EUFAULA, Okla. – Boater Bradley Sullivan of Shawnee, Oklahoma, caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Eufaula. The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Okie Division. Sullivan earned $5,014 for his victory.
“I started out the day and I ran up north to Porum,” Sullivan said. “It was a long run, and it was pretty rough out there.
It was a super slow day for me,” Sullivan continued. “I caught a couple early on a jerkbait, and then I just had to slow down and drag. I had to slow way, way down. I was watching them on my (Garmin) LiveScope and those fish were not reacting to anything. I had to fish incredibly slow.”
The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
- 1st: Bradley Sullivan, Shawnee, Okla., five bass, 17-6, $5,014
- 2nd: Chris Jones, Bokoshe, Okla., five bass, 15-9, $2,507
- 3rd: Chris Torkleson, Sand Springs, Okla., five bass, 15-8, $1,670
- 4th: Fred Fiedler, Fort Gibson, Okla., five bass, 15-7, $1170
- 5th: Lance Williams, Billings, Mo., five bass, 15-5, $961
- 5th: Dale Andrews, Jay, Okla., five bass, 15-5, $961
- 7th: Brad Ragsdale, Fairland, Okla., five bass, 15-2, $836
- 8th: Phillip Lunceford, Stigler, Okla., five bass, 15-1, $752
- 9th: Dalton Ross, Centerton, Ark., five bass, 14-15, $1,433
- 9th: Justin Lillie, Edmond, Okla., five bass, 14-13, $1,085 (includes $500 Phoenix Bonus)
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Ross caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $765.
Blake Dominguez of Edmond, Oklahoma, won the Strike King co-angler division a total of $2,458 Saturday, after bringing four bass to the scale that weighed 12 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
- 1st: Blake Dominguez, Edmond, Okla., four bass, 12-10, $2,458
- 2nd: Tom Fink, Tulsa, Okla., three bass, 11-1, $1,229
- 3rd: Jon Ray, Owasso, Okla., four bass, 10-8, $817
- 4th: Arturo Baquera, Noble, Okla., five bass, 10-4, $723
- 5th: Chase Fitzpatrick, Eldon, Mo., three bass, 9-12, $492
- 6th: Jim Kopff, Old Monroe, Mo., four bass, 9-5, $451
- 7th: Jason Brown, Miami, Okla., four bass, 9-0, $410
- 8th: Dylan Johnson, Miami, Okla., five bass, 8-11, $369
- 9th: Rick Blosser, Tulsa, Okla., three bass, 8-2, $328
- 10th: Joe Tucker, Osceloa, Mo., four bass, 8-1, $687
Steve Logan of Hugo, Oklahoma, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $375, catching a bass that weighed in at 6 pounds, 12 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After three events, Chris Jones of Bokoshe, Oklahoma, leads the BFL Okie Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 726 points, while Wes Ledbetter of Coweta, Oklahoma, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 705 points.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 19-21 BFL Regional tournament on Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.
The 2023 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 Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2023 All-American event will take place May 31-June 2, on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina. The event is hosted by Visit Oconee SC.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.