Deakins wins Top 150 on ChickamaugaDAYTON, Tenn. – Marshall L. Deakins won the American Bass Anglers Top 150 Solo Series, Presented by Caymas Boats, Southeast Division season opener as well as the 2023 Series opener, held March 4, 2023, on Lake Chickamauga, Tenn.
Launching at Dayton Boat Dock in Dayton, Tenn., the angler from Dunlap, Tenn. landed a 5-bass tournament limit weighing 26.22 pounds with a 6.77-pound kicker. That gave Deakins an average of 5.24 pounds per fish and put a check worth $17,000 in his pocket.
“I caught a few bass on a Rat-L-Trap, but most of them came on a swimbait,†Deakins detailed. “I was fishing really shallow, about one to three feet deep. I was just lucky.â€
Bad weather forced the cancelation of the first day of the planned 2-day event. Therefore, the anglers only competed on March 4, 2023.
In second among the 122 competitors, Ronald “Chip†L. Rockhill came up from Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. to landed five keepers for 24.84 pounds. He anchored that sack with a 6.92-pounder. Rockhill collected a check for $6,000.
“I caught all of my fish on a Rapala Ott’s Garage Slim crankbait fished around eddies on rock walls at the mouths of spawning pockets,†Rockhill explained. “The current was a big help. Whenever I found an eddy at the mouth of a pocket, there was usually some fish stacked in there. I found about 18 different places like that in practice and picked up a few fish at each one.â€
In third place, Haden Lamb from Ooltewah, Tenn. brought in five keepers for 24.73 pounds. He capped that catch with a 10.74-pound bucketmouth that took the tournament lunker title. Lamb won $4,700 for third place and an extra $1,000 for the lunker.
“I caught every fish on a lipless crankbait fishing on the main river,†Lamb reported. “I looked for places with slack water and grass. I had all my weigh fish by 11:15 a.m. and never had another bite for the rest of the day. That big one jumped three times and made me nervous.â€
Jonathan C. Henley from Kingston, Tenn. also cracked the 20-pound plateau. He placed fourth with five bass at 22.43 pounds. Henley won $3,400 for fourth place.
Greg D. Lamb of Birchwood, Tenn. followed in fifth place with a 5-bass limit going 18.67 pounds. He earned $2,700 for the effort.
Top 20 PL Angler Fish Penalty Big Bass Total Points Payout 1 Marshall L. Deakins 5 6.77 26.22 250 17000 2 Ronald Chip L. Rockhill 5 6.92 24.84 249 6000 3 Haden Lamb 5 10.74 24.73 248 5700 4 Jonathan C. Henley 5 22.43 247 3400 5 Greg D. Lamb 5 18.67 246 2700 6 James Marty M. Brown 5 18.32 245 2400 7 Christopher T. Hensley 5 17.97 244 1875 8 Danny R. Hall 5 17.54 243 1625 9 John E. Murray 5 17.32 242 1500 10 Mark D. Jackson 4 8.31 17.26 241 1450 11 Tommy L. Brown 5 17.13 240 1425 12 Gabe E. Keen 5 4.32 16.71 239 1250 13 Seth A. Davis 5 15.64 238 1175 14 Paul A. Thornton 5 14.35 237 1125 15 Dewayne N. Rich 3 7.15 14.32 236 1075 16 Kenny M. Carroll 5 13.57 235 1025 17 Jeffery F. Carreker 5 13.54 234 975 18 Robert Matt M. Baty 5 13.23 233 900 19 Brent Butler 5 12.86 232 800 20 Ricky D. Murphy 5 12.72 231 800 From Lake Chickamauga, the Southeast Division will fish Lake Guntersville on April 21-22, 2023. That event will run out of Goose Pond Ramp, located at 417 Ed Hembree Drive in Scottsboro, Ala. To register for the Guntersville tournament, CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.
The division concludes its season on June 2-3, 2023, on Lake Eufaula. The event runs out of Lakepoint Resort State Park, located at 104 Lakepoint Drive near Eufaula, Ala. To register for the Eufaula event, CLICK HERE.
For information on the Southeast Division, call Tournament Director Floyd Vaughn at (256) 230-5633 or see this LINK.
The Southwest Division opens its 2023 season March 17-18 on Lake Sam Rayburn, Texas. The season opener runs out of Cassel Boykin Landing near Zavalla, Texas. To register for this tournament, Click Here.
For information on the Southwest Division, call Tournament Director Chris Wayand at (256) 230-5627 or see CLICK HERE.
The ABA Top 150 Solo Series, Presented by Caymas Boats, features two regional divisions. The Southeast and Southwest Divisions each hold three 2-day tournaments for the season. Both divisions offer big cash payouts and chances for anglers to advance to higher levels of competition.
Each angler pays $600 to enter each divisional tournament and everyone fishes alone both days. No more than 150 anglers can participate in any divisional event. If 150 anglers participate, the winner will take home a guaranteed $20,000. If fewer competitors register, the top 20 percent of the field will each earn a portion of the prize money, based upon the number of entries.
Anglers could also qualify for one of two post-season tournaments. The top 15 points holders in each division at the end of the regular season will qualify to fish the ABA Top 150 Solo Series Championship, providing they fished all three of their divisional events. The Tour Championship will take place Oct. 6-7, 2023, at a venue to be announced later.
Conducted like the divisional events, the Tour Championship will involve two days of intense competition with the winner taking home $25,000. In addition, every angler in the field will receive a payout.
Anglers who did not qualify by points for the Tour Championship, but who fished all three of the qualifiers in their division, will be invited to fish a 2-day Wild Card event, slated for Lake Neely Henry. That event will run out of Coosa Landing, located at 200 Lake Street in Gadsden, Ala. on July 14-15, 2023.
From this Wild Card tournament, the top five anglers will advance to the ABA Top 150 Solo Series Championship. Qualifying through their divisions by points and additionally from the Wild Card, the Tour Championship field will total 35 competitors. Moreover, the top five anglers by points from each division after the Tour Championship will be eligible to fish the 2024 Ray Scott Championship.
In addition, anglers may qualify for bonus money offered by such tournament sponsors as Caymas Boats, Mercury Marine, the T-H Marine Atlas Awards program, and Power Pole. See each manufacturer’s website for details, rules, and qualifications for more information on their contingency programs.
Anyone who wishes to fish an ABA event, must become an ABA member. ABA members can receive discounts from some sponsors. For example, Optima Batteries will give ABA members 25 percent off and free shipping on any battery. Membership costs $35 a year, but anglers can save money by signing up for multiple years. A life membership costs $450.
For more information or to register for any ABA Solo 150 event, see www.americanbassanglers.com/Top150.
American Bass Anglers is sponsored by Caymas Boats, Mercury Marine, MotorGuide, T-H Marine, Power Pole, RT Outdoors, Optima Batteries, Hotel Planner.com and LurePartsOnline.com.
About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low-cost, close-to-home tournaments for the weekend angler and, at the same time, offering each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression.
For more information about American Bass Anglers, the Open Series, the American Fishing Tour, the American Couples Series, the annual Military Team Bass Tournament, and the Top 150 Solo Tour, all presented by Caymas Boats, visit www.americanbassanglers.com or call (256) 232-0406.
This story was written by ABA staff writer John N. Felsher. To submit articles of interest email info@americanbassanglers.com.
