Indiana’s Spandau Wins Co-Angler Division

TRENTON, Mich. (Sept. 21, 2026) – Boater Wilson Burton of Findlay, Ohio, caught a total of 10 bass weighing 46 pounds, 10 ounces, over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Detroit River. The tournament was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Michigan Division Presented by 3rd Deck Brewing Company. Burton earned $6,120, including a $2,500 Phoenix bonus, for his victory.

“I went out Thursday and found five locations with mega schools on them,” Burton said. “I was like, ‘Man, this is crazy.’ There were some big fish in that community hole.

“Tournament time comes and somebody is in my first spot, somebody is in my second spot, and soon it’s 10 o’clock and I don’t have a fish,” Burton went on to say. “So, I decided to go and isolate myself from everybody else on some structure on North Shore.”

Burton relocated and found the fishing to be “lights out.” He wanted to turn on his Garmin LiveScope, but didn’t because the fish were biting so well.

“I finally turned LiveScope on at 10:45 and caught four or five good ones for about 21 pounds,” Burton said. “So, I went around with the ’Scope for a little bit just looking for fish that were hitting bait balls.”

His technique produced around 100 bass during the course of the two-day event. Burton said he threw an Alabama rig in practice, but bass weren’t taking it during the tournament, so he went to a Strike King 3X ElazTech Z Too soft jerkbait on a ball head “scooted” on the bottom.

“I caught a few that way and then made a couple of culls in the mouth of the river,” Burton said. “The biggest key was just getting away from everybody.”

“On Day 2 I had 20 pounds by 8:30 and I thought, ‘I do have a chance at this,’” Burton went on to say. “I’ve been fishing these events quite a while. I fished the first College event on the Detroit River and we took fifth for Ohio University. And to come out now and win the last BFL event in this format on the Detroit River – it’s crazy.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:         Wilson Burton, Findlay, Ohio, 10 bass, 46-10, $6,120 (includes $2,500 Phoenix bonus)
2nd:        Jesse Hickman, Waynesville, Ohio, 10 bass, 46-4, $2,130
3rd:         Josh Kolodzaike, Ypsilanti, Mich., 10 bass, 43-8, $1,010
4th:         Trevor Jancasz, White Pigeon, Mich., 10 bass, 42-15, $840
5th:         Cody Kelley, Plainwell, Mich., 10 bass, 42-12, $720
6th:         Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., 10 bass, 41-15, $690
7th:         Aaron Jagdfeld, Rochester, Mich., 10 bass, 41-14, $670
8th:         Matthew Davis, Morenci, Mich., 10 bass, 41-13, $640
9th:         Angel Rosario, Kalamazoo, Mich., 10 bass, 39-8, $610
10th:       Julian Sweet, Flint, Mich., 10 bass, 38-13, $880

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Julian Sweet of Flint, Michigan, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 6-pound, 1-ounce bass worth $300.

Thomas Spandau of Franklin, Indiana, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,810 Sunday after bringing six bass to the scale that totaled 26 pounds, 7 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:         Thomas Spandau, Franklin, Ind., six bass, 26-7, $1,810
2nd:        Tommy Pritchard, Bargersville, Ind., six bass, 25-8, $990
3rd:         Dan Beach, Clarkston, Mich., six bass, 25-5, $580
4th:         Joseph Nega, Chicago, Ill., six bass, 25-1, $420
5th:         Brandon Smith, Mason, Ohio, six bass, 24-8, $360
6th:         Rosario Murello, Greenwood, Ind., six bass, 23-9, $345
7th:         Mikey Vanvleet, Battle Creek, Mich., five bass, 23-2, $340
8th:         Caleb Edgerton, Dayton, Ohio, six bass, 22-9, $420
9th:         Drew Simon, Risingsun, Ohio, six bass, 22-4, $310
10th:       Daniel Dumais, Trenton, Mich., six bass, 22-1, $290

Joey Miller of Reading, Michigan, and Dan Beach of Clarkston, Michigan, split the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $150 after landing a pair of 5-pound, 7-ounce bass.

With all five events in the division now complete, boater Scott Dobson of Clarkston, Michigan, won the 7 Brew Michigan Division Presented by 3rd Deck Brewing Company Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,354 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Mike Mueller of Delaware, Ohio, won the Michigan Division Presented by 3^rd Deck Brewing Company Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,333 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. 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 the 2027 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.