| Boater winner Alex Prince of Blue Ridge, Georgia, and co-angler winner Trent Carey of York Springs, Pennsylvania |
| Pennsylvania’s Carey Takes Co-Angler Division GAINESVILLE, Ga. (Aug. 25, 2025) – Boater Alex Prince of Blue Ridge, Georgia, caught six bass weighing 26 pounds even over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Lanier. The tournament was the fifth and final regular-season event of the season for the BFL Bulldog Division. Prince earned $6,844 for his victory. Due to recent extremely hot temperatures, MLF tournament directors implemented a three-fish limit for both boaters and co-anglers each day at this event. “On Day 1 we had some pretty nasty weather come in, and it made for a good bite,” Prince said. “I was catching most of my fish on a Zoom Fluke and a SPRO Sashimmy Swimmer, then on Day 2 it was slick, calm, bluebird skies and extremely tough.” Prince said the change in weather made him nervous on the second day of the tournament, and he fished a minnow around timber in deeper water – from 30 to 50 feet – in search of bass. He added that the boat traffic that had been present Saturday was not present Sunday. After boating 25 keepers on Saturday, Prince managed 10 bass from the waters of Lanier below Browns Bridge on the south end of the lake. “I caught a couple on the topwater on the second day, but mostly it was the minnow,” Price said. “I couldn’t get the big ones to come up when it was that slick. The weather makes a huge difference on that place. “I was a nervous wreck because it was slick,” Prince added. “The wind started blowing at 1 o’clock, and I had a 5-pound largemouth come up and miss the Sashimmy Swimmer. Then at 2:15 I pulled up to my last spot and caught a 4-pound (spotted bass) that culled out a 3-pounder, and if it hadn’t have been for that fish I wouldn’t have won. I told my co-angler earlier in the day that I had one in the box that weighed 3 pounds that would cost me the tournament if I didn’t cull it.” In the past, Prince had come close to winning a BFL tournament on Lanier – including two 2nd-place finishes and a 3rd-place effort – but had never been able to seal the deal until Sunday. “This is incredible,” Prince said. “I never could win on Lanier, and that’s my home lake, so it’s a true blessing to finally get the silver trophy.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Alex Prince, Blue Ridge, Ga., six bass, 26-0, $6,844 2nd: Damian Szlachta, Center Valley, Pa., six bass, 25-4, $2,971 3rd: Logan Parker, Ball Ground, Ga., six bass, 25-0, $1,983 4th: Kristian Kelley, Dawsonville, Ga., six bass, 24-14, $1,386 5th: William Bates, Alpharetta, Ga., six bass, 24-12, $1,688 6th: Jack Story, Atlanta, Ga., six bass, 24-11, $1,089 7th: Hayden Seabolt, Dawsonville, Ga., six bass, 24-11, $990 8th: Sam Niemeyer, Aviston, Ill., six bass, 24-2, $891 9th: Levi Self, Dahlonega, Ga., six bass, 24-0, $792 10th: Troy Harris, Watkinsville, Ga., six bass, 23-13, $693 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Alex Prince of Blue Ridge, Georgia, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 6 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $802.  Trent Carey of York Springs, Pennsylvania, won the co-angler division and $2,971 Sunday, after bringing six bass to the scale that totaled 16 pounds, 3 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers finished: 1st: Trent Carey, York Springs, Pa., six bass, 16-3, $2,971 2nd: Daniel Arnberg, Auburn, Ala., six bass, 16-0, $1,486 3rd: Jared Kutil, Beaufort, S.C., six bass, 14-12, $1,039 4th: Colby Elliott, Blairsville, Ga., five bass, 11-14, $693 5th: Benjie Winkler, Cleveland, Ga., five bass, 11-12, $594 6th: Rowen Vandergriff, Covington, Ga., three bass, 10-6, $545 7th: Joseph Chilcott, Williamson, Ga., four bass, 10-2, $495 8th: William Thomas Cowart, Danielsville, Ga., three bass, 9-13, $446 9th: Adam Johnson, Duluth, Ga., four bass, 9-12, $396 10th: Tim Greene, Loganville, Ga., five bass, 9-11, $347 Peyton Rinker of Woodstock, Georgia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $401, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 5 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day. With all five events in the division now complete, Michael Wilder of Lizella, Georgia, won the Fishing Clash Bulldog Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,298 points and earned the $1,000 payout, while Daniel Arnberg of Auburn, Alabama, won the Fishing Clash Bulldog Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,316 points and earned $500. The top 60 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. 17-18 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Seminole Presented by Mando Deodorant in Bainbridge, Georgia. 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 award of $20,000. The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is 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, will 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 BFL All-American. |
