WAGONER, Okla. (June 12, 2023) – Boater T. J. Martin of Claremore, Oklahoma, caught a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Tournament on Fort Gibson Lake. The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Okie Division. Martin earned $12,686, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.
“I paid attention to which way the boats went at takeoff because the lake fishes very small,” said Martin. “So, I went down the lake to start and caught my first fish – a 4-pounder – on a squarebill crankbait in the first 30 minutes. Then I went back to mid-lake, near the Toppers area, and caught a limit and culled up three or four times.”
Martin said he later began fishing offshore humps and rock piles dragging a large worm, and culled up to 19 pounds. He said his efforts resulted in 25 keepers during the competition.
“In the morning I was throwing a topwater, but there were storms in the area, and I think the lightning and the thunder had the fish messed up on top,” Martin said. “After the storms cleared out it was still cloudy, and I wound up making one big cull with a (Rebel) Pop-R.”
Martin said he’s very familiar with Fort Gibson and told his co-angler if he could catch 19 pounds, he would have a chance to win the event.
“When I got to 19 pounds, I thought I had a 50 percent chance to win,” said Martin, who also won the BFL Lake of the Ozarks event in March. “So, this feels awesome. I’ve fished BFLs for years, and I’ve been very consistent and very frustrated at times, and I’ve wondered when it was going to be my time to win. I’ve been fishing a long time and waiting for a win, and for it to happen twice in one year is really awesome.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: T. J. Martin, Claremore, Okla., five bass, 19-6, $12,686 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Jeremy Johnson, Sapulpa, Okla., five bass, 18-9, $2,343
3rd: Chase Washburn, Harrah, Okla., five bass, 18-3, $1,562
4th: Steven McLarty, Broken Arrow, Okla., five bass, 16-11, $1,093
5th: Chris Torkleson, Sand Springs, Okla., five bass, 16-0, $937
6th: Brett Brumnett, Wagoner, Okla., five bass, 15-13, $859
7th: Rodney Copeland, Sallisaw, Okla., five bass, 15-3, $781
8th: Shawn Mote, Ardmore, Okla., five bass, 15-0, $703
9th: Tate Brumnett, Wagoner, Okla., five bass, 14-13, $625
10th: Dennis Berhorst, Holts Summit, Mo., five bass, 14-11, $547
Chris Ogan of Bixby, Oklahoma, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 10 ounces to earn the Big Bass Boater award of $690.
Austin Hornbuckle of Wagoner, Oklahoma, won the co-angler division and a total of $2,343 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 15 pounds, 4 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Austin Hornbuckle, Wagoner, Okla., five bass, 15-4, $2,343
2nd: Scott Stallings, Glencoe, Okla., five bass, 12-8, $1,172
3rd: Justin Nobles, Owasso, Okla., five bass, 12-4, $781
4th: Blake Gunderson, Claremore, Okla., five bass, 12-2, $547
5th: Jim Kopff, Old Monroe, Mo., five bass, 11-15, $469
6th: Thad Hewitt, Delaware, Okla., four bass, 11-8, $430
7th: David Hamilton, Rogers, Ark., four bass, 11-5, $391
8th: Tim Noyes, Broken Arrow, Okla., five bass, 11-4, $351
9th: Kurt Gordon, Cushing, Okla., five bass, 10-12, $462
10th: Cord Colwell, Pryor, Okla., four bass, 10-5, $473
Mike Clark of Spiro, Oklahoma, earned the Big Bass co-angler award of $345, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 1 ounce – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After four events, Jeremy Johnson of Sapulpa, Oklahoma, leads the BFL Okie Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 930 points, while Porky Roberts of Morris, Oklahoma, leads the Co-Angler Division AOY race with 892 points.