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Rochester’s Jagdfeld Picks Up Second Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Detroit River Presented by Lew’s

Indiana’s Lyons Tops Co-Angler Division

TRENTON, Mich. (July 28, 2025) – Boater Aaron Jagdfeld of Rochester, Michigan, caught a five-bass limit weighing 25 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Detroit River Presented by Lew’s. The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Michigan Division. Jagdfeld earned $3,926 for his victory.

“I’ve been chasing another one of these for a while,” said Jagdfeld, whose last win came in an MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing event back in 2021. “To finally get it done feels incredible – especially on such a stacked body of water like this one.”

Jagdfeld made the long run north and set up on Lake St. Clair, where he committed to covering as much water as possible. He struck early with two big bites in the morning, but things quickly cooled off under cloudy skies. Rather than panic or hunker down, Jagdfeld stayed mobile – a decision that proved to be the turning point in his day.

“It was a grind for a while,” he said. “The bite just shut down, but I had a spot in the back of my mind that I’d seen in practice. When the sun finally popped out around noon, I had a hunch those fish might lift off the bottom, and that’s exactly what they did. I pulled up and saw them five feet off the bottom, and they were tanks.”

Jagdfeld’s winning area was isolated and unpressured, a stark contrast from the boat traffic he faced earlier in the day.

“In the morning I was around a bunch of guys, but in the afternoon I didn’t see another boat,” he said. “I think that really helped. I was able to settle in and focus on getting the right bites.”

Armed with forward-facing sonar and a Rapala Crush City Freeloader rigged on a VMC Hybrid jighead, Jagdfeld picked apart the water column and put together a limit of heavyweight smallmouth that ultimately sealed the deal.

“That setup was key,” he explained. “The Freeloader let me target those fish when they were suspended just off the bottom, and I was able to trigger some really aggressive bites.”

In total, Jagdfeld estimates he caught about 30 fish over the course of the day. His co-angler also found success, bringing in three quality bass for 8-1/4 pounds. While many anglers made the move to St. Clair due to a tougher bite elsewhere, Jagdfeld believes the timing of his decision was the difference.

“St. Clair’s just starting to turn on right now, and I think I hit it right,” he said. “It’s only going to get better over the next few weeks, but today I had it all to myself when it counted.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Aaron Jagdfeld, Rochester, Mich., five bass, 25-5, $3,926
2nd:       Chris Hellebuyck, White Lake, Mich., five bass, 23-0, $1,963
3rd:       Nolan Mandel, Kimball, Mich., five bass, 22-9, $1,309
4th:        Julian Sweet, Flint, Mich., five bass, 22-6, $916
5th:        Trent Wilt, Manitou Beach, Mich., five bass, 21-12, $785
6th:        Mike Trombly, Belleville, Mich., five bass, 21-11, $720
7th:        Noah Stauffer, Gowen, Mich., five bass, 21-9, $654
8th:        Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., five bass, 20-14, $589
9th:        Brock Vogel, Perrysburg, Ohio, five bass, 20-8, $523
10th:     Matt Mosby, Dryden, Mich., five bass, 20-7, $458

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Boater Matt Mosby of Dryden, Michigan, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 10 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $530.

Mark Lyons of Marion, Indiana, won the co-angler division and $1,963 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 13 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Mark Lyons, Marion, Ind., three bass, 12-13, $1,963
2nd:       Erick Schenavar, Newport, Mich., three bass, 11-12, $981
3rd:       Justen Fain, Springfield, Ohio, three bass, 11-11, $655
4th:        Terry Bucciarelli, Ypsilanti, Mich., three bass, 11-9, $458
5th:        Dan Beach, Clarkston, Mich., three bass, 11-8, $377
5th:        Albert Davis, Wayne, Ohio, three bass, 11-8, $377
7th:        Cullan Parker, Lorain, Ohio, three bass, 11-6, $327
8th:        Robert Hernandez, Canton, Mich., three bass, 11-5, $294
9th:        Scott Davis, Morenci, Mich., three bass, 10-15, $262
10th:     Max Sato, Troy, Mich., three bass, 10-14, $229

Co-anglers Anthony Gilmore of Livonia, Michigan, and Adam Suliman of Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, both caught bass weighing 5 pounds, 9 ounces, to split the co-angler Berkley Big Bass award of $265.

After three events, Nolan Mandel of Kimball, Michigan, now leads the Fishing Clash Michigan Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 745 points, while Scott Sims of Morgantown, Indiana, leads the Fishing Clash Michigan Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 728 points.

The next event for BFL Michigan Division anglers will be held Aug. 23 at the Detroit River out of Trenton, Michigan. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Erie out of Sandusky, Ohio. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

Johnston Goes Wire-to-Wire to Win Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 6 at the St. Lawrence River Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches

Canadian pro smashes limit weighing 24-9 Sunday to slam the door on tournament and win $80,000 top prize

MASSENA, N.Y. (July 27, 2025) – Canadian pro Chris Johnston continued his strong track record on the St. Lawrence River with an impressive wire-to-wire victory Sunday at Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 6 Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches. Johnston weighed in 76 pounds, 1 ounce over three days, making long runs nearly to Lake Ontario each day to seal the win in dominant fashion.

The victory marked Johnston’s second career win at the FLW Tour or Invitationals level, his first coming in 2018 on Florida’s Harris Chain of Lakes. With this latest triumph, Johnston earned an $80,000 payday and further solidified his reputation as one of the top smallmouth anglers in the sport.

While several other anglers cracked the 67-pound mark – including Hayden O’Barr, Banks Shaw, Brent Anderson, and Clay Reece – none could keep pace with Johnston, who pulled away from the field with a stellar Day 2 performance.

Though the Johnston family’s success on the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario may not be inevitable, this weekend made it feel pretty close.

After making a long run on Day 1, Johnston wasn’t exactly feeling the love from his favorite river early on.

“I went to some spots that were new to me, to be honest,” he said. “I found them in practice and made a long run to them, and they were pretty loaded in practice. I was pretty excited. And, I had four spots where I thought they were all 4 1/2-plus, and there were five to 10 fish per spot.

“Some of them were gone, some wouldn't bite, and the wheels started spinning,” he said. “It was 11:00. I had two hours left to fish. And I'm like, ‘I’ve got to get out of this area.’”

Luckily, Johnston is long on experience on the St. Lawrence, and he had some good backup stuff in the tank.

“I went to a different section of the river, and I landed on a couple spots, and they were biting every spot,” he said. “I just stayed in the other zone where I caught them at the end of the day, and it produced every day. I probably shouldn't leave that area again, to be honest.”

