AnglersChannel

Miami’s Cook Picks Apart Banks for Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Grand Lake

Oklahoma’s Hewitt Claims Co-Angler Division

GROVE, Okla. (Sept. 8, 2025) – Boater Preston Cook of Miami, Oklahoma, caught a total of 10 bass weighing 36 pounds, 3 ounces, over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Grand Lake Presented by Suzuki Marine . The tournament, hosted by the City of Grove, was the fifth and final regular-season event of the season for the BFL Okie Division. Cook earned $13,188 plus a $7,000 Phoenix Bonus for his victory.

“It was super slow,” said Cook, who has fished Grand Lake for the past 35 years. “It was tough to even get a limit. I was mixing in flipping docks with a Strike King Rage Bug, a Heddon Zara Spook or a small (River2Sea) Whopper Plopper.”

Cook said he also caught a big fish each day on a glidebait. His approach was to cruise down banks and target isolated brush piles and docks. The strategy provided five keepers Saturday and eight on Sunday.

“Sunday, between 1 and 1:45, I culled three times,” Cook said, adding the midday Spook bite was the key to his victory. “They finally started biting when the sun was high.

“This win is amazing,” Cook added. “I can’t even describe what I’m feeling. It hasn’t even really sunk in yet.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Preston Cook, Miami, Okla., 10 bass, 36-3, $13,188 (includes $7,000 Phoenix Bonus)
2nd:      Micah Littlejohn, Grove, Okla., 10 bass, 33-13, $3,094
3rd:       Lane Stephens, Owasso, Okla., 10 bass, 32-1, $2,062
4th:        Darrin Thomas, Kiefer, Okla., 10 bass, 31-13, $1,444
5th:        Curt Warren, Rose, Okla., 10 bass, 29-13, $1,238
6th:        Dillon Roberts, Oologah, Okla., 10 bass, 29-2, $1,134
7th:        Kyle Kitts, Joplin, Mo., 10 bass, 29-0, $1,031
8th:        Justin Barbour, Tulsa, Okla., 10 bass, 28-15, $928
9th:        Doug Johnson, Grove, Okla., 10 bass, 28-10, $825
10th:     Jason Thompson, Galena, Kan., 10 bass, 28-2, $722

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Vance Montgomery of Claremore, Oklahoma, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 14 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $862.

Thad Hewitt of Delaware, Oklahoma, won the co-angler division and $3,344 Sunday, after bringing six bass to the scale that totaled 19 pounds, 6 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Thad Hewitt, Delaware, Okla., six bass, 19-6, $3,344
2nd:      Mitch Baskett, Yukon, Okla., six bass, 16-12, $1,547
3rd:       James West, Spiro, Okla., six bass, 14-15, $1,029
4th:        J.R. Foster, Miami, Okla., five bass, 14-12, $722
5th:        Jordan Clayton, Wichita Falls, Texas, six bass, 13-8, $619
6th:        Mark Taylor, Oklahoma City, Okla., six bass, 13-5, $567
7th:        Fred Fielder, Afton, Okla., four bass, 13-4, $566
8th:        Tad Harp, Cave Springs, Ark., five bass, 12-9, $464
9th:        Brian Radford, Bixby, Okla., six bass, 12-6, $413
10th:     Dalton Brake, Mountain View, Mo., five bass, 12-5, $361

Travis McKee of Fayetteville, Arkansas, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $431, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 10 ounces.

With all five events in the division now complete, boater Nick Kincaid of Brookeland, Texas, won the Fishing Clash Okie Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,336 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while James West of Spiro, Oklahoma, won the Fishing Clash Okie Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,331 points and earned the $500 payout.

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. 10-11 BFL Regional tournament on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma. 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, RFD-TV 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

Virginia’s Hawkins Slows Down for Big-Bite Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Potomac River

North Carolina’s Roten Claims Co-Angler Division

MARBURY, Md. (Sept. 8, 2025) – Boater Rick Hawkins of Roanoke, Virginia, caught a total of 10 bass weighing 33 pounds, 5 ounces, over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Potomac River . The tournament, hosted by Charles County Recreation, Parks, and Tourism, was the fifth and final regular-season event of the season for the BFL Shenandoah Division. Hawkins earned $6,230 for his victory.

“I had decided I was going to slow down and jig fish and drop-shot fish and really pick the cover apart,” Hawkins said. “I did that and only got five bites Saturday and seven bites on Sunday. Most of the guys who were fishing grass were catching tons of fish, just not large fish. That was the difference. I was fishing for the large bite.”

Hawkins said his baits of choice were a Missile Baits jig in green pumpkin or black and blue, and an oxblood-colored Missile Baits Magic Worm. He focused his efforts on deeper banks and drop-offs north of Mattawoman Creek that featured wood, rock or grass or a combination of the three.

Hawkins said he didn’t have a bite until 10 o’clock on Sunday morning, but his first bass checked in at 5 pounds.

“I thought, ‘Well, that’s a good start,’” Hawkins said. “And about every hour I would get another bite. And each fish I caught was fairly large. I didn’t catch them on the same spot; I just pounded away and kept switching banks. When I caught my fourth fish, I knew I had a chance to win. I needed just one more bite.”

Hawkins said he managed two more bites, resulting in a cull and the win.

“The Potomac River has been somewhat of a thorn in my side for quite some time,” Hawkins said. “When I was younger, I won a lot of tournaments on the Potomac, and now I’m getting a little further along in age. I wondered when (the Potomac) was going to give me a little bit of something again, and it finally did.

“I’m shocked, really, that it actually happened,” Hawkins added. “I thought when I was getting the quality bites I could have a chance. That’s the difference on the Potomac – the bigger bite. You either need a kicker fish or a good average. Well, I kind of had two kickers, and everything else was kind of large, too.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Rick Hawkins, Roanoke, Va., 10 bass, 33-5, $6,230
2nd:      Broderick Luckey, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 30-3, $3,215
3rd:       Tom Bateman, Welcome, Md., 10 bass, 29-13, $2,577
4th:        Andrew George, Poplar Branch, N.C., 10 bass, 29-9, $1,954 (includes $500 Phoenix Bonus)
5th:        Richard Hodges Jr, Camden, N.C., 10 bass, 29-1, $1,246
6th:        Jackson Pleasant, Four Oaks, N.C., 10 bass, 28-8, $1,142
7th:        Brandon Miskell, Vienna, Va., 10 bass, 27-14, $1,038
8th:        Aaron Dixon, Bel Alton, Md., 10 bass, 27-0, $934
9th:        Thomas Milton, Chester, Va., 10 bass, 26-14, $831
10th:     Lenny Baird, Stafford, Va., 10 bass, 26-7, $727

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

James Maupin of Stanardsville, Virginia, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 7 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $855.

James Roten of West Jefferson, North Carolina, won the co-angler division and $3,115 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of six bass to the scale that totaled 18 pounds, 8 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        James Roten, West Jefferson, N.C., six bass, 18-8, $3,115
2nd:      John Lambert, Fredericksburg, Va, six bass, 16-7, $1,557
3rd:       Nathan Routzahn, Myersville, Md., six bass, 16-4, $1,040
4th:        Akira Okuyama, Rego Park, N.Y., six bass, 15-14, $727
5th:        Cornell Badra, Clarksburg, Md., six bass, 15-1, $623
6th:        Jeff Bender, Glenshaw, Pa., six bass, 14-8, $571
7th:        Michael Duarte, Baltimore, Md., six bass, 14-2, $519
8th:        Hampton Robinson, Bealeton, Va., six bass, 14-2, $467
9th:        Eric Nelson, Gainesville, Va., six bass, 14-2, $415
10th:     Zhengrong Tang, Berwyn, Pa., six bass, 14-1, $790

Zhengrong Tang of Berwyn, Pennsylvania, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $427, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 2 ounces.

With all five events in the division now complete, boater Broderick Luckey of Lynchburg, Virginia, won the Fishing Clash Shenandoah Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,309 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Hampton Robinson of Bealeton, Virginia, won the Fishing Clash Shenandoah Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,251 points and earned the $500 payout.

