| Boater winner Michael Deen of Waycross, Georgia, and co-angler winner Michael Anstead of Clermont, Florida. |
| Florida’s Anstead Earns Victory in Co-Angler Division CLEWISTON, Fla. (Jan. 26, 2026) – Boater Michael Deen of Waycross, Georgia, caught five bass weighing 24 pounds, 6 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Okeechobee. The tournament, hosted by the Hendry County Tourism Development Council, was the first of five events of the season for the BFL Gator Division. Deen earned $6,170 for his victory. “I usually fish the Bulldog Division events, but these Florida tournaments really set up well for me,” said Deen, who earned the first victory of his career in MLF competition. “I just like grass fishing.” Deen started out in an area where he had fished with poor results in practice, but he had confidence in his game plan and knew fish were holding there. He targeted reeds and grass in Coot Bay and had a limit by 9:30. “I took a week’s vacation and came and fished that same area in December and caught 19 pounds in that same area just fun fishing. Those fish stayed in there at least a month,” Deen said. Deen then decided to move to the Observation Island area to flip, where he caught the tournament’s big bass – an 8-pound, 2-ounce Okeechobee giant – around 12:30. Then he returned to his starting area and caught one that Deen estimated weighed between 6 and 7 pounds on a custom-made spinnerbait. “I have a buddy who owns Bert’s Jigs and Things in Waycross, Georgia, and I told him I needed a big spinnerbait with big blades,” Deen said. “He came up with a ½-ounce spinnerbait with No. 5 willow-leaf blades. I didn’t use a trailer hook because I was throwing it in the reeds.” Deen said he knew he had more than 20 pounds of bass in the boat at the end of the day, but he didn’t think it would be near enough to win. “I was surprised,” Deen went on to say about his first win. “I was hoping to finish in in the top 25 coming down here and fishing against guys who live down here and fish it regularly. It’s a one-day tournament, and it’s hard to compete in one-day tournaments against guys who live there. So, this feels great.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Michael Deen, Waycross, Ga., five bass, 24-6, $6,170 2nd: Tanner Seabolt, Okeechobee, Fla., five bass, 22-14, $2,910 3rd: Dylan Quilatan, Windermere, Fla., five bass, 20-8, $1,380 4th: Brady Lunsmann, Citrus Springs, Fla., five bass, 19-2, $1,070 5th: Fred Chivington Jr., San Mateo, Fla., five bass, 18-14, $920 6th: Greg Jones, Bradenton, Fla., five bass, 18-1, $760 7th: Chris McBeath, Bradenton, Fla., five bass, 17-12, $1,330 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus) 8th: Drew Bradstreet, Lutz, Fla., five bass, 17-8, $690 9th: John Riddling, Melrose, Fla., five bass, 17-7, $650 10th: Mark Knight, McDonough, Ga., five bass, 17-4, $610 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Deen, the tournament winner, also earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award with his 8-pound, 2-ounce bass, worth $200.  Michael Anstead of Clermont, Florida, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $2,985 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 18 pounds, 9 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers finished: 1st: Michael Anstead, Clermont, Fla., three bass, 18-9, $2,985 2nd: Jordan Elmore, Saint Petersburg, Fla., three bass, 14-3, $1,555 3rd: Alex Belmonte, Cape Coral, Fla., three bass, 12-7, $690 4th: Justin Girdner, Wetumpka, Ala., three bass, 11-5, $535 5th: Steve Hatch, Long Beach Miss., three bass, 10-11, $460 6th: J.P. Sims, Port St. Lucie, Fla., three bass, 10-9, $380 7th: Danny Hinton, Saint Cloud, Fla., three bass, 10-6, $370 8th: Michael Robel, Bradenton, Fla., three bass, 10-5, $345 9th: Barry Nagle, Allentown, Pa., three bass, 10-3, $317 9th: Sanford Hooker, Wellston, Okla., three bass, 10-3, $317 Jordan Elmore of Saint Petersburg, Florida, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 7-pound, 4-ounce bass worth $100. The top 45 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. 8-10 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Alabama. 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 prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500. The 2026 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2026 BFL All-American will take place May 28-30, at Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, and is hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism. |