When his closest competition faltered on Day 2, Johnston was able to go into Day 3 with a solid lead. Though he didn’t immediately catch the winning bag, he wasn’t nervous for long.

“I've been super close many times on the St. Lawrence with MLF or FLW in the past,” he said. “I won my first Toyota Series here four or five years ago in Massena. This is my second time back, so it's been good to me. I’ve led on the St. Lawrence probably four or five times and blew it on the final day, so there's always a little nerves going out there, but catching a few early kind of took the nerves away and it made for a pretty good day fishing today.”

Fishing mostly familiar water, Johnston stayed fairly deep and drifted a lot and used LiveScope and a minnow some.

For drifting, Johnston mostly used a 3/8-ounce Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Tube, and he used a minnow on a 5.3-gram Gamakatsu Horizon Jig Head. Launching his baits on a Daiwa Tatula Elite with an 8-pound Seaguar Tatsu leader, he used 16-pound Seaguar PEX8 braid, which he thinks made a big difference in his presentations.

“It's the best [braid] I've ever used, but the key is being able to get your bait a long ways away from the boat,” he said. “Even ‘Scoping, my LiveScope is set out to 100 feet. I still have to cast further than that because the current sucks my bait down. When it's actually in the strike zone, it's usually 70, 80 feet from my boat, but you’ve got to cast 130 feet to get it down there.”

Running close to Ontario every day, Johnston mixed old standards with some new places and tweaks to come out on top yet again.

“I hit a couple spots that have been good to me in the past,” Johnston said. “I saw boats on them in practice, and there weren’t any in the tournament, which shocked me. But that’s part of the reason is because they're so hard to catch. So, just knowing they're there and just figuring out a way to get them to bite was the key this week, and then, finding a couple new areas.

“I'd never caught them on a few areas where I caught them in this tournament,” he added. “So, it's not just going to fish the same old water. You’ve got to relocate them every year, because it seems like if you find a new spot, they seem to bite a little better. They don't necessarily live there all year, but if they're there for a week and you can find them on that little staging point, you can put a little hurting on them.”

The top 30 pros at the Invitationals Stop 6 at the St. Lawrence River Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches finished:

1st:        Chris Johnston, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, 15 bass, 76-1, $80,000
2nd:       Hayden O’Barr, Scottsboro, Ala., 15 bass, 68-8, $30,000
3rd:       Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 15 bass, 67-14, $20,000
4th:        Brent Anderson, Kingston Springs, Tenn., 15 bass, 67-9, $18,000
5th:        Clay Reece, Lexington, Ky., 15 bass, 67-3, $17,000
6th:        Nick Hatfield, Chuckey, Tenn., 15 bass, 66-12, $16,000
7th:        Brett Carnright, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 15 bass, 66-7, $15,000
8th:        Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 15 bass, 66-4, $14,250
9th:        Lane Olson, Forest Grove, Ore., 15 bass, 65-14, $13,000
10th:     John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., 15 bass, 65-16, $13,000
11th:     Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., 15 bass, 65-5, $10,750
12th:     Jon Canada, Helena, Ala., 15 bass, 65-5, $10,000
13th:     John Levesque, Nashua, N.H., 15 bass, 65-4, $10,000
14th:     Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., 15 bass, 65-4, $10,000
15th:     Jordan Wiggins, Cullman, Ala., 15 bass, 64-9, $10,000
16th:     Shaw Grigsby, Gainesville, Fla., 15 bass, 63-15, $10,000
17th:     Ethan Greene, Eufaula, Ala., 15 bass, 63-12, $10,000
18th:     Marty Robinson, Lyman, S.C., 15 bass, 62-10, $10,000
19th:     Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., 15 bass, 62-7, $10,000
20th:     Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., 15 bass, 62-2, $10,000
21st:      Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., 15 bass, 61-8, $9,000
22nd:    Kyle Cortiana, Broken Arrow, Okla., 15 bass, 61-8, $9,000
23rd:     Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 61-8, $9,000
24th:     Blake Smith, Lakeland, Fla., 15 bass, 61-1, $9,000
25th:     Joshua McGeary, Mount Pleasant, Pa., 15 bass, 60-10, $9,000
26th:     Andrew Nordbye, Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 58-5, $9,000
27th:     Marshall Hughes, Hemphill, Texas, 14 bass, 57-10, $9,000
28th:     Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 15 bass, 56-12, $9,000
29th:     Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 15 bass, 56-11, $9,000
30th:     Gary Miller, Colborne, Ontario, Canada, 15 bass, 54-9, $9,000

Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 149 bass weighing 620 pounds, 15 ounces caught by the final 30 pros on Sunday. The catch included 29 five-bass limits.

Although the season-long points titles were decided on Saturday, the final day of competition at Stop 6 of the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals was needed to solidify the full roster of anglers earning Bass Pro Tour invitations. Pro Banks Shaw of Harrison, Tennessee, capped an outstanding rookie season by winning both the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year and Polaris Rookie of the Year titles – a rare and impressive double crown.

Joining Shaw in the final points top five were pros Mitchell Robinson, Jacob Walker, Bobby Lane, and Dustin Smith. All but Lane – a current Bass Pro Tour pro – secured invitations to fish the 2026 Bass Pro Tour season. Should they accept, the new class of anglers brings a wealth of talent and momentum to the league, with several poised to make an immediate impact at the sport’s highest level.

The three-day MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 6 at the St. Lawrence River Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches was hosted by the Town of Massena and featured professional bass anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000 and valuable points to qualify for the 2025 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship in September. The full field of anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 30 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, advanced to the final round on Championship Sunday.

Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 6 at the St. Lawrence River Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches will air as a two-hour episode, premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Nov. 1 on CBS Sports Network.

The next event for Invitationals anglers will be the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship at the Mississippi River in La Crosse Presented by Phoenix Boats, set for Sept. 5-7 in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Bubba, Deep Dive, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PirahnO2, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Tackle Warehouse Invitationals updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

Johnston Extends Lead, Shaw Clinches AOY at Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 6 at the St. Lawrence River Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches

Canadian pro catches limit weighing 25-12 for second consecutive day to maintain control heading into final day

MASSENA, N.Y. (July 26, 2025) – At roughly 10:45 a.m. EST on Saturday, MLFNOW! analyst Rob Newell made the unofficial call as Canadian pro Chris Johnston wrestled with a fat St. Lawrence River smallmouth on Day 2 of Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 6 Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches.

“I believe the Johnston beatdown is in full effect right now,” Newell quipped as Johnston fought the fish to the boat, referring to the Canadian pro’s 20-plus-pound morning and his burgeoning lead on the rest of the field.

