Sparta’s League Wins Co-Angler Division

SPARTA, Tenn. (April 27, 2026) – Boater Skip Howell of Okolona, Mississippi, brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 18 pounds, 6 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Center Hill Lake. The tournament was the third of five events of the season for the BFL Music City Division. Howell earned $2,890 for his victory.

Howell relied on a shallow-water pattern anchored by a vibrating jig to secure the win. Targeting fish in various stages of the spawn, he was able to generate consistent bites in the shallows and put together a strong five-bass limit.

“No doubt, the key bait for me today was a (Z-Man Evergreen Jack Hammer) ChatterBait,” Howell said. “I filled my limit just throwing that.”

While the ChatterBait did most of the heavy lifting, Howell mixed in a few key adjustments to maximize his weight. He caught a fish off a bed early in the day, then later upgraded with one of his biggest bites using forward-facing sonar late in the afternoon.

“I found one on the bed, and then I culled with a 4-10 that I ‘scoped there at the end,” he said. “I saved my three hours at the end to use my forward-facing sonar.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Skip Howell, Okolona, Miss., five bass, 18-6, $2,890
2nd:      Cody Mackie, McMinnville, Tenn., five bass, 17-3, $1,015
2nd:      Braxton Campbell, McMinnville, Tenn., five bass, 17-3, $1,015
4th:        Adam Wagner, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 17-0, $570
5th:        Drew Boggs, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 16-11, $510
6th:        Lee Sinclair, Albany, Ky., five bass, 16-6, $450
7th:        Corey Steakley, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 16-4, $430
8th:        Timothy Reagan, Livingston, Tenn., five bass, 16-1, $410
8th:        Shawn Panick, Nolensville, Tenn., five bass, 16-1, $410
10th:     Zach Sparks, Dowelltown, Tenn., five bass, 16-0, $390

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Howell also earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award honors with a 4-pound, 10-ounce bass worth $200.

Michael League of Sparta, Tennessee, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,295 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 10 pounds, 13 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Michael League, Sparta, Tenn., three bass, 10-13, $1,295
2nd:      Grant Frazier, Manchester, Tenn., three bass, 10-5, $715
3rd:       Shane Jewell, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., three bass, 10-2, $450
4th:        John Carman, Berea, Ky., three bass, 9-9, $285
5th:        Cole Panick, Nolensville, Tenn., three bass, 9-8, $255
6th:        Richard Payne, Portland, Tenn., three bass, 9-7, $225
7th:        Pop Catalin, Cookeville, Tenn., three bass, 9-6, $220
8th:        Kyle Miller, Fulda, Ind., three bass, 9-5, $210
9th:        David Wiley, Greenbrier, Tenn., three bass, 8-15, $200
10th:     Remington Tatrow, Smithville, Tenn., three bass, 8-7, $195

Shane Jewell of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a bass weighing 5 pounds even, worth $100.

After three events, Daniel Johnson of Lebanon, Tennessee, now leads the 7 Brew Music City Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 721 points, while Dylan Beard of Dickson, Tennessee, leads the Music City Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 725 points.

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 and Barkley Lakes 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 2026 BFL All-American will take place May 28-30, at Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, and is hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism.

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, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PirahnO2, 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.