AnglersChannel

Little Rock’s Hawkins Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Lake Hamilton

Searcy’s Warden Tops Co-Angler Division

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (March 17, 2025) – Boater Chip Hawkins of Little Rock, Arkansas, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 12 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Hamilton . The tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Arkie Division. Hawkins earned $11,000, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

Even with all the advanced electronics and new, high-end tackle out there for bass anglers, there are some simple, old-school fishing adages that still hold true – and can still lead to winning stringers.

“My whole life, people have always told me, when it starts raining throw a spinnerbait, and I’ve always done it,” said Hawkins. “And I’ve actually had some of my best tournaments doing it.”

It worked on Saturday at Lake Hamilton. Hawkins caught his winning fish on a BOOYAH spinnerbait with an orange kicker blade. Hawkins was expecting to find fish moving up to get ready to spawn, so in practice he hunted for pockets with the warmest water – areas closer to 60 degrees. While his practice was pretty terrible – in his words – those pockets ended up being where he caught his fish.

“This morning it was raining and cloudy, and so I just picked up a spinnerbait and started running shallow pockets,” he said. “Until it quit raining around 11:30 or 12. Then it was pretty much over.

“I think I was just fishing shallower than most people, to be honest,” Hawkins added. “I was fishing 2 feet of water, where everybody else was still fishing points.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Chip Hawkins, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 18-12, $11,000 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:       Kevin Brown, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 16-8, $2,000
3rd:       Eugene Moore III, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 14-13, $1,334
4th:        Jackson Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 14-11, $933
5th:        Brady Horton, Clinton, Ark., five bass, 14-9, $800
6th:        Russell Richmond, Sheridan, Ark., five bass, 14-7, $1,273
7th:        Allen Stewart, North Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 14-5, $633
7th:        Cody McEntire, Walnut Ridge, Ark., five bass, 14-5, $633
9th:        Chris Darby, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 14-2, $533
10th:     Kollin Crawford, Broken Bow, Okla., five bass, 13-15, $467

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Russel Richmond of Sheridan, Arkansas, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 10 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $540.

Rocky Warden of Searcy, Arkansas, won the co-angler division and $2,270 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 9 pounds, 13 ounces.

The top 11 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Rocky Warden, Searcy, Ark., three bass, 9-13, $2,270
2nd:       Benjamin Russell, Saint Robert, Mo., three bass, 9-8, $1,000
3rd:       Michael Brown, Arkadelphia, Ark., three bass, 9-5, $666
4th:        Tommy McCullar, Benton, Ark., three bass, 8-4, $467
5th:        Dale Clark, Malvern, Ark., three bass, 7-15, $400
6th:        Jody Jones, Harvey, Ark., three bass, 7-14, $367
7th:        Keagan Harrison, Sulphur Rock, Ark., three bass, 7-13, $333
8th:        Aaron Calvert, Russellville, Ark., three bass, 7-11, $300
9th:        Reagan Brown, Hot Springs, Ark., three bass, 7-10, $236
9th:        Zachary Morrow, Lonsdale, Ark., three bass, 7-10, $236
9th:        Trenton Williams, Alma, Ark., three bass, 7-10, $236

Warden also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $270, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 4 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

In addition to winning the event, Chip Hawkins of Little Rock, Arkansas, has the early lead in the Fishing Clash Arkie Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 250 points, while Rocky Warden of Searcy, Arkansas, leads the Fishing Clash Arkie Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 250 points.

The next event for BFL Arkie Division anglers will be held April 12, at Lake Ouachita out of Royal, Arkansas. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 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. 24-25 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 award of $20,000.

The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sports Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

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.

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 Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network 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.

by AnglersChannel

South Carolina’s Mitchell Robinson Earns First Major Win at Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 2 on Lake Hartwell Presented by Suzuki Marine

Landrum, South Carolina pro catches final day limit weighing 17-5 on Championship Sunday to earn $115,000 top prize

ANDERSON, S.C. (March 16, 2025) – The final day of Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 2 Presented by Suzuki Marine on Lake Hartwell turned out to be a classic. Big spotted bass and largemouth hit the scales left and right, and the event went down the wire, as all the leaders struggled to put it away.

Going out with the lead, Dustin Smith weighed an even 13 pounds on the final day for a 53-11 total, which was not quite enough to hold off young Mitchell Robinson . Starting the day in second, Robinson never caught more than 20 pounds any day of the week, but he managed to scrape up 17-5 on Day 3 for a 53-13 total to earn his first win above the high school level. For the win, Robinson takes home the trophy plus $115,000, which is a lot of money to win at 19 years old.

In July 2023, Robinson and partner Cody Abbott won the Bassmaster High School National Championship at Lake Hartwell – at the time, it was the culmination of years fishing Hartwell and Keowee, the home lakes for the Robinson family. Robinson and Abbott split $5,000 in scholarship money in that one – not insignificant, but maybe not a huge factor for someone diving headlong into the family plumbing and fishing businesses.

This week, Robinson made some real money, combining knowledge he learned fishing with family and top-tier skills with forward-facing sonar. His best days, Day 1 and Day 3, Robinson was allowed full use of forward-facing sonar, and he ran a pattern that relied on moving fast and looking for fish off the beaten path.

“Those fish have always been there, but they've never been fished for,” said Robinson. “So, now with LiveScope, you can target them, because these fish are a cast off the bank. They're under people's boats. It's probably the fish they used to see on 2D. So, that little ‘Scope pattern panned out really good for me.”

Keeping the trolling motor moving, Robinson scanned banks that might not look like much but had the right characteristics for him.

“These banks are either sand, clay or pea gravel – any sort of flatter bank, but not like a big, long flat,” he explained. “A lot of times it is just it's a little flat, but then it has a drop or a ditch running by it. And transitions, too: If you see some rock and then it switches to sand real quick and then back to rock.

“You want something for them to ease up there and just cruise around and eat. That's about all they're doing is feeding. I think it's the same fish you see cruising down the bank that you try to catch. There's a group that cruises shallower and then a little deeper and a little deeper. I think that's all these fish do on this lake.”

The beauty of the mid-depth cruisers is that Robinson could catch them at a much higher rate than he could have on the bank. Though they’re not hidden anymore, Robinson still thinks that they’re more willing to bite.

“When they see your boat, you’re done with the ones way up shallow. They're already skittish to be up there because they know they can be seen by everything,” he said. “But these I'm fishing for, they know they're a little hidden.”