That fish – a rotund 4 1/4-pound smallie built more like an Opah than a bass – resulted in a 3/4-pound cull that boosted Johnston to a 4-pound lead at the time. He would add to that lead shortly, culling up two more times in the next 90 minutes to cross the 25-pound mark and boost his cushion to 6 pounds. Johnston finished the day with 25-12 for the second straight day, giving him a two-day total of 51-8 and leaving Clay Reece (47-1), John Murray (44-14), Shaw Grigsby (44-12) and the rest of the Top 10 a tall hill to climb to catch the peerless Canadian pro.

“If your name is Johnston, you can lay claim to this river,” Newell said, referring to the success that Chris, his brother Cory and father Lynn have enjoyed on the St. Lawrence system for years.

Pro Banks Shaw, meanwhile, caught a modest bag of 17-5 to fall from second place to 11th. But while he’ll likely concede the battle on the St. Lawrence to Johnston, the Tennessee pro easily won the war: Shaw wrapped up the 2025 Fishing Clash Angler of the Year and Polaris Rookie of the Year titles by a wide margin. He’ll finish the season with a 60-plus-point gap over second place and take home bonuses of $50,000 for AOY and a Polaris Ranger 1000 UTV for ROY – plus an invitation to fish the Bass Pro Tour in 2026.

Heading into Saturday – the one day of competition without live sonar – many studious tournament fans had Johnston pegged as the most dangerous angler in the field. The Mercury pro’s knowledge of the St. Lawrence supplied him with a selection of key spots where he knew 5- and 6-pounders live. The potential speed bump, though, was that he was “maybe 50/50” in his confidence he could get them to bite.

“I wasn’t overly confident or thinking that it was a guarantee by any means,” Johnston said. “In the back of my mind, I knew that I could go catch maybe 19 to 22 pounds fishing some other stuff, but those places don’t have fish that will get you a 25 to 28 pounds. Fishing that way, you can easily not catch a fish. I didn’t go there knowing that I was going to catch 25 pounds.”

Johnston’s go-for-broke plan was rewarded quickly, though, as he connected with the first of a steady enough supply of 4 1/2- to 5-pounders while drifting big-fish haunts that he’s accumulated since he was 18 years old (“Doing it old school,” Johnston said). By 11 a.m., his livewell held over 22 pounds of smallmouth; it was up to 24 by noon, en route to the only 25-plus-pound bag of the day. Johnston’s morning success was in stark contrast to Day 1, when he struggled (by his standards) through much of the day before culling up to 25-12.

Johnston will head into Championship Sunday with an opportunity to collect his third major win on the St. Lawrence (he won a Toyota Series Northern Division event in 2021 and a Bassmaster Elite Series in 2023), and a chance to add $80,000 to his career winnings on a river that’s already accounted for roughly 25% of the $1.6 million he’s earned on the major tours to date.

“This is a fun tournament for me,” Johnston said. “It’s an awesome, high-stakes tournament where I don’t have to worry about points. I’m here to win. I can just go out and swing for the fences again (Sunday). I’m going with the same plan. I might fish one or two more areas that I didn’t get to Saturday and hit a couple spots that I can maybe fish a little more effectively with LiveScope. I may go out and catch 17, but I’m going to go where the big ones live and try to crack another 25-12.”

The top 30 pros advancing to the final day of competition on the St. Lawrence River are:

1st:        Chris Johnston, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, 10 bass, 51-8
2nd:       Clay Reece, Lexington, Ky., 10 bass, 47-1
3rd:       John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 44-14
4th:        Shaw Grigsby, Gainesville, Fla., 10 bass, 44-12
5th:        Ethan Greene, Eufaula, Ala., 10 bass, 44-8
6th:        Hayden O’Barr, Scottsboro, Ala., 10 bass, 44-6
7th:        Marshall Hughes, Hemphill, Texas, 10 bass, 44-1
8th:        Brent Anderson, Kingston Springs, Tenn., 10 bass, 43-11
9th:        John Levesque, Nashua, N.H., 10 bass, 43-9
10th:     Lane Olson, Forest Grove, Ore., 10 bass, 43-3
11th:     Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., 10 bass, 42-14
12th:     Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 10 bass, 42-13
13th:     Marty Robinson, Lyman, S.C., 10 bass, 42-11
14th:     Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 10 bass, 42-10
15th:     Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 10 bass, 42-7
16th:     Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., 10 bass, 42-5
17th:     Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., 10 bass, 42-3
18th:     Blake Smith, Lakeland, Fla., 10 bass, 42-3
19th:     Nick Hatfield, Chuckey, Tenn., 10 bass, 42-0
20th:     Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., 10 bass, 42-0
21st:      Jordan Wiggins, Cullman, Ala., 10 bass, 41-15
22nd:    Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., 10 bass, 41-8
23rd:     Joshua McGeary, Mount Pleasant, Pa., 10 bass, 41-8
24th:     Kyle Cortiana, Broken Arrow, Okla., 10 bass, 41-7
25th:     Jon Canada, Helena, Ala., 10 bass, 41-6
26th:     Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 10 bass, 41-3
27th:     Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 40-14
28th:     Brett Carnright, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 bass, 40-12
29th:     Andrew Nordbye, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 40-10
30th:     Gary Miller, Colborne, Ontario, Canada, 10 bass, 40-8

Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 433 bass weighing 1,578 pounds, 15 ounces caught by 87 pros Saturday. The catch included 85 five-bass limits.

Saturday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award went to pro Jordan Wiggins of Cullman, Alabama, who brought a bass weighing 6 pounds, 3 ounces to the scale.

The three-day MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 6 at the St. Lawrence River Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches is hosted by the Town of Massena and features professional bass anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000.

In Tackle Warehouse Invitationals competition, the full field competed in the two-day opening round on Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 30 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, now advance to the final round on Championship Sunday, where they will compete for the grand prize of up to $115,000. The winner of the Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 6 at the St. Lawrence River Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches is determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative weight.

The final 30 anglers will launch at 6:30 a.m. ET Sunday from the Massena Intake Boat Launch, located at 1415 State Highway 131 in Massena, New York. The Championship weigh-in will be held at the boat launch and will begin at 2:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and weigh-in events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW!® live stream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and Rob Newell will break down the extended action live on Championship Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 6 at the St. Lawrence River Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches will air as a two-hour episode, premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Nov. 1 on CBS Sports Network.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Bubba, Deep Dive, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PirahnO2, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Tackle Warehouse Invitationals updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

Batavia’s Stahley Gets First Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Ohio River-Tanners Creek

Hockingport’s Campbell Tops Co-Angler Division

LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. (July 21, 2025) – Boater Aaron Stahley of Batavia, Ohio, caught a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Ohio River at Tanners Creek . The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Buckeye Division. Stahley earned $4,241 for his victory.

