BUTLER WINS BIG ON GUNTERSVILLE
September 1, 2020
Boater Josh Butler of Hayden, Alabama, brought a two-day total of 10 bass to the scale this weekend weighing 32 pounds, 3 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Choo Choo Division Super-Tournament at Lake Guntersville presented by Fish-Intel. Butler earned a total of $15,533 for his victory, including the lucrative $7,000 FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency award.
“Of the 10 fish that I weighed in, I caught them on probably six different baits,” says Butler, who earned his first career victory in FLW competition. “I had a smorgasbord. I caught them on a crankbait, a spoon, a drop-shot rig, a shaky-head rig and a swimbait. Total junk fishing.”
Butler says that he fished down-lake, covering 8 to 10 different spots from the State Park down to the dam.
“I caught them all out deep, 18 to 25 foot,” Butler says. “That’s how I love to fish – I live and die out deep. I’ve been so close in the past – a couple of top-3 finishes, a bunch of top-5s, so I’m so glad to finally get the monkey off my back and earn a win.”
The top 10 boaters:
1st: Josh Butler of Hayden, Ala., 10 bass, 32-3, $15,533
2nd: Rusty Cooper of Gurley, Ala., 10 bass, 31-13, $3,766
3rd: Jay Fagan of Lebanon, Tenn., 10 bass, 30-14, $2,510
4th: Kyle Pridgen of Panama City, Fla., 10 bass, 30-6, $1,758
5th: Ryan Salzman of Huntsville, Ala., 10 bass, 29-12, $2,669
6th: Jordan Wiggins of Cullman, Ala., 10 bass, 29-11, $1,381
7th: Ethan Franklin of Empire, Ala., nine bass, 29-9, $1,255
8th: Derek Remitz of Grant, Ala., 10 bass, 28-5, $1,130
9th: Jim Leary of Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 28-4, $1,004
10th: Jeff Cannon of Douglasville, Ga., 10 bass, 27-14, $879
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Salzman brought a 7-pound, 10-ounce largemouth bass to the scale to win the Boater Big Bass award of $1,162.
Butler took home an extra $7,000 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.
Fouts takes co-angler title
Benjamin Fouts of Morehead, Kentucky, won the Co-angler Division and $3,766 Saturday after catching a two-day total of nine bass weighing 23 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers:
1st: Benjamin Fouts of Morehead, Ky., nine bass, 23-10, $3,766
2nd: Hayden O’Barr of Gurley, Ala., 10 bass, 21-10, $2,383
3rd: Luke Mason of Somerville, Ala., eight bass, 21-9, $1,255
4th: Bryce Morrison of Collierville, Tenn., seven bass, 20-9, $879
5th: Gage Tankersley of Dayton, Tenn., eight bass, 19-8, $753
6th: Robert Barnett of Flintstone, Ga., eight bass, 18-11, $691
7th: Reese Petitti of Birmingham, Ala., seven bass, 17-10, $628
8th: Kevin Lankford of Hollywood, Ala., seven bass, 17-2, $565
9th: Jake Stines of Plant City, Fla., seven bass, 15-15, $502
10th: Randy Hill of Athens, Ala., seven bass, 15-12, $439
Jon Lawson of Cartersville, Georgia, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 12 ounces. The catch earned him the Co-angler Big Bass award and added $581 to his winnings.
The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Super-Tournament on Lake Guntersville presented by Fish-Intel was hosted by the Marshall County Convention & Visitors Bureau. It was the fifth and final qualifying event in the 2020 Choo Choo Division.
Now the top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Choo Choo Division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will advance to the Oct. 16-18 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Lake Cherokee in Jefferson City, Tennessee, hosted by the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce. 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.