Elm City’s Jean Lacerte Earns Victory in Co-Angler Division

SALISBURY, N.C. (May 18, 2026) – Boater Troy Watson of Mount Airy, North Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 6 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on High Rock Lake. The tournament was the third of five events of the season for the BFL Piedmont Division. Watson earned $2,980 for the win.

Watson put together his winning bag by capitalizing on an early-morning shad spawn bite before making a key adjustment later in the day. He got off to a fast start with a topwater presentation during low-light conditions, building momentum before the bite began to fade.

“Started off with a shad spawn in the morning and got it done with a Megabass popper real early,” Watson said.

When the action slowed, Watson changed gears and moved to a bridge, where a dropshot-rig produced the biggest bass of his tournament – a 5-pound, 9-ounce kicker that anchored his winning limit. The timely adjustment helped him separate himself from the field and secure the victory at High Rock Lake.

Watson credited more than just fishing decisions for the win, pointing first to his faith and support system.

“I think the key to victory was the good Lord above,” he said. “And I want to credit my parents – I’ve got a great support team.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:          Troy Watson, Mount Airy, N.C., five bass, 20-6, $2,980
2nd:        Conrad Manuel, Pilot Mountain, N.C., five bass, 20-4, $1,420
3rd:         Otis Darnell, Linden, Va., five bass, 19-2, $840
4th:         Andrew George, Poplar Branch, N.C., five bass, 19-1, $1,100 (includes $500 Phoenix Bonus)
5th:         Steve Allender, Fallston, Md., five bass, 18-11, $530
6th:         Ben Reynolds, Callands, Va., five bass, 18-6, $455
6th:         Donghyeon Kim, Ridgefield, N.J., five bass, 18-6, $455
8th:         Adam Flora, Red House, W. Va., five bass, 18-1, $430
9th:         Chris Brummett, Lynch Station, Va., five bass, 17-15, $410
10th:       Carl Enos, Bracey, Va., five bass, 17-7, $400

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Boater winner Troy Watson and fellow boater Otis Darnell split the Berkley Big Bass Boater award, as each landed a 5-pound, 9-ouncer, and each took home $100 after splitting the $200 prize.

Jean Lacerte of Elm City, North Carolina, earned the victory in the co-angler division on Saturday with three bass weighing 12 pounds, 13 ounces. Lacerte earned $1,490 for his victory.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:          Jean Lacerte, Elm City, N.C., three bass, 12-13, $1,490
2nd:        Allen Haigh, Prospect Hill, N.C., three bass, 9-14, $760
3rd:         Chip Crews, Trinity, N.C., three bass, 9-13, $370
4th:         Shane Clark, Statesville, N.C., three bass, 9-6, $300
5th:         Sean Tobatto, Greensboro, N.C., three bass, 9-1, $247
5th:         David Everly, Conway, S.C., three bass, 9-1, $247
7th:         James Roten, West Jefferson, N.C., three bass, 8-13, $230
8th:         Demon Pittman, Timberlake, N.C., three bass, 8-12, $215
9th:         Bart Hill, Clemmons, N.C., three bass, 8-11, $210
10th:       Robert Wedding, Welcome, Md., three bass, 8-10, $300

Lacert also caught the Berkley Big Bass, landing a 5-pound, 10-ounce kicker to with the co-angler award and $100.

After three events, Chris Brummett of Lynch Station, Virginia, now leads the 7 Brew Piedmont Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 716 points, while Allen Haigh of Prospect Hill, North Carolina, leads the Piedmont Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 737 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. 8-10 BFL Regional tournament on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. 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.