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 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, RFD-TV 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 Tops off ‘Amazing’ Week with Fourth Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Detroit River Presented by Lew’s

Indiana’s Lutz Takes Co-Angler Division

TRENTON, Mich. (Sept. 8, 2025) – Boater Nolan Mandel of Kimball, Michigan, caught a total of 10 bass weighing 47 pounds, 5 ounces, over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Detroit River Presented by Lew’s . The tournament was the fifth and final regular-season event of the season for the BFL Michigan Division. Mandel earned $12,370, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix Bonus for his victory.

Mandel’s win came just a few short days after his wife gave birth Tuesday, and his priorities quickly changed from fishing to family.

“I only got about two hours of practice for this tournament because my wife just had a baby, and we’ve been at the hospital,” Mandel said. “I didn’t even know if I could catch 15 pounds. When I left the boat ramp, I had no idea where I was even going to fish. I just ran to St. Clair and decided to cover a lot of water and try to find fish.”

Mandel said grass on Lake St. Clair at this time of year begins to die off, and schools of perch will stay in the grass that is still alive, and smallmouth follow the perch. So, Mandel searched for big schools of perch in thick, healthy grass in 15 to 17 feet of water.

“The first day was amazing.” Mandel said. “I checked some spots they were on this time last year, and every spot I checked held a 5-pounder.”

The wind was a factor during the opening day of the tournament, so Mandel chose to fish the side of the lake that was protected by the wind. A drop-shot rig with a 3/8-ounce weight and a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Hit Worm proved to be effective Saturday.

Saturday’s successful spots for Mandel muddied up on Sunday, so he switched tactics to a small, 3/8-ounce Keitech jig with a Z-Man Finesse TRD trailer as well as a jighead minnow to provoke strikes. Although Mandel had a 3-pound lead heading into the final day of competition, Sunday did provide some tension for him.

“I broke two fish off and kept losing fish, and I started to kind of spiral out,” Mandel said. “I had a really good co-angler who had a good attitude and brought me back down, and I ended up catching enough fish to still win.”

Mandel also wrapped up the Fishing Clash Michigan Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with the win.

“This week was just sweet because of the circumstances,” Mandel added. “This is my favorite win I’ve had. It is just amazing.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Nolan Mandel, Kimball, Mich., 10 bass, 47-5, $12,370 (includes $7,000 Phoenix Bonus)
2nd:      Cody Kelley, Plainwell, Mich., 10 bass, 47-1, $2,635
3rd:       Noah Stauffer, Gowen, Mich., 10 bass, 43-3, $1,758
4th:        Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., 10 bass, 42-11, $1,230
5th:        Joshua Kolodzaike, Ypsilanti, Mich., 10 bass, 40-9, $1,054
6th:        Jesse Richardson, Ligonier, Ind., 10 bass, 40-4, $966
7th:        Ty Fain, Springfield, Ohio, 10 bass, 40-0, $878
8th:        Wilson Burton, Findlay, Ohio, 10 bass, 39-11, $790
9th:        Mike Trombley, Belleville, Mich., 10 bass, 38-5, $703
10th:     Julian Sweet, Flint, Mich., 10 bass, 37-14, $615

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Ralph Blasey of Pinckney, Michigan, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 14 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $675.

Scott Lutz of Bremen, Indiana, won the co-angler division and $2,635 Sunday, after bringing six bass to the scale that totaled 24 pounds, 1 ounce.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Scott Lutz, Bremen, Ind., six bass, 24-1, $2,635
2nd:      Dennis Blakely, Norwalk, Ohio, six bass, 23-8, $1,367
3rd:       Terry Bucciarelli, Ypsilanti, Mich., six bass, 23-7, $980
4th:        J.D. Marcum, Catlettsburg, Ky., six bass, 22-9, $615
5th:        Daniel Dumais, Trenton, Mich., six bass, 22-3, $527
6th:        Justen Fain, Springfield, Ohio, six bass, 21-14, $483
7th:        Steve Ward, Trenton, Mich., six bass, 21-4, $439
8th:        Jacob Alltop, Lewistown, Ohio, six bass, 21-2, $395
9th:        Adam Suliman, Solon, Ohio, six bass, 20-12, $351
10th:     Caleb Edgerton, Dayton, Ohio, six bass, 20-1, $307

Scott Sims of Morgantown, Indiana, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $337, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 7 ounces.

With all five events in the division now complete, boater Nolan Mandel of Kimball, Michigan, won the Fishing Clash Michigan Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,367 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Brian Ruetz of Toledo, Ohio, won the Fishing Clash Michigan Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,299 points and earned the $500 payout.

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 in 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, RFD-TV 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

Murray’s Berger Claims Long-Awaited Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Kentucky Lake

Missouri’s Anderson Takes Co-Angler Division

GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (Sept. 8, 2025) – Boater Justin Berger of Murray, Kentucky, caught a total of 10 bass weighing 34 pounds, 9 ounces, over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Kentucky Lake . The tournament, hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau, was the fifth and final regular-season event of the season for the BFL Illini Division. Berger earned $4,668 for his victory.

“I didn’t get to pre-fish for this event very much,” Berger said. “Work got in the way, and I only got to go out a few hours one morning and a few hours one evening. So really, I was going into the weekend just going on my past knowledge and experience.”

Berger said Saturday proved to be a grind, as he only had five bites all day.

“It was as tough of a day as you could get,” Berger said. “Luckily, I landed them all and there were a couple of decent ones.”

Berger said his gameplan for Sunday was “to go out and just have fun.” He stopped at a spot he had fished only a couple of times previously and ended up catching a limit on it first thing in the morning on a topwater bite.

“After that, I just started running and fishing whatever looked good and ended up culling up three times on a spinnerbait,” Berger said.

Berger said he caught 11 keepers Sunday, and only two weighed less than 3 pounds. Berger said when he caught his second 4 ½-pounder, his scale showed his limit weighed right at 20 pounds at 10:30 a.m.

“I looked at my co-angler and said, ‘We have a chance now,’” Berger said. “I thought I was going to have to catch one more 4-pounder to win it. I really didn’t think I had it won.”

After two previous second-place finishes on his home waters of Kentucky Lake in MLF competition, as well as other runner-up finishes in a few other large tournaments on the body of water, Berger said the win was a welcome relief.

“It’s one of those things where you don’t want to think you have it won, because you’ll get your heart broken,” Berger said. “I’ve lost the winning fish multiple times. I’ve been close quite a few times, and to finally win one is a monkey off my back. I am just completely pumped.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Justin Berger, Murray, Ky., 10 bass, 34-9, $4,668
2nd:      Brad Kell, Benton, Ky., 10 bass, 33-13, $2,334
3rd:       Levi Kohl, Edinburg, Ill., 10 bass, 32-6, $1,557
4th:        Clint Knight, Russellville, Ky., 10 bass, 29-14, $1,189
5th:        Noah Morgan, Russellville, Ky., 10 bass, 28-4, $934
6th:        Grant Meisenhelter, Decatur, Ill., 10 bass, 27-2, $856
7th:        Matteo Turano, Puryear, Tenn., 10 bass, 26-12, $1,278 (includes $500 Phoenix Bonus)
8th:        Gary Singleton, Dickson, Tenn., eight bass, 24-13, $700
9th:        Dustin Vaal, Farmington, Ky., eight bass, 24-1, $622
10th:     Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., nine bass, 21-13, $695

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Joshua Bradley of Buchanan, Tennessee, caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 11 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $547.

Jeff Anderson of St. Louis, Missouri, won the co-angler division and $2,334 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of five bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 1 ounce.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Jeff Anderson, St. Louis, Mo., five bass, 13-1, $2,334
2nd:      Gary Huber II, St. Charles, Mo., five bass, 11-13, $1,167
3rd:       Anthony Tatroe, Braidwood, Ill., three bass, 9-14, $779
4th:        Brian Davis, Bethalto, Ill., four bass, 9-14, $545
5th:        Brady Kendall, Paducah, Ky., four bass, 9-13, $467
6th:        Brad Thacher, Murray, Ky., four bass, 9-7, $428
7th:        Matt Chumbler, Carbondale, Ill., four bass, 9-0, $439
8th:        Kenneth Heckel, Santa Claus, Ind., three bass, 7-3, $350
9th:        Luke Browning, Greenville, Ky., two bass, 6-0, $311
10th:     Ross Davis, St. Elmo, Ill., three bass, 5-5, $272

Thomas Duke of Pana, Illinois, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $274, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 15 ounces.