Putting his boat in about 10 feet of water, Robinson panned to each side, looking as deep at 20 to 25 feet and as shallow as he can see. He likes to run his forward range at about 80 feet, his color gain at 55 and his gain at 70.

Today, because of the pollen washed in from overnight rains, he ran his noise reject on medium.

Pollen is often the bane of forward-facing sonar, and really one of the few environmental conditions outside of wind that can slow the experts down. It looked for a bit like it might end Robinson’s comeback bid.

“The pollen and the wind ruined my entire area where I caught 20 pound of spots Day 1,” said Robinson. “So, I went back today and I got one bite. It was a good one, but literally one bite there, and it kinda spun me out a little bit.”

To catch his fish, Robinson used the same things that have been working for spotted bass for years – a shaky head and a Neko rig.

For both, he used a 5-inch Yamamoto Senko, putting it on a light shaky head or using a 1/16-ounce nail weight. The key for both baits was to go light, so he could keep it out of the low and sticky grass and moss growing on the bottom. For his shaky head, he used a 7-foot, 2-inch, medium Phenix M1, and he used a 7-1, medium-light Phenix K2 Torzite for his Neko.

On Day 2, fishing without forward-facing sonar, Robinson used the shaky head to catch two big fish from a little bridge – no ‘Scope needed. Even with ‘Scope, the fishing wasn’t point and shoot – according to Robinson, even the easier ones he’s targeting aren’t easy.

“I think I've seen five bass for 30 to 35 pounds a day on ‘Scope,” said Robinson. “That big one had 25 or 30 with him, and most of them were the same size. To show you how finicky they are, seven or eight went down. ‘Donk.’ I set the hook. Nothing. ‘Donk.’ He drops it. And then ‘donk,’ he swims off with it, and then I get that 5 1/4. You know he don't have no trouble sucking that 5-inch Senko in, so they just don't want to bite.”

Of course, if you give yourself enough opportunities and convert at an above average rate, you can overcome a finicky bite.

With father Marty and older brother Marshall fishing on the Bass Pro Tour , Mitchell looks to be on track to join the duo in short order. That’s a goal for the future – in the present, the youngest Robinson got the job done on the home pond again.

“Winning here might be a little less impressive than winning somewhere else, but it definitely feels the best winning on the home pond,” said Robinson. “I put in a lot of time here, so I think winning here is probably the best feeling ever.”

Based on the reaction of the crowd of friends and family at weigh-in, he’s probably right.

The top 30 pros at the Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 2 on Lake Hartwell Presented by Suzuki Marine finished:

1st:         Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 15 bass, 53-13, $115,000 (includes $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus)
2nd:        Dustin Smith, Trussville, Ala., 15 bass, 53-11, $30,000
3rd:         Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, 15 bass, 51-13, $20,000
4th:         Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 15 bass, 51-7, $18,000
5th:         Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 15 bass, 50-7, $17,000
6th:         Jayme Rampey, Liberty, S.C., 15 bass, 50-0, $16,000
7th:         Kyle Cortiana, Broken Arrow, Okla., 15 bass, 49-13, $15,000
8th:         Ken Thompson, Roaring Springs, Penn., 15 bass, 49-8, $14,000
9th:        Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 15 bass, 49-1, $13,000
10th:       Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., 15 bass, 48-15, $12,000
11th:       Levi Thibodaux, Thibodaux, La., 15 bass, 47-8, $10,000
12th:       Jack Daniel Williams, Kingsport, Tenn., 15 bass, 47-2, $10,000
13th:       Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, 15 bass, 47-1, $10,000
14th:       Emil Wagner, Marietta, Ga., 15 bass, 47-0, $10,000
15th:       Lucas Black, Saint Simons Island, Ga., 15 bass, 46-11, $10,000
16th:       Joseph Webster, Hamilton, Ala., 15 bass, 45-9, $10,000
17th:       Hayden Marbut, Birmingham, Ala., 15 bass, 45-7, $10,000
18th:       Joshua Weaver, Macon, Ga., 15 bass, 45-6, $10,000
19th:       Cole Breeden, Lebanon, Mo., 15 bass, 45-5, $10,000
20th:       Flint Davis, Leesburg, Ga., 15 bass, 45-4, $10,000
21st:       Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., 15 bass, 44-12, $9,500
22nd:      Ethan Greene, Eufaula, Ala., 15 bass, 44-2, $9,000
23rd:      Kelly Jordon, Flint, Texas, 15 bass, 43-8, $9,000
24th:      Alex Bradley, Wellford, S.C., 15 bass, 43-4, $9,000
25th:      Austin Swindle, Parrish, Ala., 15 bass, 42-13, $9,000
26th:      Gary Adkins, Green Bay, Wis., 15 bass, 42-1, $9,000
27th:      Samuel Fish, Chelsea, Ala., 15 bass, 41-15, $9,000
28th:      Boyd Duckett, Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 41-1, $9,000
29th:      Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn., 15 bass, 40-7, $9,000
30th:      Donnie Davis, Greer, S.C., 15 bass, 40-0, $9,000

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

Overall, there were 150 bass weighing 459 pounds, 13 ounces caught by the final 30 pros on Sunday. The catch included 30 five-bass limits.

The three-day tournament, hosted by Visit Anderson, featured pro anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000 and valuable points to qualify for the 2025 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship in September. The full field of anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 30 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, advanced to the final round on Championship Sunday, where they competed for the grand prize of up to $115,000.

Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 2 at Lake Hartwell Presented by Suzuki Marine will air as a two-hour episode, premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 11 on CBS Sports Network.

The next event on the schedule for 2025 is the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 3 at Lewis Smith Lake Presented by Phoenix Boats, set for April 15-17 in Cullman, Alabama.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Bubba, Deep Dive App, E3 Sports Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Tackle Warehouse Invitationals updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 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 Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network 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.

by AnglersChannel

Alabama’s Dustin Smith Jumps to Day 2 Lead at Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 2 on Lake Hartwell Presented by Suzuki Marine

Trussville, Alabama pro paces field into Championship Sunday with 4-pound, 3-ounce lead

ANDERSON, S.C. (March 15, 2025) – The Major League Fishing (MLF) Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 2 Presented by Suzuki Marine on Lake Hartwell is turning out to be just as interesting as predicted. Through two days, Dustin Smith has the lead, having added 18 pounds, 8 ounces today for a 40-11 total.

