| Boater winner Kyle Kitts of Joplin, Missouri, and co-angler winners Steven Logan of Hugo, Oklahoma, and James West of Spiro, Oklahoma. |
| Oklahoma’s Logan and West Top Co-Angler Division MUSKOGEE, Okla. (Aug. 11, 2025) – Boater Kyle Kitts of Joplin, Missouri, caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 8 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Arkansas River. The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Okie Division. Kitts earned $4,009 for his victory. Kitts did all of his damage with a 5/8-ounce chartreuse-and-white spinnerbait fitted with Indiana and Colorado blades, targeting wood in the dirtier water. “I was just fishing laydowns, stumps, and wood targets,” Kitts said. “The stuff I practiced last week muddied up, so I went to where I had the most confidence and just locked that big blade in my hand all day.” Although he covered a lot of water, Kitts said nearly all of his fish came from just two key areas. “I fished more than that, but really only caught them out of those two spots,” he said. “I probably caught eight to 10 fish all day, and the bigger ones all came on that spinnerbait.” Kitts’ day wasn’t without adversity – his trolling motor broke down around noon, forcing him to end his day early. “I wasn’t confident at all coming in,” he admitted. “I figured some guys would be locking down and bringing back some bigger weights, and I thought I only had around 16 pounds. I really felt like I was one or two bites short.” Instead, the weight was enough to secure the win and add another trophy to his resume – his third career BFL victory. “It feels great to get the win, especially here, because I don’t normally do well on the Arkansas River,” Kitts said. “The key was just committing to that spinnerbait and not putting it down.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Kyle Kitts, Joplin, Mo., five bass, 17-8, $4,009 2nd: Nick Kincaid, Brookeland, Texas, five bass, 16-8, $2,005 3rd: Ronnie Allen, Chouteau, Okla., five bass, 16-6, $1,336 4th: Kevin Slate, Eufaula, Okla., five bass, 16-5, $935 5th: William Gaddis, Afton, Okla., five bass, 15-4, $802 6th: Jeff Clark, Van Buren, Ark., five bass, 14-11, $735 7th: Wyatt Ryan, Ada, Okla., five bass, 14-7, $668 8th: Mick Fenn, Grove, Okla., five bass, 13-11, $601 9th: Dillon Roberts, Oologah, Okla., five bass, 13-9, $535 10th: Lane Stephens Owasso, Okla., five bass, 12-13, $445 10th: Devin Freeman, Coweta, Okla., five bass, 12-13, $445 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Dakotah Edwards of Talala, Oklahoma, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 5 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $550.  James West of Spiro, Oklahoma, and Steven Logan of Hugo, Oklahoma, both brought three bass to the scale totaling 8 pounds, 6 ounces, to tie for the win in the co-angler division Saturday. The duo split the first and second place payouts, each earning $1,504 for their share of the victory. The top 10 co-anglers finished: 1st: James West, Spiro, Okla., three bass, 8-6, $1,504 1st: Steven Logan, Hugo, Okla., three bass, 8-6, $1,504 3rd: Markus Mills, Norman, Okla., three bass, 8-4, $668 4th: Mason Eudy, Muskogee, Okla., three bass, 8-2, $468 5th: Bryan Schuster, Oklahoma City, Okla., three bass, 7-14, $401 6th: Mark Johnson, Weleetka, Okla., three bass, 7-12, $351 6th: Ryan Doel, Springfield, Mo., three bass, 7-12, $351 8th: Fred Fielder, Afton, Okla., three bass, 7-11, $284 8th: Robert Shedrick, Blanchard, Okla., three bass, 7-11, $284 10th: Berton Pritchett, Gentry, Ark., three bass, 7-10, $234 Porky Roberts of Morris, Oklahoma, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $275, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 14 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day. After four events, Nick Kincaid of Brookeland, Texas, still leads the Fishing Clash Okie Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 985 points, while James West of Spiro, Oklahoma, leads the Fishing Clash Okie Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 958 points. The next event for BFL Okie Division anglers will the two-day Super Tournament Presented by Suzuki Marine, held Sept. 6-7, at Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma. 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. 10-11 BFL Regional tournament on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma. 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. |
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