GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (July 22, 2024) – Boater Duston Vaal of Farmington, Kentucky, caught a three-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Kentucky-Barkley Lakes. The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL LBL Division. Vaal earned $4,163 for his victory. Anglers competing in the Kentucky-Barkley event were limited to weighing three bass due to the high summer heat. An experienced Vaal put together a solid multi-species catch – one smallmouth and two largemouth bass – on a fishery that’s enjoyed a healthy resurgence over the last several seasons.
Vaal said he ran south to the Paris, Tennessee, area where he worked out a current-based ledge pattern that turned on once the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) started generating power. A key ledge in 12 to 15 feet produced most of Vaal’s fish throughout the day.
“It took until the afternoon to get bit,” Vaal said. “I guess when they generated a little current. From then on, I was able to take a big worm on the ledges and hop it and get bit by quality size fish.
“I wasn’t catching them off one individual spot,” he added. “I was just going down a ledge catching them one here and one there.”
The key bait for Vaal was a 10-inch ribbontail Yamamoto Ichi Worm.
“Yesterday (in practice) they were eating a 1/2-ounce. Today (Saturday), it was weird. They were higher up in the water column, so I had to drop down to 3/16.”
Vaal hopped the worm by lifting his rod up almost to the 12 o’clock position then letting it fall on slack line.
“That’s when they’d bite it most of the time,” he said.
“I’ve been fishing BFLs ever since I was in college, and it took me forever to win one,” Vaal added. “I finally got one last fall. So, to get two here in two years, it’s pretty surreal, honestly.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Dustin Vaal, Farmington, Ky., three bass, 14-6, $4,163
2nd: Justin Berger, Murray, Ky., three bass, 13-2, $2,082
3rd: Adrian Urso, Union, Ky., three bass, 12-7, $1,179
3rd: Zachary Martin, Murray, Ky., three bass, 12-7, $1,179
5th: David Hames, Trezevant, Tenn., three bass, 12-6, $1,413
6th: Edward Gettys, Dover, Tenn., three bass, 11-14, $1,263 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
7th: Jeff DeFew, Benton, Ky., three bass, 11-13, $694
8th: Drew Fromm, Creal Spring, Ill., three bass, 11-12, $625
9th: Scott Brummett, Brentwood, Tenn., three bass, 11-2, $555
10th: Matteo Turano, Puryear, Tenn., three bass, 11-0, $486
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
David Hames of Trezevant, Tennessee, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 10 ounces, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $580. Joe Cornelius of Corinth, Mississippi, won the co-angler division and $2,082 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 13 ounces.
The top 11 co-anglers finished:
1st: Joe Cornelius, Corinth, Miss., three bass, 11-13, $2,082
2nd: Jacob Bovara, Wadsworth, Ill., three bass, 11-5, $1,041
3rd: Jojo Walsh, Lyles, Tenn., three bass, 10-2, $692
4th: Mark Sollman, Haubstadt, Ind., three bass, 10-0, $486
5th: Bobby Wade, Mayfield, Ky., three bass, 9-12, $416
6th: Chuck Rounds, Benton, Ky., three bass, 9-5, $382
7th: Frank Haysley, Louisville, Ky., three bass, 8-6, $447
8th: Barry Gunter, Trafalger, Ind., three bass, 8-0, $263
8th: Mike Westfall, Norris City, Ill., two bass, 8-0, $263
8th: Austin Hunter, Vandalia, Ill., two bass, 8-0, $553
8th: William Hadraba, Willow Springs, Ill., three bass, 8-0, $263
Austin Hunter of Vandalia, Illinois, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $290, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 13 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After four events, Clint Knight of Lewisburg, Kentucky, leads the Fishing Clash LBL Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 976 points, while John Lovin of Fayetteville, Ohio, leads the Fishing Clash LBL Division Co-angler of the Year race with 947 points.
The next event for BFL LBL Division anglers will be held Aug. 24-25, at Kentucky-Barkley Lakes in Buchanan, Tennessee.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bfl-kentucky-72224.hmtl
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