| Boater winner Zeke Gossett of Pell City, Alabama, and co-angler winner Rodney Graham of Childersburg, Alabama. |
| Alabama’s Graham Claims Co-Angler Division LINCOLN, Ala. (Oct. 13, 2025) – Boater Zeke Gossett of Pell City, Alabama, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 27 pounds, 6 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Regional on Logan Martin Lake Presented by Mando Deodorant . The tournament, which was hosted by the City of Lincoln, concluded Saturday. For his win, Gossett earned a prize package valued at $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200hp Mercury or Suzuki outboard. The Logan Martin Lake event served as the Regional championship for the BFL Bama and Choo divisions. The field included the top 60 boaters and co-anglers based on point standings, plus each division’s tournament winners. The top three boaters and co-anglers have also now qualified for the 2026 BFL All-American. Gossett said he approached Logan Martin with three key baits. Early in the day Gossett said he fished a Strike King KVD Sexy Dawg topwater and a black buzzbait down seawalls and docks in 2 to 3 feet of water. Later in the day Gossett switched to an electric shad-colored 3.75 Strike King Rage Swimmer swimbait, targeting rock piles in 10 feet of water. “The first morning I had a really good start and a little over 12 pounds, which as tough as it’s been fishing, that’s a good start for this lake,” Gossett said. “Then I went through a big lull from 10 o’clock to 1 o’clock, but I made a key cull late in the day – a 3 pounder. “Day 2 was just about the same story,” Gossett went on to say. “Then, around 2:30, I made back-to-back casts and caught a 2½-pounder and a 3¼ for two last-minute culls on the swimbait on a rock pile.” Gossett said his home-lake experience led him to think that 30 pounds would be needed to win the two-day Regional. “This lake has had a lot of pressure lately, so I knew it was going to fish tough,” Gossett said. “I didn’t think I had enough for the win, I thought I needed at least one more good bite each day. So this is surprising, but it feels really good to get this done on my home lake. I put in a lot of work for this tournament and practiced very hard. I knew I had to keep my head down, and I usually do better in grinder tournaments, anyway, so this one felt really good to come out on top.” The top three boaters who qualified for the 2026 Phoenix BFL All-American finished: 1st: Zeke Gossett, Pell City, Ala., 10 bass, 27-6, $50,100 2nd: James Willoughby, Gulfport, Miss., 10 bass, 26-12, $7,623 3rd: Tom Frink, Southside, Ala., 10 bass, 24-0, $4,392 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus) Rounding out the top 10 boaters were: 4th: Ben Foster, Owens Cross Roads, Ala., 10 bass, 23-2, $2,399 5th: Brandon McGinnis, Pell City, Ala., 10 bass, 23-1, $1,653 6th: Michael Smith, Andalusia, Ala., 10 bass, 22-13, $1,504 7th: Alex Hester, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 22-9, $1,355 8th: Stihl Smith, Alexander, Ala., 10 bass, 22-7, $1,206 9th: Matthew Bennett, Eclectic, Ala., 10 bass, 22-6, $1,056 10th: Hunter Davidson, Reform, Ala., 10 bass, 22-2, $982 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Michael Smith of Andalusia, Alabama, won the Berkley Big Bass Boater award and $1,000 for landing a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 15 ounces – the biggest of the tournament.  Rodney Graham of Childersburg, Alabama, won the co-angler division Saturday after bringing a two-day total of six bass weighing 14 pounds, 4 ounces, to the scale. Graham earned the top co-angler award of $14,999 for his victory. The top three co-anglers who qualified for the 2026 Phoenix BFL All-American finished: 1st: Rodney Graham, Childersburg, Ala., six bass, 14-4, $14,999 2nd: Bejamin Roop, Tullahoma, Tenn., six bass, 14-3, $3,807 3rd: Mason Franklin, McCalla, Ala., six bass, 13-7, $1,991 Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were: 4th: Randy Wiggins, Birmingham, Ala., six bass, 13-1, $1,195 5th: Michael Pate, Dadeville, Ala., six bass, 12-10, $822 6th: Stuart Vitollo, Vance, Ala., six bass, 12-5, $748 7th: Darren Merhoff, Killen, Ala., six bass, 12-4, $673 8th: Gary Marlowe, Montgomery, Ala., six bass, 12-0, $698 9th: Jason Argo, Trinity, Ala., six bass, 11-9, $524 10th: Pop Catalin, Cookeville, Tenn., six bass, 11-7, $487 Randy Wiggins of Birmingham, Alabama, caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 7 ounces, to win the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award worth $500. The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine was 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, now 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 43rd annual BFL All-American. The BFL All-American will take place May 28-30, 2026, at Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, and is hosted by the Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board. |