GROVE, Okla. (Feb. 12, 2024) – Boater Dillon Roberts of Oologah, Oklahoma, caught a five-bass limit weighing 23 pounds, 3 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Grand Lake. Hosted by the City of Grove, the tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Okie Division. Roberts earned $5,607 for his victory.
“I pulled into a mid-lake area that was producing some bigger fish at a little greater depth for me,” said Roberts, who said he grew up on Grand Lake and spends most of his time on the water there now. “I fished 20 to 25 feet deep with an Alabama rig all day. The fish were staging at the mouths of creek arms waiting for the water to warm up so they could move up shallow.”
Roberts said he relied on his Lowrance ActiveTarget to allow him to put his Alabama rig in the strike zone for bass, and the approach paid off with 11 keeper bites during the day.
“I had my final weight at about 1 o’clock,” Roberts said. “This time of year, its still winter fishing, and I thought I would need 24 to 25 pounds to win. I had just culled a 2½-pounder, and when I got to 23 pounds, I knew I had a solid shot.”
Roberts also caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $735.
“I casted to that fish probably 20 to 25 times before I got her to commit,” Roberts said. “It was a cat-and-mouse game, but I finally got her to eat. Then, three casts later, I caught my second-largest fish.
“This win is a dream come true,” Roberts added. “My dad has a fish trophy. I’ve been after a fish trophy since I finished college fishing, and three years later I finally got it.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Dillon Roberts, Oologah, Okla., five bass, 23-3, $5,607
2nd: Billy Lemon, Sand Springs, Okla., five bass, 21-1, $2,936 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
3rd: Austin Lowrey, Webb City, Mo., five bass, 18-15, $1,623
4th: Shawn Mote, Ardmore, Okla., five bass, 18-11, $1,137
5th: Stephen Whitesell, Grove, Okla., five bass, 18-19, $974
6th: Rodney Copeland, Sallisaw, Okla., five bass, 18-5, $893
7th: T.J. Martin, Claremore, Okla., five bass, 18-4, $812
8th: Garett Jacobson, Wagoner, Okla., five bass, 16-13, $731
9th: David Rice, Galena, Mo., five bass, 16-4, $650
10th: Blake Capps, Muskogee, Okla., four bass, 15-2, $568
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Mark Sloan of Harrison, Arkansas, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,403 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 3 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Mark Sloan, Harrison, Ark., three bass, 11-3, $2,403
2nd: Jacob Cooper, Eldorado, Kan., four bass, 11-1, $1,201
3rd: Ryan Doel, Springfield, Mo., three bass, 9-12, $1,168
4th: Colton Foster, Wagoner, Okla., four bass, 9-3, $561
5th: Jeff Moss, Oronogo, Mo., three bass, 9-0, $831
6th: James West, Spiro, Okla., five bass, 8-3, $441
7th: Melvin Camp, Talihina, Okla., three bass, 7-15, $400
8th: Theron Asbery, Republic, Mo., two bass, 7-10, $360
9th: Randy Peoples, Prairie Grove, Ark., three bass, 7-3, $320
10th: Austin Morris, Broken Arrow, Okla., three bass, 6-13, $280
Ryan Doel of Springfield, Missouri, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $362, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 2 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
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