Georgia’s Palmer and Anderson’s Freeman Earn Wins at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Double-Header on Lake Hartwell presented by Fish-Intel
Co-angler Division Victories go to Easley’s Waldrop and Travelers Rest’s Connor
ANDERSON, S.C. – It was a double-header for weekend bass anglers this past weekend in Anderson with the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on Lake Hartwell presented by Fish-Intel events.
Boater Trent Palmer of Cumming, Georgia, brought a three-bass limit to the scale weighing 13 pounds, 3 ounces to win on Saturday and earn $5,915, then local boater Derek Freeman of Anderson, South Carolina, brought a three-bass limit to the scale Sunday weighing 10 pounds even to win $7,263.
“I ran about 6½ miles from takeoff and caught around two dozen keepers throughout the day,” Palmer said.
The top five boaters on Saturday were:
1st: Trent Palmer of Cumming, Ga., three bass, 13-3, $5,915
2nd: Mark Bradley of Wellford, S.C., three bass, 11-8, $3,208
3rd: Tyler Thompson of Easley, S.C., three bass, 10-12, $1,640
4th: Tony Holliday of Piedmont, S.C., three bass, 10-5, $1,147
5th: Bo Price of Seneca, S.C., three bass, 10-3, $983
Complete results for Saturday’s event can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Bradley earned the day’s Boater Big Bass Award of $750 after bringing an 8-pound, 1-ounce largemouth bass to the scale.
Scott Allgood of Fair Play, South Carolina, was the highest-finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member and took home an extra $500. 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.
Spencer Waldrop of Easley, South Carolina, won the Co-angler Division and $2,469 Saturday after catching three bass weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top five co-anglers on Saturday were:
1st: Spencer Waldrop of Easley, S.C., three bass, 6-10, $2,469
2nd: Cody Coker of Comer, Ga., three bass, 5-10, $1,235
3rd: Harold Addison II of Columbia, S.C., three bass, 5-8, $823
4th: Tony Everhart of Gaffney, S.C., three bass, 5-7, $576
5th: Josh Watts of Dahlonega, Ga., three bass, 5-0, $494
Tommy Cowart of Ila, Georgia, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 4 pounds, 1 ounce and earned him Saturday’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $372.
On Sunday, winning boater Derek Freeman threw a topwater bait to earn his win.
“I ran up a lot of the rivers, and burned through 40 to 45 gallons of gas,” said Freeman, a former College Fishing angler for Clemson University. “I was due for a win. I finished second here in a college event, and second in a BFL on Hartwell last year, so I was ready to get a W.
“I mainly threw topwater baits – a Whopper Plopper and a (Heddon) Zara Spook out deep. I caught five keepers.”
The top five boaters on Sunday were:
1st: Derek Freeman of Anderson, S.C., three bass, 10-0, $7,263
2nd: William Fordree of Six Mile, S.C., three bass, 9-11, $2,381
3rd: Randy Dover of Buford, Ga., three bass, 9-1, $1,585
4th: David Nichol of Gainesville, Ga., three bass, 8-14, $1,111
5th: Danny Kirk of Bartow, Ga., three bass, 8-13, $1,663
Complete results for Sunday’s event can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Kirk earned Sunday’s $710 Boater Big Bass award with a 6-pound bass.
Freeman was also the highest finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member and took home an extra contingency award of $2,500.
Van Connor of Travelers Rest, South Carolina, earned the win Sunday in the Co-angler Division after catching three bass weighing 9 pounds, 6 ounces. For his victory Connor earned $2,698.
The top five co-anglers Sunday finished as follows:
1st: Van Connor of Travelers Rest, S.C., three bass, 9-6, $2,698
2nd: Adam Thomas of Cleveland, Ga., two bass, 6-7, $1,174
3rd: Garry Hutchsion of Sharpsburg, Ga., three bass, 6-4, $781
4th: Will White of Wake Forest, N.C., three bass, 5-13, $548
5th: Greg West of Powder Springs, Ga., three bass, 5-11, $470
Connor also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 5 pounds, 14 ounces to add Sunday’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $350 to his winnings.
The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Double-Header on Lake Hartwell was hosted by the Anderson Convention & Visitors Bureau. The tournaments were the third and fourth 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 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.
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).
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