Day: February 26, 2024

GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (Feb. 26, 2024) – Boater Randy Stone of Dexter, Kentucky, caught a five-bass limit weighing 23 pounds even Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Kentucky-Barkley Lakes . Hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau, the tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL LBL Division. Stone earned $5,133 for his victory.

“The water was very rough this morning when I ran down to my first stop,” Stone said. “I didn’t catch a fish there, so I decided to run to a bank where I had been catching them, near Paris Landing, and I caught a few there. I still didn’t know what to do; it was so rough there wasn’t really any good place to fish.”

Stone said he then began hitting old spots he’d fished in the past and said every spot he hit produced fish. Stone said he was targeting flats and caught 10 keepers with a Z-Man Original Chatterbait, a Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap and crankbaits.

“I never thought I had a chance to have enough weight to win this,” Stone said. “I needed two really nice fish to finish up, so I threw up to the bank and caught two really nice smallmouth, and that ended up putting me over the top.

“This win is just crazy,” Stone added. “I didn’t have a clue that I could end up winning. I thought my co-angler had caught enough for a win, but I didn’t think I had.”

Stone’s co-angler, Greg Warren, went on to win the co-angler division, as the duo swept the event.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:         Randy Stone, Dexter, Ky., five bass, 23-0, $5,133
2nd:        Billy Schroeder, Paducah, Ky., five bass, 22-8, $2,566
3rd:         Brad Kell, Benton, Ky., five bass, 21-10, $1,710
4th:         Stephen Barga, Benton, Ky., five bass, 21-2, $1,198
5th:         Ethan Fields, Breese, Ill., five bass, 20-15, $1,027
6th:      Jake Lawrence, Buchanan, Tenn., five bass, 20-10, $1,441 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
7th:         Zachary Martin, Murray, Ky., five bass, 20-2, $855          
8th:         Clint Knight, Lewisburg, Ky., five bass, 18-3, $770
9th:         Sam Moll, Hershey, Pa., five bass, 18-2, $684
10th:       Lloyd Pickett, Jr., Bartlett, Tenn., five bass, 18-1, $599

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Justin Berger of Murray, Kentucky, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $800.

Greg Warren of Rosiclare, Illinois, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,966 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 20 pounds, 4 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:          Greg Warren, Rosiclare, Ill., five bass, 20-4, $2,966
2nd:        Alan Spell, Cincinnati, Ohio, five bass, 14-15, $1,283
3rd:         Peyton Nolen, Lexington, Tenn., five bass, 14-9, $855
4th:         Gage Elder, Decatur, Ill., five bass, 14-6, $599
5th:         Jim Elmore, Independence, Ky., five bass, 14-3, $513
6th:         Tim Rampaul, Dickson, Tenn., five bass, 13-14, $571
7th:         Conner Hughart, Goreville, Ill., five bass, 13-6, $428
8th:         Logan Sutherland, Elizabeth, Ind., five bass, 13-1, $385
9th:         Bill Olson, Barrington, Ill., four bass, 13-0, $342
10th:       Hunter Holguin, Knoxville, Tenn, five bass, 12-15, $299

Greg Warren of Rosiclare, Illinois, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $400, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 7 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

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

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-5 BFL Regional tournament on Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.

The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, 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 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota and YETI.

ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. (Feb. 26, 2024) – Boater Kyle Dorsett of Springville, Alabama, caught a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 12 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Martin . Hosted by the Alexander City Chamber of Commerce, the tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Bama Division. Dorsett earned $4,009 for his victory.

“My day started off kind of slow,” Dorsett said. “I found an area that had some fish in it Thursday in practice, so I ran 20 minutes down the lake and hunkered down and fished.

“Lake Martin can be a weird lake to fish,” Dorsett added. “They can be here today, gone tomorrow. But they hung around and I kept catching them. The wind blew 30 miles an hour, and when you get weather like that on Martin, the fish tend to bite.”

Dorsett said he relied on a Garmin LiveScope to target fish and presented both a jerkbait and a Damiki rig to larger bass staying close to balls of baitfish. Dorsett said he knows Martin “fairly well” and has spent a good amount of time fishing there in January and February for the past three or four years.

“I’ve spent quite a bit of time on Martin this time of year,” said Dorsett. “It took 16 pounds to win a local tournament there the weekend before the BFL. So, when I had 14 pounds at 12 o’clock, I thought I had a shot at winning.

