Monticello Boater Wins Top Prize On Lake Sinclair With Five Bass
Boater Byron Kenney, of Monticello, caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 10 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) presented by T-H Marine and Suzuki Marine on Lake Sinclair.
The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Bulldog Division. Kenney earned $3,641 for his victory.
Kenny experienced a slow start. In fact, fishing was much tougher than he expected, considering how well Sinclair has fished recently. But he scrapped around, kept his head down and eventually righted the ship, catching his first keeper at around 9 a.m.
“I started fishing docks with a jig, and the Lord just blessed me with the good ones, I guess,” he said. “I didn’t catch a lot of fish. I caught eight or nine. I wish I could say there was some rhyme or reason (to where he caught them), but really it was just covering as much water as possible.”
“Normally, the morning bite is really crucial,” Kenny added. “But I didn’t catch another good one until about 10:40 a.m., and then I caught back-to-back 4s. It was just tough. I just grinded around. I fished the rest of the day, and it probably wasn’t until around 2 o’clock that I caught another good one. I had four good ones and just a 2-pounder.”
Kenny caught his winning fish on a 1/2-ounce “nothing special” jig.
“I was just my faith and just fishing hard, and the Lord just blessed me,” he said.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st—Byron Kenney, Monticello, Ga., five bass, 17-10, $3,641
2nd—John Pearson, Perry, Ga., five bass, 15-8, $1,820
3rd—Ryan Thomas, Madison, Ga., five bass, 15-3, $1,214
4th—Jamie M. Fountain, East Dublin, Ga., five bass, 15-2, $950
5th—David Millsaps, Ranger, Ga., five bass, 13-14, $1,228
6th—Travis Clay, Jackson, Ga., five bass, 13-9, $668
7th—Matt O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., five bass, 13-6, $1,232
(includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
8th—Callaway Robinson, Conyers, Ga., five bass, 13-5, $546
9th—John Duvall, Madison, Ga., five bass, 12-14, $485
10th—Brooks Anderson, Marietta, Ga., five bass, 12-12, $425
Michael Dike III of Acworth caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $475.
Jacob Chandler of Covington won the co-angler division and $1,820 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 9 pounds, 15 ounces.
Timothy Stone of Conyers earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $237, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 13 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After four events, Michael Wilder of Lizella now leads the Fishing Clash Bulldog Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 947 points, while Daniel Arnberg of Auburn, Alabama, leads the Fishing Clash Bulldog Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 942 points.
The fifth and final regular-season event for BFL Bulldog Division anglers will be held August 23-24, at Lake Lanier in Gainesville. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.
The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 17-18 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, Georgia. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.
