EUFAULA, Okla. (Oct. 27, 2025) – Boater Riley Harris of Orange, Texas, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 31 pounds, 6 ounces, to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Regional tournament on Lake Eufaula. The tournament concluded Saturday. For his win, Harris earned a prize package valued at $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The Lake Eufaula event served as the Regional championship for the BFL Cowboy and Arkie divisions. The field included the top 60 boaters and co-anglers based on point standings, plus each division’s tournament winners. The top three boaters and co-anglers have also now qualified for the 2026 BFL All-American.
Harris said he focused his approach to the tournament on three areas that featured either boulders or brushpiles in 10 to 15 feet of water. He spent his entire tournament using the trolling motor to move around those boulders and brushpiles and pick off fish with a 6th Sense Divine Hybrid Jig tipped with a 6th Sense 4.8-inch Bodega Creature Bait.
“Friday went how I expected it to,” Harris said. “The fish were positioned how I wanted them to be. Although I lost a really big one first thing in the morning, I ended up leaving them alone because I figured I had enough to be near the top. I just spent the last hour of the day looking around to see if I could find anything different.”
Harris said he returned to that starting spot the second day of the tournament and it produced nothing for him.
“At 12 o’clock I had zero fish,” Harris said. “I had to run new water. I was able to get a limit, but it was nothing like I needed it to be.”
Harris said he ran back to his starting area for the last hour of competition, and a 3½-pound bass boosted his weight some, but Harris still wasn’t confident in his total weight.
“I didn’t think it was enough when I was running back in,” Harris said. “I thought I needed one more good bite to give me a shot at the win.”
Harris’ intuition was wrong, however, as his Day 2 limit of 13 pounds, 8 ounces, was enough to earn him the victory by a 14-ounce margin.
“I was shocked,” Harris added. “I was in the last flight, and my buddy was waiting for me at the dock and asked me how I did, and I said, ‘Not good. I only have 13 (pounds).’ And he said, ‘Man, you’re going to win.’
“It totally caught me off guard,” Harris went on to say. “I was honored and blessed to be able to pull it off.”
The top three boaters who qualified for the 2026 Phoenix BFL All-American finished:
1st: Riley Harris, Orange, Texas, 10 bass, 31-6, $50,000
2nd: Austin Rose, Mena, Ark., 10 bass, 30-8, $8,223 (includes $500 Phoenix Bonus)
3rd: Caleb Black, McAlester, Okla., 10 bass, 30-3, $3,892
Rounding out the top 10 boaters were:
4th: Red Ballard, Sulphur, La., 10 bass, 29-4, $2,399
5th: Ian Leybas, McAlester, Okla., 10 bass, 28-14, $1,803
6th: Wyatt Frankens, Corrigan, Texas, 10 bass, 27-15, $1,504
7th: Chris Jones, Bokoshe, Okla., 10 bass, 27-13, $1,355
8th: Phillip Lunceford, Stigler, Okla., 10 bass, 27-5, $1,206
9th: Haydan Marshall, Quitman, Texas, 10 bass, 27-3, $1,056
10th: Chip Hawkins, Little Rock, Ark., 10 bass, 27-3, $982
Bobby Ammons of Waldron, Arkansas, won the Big Bass Boater award and $1,000 for landing a bass that weighed 2 pounds, 9 ounces – the biggest of the tournament.
Steven Fisher of Nacogdoches, Texas, won the co-angler division Saturday after bringing a two-day total of six bass weighing 17 pounds even to the scale. Fisher earned the top co-angler award of $14,999 for his victory.
The top three co-anglers who qualified for the 2026 Phoenix BFL All-American finished:
1st: Steven Fisher, Nacogdoches, Texas, six bass, 17-0, $14,999
2nd: John McCullar, Benton, Ark., six bass, 16-13, $3,807
3rd: Ted Marodis, Biloxi, Miss., six bass, 15-8, $1,941
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
4th: Bill Black, McAlester, Okla., six bass, 15-8, $1,195
5th: Logan Slaughter, Lewisville, Texas, six bass, 15-4, $822
6th: Rick Habarka, North Little Rock, Ark., six bass, 15-3, $748
7th: Alan Bernicky, Dardanelle, Ark., six bass, 15-2, $823
8th: Duane Tiley, Mabelvale, Ark., six bass, 15-1, $598
9th: Blake Defoor, Waldron, Ark., six bass, 14-9, $524
10th: Quintus Lee, Whitehouse, Texas, six bass, 14-5, $487
Jason Phillips of Rison, Arkansas, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces, to win the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award worth $500.
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