| Boater winner Chad Sims of Lancaster, South Carolina, and co-angler winner Mekye Barnes of Knightdale, North Carolina. |
| Knightdale’s Barnes Tops Co-Angler Division YORK, S.C. (March 23, 2025) – Boater Chad Sims of Lancaster, South Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Wylie . The tournament, hosted by Visit York County, was the second event of the season for the BFL North Carolina Division. Sims earned $10,641, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory. According to Sims, this was a long overdue win. “I’ve been knocking on the door of these things for so long, and it seemed like every time something bad would happen,” he said. “I’d lose a fish here or there. Man, you have no idea … I mean, this is not my first win, but this is my first win in the BFLs. Being known around where we’re from as being a pretty good fisherman and you can’t win one of them? It couldn’t come at a better time.” In practice on Wednesday, Sims caught a big bag “doing something that most locals to Wylie know about,” though he didn’t provide any more details than that. Then on Thursday, a cold front came through and changed the conditions. By Friday, he wasn’t able to repeat his performance and got just one bite. “But I still knew it was going to warm up, so I knew it still might work,” he said. “Fast forward to today, I started closer to the ramp. There was a big tournament there about a month ago, and there were a lot of release fish. I started there and caught a 5-pounder. I left there and went straight upriver and kind of just did the rest with a jig.” The 5-pounder came fishing shallow. Once he went upriver, Sims figured out a key depth range – not too deep and not too shallow. And regarding that Lake Wylie “local pattern,” he was able to catch his two biggest bass using that technique. Yet the real turning point in his victory came on a particular piece of cover where he experienced both heartbreak and elation. “Man, I lost a 6-pounder toward about 12 o’clock or so,” he said. “I lost a 6-pounder at the boat, and it was on kind of like a pole sitting out in the middle of nowhere. I went back to that pole three or four times throughout the day, and there was a bunch of fish on it. And finally at the end of the day I was able to coax another one into biting. That was what gave me the win right there because I culled like a pound.” Reflecting on his win, Sims offered a big thank you to Tournament Director Steve Sizemore and the rest of the crew. “You can’t ask for a better tournament director,” he added. The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Chad Sims, Lancaster, S.C., five bass, 18-00, $10,641 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus) 2nd: Britt Myers Jr., Lake Wylie, S.C., five bass, 17-13, $1,820 3rd: Travis Donaldson, Cleveland, N.C., five bass, 16-13, $1,032 3rd: William Bond, Moncks Corner, S.C., five bass, 16-13, $1,032 5th: Michael Webster, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 16-9, $728 6th: Michael Stephens, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 16-7, $668 7th: Cole Huskins, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 15-12, $607 8th: Kevin Chandler, New London, N.C., five bass, 14-13, $546 9th: Tanner Schultz, Lexington, S.C., five bass, 14-10, $485 10th: Aaron Digh, Maiden, N.C., five bass, 14-4, $425 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Jason Damico of Cramerton, North Carolina caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 13 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $475.  Mekye Barnes of Knightdale, North Carolina, won the co-angler division and $1,816 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 9 pounds, 7 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers finished: 1st: Mekye Barnes, Knightdale, N.C., three bass, 9-7, $1,816 2nd: Travis Ruff, Connelly Springs, N.C., three bass, 9-6, $908 3rd: Kevin Farley, Landrum, S.C., three bass, 8-11, $515 3rd: Tommy Swicegood, Salisbury, N.C., three bass, 8-11, $747 5th: Dale Surrett, Midland, N.C., three bass, 8-3, $448 5th: Phillip Ragland Jr., Rustburg, Va., three bass, 8-3, $448 7th: Jim Freeland, Youngsville, N.C., three bass, 7-14, $303 8th: Jared Jones, Denver, N.C., three bass, 7-0, $257 8th: Victor Cuevas, Supply, N.C., three bass, 7-0, $257 10th: Scott McKay, New London, N.C., three bass, 6-15, $212 Tommy Swicegood of Salisbury, North Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $232, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds – the largest co-angler catch of the day. After two events, Chad Sims of Lancaster, South Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash North Carolina Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 493 points, while Kevin Farley of Landrum, South Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash North Carolina Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 498 points. The next event for BFL North Carolina Division anglers will be held April 12, at High Rock Lake in Lexington, North 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. 10-11 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Murray in Columbia, South 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 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. |
