Category: MLF BIG-5

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (Feb. 19, 2024) – Boater Brooks Anderson of Marietta, Georgia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 23 pounds, 3 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Lanier . The tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Bulldog Division. Anderson earned $4,584 for his victory.

Anderson began his day with a run to the south end of Lanier and spent the first three hours of the tournament without a fish in the boat. His first fish – a 4½-pounder – didn’t come until 11 a.m., and he ended up losing that one at the net.

“That was a heartbreaker, to finally get a good bite and then lose it,” Anderson said. He said he caught a few 2-pounders before his day turned around.
 
“At 11:30 I caught one that was 4¾ and got me pointed in the right direction,” Anderson said. “I ran to another hole and caught one that was just over 4 pounds, and then one that was right at 6 pounds.”

Anderson said his primary techniques used were a shaky-head rig, a Damiki rig and a spoon. He relied on Garmin Livescope to catch bass on the shaky-head rig on secondary points in 15 feet of water. He threw the spoon and Damiki rig around ditches and timber.

Anderson focused on the Six Mile Creek Park area to Buford Dam and said he added a 4-pound fish and a 4½-pound bass with 30 minutes left in the competition to post his final weight.

“When I caught that last 4½-pounder I thought I had a slight chance of winning,” Anderson said. “But I fish a lot of local tournaments out here, and you’re never safe with any weight. So, this feels awesome. It’s my first year to be able to fish a full circuit of BFLs, so I’m really excited for this year.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:          Brooks Anderson, Marietta, Ga., five bass, 23-3, $4,584
2nd:        Alex Prince, Blue Ridge, Ga., five bass, 22-3, $2,292
3rd:        Kevin Underwood, Gillsville, Ga., five bass, 21-7, $1,529
4th:         Maddux Walters, Canton, Ga., five bass, 20-12, $1,070
5th:         Christopher Wilder, Macon, Ga., five bass, 20-1, $1,417 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
6th:         Brad Davis, Statham, Ga., five bass, 20-0, $840
7th:         Zac Bennett, Loganville, Ga., five bass, 19-12, $764
8th:         Ty Overmyer, Dawsonville, Ga., five bass, 18-15, $688
9th:         Jeremy York, Conyers, Ga., five bass, 18-11, $611
10th:      Matt O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., five bass, 18-1, $835

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Kenneth Cash of Covington, Georgia, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $675.

Joseph Chilcott of Williamson, Georgia, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,292 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 16 pounds, 2 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:          Joseph Chilcott, Williamson, Ga., five bass, 16-2, $2,292
2nd:        Joshua Green, Cartersville, Ga., five bass, 16-1, $1,146
3rd:        Tim Greene, Loganville, Ga., five bass, 15-2, $765
4th:         Brady Vaughn, Royston, Ga., five bass, 14-3, $535
5th:         John McCoy, Jasper, Ga., five bass, 13-13, $458
6th:         Matt Luczynski, Newnan, Ga., five bass, 13-1, $420
7th:         Tommy Royston, Hartwell, Ga., five bass, 12-13, $382
8th:         Ryan Frazier, Stone Mountain, Ga., five bass, 12-4, $344
9th:         Justin Lemaster, Royston, Ga., five bass, 11-14, $306
10th:      Steve Phillips, Douglas, Ga., five bass, 11-11, $267

Daniel Paulin of Smyrna, Georgia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $337, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 3 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

The next event for BFL Bulldog Division anglers will be held March 9, at Lake Lanier in Gainesville, 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. 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.

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (Feb. 16, 2024) – Less than a week removed from 21-year-old phenom Drew Gill’s Tackle Warehouse Invitationals win at Sam Rayburn , 20-year-old Auburn University standout Hayden Marbut bested Gill (11th) Friday at Lake Guntersville in the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Central Division opener in impressive fashion, weighing in just a tick over 70 pounds of bass – the only angler in the field to crack the 70-pound mark over three days.

Like Gill at Rayburn, Marbut leaned on his aptitude with forward-facing sonar – not to mention his vast experience on Guntersville – to best an enormous field of 260 anglers. He did so with unmatched consistency, weighing in 22-10, 25-1 and 22-6, respectively, edging out Day 2 leader Matt O’Connell (69-15) by just 2 ounces.

For Marbut, the first major solo win of his bass fishing career adds to a stacked resume for a bass fishing phenom not even old enough to have a celebratory beer.

“I’m a junior this year and I’ll be a senior next year, but I plan on staying a fifth year,” he said. “I’ve fished so much the last couple years that there’s no chance of me graduating on time.

“I’ve been super fortunate. I won a high school national championship and was able to win two college national championships last year, and that’s kind of what drove me to compete at this level.”

One of the young anglers many turn to when discussing the future of the sport, Marbut’s affinity for catching big bass using forward-facing sonar is no surprise. At Guntersville, he caught all the fish he weighed in ‘Scoping, though it wasn’t as easy as just eyeballing some fish and casting to them.

After finishing fourth in the Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) event at Guntersville the previous weekend, Marbut spent the following few days practicing, trying to adjust to changing weather and water conditions. In the days that followed that BFL, current started ripping on Guntersville, blowing out formerly productive areas and completely changing the way fish were setting up.

“We had a lot of changing conditions this week,” he said. “Everything changed, and I had to adjust a lot. I had to find completely new fish. Everything I was fishing last week was blown out. The current really affected it.”

Because Marbut is from Birmingham and attends Auburn University, he’s spent what he estimates to be thousands of hours on Guntersville (“I’ve idled this entire lake just about and I can tell you just about where anything is out here”). As such, he was able to pivot to new, similarly productive plans that involved finding some cleaner water outside the ripping current of the main river.

“I had two main little places in an area that had a lot of bait, and I focused in on one of them today (Friday),” he said. “They were both just out of the current and there was a little bit cleaner water. I think that was something that was really special about them.

