Delaware’s Given Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (Aug. 19, 2024) – Boater Thomas Lavictoire Jr. of West Rutland, Vermont, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 3 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Champlain . Hosted by the City of Plattsburgh and Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau, the tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Northeast Division. Lavictoire earned $3,377 for his victory.

Lake Champlain is a legendary smallmouth fishery, and in this era of forward-facing sonar technology, it would not be surprising to hear that the Champlain BFL event was won scoping smallmouths with a jighead-minnow.

Of course, with all the focus on that approach, it leaves other opportunities open. And that’s exactly what Lavictoire exploited to get the W.

He said he “went solely for largemouth.”

“Largemouth have been ignored and have replenished, and if you get five of those you’re in good shape,” he said.

High winds challenged the field on Saturday, with 6- to 8-foot waves in some areas. Thankfully for Lavictoire, he had plenty of big-fish spots pegged up north. Though he had to run through some gnarly waves, he was mostly protected once he got to his areas.

“I fished from the ramp in Plattsburgh to Missisquoi Bay and back,” he said. “I mainly fished a jig all day. I fished a lot of rock and grass and a lot of boat docks, pilings, drop-offs, ledges – anything that I’ve fished in the past and caught big ones off of.”

Lavictoire ran a milk run of about 25 spots, mostly tossing a homemade jig (made by a buddy) that resembles a perch or bluegill. He thinks the biggest key was sticking to his game plan of avoiding chasing numbers of fish and targeting big bites.

“I think (the key was) mostly just putting myself in productive areas, ignoring the wind, ignoring the forward-facing sonar thing that everybody does and sticking with my game plan – the idea that if I get five big largemouth I can beat those smallmouth,” he said.

And, in case you were wondering, as exciting as it is to watch fish chase your lure on sonar, it’s also a pretty darn good time catching them by dragging or pitching a jig.

“It’s so much fun,” Lavictoire added. “So much fun.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Thomas Lavictoire Jr., West Rutland, Vt., five bass, 22-3, $3,377
2nd:       Jason Stoddard, St. Albans, Vt., five bass, 22-0, $1,689
3rd:       Jim Sweeney, West Dover, Vt., five bass, 19-4, $1,128
4th:        Ed Casey, Whiteford, Md., five bass, 19-0, $731
4th:        Jason Shipton, Muncy, Pa., five bass, 19-0, $731
6th:        Josh Kauffman, Marysville, Pa., five bass, 18-14, $1,091 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
6th:        Jared Phillips, Addison, N.Y., five bass, 18-14, $591
8th:        Stephen Draghi, Sparrow Bush, N.Y., five bass, 18-12, $507
9th:        Preston Vargo, Port Henry, N.Y., five bass, 18-10, $450
10th:     Christopher Sanno, Landisburg, Pa., five bass, 18-7, $809

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Christopher Sanno of Landisburg, Pennsylvania, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $415.

Randall Given of Laurel, Delaware, won the Strike King co-angler division and $1,648 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 17 pounds, 5 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:        Randall Given, Laurel, Del., five bass, 17-5, $1,648
2nd:       Eric Reynolds, Bloomingburg, N.Y., five bass, 16-8, $824
3rd:       Scott Minch, Feasterville, Pa., five bass, 16-4, $549
4th:        Matthew Belmore, Indian Lake, N.Y., five bass, 15-15, $385
5th:        Michael Bell, Ogdensburg, N.Y., five bass, 15-13, $480
6th:        Michael Bahnweg, Union Dale, Pa., 15 – 11 (5)  $302
7th:        Shawn Minch, Feasterville, Pa., five bass, 15-3, $477
8th:        Melvin Smitson, Baltimore, Md., five bass, 15-2, $247
9th:        Brent Navari, Colchester, Vt., five bass, 15-1, $220
10th:     Hunter Navari, Colchester, Vt., five bass, 14-5, $192

Shawn Minch of Feasterville, Pennsylvania, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $202, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 12 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After three events, Christopher Sanno of Landisburg, Pennsylvania, leads the Fishing Clash Northeast Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 712 points, while Lenny Baird of Stafford, Virginia, leads the Fishing Clash Northeast Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 722 points.

The next event for BFL Northeast Division anglers was planned for Aug. 18 on Lake Champlain. That event was a makeup tournament for a previous event that was postponed. However, forecasts for high winds and unsafe conditions forced the Aug. 18 event to also be postponed. It will now be held Sept. 14 at the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. The next day, on Sept. 15, the BFL Northeast Division Super Tournament will also held on the Potomac River in Marbury. This will now be a one-day Super Tournament event. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

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. 3-5 BFL Regional tournament on Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki 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 or Suzuki outboard.

The 2024 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 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 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, 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 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.