ANDERSON, S.C. (April 14, 2025) – Boater Jason Burroughs of Hodges, South Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Lake Hartwell. The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Savannah River Division. Burroughs earned $11,318, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory. Burroughs spent the day targeting shallow red clay points where bass were feeding on spawning blueback herring.
“It started real slow,” Burroughs said. “I caught a few small ones but didn’t have anything to weigh until about 11. Then it picked up.”
This type of fishing is a total timing deal. You have to get on a rotation of points, run and gun from one to the next, and repeat as often as you can until they fire. That’s exactly how Burroughs approached it. He “just made a ton of stops and kept moving” throughout the day and wound up catching about 15 keepers, with all of them in the 4-pound class.
Burroughs caught his fish on a Sebile Magic Swimmer and a Cabin Creek magnum-sized finesse worm on a Buckeye Lures Magnum Series Spot Remover.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Jason Burroughs, Hodges, S.C., five bass, 20-9, $11,318 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Tallis Morrison, Royston, Ga., five bass, 19-5, $1,859
3rd: Tim Watson, Martin, Ga., five bass, 19-0, $1,238
4th: Brian Tidwell, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 18-12, $867
5th: Bradley Day, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 18-5, $744
6th: Buddy Benson, Dahlonega, Ga., five bass, 17-1, $651
6th: Furman (Joe) Thompson, Clayton, Ga., five bass, 17-1, $651
8th: Jayme Rampey, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 16-8, $558
9th: Logan Smith, Easley, S.C., five bass, 16-5, $496
10th: Greg Glouse, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 16-4, $434
Trent Hammock of Villa Rica, Georgia, caught a bass that weighed 7 pounds and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $485. Justin Lemaster of Royston, Georgia, won the co-angler division and $1,840 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 11 co-anglers finished:
1st: Justin Lemaster, Royston, Ga., three bass, 12-10, $2,080
2nd: Todd Huntley, Inman, S.C., three bass, 10-6, $920
3rd: Corey Veal, Royston, Ga., three bass, 10-4, $612
4th: Benjie Winkler, Cleveland, Ga., three bass, 10-3, $429
5th: Landen Jordan, Anderson, S.C., three bass, 8-14, $368
6th: Chris Worley, Eastanollee, Ga., three bass, 8-13, $337
7th: Jody Anderson, Chapin, S.C., three bass, 8-11, $307
8th: Chuck Bagwell, Laurens, S.C., three bass, 8-10, $260
8th: Timothy Taylor, Seneca, S.C., three bass, 8-10, $260
10th: Blake Burdette, Anderson, S.C., three bass, 8-8, $204
10th: James Akins, Cumming, Ga., three bass, 8-8, $204
Lemaster also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $240, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 7 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After three events, Furman (Joe) Thompson of Clayton, Georgia, now leads the Fishing Clash Savannah River Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 724 points, while Rusty Odom of Simpsonville, South Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash Savannah River Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 726 points.
The next event for BFL Savannah River Division anglers will be held June 28, at Clarks Hill Lake in Appling, Georgia.
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