Garrett’s gamble delivers Day 1 lead at Bassmaster Elite Series event on Harris Chain of Lakes
April 12, 2024
Garrett’s gamble delivers Day 1 lead at Bassmaster Elite Series event on Harris Chain of Lakes
LEESBURG, Fla. — The combination of quantity and quality define bass tournament success, and John Garrett gladly sacrificed the former for the latter’s potential.
The Tennessee angler’s decision paid big dividends with a five-bass limit of 24 pounds, 2 ounces, which leads Day 1 of the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain of Lakes.
“I only got seven bites today, but they were the right ones,” Garrett said. “This was a totally blessed day.”
After extreme weather postponed Thursday’s scheduled start, anglers fished under clear, sunny postfrontal conditions. Thankfully the front did not significantly drop air and water temperatures.
More importantly, the fish Garrett found in practice held their ground.
“I kinda gambled today; I went to an area that I knew had the right size fish in it,” he said. “There aren’t many fish there and they’re extremely hard to catch.”
Garrett said he made a long run from the take-off site on Lake Harris’ northwestern corner. The round-trip journey burned a big chunk of his day, but he said it was a calculated risk.
“It was so tough everywhere else, I knew if I caught one fish there, it would equal two or three of the fish I was catching (elsewhere in practice),” he said. “I knew if I could catch two or three fish on the spot I ran to, I’d have the right ones.
“The size is there. I know the winning caliber of fish are there; it’s just getting some of them in the boat.”
The bass Garrett targeted were patrolling shell bottom, often running with tilapia. A mix of reaction baits earned his bites.
“There was a lot of clear water in this area,” Garrett said. “Those fish were just cruising and when they’d swim through, you might catch one, you might not.”
Garrett said he believes he was catching fish that had spawned several months ago.
“These fish have had a lot of time to recover,” he said. “They’re the healthiest fish I’ve seen on the chain.”
Garrett said he committed to his game plan fully expecting a tedious day. The pace, however, became more stressful than he’d anticipated.
“I didn’t have a fish at 10 o’clock today,” Garrett said. “I caught all of my fish between 10 and 1. I had a bite about every hour.”
As for Round 2, Garrett said he’ll return to his sweet spot in hopes of grinding out another good bag.
John Cox of DeBary, Fla., is in second place with 22-5. Sampling several lakes, he settled into one location and channeled lessons from his early instructor to sack up three big bass in a 20-foot section of Kissimmee grass.
“I grew up here fishing with (the late) Joe Kremer and he pretty much taught me how to fish the Harris Chain,” Cox said. “It was unreal today, I pulled into an area and I was like, ‘Joe always used to catch a couple here.’
“I caught a good one and for some reason, in my head, it was where I remember seeing him make a flip. I ended up catching two more big ones on that spot.”
Cox caught all of his bass on a Texas-rigged Berkley MaxScent The General in the tilapia color.
Brad Whatley of Bivins, Texas, is in third place with 22 pounds. His day started with a big bite, but he then endured a painfully slow morning, before returning to the scene of his early success for a second helping.
“I caught a big one that weighed 7-14 at 8:30 and I did not catch another fish until probably 11,” Whatley said. “I swapped lakes and filled out my limit. Then I came back to where I caught that first big one and caught a 7-12.”
Using a mix of reaction baits and slow presentations, Whatley said he was catching postspawn fish that were holding in grass that was 4 to 7 feet deep. During practice, he caught a 5-pounder on his main spot, but he said catching two nearly 8-pounders in competition was a pleasant surprise.
“That’s typical Florida fishing — a big fish goes a long way,” Whatley said. “I was just fortunate enough to get two good ones.
“I know there are some more there. I had one more giant (hooked) and I didn’t get him.”
Whatley and Paul Mueller of Naugatuck, Conn., share the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors, each with a 7-14.
Rookie Trey McKinney of Carbondale, Ill., leads the Progressive Insurance Bassmaster Angler of the Year race with 287 points. Jordan Lee of Cullman, Ala., is in second with 283, followed by Patrick Walters of Summerville, S.C., with 273, Tyler Williams of Belgrade, Maine, with 272, and J.T. Thompkins of Myrtle Beach, S.C., with 261.
Saturday’s takeoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. ET at Venetian Gardens (Ski Beach). The weigh-in will be held at the Ski Beach at 3 p.m.
Follow all the action on FS1 from 7:30-10:30 a.m. and on Bassmaster.com from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. ET. On Semifinal Sunday, watch live coverage on FS1from 8-11 a.m. and on Bassmaster.com from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
The event is being hosted by the Greater Orlando Sports Commission.
2024 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2024 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2024 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
About B.A.S.S.B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
-30-
Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitte
Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 865-201-6458, cgay@bassmaster.
2024 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain 4/12-4/15
Harris Chain Of Lakes, Leesburg FL.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 1
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. John Garrett Union City, TN 5 24-02 103
Day 1: 5 24-02
2. John Cox Debary, FL 5 22-05 102
Day 1: 5 22-05
3. Brad Whatley Bivins, TX 5 22-00 101
Day 1: 5 22-00
4. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 5 21-13 100
Day 1: 5 21-13
5. Jordan Lee Cullman, AL 5 21-06 99
Day 1: 5 21-06
6. Joseph Webster Hamilton, AL 5 20-15 98
Day 1: 5 20-15
7. David Gaston Sylacauga, AL 5 20-03 97
Day 1: 5 20-03
8. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 5 19-11 96
Day 1: 5 19-11
8. JT Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 5 19-11 96
Day 1: 5 19-11
10. KJ Queen Catawba, NC 5 19-00 94
Day 1: 5 19-00
11. Timothy Dube Nashua , NH 5 18-02 93
Day 1: 5 18-02
12. Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 5 17-14 92
Day 1: 5 17-14
13. Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 5 17-13 91
Day 1: 5 17-13
14. Kyle Norsetter Cottage Grove, WI 5 17-06 90
Day 1: 5 17-06
15. Cody Huff Ava, MO 5 17-03 89
Day 1: 5 17-03
15. Ed Loughran III Richmond, VA 5 17-03 89
Day 1: 5 17-03
17. Tyler Williams Belgrade, ME 5 17-02 87
Day 1: 5 17-02
18. Wes Logan Springville, AL 5 15-13 86
Day 1: 5 15-13
19. Hank Cherry Jr Lincolnton, NC 5 15-12 85
Day 1: 5 15-12
20. Mike Huff London, KY 5 15-09 84
Day 1: 5 15-09
20. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 5 15-09 84
Day 1: 5 15-09
22. Logan Latuso Gonzales, LA 5 14-13 82
Day 1: 5 14-13
22. Bryant Smith Roseville, CA 5 14-13 82
Day 1: 5 14-13
24. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 5 14-12 80
Day 1: 5 14-12
25. Robert Gee Knoxville, TN 5 14-08 79
Day 1: 5 14-08
25. Patrick Walters Eutawville, SC 5 14-08 79
Day 1: 5 14-08
27. Jason Christie Dry Creek, OK 5 14-06 77
Day 1: 5 14-06
28. Jeff Gustafson Kenora, ON Ontario CANA 5 14-05 76
Day 1: 5 14-05
28. Jake Whitaker Hendersonville, NC 5 14-05 76
Day 1: 5 14-05
30. Lee Livesay Longview, TX 5 14-04 74
Day 1: 5 14-04
31. David Mullins Mt Carmel, TN 5 14-02 73
Day 1: 5 14-02
32. Brandon Card Salisbury, NC 5 13-15 72
Day 1: 5 13-15
33. Jay Przekurat Plover, WI 5 13-11 71
Day 1: 5 13-11
34. Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 5 13-05 70
Day 1: 5 13-05
35. Stetson Blaylock Benton, AR 5 13-04 69
Day 1: 5 13-04
36. Rick Clunn Ava, MO 5 13-01 68
Day 1: 5 13-01
37. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 5 13-00 67
Day 1: 5 13-00
37. Chad Pipkens Dewitt, MI 5 13-00 67
Day 1: 5 13-00
39. Matty Wong Honolulu, HI 5 12-15 65
Day 1: 5 12-15
40. Justin Hamner Northport, AL 5 12-14 64
Day 1: 5 12-14
41. Todd Auten Clover, SC 5 12-11 63
Day 1: 5 12-11
42. Shane LeHew Catawba, NC 5 12-10 62
Day 1: 5 12-10
43. Scott Martin Clewiston, FL 5 12-08 61
Day 1: 5 12-08
44. Jonathan Kelley Old Forge, PA 4 12-08 60
Day 1: 4 12-08
45. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 5 12-07 59
Day 1: 5 12-07
46. Cory Johnston Otonabee CANADA 5 12-06 58
Day 1: 5 12-06
46. Kyle Patrick Cooperstown, NY 5 12-06 58
Day 1: 5 12-06
48. Cliff Prince Palatka, FL 5 12-05 56
Day 1: 5 12-05
49. Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 5 12-03 55
Day 1: 5 12-03
50. Matt Arey Shelby, NC 5 12-02 54
Day 1: 5 12-02
51. Bryan Schmitt Deale, MD 5 11-15 53
Day 1: 5 11-15
52. Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 5 11-14 52
Day 1: 5 11-14
53. Marc Frazier Newnan, GA 5 11-11 51
Day 1: 5 11-11
54. Drew Benton Panama City, FL 5 11-10 50
Day 1: 5 11-10
54. Caleb Sumrall New Iberia, LA 5 11-10 50
Day 1: 5 11-10
56. Jacob Powroznik North Prince George, VA 5 11-08 48
Day 1: 5 11-08
57. Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 5 11-04 47
Day 1: 5 11-04
58. Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 5 11-02 46
Day 1: 5 11-02
58. Hunter Shryock Ooltewah, TN 5 11-02 46
Day 1: 5 11-02
60. Logan Parks Auburn, AL 5 11-01 44
Day 1: 5 11-01
61. Alex Redwine Blue Ash, OH 5 11-00 43
Day 1: 5 11-00
61. Alex Wetherell Middletown, CT 5 11-00 43
Day 1: 5 11-00
63. Buddy Gross Chattanooga, TN 5 10-15 41
Day 1: 5 10-15
63. Tyler Rivet Raceland, LA 5 10-15 41
Day 1: 5 10-15
65. Gregory DiPalma Millville, NJ 5 10-09 39
Day 1: 5 10-09
66. Carl Jocumsen Queensland TN AUSTRALIA 5 10-08 38
Day 1: 5 10-08
67. Will Davis Jr Sylacauga, AL 5 10-07 37
Day 1: 5 10-07
67. Chris Zaldain Fort Worth, TX 5 10-07 37
Day 1: 5 10-07
69. Keith Combs Huntington, TX 5 10-04 35
Day 1: 5 10-04
70. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 5 10-03 34
Day 1: 5 10-03
71. Justin Atkins Florence, AL 5 10-01 33
Day 1: 5 10-01
72. Kyle Welcher Valley, AL 5 10-00 32
Day 1: 5 10-00
73. Jacob Foutz Charleston, TN 5 09-13 31
Day 1: 5 09-13
74. Wesley Gore Clanton, AL 5 09-09 30
Day 1: 5 09-09
75. Drew Cook Cairo, GA 5 09-05 29
Day 1: 5 09-05
76. John Crews Jr Salem, VA 5 09-01 28
Day 1: 5 09-01
76. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 5 09-01 28
Day 1: 5 09-01
78. Matt Herren Ashville, AL 5 09-00 26
Day 1: 5 09-00
78. Bryan New Leesville, SC 5 09-00 26
Day 1: 5 09-00
80. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 5 08-15 24
Day 1: 5 08-15
80. John Soukup Sapulpa, OK 5 08-15 24
Day 1: 5 08-15
82. Clent Davis Montevallo, AL 5 08-13 22
Day 1: 5 08-13
82. Cooper Gallant Bowmanville Ontario CAN 5 08-13 22
Day 1: 5 08-13
84. Cole Sands Calhoun , TN 5 08-11 20
Day 1: 5 08-11
85. Ray Hanselman Jr Del Rio, TX 5 08-08 19
Day 1: 5 08-08
86. Luke Palmer Coalgate, OK 5 08-05 18
Day 1: 5 08-05
87. Kenta Kimura Osaka OK JAPAN 5 08-04 17
Day 1: 5 08-04
88. Frank Talley Belton, TX 5 07-14 16
Day 1: 5 07-14
89. Gerald Swindle Guntersville, AL 5 07-08 15
Day 1: 5 07-08
90. Derek Hudnall Zachary, LA 5 07-00 14
Day 1: 5 07-00
91. Jamie Hartman Newport, NY 5 06-14 13
Day 1: 5 06-14
91. Clark Wendlandt Leander, TX 5 06-14 13
Day 1: 5 06-14
93. Scott Canterbury Odenville, AL 5 06-10 11
Day 1: 5 06-10
93. Seth Feider New Market, MN 5 06-10 11
Day 1: 5 06-10
95. Koby Kreiger Alva, FL 5 06-09 9
Day 1: 5 06-09
96. Ben Milliken New Caney, TX 4 05-11 8
Day 1: 4 05-11
97. Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 3 04-15 7
Day 1: 3 04-15
98. Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 5 04-14 6
Day 1: 5 04-14
99. Jason Williamson Aiken, SC 4 04-12 5
Day 1: 4 04-12
100. Taku Ito Dalton GA JAPAN 4 04-09 4
Day 1: 4 04-09
101. Caleb Kuphall Mukwonago, WI 3 04-08 3
Day 1: 3 04-08
102. Joey Cifuentes III Clinton, AR 2 03-07 2
Day 1: 2 03-07
103. Bob Downey Detroit Lakes, MN 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
------------------------------
PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 07-14 $0.00
1 Brad Whatley Bivins, TX 07-14 $0.00
------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 95 499 1248-05
------------------------------
95 499 1248-05
Fishin' Tip Friday - Hooksets with Kayak Champ Drew Gregory
By Vance McCullough
It's hard to get a solid hookset when fishing from a kayak, as opposed to a big boat. The ultralight boat doesn't offer much water resistance to anchor the effort. Here, 2024 Bassmaster Kayak Series Champion Drew Gregory offers helpful advice for setting the hook from small craft.
The Association of Collegiate Anglers Announces the Schedule for its 20th Season in 2025
SAN ANTONIO, TX (April 12, 2024) – In 2025, the Association of Collegiate Anglers will celebrate its 20th season of hosting major collegiate bass fishing tournaments. What first started with an approximately 50 boat field at the National Championship event on Lake Lewisville in 2006, almost 20 years later has grown into a robust tournament circuit featuring four major events each year, a robust National Rankings system with the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia program, support for numerous small school-run events, as well as programs to help college anglers gain access to products to go fishing.
Every major ACA no-entry-fee event features a total prize payout of more than $20,000 in prizes and contingencies, as well as double points, with media coverage on a variety of streaming platforms, live coverage, social media promotions and is nationally televised on several networks. The ACA is excited to announce its complete tournament schedule for 2025 which will be a celebration of providing 20 years of non-stop support to growing fishing through collegiate fishing.
Here is a look at the complete schedule of 2025 Major Events:
2025 Pickwick Slam
April 5-6, 2025 – Pickwick Lake | Florence, AL
2025 Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops
May 22-23, 2025 – Lake Hartwell | Anderson, SC
2025 Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley
September 19-20, 2025 – Kentucky Lake | Henry County & Paris, TN
2025 AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open
October 11-12, 2025 – Lake Dardanelle | Russellville, AR
*Tournament dates are subject to change
In 2025, teams will again be able to earn automatic qualification into the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops via top finishes at ACA regular season events. Anglers finishing in the Top 15 at the 2025 Pickwick Slam will qualify to compete in the 2025 Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops. The Top 10 finishing anglers at the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley will earn a spot in the 2026 ACA National Championship. The Top 10 finishing anglers/teams at the 2025 AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open will also earn automatic qualification into the year-end tournament in 2026. Stay tuned for additional details on this and other incentives for each event.
The 20th season in 2025 promises to be another great year out on the collegiate trail as the Association of Collegiate Anglers competes at several of the top fisheries in the nation. Stay up to date on all things college fishing to see additional announcements in the future, as well as learn about exciting new programs and ways to promote & grow college fishing!
Britt Myers Earns Group A Qualifying Round Win at PowerStop Brakes Stage Three at Dale Hollow Lake Presented by Mercury
General Tire pro boats two-day total of 140-8 to win Group A Qualifying Round, Top 10 pros advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round
BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. (April 11, 2024) – At one point Thursday afternoon, General Tire pro Britt Myers of Lake Wylie, South Carolina, felt a bass bite his bait, but he didn't set the hook. Not wanting to educate too many of the fish he’s found prior to the Knockout Round at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour PowerStop Brakes Stage Three Presented by Mercury on Dale Hollow Lake, the South Carolina native waited, hoping the bass would spit out his jighead minnow, then tried to shake it off. Somehow, he still hooked the 3-pound, 10-ounce smallmouth and added it to his rapidly ballooning weight total.
The second day of qualifying was “one of those days” for Myers — in the best way possible. With everything seemingly going his way, Myers boated 24 scorable bass for nearly 80 pounds, bringing his two-day total to 140 pounds, 8 ounces and topping the leaderboard in Group A.
“It was just one of those days where you couldn’t do anything wrong,” Myers said. “I’ve had those days before in practice, but never during a major event. It was just super fun.”
The top 10 anglers advancing from Group A will now have an off day from competition Friday, while the 39 anglers competing in Group B will complete their two-day Qualifying Round. The top 10 anglers from each group advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 20 anglers compete to finish in the top 10 to advance to the Championship Round. In Sunday’s final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
Myers, who entered the day more than 17 pounds behind Day 1 leader pro Drew Gill of Mount Carmel, Illinois, wasted little time chipping away at the deficit. He stacked a whopping 42-5 onto SCORETRACKER® during the first period. Even after Myers started running new water, he barely slowed down, adding 12 more scorable bass for 37-9 to his tally.
Myers took the lead in the final minutes of the second period and finished the day 16-4 ahead of Gill. Those two, plus the rest of the Top 10 finishers in Group A, earned spots in Saturday’s Knockout Round, where they will face off with the Top 10 anglers from Group B.
In the months prior to the start of the 2024 Bass Pro Tour season, Myers worked with his son, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals angler Britt Myers Jr. , to learn the intricacies of chasing offshore fish with forward-facing sonar. The elder Myers was excited to show off his new skillset at the first two events, but they didn’t quite go as planned. Myers finished 71st at Toledo Bend and 65th at Santee Cooper.
As a result, the fact that he leaned on Garmin LiveScope to amass more than 80 pounds made Thursday even sweeter.
“I went to Toledo, I was so excited, because I wanted to use that technique, and even Santee Cooper,” Myers said. “But fish just moved, and things didn’t work out. So, I desperately needed this tournament.”
Myers caught his Day 1 total using the same technique — a jighead minnow and forward-facing sonar — but did so much shallower, due in large part to gusting winds that forced him to stay in protected pockets and coves. But something he noticed Tuesday gave him a clue about a pattern he thought he might be able to replicate around the lake given the right conditions.
It didn’t take long for him to be proven right. Myers started Thursday morning in an area he’d caught bass during practice, then ran 10 to 15 more areas that set up similarly. He caught fish from all of them. Not wanting to divulge too many of the details, Myers said depth hasn’t seemed to matter — he caught fish anywhere from 4 feet to 30 feet Thursday — but the key is “how the bass are positioned.”
“Literally, I never fished anywhere today that I fished the first day,” Myers said. “I think those fish are just roaming anywhere from 4 foot to 30 foot. And I know it sounds crazy. I don’t understand that. It’s against everything in the bass fishing handbook. But that’s what’s going on.”
Myers didn’t just find schools of bass at each of the spots he visited, but big ones. He landed five 4-plus-pounders Thursday. Through three days at Dale Hollow, it’s become clear that finding groups of those bigger-than-average bass will be key to outdueling other anglers in an event where getting bites isn’t an issue.
“The crazy thing is, I caught two 4-pound smallmouth, and then I caught two 4-pound largemouth,” Myers said. “It’s just a day you won’t forget.”
Looking to make his first ever Championship Round appearance on the Bass Pro Tour, the most important question Myers will have to answer prior to Saturday is which of the myriad areas he found Thursday to focus on. He'll give that plenty of thought during his day off the water. In the meantime, he’ll be basking in the excitement of his magical day.
“I guess you start where you had the most bites, and where the highest concentration of fish is,” Myers said. “I just can’t even explain the day, to be honest with you. I’m still kind of puzzled.”
Entering the event, one of the primary subplots to the action on Dale Hollow figured to be whether the lake’s smallmouth or largemouth would comprise the winning catch. In most past tournaments on the Kentucky-Tennessee border reservoir, largemouth have dominated, but that’s resulted in part from the lake’s slot limit, which prohibits anglers from possessing smallmouth between 16 and 21 inches in length. With the Bass Pro Tour’s catch-weigh-immediate release format, anglers don’t have to worry about the slot, freeing them up to show off the smallmouth population Dale Hollow is best known for.
So far, most anglers have caught a mixture of species, and it doesn’t seem to matter. Largemouth have accounted for about two-thirds of the scorable bass caught through the first three days of competition, but the average size has been similar, with a scorable largemouth weighing 2.8 pounds on average compared to 2.9 pounds for smallmouth.
Interestingly, Myers caught mostly smallmouth for the second day in a row, with 15 of his 24 fish being brown ones. Gill, on the other hand, predicted prior to the event that the winning total would consist of 75 percent smallmouth, yet he’s caught 29 largemouth to 11 smallmouth across the first two days.
“Before the tournament started, I thought if you fished for smallmouth, you would occasionally catch a decent largemouth, but you wouldn’t catch many largemouth," Myers said. “And actually, it’s just been the opposite of that. So, I’m really fishing for smallmouth, but the largemouth are sharing the same areas.”
Rather than which species will win, the bigger question seems to be whether anglers fishing around the bank can keep up with those using forward-facing sonar to target offshore schools of fish. The offshore game has dominated so far, with each of the top four finishers in Group A eclipsing 100 pounds that way. But with shallow specialists like Ott DeFoe, Jeff Sprague and David Dudley all making the Top 10 and the weather forecast to warm this weekend, it’s possible we could see a wave of bass hit the banks and give one of those anglers a chance to spoil the forward-facing sonar party.
The top 10 pros from Group A that now advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round on Dale Hollow Lake are:
1st: Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., 43 bass, 140-8
2nd: Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 42 bass, 125-2
3rd: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 37 bass, 104-15
4th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 34 bass, 101-4
5th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 34 bass, 85-14
6th: Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, 31 bass, 85-7
7th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 33 bass, 85-0
8th: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 30 bass, 82-10
9th: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., 30 bass, 79-12
10th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 28 bass, 76-0
Eliminated from competition are:
11th: Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 28 bass, 75-2
12th: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 24 bass, 72-5
13th: Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn., 23 bass, 70-13
14th: Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., 21 bass, 63-11
15th: Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., 22 bass, 58-8
16th: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 21 bass, 56-14
17th: Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., 19 bass, 53-9
18th: David Walker, Huntingdon, Tenn., 16 bass, 51-11
19th: Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., 18 bass, 49-7
20th: James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., 15 bass, 49-1
21st: Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., 18 bass, 48-9
22nd: Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., 18 bass, 48-6
23rd: Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 48-4
24th: John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., 17 bass, 47-14
25th: Matt Lee, Cullman, Ala., 18 bass, 46-10
26th: Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., 18 bass, 46-1
27th: Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., 16 bass, 45-4
28th: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 16 bass, 44-4
29th: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 18 bass, 43-8
30th: Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., 13 bass, 40-13
31st: Joshua Weaver, Macon, Ga., 12 bass, 38-4
32nd: Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 13 bass, 36-6
33rd: John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., 13 bass, 34-0
34th: Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, 12 bass, 33-7
35th: Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., 12 bass, 32-13
36th: Greg Vinson, Wetumka, Ala., eight bass, 21-12
37th: Ryan Salzman, Huntsville, Ala., seven bass, 20-0
38th: Jacopo Gallelli, Florence, Italy, five bass, 14-13
39th: Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 13-12
40th: Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas, three bass, 7-7
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 400 scorable bass weighing 1,126 pounds, 7 ounces caught by the 40 pros Thursday, which included 26 4-pounders, 110 3-pounders and 264 2-pounders.
Pro Takahiro Omori of Tokyo, Japan, earned Thursday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with an 4-pound, 8-ounce smallmouth bass that he caught on a jig during Period 1. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.
The six-day tournament, hosted by the Byrdstown-Pickett County Chamber of Commerce & Bill Dance Signature Lakes, showcases 79 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a purse of $659,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2025, the Bass Pro Tour championship.
The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day Qualifying Round on Tuesday and Thursday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Wednesday and Friday. After each two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the anglers that finish first through 10th from both groups advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 20 anglers compete to finish in the top 10 to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. In the final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
Anglers will launch at 7:30 a.m. CT each day from Sunset Marina and Resort, located at 2040 Sunset Dock Road in Monroe. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the park, beginning at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard and event coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on the final four days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
On Saturday and Sunday, April 13-14, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to visit Sunset Marina and Resort for the MLF Watch Party and Kids Fishing Derby. Fans can watch the pros live on the MLFNOW! big screen, enjoy free food, enter to win hourly giveaways and cheer on their favorite pros. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel from Pure Fishing each day. Additional fishing gear will be provided onsite for the fishing derby or kids can bring their own. The final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration on Championship Sunday to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.
The PowerStop Brakes Stage Three at Dale Hollow Lake Presented by Mercury features the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, in which anglers catch as much weight as they can each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard. The tournament features anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 79 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2025 championship.
The 79 anglers taking on Dale Hollow this week aren’t just battling for a first-place trophy and $100,000 payday. Valuable points in the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year race are also up for grabs. The winner of the season-long competition will take home an additional $100,000 check.
Fishing Clash, an interactive 3D fishing simulation game that’s played by more than 80 million people worldwide, is the official AOY sponsor of the Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League. You can download Fishing Clash for free in the App Store and on Google Play or log on to www.fishingclash.game for more information.
Television coverage of the PowerStop Brakes Stage Three at Dale Hollow Lake Presented by Mercury Knockout Round will air as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 5 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering on Oct. 6. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Garmin, General Tire, Humminbird, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Rapala, StarBrite, Suzuki, Toyota and U.S. Air Force.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Big Show's Homemade Minnows
Terry “Big Show” Scroggins is well known as a tackle tinkerer and someone who likes to be hands on with all the equipment he uses on the Bass Pro Tour. The Team Toyota pro builds his own Mud Hole rods, has custom designed the Big Show Soft Plastics line from Stanford Baits, and still pours most of the soft plastics he fishes with at home in his garage in Palatka, FL.
Big Show is also one of the first resources fellow BPT competitors turn to if they have an issue with equipment on their boat or truck. Whether it’s electronics issues, a leaky hull, or a good meal… Scroggins can fix just about anything. Stage Three on Dale Hollow has found Scroggins fixing up some new homemade “front lookin’ minnows”, as he calls them.
“Coming into Stage Three, I believed livescoping would be the deal on Dale Hollow, but it’s been super hard to get my hands on good colors of hot baits like the Deps Sakamata shad or Rapala Freeloader,” Scroggins explained. “So, I looked online and found a mold that had the right shape. I bought a couple molds and got them the day before I left for practice on Dale Hollow.
“I travel with all the gear I need to pour soft plastics in a box in the back of my Tundra anyway, so I threw those molds in my truck and hit the road. After the first day of practice, I poured up a few different colors of front-lookin’ minnows and the fish seem to like ‘em just fine!”
Like many competitors this week, Scroggins is leaning on FFS to catch both largemouth and smallmouth roaming the depths of Dale Hollow. But instead of paying $10+ for a pack of popular soft plastics, Scroggins is catching them on custom minnows he’s pouring at his Air BnB each night after he gets off the water.
Scroggins road-ready plastic pouring equipment can be seen in the photo below. No matter where the Bass Pro Tour takes him, he always travels with a microwave, a hand
full of lure molds, about two gallons of plastisol, DeWalt Clamps he’s had for 10 years, an injector, two mixing cups, colorant (paint), MR-7 release agent, a pair of gloves and a
paint mixing stick.
With this system, Big Show can build his own baits or re-stock his buddies supply anywhere he goes. Swimbaits, different styles of worms, crawfish imitators, and flipping baits have been amongst Scroggins homemade repertoire for years but after this week Big Show can add front-looking minnows to his list of accomplished creations. Scroggins had a strong day one on Dale Hollow, catching over 36-lbs of bass and sitting just below the Knockout Round qualification line.
