BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. (March 2, 2026) – Boater Lee Stephens of Columbia, Kentucky, brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 21 pounds, 12 ounces, to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Dale Hollow Lake. The tournament was the first of five events of the season for the BFL Mountain Division. Stephens earned $11,100, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF bonus, for his victory.
Stephens said he caught fish easily in practice but struggled to catch the quality bass in the 4-pound range he was after.
“I had caught a 4-pounder at a spot in practice and it was kind of a community spot, but I knew I’d probably be the first boat there, so I decided to start there and burn my (Garmin) LiveScope time,” Stephens said. “The fish were moving every day and that’s why I wanted to use my ’Scope time first thing. Twenty minutes in we found them up in shallow stuff and starting beating on them some. I had about 20½ pounds come out of my ’Scope time.
“At that time my exact words to my co-angler were, ‘We have a winning starter kit.’” Stephens added.
Stephens said he caught a good number of fish after that but found it hard to find the quality he needed to add to his bag. However, two small upgrades did improve his weight to 21-12.
Stephens’ ’Scope tactics during the tournament included swimming a minnow to target fish on the bottom.
“The guys here at Dale Hollow are really good at fishing the bait-ball stuff. Like really good,” Stephens said. “I typically try not to butt heads and compete with them at what they’re good at, so I was fishing hard targets with the ’Scope. And I needed a perfect bait presentation. Those fish are so educated. But you could trick them, as long as you got it to them exactly right and paid attention to how they react. I was catching 40 percent of the fish I was raising off the bottom.”
After the 3-hour electronics window expired, Stephens said he switched to an Alabama rig to cover water, but it didn’t prove as effective as swimming the minnow.
“I felt like I really needed another really big bite to get to 23 pounds, and I was a little disappointed in myself, that I couldn’t get that big bite,” Stephens said. “It was such a relief to see that other people didn’t have as good of a day as they typically do. Dale Hollow fishes so good and has so many big fish and has incredible numbers of 3½- to 4½-pounders.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Lee Stephens, Columbia, Ky., five bass, 21-12, $11,100 (includes $7,000 Phoenix bonus)
2nd: Rex Reagan, Livingston, Tenn., five bass, 19-8, $2,000
3rd: Jeff Wilson, Lancaster, Ky., five bass, 19-0, $1,000
4th: Jordan Garrett, Jamestown, Tenn., five bass, 18-8, $800
5th: Isaac Peavyhouse, Jamestown, Tenn., five bass, 18-4, $700
6th: Jarrod Conn, Burgin, Ky., five bass, 17-8, $600
7th: Wyatt Pearman, Hodgenville, Ky., five bass, 17-7, $575
8th: Terry Ford, Harriman, Tenn., five bass, 17-6, $550
9th: Joe Rucker, Nicholasville, Ky., five bass, 17-3, $525
10th: Matt Collins, Georgetown, Ky., five bass, 17-2, $500
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
George Headden of Oakdale, Tennessee, earned the Big Bass Boater award after landing a 5-pound, 12-ounce bass worth $200. Dakota Gunter of Byrdstown, Tennessee, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $2,100 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 9 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Dakota Gunter, Byrdstown, Tenn., three bass, 11-9, $2,100
2nd: Timothy Ernst, Winchester, Ky., three bass, 10-4, $1,000
3rd: Kendall Parnell, Monticello, Ky., three bass, 9-14, $550
4th: Shane Bowman, Caryville, Tenn., three bass, 9-12, $400
5th: Jeremy Nash, Cookeville, Tenn., three bass, 9-4, $350
6th: Darren Kelly, Wartburg, Tenn., three bass, 8-14, $400
7th: Jimmy Rhodus, Versailles, Ky., three bass, 8-11, $290
8th: Pop Catalin, Cookeville, Tenn., three bass, 8-6, $275
9th: Pat Eichmann, Nancy, Ky., three bass, 8-5, $260
10th: Dewayne Drummonds, Gray, Ky., three bass, 7-13, $250
Gunter also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 4-pound, 3-ounce bass worth $100.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bfl-dale-hollow-3226.html
Bass Fishing League (BFL) News