“I was pretty excited to win this,” Dorsett said. “I’ve won some big events on the Coosa lakes, but never one this big on Martin. I’ve never even done that well there, to be honest.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:          Kyle Dorsett, Springville, Ala., five bass, 16-12, $4,009
2nd:        Stihl Smith, Alexander, Ala., five bass, 14-4, $2,555
3rd:         James Willoughby, Gulfport, Miss., five bass, 13-5, $1,336
4th:         Donald Griffith, Robertsdale, Ala., five bass, 12-7, $935
5th:         Marty Giddens, Eclectic, Ala., five bass, 11-13, $802
6th:         Blake Tomlin, Greenville, Ga., five bass, 11-4, $701
6th:         Carson Maddux, Hoover, Ala., five bass, 11-4, $701
8th:         Connor Jacob, Peoria, Ill., five bass, 11-1, $568
8th:         Blake Davenport, Jemison, Ala., five bass, 11-1, $568
10th:       Tim Ferguson, Pelham, Ala., five bass, 11-0, $468

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Stihl Smith of Alexander, Alabama, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 10 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $550.

Jeff Huddleston of Anniston, Alabama, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,005 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 10 pounds, 4 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:          Jeff Huddleston, Anniston, Ala., five bass, 10-4, $2,005
2nd:        Jeffery McCoy, Montgomery, Ala., five bass, 9-12, $1,277
3rd:         Gary Marlowe, Montgomery, Ala., five bass, 9-6, $768
4th:         Colt Hinson, Andalusia, Ala., five bass, 9-2, $468
5th:         Derek Wood, Albertville, Ala., five bass, 8-15, $401
6th:         Zac Smith, Demopolis, Ala., five bass, 8-11, $368
7th:         Randall Norton, Ashland, Ala., five bass, 8-10, $334
8th:         Caleb Gwaltney, Athens, Ala., five bass, 8-7, $284
8th:         Thomas Eyler, Ashford, Ala., five bass, 8-7, $284
10th:       Mason Bryan, Carrollton, Ga., five bass, 8-6, $234

Jeffery McCoy of Montgomery, Alabama, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $275, catching a bass that weighed in at 3 pounds, 9 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

The next event for BFL Bama Division anglers will be held April 20, at Lake Mitchell in Clanton, Alabama. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional tournament on Santee Cooper Lakes in Clarendon County, South Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.

The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, 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 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota and YETI.

ANDERSON, S.C. (Feb. 26, 2024) – Boater Max Heaton of Hartwell, Georgia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 10 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Hartwell . Hosted by the Anderson Convention & Visitors Bureau, the tournament was the second event of the season for the BFL Savannah River Division. Heaton earned $3,632 for his victory.

“I practiced Friday all day and didn’t end up swinging on many, but ended up catching 21 pounds,” Heaton said. “So, I knew where some of the bigger largemouth were setting up. I knew I just had to stay around them on tournament day.”

Heaton said he began fishing up the lake near Tugaloo State Park and caught 12 pounds quickly. A relocation back down the lake produced two 5½-pounders within 15 minutes of each other. Heaton then returned to the Tugaloo area to finish his day culling bass and said he landed a total of 15 keepers during the tournament.

“I knew I had over 19 pounds at 10 o’clock – maybe even pushing 20 – but I knew I had a pretty good bag,” Heaton said. “I was fishing a Damiki rig; it was the only rod I had on my deck. I was targeting pods of bass in timber from 40 to 60 feet of water.

“This is my second BFL win on Lake Hartwell,” Heaton said, who notched his first in 2023. “Ever since I won that one, I wanted to do it again. I won it about the same time last year doing the same stuff.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:          Max Heaton, Hartwell, Ga., five bass, 19-10, $3,632
2nd:        Dylan Atkins, Flowery Branch, Ga., five bass, 18-3, $1,816
3rd:        Derek Lehtonen, Woodruff, S.C., five bass, 18-2, $2,175 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th:         Jeff Culpepper, Nicholson, Ga., five bass, 17-11, $847
5th:         Tab Anderson, Pendleton, S.C., five bass, 16-13, $851
6th:         Justin Raines, Easley, S.C., five bass, 16-7, $966
7th:         Tallis Morrison, Royston, Ga., five bass, 16-2, $605
8th:         Will Hart, Danielsville, Ga., five bass, 16-1, $545
9th:         Andrew Allen, Waterloo, S.C., five bass, 15-14, $484
10th:      Peyton Dunn, Fitzgerald, Ga., five bass, 15-10, $424

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Derek Lehtonen of Woodruff, South Carolina, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 10 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $465.

