| Boater Dustin Vaal of Farmington, Kentucky, and co-angler Stan Evans of Newburgh, Indiana. |
Indiana’s Evans Tops Co-Angler Division GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (Sept. 29, 2025) – Boater Dustin Vaal of Farmington, Kentucky, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 35 pounds, 5 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Kentucky-Barkley Lake. The tournament, hosted by Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau, was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL LBL Division. Vaal earned $4,975 for his victory. Vaal said he found something in practice that allowed him to keep his tournament approach simple. “Friday, during practice, I got lucky at the end of the day and found a spot that was loaded with fish,” Vaal said. “I spent my tournament rotating four spots and caught my fish on a topwater, a Carolina rig and a jerkbait. I essentially just did a big circle in 3 to 6 feet of water that broke off into deeper water. That’s where the majority of my fish were.” Vaal said he focused on the main-river area, from the Paris bridge to Leatherwood to the US 60/KY 80 bridges. Vaal said his efforts accounted for 12 keepers on Saturday and “nine or 10” Sunday. Vaal also had big bites both days to boost his weights, including the Boater Berkley Big Bass that weighed 5-6 Saturday. As simple as his approach was, Vaal’s tournament win didn’t come without drama. Around 1 o’clock Sunday, Vaal tried to start his boat, but nothing electrical worked. He tried switching batteries to no avail. After contacting the tournament director, Vaal called his best friend, third-place finisher Justin Berger, who picked him up and took him to weigh-in. “If it wasn’t for Justin, this win wouldn’t have happened,” Vaal said. “When you’re meant to win a tournament, weird things happen during the day. This is my third BFL win, and every single one of them it seems that something out of your control has happened. But if it’s meant to be, it happens.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Dustin Vaal, Farmington, Ky., 10 bass, 35-5, $4,975 2nd: Clint Knight, Russellville, Ky., 10 bass, 34-15, $2,333 3rd: Justin Berger, Murray, Ky., 10 bass, 30-3, $1,488 4th: Sam Boss, Paducah, Ky., 10 bass, 29-4, $1,042 5th: Brady Bickers, Carrollton, Ky., eight bass, 28-4, $893 6th: Stephen Barga, Benton, Ky., nine bass, 24-8, $819 7th: Cody Santel, Benton, Ky., eight bass, 21-0, $744 8th: William Merrick, Wartrace, Tenn., nine bass, 20-8, $1,170 (includes $500 Phoenix Bonus) 9th: Richard Meuth, Henderson, Ky., seven bass, 20-7, $595 10th: Caden Crutchfield, Stamping Ground, Ky., eight bass, 19-9, $521 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Vaal caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 6 ounces, and also earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $510.  Stan Evans of Newburgh, Indiana, won the co-angler division and $2,233 Sunday, after bringing six bass to the scale that totaled 17 pounds, 14 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers finished: 1st: Stan Evans, Newburgh, Ind., six bass, 17-14, $2,233 2nd: Jeff Johnston, Nashville, Tenn., five bass, 15-6, $1,371 3rd: Gary Huber II, Saint Charles, Mo., five bass, 13-3, $744 4th: Ben Wade, South Fulton, Tenn., four bass, 13-3, $521 5th: Kyle Cavitt, Paducah, Ky., four bass, 12-7, $497 6th: Sam McReynolds, Kevil, Ky., five bass, 12-6, $409 7th: James Phillips, West Point, Ky., two bass, 7-15, $372 8th: Barry Gunter, Trafalgar, Ind., three bass, 7-2, $335 9th: Frank Haysley, Louisville, Ky., three bass, 7-2, $298 10th: Marcus Mann, Benton, Ky., three bass, 6-14, $360 Jeff Johnston of Nashville, Tennessee, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $255, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 14 ounces. With all five events in the division now complete, boater Clint Knight of Russellville, Kentucky, won the Fishing Clash LBL Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,361 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Marcus Mann of Benton, Kentucky, won the Fishing Clash LBL Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,304 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. 24-25 BFL Regional tournament on Dale Hollow Lake in Byrdstown, Tennessee. 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. |