| Boater Trent Suratt of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, and Strike-King co-angler Tony Hill of Chatsworth, Georgia. |
| Georgia’s Hill Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division ROGERSVILLE, Ala. (Sept. 30, 2024) – Boater Trent Suratt of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 37 pounds, 8 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Super Tournament on Wheeler Lake . The tournament, which concluded Sunday, was hosted by Florence-Lauderdale Tourism. It was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Choo Choo Division. Suratt earned $4,465 for his victory. Suratt didn’t practice for the tournament, but based on the rainy conditions, he knew there’d be gates open on Guntersville Dam, which would position the fish on rock piles in the current. So he knew fishing the tailrace would probably contend for the win, as it often does on the Tennessee River. Yet, he actually started the tournament by running down to First Creek. “I didn’t have but like 9 pounds (at 9 a.m.),” he said. “I knew I wasn’t going to win down there, so I just struck out toward the dam, got up there and caught them all within about 15 minutes. Then I stayed up there and beat on ’em today (Sunday). I just had one little rock pile that I caught all of them on.” In two days, Suratt weighed in a mix of four smallmouth and six largemouth bass. He caught his winning fish on an undisclosed swimbait. The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Trent Suratt, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., 10 bass, 37-8, $4,465 2nd: Jimmy Carruth, Madison, Ala., 10 bass, 31-0, $2,233 3rd: Corey McMullen, Gurley, Ala., 10 bass, 30-3, $1,998 4th: Harry Peyton II, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 29-11, $1,542 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus) 5th: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 10 bass, 27-12, $893 6th: Kent Ware, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 27-12, $819 7th: Alan McCoy, Blountsville, Ala., 10 bass, 27-4, $744 8th: Daniel Davis, Albertville, Ala., 10 bass, 26-15, $670 9th: Donny Beck, Killen, Ala., 10 bass, 25-4, $595 10th: Jason Henson, Rome, Ga., 10 bass, 23-13, $821 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Corey McMullen of Gurley, Alabama, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $510.  Tony Hill of Chatsworth, Georgia, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,233 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of 10 bass to the scale that weighed 23 pounds, 3 ounces. The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished: 1st: Tony Hill, Chatsworth, Ga., 10 bass, 23-3, $2,233 2nd: Brandon Bell, Starkville, Miss., 10 bass, 20-0, $1,116 3rd: Red Calvert, Perdido Key, Fla., 10 bass, 19-8, $844 4th: Brian Carroll, Glencoe, Ala., nine bass, 19-6, $521 5th: Todd Mowery, Madison, Ala., 10 bass, 18-1, $447 6th: Frank Mackin, State Line, Miss., nine bass, 17-13, $409 7th: Jonathan Craig, Madison, Ala., nine bass, 17-2, $372 8th: Ethan Wheeler, Water Valley, Ky., eight bass, 16-8, $335 9th: Richard Bailey, Florence, Ala., seven bass, 16-4, $298 10th: Mekiah Jack, Mount Juliet, Tenn., eight bass, 14-9, $260 Alvis (Slick) Jones of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $255, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 1 ounce – the largest co-angler catch of the tournament. At the conclusion of the tournament, Dillon Falardeau of Hixson, Tennessee, was crowned the Fishing Clash Choo Choo Division Angler of the Year (AOY) with 1,289 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Todd Mowery of Madison, Alabama, won the Fishing Clash Choo Choo Division Co-angler of the Year race with 1,324 points and took home the $500 payout. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, have qualified for the Oct. 17-19 BFL Regional tournament on Clarks Hill Lake in Appling, Georgia. 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. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. 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. |
