| Boater winner Josh Kauffman of Marysville, Pennsylvania, and co-angler winner Philip Hornsby of Hughesville, Maryland. |
| Maryland’s Hornsby Tops Co-Angler Division MARBURY, Md. (Sept. 22, 2025) – Boater Josh Kauffman of Marysville, Pennsylvania, caught a total of 10 bass weighing 29 pounds, 13 ounces, over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Potomac River . The tournament, hosted by the Charles County Recreation, Parks, and Tourism, was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Northeast Division. Kauffman earned $7,509, including a $2,500 Phoenix Bonus, for his victory. “The Potomac is really finicky right now,” Kauffman said. “You could catch a good amount of fish, but getting anything above a pound and a half was difficult. I really just tried to cover as much water as possible. You have to factor in the tide wherever you go, and I just focused on areas where I found better quality fish – even if I got only one bite in a spot in practice, I ran there during the tournament. It really just came down to getting the bigger and better-than-average bite.” Kauffman, who stayed in the D.C. area for bass, said moving baits such as crankbaits, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and a swim jig were key for him. “I had to just keep covering water,” Kauffman said. “That was the name of the game. Really, I was just junk fishing a lot of high-percentage areas, just hoping I could get one here and there.” Kauffman entered the second day of competition in ninth place and had his work cut out for him on Day 2. “I knew I really had to catch a good bag to even have a shot (at winning),” Kauffman said. “So, I decided to change it up a little bit and I ran some new water I didn’t even fish Saturday. Sunday morning, I found an area where they were really active, and I had 13½ pounds in 15 minutes. It was every other cast for 45 minutes. “That really calmed me down, which was really important,” Kauffman added. “I just needed a couple more good bites, and I was able to get them with a 4¼- and a 4½-pounder. Kauffman said toward the end of the day he was just shy of 16 pounds and felt he still needed one more quality bite to finish the tournament strongly. “I made a long run into an area where I caught a 5-pounder in practice, and started fishing,” Kauffman said. “Sure enough, I made one cast shallow, started reeling it back, and one smoked it. It was a 4¼. “The key to my win is I fished very cleanly, which hardly ever happens,” Kauffman added. “It’s like when it’s your time, it’s your time.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Josh Kauffman, Marysville, Pa., 10 bass, 29-13, $7,509 (includes $2,500 Phoenix Bonus) 2nd: Aaron Dixon, Bel Alton, Md., 10 bass, 29-12, $2,466 3rd: Jason Burger, Bridgeton, N.J., 10 bass, 28-8, $1,577 4th: Conor Cahill, Audubon, N.J., 10 bass, 27-12, $1,104 5th: Todd Langford, Great Falls, Va., 10 bass, 26-10, $946 6th: Brandon Pyles, Middletown, Md., 10 bass, 26-10, $868 7th: Teimuraz Balachvili, Scarsdale, N.Y., 10 bass, 25-11, $789 8th: Joshua Lewis, Rockville, Md., 10 bass, 24-4, $710 9th: Jerry Vitiello, Verona, N.J., 10 bass, 24-4, $631 10th: Logan Kaplon, Rural Valley, Pa., 10 bass, 23-2, $702 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Kauffman and Fred Aldridge of Brandystation, Virginia, each caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 8 ounces, to split the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $554.  Philip Hornsby of Hughesville, Maryland, won the co-angler division and $2,366 Sunday, after bringing six bass to the scale that totaled 19 pounds, 2 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers finished: 1st: Philip Hornsby, Hughesville, Md., six bass, 19-2, $2,366 2nd: Robert Wedding, Welcome, Md., six bass, 16-4, $1,460 3rd: Jarrett Albert, Dillsburg, Pa., six bass, 15-6, $790 4th: Randall Given, Laurel, Del., six bass, 15-1, $552 5th: Mike Wotanowski, Lake Hopatcong, N.J., six bass, 14-1, $473 6th: Jordan Petterson, Harbeson, Del., six bass, 13-5, $434 7th: Joseph Amberg Jr., Hawley, Pa., six bass, 13-3, $394 8th: Chuck Nale, Marydel, Md., six bass, 13-1, $405 9th: Leon Deatrick, Orrtanna, Pa., six bass, 11-13, $315 10th: Hampton Robinson, Bealeton, Va., six bass, 11-13, $276 Robert Wedding of Welcome, Maryland, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $277 with a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 14 ounces. With all five events in the division now complete, boater Teimuraz Balachvili of Scarsdale, New York, won the Fishing Clash Northeast Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,304 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Joseph Amberg Jr. of Hawley, Pennsylvania, won the Fishing Clash Northeast Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,312 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 the James River in Richmond, Viriginia. 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. |