“There was clearer water, and I could get my bait down to them. They could see it from a little bit further. Trying to lead these fish with forward-facing sonar in this current and adjust with the wind and everything like that is hard to do. That cleaner water helped me get extra bites when I was looking at them.”

In those areas, bass were more prone to suspend (as opposed to sticking tight to the bottom around current breaks as the main-lake bass were often doing throughout the event), making them a little easier to target.

For the task, Marbut relied on a 3/8-ounce Picasso ball head tipped with a fluke-style bait, tied to 15-pound-test P-Line braid with a 12-pound-test P-Line fluorocarbon leader. That was spooled on 3000-size  Shimano Sustain  reels and a pair of different rods: A 6-foot-10 G. Loomis NRX+ and a 7-foot Hammer rod.

As for his Garmin LiveScope settings, Marbut kept it pretty simple and stuck with the range settings he’s used to: 90 feet out and 40 feet deep.

“That’s what I’ve gotten the most comfortable with,” he said. “I’ve been using that range for a long time and I’m able to hit them efficiently; I can really tell how big they are that way. You have to play with it a lot to understand and interpret everything that you’re reading on the LiveScope, but I’ve been able to look at the screen so much and get comfortable with that range that I’ve been able to target some of the bigger ones.”

That was certainly the case over three days at Guntersville. Marbut’s spots, both “way down the lake,” produced multiple 5- and 6-pound fish over the first two days and kicked out more than 20 pounds early in the day on Day 3. From there, it was just a matter of slowly culling up throughout the day for enough weight to eke out the win over O’Connell in second.

For the win, Marbut was awarded a $100,000 check (which included a $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus) and the pride of winning a major solo tournament so early in his fishing career. He’ll tell you, though, it wasn’t about the money.

“The money’s cool and all, but I’ve never fished for the money,” he said. “I just love bass fishing. This is what I do every single day, and it’s what I’m going to try to do every day for the rest of my life.”

The top 10 pros on Lake Guntersville finished:

1st:        Hayden Marbut, Birmingham, Ala., 15 bass, 70-1, $100,000
2nd:       Matt O’Connell, Brooks, Ga, 15 bass, 69-15, $28,300
3rd:       Mickey Beck, Lebanon, Tenn., 15 bass, 66-9, $18,000
4th:        Travis Alcock, Burlington, Wis., 15 bass, 65-15, $16,500
5th:        Jordan Wiggins, Cullman, Ala., 15 bass, 64-10, $15,000
6th:        Austin Swindle, Parrish, Ala., 15 bass, 64-4, $11,500
7th:        Dillon Falardeau, Hixson, Tenn., 15 bass, 63-1, $10,000
8th:        Clint Knight, Lewisburg, Ky., 15 bass, 62-11, $8,500
9th:        Logan Dyar, Cleveland, Ala., 13 bass, 62-2, $7,500
10th:     Michael Black, Toledo, Ill., 15 bass, 61-13, $5,500

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Pro Travis Alcock of Burlington, Wisconsin, earned the Day 1 $500 Berkley Big Bass Award on Wednesday with a largemouth weighing in at 8 pounds even, while Thursday’s Day 2 $500 Berkley Big Bass Award went to pro Matt O’Connell of Brooks, Georgia, who weighed in a nice 8-pound, 6-ounce largemouth.

Eric White of Cullman, Alabama, won the Strike King Co-angler Division Friday with a three-day total of 13 bass weighing 53 pounds, 1 ounce. Gonzalez took home the top co-angler prize package worth $38,500, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard motor and $5,000.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers on Lake Guntersville finished:

1st:        Eric White, Cullman, Ala., 15 bass, 53-14, Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp Mercury outboard + $5,000
2nd:       Mark Schlarb, Atwater, Ohio, 15 bass, 51-15, $8,000
3rd:       Ike Gillentine, Walling, Tenn., 15 bass, 51-4, $6,500
4th:        Rich Frey, Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 50-4, $5,000
5th:        Chris Bensel, Abbeville, S.C., 15 bass, 48-13, $4,650
6th:        Robert Russell, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 15 bass, 47-12, $3,750
7th:        Lenny Bays, Dayton, Ky., 15 bass, 47-11, $3,250
8th:        Brendan Johnson, Creal Springs, Ill., 15 bass, 46-5, $2,500
9th:        Brady Lunsmann, Citrus Springs, Fla., 15 bass, 45-13, $1,800
10th:     Dakota Bishop, Brodhead, Ky., 15 bass, 45-4, $1,600

Troy Calloway of Sylacauga, Alabama, earned Wednesday’s $150 Berkley Big Bass co-angler award with an 8-pound, 3-ounce largemouth, while the Day 2 $150 co-angler award on Thursday went to Luke Kerstetter of Brookfield, Wisconsin, with a 7-pound, 1-ounce bass.

The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at Lake Guntersville was hosted by the Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce. It was the first of three regular-season tournaments for the Toyota Series Central Division. The next event for the Toyota Series Central Division will be the Toyota Series at Smith Lake, April 4-6, in Cullman, Alabama. For a complete schedule of events, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The 2024 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consists of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern, Southwestern and the Western Division Presented by Tackle Warehouse – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International and Wild Card divisions. Anglers who fish in any of the six divisions or the Wild Card division and finish in the top 25 will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning up to $235,000 and a qualification to REDCREST 2025. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard. The 2024 Toyota Series Championship will be held Nov. 7-9 on Wheeler Lake in Huntsville, Alabama, and is hosted by the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Madison County Commission, and the Huntsville Sports Commission.

Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Toyota Series include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, FX Custom Rods, General Tire, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota and YETI.

JEFFERSON, Texas (Jan. 29, 2024) – Boater Colby Miller of Elmer, Louisiana, caught a five-bass limit weighing 28 pounds, 3 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake of the Pines. The tournament was the second event of the season for the BFL Cowboy Division. Miller earned $3,641 for his victory.

“I was kind of worried about the wind,” said Miller, whose first time on Lake of the Pines was during his practice period before the tournament. “I knew it was supposed to get up a bit more throughout the day. I had two little areas I thought I was going to be able to do well in.

