| Boater winner Eric Panzironi of Longwood, Florida, and co-angler winner Brandon Pabon of Deltona, Florida. |
| Florida’s Pabon Earns Win in Co-Angler Division KISSIMMEE, Fla. (March 16, 2026) – Boater Eric Panzironi of Longwood, Florida, caught a total of five bass weighing 26 pounds, 6 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Toho. The tournament, hosted by Experience Kissimmee, was the third of five events of the season for the BFL Gator Division Presented by Merman’s Revenge. Panzironi earned $5,040 for his victory. Panzironi recently competed in the Toyota Series event at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes earlier this month and finished 12th, so he had a good idea of his plan of attack for the BFL tournament. “I knew it was going to be tough,” Panzironi said. “The guys in the Toyota Series were really catching them, and fishing really slowed down after that event. “I had a spot in Toho that I ran to and caught a 13- or 14-pound limit in the first 30 minutes,” Panzironi went on to say. “That bite slowed down pretty fast, so I knew I wanted to go to Kissimmee because I knew where some big ones were that I couldn’t get to bite during the Toyota Series event.” Panzironi made the run to Kissimmee where he had located bass holding on brushpiles and proceeded to target post-spawn bass. “They were in the brushpiles, and I threw a big worm at them and put it in their faces, and they ate it,” Panzironi said. “I got lucky. I think it was a timing deal. I hit them at the right time, caught them, and that was pretty much it.” Panzironi targeted hydrilla and milfoil with a golden shad-colored Z-Man Chatterbait Elite EVO on Toho and used his 3-hour electronic period at Kissimmee, where he caught three good-sized bass he weighed in. “This win feels great,” Panzironi said. “The last two years have been pretty rough. I lost my dad and I haven’t been able to get things together in tournaments, so it feels good to get a nice check in the Toyota Series and then come right back and win this one. I put my time in down there and worked my butt off, and it paid off finally.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Eric Panzironi, Longwood, Fla., five bass, 26-6, $5,040 2nd: Anthony Cilladi, Oviedo, Fla., five bass, 22-9, $2,480 3rd: Shelton Smith, St. Cloud, Fla., five bass, 20-0, $1,200 4th: Kyle Fox, Lakeland, Fla., five bass, 19-10, $885 4th: Tanner Seabolt, Okeechobee, Fla., five bass, 19-10, $885 6th: Danny Inabnett, De Leon Springs, Fla., five bass, 18-12, $690 7th: Matt Wieteha, Miami, Fla., five bass, 18-10, $760 8th: Brady Lunsmann, Citrus Springs, Fla., five bass, 18-4, $630 9th: Dan Weber, Palm Bay, Fla., five bass, 17-12, $790 10th: Andrew Ready, Auburndale, Fla., five bass, 17-8, $560 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Dan Weber of Palm Bay, Florida, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing an 8-pound, 8-ounce bass worth $200.  Brandon Pabon of Deltona, Florida, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $2,620 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 14 pounds, 5 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers finished: 1st: Brandon Pabon, Deltona, Fla., three bass, 14-5, $2,620 2nd: Sabin Griffis, Indiantown, Fla., three bass, 13-0, $1,240 3rd: Lenny Leibold III, Franklin, Pa., three bass, 11-11, $600 4th: Larry Austin, The Villages, Fla., three bass, 11-4, $475 5th: Tim Endris, Salt Springs, Fla., three bass, 11-2, $410 6th: Pat Herolt, Citrus Springs, Fla., three bass, 11-1, $345 7th: William Lewis, Jacksonville, Fla., three bass, 10-5, $330 8th: Chris Westhelle, Sanford, Fla., three bass, 10-2, $315 9th: Robert Burnette, Lakeland, Fla, three bass, 10-1, $300 10th: Andrew Cruz, Lakeland, Fla., three bass, 9-14, $193 10th: Aaron Doll, Palm Bay, Fla., three bass, 9-14, $193 Pabon also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 7-pound, 4-ounce bass worth $100. After three events, Dylan Quilatan of Windermere, Florida, now leads the 7 Brew Gator Division Presented by Merman’s Revenge Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 722 points, while Chris Westhelle of Sanford, Florida, leads the Gator Division Presented by Merman’s Revenge Co-Angler of the Year race with 699 points. 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. |