With all five events in the division now complete, boater Riley Walk of Neoga, Illinois, won the Fishing Clash Illini Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,330 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Bobby McNeil of Crest Hill, Illinois, won the Fishing Clash Illini Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,266 points and earned the $500 payout.

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 in 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, RFD-TV 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

Warrenville’s Hadden ‘Seals the Deal’ With Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Lake Murray

Boiling Springs’ Pennell Tops Co-Angler Division

PROSPERITY, S.C. (Sept. 8, 2025) – Boater Justin Hadden of Warrenville, South Carolina, caught a total of six bass weighing 28 pounds, 12 ounces, over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Murray . The tournament, hosted by the Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board, was the fifth and final regular-season event of the season for the BFL South Carolina Division. Hadden earned $7,644 plus a $2,500 Phoenix Bonus for his victory.

“Saturday, I didn’t catch a fish until 1 o’clock,” Hadden said. “Everything I caught came from 1 to 3:15. The lake’s just fishing real tough right now. There are a lot of fish offshore that will not bite.”

Hadden speculated that the lake might be in the early stages of a turnover, and that change may have the Murray bass more reluctant to actively bite. However, the bite was slightly better for him on Sunday, as he managed to land eight keepers.

“I just never had a big bite Sunday,” Hadden said. “Saturday, I caught one that went over 6 pounds and another one right at 6 pounds.”

Hadden said he relied on the “normal Lake Murray fall offshore-schooling bite,” Hadden said. “Just running and gunning all day long in 25 or so feet of water.”

Hadden said he put in a lot of practice for the two-day event, and was fishing to win, not for points for the season’s standings.

“I’ve been doing very well at Murray for the past while,” Hadden said. “Several times on Sunday I thought I needed more weight. I really did. The lake has just been insane for the past month and a half. I just didn’t know if I had enough. I thought I would need another 15-pound bag to seal the deal.”

Although Hadden fell short of 15 pounds by more than a pound and a half Sunday, he still managed to seal the deal and earn the victory with a winning margin of just over a pound over second place.

“I’ve been wanting one of these fish trophies for 35 years, and I’m 35 years old,” Hadden said. “This fish trophy means more to me than the check does.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Justin Hadden, Warrenville, S.C., six bass, 28-12, $7,664 (includes $2,500 Phoenix Bonus)
2nd:      Michael Gammons, North Charleston, South Carolina, six bass, 27-11, $2,302
3rd:       Colby Goforth, Ball Ground, Ga., six bass, 26-9, $1,536
4th:        Hayden Seabolt, Dawsonville, Ga., six bass, 26-0, $1,174
5th:        Cole Huskins, Gastonia, N.C., six bass, 24-12, $921
6th:        Lucas Murphy, West Columbia, S.C., six bass, 24-8, $844
7th:        Justin Tingen, Moore, S.C., six bass, 23-14, $767
8th:        Johnathan Crossland, Chapin, S.C., six bass, 23-4, $691
9th:        Matt O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., six bass, 22-15, $764
10th:     Jason Burroughs, Hodges, S.C., five bass, 22-11, $537

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Hadden caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces, on Day 1 and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $540.

Thomas Pennell III of Boiling Springs, South Carolina, won the co-angler division and $2,302 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of five bass to the scale that totaled 16 pounds, 14 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Thomas Pennell III, Boiling Springs, S.C., five bass, 16-14, $2,302
2nd:      Todd Huntley, Inman, S.C., six bass, 16-5, $1,201
3rd:       Troy Crippen, Lancaster, S.C., five bass, 10-12, $767
4th:        Alan Rae, Chapin, S.C., three bass, 9-7, $537
5th:        Kevin Mosteller, Columbia, S.C., three bass, 9-3, $460
6th:        Jerry Lancaster, Fort Mill, S.C., three bass, 8-7, $422
7th:        Jeff Rikard, Leesville, S.C., three bass, 8-0, $384
8th:        Mark Lee, Gastonia, N.C., two bass, 7-11, $615
9th:        Ronnie Cutshall, Piedmont, S.C., two bass, 7-7, $307
10th:     Rennison Robbins, Jackson, S.C., two bass, 6-6, $369

Mark Lee of Gastonia, North Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $270, catching a bass on Day 1 that weighed in at 4 pounds, 13 ounces.

With all five events in the division now complete, boater Lucas Murphy of West Columbia, South Carolina, won the Fishing Clash South Carolina Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,336 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Thomas Pennell III of Boiling Springs, South Carolina, won the Fishing Clash South Carolina Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,318 points and earned the $500 payout.

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 in 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, RFD-TV 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

Oconomowoc’s Steve Lopez Wins Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship

Wisconsin pro earns $100,000 payday with final-day five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 10 ounces

LA CROSSE, Wis. (Sept. 7, 2025) – Heading into the event, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, pro Steve Lopez was a firm tournament favorite in the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats on the Mississippi River . Sunday, with his third bag over 16 pounds of the event, the Wisconsin pro delivered, winning his first career event with MLF and earning the top prize of $100,000 and qualification into REDCREST 2026 in the process.

Lopez tallied 16 pounds, 2 ounces on Day 1, 16-3 on Day 2 and then 16-10 on the final day for a 48-15 total. It was enough to move him up from fourth place, as leaders Banks Shaw and Alex Davis both faltered on the final day. Lopez finished 1-5 clear of Shaw, who finished his phenomenal season with yet another top five finish.

Back in 2023, Lopez finished runner-up in the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals event on the Mississippi River. He ran a remarkably similar game plan then – mostly plying a wacky rig on eelgrass holes and edges (which was also how Matt Stefan won the event). So, what MLFNOW! viewers saw on Day 3 looked pretty familiar, but it was not his original plan.

“In practice, they were really eating the frog. I found some fish that were really special,” said Lopez. “I was looking at the weather, and I prepared for the tournament and the weather. The water was supposed to drop, and I had a feeling with the wind and the weather I had to figure out something other than that.

“I felt 50 pounds would have a shot to win this tournament,” he added. “I had a plan Day 1 to go out and blast 20 pounds, but after that happened, I thought if I could go out and catch all 3-pounders or 3 1/4-pounders, I could have a shot to win this thing. I know how the river gets on Day 2 – the weights tend to compress – and if you’re consistent on this river, you usually win the tournament.”

While Lopez weighed three frog fish on Day 1, he rapidly and successfully transitioned to eelgrass edges.

“I was fishing eelgrass lines and little pockets in them as my second, third, fifth stuff, and that turned into my primary pattern,” he explained. “I had a good six or seven spots I thought I could rotate through and catch a 3-pounder, or a few of them. It’s just an edge where it drops off, and they can ambush. There’s probably thousands of fish inside that you don’t even touch.”

On Day 3, Lopez waylaid bass on topwater and a wacky rig, with some fish schooling on the grass lines as well. It was the kind of final day beatdown every angler dreams about.

“The wind was crazy on Day 1, and partially on Day 2 as well,” he said. “But it gave me a little letdown on Day 2 – for about 45 minutes it slicked off, and I caught a bunch of fish. Today, when I got through the lock and saw it was flat calm, I had a good feeling.”

On the week, Lopez caught his fish on a wacky-rigged Gambler Ace, a Strike King Sexy Dawg and a Gambler Walking Frog. For the wacky rig, he used a 6-foot, 10-inch, medium-heavy Duckett Black Ice spinning stick. For his walking bait, he stuck with a 7-3, medium-heavy Duckett Jacob Wheeler Series model, and he used a 7-7, heavy Duckett Jacob Wheeler Series stick for the frog.

In 51 tournaments with MLF, Lopez has banked eight Top-10 finishes, with two of them being runner-up showings, both in big-time events. This winter, he finished second at Okeechobee in a Toyota Series, and then in ’23 he finished second in the Invitationals event here.

So, the Wisconsin pro has had some very close calls. This week, he finally put a bow on a win.

“It’s really special to win it in Wisconsin, to win it here on my favorite body of water to fish,” he said. “I’ve fished this place like 10 times in my life. I’ve got good fishing back home, but I just jive with it. I really enjoy this place, and it’s special to win. I don’t really think it’s sunk in yet at all.”

