Potomac River Set to Host Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Tournament

The Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine’s Buckeye, North Carolina, Northeast and Piedmont divisions will wrap up their 2023 season in Marbury, Maryland, Oct. 5-7, with the Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine Regional Event at the Potomac River.

Hosted by the Charles County Board of Commissioners, the three-day regional tournament will feature the top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners from all four divisions, battling it out for a top prize of $60,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, along with lucrative contingency awards, including up to an additional $7,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus. Strike King co-anglers will compete for a top prize of $50,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard. Winners will be determined by the heaviest three-day catch.

The top six finishers in each regional will qualify for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American. The highest finishing boater from each division will also receive a $1,000 bonus and the highest finishing co-angler from each division will receive a $500 bonus.

“The Potomac was fishing a little bit tough for the Toyota Series tournament last weekend, but I expect it will get better,” said pro Grae Buck of Green Lane, Pennsylvania, who finished that tournament in seventh place – his third career top-10 finish on the Potomac River. “The tropical storm will have cleared up, and it should clear up the water as well.

“There was a lot of grass, and it’s going to clear away some of the hydrilla and take away some of the punch bite,” Buck continued. “But, that’ll open up more winding baits – Rat-L-Traps and ChatterBait JackHammers will both be strong players.”

Buck said he expects the fish will be stacked up, and guys are going to have to fish in a crowd to likely do well.

“The whole river will be in play – down south, all the way to D.C.,” Buck continued.  “But the guys that do well are going to find the areas that have a large population of fish, and they’re likely going to have to out-fish the crowd. It’s going to be important to determine what those fish are wanting to eat, before your competitors do.

“I think 50 pounds is going to be really strong,” Buck went on to say. “If you can catch 17 pounds a day average, you should be right there at the end.”

Anglers will launch at 7 a.m. ET each morning from Smallwood State Park, located at 2750 Sweden Point Road, in Marbury. Weigh-ins will also be held at the State Park and will begin at 3 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the action online through the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine consisted of 24-divisions devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season and five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, advance to one of six Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regionals. The 2024 BFL All-American will be held May 29-31 at Cherokee Lake in Jefferson County, Tennessee

The top boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division will also earn priority entry into the Toyota Series, the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.