Benton’s McCullar Earns Victory in Co-Angler Division

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (May 18, 2026) – Boater Charles Williams of Clarksville, Arkansas, caught five bass totaling 23 pounds even to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Dardanelle . The tournament, hosted by Russellville Tourism, was the fourth of five events of the season for the BFL Arkie Division. Williams earned $10,150, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus, for his victory.

Williams had a stellar day on Lake Dardanelle, targeting wind-blown mats around the Spadra area to earn his third career BFL victory. Focusing on shallow water where wind and current positioned fish correctly, Williams spent the day swimming a jig around matted cover and isolated targets.

“We were focusing on mats and the things the wind was blowing into,” Williams said. “The wind had to be hitting it just right.”

Using a Strike King swimjig in a sexy shad color paired with a white Zoom Speed Craw trailer, Williams was able to generate consistent quality bites throughout the day.

“Everything I caught came on that swimjig,” he said.

After boating around 17 pounds by 10 a.m., Williams continued upgrading through midday, including two of his biggest fish around noon.

“I got three more after 10 that put me up over 23 pounds,” he said.

Williams credited quickly recognizing how the fish were positioned in relation to both the wind and river flow as the key to victory.

“Figuring the pattern out early and running with it all day,” he explained. “Once I got figured out how they were set up in the wind versus how the river flows, and the depth range around 2 to 3 feet, I was able to run that pattern all the way back down to weigh-in.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:          Charles Williams, Clarksville, Ark., five bass, 23-0, $10,150 (includes $7,000 Phoenix Bonus)
2nd:        Walker Woodall, Benton, Ark., five bass, 22-11, $1,590
3rd:         Mike Rhinehart, Pottsville, Ark., five bass, 19-4, $910
4th:         Jon Paulovich, Benton, Ark., five bass, 18-14, $650
5th:         Brandon Lee, Ratcliff, Ark., five bass, 18-8, $730
5th:         Matt Baker, Glenwood, Ark., five bass, 18-8, $500
7th:         Ben Blaschke, Roland, Okla., five bass, 17-2, $480
7th:         Zack Freeman, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 17-2, $460
9th:         Shawn Gordon, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 16-15, $630
10th:       Leland Nixon, Bee Branch, Ark., five bass, 16-11, $430

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Mike Scoggins of Danville, Arkansas, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass worth $200.

John McCullar of Benton, Arkansas, won the co-angler division on Saturday with a three-bass limit that weighed in at 10 pounds, 9 ounces. McCullar brought home $1,865 for his victory.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:          John McCullar, Benton, Ark., three bass, 10-9, $1,865
2nd:        Michael Snowden, Malvern, Ark., three bass, 10-8, $885
3rd:         Alan Bernicky, Dardanelle, Ark., three bass, 10-1, $550
3rd:         Cole Allen, Carlisle, Ark., three bass, 10-1, $550
5th:         Joe Tucker, Osceola, Mo., three bass, 9-15, $315
6th:         Ray Cates, Texarkana, Ark., three bass, 9-8, $270
7th:         Randy Allen, Russellville, Ark., three bass, 8-13, $252
7th:         Tony Wherry, Malvern, Ark., three bass, 8-13, $252
9th:         Jason Phillips, Rison, Ark., three bass, 8-7, $240
10th:       Ricco Johnson, Conway, Ark., three bass, 8-4, $225

McCullar also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass worth $100.

After four events, Matt Baker of Glenwood, Arkansas, leads the 7 Brew Arkie Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 990 points, while Alan Bernicky of Dardanelle, Arkansas, leads the Arkie Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 985 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. 22-24 BFL Regional tournament on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500.

The 2026 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2026 BFL All-American will take place May 28-30, at Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, and is hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism.

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

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular BFL updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, 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.