The top 10 pros at the 2025 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats on the Mississippi River finished:

1st:        Steve Lopez, Oconomowoc, Wis., 15 bass, 48-15, $100,000 + REDCREST 2026
2nd:       Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 15 bass, 47-10, $50,000
3rd:       Colby Miller, Elmer, La., 15 bass, 46-13, $26,000
4th:        Jimmy Washam, Stantonville, Tenn., 15 bass, 45-15, $20,000
5th:        Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, 15 bass, 44-0, $15,000
6th:        Andrew Nordbye, Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 43-4, $14,000
7th:        Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 42-10, $13,000
8th:        Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., 13 bass, 41-14, $13,000
9th:        Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., 15 bass, 41-6, $11,750
10th:     Matt Reed, Madisonville, Texas, 11 bass, 31-1, $10,000

Complete results from throughout the event can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 44 bass weighing 125 pounds, 11 ounces caught by the final 10 pros on Sunday. Eight of the final 10 competitors brought a five-bass limit to the scale.

The three-day Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats was hosted by Explore La Crosse and showcased the top 36 anglers from the 2025 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals season as they competed for the prestigious Invitationals Championship and a share of the $417,000 prize pool.

Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats at the Mississippi River in La Crosse will premiere as two two-hour episodes, with the first episode premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Nov. 8 on CBS Sports Network, and the Championship Round premiering on Saturday, Nov. 15. New MLF5 episodes debut each Saturday morning on CBS Sports beginning in October.

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, RFD-TV 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

Davis Maintains Lead at Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats on Mississippi River

Alabama pro catches limit weighing 14-15 to bring 4-ounce lead into final day, Final 10 anglers set for Championship Sunday

LA CROSSE, Wis. (Sept. 6, 2025) – Day 2 of the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats on the Mississippi River was fun in and of itself, and it sets things up for what could be one of the more dramatic final days of the season. Weighing 14 pounds, 15 ounces, Albertville, Alabama pro Alex Davis stayed in the lead with a 33-12 total. Meanwhile, Banks Shaw of Harrison, Tennessee, added an even 15 pounds to sneak within 4 ounces of Davis, with a 33-8 total. Behind the top two, pros Jimmy Washam and Steve Lopez are both over 32 pounds, and even Louisiana pro Colby Miller in sixth place is within striking range, with a 30-8 total.

Once again the weather was cool, but the wind relented on Day 2, which allowed some anglers to fish more easily, especially those plying shallow vegetation. With no forward-facing sonar in play, some pros had tougher, less precise days, but the change worked out quite well for others. Though the weights tumbled around a good bit, the fishing was a little better on Day 2 overall – on Day 1, just four pros caught better than 16 pounds, and on Day 2, eight pros accomplished the feat.

Davis is on the cusp
Trying to frog his way to a win, Davis whipped up to Pool 7 on Day 1 and caught most of his weight in about 15 minutes. That didn’t quite work out on Day 2.

“I aged about five years today,” said the veteran pro. “I had three that weighed 7 pounds in the first 45 minutes and then fished until 1:40 and never had another bite. Then, I found one little mat about 30 yards by 30 yards, and I ended up filling my limit out and culled three times right there and had one big one hit it and not get it.”

Some might say it was lucky, but Davis’ late rally was very much the result of commitment to a pattern with an expert at the wheel. Raised frogging and flipping on Lake Guntersville, the Alabama pro is deadly with the big stick. If his frog fish work out again – or if he finds more – Shaw and everyone else will have a tough row to hoe.

“I’m thinking of starting there in the morning and then going back into Pool 7,” Davis explained. “I think the water dropping is what has made [the frog bite] worse – practice was better. Now, it’s so shallow, I think the fish have pulled out of a lot of the frog areas. I’ve got a couple places left, and I’m going to hope it works tomorrow.”

One ace Davis still has up his sleeve is the Black River. Though he’ll have company, Davis has made hay in the Black before, and there’s a good chance he’ll slip some into the rotation if the frog fish aren’t paying out as planned.

“I didn’t come to the Black River today because I thought my best option was to frog,” Davis said. “Today, I ran around for two-and-a-half or three hours – I will spend that time in the Black River tomorrow.”

Without a national win to his name, Davis probably has as good a chance now as he’s ever had, but he knows it won’t come easy.

“It would mean everything to win,” Davis said. “We’re going to have to see. I just need to catch 18 or 19 (pounds). Banks is going to catch them better tomorrow. I hope I can catch them better tomorrow too.”

Shaw narrows the gap
Weighing four smallmouth and one largemouth, Shaw weathered the no-‘Scope day with ease, as he usually does. And, given that he may have a few options come back into play on Day 3, he could be a dangerous man.

“It definitely could have been worse,” Shaw said. “I was shooting for the 16- or 17-pound mark. I caught three good smallmouth and then some decent ones, but I couldn’t get a big bite. My largemouth bite wasn’t as good as I was expecting it to be – the cloud cover that moved in right as I started fishing my docks probably hurt it.”

Fishing mostly current-related places for his smallmouth, Shaw is looking forward to getting his electronics back in play on the final day.

“Tomorrow I think it’s going to be better,” he said. “I couldn’t really catch the fish I was fishing for that good today. I knew they were there; they were coming up schooling and stuff like that, but being able to look at them a little better tomorrow will be nice. I’ll be able to line my stuff up better. I fished several places today where I couldn’t get them to bite – I realized these fish are keying on baitfish, not a bottom bait, and I had to throw a bottom bait on some places just to get down to the fish.”

Having weighed nine smallmouth so far, Shaw is executing on his pre-tournament plan to perfection.

“It’s feels like I’m right at home,” he said. “I’ve fished on the Tennessee River my whole life, and it’s the same deal. Reading current seams and seeing where the fish set up. I love this kind of fishing, and I knew I didn’t want to be with everybody else, throwing a frog, punching. I wanted to try to do something a little different.”

Heading out on Championship Sunday, Shaw will have a chance to finish off a nearly perfect season with a massive win, sweeping Fishing Clash Angler of the Year, Polaris Rookie of the Year and making every Top 10.

“I’m super excited to get going tomorrow and try to catch 16 or 17 pounds and make Alex or whoever is with me catch the same bag,” Shaw said. “It’s definitely a good position to be in, but there’s definitely a lot of work ahead.”

The top 10 anglers advancing to Championship Sunday on the Mississippi River are:

1st:        Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., 10 bass, 33-12
2nd:       Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 10 bass, 33-8
3rd:       Jimmy Washam, Stantonville, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-10
4th:        Steve Lopez, Oconomowoc, Wis., 10 bass, 32-5
5th:        Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, 10 bass, 31-2
6th:        Colby Miller, Elmer, La., 10 bass, 30-8
7th:        Matt Reed, Madisonville, Texas, 10 bass, 28-15
8th:        Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 28-6
9th:        Andrew Nordbye, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 28-6
10th:     Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., 10 bass, 28-5

Eliminated from competition in 11th through 36th place are:

11th:     Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 10 bass, 28-4
12th:     Keith Poche, Cecil, Ala., 10 bass, 28-0
13th:     Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, 10 bass, 27-13
14th:     Jordan Wiggins, Cullman, Ala., 10 bass, 27-6
15th:     Jon Canada, Helena, Ala., 10 bass, 27-4
16th:     Hayden Marbut, Grant, Ala., 10 bass, 26-2
17th:     Kyle Cortiana, Broken Arrow, Okla., 10 bass, 25-12
18th:     Levi Thibodaux, Thibodaux, La., nine bass, 25-5
19th:     Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 10 bass, 24-13
20th:     Dustin Smith, Trussville, Ala., nine bass, 23-13
21st:      Christian Greico, New Bern, N.C., 10 bass, 23-5
22nd:    Joseph Webster, Hamilton, Ala., 10 bass, 23-4
23rd:     Cal Lane, Grant, Ala., 10 bass, 22-15
24th:     Ethan Greene, Eufaula, Ala., eight bass, 22-3
25th:     Terry Fisher, Decatur, Ala., 10 bass, 22-2
26th:     Blake Hall, Rogersville, Ala., eight bass, 20-9
27th:     Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., seven bass, 18-14
28th:     Robby Lefere, Jackson, Mich., seven bass, 18-6
29th:     Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., eight bass, 18-3
30th:     Jack Daniel Williams, Kingsport, Tenn., seven bass, 16-8
31st:      Ken Thompson, Roaring Springs, Pa., five bass, 15-14
32nd:    Thomas Wooten, Huddleston, Va., six bass, 14-7
33rd:     Lane Olson, Forest Grove, Ore., five bass, 12-1
34th:     Britt Myers Jr., Clover, S.C., six bass, 11-8
35th:     Alex Bradley, Wellford, S.C., five bass, 8-13
36th:     Brett Carnright, Plattsburgh, N.Y., three bass, 6-14

Complete results from throughout the event can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 150 bass weighing 411 pounds, 7 ounces caught by 33 pros on Saturday. The catch included 26 five-bass limits.

