| Boater Matthias Kircher of Sorento, Illinois and Strike-King co-angler Jimmy Null of Bethalto, Illinois. |
| Bethalto’s Null Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division SHELBYVILLE, Ill. (July 17, 2023) – Boater Matthias Kircher of Sorento, Illinois, caught four bass weighing 16 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Shelbyville . The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Illini Division. Kircher earned $6,641, including a $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory. Kircher said he had fished Lake Shelbyville only 10 times before the BFL event, and this tournament was his second effort as a boater in competition. “I had all my fish by 9:15,” said Kircher, who focused his efforts on the 9th Street area of Lake Shelbyville. “I only had five bites all day. The other fish was a 13-incher.” Kircher said he caught his first fish in the treetop of a laydown in about 20 feet of water on a shaky-head rig. His other three keepers came on a watermelon candy red-colored Zoom Ol’ Monster Worm. Kircher said he caught all four of his fish on two laydowns 100 yards apart from each other. “I pre-fished last Wednesday and caught a 15-inch fish in that treetop,” said Kircher. “I had another bite, and I left it alone. So, during the tournament, I went with my gut instinct and went where I caught that keeper because I wasn’t on anything during practice this week. “The Lord blessed me with four good bites,” Kircher added. “I told my co-angler I needed one more fish. I thought I needed that fifth fish. But my co-angler said, ‘I think you’ve got this.’ And he was right. This feels great.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Matthias Kircher, Sorento, Ill., four bass, 16-9, $6,641 (includes $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus) 2nd: Levi Kohl, Edinburg, Ill., three bass, 16-3, $1,835 3rd: Garrett McDowell, Windsor, Ill., five bass, 15-4, $1,444 4th: Joshua Tyner, Spencer, Ind., five bass, 14-1, $856 5th: Joe Bardill, Highland, Ill., five bass, 13-8, $734 6th: Jeffrey Lee, Olney, Ill., five bass, 13-2, $673 7th: Ethan Fields, Breese, Ill., five bass, 12-15, $612 8th: Jeremy Dhom, Teutopolis, Ill., five bass, 12-6, $551 9th: Jeremy Mull, Pawnee, Ill., five bass, 11-4, $489 10th: Mike McGill, Findlay, Ill., five bass, 10-15, $428Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Kircher also caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $470.  Jimmy Null of Bethalto, Illinois, won the Strike King co-angler division and a total of $1,835 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 13 ounces. The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished: 1st: Jimmy Null, Bethalto, Ill., five bass, 11-13, $1,835 2nd: Mike Swetland, Tamaroa, Ill., five bass, 8-7, $1,268 3rd: Aaron Arning, Walnut Hill, Ill., five bass, 8-0, $612 4th: Nathan Riley, La Place, Ill., four bass, 7-10, $428 5th: William Hadraba, Willow Springs, Ill., four bass, 7-4, $367 6th: Dale Renth, Mascoutah, Ill., four bass, 6-15, $336 7th: Jim Budde, Waterloo, Ill., four bass, 6-13, $306 8th: Andrew Boring, El Paso, Ill., three bass, 6-6, $275 9th: Amanda Black, Toledo, Ill., three bass, 6-3, $245 10th: Rowdy King, Shelbyville, Ill., two bass, 5-15, $214Jason Korando of Chester, Illinois, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $235, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 1 ounce – the largest co-angler catch of the day. After three events, Garrett McDowell of Windsor, Illinois, leads the BFL Illini Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 737 points, while Aaron Arning of Walnut Hill, Illinois, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 729 points. 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. 12-14 BFL Regional tournament on Dale Hollow Lake in Byrdstown, Tennessee. 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. Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 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, Mystik Lubricants, 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. |
