| Boater winner Hunter Bouldin of McMinnville, Tennessee, and co-angler winner Aiden Roberson-Barber of Livingston, Tennessee. |
| Tennessee’s Roberson-Barber Takes Co-Angler Division DANDRIDGE, Tenn. (Oct. 13, 2025) – Boater Hunter Bouldin of McMinnville, Tennessee, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 30 pounds, 12 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Regional on Douglas Lake Presented by Mando Deodorant . The tournament, which was hosted by Visit Jefferson County TN, concluded Saturday. For his win, Bouldin earned a prize package valued at $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200hp Mercury or Suzuki outboard. The Douglas Lake event served as the Regional championship for the BFL Mountain and Music City divisions. The field included the top 60 boaters and co-anglers based on point standings, plus each division’s tournament winners. The top three boaters and co-anglers have also now qualified for the 2026 BFL All-American. “I started off fishing shallow, specifically throwing topwater,” Bouldin said. “I caught one close to 3 pounds right out of the gate. I kept fishing around and had a bit of bad luck when I broke two off back-to-back. While I was throwing the topwater I was looking for brush, because I didn’t see any evidence of a good floating-bait bite.” A jig thrown to brush produced a 3-pounder for Bouldin, so he changed his tactics and the day picked up for him. However, on the second day he didn’t stick to the jig early in the day. “I fished some schools and some topwater to start out with, and something wasn’t feeling right,” Bouldin said. “Then I went to a brush pile and lost three good ones out of it. I felt like I had blown my opportunity right there. Four fish out of one brush pile, and I only landed one of them.” Bouldin said he then ran the lake looking for schooling fish but ended up returning to the brush pile. The brush pile didn’t produce for him, but a nearby rock outcropping held a 4-pounder that ended up being the largest bass Bouldin weighed. “So, I just stayed in that one holler and fished that brush, and for whatever reason that one little holler was just loaded with good, healthy fish,” Bouldin said. The top three boaters who qualified for the 2026 Phoenix BFL All-American finished: 1st: Hunter Bouldin, McMinnville, Tenn., 10 bass, 30-12, $50,000 2nd: Tim Smiley, White Pine, Tenn., 10 bass, 28-4, $6,884 3rd: Cody Mackie, McMinnville, Tenn., 10 bass, 28-0, $3,115 Rounding out the top 10 boaters were: 4th: Wyatt Pearman, Hodgenville, Ky., 10 bass, 27-11, $2,607 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus) 5th: Drew Boggs, Lebanon, Tenn., 10 bass, 26-14, $1,453 6th: Rex Reagan, Livingston, Tenn., 10 bass, 26-7, $1,342 7th: Levi Kohl, Edinburg, Ill., 10 bass, 25-4, $1,232 8th: Steven Miracle, White Pine, Tenn., 10 bass, 25-2, $1,120 9th: Grant Meisenhelter, Decatur, Ill., 10 bass, 24-5, $1,003 10th: Timothy Wacker, Clinton, Tenn., 10 bass, 24-0, $944 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Tim Smiley of White Pine, Tennessee, won the Berkley Big Bass Boater award and $1,000 for landing a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 15 ounces – the biggest of the tournament.  Aiden Roberson-Barber of Livingston, Tennessee, won the co-angler division Saturday after bringing a two-day total of six bass weighing 16 pounds, 4 ounces, to the scale. Roberson-Barber earned the top co-angler award of $11,237 for his victory. The top three co-anglers who qualified for the 2026 Phoenix BFL All-American finished: 1st: Aiden Roberson-Barber, Livingston, Tenn., six bass, 16-4, $11,237 2nd: Dustin Forrest, Knob Lick, Ky., six bass, 14-12, $3,430 3rd: Mike Swetland, Tamaroa, Ill., six bass, 14-7, $1,545 Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were: 4th: Blake Whittaker, Cookeville, Tenn., six bass, 13-11, $991 5th: Brad Barton, Middlesboro, Ky., six bass, 13-2, $714 6th: Tracy Helton, London, Ky., six bass, 12-14, $659 7th: Wayne Crouch, Jamestown, Tenn., five bass, 12-14, $753 8th: Chesney Cameron, Rutledge, Tenn., five bass, 12-12, $548 9th: Gregory Goodwin, Louisville, Ky., six bass, 12-6, $491 10th: Trevor Medley, Sparta, Tenn., five bass, 12-6, $462 Dustin Forrest of Knob Lick, Kentucky, caught a bass that weighed 3 pounds, 10 ounces, to win the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award worth $500. The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine was 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, now 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 43rd annual BFL All-American. The BFL All-American will take place May 28-30, 2026, at Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, and is hosted by the Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board. |