Alabama’s Black Earns Victory in Co-Angler Division

GADSDEN, Ala. (July 20, 2026) – Boater David Wesson of Southside, Alabama, caught a three-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 15 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Neely Henry. The tournament was the fourth of five events of the season for the BFL Bama Division. Wesson earned $4,000 for his victory.

“The areas that I fished were areas where I wasn’t going to get a ton of bites, and I knew that,” Wesson said. “I’m a local, and I knew a handful of areas where I felt like I could get that better-than-average-sized fish, but not a lot of bites.”

Wesson said he focused his efforts during the tournament on two places within five miles of the Coosa Landing takeoff site. In a conservation effort, the tournament limit for each angler was three bass, and Wesson said he thought it would take 14 pounds to win the event.

“I started the day in an area, and the name of the game was to slow down,” Wesson said. “When you thought you were going slow, go slower. I was dragging a plum- or black-colored Zoom Ol’ Monster around. I was fishing edges – edges of grasslines, or any type of edge that gave bigger fish somewhere to set up. And you had to make a perfect cast. I mean, come right down the side of it without getting into the grass or being too far from the grass.”

In addition to dragging a worm, Wesson said he used a Hideup Coike Fullcast Creature Bait during his forward-facing sonar period but caught only one fish during the three-hour period – a 5-11 kicker that boosted his confidence.

“I thought I’d have a pretty good shot at being in the Top 5,” Wesson said. “I’ve fished BFLs for the past six or seven years now, and every year I’ve fished Neely Henry. I’ve had a couple of top 10s and done really bad in some of the other ones. I hadn’t won a BFL on Neely Henry. It’s one of those things that has always kind of snakebit me. I’d be on something decent, but it never worked out for me.

“So, this feels good,” Wesson added. “I’ve been trying for seven years to get that jumping fish (trophy) here on Neely.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        David Wesson, Southside, Ala., three bass, 12-15, $4,000
2nd:      Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., three bass, 12-2, $2,800 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus)
3rd:       John Kellett, Springville, Ala., three bass, 11-9, $1,000
4th:        Eddie Walker, Pinson, Ala., three bass, 11-7, $800
5th:        Keenan Hess, Montgomery, Ala., three bass, 11-0, $700
6th:        Austin Shields, Lake View, Ala., three bass, 10-11, $600
7th:        Owen Stamm, Morristown, Tenn., three bass, 10-7, $575
8th:        Kris Colley, Ragland, Ala., three bass, 10-6, $550
9th:        Jack White, Vance, Ala., three bass, 9-13, $525
10th:     Lee Black, Moulton, Ala., three bass, 9-10, $500

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Jacob Walker of Springville, Alabama, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 6-pound, 5-ounce bass worth $200.

Mark Black of Selma, Alabama, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $2,000 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 12 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Mark Black, Selma, Ala., three bass, 8-12, $2,000
2nd:      Rodney Graham, Childersburg, Ala., three bass, 8-1, $850
2nd:      Johnny Clark, Northport, Ala., three bass, 8-1, $750
4th:        Dennis Wynn, Jacksonville, Ala., three bass, 7-14, $400
5th:        Phillip Easterling, Clanton, Ala., three bass, 7-10, $350
6th:        Jonathan Majors, Chelsea, Ala., three bass, 7-7, $300
7th:        Scott Noles, Woodland, Ala., three bass, 7-6, $290
8th:        Michael Hester, Ohatchee, Ala., three bass, 7-1, $275
9th:        Taylor Ellington, Opelika, Ala., three bass, 6-14, $260
10th:     Matthew King, Huntsville, Ala., three bass, 6-12, $250

Rodney Graham of Childersburg, Alabama, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 3-pound, 15-ounce bass worth $100.

After four events, James Willoughby of Gulfport, Mississippi, now leads the 7 Brew Bama Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 938 points, while Rodney Graham of Childersburg, Alabama, leads the Bama Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 962 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. 22-24 BFL Regional tournament on Watts Bar Lake in Spring City, Tennessee. 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. 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, 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.