“It started off a little slow,” Stahley said. “I was catching some short fish, and then finally I was just kind of making some different milk runs and really started putting together a few bites here and there.”

There was no real pattern to it. Stahley ran around and fished what looked good, junk-fishing with a topwater, crankbait, spinnerbait and tube.

“I just try to put myself in the best position to be around a few fish,” he said. “Then the key is to catch your bites because it’s the Ohio River. You’re not going to get very many of them.”

For Stahley, a teacher, getting his first win from the front of the boat was a welcomed change of pace from dealing with the ongoing challenges of a house fire that his family suffered last November.

“I’m supposed to be home doing drywall, but I told my wife I was going to go fish instead of work,” he said. “She was on board. We’ve been over there working every single day for probably 10 or 12 hours. So to get an opportunity to go fish a tournament, she said have at it. It feels good.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:         Aaron Stahley, Batavia, Ohio, five bass, 12-11, $4,241
2nd:        Michael Nesbitt, St. Paris, Ohio, five bass, 10-11, $1,835
3rd:         Kenny Dials, Gallipolis, Ohio, five bass, 9-14, $1,040
3rd:         Chris Martinkovic, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 9-14, $1,690
5th:         David Taylor, Freedom, Pa., five bass, 8-7, $1,234 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
6th:         Chuck Willis, Dayton, Ohio, four bass, 8-6, $673
7th:         Kevin Spears, New Boston, Ohio, five bass, 7-9, $612
8th:         Brent Jones, Okeana, Ohio, five bass, 7-3, $551
9th:         Kenneth Pincombe, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 7-0, $458
9th:         Seth Fricke, Oxford, Ohio, five bass, 7-0, $458

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Stahley caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 5 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $470.

Jonathan Campbell of Hockingport, Ohio, won the co-angler division and $1,835 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 4 pounds, 14 ounces.

The top 12 co-anglers finished:

1st:          Jonathan Campbell, Hockingport, Ohio, three bass, 4-14, $1,835
2nd:        Jacob Lange, Trenton, Ohio, three bass, 4-8, $918
3rd:         Jordan Smith, Middletown, Ohio, three bass, 4-6, $612
4th:         Eric Moore, Okeana, Ohio, three bass, 4-4, $428
5th:         Ryan Sykes, Hamilton, Ohio, three bass, 4-3, $517
6th:         Walt Hammond, Lees Summit, Mo., three bass, 3-14, $336
7th:         Dakota Ball, Connersville, Ind., three bass, 3-13, $275
7th:         Jordan Voigt, Celina, Ohio, three bass, 3-13, $275
7th:         Kade Oliver, Muncie, Ind., three bass, 3-13, $275
10th:       Jesse Foster, Franklin, Ohio, three bass, 3-12, $194
10th:       Brendon Thornburg, Muncie, Ind., three bass, 3-12, $194
10th:       Jeff Campbell, Fairfield, Ohio, three bass, 3-12, $194

Greg Barnes of Morning View, Kentucky, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $235, catching a bass that weighed in at 2 pounds, 15 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After three events, Chris Martinkovic of Hamilton, Ohio, now leads the Fishing Clash Buckeye Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 726 points, while Ryan Sykes of Hamilton, Ohio, leads the Fishing Clash Buckeye Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 713 points.

The next event for BFL Buckeye Division anglers will be held Aug. 2, at Lake Erie out of Sandusky, Ohio. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Erie out of Sandusky, Ohio. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

Spencer’s Tyner Uncovers Key Area for Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Rend Lake Presented by Suzuki Marine

WHITTINGTON, Ill. (July 21, 2025) – Boater Joshua Tyner of Spencer, Indiana, caught a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 8 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Rend Lake Presented by Suzuki Marine . The tournament, hosted by Seasons Lodge at Rend Lake, was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Illini Division. Tyner earned $3,417 for his victory.

Sometimes the worst practices lead to the best tournaments. For Tyner, that certainly was the case. After a terrible practice, he decided he’d fish an area where he has some history on the lake. Then he caught a lucky break on tournament day.

“I had a good boat draw,” he said. “I was boat four and was able to get on my starting spot. Within three casts, I caught my big fish of the day. That kind of set me up for the day. I was able to slow down and stay in that area and not run around. I had planned on running and gunning. That kept me in that one area, and I was able to catch five keepers there.”

Tyner’s big fish was a 5-pounder. He caught that kicker and all his fish in a creek arm on the lower end of the lake, primarily targeting rock and wood.

“I caught all my fish on two baits,” he added. “I caught them on a tube and a Neko rig.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:          Joshua Tyner, Spencer, Ind., five bass, 16-8, $3,417
2nd:        Jeremy Mull, Pawnee, Ill., five bass, 13-7, $1,989 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
3rd:         Riley Walk, Neoga, Ill., five bass, 12-14, $992
4th:         Adam Brookman, Bonnie, Ill., five bass, 11-10, $695
5th:         Mike Hudson, Creal Springs, Ill., five bass, 11-9, $595
6th:         Dan Shoraga, West Frankfort, Ill., five bass, 11-6, $546
7th:         Richard Skiff, Edwardsville, Ill., three bass, 10-2, $496
8th:         Brennon McCord, Thompsonville, Ill., five bass, 9-13, $447
9th:         Chad Dunn, Poseyville, Ind., four bass, 9-6, $397
10th:       Anthony Balding Jr., Arnold, Mo., four bass, 9-5, $347

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Tyner caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $340.

Gabe Montgomery of Jackson, Missouri, won the co-angler division and $1,489 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 9 pounds, 12 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:         Gabe Montgomery, Jackson, Mo., three bass, 9-12, $1,489
2nd:        Ken Landreth, Belleville, Ill., three bass, 8-6, $744
3rd:         Chase Hughart, Marion, Ill., two bass, 7-9, $667
4th:         Brad Thacher, Murray, Ky., three bass, 7-5, $347
5th:         Jeff Ozmon, Rock Hill, S.C., two bass, 6-0, $298
6th:         Ross Davis, St. Elmo, Ill., two bass, 5-13, $273
7th:         Eric Mahn, Herculaneum, Mo., two bass, 5-8, $248
8th:         Tim Hunt, Decatur, Ill., three bass, 5-0, $223
9th:         Owen Boyer, Cantrall, Ill., two bass, 4-14, $198
10th:       Elmo Rogers, Albion, Ill., two bass, 4-11, $174

Chase Hughart of Marion, Illinois, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $170, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 7 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Riley Walk of Neoga, Illinois, now leads the Fishing Clash Illini Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 968 points, while Bobby McNeil of Crest Hill, Illinois, leads the Fishing Clash Illini Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 922 points.

