SALISBURY, N.C. – Boater Jacob Smith of Newton, North Carolina, caught a total of five bass weighing 24 pounds, 11 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on High Rock Lake. The tournament was the fourth of five events of the season for the BFL North Carolina Division. Smith earned $2,590 for his victory.
The High Rock Lake tournament was the first BFL event for Smith to fish, and he said his history with High Rock hadn’t been very successful. But he didn’t let that stop him from competing.
“I’m not super familiar with High Rock Lake,” Smith said. “I have fished it a few times, maybe six times, and I’ve never really done super well there, but I was able to put a little something together last weekend in a tournament. They were doing what they were doing the weekend before, and I was able to catch them.
“I made a short run first thing to my first spot, but somebody was already there, but I guess it was kind of a blessing, because I went to my next spot, sat down and caught a 4-8 on my first cast,” Smith went on to say. “I was like, ‘Heck, yeah.’”
Smith said he used a newly released 20mm Queen Tackle Porcupine Ball rigged on a 2/0 Ryugi Talisman hook as a Jika Rig to target points and docks. He hopped the rig along the bottom to entice bass to strike. Smith said the docks were loaded with bass during the midday hours.
Smith added the early morning bite was best for him in the Abbott’s Creek and Flat Swamp Creek areas of High Rock, and the action slowed considerably for him as the day progressed.
“Once I was able to turn my (Garmin) LiveScope on, I was able to cull out a few times, and that’s how I ended up with what I had.” Smith said.
Smith said he was confident in the weight in his livewell, and the lack of afternoon action made for a long day.
“Any time you catch them early in the morning it just leads to a super-long day,” Smith laughed. “I was ready to weigh in. I came in 30 minutes early because I was like, ‘I just can’t do it anymore.’ The good Lord blessed me.”
The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Jacob Smith, Newton, N.C., five bass, 24-11, $2,590
2nd: Ron Rousseau, Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 19-13, $1,330
3rd: Shane Lineberger, Lincolnton, N.C., five bass, 19-6, $1,200 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus)
4th: Jason Barnes, Concord, N.C., five bass, 19-3, $820
5th: Brandon Eggers, North Wilkesboro, N.C., five bass, 19-2, $510
6th: Conrad Manuel, Pilot Mountain, N.C., five bass, 18-3, $450
7th: Robert Walser, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 17-6, $680
8th: Kaden Buchmann, Troutman, N.C., five bass, 16-12, $420
9th: Ben Robertson, Walnut Cove, N.C., five bass, 15-9, $400
10th: Kevin Chandler, New London, N.C., five bass, 15-5, $390
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Tommy Jones of Salisbury, North Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 7-pound, 3-ounce bass, worth $200.
Mark Lee of Gastonia, North Carolina, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,345 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 13 ounces.
The Top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Mark Lee, Gastonia, N.C., three bass, 13-13, $1,345
2nd: Jean Lacerte, Elm City, N.C., three bass, 11-5, $665
3rd: Thomas McDermott, Madison, N.C., three bass, 10-12, $350
4th: Justin Bach, Kannapolis, N.C., three bass, 9-1, $270
4th: Adam Oxendine, Pembroke, N.C., three bass, 9-1, $270
6th: Wayne Smelser, Wytheville, Va., three bass, 9-0, $325
7th: Thomas Pennell III, Boiling Springs, S.C., three bass, 8-15, $220
8th: Richard Williams, Sutherland, Va., three bass, 8-12, $210
9th: Bart Hill, Clemmons, N.C., three bass, 8-10, $200
10th: Charles Wood, Thomasville, N.C., three bass, 8-9, $195
Wayne Smelser of Wytheville, Virginia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass worth $100.
After four events, Jason Barnes of Concord, North Carolina, now leads the 7 Brew North Carolina Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 966 points, while Thomas Pennell III of Boiling Springs, South Carolina, leads the North Carolina Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 970 points.
The top 45 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. 15-17 BFL Regional tournament on Clarks Hill Lake in Appling, 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 prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500.
The 2026 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 co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, 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 2026 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PirahnO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular BFL updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.