HENRICO, Va. – Pro Martin Villa of Charlottesville, Virginia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 15 ounces, Saturday to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the James River Presented by Suzuki Marine. Hosted by Richmond Region Tourism, the tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Shenandoah Division. Villa earned $4,938 for his victory.

Villa, who competes at the sport’s top level – the Bass Pro Tour (BPT) – competed in the BPT General Tire Stage Six on the James River at the end of June. Unfortunately, that tournament didn’t go quite as he’d hoped. Villa finished 61st. He was proud to turn things around and win the BFL event on the James on Saturday.

“It was an awesome day today,” he said. “It was sunny and 85 degrees, and they bit as soon as I showed up.

“I was blessed to be here today. I really am grateful for this because I really wanted a chance at redemption from my last finish here. You know when you bring a bunch of Bass Pro Tour guys here to your home, you’ve either got to catch them or you’re gonna get your teeth kicked in. So, I got a little shot at redemption here.”

Understandably, Villa was tight-lipped about his winning pattern, given that the tournament was on his home lake.

“I just did the same thing I did in the BPT,” Villa added. “They were just big today and small a month ago.”

The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., five bass, 19-15, $4,938
2nd:       Thomas Milton, Chester, Va., five bass, 16-0, $2,057
2nd:       Ryan Lachniet, Gum Spring, Va., five bass, 16-0, $2,057
4th:        Chris Brummett, Lynch Station, Va., five bass, 15-10, $1,577
5th:        Brandon Pritchett, Goode, Va., five bass, 15-7, $988
6th:        Wesley Harris, Rustburg, Va., five bass, 15-3, $905
7th:        James Cassaday, Wirtz, Va., five bass, 15-2, $823
8th:        Frank Poirier, North Prince George, Va., five bass, 14-14, $699
8th:        Bryan Elrod, Mechanicsville, Va., five bass, 14-14, $699
10th:     Junior Roberts, Alexandria, Va., five bass, 14-11, $576

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Brandon Casey of Chester, Virginia, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 11 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $745.

David Deciucis of Chester, Virginia, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,469 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 15 pounds, 8 ounces.

The Top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:        David Deciucis, Chester, Va., five bass, 15-8, $2,469
2nd:       Greg Ravitsky, Palmyra, Va., five bass, 13-2, $1,235
3rd:       Nathan Sullivan, Fredericksburg, Va., five bass, 12-9, $823
4th:        Phillip Arnold, Powhatan, Va., five bass, 12-2, $948
5th:        Eric Picucci, Midlothian, Va., five bass, 11-13, $494
6th:        Jarrod Egolf, Walkersville, Md., three bass, 10-15, $703
7th:        Chad Boggs, Prince Frederick, Md., five bass, 10-14, $412
8th:        Dan Garner, Littleton, N.C., five bass, 10-6, $370
9th:        Claude Craig, Locust Grove, Va., four bass, 10-4, $329
10th:     Robert Wedding, Welcome, Md., five bass ,10-2, $288

Phillip Arnold of Powhatan, Virginia earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $372, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 10 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Chris Brummett of Lynch Station, Virginia, leads the Fishing Clash Shenandoah Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 980 points, while David Williams of Fredericksburg, Virginia, leads the Fishing Clash Shenandoah Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 912 points.

The next event for BFL Shenandoah Division anglers will be held Sept. 7-8, at the James River in Henrico, Virginia. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call 270-252-1000.

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. 3-5 BFL Regional tournament on Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki 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 or Suzuki outboard.

The 2024 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.

Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters 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.