GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (Sept. 8, 2025) – Boater Justin Berger of Murray, Kentucky, caught a total of 10 bass weighing 34 pounds, 9 ounces, over two days to win the Bass Fishing League Super Tournament (BFL) on Kentucky Lake. The tournament was the fifth and final regular-season event of the season for the BFL Illini Division. Berger earned $4,668 for his victory.
“I didn’t get to pre-fish for this event very much,” Berger said. “Work got in the way, and I only got to go out a few hours one morning and a few hours one evening. So really, I was going into the weekend just going on my past knowledge and experience.”
Berger said Saturday proved to be a grind, as he only had five bites all day.
“It was as tough of a day as you could get,” Berger said. “Luckily, I landed them all and there were a couple of decent ones.”
Berger said his gameplan for Sunday was “to go out and just have fun.” He stopped at a spot he had fished only a couple of times previously and ended up catching a limit on it first thing in the morning on a topwater bite.
“After that, I just started running and fishing whatever looked good and ended up culling up three times on a spinnerbait,” Berger said.
Berger said he caught 11 keepers Sunday, and only two weighed less than 3 pounds. Berger said when he caught his second 4 ½-pounder, his scale showed his limit weighed right at 20 pounds at 10:30 a.m.
“I looked at my co-angler and said, ‘We have a chance now,’” Berger said. “I thought I was going to have to catch one more 4-pounder to win it. I really didn’t think I had it won.”
After two previous second-place finishes on his home waters of Kentucky Lake in MLF competition, as well as other runner-up finishes in a few other large tournaments on the body of water, Berger said the win was a welcome relief.
“It’s one of those things where you don’t want to think you have it won, because you’ll get your heart broken,” Berger said. “I’ve lost the winning fish multiple times. I’ve been close quite a few times, and to finally win one is a monkey off my back. I am just completely pumped.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Justin Berger, Murray, Ky., 10 bass, 34-9, $4,668
2nd: Brad Kell, Benton, Ky., 10 bass, 33-13, $2,334
3rd: Levi Kohl, Edinburg, Ill., 10 bass, 32-6, $1,557
4th: Clint Knight, Russellville, Ky., 10 bass, 29-14, $1,189
5th: Noah Morgan, Russellville, Ky., 10 bass, 28-4, $934
6th: Grant Meisenhelter, Decatur, Ill., 10 bass, 27-2, $856
7th: Matteo Turano, Puryear, Tenn., 10 bass, 26-12, $1,278 (includes $500 Phoenix Bonus)
8th: Gary Singleton, Dickson, Tenn., eight bass, 24-13, $700
9th: Dustin Vaal, Farmington, Ky., eight bass, 24-1, $622
10th: Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., nine bass, 21-13, $695
Joshua Bradley of Buchanan, Tennessee, caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 11 ounces, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $547. Jeff Anderson of St. Louis, Missouri, won the co-angler division and $2,334 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of five bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 1 ounce.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Jeff Anderson, St. Louis, Mo., five bass, 13-1, $2,334
2nd: Gary Huber II, St. Charles, Mo., five bass, 11-13, $1,167
3rd: Anthony Tatroe, Braidwood, Ill., three bass, 9-14, $779
4th: Brian Davis, Bethalto, Ill., four bass, 9-14, $545
5th: Brady Kendall, Paducah, Ky., four bass, 9-13, $467
6th: Brad Thacher, Murray, Ky., four bass, 9-7, $428
7th: Matt Chumbler, Carbondale, Ill., four bass, 9-0, $439
8th: Kenneth Heckel, Santa Claus, Ind., three bass, 7-3, $350
9th: Luke Browning, Greenville, Ky., two bass, 6-0, $311
10th: Ross Davis, St. Elmo, Ill., three bass, 5-5, $272
Thomas Duke of Pana, Illinois, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $274, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 15 ounces.
With all five events in the division now complete, boater Riley Walk of Neoga, Illinois, won the Fishing Clash Illini Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,330 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Bobby McNeil of Crest Hill, Illinois, won the Fishing Clash Illini Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,266 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. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on the Mississippi River in Quad Cities, Illinois. 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-kentucky-9825.html
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