| Boater winner Lee Stephens of Columbia, Kentucky, and co-angler winner Dakota Gunter of Byrdstown, Tennessee. |
| Byrdstown’s Gunter Earns Victory in Co-Angler Division BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. (March 2, 2026) – Boater Lee Stephens of Columbia, Kentucky, brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 21 pounds, 12 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Dale Hollow Lake . The tournament, hosted by Star Point Resort, was the first of five events of the season for the BFL Mountain Division. Stephens earned $11,100, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF bonus, for his victory. Stephens said he caught fish easily in practice but struggled to catch the quality bass in the 4-pound range he was after. “I had caught a 4-pounder at a spot in practice and it was kind of a community spot, but I knew I’d probably be the first boat there, so I decided to start there and burn my (Garmin) LiveScope time,” Stephens said. “The fish were moving every day and that’s why I wanted to use my ’Scope time first thing. Twenty minutes in we found them up in shallow stuff and starting beating on them some. I had about 20½ pounds come out of my ’Scope time. “At that time my exact words to my co-angler were, ‘We have a winning starter kit.’” Stephens added. Stephens said he caught a good number of fish after that but found it hard to find the quality he needed to add to his bag. However, two small upgrades did improve his weight to 21-12. Stephens’ ’Scope tactics during the tournament included swimming a minnow to target fish on the bottom. “The guys here at Dale Hollow are really good at fishing the bait-ball stuff. Like really good,” Stephens said. “I typically try not to butt heads and compete with them at what they’re good at, so I was fishing hard targets with the ’Scope. And I needed a perfect bait presentation. Those fish are so educated. But you could trick them, as long as you got it to them exactly right and paid attention to how they react. I was catching 40 percent of the fish I was raising off the bottom.” After the 3-hour electronics window expired, Stephens said he switched to an Alabama rig to cover water, but it didn’t prove as effective as swimming the minnow. “I felt like I really needed another really big bite to get to 23 pounds, and I was a little disappointed in myself, that I couldn’t get that big bite,” Stephens said. “It was such a relief to see that other people didn’t have as good of a day as they typically do. Dale Hollow fishes so good and has so many big fish and has incredible numbers of 3½- to 4½-pounders.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Lee Stephens, Columbia, Ky., five bass, 21-12, $11,100 (includes $7,000 Phoenix bonus) 2nd: Rex Reagan, Livingston, Tenn., five bass, 19-8, $2,000 3rd: Jeff Wilson, Lancaster, Ky., five bass, 19-0, $1,000 4th: Jordan Garrett, Jamestown, Tenn., five bass, 18-8, $800 5th: Isaac Peavyhouse, Jamestown, Tenn., five bass, 18-4, $700 6th: Jarrod Conn, Burgin, Ky., five bass, 17-8, $600 7th: Wyatt Pearman, Hodgenville, Ky., five bass, 17-7, $575 8th: Terry Ford, Harriman, Tenn., five bass, 17-6, $550 9th: Joe Rucker, Nicholasville, Ky., five bass, 17-3, $525 10th: Matt Collins, Georgetown, Ky., five bass, 17-2, $500 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. George Headden of Oakdale, Tennessee, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 5-pound, 12-ounce bass worth $200.  Dakota Gunter of Byrdstown, Tennessee, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $2,100 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 9 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers finished: 1st: Dakota Gunter, Byrdstown, Tenn., three bass, 11-9, $2,100 2nd: Timothy Ernst, Winchester, Ky., three bass, 10-4, $1,000 3rd: Kendall Parnell, Monticello, Ky., three bass, 9-14, $550 4th: Shane Bowman, Caryville, Tenn., three bass, 9-12, $400 5th: Jeremy Nash, Cookeville, Tenn., three bass, 9-4, $350 6th: Darren Kelly, Wartburg, Tenn., three bass, 8-14, $400 7th: Jimmy Rhodus, Versailles, Ky., three bass, 8-11, $290 8th: Pop Catalin, Cookeville, Tenn., three bass, 8-6, $275 9th: Pat Eichmann, Nancy, Ky., three bass, 8-5, $260 10th: Dewayne Drummonds, Gray, Ky., three bass, 7-13, $250 Gunter also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 4-pound, 3-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. 22-24 BFL Regional tournament on Watts Bar Lake in Spring City, 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 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. |