The next event for BFL Illini Division anglers will be held Sept. 6-7, at Kentucky-Barkley Lakes in Gilbertsville, Kentucky. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on the Mississippi River out of Quad Cities, Illinois. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

Maryland’s LaClair Rides the Tides, Flips Jig to Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at James River

HENRICO, Va. (July 21, 2025) – Boater Brian LaClair of Denton, Maryland, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 13 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the James River . The tournament, hosted by Richmond Region Tourism, was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Shenandoah Division. LaClair earned $4,745 for his victory.

The tide could not have set up much better for LaClair. His goal was to fish areas where the tide was at least three-quarters of the way out, because the low tide best positions fish to feed. He immediately started up north on a low tide then followed the tide out, working his way downstream using a Lowrance tide chart to time his arrival in each area.

“The tide worked all the way down the river,” he said. “I just ran the tide once it got to a certain point. I fished all my areas then I moved another 10 or 12 miles down the river. Those fish were feeding good in all the places I went.

“I just tried to utilize all my time throughout the whole river and the day. That was it.”

LaClair caught most of his weigh-in fish on a brown jig, with a drop-shot tossed in, too.

“I was fishing hard cover, all wood, no grass, no nothing else,” he said. “Just laydowns, drop-offs, wood. That’s all I’ve been fishing.”

The top 11 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:         Brian LaClair, Denton, Md., five bass, 18-13, $4,745
2nd:        Jason Holder, Powhatan, Va., five bass, 16-3, $2,214
3rd:        Michael Downes, South Chesterfield, Va., five bass, 16-1, $1,978 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th:         Logan Buttolph, Doswell, Va., five bass, 15-9, $1,133
5th:         Broderick Luckey, Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 15-2, $886
6th:         Austin Burton, North Prince George, Va., five bass, 15-1, $775
6th:         Keith Estes, Spring Grove, Va., five bass, 15-1, $775
8th:         Brian Bersik, Chesterfield, Va., five bass, 14-14, $814
9th:         Jonathan Hamilton, Newburg, Md., five bass, 14-13, $907
10th:       Raymond Jones III, Mocksville, N.C., five bass, 14-12, $491
10th:       Chris Brummett, Lynch Station, Va., five bass, 14-12, $491

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Tournament winner Brian LaClair and boater Jonathan Hamilton of Newburg, Maryland, split the Berkley Big Bass Boater award, each taking home $317 for catching a bass that weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces.

Fan Zhang of Arlington, Virginia, won the co-angler division and $2,531 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 6 ounces.

The top 11 co-anglers finished:

1st:         Fan Zhang, Arlington, Va., three bass, 11-6, $2,531
2nd:       Roland Burton, Hopewell, Va., three bass, 9-0, $1,157
3rd:        Thomas Driscoll, Annandale, Va., three bass, 8-12, $738
4th:        Glenn Eskin, Henderson, N.C., three bass, 8-11, $517
5th:        Jeff Turner, Morris, Ill., three bass, 8-9, $424
5th:        David Williams, Fredericksburg, Va., three bass, 8-9, $524
7th:        Joe Dixon, Alton, Md., three bass, 8-5, $332
7th:        Douglas Washburn, Bracey, Va., three bass, 8-5, $332
7th:        Zack Queeney, Atco, N.J., three bass, 8-5, $332
10th:      John Robinson, Montpelier, Va., three bass, 8-1, $245
10th:      Dubi Mejia, Geoergetown, Del., three bass, 8-1, $245

Zhang also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $317, catching a bass that weighed in at 7 pounds, 1 ounce – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Broderick Luckey of Lynchburg, Virginia, now leads the Fishing Clash Shenandoah Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 935 points, while Douglas Washburn of Bracey, Virginia, leads the Fishing Clash Shenandoah Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 896 points.

The next event for BFL Shenandoah Division anglers will be held Sept. 6-7, at the Potomac River out of Marbury, Maryland. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-5 BFL Regional tournament on the James River out of Richmond, Virginia. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

Yo-Zuri America Wins 11th-Annual ICAST Cup Presented by Major League Fishing on Lake Toho

Father-son Bakewell duo catch three-bass limit weighing 16-3 to take home ICAST Cup

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (July 15, 2025) – Representing Yo-Zuri America, the father-son duo of Bobby Bakewell and Robert Bakewell, both of Orlando, weighed in a three-bass limit totaling 16 pounds, 3 ounces, to win the 2025 ICAST Cup at Lake Toho Presented by Major League Fishing (MLF) Tuesday. The four-hour bass-fishing tournament, hosted by the Kissimmee Sports Commission , was one of the kick-off events to ICAST 2025. In its eleven-year history, the charity tournament has raised more than $95,800 to benefit the industry’s angler advocacy program, Keep America Fishing™.

Tuesday’s field totaled 33 boats, including a handful of MLF Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals and Toyota Series anglers, as well as outdoor media and industry representatives from popular tackle brands and non-profits. The tournament this year raised a total of $6,600 Keep America Fishing™.

The Yo-Zuri America team won by a 1-pound, 4-ounce margin over Team FishNFX, which was comprised of Michael Muenzner, Paul Shenep and Sheila Crowe.

Bobby Bakewell said his tournament morning on Lake Toho couldn’t have started much worse – but it couldn’t have ended much better.

“I dropped my Power-Poles when the boat was in the garage, and when I went to put them back up and pull it out, nothing happened,” Bakewell said. “The boat was completely dead.”

Thanks to a last-minute battery swap – courtesy of his dad’s flats boat – and a Power-Pole Charge system that transferred power where needed, the Bakewells managed to launch right at takeoff time and fish the entire day. The early stress was replaced by relief when they hit the right stretch of eelgrass and put all three of his keepers in the boat by around 9 a.m.

“It was one of those stretches you dream about,” Bakewell said. “I pulled up and got all three there – the same area, same grass line.”

Bobby said they leaned heavily on Bakewell Arkie jigs in a custom dark-bluegill-type color, crafted by dad Robert the night before. He paired it with a Bruiser Baits Game Changer trailer, using 25-pound Yo-Zuri T-7 fluorocarbon line. He also mixed in a minnow-style bait with Yo-Zuri’s Super Braid 9 and a 10-pound Yo-Zuri Super Fluoro leader to put one of the key fish in the boat.

