| Boater winner Aaron Jagdfeld of Rochester, Michigan, and co-angler winner Mark Lyons of Marion, Indiana. |
| Indiana’s Lyons Tops Co-Angler Division TRENTON, Mich. (July 28, 2025) – Boater Aaron Jagdfeld of Rochester, Michigan, caught a five-bass limit weighing 25 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Detroit River Presented by Lew’s. The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Michigan Division. Jagdfeld earned $3,926 for his victory. “I’ve been chasing another one of these for a while,” said Jagdfeld, whose last win came in an MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing event back in 2021. “To finally get it done feels incredible – especially on such a stacked body of water like this one.” Jagdfeld made the long run north and set up on Lake St. Clair, where he committed to covering as much water as possible. He struck early with two big bites in the morning, but things quickly cooled off under cloudy skies. Rather than panic or hunker down, Jagdfeld stayed mobile – a decision that proved to be the turning point in his day. “It was a grind for a while,” he said. “The bite just shut down, but I had a spot in the back of my mind that I’d seen in practice. When the sun finally popped out around noon, I had a hunch those fish might lift off the bottom, and that’s exactly what they did. I pulled up and saw them five feet off the bottom, and they were tanks.” Jagdfeld’s winning area was isolated and unpressured, a stark contrast from the boat traffic he faced earlier in the day. “In the morning I was around a bunch of guys, but in the afternoon I didn’t see another boat,” he said. “I think that really helped. I was able to settle in and focus on getting the right bites.” Armed with forward-facing sonar and a Rapala Crush City Freeloader rigged on a VMC Hybrid jighead, Jagdfeld picked apart the water column and put together a limit of heavyweight smallmouth that ultimately sealed the deal. “That setup was key,” he explained. “The Freeloader let me target those fish when they were suspended just off the bottom, and I was able to trigger some really aggressive bites.” In total, Jagdfeld estimates he caught about 30 fish over the course of the day. His co-angler also found success, bringing in three quality bass for 8-1/4 pounds. While many anglers made the move to St. Clair due to a tougher bite elsewhere, Jagdfeld believes the timing of his decision was the difference. “St. Clair’s just starting to turn on right now, and I think I hit it right,” he said. “It’s only going to get better over the next few weeks, but today I had it all to myself when it counted.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Aaron Jagdfeld, Rochester, Mich., five bass, 25-5, $3,926 2nd: Chris Hellebuyck, White Lake, Mich., five bass, 23-0, $1,963 3rd: Nolan Mandel, Kimball, Mich., five bass, 22-9, $1,309 4th: Julian Sweet, Flint, Mich., five bass, 22-6, $916 5th: Trent Wilt, Manitou Beach, Mich., five bass, 21-12, $785 6th: Mike Trombly, Belleville, Mich., five bass, 21-11, $720 7th: Noah Stauffer, Gowen, Mich., five bass, 21-9, $654 8th: Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., five bass, 20-14, $589 9th: Brock Vogel, Perrysburg, Ohio, five bass, 20-8, $523 10th: Matt Mosby, Dryden, Mich., five bass, 20-7, $458 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Boater Matt Mosby of Dryden, Michigan, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 10 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $530.  Mark Lyons of Marion, Indiana, won the co-angler division and $1,963 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 13 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers finished: 1st: Mark Lyons, Marion, Ind., three bass, 12-13, $1,963 2nd: Erick Schenavar, Newport, Mich., three bass, 11-12, $981 3rd: Justen Fain, Springfield, Ohio, three bass, 11-11, $655 4th: Terry Bucciarelli, Ypsilanti, Mich., three bass, 11-9, $458 5th: Dan Beach, Clarkston, Mich., three bass, 11-8, $377 5th: Albert Davis, Wayne, Ohio, three bass, 11-8, $377 7th: Cullan Parker, Lorain, Ohio, three bass, 11-6, $327 8th: Robert Hernandez, Canton, Mich., three bass, 11-5, $294 9th: Scott Davis, Morenci, Mich., three bass, 10-15, $262 10th: Max Sato, Troy, Mich., three bass, 10-14, $229 Co-anglers Anthony Gilmore of Livonia, Michigan, and Adam Suliman of Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, both caught bass weighing 5 pounds, 9 ounces, to split the co-angler Berkley Big Bass award of $265. After three events, Nolan Mandel of Kimball, Michigan, now leads the Fishing Clash Michigan Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 745 points, while Scott Sims of Morgantown, Indiana, leads the Fishing Clash Michigan Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 728 points. The next event for BFL Michigan Division anglers will be held Aug. 23 at the Detroit River out of Trenton, Michigan. 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. 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. |