Ohio’s Moran gaps field for victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League event at Ohio River-Tanners Creek
LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. – Boater Dan Moran of London, Ohio, caught a total of five bass weighing 12 pounds, 7 ounces, Saturday to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Ohio River at Tanners Creek. The tournament was the second of five events of the season for the BFL Buckeye Division. Moran earned $3,540 for his victory.
“I’m normally not one to practice – I like to just read it by the day,” said Moran, who did head to practice waters Friday afternoon. “But I found a little deal in a creek where they had pulled the water down a lot. That creek normally never fluctuates, but it was down about 15 inches. I thought I had the deal really dialed in.
“I jumped in the boat Saturday morning and made a 40-mile run down there and pulled into the creek,” Moran went on to say. “The buoys there were laying down at a 45-degree angle. I thought, ‘Man, they’re pulling even more water than they did yesterday.’ They had had about 2 1/2 inches of rain in an hour and it was flooded and up about 2 feet from where it was the day before.”
Moran thought he had a couple of spots where he thought he could catch some bass in the creek, but he knew his good stuff would be in the back of the creek.
“It was blown out and I told my partner, ‘This is not going to work today,’” Moran said.
Moran made his way to the next two or three creeks heading back up to the launch spot, but he saw they were blown out as well. He then headed to his last-ditch effort, a spot he had not fished in five or six years.
“I pulled in there and there wasn’t a soul in sight; there was one boat just leaving,” Moran said. “I pulled in and my first fish was a 4 1/2-pounder. And it was all over but the crying after that. When you start out with a 4 1/2-pounder on the Ohio River, that’s like catching a 10-pounder on Lake Okeechobee or an 8 on Kentucky Lake. When you start your day off with a fish that’s your kicker it gives you some confidence when you’re a little bit deflated.”
Moran said he used a swim jig and a crankbait to entice bites during the tournament. The crankbait is made by a friend of Moran’s, and he noted he has won “quite a bit of money” on the custom crankbaits.
“Fish this time of the year are notoriously postspawn,” Moran said. “This year I’ve noticed that everything is about a month and a half behind schedule. Everything was spawn, postspawn, prespawn – it was all over the board. I think that’s the way it is all over the country.”
Moran said he didn’t have a bite until 10:45 a.m. and was finished with his final weight in the livewell by 11:45.
“I told my partner after my third fish, ‘I think I’m going to win this thing today,’” Moran said.
“When it’s your day it’s your day,” added Moran, whose last BFL win came in 2007. “I’m not a freshman in this class anymore. It’s not that you doubt yourself, but there are always missed opportunities or the coulda, shoulda, woulda – but it always happens when you least expect it, and that makes it even sweeter.”
The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Dan Moran, London, Ohio, five bass, 12-7, $3,540
2nd: Chris Wilkinson, Farmersburg, Ind., five bass, 9-9, $1,680
3rd: Kyle Weisenburger, Columbus Grove, Ohio, five bass, 9-5, $850
4th: Rob Flowers, West Harrison, Ind., five bass, 8-10, $1,180 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus)
5th: Roger Hahn, Fairfield, Ohio, five bass, 7-8, $600
6th: Nick Ryan, Cleves, Ohio, five bass, 7-7, $520
7th: Bob Logan, Waynesfield, Ohio, five bass, 7-4, $500
8th: Randy Williams, New Richmond, Ohio, five bass, 7-3, $480
9th: Nico Urso, Union, Ky., five bass, 7-0, $460
10th: Lucas McDaniel, Fortville, Ind., three bass, 6-4, $430
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Tournament winner Moran also earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing his 4-pound, 8-ounce bass, worth $200.
Chris Ryan of Cincinnati, Ohio, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,670 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 5 pounds, 5 ounces.
The Top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Chris Ryan, Cincinnati, Ohio, three bass, 5-5, $1,670
2nd: Andrew Hostler, Tyrone, Penn., two bass, 5-2, $940
3rd: Todd Eicher, Fairchance, Penn., three bass, 4-9, $425
4th: Edward Seiler, Lancaster, Ohio, two bass, 4-6, $340
5th: Jeff Moorman, Liberty Township, Ohio, two bass, 4-4, $300
6th: Caiden Walter, Fairfield, Ohio, three bass, 4-1, $260
7th: Brian Ferguson, Louisville, Ky., two bass, 4-0, $295
7th: Chad McQueen, Fairfield, Ohio, two bass, 4-0, $245
9th: Wesley Bruner, Middletown, Ohio, one bass, 3-13, $330
10th: Landen Wisener, Russells Point, Ohio, three bass, 3-11, $215
Wesley Bruner of Middletown, Ohio, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 3-pound, 13-ounce bass worth $100.
After two events, Chris Wilkinson of Farmersburg, Indiana, now leads the 7 Brew Buckeye Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 499 points, while Jeff Moorman of Liberty Township, Ohio, leads the Buckeye Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 494 points.
The top 45 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. 8-10 BFL Regional tournament on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. 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 prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500.
The 2026 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2027 BFL All-American will take place June 3-5, at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida, and is hosted by Experience Kissimmee.
Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PirahnO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular BFL updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.