Pro Colby Miller of Elmer, Louisiana, brought a 5-pound, 6-ounce largemouth to the scale that was the biggest of the day to earn the Berkley Big Bass award of $1,000.

The three-day Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats is hosted by Explore La Crosse and showcases the top 36 anglers from the 2025 Tackle Warehouse Invitations season as they compete for a share of the $417,000 prize pool.

The full field of 36 anglers competed in Days 1 & 2 on Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 10 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, now advance to the final round on Championship Sunday. The angler with the heaviest three-day total will win the grand prize of up to $135,000 and qualification into REDCREST 2026 where they will compete against the sport’s best for $300,000.

The final 10 anglers will launch at 7 a.m. CT Sunday from Veterans Freedom Park, located at 1 Clinton St. in La Crosse. The Championship weigh-in will be held at the park and will begin at 3 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 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats at the Mississippi River in La Crosse will premiere as two two-hour episodes, with the first episode premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Nov. 8 on CBS Sports Network, and the Championship Round premiering on Saturday, Nov. 15. New MLF5 episodes premiere each Saturday morning on CBS Sports beginning in October.

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, RFD-TV 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

Alex Davis Leads Day 1 of Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats on Mississippi River

Alabama pro catches limit weighing 18-13 to take early 5-ounce lead, Angler of the Year Banks Shaw looms in second

LA CROSSE, Wis. (Sept. 5, 2025) – Breezy to the max and far from warm, Day 1 of the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats on the Mississippi River was a struggle for many. While more than half the field caught more than 12 pounds, a limit wasn’t a given, and nobody got over the 19-pound mark. Still, two high fliers emerged early, as both pro Alex Davis of Guntersville, Alabama, and reigning Angler of the Year and Rookie of the Year Banks Shaw of Harrison, Tennessee, caught over 18 pounds to start things off.

Davis sacked up 18-13 for the lead while Shaw wrangled 18-8 for second. Pro Jimmy Washam of Stantonville, Tennessee, who won the Tackle Warehouse TITLE championship in La Crosse in 2021, caught 16-9 and local favorite Steve Lopez of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, rounded up 16-2 for third and fourth, respectively.

Day 1 saw a variety of patterns in play, with pros making hay in the remaining mats, some running main-river current breaks, and plenty doing damage in the Black River. Tomorrow, with no forward-facing sonar, many pros will be able to keep plugging without a hitch, but some will certainly need to make some adjustments.

Magical mat boosts Davis
Typically in the hunt on the Upper Mississippi, Davis came into the event off a solid practice and happy to be fishing a championship again. After a fairly slow start to the day, he blitzed up the leaderboard with big largemouth.

“I caught two on a drop-shot, and then I fished for three hours and didn’t really catch anything,” he said. “Then I pulled up to one mat and caught those three and a 4-pounder in like 10 minutes. Then I left, fished the rest of the day and culled one more time on a (Megabass) Magdraft.”

Though it’s hard to anticipate leading an event, Davis knew he was on to something after practice.

“I was hoping it was going to go like that,” he said. “There’s one place, and it’s kind of special. I only sampled it for about 10 minutes today – it was pretty awesome.”

With a much calmer forecast for Day 2, Davis could have a great opportunity to do some more damage, or, he could also arrive at his juice to find it gone.

“The wind was terrible, you can’t cast,” Davis said. “Where I’m at, most of the mat is gone, but there was a little bit left and it was terrible to try to cast. I hope it’ll l be there tomorrow.”

Regardless, Davis is in the hunt, and though he’s won at the Toyota Series and BFL levels, he’s never got it done over more than 10 years fishing the FLW Tour, Pro Circuit and Invitationals.

“It usually haunts me, usually I’m leading or second after the first day and then I nosebomb the second day,” he said. “We’re going to try to correct that this time. It’d be everything to win, especially the championship – it would be awesome.”

Spectacular Shaw does it again
The winner of the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year award and Polaris Rookie of the Year, Shaw has been a revelation this season. So, despite never having fished the Mississippi River before, it was no surprise to observers when he started putting meat on deck.

“I knew the places I found in practice had potential, and I caught plenty of solid smallmouth,” Shaw said. “But I never caught a 4-pounder, and I had two 4s today and a 3 ¾ (on Day 1). It definitely went a little better than expected, but it didn’t completely blow my mind. I knew I was around some pretty big smallmouth.”

Weighing all brown fish on Day 1, it sounds like Shaw is planning on a more diverse gameplan for Day 2.

“I’m going to mix it up tomorrow. I saved a lot of largemouth today that I think didn’t get fished,” he said. “I know I can catch some of the smallmouth again, but I don’t think I’m going to go up to Pool 7 again, I’m probably going to stick around here and shoot for that 16-pound mark and then go up the last day.”

Though turning the electronics off on Day 2 has proved to be no issue for Shaw all year, he’s certainly using his LiveScope more than Davis is. According to the young Tennessee pro, his forward-facing sonar isn’t critical in this one.

“Whenever I’m looking for new areas, it is, it’s lining up the cast,” he explained. “I caught one 4-pounder today on an area I need it, but most of the places it isn’t too bad without it. It could honestly be better.”

If Shaw can win, he’ll complete one of the best seasons of all-time with a title, which would be a pretty incredible way to jumpstart a career.

“In practice I didn’t really think I was around the fish to do it,” said Shaw. “Slowly I started to piece it together, and today I really started to think about it, it would be crazy to get the clean sweep. I lost a 4-pounder at the end of the day today, and something like that could get in your head a little bit, but it makes me want to go out tomorrow and catch them even better.”

The standings after Day 1 on the Mississippi River are:

1st:        Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., five bass, 18-13
2nd:       Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 18-8
3rd:       Jimmy Washam, Stantonville, Tenn., five bass, 16-9
4th:        Steve Lopez, Oconomowoc, Wis., five bass, 16-2
5th:        Ken Thompson, Roaring Springs, Pa., five bass, 15-14
6th:        Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, five bass, 15-10
7th:        Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., five bass, 15-2
8th:        Ethan Greene, Eufaula, Ala., five bass, 15-0
9th:        Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, five bass, 14-13
10th:     Christopher Lane, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 14-11
11th:     Andrew Nordbye, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 14-6
12th:     Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., five bass, 13-13
13th:     Hayden Marbut, Grant, Ala., five bass, 13-7
14th:     Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., five bass, 13-2
15th:     Jon Canada, Helena, Ala., five bass, 12-15
16th:     Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., five bass, 12-14
17th:     Kyle Cortiana, Broken Arrow, Okla., five bass, 12-13
18th:     Cal Lane, Grant, Ala., five bass, 12-9
19th:     Christian Greico, New Bern, N.C., five bass, 12-5
20th:     Blake Hall, Rogersville, Ala., four bass, 12-2
20th:     Matt Reed, Madisonville, Texas, five bass, 12-2
22nd:    Lane Olson, Forest Grove, Ore., five bass, 12-1
23rd:     Joseph Webster, Hamilton, Ala., five bass, 11-15
24th:     Keith Poche, Cecil, Ala., five bass, 11-7
25th:     Terry Fisher, Decatur, Ala., five bass, 11-5
26th:     Jordan Wiggins, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 11-0
27th:     Colby Miller, Elmer, La., five bass, 10-14
28th:     Robby Lefere, Jackson, Mich., three bass, 10-9
29th:     Levi Thibodaux, Thibodaux, La., four bass, 8-15
30th:     Alex Bradley, Wellford, S.C., five bass, 8-13
30th:     Dustin Smith, Trussville, Ala., four bass, 8-13
32nd:    Britt Myers Jr., Clover, S.C., four bass, 7-8
33rd:     Thomas Wooten, Huddleston, Va., three bass, 7-2
34th:     Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., three bass, 6-9
35th:     Jack Daniel Williams, Kingsport, Tenn., two bass, 3-8
36th:     Brett Carnright, Plattsburgh, N.Y., one bass, 2-10

Complete results from throughout the event can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 163 bass weighing 436 pounds, 11 ounces caught by the 36 pros on Friday. The catch included 27 five-bass limits.

