WHITTINGTON, Ill. (Sept. 28, 2026) – Boater Colby Schrumpf of Highland, Illinois, caught a total of 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 9 ounces, over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Rend Lake Presented by Suzuki Marine. The tournament, hosted by Seasons Lodge at Rend Lake, was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Illini Division. Schrumpf earned $11,500, including a $7,000 Phoenix bonus, for his victory.

“We had an east wind the last two days and I knew it was going to be a tough event,” Scrumpf said. “I strategized going into it that I was going to cover as much productive water as I could, fishing as fast as I could, and present my bait to as many fish as I could.”

Schrumpf’s plan worked out pretty well on the first day of the tournament, as he carried the lead into the second day. When he found areas with bigger fish, he spent more time there to make sure he had fully optimized his chances for success, with different baits and angles of attack.

Schrumpf said he targeted bass in 2½ to 6 feet of water near Gun Creek throughout the tournament. Saturday’s baitfish activity had fish schooling on flats, but Sunday showed very little baitfish activity. Schrumpf relied on a square-bill crankbait, a downsized bladed jig and a Texas-rigged worm when he encountered a laydown or rock he wanted to spend a little more time on.

“It was pretty much the same scenario, today,” Schrumpf said. “But even tougher conditions. There was very little wind until this afternoon. So, I just stayed where I thought there would be a high population of fish.

“It wasn’t until Sunday afternoon that I started catching a reasonable amount of fish,” Schrumpf continued. “The wind started blowing a little bit and got those fish a little more active.”

Schrumpf said he felt confident in his efforts after the first day of competition but knew he couldn’t put a win in his pocket after just one day.

“I was really concerned about the four boats right behind me after Saturday,” Schrumpf said. “If I didn’t get the bigger bites they could have easily caught up to me. I felt like I could catch a limit, but they were right behind me.

“I caught a really good one first thing in the morning – 5½ pounds – but didn’t catch another keeper until 11:30,” Schrumpf went on to say. “After I caught that second keeper, I got some confidence again and settled in and realized most likely I was just a couple of bites away from winning. Once I had the thought in my head I had three more hours to catch just a few more fish, I felt pretty confident.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:          Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., 10 bass, 28-9, $11,500 (includes $7,000 Phoenix bonus)
2nd:        Jeremy Mull, Pawnee, Ill., nine bass, 25-6, $2,010
3rd:         Adam Brookman, Bonnie, Ill., nine bass, 20-5, $1,060
4th:         Keith Bailey, Simpson, Ill., eight bass, 19-3, $870
5th:         Jeff Atchison, Ina, Ill., seven bass, 16-11, $750
6th:         Toby Corn, Paducah, Ky., seven bass, 16-5, $720
7th:         Matthew Warren, Benton, Ill., six bass, 15-14, $680
8th:         Eugene Martin, Mount Vernon, Ill., six bass, 14-15, $650
9th:         Dan Shoraga, West Frankfort, Ill., five bass, 12-6, $620
10th:       Greg Mullins, Mount Vernon, Ill., six bass, 11-10, $590

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Michael Black of Toledo, Illinois, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 5-pound, 5-ounce bass worth $300.

David Workman of Harrisburg, Illinois, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,950 Sunday after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 16 pounds even.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:          David Workman, Harrisburg, Ill., five bass, 16-0, $1,950
2nd:        Amanda Black, Toledo, Ill., six bass, 13-14, $1,055
3rd:         Dale Renth, Mascoutah, Ill., six bass, 13-10, $530
4th:         Brian Huber, St. Charles, Mo., five bass, 13-3, $585
5th:         Ryan Murphy, Paris, Ill., five bass, 10-14, $375
6th:         Jameson Smith, Mt. Vernon, Ill., five bass, 10-11, $360
7th:         Elmo Rogers, Albion, Ill., four bass, 8-8, $340
8th:         Thomas Duke, Pana, Ill., three bass, 8-5, $425
9th:         David Keefer, Charleston, Ill., four bass, 7-7, $310
10th:       Gage Smith, Shelbyville, Ill., three bass, 7-3, $295

Brian Huber of St. Charles, Missouri, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 4-pound, 8-ounce bass worth $150.

With all five events in the division now complete, boater Jeremy Mull of Pawnee, Illinois, won the 7 Brew Illini Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,358 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Gage Elder of Decatur, Illinois, won the Illini Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,319 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. 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 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.