“Pinging a minnow is nice when you pour your own baits because you can glue the bait to your jighead and you can catch up to twenty fish on a single lure,” Scroggins said with a smile. “It also makes it easy to customize your colors so you can show fish something a little different. Having an off day with the BPT format is pretty much tailor made for a tackle tinkerer. I get a whole day to pour plastics, adjust colors, or make anything I think will help me catch more than the field the next day.”
Scroggins and his front-lookin’ minnows are continuing to catch fish regularly during day two of his Qualifying Round as he looks to stay in tenth place or better so he can make Saturday’s Knockout Round. Follow Big Show and the rest of the Bass Pro Tour competitors on MajorLeagueFishing.com and MLFNOW! Live Stream.
Canary in the Coalmine
|
Recent move made by a state agency signals next-level concerns over forward-facing and 360-degree sonar. |
|
Forestville, WI (April 11, 2024) – How can the Wisconsin DNR Spring Hearings potentially affect anglers nationwide? Because this round, they’re calling out fishing technology.
The Spring Hearings are part of a process that guides the Wisconsin DNR to make laws affecting the resources, and use of the resources, by the public. The process has been used for years, and although its effective, the general angling and hunting public need to pay close attention to what is being proposed this time around… The first step in the process is getting public input on questions concerning potential legislation. That first step is happening now and the WI DNR is accepting online comments. (You do not need to be a Wisconsin resident to participate.) Question #22 stands to be the most controversial amongst anglers. It reads as such: Background for Question #22: Ban live scopes and 360° imaging locations in Wisconsin waters (280123) With the ability of these types of units to detect fish, as far as 180’ from the user, anglers have become more efficient at locating and catching fish. This type of pressure could reduce fish populations, which may lead to reduced bag limits for anglers. Question 22: Would you support banning the use of live scopes, and similar 360° imaging electronics in all Wisconsin waters? |
|
Technology, especially forward-facing sonar (FFS), have been debated nationally. And should those utilizing the technology not voice their opinion and it goes through the process to become law, it could be a spark that starts an unmanageable wildfire from coast to coast. If FFS is outlawed, what next? (States like Texas, Minnesota, and North Dakota are also collecting data and getting input about FFS.) The use of these technologies is dividing our sport, and that is concerning. Whether you employ the technology or not, we need to understand that a regulation to make a certain technology illegal will be detrimental to the sport. FFS is used by guides, captains, tournament anglers and the general angling public to increase success on the water. It has also attracted many younger anglers who embrace technology. If you choose not to utilize these technologies, fine. If you use it and catch more fish, great, but you also need to respect the resource and mitigate harvest. Just because you’re able to catch more fish, doesn’t mean you should keep a limit every time you fish. How these technologies affect fish populations is the linchpin, so it’s prudent to be conservative in your take. Anglers must be heard before such substantial decisions are made. |
|
     |
Why the Lesters Love Florida
The Bassmaster Elite Series begins a two-week run of events in Florida, and Fayetteville, TN based pro, Brandon Lester and his family couldn’t be happier. From manatee parks to Top 5 tournament finishes, the Sunshine State’s enriched their lives.
The Team Toyota angler scored a 5 th place finish the last time the Elite Series was here on The Harris Chain of Lakes two years ago, and took home $20,000. Plus, he finished 5 th in 2019 here at the Bassmaster Open, and let’s not forget he won a Bassmaster Open just down the road at Kissimmee in 2022. Not bad for a Tennessee River rat who compliments countless days on Guntersville and Pickwick with lots of time on deep and clear Tims Ford Lake in Tennessee.
So how do his home waters, a 10-hour drive from Lake County, Florida, translate to such impressive success on Florida’s shallow, aquatic vegetation filled lakes? “I was really lucky early in my career to get the chance to pick the brains of some of Central Florida’s best bass anglers. I tried to learn a ton from them, because I knew as a young touring pro that I had to be
successful in Florida if I wanted long-term success in this sport,” he explains.
“Plus, I just really love it down here. I feel at home when I’m in Florida. I live in a sportsmen’s paradise in Tennessee, but when it’s freezing cold there in January and February, you can come down here and fish for 8-pound spawners. Not to mention, it’s beautiful. If you’ve never idled through the Dora Canal, I’d really encourage you to see it,” smiles Lester.
However, it’s not just about bass fishing, it’s about family. His wife Kim loves it here equally as much, and says the long-term goal is to be snowbirds in retirement and fly south from Tennessee for winter here in Lake County.
But today it was a family field trip to see manatees, Kim’s favorite wild critter, at Blue Springs State Park. They saw a dozen different species of fish too, ranging from bluegill to gar, and young daughter Shiloh hauled home a multi-colored stuffed manatee as proof of time well spent. “We love all the small communities here in Lake County, but you’re also not far at all from the huge attractions like SeaWorld and Disney in Orlando. For a young family, you just can’t hardly beat a week at a Bassmaster event on the Harris Chain of Lakes,” smiles Mrs. Lester, a personal fitness instructor.
Only one thing could put an exclamation mark on an already great week in Lake County for the Lesters – hoisting their second blue Elite Series trophy. If that happens, they might not wait until retirement to move here.
B.A.S.S. postpones Day 1 of Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain of Lakes
April 11, 2024
LEESBURG, Fla. — After consulting with the National Weather Service, B.A.S.S. officials are postponing Day 1 of competition at the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain of Lakes due to high winds and the possibility of severe weather, including sustained winds of 20 to 30 miles per hour with gusts up to 40 to 45 miles per hour. This afternoon’s forecast includes the possibility of lightning and hail as well as wind gusts of up to 50 to 60 miles per hour.
The full field of anglers will now compete on Friday and Saturday, with the Top 50 competing Sunday and the Top 10 advancing to Championship Monday. Harris Chain of Lakes is off limits today.
Daily takeoffs will be held from Ski Beach at 7 a.m. ET and weigh-ins each day back at the launch site at 3 p.m. Bassmaster LIVE will be streaming on Bassmaster.com all four days, and coverage will also be available on FS1 on Saturday and Sunday.
The tournament is being hosted by the Greater Orlando Sports Commission.
2024 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2024 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2024 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
About B.A.S.S.B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
-30-
Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitte
Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 865-201-6458, cgay@bassmaster.
Rookie Marshall Robinson Cruises to Group B Lead at MLF Bass Pro Tour PowerStop Brakes Stage Three Presented by Mercury at Dale Hollow Lake
South Carolina pro leads Group B by 4 pounds, 1 ounce after Day 1, Group A to wrap up two-day Qualifying Round Thursday
BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. (April 10, 2024) – Talk of a youth revolution has become a hot topic in the tournament bass-fishing world, as a cadre of teenaged and 20-something anglers seems to be qualifying for top tours and winning trophies with increased frequency.
Through two days of competition on Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee, the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour PowerStop Brakes Stage Three Presented by Mercury has followed the same script. Twenty-year-old Marshall Robinson of Landrum, South Carolina, the youngest angler on the Bass Pro Tour , boated 29 scorable bass for a massive total of 92 pounds, 8 ounces on Wednesday, the first day of qualifying for Group B. Robinson battled with Dustin Connell of Clanton, Alabama, for the top spot on SCORETRACKER® throughout the day, ultimately finishing 4-1 clear of the reigning REDCREST champion.
The six-day tournament, hosted by the Byrdstown-Pickett County Chamber of Commerce & Bill Dance Signature Lakes, showcases 79 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a purse of $659,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2025, the Bass Pro Tour championship.
Robinson’s impressive showing comes a day after 21-year-old Drew Gill of Mount Carmel, Illinois, claimed the top spot during Group A’s first day on the water. Robinson headlines a loaded Group B leaderboard, with Connell, Alton Jones Jr., Jacob Wheeler and Justin Lucas — all past BPT winners — lurking right behind him.
Inextricably linked with the discussion about the recent success of young anglers has been the polarizing debate about forward-facing sonar and finesse fishing, most notably the jighead minnow. Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that’s how Robinson amassed his weight Wednesday.
“I’m throwing a minnow a lot,” he said. “And then I also have a few key bottom baits. I’m throwing a Ned rig some and a drop-shot, just picking off some of those fish that might be spawning, locked on and don’t want to come off their bed. But I kept it pretty simple. I don’t think I threw more than four rods today.”
Robinson identified the pattern that keyed his hot start on the first day of practice. The fish had moved a bit by Wednesday, but once he figured out how they were setting up, the action was fast and furious. He replicated his success on multiple spots across the lake, which should bode well for the coming days.
“I don’t think I caught more than four or five fish (apiece) off of one area,” Robinson said. “I would just jump from area to area running my pattern and pick up three, four, five fish over and over again.”
During practice, Robinson caught mostly largemouth. On Wednesday, however, he did the majority of his damage with smallmouth, catching 20 scorable brown fish compared to nine green ones.
It wasn’t just Robinson but Group B as a whole that caught more smallmouth than the anglers in Group A did during their first day on the water. The brown fish Dale Hollow is best known for comprised nearly 37% of the 448 scorable bass weighed on the day, although a 5-11 largemouth caught by Andy Morgan won Berkley Big Bass honors.
More important for Robinson was the fact that, regardless of species, he not only found fish in bulk quantities but impressive quality. Of the 23 total bass that tipped the scales at 4 pounds or more Wednesday, Robinson caught five of them. Connell boated two more scorable bass than Robinson, but Robinson’s average size (3.19 pounds) earned him the top spot.
“You’re going to have a bunch of guys who catch the same amount of fish, so the only thing that’s going to set you apart is figuring out what those bigger fish are doing, ... because you can catch one fish that weighs what two of theirs does,” Robinson said.
Almost certainly assured a spot in the Knockout Round even if he fails to catch a keeper on the second day of qualifying, Robinson said he plans to use Friday to explore new water and hopefully find more places that fit his pattern. He’s optimistic that targeting offshore schools with forward-facing sonar, which dominated Wednesday, will be the way to win, but he’s not totally counting out the shallow bite.
“I really think there’s a chance that shallow fish could play, but it’s all dependent on if they make a push (to spawn) or not,” he said. “I don’t see the tournament being won on the bank unless a big wave moves up (to spawn). I definitely think the deeper ‘Scope bite is dominant right now.”
The son of Bass Pro Tour veteran Marty Robinson of Lyman, South Carolina , and Polaris Rookie of the Year winner on the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals last year, the younger Robinson isn’t nervous about holding an early lead. While he’s still looking for his first professional win, he’s fished – and held his own – against big-name competition before.
However, he acknowledged that seeing his name atop SCORETRACKER® in just his third BPT event feels a bit surreal.
"It feels almost too good to be true,” he said. “I might puke, but it is a really good feeling. It makes you feel accomplished.”
The 39 anglers in Group B will now have an off day from competition Thursday, while the 40 anglers competing in Group A will wrap up their two-day Qualifying Round. Group B will finish their Qualifying Round on Friday.
The top 20 pros in Group B after Day 1 on Dale Hollow Lake are:
1st: Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 29 bass, 92-8
2nd: Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 31 bass, 88-7
3rd: Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 22 bass, 66-12
4th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 20 bass, 60-4
5th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 21 bass, 59-3
6th: Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, 19 bass, 54-5
7th: Shin Fukae, Osaka, Japan, 16 bass, 52-8
8th: Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., 18 bass, 47-10
9th: Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., 17 bass, 44-10
10th: Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., 16 bass, 42-2
11th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 15 bass, 41-7
12th: Dave Lefebre, Erie, Penn., 15 bass, 37-8
13th: Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 13 bass, 36-15
14th: Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 13 bass, 35-8
15th: Kelly Jordon, Flint, Texas, 12 bass, 34-10
16th: Grae Buck, Green Lane, Penn., 12 bass, 34-0
17th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 11 bass, 30-2
18th: Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 10 bass, 27-14
19th: Jared Lintner, Covington, Ga., 11 bass, 27-11
20th: Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 11 bass, 27-4
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Pro Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tennessee, earned the $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award after a 5-pound,11-ounce largemouth bit his jerkbait in Period 3. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and another $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.
The 40 Anglers in Group A compete in their two-day Qualifying Round on Tuesday and Thursday – the 39 anglers in Group B on Wednesday and Friday. After each two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the anglers that finish first through 10th from both groups advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 20 anglers compete to finish in the top 10 to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. In the final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
Anglers will launch at 7:30 a.m. CT each day from Sunset Marina and Resort, located at 2040 Sunset Dock Road in Monroe. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the park, beginning at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard and event coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on the final four days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
On Saturday and Sunday, April 13-14, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to visit Sunset Marina and Resort for the MLF Watch Party and Kids Fishing Derby. Fans can watch the pros live on the MLFNOW! big screen, enjoy free food, enter to win hourly giveaways and cheer on their favorite pros. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel from Pure Fishing each day. Additional fishing gear will be provided onsite for the fishing derby or kids can bring their own. The final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration on Championship Sunday to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.
The PowerStop Brakes Stage Three at Dale Hollow Lake Presented by Mercury features the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, in which anglers catch as much weight as they can each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard. The tournament features anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 79 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2025 championship.
The 79 anglers taking on Dale Hollow this week aren’t just battling for a first-place trophy and $100,000 payday. Valuable points in the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year race are also up for grabs. The winner of the season-long competition will take home an additional $100,000 check.
Fishing Clash, an interactive 3D fishing simulation game that’s played by more than 80 million people worldwide, is the official AOY sponsor of the Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League. You can download Fishing Clash for free in the App Store and on Google Play or log on to www.fishingclash.game for more information.
Television coverage of the PowerStop Brakes Stage Three at Dale Hollow Lake Presented by Mercury Knockout Round will air as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 5 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering on Oct. 6. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Garmin, General Tire, Humminbird, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Rapala, StarBrite, Suzuki, Toyota and U.S. Air Force.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Kentucky Lake ready to shine again for Bassmaster College Series return
April 10, 2024
Kentucky Lake ready to shine again for Bassmaster College Series return
PARIS, Tenn. — What was once the premier bass fishery in the country is ready to shine once again as the Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops makes its return to Kentucky Lake.
Tristan McCormick, a two-time qualifier for the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors, believes impressive numbers will be caught.
“The population of bass we have now is incredible,” McCormick said. “I’m seeing big improvements.”
Tournament dates will be April 17-18, with anglers launching from Paris Landing Marina at 6:30 a.m. CT each day and returning for daily weigh-ins at 2:30 p.m. This is the second of three tournaments on the new Legends Trail, and the top 10% of the field will punch their tickets to the 2024 Strike King Bassmaster College National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops scheduled for Aug. 22-24 on Lake Hartwell in Anderson, S.C.
Once a premier destination on the Bassmaster Tournament Trail, Kentucky Lake has seen its share of struggles throughout the past 10 years, largely due to the influx of Asian carp. But the last two or three years, the bass fishing has improved dramatically thanks to a couple of good spawning cycles — and this event could mark a big reawakening for the lake on the national tournament scene.
“Last year, we had a pretty mild prespawn. The water didn’t jump up and down too much. So, we had a better spawn than we would normally have,” McCormick said.
The last time the Bassmaster Elite Series competed on the giant reservoir in May 2018, Wesley Strader claimed the blue trophy by flipping shallow wood. The last B.A.S.S. event held there was the 2020 Bassmaster High School National Championship, an event won by Tucker Smith and Hayden Marbut with 47 pounds, 5 ounces of mostly smallmouth over three days.
That high school event was the first glimpse at what Kentucky Lake has become, which is a really good smallmouth fishery. So much so that tournaments are being won strictly with brown fish, which would have been unheard of in the fishery’s heyday.
With that said, McCormick believes two different scenarios could play out, and which one prevails depends on the water level.
“It could be the spawn or it could be prespawn,” he said. “It is kind of that in-between. If the water comes up, it will be won on largemouth. If the water is stable, it is going to be a smallmouth deal and they will blow it out of the water.”
At the beginning of April, the Tennessee Valley Authority began the process of filling the lake to summer pool. As of Monday morning, the lake was 2 feet above normal pool.
McCormick said this sets up well for prespawn and spawning smallmouth. Main-river bars, points and pea gravel will be key areas to target. Smallies can be caught on swimbaits and Damiki rigs with forward-facing sonar as well as Carolina rigs, Ned rigs and tubes.
Largemouth will also pull out to some of these areas.
“If they are pulling a lot of current, that is when the prespawn Rat-L-Trap and ChatterBait bite comes into effect,” McCormick said. “All of those bass are staging to go spawn and are all sitting on the main current break.”
The Pickwick Dam tailrace could also factor.
In normal water conditions, prespawn largemouth will also hang around the mouths of the creeks and channel swings in the creeks.
“They will get as close to their spawning areas as they can without being on their spawning area,” McCormick said. “They will roam on the shallow flats in front of the bushes waiting to go up.”
The tournament is being hosted by the Henry County Tourism Authority.
2024 Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Strike King
2024 Bassmaster College Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
2024 Bassmaster College Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2024 Bassmaster College Series Premier Sponsors: Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2024 Bassmaster College Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
2024 Bassmaster College Series Youth Sponsors: Seaguar, Shimano
About B.A.S.S.B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
-30-
Lake Hartwell Primed for Spring Fishing Slugfest
SAN ANTONIO, TX (April 10, 2024) – This upcoming weekend, the Association of Collegiate Anglers will contest its first event of 2024 on the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series. The Hartwell Slam will be held at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, SC on April 13-14. With a total prize payout of more than $20,000 in prizes and contingencies, the ACA double points tournament is a no-entry-fee event, with close to 250 teams registered to compete, which also includes media coverage on a variety of streaming platforms, live coverage, social media promotions and is nationally televised on several networks.
The Hartwell Slam will mark the second time in which the ACA has contested a major college event at Lake Hartwell. Last summer, 400 of the nation’s top collegiate anglers competed at Lake Hartwell for the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops. That event was contested during the early summer, in late May. This year, the ACA is visiting during the middle of spring as bass are preparing to move shallow to spawn.
Lake Hartwell is a 56,000 acre fishery featuring a healthy population of both largemouth and spotted bass. The lake has a variety of fish holding habitat, including rocks, flooded timber, and boat docks. The forage in this fishery also makes it very unique. Along with the common baitfish and prey, Lake Hartwell is also home to a thriving blueback herring population. The combination of all of these variables makes Lake Hartwell a world-class fishery that has been the stage for many major national-level events throughout the years.
April at Lake Hartwell is considered to be the peak of the spawn for Lake Hartwell bass. Water temperatures are rising steadily with strong warming trends, which has the bass on the move. At the start of this event, a majority of the bass in Lake Hartwell will either be shallow or moving through transition areas on their way into popular spawning locations.
Lake Hartwell boasts fairly clear water conditions across the lake. This will set up well for anglers looking to sight fish. In these scenarios, both Texas rig and weightless soft plastics will be the primary baits anglers use to target these fish.
If bass are not on the bank spawning, they are likely in the prespawn phase.
These bass will be moving through ditches and drains in major creeks, as well as setting up on points and other key transition areas. Baitfish, including shad and blueback herring, will be what the prespawn bass are keying on. In these scenarios, anglers will be throwing a variety of baits to get bites. Swimbaits and glide baits will warrant the bigger bites. Weather conditions will also impact which other patterns may be at play.
The weather forecast this week in the Anderson, SC area looks pretty typical for the spring. Early in the week, there is a chance for rain. High temperatures are projected to be in the low to mid 70’s, with nightly lows dipping down to around 50 degrees. Currently, for both tournament days, it is looking like there will be minimal clouds and breezy winds. High temperatures for Saturday and Sunday will be between 75 and 80 degrees.
If the forecast holds true, presenting anglers with sunny, warm conditions, boat docks could also be key areas for anglers to target. During the spring, bass will set up around docks as a transition spot, or even move up to the shallow walkways near the shore to spawn. A combination of jigs and soft plastics will be what most anglers tie on to target bass around boat docks.
Colby Pearson Crowned First-Ever BAM ProTour Champion At Lake Martinez
|
|
|
|
Shallow Water Bass Battle Won In A Foot Of Water ByJody Only YUMA, Arizona – Following a 1,000-plus mile journey from Klamath Falls, Oregon, Colby Pearson has become the first-ever BAM Pro Tour champion at Lake Martinez sacking up a five-fish limit on the final day that went 16.29 and earned $14,502 in event winnings. It was an extraordinary win for the Southern Oregon angler, after just squeaking into the Day Three field cut. “I’ve had many top-10’s; I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fished on Championship Sunday,” said Pearson. “To play my cards right and seal the deal is amazing. I’ve waited my whole career for it, and I’ve been fishing tournaments for years. It feels amazing and I just want to keep doing’ it.” Super-Shallow Water, Three Baits And A No Quit Attitude For The Win Pearson’s path to the final field cut came from the upper reaches of the Ferguson area.“There were a lot of fry guarders, and I knew I had to make as many presentations as humanly possible,” Pearson stated. “I was casting and burning a spinnerbait all day and I caught a couple on glide bait as well.” His first day’s 15 scorable bass notched a best five of 18.22 that put Pearson in 8th place, trailing by four-pounds by weight and six fish by keeper count. “By Day Two I had put a pretty good hurting on my area, but I was able to catch seven,” he shared. His best five were 11.79; but the addition of the seven scorables bumped his keeper count to 22, just enough to secure 10th place, and lock in a spot for Championship Sunday. Bass Catching Strategy Change For Final Day Of Competition With weights zeroing out for Day Three, Pearson began at a level playing field for the final fishing day and although he wasn’t ultra-confident that his primary location had the fish for the win, it was his intention to start there and find his first limit. Plans changed when the water had dropped out. “My area was significantly lower, and I wasn’t able to get anywhere near it,” he recalled. With out a single keeper at 10 a.m., the pressure was on. “I was kind of scrambling around, but mentally I just tried to stay in the zone,” he said. With a strategy adjustment focused around less-pressured water, void of his competitors, Pearson made a critical decision that paid off. “I just wanted to get into back waters, off the beaten path, not necessarily hard to get into but maybe they had a long idle,” he stated. Late in the day, Pearson’s back water search ended at the mother lode, producing the winning bag as he boated his two biggest in a foot of water after 2 p.m. “There were probably 40 in the three to four-pound range, and one that was probably a double-digit on a bed,” he revealed. Bass Baits To Win Lake Martinez Pearson tied a seven-inch KGB Chad Shad on a light swimbait rod for the glide. His spinnerbait was a trailer-less, tandem blade 3/8-ounce War Eagle with a small Colorado and willow leaf. “It was a color like mouse,” he said. “I fished it on a 7’4” heavy-action bait caster rod with 15-pound fluorocarbon on a Shimano Metanium 7.4:1 reel.” A five-inch Yamamoto Senko on a spinning rod with eight-pound-test was responsible for the rest of his fish. “I had a few different colors; but the best was Green Pumpkin with Green and Purple flake,” he said. “I had to hustle those bigger fish out of some heavy cover, so I was pretty fortunate to get them in.” Pearson and the rest of the BAM Pro Tour will make their next appearance at Lake Almanor, more info is available here. BAM Pro Tour Top-10 Rankings And Payout 1 16.29 Colby Pearson $14,502.00 + $500 Garmin Contingency 2 15.93 Karl Okerman $5,525.00 + $500 Bass Boat Technologies Contingency 3 14.97 Nicholas Cloutier $4,604.00 4 14.52 Greg Gutierrez $4,143.00 5 14.20 Cameron Karber $3,683.00 6 11.27 Ish Monroe $3,223.00 7 10.68 Zack Thompson $2,647.00 7 10.68 Mark Pilgrim $2,647.00 9 9.63 Bill O'Shinn $2,532.00 10 8.92 Conrad Demecs $2,532.00 Pro Tour Ranking Method BAMPro Tour anglers are ranked in the Pro Tour events by both biggest five fish limit and numbers of scorable bass caught. First place is held by the angler with five biggest bass and second place is the highest keeper count. The standings then continue to alternate by weight/numbers. Anglers ranked by weight are denoted with an asterisk. Field is cut to top-10 on final for a final day of fishing. The final 10 represents the five anglers with the heaviest two-day totals and five anglers with he most scorable bass. Rankings are zeroed out for Day Three and all anglers blast off on Championship Sunday on a level playing field. It is anybody’s game! |
|
|
|
|
About BAM Tournament TrailThe Bass Angler Magazine TournamentTrail (BAM TT) offers an unparalleled media platform for anglers and sponsors alike combining vast exposure opportunities that celebrate the skills of western bass anglers. The circuit garners extensive coverage across television, print magazines, websites, video, digital magazine, and multiple social media channels. |
Rookie Drew Gill Grabs Early Lead at Major League Fishing PowerStop Brakes Stage Three Presented by Mercury at Dale Hollow Lake
Illinois pro weighs in 77 pounds, 15 ounces to lead after Day 1 for Group A – Group B begins competition Wednesday
BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. (April 9, 2024) – In the months since Major League Fishing announced the Bass Pro Tour would bring its catch-weigh-immediate release model to Dale Hollow Lake for PowerStop Brakes Stage Three Presented by Mercury, anglers have anticipated an epic shootout, with some even predicting record weights. However, a chilly three-day practice period brought a trickier bite than many expected, causing some of that excitement to be replaced with trepidation.
Through one day of competition, at least, the lake is living up to its pre-practice billing.
Pro Drew Gill of Mount Carmel, Illinois, stacked 26 scorable bass weighing 77 pounds, 15 ounces onto SCORETRACKER® Tuesday, giving him more than 16 pounds of cushion over pro Jeff Sprague of Wills Point, Texas at the top of Group A. In all, 10 anglers eclipsed 40 pounds on the day.
The six-day tournament, hosted by the Byrdstown-Pickett County Chamber of Commerce & Bill Dance Signature Lakes, showcases 79 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a purse of $659,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2025, the Bass Pro Tour championship.
The 40 anglers in Group A will now have an off day from competition Wednesday, while the 39 anglers competing in Group B will begin their first day of competition. Group A will resume competition on Thursday.
Gill said he believes most of Dale Hollow’s bass are currently in the midst of their annual transition from the prespawn feed to spawning mode, but the majority haven’t locked onto beds yet. While the Day 1 results might not show it, that’s made it tough to find a consistent bite.
“We really hit it just about as perfect as we could have hit it between what I’d call prespawn and the spawn,” Gill said. “If we’d been here just a hair earlier or a hair later, it would have been a lot more consistent."
However, in the final hour of the three-day practice period, Gill found a more stable, and totally separate, population of bass to target.
Gill firmly believes that not every bass spawns every year. He’s chasing those fish on Dale Hollow, targeting them suspended in 20 to 30 feet of water. While they’re not necessarily relating to schools of baitfish, having shad or other forage nearby seems to help.
“I'm fishing 20 to 30 feet deep – like, the fish are that deep,” he explained. “And I’m trying to stay around the forage if I can. I’m not directly fishing bait, but I’m trying to stay around it. It makes the fish a little bit more agreeable.”
Gill, whose fishing mind belies his 21 years of age, explained that those fish are more willing to bite because they’re solely focused on feeding, not spawning. As a result, even though there might be greater numbers of bass around the banks, he’s able to catch more offshore.
“The issue on this lake is I’m fishing for the easiest-to-catch population,” Gill said. “Here, it’s not like I’m trying to get around fish. You’re around fish everywhere on this place. What I’m trying to do is get around the population that’s the easiest to catch.”
The one thing that surprised Gill Tuesday was that, after he caught mostly smallmouth in practice, 22 of his 26 scorable bass were largemouth. That proportion more or less mirrored the rest of the field, as smallmouth accounted for about 22% of the 406 scorable bass that hit the scales Tuesday.
However, the quality of those brown bass – which normally wouldn’t be reflected in tournament weights due to Dale Hollow’s strict slot limit that prohibits anglers from possessing smallmouth between 16 and 21 inches – made up for the lack of quantity. The highlight of Gill’s day was a 5-12 smallmouth that earned him $1,000 as the Berkley Big Bass, and the three heaviest fish caught on the day were all smallmouth.
Gill hopes to continue targeting both species.
“Today, the largemouth showed up, and they showed up in droves,” he said. “And I’m super cool with it. Largemouth here are a little bit less fickle, they’re a little bit less condition prone – the offshore largemouth, anyways – those largemouth are a little bit more consistent than the smallmouth are. So, I'm tickled that the largemouth showed up. Because my plan was to fish for smallmouth, but if you can fish for both on a lake that has good ones, both smallmouth and largemouth, by all means, fish for both."
