| Boater winner Justin Hadden of Warrenville, South Carolina, and co-angler winner Thomas Pennell III of Boiling Springs, South Carolina. |
| Boiling Springs’ Pennell Tops Co-Angler Division PROSPERITY, S.C. (Sept. 8, 2025) – Boater Justin Hadden of Warrenville, South Carolina, caught a total of six bass weighing 28 pounds, 12 ounces, over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Murray . The tournament, hosted by the Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board, was the fifth and final regular-season event of the season for the BFL South Carolina Division. Hadden earned $7,644 plus a $2,500 Phoenix Bonus for his victory. “Saturday, I didn’t catch a fish until 1 o’clock,” Hadden said. “Everything I caught came from 1 to 3:15. The lake’s just fishing real tough right now. There are a lot of fish offshore that will not bite.” Hadden speculated that the lake might be in the early stages of a turnover, and that change may have the Murray bass more reluctant to actively bite. However, the bite was slightly better for him on Sunday, as he managed to land eight keepers. “I just never had a big bite Sunday,” Hadden said. “Saturday, I caught one that went over 6 pounds and another one right at 6 pounds.” Hadden said he relied on the “normal Lake Murray fall offshore-schooling bite,” Hadden said. “Just running and gunning all day long in 25 or so feet of water.” Hadden said he put in a lot of practice for the two-day event, and was fishing to win, not for points for the season’s standings. “I’ve been doing very well at Murray for the past while,” Hadden said. “Several times on Sunday I thought I needed more weight. I really did. The lake has just been insane for the past month and a half. I just didn’t know if I had enough. I thought I would need another 15-pound bag to seal the deal.” Although Hadden fell short of 15 pounds by more than a pound and a half Sunday, he still managed to seal the deal and earn the victory with a winning margin of just over a pound over second place. “I’ve been wanting one of these fish trophies for 35 years, and I’m 35 years old,” Hadden said. “This fish trophy means more to me than the check does.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Justin Hadden, Warrenville, S.C., six bass, 28-12, $7,664 (includes $2,500 Phoenix Bonus) 2nd: Michael Gammons, North Charleston, South Carolina, six bass, 27-11, $2,302 3rd: Colby Goforth, Ball Ground, Ga., six bass, 26-9, $1,536 4th: Hayden Seabolt, Dawsonville, Ga., six bass, 26-0, $1,174 5th: Cole Huskins, Gastonia, N.C., six bass, 24-12, $921 6th: Lucas Murphy, West Columbia, S.C., six bass, 24-8, $844 7th: Justin Tingen, Moore, S.C., six bass, 23-14, $767 8th: Johnathan Crossland, Chapin, S.C., six bass, 23-4, $691 9th: Matt O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., six bass, 22-15, $764 10th: Jason Burroughs, Hodges, S.C., five bass, 22-11, $537 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Hadden caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces, on Day 1 and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $540.  Thomas Pennell III of Boiling Springs, South Carolina, won the co-angler division and $2,302 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of five bass to the scale that totaled 16 pounds, 14 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers finished: 1st: Thomas Pennell III, Boiling Springs, S.C., five bass, 16-14, $2,302 2nd: Todd Huntley, Inman, S.C., six bass, 16-5, $1,201 3rd: Troy Crippen, Lancaster, S.C., five bass, 10-12, $767 4th: Alan Rae, Chapin, S.C., three bass, 9-7, $537 5th: Kevin Mosteller, Columbia, S.C., three bass, 9-3, $460 6th: Jerry Lancaster, Fort Mill, S.C., three bass, 8-7, $422 7th: Jeff Rikard, Leesville, S.C., three bass, 8-0, $384 8th: Mark Lee, Gastonia, N.C., two bass, 7-11, $615 9th: Ronnie Cutshall, Piedmont, S.C., two bass, 7-7, $307 10th: Rennison Robbins, Jackson, S.C., two bass, 6-6, $369 Mark Lee of Gastonia, North Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $270, catching a bass on Day 1 that weighed in at 4 pounds, 13 ounces. With all five events in the division now complete, boater Lucas Murphy of West Columbia, South Carolina, won the Fishing Clash South Carolina Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,336 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Thomas Pennell III of Boiling Springs, South Carolina, won the Fishing Clash South Carolina Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,318 points and earned the $500 payout. 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 Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina. 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. |