Cullman’s Stidham Tops Co-Angler Division

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (May 19, 2025) – Boater Tom Frink of Southside, Alabama, caught a five-bass limit weighing 25 pounds, 12 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Guntersville . The tournament, hosted by Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce, was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Choo Choo Division. Frink earned $6,417, including the lucrative $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

Guntersville has been fishing well lately, and Frink took advantage, throwing a Strike King Series 5 crankbait on a hard-bottom stretch within some grass. The best area was about 8 feet deep and about 25 yards long, rimmed by shallower and deeper grass.

“Sometimes you’d catch them on the edge of the grass, but the main spot was bare,” he said. “It was a lot of fun. It was loaded.”

Frink said the fish were so packed into this zone that he could feel his crankbait deflecting off them.

“The first fish I caught there this morning was like a 3 1/2, and there was a 5 trying to get the crankbait out of its mouth,” he said. “My co-angler almost netted both fish. That’s how close they were. I lost another one 3 1/2 or 4. When it jumped, the crankbait hit the water, I started reeling it and another one ate it.”

Frink actually started the day on some deeper holes and had a small limit before he went to what became his primary area. He didn’t realize the quality that was there until he dialed it in over the tournament. And even after catching 25-12, Frink didn’t think he had enough.

“Honestly, when it came to weigh-in, I thought I could probably get a top five,” he said. “I didn’t think I’d win because of how this lake has been fishing. I really thought somebody would catch a 27- or 28-pound bag. I was pleasantly surprised that was enough.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Tom Frink, Southside, Ala., five bass, 25-12, $6,417 (includes $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:      Westin Moss, Jasper, Tenn., five bass, 25-9, $1,958
3rd:       Matt O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., five bass, 25-2, $1,827
4th:        Logan Dyar, Cleveland, Ala., five bass, 24-4, $914
5th:        Seth Davis, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 23-13, $883
6th:        Josh M. Butler, Hampton Cove, Ala., five bass, 22-14, $718
7th:        Tanner Barclay, Section, Ala., five bass, 22-8, $653
8th:        Brody Robison, Dawson, Ala., five bass, 22-7, $588
9th:        Matt Vanmeter, Grant, Ala., five bass, 21-10, $522
10th:     Keith Miller, Scottsboro, Ala., five bass, 21-8, $457

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Matt O’Connell of Brooks, Georgia, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $520.

Paul Stidham of Cullman, Alabama, won the co-angler division and $1,958 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 1 ounce.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Paul Stidham, Cullman, Ala., three bass, 13-1, $1,958
2nd:      George Headden, Oakdale, Tenn., three bass, 12-9, $979
3rd:       Kyle Holt, Section, Ala., three bass, 12-4, $653
4th:        Pop Catalin, Cookeville, Tenn., three bass, 11-14, $424
4th:        Brent Cook, Gardendale, Ala., three bass, 11-14, $424
6th:        Darren Kelly, Wartburg, Tenn., three bass, 11-7, $459
7th:        Matt Adcock, Somerville, Ala., three bass, 11-6, $293
7th:        Rodney Bolte, Bloomington, Ind., three bass, 11-6, $293
7th:        Benjamin Roop, Tullahoma, Tenn., three bass, 11-6, $293
10th:     Alex Roberts, Columbia, Tenn., three bass, 11-5, $228

Belinda Towry of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $260, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 13 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Keith Miller of Scottsboro, Alabama, now leads the Fishing Clash Choo Choo Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 930 points, while Paul Stidham of Cullman, Alabama, leads the Fishing Clash Choo Choo Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 953 points.

The next event for BFL Choo Choo Division anglers will be held Sept. 20-21, at Lake Guntersville in Scottsboro, Alabama. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 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. 10-11 BFL Regional tournament on Logan Martin Lake in Lincoln, Alabama. 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 award of $20,000.

The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters 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 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.