New York’s Leadbeater Wins Two-Day Phoenix Bass Fishing League event on Chesapeake Bay
Co-angler Victory Goes to Maryland’s Bae
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NORTH EAST, Md. (Aug. 31, 2020) Boater Richard Leadbeater of Haddon Heights, New York, brought a two-day total of 10 bass to the scale weighing 32 pounds, 10 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Northeast Division Super-Tournament at the Chesapeake Bay. For his victory, Leadbeater earned $4,122 for his efforts.
“I’m so pumped – this feels unreal,” said Leadbetter, who was fishing in his first career event as a BFL boater. “I was fishing on the south end of a big grass flat, for the most part. I also mixed in a little bit of backwater fishing.
“Timing the tide was really the key,” Leadbetter continued. “I made some good adjustments throughout the day – knowing when the time was right to get out of certain areas and into others.”
Leadbetter said that he caught his fish on a Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer and a War Eagle spinnerbait.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:
1st: Richard Leadbeater of Haddon Heights, N.Y, 10 bass, 32-10, $4,122
2nd: Zachary Page of Smyrna, Del., 10 bass, 24-4, $2,061
3rd: Harry Nurk of Elkton, Md., eight bass, 24-2, $1,374
4th: Luke Shrader of Barrington, N.J., 10 bass, 23-3, $962
5th: Marcus Griffin of Northeast, Md., seven bass, 19-0, $824
6th: Anthony Cicero III of Elizabethtown, Pa., seven bass, 18-15, $756
7th: Steven Wiseman of Bryans Road, Md., seven bass, 18-13, $687
8th: Barton Wines of Marshall, Va., seven bass, 18-8, $618
9th: Al Fiorille of Mount Airy, Md., nine bass, 18-1, $550
10th: Ryan Bauman of Fleetwood, Pa., six bass, 18-0, $938
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Bauman earned the day’s $457 Boater Big Bass award with a 6-pound, 1-ounce bass.
Joseph Thompson of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, took home an extra $500 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.
Moo Bae of West Friendship, Maryland, earned the win in the Co-angler Division Saturday after catching a two-day total of six bass weighing 15 pounds, 8 ounces. Bae earned $2,061 for his victory.
The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:
1st: Moo Bae of West Friendship, Md., six bass, 15-8, $2,061
2nd: Henry McKee of Haddon Heights, N.J., six bass, 14-10, $1,260
3rd: Adam Simpson of Gaithersburg, Md., four bass, 10-7, $686
4th: Tim Nichols of Pittsgrove, N.J., four bass, 9-9, $481
5th: Kenny Ibberson of Lindenwold, N.J., three bass, 8-7, $412
6th: Travis Miller of Colchester, Conn., two bass, 7-3, $578
7th: Chris Sanno of Landisburg, Pa., two bass, 6-4, $344
8th: Chad McDonald of Berkeley Springs, W. Va., three bass, 6-0, $309
9th: Fred Serge of Lamberville, N.J., two bass, 5-4, $275
10th: Aaron Wilkie of North Bennington, Vt., two bass, 4-7, $740
McKee earned the event’s Co-angler Big Bass Award of $229 with, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds even.
The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on the Chesapeake Bay was the fifth and final qualifying event in the 2020 Northeast Division.
Now 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 advance to 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.