| Boater winner Rick McFaul of Phoenix, Maryland, and co-angler winner Steven Lloyd of Summit Point, West Virginia. |
| West Virginia’s Lloyd Tops Co-Angler Division MARBURY, Md. (May 19, 2025) – Boater Rick McFaul of Phoenix, Maryland, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Potomac River Presented by Suzuki Marine . The tournament, hosted by Charles County Recreation, Parks, and Tourism, was the third event of the season for the BFL Shenandoah Division. McFaul earned $4,584 for his victory. Mother Nature tried her best to foil McFaul’s plans today, forcing him to default from Plan A all the way to “Plan C,” he said. But it ended up working in his favor. “We had some extreme weather conditions today,” McFaul said. “The recent rains had a flooding effect on the river. There was a massive amount of dirty water and debris flowing down the river. So everything I had found in practice was taken out by the conditions – the wind and the dirty water. So I found a little patch of cleaner water on the Virginia side of the river and literally Power-Poled down and just fished one 50-yard stretch for about five hours.” The 50-yard stretch is a community hole grass bed ranging from 3 to 5 feet deep. After catching about 15 pounds from that spot, McFaul headed back toward the weigh-in in Mattawoman Creek. It was about 1:30 when he left. Because he gave himself plenty of time to deal with rough water, McFaul arrived early and had time to make one last stop in Mattawoman. He pulled up on a stretch of wood and promptly boxed two fish over 4 pounds each to cull up to the winning weight. “I think one of the reasons why I was able to do well today was there was no place to go,” he said. “I really think the conditions forced me to settle down and not move because I didn’t have any other options, really. One of the mistakes I always make, and I think it’s just my personality – I tend to move around a little too much and get impatient.” McFaul fished three primary presentations on the wood and grass. He fished a swim jig, a soft stick bait and a Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer Baby Jack. At just 1/4 ounce, the Baby Jack stayed right above the top of the grass for an effective presentation. It’s also the lure that produced his biggest fish. The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Rick McFaul, Phoenix, Md., five bass, 18-11, $4,584 2nd: Todd Langford, Great Falls, Va., five bass, 17-9, $2,292 3rd: Robert Henderson, King George, Va., five bass, 16-13, $2,129 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus) 4th: Roy Dixon, Welcome, Md., five bass, 16-8, $1,070 5th: Brian Laclair, Denton, Md., five bass, 16-4, $917 6th: Brian Warfel, Woodbridge, Va., five bass, 15-11, $840 7th: Ron Rousseau, Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 15-7, $726 7th: Andrew George, Poplar Branch, N.C., five bass, 15-7, $1,401 9th: Joe A. Zombek II, Scranton, Pa., five bass, 15-4, $611 10th: Travis Garrett, Charlottesville, Va., five bass, 14-14, $535 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Andrew George of Poplar Branch, North Carolina caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $675.  Steven Lloyd of Summit Point, West Virginia, won the co-angler division and $2,355 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 10 pounds, 13 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers finished: 1st: Steven Lloyd, Summit Point, W.Va., three bass, 10-13, $2,355 2nd: John Robinson, Montpelier, Va., three bass, 10-5, $1,152 3rd: Jason Hensley, Chesterfield, Va., three bass, 10-4, $768 4th: Zhengrong Tang, Berwyn, Pa., three bass, 9-15, $538 5th: Richard Williams, Sutherland, Va., three bass, 9-14, $461 6th: Melvin Smitson, Baltimore, Md., three bass, 9-8, $423 7th: John Lambert, Fredericksburg, Va., three bass, 9-7, $719 8th: Ashton Crickenberger, Charlottesville, Va., three bass, 9-6, $326 8th: Matthew Ross, Barton, Md., three bass, 9-6, $326 10th: Brayden Fong, Bluefield, W.Va., three bass, 9-4, $269 John Lambert of Fredericksburg, Virginia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $335, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 3 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day. After three events, Ben Reynolds of Callands, Virginia, now leads the Fishing Clash Shenandoah Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 713 points, while David Rosenbaum of Leesburg, Virginia, leads the Fishing Clash Shenandoah Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 695 points. The next event for BFL Shenandoah Division anglers will be held July 19, at the James River out of Henrico, Virginia. 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. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on the James River in Richmond, Virginia. 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 Sport 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. |