Oologah’s Roberts lands his ‘fish trophy’ with win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League event at Grand Lake

Arkansas’ Sloan tops Strike King co-angler division

GROVE, Okla. – Boater Dillon Roberts of Oologah, Oklahoma, caught a five-bass limit weighing 23 pounds, 3 ounces, Saturday to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Grand Lake. Hosted by the City of Grove, the tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Okie Division. Roberts earned $5,607 for his victory.

“I pulled into a mid-lake area that was producing some bigger fish at a little greater depth for me,” said Roberts, who said he grew up on Grand Lake and spends most of his time on the water there now. “I fished 20 to 25 feet deep with an Alabama rig all day. The fish were staging at the mouths of creek arms waiting for the water to warm up so they could move up shallow.”

Roberts said he relied on his Lowrance ActiveTarget to allow him to put his Alabama rig in the strike zone for bass, and the approach paid off with 11 keeper bites during the day.

“I had my final weight at about 1 o’clock,” Roberts said. “This time of year, it’s still winter fishing, and I thought I would need 24 to 25 pounds to win. I had just culled a 2½-pounder, and when I got to 23 pounds, I knew I had a solid shot.”

Roberts also caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $735.

“I casted to that fish probably 20 to 25 times before I got her to commit,” Roberts said. “It was a cat-and-mouse game, but I finally got her to eat. Then, three casts later, I caught my second-largest fish.

“This win is a dream come true,” Roberts said. “My dad has a fish trophy. I’ve been after a fish trophy since I finished college fishing, and three years later I finally got it.”

The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

• 1st:          Dillon Roberts, Oologah, Okla., five bass, 23-3, $5,607
• 2nd:        Billy Lemon, Sand Springs, Okla., five bass, 21-1, $2,936 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
• 3rd:        Austin Lowrey, Webb City, Mo., five bass, 18-15, $1,623
• 4th:         Shawn Mote, Ardmore, Okla., five bass, 18-11, $1,137
• 5th:         Stephen Whitesell, Grove, Okla., five bass, 18-19, $974
• 6th:         Rodney Copeland, Sallisaw, Okla., five bass, 18-5, $893
• 7th:         T.J. Martin, Claremore, Okla., five bass, 18-4, $812
• 8th:         Garett Jacobson, Wagoner, Okla., five bass, 16-13, $731
• 9th:         David Rice, Galena, Mo., five bass, 16-4, $650
• 10th:      Blake Capps, Muskogee, Okla., four bass, 15-2, $568

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Mark Sloan of Harrison, Arkansas, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,403 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 3 ounces.

The Top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished: 

• 1st:          Mark Sloan, Harrison, Ark., three bass, 11-3, $2,403
• 2nd:        Jacob Cooper, Eldorado, Kan., four bass, 11-1, $1,201
• 3rd:        Ryan Doel, Springfield, Mo., three bass, 9-12, $1,168
• 4th:         Colton Foster, Wagoner, Okla., four bass, 9-3, $561
• 5th:         Jeff Moss, Oronogo, Mo., three bass, 9-0, $831
• 6th:         James West, Spiro, Okla., five bass, 8-3, $441
• 7th:         Melvin Camp, Talihina, Okla., three bass, 7-15, $400
• 8th:         Theron Asbery, Republic, Mo., two bass, 7-10, $360
• 9th:         Randy Peoples, Prairie Grove, Ark., three bass, 7-3, $320
• 10th:      Austin Morris, Broken Arrow, Okla., three bass, 6-13, $280

Ryan Doel of Springfield, Missouri, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $362, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 2 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

The next event for BFL Okie Division anglers will be held March 16, at Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Oklahoma. 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. 17-19 BFL Regional tournament on Wright Patman Lake in Texarkana, Texas. 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, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota 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.