MOUNT JULIET, Tenn. (Sept. 28, 2026) – Boater Clint Knight of Russellville, Kentucky, caught a total of 10 bass weighing 30 pounds, 8 ounces, over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Old Hickory Lake . The tournament was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Music City Division. Knight earned $10,920, including a $7,000 Phoenix bonus, for his victory.

Knight said he hadn’t been on Old Hickory Lake in 15 years but wanted to fish the tournament for a chance to compete on his home waters of Kentucky-Barkley Lake in the BFL Regional.

“The first time I ever put a waypoint on this lake was during practice Friday before the tournament,” Knight said. “I was just hoping for the best. I tried the whole (Garmin LiveScope) deal and thought I could fish this lake like Lake Barkley, but no.

“I figured if I could just cover more water than everyone else that eventually I’d run into five (keepers),” Knight went on to say. “I just had to make sure I took advantage of my opportunities. If I got a bite, I had to make sure I landed it.”

Knight ran to backs of pockets in the early hours of the tournament days to catch one or two bass in hydrilla on flats, then switched to isolated visible targets on the edge of the river channel. After the sun got up, Knight positioned his boat in 10 to 12 feet of water as opposed to his early-morning shallow approach.

Nine of Knight’s 10 weigh fish came on a bladed jig, but he didn’t attribute the bait to his success.

“I think it was mainly me just covering more water,” Knight said. “Yesterday I put the trolling motor in the water at 7:10 and trolled for almost four hours straight with it on 100 percent. There wasn’t really any rhyme or reason. It was mainly just fall junk fishing.

“I knew I could have a shot if I caught 8 to 10 pounds on Sunday,” Knight went on to say. “I’m just so happy to qualify for the Kentucky-Barkley Lake Regional. I knew it was a long shot to hop in this tournament and win, but it happened!”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Clint Knight, Russellville, Ky., 10 bass, 30-8, $10,920 (includes $7,000 Phoenix bonus)
2nd:      Sam Lashlee, Camden, Tenn., 10 bass, 22-5, $1,880
3rd:       Jayson Johnson, Smithville, Tenn., seven bass, 21-11, $1,010
4th:        Brandon Edel, Hendersonville, Tenn., 10 bass, 20-10, $840
5th:        William Merrick, Wartrace, Tenn., nine bass, 20-10, $720
6th:        Michael Stout, Gallatin, Tenn., seven bass, 20-3, $690
7th:        Josh Womack, Gallatin, Tenn., 10 bass, 19-6, $670
8th:        Adam Wagner, Cookeville, Tenn., 10 bass, 19-2, $640
9th:        Stacey Edwards, Milton, Ky., eight bass, 16-12, $610
10th:     Kelly Woodruff, Portland, Tenn., seven bass, 14-13, $580

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Tournament winner Knight earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass worth $300.

Sam Lemons of Philadelphia, Tennessee, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,810 Sunday after bringing six bass to the scale that totaled 10 pounds, 11 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Sam Lemons, Philadelphia, Tenn., six bass, 10-11, $1,810
2nd:      Tommy Pritchard, Bargersville, Ind., six bass, 10-9, $990
3rd:       Jojo Walsh, Lyles, Tenn., four bass, 9-14, $605
4th:        Roderick Green, Columbia, Tenn., five bass, 8-13, $420
5th:        Jeremy Young, Smithville, Tenn., four bass, 7-14, $360
6th:        Austin Downs, Burna, Ky., four bass, 7-12, $345
7th:        Joe Cornelius, Corinth, Miss., four bass, 7-11, $340
8th:        Richard Payne, Portland, Tenn., three bass, 6-6, $470
9th:        Barry Brooks, Lafayette, Tenn., three bass, 6-2, $310
10th:     Cole Panick, Nolensville, Tenn., three bass, 6-0, $290

Richard Payne of Portland, Tennessee, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 3-pound, 10-ounce bass worth $150.

With all five events in the division now complete, boater Michael Stout of Gallatin, Tennessee, won the 7 Brew Music City Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,338 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while David Wiley of Greenbrier, Tennessee, won the Music City Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,307 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.