Alabama’s McBride Tops Co-Angler Division

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (Sept. 22, 2025) – Boater Walt Stevens of Bernice, Louisiana, caught a total of 10 bass weighing 45 pounds, 4 ounces, over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Guntersville . The tournament, hosted by the Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce, was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Choo Choo Division. Stevens earned $6,242 for his victory.

Stevens’ tournament didn’t start out exactly as he’d hoped.

“On Day 1 I went to an area and immediately lost a couple of 5-pounders,” said Stevens, who managed to weigh in 22 pounds, 10 ounces both days of competition. “I had one fish in the boat at 10:30. I pulled up on another spot and basically caught all of my fish on one stretch in about 45 minutes to cull up to 22-10.”

Stevens said he made a crucial cull at 2:45 when he pulled up to a grass mat and punched through it for a 4-pounder and then he headed to Day 1 weigh-in.

Stevens started out Sunday where he caught most of his fish the first day, but it didn’t pan out. He relocated to a secondary spot and quickly lost two large fish. His luck changed, however, and he caught all of his second day’s weight of 22-10 there.

“I caught two 4-pounders on almost back-to-back casts,” Stevens said. “At that point I knew I was close to the same weight I had on Day 1, but I was 3 pounds out of the lead after the first day. I thought the leaders would have to stumble pretty good for me to catch up. I felt like I needed 26 to 27 to secure a win.

“When I caught those two 4-pounders I thought I could at least maintain third place,” Stevens added. “(Tournament director) Alan (Gray) told me on stage I needed 22-9 to take over the lead, and when he said I had 22-10 I just couldn’t believe it.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Walt Stevens, Bernice, La., 10 bass, 45-4, $6,242
2nd:      Hayden Marbut, Grant, Ala., 10 bass, 45-2, $3,621 (includes $500 Phoenix Bonus)
3rd:       Evan Chandler, Rainsville, Ala., 10 bass, 44-1, $2,082
4th:        Freddy Palmer, Estill Springs, Tenn., 10 bass, 43-2, $2,326
5th:        Logan Dyar, Cleveland, Ala., 10 bass, 42-5, $1,248
6th:        Matteo Turano, Puryear, Tenn., 10 bass, 41-2, $1,244
7th:        Lake Johnson, Trinity, Ala., 10 bass, 41-2, $1,040
8th:        Matthew Tucker, Huntsville, Ala., 10 bass, 37-6, $936
9th:        Fisher Heard, Rogersville, Ala., 10 bass, 37-4, $832
10th:     Bryar Chambers, Cullman, Ala., 10 bass, 37-4, $728

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Freddy Palmer of Estill Springs, Tennessee, caught a bass that weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $870.

Todd McBride of Huntsville, Alabama, won the co-angler division and $3,309 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of six bass to the scale that totaled 20 pounds, 15 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Todd McBride, Huntsville, Ala., six bass, 20-15, $3,309
2nd:      Todd Mowery, Madison, Ala., six bass, 20-11, $1,547
3rd:       Justin Stephenson, Jasper, Ala., six bass, 17-12, $1,029
4th:        Garrett Warren, Hoover, Ala., six bass, 17-10, $722
5th:        Tyson Giesbrecht, Gurley, Ala., six bass, 17-8, $619
6th:        Tommy Pritchard, Bargersville, Ind., six bass, 17-1, $617
7th:        Rex Henry, Hixson, Tenn., five bass, 16-15, $516
8th:        Mekiah Jack, Mount Juliet, Tenn., five bass, 16-7, $464
9th:        Charles Goss, Rossville, Ga., six bass, 16-5, $413
10th:     Paul Stidham, Cullman, Ala., six bass, 15-15, $361

Todd McBride of Huntsville, Alabama, and David Marr of Cleveland, Tennessee, each caught a bass weighing 5-10 to split the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $430.

With all five events in the division now complete, boater Keith Miller of Scottsboro, Alabama, won the Fishing Clash Choo Choo Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,281 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Paul Stidham of Cullman, Alabama, won the Fishing Clash Choo Choo Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,319 points and earned the $500 payout.

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. 10-11 BFL Regional tournament on Logan Martin Lake in Lincoln, Alabama. 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.

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 Sport 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, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV and Game & Fish TV, 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.