| Boater winner Greg Scythes of Marysville, Ohio, and co-angler winner Dan Schlegel of Cincinnati, Ohio. |
| Cincinnati’s Schlegel Tops Co-Angler Division LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. (May 19, 2025) – Boater Greg Scythes of Marysville, Ohio, caught a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Ohio River Presented by Lew’s. The tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Buckeye Division. Scythes earned $4,026 for his victory. Fluctuating water conditions throughout the Ohio Valley have challenged anglers this spring. It was no different in the Buckeye Division opener. The weekend before the tournament, the water was 5 to 6 feet high around Tanners Creek. By Wednesday, levels had returned to normal. Then by the tournament, it was back up a foot and a half or so and climbing. “That kind of drop (mid-week) really freaks out those river fish and pulls them off the bank,” Scythes said. “But we also last Monday night had the full moon, so these fish are just dying to get on the bed. But none of the fish I caught were on the bed. They were cruising.” Knowing the fish might be in a funk from all the weather changes, Scythes slowed way down. He spent the entire day working over the same 40-yard stretch, pitching soft plastics and slowly dragging them back. Some of his fish were right on the bank. The deepest came from about 2 feet of water. “Honestly, I didn’t think there was that much there, so I ran straight there and I sat on it all day,” Scythes said. “I just worked back and forth, back and forth. My co-angler caught his last fish at 1 o’clock. I culled most of the day until my smallest one was 1-15, and it’s pretty hard to cull a 1-15 on the river.” According to Scythes, the winning spot was flooded riprap. But more importantly, it had all the right ingredients for this time of year – cleaner water, hard bottom, a good spawning area and it was full of shad. He said a tube was his primary lure. “I think just not leaving the fish, really, that was the key,” he said. “I think we’ve all done this; I’ve definitely done it in the past – went to an area, caught a couple and left it. I caught my two biggest ones off that bank after I already had a limit.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Greg Scythes, Marysville, Ohio, five bass, 12-5, $4,026 2nd: Jamie Cunnagin, New Lebanon, Ohio, five bass, 11-2, $1,963 3rd: Nick Leonard, Amelia, Ohio, five bass, 10-0, $1,309 4th: Chris Wilkinson, Farmersburg, Ind., five bass, 9-4, $916 5th: Dick Shaffer, Rockford, Ohio, five bass, 9-0, $785 6th: Dave Fricke, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 8-15, $687 6th: Chris Martinkovic, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 8-15, $1,312 8th: Nick Ryan, Cleves, Ohio, five bass, 8-12, $556 8th: Stacey Edwards, Milton, Ky., five bass, 8-12, $556 10th: Nico Urso, Union, Ky., five bass, 8-11, $458 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Jonathan Hall of Florence, Kentucky, caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 7 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $530.  Dan Schlegel of Cincinnati, Ohio, won the co-angler division and $1,963 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 5 pounds, 6 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers finished: 1st: Dan Schlegel, Cincinnati, Ohio, three bass, 5-6, $1,963 2nd: Travis Cole, Somerville, Ohio, three bass, 5-5, $981 3rd: Jeff Campbell, Fairfield, Ohio, three bass, 4-15, $655 4th: Jesse Foster, Franklin, Ohio, three bass, 4-12, $425 4th: Brandon Houston, Lakeside Park, Ky., three bass, 4-12, $425 6th: Travis Lakes, Miamisburg, Ohio, three bass, 4-11, $360 7th: Jim Feathers, Vermilion, Ohio, three bass, 4-9, $327 8th: Brent Jones, Okeana, Ohio, three bass, 4-8, $444 9th: Jordan Smith, Middletown, Ohio, three bass, 4-7, $262 10th: Nate Kelly, Mason, Ohio, one bass, 4-6, $494 Nate Kelly of Mason, Ohio, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $265, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 6 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day. In addition to winning the event, Scythes now has the early lead in the Fishing Clash Buckeye Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 250 points, while Dan Schlegel of Cinncinati, Ohio, leads the Fishing Clash Buckeye Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 250 points. The next event for BFL Buckeye Division anglers will be held June 14, at Mosquito Lake out of Cortland, Ohio. 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 Lake Erie out of Sandusky, Ohio. 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. |