“I went to the first area and caught a 4-pound fish fairly quickly,” Miller continued. “Then the rain hit, and that continued for 20 to 30 minutes. As soon as the rain quit, I caught a 6-pounder.”

Miller said he then went 45 minutes without a bite and decided to relocate.

“When I made the move, it was definitely the right move,” Miller said. “Within 10 minutes I caught my kicker, which was an 8-3. Five minutes later I caught a 5-pounder, then one that went 3½. It was 9:30 in the morning, and I had 28-3.

“When I caught my fifth keeper, I thought I might have a shot at winning,” Miller added. “My co-angler said, ‘There’s no doubt. You just won.’ And at that point, I was jacked up and thought I had a shot. Then the wind started blowing and I wasn’t able to fish how I needed to fish. I tried to move around, and every move I made was the wrong move.”

Miller said he fished the rest of the day targeting bottom structure with an Alabama rig, trying to cull the 3½-pound bass, but as the day went on his confidence in a victory waned. Miller never got another bite after his fifth keeper bass.

“I just kept after it and hoping, because I was getting nervous,” Miller said. “So, this win is great. This feels amazing.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

                1st:        Colby Miller, Elmer, La., five bass, 28-3, $3,641
                2nd:       Tater Reynolds, Florien, La., five bass, 27-7, $2,120
                3rd:       Robert Parkison, Marshall, Texas, five bass, 25-12, $2,189 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF  Bonus)
                4th:        Jeffery Rice, Shreveport, La., five bass, 24-1, $850
                5th:        Fisher Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., five bass, 18-0, $728
                6th:        Zack Fogle, Longview, Texas, five bass, 15-10, $668
                7th:        Dylan Sorrells, Dallas, Texas, five bass, 14-5, $607
                8th:        Ron Festavan, Vivian, La., four bass, 13-10, $546
                9th:        Arthur Johnson, Judson, Texas, five bass, 12-13, $485
                10th:     Corey Calvert, Coldspring, Texas, five bass, 11-13, $425

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Robert Parkison of Marshall, Texas, caught a bass that weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $475.

William Easley of Pollok, Texas, won the Strike King co-angler division and $1,820 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 17 pounds, 5 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

                1st:        William Easley, Pollok, Texas, five bass, 17-5, $1,820
                2nd:       Robert Massey, Calhoun, La., five bass, 16-1, $910
                3rd:       James Moore, Jr., Lampasas, Texas, four bass, 12-8, $757
                4th:        Allen Musser, Ada, Okla., five bass, 11-0, $425
                5th:        Ethen Evans, Hughes Springs, Texas, three bass, 10-12, $364
                6th:        Robert Spangenberg, Montgomery, Texas, five bass, 10-1, $318
                6th:        Shane Trowbridge, Deer Park, Texas, three bass, 10-1, $318
                8th:        Austin Roach, Big Sandy, Texas, five bass, 9-9, $273
                9th:        Liam Curtright, Angleton, Texas, two bass, 8-13, $480
                10th:     Andrew Duhon, Lake Charles, La., four bass, 7-12, $212

Liam Curtright of Angleton, Texas, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $237, catching a bass that weighed in at 6 pounds, 8 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After two events, Jeffery Rice of Shreveport, Louisiana, leads the BFL Cowboy Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 495 points, while James Moore, Jr., of Lampasas, Texas, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 492 points.

The next event for BFL Cowboy Division anglers will be held March 9, at Toledo Bend Lake in Zwolle, Louisiana. 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. 17-19 BFL Regional tournament on Wright Patman Lake in Texarkana, Texas. 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, 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.

SENECA, S.C. (Jan. 29, 2024) – Boater Brendan Smith of Lavonia, Georgia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 15 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Keowee. Hosted by Visit Oconee, South Carolina, the tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Savannah River Division. Smith earned $3,514 for his victory.

“I was boat number 89 of 90,” said Smith, who said Keowee had proved to be a difficult fishery for him in the past. “I had found some fish in an area that I thought would be my only opportunity to catch a limit. When I got to that place it was occupied.

“I went about the day fishing a pattern that I thought could work,” Smith continued. “It was a pattern that evolved throughout the day. Essentially, I junk fished Lake Keowee from 2 feet to 50 feet. The good Lord shined on me, and I caught some good fish.”

Smith focused on the lower part of Lake Keowee and said his junk fishing approach consisted of a Berkley Stunna Jerkbait 112, which produced his biggest bass of the day, as well as a Zoom Zlinky Stick Worm on a drop-shot rig in 50 feet of water. He said he also caught a few bass on a Keitech Swing Impact FAT 2.8-inch Swimbait in a ditch.

“I had a limit by 9:30 and figured I had 9 or 10 pounds and was pretty happy to have that weight that early in the day,” Smith said. “When I got to 13 pounds, I knew that was a decent catch for Lake Keowee this time of year. I knew when I was culling that 15 pounds would be pretty respectable.

“I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’ve been through several of these squeakers, and I’m usually on the other end of it,” Smith added. “Did I ever think I had the win? No. I weighed in last and didn’t have a clue that I would win until the fish were weighed.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

                1st:        Brendan Smith, Lavonia, Ga., five bass, 15-5, $3,514
                2nd:       Randy Childers, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 15-3, $1,757
                3rd:       Joe Anders, Easley, S.C., five bass, 15-1, $1,672 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
                4th:        Daniel Atkins, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 14-11, $722
                4th:        Cody Hoyle, Rutherfordton, N.C., five bass, 14-11, $722
                4th:        Matt O’Connell, Brooks, Georgia, five bass, 14-11, $1,022
                7th:        Grayson Brewster, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 14-9, $586
                8th:        Michael Smith, Lexington, S.C., five bass, 14-8, $527
                9th:        William Bryson, Greer, S.C., five bass, 13-14, $469
                10th:     Hunter Cseledy, Waynesville, N.C., five bass, 13-13, $410

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Jason Burroughs of Hodges, South Carolina, caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 9 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $450.