Smith, of course, is operating with no forward-facing sonar entirely, running a shallow-heavy game plan. So, the new Invitationals format, which doesn’t allow anglers to use the technology on Day 2, didn’t impact him. More than 4 pounds behind Smith, Mitchell Robinson and Marshall Robinson have combined superlative ‘Scope days with local knowledge to hang right in it. Jayme Rampey dropped from the lead to fourth with a slower day, while Jack Daniel Williams rocketed up from 37th to fifth with 19-3.

Mixed into the Top 10, there are anglers catching big bags on Carolina rigs (aptly named apparently), crankbaits, wacky rigs, jerkbaits, buzzbaits and about anything else you can think of. Multiple anglers caught bass on beds today, the big largemouth are playing and there’s a significant weather front rolling into the area overnight, which will delay the start of competition by one hour. So, we’ll see what happens on the final day – it’s bound to be interesting.

Running shallow, dirty water, Smith brought a few pretty small fish to weigh-in, but he captured a few key fish as well. Starting where he fished on Day 1, he adapted his way into the lead.

“I got a lot less bites today,” said Smith. “I wasn't sure if my area was shot, or if I was just waiting for them to bite. And I think more I just kind of caught them all yesterday. So, I bailed on that and just went and ran all new water and found some pretty good stuff. I got that big one on the buzzbait, man, that was sick.”

Then, fishing a dock near weigh-in with minutes to go, Smith connected with another big fish.

“I got it in the net, scooped it up, threw a fish out, threw him in, and just took off running,” said Smith. “Like, I'd never ever had that happen.”

Though Smith had a great day, and produced some highlights on MLFNOW!, he knows he’s not running back out to a guaranteed motherlode on Day 3. Between the prospect of storms with heavy rain and shallow fish that seem to be a little limited, he’s cautious.

“In that new area, I think I only had four bites,” he said. “I mean, even if you find a good area, you're not going in there and getting 15 bites. It's so hard to run new water because you don't know if there aren’t any fish in there or if there are just a couple in there. And the rain and stuff that's coming through, I mean, this could totally ruin my life. If we get a warm rain tonight, and you could find some warm water run ins, you could get right very quickly, or it could just kill them. It's going to be one or the other.”

Smith has had some pretty close calls at the Toyota Series level, and he won the Southeastern Division AOY in 2020, but he’s still lacking a big tournament win. Tomorrow, he’ll be going out with the lead and in a position to put $115,000 in his pocket.

“It's so hard to get into contention to win one of these, as you know,” said Smith. “But I had a 1-12 in my bag, and I lost two pretty good ones today. Man, if I had just a 2-pound cull, it would have got me over 20 two days in a row. I have had some close calls, and one or two lost fish is the difference between winning one and taking, you know, third or something like that. So, it would be incredible.”

Marty Robinson missed the Top 30 cut by a literal ounce, but there’s a good chance he’ll still be at weigh-in tomorrow. Both Mitchell (the younger brother in his second year on the Invitationals) and Marshall (slightly older and a sophomore on the Bass Pro Tour) are firmly in the hunt.

“I tried to start out on the main lake and throw a crankbait and a swimbait and get me a limit, but that didn't really pan out like I thought it would,” said Mitchell. “But I did catch two small ones. So, I ran to a little bridge that I always fished growing up, and it's usually decent for one good one. But we actually caught a limit in there – a small limit – and then we actually caught two good ones. So, that kind of set my day up for success.”

Splitting their time between Hartwell and Keowee, both Robinsons have grown up fishing the lake and banked on local knowledge with no forward-facing sonar at their disposal on Day 2.

“I spent most of my practice ‘Scoping,” said Marshall. “I didn't really care about the no-‘Scope day because I knew I was going to probably just fish like I always do – a little bit of cranking, a little bit of dock fishing – and I knew what areas I was going to fish. The places I caught them in the past, the fish usually use the same general areas year after year in the spring.”

Today, both Robinsons ran almost entirely different water than they did on Day 1, but they’ll need to pull out all the stops tomorrow.

“The ceiling really isn't there right now,” said Marshall. “It usually is, and it's usually about 20 pounds, 21 pounds. But right now, for some reason, there's some big largemouth biting. So, a guy could definitely bust 22-plus. I think for me, if I could get around that 19-pound mark I had on Day 1, man, I'd feel good about my chances.”

Mitchell and Marshall will obviously both turn their transducers back on tomorrow, but the forecasted wind won’t make it easy on the pair.

“If we were having just semi-light winds, I'd feel like I have about an 80% chance at it, but the wind is going to make it tough,” said Mitchell. “I’ve got plenty of ways I can catch them in it, but it's mainly like 14- to 17-pound patterns. It's hard to get that big bag doing those type of patterns. I'm going to try to ‘Scope, of course, use my eyes again. If I can get it around five of them, the good thing about that wind is I think it's going to make them bite a whole lot better.”

For both, a win on the home front would be super cool.

“I'd rather win here than anywhere else, because I’ve got all my friends and family supporting me,” said Marshall. “I had a good group today; a big group came out to watch weigh-in. And, man, if me or my brother, either one of us, if we could get the win here, it'd be pretty special.”

Only the top 30 competitors, based on their two-day cumulative weight, now advance to Championship Sunday. The three-day tournament, hosted by Visit Anderson, features pro anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000 and valuable points to qualify for the 2025 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship in September.

The top 30 pros advancing to the final day of competition on Lake Hartwell are:

1st:         Dustin Smith, Trussville, Ala., 10 bass, 40-11
2nd:       Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 10 bass, 36-8
3rd:        Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 10 bass, 35-14
4th:        Jayme Rampey, Liberty, S.C., 10 bass, 35-13
5th:        Jack Daniel Williams, Kingsport, Tenn., 10 bass, 33-8
6th:        Flint Davis, Leesburg, Ga., 10 bass, 33-5
7th:        Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., 10 bass, 32-13
8th:        Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, 10 bass, 32-8
9th:       Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 10 bass, 32-6
10th:      Gary Adkins, Green Bay, Wis., 10 bass, 32-4
11th:      Emil Wagner, Marietta, Ga., 10 bass, 32-0
12th:      Joseph Webster, Hamilton, Ala., 10 bass, 31-0
13th:      Cole Breeden, Lebanon, Mo., 10 bass, 30-15
14th:      Ken Thompson, Roaring Springs, Penn., 10 bass, 30-15
15th:      Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 10 bass, 30-6
16th:      Lucas Black, Saint Simons Island, Ga., 10 bass, 30-5
17th:      Kelly Jordon, Flint, Texas, 10 bass, 29-14
18th:      Kyle Cortiana, Broken Arrow, Okla., 10 bass, 29-12
19th:      Levi Thibodaux, Thibodaux, La., 10 bass, 29-7
20th:      Joshua Weaver, Macon, Ga., 10 bass, 29-6
21st:       Ethan Greene, Eufaula, Ala., 10 bass, 29-5
22nd:     Samuel Fish, Chelsea, Ala., 10 bass, 29-5
23rd:      Austin Swindle, Parrish, Ala., 10 bass, 29-0
24th:      Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, 10 bass, 28-14
25th:      Alex Bradley, Wellford, S.C., 10 bass, 28-11
26th:      Donnie Davis, Greer, S.C., 10 bass, 28-9
27th:      Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn., 10 bass, 28-6
28th:      Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., 10 bass, 27-14
29th:      Hayden Marbut, Birmingham, Ala., 10 bass, 27-12
30th:      Boyd Duckett, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 27-9

