Stoner Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division

HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (June 27, 2022) – Boater Darren Marcine of Merlin, Ontario, Canada, caught five bass Saturday weighing 24 pounds, 4 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on Lake St. Clair . The tournament was the season-opener for the Bass Fishing League Michigan Division. Marcine earned $5,981 for his victory.

“This is quite amazing,” said Marcine, who notched his win in the first Phoenix Bass Fishing League event he entered. “I’m new to the area since about four years ago, and I wanted to try an event out, so this one came up, and I ended up winning it. I’m still blown away by the whole thing.”

Marcine said he pre-fished for the tournament and found some weeds that were starting to pop up in the depths of the central part of the lake. Marcine used a drop-shot rig to drag Berkley baits around the grass clumps and bare spots during the tournament in 19 to 21 feet of water.

“The weed clumps haven’t fully set in yet, but they’re starting to show up,” Marcine said. “They’re giving guys a bit of a target to fish.”

Marcine said he culled five times during the course of the day.

“It wasn’t fast and furious by any means,” Marcine said.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Darren Marcine, Merlin, Ontario, Canada, five bass, 24-4, $5,981
2nd:        Kyle Greene, Ortonville, Mich., five bass, 24-1, $2,490
3rd:        Troy Stokes, Trenton, Mich., five bass, 23-2, $2,162 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th:         Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., five bass, 21-14, $1,162
5th:         Tom Beale, St. Clair Shores, Mich., five bass, 21-13, $996
6th:         Drew Six, Clinton, Ohio, five bass, 21-9, $1,673
7th:         Hugh Cosculluela, The Woodlands, Texas, five bass, 21-3, $788
7th:         Dan Holbrook, Chesterfield, Mich., five bass, 21-3, $788
9th:         Alex Redwine, Cincinnati, Ohio, five bass, 21-1, $664
10th:      Clayton Reitz, Morton, Ill., five bass, 20-6, $528
10th:      Dawson Johnson, Luck, Wis., five bass, 20-6, $528
10th:      Brian Jackson, Crete, Ill., five bass, 20-6, $528

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Six caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 12 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – earning him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $760.

Aric Stoner of Blenheim, Ontario, Canada, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,990 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 21 pounds, 7 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

1st:          Aric Stoner, Blenheim, Ontario, five bass, 21-7, $2,990
2nd:        Ron Norris, Portage, Mich., five bass, 21-0, $1,245
3rd:        Robert Busby, Fenton, Mich., five bass, 20-9, $829
4th:         Jeffrey Thomson, Birmingham, Mich., five bass, 18-7, $781
5th:         Jim Betts, Fort Wayne, Ind., five bass, 18-4, $498
6th:         Dennis Sepeck, Bethel, Ohio, five bass, 18-2, $457
7th:         Craig Fanning, Elwood, Ill., five bass, 17-9, $415
8th:         Greg Elswick, Goshen, Ind., five bass, 17-3, $374
9th:         Hunter Brinkman, Wolcottville, Ind., five bass, 16-14, $332
10th:      Daniel Hechler, Franklin, Ohio, five bass, 16-13, $291

David Borsa of Redford, Michigan, and Peter Quent of Akron, Ohio, both caught bass weighing 5 pounds, 13 ounces in the Co-angler Division to tie for the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award. Each angler received $190.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 13-15 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Boaters will compete for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six Regional Championships where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American.

The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division will also earn priority entry into the MLF Toyota Series, the pathway to the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour.

Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, AFTCO, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Gary Yamamoto Baits, General Tire, Lew’s, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Revital Outdoors, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X, YETI and Yo-Zuri.

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.