Chris Wilson of Easley, South Carolina, won the Strike King co-angler division and $1,982 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 10 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

                1st:        Chris Wilson, Easley, S.C., five bass, 11-10, $1,982
                2nd:       Kevin Henderson, Honea Path, S.C., five bass, 11-9, $879
                3rd:       Dale Ball, Asheville, N.C., five bass, 11-6, $585
                4th:        Colby Matthews, Madison, Ga., five bass, 11-4, $610
                5th:        Kyle Rogers, Cleveland, Ga., five bass, 10-10, $351
                6th:        Justin Thompson, Gainesville, Ga., five bass, 10-3, $322
                7th:        Andy Burgess, Greenville, S.C., five bass, 10-2, $293
                8th:        Renee Price, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 10-0, $249
                8th:        Brock Martin, Cross Hill, S.C., five bass, 10-0, $249
                10th:     Arthur Harris, York, S.C., five bass, 9-9, $205

Wilson earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $225, catching a bass that weighed in at 3 pounds, 13 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

The next event for BFL Savannah River Division anglers will be held Feb. 24, at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South 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. 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, 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.

Weighing 24 pounds each of the first two days and finishing off with 23 pounds, 13 ounces, Mizell totaled 72-9 to beat out Brody Campbell by nearly 3 pounds and win the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Southern Division opener on Lake Okeechobee.

Now with six MLF wins to his credit on Lake Okeechobee, Mizell has won over $90,000 in less than 12 months, as he also won last year’s Toyota Series event on the Big O. For this one, Mizell takes home another trophy for a rapidly growing collection, plus $44,000 and qualification to the Toyota Series Championship. 

Mizell started each tournament morning on the north side of Okeechobee, easing into a staging bay and going to work. His bite shut down before noon each day of the event, though, as anglers coming and going muddied up the water. When Mizell arrived Saturday, he had a small audience of Bassmaster Open pros starting practice, and he put on a show. 

“I got there first thing, it was a good thing I was boat No. 1, and there were already a couple boats – BASS guys, in there,” he said. “But they just sat there and watched – I got my first, second, third, my biggest one. After that, there were boats going in and out, and they stirred it up. I didn’t get a bite after 11 o’clock, it got muddy and (the fish) shut down. But I was lucky enough to get my limit, and get those couple key fish. They were eating a frog like crazy – just absolutely destroying it.”

All week, Mizell was anticipating the warming water, watching it climb out of the 60s and into the low 70s. 

“I knew it was going to happen this morning,” he said. “I wanted to see 74 degrees, that’s the magic number for me. Everybody has their magic number. When I got there, it was right at 74 and started warming up, and that’s when I got my bites. Everything was on a frog, that new Gambler Popping Frog. I normally use my bread and butter (frog), but Val Osinski at Gambler Baits gave me some frogs yesterday, and it’s the same thing, so I broke it in.” 

While Campbell and others targeted fish that were spawning or prespawn, Mizell believes he was mostly catching postspawn bass that were easing out of a spawning bay and stopping on isolated pieces of cover on the way out. To catch them, he used a vibrating jig and a worm a little, but mostly relied on a prop bait and a frog. 

Mizell’s biggest fish of the event ate a Rapala X-Rap Prop on Day 1, but the frog was his standby. Using either a doctored up SPRO or a Gambler Popping Frog in yellow belly, Mizell threw them on a 7-foot, 6-inch, heavy/fast 13 Fishing Muse Black  with an 8.3:1-gear ratio  13 Fishing Concept A2 reel and 65-pound Sufix 832 braid. 

“They stage in these heads – little buggy whip heads, or cattail heads,” Mizell said. “They’re about as big as a coffee table. I would hit the edges first, and then hit the center, or go through the head, and work it through. Today, my biggest one, I threw into the head, and it exploded and totally missed the frog. I went back with a Senko, and it did not commit. But, I know how these fish work. when they’re postspawn. They’re worn out from laying eggs, so they use all their energy to bite once. You have to come back to them. So, I went around, gave her five minutes, and then came back and Power-Poled down. I threw, pop, pop, pop, and I didn’t even get to pop it again – she just absolutely caved it in.” 

Fishing his frog quickly, with a pop, pop, pop, stop retrieve, Mizell was focused on the key spots within his area. 
“Every time I throw, I want to think there’s a fish on that key spot,” he said. “If I was just fishing a pad field, I’d be just randomly throwing, not throwing at a target. I love to fish isolated stuff, I love pointing at stuff, because I feel like a fish is there. I would Power-Pole down, hit every isolated clump, then go forward, Power-Pole down again, and hit every isolated clump.” 

A fishing guide and mobile mechanic, Mizell didn’t practice much for the event. He took a guide trip out on Tuesday, and then rode around the lake on Wednesday without making a cast. It turned out, that was all he needed to earn the win. 

“That was my gameplan, I did not want to spin out – I knew they were coming and going,” he said. “I didn’t stress about this event, I just wanted to go fishing and do what I do. I knew the fish were in there, because a couple months ago I caught 34 pounds on the outside – they were staging. When it’s your time to shine, it’s your time to shine.”

The top 10 pros on Lake Okeechobee finished:

1st:        Jessie Mizell, Myakka City, Fla., 15 bass, 72-9, $44,000
2nd:       Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, 15 bass, 69-10, $18,500
3rd:       Brandon Tallhamer, Parkersburg, W. Va., 15 bass, 66-1, $12,750
4th:        Benny Townend, Lake Worth Beach, Fla., 15 bass, 65-2, $10,750
5th:        Steve Lopez, Oconomowoc, Wis., 15 bass, 58-0, $9,750
6th:        Rafe Sexton, Okeechobee, Fla., 15 bass, 57-0, $8,375
7th:        Christian Greico, Tampa, Fla., 15 bass, 56-4, $7,800
8th:        Robert Camp, Port St. John, Fla., 15 bass, 54-6, $6,300
9th:        Bo Collins, Robbinsville, N.C., 13 bass, 53-2, $5,300
10th:     Michael Venditto, Boca Raton, Fla., 15 bass, 52-13, $4,200

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Pro Kyle Wieczorek of Nokomis, Florida, earned the Day 1 $500 Berkley Big Bass Award on Thursday with an 8-pound, 15-ounce brute, while Friday’s Day 2 $500 Berkley Big Bass Award went to pro Christian Greico of Tampa, Florida, who weighed in a nice 8-pound, 11-ounce largemouth.

