Columbia’s McClinton Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division

PROSPERITY, S.C. (Jan. 20, 2025) – Boater Lucas Murphy of West Columbia, South Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 26 pounds, 10 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Murray . The tournament, hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board, was the first event of the season for the BFL South Carolina Division. For his victory, Murphy earned $5,886, including a $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus.

“We had a big front come through at 10 o’clock,” Murphy said. “I caught probably two of my fish before it and three of them after, but all pretty close to it. I caught most of them shallow on a lipless crankbait and a few out deep on a brush pile with a drop-shot.”

In the morning, when the wind was cooking, Murphy took advantage of the conditions with the lipless crank – a 1/2-ounce Strike King Red Eye Shad in a red craw pattern – fishing in 5 feet of water or less.

“I was just kind of chasing the wind on rocky banks,” he said. “Wherever the wind was hitting the bank, if it’s got rock on it you start fishing it. Two of the three big crankbait fish I caught off of places I never caught a fish off of in my life. I just fished it because it set up right.”

Post-front, the sun eventually came out, and that’s when Murphy adjusted to fishing brush piles in 25 to 30 feet of water with a 5-inch Strike King Filler Worm on a drop-shot. Altogether, he landed about a dozen keepers, he had to cover quite a bit of water to catch them. Murphy says the fish are really spread out in Lake Murray this season.

“I caught ’em all over the place,” he said. “I do fish the lake a lot, so I kind of just have some areas and some sweet spots. I started mid-lake and just kind of fished my way down to the dam. I feel like I’d make a move to an area and catch a big one and fish a little bit, then make a move to another area and catch another big one.

“I ran into a few of the great big ones,” he added. “I caught my big fish – a 7 1/4 – and it’s the biggest fish I ever caught in a tournament. I caught that one and was feeling pretty good.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Lucas Murphy, West Columbia, S.C., five bass, 26-10, $5,886 (includes $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:       Andy Wicker, Pomaria, S.C., five bass, 23-7, $2,118
3rd:       Wesley Sandifer, Chapin, S.C., five bass, 22-13, $1,129
4th:        Michael Murphy, Gilbert, S.C., five bass, 22-8, $790
5th:        Brandon Jeffcoat, Columbia, S.C., five bass, 20-0, $677
6th:        Shane Lineberger, Lincolnton, N.C., five bass, 19-7, $621
7th:        Derek Lehtonen, Woodruff, S.C., five bass, 19-3, $564
8th:        Matt Messer, Warfield, Ky., five bass, 19-0, $508
9th:        Andrew Blanton, Chesnee, S.C., five bass, 18-15, $451
10th:     Will Alewine, Newberry, S.C., five bass, 18-6, $395

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Andy Wicker of Pomaria, South Carolina, caught a bass that weighed 9 pounds, 8 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $425.

Zahreed McClinton of Columbia, South Carolina, won the Strike King co-angler division and $1,668 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 7 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:        Zahreed McClinton, Columbia, S.C., three bass, 13-7, $1,668
2nd:       Kate Hough, Prosperity, S.C., three bass, 10-7, $834
3rd:       Trent Carey, York Springs, Pa., three bass, 9-5, $558
4th:        Thomas Pennell III, Boiling Springs, S.C., three bass, 8-14, $389
5th:        Greg Clayton, York, S.C., three bass, 8-9, $334
6th:        Coeltryn Kirkland, Lexington, S.C., three bass, 8-6, $306
7th:        Kodell Keels, Columbia, S.C., one bass, 8-2, $483
8th:        Rodney Tapp, Inman, S.C., three bass, 7-14, $250
9th:        Todd Huntley, Inman, S.C., three bass, 7-13, $222
10th:     Robert Adams, Greensboro, N.C., three bass, 7-8, $195

Kodell Keels of Columbia, South Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $205, catching a bass that weighed in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

In addition to the win, Lucas Murphy also now has the early lead in the Fishing Clash South Carolina Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 250 points, while co-angler winner Zahreed McClinton leads the Fishing Clash South Carolina Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 250 points.

The next event for BFL South Carolina Division anglers will be held Feb. 1, at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South 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. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament at Lake Norman in Huntersville, North 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 Strike King 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 Sports 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, Vosker, 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 17 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.