Shelbyville’s Smith Wins Co-Angler Division

WHITTINGTON, Ill. (April 13, 2026) – Boater Brennon McCord of Thompsonville, Illinois, brought five bass to the scale weighing 18 pounds even to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Rend Lake. The tournament, hosted by Seasons Lodge at Rend Lake, was the first of five events of the season for the BFL Illini Division. McCord earned $5,840, including a $2,500 Phoenix contingency bonus, for his victory.

“I caught three flipping and two on a ChatterBait,” McCord said. “I was pretty much targeting wood and fishing for spawners in the pockets.”

With low water levels positioning fish tighter to available cover, McCord said the conditions helped concentrate bass, but heavy fishing pressure made execution critical throughout the day.

“The water’s low, so there’s nowhere for them to really hide,” McCord said. “It’s kind of congregating them, but they’re getting a lot of pressure too, so it made it tough.”

McCord stayed committed to his pattern around isolated wood and was able to steadily upgrade his limit as the day progressed.

“I culled three times,” McCord went on to say.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Brennon McCord, Thompsonville, Ill., five bass, 18-0, $5,840 (includes $2,500 Phoenix bonus)
2nd:      Jeremy Mull, Pawnee, Ill., five bass, 17-13, $1,680
3rd:       Adam Eggertsen, Marion, Ill., five bass, 16-14, $850
4th:       Matthew Warren, Benton, Ill., four bass, 15-12, $680
5th:       Greg Mullins, Mount Vernon, Ill., five bass, 14-11, $700
6th:       Jeffrey Farmer, Sesser, Ill., four bass, 14-10, $520
7th:       Mario Rossi, Granite City, Ill., four bass, 12-8, $500
8th:       Lonnie Bowlin, Benton, Ill., four bass, 11-9, $470
9th:       Chad Diedrich, Nashville, Ill., four bass, 11-9, $470
10th:     Dan Shoraga, West Frankfort, Ill., two bass, 11-3, $630

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Boater Dan Shoraga of West Frankfort, Illinois, also earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award honors with an 8-pound, 7-ounce bass worth $200.

Gage Smith of Shelbyville, Illinois, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,770 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 1 ounce.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Gage Smith, Shelbyville, Ill., three bass, 12-1, $1,770
2nd:      Jeff Anderson, St. Louis, Mo., two bass, 9-13, $840
3rd:       Thomas Heintz, Marion, Ill., three bass, 9-11, $425
3rd:       Hayden Landreth, Texico, Ill., three bass, 9-10, $340
5th:       Gage Elder, Decatur, Ill., two bass, 8-13, $300
6th:       Amanda Black, Toledo, Ill., three bass, 8-6, $260
6th:       Ross Davis, St. Elmo, Ill., three bass, 6-9, $250
8th:       Gary Huber II, St. Charles, Mo., three bass, 6-3, $240
9th:       Joey Fritts, Red Bud, Ill., two bass, 5-11, $230
10th:     Dennis Spell, Bonne Terre, Mo., two bass, 5-7, $215

Smith also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 13-ounce bass worth $100.

After one event, Brennon McCord now leads the 7 Brew Illini Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 250 points, while Gage Smith leads the Illini Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 250 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 Kentucky Lake in Calvert City, Kentucky. 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 2026 BFL All-American will take place May 28-30, at Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, and is hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism.

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.