Fishing was far from fast and furious – Bakewell said he caught fewer than 10 fish total – but quality was the difference.

“The bite wasn’t hot, but when they hit, they were the right ones,” he said. “I think the biggest factor today was perseverance. After the morning we had, it would’ve been easy to get spun out. But we kept our heads down and made good decisions.”

Bakewell credited his gear – Yo-Zuri, Bakewell Custom Jigs, and his Scenko Stix rods – along with his dad’s great net work for helping seal the win.

The top 10 teams finished the tournament in:

1st:      Yo-Zuri America – Bobby Bakewell and Robert Bakewell, three bass, 16-3
2nd:     FishNFX – Michael Muenzner, Paul Shenep and Sheila Crowe, three bass, 14-15
3rd:     Toho Marine – Grady Johnson, Tripp Berlinsky and Bryce DiMauro, three bass, 13-13
3rd:     Tightlines UV – Steve “Boogie” Brown, Terry Segraves and Cindy Joint, three bass, 13-13
5th:      Power-Pole, Dan Benson and Cal Lane, three bass, 13-0
6th:      Green Outdoors – Moses Oliver, Clayburn Reed and Gina Oliver, three bass, 12-13
7th:      CPF Lures – Jason George, Erik Tillson and Mac Hoover, three bass, 12-5
8th:      FishNFX – Chuck Smith, Tony Mayfield and Glen Cabezas, three bass, 11-13
9th:      Jason’s Fishing Adventures – Jason Haynes, Landon Haynes and Jonathan Semento, three bass, 11-2
10th:   Boogerman Lures – Donnie Feagle and Bryson O’Steen, three bass, 10-15

Complete results and photos from the tournament will be posted at ICASTCup.com.

Keep America Fishing™ is leading the fight to preserve our right to sustainably fish on our nation’s waterways. As the voice of the American angler, Keep America Fishing works to keep our public resources – our oceans, lakes, rivers and streams – open, clean and abundant with fish. For more information, please visit KeepAmericaFishing.org.

For more ICAST 2025 coverage, details and tournament information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X,  Instagram and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

Kimball’s Mandel Gets Third Win in Two Seasons at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Detroit River Presented by Lew’s

Indiana’s Elswick Tops Co-Angler Division

TRENTON, Mich. (July 14, 2025) – Boater Nolan Mandel of Kimball, Michigan, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 15 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Detroit River Presented by Lew’s . The tournament was the second event of the season for the BFL Michigan Division. Mandel earned $10,904, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

Coming off a two-win, Angler of the Year season in the Michigan Division in 2024, Mandel is right back in the winner’s seat and atop the standings once again this year.

“I went to St. Clair,” he said. “I wanted to fish all the way out on the northern end, but the wind was kind of ‘eh.’ So I kind of stopped in the middle of the lake and started scoping around.”

Mandel worked waters on both sides of the border with Canada.

“I started early in the morning trying to cover a lot of water to find fish, and I noticed they were sitting really tight to the bottom,” he added. “So I slowed down and threw a 6-inch minnow on a 3 /16-ounce jighead and a drop-shot with a Berkley (PowerBait MaxScent) Flat Worm and 3/8-ounce weight.”

Opting for a big 6-inch minnow served multiple purposes. First, its big profile helped draw fish up off the bottom. Second, its weight allowed Mandel to make long casts in the stiff wind, and he says the size makes it easier to impart the right action in the windy conditions. Finally, it imitates the big perch that quality smallmouth bass like to eat.

“The morning started really, really slow,” Mandel said. “The first hour we caught a couple dinks, and then I lost one really big one in an area that apparently wasn’t that good. Because I then stayed in that area for another two or three hours and caught no bass that I weighed in. I really caught the majority of my fish in the last hour and a half in a different area.”

With his weight in the box, Mandel’s final hurdle was navigating a rough Detroit River mouth on the way back in. A storm had spun up, and the wind blowing against the river current stacked up the waves. Mandel got a little wet but made it in safely with yet another tournament-winning limit of St. Clair smallmouths.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Nolan Mandel, Kimball, Mich., five bass, 22-15, $10,904 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:       Austin Anderson, Ashley, Ind., five bass, 21-2, $1,902
3rd:       Chris Hellebuyck, White Lake, Mich., five bass, 21-1, $1,417
4th:        Jeremy Reese, Powell, Ohio, five bass, 20-10, $888
5th:        Angel Rosario, Kalamazoo, Mich., five bass, 20-2, $761
6th:        Noah Stauffer, Gowen, Mich., five bass, 20-0, $1,202
7th:        Derek Rodriguez, Okemos, Mich., five bass, 19-10, $634
8th:        Julian Sweet, Flint, Mich., five bass, 19-7, $571
9th:        Nicholas Seitz, Maumee, Ohio, five bass, 19-3, $507
10th:     Cliff Blackford, Addison, Mich., five bass, 18-4, $444

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Noah Stauffer of Gowen, Michigan, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 8 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $505.

Greg Elswick of Goshen, Indiana, won the co-angler division and $1,952 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 4 ounces.

The top 11 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Greg Elswick, Goshen, Ind., three bass, 13-4, $1,952
2nd:       Justen Fain, Springfield, Ohio, three bass, 11-15, $951
3rd:       Brian Townley, Wyoming, Mich., three bass, 11-12, $634
4th:        Scott Sims, Morgantown, Ind., three bass, 11-2, $444
5th:        Robert Miller, Litchfield, Mich., three bass, 10-15, $380
6th:        Cody Salzmann, Southgate, Mich., three bass, 10-14, $449
7th:        Scott Lutz, Bremen, Ind., three bass, 10-12, $569
8th:        Joseph Gnaster, Crown Point, Ind., three bass, 10-11, $285
9th:        Carl Bowser, Indianapolis, Ind., three bass, 10-7, $225
9th:        Todd Layne, Poca, W.Va., three bass, 10-7, $225
9th:        Rece Kimmel, Lewistown, Ohio, three bass, 10-7, $225

Scott Lutz of Bremen, Indiana, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $252, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 14 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After two events, Nolan Mandel of Kimball, Michigan, now leads the Fishing Clash Michigan Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 497 points, while Cody Salzmann of Southgate, Michigan, leads the Fishing Clash Michigan Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 492 points.

