North Carolina’s Laughlin Tops Co-Angler Division

SALISBURY, N.C. (Sept. 21, 2026) – Boater Jackson Pleasant of Four Oaks, North Carolina, caught a total of eight bass weighing 35 pounds even over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on High Rock Lake . The tournament was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Piedmont Division. Pleasant earned $3,900 for his victory.

“My practice was horrible; it was probably one of the worst practices I’ve had on High Rock,” Pleasant said. “But I found a pattern and ran with it and caught some big fish on Saturday on topwater. I caught some flipping fish later in the day, but the majority were on a buzzbait.”

Pleasant said he caught his bass on a small, 75-yard stretch of water on both sides of a creek, toward the lower end of High Rock Lake near Flat Swamp Creek. Saturday proved to be a slow start, as he had only six bites during the day. Sunday wasn’t much more productive for Pleasant, as he culled only twice.

“It was tough, tough, tough,” Pleasant said. “But I got the right ones to bite. I was going for a slam dunk, not lay-ups, because I didn’t have anything to lose. I didn’t have anything in practice.”

Pleasant said his outlook for Day 2 was so bleak that when he got in bed after Day 1, he wished he could just get his check and go home. But he changed his tune when he brought a big bass to the boat at 7:15 a.m. He caught another large bass around noon, and a thought crept into his mind – he might have a shot at a win.

“I told my co-angler I thought it was going to take 35 pounds to win,” Pleasant said. “I made another cull at 1 o’clock and told my co-angler, ‘I may have just won my first BFL.’”

Pleasant ended the tournament with 35 pounds even, nailing his predicted winning weight.

“This is just unreal,” Pleasant said. “Words can’t describe it. The Lord was with me today and I was blessed. I’m thankful for my family for letting me do this crazy sport. To go up against these hammers out here on High Rock and do what I did today … It hasn’t sunk in yet.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Jackson Pleasant, Four Oaks, N.C., eight bass, 35-0, $3,900
2nd:      Steve Sink, Winston-Salem, N.C.., 10 bass, 34-6, $2,010
3rd:       Andrew George, Poplar Branch, N.C., 10 bass, 32-4, $1,560 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus)
4th:       Ben Robertson, Walnut Cove, N.C., nine bass, 31-12, $1,170
5th:       David Wright, Lexington, N.C., 10 bass, 31-1, $900
6th:       Wyatt Hill, Clemmons, N.C., 10 bass, 29-7, $720
7th:       Robert Mixon, Lexington, N.C., 10 bass, 29-0, $680
8th:       J.J. Stowers, Narrows, Va, nine bass, 27-14, $650
9th:       Louis Monetti, Huntersville, N.C., 10 bass, 24-9, $870
10th:     Keith Roberts, Hurt, Va., nine bass, 24-0, $590

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Ben Robertson of Walnut Cove, North Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass worth $300.

Thomas Laughlin of Greensboro, North Carolina, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,950 Sunday after bringing six bass to the scale over two days that totaled 18 pounds, 9 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Thomas Laughlin, Greensboro, N.C., six bass, 18-9, $1,950
2nd:      David Williams, Greensboro, N.C., five bass, 18-7, $1,255
3rd:       Mekye Barnes, Wake Forest, N.C., six bass, 17-15, $530
4th:       Landon Whicker, Winston-Salem, N.C., six bass, 16-14, $485
5th:       Charles Wood, Thomasville, N.C., six bass, 15-15, $375
6th:       Zach Picucci, Powhatan, Va., five bass, 15-1, $360
7th:       Richard Williams, Sutherland, Va., five bass, 14-11, $340
8th:       Bart Hill, Clemmons, N.C., six bass, 14-4, $325
9th:       Dale Surrett, Midland, N.C., four bass, 14-3, $310
10th:     Robert Morris, Chesapeake, Va., six bass, 13-8, $295

David Williams of Greensboro, North Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 5-ounce bass worth $150.

With all five events in the division now complete, boater Conrad Manuel of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, won the 7 Brew Piedmont Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,310 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Allen Haigh of Prospect Hill, North Carolina, won the Piedmont Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,339 points and earned the $500 payout.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 8-10 BFL Regional tournament on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. 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 the 2027 BFL All-American. The 2027 BFL All-American will take place June 5-7, at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida, and is hosted by Experience Kissimmee.

Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly Nicotine Pouches, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.

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

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.