CANNELTON, Ill. – Boater Mike Quinlin of Mooresville, Indiana, caught five bass Saturday weighing 8 pounds, 13 ounces, to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on the Ohio River-Rocky Point. The tournament was the fourth event for the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division. Quinlin earned $12,500, including a $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

“I fished the weekend before the tournament and did no good – just one keeper,” Quinlin said. “But during the tournament I fished the exact same way and managed to put them in the boat. I ended up catching a lot of fish on a tough day, flipping wood stumps and laydowns in about 2 feet of water.

“I tried throwing a buzzbait early, but they just wouldn’t eat it,” Quinlin said. “But they would eat the spinnerbait, which is unusual for the river.”

Quinlin said he fished the Deer Creek area of the river as well as another creek upriver of takeoff at Rocky Point Marina Saturday to boat 11 keepers. He said the main river was unfishable due to heavy rains recently in Kentucky, but he relied on years of fishing experience to take home the trophy.

Quinlin now has five BFL titles under his belt. His first BFL win also came at Ohio River-Rocky Point in 2001.

“Back in 2001 a buddy of mine talked me into fishing a tournament in the Bass Fishing League,” Quinlin said. “It was the biggest tournament I had fished at that time, and I said, ‘I’ll try this one time and see what happens.’ And it just so happens I won it.

“Also, Marty Sisk, who finished second in this tournament I just won, also finished second to me in that tournament I won in 2001,” Quinlin said.

To make the win even more special, Quinlin said he had sold the Phoenix boat he had used last year and just purchased a new Phoenix boat. He had not gotten a chance to take it out before the tournament.

“The tournament was my first day in my new boat,” Quinlin said. “I hadn’t even started it yet. I just took it out real slow and babied it. And everything worked out just perfect.”

Quilin’s Phoenix boat he purchased qualified him for the Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus and added $7,000 to his tournament winnings.

The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st: Mike Quinlin, Mooresville, Ind., five bass, 8-13, $12,500 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Marty Sisk, Evansville, Ind., five bass, 7-3, $2,000
3rd: Jeremy Knepp, Montgomery, Ind., four bass, 6-15, $1,334
4th: Robert Spurgeon, Jasonville, Ind., four bass, 6-0, $933
5th: Chris Wilkinson, Farmersburg, Ind., five bass, 5-8, $800
6th: Blake Knies, Jasper, Ind., one bass, 4-13, $1,273
7th: Jason Roberts, Bargersville, Ind., four bass, 4-3, $633
7th: George Brown, Camby, Ind., three bass, 4-3, $633
9th: Michael Seals, Terre Haute, Ind., three bass, 4-1, $500
9th: Michael Pruitt, Martinsville, Ind., three bass, 4-1, $500

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Knies had a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 13 ounces that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $540.

Ryan Sykes of Fairfield, Ohio, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,258 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 6 pounds even.

The Top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

1st: Ryan Sykes, Fairfield, Ohio, five bass, 6-0, $2,258
2nd: Brian Liming, Dillsboro, Ind., four bass, 5-2, $979
3rd: Tom Harber, Kokomo, Ind., four bass, 4-13, $653
4th: Guy Linville, Camby, Ind., four bass, 4-3, $457
5th: David Rector, Brazil, Ind., two bass, 3-10, $392
6th: Rod Yoder, West Lafayette, Ind., two bass, 3-6, $359
7th: Tobie Ummel, Leitchfield, Ky., three bass, 3-5, $326
8th: Colsyn Head, Poland, Ind., two bass, 2-13, $294
9th: George Powell, Columbia City, Ind., one bass, 2-11, $504
9th: Andrew Woodall, Nashville, Ind., two bass, 2-11, $244

Powell caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 2 pounds, 11 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $260.

After four events, Mike Quinlin of Mooresville, Indiana, leads the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 964 points, while Austin Tinsman of Losantville, Indiana, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 955 points.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 13-15 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Boaters will compete 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 fish for a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six Regional Championships 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 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American.

The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division will also earn priority entry into the Toyota Series, the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour.

Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, AFTCO, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Gary Yamamoto Baits, General Tire, Lew’s, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Revital Outdoors, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X, YETI and Yo-Zuri.

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.