| Boater winner Weston Parker of Mansfield, Georgia, and co-angler winner Dennis McGouirk of Carrollton, Georgia. |
| Carrollton’s McGouirk Wins Co-Angler Division BUCKHEAD, Ga. (April 19, 2026) – Boater Weston Parker of Mansfield, Georgia, brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 15 pounds, 5 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Oconee Presented by Precision Sonar . The tournament was the third of five events of the season for the BFL Bulldog Division. Parker earned $4,000 for his victory. Parker said that he won at Lake Oconee by adjusting as the conditions changed throughout the day. He started the morning targeting fish feeding on shad with a topwater presentation, but quickly recognized the bite was fading. “We were in a shad spawn throwing a little topwater, and it got tough fast,” Parker said. “So, I made the decision that if I was going to have a chance in this tournament that I need to start flipping docks.” Making the shift to dock fishing proved to be the turning point, as Parker focused on high-percentage targets that could produce quality bites. Rather than chasing numbers, he committed to areas where each bite had the potential to be a good one. “I made a decision this morning to kind of fish stuff that I knew if I got bit on, it’d be a decent bite,” he said. “And that actually paid off for me. It feels great to know I made the right decision and got the win.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Weston Parker, Mansfield, Ga., five bass, 15-5, $4,000 2nd: Frank Kitchens III, Oxford, Ga., five bass, 15-2, $2,500 (includes $500 Phoenix Bonus) 3rd: Nolan Holloway, Madison, Ga., five bass, 14-8, $1,000 4th: Matt Henry, Milledgeville, Ga., five bass, 14-1, $800 5th: Brandon Martin, Lula, Ga., five bass, 13-15, $700 6th: Nicholas Tunney, Marietta, Ga., five bass, 13-14, $600 7th: Greg Rikard, Leesville, S.C., five bass, 12-12, $825 8th: John Duvall, Boca Raton, Fla., five bass, 12-8, $550 9th: Jae Evans, Boca Raton, Fla., four bass, 12-7, $525 10th: David Millsaps, Ranger, Ga., five bass, 11-7, $400 10th: Kevin Underwood, Gillsville, Ga., five bass, 11-7, $400 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Pro Roger Stubbs of McDonough, Georgia, also earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass worth $200.  Dennis McGouirk of Carrollton, Georgia, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $2,100 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 15 pounds, 9 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers finished: 1st: Dennis McGouirk, Carrollton, Ga., three bass, 15-9, $2,100 2nd: Jackson Riddle, Watkinsville, Ga., three bass, 9-10, $1,000 3rd: Robert Enke, Columbus, Ga., three bass, 9-6, $500 4th: Richard Causey, Perry, Ga., three bass, 8-5, $450 5th: Donald Dills, Mineral Bluff, Ga., three bass, 8-1, $350 6th: Don Payne, Loganville, Ga., three bass, 7-13, $300 7th: Bill Martynuska, Alpharetta, Ga., three bass, 7-12, $290 8th: Chad Batten, Dahlonega, Ga., three bass, 7-9, $275 9th: Patrick Watson, Newnan, Ga., three bass, 7-5, $260 10th: Cameron McBride, Temple, Ga., three bass, 7-2, $250 McGouirk earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 6-pound, 8-ounce bass worth $100. After three events, John Duvall of Madison, Georgia, now leads the 7 Brew Bulldog Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 729 points, while Jaquas Dobbs of Conyers, Georgia, leads the Bulldog Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 728 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. 15-17 BFL Regional tournament on Clarks Hill Lake in Appling, Georgia. 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. |