GADSDEN, Ala. (July 22, 2024) – Boater John Kellett of Odenville, Alabama, caught a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 15 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Bass Fishing League (BFL) Tournament on Neely Henry Lake. The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Bama Division. Kellett earned $3,926 for his victory.
Neely Henry is traditionally a shallow-water angler’s kind of fishery, but in summer, the fish can be a tad stingy – until the conditions are right. Kellett experienced a “switch” first hand during the BFL after cloudy, rainy conditions took over.
“I didn’t have but one 15-ounce fish in the boat at 10 this morning (Saturday),” he said. “Once the rain started coming in, I could feel the barometric pressure change.”
Kellett figured out he could run the same water over again in the rain and catch fish that were shut down in the morning.
“The fish were there. They just weren’t biting (in the morning),” he said. “Once I started going back through again, I started catching them.”
Kellett estimates he landed 15 to 20 keepers in a two-hour window. He caught them on a mix of baits, including a swim jig, a frog and a Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer. He even caught one fish flipping.
“It was just a little bit of everything,” Kellett said. “I was just running around as much as I could, spot hopping. It was a one-fish-here-one-fish-there kind of deal. I was just focusing on grass.”
Kellett ran about a dozen grass spots. He’d spend five minutes in an area, then pull up and run to the next, repeating the process throughout the heart of the day.
“I knew they were there. I mean, it was some of my favorite spots,” he said. “I just kept running them over and over, and they just started eating. I just put my head down and grinded, really.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: John Kellett, Odenville, Ala., five bass, 14-15, $3,926
2nd: Kyle Dorsett, Springville, Ala., five bass, 13-14, $1,963
3rd: Kris Colley, Ragland, Ala., five bass, 13-12, $1,309
4th: Harry Peyton II, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 13-3, $1,416 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
5th: Grant Williamson, Equality, Ala., five bass, 13-0, $785
6th: Robert Robinson, Mobile, Ala., five bass, 12-13, $1,250
7th: Blake Davenport, Jemison, Ala., five bass, 12-8, $654
8th: Stihl Smith, Alexander, Ala., five bass, 12-7, $589
9th: Clayton Barnes, Clanton, Ala., five bass, 12-1, $523
10th: Austin Shields, Lake View, Ala., five bass, 11-11, $758
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Robert Robinson of Mobile, Alabama, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $530. Larry McNeil of Meridianville, Alabama, won the co-angler division and $1,963 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 14 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Larry McNeil, Meridianville, Ala., five bass, 11-14, $1,963
2nd: Reid Hale, Jasper, Ala., five bass, 10-6, $981
3rd: Marcus Corbett, Anniston, Ala., five bass, 10-5, $655
4th: Colt Hinson, Andalusia, Ala., five bass, 10-2, $458
5th: Michael Stevenson, Leitchfield, Ky., five bass, 9-8, $393
6th: John Burt Jr., Montgomery, Ala., five bass, 9-5, $608
6th: Kade Lucas, Reform, Ala., five bass, 9-5, $343
8th: Mark Black, Selma, Ala., five bass, 9-3, $278
8th: Daniel Arnberg, Auburn, Ala., five bass, 9-3, $278
10th: Thomas Eyler, Ashford, Ala., five bass, 8-13, $229
John Burt Jr. of Montgomery, Alabama, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $265, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 1 ounce – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After four events, Kyle Dorsett of Springville, Alabama, leads the Fishing Clash Bama Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 978 points, while Reid Hale of Jasper, Alabama, leads the Fishing Clash Bama Division Co-angler of the Year race with 942 points.
The next event for BFL Bama Division anglers will be held Sept. 14-15, at the Alabama River in Prattville, Alabama.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bfl-neely-henry-72224.html
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