Hahne Wins Bass Fishing League Tournament on Eufaula

EUFAULA, Okla. (May 16, 2022) – Boater Darren Hahne of Ottawa, Illinois, caught five bass Saturday weighing 16 pounds, 12 ounces, to win the MLF  Bass Fishing League Tournament on Lake Eufaula presented by Flamingo Fish and Marine . The tournament was the second event of the season for the Bass Fishing League Okie Division, and the first of a tournament double-header weekend as another event took place on Sunday. Hahne earned $4,698 for his victory.

“It was real tough fishing,” Hahne said. “I found a couple of spots on some points back near Porum Landing, and I caught them there on a spinnerbait and a jig. I caught probably 15 bass in all, six or seven keepers, and lost a couple of good ones.”

Hahne said his baits of choice were a white Terminator Spinnerbait and a brown jig, and he targeted buck bushes in 6 to 8 feet of water. Hahne said his familiarity with Lake Eufaula paid off during the tournament.

“It’s about time I won here,” Hahne said. “I’ve finished second on Eufaula twice, and I’m just glad to get this one. It’s my home lake, even though I live in Illinois and have been gone for 25 years. I was raised on that lake as a kid. So it felt good to finally get the win.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

                1st:        Darren Hahne, Ottawa, Ill., five bass, 16-12, $4,698
                2nd:       Ian Leybas, McAlester, Okla., four bass, 13-1, $1,873
                2nd:       Mike Paul, Tuttle, Okla., four bass, 13-1, $2,073
                4th:        Shawn Mote, Ardmore, Okla., five bass, 13-0, $1,050
                5th:        Derek Fulps, Broken Arrow, Okla., five bass, 12-10, $1,400 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
                6th:        Justin Phillips, Checotah, Okla., five bass, 12-4, $1,025
                7th:        Joshua Teply, Harrah, Okla., three bass, 11-10, $1,395
                8th:        Austin Cranford, Moore, Okla., five bass, 10-12, $675
                9th:        Phillip Lunceford, Stigler, Okla., four bass, 10-10, $600
                10th:     Nic Conger, Fort Smith, Ark., five bass, 10-7, $525

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Teply had a largemouth that weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces that was the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division and earned the day’s Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $645. Ray Moody of Norman, Oklahoma, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,249 Saturday after catching three bass weighing 9 pounds, 10 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

                1st:        Ray Moody, Norman, Okla., three bass, 9-10, $2,249
                2nd:       Garrett Howard, Cameron, Okla., two bass, 7-3, $1,125
                3rd:       Derrick Skinner, Muskogee, Okla., three bass, 7-2, $752
                4th:        Brennon Sharp, Folsom, Calif., two bass, 6-13, $525
                5th:        Aaron Warren, Collinsville, Okla., two bass, 5-4, $550
                6th:        David Blankinship, Cushing, Okla., two bass, 5-1, $412
                7th:        Alan Hill, Ada, Okla., two bass, 4-13, $375
                8th:        Blake Dominguez, Edmond, Okla., two bass, 4-6, $337
                9th:        Jeff Corriveau, Owasso, Okla., two bass, 4-1, $300
                10th:     Jim Wylie, Yukon, Okla., two bass, 4-0, $249
                10th:     Brian Radford, Bixby, Okla., two bass, 4-0, $249

Thad Hewitt of Delaware, Oklahoma, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 3 pounds, 15 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $322.

After Saturday’s event, Shawn Mote of Ardmore, Oklahoma, led the Bass Fishing League Okie Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 496 points, while David Blankinship of Cushing, Oklahoma, led the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 490 points.