| Boater winner Tanner Hadden of Appling, Georgia, and Strike-King co-angler winner Corey Smith of Hazard, Kentucky. |
| Kentucky’s Smith Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division SPRING CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 21, 2024) – Boater Tanner Hadden of Appling, Georgia, caught a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 47 pounds even to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Regional on Watts Bar Lake Presented by recteq . The tournament, which was hosted by the Rhea County Department of Tourism – Fish Spring City, concluded Saturday. For his win, Hadden earned a prize package valued at $65,805, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, $10,000 and the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus. The Watts Bar event served as Regional championship for BFL Region 5. Originally scheduled for Clarks Hill Lake in Appling, Georgia, the event moved due to the impacts of the recent hurricanes. The field included the top 45 boaters and co-anglers based on point standings, plus each of the tournament winners, from the 2024 Choo Choo, Music City, Piedmont and Volunteer divisions. The top six boaters and co-anglers have qualified for the 2025 BFL All-American, which will be held on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, May 29-31. Hadden is a senior business management major at the University of South Carolina-Union. He actually signed up to fish the entire Choo Choo Division for the first time this year just for a shot at making this Regional, since it was originally scheduled for nearby Clarks Hill. Obviously, the storms changed the plans, but that didn’t slow down Hadden. “It all worked out in the end,” he said. Getting the W started with adapting to conditions. “From all the flooding, a lot of the lake was blown out,” he said about Watts Bar. “There were only a few areas of the lake that were clean. One of them was by the boat ramp, so I pretty much figured I’d stick around in that area.” In addition to the muddy water, anglers had to deal with a cold front – a tough combo anywhere, anytime of year. The cold, muddy conditions pushed the fish off the bank. Hadden relocated them about 50 feet out suspended on the edge of some grass over about 15 feet of water. Schools of bait were suspended in these areas, too. “I fished two half-mile banks for three days pretty much,” he said. “That was it. And they were in the same pocket. I pretty much fished one creek arm all week.” Hadden used Garmin LiveScope to find and target his fish with a white jerkbait and a Greenfish Tackle Bad Little Dude (BLD) Jig. The mornings were slow all week. In fact, most days the fish didn’t turn on until after 11. On day two, it was closer to 1 p.m. The most interesting part was how defined the bite window was each day. Hadden saw fish on his sonar all day long, but they just wouldn’t bite until after the sun got up and something triggered them to get active. Each day, he experienced a similar flurry of activity. “At 11 the first day I went through one stretch and caught three 4-pounders within like 30 minutes to an hour,” he said. “And then the second day, I struggled until 1. They didn’t start biting until 1 because it got colder the second day. At 1 o’clock, I caught two 3 1/2-pounders back to back off that same stretch. “The third day it was like 11 o’clock when I got on one stretch and just started catching them. I caught pretty much everything I caught in like 15 minutes. It was a timing deal.” Hadden’s limits included a mix of species. Day one, he weighed four largemouths and a 4 1/4-pound smallmouth as part of his 18-pound, 11-ounce limit. Day two, his three biggest keepers were three different species – largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. Hadden weighed 14-11. The final day, he weighed in a 13-10 limit of five largies to move into first place for the win and his shot at the 2025 All-American. The top six boaters who qualified for the 2025 All-American finished: 1st: Tanner Hadden, Appling, Ga., 15 bass, 47-0, $65,805 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus) 2nd: Dustin Dyer, Johnson City, Tenn., 15 bass, 45-3, $9,805 3rd: Jeremy York, Conyers, Ga., 14 bass, 45-1, $5,829 4th: Nathan Reynolds, Nashville, Tenn., 15 bass ,45-0, $3,642 5th: Dillon Falardeau, Hixson, Tenn., 12 bass, 44-14, $1,761 6th: Parker Batts, Dandridge, Tenn., 13 bass ,44-8, $1,585 The rest of the top 12 finished: 7th: Jonathan Dagley, Wartburg, Tenn., 15 bass, 43-5, $1,409 8th: Vince Botts, Bluff City, Tenn., 15 bass, 43-0, $1,233 9th: Josh Womack, Gallatin, Tenn., 15 bass, 42-10, $1,057 10th: Jake Gardner, Lenoir City, Tenn., 15 bass, 42-8, $969 11th: Hunter Bouldin, McMinnville, Tenn., 15 bass, 42-6, $881 12th: Riley Faulkner, Jacksboro, Tenn., 14 bass, 37-14, $881 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. The top-finishing boater from each division (not including the winner) earned a $1,000 bonus for placing highest in the event. Those anglers included: Music City: Nathan Reynolds, Nashville, Tenn., 4th Place, $1,000 Choo Choo: Jeremy York, Conyers, Ga., 3rd Place, $1,000 Piedmont: John Wiese, Charlotte, N.C., 24th Place, $1,000 Volunteer: Dustin Dyer, Johnson City, Tenn., 2nd Place $1,000 Matt VanMeter of Grant, Alabama, won the Berkley Big Bass boater award and earned the $1,000 prize.  Corey Smith of Hazard, Kentucky, won the Strike King co-angler division Saturday after bringing a three-day total of 13 bass weighing 39 pounds, 1 ounce, to the scale. His $50,000 prize package included a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard. The top six Strike King co-anglers who qualified for the 2025 All-American finished: 1st: Corey Smith, Hazard, Ky., 13 bass, 39-1, $50,000 2nd: Ernest Stephens, Orrum, N.C., 12 bass, 38-13, $4,946 3rd: Dewayne Drummonds, Gray, Ky., 11 bass, 30-2, $2,719 4th: Luke Shrader, Monticello, Ky., 11 bass, 30-0, $1,984 5th: Brad Sampson, Knoxville, Tenn., 11 bass, 29-8, $889 6th: Cy Matlock, Crump, Tenn., nine bass, 27-11, $1,300 The rest of the top 12 finished: 7th: Wayne Crouch, Jamestown, Tenn., 10 bass, 26-14, $811 8th: Konnor Sweet, Abingdon, Va., 11 bass, 26-13, $622 9th: Kenny Botts, Alvaton, Ky., 10 bass, 23-15, $533 10th: Darren Kelly, Wartburg, Tenn., six bass, 23-11, $489 11th: Justin Stephenson, Jasper, Ala., eight bass, 23-10, $945 12th: Joshua Green, Cartersville, Ga., seven bass, 19-14, $445 The top-finishing co-angler from each division (not including the winner) earned a $500 bonus for placing highest in the event. Those anglers included: Music City: Luke Shrader, Monticello, Ky., 4th Place, $500 Choo Choo: Cy Matlock, Crump, Tenn., 6th Place, $500 Piedmont: Corey Smith, Hazard, Ky., 2nd Place, $500 Volunteer: Dewayne Drummonds, Gray, Ky., 3rd Place $500 Justin Stephenson of Jasper, Alabama, won the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award and earned the $500 bonus. 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. Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew Coffee, 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. |
