Murfreesboro’s Carper Claims Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Percy Priest Lake

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Boater Brian Carper of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and Strike-King co-angler Logan Stewart of Nashville, Tennessee.
SMYRNA, Tenn. (April 25, 2022) – Boater Brian Carper of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, caught five bass Saturday weighing 17 pounds, 12 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on Percy Priest Lake. The tournament was the second event for the Bass Fishing League Music City Division. Carper earned $4,541 for his victory.“I pulled up to my first spot and there was somebody already there, so I had another spot close by and made a pass down the bank that resulted in three keepers,” Carper said. “We went up and down that bank about 10 times over the next four or five hours.”

Carper said he relocated after catching a limit, but returned to that area and caught two on the other side of that island. Carper, who guides on Percy Priest, said he threw an Alabama rig with four 4-inch swimbaits and a 5-inch swimbait in the middle all day and targeted “typical smallmouth territory this time of year” – mid-lake gravel banks with boulders in 8 to 12 feet of water. Carper said he caught one keeper and two short largemouth as well during the day.

“This win is awesome,” said Carper. “I’ve been fishing tournaments for a long time, and I’m coming off of another tournament win, so I’m going to take it easy for a while and just enjoy being on Cloud Nine.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:        Brian Carper, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 17-12, $4,541
2nd:       Joel Trevino, Mt. Juliet, Tenn., five bass, 16-9, $2,470
3rd:       Joshua Newsome, Rock Bridge, Tenn., five bass, 13-5, $1,514
4th:        John Smith, Christiana, Tenn., four bass, 13-4, $1,060
5th:        Joey Mallicoat, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 13-0, $1,408 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
6th:        Jay Melton, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 12-13, $833
7th:        Matt Underhill, Lascassas, Tenn., five bass, 11-13, $719
7th:        James Ball, Elmwood, Tenn., five bass, 11-13, $719
9th:        Scott Brummett, Brentwood, Tenn., five bass, 11-9, $605
10th:     Eric Blankendaal, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 11-7, $530

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Paul Thomas of Signal Mountain, Tennessee, and Brent Anderson of Kingston Springs, Tennessee, both caught largemouth that weighed 4 pounds, 9 ounces in the Boater Division and split the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $660.

Logan Stewart of Nashville, Tennessee, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,193 Saturday after catching four bass weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

1st:        Logan Stewart, Nashville, Tenn., four bass, 7-10, $2,193
2nd:       Grayson Butler, Lebanon, Tenn., three bass, 7-2, $1,096
3rd:       Pop Catalin, Cookeville, Tenn., three bass, 5-14, $730
4th:        Chris Rushing, Gamaliel, Ky., one bass, 5-13, $822
5th:        Ted Piechota, Berkley, Mich., two bass, 5-6, $439
6th:        Dennis Putthoff, Old Hickory, Tenn., one bass, 5-4, $402
7th:        Andy Miles, White House, Tenn., two bass, 4-14, $365
8th:        Rocky Williams, Portland, Tenn., two bass, 4-12, $529
9th:        Teddy Baggett, Nashville, Tenn., two bass, 3-14, $292
10th:     Bob Wiles, Huntington, W.Va., one bass, 3-13, $256

Rushing caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 13 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $310.

After two events, Brent Anderson of Kingston Springs, Tennessee, leads the Bass Fishing League Music City Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 486 points, while Pop Catalin of Cookeville, Tennessee, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 495 points.

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 Oct. 13-15 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee. 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.

Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, AFTCO, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Gary Yamamoto Baits, General Tire, Lew’s, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Revital Outdoors, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X, YETI and Yo-Zuri.

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.