Casey Gonzalez of Lake Wales, Florida, won the Strike King Co-angler Division Saturday with a three-day total of 13 bass weighing 53 pounds, 1 ounce. Gonzalez took home the top co-angler prize package worth $33,500, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard motor.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers on Lake Okeechobee finished:

1st:        Casey Gonzalez, Lake Wales, Fla., 13 bass, 53-1, Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp Mercury outboard
2nd:       Brady Lunsmann, Citrus Springs, Fla., 13 bass, 50-6, $5,375
3rd:       Stephen Draghi, Sparrowbush, N.Y., 15 bass, 49-5, $4,300
4th:        David Honsted, Ocala, Fla., 14 bass, 47-11, $3,800
5th:        Cooper Jett, Norton Shores, Mich., 15 bass, 45-1, $3,150
6th:        David Archibald, Somerset, Mass., 15 bass, 43-8, $2,800
7th:        Michael Duarte, Baltimore, Md., 13 bass, 42-8, $2,150
8th:        Alex Dempsey, Orangeburg, S.C., 15 bass, 41-10, $1,825
9th:        Keith Honeycutt, Temple, Texas, 15 bass, 41-5, $1,530
10th:     Fernando Rosa, Margate, Fla., 15 bass, 41-0, $1,290

David Honsted of Ocala, Florida, earned Thursday’s $150 Berkley Big Bass co-angler award with an 8-pound, 14-ounce largemouth, while Friday’s Day 2 $150 co-angler award went to Marc Snyder of St. Johns, Michigan,  who weighed in a bass that totaled 7 pounds, 15 ounces.

The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at Lake Okeechobee was hosted by the Hendry County Tourism Development Council. It was the first of three regular-season tournaments for the Toyota Series Southern Division. The next event for the Toyota Series Southern Division will be the Toyota Series at the Harris Chain of Lakes, March 19-21, in Leesburg, Florida. For a complete schedule of events, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The 2024 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consists of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern, Southwestern and the Western Division Presented by Tackle Warehouse – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International and Wild Card divisions. Anglers who fish in any of the six divisions or the Wild Card division and finish in the top 25 will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning up to $235,000 and a qualification to REDCREST 2025. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard. The 2024 Toyota Series Championship will be held Nov. 7-9 on Wheeler Lake in Huntsville, Alabama, and is hosted by the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Madison County Commission, and the Huntsville Sports Commission.

Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Toyota Series include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, FX Custom Rods, General Tire, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota and YETI.

LEESBURG, Fla. (Jan. 22, 2024) – Boater Laramy Strickland of Bushnell, Florida, caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Harris Chain of Lakes. Hosted by Discover Lake County Florida, the tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Gator Division. Strickland earned $4,806 for his victory.The weather in the Leesburg area had been consistently rainy and cold for weeks before the event, and Strickland said he keyed in on a pattern he had noticed for the event.“I think those fish are pre-spawn, and they were just ganging up on a spot wanting to spawn and not being able to,” Strickland said.“I had three specific clumps of hydrilla I had located some nicer quality fish on,” added Strickland, who said he lives 30 minutes from the lake but hadn’t fished there since 2022. “I kept my head down and grinded a 50-yard stretch all day long.”Strickland said he relied exclusively on a ½-ounce Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer to fill his limit during the tournament. He said he caught around 30 bass – all keepers – during the day.Strickland said he did make one run about a mile away from his hydrilla spots, and his first cast there resulted in a 5-pounder, but he soon returned to the hydrilla where he would cull fish for the rest of the day.“This really feels great,” Strickland said. “I feel blessed to have had a really great day on the water. I’m looking forward to fishing the rest of the events in the Gator Division.”The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

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

Tyler Sheppard of Yulee, Florida, caught a bass that weighed 9 pounds, 4 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $725.

James Brooks of Inverness, Florida, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,403 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 15 pounds, 15 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:        James Brooks, Inverness, Fla., five bass, 15-15, $2,403
2nd:       Brad Moore, Cape Coral, Fla., five bass, 14-5, $1,382
3rd:       Evrett Hunter, Saint Augustine, Fla., five bass, 13-7, $806
4th:        J.P. Sims, Port St. Lucie, Fla., five bass, 12-7, $561
5th:        Randy Paquette, Sarasota, Fla., five bass, 11-12, $481
6th:        Ron Weisenburger, Cloverdale, Ohio, five bass, 11-6, $441
7th:        Andrew Grosswald, Deltona, Fla., five bass, 11-3, $400
8th:        Leroy Fryson, Tallahassee, Fla., three bass, 10-9, $360
9th:        Steve Cornell, Crestview, Fla., five bass, 10-4, $320
10th:     Conner Herring, Old Town, Fla., four bass, 9-12, $280

Tyler Nekolny of Coral Springs, Florida, and Brad Moore of Cape Coral, Florida, both caught bass weighing in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces – the largest co-angler catches of the day – to split the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $362.

The next event for BFL Gator Division anglers will be held Feb. 10, at Lake Toho in Kissimmee, Florida. 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 division 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, 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.