The next event for BFL Michigan Division anglers will be held July 26, at the Detroit River out of Trenton, Michigan. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Erie out of Sandusky, Ohio. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

Pennsylvania’s Kauffman Catches 25-8 to Win Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at St. Lawrence River Presented by Lew’s

Vermont’s Lowell Tops Co-Angler Division

MASSENA, N.Y. (July 12, 2025) – Boater Josh Kauffman of Marysville, Pennsylvania, caught a five-bass limit weighing 25 pounds, 8 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the St. Lawrence River Presented by Lew’s . The tournament, hosted by the Town of Massena, was the second event of the season for the BFL Northeast Division. Kauffman earned $6,026, including the lucrative $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

Anchored by a 6-pound, 1-ounce smallmouth bass that earned the Berkley Big Bass award, Kauffman’s limit came entirely from a single 100-yard stretch near Clayton. The key spot is about 90 minutes from launch, but it was worth the trip. It’s an area Kauffman knows to have bigger bass. And since he’s already in prime shape to make a Regional through the South Carolina Division, where he sits in second place, Kauffman wanted to fish this one to win.

“The morning was pretty slow,” he said. “It was slick calm with no wind. I don’t think they were really chewing too much. Then the wind started picking up maybe around 9 or 10. For me, that’s when they started chewing. It seemed like when it was slick they wouldn’t bite.”

The timing worked to perfection. Kauffman had to fish behind some anglers in a different tournament. Once he got on the key spot – with a bit of breeze added in – he spent nearly an hour and 45 minutes working on that school of fish.

“These fish are coming off beds,” he said. “There’s still a couple up shallow on bed, but I think they’re starting to get to summer patterns. They’re starting to get a little deeper. This spot was an in-between area. It was 15 to 20 feet. What’s important about it is it’s right along the main river channel, where it drops off to 65 or 70 feet.”

Kauffman could actually see on his sonar new fish sliding up onto the ledge to actively feed. With the area replenishing, he worked back and forth repeatedly, eventually landing about 20 keepers.

Key baits included a jig, Carolina rig and drop-shot for dragging on bottom. He also fished a minnow-style bait with forward-facing sonar.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Josh Kauffman, Marysville, Pa., five bass, 25-8, $6,026 (includes $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:       Joseph Thompson, Coatesville, Pa., five bass, 22-4, $1,678
3rd:       Carl Sickles, Morgantown, W. Va., five bass, 21-5, $1,052
4th:        Jason Shipton, Muncy, Pa., five bass, 20-8, $683
4th:        Jesse Spellicy, Gouverneur, N.Y., five bass, 20-8, $683
6th:        Jonathan Robla, Lisbon, N.Y., five bass, 20-7, $579
7th:        Steve Baillargeon, Blakeslee, Pa., five bass, 20-3, $526
8th:        Ronald Penders Jr., Webster, N.Y., five bass, 19-9, $473
9th:        Travis Nale, Pasadena, Md., five bass, 19-8, $421
10th:     Troy Adamosky, Butler, Pa., five bass, 18-14, $368

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Kauffman caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $370.

John Lowell of Orwell, Vermont, won the co-angler division and $1,763 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 15 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        John Lowell, Orwell, Vt., three bass, 13-15, $1,763
2nd:       Kade Wesner, Lancaster, Pa., three bass, 13-11, $839
3rd:       Nicholas Yeung, Simcoe, Ont., three bass, 12-13, $526
4th:        Isaac Hastings, Schenectady, N.Y., three bass, 12-3, $368
5th:        Logan Bloomfield, East Berlin, Pa., three bass, 12-1, $316
6th:        Randall Given, Laurel, Del., three bass, 11-10, $289
7th:        Kenneth Ibberson, Blackwood, N.J., three bass, 11-4, $363
8th:        Chris Slater, Boston, Mass, three bass, 11-2, $237
9th:        Devon Norwood Kitson, Montclair, N.J., three bass, 11-0, $186
9th:        Joseph Amberg Jr., Hawley, Pa., three bass, 11-0, $186
9th:        Jarrett Albert, Dillsburg, Pa., three bass, 11-0, $186

Lowell also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $185, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 9 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After two events, Joseph Thompson of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, now leads the Fishing Clash Northeast Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 485 points, while Chris Slater of Boston, Massachusetts, leads the Fishing Clash Northeast Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 491 points.

The next event for BFL Northeast Division anglers will be held Aug. 2, at Lake Champlain out of Plattsburgh, Vermont. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on the James River in Richmond, Virginia. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

Russellville’s Knight Wins Second Consecutive Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Kentucky-Barkley Lakes

Tennessee’s Rampaul Tops Co-Angler Division

GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (July 14, 2025) – Boater Clint Knight of Russellville, Kentucky, caught a three-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Kentucky-Barkley Lakes. The tournament, hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau, was the fourth event of the season for the BFL LBL Division. Knight earned $3,779 for his victory.

Knight is absolutely on fire on the Kentucky-Barkley system. He won the LBL Division Angler of the Year title in 2023, finished runner-up in 2024 and is now in second place again for 2025. Plus, he’s now won two LBL Division tournaments in a row to cap a streak of three consecutive top-three finishes.

“Today, we fished from the dam all the way to the Paris bridge,” he said. “Last month, I won the BFL, but it was completely different and things have changed a lot in the last month or so. I had 31 schools and now on all 31 of those spots, all my fish have moved. I went back and re-idled a lot of the stuff. I came down and practiced Friday, and all the way from the dam to the Paris bridge I only had seven legit schools. And when I say a school, I’m considering a school of 25 fish or more.”

In practice and in the tournament, Knight noticed his fish moving around on him. They’d move 250 or 300 feet overnight or even during the same day, often sliding up on top of the bar instead of setting up on the edge of the ledge. He attributes that to the fishing pressure and slow current. As a result, he had to make a shift midday during the tournament.

“I fished ledges until 10 or 11,” he said. “After that, I realized everything had been beat on pretty good. So I got on top of the bars. I caught a 5-opunder in the last hour in 4 foot of water, and it really surprised me because I started out the morning catching fish in 22 feet. It shows that true transition factor of Kentucky Lake in July.”

While Knight’s best school was in 8 to 10 feet of water, he spent the rest of his day targeting fish up on the bars where they were feeding on massive schools of fry. He worked through a pretty typical ledge-fishing lure rotation, except he left out a crankbait because he says it busts the schools up too much this time of year. Key lures included a Carolina rig, spoon and 5-inch minnow – ledge fishing staples for one of the hottest hands in ledge fishing right now.

