UPSTATE – Boater Joe Anders of Easley boated five bass weighing 15 pounds even Sunday to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Keowee.
The tournament, hosted by Visit Oconee SC, was the fourth of five events of the season for the BFL Savannah River Division, and the second of a back-to-back BFL tournament weekend on Lake Keowee. Anders earned $9,240, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix contingency bonus, for his victory. In his career, Anders has had four wins and 27 Top Ten appearences over 120 Major League Fishing events. His career winnings is over $90K.
Anders capitalized on his local knowledge of Lake Keowee, focusing on mid-lake areas where slightly warmer water had fish feeding. With the bass beginning to key in on bream, he targeted those zones to generate quality bites throughout the day.
“I caught them mid-lake where the water was a little warmer,” Anders said. “The fish were starting to feed on bream up there.”
He built his limit with a strong topwater approach early, relying on a buzzbait and a Zoom Horny Toad skipped under docks to draw aggressive strikes. As conditions shifted, Anders mixed in a finesse presentation to round out his bag.
“I caught them on a buzzbait in the morning, and skipping a Horny Toad up under the docks,” he said. “I did catch a couple on a shaky-head rig there that helped later in the day.”
Anders credited his familiarity with the fishery as the ultimate difference-maker against a tough field of competitors.
“Man, extensive knowledge of the lake,” he said. “These guys are good, but there’s probably only a couple of guys in there that have fished it more than I have over the years.”
He also noted that tournament conditions played in his favor, allowing him to maximize his strengths.
“I caught two big ones not using forward-facing sonar, so that helped,” Anders went on to say. “If guys could’ve scoped all day, they may have caught more weight than that.”
The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Joe Anders, Easley, S.C., five bass, 15-0, $9,240 (includes $7,000 Phoenix Bonus)
2nd: William Bates, Alpharetta, Ga., five bass, 13-15, $1,080
3rd: Logan Buttolph, Doswell, Va., five bass, 12-14, $600
4th: Jeremy York, Conyers, Ga., five bass, 12-13, $750
5th: Tim Watson, Martin, Ga., five bass, 12-11, $450
6th: Austin Davis, Pelzer, S.C., five bass, 12-5, $400
7th: Rusty Smith, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 11-11, $390
8th: Kyle Herrman, Topeka, Kan., five bass, 11-6, $380
9th: Jesse Dodson, Greenville, S.C., five bass, 11-2, $370
10th: Cliff Humphreys, Candler, N.C., five bass, 11-1, $360
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Anders also earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award honors with a 4-pound, 7-ounce bass worth $200.
Harold Grizzle of Gainesville, Georgia, won the co-angler division Sunday and the top prize of $1,020 after catching three bass totaling 7 pounds, 4 ounces.
The Top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Harold Grizzle, Gainesville, Ga., three bass, 7-4, $1,020
2nd: Trevor Huneycutt, Whitmire, S.C., three bass, 6-15, $540
3rd: Kevin Underwood, Gillsville, Ga., three bass, 6-12, $350
4th: Adam Johnson, Duluth, Ga., three bass, 6-7, $250
5th: Bill Odell, Hodges, S.C., three bass, 6-6, $225
6th: John Kinard, Moore, S.C., three bass, 6-4, $200
7th: Colby Matthews, Newborn, Ga., three bass, 6-2, $295
7th: James Ezell, Mountain Rest, S.C., three bass, 6-2, $195
9th: Ray Pettit, Pacolet, S.C., three bass, 6-0, $190
10th: Corey Veal, Royston, Ga., three bass, 5-15, $180
Ashton Mabery of Lyman, South Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 3-pound, 14-ounce bass worth $100.
After four events, Tim Watson of Martin, Georgia, now leads the 7 Brew Savannah River Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 987 points, while Mark Garrett of Lyman, South Carolina, leads the Savannah River Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 972 points.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 22-24 BFL Regional tournament on Watts Bar Lake in Spring City, Tennessee. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500.
The 2026 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2026 BFL All-American will take place May 28-30, at Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, and is hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism.
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