| Boater Luke Lamb of Nicholasville, Kentucky, and co-angler Kade Suratt of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. |
Tennessee’s Suratt Wins Co-Angler Division GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. (March 9, 2026) – Boater Luke Lamb of Nicholasville, Kentucky, caught a total of five bass weighing 26 pounds, 8 ounces, Sunday, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Guntersville. The tournament, hosted by Marshall County Tourism and Sports, was a rescheduled event from earlier this season and the second of back-to-back events at Lake Guntersville on the weekend – the third event of the season for the BFL Choo Choo Division. Lamb earned $6,510 for his victory. Lamb said he had devised a winning strategy for the tournament and wasted no time in executing his plan. “I went to some fish first thing I had found in practice, and they just weren’t there,” Lamb said. “So, I scrambled around for a little bit. But in the back of my mind I knew they were going to be there at some point. With the Daylight Savings Time change and it being cloudy, we were out on the water a lot earlier and it was darker out, and I think the fish were still just scattered. “I had to give it a little bit of time,” Lamb added. “I knew if I was going to win the tournament those would be the fish I would have to catch.” Lamb said he fished around for a while and returned to his starting spot mid-morning, and the fish were there. “I did quite a bit of damage pretty quick,” Lamb said. “It slowed down just a little bit with a couple times of flurried action, but overall, it was pretty steady. I leaned on that area the rest of the day. I caught a lot of fish.” Lamb said his mid-lake area produced 40 to 50 keepers for him during the tournament, most of them more than four pounds. His bass mainly came on an Alabama rig as well as a minnow. He targeted big female prespawn fish getting ready to make the transition. “This lake has so many fish in it I knew I was going to have to find the big prespawn fish to be able to hang,” Lamb said. “I thought I had the potential to win, but it’s Guntersville, and anyone can have a really big bag, especially with that many boats on the water. But I never thought that I was safe (to win). “This win feels great,” Lamb went on to say. “I’ve had a lot of close calls in tournaments in the past, so I never get my hopes up until weigh-in is over. Especially here. Someone can catch two giants during the day and beat you at any time.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Luke Lamb, Nicholasville, Ky., five bass, 26-8, $6,510 2nd: Evan Horne, Tuscumbia, Ala., five bass, 26-5, $3,150 3rd: Matthew Bennett, Eclectic, Ala., five bass, 25-15, $1,470 4th: David Cagle, Athens, Ala., five bass, 24-8, $1,330 5th: Dawson Lenz, Senoia, Ga., five bass, 24-6, $885 5th: Cal Lane, Grant, Ala., five bass, 24-6, $1,385 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus) 7th: Connor Morris, Boaz, Ala., five bass, 24-1, $760 8th: Anthony Goggins, Chelsea, Ala., five bass, 24-0, $710 9th: Wayne Christopher, Huntsville, Ala., five bass, 23-12, $670 10th: Jimmy Neece Jr., Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 23-9, $630 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. David Cagle of Athens, Alabama, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 7-pound, 1-ounce bass worth $200.  Kade Suratt of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $3,355 Sunday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 16 pounds, 3 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers finished: 1st: Kade Suratt, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., three bass, 16-3, $3,355 2nd: Randy Wiggins, Birmingham, Ala., three bass, 15-6, $1,625 3rd: Nick Clowdus, Hayden, Ala., three bass, 14-5, $735 4th: Roderick Green, Columbia, Tenn., three bass, 13-12, $565 5th: Craig Childers, Taft, Tenn., three bass, 13-11, $485 6th: Pop Catalin, Cookeville, Tenn., three bass, 12-12, $400 7th: Tommy Pritchard, Bargersville, Ind., three bass, 12-9, $380 8th: Jeffrey Eshelman, Owens Cross Roads, Ala., three bass, 12-8, $355 9th: Tim Campbell, Ardmore, Ala, three bass, 12-6, $340 10th: Billy Crider Jr., Kettering, Ohio, three bass, 12-1, $315 Kade Suratt of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 7-pound, 7-ounce bass worth $100. After three events, Hunter Davidson of Reform, Alabama, now leads the 7 Brew Choo Choo Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 714 points, while Payton Reed of Elora, Tennessee, leads the Choo Choo Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 685 points. 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. |