Oklahoma’s Mitchell Tops Co-Angler Division

GREERS FERRY, Ark. (April 28, 2025) – Boater Cody Burke of Greenbrier, Arkansas, caught a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Greers Ferry. The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Arkie Division. Burke earned $3,766 for his victory.

High water opened up a new playing field at Greers Ferry, and Burke took full advantage. He tossed a Zoom Horny Toad and a SPRO Bronzeye Frog to catch more than 40 keepers on the day, with his weigh fish coming primarily on the frog.

“I had a great day,” he said. “I was catching quite a bit of fish shallow, so I just kind of continued to roll with it. It’s way above normal pool, so I was trying to get to places where you could get to the bank and be able to cast at different stuff.”

Burke targeted areas around spawning pockets, though most of his fish were postspawn. He fished entirely within one area that was a few miles long, slinging his topwater around in less than 2 feet of water and covering ground until he got a bite. Then he slowed down to work those areas over more thoroughly and, between he and his co-angler, would often experience flurries of five to 10 bites in a spot.

“It’s my strength – shallow-water fishing,” Burke added. “When I figured out I could do that over having to turn on my LiveScope, I never turned it on today.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Cody Burke, Greenbrier, Ark., five bass, 13-2, $3,766
2nd:       James Stricklin Jr., Fort Smith, Ark., five bass, 13-1, $1,883
3rd:       Chris Huselton, Conway, Ark., five bass, 12-5, $1,256
4th:        Austin Rose, Mena, Ark., five bass, 11-15, $879
5th:        Paul Combs, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 11-12, $1,253 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
6th:        Kevin Brown, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 11-11, $690
7th:        C.J. Brustrom, Locust Grove, Ark., five bass, 11-6, $596
7th:        Travis Mosley, Benton, Ark., five bass, 11-6, $596
9th:        Brian Bean, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 11-1, $502
10th:     Remington Lawrence, Melbourne, Ark., five bass, 10-14, $939

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Remington Lawrence of Melbourne, Arkansas, caught a bass that weighed 3 pounds, 15 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $500.

Gene Mitchell of Stuart, Oklahoma, won the co-angler division and $1,883 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 1 ounce.

The top 11 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Gene Mitchell, Stuart, Okla., three bass, 8-1, $1,883
2nd:      Stephen Simms, Hot Springs, Ark., Ark., five bass, 7-0, $942
3rd:       Steve Lee, Benton, Ark., Ark., five bass, 6-15, $627
4th:        Eli Garrison, Ward, Ark., five bass, 6-11, $439
5th:        Jody Jones, Harvey, Ark., five bass, 6-7, $361
5th:        James Jewell, Broken Bow, Okla., three bass, 6-7, $361
7th:        Aaron Calvert, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 6-5, $314
8th:        Larry Carter, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 6-4, $282
9th:        Kelvin Trotter, North Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 6-1, $223
9th:        Reagan Brown, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 6-1, $223
9th:        William Goodhue, Barling, Ark., five bass, 6-1, $223

Eli Garrison of Ward, Arkansas, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $250, catching a bass that weighed in at 3 pounds, 2 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After three events, boater Brian Bean of Hot Springs, Arkansas, now leads the Fishing Clash Arkie Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 717 points, while Jody Jones of Harvey, Arkansas, leads the Fishing Clash Arkie Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 730 points.

The next event for BFL Arkie Division anglers will be held June 14, at Lake Dardanelle out of Russellville, 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 out of Eufaula, 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.