LA CROSSE, Wis. (Aug. 22, 2021) – Pro Jimmy Washam of Covington, Tennessee brought a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 15 ounces to the stage on Sunday to win $200,000 and the TITLE belt at the second annual Major League Fishing (MLF) Tackle Warehouse TITLE Presented by Mercury – the Pro Circuit Championship, Presented by Bad Boy Mowers – on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Washam won by a 1-pound, 3-ounce margin over Berkley pro Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Florida who weighed a limit of 17-15, good for second place and $50,000. Favorite Fishing pro Zack Birge of Blanchard, Oklahoma rounded out the top three, weighing a five-bass limit of 15-6 and taking home $30,000.

Sunday’s final day of competition marked the finale of the six-day Tackle Warehouse TITLE, which featured the top 48 pros in the 2021 Pro Circuit standings, along with last year’s reigning TITLE champion and reigning Angler of the Year – all competing for a purse of nearly $900,000.

The MLF Tackle Warehouse TITLE Presented by Mercury – the Pro Circuit Championship, Presented by Bad Boy Mowers was hosted by Explore La Crosse.

Washam said he began fishing MLF tournaments in the Phoenix Bass Fishing League in 2012, before moving up to the Toyota Series in 2017. He qualified for the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Bad Boy Mowers through the Toyota Series Central Division in 2019 and has made TITLE appearances in both ’20 and ’21. When he’s not fishing, Washam is a deputy sheriff sergeant in Tennessee

“All the glory goes to God,” Washam said of the win. “This is so amazing, but it’s His work above, I promise you. Five years ago, I bought my first fiberglass boat and decided I’d fish the [Phoenix Bass Fishing League] as a boater. Now I’m standing here with a TITLE belt on my shoulder.”

Moving up through the ranks hasn’t been easy for Washam, who took a big financial risk in 2020 and again in 2021 to follow his passion.

“I’m 34 years old and I didn’t start as young as I wish I would have, but I had to earn a living and work, so it was a slow progression to step up to this level,” said Washam. “After last year I knew that I could hang, and this year has been an absolutely incredible year. It’s humbling to know the group of anglers I just joined.”

Washam said he was contemplating going back to the Black River on the final day, having found a few places where he could pull up and catch a limit in a few casts, but he decided to make a change.

“I got to thinking, it’s Sunday and there are a lot of guys out fishing,” said Washam. “I’ve got a place that likely has the winning bag on it. Why in the world would I not go there first? Literally, as I pulled up, there was a guy in a Jon boat that was slinging a topwater and he was only half a cast away from my fish. I don’t think he knew what was there, but he was really close to finding out.

“He was a total class act,” Washam continued. “I pulled up and said, ‘Good morning.’ Of course, I was going to ask him as politely as I could if he minded giving me a little space for a couple hours, but I didn’t even have to ask. He picked up the trolling motor and left, then came back later as a spectator. Turns out he works at the sheriff’s office in La Crosse.”

Nerves didn’t seem to be a factor for Washam going into the Championship Round, even with $200,000 on the line.

“I was confident going into the final day,” said Washam. “Any time you find something like that and you’re able to leave it for Championship Sunday it’s great. But I’ve played this game long enough to know that there are so many variables. When I made the first cast and didn’t get a bite the wheels started turning. Then, when I made the second cast and caught a 3-pounder I was pumped.”

The top 10 pros at the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit TITLE on the Mississippi River are:
1^st:           Jimmy Washam, Covington, Tenn., five bass, 17-15, $200,000
2^nd:          Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., five bass, 16-12, $50,000
3^rd:          Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., five bass, 15-6, $30,000
4^th:           Mitch Crane, Columbus, Miss., five bass, 13-5, $25,000
5^th:           Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., five bass, 13-2, $19,000
6^th:           Joshua Weaver, Macon, Ga., five bass, 13-2, $18,000
7^th:           Miles Burghoff, Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., five bass, 12-8, $17,000
8^th:           Jimmy Reese, Witter Springs, Calif., five bass, 11-14, $16,000
9^th:           Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 11-3, $15,000
10^th:       Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., five bass,  11-1, $14,000
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 50 bass weighing 136 pounds, 4 ounces caught by the 10 pros on Saturday with 10 five-bass limits.

The MLF Tackle Warehouse TITLE Presented by Mercury – the Pro Circuit Championship, Presented by Bad Boy Mowers featured a hybrid tournament format. All 50 anglers were seeded into two groups of 25 – Group A & Group B, based on points earned in 2021 qualifying events – where they competed in Qualifying Rounds over the first four days of the tournament. The top 10 anglers in each group moved on to the Knockout Round on Day 5, with zeroed weights, to compete for the chance to fish on the final day. The top 10 anglers from the Knockout Round then advanced to Championship Sunday, where weights were again zeroed as anglers competed for the $235,000 prize. Winners were determined by the heaviest five-bass limit of each round.

Television coverage of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit TITLE Presented by Mercury event will be showcased across six two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 a.m. ET, Oct. 10 on the Outdoor Channel. Episodes premiere Sunday mornings on the Outdoor Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition. Episodes will run through Nov. 14.

The 2021 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Bad Boy Mowers featured a field of 163 of the top professional anglers in the world competing at six regular-season events around the country. The top 50 anglers in the Angler of the Year (AOY) standings after the six events qualified to compete in the Tackle Warehouse TITLE Presented by Mercury, the Pro Circuit Championship, Presented by Bad Boy Mowers.

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MASSENA, N.Y. (Aug. 1, 2021) – Rookie Cody Pike of Powhatan, Virginia brought a five-bass limit to the scale Sunday weighing 22 pounds, 3 ounces to win the   MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Bad Boy Mowers, Savage Arms Stop 6 Presented by Abu Garcia at the St. Lawrence River. Pike’s four-day total of 20 bass weighing 82 pounds, 12 ounces earned him the win by a 1-pound, 12-ounce margin over pro Matthew Stefan of Junction City, Wisconsin, and the top prize of $135,000, including a lucrative $35,000 Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus.

“You don’t do this sport for the money, you do it because you love it,” said a very emotional Pike after earning the win. “This is awesome – it’s like a dream. I’ve tried to make it here for so many years.

