South Carolina’s Ries Tops Co-Angler Division

SUMMERTON, S.C. (March 16, 2026) – Boater Gary Elsey of Moncks Corner, South Carolina, caught a total of five bass weighing 26 pounds, 10 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Santee Cooper Lakes. The tournament, hosted by Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce, was the second of five events of the season for the BFL South Carolina Division. Elsey earned $2,960 for his victory.

Elsey started the tournament on the lower lake, caught a few fish, then at 9:30 decided to relocate. That’s when things got interesting.

“I ran to the lower lake and caught some fish on stumps and then made a move and my motor blew up,” Elsey said. “I just started fishing for some bed fish. We stayed right there in the same little area and caught some fish off of the bed. I told my co-angler, ‘Well, this is it. This is where we’re going to fish for the day. You paid your money and I paid mine, so let’s just have a good time.’

“We had a cold front yesterday, and temperatures got to freezing, and the fish pulled out, but with the warmer weather we had overnight they seemed to be pulling back up,” Elsey said.

Elsey methodically targeted his bass with a drop-shot rig  and a green pumpkin/candy red trick worm. His setup produced 11 keepers during the course of the tournament.

Despite the motor malfunction, Elsey remained confident in his chances of success Saturday.

“I called the tournament director and talked to him about what I needed to do, and he said I had to get another competitor to give me a ride and bring my fish to weigh-in,” Elsey said.

Fellow competitor Cecil Wolfe, who finished the tournament in third place, gave Elsey a ride back to weigh-in.

“I think everything worked out for the good,” Elsey said. “I thank Cecil Wolfe for coming and getting me, because he lost an hour of fishing time to help me.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:          Gary Elsey, Moncks Corner, S.C., five bass, 26-10, $2,960
2nd:        Matthew Gunn, Savannah, Ga., five bass, 26-0, $1,600
3rd:         Cecil Wolfe, Summerton, S.C., five bass, 25-15, $770
4th:         Ronnie McCoy, Lamar, S.C., five bass, 25-8, $585
4th:         Wade Grooms, Bonneau, S.C., five bass, 25-8, $585
6th:         T.J. McKenzie, Georgetown, S.C., five bass, 23-5, $680
7th:         Michael Craven, Walterboro, S.C., five bass, 22-4, $460
8th:         Wendell Causey Jr., Irmo, S.C., five bass, 21-5, $440
9th:         Mark Hutson, Moncks Corner, S.C., five bass, 20-10, $420
10th:       J.W. Smith, Goose Creek, S.C., five bass, 19-14, $410

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

T.J. McKenzie of Georgetown, South Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 7-pound, 15-ounce bass worth $200.

Jason Ries of Columbia, South Carolina, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,480 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 10 pounds, 15 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:          Jason Ries, Columbia, S.C., three bass, 10-15, $1,480
2nd:        Rob Burris, Lexington, S.C., three bass, 10-5, $800
3rd:         Danny Bickley, Chapin, S.C., two bass, 9-14, $485
4th:         Davy Goodman, Sumter, S.C., three bass, 9-7, $292
4th:         Rashaun Wilson, Charlotte, N.C., three bass, 9-7, $292
6th:         Jack Hoy, Hollywood, S.C., three bass, 8-8, $240
7th:         Tommy Bennett, Columbia, S.C., three bass, 8-4, $230
8th:         Travis Ruff, Connelly Springs, N.C., three bass, 7-12, $220
9th:         Thomas Pennell III, Boiling Springs, S.C, three bass, 7-11, $210
10th:       Mack Martin, Clinton, S.C., three bass, 7-5, $205

Danny Bickley of Chapin, South Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass worth $100.

After two events, Chad Sims of Lancaster, South Carolina, now leads the 7 Brew South Carolina Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 477 points, while Jason Ries of Columbia, South Carolina, leads the South Carolina Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 498 points.

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. 8-10 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Alabama. 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 prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500.

The 2026 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 co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2026 BFL All-American will take place May 28-30, at Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, and is hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism.

Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PirahnO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular BFL 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, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, 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.