| Boater Colton Caskey of Campti, Louisiana, and co-angler Demarcus Armstrong of Pittsburgh, Texas. |
Texas’ Armstrong Earns Victory in Co-Angler Division BROOKELAND, Texas (March 16, 2026) – Eighteen-year-old oater Colton Caskey of Campti, Louisiana, caught a total of five bass weighing 23 pounds, 15 ounces, Sunday, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Sam Rayburn Reservoir . The tournament, hosted by Jasper County Development District, was the fourth of five events of the season for the BFL Cowboy Division and the second of a back-to-back BFL tournament weekend at Sam Rayburn Reservoir. After finishing in 46th place and missing a payout in the first event on Saturday, Caskey earned $3,830 for his victory on Sunday. “I made a long run in the morning and started off fishing some shallow timber without the (Garmin Live)’Scope ,” Caskey said. “I was catching a bunch of males –small ones. I had a limit of maybe 4 or 5 pounds. So, I decided to pull out off the bank and fish a couple of hard spots. I pulled up on one in 15 feet of water I hadn’t fished in a long time and cast up there with a jig and had one about 6 pounds that came off at the boat. Then I had another about 5 pounds that came off at the boat. So, I had lost two big ones on this one spot. “So, I decided to turn on my ’Scope on to see what was there,” Caskey added. “And there was a good many of them. And I caught my first big one, an 8-14.” Caskey continued to throw his ¾-ounce V&M Cliff Pace the Flatline Pacemaker Football Jig with a V&M J-Bug trailer as well as a Carolina rig with a V&M Swamp Hog and added another 6-pounder, one that weighed 4 pounds and then lost two more that he estimated at between 5 and 6 pounds. The lost fish weighed heavily on Caskey, and he feared he had blown his chances of a good finish in the tournament. “It was rough,” Caskey said. “I lost a lot of fish right at the boat and was having problems with the net. I thought there was no chance I was going to win. They were biting really well today. Rayburn is typically a 30-pounds-to-win type of lake. And I weighed in a fish that was barely over a pound. “I was very surprised,” Caskey went on to say about the win. “I’ve not been catching them very good out there. I caught one really big one in practice was all. I was grateful to have what I had.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Colton Caskey, Campti, La., five bass, 23-15, $3,830 2nd: Jaden Parrish, Liberty, Texas, five bass, 19-10, $2,270 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus) 3rd: Zack Fogle, Longview, Texas, five bass, 18-9, $890 4th: Cole Moore, Anacoco, La., five bass, 16-13, $710 5th: Robert Laird Jr, Livingston, Texas, five bass, 16-9, $630 6th: Justin Parchman, Oologah, Okla., five bass, 16-3, $540 7th: Ricky Guy, Humble, Texas, five bass, 14-12, $520 8th: Daniel Bryant, Scott, La., five bass, 14-11, $490 9th: Bryan McDonough, Brookeland, Texas, five bass, 14-5, $460 9th: Kaden Mueck, Livingston, Texas, five bass, 14-5, $460 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Caskey also earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing an 8-pound, 14-ounce bass, worth $200.  Demarcus Armstrong of Pittsburgh, Texas won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,865 Sunday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 10 pounds, 8 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers finished: 1st: Demarcus Armstrong, Pittsburgh, Texas, three bass, 10-8, $1,865 2nd: Chris Harrell, Conroe, Texas, three bass, 9-12, $885 3rd: Maximillian Stevens, Lafayette, La., three bass, 8-9, $445 4th: Aaron Uncapher, Tyler, Texas, three bass, 8-8, $355 5th: Anthony Jones, Irving, Texas, three bass, 8-4, $315 6th: Collin Kelly, Montgomery, Texas, three bass, 8-0, $270 7th: David Gandaria, Hemphill, Texas, three bass, 7-14, $310 8th: Dwight Minogue, Many, La., three bass, 7-12, $245 9th: James Grizzle, Many, La., three bass, 7-11, $232 9th: William Easley, Pollok, Texas, three bass, 7-11, $232 Armstrong also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 7-pound, 1-ounce bass worth $100. After four events, Cole Moore of Anacoco, Louisiana, now leads the 7 Brew Cowboy Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 978 points, while James Grizzle of Many, Louisiana, leads the Cowboy Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 929 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. 22-24 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 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. |