Gill caught his fish Tuesday using forward-facing sonar and finesse tactics. That’s no surprise; his Garmin LiveScope mastery is a major reason he’s launched himself into the national spotlight this year, racking up a Tackle Warehouse Invitationals win at Sam Rayburn, a third-place finish at Toledo Bend in his Bass Pro Tour debut and three other top-11 finishes in 2024 alone.
Gill has no plans to change techniques, saying what he’s doing is going to win the event. The key over the coming days will be keeping track of the fish as they move and finding new, unpressured schools. Gill plans to take advantage of his 36-plus-pound cushion over the cut line by using the second day of qualifying to prepare for the Knockout and Championship Rounds.
“It will be really important for me to look around a lot,” he said. “But it’s not quite what I’d call true – like truly practicing for a tournament, in my opinion, is trying to like reinvent your wheel. I’m not going to be practicing a new ‘what,’ I’m just going to be fishing some new ‘wheres.’ Generally speaking, on this lake, if you’re fishing the right type of stuff, if it’s a deal and not just a spot – like, you’re going to run all over and you’re going to catch them everywhere that sets up that way.
“It’s going to be really important to me to be able to fish free on Thursday and have an opportunity the whole day to just play the conditions and see what happens. Really, it’s not as much a day of trying to collect spots as much as it is a day for me to try and understand what’s going on a little better.”
The top 20 pros in Group A after Day 1 on Dale Hollow Lake are:
1st: Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 26 bass, 77-15
2nd: Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, 22 bass, 61-11
3rd: Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., 19 bass, 60-10
4th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 20 bass, 60-7
5th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 21 bass, 54-7
6th: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 16 bass, 53-2
7th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 17 bass, 45-15
8th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 15 bass, 42-4
9th: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 15 bass, 41-13
10th: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., 15 bass, 41-2
11th: Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 16 bass, 39-6
12th: Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., 12 bass, 36-3
13th: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 13 bass, 36-3
14th: Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., 12 bass, 35-15
15th: Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 34-5
16th: John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., 11 bass, 31-15
17th: Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., 12 bass, 31-11
18th: Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., 11 bass, 30-13
19th: Matt Lee, Cullman, Ala., 10 bass, 25-13
20th: Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., nine bass, 24-13
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Gill also earned Tuesday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award after a 5-pound, 12-ounce smallmouth bit his jig in Period 2. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and another $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.
The 40 Anglers in Group A compete in their two-day Qualifying Round on Tuesday and Thursday – the 39 anglers in Group B on Wednesday and Friday. After each two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the anglers that finish first through 10th from both groups advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 20 anglers compete to finish in the top 10 to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. In the final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
Anglers will launch at 7:30 a.m. CT each day from Sunset Marina and Resort, located at 2040 Sunset Dock Road in Monroe. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the park, beginning at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard and event coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on the final four days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
On Saturday and Sunday, April 13-14, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to visit Sunset Marina and Resort for the MLF Watch Party and Kids Fishing Derby. Fans can watch the pros live on the MLFNOW! big screen, enjoy free food, enter to win hourly giveaways and cheer on their favorite pros. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel from Pure Fishing each day. Additional fishing gear will be provided onsite for the fishing derby or kids can bring their own. The final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration on Championship Sunday to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.
The PowerStop Brakes Stage Three at Dale Hollow Lake Presented by Mercury features the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, in which anglers catch as much weight as they can each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard. The tournament features anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 79 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2025 championship.
The 79 anglers taking on Dale Hollow this week aren’t just battling for a first-place trophy and $100,000 payday. Valuable points in the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year race are also up for grabs. The winner of the season-long competition will take home an additional $100,000 check.
Fishing Clash, an interactive 3D fishing simulation game that’s played by more than 80 million people worldwide, is the official AOY sponsor of the Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League. You can download Fishing Clash for free in the App Store and on Google Play or log on to www.fishingclash.game for more information.
Television coverage of the PowerStop Brakes Stage Three at Dale Hollow Lake Presented by Mercury Knockout Round will air as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 5 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering on Oct. 6. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Garmin, General Tire, Humminbird, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Rapala, StarBrite, Suzuki, Toyota and U.S. Air Force.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
See What’s Out ThereⓇ with Costa’s Lifestyle Collection
New additions to the popular Del Mar Collection, Keramas, Nusa & Ulu, are designed for days by the water, with colors and patterns that embody the spirit of the sea
JUPITER, FL. (April 9, 2024) – Costa Sunglasses, manufacturer of the first color-enhancing all-polarized glass lens, welcomes three new frames to its popular Del Mar Collection of lifestyle frames, inspired by life on the water and crafted for wanderlusting souls. Boasting bold and fashion-forward details , Keramas, Nusa and Ulu bring a new level of diversification to the Del Mar portofolio.
With colors, patterns, and textures inspired by the sea, these coastal classics were built with meticulous attention to detail. The temples of each frame feature custom corewire with a laser-etched wave pattern, sleek logo placement under resin, and premium 5-barrel hinges. Exclusively available in Costa’s 580 mineral glass, the lenses are inset within each Bio-Acetate frame. Whether spending the day on the beach or crossing the globe to your dream destination, these new expressive frames will both reflect and connect you to your surroundings.
“Our Del Mar Collection was introduced as a way to broaden our product offering to include more expressive and stylistic lifestyle frame options for those who love being on and around the water, but don’t necessarily need sunglasses for performance,” explains John Sanchez, VP of Global Product Strategy at Costa. “Our Del Mar frames make their way to the top of our best seller list year over year and have organically allowed us to reach a whole new audience. You’ll notice we’ve turned up the boldness a bit with these new styles, but I think that’s just what our ever-growing community wants to see.”
Named after the powerful Indonesian surf break, Keramas wears its boldness and distinctiveness on its sleeve. More masculine in design and featuring a sharp square lens shape with a light top-to-bottom taper and subtle key-hole bridge, this handmade frame is crafted for those who push a bold yet refined attitude.
Nusa is a testament to bold expressiveness and the ideal choice for those who appreciate standout eyewear. Drawing inspiration from the stunning waters of Indonesia, the elegant and feminine Nusa frame features an oversized soft-square lens shape with a gentle brow dip and subtle lens set back for unique stylistic expression.
Just like the surf break known to wow Bali visitors for generations, Ulu’s distinct craftsmanship is legendary. The unisex frame features a soft square lens shape, with a corewire temple sporting a laser-etched design pulled straight from the waves it was named after.
As with all Costa sunglasses, Keramas, Nusa, and Ulu feature Costa’s patented polarized, color-enhancing 580® lens technology to block glare, and boost color and contrast. The Del Mar Collection comes exclusively in Costa’s mineral glass lenses, providing scratch resistance and water repellency.
In addition, the lightweight and durable Bio-Acetate frame reduces the carbon footprint of each new pair by 54% when compared with industry standard acetate.This is just one example of Costa’s efforts to protect the watery world it calls home. To learn more about Costa’s ongoing commitment to conservation and sustainability, check out Costa's Sustainability Hub.
Keramas, Nusa and Ulu start at $242 and are currently available in a variety of lens and frame color options on Costa’s website or at local dealers around the world.
About Costa Sunglasses
More than 40 years ago, a group of anglers created Costa Sunglasses to stand up to the harsh light, unforgiving salt and rough conditions of a day at sea. The gear they made was up to the task, and it’s been on the water ever since. Today, Costa combines its superior 580® lens technology with unparalleled fit and durability to make the highest-quality sunglasses and prescription eyewear for adventures on the water. Committed to protecting the watery world it calls home, sustainability and conservation is woven throughout everything they do. From building products made of responsible materials, to Costa-owned initiatives like Kick Plastic® and #OneCoast, and its partnerships with 40+ mission-aligned conservation organizations, Costa inspires its community to help protect the earth’s resources and #SeeWhatsOutThere. Find out more on Costa’s website and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter at @CostaSunglasses.
School of the Osage Team Wins MLF Abu Garcia High School Fishing Presented by Tackle Warehouse Open on Table Rock Lake
BRANSON, Mo. (April 8, 2024) – The MLF High School Fishing team of Kolton Dauber of Osage Beach, Missouri, and Skyler Hutzler of Kaiser, Missouri, representing Osage Beach, Missouri’s School of the Osage, brought five bass to the scale Saturday weighing 20 pounds, 2 ounces to win the MLF Abu Garcia High School Fishing Presented by Tackle Warehouse Open at Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri.
A field of 50 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which was hosted by ExploreBranson.com. In MLF High School Fishing competition, the top 10 percent of teams competing advance to the High School Fishing National Championship.
The top five teams that advanced to the 2024 High School Fishing National Championship are:
1st: School of the Osage, Osage Beach, Mo. – Kolton Dauber and Skyler Hutzler, five bass, 20-2
2nd: Kick Back Bass Club, Johnson County, Kan. – Myles McDaniel and Will Shepherd, five bass, 17-1
3rd: Camdenton High School, Camdenton, Mo. – Corbin Bailey and Kaden Messina, five bass, 16-6
4th: Baldwin High School, Baldwin City, Kan. – Cayden Harmon and Cooper Shannon, five bass, 15-11
5th: Melissa High School, Melissa, Texas – Camden Sarrett and Andrew Waters, five bass, 15-5
Rounding out the top 10 teams were:
6th: Live Oak High School, Denham Springs, La. – Jaden Lawdermilt and Rowdie Thacker, five bass, 15-0
7th: Kaneland High School, Maple Park, Ill. – JD McBroom and Carter Pjesky, five bass, 13-13
8th: Salem Community High School, Salem, Ill. – Peyton Bumgardner and Colten Starnes, five bass, 12-2
9th: Circle High School, Towanda, Kan. – Brooks Clevenger and Hal Leep, five bass, 11-5
10th: Southwest Iowa Fishing Team, Grant Nore and Evan Powell, four bass, 10-15
Complete results from the event can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
MLF Abu Garcia High School Fishing presented by Tackle Warehouse tournaments are free, two-person (team) events for students in grades 7-12 and are open to any MLF and TBF Student Angler Federation-affiliated high school club. The top 10 percent of teams at each Open event, along with the TBF High School Fishing state championships, advance to the High School Fishing National Championship. Tournaments held on or before May 6, 2024, advance teams to the 2024 National Championship. Tournaments held after May 6, 2024, advance teams to the 2025 National Championship.
The 2024 Abu Garcia High School Fishing National Championship & World Finals events will take place June 19-22, at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina. The High School Fishing National Champions each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice and advance to the 2024 MLF Toyota Series Championship to compete as co-anglers.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Abu Garcia High School Fishing Presented by Tackle Warehouse include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular High School Fishing updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 13 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Georgia’s Murray Posts Fifth Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Lake Eufaula
Columbus, Georgia’s Cook Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
EUFAULA, Ala. (April 8, 2024) – Boater Jim Murray Jr. of Parrott, Georgia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 25 pounds, 12 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Eufaula. Hosted by the Eufaula-Barbour County Chamber of Commerce, the tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Bulldog Division. Murray earned $4,046 for his victory.
Murray describes himself as old school. And he’s been fishing tournaments on Eufaula long enough to have a pretty solid milk run of spots where he can get bit this time of year.
With all that knowledge at his disposal, Murray didn’t have to follow the trend of using live sonar technology to win. Instead, he power fished his way to victory with a homemade spinnerbait (it resembles a big gizzard shad), a Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer and a swimbait.
“I’m 49 years old,” Murray said. “I’ve been fishing for a long time. I still think in one-day derbies you can power fish to win. But I don’t know in a multiple-day derby if you can. It’s hard to beat that black box.”
According to Murray, about half the bass in Eufaula have already spawned. With the fish in transition, he targeted isolated pieces of cover and structure.
“Isolated is the main thing,” he said. “This time of year, I like to focus on clay because you have a shad spawn coming up. Or isolated stumps off a bar. Just something where one fish can set up for a day or two to decide whatever it’s going to do. I caught some fish off chunk rock out of 5, 6, 7 foot of water off the bank. I caught some off manmade brush. The biggest thing is having enough targets.”
After catching a limit of spotted bass early, Murray ran his milk run and landed about 15 keepers. He never really got a big kicker bite. But, with solid quality in his limit, Murray finished more than 5 1/2 pounds ahead of second place to sew up his fifth career BFL win dating back to 2002.
“It was a fun day of fishing,” Murray added. “You can’t beat that.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Jim Murray Jr., Parrott, Ga., five bass, 25-12, $4,046
2nd: Buddy Benson, Dahlonega, Ga., five bass, 21-2, $2,023
3rd: Todd Beaver, Richland, Ga., five bass, 20-6, $1,848 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th: John Lee, Cataula, Ga., five bass, 19-15, $944
5th: Sam Hanggi, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 18-15, $809
6th: Bobby D. Padgett, Lagrange, Ga., five bass, 18-14, $742
7th: Donald Griffith, Robertsdale, Ala., five bass, 18-3, $1,229
8th: Mason White, Moultrie, Ga., five bass, 18-2, $607
9th: Ashley Drake, Box Springs, Ga., five bass, 18-0, $539
10th: Rodger Beaver, Dawson, Ga., five bass, 17-15, $472
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Donald Griffith of Robertsdale, Alabama, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $555.
Jeff Cook of Columbus, Georgia, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,023 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 14 pounds, 13 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Jeff Cook, Columbus, Ga., five bass, 14-13, $2,023
2nd: Jeffrey Webb, Watkinsville, Ga., five bass, 14-3, $1,011
3rd: Josten Harvey, Fairburn, Ga., five bass, 13-0, $674
4th: Conery Williams, Macon, Ga., five bass, 12-12, $472
5th: Anthony Fattal, Warner Robins, Ga., five bass, 11-8, $405
6th: Isaiah Payne, Jasper, Ga., five bass, 11-2, $371
7th: Jaquas Dobbs, Conyers, Ga., five bass, 11-0, $337
8th: Chris Davies, Milner, Ga., three bass, 10-13, $303
9th: Bradley Hoff, Brooks, Ga., five bass, 10-10, $270
10th: Richard Causey, Perry, Ga., five bass, 10-3, $236
Brad Beard of Moreland, Georgia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $277, catching a bass that weighed in at 7 pounds, 2 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After three events, Brooks Anderson of Marietta, Georgia, leads the Fishing Clash Bulldog Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 708 points, while Jaquas Dobbs of Conyers, Georgia, leads the Fishing Clash Bulldog Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 723 points.
The next event for BFL Bulldog Division anglers will be held April 27, at Lake Sinclair in Milledgeville, Georgia. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional tournament on Santee Cooper Lakes in Clarendon County, South Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 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 Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Liberty’s Parrish Posts Second Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Sam Rayburn Reservoir
Jacksonville’s Beckham Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
BROOKELAND, Texas. (April 8, 2024) – Boater Jaden Parrish of Liberty, Texas, caught a five-bass limit weighing 27 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Sam Rayburn Reservoir . Hosted by the Jasper County Development District, the tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Cowboy Division. Parrish earned $11,052, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.
Anytime you catch 27 pounds of bass, you’ve had an incredible day. Interestingly, when reflecting on his win, Parrish felt like he left a little bit out there.
“I could’ve had more,” he said.
The biggest culprit was a fog delay that kept Parrish from fully capitalizing on the morning crankbait bite. Regardless, it was still an impressive outing.
Parrish began the day on a small secondary point; a transition area where fish were moving in and out of a spawning area. This was one of three areas he targeted with a deep-diving crankbait.
“I caught roughly 16 pounds on a 6th Sense (Crush) 300DD crankbait,” Parrish said. “And then after that I just rotated through like 50 brush piles and just got two big ones to bite throwing a 6th Sense Whale (swimbait).”
Those “big ones” were giants: a 7-12 and a 9-4 that won Berkley Big Bass for the day.
Parrish used Garmin LiveScope to check each brush pile before he made a cast. Those two big ones were the only good ones he spied – and the only bass he tried to catch off the brush.
It’s been an impressively successful spring for Parrish. In addition to this win, he finished in the top 13 at the Toledo Bend Toyota Series event, the January 6 BFL event on Sam Rayburn, the Tackle Warehouse Invitational on Rayburn and the Toyota Series event on Rayburn.
“It’s going pretty good right now,” said Parrish, who’s in third place in the Toyota Series Southwestern Division standings. “I need to keep it rolling.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Jaden Parrish, Liberty, Texas, five bass, 27-11, $11,052 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Bryan McDonough, Brookeland, Texas, five bass, 21-2, $1,796
3rd: Jerry Mason, Ragley, La., five bass, 19-12, $1,201
4th: Red Ballard, Sulphur, La., five bass, 19-11, $838
5th: Hayden Heck, Lufkin, Texas, five bass, 19-9, $718
6th: Neal Gilmore, Magnolia, Texas, five bass, 17-0, $659
7th: Dylan Sorrells, Dallas, Texas, five bass, 14-14, $599
8th: Maverick Winford, Humble, Texas, five bass, 13-7, $539
9th: Tiffany Hart, Marquez, Texas, five bass, 12-10, $479
10th: Jacob Keith, Jefferson, Texas, five bass, 12-3, $419
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Parrish caught a bass that weighed 9 pounds, 4 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $460.
Neill Beckham of Jacksonville, Texas, won the Strike King co-angler division and $1,796 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 12 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Neill Beckham, Jacksonville, Texas, five bass, 13-12, $1,796
2nd: Tony Irby, Baytown, Texas, five bass, 12-12, $898
3rd: Allen Musser, Ada, Okla., five bass, 12-1, $598
4th: Michael Glynn, Boerne, Texas, five bass, 11-10, $419
5th: Colton Hatzold, Montgomery, Texas, five bass, 11-9, $359
6th: Adrian Galvan, Deridder, La., five bass, 11-6, $329
7th: Zachary Hebert, Lake Charles, La., five bass, 11-0, $299
8th: Al Longoria, Pottsboro, Texas, five bass, 10-3, $254
8th: Tyrell Harmon, Manor, Texas, five bass, 10-3, $254
10th: Velin Sims, Spring, Texas, five bass, 9-12, $210
Jay Carranza of Houston, Texas, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $230, catching a bass that weighed in at 7 pounds, 14 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After four events, Tater Reynolds of Florien, Louisiana, leads the Fishing Clash Cowboy Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 984 points, while Allen Musser of Ada, Oklahoma, leads the Fishing Clash Cowboy Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 963 points.
The next event for BFL Cowboy Division anglers will be held Sept. 7-8, at Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Brookeland, Texas. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 17-19 BFL Regional tournament on Wright Patman Lake in Texarkana, Texas. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 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 Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Murray State’s Drew Morgan Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Kentucky-Barkley Lakes
Indiana’s Salzman Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (April 8, 2024) – Boater Drew Morgan of Noblesville, Indiana, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley . Hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau, the tournament was the second event of the season for the BFL LBL Division. Morgan earned $4,541 for his victory.
Morgan is a collegiate angler at Murray State University. On Friday, he competed in the Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI event at Table Rock Lake, then blitzed back home Friday night to get into the BFL event on Kentucky Lake the next morning.
The engineering major is also a local hammer around Kentucky Lake. Morgan won a major springtime tournament on the lake a week prior with 27 pounds and change.
While weights were a bit lower in the BFL, Morgan was able to lock up the win and move to fourth place in the LBL Division standings.
“I was catching them on swimbaits in 8 to 14 feet of water,” he said. “(I was) really just seeing them on (Garmin) LiveScope. I’d try to cover a lot of water because half of them wouldn’t eat.”
Morgan said he caught about 40 fish for the day, fishing areas from Paris, Tennessee, clear to Kentucky Dam. All five fish in his limit were smallmouth bass.
Though there was no real pattern to the specific areas he targeted, Morgan said most of the more productive spots were near areas where the fish will eventually spawn. His biggest key was just covering as much water as possible.
“A lot of fish I’d see roaming, but there’s a lot of bait in the lake, too,” he said. “I caught a couple fish around bait.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Drew Morgan, Noblesville, Ind., five bass, 22-9, $4,541
2nd: Levi Kohl, Edinburg, Ill., five bass, 22-8, $2,270
3rd: Jordan Hartman, Benton, Ky., five bass, 22-0, $1,514
4th: Clint Knight, Lewisburg, Ky., five bass, 21-13, $1,060
5th: Clayton Ellis, Saltillo, Miss., five bass, 21-2, $908
6th: Connor DeWeese, Evansville, Ind., five bass, 20-12, $833
7th: Matteo Turano, Puryear, Tenn., five bass, 19-9, $1,379
7th: BJ Fitzgerald, Whitesville, Ky., five bass, 19-9, $719
9th: Marty Sisk, Evansville, Ind., five bass, 19-8, $605
10th: Harbor Lovin, New Concord, Ky., five bass, 19-0, $530
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Matteo Turano of Puryear, Tennessee, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $660.
Douglas Salzman of Newburgh, Indiana, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,236 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 16 pounds, 7 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Douglas Salzman, Newburgh, Ind., five bass, 16-7, $2,236
2nd: Joshua Smith, Benton, Ky., five bass, 16-6, $1,118
3rd: Daniel Effinger, Springville, Tenn., five bass, 14-13, $745
4th: Patrick Thomas, Clarksville, Tenn., five bass, 14-7, $522
5th: John Lovin, Fayetteville, Ohio, five bass, 13-5, $447
6th: Dave Maxfield, Gilbertsville, Ky., five bass, 12-8, $410
7th: Chris Medlin, Dumas, Miss., five bass, 12-6, $373
8th: Dustin Miller, Sparland, Ill., five bass, 11-15, $335
9th: Barry Gunter, Trafalger, Ind., four bass, 11-9, $298
10th: Ed Daniell, West Frankfort, Ill., four bass, 11-5, $411
Mark Manley of Bowling Green, Kentucky, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $325, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 5 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After two events, Clint Knight of Lewisburg, Kentucky, leads the Fishing Clash LBL Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 490 points, while John Lovin of Fayetteville, Ohio, leads the Fishing Clash LBL Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 485 points.
The next event for BFL LBL Division anglers will be held May 4, at Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley in Gilbertsville, Kentucky. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-5 BFL Regional tournament on Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 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 Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Lynch Station’s Brummett Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Smith Mountain Lake
Grose, of Nettie, West Virginia, Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division
HUDDLESTON, Va. (April 8, 2024) – Boater Chris Brummett of Lynch Station, Virginia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 27 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Smith Mountain Lake. The tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Shenandoah Division. Brummett earned $7,701 for his victory.
After 12 top-10 finishes in BFL competition, Brummett finally earned his first win. And he did it in a very loud way. His impressive 27-pound, 9-ounce limit was nearly 6 pounds better than second place.
Not only that, but Brummett didn’t even need the whole day to get it done.
“I put all the rods up at 1:30, and I took my co-angler for a ‘guide trip,’” he joked.
Before the tournament, a wave of bass had moved up to spawn, but then a cold front swept through and pushed most of those fish off the beds.
“There were so many empty beds during practice,” Brummett said. “It pushed them off to isolated cover – anything rock-related.”
Luckily for Brummett, not every bass abandoned the bed. At the very end of his practice, he found a little bit of Smith Mountain gold – a 4 1/2-pounder on a bed, with another fish swimming nearby that he figured was about 7 pounds.
“I was boat 183, and I figured there was no way I would get to that fish first,” he said. “And I rolled up there and my very first cast with the jig was an 8-pounder. My second cast was with a drop-shot, and the 4 1/2-pounder ate the drop-shot. I set the hook but the fish came off. So, I put another worm on and threw it over and he ate it again and came in the boat.”
The 8-pounder was the Berkley Big Bass for the day.
Brummett spent the rest of the day hitting isolated targets. It was mostly rock under and around boat docks.
“It’s not very big stuff, so not everybody knows where it is,” he said.
Brummett also hit a couple rare isolated patches of hydrilla. It’s all stuff he’s found while fishing the lake over the years.
“I probably fished 25 of those types of spots today for 6 bites,” Brummett added.
To catch his final bass, Brummett pitched a jig up under a dock to a rock vein.
“I actually cast under that dock six times and finally that fish bit,” he said. “But when that fish bit, I put that one in the boat, and it was a 6-pounder. I traded a 6 for a 2.75, and that upgraded me to 27 and change. That’s when I put my rods up.”
The top 11 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Chris Brummett, Lynch Station, Va., five bass, 27-9, $7,701
2nd: Zach Peaslee, Draper, Va., five bass, 21-12, $2,960
3rd: Wyatt Kelley, Altavista, Va., five bass, 20-6, $1,974
4th: Brandon Pritchett, Goode, Va., five bass, 20-0, $1,382
5th: Chris Daves, Spring Grove, Va., five bass, 19-12, $1,184
6th: Todd Langford, Great Falls, Va., five bass, 18-11, $1,585 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
7th: Bryan Elrod, Mechanicsville, Va., five bass, 18-1, $987
8th: Michael Taylor, Sandston, Va., five bass, 17-5, $888
9th: Stefan Ward, Wirtz, Va., five bass, 17-4, $789
10th: Robert Lee, Covington, Va., five bass, 16-15, $656
10th: Brandon Gray, Bullock, N.C., five bass, 16-15, $656
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Brummett caught a bass that weighed 8 pounds even and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $980.
Mason Grose of Nettie, West Virginia, won the Strike King co-angler division and $3,437 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 18 pounds, 4 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Mason Grose, Nettie, W.Va., five bass, 18-4, $3,437
2nd: James (Boo) Burtner, Penn Laird, Va., five bass, 15-13, $1,476
3rd: Ben Dacey, Powhatan, Va., five bass, 15-4, $1,134
4th: Cody Howard, Snow Hill, N.C., five bass, 13-8, $689
5th: Konnor Sweet, Abingdon, Va., five bass, 13-3, $590
6th: Richard Williams, Sutherland, Va., five bass, 12-12, $541
7th: Dan Garner, Littleton, N.C., four bass, 12-4, $492
8th: Ryan Lemmon, Mount Pleasant, Pa., four bass, 11-10, $443
9th: Jonathan Ceaser, Maidens, Va., three bass, 11-2, $369
9th: William Lisenby, Centreville, Va., five bass, 11-2, $369
Mason Grose of Nettie, West Virginia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $485, catching a bass that weighed in at 8 pounds, 11 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
The next event for BFL Shenandoah Division anglers will be held May 11, at the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-5 BFL Regional tournament on Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 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 Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Ridgeville’s Austin Posts Second Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Santee Cooper Lakes
Inman’s Huntley Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
SUMMERTON, S.C. (April 8, 2024) – Boater Kyle Austin of Ridgeville, South Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 14 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Santee Cooper Lakes . Hosted Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce, the tournament was the second event of the season for the BFL South Carolina Division. Austin earned $3,632 for his victory.
You could say it was just another day at the lake for Austin, and as ordinary as that may sound, he’s no ordinary angler. A local bass and catfish guide, Austin spent the week putting his clients on some big cats before jumping in the tournament “kind of for fun.” It turned out to be another fantastic weekend for Austin, as he earned his second big win at Santee Cooper this year – the other being the Bassmaster Open that Austin won in mid-March.
“That was probably the first wave of spawners that came to the bank was during that event,” he said of the Open. “The weather was perfect, so we had a big wave of fish pull up three weeks ago. Ever since then, it’s just been an up-and-down roller coaster.”
Changing weather, cold fronts, fluctuating water levels; all the usual springtime changes have challenged local anglers. Those challenges continued in the tournament thanks to strong winds.
Austin started his morning on an area with some cypress trees where he’d been seeing birds working all week. It was loaded with shad, and he thought there might be an early shad spawn happening. He just couldn’t tell for sure because of the wind crashing into the spot. In fact, the wind was so strong he had to shift how he fished the trees.
“I went around the backside of the trees. It was like a little island,” he said. “I caught them pretty much every other cast for 10 to 15 minutes early this (Saturday) morning. That was kind of the key to start.”
The spot was adjacent to a backwater area. Austin described it as a “highway” where bass pass by on their way into the backwater to spawn.
“I caught them all on a spinnerbait and a bladed jig, and we got right in a hurry,” he added.
He spent the rest of the day running isolated cypress trees that were in relatively deeper water – about 3 to 4 feet. Though he never got a real big bite, Austin was able to cull up twice to get from 21 pounds to his final weight of 22-14. It turned out, he needed every bit of those final two fish. Austin finished just 1 ounce ahead of runner-up Conrad Manuel.
