LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. (Oct. 5, 2026) – Boater Doug Ruster of New Palestine, Indiana, caught a total of eight bass weighing 19 pounds, 6 ounces, over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Ohio River at Tanners Creek. The tournament was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Hoosier Division. Ruster earned $4,450 for his victory.

Ruster’s approach to the tournament was simple – do what he knows how to do and what he knows works. In this case, that meant throwing a spinnerbait shallow.

“I targeted shallow laydowns with a spinnerbait and a spinnerbait only,” Ruster said.

“The first day was really, really good,” Ruster went on to say. “I always fish shallow – usually flat creeks on the Ohio River, and I caught them all on the spinnerbait. They were biting really good. I probably caught 25 keepers. The water was down, but it was great.

Conditions changed for the second day of the tournament, but Ruster’s approach did not.

“The second day, the water had come up drastically and it basically shut my bite off,” Ruster said. “I didn’t have any fish at 12:30.”

Ruster caught a small keeper then moved to a new location and caught another small keeper, then at 2 o’clock he hooked one that weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces.

“I’ve won a lot of money on a spinnerbait on the Ohio River over the last 20 years,” Ruster said. “Today I thought about changing it up a little bit, but I said, ‘You know what? Stick with what you’re good at.’

“I’ve finished second three times in the two-day Super Tournaments and second twice in regular BFL events there, and that just sticks in my mind,” Ruster said. “This is my favorite tournament of the year, and it ended up working out for me today. It feels great.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:          Doug Ruster, New Palestine, Ind., eight bass, 19-6, $4,450
2nd:        Scott Bateman, Jasper, Ind., 10 bass, 17-8, $2,260
3rd:         Tim Adams, Burlington, Ky., 10 bass, 16-13, $1,160
4th:         Rob Flowers, West Harrison, Ind., eight bass, 15-11, $1,440 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus)
5th:         Lucas McDaniel, Fortville, Ind., seven bass, 14-3, $1,100
6th:         Chris Wilkinson, Farmersburg, Ind., eight bass, 14-0, $760
7th:         Frank McClain, Scottsburg, Ind., eight bass, 13-3, $720
8th:         Tony Collins, Dayton, Ohio, seven bass, 11-10, $690
9th:         Chris Malas, Cincinnati, Ohio, eight bass, 11-10, $750
10th:       Laine Bull, Cincinnati, Ohio, eight bass, 11-7, $610

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Lucas McDaniel of Fortville, Indiana, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 5-pound, 9-ounce bass worth $300.

Ronnie Getz of Strunk, Kentucky, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $2,225 Sunday after bringing six bass to the scale that totaled 9 pounds even.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:          Ronnie Getz, Strunk, Ky., six bass, 9-0, $2,225
2nd:        Tim Edwards, Underwood, Ind., five bass, 8-10, $1,180
3rd:         Dale Walton, Greenwood, Ind., four bass, 7-1, $580
4th:         Bruce Deyoung, Dyer, Ind., two bass, 6-1, $620
5th:         Tony Burke, Bloomington, Ind., five bass, 5-15, $400
6th:         Jordan Atwell, Ruston, La., three bass, 5-11, $380
7th:         Gary Baker, Vallonia, Ind., four bass, 5-4, $360
8th:         Jeremy Johnson, Austin, Ind., two bass, 5-4, $345
9th:         Bill Zimmerman, Shelburn, Ind., four bass, 5-3, $330
10th:       Cayman Wilhelmus, Boonville, Ind., four bass, 5-2, $305

Bruce Deyoung of Dyer, Indiana, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 4-pound, 6-ounce bass worth $150.

With all five events in the division now complete, boater Chris Wilkinson of Farmersburg, Indiana, won the 7 Brew Hoosier Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,316 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Rob Campbell of Martinsville, Indiana, won the Hoosier Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,264 points and earned the $500 payout.

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-Barkley Lake 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 2027 BFL All-American will take place June 5-7, at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida, and is hosted by Experience Kissimmee.

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 Nicotine Pouches, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, 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.