BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (July 18, 2022) – Boater Levi Mullins of Nineveh, Indiana, caught three bass Saturday weighing 12 pounds, 12 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Monroe . The tournament was the third event for the Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division. Mullins earned $5,635 for his victory.

“I knew my starting spot had some potential, but I got there and started with a topwater bait and couldn’t get anything going,” Mullins said. “I switched to a shaky head and picked off a few fish in stumps in eight feet of water.”

Mullins said he caught 10 bass during the course of the tournament – six of which were keepers – in the main lake area of Monroe.

“I didn’t know how close I was to winning until I got to weigh-in,” Mullins said. “I just felt like I needed one more quality bite. This is just awesome.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:        Levi Mullins, Nineveh, Ind., three bass, 12-12, $5,635
2nd:       Jerry Koller, Paragon, Ind., three bass, 12-1, $2,118
3rd:       Tyler Mosier, Bloomington, Ind., three bass, 11-15, $1,413
4th:        Mike Quinlin, Mooresville, Ind., three bass, 11-7, $988
5th:        Doug Ruster, New Palestine, Ind., three bass, 10-13, $847
6th:        Rob Flowers, West Harrison, Ind., three bass, 10-4, $776
7th:        Robert Gilliland Sr., Bloomington, Ind., three bass, 10-3, $670
7th:        Nick Uebelhor, Jasper, Ind., three bass, 10-3, $1,170 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
9th:        Dave Tinsman, Losantville, Ind., three bass, 10-0, $565
10th:     Colby Reed, Bloomington, Ind., three bass, 9-12, $494

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

 

 

Phillip Ralston of Terre Haute, Indiana, had a largemouth that weighed 6 pounds even that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $590.

Colsyn Head of Poland, Indiana, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,082 Saturday after catching three bass weighing 10 pounds, 7 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

1st:        Colsyn Head, Poland, Ind., three bass, 10-7, $2,082
2nd:       John Bradley Atkins, Mooresville, Ind., three bass, 9-5, $1,041
3rd:       Guy Linville, Camby, Ind., two bass, 9-4, $692
4th:        Jay Backer, Henderson, Ky., three bass, 7-2, $486
5th:        Steven Sanders, Orleans, Ind., three bass, 6-13, $416
6th:        Douglas Salzman, Newburgh, Ind., two bass, 6-9, $382
7th:        Kevin Freese, Danville, Ind., three bass, 5-15, $447
8th:        Andy Lundy, Camby, Ind., one bass, 5-13, $602
9th:        Gary Owens, Columbus, Ind., three bass, 5-12, $278
10th:     Austin Tinsman, Losantville, Ind., two bass, 5-11, $243

Lundy caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 13 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $290.

After three events, Chris Martinkovic of Hamilton, Ohio, leads the Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 728 points, while Austin Tinsman of Losantville, Indiana, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 718 points.

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.