Oklahoma’s Johnson Tops Co-Angler Division

SALLISAW, Okla. (July 13, 2026) – Boater Chris Jones of Bokoshe, Oklahoma, caught a total of five bass weighing 16 pounds, 11 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Arkansas River. The tournament was the fourth of five events of the season for the BFL Okie Division. Jones earned $3,440 for his victory.

Jones, who calls the Arkansas River his home water, said plentiful rain had muddied up the water recently, but by tournament time the grasslines he was targeting were seeing clearer water.

“I pulled up Saturday morning and caught a bunch of 2- to 2½-pounders early, and I had 12½ pounds,” Jones said. “I left that area and went to another area about two miles away. I pulled up there and caught a 4-6. I kept culling up and later in the day – about 1 o’clock – I caught a 3.98 to give me 16-11.”

Jones said he threw a BOOYAH Mobster Swim Jig as well as a BOOYAH Poppin Pad Crasher to provoke strikes.

“It was just a river fishing, grass fishing type of thing,” Jones said. “The main thing was is the areas I fished, I didn’t have any company. I didn’t think I had a chance at this at all until I caught that fish later. You always feel like you need one more fish. It’d been taking 18 to 20 pounds to win, lately.”

Jones’ 16-11 proved to be enough for the win, and he hoisted his sixth Major League Fishing trophy.

“You never know when your next win might be,” Jones said. “You don’t take them for granted.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Chris Jones, Bokoshe, Okla., five bass, 16-11, $3,440
2nd:      Mike Hesson, Hackett, Ark., five bass, 16-2, $1,680
3rd:       Blayke Haggard, Grove, Okla., five bass, 15-13, $1,100
4th:        Kellen Davis, Stigler, Okla., five bass, 15-5, $680
5th:        Sean McAllister, McAlester, Okla., five bass, 15-3, $600
6th:        Ian Leybas, McAlester, Okla., five bass, 14-10, $870
7th:        Joshua Teply, Harrah, Okla., five bass, 14-6, $500
8th:        Chad Nolan, Muldrow, Okla., five bass, 14-5, $480
9th:        Rodney Copeland, Sallisaw, Okla., five bass, 13-14, $460
10th:     Brent Haggard, Sallisaw, Okla., five bass, 12-15, $430

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Ian Leybas of McAlester, Oklahoma, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 5-pound, even bass worth $200.

Mark Johnson of Weleetka, Oklahoma, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,820 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 10 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Mark Johnson, Weleetka, Okla., three bass, 8-10, $1,820
2nd:      Chris Watkins, Fort Smith, Ark., three bass, 8-2, $840
3rd:       Danny Giacomo, McAlester, Okla., three bass, 7-13, $425
4th:        Aaron Warren, Owasso, Okla., three bass, 7-12, $340
5th:        Robert Jones, Broken Arrow, Okla., three bass, 7-10, $300
6th:        Alan Bernicky, Dardanelle, Ark., three bass, 7-9, $360
7th:        Thad Hewitt, Delaware, Okla., three bass, 7-0, $250
8th:        Mark King, Gurdon, Okla., three bass, 6-5, $240
9th:        Joe Tucker, Osceola, Mo., three bass, 6-0, $230
10th:     George Baker, Owasso, Okla., three bass, 5-11, $215

Johnson also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 3-pound, 11-ounce bass worth $100.

After four events, Joshua Teply of Harrah, Oklahoma now leads the 7 Brew Okie Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 934 points, while Thad Hewitt of Delaware, Oklahoma, leads the Okie Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 947 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. 15-17 BFL Regional tournament on Kentucky-Barkley Lake in Calvert City, Kentucky. 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, 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.