Florida's Strickland wins BFL at Harris Chain

LEESBURG, Fla. –Laramy Strickland of Bushnell, Florida, caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to win a Gator Division BFL event at the Harris Chain of Lakes. Strickland earned $4,806 for his victory.

The weather in the Leesburg area had been consistently rainy and cold for weeks before the event, and Strickland said he keyed in on a pattern he had noticed for the event.

“I think those fish are pre-spawn, and they were just ganging up on a spot wanting to spawn and not being able to,” Strickland said.

“I had three specific clumps of hydrilla I had located some nicer quality fish on,” added Strickland, who said he lives 30 minutes from the lake but hadn’t fished there since 2022. “I kept my head down and grinded a 50-yard stretch all day long.”

Strickland said he relied exclusively on a half-ounce Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer to fill his limit during the tournament. He said he caught around 30 bass – all keepers – during the day.

Strickland said he did make one run about a mile away from his hydrilla spots, and his first cast there resulted in a 5-pounder, but he soon returned to the hydrilla where he would cull fish for the rest of the day.

“This really feels great,” Strickland said. “I feel blessed to have had a really great day on the water. I’m looking forward to fishing the rest of the events in the Gator Division.”

Here are the final totals for the Top 10:

1st: Laramy Strickland, Bushnell, Fla., five bass, 20-1, $4,806
2nd: Sean Wieda, Alexandria, Ky., five bass, 20-0, $2,403
3rd: Parker Stalvey, Green Cove Springs, Fla., five bass, 19-0, $1,605
4th: Tyler Sheppard, Yulee, Fla, five bass, 18-9, $1,846
5th: Lee Stalvey, Palatka, Fla., five bass, 18-3, $961
6th: Brady Lunsmann, Citrus Springs, Fla., five bass, 17-13, $881
7th: Jakson Little, Leesburg, Fla., five bass, 14-7, $801
8th: Corey Smith, Clermont, Fla, five bass, 14-2, $721
9th: Stephen Williams, Green Cove Springs, Fla., five bass, 13-14, $601
9th: Gage Foster, St. Cloud, Fla., five bass, 13-14, $601

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

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