“It feels weird because I’ve been second through 10th in the BFLs here, and now I finally can win two of them,” Knight said. “I’ll take it any way I can get it. I’m just gonna enjoy the ride.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Clint Knight, Russellville, Ky., three bass, 13-9, $3,779
2nd:       Sam Lashlee, Camden, Tenn., three bass, 13-2, $1,840
3rd:       Levi Kohl, Edinburg, Ill., three bass, 12-6, $1,225
4th:        Dustin Vaal, Farmington, Ky., three bass, 11-14, $859
5th:        Matt Robertson, Kuttawa, Ky., three bass, 11-12, $736
6th:        Ron Smith, Walton, Ky., three bass, 11-9, $644
6th:        Drew Morgan, Murray, Ky., three bass, 11-9, $644
8th:        Harlan Thomas, Paducah, Ky., three bass, 11-7, $552
9th:        David Hames, Trezevant, Tenn., three bass, 11-5, $491
10th:     Kane Hackemack, Georgetown, Ind., three bass, 11-2, $429

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Ben Wade of South Fulton, Tennessee, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 2 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $480.

Tim Rampaul of Dickson, Tennessee, won the co-angler division and $2,090 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 12 ounces.

The top 11 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Tim Rampaul, Dickson, Tenn., three bass, 11-12, $2,090
2nd:       Dave Willmore, West Frankfort, Ill., three bass, 10-10, $920
3rd:       Trent Gooch, Yuma, Tenn., three bass, 9-10, $612
4th:        Joshua Smith, Benton, Ky., three bass, 9-6, $429
5th:        Gary Huber II, Saint Charles, Mo., two bass, 8-15, $368
6th:        Brendan Murphy, Cape Girardeau, Mo., three bass, 8-11, $337
7th:        Kyle Cavitt, Paducah, Ky., three bass, 8-4, $307
8th:        Wesley Jennings, Clarksville, Tenn., three bass, 8-2, $276
9th:        Corey Green, Paducah, Ky., three bass, 7-7, $245
10th:     Peyton Nolen, Lexington, Tenn., three bass, 7-1, $204
10th:     Cowboy Tidwell, Madisonville, Ky., three bass, 7-1, $204

Jeff Johnston of Nashville, Tennessee, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $240, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 15 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Levi Kohl of Edinburg, Illinois, now leads the Fishing Clash LBL Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 995 points, while Zach Falder of Sedalia, Kentucky, leads the Fishing Clash LBL Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 942 points.

The next event for BFL LBL Division anglers will be held Sept. 27-28, at Kentucky-Barkley Lakes out of Gilbertsville, Kentucky. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 24-25 BFL Regional tournament on Dale Hollow Lake in Byrdstown, Tennessee. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

Lynchburg’s Luckey Gets Third Win of Season at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at James River

Chesterfield’s Gibbs Tops Co-Angler Division

HENRICO, Va. (July 14, 2025) – Boater Broderick Luckey of Lynchburg, Virginia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 10 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the James River. The tournament, hosted by Richmond Region Tourism, was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Piedmont Division. Luckey earned $3,213 for his victory.

Luckey continues an incredible run this season. He’s now earned three BFL wins this year, including back-to-back victories on Smith Mountain in March. On the James, Luckey got the win by running up the Chickahominy River – an area known for quality bass.

“I made a real long run and had four spots that I knew had big ones on it,” he said. “I just knew that they were there, but they were hard to get to bite with numerous other boats on them. I kind of pushed through the pressure and kind of forced them to bite, just staying consistent in the areas that I knew had good ones.”

It was a rinse and repeat approach. Luckey made pass after pass on four key areas, which included a “one-cast deal,” a stretch of docks and a grass area – a little bit of everything. Every now and then, a fish would fire. Things really turned on once the tide got right, creating a window of action from about 11:30 to 1. Luckey says he went from catching one fish on each stop in an area to catching three or four once the shift happened.

“They bit best when the water was moving; when the tide started to come back in,” Luckey said. “We’ve had a lot of rain, so the tide never really fell out. I think that hurt the bite in the morning. When the tide started to come back in those fish started to bite. So it was just kind of a waiting game.”

Luckey was hush about some of his key baits, and for good reason. The Shenandoah Division competes on the James next weekend and he’s hunting another W. He did reveal that he used a Yamamoto Senko, a swim jig and a jerkbait. He credits persistence and hours of graphing during practice for his success this week.

“It was really cool, especially this one meant a lot because I’ve won three on my home lake (Smith Lake),” he said. “But to go somewhere else and get the win it makes me feel like I’m not just a one-trick pony on my home body of water. It feels awesome, and I’m hoping to keep the momentum going and maybe get one more this year.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Broderick Luckey, Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 18-10, $3,213
2nd:       Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., five bass, 17-11, $1,557
3rd:       Ed Milton, Chester, Va., five bass, 15-10, $1,037
4th:        David Perdue, Wirtz, Va., five bass, 14-15, $726
5th:        Frank Poirier, North Prince George, Va., five bass, 14-8, $623
6th:        Raymond Jones, III, Mocksville, N.C., five bass, 14-6, $571
7th:        Harrison Baker, Quinton, Va., five bass, 14-2, $493
7th:        Rob Uzzle, Hampton, Va., five bass, 14-2, $993 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
9th:        Micah Mitten, Powhatan, Va., five bass, 14-0, $415
10th:     Brandon Buttner, Montpelier, Va., five bass, 13-14, $363

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Shannon Breeding of Moneta, Virginia, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $365.

Dean Gibbs of Chesterfield, Virginia, won the co-angler division and $1,739 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 9 pounds, 13 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Dean Gibbs, Chesterfield, Va., three bass, 9-13, $1,739
2nd:       Tim Seery, Chesapeake, Va., three bass, 9-11, $778
3rd:       Levi Stanley, Fuquay Varina, N.C., three bass, 8-6, $521
4th:        Bobby Kennedy, Matoaca, Va., three bass, 7-12, $363
5th:        Cornell Badra, Clarksburg, Md., three bass, 7-11, $311
6th:        Tracy Gravely, Petersburg, Va., three bass, 7-5, $285
7th:        Timothy Kinder, Fairfax, Va., three bass, 7-4, $259
8th:        Doug Griles, Providence Forge, Va., three bass, 7-3, $233
9th:        Mekye Barnes, Knightdale, N.C., three bass, 7-2, $208
10th:     Travis Owens, Hurt, Va., three bass, 6-15, $182

Gibbs also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $182, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 6 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Chris Brummett of Lynch Station, Virginia, now leads the Fishing Clash Piedmont Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 956 points, while Derek Stanley of Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash Piedmont Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 949 points.

The next event for BFL Piedmont Division anglers will be held Aug. 23-24, at the James River out of Henrico, Virginia. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Norman out of Huntersville, North Carolina Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel