Estes Wins Bass Fishing League Tournament on Lake Champlain

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (Aug. 8, 2022) – Boater Stephen Estes of Auburn, New Hampshire, caught five bass Saturday weighing 21 pounds, 10 ounces, to win the MLF Bass Fishing League Tournament on Lake Champlain. The tournament was the fourth event for the Bass Fishing League Northeast Division. Estes earned $13,057, including a $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

Estes said he focused on the northern end of the lake using a drop-shot rig to catch around 20 smallmouth keepers during the course of the day.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

                1st:        Stephen Estes, Auburn, N.H., five bass, 21-10, $13,057 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
                2nd:       Tristan McCormick, Burns, Tenn., five bass, 20-10, $2,528
                3rd:       Rob Messenger, Sunapee, N.H., five bass, 20-6, $1,432
                3rd:       Joseph Thompson, Coatesville, Pa., five bass, 20-6, $1,432
                5th:        Josh Bragg, Fayetteville, Ga., five bass, 20-4, $1,011
                6th:        Brent Heyn, South Hero, Vt., five bass, 20-1, $927
                7th:        Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., five bass, 19-15, $843
                8th:        Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 19-11, $758
                9th:        Colby Miller, Elmer, La., five bass, 19-1, $632
                9th:        Brett Carnright, Plattsburgh, N.Y., five bass, 19-1, $632

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

T.J. Daniels of Plattsburgh, New York, had a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 3 ounces that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $780. Frederick Chilluffo of Camden, New York, won the Co-angler Division and $2,628 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 19 pounds, 14 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

                1st:        Frederick Chilluffo, Camden, N.Y., five bass, 19-14, $2,628
                2nd:       Justin Bronson, Glenn Dale, Md., five bass, 17-11, $1,264
                3rd:       Nate Coy, Pennsburg, Pa., five bass, 17-9, $845
                4th:        David Paszkiewicz, Kearny, N.J., five bass, 17-0, $590
                5th:        Shawn Gokey, Georgia, Vt., five bass, 16-14, $506
                6th:        David Archibald, Somerset, Mass., five bass, 16-11, $464
                7th:        Corey Germano, Staatsburg, N.Y., five bass, 16-8, $771
                8th:        Andrew Hostler, Tyrone, Pa., five bass, 16-6, $579
                9th:        Benjamin Kapp, Benton, Pa., five bass, 16-3, $337
                10th:     Al Norman, Lake Mary, Fla., five bass, 16-2, $295

Erik Gaffron of Robbinsdale, Minnesota caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 2 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $390.

After four events, Joseph Thompson of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, leads the Bass Fishing League Northeast Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 912 points, while David Paszkiewicz of Kearny, New Jersey, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 918 points.