“I qualified [for the Pro Circuit] through the Toyota Series last year,” continued Pike. “You aren’t guaranteed the opportunity to make it and fish these professional circuits every year, so I went ahead and jumped on the opportunity and I’m loving it.”

Pike said he came into the final qualifying event of the Pro Circuit with just the hope of qualifying for the 2021 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit TITLE presented by Mercury, the Pro Circuit Championship, where anglers have the opportunity to compete for up to $235,000.

“Things happened this week that made no sense – things that weren’t supposed to happen and there was no explanation to it,” said Pike. “I had one main area that I was fishing today, with 15 to 20 good spots along it. I just kept making circles through those areas and kept getting bites.

“I honestly couldn’t ask for more,” continued Pike. “To qualify for the TITLE, then fish in the Top 10, find myself in contention for the win – then take home the win, all in my rookie season – it’s just unbelievable.”

Pike said he loves catching smallmouth but would not consider himself a smallmouth angler. Add his lack of experience fishing rivers to that and his expectations for this event were low.

“I could understand figuring out fish that I was more comfortable with, but to do this on a smallmouth fishery is just incredible,” said Pike. “I usually get my tail kicked in smallmouth tournaments.

“I mostly fished shoals and rock piles the size of my boat this week. If I didn’t get bit on the first cast, I just moved to the next one. I probably had 40 to 50 spots that I found during the tournament. Once I knew I had a solid bag each day, I could just go fish and look around. That helped a lot.”

Pike said he caught most of his fish this week drop-shotting a green-pumpkin Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm  with a 1/2-ounce Eco Pro Tungsten weight and 6- and 7-pound-test  Gamma Touch fluorocarbon line.

“I had no idea what I needed to do to catch Joey [Cifuentes] going into today. He had such a strong lead, I just didn’t think it was going to happen,” said Pike. “I still can’t believe it.

“This trophy means a lot. People work their whole lives for this and don’t ever get one. I got lucky and everything lined up just right to go home with one my rookie year – that doesn’t happen often.”

The top 10 pros at the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Savage Arms Stop 6 on the St. Lawrence River finished:

                  1^st:           Cody Pike of Powhatan, Va., 20 bass, 82-12, $135,000
                  2^nd:          Matthew Stefan of Junction City, Wis., 20 bass, 81-0, $30,000
                  3^rd:          Joey Cifuentes of Clinton, Ark., 20 bass, 79-10, $25,000
                  4^th:           Scott Dobson of Clarkston, Mich., 20 bass, 78-6, $20,000
                  5^th:           Jon Canada of Helena, Ala., 20 bass, 76-11, $19,000
                  6^th:           John Cox of DeBary, Fla., 18 bass, 76-8, $18,000
                  7^th:           Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., 20 bass, 76-6, $17,000
                  8^th:           Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich., 20 bass, 75-8, $16,000
                  9^th:           Justin Cooper of Zwolle, La., 20 bass, 73-7, $15,000
                  10^th:        Aaron Britt of Yuba City, Calif., 20 bass, 71-9, $14,000

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

Overall, there were 50 bass weighing 183 pounds, 4 ounces caught by the final 10 pros Sunday. All of the final 10 pros brought a five-bass limit to the scales.

The four top performers who now qualify to compete in the MLF Bass Pro Tour Carparts.com Stage Seven at Lake St. Clair Presented by Covercraft in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, Sept. 10-15, are Cody Pike, Matthew Stefan, Joey Cifuentes and Scott Dobson.

The MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Bad Boy Mowers, Savage Arms Stop 6 Presented by Abu Garcia at the St. Lawrence River will feature live on-the-water coverage and a two-hour action-packed television show that will premiere on the Outdoor Channel on Sunday, Sept. 1 from 7 to 9 a.m. ET and re-air on the Sportsman Channel this fall.

The MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Bad Boy Mowers, Savage Arms Stop 6 Presented by Abu Garcia at the St. Lawrence River was hosted by the Town of Massena.

In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit competition, the full field of anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. The top 50 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight advanced to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continued competition on Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

Pro Michael Neal of Dayton, Tennessee, clinched the 2021 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Angler of the Year title Saturday, after finishing the event in 11^th place. Neal will receive his entry fees paid for the entire 2022 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit season for his win.

Pro Clabion Johns of Social Circle, Georgia, clinched the Polaris 2021 Rookie of the Year (ROY) award on Friday, which is awarded to the rookie pro angler who finishes the season with the highest point total. For his efforts, Johns won a Polaris Ranger 1000.

Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2021 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit TITLE presented by Mercury, the Pro Circuit Championship, where they will compete for up to $235,000. The 2021 TITLE will be on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin on Aug. 17-22, and is hosted by Explore La Crosse.

MASSENA, N.Y. (July 29, 2021) – A field of 154 bass-fishing professionals from around the world began their four-day competition for a top award of $135,000 at the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Bad Boy Mowers, Savage Arms Stop 6 at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Abu Garcia Thursday in Massena, New York.

Berkley pro John Cox of DeBary, Florida, weighed a five-bass limit of St. Lawrence River smallmouth totaling 24 pounds, 12 ounces to take the early lead after Day 1. Cox holds a slim 7-ounce lead over pro Joey “Cowboy” Cifuentes of Clinton, Arkanas, who caught five bass weighing 24-5, good for second place.

“I am in absolute shock to be leading this thing,” Cox laughed after weighing in. “I’m not kidding – this was probably the worst practice that I have ever had before. Coming into today I was thinking, ‘If I can somehow catch 18 or 20 (pounds) and maybe catch a couple tomorrow I could get out of here with a check.’ And I would have taken that. I was shooting for 50^th place. So to weigh what I did today is just unreal.”

Cox said that he caught just seven fish on the day – all before noon.

“I didn’t catch many, but the ones that I did catch were the right ones,” Cox said. “Tomorrow I’m going to try to do what I did today and just bounce around and hit some new areas. I tried so hard to make those areas that I fished in the Bass Pro Tour event here last month work, but I couldn’t catch anything. They’re not even the same areas anymore – there is grass growing in now and it’s just changed completely. I had to change everything up and treat this place like I’d never fished it before.”

