Mooresville’s Quinlin Earns Victory at Two-Day Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament on the Ohio River

Ohio’s Jones Bests Field in Strike King Co-Angler Division

LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. – Boater Mike Quinlin of Mooresville, Indiana, caught nine bass weighing 15 pounds, 12 ounces, to win the two-day Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on the Ohio River at Tanner’s Creek in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. The tournament was the fifth and final regular-season event for the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division. Quinlin earned $14,374 for his victory, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF5 contingency bonus.

Quinlin’s victory was his second BFL Hoosier Division win in a row, as he won the BFL event on the Ohio River at Rocky Point on Aug. 6.

“Saturday, I caught all my fish shallow on a spinnerbait and had a 4-14 kicker, which is a pretty good fish for the Ohio River,” Quinlin said. “I only had four fish, but I was leading after Day 1.”

Quinlin said on Sunday he stayed close to takeoff and caught a quick limit that didn’t weigh very much, then made a 40-mile run and was able to cull out two more fish flipping a Hog Snatcher Baits tube.

“I probably didn’t even need to make that long run and still would have gotten the win,” Quinlin said. “The good old Ohio River changed on me, and the water went down a foot overnight. The fish would no longer chase a spinnerbait.”

With two straight wins behind him, Quinlin is now eyeing his next BFL event, the Regional Championship in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

“This feels great,” Quinlin said. “The Phoenix bonus was fantastic, as were the Mercury and General Tire and AFTCO bonuses. I’m looking forward to fishing the Regional Championship at the Mississippi River in La Crosse. That place is just full of fish.”

The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

• 1st:          Mike Quinlin, Mooresville, Ind., nine bass, 15-12, $14,374 includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF5 Contingency Bonus)
• 2nd:        Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, 10 bass, 13-11, $3,437
• 3rd:        Chris Wilkinson, Farmersburg, Ind., 10 bass, 13-7, $1,957
• 4th:         David Spivey, Hamilton, Ohio, nine bass, 13-0, $1,371
• 5th:         Chris Martinkovic, Hamilton, Ohio, nine bass, 12-15, $1,425
• 6th:         Matt McCoy, Indianapolis, Ind., nine bass, 12-11, $1,077
• 7th:         Brain Funkhouser, Bloomington, Ind., six bass, 12-7, $979
• 8th:         Brandon Barrett, Bloomington, Ind., eight bass, 11-1, $881
• 9th:         Mark Dove, North Vernon, Ind., six bass, 10-2, $783
• 10th:      Blake Albertson, Bloomington, Ind., seven bass, 9-3, $685

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Ethan Hill of Columbus, Indiana, caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 6 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – to earn the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $780.

Brent Jones of Okeana, Ohio, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $3,287 Sunday after catching a two-day total of six bass weighing 8 pounds, 11 ounces.

The Top 10 Strike King co-anglers were: 

• 1st:          Brent Jones, Okeana, Ohio, six bass, 8-11, $3,287
• 2nd:        Tim Edwards, Underwood, Ind., five bass, 8-3, $1,468
• 3rd:        John Thomas, Quincy, Ind., six bass, 7-9, $979
• 4th:         Dan Pardue, Morgantown, Ind., five bass, 7-2, $685
• 5th:         Bill Kissinger, Knoxville, Tenn., six bass, 7-1, $587
• 6th:         Dominic Bogolo, Hamilton, Ohio, six bass, 7-0, $538
• 7th:         Jarrod Pickel, Indianapolis, Ind., five bass, 7-0, $489
• 8th:         Evan Baldwin, Avon, Ind., five bass, 6-14, $441
• 9th:         Jay Backer, Henderson, Ky., five bass, 5-15, $392
• 10th:      Yaounde Howard, Bolingbrook, Ill., four bass, 5-8, $443

Jimmy Bean of Hamilton, Ohio, caught the largest bass in the Strike King Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 2 pounds, 7 ounces. The catch earned him the Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $390.

With the regular season now complete, boater Mike Quinlin of Mooresville, Indiana, won the 2022 Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with a five-event total of 1,339 points to earn the $1,000 boater AOY award. Ryan Sykes of Fairfield, Ohio, won the 2022 Strike King Co-Angler Hoosier Division AOY race with 1,292 points and earned the $500 Strike King Co-angler of the Year award.

Now, the top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will advance to compete 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, 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.