| Boater winner Zachary Francis of Abingdon, Virginia, and co-angler winners Jack Williams of Kingsport, Tennessee and Dewayne Drummonds of Gray, Kentucky. |
| Drummonds, Williams Tie for Win in Co-Angler Division BRISTOL, Tenn. (March 31, 2025) – Boater Zachary Francis of Abingdon, Virginia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on South Holston Reservoir. The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Volunteer Division. Francis earned $3,247 for his victory. Francis weighed in a mixed bag comprised of three smallmouth bass and two largemouth bass. Regardless of species, he caught all his fish the same way. “I was just out scoping,” he said. “I was catching some prespawn females. I started out this morning kind of in a community hole with several boats around. The fish were just real pressured. I had a small limit at 12 o’clock. Then I made a run and switched gears and went up the lake, and I just ran into some better quality fish there within the last hour and a half or so.” South Holston is Francis’ home lake, so he knows where the fish spent the winter. He simply started in the backs of some nearby creeks and worked his way out toward the main lake until he ran into the lake’s bigger prespawn females. He caught his fish using a jighead that he pours and a soft plastic lure poured by a buddy. The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Zachary Francis, Abingdon, Va., five bass, 21-6, $3,247 2nd: Kevin Stevenson, Butler, Tenn., five bass, 21-3, $1,623 3rd: Gavin Cloutier, Jonesborough, Tenn., five bass, 20-11, $1,582 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus) 4th: Landon Lawson, Jonesborough, Tenn., five bass, 20-7, $758 5th: Jeremy Gordon, Rutledge, Tenn., five bass, 20-2, $649 6th: Seth Austin, Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 19-6, $958 6th: Corey Neece, Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 19-6, $568 8th: Donavan Carson, Bluff City, Tenn., five bass, 19-4, $487 9th: Hunter McClaskey, Elizabethton, Tenn., five bass, 18-14, $433 10th: Conner Dimauro, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 18-12, $379 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Corey Neece of Bristol, Tennesee, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 11 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $390.  Jack Williams of Kingsport, Tennessee, and Dewayne Drummonds of Gray, Kentucky, tied for the win in the co-angler division Saturday after each bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 10 pounds, 1 ounce. They each took home $1,217 for their share of the winning prize. The top 11 co-anglers finished: 1st: Jack Williams, Kingsport, Tenn., three bass, 10-1, $1,217 1st: Dewayne Drummonds, Gray, Ky., three bass, 10-1, $1,217 3rd: Ricky Crider, Dwale, Ky., three bass, 8-15, $541 4th: Brad Barton, Middlesboro, Ky., three bass, 8-9, $379 5th: Justin McGaha, Knoxville, Tenn., three bass, 8-8, $325 6th: Stephen Vick, Dandridge, Tenn., three bass, 8-6, $298 7th: Kasey Hunley, Sharps Chapel, Tenn., three bass, 8-3, $271 8th: TJ Blakely, Kingsport, Tenn., three bass, 7-10, $244 9th: Colton Salyer, Gate City, Va., three bass, 7-9, $216 10th: Derek Ray, Swords Creek, Va., three bass, 7-8, $179 10th: Justin Goodman, Lancing, Tenn., three bass, 7-8, $179 Bud McKelvey of Knoxville, Tennessee, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $195, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 1 ounce – the largest co-angler catch of the day. After three events, Corey Neece of Bristol, Tennessee, now leads the Fishing Clash Volunteer Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 743 points, while Stephen Vick of Dandridge, Tennessee, leads the Fishing Clash Volunteer Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 724 points. The next event for BFL Volunteer Division anglers will be held May 18, at Cherokee Lake in Jefferson City, Tennessee. 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. 24-25 BFL Regional tournament on Dale Hollow Lake in Byrdstown, Tennessee. 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. |