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

Dylan Mayo of Athens, Texas, earned Saturday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award with a bass that weighed in at 6 pounds, 4 ounces.

In Tackle Warehouse Invitationals competition, the full field competed in the two-day opening round on Days 1 and 2 in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 30 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, now advance to the final round on Championship Sunday, where they will compete for the grand prize of up to $115,000. The winner of the Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 2 at Lake Hartwell Presented by Suzuki Marine will be determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative weight.

Due to severe weather in tomorrow’s forecast, Day 3 takeoff has been delayed by one hour. Anglers will launch at 8:30 a.m. ET Sunday from Green Pond Landing, located at 470 Green Pond Road in Anderson, South Carolina. Weigh-ins will be held at the landing and will begin at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and weigh-in events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW! live stream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and Rob Newell will break down the extended action live on Championship Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 2 at Lake Hartwell Presented by Suzuki Marine will air as a two-hour episode, premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 11 on CBS Sports Network.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Bubba, Deep Dive App, E3 Sports Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Tackle Warehouse Invitationals updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 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 Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network 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.

by AnglersChannel

Rutledge’s Gordon Catches Last-Second Fish to Win Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at South Holston Reservoir

Kingsport’s Blakely Tops Co-Angler Division

BRISTOL, Tenn. (March 10, 2025) – Boater Jeremy Gordon of Rutledge, Tennessee, caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on South Holston Reservoir. The tournament was the second event of the season for the BFL Volunteer Division. Gordon earned $3,255 for his victory.

“It started off decent,” Gordon said. “I caught like 17 1/2 pounds fairly quick. Then we had a little front come in, the clouds kind of rolled in and the wind started blowing out of the north-northeast. The bite got pretty tough after like 9 o’clock.”

The front also forced Gordon to make a strategy change. In practice, he was catching one or two quality largemouth bass each day, and his hope was to land a couple 5-pound-class largemouths as kickers. In the tournament, however, he spent a couple fruitless hours running that program before abandoning ship and shifting back to his smallmouth areas.

Around 2 p.m., he did get a break, catching a 4-pounder. Then the wind died down and the sun started shining, which turned on the bite and led to a wild moment that gave Gordon the win by just 2 ounces.

“They started doing what I needed them to do,” Gordon said. “I caught a couple key fish toward the end. Then I caught a 4 1/2-pounder with literally my last cast. I barely made it in (to check-in). It was crazy. I’ve fished a lot of tournaments – Toyotas, Invitationals, local stuff – and I’ve never won a tournament like that on the last cast.”

Gordon caught all his fish around schools of bait near spawning areas. The smallmouth bass are staging up, and he took advantage of it, using forward-facing sonar and a jighead minnow to get five of the right bites.

“It’s my first BFL win,” he added. “I’ve been close in some Toyotas. I mostly fish the Toyotas but decided to get in the Volunteer Division. To get an early win like this, it’s exciting.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Jeremy Gordon, Rutledge, Tenn., five bass, 20-5, $3,255
2nd:      Bryce McDonald, Paintsville, Ky., five bass, 20-3, $1,628
3rd:       Corey Neece, Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 19-9, $1,584 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th:        Greg McDavid, Blountville, Tenn., five bass, 19-7, $760
5th:        Donavan Carson, Bluff City, Tenn., five bass, 19-6, $651
6th:        Michael Morrison, Stamping Ground, Ky., five bass, 18-12, $722
7th:        Jake Cross, Byrdstown, Tenn., five bass, 18-9, $543
8th:        Josh Lee, Powell, Tenn., five bass, 18-7, $461
8th:        Jason Bridwell, Blountville, Tenn., five bass, 18-7, $461
10th:     Gavin Daniels, Kingston, Tenn., five bass, 18-3, $780

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Gavin Daniels of Kingston, Tennessee, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $400.

T.J. Blakely of Kingsport, Tennessee, won the co-angler division and $1,628 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 9 pounds, 4 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        T.J. Blakely, Kingsport, Tenn., three bass, 9-4, $1,628
2nd:      Brady Field, Gallatin, Tenn., three bass, 9-0, $1,014
3rd:       Daniel Perkins, Honaker, Va., two bass, 8-10, $542
4th:        Kirk Miles, Crossville, Tenn., three bass, 8-9, $353
4th:        Konnor Sweet, Abingdon, Va., three bass, 8-9, $353
6th:        Jake Davis, Wartburg, Tenn., three bass, 8-5, $298
7th:        David Mundy, Dandridge, Tenn., three bass, 7-11, $271
8th:        Aaron Webb, Kingsport, Tenn., three bass, 7-10, $244
9th:        Isaac Mueller, Knoxville, Tenn., three bass, 7-4, $217
10th:     Shane Winebarger, Abingdon, Va., three bass, 7-1, $190

Brady Field of Gallatin, Tennessee, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $200, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 7 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After two events, Corey Neece of Bristol, Tennessee, now leads the Fishing Clash Volunteer Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 498 points, while Konnor Sweet of Abingdon, Virginia, leads the Fishing Clash Volunteer Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 485 points.

The next event for BFL Volunteer Division anglers will be held March 29, at South Holston Reservoir in Bristol, Tennessee. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 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. 24-25 BFL Regional tournament on Dale Hollow Lake in Byrdstown, Tennessee. 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 award of $20,000.

The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sports Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

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.