Davis’ 5-pound, 9-ounce largemouth was also the Berkley Big Bass of the day and he was awarded Friday’s payout of $1,000.

The three-day Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats is hosted by Explore La Crosse and showcases the top 36 anglers from the 2025 Tackle Warehouse Invitations season as they compete for a share of the $417,000 prize pool.

The full field of 36 anglers will compete in Days 1 & 2 on Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 10 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, advance to the final round on Championship Sunday. The angler with the heaviest three-day total will win the grand prize of up to $135,000 and qualification into REDCREST 2026 where they will compete against the sport’s best for $300,000.

Anglers will launch at 7 a.m. CT each day from Veterans Freedom Park, located at 1 Clinton St. in La Crosse. Weigh-ins will be held at the park and will begin at 3 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 each day of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats at the Mississippi River in La Crosse will premiere as two two-hour episodes, with the first episode premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Nov. 8 on CBS Sports Network, and the Championship Round premiering on Saturday, Nov. 15. New MLF5 episodes premiere each Saturday morning on CBS Sports beginning in October.

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, RFD-TV 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

Jones Duo and Nelson/Villa Advance to Championship Round at B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup

Team 7Brew Coffee (Jones/Jones) catches 24 scorable bass totaling 60-13 to cruise to Friday’s Championship Round, final Knockout Round match set for Thursday

PORT HURON, Mich. (Aug. 27, 2025) – The Team 7Brew Coffee father-and-son duo of Alton Jones Sr. and Alton Jones Jr. continued their hot streak on the St. Clair River Wednesday, landing 24 scorable smallmouth bass weighing 60 pounds, 13 ounces to dominate Knockout Round Match 1 of the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY®. With the win, the Joneses became the first team to lock up a berth in Friday’s Championship Round.

Joining them is Team O’Reilly Auto Parts – Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Michigan, and Martin Villa of Charlottesville, Virginia – who put together 18 smallmouth for 42-11 to secure the second advancing spot. Eliminated from competition was Team Kubota’s Edwin Evers and Skeet Reese , who finished third with 15 bass weighing 33-10.

All 57 bass weighed on Wednesday came from the northern half of the St. Clair River – a stretch that offered strong current, steep banks, and classic Great Lakes smallmouth habitat. With no largemouth really in play, anglers leaned heavily on finesse presentations, and the Joneses’ drop-shot approach with the 2.8-inch Geecrack Bellows Shad proved once again to be the winning formula.

“Today has been fun,” said Jones Sr. “One of our greatest strengths as a team is we trust each other. We fish together so much, and although we certainly do have our father-and-son moments, when he has an idea, I trust his judgment enough to follow it. And when I have an idea, he trusts me enough to follow it. That’s not always easy in a high-pressure environment like this, but it worked really well for us today.”

Jones Jr. said that their ability to stay loose was what allowed them to make good adjustments.

“We didn’t overthink it. We just settled into the current, expanded on what we had going, and built confidence with every fish catch,” he said. “I really liked how we fished today, and I felt like by the second period we had it made. From there it was about refining things in case we see this water again later in the week.

“The winning bait for us was the 2.8-inch Bellows Shad that actually just dropped everywhere today – available at retailers nationwide,” Jones Jr. continued. “It’s really lifelike – it shimmies a lot in that heavy current, and the bass absolutely loved it. Dad was throwing electric shad, I was throwing my AJ’s Juice green-pumpkin variation, and both colors produced really well.”

Jones Sr. said the profile of the bait was the final piece of the puzzle.

“A lot of those smallmouth were spitting up baitfish, and they were exactly that same size,” he explained. “We did a great job of mimicking what these fish were naturally eating. Between the action of the Bellows Shad and the way we presented it on the drop-shot in the strongest current we could find, it gave them something new and they couldn’t resist it today.”

The top two teams from Knockout Round Match 1 at the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® that now advance to Friday’s Championship Round are:

1st:        Team 7Brew Coffee, 24 bass, 60-13
Alton Jones Sr., Lorena, Texas, nine bass, 25-14
Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 13 bass, 34-15
2nd:       Team O’Reilly Auto Parts, 18 bass, 42-11
Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., seven bass, 19-9
Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 11 bass, 23-2

Eliminated from competition are:

3rd:       Team Kubota, 15 bass, 33-10
Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 10 bass, 25-1
Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., five bass, 8-9

Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 57 bass weighing 137 pounds, 2 ounces caught by the three teams in Knockout Round Match 1 on the northern half of the St. Clair River. Team 7Brew Coffee pro Alton Jones Sr. caught a 4-pound, 11-ounce smallmouth to earn the Berkley Big Bass of the day.

The three teams that will compete Thursday in Knockout Round Match 2 at the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® are:

Team B&W Trailer Hitches:
Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark.
Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas

Team StarTron:
Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla.
Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala.

Team YETI:
Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J.
Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala.

The B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® is hosted by Discover the Blue Michigan's Thumbcoast and takes place over six days in Port Huron, Michigan. The competition water for each day is top-secret and is only revealed to the anglers when they arrive at the boat ramp each morning. Anglers are driven directly to the day’s competition area launch ramp by their officials. Competition begins on the water at 10:15 a.m. ET.

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live every day of competition from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. MLFNOW!® is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) apps, RFD-TV Now, Game & Fish TV and Rumble. The final period of every day of competition of the 2025 Fishing Clash Team Series is broadcast live on RFD-TV, from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET.

The Challenge Cup features 12 two-man teams divided into three groups as they enter the one-day Elimination Round matches. Each of the three Elimination Round matches will feature four new teams, with the top two teams from each match of the Elimination Round advancing to the Knockout Round on Days 4 & 5. In the Knockout Rounds, three teams compete each day, with the top two teams from each Knockout Round match moving on to the Championship Round on Day 6. In Friday’s Day 6 Championship Round, the final four teams will compete in a one-day shootout to determine which team will win the 2025 B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY®.

The MLF Fishing Clash Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops will feature four Cup events in 2025 – the Challenge, Heritage, Patriot, and Summit Cups – with 12 two-man teams of Bass Pro Tour anglers competing for a share of  $560,000 in prize money. Teams were formed through a selection process, where 48 team captains – based on Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) standings throughout the 2025 Bass Pro Tour season – selected a teammate. Teams will compete throughout the fall of 2025.

Television coverage of the MLF Fishing Clash Team Series B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® will premiere on Outdoor Channel as six two-hour original episodes each Saturday afternoon starting January 3, 2026. The complete television schedule for the Fishing Clash Team Series on Outdoor Channel will be posted at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Proud sponsors of the MLF Fishing Clash Team Series include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Boat Technologies, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Ferguson, Fishing Clash, Knighten Industries, Kubota, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, NITRO Boats, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Smokey Mountain Caffeinated Pouches, Star brite, Toyota, YETI and Zenni.

For complete details and updated information on the MLF Fishing Clash Team Series, 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, RFD-TV 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 Earns Fourth Win of Season at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament at James River

Virginia’s Williams Paces Co-Angler Division

HENRICO, Va. (Aug. 25, 2025) – Boater Broderick Luckey of Lynchburg, Virginia, caught 10 bass weighing 41 pounds, 10 ounces over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the James River presented by Suzuki Marine . The tournament was the fifth and final regular-season event of the season for the BFL Piedmont Division. Luckey earned $3,931 for his victory.

A tournament resume with four career BFL wins would be an impressive feat that not many anglers can claim, but even more remarkable is Luckey’s feat of winning four events in one season. Luckey’s winning stretch began at the end of March, with back-to-back victories at Smith Mountain Lake on a two-tournament Saturday and Sunday double-header. He earned his third event of the season in July at the James River, then did it again on Saturday to earn No. 4.

