Inman’s Huntley Wins Co-Angler Division

APPLING, Ga. (June 15, 2026) – Boater William Bates of Alpharetta, Georgia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 5 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Clarks Hill Lake . The tournament, hosted by Visit Columbia County Georgia, was the fourth of five events of the season for the BFL South Carolina Division. Bates earned $9,510 for his victory, including the lucrative MLF Phoenix contingency bonus.

Bates said he entered the event looking for a rebound after a disappointing final day at the All-American just three weeks ago, and Clarks Hill Lake gave him the opportunity to do just that. His original plan was to save his allotted forward-facing sonar time for later in the day when the wind was forecast to increase, but conditions changed that strategy almost immediately.

“I was kind of running around a little bit in the morning, and I was like, ‘Man, the wind’s blowing a little harder than I thought it was,’” Bates said. “So I turned on my (Humminbird)MEGA Live 2 probably about 7 o’clock, and by about 8:15, I had a limit of 3-pounders.”

Bates estimated that he caught around eight fish during that early stretch, including three keepers around the 3-pound mark and two others that went about 2 pounds apiece. He targeted brush-pile fish with a chrome IMA Skimmer, then shut off his sonar and shifted shallow for the rest of the day. Once shallow, Bates used his Minn Kota Raptors to hold position and pick apart bream beds with a SPRO Bronzeye Frog in a bluegill color.

The shallow bite didn’t produce many fish, but it produced the right ones. Bates said he only caught three bass while fishing shallow, but all three were big, and they ultimately proved to be the difference in his 3-ounce victory. He also credited his co-angler, Reed McClinton, for several key net jobs that helped seal the win.

“Reed made some of the most amazing net jobs I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Bates said. “I’m completely serious – on his belly, sprawled out, fully extended, scooping fish up that I wouldn’t have landed otherwise. I wish we would have had a GoPro on him. He was awesome.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        William Bates, Alpharetta, Ga., five bass, 18-5, $9,510 (includes $7,000 Phoenix Bonus)
2nd:      Jason Burroughs, Hodges, S.C., five bass, 18-2, $1,400
3rd:       Joey Phegley, Graniteville, S.C., five bass, 16-0, $670
3rd:       Darren Ashley, Calhoun Falls, S.C., five bass, 15-12, $550
5th:        Riley Nuessle, Aiken, S.C., five bass, 15-2, $490
6th:        Joshua Rockefeller, Harlem, Ga., five bass, 14-10, $625
6th:        Logan Buttolph, Doswell, Va., five bass, 14-10, $425
8th:        Hampton Rowland, Appling, Ga., five bass, 14-8, $410
9th:        Kyle Brown, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 14-5, $385
9th:        Mitchell Wheeler, Jasper, Ga., five bass, 14-5, $385

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Joshua Rockefeller of Harlem, Georgia, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass worth $200.

Todd Huntley of Inman, South Carolina, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,255 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 10 pounds, 12 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Todd Huntley, Inman, S.C., three bass, 10-12, $1,255
2nd:      Joe Smith, Sardis, Ga., three bass, 10-10, $725
3rd:       Carter Jefferies, Charleston, S.C., three bass, 9-3, $335
4th:        Jerry Neuner, Rutherfordton, N.C., three bass, 8-13, $275
5th:        Mark Garrett, Lyman, S.C., three bass, 8-0, $245
6th:        Trevor Huneycutt, Whitmire, S.C., three bass, 7-13, $215
7th:        Michael Smith, Belton, S.C., three bass, 7-9, $210
8th:        Kate Hough, Prosperity, S.C., three bass, 7-7, $205
9th:        Thomas Pennell III, Boiling Springs, S.C., three bass, 7-3, $200
10th:     Mark Schumacher, Cumming, Ga., three bass, 6-12, $190

Joe Smith of Sardis, Georgia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass worth $100.

After four events, Logan Buttolph of Doswell, Virginia, now leads the 7 Brew South Carolina Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 960 points, while Todd Huntley of Inman, South Carolina, leads the South Carolina Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 973 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.

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, 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.