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 Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network 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.

by AnglersChannel

Auburndale’s Maxwell Posts First Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Lake Toho

Sanford’s Westhelle Tops Co-Angler Division

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (March 10, 2025) – Boater Christopher Maxwell of Auburndale, Florida, caught a five-bass limit weighing 23 pounds, 15 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Toho. The tournament, hosted by Experience Kissimmee, was the second event of the season for the BFL Gator Division. Maxwell earned $4,541 for his victory.

A Toho local, Maxwell has been on the water a lot lately, including for another tournament last weekend, when he weighed in about 17 pounds.

“I didn’t get a big bite (in that tournament),” he said, “but I just did pretty much the same thing today. I had a little bit of a crowd today. I just fished around them and did the same thing. I got the lucky bites today. That’s all I can say.”

Maxwell spent the tournament fishing in Toho’s southern end. He fished pads and grass, intercepting postspawn fish as they left the beds before transitioning to deeper water. He caught his limit pitching a black and blue Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver.

“I didn’t catch many fish. I caught seven today,” Maxwell said. “They were just the right ones. I just stuck with what I was doing and moved slow because all the boats were coming around, and I just didn’t let myself get aggravated with it.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Christopher Maxwell, Auburndale, Fla., five bass, 23-15, $4,541
2nd:      George Kapiton, Inverness, Fla., five bass, 20-11, $2,270
3rd:       Connor Macdougall, Cape Coral, Fla., five bass, 20-6, $1,514
4th:        Chris Crow, Lake Placid, Fla., five bass, 18-10, $1,560 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
5th:        Fred Chivington Jr., San Mateo, Fla., five bass, 18-9, $1,530
5th:        Austin Chism, Auburndale, Fla., five bass, 18-9, $870
7th:        Dylan Quilatan Windermere, Fla., five bass, 18-5, $757
8th:        John Kremer, Orange City, Fla., five bass, 17-9, $681
9th:        Cedric Perry, Trenton, Fla., five bass, 16-11, $605
10th:     Anthony Cilladi, Oviedo, Fla., five bass, 15-14, $530

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Fred Chivington Jr. of San Mateo, Florida, caught a bass that weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $660.

Chris Westhelle of Sanford, Florida, won the co-angler division and $2,580 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 7 ounces.

The top 11 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Chris Westhelle, Sanford, Fla., three bass, 13-7, $2,580
2nd:      Zachary Bach, Bartow, Fla., three bass, 11-11, $1,127
3rd:       Leandro Saratt, Winter Garden, Fla., three bass, 11-1, $751
4th:        Brian Yusavage, Tamarac, Fla., three bass, 10-1, $488
4th:        Preston Williams, Tallahassee, Fla. three bass, 10-1, $488
6th:        Larry Austin, The Villages, Fla., three bass, 9-5, $413
7th:        Andrew Wiedmann, Titusville, Fla., three bass, 9-1, $376
8th:        Taylor Harris, Haines City, Fla., three bass, 8-13, $338
9th:        Robert Linthout, Cape Coral, Fla., three bass, 8-9, $300
10th:     Justin Hampton, Orlando, Fl., three bass, 8-6, $250
10th:     Kenneth Bivins, Orlando, Fla., three bass, 8-6, $250

Westhelle also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $327, catching a bass that weighed in at 9 pounds, 9 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After two events, Dylan Quilatan of Windermere, Florida, now leads the Fishing Clash Gator Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 493 points, while James Sponaugle of Auburndale, Florida, leads the Fishing Clash Gator Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 473 points.

The next event for BFL Gator Division anglers will be held March 22, at the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 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. 17-18 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, Georgia. 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 award of $20,000.

The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sports Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

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.

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 Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network 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.

by AnglersChannel

Oldfield’s Marler Earns Second Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Table Rock Lake

Fayetteville’s McKee Tops Co-Angler Division

KIMBERLING CITY, Mo. (March 10, 2025) – Boater Wyatt Marler of Oldfield, Missouri, caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 13 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Table Rock Lake . The tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Ozark Division. Marler earned $11,000, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

Marler rolled into the Table Rock tournament straight from a multi-day event on Kentucky Lake. With no practice, he just went fishing.

“I just drove around until I found some birds diving,” he said. “I caught them on a 6th Sense Provoke jerkbait and a Damiki rig.”

Marler used forward-facing sonar to bird dog a school of fish busting bait and wasted little time assembling a tournament-winning limit. He only ran that pattern for about an hour and a half before working a few brush piles to finish out his day.

“It was pretty gnarly this morning,” he said. “I caught three 5s in the same place. For two weeks not being out here, I’ll take it.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Wyatt Marler, Oldfield, Mo., five bass, 21-13, $11,000 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:      Travis Harriman, Huntsville, Ark., five bass, 19-8, $2,000
3th:        Jacob Wade, Mountain Grove, Mo., five bass, 19-2, $1,334
4th:        Jacob Christeson, Theodosia, Mo., five bass, 18-8, $933
5th:        Roger Fitzpatrick, Eldon, Mo., five bass, 18-1, $1,340
6th:        Eric Olliverson, Shell Knob, Mo., five bass, 17-14, $733
7th:        Ben McCord, Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, five bass, 17-13, $667
8th:        Jacob Bennett, Pea Ridge, Ark., five bass, 17-12, $600
9th:        Cody Huff, Ava, Mo., five bass, 17-9, $533
10th:     Derek Felton, Shell Knob, Mo., five bass, 17-0, $467

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Roger Fitzpatrick of Eldon, Missouri, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $541.

Travis McKee of Fayetteville, Arkansas, won the co-angler division and $2,000 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 13 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Travis McKee, Fayetteville, Ark., three bass, 8-13, $2,000
2nd:       Dalton Brake, Mountain View, Mo., three bass, 8-12, $1,000
3rd:       Loyd Davis, Cape Fair, Mo., three bass, 8-6, $666
4th:        Kirk Short, St. Clair, Mo., three bass, 8-4, $467
5th:        Brock Krohne, Belton, Mo., three bass, 7-12, $400
6th:        Khye Scoggins, Willard, Mo., three bass, 7-10, $350
6th:        Shay Hassell, Springfield, Mo., three bass, 7-10, $350
8th:        Bart Burford, Loose Creek, Mo., three bass, 7-8, $300
9th:        Rhett Hill, Fair Grove, Mo., three bass, 7-7, $250
9th:        Michael Adams, Springfield, Mo., two bass, 7-7, $250

Caleb Welch of Bolivar, Missouri, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $270, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 8 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

In addition to winning the tournament, Wyatt Marler of Oldfield, Missouri, has the early lead in the Fishing Clash Ozark Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 250 points, while Travis McKee of Fayetteville, Arkansas, leads the Fishing Clash Ozark Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 250 points.

