May 19, 2025<\/p>\n
MARBURY, Md. \u2013 Boater Rick McFaul of Phoenix, Maryland, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Potomac River Presented by Suzuki Marine. The tournament, hosted by Charles County Recreation, Parks, and Tourism, was the third event of the season for the BFL Shenandoah Division. McFaul earned $4,584 for his victory.<\/p>\n
Mother Nature tried her best to foil McFaul\u2019s plans today, forcing him to default from Plan A all the way to \u201cPlan C,\u201d he said. But it ended up working in his favor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had some extreme weather conditions today,\u201d McFaul said. \u201cThe recent rains had a flooding effect on the river. There was a massive amount of dirty water and debris flowing down the river. So everything I had found in practice was taken out by the conditions \u2013 the wind and the dirty water. So I found a little patch of cleaner water on the Virginia side of the river and literally Power-Poled down and just fished one 50-yard stretch for about five hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 50-yard stretch is a community hole grass bed ranging from 3 to 5 feet deep. After catching about 15 pounds from that spot, McFaul headed back toward the weigh-in in Mattawoman Creek. It was about 1:30 p.m. when he left. Because he gave himself plenty of time to deal with rough water, McFaul arrived early and had time to make one last stop in Mattawoman. He pulled up on a stretch of wood and promptly boxed two fish over 4 pounds each to cull up to the winning weight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think one of the reasons why I was able to do well today was there was no place to go,\u201d he said. \u201cI really think the conditions forced me to settle down and not move because I didn\u2019t have any other options, really. One of the mistakes I always make, and I think it\u2019s just my personality \u2013 I tend to move around a little too much and get impatient.\u201d<\/p>\n
McFaul fished three primary presentations on the wood and grass. He fished a swim jig, a soft stick bait and a Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer Baby Jack. At just 1\/4 ounce, the Baby Jack stayed right above the top of the grass for an effective presentation. It\u2019s also the lure that produced his biggest fish.<\/p>\n
The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament:<\/p>\n
1st: Rick McFaul, Phoenix, Md., five bass, 18-11, $4,584
\n2nd: Todd Langford, Great Falls, Va., five bass, 17-9, $2,292
\n3rd: Robert Henderson, King George, Va., five bass, 16-13, $2,129 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
\n4th: Roy Dixon, Welcome, Md., five bass, 16-8, $1,070
\n5th: Brian Laclair, Denton, Md., five bass, 16-4, $917
\n6th: Brian Warfel, Woodbridge, Va., five bass, 15-11, $840
\n7th: Ron Rousseau, Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 15-7, $726
\n7th: Andrew George, Poplar Branch, N.C., five bass, 15-7, $1,401
\n9th: Joe A. Zombek II, Scranton, Pa., five bass, 15-4, $611
\n10th: Travis Garrett, Charlottesville, Va., five bass, 14-14, $535<\/p>\n
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.<\/p>\n
Andrew George of Poplar Branch, North Carolina caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $675.<\/p>\n
Steven Lloyd of Summit Point, West Virginia, won the co-angler division and $2,355 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 10 pounds, 13 ounces.<\/p>\n
The Top 10 co-anglers finished:<\/p>\n
1st: Steven Lloyd, Summit Point, W.Va., three bass, 10-13, $2,355
\n2nd: John Robinson, Montpelier, Va., three bass, 10-5, $1,152
\n3rd: Jason Hensley, Chesterfield, Va., three bass, 10-4, $768
\n4th: Zhengrong Tang, Berwyn, Pa., three bass, 9-15, $538
\n5th: Richard Williams, Sutherland, Va., three bass, 9-14, $461
\n6th: Melvin Smitson, Baltimore, Md., three bass, 9-8, $423
\n7th: John Lambert, Fredericksburg, Va., three bass, 9-7, $719
\n8th: Ashton Crickenberger, Charlottesville, Va., three bass, 9-6, $326
\n8th: Matthew Ross, Barton, Md., three bass, 9-6, $326
\n10th: Brayden Fong, Bluefield, W.Va., three bass, 9-4, $269<\/p>\n
John Lambert of Fredericksburg, Virginia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $335, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 3 ounces \u2013 the largest co-angler catch of the day.<\/p>\n
After three events, Ben Reynolds of Callands, Virginia, now leads the Fishing Clash Shenandoah Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 713 points, while David Rosenbaum of Leesburg, Virginia, leads the Fishing Clash Shenandoah Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 695 points.<\/p>\n
The next event for BFL Shenandoah Division anglers will be held July 19, at the James River out of Henrico, Virginia. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call 270-252-1000.<\/p>\n
The top 60 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. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on the James River in Richmond, Virginia. 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 award of $20,000.<\/p>\n
The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing \u2013 the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31 at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.<\/p>\n
Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew\u2019s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.<\/p>\n
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5\u2019s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Major League Fishing, LLC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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