Barry Huffman of Young Harris, Georgia, won the Strike King co-angler division and $1,816 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 8 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:          Barry Huffman, Young Harris, Ga., five bass, 13-8, $1,816
2nd:        Nicholas Gurkin, Simpsonville, S.C., five bass, 12-1, $908
3rd:        Colby Matthews, Newborn, Ga., five bass, 12-0, $706
4th:         Gage Coley, Molena, Ga., five bass, 11-15, $424
5th:         Trey Paul, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 11-14, $363
6th:         J.D. Carter, Honea Park, S.C., five bass, 11-12, $565
7th:         Todd Huntley, Inman, S.C., five bass, 11-9, $303
8th:         Deion Latimer, Belton, S.C., five bass, 11-8, $272
9th:         William Thomas Cowart, Danielsville, Ga., five bass, 11-7, $242
10th:      Logan Brown, Fletcher, N.C., four bass, 9-13, $212

J.D. Carter of Honea Park, South Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $232, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 5 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After two events, Joe Anders of Easley, South Carolina, leads the BFL Savannah River Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 480 points, while Colby Matthews of Newborn, Georgia, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 495 points.

The next event for BFL Savannah River Division anglers will be held April 13, at Lake Hartwell in Lavonia, Georgia. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-5 BFL Regional tournament on Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.

The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, 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 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota and YETI.

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (Feb. 26, 2024) – Boater Will Hammond of Huntersville, North Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 13 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Norman . Hosted by Visit Lake Norman, the tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL North Carolina Division. Hammond earned $4,359 for his victory.

“I started in a place where I really caught them in practice, but I didn’t catch them there – or on the next four or five spots – and at 11:30, I didn’t have a fish,” said Hammond, who said he lives five minutes from Lake Norman. “So, I started scrambling and caught one that weighed 3½ (pounds) on a Luhr Jensen Speed Trap on a boat ramp.

“I ran back down and fished some things I knew from the past and went to work on it with an Alabama rig,” Hammond added. “I caught two good ones, ran a bit more, and caught two more good ones. That’s the only five bites I had all day.”

Hammond said he focused on mid-lake areas and said at 1 o’clock he had only three fish for 10½ pounds and was worried about his chances for a good tournament finish. He hoped to just fill out a limit to earn a check.

“The last two months it’s been taking 19 or 20 pounds to win every Saturday, but it was tougher than I thought it was going to be,” Hammond said. “I’ve been working on getting a win here for several years, so to get this done feels very good.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:          Will Hammond, Huntersville, N.C., five bass, 16-13, $4,359
2nd:         Chris Carnes, York, S.C., five bass, 16-0, $2,479
3rd:       Logan Anderson, Catawba, N.C., five bass, 15-10, $1,952 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th:         Tommy Jones, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 15-6, $1,017
5th:         Brian Morgan, Maiden, N.C., five bass, 15-5, $872
6th:         Chad Sims, Lancaster, S.C., five bass, 15-2, $799
7th:         David Bright, Mooresville, N.C., five bass, 15-1, $726
8th:         Cody Hoyle, Mooresboro, N.C., five bass, 14-6, $617
8th:         Lucas Murphy, West Columbia, S.C., five bass, 14-6, $617
10th:       Kevin Toler, Statesville, N.C., five bass, 14-2, $509

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Scott Beattie of Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 9 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $625.

Keith Wood of Mooresville, North Carolina, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,778 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 15 pounds, 10 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:          Keith Wood, Mooresville, N.C., five bass, 15-10, $2,491
2nd:        Damon Phillips, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 14-14, $1,090
3rd:         Jared Jones, Denver, N.C., five bass, 13-12, $725
4th:         Hunter Alexander, China Grove, N.C., five bass, 13-10, $509
5th:         Jean Lacerte, Elm City, N.C., five bass, 12-10, $436          
6th:         Jonathan Williams, Marshville, N.C., five bass, 12-2, $400
7th:         Joel Cerv, North Wilkesboro, N.C., five bass, 10-15, $363
8th:         Jerry Morris, Charlotte, N.C., four bass, 10-9, $477
9th:         Nicholas Burke, Maiden, N.C., five bass, 10-6, $291
10th:       Keyshawn Bratcher, Altamonte Springs, Fla., five bass, 10-2, $254

Keith Wood of Mooresville , North Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $312, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 4 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

The next event for BFL North Carolina Division anglers will be held April 13, at Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional tournament on the Santee Cooper Lakes in Clarendon County, South Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.

The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, 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 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota and YETI.