| Boater winner Jeremy Gordon of Rutledge, Tennessee, and co-angler winner Darren Kelly of Wartburg, Tennessee. |
| Wartburg’s Kelly Tops Co-Angler Division BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. (Oct. 27, 2025) – Boater Jeremy Gordon of Rutledge, Tennessee, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 36 pounds, 15 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Regional on Dale Hollow Lake Presented by Mando Deodorant . The tournament, which was hosted by the Byrdstown-Pickett County Chamber of Commerce, concluded Saturday. For his win, Gordon earned a prize package valued at $57,100, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard. The Dale Hollow Lake event served as the Regional championship for the BFL Volunteer and LBL 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. “My practice was really tough,” Gordon said. “But after a fog delay on the first morning, I got to my first area and they started biting fairly quickly. I had 18 pounds by noon. The rest of the day proved to be very hard to get bites.” Gordon said the fish he targeted were in offshore groups of 10 to 20 fish in 30 to 40 feet of water. Gordon knew the fish were there; it was just like “pulling teeth” to get them to bite. Gordon said the key to his success was using a bigger bait – a 6-inch jighead minnow. At the end of the day, Gordon weighed the only five keepers that bit the first day of the tournament. Gordon’s second day didn’t really take off for him until 10 a.m., and for the second day in a row, the 10 a.m. to noon window was the hot bite for him. “I made a key adjustment to go to my secondary area, and I ran into some fish there,” Gordon said. “I hit a little flurry, and in an hour and a half I caught my fish. I only caught six keepers the second day, but they were the right fish. “When I caught my fifth fish, I felt confident I was going to make the All-American,” Gordon added. “That was my goal. But I had a little 2-pound smallmouth I needed to cull. Then I caught a kicker 4-pounder, and I had a bigger bag than I had on Day 1, and I thought, “Ok. I have a shot now.’ “I’ve qualified for three-straight Toyota Series Championships, so I’ve had some shots at big events,” Gordon said. “This year I wanted to focus on BFLs. I wanted to fish closer to home and stay local. I love Major League Fishing, and my goal was to make the All-American. I had an absolutely unbelievable year in the Volunteer Division. Everything about this season exceeded my expectations.” The top three boaters who qualified for the 2026 Phoenix BFL All-American finished: 1st: Jeremy Gordon, Rutledge, Tenn., 10 bass, 36-15, $57,100 (includes $7,000 Phoenix Bonus) 2nd: Isaac Peavyhouse, Jamestown, Tenn., 10 bass, 35-2, $6,264 3rd: Corey Neece, Bristol, Tenn., 10 bass, 34-2, $3,224 Rounding out the top 10 boaters were: 4th: Justin Botts, Bluff City, Tenn., 10 bass, 33-13, $2,055 5th: Gavin Clevenger, Knoxville, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-5, $1,470 6th: Harlan Thomas, Paducah, Ky., 10 bass, 31-14, $1,353 7th: Gavin Cloutier, Johnson City, Tenn., 10 bass, 31-11, $1,236 8th: Harbor Lovin, New Concord, Ky., 10 bass, 30-11, $1,120 9th: Noah Morgan, Russellville, Ky., 10 bass, 30-8, $1,003 10th: Owen Stamm, Morristown, Tenn., 10 bass, 29-11, $944 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Travis Bowen of Duffield, Virginia, won the Berkley Big Bass Boater award and $1,000 for landing a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces – the biggest of the tournament.  Darren Kelly of Wartburg, Tennessee, won the co-angler division Saturday after bringing a two-day total of five bass weighing 12 pounds even to the scale. Kelly earned the top co-angler award of $11,949 for his victory. The top three co-anglers who qualified for the 2026 Phoenix BFL All-American finished: 1st: Darren Kelly, Wartburg, Tenn., five bass, 12-0, $11,949 2nd: Wayne Crouch, Jamestown, Tenn., five bass, 11-9, $3,045 3rd: Mason Pike, Knoxville, Tenn., four bass, 9-5, $1,602 Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were: 4th: Dawson Schultz, Russellville, Tenn., three bass, 8-5, $1,017 5th: Austin Smith, Hazard, Ky., four bass, 8-0, $725 6th: Brady Field, Gallatin, Tenn., three bass, 7-13, $666 7th: Barry Gunter, Trafalger, Ind., three bass, 6-14, $608 8th: Justin McGaha, Knoxville, Tenn., three bass, 6-13, $599 9th: Andrew Farmer, Lancing, Tenn., two bass, 6-4, $491 10th: Mike Westfall, Norris City, Ill., three bass, 6-1, $462 Christopher Davis of Huntsville, Alabama, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds even 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. Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew Coffee, 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, PirahnO2, 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 BFL updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. |