Fielder Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division
EUFAULA, Okla. (March 21, 2022) – Boater Tad Sweitzer of Eufaula, Oklahoma, caught five bass Saturday weighing 23 pounds, 6 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on Eufaula Lake. The tournament was the season-opener for the Bass Fishing League Okie Division. Sweitzer earned $4,905 for his victory.
“I had an awesome co-angler, and I told him we were going to make a run, put the trolling motor down to save fuel and put our heads down and fish,” Sweitzer said. “I told him you can’t win with the big motor and running.”
Sweitzer said he started in 30 feet of water fishing an Alabama-rig to target bait balls and caught two 5-pounders in the first 30 minutes, but then the bass started to shy away from their offerings.
“That’s when the day got long,” Sweitzer said. “I didn’t have another fish until 1:30. Then I pulled up on a stretch, got a jerkbait out and caught three more keepers to put in the boat.”
Sweitzer said his five fish that he weighed in were the only fish he caught during the tournament. In addition to the umbrella-rig, Sweitzer said he used a Berkley deep-diving crankbait as well as a 6thSense Jerkbait to target bass on ledges.
“This was the first BFL tournament I’ve ever fished,” Sweitzer said. “I kept telling my wife, ‘I just want one of those trophies someday.’ She said, ‘You can’t do it unless you fish it.’
“This just feels awesome,” Sweitzer added.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Tad Sweitzer, Eufaula, Okla., five bass, 23-6, $4,905
2nd: Shawn Mote, Ardmore, Okla., five bass, 21-1, $2,453
3rd: Chris M. Jones, Bokoshe, Okla., four bass, 18-6, $2,375
4th: Jeff Kriet, Ardmore, Okla., five bass, 17-8, $1,363
4th: Ian Leybas, McAlester, Okla., five bass, 17-8, $1,063
6th: Curt Warren, Rose, Okla., five bass, 17-2, $899
7th: Jeff Clark, Van Buren, Ark., five bass, 17-1, $818
8th: Lane Kindle, Stilwell, Okla., five bass, 16-15, $936
9th: Orlean Smith, McAlester, Okla., five bass, 16-9, $654
10th: Blake Capps, Muskogee, Okla., five bass, 16-8, $1,272 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Jones had a 9-pound largemouth that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $740.
Fred Fielder of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,453 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 15 pounds, 13 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:
1st: Fred Fielder, Tahlequah, Okla., five bass, 15-13, $2,453
2nd: Scott Moore, Fort Gibson, Okla., three bass, 15-4, $1,226
3rd: Jacob Cooper, Leon, Kan., five bass, 13-12, $816
4th: David Hamilton, Rogers, Ark., four bass, 12-13, $572
5th: Timothy Cartwright, Sand Springs, Okla., five bass, 12-4, $591
6th: David Blankinship, Cushing, Okla., five bass, 11-6, $450
7th: Bryan Schuster, Oklahoma City, Okla., three bass, 11-3, $559
8th: Leroy Dee Sheperd, Mountain View, Okla., four bass, 10-2, $368
9th: Brian Brecka, Alma, Wis., three bass, 9-8, $327
10th: Rick Blosser, Tulsa, Okla., three bass, 9-7, $272
10th: Bobby Walker, Ponca City, Okla., three bass, 9-7, $272
Andrew Workman of Stilwell, Oklahoma, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 6 pounds, 8 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $370.
After one event, Tad Sweitzer of Eufaula, Oklahoma, leads the Bass Fishing League Okie Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 250 points, while Fred Fielder, Tahlequah, Oklahoma leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 250 points.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 13-15 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Boaters will compete for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.
The 2022 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 Regional Championships 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 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American. The 2022 All-American will be held June 2-4 at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.
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 MLF Toyota Series, the pathway to the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour.
Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, AFTCO, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Gary Yamamoto Baits, General Tire, Lew’s, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Revital Outdoors, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X, YETI and Yo-Zuri.
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.
