Louisiana’s Saucier Earns Title in Co-Angler Division

BROOKELAND, Texas (Sept. 14, 2026) – Boater Kaden Mueck of Livingston, Texas, caught a total of 10 bass weighing 49 pounds, 14 ounces, over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. The tournament, hosted by Jasper County Development District, was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Cowboy Division. Mueck earned $11,450, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF bonus, for his victory.

Mueck’s strategy for the tournament was straightforward – just keep it simple.

“I had one main area that I was relying on, and I actually caught 10 fish out of that one 200-yard stretch,” Mueck said. “I had some other things for backups, but nothing was as good as what I had in that main area. So, I just ran with that.

“The lake’s fishing really tough right now, especially without (Garmin) LiveScope,” Mueck went on to say. “I really couldn’t figure anything out in my no-’Scope period. So, I just relied on that one area both days, and it paid off.”

Mueck’s area was located between Black Forest and Caney Flats, two well-known, highly fished areas on Rayburn. The area was 8 to 10 feet deep – 14 at the deepest – and Mueck attacked it with a jig-head minnow. He rotated 7-inch minnows between a Rapala Crush City Freeloader and a Deps Sakamata Shad. Mueck said his bite was strictly bait oriented, as gizzard shad were bunching up and bass were actively feeding on the shad where he was fishing.

On the first day of the tournament Mueck said the bait were already there when he arrived and bass were “going crazy.” Mueck had 27 pounds in the boat after 15 minutes of fishing.

“I was pretty scared Sunday morning when I pulled up and there was no bait,” Mueck said. “I fished through there one pass and didn’t see much, so I turned around to make another pass just to keep it honest. And an hour and a half into the day the bait showed up and the fish showed up. Then I had about 23 pounds in 15 or 20 minutes.”

Despite the quick limits Mueck said he had doubts about his chances of winning the event.

“Those Mercer boys are really, really stout on this pond,” Mueck said. “I fished against them all year long, and I had no idea what they were on here. One was ahead of me and one just behind me after the first day, and I figured one of them would have a big bag, but they ended up struggling just a bit. They had me pretty scared all day.

“This feels good,” Mueck went on to say. “I love the BFLs. I like the three-hour ’Scope rule, as well. It keeps you on your toes. They’re just great tournaments.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:          Kaden Mueck, Livingston, Texas, 10 bass, 49-14, $11,450 (includes $7,000 Phoenix bonus)
2nd:        Wyatt Frankens, Corrigan, Texas, 10 bass, 39-2, $2,260
3rd:         Haydan Marshall, Quitman, Texas, 10 bass, 39-0, $1,160
4th:         Brayden Mercer, Huntington, Texas, eight bass, 36-8, $940
5th:         Ben Burns, Lucas, Texas, 10 bass, 36-4, $800
6th:         Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, 10 bass, 35-10, $760
7th:         Logan Beverung, Brookeland, Texas, nine bass, 33-13, $720
8th:         Hut Reeves, Tyler, Texas, 10 bass, 33-9, $990
9th:         Jaden Parrish, Liberty, Texas, 10 bass, 30-6, $650
10th:       Layne Mercer, Caldwell, Texas, six bass, 27-5, $610

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Hut Reeves of Tyler, Texas, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 10-pound, 9-ounce bass worth $300.

Charlie Saucier of Marrero, Louisiana, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $2,225 Sunday after bringing six bass to the scale that totaled 15 pounds, 14 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:          Charlie Saucier, Marrero, La., six bass, 15-14, $2,225
2nd:        Seth Warbritton, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 12-15, $1,130
3rd:         Jacob Smith, Frisco, Texas, six bass, 10-13, $580
4th:         Darrell Denton, Georgetown, Texas, six bass, 10-3, $470
5th:         Tyrell Harmon, Hermitage, Tenn., four bass, 9-15, $400
6th:         Floyd Frankens, Corrigan, Texas, four bass, 9-9, $380
7th:         Richard Garcia, Hemphill, Texas, three bass, 9-4, $510
8th:         Robert Cruse, Lumberton, Texas, six bass, 9-2, $345
9th:         Clarence Schwarz, Lindale, Texas, four bass, 9-0, $330
10th:       Tacorrie Johnson, Royse City, Texas, three bass, 8-4, $305

Richard Garcia of Hemphill, Texas, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 12-ounce bass worth $150.

With all five events in the division now complete, boater Wyatt Frankens of Corrigan, Texas, won the 7 Brew Cowboy Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,350 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Jacob Smith of Frisco, Texas, won the Cowboy Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,258 points and earned the $500 payout.

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. 22-24 BFL Regional tournament on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top 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 2027 BFL All-American will take place June 5-7, at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida, and is hosted by Experience Kissimmee.

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 Nicotine Pouches, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, 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, 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.