| Boater Aaron Stahley of Batavia,Ohio, and co-angler Jonathan Campbell of Hockingport, Ohio. |
Hockingport’s Campbell Tops Co-Angler Division LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. (July 21, 2025) – Boater Aaron Stahley of Batavia, Ohio, caught a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Ohio River at Tanners Creek . The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Buckeye Division. Stahley earned $4,241 for his victory. “It started off a little slow,” Stahley said. “I was catching some short fish, and then finally I was just kind of making some different milk runs and really started putting together a few bites here and there.” There was no real pattern to it. Stahley ran around and fished what looked good, junk-fishing with a topwater, crankbait, spinnerbait and tube. “I just try to put myself in the best position to be around a few fish,” he said. “Then the key is to catch your bites because it’s the Ohio River. You’re not going to get very many of them.” For Stahley, a teacher, getting his first win from the front of the boat was a welcomed change of pace from dealing with the ongoing challenges of a house fire that his family suffered last November. “I’m supposed to be home doing drywall, but I told my wife I was going to go fish instead of work,” he said. “She was on board. We’ve been over there working every single day for probably 10 or 12 hours. So to get an opportunity to go fish a tournament, she said have at it. It feels good.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Aaron Stahley, Batavia, Ohio, five bass, 12-11, $4,241 2nd: Michael Nesbitt, St. Paris, Ohio, five bass, 10-11, $1,835 3rd: Kenny Dials, Gallipolis, Ohio, five bass, 9-14, $1,040 3rd: Chris Martinkovic, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 9-14, $1,690 5th: David Taylor, Freedom, Pa., five bass, 8-7, $1,234 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus) 6th: Chuck Willis, Dayton, Ohio, four bass, 8-6, $673 7th: Kevin Spears, New Boston, Ohio, five bass, 7-9, $612 8th: Brent Jones, Okeana, Ohio, five bass, 7-3, $551 9th: Kenneth Pincombe, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 7-0, $458 9th: Seth Fricke, Oxford, Ohio, five bass, 7-0, $458 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Stahley caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 5 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $470.  Jonathan Campbell of Hockingport, Ohio, won the co-angler division and $1,835 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 4 pounds, 14 ounces. The top 12 co-anglers finished: 1st: Jonathan Campbell, Hockingport, Ohio, three bass, 4-14, $1,835 2nd: Jacob Lange, Trenton, Ohio, three bass, 4-8, $918 3rd: Jordan Smith, Middletown, Ohio, three bass, 4-6, $612 4th: Eric Moore, Okeana, Ohio, three bass, 4-4, $428 5th: Ryan Sykes, Hamilton, Ohio, three bass, 4-3, $517 6th: Walt Hammond, Lees Summit, Mo., three bass, 3-14, $336 7th: Dakota Ball, Connersville, Ind., three bass, 3-13, $275 7th: Jordan Voigt, Celina, Ohio, three bass, 3-13, $275 7th: Kade Oliver, Muncie, Ind., three bass, 3-13, $275 10th: Jesse Foster, Franklin, Ohio, three bass, 3-12, $194 10th: Brendon Thornburg, Muncie, Ind., three bass, 3-12, $194 10th: Jeff Campbell, Fairfield, Ohio, three bass, 3-12, $194 Greg Barnes of Morning View, Kentucky, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $235, catching a bass that weighed in at 2 pounds, 15 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day. After three events, Chris Martinkovic of Hamilton, Ohio, now leads the Fishing Clash Buckeye Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 726 points, while Ryan Sykes of Hamilton, Ohio, leads the Fishing Clash Buckeye Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 713 points. The next event for BFL Buckeye Division anglers will be held Aug. 2, at Lake Erie out of Sandusky, 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. |