Honnerlaw wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League event on Lake Okeechobee

Posted 9/16/20

Moore Haven angler wins weather-shortened Super Tournament, earns $6,817

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Honnerlaw wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League event on Lake Okeechobee

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Moore Haven angler wins weather-shortened Super Tournament, earns $6,817

Special to the Lake Okeechobee News
Bryan Honnerlaw of Moore Haven caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 9 ounces, to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Gator Division Super-Tournament at Lake Okeechobee. For his victory, Honnerlaw earned $6,817.

OKEECHOBEE — Boater Bryan Honnerlaw of Moore Haven brought a five-bass limit to the scale Sunday, Sept. 13, weighing 22 pounds, 9 ounces, to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Gator Division Super-Tournament at Lake Okeechobee. For his victory, Honnerlaw earned $6,817.

The tournament was the fifth and final event in the 2020 Gator Division presented by A.R.E. Truck Caps. Originally scheduled for two days, the competition was canceled on Saturday due to Hurricane Sally.

“This win feels great, especially with how the day started,” said Honnerlaw. “I only had two fish by noon and was pretty upset around 12:30. The worst thing that can happen to you in a tournament is to get spun out, but I stayed positive and feel very blessed.”

Honnerlaw said the key to his victory was running to the river and letting himself calm down.

“After fishing a few places and getting little to no bites, I ran back to the river and fished a ledge with a Gambler Power Ned with a Gambler Fat Ace,” Honnerlaw continued. “I caught three big ones in a row before my co-angler caught a few good ones. Then I picked up a crankbait and caught another big one to finish out the day.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:
• First place went to Bryan Honnerlaw of Moore Haven with five bass weighing 22 pounds 9 ounces, $6,817

• Second place went to Doug Vest of Okeechobee with five bass weighing 22 pounds 2 ounces, $2,909

• Third place went to Brian Divito of Seminole with five bass weighing 19 pounds 9 ounces, $1,939

• Fourth place went to Mitchell Liss of Grand Island with five bass weighing 19 pounds 2 ounces, $2,629

• Fifth place went to Mark Lundgren of Saint Cloud with five bass weighing 18 pounds 3 ounces, $1,163

• Sixth place went to Steve Boogie Brown of Altamonte Springs with five bass weighing 18 pounds 2 ounces, $1,066

• Seventh place went to Gary Milicevic of LaBelle with five bass weighing 18 pounds 2 ounces, $970

• Eighth place went to Ron Veale of Okeechobee with five bass weighing 17 pounds 12 ounces, $873

• Ninth place went to Justin Morgan of Okeechobee with five bass weighing 17 pounds 12 ounces, $776

• Tenth place went to Chris Crow of Lake Placid with five bass weighing 17 pounds 2 ounces, $679

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Liss earned the day’s $772 Boater Big Bass award with a seven pound, 10 ounce bass.

Liss also took home an extra $500 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.

Andrew Pulliam of Spring Hill earned the win in the Co-angler Division Sunday after five bass weighing 17 pounds, 11 ounces. Pulliam earned $2,909 for his victory.

The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:
• First place went to Andrew Pulliam of Spring Hill with five bass weighing 17 pounds 11 ounces, $2,909

• Second place went to Austin Baskette of Leesburg with five bass weighing 17 pounds 11 ounces, $1,454

• Third place went to Justin Brown of Frostproof with five bass weighing 16 pounds, $1,170

• Fourth place went to Kenneth Hunnicutt of Jacksonville with five bass weighing 15 pounds eight ounces, $679

• Fifth place went to Theron Asbery of Longwood with five bass weighing 15 pounds two ounces, $968

• Sixth place went to Nihad Basic of St. Petersburg with five bass, weighing 14-11, $533

• Seventh place went to J.P. Sims of Port St. Lucie with five bass weighing 13 pounds 12 ounces, $485

• Eighth place went to Doug Back of Monticello with five bass weighing 13 pounds 11 ounces, $436

• Ninth place went to Ernie Thompson of Anthony with five bass weighing 13 pounds 11 ounces, $388

• 10th place went to Aaron Gengler of Lakeland with five bass, weighing 13 pounds 6 ounces, $339

Asbery earned the event’s Co-angler Big Bass Award of $386 with a fish weighing in at eight pounds, seven ounces.

Now the top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Gator Division presented by A.R.E. Truck Caps, based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will advance to the Oct. 22-24 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Ga., hosted by Okeechobee County Tourist & Development Council. 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.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing — the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American will be held Nov. 11-13 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, S.C., and is hosted by Visit Anderson. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division earn priority entry into the FLW Series, the pathway to the FLW Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour, where top pros compete with no entry fees.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news, and more, follow the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, FLW and its partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe.

FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show while Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. Acquired by Major League Fishing in late 2019, FLW is expanding its programming in 2020 to the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel as well as on-demand at MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).

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