Fort Smith’s Joslin Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division

MOUNT IDA, Ark. (March 4, 2024) – Boater Bryce Boatright of Sheridan, Arkansas, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 12 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Ouachita. The tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Arkie Division. Boatright earned $4,652 for his victory.

Kicking off his second BFL season, Boatright caught all his fish on a Black’s Custom BFL Umbrella Rig in 10 to 20 feet of water. He set up his rig with Keitech Swing Impact FAT Swimbaits on Black’s Custom Umbrella Rig Jig Heads.

Rather than target a specific area, Boatright roamed around, fishing a mix of cover and structure and targeting areas with varying water clarity. He caught about 10 keeper bass throughout the day.

“I caught them on rocks, on brush, suspended. It was a little mix of everything,” said Boatright, who works as a nurse in Hot Springs.

“It was just a good day. I haven’t really been on anything in practice. I just caught the right fish today. I got around the right fish that wanted to bite.”

The top 11 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Bryce Boatright, Sheridan, Ark., five bass, 18-12, $4,652
2nd:       Chris Darby, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 18-9, $2,326
3rd:       Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 16-15, $1,551
4th:        Rance Warden, North Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 15-13, $1,771
5th:        Chris Hamilton, Mayflower, Ark., five bass, 15-7, $930
6th:        Kiley Lawson, Salem, Ark., five bass, 15-4, $853
7th:        Lucas Bradley, Salem, Ark., five bass, 14-15, $775
8th:        Allen Stewart, North Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 14-12, $698
9th:        Matt Baker, Glenwood, Ark., five bass, 14-1, $550
9th:        Braxton Shifflett, Jessieville, Ark., five bass, 14-1, $550
9th:        Chris Huselton, Conway, Ark., five bass, 14-1, $550

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Rance Warden of North Little Rock, Arkansas, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 4 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $685.

Robert Joslin of Fort Smith, Arkansas, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,326 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 9 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:        Robert Joslin, Fort Smith, Ark., five bass, 13-9, $2,326
2nd:       Cody Mangrum, West Memphis, Ark., five bass, 11-10, $1,163
3rd:       Victor Jones, Hot Springs Village, Ark., five bass, 11-5, $777
4th:        Ramsey Gilbert, Mount Ida, Ark., five bass, 10-14, $543
5th:        Blake Ward, Sherwood, Ark., four bass, 10-10, $465
6th:        Zachary Ramsey, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 10-08, $426
7th:        Zeke Stevens, Springdale, Ark., five bass, 10-5, $388
8th:        Mason Davis, Vilonia, Ark., four bass, 9-11, $691
9th:        Zachary Morrow, Lonsdale, Ark., five bass, 9-5, $310
10th:     Steve Meredith, Jessieville, Ark., four bass, 9-4, $271

Mason Davis of Vilonia, Arkansas, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $342, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 4 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

The next event for BFL Arkie Division anglers will be held March 23, at Greers Ferry in Greers Ferry, Arkansas. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 17-19 BFL Regional tournament on Wright Patman Lake in Texarkana, Texas. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.

The 2024 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 Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments 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 BFL All-American.

Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota and YETI.

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.

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 Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network 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 17 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.