The next event for BFL Ozark Division anglers will be held March 29, at Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 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. 10-11 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 award of $20,000.

The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sports Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

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.

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 Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network 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.

by AnglersChannel

College Angler Berlinsky Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Lake Chickamauga

Alabama’s Cook Tops Co-Angler Division

DAYTON, Tenn. (March 10, 2025) – Boater Tripp Berlinsky of St. Cloud, Florida, caught a five-bass limit weighing 32 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Chickamauga. The tournament was the second event of the season for the BFL Choo Choo Division. Berlinsky earned $3,794 for his victory.

As far as competitive fishing goes, Berlinsky stays pretty busy. He’s a member of the bass fishing team at the University of North Alabama. Plus, he competes in BFL and Toyota Series events. Spending all that time on the water paid off big time on Lake Chickamauga.

“I was planning on fishing the Toyota Series here on the 18th of March, and while I was practicing I was doing pretty good,” he said. “So I decided Thursday night to hop in the (BFL) tournament.”

He more than hopped. Berlinsky jumped in and immediately crushed a big bag of fish.

“It was the best day of my career,” he said. “In practice I just figured out that they were keying in on a certain area of current breaks on the main lake. I really just homed in on finding as many replicates of that as possible. In practice, I was catching some small ones, but Saturday I got in an area and I was just seeing a bunch of big ones. So I just hunkered down and hoped I could get five to bite, and I did.”

Using live sonar and an Alabama rig, Berlinsky went to town. He pulled in at 7:35 a.m. and caught a 4 1/2-pounder on his first cast. It got better from there. His first three keepers totaled about 12 pounds. Berlinsky followed up with a 10-pound, 2-ounce kicker. On the very next cast, he landed an 8-9.

“I had 32 pounds at 9 o’clock this morning,” he said.

After the morning flurry, Berlinsky caught a few more before leaving his primary area and bouncing around to a few other main-lake current breaks. He made a couple small culls to eventually get to his winning limit. Interestingly, Berlinsky estimates he saw about 300 bass on sonar during the day, adding to a memorable tournament all around.

“It was God’s doing for sure,” Berlinsky said. “He was looking out for me today.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Tripp Berlinsky, St. Cloud, Fla., five bass, 32-9, $3,794
2nd:      Broderick Luckey, Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 28-12, $1,897
3rd:       Jackson Rollins, Town Creek, Ala., five bass, 25-13, $1,265
4th:        John-Dalton Miller, Albertville, Ala., five bass, 22-11, $1,380
5th:        Kevin Drake, Cleveland, Tenn., five bass, 20-14, $1,259 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
6th:        Lake Johnson, Trinity, Ala., five bass, 20-12, $696
7th:        Scott Towry, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., five bass, 20-8, $632
8th:        Mike Lowry, Hixson, Tenn., five bass, 19-15, $537
8th:        Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 19-15, $537
10th:     Chip Wammack, Muscle Shoals, Ala., five bass, 19-5, $443

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

John-Dalton Miller of Albertville, Alabama, caught a bass that weighed 11 pounds, 10 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $495.

Brent Cook of Gardendale, Alabama, won the co-angler division and $1,897 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 2 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Brent Cook, Gardendale, Ala., three bass, 11-2, $1,897
2nd:      John Daniel, Waynesboro, Tenn., three bass, 10-5, $949
3rd:       Kevin McWithey, Flintville, Tenn., three bass, 10-3, $633
4th:        Tony Eckler, Lebanon, Tenn., three bass, 9-6, $443
5th:        Reagan Eldridge, Fayetteville, Tenn., three bass, 9-5, $379
6th:        Alex Roberts, Columbia, Tenn., three bass, 9-0, $332
6th:        Tyson Giesbrecht, Gurley, Ala., three bass, 9-0, $332
8th:        Chris Wade, Acworth, Ga., three bass, 8-15, $285
9th:        Mike Pewitt, Mount Juliet, Tenn., two bass, 8-7, $253
10th:     Chad Hill, Flemingsburg, Ky., two bass, 8-0, $221

Bradley Pruiett of Farragut, Tennessee, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $247, catching a bass that weighed in at 7 pounds, 9 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After two events, Mike Lowry of Hixson, Tennessee, now leads the Fishing Clash Choo Choo Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 491 points, while James Ramsey of Boaz, Alabama, leads the Fishing Clash Choo Choo Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 477 points.

The next event for BFL Choo Choo Division anglers will be held March 29, at Wheeler Lake out of Rogersville, Alabama. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 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. 10-11 BFL Regional tournament on Logan Martin Lake in Lincoln, 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 award of $20,000.

The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sports Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

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.

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 Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network 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.

by AnglersChannel

Georgia’s Partain Gets the Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Lake Keowee

Simpsonville’s Gurkin Tops Co-Angler Division

SENECA, S.C. (March 10, 2025) – Boater Kerry Partain of Elberton, Georgia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds even Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Keowee. The tournament was the second event of the season for the BFL Savannah River Division. Partain earned $3,505 for his victory.

The spawn is just getting going on Lake Keowee, and spawners would play a role in Partain’s victory. Just not right off the bat.

“I started out with (Lowrance) ActiveTarget, just catching some on a Zoom Winged Fluke on jigheads,” he said. “When I got to 12 pounds, I just left and started looking for some bedded fish. I caught a 6-pound, 2-ounce bass on a Zoom Fluke Stick wacky rigged. I saw two more after that, and I caught a few more on a shaky head with a Zoom Speed Craw.”

For his sonar fish, Partain prefers a more patient approach than many run-and-gun anglers have adopted. Instead of covering a ton of water, he sits tight in areas where he knows there are fish – in this case, an area where he’s been catching them the last few weeks – and waits for fish to funnel in and out. Whenever he sees the school, he throws on them. For the bedding fish, Partain benefitted from a fortunate “discovery.”

“I hung up on a dock, and I went up there to get it loose and saw it sitting there,” he said, referring to the 6-2 kicker he caught. “I would have never seen it. So I kind of backed off of it and kept throwing a few things in there, and it finally bit a Fluke Stick. It was kind of crazy. That was a gift for sure. Thank you, Lord.”

