| Boater winner Christopher Maxwell of Auburndale, Florida, and co-angler winner Chris Westhelle of Sanford, Florida. |
| Sanford’s Westhelle Tops Co-Angler Division KISSIMMEE, Fla. (March 10, 2025) – Boater Christopher Maxwell of Auburndale, Florida, caught a five-bass limit weighing 23 pounds, 15 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Toho. The tournament, hosted by Experience Kissimmee, was the second event of the season for the BFL Gator Division. Maxwell earned $4,541 for his victory. A Toho local, Maxwell has been on the water a lot lately, including for another tournament last weekend, when he weighed in about 17 pounds. “I didn’t get a big bite (in that tournament),” he said, “but I just did pretty much the same thing today. I had a little bit of a crowd today. I just fished around them and did the same thing. I got the lucky bites today. That’s all I can say.” Maxwell spent the tournament fishing in Toho’s southern end. He fished pads and grass, intercepting postspawn fish as they left the beds before transitioning to deeper water. He caught his limit pitching a black and blue Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver. “I didn’t catch many fish. I caught seven today,” Maxwell said. “They were just the right ones. I just stuck with what I was doing and moved slow because all the boats were coming around, and I just didn’t let myself get aggravated with it.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Christopher Maxwell, Auburndale, Fla., five bass, 23-15, $4,541 2nd: George Kapiton, Inverness, Fla., five bass, 20-11, $2,270 3rd: Connor Macdougall, Cape Coral, Fla., five bass, 20-6, $1,514 4th: Chris Crow, Lake Placid, Fla., five bass, 18-10, $1,560 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus) 5th: Fred Chivington Jr., San Mateo, Fla., five bass, 18-9, $1,530 5th: Austin Chism, Auburndale, Fla., five bass, 18-9, $870 7th: Dylan Quilatan Windermere, Fla., five bass, 18-5, $757 8th: John Kremer, Orange City, Fla., five bass, 17-9, $681 9th: Cedric Perry, Trenton, Fla., five bass, 16-11, $605 10th: Anthony Cilladi, Oviedo, Fla., five bass, 15-14, $530 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Fred Chivington Jr. of San Mateo, Florida, caught a bass that weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $660.  Chris Westhelle of Sanford, Florida, won the co-angler division and $2,580 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 7 ounces. The top 11 co-anglers finished: 1st: Chris Westhelle, Sanford, Fla., three bass, 13-7, $2,580 2nd: Zachary Bach, Bartow, Fla., three bass, 11-11, $1,127 3rd: Leandro Saratt, Winter Garden, Fla., three bass, 11-1, $751 4th: Brian Yusavage, Tamarac, Fla., three bass, 10-1, $488 4th: Preston Williams, Tallahassee, Fla. three bass, 10-1, $488 6th: Larry Austin, The Villages, Fla., three bass, 9-5, $413 7th: Andrew Wiedmann, Titusville, Fla., three bass, 9-1, $376 8th: Taylor Harris, Haines City, Fla., three bass, 8-13, $338 9th: Robert Linthout, Cape Coral, Fla., three bass, 8-9, $300 10th: Justin Hampton, Orlando, Fl., three bass, 8-6, $250 10th: Kenneth Bivins, Orlando, Fla., three bass, 8-6, $250 Westhelle also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $327, catching a bass that weighed in at 9 pounds, 9 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day. After two events, Dylan Quilatan of Windermere, Florida, now leads the Fishing Clash Gator Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 493 points, while James Sponaugle of Auburndale, Florida, leads the Fishing Clash Gator Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 473 points. The next event for BFL Gator Division anglers will be held March 22, at the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida. 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. 17-18 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, Georgia. 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 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, 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. |
