MASSENA, N.Y. (July 13, 2026) – Boater Andrew Heivly of Spring City, Pennsylvania, caught a total of five bass weighing 22 pounds, 5 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on the St. Lawrence River Presented by Suzuki Marine. The tournament was the second of five events of the season for the BFL Northeast Presented by 3rd Deck Brewing Co. Division. Heivly earned $3,250 for his victory.
“I headed to an area near Waddington and got to my first spot and had a couple of boats around me,” Heivly said. “I didn’t really see anything happening, so I quickly adjusted and went over to another area that I had found in practice.”
Heivly said he turned on his Garmin Livescope at 6:30 and fished shallow water, from 2 to 16 feet, near rock and weed lines with a jerkbait and Deps Sakamata Shad. Heivly filled his limit and added two key bass that upgraded his bag after the Livescope period.
“I was half a mile from weigh-in and was on the trolling motor when I came across this spot I just had to try,” Heivly said. “I had never fished it before, and I made one cast and caught my biggest fish – a 4-14 – that culled out a 3-pounder to seal the deal.
“Knowing the St. Lawrence River, generally you have to have 23 to 25 pounds to win,” Heivly went on to say. “I knew I would probably be in the top 5. I weighed in right away and had to sit there and wait for two hours to find out the result. But it turned out to be an awesome deal.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Andrew Heivly, Spring City, Penn., five bass, 22-5, $3,250
2nd: Dante Piraino, Baldwinsville, NY., five bass, 21-13, $1,590
3rd: Jesse Spellicy, Gouverneur, N.Y., five bass, 21-12, $1,310 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus)
4th: Clay Reece, Lexington, Ky., five bass, 21-8, $650
5th: Kevin Rose, Amston, Conn., five bass, 21-7, $580
6th: Kent Compo, Brasherfalls, N.Y., five bass, 20-9, $500
7th: Stephen Draghi, Sparrowbush, N.Y., five bass, 20-0, $480
8th: Matthew Kinney, Lisbon, N.Y., five bass, 19-12, $460
9th: Lane Olson, Forest Grove, Ore., five bass, 19-9, $440
10th: Brian Barde, Pittsfield, Mass., five bass, 19-8, $670
Matt Russell of Elkton, Maryland, earned the Big Bass Boater award after landing a 5-pound, 7-ounce bass worth $200. Michael Bell of Plattsburgh, New York, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,575 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 12 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Michael Bell, Plattsburgh, N.Y., three bass, 13-12, $1,575
2nd: Kade Wesner, Lancaster, Penn., three bass, 13-5, $895
3rd: Kenneth Ibberson, Blackwood, N.J., three bass, 13-4, $505
4th: Chris Hurley, Carlisle, Penn., three bass, 12-15, $375
5th: John Stoughtenger, Waterloo, N.Y., three bass, 11-13, $290
6th: John Pascavage, Hollidaysburg, Penn., three bass, 11-12, $245
6th: Stan Holland, Lorry, N.Y., three bass, 11-12, $230
8th: Jason Bell, Lisbon, N.Y., three bass, 11-9, $220
9th: Ken Pfeiffer, Manassas, Va., three bass, 11-4, $180
10th: Eric Reynolds, Bloomingburg, N.Y., three bass, 11-3, $180
10th: Jerry Hodge III, Elkton, Md., three bass, 11-3, $180
Kade Wesner of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, earned the Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 13-ounce bass worth $100.
After two events, Joseph Thompson of Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, now leads the Northeast Presented by 3rd Deck Brewing Co. Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 473 points, while Chris Hurley of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, leads the Northeast Presented by 3rd Deck Brewing Company Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 488 points.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bfl-lawrence-71326.html
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