| Boater Landon Edwards of Springdale, Arkansas, and Strike-King co-angler James Welch of Bolivar, Missouri. |
| Bolivar’s Welch Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division KIMBERLING CITY, Mo. (Feb. 19, 2024) – Boater Landon Edwards of Springdale, Arkansas, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 7 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Table Rock Lake . The tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Ozark Division. Edwards earned $5,970 for his victory. “I made a run down past Campbell Point up the White River,” said Edwards, who notched a previous BFL win on Table Rock Lake in 2022. “I found a sneaky spot in practice where I thought I could catch 18 pounds. I had graphed a spot that was just a little rock pile with a tree on it that had 20 to 30 big fish on it. I caught a 6½-pounder on it Thursday and then left it alone.” Edwards said he ran to his “sneaky” spot during the tournament because he figured the field would be using Garmin Livescope to target bass, and he wanted to try something different to stand out from the field. He said he used a 6th Sense Divine 5-Wire 4-Blade Umbrella Rig with 6th Sense Divine Swimbaits to boat his bigger bass on the rock pile. “I rolled up, threw my Alabama rig, and caught a 4½-pounder,” Edwards said. “I threw back and caught another 4½. I threw back in again and caught a 7-pounder. So, I had 15-something pounds with three fish.” Edwards relocated to let his spot rest and pulled a 3¼-pound fish from deep water, putting him at more than 19 pounds with four fish. “I went back to my lucky spot and caught one that weighed more than 3 pounds that put me over 22 pounds,” Edwards said. “I was having some motor problems, so we ran back to Kimberling City near weigh-in and finished up the day. “I had confidence that I had enough weight to make the top 10,” Edwards said. “So, it was really nice to win it. These tournaments are so hard to win with all the locals who fish them. It was cool to win this.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Landon Edwards, Springdale, Ark., five bass, 22-7, $5,970 2nd: Eric Olliverson, Shell Knob, Mo., five bass, 20-13, $3,082 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus) 3rd: Jacob Wade, Mountain Grove, Mo., five bass, 20-12, $1,722 4th: Aric Szambelan, Farmington, Minn., five bass, 20-6, $1,205 5th: Cody Miller, Shell Knob, Mo., five bass, 19-14, $1,033 6th: Clay Henderson, Purdy, Mo., five bass, 19-13, $1,247 7th: Cody Ellison, Fordland, Mo., five bass, 19-3, $861 8th: Brock Reinkemeyer, Warsaw, Mo., five bass, 18-9, $775 9th: Camden Kozikoski, Edmond, Okla., five bass, 18-8, $689 10th: Drew Sagely, Rogers, Ark., five bass, 18-1, $603Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Edwards also caught a bass that weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $805.  James Welch of Bolivar, Missouri, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,436 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 14 pounds, 3 ounces. The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished: 1st: James Welch, Bolivar, Mo., five bass, 14-3, $2,436 2nd: Joshua Ramsey, Columbia, Mo., five bass, 13-10, $1,218 3rd: Jeff Moss, Oronogo, Mo., five bass, 12-15, $1,064 4th: Caleb Welch, Bolivar, Mo., five bass, 12-13, $568 5th: Grant Simmons, Blue Springs, Mo., five bass, 12-3, $487 6th: Tim Bowers, Thayer, Mo., five bass, 12-2, $447 7th: Shaun Smith, Smithville, Mo., five bass, 11-12, $406 8th: Blake Miller, Cedar Falls, Iowa, four bass, 11-11, $365 9th: Brock Krohne, Belton, Mo., five bass, 11-4, $325 10th: Kirk Short, St. Clair, Mo., four bass, 10-14, $284Pat Leonard of Springfield, Missouri, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $367, catching a bass that weighed in at 6 pounds, 1 ounce – the largest co-angler catch of the day. The next event for BFL Ozark Division anglers will be held March 30, at Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri. 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 Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee. 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. 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, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota 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. |
