Wagoner’s Brumnett Tops Field at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Fort Gibson Lake
Arkansas’ Thompson Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division
WAGONER, Okla.– Boater Brett Brumnett of Wagoner, Oklahoma, caught three bass Saturday weighing 13 pounds, 15 ounces, to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on Fort Gibson Lake. The tournament was the fourth event for the Bass Fishing League Okie Division. Brumnett earned $12,199, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.
“I started out fishing mid-lake throwing a (River2Sea) Whopper Plopper, and I caught a keeper on it early,” Brumnett said. “So, I fished there for the first couple of hours and then moved to the upper end of the lake and started fishing laydowns and stumps. I ended up catching two more keepers up there flipping a Gene Larew Biffle Bug and a 10-inch Berkley Powerbait Power Worm. Then I finished the day fishing rock piles and upgraded twice.
“I probably caught 15 fish, and 12 of those were keepers,” Brumnett said. “I pulled up on one of my rock piles and caught a 4½-pounder and that put me at about 12 pounds at that time. I hit a few more of my spots and didn’t get any bites, so I went back to that rock pile with 20 minutes to go and caught another 4½-pounder off of it.”
Brumnett’s win was his second BFL victory on Fort Gibson Lake. His first came in 2017.
“The lake’s been fishing tough, and I had two sons who fished on the boater side, so I had to work around them,” Brumnett said with a laugh. His son, Eli, finished sixth in the event, and son Tate placed 33rd.
The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
- 1st: Brett Brumnett, Wagoner, Okla., three bass, 13-15, $12,199 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
- 2nd: Sheldon Collings, Grove, Okla., three bass, 13-6, $2,100
- 3rd: Dillon Roberts, Claremore, Okla., three bass, 12-8, $1,983
- 4th: Brent Homan, Graham, Texas, three bass, 12-3, $910
- 4th: Wyatt Ryan, Ada, Okla., three bass, 12-3, $910
- 6th: Eli Brumnett, Wagoner, Okla., three bass, 11-11, $770
- 7th: Steven McLarty, Broken Arrow, Okla., three bass, 11-6, $700
- 8th: Nick Kincaid, Coweta, Okla., three bass, 11-2, $830
- 9th: Lane Kindle, Stilwell, Okla., three bass, 10-14, $560
- 10th: Jason Horton, Eucha, Okla., three bass, 10-4, $490
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Roberts caught a largemouth that weighed 5 pounds, 5 ounces that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $585.
Doug Thompson of Mabelvale, Arkansas, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,100 Saturday after catching three bass weighing 10 pounds even.
The Top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:
- 1st: Doug Thompson, Mabelvale, Ark., three bass, 10-0, $2,100
- 2nd: Nathan Christie, Claremore, Okla., three bass, 9-0, $1,050
- 3rd: Chip Porche, Bixby, Okla., three bass, 8-8, $701
- 4th: Harold Frazier, Okmulgee, Okla., three bass, 8-2, $590
- 5th: Michael Shinstine, Springdale, Ark., three bass, 8-0, $420
- 6th: Alan Hill, Ada, Okla., three bass, 7-7, $385
- 7th: David Hamilton, Rogers, Ark., three bass, 7-6, $350
- 8th: Jerrod Madden, Purcell, Okla., two bass, 7-5, $315
- 9th: Thad Hewitt, Delaware, Okla., three bass, 7-1, $262
- 9th: Patrick Sanchez, Muskogee, Okla., two bass, 7-1, $262
Derrick Skinner of Muskogee, Oklahoma, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 14 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $292.
After four events, Ian Leybas of McAlester, Oklahoma, leads the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Okie Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 974 points, while David Blankinship of Cushing, Oklahoma, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 968 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.