Austin said his go-to lures were a Strike King Thunder Cricket vibrating jig with a Strike King ElazTech Z Too trailer and a Treeshaker Tackle Company spinnerbait.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Kyle Austin, Ridgeville, S.C., five bass, 22-14, $3,632
2nd: Conrad Manuel, Pilot Mountain, N.C., five bass, 22-13, $1,816
3rd: Freddie Gamble Jr., Manning, S.C., five bass, 22-9, $1,675
4th: Wade Grooms, Bonneau, S.C., five bass, 19-13, $847
5th: Ronnie McCoy, Lamar, S.C., five bass, 18-15, $726
6th: Derek Schlotterback, Simpsonville, S.C., five bass, 16-13, $666
7th: Scott Browning, Franklin, N.C., five bass, 16-7, $605
8th: Jeff Coble, Manson, N.C., five bass, 16-0, $514
8th: Oakley Connor, Travelers Rest, S.C., five bass, 16-0, $514
10th: Justin Cromer, Sumter, S.C., five bass, 15-5, $424
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Freddie Gamble Jr. of Manning, South Carolina, caught a bass that weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $465.
Todd Huntley of Inman, South Carolina, won the Strike King co-angler division and $1,816 Saturday, after bringing four bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Todd Huntley, Inman, S.C., four bass, 11-10, $1,816
2nd: Andrew Pitman, Clover, S.C., two bass, 11-9, $908
3rd: Brian Tucci, Myrtle Beach, S.C., four bass, 10-9, $606
4th: Kyle Nash, Chapin, S.C., four bass, 9-9, $424
5th: Brandon Driggers, Timmonsville, S.C., three bass, 9-7, $363
6th: Bobby Henderson, Charlotte, N.C., three bass, 9-2, $433
7th: Marvin Godard, Charlotte, N.C., three bass, 8-7, $303
8th: Brennan Gunther, Johns Island, S.C., one bass, 7-9, $504
9th: Colby Cotterill, Alpharetta, Ga., one bass, 5-10, $242
10th: Austin Stamey, Inman, S.C., two bass, 5-9, $212
Brennan Gunther of Johns Island, South Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $232, catching a bass that weighed in at 7 pounds, 9 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After two events, Kevin Chandler of New London, North Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash South Carolina Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 480 points, while Todd Huntley of Inman, South Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash South Carolina Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 494 points.
The next event for BFL South Carolina Division anglers will be held April 27, at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-5 BFL Regional tournament on Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 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 Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Turbo CrawZ™ Tricks SoCal Lake Record Largemouth
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vexus® Boats Launches Tackle Warehouse Bonus Program for High School and College Anglers
Flippin, Arkansas-based Vexus® Boats, recently announced a first-of-its-kind bonus program for high school and college anglers that rewards young anglers up to $1,000 in free merchandise from premium online retailer Tackle Warehouse, along with commemorative banners to hang in their boat garage, bedroom, or dorm room.
The new Vexus Varsity™ program rewards qualifying high school teams who win a sanctioned tournament while competing in a Vexus boat with a Tackle Warehouse gift card for $500, while a qualifying college team who wins a sanctioned tournament in a Vexus boat will win a $1,000 Tackle Warehouse gift card through the new Vexus University™ program.
Vexus Executive Keith Daffron stated, “We’re extremely excited to expand on our current REV Rewards™ contingency program by including and supporting young anglers as they begin their careers. High school and collegiate tournaments have grown exponentially over the past decade, and we feel it is important to recognize and celebrate these anglers’ success through our new Vexus Varsity™ and Vexus University™ programs.”
This news is just a portion of the excitement that comes with Tackle Warehouse now being the Official Tackle Retailer of Vexus Boats. Not only will high school and college anglers benefit from the unique partnership, but purchasers of new Vexus boats will also receive Tackle Warehouse discount codes to use as they rig up their boats.
Laindree Richardson, who owns a Vexus 1980 and fishes for Drury University, was the first collegiate angler to sign up for this exciting new program, and other young anglers who wish to join her are encouraged to register on the “Info” page at vexusboats.com.
Alabama Angler Rusty Cooper Wins MLF Toyota Series at Smith Lake
CULLMAN, Ala. (April 6, 2024) – A 20-plus-pound limit at Smith Lake isn’t unheard of, but it sure isn’t expected. And of all people, Rusty Cooper of Gurley, Alabama, was the last to expect it to happen after only bringing in four bass on Day 2 of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at Smith Lake event.
Cooper, though, had the kind of Championship Saturday all bass anglers dream about, and it culminated in a $95,500 payday (including Phoenix and Berkley Big Bass bonuses) and his first MLF trophy – on his first time fishing Smith Lake, against a field of 241 other anglers.
Over the three days of competition Cooper weighed in 14 bass totaling 50-10 to earn the win by a 6-pound, 4-ounce margin over Addison, Alabama pro Jesse Wiggins, who finished second with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 44-6, good for $25,000.
“Man, everything went perfect today,” Cooper said. “I couldn’t ask for a better day. I had lots of stuff happen that will probably never go right again. I had fish that were tangled up in stuff and they stayed on until I got to them and could get them out. Everything just went right.”
That may be the understatement of the entire season. Outside of Cooper’s 20-pound, 14-ounce limit on Day 3, the largest bag caught at Smith in the tournament was Wiggins’ 17-5 that he caught Saturday – the only bag that eclipsed the 17-pound mark.
As good as Smith Lake is fishing, finding a bag that averages more than 4 pounds per fish is not ordinary. Throughout the week, the field leaned on spotted bass and some largemouth, but no one worked on either species as well as Cooper did on his largemouth on Saturday. He didn’t even catch a single spotted bass in practice or during the event proper.
A big part of Cooper’s success came down to what he considered a terrible two days of practice. Not finding much outside of a couple good bites in a creek pocket, Cooper went to that pocket on Day 1 with the intention of staying there as long as he could. That proved to be the right call.
“Day 1 I was pretty blessed,” he said. “I kind of laid off it because I knew I had that area for three days and knew I was going to stay there and grind. The second day I only had four fish. My co-angler had a 6-pounder. The fish were still there. I just couldn’t catch them for whatever reason, but I knew they were still coming, and I knew I had to stay in there and grind it out.”
Cooper’s largemouth were moving in and out of his area in waves, and while they were undoubtedly using that pocket to spawn, he said he never visibly saw any of the fish he was catching on beds. Almost all of them came on a combination of moving baits that included a Scottsboro swim jig with a Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper trailer, a 4- or 6-inch Scottsboro swimbait or a Scottsboro glide bait. Only a couple of the keepers he weighed in were caught on a finesse presentation – a wacky-rigged Xcite Baits stickbait.
The large baits approach, at least on Day 3, was by design. Having weighed in just four keepers for 13-5 on Day 2, Cooper knew he’d have to swing for the fences to have a shot at the win, which he never really expected to come to fruition in the first place.
“I thought there was no way,” he admitted. “I though the second day was going to cost me. Not having that other keeper, that was at least 2 pounds I was behind. I thought there was no way I could pull it off with four fish on Day 2.
“I just put the big baits in my hand today and said I’m going to go for it. I need a big bag. I’m either going to catch them or I’m not.”
And catch them he did. The Huntsville firefighter, who couldn’t commit to a full season of Toyota Series events last year but who finished 79th at Guntersville to start the Central Division season in February this year, now has his ticket punched to the Toyota Series Championship on Wheeler Lake in early November.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” he said. “I’m just on cloud nine right now. The Lord truly blessed me all week.”
The top 10 pros on Smith Lake finished:
1st: Rusty Cooper, Gurley, Ala., 14 bass, 50-10, $95,500 (includes $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus)
2nd: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 15 bass, 44-6, $25,000
3rd: Austin Swindle, Parrish, Ala., 15 bass, 44-4, $17,000
4th: Jeremy Gordon, Rutledge, Tenn., 15 bass, 42-15, $15,000
5th: Flint Davis, Leesburg, Ga., 15 bass, 42-10, $14,000
6th: Isaac Peavyhouse, Jamestown, Tenn., 15 bass, 42-4, $10,500
7th: Laker Howell, Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 41-12, $9,000
8th: Blake Knies, Jasper, Ind., 15 bass, 41-4, $8,000
9th: Tristan McCormick, Burns, Tenn., 15 bass, 40-15, $7,000
10th: Wesley Sams, Vinemont, Ala., 15 bass, 40-11, $5,000
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Pro Chandler Brewer of Meridanville, Alabama, won the $500 Day 1 Berkley Big Bass award in the pro division Thursday with a bass weighing 4 pounds, 12 ounces. On Friday, Cooper earned the $500 Berkley Big Bass prize after bringing a 4-pound, 10-ounce bass to the scale.
Cooper took home an extra $35,000 as the highest finishing Phoenix MLF Bonus member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $35,000 per event in each Toyota Series tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the Phoenix MLF Bonus contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.
Justin Stephenson of Jasper, Alabama, won the Strike King Co-angler Division Saturday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 34 pounds, 2 ounces. Stephenson took home the top prize package worth $36,000, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard motor.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers on Smith Lake finished:
1st: Justin Stephenson, Jasper, Ala., 15 bass, 34-2, Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp Mercury outboard + $2,500
2nd: Pop Catalin, Cookeville, Tenn., 15 bass, 34-0, $7,500
3rd: Jeff Thompson, McFarland, Wis., 15 bass, 33-5, $6,000
4th: Cody Abbott, Woodruff, S.C., 15 bass, 32-7, $4,500
5th: James Steve Burgess, Killen, Ala., 13 bass, 32-5, $4,150
6th: Larry Franks Jr., Wilsonville, Ala., 14 bass, 31-12, $3,500
7th: Chris Bensel, Abbeville, S.C., 15 bass, 31-1, $3,000
8th: Cooper Jett, Norton Shores, Mich., 14 bass, 30-6, $2,250
9th: Johnny Suratt, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., 15 bass, 29-9, $1,700
10th: Oliver Siebert, Fenton, Mo., 15 bass, 29-8, $1,500
Jonathan Majors of Chelsea, Alabama, was the Berkley Big Bass $150 award winner in the Strike King co-angler division, Thursday, with a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass, while the Day 2 $150 award went to Eddie Barton of Smiths Grove, Kentucky, with a bass weighing 6 pounds even.
With two of the three regular-season events in the Toyota Series Central Division now complete, pro Austin Swindle of Parrish, Alabama, leads the Central Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 513 points, while Chris Bensel of Abbeville, South Carolina, leads the Strike King Co-angler Division AOY race with 492 points.
The Toyota Series at Smith Lake, hosted by Visit Cullman, was the second of three regular-season events for the Toyota Series Central Division. The next event for Toyota Series anglers will be the Toyota Series at Grand Lake, April 11-13, in Grove, Oklahoma. For a complete schedule of events, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The 2024 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consists of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern, Southwestern and the Western Division Presented by Tackle Warehouse – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International and Wild Card divisions. Anglers who fish in any of the six divisions or the Wild Card division and finish in the top 25 will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning up to $235,000 and a qualification to REDCREST 2025. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard. The 2024 Toyota Series Championship will be held Nov. 7-9 on Wheeler Lake in Huntsville, Alabama, and is hosted by the Huntsville Sports Commission.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Toyota Series include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, FX Custom Rods, General Tire, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak Fishing, Onyx, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota and YETI.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Toyota Series, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Tackle Warehouse Invitational updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTub
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Johnson scores wire-to-wire win at B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at Arkansas River
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — Enduring a painfully slow day that starkly contrasted the previous activity levels, Chris Johnson’s steadfast belief in his area allowed him to tally a three-day total of 51 pounds, 3 ounces and claim the wire-to-wire win at the Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at the Arkansas River presented by Lowrance.
“Holy cow, this whole week has been unbelievable,” said the Farmington, Ark., angler. “I’ve been at this tournament thing since I was 11 and this is my first major win. I’ve been really close a lot of times.
“I’ve wanted to be here my whole life. You imagine standing here and what you might say, but it just escapes you.”
After taking the early lead with a Day 1 limit of 19-6, Johnson added 17-15 and held on to the top spot. On Championship Friday, he squeaked out a final-round limit of 13-14, edged Blake Capps of Muskogee, Ark., by 1-9, and took home the top prize of $12,065.
The Top 20 anglers qualified for the 2024 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship presented by Lowrance, scheduled for Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees in Grove, Okla., Nov. 6-8.
Staying true to the game plan that put him in position to win, Johnson returned to the same backwater ponds he fished the first two days. Running a few miles upriver from takeoff, he snuck through breaks in the rock levees to access the protected waters where he targeted prespawn fish.
As Johnson noted, the fish were positioned about the same as the first two days, but the pacing of his five bites stoked his stress level.
“Today was an absolutely nerve-racking day,” he said. “Fishing had been tough and I knew I was fishing for five to six bites a day.
“I got to my area and had the spot all to myself. I fished 1 1/2 hours with no bites. I finally got a bite and it was my biggest fish — a 4-pounder — about 9:30, but then it was back to the grind.”
With no competition, Johnson thought he should have been catching fish more frequently, but he knew the bites would eventually happen, so he kept on track.
He added his second fish around 10, then another at 11. His fourth keeper came at 1 o’clock and his limit-filler bit at 2:30.
“It played out just like it should,” Johnson said. “The first two fish were deeper, but later in the day, the fish moved shallow. I attribute that to a colder morning that slowed down the bite and then, as the day got warmer, the fish moved up closer to the bank.”
Johnson caught all of his fish on a 3/8-ounce tandem Colorado/willow-leaf spinnerbait with a Zoom Split Tail trailer. A chartreuse/white skirt produced earlier in the day, with a shad pattern getting the afternoon work.
“The main thing all week was keeping that retrieve slow,” Johnson said. “I’d cast close to the bank and keep that bait on a slow, steady reel.”
While the pressure of having many friends and family members on site for this event occasionally whispered in his ear, Johnson said his commitment to a game plan ultimately carried him to victory.
“Mainly, it was just being able to settle in one area and keep grinding because I knew there were good fish in there,” he said. “I just kept making passes over good water and I wasn’t preoccupied with other areas.
“When your mind starts wandering, you have to tell yourself to stay there and stay after it.”
Statistically, the most consistent angler in the final field, Capps placed sixth on Day 1 with 16-1 and improved to second with a Day 2 limit of 16-12. Adding a third-round limit of 16-13, he settled in second place with 49-10.
Each day, Capps locked down to the Kerr Pool, where he fished spawning bays with a mix of coontail and reeds. He caught his fish by throwing a Booyah Pad Crasher frog and flipping a YUM Baby Christie Critter.
“I was fishing that frog really fast,” Capps said. “A lot of those fish were bedding and you could get a reaction bite. If they missed, I’d flip in there and a lot of times, I’d catch that fish.”
Capps ended each day by saving about an hour of fishing time for when he locked back up to the Muskogee Pool. There, he’d flip bigger rocks with the Baby Christie Critter, but his biggest fish on Day 2 — a 4-pounder — bit a wacky-rigged YUM Dinger.
Jeremy Norris of Ama, La., placed third with 46-15. His daily weights were 14-5, 18-6 and 14-4.
Spending most of his time in Kerr, Norris focused on the same 200-yard drain all three days. In depths of 2 to 4 feet, he flipped lighter vegetation with a Jaboom Bait Co. Boom Bug.
In thicker mats, he channeled his Louisiana roots and punched a Jaboom Bait Co. Beaver Ball with a 1/2- and 3/4-ounce weight. He used the Cali 420 color in clear areas and black/blue in stained water.
“I knew that with the clear skies and high pressure, they’d be under those mats,” Norris said. “It felt right in my wheelhouse.”
Jeff Clark of Van Buren, Ark., topped the Big Bass standings with his 6-9.
Charlie Miglicco of Cypress, Texas, won the nonboater division with a three-day total of 24-1. Turning in daily three-bass limits of 4-15, 9-9 and 9-9, Miglicco won $4,911.
Shayne Dupree of Haslet, Texas, topped the Big Bass standings in the nonboater division with his 5-8.
This event was hosted by Visit Muskogee.
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Title Sponsor: Mercury
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Presenting Sponsor: Lowrance
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Youth Sponsors: Seaguar, Shimano
About B.A.S.S.B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
-30-
Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitte
Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 865-201-6458, cgay@bassmaster.
2024 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at Arkansas River presented by Lowrance 4/3-4/5 Arkansas River, Muskogee OK. (BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Chris Johnson Farmington, AR 15 51-03 0 $12,065.00 Day 1: 5 19-06 Day 2: 5 17-15 Day 3: 5 13-14 2. Blake Capps Muskogee, OK 15 49-10 0 $5,860.00 Day 1: 5 16-01 Day 2: 5 16-12 Day 3: 5 16-13 3. Jeremy Norris Ama, LA 15 46-15 0 $4,136.00 Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 5 18-06 Day 3: 5 14-04 4. Jesse Parks Goodyear, AZ 15 45-01 0 $3,300.00 Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 5 16-07 Day 3: 5 14-05 5. Chris Jones Bokoshe, OK 15 44-14 0 $2,980.00 Day 1: 5 13-11 Day 2: 5 15-04 Day 3: 5 15-15 6. Jesse Jordan Stilwel, KS 15 44-02 0 $2,758.00 Day 1: 5 12-12 Day 2: 5 11-15 Day 3: 5 19-07 7. Scott Dooley Ashland, MO 15 42-01 0 $2,585.00 Day 1: 5 11-13 Day 2: 5 12-07 Day 3: 5 17-13 8. Kazuki Kitajima Corinth, TX 15 40-11 0 $2,413.00 Day 1: 5 12-02 Day 2: 5 16-12 Day 3: 5 11-13 9. Alex Torkleson Coweta, OK 15 39-07 0 $1,551.00 Day 1: 5 11-06 Day 2: 5 10-12 Day 3: 5 17-05 10. Brett King Kinta, OK 13 38-14 0 $1,530.00 Day 1: 5 16-10 Day 2: 5 16-01 Day 3: 3 06-03 11. Brandon Morton San Tan Valley, AZ 12 36-06 0 $1,379.00 Day 1: 5 16-00 Day 2: 2 07-02 Day 3: 5 13-04 12. Greg Vance Delhi, IA 15 36-04 0 $975.00 Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 5 12-04 Day 3: 5 10-09 13. Hunter Litchfield Macomb, IL 11 32-05 0 $948.00 Day 1: 5 17-11 Day 2: 2 05-01 Day 3: 4 09-09 14. Hunter King North Platte, NE 13 32-01 0 $948.00 Day 1: 5 10-01 Day 2: 4 11-07 Day 3: 4 10-09 15. Jeff Clark Van Buren, AR 9 30-10 0 $948.00 Day 1: 5 18-01 Day 2: 3 10-07 Day 3: 1 02-02 16. Sam Mitchell Kiowa, OK 9 29-15 0 $948.00 Day 1: 2 07-10 Day 2: 5 18-00 Day 3: 2 04-05 17. Lane Kindle Stilwell, OK 11 29-08 0 $948.00 Day 1: 5 13-11 Day 2: 5 14-05 Day 3: 1 01-08 18. Trevor Rogge Canyon Lake, TX 10 28-02 0 $948.00 Day 1: 2 05-12 Day 2: 5 15-12 Day 3: 3 06-10 19. Tony Baldridge Oklahoma City, OK 11 27-11 0 $948.00 Day 1: 5 11-10 Day 2: 5 13-12 Day 3: 1 02-05 20. Randy Campbell Tijeras, NM 11 26-13 0 $948.00 Day 1: 4 10-15 Day 2: 5 10-14 Day 3: 2 05-00 ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 33 433 1112-01 2 31 359 940-08 3 11 76 213-09 ------------------------------ ---- 75 868 2266-02
2024 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at Arkansas River presented by Lowrance 4/3-4/5
Arkansas River, Muskogee OK.
(NON_BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Charlie Miglicco Cypress, TX 9 24-01 0 $4,911.00
Day 1: 3 04-15 Day 2: 3 09-09 Day 3: 3 09-09
2. Wade Roberts Lake Charles, LA 7 23-00 0 $2,806.00
Day 1: 1 02-05 Day 2: 3 10-07 Day 3: 3 10-04
3. Matt Jurcin Pueblo, CO 7 22-08 0 $1,403.00
Day 1: 3 11-07 Day 2: 1 02-05 Day 3: 3 08-12
4. Ken Mcdonald Crossett, AR 7 20-08 0 $1,299.00
Day 1: 3 08-06 Day 2: 1 01-15 Day 3: 3 10-03
5. James Halford Pryor, OK 6 18-05 0 $961.00
Day 1: 1 02-11 Day 2: 2 07-13 Day 3: 3 07-13
6. Chad Nolan Muldrow, OK 6 17-12 0 $807.00
Day 1: 3 08-04 Day 2: 2 07-12 Day 3: 1 01-12
7. Shea Breznik Kansas City, MO 6 17-09 0 $721.00
Day 1: 2 06-11 Day 2: 2 06-05 Day 3: 2 04-09
8. Mark Cowart Kearney, MO 7 16-12 0 $673.00
Day 1: 1 02-11 Day 2: 3 08-00 Day 3: 3 06-01
9. Colten Hutson Edmond, OK 6 16-06 0 $631.00
Day 1: 1 02-11 Day 2: 3 07-12 Day 3: 2 05-15
10. Thomas Edwards Gilbert, AZ 7 16-03 0 $561.00
Day 1: 3 05-08 Day 2: 3 08-10 Day 3: 1 02-01
11. Matt Gnoth Sharon, KS 5 15-10 0 $561.00
Day 1: 3 08-06 Day 2: 1 02-13 Day 3: 1 04-07
12. Elliott Thorn Tahlequah, OK 6 15-02 0 $491.00
Day 1: 2 03-11 Day 2: 3 08-05 Day 3: 1 03-02
13. Russ Seaman Norfolk, NE 7 14-14 0 $421.00
Day 1: 3 06-12 Day 2: 2 03-10 Day 3: 2 04-08
14. Jeremiah Proulx Cherokee Village, AR 6 14-10 0 $351.00
Day 1: 2 03-06 Day 2: 3 08-13 Day 3: 1 02-07
15. Kevin Turner Sand Springs, OK 4 14-07 0 $351.00
Day 1: 3 11-12 Day 2: 0 00-00 Day 3: 1 02-11
16. Kenny Keovilayphone Taylorsville, UT 6 13-10 0 $351.00
Day 1: 3 07-15 Day 2: 2 04-00 Day 3: 1 01-11
17. Sky Wooten Farmington, NM 5 12-11 0 $351.00
Day 1: 3 09-04 Day 2: 2 03-07 Day 3: 0 00-00
18. Mark Sloan Harrison, AR 4 12-06 0 $351.00
Day 1: 3 10-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Day 3: 1 02-06
19. Zac Ortiz Kaysville, UT 5 12-05 0 $351.00
Day 1: 2 04-09 Day 2: 2 05-06 Day 3: 1 02-06
20. Mike Turner Berryton, KS 3 09-08 0 $351.00
Day 1: 3 09-08 Day 2: 0 00-00 Day 3: 0 00-00
------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 17 128 312-13
2 15 117 293-08
3 6 33 90-09
------------------------------
38 278 696-14
Sunline Continues Partnership with ACA to Sponsor 2024 Collegiate Bass Fishing Series
San Antonio, TX (April 4, 2024) -The Association of Collegiate Anglers announces a continued partnership with Sunline to sponsor and support the 2024 Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, and collegiate anglers nationwide. In addition to extensive promotion of the complete lineup of Sunline products, the 2024 sponsorship includes special discounted Sunline pricing offered solely to anglers competing in any of the Collegiate Bass Fishing Series events during 2024, to include the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops on Pickwick Lake in May.
“Collegiate anglers are learning on and off the water as new fishing techniques and technology are leading the US market. Collegiate anglers are leading the charge with these new techniques and strategies. Sunline takes the same approach with fishing line to continuously develop new and better lines to help anglers catch more and larger fish,” Nobuyuki Kajio, President-Sunline America.
“The ACA is excited to announce this continued partnership with Sunline,” noted Wade Middleton, Director of the ACA and President of CarecoTV. “Sunline has long been a supporter of collegiate anglers, providing a one-of-a kind discount program. The top-level discount program offered to college anglers provides them a chance to gear up with the same high-quality products that top touring pros rely on.”
Sunline has an extensive lineup of fishing lines and line storage solutions for anglers of all skill levels. From monofilament to fluorocarbon, and braided line…there is a Sunline fishing line designed for any technique you might throw. When it comes to storing that fishing line, Sunline also has many different line storage solutions that help to keep you organized and protect your line to preserve its strength.
Active college anglers fishing ACA events may take advantage of special collegiate pricing, courtesy of Sunline and the Association of Collegiate Anglers. Visit the Discounts and Incentives page on the Collegiate Bass Fishing Series website for more details.
Sunline will again be present during the Angler & Sponsor Banquet at the 2024 Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops. Each year, anglers look forward to the opportunity to stop by the Sunline booth to spool one reel with free fishing line. At Pickwick Lake in May, anglers will again be able to bring a reel and spool up with free Sunline.
Sunline America is the US subsidiary of Sunline Japan, the largest stand-alone line factory in the World. Sunline America offers exclusive products developed for the US market for anglers of all skill level. Sunline America offers a complete range of nylon, fluorocarbon and braided lines. You can find them on Facebook or Instagram.
About the Association of Collegiate Anglers
The Association of Collegiate Anglers (ACA) is a division of CarecoTV that was created to facilitate growth, development, and structure within competitive collegiate bass fishing, with emphasis on competitive fishing events nationwide. The ACA created the original BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Series 19 seasons ago. That single event has evolved into the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, which is now recognized as the longest-running consecutive collegiate bass fishing series in existence.
The ACA lineup of major college fishing events includes a variety of tournaments nationwide that are multi-day tournaments, all of which are televised on several networks, as well as streamed on a variety of connected platforms. The ACA also provides support to numerous schools operating regional events nationwide which is an effort to provide more opportunities to grow the exposure and awareness of college fishing.
The ACA owns the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, Bass Pro Shops School of Year presented by Abu Garcia program, and associated assets which is widely regarded as the most comprehensive and prestigious collegiate bass fishing title today.
Thanks in part to the large diversity of media exposure the ACA provides, the series boasts the largest amount of televised and streaming coverage of any collegiate fishing series. This includes a dedicated television series on numerous television networks and streaming platforms, as well as additional coverage of select events inside other programs.
This combination includes coverage from Discovery Channel, CBS Sports, Bally Sports, Pursuit Channel, as well as other regional and national networks. You can also find coverage online at any time of past events thanks to coverage on OutdoorActionTV.com and PursuitUp.com
For more information on the ACA or the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, visit www.CollegiateBassChampionship.com.
For more information on CarecoTV, visit www.CarecoTV.com
Stay Up To Date and Follow Us — Click Links Below!
Watch College Fishing Anytime!
Watch Now On Outdoor Action TV & YouTube
Listen to our #WeAreCollegiateBass Podcast!
Best Bait Container You’ll Ever Own
|
EGO’s Soft Sided Bait Cooler is a life saver for bait and insurance policy for your investment. |
|
Caldwell, ID (April 5, 2024) – Saltwater or freshwater, live bait is sometimes the only path to fishing success – hard stop. As much as we like throwing the latest and greatest soft plastics and hardbaits, there are instances when live bait will outproduce 10 to 1. To that, EGO Fishing puts their pledge to protect your capital live bait expenditure with the exceptional and tactical Soft Sided Bait Cooler. (Available in Kryptek TYPHON and POTUS.) |
|
|
Heat kills. Take a finger temperature test of a bucket of dead minnows against the surrounding water temperature. Pretty certain the upside-down floaters are in warmer water, which means there’s oxygen deprivation. EGO’s smart Soft Sided Bait Cooler is founded on the principle of maintaining water temperature, which subsequently cuts down on oxygen loss. Internally, the cylindrical wall of the Soft Side Bait Cooler offers generous insulation covered by a soft but durable TPU fabric. The bilayer membrane is waterproof and has a high tear strength as well. |
|
|
The cylindrical design isn’t by accident, either. Bait stays more active and damage-free when it’s not banging off four walls or crammed in a corner. This also makes bait easier to retrieve, as they evenly disperse throughout the container. But, quite frankly, accessing bait is made even easier because of the Soft Sided Bait Cooler’s shaped mesh bag that slides in and out of the container. Pull it out and the water drains through the coated mesh to expose pure bait. No more chasing minnows and shrimp around in a traditional bait box. And there’s no need for the forever-missing dipnet, either. Bait needs oxygenation, too, despite the design awesomeness. So, EGO welded in the perfect external pouch to secure a portable aerator. Fits about every brand and model, from your power sucking double D’s to more contemporary lithium styles. And located just above the pouch you’ll appreciate the versatile cutout for inserting various diameter hoses. Just run the hose through, attach the air stone, and slide the bag back in. You’re up and bubbling. |
|
|
|
The same TPU material makes up the exterior, too, but slicked-up with Kryptek camo patterns that impart that badass fishing look. The Soft Sided Bait Cooler is available in Kryptek TYPHON and PONTUS. The exterior also sports a MOLLE (Modular Lightweight Load-Carrying Equipment) strip for hanging tools. The container’s hard, structured lid zips shut with an advanced zipper that seals the contents, and is easily opened and closed with an oversized and rugged zipper pull. There’s a handle, too, for a quick grab-and-go. The bottom is constructed of the same durable and waterproof material, ensuring that the EGO’s Soft Sided Bait Cooler will be at your side for years. |
|
|
BEST BUBBLES: Norsk Lithium's USB Bait Aerator |
|
Lastly, you’ll truly appreciate the robust adjustable and removable shoulder sling, which features a sliding pad. Free up your hands for carrying rods and other gear. And take solace in the fact that bait water won’t be sloshing on your clothes, thanks to the water-tight lid zipper. Dare we say the EGO Soft Sided Cooler will be the best mobile bait manager you’ll ever use? Yes. |
|
|
|
|
EGO Soft Sided Bait Cooler FEATURES:
Aerator not included MSRP $99.99 |
|
|
|
ABOUT EGO Fishing Fourteen years ago, we set out on a simple mission – to develop a better fishing landing net solution that addressed the many functional and performance problems that existed with the traditional products. What started out as a small landing net company has now grown into the innovation leader in the fishing net and accessories category of the sport fishing industry. EGO products are sold at most major sporting goods retail chains and are carried by a large network of distributors and independent dealers in the United States. Distribution has also grown internationally to include countries such as Canada, Russia, South Africa, South Korea and Japan. |
2024 WON Bass Clear Lake Open Begins April 17
Anglers look forward to potential big bass slugfest at California’s premier largemouth lake.
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. – April 4, 2024 –– Clear Lake, nestled in the Coast Ranges of California mountains, at the foot of Mount Konocti is known as being the largest natural lake entirely in the state of California. It is known for its picturesque scenery from any direction and for being a rich, fertile body of water.
It is also known as one of the best bass fisheries in the world. For many years, Clear Lake has been ranked as one of the top 10 bass fisheries in the country by BASSMASTER Magazine, and the northern California waterway has been the site of fireworks for WON Bass and the Clear Lake Open before.
Clear Lake has seen record setting performances in the past, with Byron Velvick winning a Bassmaster Invitational in 2000 with a then three-day record of 83 pounds, 5 ounces and in 2007, Steve Kennedy set a four-day record with 122 pounds, 14 ounces in winning the Bassmaster Elite Series Golden State Shootout.
In other words, having winning weights that average more than 25 pounds per day in a Clear Lake event are common, as evidenced by Nathan Phillips winning the Clear Lake Open in 2023 with 76.34 pounds. According to Ish Monroe, the Oakdale, Calif. pro who is fitting the 2024 Clear Lake Open into his national event schedule, more of the same can be expected.
Monroe said that anything will go later this month. “The lake should be fishing fairly large with the higher water levels, and the field should be able to do anything from finesse fishing to sightfishing and have a chance to win,” he said. “I expect that the weights will be good, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see someone win running a pattern, or that someone could win on a one cast spot – it really has the potential to be a great event.”
When asked what his thoughts about the outlook for the event, 2023 WON Bass U.S. Open Champion Kyle Grover replied, “epic.” The Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. pro said that the conditions looked amazing. “I really think the fish are in a stage, and the weather conditions are going to collide at a point that it should be an amazing event,” he said. “I think the pressure could get to the lake a little, but it’s still going to take someone averaging in the high 20’s daily to win; it’s just that good of a fishery.”
To combat the pressure of a large field, Grover suggested that anglers have two or three areas to remain competitive, and he said that boat draw would be a factor. “I think you’ll need a few areas to rotate through to win the event, but that’s also going to depend on where you get slotted for takeoff,” he said. “Being able to get on your areas will dictate a lot, but I really think it’s going to be an epic event.”
The winner of the 2024 WON Bass Clear Lake Open will earn the Ranger Boats / Mercury Motor prize boat, and the Golden Tickets to the 2025 Bassmaster BASS Nation National Championship will be awarded to the top five Pro and AAA anglers and will further develop the season long competition to see who will receive guaranteed slots into the 2025 Bassmaster Opens Elite Qualifiers.
There are currently more than 156 pro anglers and more than 180 AAA partners signed up for the event. WON Bass is seeking more Pro anglers to balance the field - signups remain open until April 12, 2024.
AAA anglers looking to enter will now be required to sign up with a Pro partner not currently registered for the event to guarantee their entry, and there is of course more room for individual Pro anglers to register currently.
The 2024 WON Bass Western Opens Series of events Consisting of five events in California, Arizona and Nevada moves next to the California Open at Clear Lake April 17 to 19, 2024. The series will culminate with the 2024 WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mohave in October. The full schedule of the five event dates are as follows:
Jan. 31–Feb. 2, Lake Shasta - Champion Nick Wood – 47.42 pounds
April 17-19, Clear Lake
May 15-17, Lake Havasu
Sept. 18-20, Lake Mead
Oct. 14-16, U.S. Open at Lake Mohave
For complete details or to register, look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com to hear the latest news about the 2024 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/
The 2024 WON Bass Northern California Lake Shasta Open is brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Triton Boats, Bridgford Foods, Phenix Rods, Yamamoto Baits, Bill Lewis Lures, Buckeye Lures, Steel Shad, Bioenno Power, SOG Knives, Cold Steel Knives, Gamma Line, Power Pole, Lowrance, Daiwa, AFTCO, Costa, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Anderson Toyota, A&M Graphics, Anglers Marine and Signature Gates.
Local presenting sponsors are Clear Lake Outdoors and the City of Lakeport. Daily takeoffs and weigh-ins will happen at Library Park in the City of Lakeport, California.
Fine-Tuning for Success
|
Whitewater Fishing pro ambassadors drill down into the details of what elevated them in the 2024 Bassmaster Classic. |
|
MUSKEGON, Mich. (April 4, 2024) – Nicknamed the “Super Bowl of Bass Fishing,” there is no higher reward for bass anglers worldwide than to qualify for the BASSMASTER Classic. And to finish near the top with real-time changes in weather, fish behavior, and numerous other factors? That simply distills the “best of the best.” Whitewater Fishing is proud to announce that two of its pro ambassadors did precisely that. Both hailing from Wisconsin—yet competing on the southern waters of Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees near Tulsa, Oklahoma—Adam Rasmussen and Jay Przekurat, finished second and fourth, respectively. Adam Rasmussen, all-around expert tournament walleye and bass angler, charter captain, and veteran fishing guide, finished second with 55-4 for a $50,000 payday; 24-year-old bass pro, Jay Przekurat, finished fourth with 50-1 for $30,000. |
|
|
HUMMINBIRD MEGA Live |
|
Speaking to his MEGA Live use, Rasmussen has learned how to truly optimize it for results like his 2nd place finish on Grand. “I set my MEGA Live to 100 feet so I can stay as far away from the fish as possible, which is also about as far as you’re ever going to cast. I also use a Humminbird APEX 16 screen and a dedicated high-voltage lithium battery to get the best imaging possible—a Powerhouse 16v 80Ah. You can’t hook up your live imaging to a dual purpose cranking battery and expect good results.” |
|
|
HUMMINBIRD 360 |
|
In terms of specific FF sonar settings, he says a lot of anglers don’t realize what a difference water clarity, temperature, and other factors play in providing the best image possible, so he’s constantly adjusting range, sensitivity, and contrast manually depending on the waters fished. “That's where a lot of anglers go wrong. They think you can just plug it in and turn it on and go fishing. That's not the case, but you can get them dialed in. Generally, I like my MEGA Live contrast set between 6 and 8 and sensitivity between 12 and 16. And I really like looking out 100 feet. 360 looks even farther and will tell me where a brush pile is, then I shine it with forward-facing sonar as I inch closer, keeping the boat as far away as possible. This is especially important for catching the highly-pressured bass in southern waters.” |
|
|
Rasmussen’s Presentations “Second,” he says, “was having the right baits, which came down to jigs and spinnerbaits. Trailers on both were the new Rapala CrushCity baits, which I have 100% confidence in and have been fishing hard for over a year. I fished a craw on the back of the jig and a 3-inch minnow on the spinnerbait. All I carry now are Rapala’s CrushCity plastics. The baits work all over the country, so that gave me a lot of confidence.” |
|
|
Dressing For Spring Classic Success Rasmussen says he was without a clothing sponsor until he noticed what his friends and colleagues – anglers from The Next Bite and Jay and Jason Przekurat – were always out there testing. “So, I approached Whitewater and basically said ‘Give me a chance, this stuff was designed by people I trust’, and we’ve gone from there, well before the Classic,” remarks Rasmussen. “It’s 45 degrees outside right now, so I’m wearing the Whitewater Torque Heated Vest, which I also wore under the Great Lakes Pro Suit during the Classic. I didn’t take it off once while I was fishing Grand.” Rasmussen says that it didn’t really rain where he fished, it was “kind of cold and windy,” which the Great Lakes Pro Jacket and Bibs combated admirably. “On Day 2, I had the vest cranked up to high underneath the Great Lakes Pro jacket and bibs all day. On Day 3, I had enough blood going through my system that I didn’t need the vest.” |
|
|
Rasmussen mentions that he’s also a fan of the Whitewater Tamer Jacket and Bibs. “I was wearing that stuff down in Wichita when the high each day was only 45 degrees, and it kept me warm and protected from the wind.” According to Rasmussen, with Whitewater designers, the brand pros, and guides they worked with put all the “little, important things that tournament anglers demand” into the new apparel. He adds: “Plus, it works in all elements and is comfortable.” |
|
|
|
Continuing with comfort, Rasmussen concludes: “I don't like to have big, baggy clothes on. I'm a bigger dude, too, so I don’t want to constantly get caught up on stuff in the boat when I move around. The fabric moves with you, so if I lay on the bow to grab a fish, there’s zero restriction. It’s got a snug fit that stretches with your fishing movements.” Speaking to his transition from working as a walleye pro, guide, and charter captain to the professional bass circuit, Rasmussen notes: “the biggest thing is just fishing. I’ve spent years on the water, so that helps, but fish are fish—they swim around and have to eat. They all have common characteristics like they need cover at certain times—and they react to weather changes. But they still have to eat.” |
|
|
JAY’S 4TH PLACE FINISH 24-year-old Whitewater Pro, Jay Przekurat, has made quite a name for himself in professional bass fishing over the past few years. Adding to that, he recently placed fourth at the Bassmaster Classic on Grand Lake. “It was a pretty challenging practice for me. I never really found anything that I thought was a winning pattern,” says Przekurat. “I was catching my fish on isolated brush, but I kind of knew with the wind picking up that probably wasn't going to be the primary deal, because when the fish were around that brush, it was pretty calm.” He said that worked the first day of the tournament, which was calm, throwing a jerkbait in 4- to 8-feet of water. But on days two and three the situation changed. Przekurat offers: “I found a couple of spawning areas. There was good-looking pea gravel that tapered out into 4 feet of water or so. And I believe the fish were actually starting to spawn even though the water was chilly. And that's how I caught my fish the remainder of the event.” |
|
|
|
Staying Comfortable for 4th In terms of apparel, Przekurat says it was cold the week before the tournament, especially the mornings, so he dressed in layers. Close to his skin, Przekurat wore a long-sleeve Whitewater shirt, followed by the Torque heated vest, and then a Whitewater Buoy sweatshirt, and the soon-to-be-released insulated Whitewater suit. “That the deal for me that week. And I also wore the Whitewater Wool Fingerless Gloves every single day.” During the event, Przekurat wore the Whitewater Tamer Suit when it was in the mid-50s to 60 degrees. “And then, obviously, I wore the Great Lakes Pro during the actual event when we had some rain on that first morning. That’s what I wore throughout the entire event until we got that one cold snap that I had to switch back to the insulated suit on that last day.” |
|
Images courtesy of B.A.S.S. |
Top Tournament Performers Have Something in Common
|
Five of the top 12 finishers at the 2024 Bassmaster Classic are NPAA members; “no coincidence” says President, Pat Neu. |
|
Forestville, WI (April 4, 2024) – While the 2024 Bassmaster Classic is now history, it is still worth talking about. And not just how these esteemed anglers caught their springtime fish… Turns out, five of the top 12 finishers in the event are National Professional Anglers Association (NPAA) members, an organization that helps tournament anglers, guides, charter captains, and fishing industry folks turn their “Passion into Profession.” The NPAA organization also provides resources, conferences, networking opportunities, and frequent member-only media content that helps members grow in their careers to exemplify NPAA’s core tenets of determination, commitment, focus, and ethics. NPAA members also have access to discounts on key fishing/marine manufacturers’ products. |
|
|
“It’s no coincidence that five of the top 12 Classic finishers are NPAA members,” states NPAA President, Pat Neu. “A total of seven NPAA members qualified for and fished the Classic including last year’s Classic Winner NPAA member, Jeff ‘Gussy’ Gustafson, and again, five of those anglers finished in the Top 12.” In terms of actual five NPAA finishers in the top 12, the recent Classic played out like this: 2nd Place, Adam Rasmussen ;4th Place, Jay Przekurat; 6th Place, Cory Johnston; 7th Place, Kyle Patrick; and 12th Place, Cooper Gallant. Neu continues: “I think this says a lot about our organization and our member-anglers who are reaching the top of their game because they’ve learned how to treat angling as a business.” |
|
|
“Just what are the odds that among 60- to 70,000 tournament anglers in this country who would have loved to fish the 2024 Bassmaster Classic, seven NPAA members qualified and four finished in the Top 10? It’s not a coincidence…” “This is just an example of how NPAA member anglers take tournament angling seriously; hence our continued efforts to grow the organization and its resources to benefit aspiring anglers who want to make a living fishing. These anglers are examples of individuals who are serious and professional and treat angling as their business,” concludes Neu. |
|
|
Adam Rasmussen A fishing guide since high school, 2nd Place Classic finisher, Adam Rasmussen, knew early on he wanted to make a living in the fishing industry, working as both a guide and charter captain, and a tournament angler. In 2020, Rasmussen said he felt like he was financially stable enough to go chase his dream of fishing the Elites and qualifying for a Bassmaster Classic. That is the year that Adam started fishing the Bassmaster Opens, now the EQ’s. “The NPAA has been there with its network of people who’ve helped me along the way. That’s what it’s there for—to help anglers. It’s amazing that it happened to me in such a short period of time—qualifying to fish a Classic. I received a lot of good advice from some of the top anglers in the country through the NPAA and I gained access to a lot of great information. The NPAA can help any aspiring guide or angler, new or old. Now I will look to them to help me with social media and how to develop my brand now that people know me as a bass tournament angler.” |
|
|
Jay Przekurat 24-year-old 4th Place Classic finisher, Jay Przekurat, said his first couple of NPAA conferences “opened his mind” to learn from other anglers and helped teach him how to interact with companies and potential sponsors. “I like the NPAA conferences because you get face-to-face interaction with those in the fishing business. It really broke the learning curve for me at a young age,” Przekurat went on to say. He added: “It’s a very easy way to make new connections and do things you wouldn't be able to do over email or the phone.” |
|
|
Kyle Patrick Kyle Patrick, an NPAA board member, and 2024 Bassmaster Classic 7th Finisher had this to say about the NPAA. “The NPAA has helped me merge my passion for fishing—which comes natural—with the business side of building partnerships with potential sponsors and with other anglers on the same track.” “The organization is always there to bounce ideas off of, whether that’s as simple as figuring out how to make my dollars go farther as a tournament angler or how to approach a boat sponsor. You can’t make a living at this by just being good at catching fishing. There’s the business side—and the NPAA is a very easy way to catapult yourself into a higher level of making fishing your fulltime profession.” |
|
|
Cooper Gallant 12th Place 2024 Bassmaster Classic Finisher, Cooper Gallant, has been an NPAA member for about as long as he’s been fishing professionally—unbelievably, only a little more than three years. “For me, being so new to everything, the NPAA was a quick way to meet new people, develop relationships with sponsors, and learn the business side of the sport, which is ongoing, and I know NPAA will continue to help me with,” concludes Gallant. |
|
Images courtesy of B.A.S.S. |
|
|
|
|
About the National Professional Anglers Association The National Professional Anglers Association (NPAA) is a non-profit, member-based association dedicated to sportfishing. The NPAA’s membership is composed of professional guides, tournament anglers, angler educators and sportfishing/marine industry professionals who are passionate about the sport. For more NPAA partner, member and industry news, go to www.npaa.net . |
|
CONTACTS: Pat Neu NPAA President/FAF President (612) 708-7339 Noel Vick Traditions Media (612) 708-7339 |
Big catches likely for Bassmaster Kayak Series event at Possum Kingdom Lake
|
Johnson maintains lead at B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at Arkansas River
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — After Wednesday’s weigh-in, Day 1 leader Chris Johnson expressed concerns about his ability to replicate his opening-round success. Thankfully, his doubts were erased with a five-bass limit of 17 pounds, 15 ounces, which kept him on top of the Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at the Arkansas River presented by Lowrance.
Hailing from Farmington, Ark., Johnson bolstered his first-round limit of 19-6 and tallied 37-5. He heads into Championship Friday with a lead of 4-8 over Blake Capps of Muskogee, Okla.
“Everything went very well today,” Johnson said. “It was actually better than I expected.”
Johnson has been running a few miles upriver and fishing a backwater pond tucked behind the rock levee. After his Day 1 success, he was worried he’d find the relatively shallow area attracting more fishing pressure and ultimately shutting down.
Much to his delight, Johnson not only found the spot largely untouched, but changing conditions allowed him to expand into an adjacent pond.
“Actually, the river came up a little more and I was able to get to (the Day 1 pond) and another spot,” Johnson said. “They’re very close together.
“They’re connected, but I’m cutting through the rock wall and then coming out and going through the rock wall again to reach the next spot. You can idle between (openings in the levee).”
While Johnson caught his Day 1 fish in 1 to 3 1/2 feet, he found them a little deeper today. He believes the day’s favorable conditions likely influenced the area.
“The sun was out all day, the wind was light and variable — it was about the right amount of wind for fishing,” Johnson said. “I had to totally change my pattern today. The (slow bait) I caught them on yesterday, I had one bite on today.”
Johnson said he’s targeting prespawn bass and he suspects a new and more enthusiastic group may have moved into his area.
“I had to totally shift gears today; the fish were a lot more active,” he said. “I think these fish are coming out of deep water, moving up and getting ready to spawn.
“I was catching most of them on moving baits today. I also caught some on a pitching bait, but even with the moving bait, I had to fish very slowly and precisely. When I tried to speed up, I wouldn’t get bit.”
Despite the requisite changes, Johnson said his Day 2 bag was remarkably similar to his opening-round limit. Wednesday saw him lead the Big Bass standings with a 5-15, which anchored a sack that included three fish in the 3-pound range and one 15- to 16-incher.
Day 2 found him with a kicker that went 4-12, another trio of 3-somethings and one small fish. While Day 1 made him wait several hours to start populating his livewell, the second-round action started promptly.
“I lost a decent one early, but by 9 o’clock, I had two really good fish and one keeper,” Johnson said. “After that, it was a grind. It took me the rest of the day to get my limit.”
Not surprisingly, Johnson plans on spending the final round in his backwater ponds. He’s optimistic the area can produce a final competitive limit.
“There seems to be a lot more fish in there than I thought and there was only one other boat in there today,” Johnson said. “I’m just going to go fish tomorrow and let it play out. I’m not going to stress over it.”
Turning in a consistent performance, Capps added 16-12 to his Day 1 limit of 16-1. He sits in second place with 32-13.
Jeremy Norris of Ama, La., is in third place with 32-11. His daily weights were 14-5 and 18-6.
Jeff Clark of Van Buren, Ark., is in the lead for Big Bass honors with his 6-9.
Chad Nolan or Muldrow, Okla., leads the co-angler division with 16-0. On Day 1, he caught a three-fish limit of 8-4 and added two more on Thursday for 7-12.
Shayne Dupree of Haslet, Texas, holds the Big Bass lead among co-anglers with a 5-8.
The Top 20 remaining boaters and nonboaters will take take off at 7 a.m. CT Friday from Three Forks Harbor. The final weigh-in will be held at the harbor at 3 p.m.
The tournament is being hosted by Visit Muskogee.
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Title Sponsor: Mercury
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Presenting Sponsor: Lowrance
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Youth Sponsors: Seaguar, Shimano
About B.A.S.S.B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
-30-
Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitte
Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 865-201-6458, cgay@bassmaster.
2024 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at Arkansas River presented by Lowrance 4/3-4/5 Arkansas River, Muskogee OK. (BOATER) Standings Day 2
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Chris Johnson Farmington, AR 10 37-05 0 Day 1: 5 19-06 Day 2: 5 17-15 2. Blake Capps Muskogee, OK 10 32-13 0 Day 1: 5 16-01 Day 2: 5 16-12 3. Jeremy Norris Ama, LA 10 32-11 0 Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 5 18-06 4. Brett King Kinta, OK 10 32-11 0 Day 1: 5 16-10 Day 2: 5 16-01 5. Jesse Parks Goodyear, AZ 10 30-12 0 Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 5 16-07 6. Chris Jones Bokoshe, OK 10 28-15 0 Day 1: 5 13-11 Day 2: 5 15-04 7. Kazuki Kitajima Corinth, TX 10 28-14 0 Day 1: 5 12-02 Day 2: 5 16-12 8. Jeff Clark Van Buren, AR 8 28-08 0 Day 1: 5 18-01 Day 2: 3 10-07 9. Lane Kindle Stilwell, OK 10 28-00 0 Day 1: 5 13-11 Day 2: 5 14-05 10. Greg Vance Delhi, IA 10 25-11 0 Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 5 12-04 11. Sam Mitchell Kiowa, OK 7 25-10 0 Day 1: 2 07-10 Day 2: 5 18-00 12. Tony Baldridge Oklahoma City, OK 10 25-06 0 Day 1: 5 11-10 Day 2: 5 13-12 13. Jesse Jordan Stilwel, KS 10 24-11 0 Day 1: 5 12-12 Day 2: 5 11-15 14. Scott Dooley Ashland, MO 10 24-04 0 Day 1: 5 11-13 Day 2: 5 12-07 15. Brandon Morton San Tan Valley, AZ 7 23-02 0 Day 1: 5 16-00 Day 2: 2 07-02 16. Hunter Litchfield Macomb, IL 7 22-12 0 Day 1: 5 17-11 Day 2: 2 05-01 17. Alex Torkleson Coweta, OK 10 22-02 0 Day 1: 5 11-06 Day 2: 5 10-12 18. Randy Campbell Tijeras, NM 9 21-13 0 Day 1: 4 10-15 Day 2: 5 10-14 19. Trevor Rogge Canyon Lake, TX 7 21-08 0 Day 1: 2 05-12 Day 2: 5 15-12 20. Hunter King North Platte, NE 9 21-08 0 Day 1: 5 10-01 Day 2: 4 11-07 21. Chad Schmidt Clearwater, KS 8 21-06 0 $862.00 Day 1: 5 15-12 Day 2: 3 05-10 22. Hunter Neuville New Iberia, LA 8 21-05 0 $862.00 Day 1: 3 05-00 Day 2: 5 16-05 23. Christopher Dollard Mountain Home, AR 7 21-01 0 $862.00 Day 1: 2 07-14 Day 2: 5 13-03 24. Gunner West Spiro, OK 8 20-11 0 $862.00 Day 1: 3 06-06 Day 2: 5 14-05 25. Dalton Ross Centerton, AR 8 20-11 0 $862.00 Day 1: 5 13-13 Day 2: 3 06-14 26. Rodney Copeland Sallisaw, OK 7 20-09 0 $793.00 Day 1: 3 08-15 Day 2: 4 11-10 27. Luke Plunkett Pinson, AL 8 20-02 0 $793.00 Day 1: 3 05-01 Day 2: 5 15-01 28. Jamie Carson Greenwood, AR 7 19-15 0 $793.00 Day 1: 2 06-06 Day 2: 5 13-09 29. Greg Yates Oak Point, TX 9 19-14 0 $793.00 Day 1: 4 08-13 Day 2: 5 11-01 30. Steve Wilson Union City, TN 9 19-14 0 $793.00 Day 1: 4 08-14 Day 2: 5 11-00 31. Jason Clark Bixby, OK 6 19-13 0 $793.00 Day 1: 1 03-07 Day 2: 5 16-06 32. Bradley Sullivan Shawnee, OK 6 19-10 0 $793.00 Day 1: 5 16-12 Day 2: 1 02-14 33. Tye Grissom Austin, TX 7 19-07 0 $793.00 Day 1: 3 09-10 Day 2: 4 09-13 34. Brock Enmeier Bixby, OK 8 19-06 0 $793.00 Day 1: 4 08-10 Day 2: 4 10-12 35. Scotty Pennington Crossett, AR 8 18-14 0 $793.00 Day 1: 5 14-00 Day 2: 3 04-14 36. Nic Conger Fort Smith, AR 7 18-14 0 $793.00 Day 1: 5 12-12 Day 2: 2 06-02 37. Chance Woodard Paris, TX 8 18-05 0 $793.00 Day 1: 5 12-09 Day 2: 3 05-12 38. Ben Burk Norman, OK 8 18-02 0 $793.00 Day 1: 5 12-02 Day 2: 3 06-00 39. Mike Rhinehart Pottsville, AR 7 18-01 0 $793.00 Day 1: 5 12-13 Day 2: 2 05-04 40. Shannon Green Lebanon, MO 8 18-01 0 $793.00 Day 1: 3 06-00 Day 2: 5 12-01 41. Dale Hightower Mannford, OK 7 17-10 0 Day 1: 5 12-09 Day 2: 2 05-01 42. Steven Caldwell Whitesboro, TX 7 17-08 0 Day 1: 4 10-03 Day 2: 3 07-05 43. Mike Hill Carlsbad, NM 7 17-06 0 Day 1: 4 09-00 Day 2: 3 08-06 44. Josh Cruse Pocahontas, AR 7 16-14 0 Day 1: 3 08-14 Day 2: 4 08-00 45. Brandon Soliz Robert Lee, TX 7 16-08 0 Day 1: 3 07-09 Day 2: 4 08-15 46. Corey Stewart III Lees Summit, MO 7 16-06 0 Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 2 04-08 47. David Henderson Great Bend, KS 6 16-06 0 Day 1: 2 04-10 Day 2: 4 11-12 48. Casey Welch Aurora, CO 7 16-05 0 Day 1: 4 10-00 Day 2: 3 06-05 49. Steve Lund Cave Creek, AZ 7 16-02 0 Day 1: 5 08-13 Day 2: 2 07-05 50. Austin Abadie Saint Amant, LA 6 16-01 0 Day 1: 2 05-11 Day 2: 4 10-06 51. Daniel Vine Page, AZ 5 15-13 0 Day 1: 2 05-11 Day 2: 3 10-02 52. John Clayman III Dover, TN 6 15-09 0 Day 1: 5 13-10 Day 2: 1 01-15 53. Michael Furgerson Tulsa, OK 6 15-09 0 Day 1: 1 04-06 Day 2: 5 11-03 54. Matthew Adamson Farmington, NM 6 15-08 0 Day 1: 3 07-09 Day 2: 3 07-15 55. Chad Poulsen Longview, TX 7 15-07 0 Day 1: 5 10-15 Day 2: 2 04-08 56. Robert Capps Muskogee, OK 5 15-01 0 Day 1: 2 08-13 Day 2: 3 06-04 57. Chris Ogan Bixby, OK 6 14-14 0 Day 1: 2 04-05 Day 2: 4 10-09 58. Marc Caldwell Rifle, CO 7 14-08 0 Day 1: 5 11-00 Day 2: 2 03-08 59. Shawn St Pierre Paulina, LA 5 14-07 0 Day 1: 3 07-09 Day 2: 2 06-14 60. Ryan Webb El Dorado, AR 6 14-03 0 Day 1: 1 03-10 Day 2: 5 10-09 61. Mick Fenn Grove, OK 7 14-03 0 Day 1: 2 04-00 Day 2: 5 10-03 62. Michael Louviere New Iberia, LA 5 14-02 0 Day 1: 4 10-12 Day 2: 1 03-06 63. Hunter Stanley Mustang, OK 5 14-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 14-00 64. Jon Harshbarger Kaufman, TX 7 14-00 0 Day 1: 4 07-10 Day 2: 3 06-06 65. Jeremy Fuentes Carlsbad, NM 5 13-10 0 Day 1: 3 07-13 Day 2: 2 05-13 66. Hal Pinho Jr Patterson, LA 5 13-10 0 Day 1: 2 05-15 Day 2: 3 07-11 67. Jake Capps Muskogee, OK 6 13-08 0 Day 1: 4 09-15 Day 2: 2 03-09 68. Matthew Abeyta Albuquerque, NM 4 13-04 0 Day 1: 2 07-09 Day 2: 2 05-11 69. Rickey York Cherokee Village, AR 5 13-03 0 Day 1: 1 03-01 Day 2: 4 10-02 70. Connor Santos Fountain, CO 5 13-01 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 13-01 71. Justin Russell El Dorado, KS 5 13-01 0 Day 1: 3 06-12 Day 2: 2 06-05 72. Richard Vizcarra Peoria, AZ 6 12-15 0 Day 1: 3 06-13 Day 2: 3 06-02 73. Jason Switzer Sapulpa, OK 5 12-14 0 Day 1: 1 01-08 Day 2: 4 11-06 74. Joshua Bauer Great Bend, KS 5 12-13 0 Day 1: 1 01-09 Day 2: 4 11-04 75. Jerry Pape Bella Vista, AR 5 12-11 0 Day 1: 1 02-12 Day 2: 4 09-15 76. Stephanie Hemphill - Pellerin Village Mills, TX 5 12-11 0 Day 1: 2 05-06 Day 2: 3 07-05 77. Mike Harris Cowgill, MO 5 12-10 0 Day 1: 2 06-07 Day 2: 3 06-03 78. Adam Condito Alamogordo, NM 3 12-08 0 Day 1: 1 03-13 Day 2: 2 08-11 79. Ronnie Provence Canehill, AR 4 12-03 0 Day 1: 1 01-15 Day 2: 3 10-04 80. Jacob Sepeda Paradise, TX 5 12-03 0 Day 1: 2 03-13 Day 2: 3 08-06 81. Connor Jacob Auburn, AL 5 12-01 0 Day 1: 3 08-09 Day 2: 2 03-08 82. Keith Allen Okemah, OK 4 11-14 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 4 11-14 83. Joseph Sanderson Channahon, IL 4 11-11 0 Day 1: 3 10-04 Day 2: 1 01-07 84. Tim McSorley Underwood, IA 5 11-11 0 Day 1: 3 07-00 Day 2: 2 04-11 85. Troy Stinson Peyton, CO 6 11-05 0 Day 1: 2 04-08 Day 2: 4 06-13 86. Adam Hollingsworth La Vergne, TN 6 11-04 0 Day 1: 5 09-05 Day 2: 1 01-15 87. Tony Halford Perkins, OK 6 11-02 0 Day 1: 5 09-00 Day 2: 1 02-02 88. John Hammersmith Branson, MO 4 11-02 0 Day 1: 3 07-04 Day 2: 1 03-14 89. Kris Bosley Amarillo, TX 6 11-02 0 Day 1: 3 05-07 Day 2: 3 05-11 90. Cole Findley Forsyth, MO 4 10-15 0 Day 1: 4 10-15 Day 2: 0 00-00 91. Ted Daniels St. Louis, MO 4 10-14 0 Day 1: 2 05-11 Day 2: 2 05-03 92. Grayson Morrow San Angelo, TX 4 10-13 0 Day 1: 3 08-11 Day 2: 1 02-02 93. Dustin Berry Dayton, TX 5 10-09 0 Day 1: 3 05-12 Day 2: 2 04-13 94. Brent Breznik Borger, TX 4 10-07 0 Day 1: 4 10-07 Day 2: 0 00-00 95. Jared Miller Norman, OK 3 09-15 0 Day 1: 3 09-15 Day 2: 0 00-00 96. Corey Smith Perry, OK 4 09-11 0 Day 1: 4 09-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 97. Daniel Rodriquez New Braunfels, TX 4 09-10 0 Day 1: 1 01-15 Day 2: 3 07-11 98. Bruce White La Ward, TX 5 09-07 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 09-07 99. Ryan Latch Lafayette, LA 4 09-01 0 Day 1: 4 09-01 Day 2: 0 00-00 100. Boyd Gautreau Saint Amant, LA 4 08-14 0 Day 1: 2 05-01 Day 2: 2 03-13 101. Kelley Hudson Graham, TX 4 08-12 0 Day 1: 3 05-08 Day 2: 1 03-04 102. John Madison Yukon, OK 4 08-08 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 4 08-08 103. Keith Harmoney Hays, KS 3 08-08 0 Day 1: 1 04-07 Day 2: 2 04-01 104. Billy Elbert Reeds Spring, MO 3 08-07 0 Day 1: 3 08-07 Day 2: 0 00-00 105. Zack Holwerda Wittmann, AZ 4 08-04 0 Day 1: 1 03-06 Day 2: 3 04-14 106. Shawn Clark Afton, OK 4 08-02 0 Day 1: 4 08-02 Day 2: 0 00-00 107. Brian Hickey Pueblo, CO 3 08-01 0 Day 1: 3 08-01 Day 2: 0 00-00 108. Bill Brown Grand Junction, CO 4 07-15 0 Day 1: 2 03-11 Day 2: 2 04-04 109. Cole Tullis Peculior, MO 3 07-14 0 Day 1: 3 07-14 Day 2: 0 00-00 110. David Bishop Gilbert, AZ 3 07-13 0 Day 1: 3 07-13 Day 2: 0 00-00 111. Jason Westrip Crane, MO 3 07-09 0 Day 1: 3 07-09 Day 2: 0 00-00 112. Drew Porto III Greenbrier, AR 3 07-04 0 Day 1: 3 07-04 Day 2: 0 00-00 113. Randy Fleeman Copperas Cove, TX 3 07-02 0 Day 1: 2 04-04 Day 2: 1 02-14 114. Sam Page Moab, UT 3 07-01 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 07-01 115. Samuel Collins Surprise , AZ 3 07-00 0 Day 1: 3 07-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 116. Mark Warren Kiowa, CO 2 07-00 0 Day 1: 1 03-02 Day 2: 1 03-14 117. Jess Stewart Brock, NE 3 06-15 0 Day 1: 3 06-15 Day 2: 0 00-00 118. Mark Jenkins Ville Platte, LA 3 06-13 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 06-13 119. Paul Morley Kaysville, UT 2 06-04 0 Day 1: 2 06-04 Day 2: 0 00-00 120. Marin Marinov Broomfield, CO 3 06-02 0 Day 1: 3 06-02 Day 2: 0 00-00 121. Tommy Abel Inola, OK 2 05-15 0 Day 1: 2 05-15 Day 2: 0 00-00 122. Kris Lee Coweta, OK 2 05-14 0 Day 1: 2 05-14 Day 2: 0 00-00 123. Andrew Wren Wylie, TX 2 05-14 0 Day 1: 1 02-03 Day 2: 1 03-11 124. Reese David Sand Springs, OK 3 05-11 0 Day 1: 3 05-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 125. Jay Beffa Festus, MO 2 05-10 0 Day 1: 2 05-10 Day 2: 0 00-00 125. Eric Stong Apopka, FL 2 05-10 0 Day 1: 2 05-10 Day 2: 0 00-00 127. Nathan Cummings Peoria, AZ 2 05-09 0 Day 1: 2 05-09 Day 2: 0 00-00 127. Robert Degraffenreid Oklahoma Cty, OK 2 05-09 0 Day 1: 2 05-09 Day 2: 0 00-00 129. Cory Leita Victoria, TX 2 05-08 0 Day 1: 2 05-08 Day 2: 0 00-00 130. Rick Mason Phoenix, AZ 2 05-04 0 Day 1: 2 05-04 Day 2: 0 00-00 130. Gregory Oehring Lees Summit, MO 2 05-04 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 05-04 132. Joe Conway Colorado Springs, CO 2 05-04 0 Day 1: 1 02-15 Day 2: 1 02-05 133. Ryan Heavener Tulsa, OK 2 04-12 0 Day 1: 2 04-12 Day 2: 0 00-00 134. Carey Goldberg Colorado Springs, CO 2 04-12 0 Day 1: 1 02-10 Day 2: 1 02-02 135. Cameron Tull Norman, OK 2 04-11 0 Day 1: 2 04-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 136. Kyle Caldwell Marshfield, MO 2 04-11 0 Day 1: 2 04-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 137. George Carroll Guyton, GA 2 04-09 0 Day 1: 2 04-09 Day 2: 0 00-00 138. Brandon Pedigo Lawton, OK 2 04-09 0 Day 1: 1 01-13 Day 2: 1 02-12 139. Brian Stangel Albuquerque, NM 2 04-06 0 Day 1: 2 04-06 Day 2: 0 00-00 140. Dennis Carroll Ashland, NE 2 04-03 0 Day 1: 2 04-03 Day 2: 0 00-00 141. Kevin Late Maynard, AR 2 04-02 0 Day 1: 2 04-02 Day 2: 0 00-00 142. Bill Gaddis Afton, OK 1 04-02 0 Day 1: 1 04-02 Day 2: 0 00-00 143. Kevin Slate Eufaula, OK 1 03-15 0 Day 1: 1 03-15 Day 2: 0 00-00 144. Pam Horne Bella Vista, AR 2 03-15 0 Day 1: 1 01-12 Day 2: 1 02-03 145. Lance Goodfellow Wagoner, OK 2 03-13 0 Day 1: 2 03-13 Day 2: 0 00-00 145. Doug McClung Prairieville, LA 2 03-13 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 03-13 147. Royce Scheetz Lubbock, TX 2 03-12 0 Day 1: 1 01-12 Day 2: 1 02-00 148. Cole Buser Pullman, WA 2 03-08 0 Day 1: 2 03-08 Day 2: 0 00-00 149. Mike Leibhart North Platte, NE 1 03-01 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 03-01 150. Bob Glasgow Omaha, NE 1 02-15 0 Day 1: 1 02-15 Day 2: 0 00-00 151. Dashon Peck The Colony, TX 1 02-14 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 02-14 152. Mark Vote Omaha, NE 1 02-11 0 Day 1: 1 02-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 153. Richard Everest Hobbs, NM 1 02-10 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 02-10 154. Dallas Cole Omaha, NE 1 02-06 0 Day 1: 1 02-06 Day 2: 0 00-00 155. Jaron Cooper Sutherland, NE 1 02-02 0 Day 1: 1 02-02 Day 2: 0 00-00 155. Larry Krueger Colorado Springs, CO 1 02-02 0 Day 1: 1 02-02 Day 2: 0 00-00 157. Jacob Bruener Douglass, TX 1 02-01 0 Day 1: 1 02-01 Day 2: 0 00-00 158. Matt Dobson Edmond, OK 1 02-00 0 Day 1: 1 02-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 159. Mark Williams Carrolton, TX 1 02-00 0 Day 1: 1 02-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 160. Travis Ledford Tuttle, OK 1 01-15 0 Day 1: 1 01-15 Day 2: 0 00-00 161. Joseph Gamboa Elephant Butte, NM 1 01-13 0 Day 1: 1 01-13 Day 2: 0 00-00 161. Don Glick Zurich, KS 1 01-13 0 Day 1: 1 01-13 Day 2: 0 00-00 161. Jay Spencer Lincoln, NE 1 01-13 0 Day 1: 1 01-13 Day 2: 0 00-00 164. Jon Stewart Grove, OK 1 01-11 0 Day 1: 1 01-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 165. Jacob Altman Edgewood, TX 1 01-10 0 Day 1: 1 01-10 Day 2: 0 00-00 166. Dave Garrett Trinidad, CO 1 01-05 0 Day 1: 1 01-05 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Brandon Ackerson Afton, OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Nicholas Ault Gravois Mills, MO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Matthew Barnes Schertz, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Brock Bila Ozark, MO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Paul Browning Monahans, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Nickalas Butler Lawrence, KS 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Glenn Connors Springfield, MO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Shelby Crites Jr Bearden, AR 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Ronnie Duncan Hampton, AR 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Kevin Flurry Roland, OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Ronald Giebel Penrose, CO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Will Hughes Nashville, TN 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Gerald Kimzey Willcox, AZ 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Jared Knuth Wahoo, NE 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Jim Lopez Littleton, CO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Jeremy Loud New Castle, CO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Tom McGovern Warsaw, MO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Brandon Moss Blanchard, OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Jared Pittman Avondale, AZ 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Jeff Richards Colorado Spgs, CO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Tanner Richardson Wilson, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Curry Schaubhut Hester, LA 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Dick Smith Oklahoma City, OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Ron Strickland Pueblo West, CO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Chris Torkleson Sand Springs, OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Dalton Warrington Tishimingo , OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Richard Wilson Lubbock, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Michael Wooten Cross Plains, TN 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 33 433 1112-01 2 31 359 940-08 ------------------------------ ---- 64 792 2052-09
2024 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at Arkansas River presented by Lowrance 4/3-4/5 Arkansas River, Muskogee OK. (NON_BOATER) Standings Day 2
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Chad Nolan Muldrow, OK 5 16-00 0 Day 1: 3 08-04 Day 2: 2 07-12 2. Charlie Miglicco Cypress, TX 6 14-08 0 Day 1: 3 04-15 Day 2: 3 09-09 3. Thomas Edwards Gilbert, AZ 6 14-02 0 Day 1: 3 05-08 Day 2: 3 08-10 4. Matt Jurcin Pueblo, CO 4 13-12 0 Day 1: 3 11-07 Day 2: 1 02-05 5. Shea Breznik Kansas City, MO 4 13-00 0 Day 1: 2 06-11 Day 2: 2 06-05 6. Wade Roberts Lake Charles, LA 4 12-12 0 Day 1: 1 02-05 Day 2: 3 10-07 7. Sky Wooten Farmington, NM 5 12-11 0 Day 1: 3 09-04 Day 2: 2 03-07 8. Jeremiah Proulx Cherokee Village, AR 5 12-03 0 Day 1: 2 03-06 Day 2: 3 08-13 9. Elliott Thorn Tahlequah, OK 5 12-00 0 Day 1: 2 03-11 Day 2: 3 08-05 10. Kenny Keovilayphone Taylorsville, UT 5 11-15 0 Day 1: 3 07-15 Day 2: 2 04-00 11. Kevin Turner Sand Springs, OK 3 11-12 0 Day 1: 3 11-12 Day 2: 0 00-00 12. Matt Gnoth Sharon, KS 4 11-03 0 Day 1: 3 08-06 Day 2: 1 02-13 13. Mark Cowart Kearney, MO 4 10-11 0 Day 1: 1 02-11 Day 2: 3 08-00 14. James Halford Pryor, OK 3 10-08 0 Day 1: 1 02-11 Day 2: 2 07-13 15. Colten Hutson Edmond, OK 4 10-07 0 Day 1: 1 02-11 Day 2: 3 07-12 16. Russ Seaman Norfolk, NE 5 10-06 0 Day 1: 3 06-12 Day 2: 2 03-10 17. Ken Mcdonald Crossett, AR 4 10-05 0 Day 1: 3 08-06 Day 2: 1 01-15 18. Mark Sloan Harrison, AR 3 10-00 0 Day 1: 3 10-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 19. Zac Ortiz Kaysville, UT 4 09-15 0 Day 1: 2 04-09 Day 2: 2 05-06 20. Mike Turner Berryton, KS 3 09-08 0 Day 1: 3 09-08 Day 2: 0 00-00 21. Jim Thompson Manchester, IA 4 09-07 0 $351.00 Day 1: 1 02-08 Day 2: 3 06-15 22. Josh Thalman Saratoga Springs, UT 4 09-05 0 $351.00 Day 1: 3 07-01 Day 2: 1 02-04 23. Meleah Meadows Edmond, OK 3 09-05 0 $351.00 Day 1: 1 02-13 Day 2: 2 06-08 24. Gary Mills Rio Rancho, NM 4 08-13 0 $351.00 Day 1: 2 04-15 Day 2: 2 03-14 25. Richard Minyard Mustang, OK 4 08-12 0 $351.00 Day 1: 1 01-10 Day 2: 3 07-02 26. Kyler Snawder Siloam Springs, AR 3 08-01 0 $351.00 Day 1: 1 02-06 Day 2: 2 05-11 27. Blake Streck Great Bend, KS 3 08-00 0 $351.00 Day 1: 3 08-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 28. Mark Shepard Kaysville, UT 4 08-00 0 $351.00 Day 1: 1 02-06 Day 2: 3 05-10 29. Gene Mitchell Stuart, OK 4 07-13 0 $351.00 Day 1: 2 03-09 Day 2: 2 04-04 30. Aaron Lorenz Reeds Spring, MO 4 07-12 0 $351.00 Day 1: 3 05-07 Day 2: 1 02-05 31. Sean Bowen Midwest City, OK 4 07-12 0 Day 1: 2 03-10 Day 2: 2 04-02 32. TJ Duran Trinidad, CO 3 07-07 0 Day 1: 1 02-06 Day 2: 2 05-01 33. Aaron Jay Van Buren, AR 3 07-06 0 Day 1: 1 02-05 Day 2: 2 05-01 34. Joshua Dorsey Colorado Springs, CO 3 07-04 0 Day 1: 3 07-04 Day 2: 0 00-00 35. Richard Kiblinger Kansas City, KS 2 07-04 0 Day 1: 2 07-04 Day 2: 0 00-00 36. Dennis Dustmann Oklahoma City, OK 3 07-02 0 Day 1: 3 07-02 Day 2: 0 00-00 37. Mike Estrada Belen, NM 2 06-15 0 Day 1: 2 06-15 Day 2: 0 00-00 38. Don Evans Canon City, CO 3 06-14 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 06-14 39. Daniel Valdez Albuquerque, NM 3 06-13 0 Day 1: 1 03-10 Day 2: 2 03-03 40. Aaron Shenk Aurora, CO 3 06-11 0 Day 1: 1 01-10 Day 2: 2 05-01 41. Ronnie Hill Canadian, TX 2 06-07 0 Day 1: 1 02-03 Day 2: 1 04-04 42. Grant Bourque Prairieville, LA 3 06-03 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 06-03 42. Jacob Zeringue Des Allemands, LA 3 06-03 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 06-03 44. Hieu Nguyen Stillwater, OK 2 06-03 0 Day 1: 2 06-03 Day 2: 0 00-00 45. Steve Weaver Oklahoma City, OK 2 06-01 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 06-01 46. Brett Becker Tempe, AZ 3 06-01 0 Day 1: 1 01-12 Day 2: 2 04-05 47. Jobie Vongpraphanh Springdale, AR 2 06-00 0 Day 1: 2 06-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 48. Troy Enmeier Enid, OK 3 06-00 0 Day 1: 1 01-07 Day 2: 2 04-09 49. Mark Hamel Plainville, KS 2 05-15 0 Day 1: 1 03-05 Day 2: 1 02-10 50. John Austin Roy, UT 3 05-13 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 05-13 51. Chris Nettles Hickory Creek, TX 2 05-13 0 Day 1: 1 03-14 Day 2: 1 01-15 52. Henry Barber Kaysville, UT 2 05-08 0 Day 1: 2 05-08 Day 2: 0 00-00 53. Shayne Dupree Haslet, TX 1 05-08 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 05-08 54. Dwayne Allen Maumelle, AR 2 05-05 0 Day 1: 2 05-05 Day 2: 0 00-00 55. Tiger Manuel Jr Sulphur, LA 3 05-04 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 05-04 56. Alonza Brown Mckinney, TX 3 05-04 0 Day 1: 1 01-06 Day 2: 2 03-14 57. Devin Pino Kansas City, KS 2 05-03 0 Day 1: 1 01-15 Day 2: 1 03-04 58. Zach Roberts Morris, OK 2 05-00 0 Day 1: 1 02-08 Day 2: 1 02-08 59. Scott Hausman Owasso, OK 2 04-13 0 Day 1: 1 01-14 Day 2: 1 02-15 60. Kirk Albrecht Wellington, CO 2 04-03 0 Day 1: 2 04-03 Day 2: 0 00-00 61. Dave Ballou Santaquin, UT 2 04-02 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 04-02 62. Glenn Hahn San Antonio, TX 2 04-02 0 Day 1: 1 01-12 Day 2: 1 02-06 63. Richard Heflin Topeka, KS 2 04-00 0 Day 1: 2 04-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 64. Jim Hays Loveland, CO 1 03-15 0 Day 1: 1 03-15 Day 2: 0 00-00 64. John Piper Parachute, CO 1 03-15 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 03-15 66. Keegan Etheridge Kissee Mills, MO 2 03-13 0 Day 1: 2 03-13 Day 2: 0 00-00 67. Deaton Leblanc Denham Springs, LA 1 03-11 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 03-11 68. Cody Ralph Thornton, CO 2 03-10 0 Day 1: 1 01-07 Day 2: 1 02-03 69. Christopher Wilson Tucson, AZ 2 03-10 0 Day 1: 1 01-13 Day 2: 1 01-13 70. Roger Arthur Truth Or Consequences, 2 03-09 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 03-09 71. Danny Compton Pocahontas, AR 1 03-07 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 03-07 72. Bill McClure Rogers, AR 2 03-06 0 Day 1: 2 03-06 Day 2: 0 00-00 73. Ray Thomasson Jr El Dorado, AR 2 03-06 0 Day 1: 1 01-09 Day 2: 1 01-13 74. Richard Muhl Jr Iola, KS 1 03-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 03-00 75. Nick Melcher Gypsum, CO 1 02-15 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 02-15 76. Ian Love Colorado Springs, CO 1 02-11 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 02-11 76. Billy Ray Plattsmouth, NE 1 02-11 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 02-11 78. Danny Barrett Hutchinson, KS 1 02-08 0 Day 1: 1 02-08 Day 2: 0 00-00 79. Josh Trotter Hampton, AR 1 02-06 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 02-06 80. Terry Nation Sallisaw, OK 1 02-04 0 Day 1: 1 02-04 Day 2: 0 00-00 80. Austin Stucker Higginsville, MO 1 02-04 0 Day 1: 1 02-04 Day 2: 0 00-00 82. Neil Raedel Colorado Springs, CO 1 02-02 0 Day 1: 1 02-02 Day 2: 0 00-00 82. Ernesto Villa Jr Midland, TX 1 02-02 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 02-02 84. John Driver Kansas City, MO 1 02-01 0 Day 1: 1 02-01 Day 2: 0 00-00 84. Garry Harner Milliken, CO 1 02-01 0 Day 1: 1 02-01 Day 2: 0 00-00 86. Jerry Miller Mckinney, TX 1 02-00 0 Day 1: 1 02-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 87. DJ Buser Farmington, NM 1 01-15 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 01-15 87. David Gatlin Lincoln, NE 1 01-15 0 Day 1: 1 01-15 Day 2: 0 00-00 89. Ray Cates White, KS 1 01-14 0 Day 1: 1 01-14 Day 2: 0 00-00 90. Trey Gulley III Palmhurst, TX 1 01-13 0 Day 1: 1 01-13 Day 2: 0 00-00 91. Scott Krieger Sr Elwood, NE 1 01-11 0 Day 1: 1 01-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 91. David Sloan Joliet, IL 1 01-11 0 Day 1: 1 01-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 93. Tom Steinberg Colorado Springs, CO 1 01-09 0 Day 1: 1 01-09 Day 2: 0 00-00 94. Brad Weiss Salina, KS 1 01-08 0 Day 1: 1 01-08 Day 2: 0 00-00 95. Nathan Lawvey Bella Vista, AR 1 01-07 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 01-07 95. Kevin Roberts Cherokee, OK 1 01-07 0 Day 1: 1 01-07 Day 2: 0 00-00 97. Austin Wright Broken Arrow, OK 1 01-06 0 Day 1: 1 01-06 Day 2: 0 00-00 98. Blaine Acosta Yukon, OK 1 01-05 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 01-05 99. Aaron Baldridge Moore, OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Colton Banks Lincoln, MO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. James Barber Little Elm, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Macky Bosley III Canyon, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Dolyn Brown III Bellevue, NE 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. George Bryan Dallas, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Scott Carpenter Stanton, IA 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Clayton Coppin Muskogee, OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Ryshawn Davis Gray, GA 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Chris Demiglio Denton, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Laura Elkins Amarillo, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. David Fleming Potosi, MO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Kurt Gale Draper, UT 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Adam Gipson Fort Smith, AR 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Jeff Hamilton Blue Springs, MO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. John Kozel Leawood, KS 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Johnnie Large Owasso, OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Mark Leatherman Nacogdoches, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Daniel Maffei Dennis, KS 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Cliff Martinez Jr San Antonio, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Kim Mills Rio Rancho, NM 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Jeffery Montgomery Welty, OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Matthew Morton Wichita, KS 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Jeffrey Nolte Shawnee, KS 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Aaron Olsen Lenexa, KS 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Richard Riddler Colorado Springs, CO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. David Sherrer Elm Grove, LA 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Vince Sonnier Sulphur, LA 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Sid Stephens Mokane, MO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Blake Swetnam Kansas City, MO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Cecil Tubb Dike, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Rod Whitman Omaha, NE 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Mark Wilson III Barataria, LA 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 99. Chuck Worden Nordon, KS 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 17 128 312-13 2 15 117 293-08 ------------------------------ ---- 32 245 606-05
Seasonality to offer another shade of Harris Chain’s complexion for Bassmaster Elite Series event
LEESBURG, Fla. — A familiar face with a different mood; that’s a fair summary of the forthcoming Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at the Harris Chain of Lakes. And by “mood,” we make no suggestion for good or for ill; just different.
Competition days will be April 11-14 with daily takeoffs from Venetian Gardens (Ski Beach) at 7 a.m. ET and weigh-ins each day back at Ski Beach at 3 p.m.
The Elite Series last visited the Harris Chain Feb. 17-20, 2022. That event saw a mix of seasonal techniques, with Tennessee pro Buddy Gross capitalizing on a prespawn pattern to catch a four-day winning total of 77 pounds, 11 ounces.
This time around, Elite veteran Bernie Schultz believes heavy sacks are still possible, but competitors likely will have to work harder to find them. That’s simply a function of seasonality. While 2022 was a prespawn/spawn event, this year’s Elite will mostly likely revolve around different scenarios.
“I think fish will be largely postspawn and scattered,” said Schultz, who hails from Gainesville, Fla. “I think there will be a lot of bass guarding fry (recently hatched baby bass).
“Bigger postspawn females should have moved into thicker cover offshore. Where is anyone’s guess. It could be on brushpiles, mussel beds or deeper grass.”
Schultz expects many of the competitors to gravitate toward the deeper grass and the better shellbars. As he points out, several of the lakes hold brushpiles with “history” — an established local pattern. These sweet spots won’t be lonely, so boat draw often determines who gets first crack.
“I think (most) guys will be relegated to the bank, because I don’t think those offshore spots will be productive this close after the spawn,” Schultz said.
That being said, those fishing the bank for fry guarders will throw a mix of topwaters, wacky worms, swim jigs, lipless crankbaits and swimming worms. For the offshore options, Carolina rigs, drop shots, crankbaits, bladed jigs and jerkbaits will do most of the work.
Always the wild card for spring events, Florida-strain largemouth bass are known for their broader spawning season. Unlike northern largemouth in upper latitudes, where sharply defined seasonal weather places now-or-never constraints on the fish, Florida bass have been known to spawn throughout the year — more so in the state’s southern end, but also to some degree through the Florida’s central region.
Weather and water temperature set the stage, with full and, to a lesser degree, new moons triggering any shoreward movements. The most recent full moon was March 25, with a new moon falling two days before the tournament commences.
All things considered, if the weather and water temperatures hold stable, isolated bed fishing opportunities could be present. In all likelihood, though, that will not play a significant role in the winning game plan.
Covering approximately 75,000 total acres, the Harris Chain comprises Lake Harris, Little Lake Harris, Lake Griffin, Lake Eustis, Lake Dora, Lake Beauclair, Lake Carlton, Lake Yale and Lake Apopka. With Yale the only unconnected lake, each has its own characteristics and appeals and, while Schultz believes the entire chain may be in play, he suspects the event will ultimately see a couple of particular water bodies dominate.
Inter-lake travel always presents time management challenges, especially when running to Griffin or Apopka, both of which require locking. From the takeoff site on Harris’ northwest corner, running to Griffin requires northeast passage into Lake Eustis via the Dead River, then a northwestern run up Haynes Creek and passage through the Burrell Lock.
