| Boater winner Pat Upthagrove of Monroe, Michigan, and co-angler winner Gary Michalski of Naperville, Illinois. |
| Illinois’ Michalski Tops Co-Angler Division SANDUSKY, Ohio (Aug. 4, 2025) – Boater Pat Upthagrove of Monroe, Michigan, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 4 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine at Lake Erie Presented by Lew’s. The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Buckeye Division. Upthagrove earned $3,766 for his victory. Upthagrove leaned on his strengths – and a 90-minute run – to claim his first career win. With tough conditions across the main lake, Upthagrove made the long run to the Detroit River, a place he’s fished almost exclusively since moving near its mouth 11 years ago. “Lake Erie has been fishing tough the past couple of weeks, and I knew the river was fishing more consistently,” Upthagrove said. “It’s my strength. I’m comfortable there, and you’re not constantly battling the elements like you are out on the lake.” After an unproductive start in shallow water, Upthagrove shifted to deeper current breaks in 20 to 22 feet of water. Once he made the adjustment, the bite lit up. He caught roughly 50 fish in about 4½ hours using a swimjig and a Carolina rig matched with natural-colored soft plastics. While he credited both presentations, the biggest bites came on the swimjig. The win was especially sweet for Upthagrove, who had compiled a string of top-five finishes on the Detroit River without breaking through. “I’ve had a handful of seconds over the years, so this one felt really good,” he said. “It was nice to finally get the monkey off my back.” Fishing with a self-described “old-school approach,” Upthagrove said he relies solely on basic electronics – a sonar unit and GPS. “No offense to guys who use the newer technology, but I just enjoy my time on the water more this way,” he said. The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Pat Upthagrove, Monroe, Mich., five bass, 22-4, $3,766 2nd: Chris Martinkovic, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 22-0, $1,883 3rd: Mike Trombly, Belleville, Mich., five bass, 20-13, $1,256 4th: Grant Gallagher, Fremont, Ohio, five bass, 19-15, $774 4th: Wilson Burton, Findlay, Ohio, five bass, 19-15, $774 4th: Lawrence Clontz, Trenton, Ohio, four bass, 19-15, $774 7th: Matthew Davis, Morenci, Mich., five bass, 19-1, $628 8th: Tyler Brown, Lakeside Marblehead, Ohio, five bass, 18-4, $565 9th: Josh Smith, Liberty, Ind., five bass, 16-10, $471 9th: Zach Maisch, Lima, Ohio, five bass, 16-10, $471 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Fourth-place finisher Lawrence Clontz of Trenton, Ohio, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 6 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $500.  Gary Michalski of Naperville, Illinois, won the co-angler division and $2,133 Saturday, with a three-bass limit that totaled 13 pounds, 8 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers finished: 1st: Gary Michalski Naperville, Ill., three bass, 13-8, $1,883 2nd: Austin Brock, West Chester, Ohio, three bass, 10-15, $942 3rd: Douglas Shope, Arcanum, Ohio, three bass, 10-3, $627 4th: Greg Barnes, Morning View, Ky., three bass, 9-12, $439 5th: Alex Richardson, Cincinnati, Ohio, three bass, 9-7, $377 6th: Brent Jones, Okeana, Ohio, three bass, 9-6, $345 7th: Ryan Crider, Kettering, Ohio, three bass, 9-5, $314 8th: Chad McQueen, Fairfield, Ohio, three bass, 8-10, $282 9th: Brendon Thornburg, Muncie, Ind., three bass, 8-7, $251 10th: Jeffrey Smith, West Chester, Ohio, three bass, 8-2, $220 Co-angler winner Michalski also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $250, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 10 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day. After four events, Chris Martinkovic of Hamilton, Ohio, leads the Fishing Clash Buckeye Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 975 points, while Jeff Campbell of Fairfield, Ohio, leads the Fishing Clash Buckeye Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 931 points. The final event for BFL Buckeye Division anglers will be held Sept. 13-14, at Mosquito Lake out of Cortland, Ohio. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000. The top 60 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. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Erie out of Sandusky, Ohio. 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 award of $20,000. The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is 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, will 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 BFL All-American. Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI. For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. |