Sutherland’s Williams Earns Win in Co-Angler Division

HENRICO, Va. (June 22, 2026) – Boater Michael McCrickard of Smithfield, Virginia, caught a total of five bass weighing 20 pounds, 10 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the James River . The tournament, hosted by Richmond Region Tourism, was the third of five events of the season for the BFL Shenandoah Division. McCrickard earned $3,160 for his victory.

“I had a late boat number, so where I wanted to start was kind of out the window,” McCrickard said. “I had a good practice Tuesday in the (Chickahominy River) and had an even better practice Thursday up the James. I decided to make the run to the Chick, pulled up on a spot and on the third cast caught a 6-pounder.”

McCrickard relocated further upriver and within five minutes caught another bass that weighed 5-12. With two big ones in the livewell, McCrickard hit a dry spell until around 10 a.m. A 3-pounder broke the drought. McCrickard was targeting grasslines with a crankbait and a Yamamoto Senko. At high tide the grass was anywhere from two to six feet deep.

“Then we ran around like mad men and left the Chick at 11:45 and pulled into a creek on the lower end of the James,” McCrickard said. “I finished out my limit and headed back to the boat ramp at about 1 o’clock.

“I knew 13 pounds would get a check on the boater side and it would take 17 to 18 pounds to win,” McCrickard said. “And a third of the field wouldn’t catch a limit. It’s fishing pretty tough right now. I knew going into it to have a shot I was going to have to fish pretty clean. When I caught that 6-pounder early I wouldn’t say I was coasting, but I knew I had the big one out of the way.

“I’ve put a lot of time on that river the past couple of years trying to learn it,” McCrickard went on to say. “It felt really good to piece it all together and close it out.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Michael McCrickard, Smithfield, Va., five bass, 20-10, $3,160
2nd:      Travis Lewis, Stanley, Va., five bass, 15-12, $1,600
3rd:       Kermit Crowder, Matoaca, Va., five bass, 15-8, $1,170
4th:        Eric Johnson, Partlow, Va., five bass, 15-7, $620
5th:        Brian Langford, Petersburg, Va., five bass, 14-12, $550
6th:        Christopher Wingfield, Richmond, Va., five bass, 14-1, $480
7th:        Brian Laclair, Denton, Md., five bass, 13-10, $460
8th:        Shawn Huwar, Ruther Glen, Va., five bass, 13-8, $430
8th:        Ben Dalton, Bracey, Va., five bass, 13-8, $430
10th:     Keith Estes, Spring Grove, Va., five bass, 13-4, $410

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

McCrickard also earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing his 6-pounder, worth $200.

Richard Williams of Sutherland, Virginia, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,530 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 10 pounds, 14 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Richard Williams, Sutherland, Va., three bass, 10-14, $1,530
2nd:      Larry Freeman Jr., La Crosse, Va., three bass, 9-2, $750
3rd:       David Williams, Fredericksburg, Va., three bass, 8-10, $447
3rd:       David Cole, Chester, Va., three bass, 8-10, $347
5th:        Frank Daniels, Dover, Del., three bass, 7-12, $275
6th:        Taylor Schmitt, North Chesterfield, Va., three bass, 7-9, $240
7th:        Steven Lloyd, Summit Point, W.V., two bass, 7-2, $225
7th:        Phil Thalheimer, Raleigh, N.C., three bass, 7-2, $225
9th:        Pat Kendrick, Bumpass, Va., three bass, 7-1, $207
9th:        Stephen Barr, Wilmington, N.C., one bass, 7-1, $307

Stephen Barr of Wilmington, North Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 7-pound, 1-ounce bass worth $100.

After three events, Brian Laclair of Denton, Maryland, now leads the 7 Brew Shenandoah Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 728 points, while Richard Williams of Sutherland, Virginia, leads the Shenandoah Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 728 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.