Wilkesboro’s Cannon Tops Co-Angler Division

HENDERSON, N.C. (May 5, 2025) – Boater Tyler Trent of Nathalie, Virginia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 8 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Kerr Lake . The tournament, hosted by Vance County Tourism Development Authority, was the fourth event of the season for the BFL North Carolina Division. Trent earned $8,205, including the lucrative $5,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

Tournament morning started out on a pretty sour note for Trent, when a mechanical issue left him unable to use the big motor just 10 minutes after takeoff. It could’ve been an insurmountable hurdle, but Trent didn’t let it stand in the way of getting his sixth career BFL win and his second this season. Trent also won the March 8 Piedmont Division event on Kerr Lake.

“Luckily, I didn’t make it too far, so I could fish on the trolling motor and still make it back to weigh-in on time,” he said. “That’s basically how my day went. I just fished everything that was in front of me.”

Trent used a shaky head and a jig. While there was no pattern, he found plenty of rocky areas and laydowns to target en route to an impressive showing given the circumstances.

“I probably caught 30-some keepers,” Trent said. “I mean, it’s basically my home lake, so I know every end of it.

“It feels great, honestly,” he added. “This is my sixth BFL now I’ve won, but the other five, I was pretty much on ’em and knew it was going to happen. This one, when I broke down I thought I had no chance, and it just turned out to be one of those days you hear about.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Tyler Trent, Nathalie, Va., five bass, 17-8, $8,205 (includes $5,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:       Ryan Harrell, Roanoke Rapids, N.C., five bass, 17-5, $1,603
3rd:       Lucas Murphy, West Columbia, S.C., five bass, 16-2, $1,168
4th:        Winston Husband, Gilbert, S.C., five bass, 15-0, $748
5th:        Kevin Chandler, New London, N.C., five bass, 14-12, $1,026
6th:        A.J. Lester, Huddleston, Va., five bass, 14-10, $838
7th:        John Wiese, Charlotte, N.C., five bass, 13-10, $534
8th:        Chris Baumgardner, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 13-1, $481
9th:        Austin Wike, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 13-0, $427
10th:     Wesley Cashwell, Roanoke Rapids, N.C., five bass, 12-15, $374

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Kevin Chandler of New London, North Carolina, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 2 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $385.

Steve Cannon of Wilkesboro, North Carolina, won the co-angler division and $2,003 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 12 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Steve Cannon, Wilkesboro, N.C., three bass, 8-12, $2,003
2nd:      Travis Ruff, Connelly Springs, N.C., three bass, 8-9, $801
3rd:       Bobby Henderson, Charlotte, N.C., three bass, 8-7, $533
4th:        Cameron Deese, Kershaw, S.C., three bass, 7-14, $374
5th:        Wayne Smelser, Wytheville, Va., three bass, 7-12, $321
6th:        Sean Tobatto, Greensboro, N.C., three bass, 7-10, $294
7th:        Jason Hinger, Timberlake, N.C., three bass, 7-9, $317
8th:        Robert Green, Sedalia, N.C., three bass, 7-4, $240
9th:        Jay Huffstickler, Stanley, N.C., three bass, 7-2, $214
10th:     Trevor Lewis, Wake Forest, N.C., three bass, 6-14, $187

Braxton Spurlin of Ellenboro, North Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $192, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 4 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Kaden Buchmann of Troutman, North Carolina, now leads the Fishing Clash North Carolina Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 969 points, while Travis Ruff of Connelly Springs, North Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash North Carolina Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 977 points.

The next event for BFL North Carolina Division anglers will be held Sept. 13-14, at Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina. 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 Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina. 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.