Ohio’s Hammel Wins Co-Angler Division

SPRING CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 21, 2026) – Boater Luke Kerstetter of Seymour, Tennessee, caught a total of nine bass weighing 29 pounds, 4 ounces, over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Watts Bar Lake. The tournament, hosted by the Rhea County Department of Tourism – Fish Spring City, was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Volunteer Division. Kerstetter earned $3,110 for his victory.

“Day 1 I caught them the first two hours on a (Z-Man Evergreen Chatterbait) Jack Hammer, Kerstetter said. “I caught two 6-pounders in about an hour. I went practicing the rest of the day to find something for Day 2 and caught a couple of fish but didn’t cull anything out.”

Kerstetter started the second day of competition on the spot he started Day 1 and caught two bass in the first two hours after making two passes. He said he just “went fishing” for the rest of the day and was able to come up with two more bass in the Spring Creek area.

Kerstetter said he was targeting schooling gizzard shad in 8-foot grass ditches.

“There were some threadfin shad present as well, but the two big ones I caught were really filled out, and they were definitely eating gizzard shad,” Kerstetter said.

Kerstetter said his hopes for a win in the tournament soared early on the first day.

“After the first two hours I was like, ‘Man, I’ve got a good bag and I’ve got to start thinking about finding more water and trying to figure something else out, because the fishing was just so tough.”

Kerstetter said he purposefully went to new water he had never fished before so he could approach the water with an unbiased outlook. His strategy paid off.

“Man, this win feels good,” Kerstetter said. “It’s been a lot of long days and hard work, for sure. I’ve lived down here for about three years. I moved down from Wisconsin to chase the dream. I fish Fort Loudon a lot and can attribute my success on Watts Bar to the experience I’ve gotten from Loudon.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:          Luke Kerstetter, Seymour, Tenn., nine bass, 29-4, $3,110
2nd:        John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 26-8, $2,020 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus)
3rd:         Zachary Francis, Abingdon, Va., 10 bass, 26-0, $1,120
4th:         T.J. Murray, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 24-12, $740
5th:         Riley Faulkner, Jacksboro, Tenn., nine bass, 23-7, $660
6th:         Tim Smiley, White Pine, Tenn., eight bass, 20-15, $640
7th:         Jerry Monroe, Athens, Tenn., eight bass, 19-8, $610
8th:         Matthew Rock, Bristol, Va., nine bass, 18-10, $590
9th:         Billy Joe Wheat, Rockwood, Tenn., nine bass, 17-7, $570
10th:       Derrick Blake, Rockwood, Tenn., four bass, 9-10

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Tournament winner Kerstetter also earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 6-pound, 11-ounce bass worth $300.

Kujo Hammel of Massillon, Ohio, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,455 Sunday after bringing six bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 15 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:         Kujo Hammel, Massillon, Ohio, six bass, 13-15, $1,455
2nd:        Isaac Mueller, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 10-12, $760
3rd:         Adam Spivey, Jonesville, Va., five bass, 10-12, $435
4th:         Jerry Wright, Bland, Va., four bass, 8-13, $370
5th:         Clinton Harrison, Georgetown, Tenn., two bass, 7-6, $480
6th:         Shaun Godsey, Decatur, Tenn., three bass, 7-4, $320
7th:         Jermaine Shephard, Knoxville, Tenn., three bass, 6-10, $310
8th:         Gordon Benedict, Cookeville, Tenn., two bass, 5-13, $295
9th:         Keith Gunsauls, Dandridge, Tenn., three bass, 5-9, $290
10th:       Steve Oullette, Knoxville, Tenn., two bass, 3-13

Clinton Harrison of Georgetown, Tennessee, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass worth $150.

With all five events in the division now complete, boater Justin McGaha of Knoxville, Tennessee, won the 7 Brew Volunteer Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,341 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Clinton Harrison of Georgetown, Tennessee, won the Volunteer Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,337 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 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 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.