“It has been a crazy season,” Luckey said. “This one was my first win with MLF in a multi-day event, which is really cool.

“We started off in practice, and there was a flood tide from the hurricane,” Luckey said. “The water was way up over the docks. Just crazy conditions. Wind was blowing 30 miles per hour, and it blew a bunch of water in, and I was unsure of what would happen during the tournament. Thankfully, on Day 1, the tide started pushing back out and returning to normal.”

Luckey said he made a long run to the Chickahominy River to work a vibrating jig through hydrilla flats and also found some groups of large bass on offshore structure, although the offshore fish were wary and proved difficult to coax into striking. Luckey rotated between the hydrilla flats and the offshore structure to grind out bites.

“I knew I only need five,” Luckey said. “I was fishing for five to 10 bites a day. I left my fish alone at 11:30 on Day 1 to try to preserve them for Day 2.”

Luckey landed 15 keepers on Day 1 and “eight or nine” bass on Sunday. Beside the vibrating jig, he also employed a drop-shot rig, jerkbait and a jighead minnow to fill the livewell.

“After Day 1 knew if I could get those fish to fire again, I would have a good shot to win,” Luckey said. “I had about 18 pounds around 9:30 on Day 2, and I thought I should have a pretty decent chance. Then, an hour before I had to leave, I culled a 2 ½-pounder with a 4 ½-pounder. As soon as I got that one in the boat, I felt pretty confident I had just sealed the deal. I knew the guys that caught 20 pounds on Day 1 would have to catch a really big bag Sunday to catch up with me.

“I didn’t get much sleep the night before because I was thinking about my gameplan and how I was going to execute,” Luckey added. “I kept running it over and over in my head to try to make sure I had made the right decision. It felt good to get the boat back to weigh-in and get the fish away from the water so I wouldn’t drop them. I was worried about everything that could go wrong, and I wanted to make sure those controllables were controlled. So, yeah, this one felt fantastic.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Broderick Luckey, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 41-10, $3,931
2nd:      Ryan Lachniet, Gum Spring, Va., 10 bass, 38-6, $2,328
3rd:       Brian Laclair, Denton, Md., 10 bass, 27-8, $1,278
4th:        Jeff Hamilton, Henrico, Va., 10 bass, 27-4, $894
5th:        Kevin Chandler, New London, N.C., nine bass, 25-1, $766
6th:        Sam Westbrook, Clarksville, Va., 10 bass, 24-14, $702
7th:        Jason Barnes, Concord, N.C., 10 bass, 22-10, $789
8th:        Matt Floyd, Virginia Beach, Va., 10 bass, 22-10, $1,075
9th:        Jeff Miskell, Vienna, Va., 10 bass, 22-2, $511
10th:     David Perdue, Wirtz, Va., nine bass, 21-13, $447

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Ryan Lachniet of Gum Spring, Virginia, caught a bass that weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $412.

David Williams of Fredericksburg, Virginia, won the co-angler division and $2,166 Sunday, after bringing six bass to the scale that totaled 19 pounds even.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        David Williams, Fredericksburg, Va., six bass, 19-0, $2,166
2nd:      Richard Williams, Sutherland, Va., six bass, 16-15, $1,008
3rd:       David Deciucis, Chester, Va., six bass, 16-12, $640
4th:        Brian Durham, Dinwiddie, Va., six bass, 15-11, $447
5th:        James Roten, West Jefferson, N.C., six bass, 13-7, $383
6th:        Tony Toombs, Drakes Branch, Va., six bass, 13-0, $351
7th:        Derek Stanley, Fuquay Varina, N.C., five bass, 12-10, $319
8th:        Dean Gibbs, North Chesterfield, Va., five bass, 12-4, $493
9th:        Alvin Hicks, Alexandria, Va., six bass, 11-6, $255
10th:     Cornell Badra, Clarksburg, Md., four bass, 8-6, $224

Dean Gibbs of North Chesterfield, Virginia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $206, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 5 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

With all five events in the division now complete, Thomas Milton of Chester, Virginia, won the Fishing Clash Piedmont Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,293 points and earned the $1,000 payout, while Derek Stanley of Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash Piedmont Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,318 points and earned the $500 award.

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 Presented by Mando Deodorant in 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, RFD-TV 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

Blue Ridge’s Prince Earns Home-Lake Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament at Lake Lanier

Pennsylvania’s Carey Takes Co-Angler Division

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (Aug. 25, 2025) – Boater Alex Prince of Blue Ridge, Georgia, caught six bass weighing 26 pounds even over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Lanier. The tournament was the fifth and final regular-season event of the season for the BFL Bulldog Division. Prince earned $6,844 for his victory.

Due to recent extremely hot temperatures, MLF tournament directors implemented a three-fish limit for both boaters and co-anglers each day at this event.

“On Day 1 we had some pretty nasty weather come in, and it made for a good bite,” Prince said. “I was catching most of my fish on a Zoom Fluke and a SPRO Sashimmy Swimmer, then on Day 2 it was slick, calm, bluebird skies and extremely tough.”

Prince said the change in weather made him nervous on the second day of the tournament, and he fished a minnow around timber in deeper water – from 30 to 50 feet – in search of bass. He added that the boat traffic that had been present Saturday was not present Sunday.

After boating 25 keepers on Saturday, Prince managed 10 bass from the waters of Lanier below Browns Bridge on the south end of the lake.

“I caught a couple on the topwater on the second day, but mostly it was the minnow,” Price said. “I couldn’t get the big ones to come up when it was that slick. The weather makes a huge difference on that place.

“I was a nervous wreck because it was slick,” Prince added. “The wind started blowing at 1 o’clock, and I had a 5-pound largemouth come up and miss the Sashimmy Swimmer. Then at 2:15 I pulled up to my last spot and caught a 4-pound (spotted bass) that culled out a 3-pounder, and if it hadn’t have been for that fish I wouldn’t have won. I told my co-angler earlier in the day that I had one in the box that weighed 3 pounds that would cost me the tournament if I didn’t cull it.”

In the past, Prince had come close to winning a BFL tournament on Lanier – including two 2nd-place finishes and a 3rd-place effort – but had never been able to seal the deal until Sunday.

“This is incredible,” Prince said. “I never could win on Lanier, and that’s my home lake, so it’s a true blessing to finally get the silver trophy.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Alex Prince, Blue Ridge, Ga., six bass, 26-0, $6,844
2nd:      Damian Szlachta, Center Valley, Pa., six bass, 25-4, $2,971
3rd:       Logan Parker, Ball Ground, Ga., six bass, 25-0, $1,983
4th:        Kristian Kelley, Dawsonville, Ga., six bass, 24-14, $1,386
5th:        William Bates, Alpharetta, Ga., six bass, 24-12, $1,688
6th:        Jack Story, Atlanta, Ga., six bass, 24-11, $1,089
7th:        Hayden Seabolt, Dawsonville, Ga., six bass, 24-11, $990
8th:        Sam Niemeyer, Aviston, Ill., six bass, 24-2, $891
9th:        Levi Self, Dahlonega, Ga., six bass, 24-0, $792
10th:     Troy Harris, Watkinsville, Ga., six bass, 23-13, $693

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Alex Prince of Blue Ridge, Georgia, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 6 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $802.

Trent Carey of York Springs, Pennsylvania, won the co-angler division and $2,971 Sunday, after bringing six bass to the scale that totaled 16 pounds, 3 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Trent Carey, York Springs, Pa., six bass, 16-3, $2,971
2nd:      Daniel Arnberg, Auburn, Ala., six bass, 16-0, $1,486
3rd:       Jared Kutil, Beaufort, S.C., six bass, 14-12, $1,039
4th:        Colby Elliott, Blairsville, Ga., five bass, 11-14, $693
5th:        Benjie Winkler, Cleveland, Ga., five bass, 11-12, $594
6th:        Rowen Vandergriff, Covington, Ga., three bass, 10-6, $545
7th:        Joseph Chilcott, Williamson, Ga., four bass, 10-2, $495
8th:        William Thomas Cowart, Danielsville, Ga., three bass, 9-13, $446
9th:        Adam Johnson, Duluth, Ga., four bass, 9-12, $396
10th:     Tim Greene, Loganville, Ga., five bass, 9-11, $347

Peyton Rinker of Woodstock, Georgia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $401, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 5 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

With all five events in the division now complete, Michael Wilder of Lizella, Georgia, won the Fishing Clash Bulldog Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,298 points and earned the $1,000 payout, while Daniel Arnberg of Auburn, Alabama, won the Fishing Clash Bulldog Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,316 points and earned $500.

