Russellville’s Schultz Claims Win in Co-Angler Division

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (June 22, 2026) – Boater Dale Pelfrey of Rockwood, Tennessee, caught a total of five bass weighing 16 pounds, 5 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Cherokee Lake . The tournament, hosted by Visit Jefferson County, TN, was the fourth of five events of the season for the BFL Volunteer Division. Pelfrey earned $4,540, including a $2,500 Phoenix bonus, for his victory.

“I just put a flipping stick in my hand and went flipping all day,” Pelfrey said. “The early bite was really good for me. I think I had three for 10 pounds in the first 30 minutes, but I could have had 18 pounds. I just kept losing fish.”

Pelfrey said he caught seven keepers during the course of the day and may have lost twice as many bass.

“I don’t know what was going on with me today,” Pelfrey said. “I was sick about it all day.”

Pelfrey said he covered water from the takeoff site to the 25E bridge as the day progressed, but the bite slowed and he said he had only three bites in the last three hours of the tournament. Pelfrey said he was experimenting with a new bait, but didn’t want to divulge the name. He targeted multiple types of cover in 8 to 10 feet of water.

“I typically don’t fish like that,’ Pelfrey said. “It’s just something I got on in practice Friday, and it proved to be the right thing. And anything that matched that description … that’s what I ran.”

Despite the fish he lost during the tournament, Pelfrey said he remained optimistic about his chances.

“I knew I would be close,” Pelfrey said. “Typically, if you have 17 pounds, you’re pretty close. But I’ve been in tournaments where it only took 14 pounds. I knew I had a shot, but I also knew I had a shot to lose, as well.

“I’ve been on the wrong side of a win several times,” Pelfrey went on to say. “I have seven or eight second-place finishes, so I’ve had my share of close calls. It feels good to be on the right side of a 1-ounce difference.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Dale Pelfrey, Rockwood, Tenn., five bass, 16-5, $4,540 (includes $2,500 Phoenix bonus)
2nd:      Riley Faulkner, Jacksboro, Tenn., five bass, 16-4, $1,080
3rd:       Justin McGaha, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 14-8, $700
4th:        Canyon Padgett, Clinton, Tenn., five bass, 14-4, $500
5th:        Matthew Rock, Bristol, Va., five bass, 13-15, $600
6th:        Brian Vicchio, Gray, Tenn., five bass, 13-9, $400
7th:        Kasey Hunley, Sharps Chapel, Tenn., five bass, 13-4, $390
8th:        Gavin Clevenger, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 12-7, $380
9th:        Spencer Peters, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 12-1, $370
10th:     Greg McDavid, Piney Flats, Tenn., four bass, 11-13, $360

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

John Blanton of Salyersville, Kentucky, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 4-pound, 11-ounce bass worth $200.

Dawson Schultz of Russellville, Tennessee, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,020 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 12 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Dawson Schultz, Russellville, Tenn., three bass, 8-12, $1,020
2nd:      Adam Spivey, Jonesville, Va., three bass, 8-3, $590
3rd:       Ryan Lee, Pound, Va., three bass, 7-4, $300
4th:        Bud McKelvey, Knoxville, Tenn., two bass, 7-2, $350
5th:        Corey Wilson, Weaverville, N.C., three bass, 6-8, $225
6th:        Mark Thomas, Decatur, Tenn., three bass, 6-4, $200
7th:        Kyle Coffin, Cookeville, Tenn., two bass, 5-15, $200
8th:        Elijah Caudill, Rutledge, Tenn., three bass, 5-12, $190
9th:        Keith Gunsauls, Dandridge, Tenn., two bass, 5-7, $185
9th:        Cody Stokes, Ooltewah, Tenn., two bass, 5-7, $185

Bud McKelvey of Knoxville, Tennessee, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 4-pound, 5-ounce bass worth $100.

After four events, Justin McGaha of Knoxville, Tennessee, now leads the 7 Brew Volunteer Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 978 points, while Keith Gunsauls of Dandridge, Tennessee, leads the Volunteer Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 968 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 Clarks Hill Lake in Appling, Georgia. 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.

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.