Elberton’s Partain Earns Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Lake Hartwell
Flowery Branch’s Macleod Claims Co-angler Title
LAVONIA, Ga. – Boater Kerry Partain of Elberton, Georgia, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 15 pounds, 5 ounces to win the 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event at Lake Hartwell in Lavonia. For his victory, Partain earned $5,336.
“I know a lot about this lake – I’ve camped here a lot with my family and my mom used to take me all around it with a trolling motor,” said Partain, who earned his second career victory at Lake Hartwell in Phoenix Bass Fishing League competition. “I was fishing deeper ditches – 20-feet deep – throwing a De-railer Blade (underspin) right over them with a Zoom Fluke.
“Later in the day I switched to a Carolina-rigged watermelon-candy Zoom Baby Brush Hog,” Partain continued. “I also added a few on a shaky-head rig with a Zoom Magnum Swamp Crawler.”
Partain said he fished on the lower end of the lake, a 30-minute run from takeoff, and managed to catch around 20 keepers throughout the day.
“I hadn’t been on Hartwell since November. I was able to get in one day of practice for this event, and I found a school of fish that were still there during the tournament. I never thought I’d win with my weight, but this one was just meant to be,” Partain went on to say.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:
1st: Kerry Partain of Elberton, Ga., five bass, 15-5, $5,336
2nd: Tim Watson of Martin, Ga., five bass, 14-8, $2,668
3rd: Jody Holland of Clermont, Ga., five bass, 14-0, $1,780
4th: Tyler Thompson of Easley, S.C., five bass, 12-7, $1,445
5th: Derek Freeman of Anderson, S.C., five bass, 12-5, $1,667
6th: Shannon Poore of Walhalla, S.C., five bass, 12-2, $978
7th: Mick Rhinehart of Anderson, S.C., five bass, 12-0, $844
7th: Carl Whitfield of Anderson, S.C., five bass, 12-0, $844
9th: Greg Glouse of Liberty, S.C., five bass, 11-14, $712
10th: Travis Garrett of Toccoa, Ga., five bass, 11-11, $623
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Freeman 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.
Tony Holliday of Piedmont, South Carolina, brought a 6-pound, 8-ounce bass to the scale to win the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $840.
David Macleod of Flowery Branch, Georgia, won the Co-angler Division and $2,668 Saturday after catching a five-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: David Macleod of Flowery Branch, Ga., five bass, 11-10, $2,668
2nd: Kyle Rogers of Cleveland, Ga., five bass, 9-14, $1,334
3rd: Russell Woodson of Jonesville, S.C., five bass, 9-13, $888
4th: Jason Clauss of Ball Ground, Ga., five bass, 9-12, $623
5th: Cody Coker of Comer, Ga., five bass, 9-11, $489
5th: Thomas Pennell III of Boiling Springs, S.C., five bass, 9-11, $489
5th: Scott Coussou of Cumming, Ga., three bass, 9-11, $489
8th: Bryan Lesley of Piedmont, S.C., five bass, 9-6, $400
9th: Wendell Grantham of Athens, Ga., five bass, 8-13, $356
10th: James Blackwell of Blairsville, Ga., four bass, 8-10, $461
Westley Denny of Westminster, South Carolina, earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $420 after bringing a bass weighing 4 pounds, 14 ounces to the scale.
The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on Lake Hartwell was hosted by the City of Lavonia. The tournament was the second of five events in the Savannah River Division.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Savannah River Division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 22-24 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia, hosted by the Gainesville Convention & Visitors Bureau. 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 April 30 through May 2 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.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, FLW and its partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe.
FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show while Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. Acquired by Major League Fishing in late 2019, FLW is expanding its programming in 2020 to the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel as well as on-demand at MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).
For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
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