CLARKSVILLE, TN – Boater Robert Timms of Clarksville, caught a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL), presented by T-H Marine on Old Hickory Lake. Hosted by Sumner County Tourism, the tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Music City Division. Timms earned $3,526 for his victory.
For Timms, it was a last-minute decision to enter the tournament. And even though he’s a recent transplant to Tennessee from Connecticut, he had some good background to go on during the tournament.
“I got into the tournament like three days ago,” he said on Saturday. “I signed up just to do something on the weekend. I never even practiced, which probably helped me for once.
“I fished a benefit tournament two weeks ago and took second place,” Timms added. “I went to that same spot (that he fished in the benefit tournament), and it was loaded. They were there.”
The key spot was a point in the back of a creek arm.
“There was some milfoil that sits off the point in 4 to 5 feet of water,” he said. “It drops off to 8 to 10 feet. I could see on my (Lowrance) ActiveTarget that the fish were moving in and out, and there’s a lot of bait in the area. They were feeding on the bait. I started throwing a ChatterBait up on the point and bringing it out, and those fish were coming up and just crushing it.”
While Timms could see fish on his ActiveTarget unit, he was primarily fan-casting across the point instead of casting to specific fish. He caught his limit using a white and chartreuse Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer with a 4-inch Keitech Easy Shiner trailer in the sexy shad color.
Timms was pretty well done by about 10 a.m. – his winning weight anchored by a 5-pound, 9-ounce fish that earned the Berkley Big Bass award among boaters.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Robert Timms, Clarksville, Tenn., five bass, 14-11, $3,526
2nd: Jacob Hudson, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 14-3, $1,578
3rd: Michael Stout, Gallatin, Tenn., five bass, 12-12, $894
3rd: Nathan Reynolds, Nashville, Tenn., five bass, 12-12, $894
5th: Terry Steele, Sparta, Tenn., five bass, 12-9, $605
5th: Cody Mackie, McMinnville, Tenn., five bass, 12-9, $605
7th: Matt Underhill, Lascassas, Tenn., five bass, 12-3, $999 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
7th: Jason Dies, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 12-3, $499
9th: Brady Duncan, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 12-2, $421
10th: Brent Sain, Manchester, Tenn., five bass, 12-0, $368
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Timms caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $370.
Parker Burgess of Rickman, Tennessee, won the Strike King co-angler division and $1,535 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 10 pounds, 15 ounces.
The top 11 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Parker Burgess, Rickman, Tenn., five bass, 10-15, $1,535
2nd: Gary Haraguchi, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 9-5, $768
3rd: Douglas Gibbons, Dunlap, Tenn., two bass, 9-0, $513
4th: Taylor McMullen, Oxford, Ga., five bass, 8-2, $332
4th: Jason Barr, Fort Campbell, Ky., four bass, 8-2, $432
6th: Trenton Webb, Goodlettsville, Tenn., five bass, 7-9, $281
7th: Jenn Nolan, Hitchcock, Tenn., four bass, 7-6, $256
8th: Daniel Nolen, Lexington, N.C., four bass, 7-5, $230
9th: Wayne Crouch, Jamestown, Tenn., three bass, 7-2, $181
9th: Teddy Baggett, Nashville, Tenn., three bass, 7-2, $181
9th: Barry McEntire, Lebanon, Tenn., two bass, 7-2, $361