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. 17-18 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Seminole Presented by Mando Deodorant in Bainbridge, Georgia. 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, RFD-TV 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

Indiana’s Richardson Edges Field by One Ounce to Win Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Detroit River Presented by Lew’s

Ohio’s Sharp Tops Co-Angler Division

TRENTON, Mich. (Aug. 25, 2025) – Boater Jesse Richardson of Ligonier, Indiana, caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 12 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) on the Detroit River Presented by Lew’s. Richardson edged out second-place Nicholas Seitz of Maumee, Ohio , by one ounce to win the fourth event of the season for the BFL Michigan Division. Richardson earned $3,889 for his victory.

“I went north to Anchor Bay in Lake St. Clair and knew it was going to be tough with all the pressure the water had seen lately,” Richardson said. “I knew the fish were still there, but they were finicky and tough to get to bite.”

Richardson said he focused on Anchor Bay and targeted large weed beds in 10 ½ to 12 feet of water. He said he searched for clean spots, 100 feet off of the weed beds, with forward-facing sonar and picked up wolfpacks as well as single large bass. His bait of choice was a 6-inch minnow, although a drop-shot rig tipped with a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm accounted for a couple of keepers.

Although Richardson knew he had a decent bag, a win in his first BFL Michigan event wasn’t in his mind as he headed to weigh-in.

“I didn’t have a good practice,” Richardson said. “I did have a couple of quality fish, and I thought if I could get 20 pounds, I could maybe get a Top 10. It turns out everybody was right up there with 20 to 20 ½ pounds, but I figured somebody would have had at least 22 or 23 pounds.

“Anybody can run into giants on that fishery,” Richardson added. “It just happens.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Jessee Richardson, Ligonier, Ind., five bass, 20-12, $3,889
2nd:      Nicholas Seitz, Maumee, Ohio, five bass, 20-11, $2,544 (includes $500 Phoenix Bonus)
3rd:       Dan Mittlestat, Woodhaven, Mich., five bass, 20-10, $1,297
4th:        Nolan Mandel, Kimball, Mich., five bass, 20-7, $907
5th:        Derek Rodriguez, Okemos, Mich., five bass, 20-5, $778
6th:        Pat Upthagrove, Monroe, Mich., five bass, 20-3, $713
7th:        Jeremy Reese, Powell, Ohio, five bass, 20-1, $615
7th:        Noah Stauffer, Gowen, Mich., five bass, 20-1, $615
9th:        Hunter Colwell, Zanesfield, Ohio, five bass, 20-0, $519
10th:     Jeff Copley, Morengo, Ohio, five bass, 19-7, $454

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Matt Vermilyea of Perrysburg, Ohio, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $525.

Matthew Sharp of Troy, Ohio, won the co-angler division and $1,944 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 2 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Matthew Sharp, Troy, Ohio, three bass, 12-2, $1,944
2nd:      Charles Williams, Heath, Ohio, three bass, 11-9, $1,234
3rd:       Terry Bucciarelli, Ypsilanti, Mich., three bass, 10-6, $799
4th:        Anthony Shields, Harrison, Mich., three bass, 10-5, $454
5th:        Billy Crider Jr., Kettering, Ohio, three bass, 10-4, $389
6th:        Karmen McKenna, Kalamazoo, Mich., three bass, 10-3, $356
7th:        Scott Davis, Morenci, Mich., three bass, 10-2, $308
7th:        Jacob Cox, Corunna, Mich., three bass, 10-2, $308
9th:        Rece Kimmel, Lewiston, Ohio, three bass, 9-15, $259
10th:     Robert Busby, Fenton, Mich., three bass, 9-14, $227

Charles Williams of Heath, Ohio, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $262, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 14 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Nolan Mandel of Kimball, Michigan, leads the Fishing Clash Michigan Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 992 points, while Brian Ruetz of Toledo, Ohio, leads the Fishing Clash Michigan Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 944 points.

The next event for BFL Michigan Division anglers will be the two-day Super Tournament Presented by Lew’s, held Sept. 6-7, at the Detroit River in 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 Presented by Lew’s in 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, RFD-TV 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

Fairport’s Blake Posts Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Oneida Lake Presented by Lew’s

Delaware’s Given Tops Co-Angler Division

BREWERTON, N.Y. (Aug. 25, 2025) – Boater Liam Blake of Fairport, New York, caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 7 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Oneida Lake presented by Lew’s. The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Northeast Division. Blake earned $3,632 for his victory.

“I fished history on the lake and just went back to the basics with a jig and a dropshot around grass and rocks,” Blake said. “It was nothing too crazy – just 13 to 20 feet of water. The perfect mix of grass and rock was what you needed to be around to get bit.”

Blake said he fished west-central Oneida on the south shore and used forward-facing sonar to see fish through the grass. He cited being able to see the fish on his electronics as being the key to his victory.

“I just put the bait in front of as many fish as I could to get bites. It was tough,” Blake said. “I caught 20 keepers all day. Ten of those were shallow and came on a drop-shot with a 4-inch Yamamoto Senko and a ¼-ounce drop-shot weight. I also threw a ½-ounce homemade football jig.”

Blake said Oneida has been fishing so well lately he estimated it would take, “22 and some change to win”, and figured he was one bite short of a win at weigh-in.

“Apparently, it was pretty tough out there,” Blake said. “I didn’t think I had enough until I put my boat on the trailer and a couple of people came over and commented about how tough it was, and 20 pounds was leading. That’s when I realized I might have a chance.

“This win is amazing,” Blake added. “I’ve had a bunch of second places in tournaments out there, so to win one feels really good.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Liam Blake, Fairport, N.Y., five bass, 21-7, $3,632
2nd:      Jason Putman, Cicero, N.Y., five bass, 20-2, $2,281
3rd:       Ricky Brodeur, Chaumont, N.Y., five bass, 20-0, $1,210
4th:        Casey Smith, Victor, N.Y., five bass, 19-14, $947
5th:        Jordan Sypeck, Weston, Pa., five bass, 19-11, $726
6th:        Jared Adamski, Dallas, Pa., five bass, 19-9, $666
7th:        Henry Fristik, Blandford, Mass., five bass, 19-5, $605
8th:        Dylan Fogerty, Mechanicsburg, Pa., five bass, 19-4, $545
9th:        Ken Golub, Pittsford, N.Y., five bass, 19-2, $484
10th:     Dean Diviesti, Walden, N.Y., five bass, 19-1, $424

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Jason Putman of Cicero, New York, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 5 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $465.

Randall Given of Laurel, Delaware, won the co-angler division and $1,816 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 14 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Randall Given, Laurel, Del., three bass, 12-14, $1,816
2nd:      Kade Wesner, Lancaster, Pa., three bass, 12-8, $958
3rd:       Andrew Hostler, Tyrone, Pa., three bass, 10-14, $706
4th:        Jared Burrows, Butler, Pa., three bass, 10-13, $424
5th:        Cole Bernier, Saylorsburg, Pa., three bass, 10-12, $363
6th:        Timothy Rougier, Watertown, N.Y., three bass, 10-9, $333
7th:        Wes Woolridge, Phoenix, N.Y., three bass, 10-8, $303
8th:        Sudhir Nath, Buffalo, N.Y., three bass, 10-6, $272
9th:        Thomas Tennity, Newark, N.Y., three bass, 10-1, $242
10th:     Wes Vyverberg, Rochester, N.Y., three bass, 9-15, $201
10th:     Matthew Belmore, Indian Lake, N.Y., three bass, 9-15, $201

Gerald Dam of Pine Plains, New York, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $232, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 14 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Tom Balachvili of Scarsdale, New York, leads the Fishing Clash Northeast Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 935 points, while Kade Wesner of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, leads the Fishing Clash Northeast Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 956 points.

The next event for BFL Northeast Division anglers will be the two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 20-21, at the Potomac River in 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. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on the James River Presented by Mando Deodorant 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, RFD-TV 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