Tennessee’s Murphy catches 31-6 limit to win Phoenix Bass Fishing League event at Lake Guntersville

Illinois’ Holsapple tops Strike King co-angler division

FEBRUARY 12, 2024 • MLF

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. – Boater Charlie Murphy of Columbia, Tennessee, caught a five-bass limit weighing 31 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Guntersville. Hosted by the Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce, the tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Choo Choo Division. Murphy earned $6,000 for his victory.

“The fish got active for me from 8 o’clock until 11,” Murphy said. “I was able to get to my spot and get a good limit, and I just kept upgrading from there.”

Murphy remained very tight-lipped about his technique but said he used a Garmin LiveScope to fish deep in Guntersville and caught about 30 bass during the day. He added that he tried fishing shallow toward the end of the day, but that tactic produced no quality bass.

“I underestimated my weight,” Murphy said. “I thought I had between 25 and 30 pounds, so I felt pretty good about it.”

The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

• 1st:          Charlie Murphy, Columbia, Tenn., five bass, 31-6, $6,000
• 2nd:        Stephen McAvoy, Springville, Ala., five bass, 28-2, $4,000
• 3rd:        Fisher Anaya, Eva, Ala., five bass, 26-1, $2,500 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
• 4th:         Hayden Marbut, Birmingham, Ala., five bass, 25-11, $1,400
• 5th:         Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., five bass, 24-11, $1,200
• 6th:         Cole Logsdon, Brownsville, Ky., five bass, 24-3, $1,100
• 7th:         Mickey Beck, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 23-2, $1,000
• 8th:         Dan Ehmen, Rockford, Ill., five bass, 23-1, $900
• 9th:         Matt O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., five bass, 23-0, $1,100
• 10th:      David Steadman, Jr., Tullahoma, Tenn., five bass, 22-7, $700

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Stephen McAvoy of Springville, Alabama, caught a bass that weighed 8 pounds even and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $1,000.

Terry Holsapple of Greenup, Illinois, won the Strike King co-angler division and $3,000 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 21 pounds, 6 ounces.

The Top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished: 

• 1st:          Terry Holsapple, Greenup, Ill., five bass, 21-6, $3,000
• 2nd:        Todd Mowery, Madison, Ala., five bass, 18-7, $1,500
• 3rd:        Cason Sanchez, Fayetteville, Tenn., five bass, 17-11, $1,000
• 4th:         Chad Menard, Rogersville, Ala., five bass, 17-5, $700
• 5th:         Josh McCool, Henegar, Ala., five bass, 17-1, $600
• 6th:         Jose Serna, Albertville, Ala., five bass, 16-8, $550
• 7th:         Ron Creasy, Florence, Ala., five bass, 16-7, $500
• 8th:         Mike Swetland, Tamaroa, Ill., five bass, 16-0, $600
• 9th:         Isaac Brown, Lexington, Ala., five bass, 15-14, $400
• 10th:      Jacob Policka, Twin Lake, Mich., five bass, 15-8, $350

Brian Futch of Herrin, Illinois, and Dalynn Teeftaller of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, each caught a bass that weighed in at 6 pounds, 15 ounces to split the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $500.

The next event for BFL Choo Choo Division anglers will be held March 23, at Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama. 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 Clarks Hill Lake in Appling, Georgia. 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.