| Boater winner Michael Murphy of Gilbert, South Carolina, and co-angler winner Jack Daniel Hoy of Hollywood, South Carolina. |
| Hollywood, South Carolina’s Jack Daniel Hoy Earns Victory in Co-Angler Division COLUMBIA, S.C. (Feb. 23, 2026) – Boater Michael Murphy of Gilbert, South Carolina, caught a total of five bass weighing 29 pounds, 11 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Murray. The tournament was the first of five events of the season for the BFL South Carolina Division. Murphy earned $2,890 for his victory. “Lake Murray isn’t fishing very typical right now,” Murphy said. “The water right now at Murray has only come up about a half a foot if any, so these fish normally would be in full-on pre-spawn mode by now. But you have fish that are still in winter mode because it’s been so cold and the water is so clear.” Murphy added that he attributes his success recently fishing deep, winter patterns, due largely in part to his education as a fisheries biologist. “I’ve caught fish three different ways in recent local tournaments,” Murphy said. “I’m not catching them in the same places – I just understand what they’re doing and their progression. They want to be in pre-spawn, and they’re at 9 to 12 feet, and they’re starting to get into that last two weeks before the spawn where they get really fickle.” On tournament morning, the wind was blowing out of the northwest, and Murphy ran to spots he knew would have what he called “windy bank” situations. He fished those areas and caught a few bass, but they weren’t the quality he was looking for. So, at 8:30 he changed his mind set to fishing docks and boat ramps. “I think the biggest key to my success was recognizing the transition quickly and smoothly,” Murphy said. “You can call it junk fishing. I call it watching the transition.” Murphy said he ran swimbaits and a jighead minnow down the sides of docks with six feet of water on them. When rains came, Murphy switched to a spinnerbait and jig. “It seemed like every time it rained, I caught a big one,” Murphy said. “I just really fished instinct.” Murphy said he turned on forward-facing sonar at 12:15 and headed to the Crystal Lake and Bear Creek area to target outside grass lines in clear water. Murphy hit deeper rocks with a drop-shot, a Neko rig and a jig. “Everywhere I went there was a big fish,” Murphy said. “I was just trying to focus and think, ‘What do big fish do?’ It was really just following the big fish. I had 15 rods on my deck, and I used 12 or 13 of them. It was controlled junk fishing, with the fish in a winter cycle and some fish wanting to pre-spawn pretty hard.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Michael Murphy, Gilbert, S.C., five bass, 29-11, $2,890 2nd: Joey Phegley, Graniteville, S.C., five bass, 22-6, $1,330 3rd: Lucas Murphy, West Columbia, S.C., five bass, 22-4, $1,200 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus) 4th: Kevin Banks, Prosperity, S.C., five bass, 21-0, $570 5th: David Fluker Sr., Lexington, S.C., five bass, 20-15, $510 6th: Andy Wicker, Cayce, S.C., five bass, 19-15, $450 7th: T.J. Souther, Brevard, N.C., five bass, 19-7, $430 8th: Logan Buttolph, Doswell, Va., five bass, 19-2, $420 9th: Paul Selle, Lexington, S.C., five bass, 19-0, $400 10th: Kevin Whitmore, Easley, S.C., five bass, 18-14, $390 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Murphy also earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 7-pound, 5-ounce bass worth $200.  Jack Daniel Hoy of Hollywood, South Carolina, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,295 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 10 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers finished: 1st: Jack Daniel Hoy, Hollywood, S.C., three bass, 11-10, $1,295 2nd: Rick Jerman, Springfield, Va., three bass, 10-14, $715 3rd: Jason Ries, Columbia, S.C., three bass, 9-15, $350 4th: Todd Huntley, Inman, S.C., three bass, 9-10, $285 5th: Zahreed McClinton, Columbia, S.C., three bass, 9-1, $255 6th: Rodney Tapp, Inman, S.C., three bass, 9-0, $325 7th: Calvin Harrison, Columbia, S.C., three bass, 8-14, $220 8th: Lenwood Sweatman Jr., Harleyville, S.C., three bass, 8-13, $210 9th: Ray Pettit, Pacolet, S.C, three bass, 8-9, $200 10th: Mike Sather, Beech Island, S.C., three bass, 8-7, $195 Justan Pressley of Whitmire, South Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 6-pound, 2-ounce bass worth $100. 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. 8-10 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Alabama. 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. |