Reflecting on the win, Partain extended his gratitude to the team at 72 Marine Sales in Elberton, Georgia, which hooked up his lithium batteries last week in time for the tournament.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Kerry Partain, Elberton, Ga., five bass, 17-0, $3,505
2nd:      Chase Stewart, Laurens, S.C., five bass, 15-14, $1,901
2nd:      Furman (Joe) Thompson, Clayton, Ga., five bass, 15-14, $1,961 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th:        Lane Parker, Waleska, Ga., five bass, 15-13, $818
5th:        Logan Smith, Easley, S.C., five bass, 15-12, $701
6th:        Britt Myers Jr., Lake Wylie, S.C., five bass, 15-8, $643
7th:        Landon Lawson, Jonesborough, Tenn., five bass, 15-2, $584
8th:        Jody Holland, Clermont, Ga., five bass, 15-1, $526
9th:        John Micheal, Ortman Douglas, Ga., five bass, 14-15, $467
10th:     Flint Davis, Leesburg, Ga., five bass, 14-13, $409

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Partain caught a bass that weighed7 pounds, 11 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $440.

Chase Gurkin of Simpsonville, South Carolina, won the co-angler division and $1,753 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 9 pounds, 1 ounce.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Chase Gurkin, Simpsonville, S.C., three bass, 9-1, $1,753
2nd:      Rusty Odom, Simpsonville, S.C., three bass, 8-13, $876
3rd:       Clint Jackson, Six Mile, S.C., three bass, 8-4, $497
3rd:       Harold Grizzle, Gainesville, Ga., three bass, 8-4, $497
5th:        Dax Liner, Mineral Bluff, Ga., three bass, 8-2, $351
6th:        Don Meury, Marietta, S.C., three bass, 8-0, $306
6th:        Brandon Lawson, Union, S.C., three bass, 8-0, $406
8th:        Blane Holcombe, Inman, S.C., three bass, 7-15, $263
9th:        Gibson Huntley, Inman, S.C., three bass, 7-14, $234
10th:     Jeff Rikard, Leesville, S.C., three bass, 7-5, $204

Craig Monnin of Cumming, Georgia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $220, catching a bass that weighed in at 3 pounds, 15 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After two events, Lane Parker of Waleska, Georgia, now leads the Fishing Clash Savannah River Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 490 points, while Rusty Odom of Simpsonville, South Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash Savannah River Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 497 points.

The next event for BFL Savannah River Division anglers will be held April 12, 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 60 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. 10-11 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina. 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 award of $20,000.

The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sports Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

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.

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 Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network 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.

by AnglersChannel

Virginia’s Trent Posts Fifth Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Kerr Lake

Indiana’s Cornelius Tops Co-Angler Division

HENDERSON, N.C. (March 10, 2025) – Boater Tyler Trent of Nathalie, Virginia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 10 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Kerr Lake . The tournament, hosted by Vance County Tourism Development Authority, was the first event of the season for the BFL Piedmont Division. Trent earned $7,748, including the lucrative $5,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

Trent kept it pretty simple on Saturday. He used his best tool for Kerr Lake – experience.

“It’s been fishing off and on because the lake level got up so high, but it’s getting close to back down to normal level,” he said about Kerr Lake. “I basically just used past experience because it’s my home lake, and I was just able to run a lot of places and just happened to run across the right fish throughout the day.”

Trent figures he made close to 50 stops on Saturday, catching one or two here and there and hitting a variety of targets that he’s marked on his GPS over the years. His go-to lure was a homemade jig with a DNZ Products Agitator crawfish trailer.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Tyler Trent, Nathalie, Va., five bass, 21-10, $7,748 (includes $5,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:      Hunter Tibbetts, Centreville, Va., five bass, 19-14, $1,374
3rd:       Thomas Milton, Chester, Va., five bass, 19-8, $1,221
4th:        Shawn Hammack, Gasburg, Va., five bass, 17-12, $766
5th:        Bryson Peed, Clarksville, Va., five bass, 16-11, $550
6th:        Michael (Tony), Eskridge Delmar, Md., five bass, 15-8, $504
7th:        Adam Lester, Huddleston, Va., five bass, 15-7, $458
8th:        Rodney Sorrell, Stokesdale, N.C., five bass, 15-5, $412
9th:        Micah Mitten, Powhatan, Va., five bass, 14-12, $366
10th:     David Wright, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 14-11, $321

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Thomas Milton of Chester, Virginia, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $305.

Casey Cornelius of Indianapolis, Indiana, won the co-angler division and $1,374 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 7 pounds, 13 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Casey Cornelius, Indianapolis, Ind., three bass, 7-13, $1,374
2nd:      Derek Stanley, Fuquay Varina, N.C., three bass, 7-7, $687
3rd:       David Deciucis, Chester, Va., three bass, 6-10, $459
4th:        Dalton Marlow, Maiden, N.C., three bass, 6-4, $321
5th:        Collier Clemmons, Wilmington, N.C., two bass, 5-1, $275
6th:        Chad Liptrap, High Point, N.C., two bass, 4-15, $252
7th:        Steve Cannon, Wilkesboro, N.C., two bass, 4-8, $329
8th:        Kieran Packard, Oklahoma City, Okla., two bass, 4-5, $206
9th:        Dwayne Bingman, Julian, N.C., two bass, 3-14, $183
10th:     Morris Mustian, Oxford, N.C., one bass, 3-13, $312

Morris Mustian of Oxford, North Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $152, catching a bass that weighed in at 3 pounds, 13 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

In addition to winning the tournament, Tyler Trent of Nathalie, Virginia, has the early lead in the Fishing Clash Piedmont Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 250 points, while Casey Cornelius of Indianapolis, Indiana, leads the Fishing Clash Piedmont Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 250 points.

The next event for BFL Piedmont Division anglers will be held March 30, at Smith Mountain Lake in Huddleston, Virginia. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 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. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina. 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 award of $20,000.

The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sports Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

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.

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 Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network 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.

by AnglersChannel

Orange’s Riley Harris Catches 30-Pound Limit on Final Day to Win MLF Toyota Series at Sam Rayburn Reservoir

BROOKELAND, Texas (March 9, 2025) – The final weigh-in of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Southwestern Division event at Sam Rayburn was one for the record books. Three different pros weighed over 30 pounds on the day, and nobody was safe on the leaderboard. Coming in with a big lead after two days, local pro Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, Texas, faltered on Day 3, and Riley Harris of Orange, Texas, surged to the top for his first MLF win.

Weighing bags in the mid-20s each of the first two days, Harris added 30 pounds, 9 ounces on Day 3 for an 82-10 total to earn the win. For the win, which was his first with MLF, Harris takes home $29,930 and a berth in the $200,000 Toyota Series Championship this fall.

