to school that morning, and they never did.” He spent the rest of the day cycling as fast as he could through 50 to 60 offshore spots – mostly rocks and humps. “It’s my home lake, so I’ve got a lot of hours there,” he said. “So I just kind of fished off memory and past. I don’t have time to go like I used to. I just picked up the (3/4-ounce football) jig and went to work. That’s what I love to do.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Jason Burroughs, Hodges, S.C., five bass, 21-1, $9,741 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus) 1st: Hampton Rowland, Appling, Ga., five bass, 21-1, $2,841 3rd: Kyle Brown, Easley, S.C., five bass, 17-2, $1,084 4th: Eric Allen, Powder Springs, Ga., five bass, 15-10, $760 5th: Matt O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., five bass, 15-5, $776 6th: Caleb Hudson, Lincolnton, Ga., five bass, 14-13, $597 7th: Justin Raines, Easley, S.C., five bass, 14-10, $515 7th: Brandon Martin, Lula, Ga., five bass, 14-10, $515 9th: Joe Anders, Easley, S.C., five bass, 14-6, $434 10th: Hogan Benson, Boiling Springs, S.C., five bass, 14-3, $380 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Rowland caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 8 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $400.  Kevin Henderson of Honea Path, South Carolina, won the Strike King co-angler division and $1,603 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 15 ounces. The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished: 1st: Kevin Henderson, Honea Path, S.C., five bass, 12-15, $1,603 2nd: Matthew Johnson, Evans, Ga., five bass, 10-11, $801 3rd: JD Carter, Honea Path, S.C., two bass, 10-9, $725 4th: River Huffman, Young Harris, Ga., five bass, 9-14, $374 5th: Chase Gurkin, Simpsonville, S.C., five bass, 9-2, $321 6th: William Thomas Cowart, Danielsville, Ga., five bass, 8-14, $294 7th: Matthew Hamilton, Hoschton, Ga., five bass, 8-10, $267 8th: Gibson Huntley, Inman, S.C., two bass, 8-8, $240 9th: Rodney Tapp, Inman, S.C., five bass, 8-1, $314 10th: Matthew Guffey, Simpsonville, S.C., five bass, 8-0, $187 JD Carter of Honea Path, South Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $192, catching a bass that weighed in at 6 pounds, 15 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day. After four events, Joe Anders of Easley, South Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash Savannah River Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 955 points, while Andy Burgess of Greenville, South Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash Savannah River Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 938 points. The next event for BFL Savannah River Division anglers will be held Aug. 17-18, at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-5 BFL Regional tournament on Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard. The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL 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 BFL All-American. Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI. 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. |
