Hayden Heck Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament on Sam Rayburn Reservoir

Hayden Heck of Lufkin, TX won the two-day MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League on Sam Rayburn Reservoir by weighing in six bass for a total of 36 pounds.

The tournament, which was fished with a three-bass daily limit, was the fifth and final regular-season event for the Bass Fishing League Cowboy Division. Heck earned $14,704 for his victory, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF contingency bonus. Heck said he and his co-angler were forced to look in deeper water because of the hot water temperatures.

“We spent a lot of time just scoping around trying to pick off single fish,” Heck added. “We were looking in 20 to 25 feet of water since the surface temperature is ridiculous right now.

We caught some on a big worm and a jig, and others came on a Double Z Custom Lures Swayback Swimmer, which is a small 4-inch swimbait we were using for suspended fish just hanging around,” he said.

The Lufkin angler struggled on Sunday, especially after 10 a.m. and said he saw good fish but they kept their mouths shut. He was able to bring in 15 pounds on Sunday but the day that he was able to put weight in the boat was the first day of the tournament which was a Saturday. Heck weighed in 21 pounds of fish which propelled him through a tough second day for the win.

“This is the second BFL I’ve ever fished, and it feels really good to win one of the two-day ones,” Heck added. “I fished my first one in January. I’ve been out of town for almost two months, but I got back and had a little time to look around, saw some good fish, and decided to jump in the tournament. So, this is awesome.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Hayden Heck, Lufkin, Texas, six bass, 36-4, $14,704 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF5 Contingency Bonus)
2nd:        Zane Parker, Kingwood, Texas, six bass, 31-0, $3,352
3rd:        Derek Mundy, Broaddus, Texas, six bass, 28-2, $2,233
4th:         Wesley Baxley, Cypress, Texas, six bass, 26-1, $1,564
5th:         Hank Harrison, Nacogdoches, Texas, six bass, 23-2, $1,341
6th:         Tommy Loving, Cypress, Texas, six bass, 22-0, $1,229
7th:         Thomas McMillan, Choudrant, La., six bass, 21-7, $1,117
8th:         Kevin Lasyone, Dry Prong, La., six bass, 20-14, $1,006
9th:         John Ellender, Lake Charles, La., six bass, 20-5, $894
10th:      Colby Bryant, Houston, Texas, six bass, 20-5, $782

The complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.