Alexander’s Knight Earns Co-Angler Division Victory

GREERS FERRY, Ark. (April 27, 2026) – Boaters Shonn Goodwin of Moore, Oklahoma, and Wayne Dixon of Morrilton, Arkansas , both brought five-bass limits to the scale totaling 14 pounds, 14 ounces, to tie for the win Saturday at the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Greers Ferry Lake. The tournament was the third of five events of the season for the BFL Arkie Division. The duo split the top payout, with Dixon taking home $2,510 and Goodwin taking home $2,610 after contingency bonuses.

Goodwin and Dixon employed two very different approaches to arrive at the same winning weight, each adjusting to conditions on Greers Ferry Lake to capitalize on postspawn fish.

Fishing the clearer, southern portion of the lake, Goodwin started the morning with a topwater bite in mind but quickly recognized it wasn’t developing.

“I thought I could just throw topwater all day, but it was not on,” Goodwin said. “I changed up pretty quickly and went to a Ned rig and fished main-lake points, targeting postspawn fish.”

That adjustment proved critical, especially late in the morning when he turned elected to use his 3-hour forward-facing sonar period and quickly dialed in bigger bites.

“My first cast with it was a 4-pounder, and I caught two other good ones after that,” Goodwin added. “The main thing was getting off the topwater quickly and not trying to force it.”

Dixon, meanwhile, committed to a slower, more methodical presentation, dragging a Texas-rigged worm in mid-lake areas throughout the day. Targeting fish holding in a specific depth range, he focused on maintaining contact with the bottom and staying in productive water.

“I caught all my fish dragging a JP custom worm on a Texas rig,” Dixon said. “They were in about 12 to 14 feet all day long.”

Dixon’s consistency paid off, as he boated an estimated 30 to 40 fish over the course of the day. He said the key was recognizing exactly where the fish were positioned and sticking with it.

“Just paying attention to what zone the fish were in,” he said. “I could go shallow and not get bit, go deeper and not get bit – they were just locked in that 12 to 14 range.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:         Shonn Goodwin, Moore, Okla., five bass, 14-14, $2,610
1st:         Wayne Dixon, Morrilton, Ark., five bass, 14-14, $2,510
3rd:         Blake Wilson, Benton, Ark., five bass, 12-9, $850
4th:         Matt Baker, Glenwood, Ark., five bass, 12-0, $930
5th:         Cody Burke, Greenbrier, Ark., five bass, 11-3, $800
6th:         Fisher Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., five bass, 11-2, $520
7th:         Justin Howard, Austin, Ark., five bass, 11-1, $500
8th:         Larry Nixon, Quitman, Ark., five bass, 11-0, $480
9th:         Shawn Gordon, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 10-15, $445
9th:         Randy Pickrell, Carlisle, Ark., five bass, 10-15, $445

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Burke earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award honors with a 3-pound, 15-ouncer, worth $200.

Alexander, Arkansas, native Christian Knight won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,770 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that weighed in at 9 pounds, 4 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:         Christian Knight, Alexander, Ark., three bass, 9-4, $1,770
2nd:        Larry Ivens, Hot Springs, Ark., three bass, 7-12, $632
2nd:        Tony Thompson, Marshall, Texas, three bass, 7-12, $632
4th:         Don Billiot, Hot Springs Village, Ark., three bass, 7-11, $340
5th:         Keagan Harrison, Sulphur Rock, Ark., three bass, 7-8, $300
6th:         Daryl Powell, Leesville, La., three bass, 7-6, $260
7th:         Steve Lee, Benton, Ark., three bass, 7-4, $300
8th:         Edward Hendricks, Conway, Ark., three bass, 7-2, $240
9th:         Joey Villines, Compton, Ark., three bass, 7-0, $230
10th:       Marc Maroney, Rison, Ark., three bass, 6-14, $215

Knight also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 4-pound, 12-ounce bass worth $100.

After three events, Matt Baker of Glenwood, Arkansas, now leads the 7 Brew Arkie Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 744 points, while Christian Knight of Alexander, Arkansas, leads the Arkie Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 740 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.