KIMBERLING CITY, Mo. (March 10, 2025) – Boater Wyatt Marler of Oldfield, Missouri, caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 13 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Table Rock Lake. The tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Ozark Division. Marler earned $11,000, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.
Marler rolled into the Table Rock tournament straight from a multi-day event on Kentucky Lake. With no practice, he just went fishing.
“I just drove around until I found some birds diving,” he said. “I caught them on a 6th Sense Provoke jerkbait and a Damiki rig.”
Marler used forward-facing sonar to bird dog a school of fish busting bait and wasted little time assembling a tournament-winning limit. He only ran that pattern for about an hour and a half before working a few brush piles to finish out his day.
“It was pretty gnarly this morning,” he said. “I caught three 5s in the same place. For two weeks not being out here, I’ll take it.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Wyatt Marler, Oldfield, Mo., five bass, 21-13, $11,000 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Travis Harriman, Huntsville, Ark., five bass, 19-8, $2,000
3th: Jacob Wade, Mountain Grove, Mo., five bass, 19-2, $1,334
4th: Jacob Christeson, Theodosia, Mo., five bass, 18-8, $933
5th: Roger Fitzpatrick, Eldon, Mo., five bass, 18-1, $1,340
6th: Eric Olliverson, Shell Knob, Mo., five bass, 17-14, $733
7th: Ben McCord, Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, five bass, 17-13, $667
8th: Jacob Bennett, Pea Ridge, Ark., five bass, 17-12, $600
9th: Cody Huff, Ava, Mo., five bass, 17-9, $533
10th: Derek Felton, Shell Knob, Mo., five bass, 17-0, $467
Roger Fitzpatrick of Eldon, Missouri, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $541. Travis McKee of Fayetteville, Arkansas, won the co-angler division and $2,000 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 13 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Travis McKee, Fayetteville, Ark., three bass, 8-13, $2,000
2nd: Dalton Brake, Mountain View, Mo., three bass, 8-12, $1,000
3rd: Loyd Davis, Cape Fair, Mo., three bass, 8-6, $666
4th: Kirk Short, St. Clair, Mo., three bass, 8-4, $467
5th: Brock Krohne, Belton, Mo., three bass, 7-12, $400
6th: Khye Scoggins, Willard, Mo., three bass, 7-10, $350
6th: Shay Hassell, Springfield, Mo., three bass, 7-10, $350
8th: Bart Burford, Loose Creek, Mo., three bass, 7-8, $300
9th: Rhett Hill, Fair Grove, Mo., three bass, 7-7, $250
9th: Michael Adams, Springfield, Mo., two bass, 7-7, $250
Caleb Welch of Bolivar, Missouri, earned the Big Bass co-angler award of $270, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 8 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
In addition to winning the tournament, Wyatt Marler of Oldfield, Missouri, has the early lead in the Fishing Clash Ozark Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 250 points, while Travis McKee of Fayetteville, Arkansas, leads the Fishing Clash Ozark Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 250 points.
The next event for BFL Ozark Division anglers will be held March 29, at Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bfl-table-rock-31025.html
Bass Fishing League (BFL) News