Cox spent the afternoon scouting new areas and trying to find a couple of spots that could possibly carry him through the remainder of the four-day tournament.

“It looks so good when I weigh in 24 pounds, and it was a lot of fun today, but I’ve got nothing for tomorrow,” Cox went on to say. “All I can do is keep trying to find new stuff, but honestly I think I’ll be lucky to catch five again.”

The top 10 pros after Day One the St. Lawrence River are:

  1^st:        John Cox, DeBary, Fla., five bass, 24-12
  2^nd:       Joey “Cowboy” Cifuentes, Clinton, Ark., five bass, 24-5
  3^rd:       Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., five bass, 23-7
  4^th:       Miles Howe, San Juan Capistrano, Calif., five bass, 22-10
  5^th:       Matthew Stefan, Junction City, Wis., five bass, 22-7
  6^th:       Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., five bass, 22-0
  6^th:       Erik Luzak, Fenelon Falls, Ontario, Canada, five bass, 22-0
  8^th:       Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 21-8
  9^th:       Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 21-2
  10^th:     Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 21-0

For a full list of results visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Stefan won Thursday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass award, weighing a 6-pound, 8-ounce smallmouth to earn the day’s award.

Overall, there were 711 bass weighing 2,270 pounds, 12 ounces caught by the 153 pros on Thursday, which included 124 five-bass limits.

The MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit presented by Bad Boy Mowers, Savage Arms Stop 6 at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Abu Garcia is hosted by the Town of Massena.

In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit competition, the full field of 154 anglers compete in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. The top 50 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition on Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2021 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit TITLE presented by Mercury, the Pro Circuit Championship, where they will compete for up to $235,000. The 2021 TITLE will be on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin on Aug. 17-22, and is hosted by Explore La Crosse.

Anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. ET, Thursday through Sunday, from the Massena Intake Boat Launch located at 1415 State Highway 131 in Massena. Weigh-ins will also be held at the boat launch daily at 3 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the action online through the MLF NOW! live stream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Bad Boy Mowers, Savage Arms Stop 6 Presented by Abu Garcia at the St. Lawrence River will feature live on-the-water coverage and a two-hour action-packed television show that will premiere on the Outdoor Channel on Sunday, Sept. 1 from 7 to 9 a.m. ET and re-air on the Sportsman Channel this fall. Weigh-ins will be streamed daily and fans can catch live on-the-water action all day Saturday and Sunday, July 31 – Aug. 1 on MLF NOW! beginning at 7 a.m. ET at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

CORTLAND, Ohio (July 26, 2021) – Boater Kyle Knauf of Berlin Center, Ohio, wins the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine at Mosquito Lake Presented by TINCUP Whiskey in Cortland, Ohio. Knauf earned $5,428 for his victory at the event.
TOP 10 RESULTS

RANK	BOATER NAME/HOMETOWN	BASS	WEIGHT	AWARD
1st	Kyle Knauf of Berlin Center, Ohio	5	16-5	$5,428
2nd	Shaun Brown of Slippery Rock, Pa.	5	15-13	$2,214
3rd	Jeffrey Yost of Lima, Ohio	5	14-10	$1,478
4th	Josh Kelly of Cortland, Ohio	5	14-1	$1,033
5th	Chuck Willis of Dayton, Ohio	5	13-15	$886
6th	Jay Ellis of Celina, Ohio	5	13-12	$2,012
7th	Butch Dobransky of North Canton, Ohio	5	13-9	$738
8th	Luke Fulton of Ray, Ohio	5	13-2	$627
8th	Danny Reaves of Cleves, Ohio	5	13-2	$627
10th	Josh Smith of Hamilton, Ohio	5	13-1	$517

RANK	STRIKE KING CO-ANGLER NAME/HOMETOWN	BASS	WEIGHT	AWARD
1st	Brian Blinn of Troy, Ohio	5	12-3	$2,214
2nd	Mark Miller of Baltic, Ohio	5	11-14	$1,107
3rd	Jarrod Simmons of Athens, Ohio	5	11-13	$738
4th	Brian Zelinskas of Beavercreek, Ohio	5	11-12	$517
5th	J.R. Selke of Waynesville, Ohio	5	10-12	$443
6th	Dan Goforth of Monroe, Ohio	5	10-10	$406
7th	Jordan Voigt of Celina, Ohio	5	10-8	$369
8th	Jeff Turner of Plainfiled, Ill.	5	10-5	$532
9th	Alfie Bricker of West Portsmouth, Ohio	5	10-4	$295
10th	Billy French of Hamilton, Ohio	5	10-3	$258

CONTINGENCY AWARDS

AWARD	NAME	CONTINGENCY	PAYOUT
Boater Big Bass	Brody Campbell of Oxford, Ohio	5-pound, 3-ounce bass	$635
Strike King Co-Angler Berkley Big Bass	Preston Hake of Mineral Ridge, Ohio	4-pound, 4-ounce bass	$317
Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus	Jay Ellis of Celina, Ohio	Eligible Phoenix Boat*	$500

* Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.
WINNING BAITS

ANGLER	BAIT	COLOR
Boater	Unspecified Drop Shot	N/A
Strike King Co-Angler	Z-Man Evergreen Chatterbait Jack Hammer	N/A

2021 QUALIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES

EVENT	DATE	LOCATION	HOST
Buckeye Division – Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship	Oct. 14-16	Potomac River, Marbury, Md.	Charles County Board of Commissioners
2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American	June 2-4	Lake Hamilton, Hot Springs, Ark.	Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism & Visit Hot Springs

The 2021 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championships. Boaters will compete for a $60,000 prize package, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while Strike King co-anglers will fish for a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The top six finishers in each regional will then qualify for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American.

The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division will also earn priority entry into the Toyota Series, the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour.