BFL: Gordon Prevails at Dale Hollow, Harris Wins at Eufaula

The final two Bass Fishing League Regionals took place over the weekend as anglers competed for spots in the prestigious BFL All-American. Here's a recap of the final pair of events: 

Lake Eufaula

Divisions: Cowboy, Arkie

Field Size: 97 boats

Winner: Riley Harris (Orange, Texas)

Winning Weight: 31 pounds, 6 ounces

Breakdown: Harris said he focused on three areas that featured either boulders or brush piles in 10 to 15 feet of water. He spent his entire tournament using the trolling motor to move around those boulders and brush piles 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 3 1/2-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.”

Moving on: Harris, along with Austin Rose and Caleb Black, will compete in the 2026 BFL All-American.

Dale Hollow Lake

Divisions: Volunteer, LBL

Field Size: 75 boats

Winner: Jeremy Gordon (Rutledge, Tenn.)

Winning Weight: 36 pounds, 15 ounces

Breakdown: Gordon overcame a tough practice and a fog delay on day 1 to sack up 18 pounds before noon on day 1.

“The rest of the day proved to be very hard to get bites,” he said. 

Gordon said the fish he targeted were in offshore groups of 10 to 20 fish in 30 to 40 feet of water. Gordon knew the fish were there; it was just like “pulling teeth” to get them to bite. Gordon said the key to his success was using a bigger bait – a 6-inch jighead minnow. At the end of the day, Gordon weighed the only five keepers that bit the first day of the tournament.

Gordon’s second day didn’t really take off for him until 10 a.m., and for the second day in a row, the 10 a.m. to noon window was the hot bite for him.

“I made a key adjustment to go to my secondary area, and I ran into some fish there,” Gordon said. “I hit a little flurry, and in an hour and a half I caught my fish. I only caught six keepers the second day, but they were the right fish.

“When I caught my fifth fish, I felt confident I was going to make the All-American,” Gordon added. “That was my goal. But I had a little 2-pound smallmouth I needed to cull. Then I caught a kicker 4-pounder, and I had a bigger bag than I had on Day 1, and I thought, “Ok. I have a shot now.’

“I’ve qualified for three-straight Toyota Series Championships, so I’ve had some shots at big events,” Gordon said. “This year I wanted to focus on BFLs. I wanted to fish closer to home and stay local. I love Major League Fishing, and my goal was to make the All-American. I had an absolutely unbelievable year in the Volunteer Division. Everything about this season exceeded my expectations.”

Moving on: Along with Gordon, Isaac Peavyhouse and Corey Neece punched their ticket to the 2026 BFL All-American.

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