The ideal tournament scenario for any angler is to find fish, and for more of them to show up every day. Often, it’s an impossible task – fish in the summer and winter are generally not flooding in or out of areas. Fishing fans might recall it happening a lot in May and June on Kentucky Lake during the heyday of ledge fishing, with weights going up day after day and leaders throwing back 3-pounders without weighing them because their expectations were set so high. This week at Rayburn, big fish were rolling into the shallows, routing along Texas drains, and Harris was right there to meet them.

“I think the inconsistent weather that has been happening in the past month has kinda made it hard for everybody to stay on them,” said Harris, who fishes both Rayburn and Toledo Bend frequently. “I knew this week they were coming into the spawning areas, and they hadn't seen a lot of baits. And, man, it was just absolutely electric.

“I knew they were coming to me the entire event, I knew that I didn't have to really go anywhere or go out, I just knew that I had to stay put, and they were just going to keep filtering in.”

Fishing from 5 feet to 15 feet deep, Harris was fishing typical Texas patterns, but with little to no company – which was not the case for many others in the event.

“I was just fishing the drains that were right there in spawning areas, they were just sitting in the bottom of the drains or up on the sides of them,” Harris explained. “I didn't have any time to find any cranking fish or anything, so I just had to mainly ‘Scope the grass and the drains that were right there in the spawning areas.”

For baits, Harris relied on a 6^th Sense Ozzie, a Neko-rigged 6^th Sense Divine Shakey Worm with a 1/10-ounce weight, and an umbrella rig with three 1/8-ounce heads and two ¼-ounce heads and 6^th Sense Divine Swimbaits.

Practice days this week leading up to the event were atrociously windy, and it almost seemed like having less practice was better. Coming in off events in Florida, Ebare and Lee Livesay both caught over 30 pounds on Day 1 with just slight hints of practice. Harris was in a similar boat, having lost his lower unit on the weekend.

“I was pretty much off the water ‘til Wednesday,” Harris said. “I got to get out there when it was blowing really hard, and I was able to run a couple areas that I had confidence in, and I saw some things. But I knew it was only a matter of time before they were going to push up like they did.”

Being perfectly in tune with the fishery isn’t new for Harris, especially this year – he and Luke Potter won a February Texas Team Trail event on Rayburn with 41-9. Some lost fish certainly could have derailed his victory, though – Day 2 featured two heartbreaking mishaps.

“It was just freak accidents,” he said. “That 10 straightened out my hook. And then the 8, I guess I just had a soft spot in my line, and it just broke as soon as I laid into her, and she was sitting there flopping on top of the water in front of me trying to throw it. In an event like this where literally everything matters, I thought I blew my chance for sure.”

Still, dropping 30 on the final day makes up for a lot, and Harris was thrilled with the win.

“I have dreamt of this moment literally my entire life,” said Harris. “It's really humbling because, I wanted to compete at the top, and I've been chasing this dream for years. And its finally just kind of all started to come together, and I've been able to put things together. It’s really humbling for sure, to see where we were and now where we're at.”

The top 10 pros at the Toyota Series at Sam Rayburn Reservoir finished:

1st:        Riley Harris, Orange, Texas, 15 bass, 82-10, $29,930
2nd:       Cody Ross, Livingston, Texas, 15 bass, 79-12, $11,404
3rd:       Dylan Thompson, Del Rio, Texas, 15 bass, 76-5, $8,829
4th:        Todd Castledine, Nacogdoches, Texas, 15 bass, 74-4, $7,358
5th:        Dakota Ebare, Brookeland, Texas, 15 bass, 72-4, $6,622
6th:        Ryan Satterfield, Texarkana, Ark., 15 bass, 64-1, $6,886
7th:        Lee Livesay, Longview, Texas, 15 bass, 63-12, $5,650
8th:        Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, 15 bass, 62-9, $4,415
9th:        Nick Kincaid, Brookeland, Texas, 15 bass, 60-14, $3,679
10th:     Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, 15 bass, 59-15, $3,443

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Pro Chad Mrazek earned Thursday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass Award with a bass weighing 10 pounds even, while tournament winner Riley Harris won Friday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass, weighing in a 9-pounder to earn the $500 award.

Phillip Hudnall of Bixby, Oklahoma, won the co-angler division Saturday with a three-day total of 13 bass weighing 34 pounds even. Hudnall earned the top co-angler prize package worth $34,050, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard motor.

The top 10 co-anglers at the Toyota Series at Sam Rayburn finished:

1st:        Phillip Hudnall, Bixby, Okla., 13 bass, 34-0, Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp Mercury outboard
2nd:       Justin Swayze, Gurdon, Ark., 12 bass, 32-1, $3,766
3rd:       David Bozarth, Montgomery, Texas, 11 bass, 29-1, $3,013
4th:        Stephen Vogel, Muenster, Texas, 11 bass, 28-4, $2,636
5th:        Jacob Smith, McKinney, Texas, 13 bass, 27-9, $2,260
6th:        Elijah Soto, Inyokern, Calif., 13 bass, 27-1, $1,883
7th:        Errol Sigue, Jeanerette, La., nine bass, 26-0, $1,506
8th:        Sieg Kilby, Kilgore, Texas, 12 bass,25-3, $1,318
9th:        Mark King, Gurdon, Texas, 11 bass, 24-1, $1,130
10th:     Lawrence Lacour, Mabank, Texas, 12 bass, 23-15, $942

Co-angler John Warren of Shawnee, Oklahoma, earned the first Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of the event on Thursday with a 10-pound, 2-ounce bass to earn the $150 prize, while Friday’s Day 2 $150 co-angler award went to Micheal Sharp of Calera, Oklahoma, who brought a 6-pound, 11-ounce largemouth bass to the scale.

The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at Sam Rayburn Reservoir was hosted by the Jasper-Lake Sam Rayburn Area Chamber of Commerce. It was the second of three regular-season tournament for the Toyota Series Southwestern Division. The third and final event for the Toyota Series Southwestern Division regular season will be May 1-3 on Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Oklahoma. For a complete schedule of events, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The 2025 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern and the Southwestern – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International and Wild Card divisions. Anglers who fish in any of the five 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 2026. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard. The 2025 Toyota Series Championship will be held Nov. 6-8 on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma, and is hosted by the City of Grove Convention & Tourism Bureau.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Toyota Series include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sports Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Toyota Series updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 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 Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network 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.

by AnglersChannel