| Boater winner Bobby McMullin of Pevely, Missouri, and co-angler winner Aaron Wehmeyer of Normal, Illinois. |
| Normal’s Wehmeyer Tops Co-Angler Division SHELBYVILLE, Ill. (May 5, 2025) – Boater Bobby McMullin of Pevely, Missouri, caught a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 3 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Shelbyville. The tournament was the second event of the season for the BFL Illini Division. McMullin earned $2,748 for his victory. Spending 250 days on the water over any course of time would be a heck of an accomplishment for any weekend warrior bass angler. What with work and family and other responsibilities, it’s just not easy to get out there as often as most would like. Now imagine not only fishing that much, but competing 250 times. That’s what 82-year-old McMullin has accomplished. According to the most up-to-date records, McMullin has competed in 254 tournaments with MLF and its predecessors, dating back to the Operation Bass Red Man Tournament Trail days that preceded the FLW era of the Bass Fishing League. Some Red Man records were lost in an office fire years ago, so the number of tournaments he’s entered is probably actually higher. Whatever the exact total, McMullin is a diehard grassroots angler. He says he started fishing a lot more tournaments after he wrapped up a 37-year-long career at Chrysler back around 2001. He’s spent his long retirement enjoying competition and getting a few wins, including on Saturday. “It means a lot to win one at 82 because I didn’t get a check at all last year,” he said. “That’s the first year I’ve ever gone without getting a check. I was about ready to give up. I had one keeper in the first tournament and won this one. It’s been a pretty good year so far.” And in case you were wondering, McMullin is fully rigged with all the latest fish-finding technology – plus a good sense of humor. “I’ve got LiveScope on the boat, but I don’t know how to use it,” he said with a chuckle. As far as the fishing, McMullin claims it was all luck, though anyone who’s fished as long as he has knows there’s always more to winning than chance. “I’m 82 years old, so I’m surprised I got bit the way I did,” he joked. “I only had one keeper yesterday (Friday in practice). I got there today and just had two small bass – 13-inchers. But as we got toward the back of the cove, the fishing picked up and it got better all the sudden. Then it cut off again after I got those fish. But I was able to catch one right a quittin’ time that gave me a limit.” McMullin fished several coves in 3 to 5 feet of water. He stayed close to the takeoff area. And he kept his tactics simple, sticking with a confidence bait. “I caught ’em on a blue (Yamamoto) Senko,” he said, adding that he fished it Texas-rigged with a light weight. “I had two baits tied on. I had a black Senko tied on, and I had a blue one, but I never did throw the black one. I caught all the fish on a blue one.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Bobby McMullin, Pevely, Mo., five bass, 14-3, $2,748 2nd: Patrick Odell, Windsor, Ill., five bass, 13-15, $1,499 3rd: Clay Reeves, Kenney, Ill., five bass, 11-2, $916 4th: Todd Blakeman, Chatham, Ill., five bass, 10-8, $741 5th: Doug Borgmann, Ashley, Ill., three bass, 10-1, $855 6th: Hunter Russell, Salem, Ill., four bass, 10-0, $1,004 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus) 7th: Ethan Fields, Breese, Ill., five bass, 9-1, $458 8th: Riley Walk, Neoga, Ill., five bass, 8-10, $412 9th: Kyle Dowdy, Sunrise Beach, Mo., three bass, 8-8, $366 10th: Chris Engelage, Mascoutah, Ill., three bass, 8-4, $321 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Doug Borgmann of Ashley, Illinois, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 13 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $305.  Aaron Wehmeyer of Normal, Illinois, won the co-angler division and $1,374 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 7 pounds, 14 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers finished: 1st: Aaron Wehmeyer, Normal, Ill., three bass, 7-14, $1,374 2nd: Ken Landreth, Swansea, Ill., three bass, 7-9, $687 3rd: Ty Zeller, Normal, Ill., three bass, 6-6, $459 4th: Anthony Tatroe, Braidwood, Ill., three bass, 6-0, $321 5th: Gavin Thomas, Aviston, Ill., three bass, 5-12, $275 6th: David Ribbing, New Memphis, Ill., two bass, 5-10, $252 7th: Brad Thacher, Murray, Ky., three bass, 5-9, $229 8th: Andrew Boring, El Paso, Ill., two bass, 5-4, $206 9th: Hayden Swain, Tamaroa, Ill., two bass, 5-2, $183 10th: Ryan Fancher, Olney, Ill., two bass, 5-1, $160 Dan Brown of Glenarm, Illinois, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $152, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 11 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day. After two events, Travis Boley of Weldon, Illinois, now leads the Fishing Clash Illini Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 487 points, while Matt Chumbler of Carbondale, Illinois, leads the Fishing Clash Illini Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 482 points. The next event for BFL Illini Division anglers will be held June 21, at Lake Shelbyville out of Shelbyville, Illinois. 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. 3-4BFL Regional tournament on the Mississippi River in Quad Cities, Illinois. 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. |