Reaching Lake Apopka starts with the same run to Eustis and then a southeastern ride through the Dora Canal into its namesake lake. From there, anglers run across Dora to a small canal on the east side, which links to Beauclair, from which the Apopka-Beauclair Canal connects to the chain’s southernmost lake — the 30,900-acre Apopka.
As Schultz notes, an abundance of shallow vegetation and a large number of quality- to trophy-size bass has traditionally made Apopka the distant gem that tempts hopeful anglers into making the approximately two-hour run. If the gamble pays off, fortunes are made quickly. But if the plan does not come together, it’s a long ride back to weigh-in.
With Apopka and Griffin, time management must also consider lock schedules. Both the Burrell Lock (Haynes Creek) and the Apopka-Beauclair lock are relatively small passages — 28 x 66 feet and 15 x 60 feet, respectively — so waiting on lock cycles often slows the journey, coming and going.
“I think Apopka will be the best option for those wanting to fish the bank (due to) high concentration of fish per acre and it gets less pressure,” Schultz said. “The problem is dealing with the lock. It only holds a few boats, it’s tedious, and it can be aggravating getting through that lock.
“The same thing could be the case for Griffin. That lake has a lot of offshore grass, but if a lot of people go, that could create a backup in the lock.”
Based on seasonality and recent tournament results, Schultz expects 14 to 15 pounds a day will earn a spot in the final round’s Top 10 field. Weights are likely to fluctuate considerably this time of year, but Schultz estimates an average of 18 a day will win.
Ultimately, he believes proximity may turn out to be a competitor’s greatest asset.
“I think the guy that can find them close, or relatively close, without having to lock and maximizing his fishing time might have the best strategy,” Schultz said. “I think the (winning) potential is there for all of the lakes, but it’s going to take something that’s overlooked.
“I doubt a guy is going to be able to win in a highly pressured area. He’ll have to have something, or a couple of patterns to himself where he can exercise those patterns without a lot of competition.”
Bassmaster LIVE will be streaming on Bassmaster.com all four days, and coverage will also be available on FS1 on Saturday and Sunday.
The event is being hosted by the Greater Orlando Sports Commission.
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
-30-
Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitte
Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 865-201-6458, cgay@bassmaster.
Chris Johnston Goes Wire to Wire to Claim the First Victory of the Touring Anglers Association
Photo Credit: Shane Durrance
Gainesville, GA (April 4, 2024) – After opening the event with back-to-back bags over 24 lbs., Bassmaster Pro Chris Johnston weighed his lightest limit of the event at 16.50 lbs., but his 65.38 lbs. total was more than enough to win the inaugural Touring Anglers Association event on Lake Lanier. Forty-seven anglers competed in what is billed as the “World’s Largest Jackpot Tournament,” and rightfully so. Johnston took home a first-place prize of $65,000 for the win and an additional $5,000 for the event’s largest bass, at 8.11 lbs.
Ironically, it took both hands to hold his cash stuffed envelopes, which so many weekend anglers strive to leave the lake with. When asked about the prize on stage, Johnston responded, “We get envelopes of cash back home in Canada, but they aren’t worth NEAR what these are! What a great event and a great time we’ve had here on Lake Lanier this week.”
David Williams brought in the only bag over 20 lbs. on the final day, with a five bass limit good for 22.64 lbs. He was also the only angler to see his weights increase each day of the three-day event. That impressive haul was enough to move him from 5th to 2nd, garnering him a $30,000 payday. According to Williams, “I had a phenomenal week, and absolutely loved the format of the event, everything went really well on and off the water.”
Rising star, Emil Wagner also made a solid run on the final day, improving his standing from 4th to 3rd, with a catch of 19.59 lbs., earning a check of $25,000. Wagner targeted spawning spotted bass exclusively, looking on shallow flat points, and giving credit to a shaky head and Berkley General for doing all the work. Wagner added, “This was a super fun event and I can’t wait for the next one!”
Cold and windy conditions did a number on the shallow bass and made it tough on many of the competitors that had faired so well with them on the first two days. Bassmaster Pro, Drew Cook managed a five bass limit of 16.76 lbs., sliding down from 2nd to 4th. Major League Fishing Pro, Jared Lintner also lost a little ground to the conditions, weighing his lightest bag at 16.25 lbs. and rounding out the Top Five, yet still earning a check for $15,000.
Finishers 6th through 12th were as follows:
- Corey Johnston 57.21 lbs. - $10,000
- Cazwell Anderson 56.39 lbs. - $10,000
- Jeff Gustafson 53.84 lbs. - $10,000
- Rob Jordan 52.86 lbs. - $10,000
- Joey Cifuentes 52.42 lbs. - $10,000
- William Fletcher 51.41 lbs. - $10,000
- Jimmy Millsaps 49.54 lbs. - $10,000
Full results can be found at: https://touringanglersassociation.com/leaderboard/
About TAA:
TAA is focused on a limited technology, high-stakes event, with low overhead and 100% payback, similar to the local “derbies” many fans of fishing are longing for. The entry fee is $5,000 and the competition is stout, with many Bassmaster and Major League Fishing touring pros, as well as local aces, going head-to-head for a big payday. More details can be found at: https://touringanglersassociation.com/
Autism Awareness Month Highlighted by Two Autistic Caretaker Giveaway Trips
Salem, Va. – April 4, 2024 – April is Autism Awareness Month! John Crews and the bass fishing world will take advantage of this opportunity by giving away two getaway trips of their choice to caretakers of autistic people donated by the Winners Travel Foundation. Autism Awareness Month represents an excellent opportunity to promote autism awareness, autism acceptance, and to draw attention to the tens of thousands that deal autism everyday. The giveaway trips are the highlight of the month along with autism puzzle decals on BASS Elite anglers boats and lots of auction items going to autism charities.
Pro bass angler, John Crews, explains, “We have had an amazing run of various Autism Awareness Month activities over the last 12 plus years but we have never done anything for caretakers. Partnering with the Winners Travel Foundation will allow us to highlight those caretakers and actually get to give away two dream vacations of their choice. We will also do
plenty of various fundraising for various charities too.”
To nominate a caretaker, which can be for another person or yourself, go to https://missilebaits.store/pages/autism-awareness-month-getaway-trips-presented-by-winners-travel and fill out the application. Nominations will be accepted until April 22 and the winners will be announced April 30 th . A panel of various people will choose the winners. The trips
will be for a caretaker plus a guest and will be up to the caretaker as to the destination within the continental United States.
Like in previous years, the BASS Elite anglers will have the opportunity to show their support for autism awareness by putting autism puzzle themed fish decals on their boats. Also, there will be numerous auction items on eBay later this month with all proceeds going to various autism charities. Lastly, anyone can get the autism puzzle themed fish decals with autism bracelets for $10 plus shipping at https://missilebaits.store/products/autism-awarness with all the proceeds going to Blue Ridge Autism and Achievement Center.
# # #
Contact: John Crews
PO Box 1045
Salem, VA 24153
Phone: (855-466-5738)
MLF Bass Pro Tour PowerStop Brakes Stage Three Presented by Mercury Set for Dale Hollow Lake
BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. (April 3, 2024) – The Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour is set to visit Dale Hollow Lake in Byrdstown, Tennessee, next week, April 9-14, for the third event of the 2024 season – the PowerStop Brakes Stage Three at Dale Hollow Lake Presented by Mercury.
The six-day tournament, hosted by the Byrdstown-Pickett County Chamber of Commerce & Bill Dance Signature Lakes, will feature a field of 79 professional anglers, including two-time REDCREST Champion Dustin Connell of Clanton, Alabama (2021 & 2024) and Tennessee superstars like Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tennessee, Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, and reigning Angler of the Year (AOY) Matt Becker of Ten Mile, Tennessee. They’ll be competing for a purse of $659,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2025, the Bass Pro Tour championship.
“On behalf of the Byrdstown-Pickett County Chamber of Commerce, Pickett County Government and the Town of Byrdstown, we are very proud and excited to host the upcoming MLF Bass Pro Tour tournament April 9-14,” said Billy K. Robbins, Executive Director of Byrdstown-Pickett County Chamber of Commerce. “We hope it will be a very successful event for the anglers and a great introduction for all the people visiting to be able to experience our community first-hand.”
The tournament will feature the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, in which anglers catch as much weight as they can each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard. The tournament is being filmed for broadcast later this year on Discovery.
“We’re excited to welcome Major League Fishing’s Bass Pro Tour to legendary Dale Hollow Lake, Tennessee,” said Dennis Tumlin, Chief Customer Officer at Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. “The timing for this event is perfect to showcase what an amazing fishery we have, and we believe it will show why Dale Hollow was recently named one of Tennessee’s 14 Bill Dance Signature Lakes. If you’re looking for a legendary fishing trip, endorsed by Mr. Bill Dance himself, we hope that you too will make time to come experience Tennessee’s Dale Hollow Lake for yourself.”
Spring City, Tennessee pro Wesley Strader said he’s fished Dale Hollow Lake his entire life, and it’s one of the “hidden gems” in the state of Tennessee.
“Dale Hollow is noted for its world-class smallmouth fishing,” said Strader, “But about 15 years ago some really good largemouth started setting in as well, so we can expect to see a lot of mixed bags of smallmouth and largemouth in this event.
“It’s been one of the best lakes in Tennessee for the past several years, as far as catching a lot of bass, and heavy weights,” Strader continued. “The largemouth are what has impressed me the last few years. Guys have been catching over 20-pound-bags of largemouth in the spring and in the fall.”
Strader said he expects to see some bass trying to come up to spawn during the event, but figures there will be a lot still waiting and in transition.
“It’s kind of a question as to how this thing is going to be won,” said Strader. “I’m not sure if ‘scoping will come into play or not, but it should be a really good tournament.
“I expect to see a lot of topwater baits, swimbaits, trick worms, drop-shot rigs, and typical smallmouth baits, as well as shaky heads and jigs to target largemouth – just your typical springtime players.”
Strader said he feels the event can be won anywhere on the fishery.
“Some sections may turn on more quickly than others, but it can definitely be won anywhere on the lake,” Strader explained. “I’ve never fished all you can catch there, so it’s hard to say how many fish can actually be brought in per day.
“I know Becker won a BFL tournament there with over 22 pounds, and 50th place was 17 pounds in a five-bass-limit event, so the weights should be pretty heavy. I’m going to guess it will take a solid 50 pounds to make it through to the next round.”
Although the fishery has hosted numerous MLF bass tournaments over the years, this event will mark the first time that the MLF top circuit – the Bass Pro Tour – has visited Dale Hollow Lake.
“I’m really excited to see this format go to a lake like this,” said Strader. “With the slot limit for smallmouth, this is a unique event. Typically, smallmouth would be out of play due to the slot limit, but with this format, and the 2-pound minimum for scoreable bass, the smallmouth will definitely be in play.”
Anglers will launch at 7:30 a.m. CT each day from Sunset Marina and Resort, located at 2040 Sunset Dock Road in Monroe. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the park, beginning at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
On Saturday and Sunday, April 13-14, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to visit Sunset Marina and Resort for the MLF Watch Party. Fans can watch the pros live on the MLFNOW! big screen, enjoy free food, enter to win hourly giveaways and cheer on their favorite pros. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel from Pure Fishing each day. The final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration on Championship Sunday to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.
The PowerStop Brakes Stage Three at Dale Hollow Lake Presented by Mercury will feature anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 79 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2025 championship.
The 40 Anglers in Group A compete in their two-day Qualifying Round on Tuesday and Thursday – the 39 anglers in Group B on Wednesday and Friday. After each two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the anglers that finish first through 10th from both groups advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 20 anglers compete to finish in the top 10 to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. In the final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on the final four days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the PowerStop Brakes Stage Three at Dale Hollow Lake Presented by Mercury Knockout Round will air as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 5 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering on Oct. 6. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Garmin, General Tire, Humminbird, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Rapala, StarBrite, Suzuki, Toyota and U.S. Air Force.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Big kicker lifts Johnson to Day 1 lead at B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at Arkansas River
Muskogee, Okla. — Persevering an agonizingly slow start, Chris Johnson kept his head in the game until favorable conditions allowed him to sack up a five-bass limit of 19 pounds, 6 ounces to lead Day 1 of the Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at the Arkansas River presented by Lowrance.
Hailing from Farmington, Ark., Johnson anchored his leading catch with a hulking largemouth that weighed 5-15. He heads into the second round with a lead of 1-5 over Jeff Clark of Van Buren, Ark.
“That big fish helped massively,” Johnson said. “That’s a total gift on this river.
“I only caught five fish today. I had three others that were in the 3-pound class and one that was right at 15 inches.”
Johnson said he caught his big fish at noon. Prior to that he had a few missed bites; a frustration he attributes to the shivering, windy morning. Improving weather and river hydrology got things moving in the right direction.
“I think a lot of it had to do with the river began to rise midday and the sunshine — that made it happen,” Johnson said. “It was cold this morning; about 45 degrees at takeoff. All the fish came from noon on.”
Noting that he was targeting prespawn bass, Johnson said he struggled with the day’s blustery conditions.
“I really fought the wind all day long,” Johnson said. “I had to fish really, really slowly. I think these fish are trying to move up to spawn and it was hard to hold my boat in position to fish for them.”
Johnson said he fished a few miles upriver from takeoff and fished something he described as unique in that region of the river. He basically targeted main-river structure — classic prespawn staging spots in 1 to 3 1/2 feet of water — but his specific zone comprised something with distinct appeal.
Johnson said the area where he caught his bass is something of an anomaly, so he opted to keep the details guarded.
Johnson said his big fish was his first catch. That bass, he said, brought a lightbulb moment.
“I got into a little area, and caught that big one and then three others pretty quickly,” he said. “It was just grinding all day, but once I got that bite, it clued me in on what I needed to be doing.
“I was catching them on a bait I like to use back home. The key was slow, methodical presentations.”
Johnson said his ideal Day 2 game plan would find him right back where he took the first-round lead. However, he realizes he may need to consider his options.
“I’m really concerned with pressure tomorrow,” Johnson said. “A lot of the anglers aren’t going to want to go to Kerr Reservoir tomorrow, especially if they didn’t do well there today.
“Unfortunately, this area of the river doesn’t have many spots like the one I’m fishing and it can’t handle much pressure. You can’t put three boats in there. That may be a major factor."
Clark is in second place with 18-1, and Hunter Litchfield of Macomb, Ill., is in third with 17-11.
Johnson is in the lead for Big Bass with his 5-15.
Kevin Turner of Sand Springs, Okla., leads the co-angler division with 11-12.
Mike Estrada of Belen, N.M., holds the Big Bass lead among co-anglers with a 4-14.
In the second qualifying event in the new B.A.S.S. Nation format, the Top 20 anglers will qualify for the 2024 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship presented by Lowrance, scheduled for Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees in Grove, Okla., Nov. 6-8.
Thursday’s takeoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. CT at Three Forks Harbor. The weigh-in will be held at the harbor at 3 p.m.
The tournament is being hosted by Visit Muskogee.
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Title Sponsor: Mercury
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Presenting Sponsor: Lowrance
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Youth Sponsors: Seaguar, Shimano
About B.A.S.S.B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
-30-
Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitte
Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 865-201-6458, cgay@bassmaster.
2024 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at Arkansas River presented by Lowrance 4/3-4/5 Arkansas River, Muskogee OK. (BOATER) Standings Day 1
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Chris Johnson Farmington, AR 5 19-06 0 Day 1: 5 19-06 2. Jeff Clark Van Buren, AR 5 18-01 0 Day 1: 5 18-01 3. Hunter Litchfield Macomb, IL 5 17-11 0 Day 1: 5 17-11 4. Bradley Sullivan Shawnee, OK 5 16-12 0 Day 1: 5 16-12 5. Brett King Kinta, OK 5 16-10 0 Day 1: 5 16-10 6. Blake Capps Muskogee, OK 5 16-01 0 Day 1: 5 16-01 7. Brandon Morton San Tan Valley, AZ 5 16-00 0 Day 1: 5 16-00 8. Chad Schmidt Clearwater, KS 5 15-12 0 Day 1: 5 15-12 9. Jeremy Norris Ama, LA 5 14-05 0 Day 1: 5 14-05 9. Jesse Parks Goodyear, AZ 5 14-05 0 Day 1: 5 14-05 11. Scotty Pennington Crossett, AR 5 14-00 0 Day 1: 5 14-00 12. Dalton Ross Centerton, AR 5 13-13 0 Day 1: 5 13-13 13. Chris Jones Bokoshe, OK 5 13-11 0 Day 1: 5 13-11 13. Lane Kindle Stilwell, OK 5 13-11 0 Day 1: 5 13-11 15. John Clayman III Dover, TN 5 13-10 0 Day 1: 5 13-10 16. Greg Vance Delhi, IA 5 13-07 0 Day 1: 5 13-07 17. Mike Rhinehart Pottsville, AR 5 12-13 0 Day 1: 5 12-13 18. Nic Conger Fort Smith, AR 5 12-12 0 Day 1: 5 12-12 18. Jesse Jordan Stilwel, KS 5 12-12 0 Day 1: 5 12-12 20. Dale Hightower Mannford, OK 5 12-09 0 Day 1: 5 12-09 20. Chance Woodard Paris, TX 5 12-09 0 Day 1: 5 12-09 22. Ben Burk Norman, OK 5 12-02 0 Day 1: 5 12-02 22. Kazuki Kitajima Corinth, TX 5 12-02 0 Day 1: 5 12-02 24. Corey Stewart III Lees Summit, MO 5 11-14 0 Day 1: 5 11-14 25. Scott Dooley Ashland, MO 5 11-13 0 Day 1: 5 11-13 26. Tony Baldridge Oklahoma City, OK 5 11-10 0 Day 1: 5 11-10 27. Alex Torkleson Coweta, OK 5 11-06 0 Day 1: 5 11-06 28. Marc Caldwell Rifle, CO 5 11-00 0 Day 1: 5 11-00 29. Chad Poulsen Longview, TX 5 10-15 0 Day 1: 5 10-15 30. Randy Campbell Tijeras, NM 4 10-15 0 Day 1: 4 10-15 30. Cole Findley Forsyth, MO 4 10-15 0 Day 1: 4 10-15 32. Michael Louviere New Iberia, LA 4 10-12 0 Day 1: 4 10-12 33. Brent Breznik Borger, TX 4 10-07 0 Day 1: 4 10-07 34. Joseph Sanderson Channahon, IL 3 10-04 0 Day 1: 3 10-04 35. Steven Caldwell Whitesboro, TX 4 10-03 0 Day 1: 4 10-03 36. Hunter King North Platte, NE 5 10-01 0 Day 1: 5 10-01 37. Casey Welch Aurora, CO 4 10-00 0 Day 1: 4 10-00 38. Jake Capps Muskogee, OK 4 09-15 0 Day 1: 4 09-15 39. Jared Miller Norman, OK 3 09-15 0 Day 1: 3 09-15 40. Corey Smith Perry, OK 4 09-11 0 Day 1: 4 09-11 41. Tye Grissom Austin, TX 3 09-10 0 Day 1: 3 09-10 42. Adam Hollingsworth La Vergne, TN 5 09-05 0 Day 1: 5 09-05 43. Ryan Latch Lafayette, LA 4 09-01 0 Day 1: 4 09-01 44. Tony Halford Perkins, OK 5 09-00 0 Day 1: 5 09-00 45. Mike Hill Carlsbad, NM 4 09-00 0 Day 1: 4 09-00 46. Rodney Copeland Sallisaw, OK 3 08-15 0 Day 1: 3 08-15 47. Steve Wilson Union City, TN 4 08-14 0 Day 1: 4 08-14 48. Josh Cruse Pocahontas, AR 3 08-14 0 Day 1: 3 08-14 49. Steve Lund Cave Creek, AZ 5 08-13 0 Day 1: 5 08-13 50. Greg Yates Oak Point, TX 4 08-13 0 Day 1: 4 08-13 51. Robert Capps Muskogee, OK 2 08-13 0 Day 1: 2 08-13 52. Grayson Morrow San Angelo, TX 3 08-11 0 Day 1: 3 08-11 53. Brock Enmeier Bixby, OK 4 08-10 0 Day 1: 4 08-10 54. Connor Jacob Auburn, AL 3 08-09 0 Day 1: 3 08-09 55. Billy Elbert Reeds Spring, MO 3 08-07 0 Day 1: 3 08-07 56. Shawn Clark Afton, OK 4 08-02 0 Day 1: 4 08-02 57. Brian Hickey Pueblo, CO 3 08-01 0 Day 1: 3 08-01 58. Cole Tullis Peculior, MO 3 07-14 0 Day 1: 3 07-14 59. Christopher Dollard Mountain Home, AR 2 07-14 0 Day 1: 2 07-14 60. David Bishop Gilbert, AZ 3 07-13 0 Day 1: 3 07-13 60. Jeremy Fuentes Carlsbad, NM 3 07-13 0 Day 1: 3 07-13 62. Jon Harshbarger Kaufman, TX 4 07-10 0 Day 1: 4 07-10 63. Sam Mitchell Kiowa, OK 2 07-10 0 Day 1: 2 07-10 64. Matthew Adamson Farmington, NM 3 07-09 0 Day 1: 3 07-09 64. Brandon Soliz Robert Lee, TX 3 07-09 0 Day 1: 3 07-09 64. Shawn St Pierre Paulina, LA 3 07-09 0 Day 1: 3 07-09 64. Jason Westrip Crane, MO 3 07-09 0 Day 1: 3 07-09 68. Matthew Abeyta Albuquerque, NM 2 07-09 0 Day 1: 2 07-09 69. John Hammersmith Branson, MO 3 07-04 0 Day 1: 3 07-04 69. Drew Porto III Greenbrier, AR 3 07-04 0 Day 1: 3 07-04 71. Samuel Collins Surprise , AZ 3 07-00 0 Day 1: 3 07-00 71. Tim McSorley Underwood, IA 3 07-00 0 Day 1: 3 07-00 73. Jess Stewart Brock, NE 3 06-15 0 Day 1: 3 06-15 74. Richard Vizcarra Peoria, AZ 3 06-13 0 Day 1: 3 06-13 75. Justin Russell El Dorado, KS 3 06-12 0 Day 1: 3 06-12 76. Mike Harris Cowgill, MO 2 06-07 0 Day 1: 2 06-07 77. Gunner West Spiro, OK 3 06-06 0 Day 1: 3 06-06 78. Jamie Carson Greenwood, AR 2 06-06 0 Day 1: 2 06-06 79. Paul Morley Kaysville, UT 2 06-04 0 Day 1: 2 06-04 80. Marin Marinov Broomfield, CO 3 06-02 0 Day 1: 3 06-02 81. Shannon Green Lebanon, MO 3 06-00 0 Day 1: 3 06-00 82. Tommy Abel Inola, OK 2 05-15 0 Day 1: 2 05-15 82. Hal Pinho Jr Patterson, LA 2 05-15 0 Day 1: 2 05-15 84. Kris Lee Coweta, OK 2 05-14 0 Day 1: 2 05-14 85. Dustin Berry Dayton, TX 3 05-12 0 Day 1: 3 05-12 86. Trevor Rogge Canyon Lake, TX 2 05-12 0 Day 1: 2 05-12 87. Reese David Sand Springs, OK 3 05-11 0 Day 1: 3 05-11 88. Austin Abadie Saint Amant, LA 2 05-11 0 Day 1: 2 05-11 88. Ted Daniels St. Louis, MO 2 05-11 0 Day 1: 2 05-11 88. Daniel Vine Page, AZ 2 05-11 0 Day 1: 2 05-11 91. Jay Beffa Festus, MO 2 05-10 0 Day 1: 2 05-10 91. Eric Stong Apopka, FL 2 05-10 0 Day 1: 2 05-10 93. Nathan Cummings Peoria, AZ 2 05-09 0 Day 1: 2 05-09 93. Robert Degraffenreid Oklahoma Cty, OK 2 05-09 0 Day 1: 2 05-09 95. Kelley Hudson Graham, TX 3 05-08 0 Day 1: 3 05-08 96. Cory Leita Victoria, TX 2 05-08 0 Day 1: 2 05-08 97. Kris Bosley Amarillo, TX 3 05-07 0 Day 1: 3 05-07 98. Stephanie Hemphill - Pellerin Village Mills, TX 2 05-06 0 Day 1: 2 05-06 99. Rick Mason Phoenix, AZ 2 05-04 0 Day 1: 2 05-04 100. Luke Plunkett Pinson, AL 3 05-01 0 Day 1: 3 05-01 101. Boyd Gautreau Saint Amant, LA 2 05-01 0 Day 1: 2 05-01 102. Hunter Neuville New Iberia, LA 3 05-00 0 Day 1: 3 05-00 103. Ryan Heavener Tulsa, OK 2 04-12 0 Day 1: 2 04-12 104. Cameron Tull Norman, OK 2 04-11 0 Day 1: 2 04-11 105. Kyle Caldwell Marshfield, MO 2 04-11 0 Day 1: 2 04-11 106. David Henderson Great Bend, KS 2 04-10 0 Day 1: 2 04-10 107. George Carroll Guyton, GA 2 04-09 0 Day 1: 2 04-09 108. Troy Stinson Peyton, CO 2 04-08 0 Day 1: 2 04-08 109. Keith Harmoney Hays, KS 1 04-07 0 Day 1: 1 04-07 110. Brian Stangel Albuquerque, NM 2 04-06 0 Day 1: 2 04-06 111. Michael Furgerson Tulsa, OK 1 04-06 0 Day 1: 1 04-06 112. Chris Ogan Bixby, OK 2 04-05 0 Day 1: 2 04-05 113. Randy Fleeman Copperas Cove, TX 2 04-04 0 Day 1: 2 04-04 114. Dennis Carroll Ashland, NE 2 04-03 0 Day 1: 2 04-03 115. Kevin Late Maynard, AR 2 04-02 0 Day 1: 2 04-02 116. Bill Gaddis Afton, OK 1 04-02 0 Day 1: 1 04-02 117. Mick Fenn Grove, OK 2 04-00 0 Day 1: 2 04-00 118. Kevin Slate Eufaula, OK 1 03-15 0 Day 1: 1 03-15 119. Lance Goodfellow Wagoner, OK 2 03-13 0 Day 1: 2 03-13 119. Jacob Sepeda Paradise, TX 2 03-13 0 Day 1: 2 03-13 121. Adam Condito Alamogordo, NM 1 03-13 0 Day 1: 1 03-13 122. Bill Brown Grand Junction, CO 2 03-11 0 Day 1: 2 03-11 123. Ryan Webb El Dorado, AR 1 03-10 0 Day 1: 1 03-10 124. Cole Buser Pullman, WA 2 03-08 0 Day 1: 2 03-08 125. Jason Clark Bixby, OK 1 03-07 0 Day 1: 1 03-07 126. Zack Holwerda Wittmann, AZ 1 03-06 0 Day 1: 1 03-06 127. Mark Warren Kiowa, CO 1 03-02 0 Day 1: 1 03-02 128. Rickey York Cherokee Village, AR 1 03-01 0 Day 1: 1 03-01 129. Joe Conway Colorado Springs, CO 1 02-15 0 Day 1: 1 02-15 129. Bob Glasgow Omaha, NE 1 02-15 0 Day 1: 1 02-15 131. Jerry Pape Bella Vista, AR 1 02-12 0 Day 1: 1 02-12 132. Mark Vote Omaha, NE 1 02-11 0 Day 1: 1 02-11 133. Carey Goldberg Colorado Springs, CO 1 02-10 0 Day 1: 1 02-10 134. Dallas Cole Omaha, NE 1 02-06 0 Day 1: 1 02-06 135. Andrew Wren Wylie, TX 1 02-03 0 Day 1: 1 02-03 136. Jaron Cooper Sutherland, NE 1 02-02 0 Day 1: 1 02-02 136. Larry Krueger Colorado Springs, CO 1 02-02 0 Day 1: 1 02-02 138. Jacob Bruener Douglass, TX 1 02-01 0 Day 1: 1 02-01 139. Matt Dobson Edmond, OK 1 02-00 0 Day 1: 1 02-00 140. Mark Williams Carrolton, TX 1 02-00 0 Day 1: 1 02-00 141. Travis Ledford Tuttle, OK 1 01-15 0 Day 1: 1 01-15 141. Ronnie Provence Canehill, AR 1 01-15 0 Day 1: 1 01-15 141. Daniel Rodriquez New Braunfels, TX 1 01-15 0 Day 1: 1 01-15 144. Joseph Gamboa Elephant Butte, NM 1 01-13 0 Day 1: 1 01-13 144. Don Glick Zurich, KS 1 01-13 0 Day 1: 1 01-13 144. Brandon Pedigo Lawton, OK 1 01-13 0 Day 1: 1 01-13 144. Jay Spencer Lincoln, NE 1 01-13 0 Day 1: 1 01-13 148. Pam Horne Bella Vista, AR 1 01-12 0 Day 1: 1 01-12 148. Royce Scheetz Lubbock, TX 1 01-12 0 Day 1: 1 01-12 150. Jon Stewart Grove, OK 1 01-11 0 Day 1: 1 01-11 151. Jacob Altman Edgewood, TX 1 01-10 0 Day 1: 1 01-10 152. Joshua Bauer Great Bend, KS 1 01-09 0 Day 1: 1 01-09 153. Jason Switzer Sapulpa, OK 1 01-08 0 Day 1: 1 01-08 154. Dave Garrett Trinidad, CO 1 01-05 0 Day 1: 1 01-05 155. Brandon Ackerson Afton, OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Keith Allen Okemah, OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Nicholas Ault Gravois Mills, MO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Matthew Barnes Schertz, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Brock Bila Ozark, MO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Paul Browning Monahans, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Nickalas Butler Lawrence, KS 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Glenn Connors Springfield, MO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Shelby Crites Jr Bearden, AR 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Ronnie Duncan Hampton, AR 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Richard Everest Hobbs, NM 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Kevin Flurry Roland, OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Ronald Giebel Penrose, CO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Will Hughes Nashville, TN 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Mark Jenkins Ville Platte, LA 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Gerald Kimzey Willcox, AZ 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Jared Knuth Wahoo, NE 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Mike Leibhart North Platte, NE 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Jim Lopez Littleton, CO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Jeremy Loud New Castle, CO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. John Madison Yukon, OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Doug McClung Prairieville, LA 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Tom McGovern Warsaw, MO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Brandon Moss Blanchard, OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Gregory Oehring Lees Summit, MO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Sam Page Moab, UT 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Dashon Peck The Colony, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Jared Pittman Avondale, AZ 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Jeff Richards Colorado Spgs, CO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Tanner Richardson Wilson, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Connor Santos Fountain, CO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Curry Schaubhut Hester, LA 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Dick Smith Oklahoma City, OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Hunter Stanley Mustang, OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Ron Strickland Pueblo West, CO 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Chris Torkleson Sand Springs, OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Dalton Warrington Tishimingo , OK 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Bruce White La Ward, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Richard Wilson Lubbock, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 155. Michael Wooten Cross Plains, TN 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 33 433 1112-01 ------------------------------ ---- 33 433 1112-01
Consistency Keeps Chris Johnston in the Lead at the TAA Event on Lake Lanier
Photo Credit: Shane Durrance
Gainesville, GA (April 3, 2024) – Forty-seven top level anglers continued to battle it out on Lake Lanier for the newly formed Touring Anglers Association (TAA) inaugural tournament. Sight fishing dominated the event on Day 1, but Mother Nature made it tougher on most of the field on Day 2. Although overnight storms, and strong winds affected a good portion of the lake on Wednesday; Bassmaster Elite Series Pro, Chris Johnston, was able to widen his lead with 24.13 lbs.
