Haverlock Claims Victory in Strike King Co-Angler Division

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Feb. 27, 2023) – Boater Michael Stephens of Gastonia, North Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Norman . The tournament, hosted­ by the Mooresville Convention and Visitors Bureau, was the first event of the season for the BFL North Carolina Division. Stephens earned $4,884 for his victory.

“We started out on some rock points and caught three fish,” said Stephens. “I fished deep with a Rapala DT6 for a while, but the deep fish I had found had moved. So, I started skipping docks that held brush with a jig. I caught two of my key fish doing that. The rest of the day I sight-fished in pockets.

“It was really slow … just a fish an hour,” Stephens added. “It was really tough. I had to work for them.”

Stephens said his two biggest fish came in the backs of pockets. He said earlier in the week the bass had been staging to spawn, but a cold front moved through, and the fish moved away and were keying on baitfish in the backs of the pockets.

“This win is kind of a big deal for me,” Stephens said. “I’ve fished a lot and come in second and third and had quite a few top-10s, but I’ve never won. So, it was nice to nail that down finally.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:          Michael Stephens, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 18-5, $4,884
2nd:        Rob Johnson, Schuylkill Haven, Pa., five bass, 17-2, $2,140
3rd:        Spencer Taylor, Sherrills Ford, N.C., five bass, 13-11, $1,426
4th:         Ben Hudson, Forest, Va., five bass, 13-9, $998
5th:         David Cooke, Mooresville, N.C., five bass, 12-11, $856
6th:         Jason Wilson, Lincolnton, N.C., five bass, 12-9, $785
7th:         Cody Hoyle, Rutherfordton, N.C., five bass, 12-4, $713
8th:         George Lambeth, Thomasville, N.C., five bass, 12-1, $642
9th:         Michael Webster, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 11-15, $535
9th:         Josh Gowan, Moravian Falls, N.C., five bass, 11-15, $535

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Stephens also caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 14 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $605.

Gregory Haverlock of Indian Trail, North Carolina, won the Strike King co-angler division and a total of $2,140 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 16 pounds, 10 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:          Gregory Haverlock, Indian Trail, N. C., five bass, 16-10, $2,140
2nd:        Hunter Alexander, China Grove, N.C., five bass, 13-0, $1,070
3rd:        Keith Wood, Mooresville, N.C., five bass, 12-7, $712
4th:         Cody Barnes, Zebulon, N.C., five bass, 11-8, $499
5th:         Johnathan Strickland, Graham, N.C., five bass, 11-6, $428
6th:         Hayden Foster, Moravian Falls, N.C., five bass, 11-3, $392
7th:         Zachary Stroupe, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 11-0, $357
8th:         Timothy Pass, Belmont, N.C., five bass, 9-6, $321
9th:         David Bright, Mooresville, N.C., three bass, 9-3, $587
10th:      William Vaughn, Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 9-1, $237
10th:      Jay Kleinfeld, Winston Salem, N.C., five bass, 9-1, $237

Bright earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $302, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 3 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

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. 5-7 BFL Regional tournament on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury 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 outboard.

The 2023 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. The 2023 All-American event will take place May 31-June 2, on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina. The event is hosted by Visit Oconee SC.

Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X 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.