Holmes Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Feb. 27, 2023) – Boater Brandon Medlock of Lake Placid, Florida, caught a five-bass limit weighing 23 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Toho . The tournament, hosted by the Kissimmee Sports Commission, was the first event of the season for the BFL Gator Division. Medlock earned $6,011 for his victory.

Medlock said he began his tournament by running south to flip pencil reeds and started off the day catching two quality largemouth. He had found the pattern during practice, and as soon as he caught his first two fish, he made the decision to stick with targeting reeds all day.

Medlock said he relied on a Yamamoto Senko, a Zoom Brush Hog, a Lil’ Chub hook-tail worm and a jig to entice bites, and those baits provided a total of 10 bass during the tournament for Medlock.

“I just kept switching up baits and flipping two or three baits on a spot and then I’d move on,” Medlock said. “I thought it was going to take 30 pounds to win. They were biting really good all week, but it was actually tough during the tournament. I wasn’t expecting it to be that tough, but the lake has been pounded for three weeks straight.

“There are a lot of really good anglers that fish the BFL events, so this win feels really good,” Medlock said. “In my opinion, it’s harder to win a BFL than a multi-day event. Usually, you have to have just one miraculous day for everything to come together in a one-day tournament.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:          Brandon Medlock, Lake Placid, Fla., five bass, 23-6, $6,011
2nd:        Michael Howes, Bradenton, Fla., five bass, 22-10, $3,006
3rd:        Stanley Hunt, Jacksonville, Fla., five bass, 21-8, $3,746 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th:         Ben McCann, Bradenton, Fla, five bass, 19-6, $1,403
5th:         Garrett Rocamora, Lithia, Fla., five bass, 19-5, $1,202
6th:         Bill Day, Frankfort, Ky., five bass, 19-2, $1,102
7th:         Tracen Phillips, Lake Placid, Fla., five bass, 19-0, $1,002
8th:         Max Moneuse, Parrish, Fla., five bass, 18-13, $902
9th:         Mark Peiser, Tavares, Fla., five bass, 18-11, $802
10th:      Tommy Young, Union Park, Fla., five bass, 18-9, $701

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.Hunt caught a largemouth that weighed 9 pounds, 3 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $995.

L’Marquis Holmes of Tallahassee, Georgia, won the Strike King co-angler division and a total of $3,503 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 20 pounds, 15 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:          L’Marquis Holmes, Tallahassee, Ga., five bass, 20-15, $3,503
2nd:        Larry Mullikin, Jacksonville, Fla., five bass, 18-14, $1,503
3rd:        Kenneth Hunnicutt, Jacksonville, Fla., five bass, 15-11, $1,008
4th:         Joseph Knapp Jr., Keystone Heights, Fla., five bass, 14-9, $701
5th:         Hernan Gonzalez, Saint Cloud, Fla., five bass, 14-6, $576
5th:         Tyler Nekolny, Coral Springs, Fla., five bass, 14-6, $576
7th:         Robert Oakley, Nokomis, Fla., five bass, 14-2, $476
7th:         Cletus Gaskins, Sanderson, Fla., five bass, 14-2, $476
9th:         Shannon Bryson, Merritt Island, Fla., five bass, 13-1, $376
9th:         Chase Brumfield, Middleburg, Fla., five bass, 13-1, $376

Holmes also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $497, catching a largemouth that weighed in at 9 pounds, 2 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 12-14 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Alabama. Boaters will fish 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 compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The 2023 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 Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments 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 BFL All-American. The 2023 All-American event will take place May 31-June 2, on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina. The event is hosted by Visit Oconee SC.

Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X 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.