GROVE, Okla. (Sept. 8, 2025) – Boater Preston Cook of Miami, Oklahoma, caught a total of 10 bass weighing 36 pounds, 3 ounces, over two days to win the Bass Fishing League Super Tournament (BFL) on Grand Lake. The tournament was the fifth and final regular-season event of the season for the BFL Okie Division. Cook earned $13,188 plus a $7,000 Phoenix Bonus for his victory.
“It was super slow,” said Cook, who has fished Grand Lake for the past 35 years. “It was tough to even get a limit. I was mixing in flipping docks with a Strike King Rage Bug, a Heddon Zara Spook or a small (River2Sea) Whopper Plopper.”
Cook said he also caught a big fish each day on a glidebait. His approach was to cruise down banks and target isolated brush piles and docks. The strategy provided five keepers Saturday and eight on Sunday.
“Sunday, between 1 and 1:45, I culled three times,” Cook said, adding the midday Spook bite was the key to his victory. “They finally started biting when the sun was high.
“This win is amazing,” Cook added. “I can’t even describe what I’m feeling. It hasn’t even really sunk in yet.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Preston Cook, Miami, Okla., 10 bass, 36-3, $13,188 (includes $7,000 Phoenix Bonus)
2nd: Micah Littlejohn, Grove, Okla., 10 bass, 33-13, $3,094
3rd: Lane Stephens, Owasso, Okla., 10 bass, 32-1, $2,062
4th: Darrin Thomas, Kiefer, Okla., 10 bass, 31-13, $1,444
5th: Curt Warren, Rose, Okla., 10 bass, 29-13, $1,238
6th: Dillon Roberts, Oologah, Okla., 10 bass, 29-2, $1,134
7th: Kyle Kitts, Joplin, Mo., 10 bass, 29-0, $1,031
8th: Justin Barbour, Tulsa, Okla., 10 bass, 28-15, $928
9th: Doug Johnson, Grove, Okla., 10 bass, 28-10, $825
10th: Jason Thompson, Galena, Kan., 10 bass, 28-2, $722
Vance Montgomery of Claremore, Oklahoma, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 14 ounces, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $862. Thad Hewitt of Delaware, Oklahoma, won the co-angler division and $3,344 Sunday, after bringing six bass to the scale that totaled 19 pounds, 6 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Thad Hewitt, Delaware, Okla., six bass, 19-6, $3,344
2nd: Mitch Baskett, Yukon, Okla., six bass, 16-12, $1,547
3rd: James West, Spiro, Okla., six bass, 14-15, $1,029
4th: J.R. Foster, Miami, Okla., five bass, 14-12, $722
5th: Jordan Clayton, Wichita Falls, Texas, six bass, 13-8, $619
6th: Mark Taylor, Oklahoma City, Okla., six bass, 13-5, $567
7th: Fred Fielder, Afton, Okla., four bass, 13-4, $566
8th: Tad Harp, Cave Springs, Ark., five bass, 12-9, $464
9th: Brian Radford, Bixby, Okla., six bass, 12-6, $413
10th: Dalton Brake, Mountain View, Mo., five bass, 12-5, $361
Travis McKee of Fayetteville, Arkansas, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $431, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 10 ounces.
With all five events in the division now complete, boater Nick Kincaid of Brookeland, Texas, won the Fishing Clash Okie Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,336 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while James West of Spiro, Oklahoma, won the Fishing Clash Okie Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,331 points and earned the $500 payout.
The top 60 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. 10-11 BFL Regional tournament on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma. 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 award of $20,000.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bfl-grand-9825.html
BFL News Archive