According to Johnston, “It was another great day on Lanier, but today I was able to get a BIG fish to go with my others.” The big fish he referred to was actually the Big Bass of the tournament, at 8.11 lbs., netting him a $5,000 bonus for the largest bass caught by the full field of competitors. Johnston’s total is now 48.88 lbs., giving him over a six and half pound lead on fellow Elite Series Pro, Drew Cook of Georgia.
Cook was able to climb from 6th place, to second, with the day’s second heaviest bag at 21.59 lbs. and a total of 42.33 lbs. Drew, like many of his competitors spent the day shallow and using his eyes to his advantage. “I was able to cover a lot of water looking specifically for those big females and I was able to run into a few today. I’ve also found a few more for tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to getting back out there,” added Cook.
Major League Fishing Pro, Jared Lintner had a tougher Day 2, dropping a spot to third place, but still within ounces of Cook and well within reach of the top, with a total of 42 lbs. According to Lintner, “My fish moved in behind a lot of bushes and I had a blast cracking those big fish and dragging them out of all that cover!”
The Top 12 fish tomorrow and the list includes:
- Chris Johnston 48.88 lbs.
- Drew Cook 42.33 lbs.
- Jared Lintner 42.00 lbs.
- Emil Wagner 40.26 lbs.
- David Williams 39.15 lbs.
- Joey Cifuentes 39.13 lbs.
- Rob Jordan 38.84 lbs.
- Corey Johnston 38.34 lbs.
- Caswell Anderson 36.86 lbs.
- Jeff Gustafson 36.69 lbs.
- William Fletcher 35.87 lbs.
- Jimmy Millsaps 35.53 lbs.
Full results of Day 1 can be found at: https://touringanglersassociation.com/leaderboard/
Everyone fishing the Final Day is guaranteed at least $10,000 in prize money, but big catches can earn big bucks in the 100% payout format. The winning angler will take home $65,000. Full payouts can be found at: https://touringanglersassociation.com/
Anglers will take off at 7 am EST and they are due to check in at 3 pm EST, with the weigh-in and live stream to follow, courtesy of Bass365. They have also collaborated with key industry media partners to make sure fans can see the weigh-ins of this historic event. Fans can tune in by following any of the platforms below on Facebook.
Bass365: https://www.facebook.com/basseast1
AnglersChannel.com: https://www.facebook.com/anglerschannel
AdvancedAngler.com: https://www.facebook.com/AdvancedAngler
Fish North Georgia: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fishnorthgeorgia
About TAA:
TAA is focused on a limited technology, high-stakes event, with low overhead and 100% payback, similar to the local “derbies” many fans of fishing are longing for. The entry fee is $5,000 and the competition is stout, with many Bassmaster and Major League Fishing touring pros, as well as local aces, going head-to-head for a big payday. More details can be found at: https://touringanglersassociation.com/
Chris Johnston Leads the Inaugural Touring Anglers Association Event on Lake Lanier
(Photo Credit: Shane Durrance)
Gainesville, GA (April 2, 2024) – Forty-seven top level anglers convened on Lake Lanier for the newly formed Touring Anglers Association (TAA) inaugural tournament. After nothing more than a four hour “ride around” practice period, Chris Johnston, Bassmaster Elite Series Pro, came out on top with an impressive 5 fish limit weighing 24.75 lbs. Johnston wasn’t ready to give up all the details, but his impressive bag came shallow with key fish bites flipping some “light stuff” and throwing a swimbait. Right on Johnston’s heels is Major League Fishing Pro, Jared Lintner, with an equally impressive 24.73 lbs. Lintner found success early, stopping on the biggest bass he seen in practice and adding it to his limit right out of the gate. His 7.41 lbs. kicker anchored his bag and was good for the Daily Big Bass and positioned him right near the top of the leaderboard.
Sight fishing dominated Day 1, but storms are forecasted for the area Tuesday night, and Wednesday’s forecast isn’t exactly ideal for those who are “looking” for big fish. The Top 8 anglers all cracked the 20-pound mark, and the Top 12, after Day 2, will move on to the Final Round on Thursday. The Top 12 is currently rounded out by Allen Armour, who weighed a 5 bass limit for 19.00. With several fish in the 5-to-7-pound range weighed on Day 1, anglers have an opportunity to make up a lot of ground with a good Day 2. Full results of Day 1 can be found at: https://touringanglersassociation.com/leaderboard/
Anglers are expected to take off each morning at 7 am EST and they are due to check in at 3 pm EST, with the weigh-in and live stream to follow. Those who make the final day will have an observer, which can include an eliminated competitor, in the boat with them throughout Thursday’s final day.
Although there will be no live coverage from the water, Bass365, has collaborated with key industry media partners to make sure fans can see the weigh-ins of this historic event.
Bass365 has called on AnglersChannel.com, AdvancedAngler.com, as well as the Fish North Georgia Facebook Group to assist in broadcasting the live stream of the daily weigh-ins to over 180,000 possible viewers. Each Facebook page will be hosting the stream on all three days of competition. Collectively across all social platforms, this group has the ability to reach over a quarter of a million fans of fishing for this inaugural event.
Fans can tune in by following any, or all, of the platforms below on Facebook.
Bass365: https://www.facebook.com/basseast1
AnglersChannel.com: https://www.facebook.com/anglerschannel
AdvancedAngler.com: https://www.facebook.com/AdvancedAngler
Fish North Georgia: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fishnorthgeorgia
About TAA:
TAA is focused on a limited technology, high-stakes event, with low overhead and 100% payback, similar to the local “derbies” many fans of fishing are longing for. The entry fee is $5,000 and the competition is stout, with many Bassmaster and Major League Fishing touring pros, as well as local aces, going head-to-head for a six-figure payday. More details can be found at: https://touringanglersassociation.com/
Travel Tuesday - The Worst Thing You Can Do Before a Fishing Vacation
By Pete Robbins - Half Past First Cast
Bassmaster and Marathon extend partnership for 2024 season
April 2, 2024
Bassmaster and Marathon extend partnership for 2024 season
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — B.A.S.S. and Marathon, the retail brand of Ohio-based Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC), with more than 6,000 stations nationwide, have announced the extension of their relationship for the 2024 season, officials announced today. The brand will continue to serve as the title sponsor for Bassmaster Studios and as a supporting sponsor for the Bassmaster Tournament Trail.
“We couldn’t be more excited to extend our sponsorship with B.A.S.S., a partnership that continues to be a win-win for both brands,” said Amber Metzgar, Brand Marketing & Performance Manager at Marathon Petroleum. “We look forward to the upcoming tournament season, which brings together some of the world’s best anglers.”
As a supporting sponsor of the Bassmaster Tournament Trail, Marathon will be heavily featured during the award-winning Bassmaster LIVE show. The show, which is broadcast on FS1 and streamed on Bassmaster.com and the FOX Sports digital platforms, is hosted from the Marathon Bassmaster Studios. In 2023, avid fishing fans watched more than 166 million minutes of Bassmaster LIVE coverage and — after two 2024 Elite tournaments — viewership has already reached a record-breaking pace.
Additionally, Marathon will enjoy exposure in Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times magazines and across various social media platforms. Among the Marathon-sponsored content will be “Peak Performance” interviews, which will focus on the pros’ winning ways and aim to help anglers of all levels improve their own techniques.
“We are proud to continue to grow our partnership with Marathon,” said B.A.S.S. CEO Chase Anderson. “It’s a natural fit for both parties, and anglers and fans alike find confidence in the Marathon brand and retail outlets while on the road traveling to their favorite fishing destinations.”
About Marathon Petroleum Corporation
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) is a leading, integrated, downstream energy company headquartered in Findlay, Ohio. The company operates the nation’s largest refining system. MPC’s marketing system includes branded locations across the United States, including Marathon brand retail outlets. MPC also owns the general partner and majority limited partner interest in MPLX LP, a midstream company that owns and operates gathering, processing, and fractionation assets, as well as crude oil and light product transportation and logistics infrastructure. More information is available at marathonpetroleum.com.
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier Series presented by Lowrance, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Strike King Bassmaster High School Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Team Championship, Yamaha Rightwaters Bassmaster Kayak Series scored by TourneyX, Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors.
-30-
Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitte
Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 865-201-6458, [email protected]
Huff Fished Shallow for $7,500 Toyota Bonus
Cody Huff’s third place finish in the 2024 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors won him an additional $7,500 of Toyota Bonus Bucks for being the highest placing angler driving an eligible Toyota tow-vehicle. With the Classic being held on Grand Lake in northeastern Oklahoma, the rising Elite Series star was on many pundits’ list to do well.
Huff was born and raised in Ava, Missouri, just a couple of hours east of Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees and has a lot of experience fishing – and winning on - Ozark reservoirs like Table Rock and Bull Shoals. More than familiarity with fishing in this region of the country, Huff was an early adopter of forward-facing-sonar technology and is extremely adept with this style of fishing, which was expected to play a major role in the 2024 Classic outcome.
Instead of electronics and finesse tactics, Huff relied on a ½-ounce Missile Baits jig and a Rapala OG Tiny flat-sided crankbait in five feet of water or less en route to his best Classic finish to date. Showcasing the fact that this former college fishing standout can catch bass with the best of them regardless of fishing style or depth range.
“I guess I’m kinda known for catching them with FFS, but I grew up fishing down the bank with a jig and a crankbait,” Huff said with a smile. “I’m glad I was able to show that in a big event, well, the biggest event of our season. Believe it or not I had never fished Grand Lake before practicing for this tournament, but going down the shoreline fishing visible cover each day made it feel just like springtime back home.”
Brush piles around docks and super-shallow laydowns in the backs of creeks were a focal point for Huff and his one-two power fishing punch all three days of the event. Huff is an alumni of the Bassmaster College Series Classic bracket champion program, where he won rights to a leased Toyota Tundra and Nitro Z20 Bass Boat along with the opportunity to fish in the 2020 Bassmaster Classic as a college student.
After winning not one but two MLF Toyota Series titles that year, Huff went out and bought his very own Tundra before he “graduated” from the college champion program and turned his leased truck in. He said reciprocating the support Toyota gives to the fishing industry is one of the best decisions he’s ever made and hasn’t looked back since.
“The Bonus Bucks program is incredible, but I’ll be completely honest what made me buy my first Tundra in 2020 was simply the reliability,” Huff explained. “Whether it’s my 2020 or the 2022 Tundra I bought last year, I’ve never had a single mechanical issue. It’s just something I don’t have to worry about, which is a huge burden off my mind. “I mean even for the Classic, our family stayed in Tulsa, so I was driving 90 minutes each way, morning and night, all week long. I never once stressed about my tow vehicle. I just jumped in the truck, put on cruise control, and tried to get my mind right to win a tournament. This truck tows my boat like it’s not there and wins me bonus money to boot.”
What’s even better is you don’t have to compete in the Classic or win “Happy Gilmore” checks like Cody Huff to reap the rewards of Toyota’s popular fishing contingency program. Bonus Bucks pays out on hundreds of bass tournament to anglers of all levels, you just must tow your boat with a 2020 or newer Toyota tow vehicle.
For more information, a full list of events, or to register today follow this link: https://www.toyotatrucksbonusbucks.com/.
Skeet Reese Opens Reese Fishing
Bass Fishing Hall of Fame Inductee Launches Rod Line and Retail Website
AUBURN, Calif. – April 2, 2024 –– The name Skeet Reese has long been synonymous with trendsetting and excellence. Since beginning his career in the Pro-Am tournaments of the Western United States decades ago, and into the national scene in the late 1990’s, Reese has been an angler who prided himself on excellence on an off the water. The Northern California pro has earned himself a reputation as one of the most recognized anglers in the sport, as a tireless worker, a marketing and promotions leader and a skilled Champion who excels as an angler and businessman.
With a competitive career that includes 11 Tour Level victories, 82 top 10 finishes, a Bassmaster Angler of the Year crown in 2007 and a Bassmaster Classic title in 2009, Reese has pocketed more than $3.8 million in career earnings. As impressive as his competition record is, his contributions to the fishing business rival that. Known for being instrumental in the growth of his partners, Reese is focusing his business acumen on building a new company, Reese Fishing, which will bring products that will provide self-designed products to fishing consumers.
Beginning with new lines of fishing rods, Reese announces a new website http://reesefishing.com, and the launch of two new fishing rod lines that are a culmination of his experience and commitment to excellence. “I’ve been fortunate to work with some great companies and to be a part of some great products in the past,” said Reese. “But with Reese Fishing, I have an opportunity to do things exactly the way I want and produce products that meet the standards I expect.”
Reese Fishing rods will initially consist of two series, NEXT 1 and NEXT 2, with the NEXT 1 series being the first to be available in the store. NEXT 1 is based off of the Skeet Reese Rods of the past but engineered to a higher degree. “This series is based on the top sellers from my previous projects, but we have taken steps to make sure they are better in every way,” said. Reese. “Every component of the NEXT 1 series has been carefully selected for feel and performance, and if we couldn’t find what I wanted, I worked to design and build them myself.”
NEXT 1 is available in eight models that will give anglers a rod for each core technique they may encounter on the water, and many of the specialized techniques as well. NEXT 1 will be available in the now famous Reese Yellow blank finish, and for those who said they would prefer something less visible. “Each NEXT 1 model has its own name and personality based on the techniques they are designed for,” said Reese. “We wanted to carry on the tradition of the yellow blank that so many customers loved, but others told us they would prefer them to be black, so each model is available in two colors to give everyone a choice.”
Soon to be released on the website will be NEXT 2, a series which Reese called the most advanced fishing rods he has experienced to date in his career. “NEXT 2 is my masterpiece to this point. I’ve designed exclusive reel seats and engineered our exclusive carbon fiber handles to integrate with them,” he said. “I’ve worked to combine the latest in technology and the best graphite and resins we could get to build this series. I’m confident that when you fish NEXT 2, you’re going to LOVE them.”
Reese said that he has poured nearly two years into the company and its products; his intent is to offer the end user extreme performance at a great value. “This journey has taken a lot longer than I anticipated because I wanted every little detail of these series to be perfect,” he said. “My challenge was to make sure that we came out with the best product possible, and I think that goal has been met. Our NEXT 1 and NEXT 2 series are so different but so amazing in their ways, and I can’t wait to hear what anglers have to say after they fish them.”
NEXT 1 rods retail for $139 and are currently available at https://reesefishing.com/product-category/fishing-rods/next-1/ NEXT 2 will feature a full lineup of technique specific models and will be available soon. Reese Fishing rods will be backed by Reese Fishing’s warranties, for details, visit https://reesefishing.com/warranty-information/
NEXT 1 is currently available with an introductory offer of buy two get 10-percent off and 15-percent off when you purchase three or more.
In addition to the Reese Fishing rod brands, Reese Fishing will also be offering Kastking Skeet Reese Icon reels, hardbaits from Lucky Craft and soft plastic baits by Berkley. Keep checking the website for updates and inventory announcements.
About Reese Fishing
A product of more than 40 years of competitive and fishing industry excellence, Reese Fishing is the brainchild of Bass Fishing Hall of Fame inductee Skeet Reese. The Auburn, Calif. pro, being one of the most successful anglers in the fishing industry with over 40 years of experience, knows what real anglers want and need to be successful on the water. built alongside his wife and daughters, the goal is to instill our passion for the outdoors. The goal of Reese Fishing products is to help customers be inspired to explore what the outdoors has to offer; Reese Fishing strives for the best overall performance on the water.
Find Reese Fishing online at http://reesefishing.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ReeseFishing and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/reesefishing3/. Or by contacting them at [email protected].
Multiple Media Outlets Partner with Bass365 to Cover the Inaugural Touring Anglers Association Event
Gainesville, GA (April 1, 2024) – The newly formed Touring Anglers Association (TAA) is hosting their inaugural tournament this week on the storied Lake Lanier. TAA is focused on a limited technology, high-stakes event, with low overhead and 100% payback, similar to the local “derbies” many fans of fishing are longing for. The entry fee is $5,000 and the competition will be stout, with many Bassmaster and Major League Fishing touring pros, going head-to-head for a six-figure payday. More details can be found at: https://touringanglersassociation.com/
The event kicks off with a boat and equipment check, that includes no pre-loaded or stored waypoints, no forward-facing sonar, and no 360-degree sonar. Anglers will get a four-hour ride around Lake Lanier on Monday, April 1 from 1 to 5 pm. During that time, anglers may create their own waypoints, but they cannot do ANY fishing during this “practice” period.
Competitors will hit the water Tuesday morning, fishing with limited knowledge and the goal of seeing who can quickly unlock the secrets to Lake Lanier, based on an instinctual approach that many fans are longing to see return. The full field will fish both days, with a cut to the Top 12 on the final day. Those who make the final day will have an observer, which can include an eliminated competitor, in the boat with them throughout the final day.
Despite TAA not having their own onsite media coverage, Ricky Bodsford of Bass365, has collaborated with key industry media partners to make sure fans can see this historic event.
According to Bodsford, “At Bass365 we pride ourselves at making nearly every blast off and weigh-in in professional bass fishing every year. I personally wanted to be on hand to potentially see history in the making, and with a few key industry partnerships, we can stream the weigh-in and reach hundreds of thousands of bass fishing fans.”
Bass365 has called on AnglersChannel.com, AdvancedAngler.com, and well as the Fish North Georgia Facebook Group to assist in broadcasting the live stream of the daily weigh-ins to over 180,000 possible viewers. Each Facebook page will be hosting the stream on all three days of competition. Collectively across all social platforms, this group has the ability to reach over a quarter of a million fans of fishing for this inaugural event.
Bass365: https://www.facebook.com/basseast1
AnglersChannel.com: https://www.facebook.com/anglerschannel
AdvancedAngler.com: https://www.facebook.com/anglerschannel
Fish North Georgia: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fishnorthgeorgia
Fans can tune in by following any, or all, of the above platforms on Facebook. They should expect to see some of the biggest names in bass fishing competing in a way that the weekend anglers can identify with. Anglers are expected to take off each morning and 7 am EST and they are due to check in at 3 pm EST, with the weigh-in and live stream to follow.
Major League Fishing suspends James Watson
BENTON, Ky. – Major League Fishing announced Friday that Bass Pro Tour angler James Watson has been suspended for multiple violations of the standards outlined in the 2024 Major League Fishing Angler and League Participation Agreement and the 2024 Professional Bass Tour Talent and Promotion Agreement.
Watson’s invitation to compete on the Bass Pro Tour has been revoked and he is prohibited from fishing any Major League Fishing-sanctioned tournaments while serving his suspension. Watson’s suspension began on March 29, 2024, and will continue through Dec. 31, 2025. Watson may reapply to compete in MLF tournaments beginning with the 2026 season.
The vacancy created by Watson’s suspension from the Bass Pro Tour will not be filled. The 2024 season will continue with 79 anglers. There are no changes to the 2024 Bass Pro Tour payouts or structure.
Fishin' Tip Friday with Luke Palmer - The Wind is Your Friend
High winds can hamper your efforts to sightfish for shallow spawning bass and can even cause difficulty for those using forward-facing sonar to locate fish offshore. But winds will blow
and you need to know how to adjust, even how to take advantage, when they do.
Bassmaster Elite Series Pro Luke Palmer hails from Oklahoma where the winds howl more often than not. Following a solid performance in the recent Bassmaster Classic which saw changing conditions including some windy weather, Palmer offered this advice:
“Wind can be your friend. When it gets slick calm, it makes it really tough, so I’m gonna go ahead and try to find some wind, whether it be just a little bit of ripple or something that’s blowing really hard, I’m gonna really go and look for points. Points are a bigtime thing. That wind is pushing up there. It’s pushing shad. It’s pushing bait. It’s turning that water up. That
allows those fish to feel more secure up there. When there’s wind, they’re up there feeding. When it’s calm, they’re up there probably just hanging out, not wanting to bite. I’m gonna go find those windy points, secondary points, something that’s got wind on it. That way I can pick up a spinnerbait, a crankbait, something moving so I can cover water. If they’re active, they’re going to bite those moving baits a lot better in that wind.”
Arkansas River poised to shine during B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier
March 28, 2024
Arkansas River poised to shine during B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — The Arkansas River has been a familiar and fantastic destination for B.A.S.S., but Chris Jones, a former qualifier for the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors, believes the river is destined to shine even brighter during the 2024 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at Arkansas River presented by Lowrance.
“This past year, the fishing was about as good as it’s ever been, and that just set up a phenomenal spring,” the Bokoshe, Okla., native said.
Tournament days are scheduled for April 3-5. Competitors will take off from Three Forks Harbor at 7 a.m. CT and return for weigh-in each day at 3 p.m. This is the second qualifying event in the new Nation format, and the Top 20 anglers will punch their tickets to the 2024 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship presented by Lowrance, which is scheduled for Grand Lake in Grove, Okla., Nov. 6-8.
The Arkansas River has proven to be a challenging venue. Fluctuating water levels have been a puzzle in the past, and should anglers choose to lock into Kerr Reservoir, barge traffic may end a promising tournament too early.
“It is 100% a gamble to go to Kerr all three days,” said Jones, who won the 2020 Bassmaster Open on the river. “It can be won up North too. I don’t fish up there much, but in the spring, there are a lot of key backwaters up there. Tommy (Biffle) won (an Open and an Elite) up there. It can be won up or down.”
With that said, Jones said this section of the Arkansas River is fishing better than it ever has been and that is largely due to the increased coverage of hydrilla and coontail.
“The wildcard on this place is, we’ve gotten so much good hydrilla and coontail in the last couple of years,” Jones said. “I’m 44 and I’ve fished here since I was a kid and this is the most grass I’ve ever seen in it.”
Largemouth are the primary species to target and there could be bass in all three stages of the spawning cycle, depending on the weather conditions. That will allow anglers to spread out across the entire playing field, especially if the water stays clean.
“Usually by then, there are some postspawn bass, there’s a lot of prespawn bass and then some on the beds,” Jones said. “That will start on the full moon of March and will last until May.
“The grass will open up a lot more spawning areas. There will be a lot of clean-water areas that have never been like that before. It will fish differently. This river has changed a lot in the last three or four years.”
Along with the grass, hard cover like stumps and laydowns will play a factor, as well as current breaks and eddies. Water willow and lily pads are also prominent features on the river and pads in particular provide quality spawning habitat.
The majority of bass will be caught in less than 8 feet of water, Jones believes, which means traditional shallow-water presentations will be prominent. Soft plastics like Yum Dingers, tubes and lizards will be key pitching and flipping baits, while Booyah Covert spinnerbaits and Mobster Swim Jigs will excel as well.
“It will be river baits 101,” Jones said.
The tournament is being hosted by Visit Muskogee.
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Title Sponsor: Mercury
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Presenting Sponsor: Lowrance
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
2024 Bassmaster Nation Series Youth Sponsors: Seaguar, Shimano
About B.A.S.S.B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
BOATING/FISHING: Boat Care Hacks
|
|
Beyond the Shine |
|
Unique ways anglers are using SRD20 products to keep their boats in tip-top shape |
|
Lafayette, LA (March 27, 2024) – Another very exciting Bassmaster Classic is behind us, hopefully pulling anglers off the couch and onto the water for springtime bass bites. Farther south—and along both coasts—inshore and blue water anglers are doing what they do the entire calendar year, whether that means reds and seatrout or pelagics offshore. No matter where or what you fish for, boating anglers all have one thing in common: How best to keep their investment looking good for the long haul. There are countless cleaning products on store shelves, but only a handful specifically designed for marine use. That’s where SRD20 comes in – a complete “system” of cleaning and protective formulas designed to meet the boat care needs of anglers wherever they fish. Besides use as a complete system to clean and protect your boat stem-to-stern, some anglers have found unique applications for SRD20 products that the innovators didn’t even intend. |
|
|
A Typical Bass Boat With several top finishes under his belt, collegiate bass angler, Evan Waggener, will be fishing the MLF Toyota Series this summer with plans to pursue professional bass fishing. “I run an older 2008 Nitro Z9, which I’ve taken care of to make it neat, tidy, and looking new,” says Waggener. “Before every tournament I’ll do a deep clean with SRD20 Pink Soap followed by spraying SRD20 Graphene on the exterior to protect it while I’m on the road. Then, when I get off the water after a practice or tournament day, I’ll use their Waterless Wash & Wax to remove any grime from the day.” Besides spraying Graphene on his boat exterior, he also uses it on his outboard to get rid of and prevent water spots. |
|
|
“A lot of times when you’re tournament fishing and you set the boat down quickly, you get splashes on the back of the outboard. The Graphene keeps those water spots from showing up at the end of the day.” Waggener adds: “But for my trolling motor, I use SRD20’s Vinyl Protectant. I run a Minn Kota Ultrex and I like to treat the side plates, foot pedal, and motor head to keep everything looking brand new. I’ve also started treating the motor shaft with it, which makes it nice and slick and keeps it from fading in the sun, especially the area around my forward-facing sonar. I also use the Vinyl Protectant on my boat seats and the plastic trim pieces that you’ll find on most bass boats, which will fade over time.” |
|
|
Inshore & Offshore Use Destin, Florida Fishing Captain of the Year 2020, Capt. Mark Hotze, runs both near shore and offshore trips via 30A Light Tackle Fishing Charters. Prior to settling down in Florida, Hotze fished around the world—from Japan to Puerto Rico—amassing a vast angling skillset that focuses on fishing saltwater with light tackle. “Seems like the fishing changes every six weeks or so, and we concentrate on whatever the best bite is. I’m out every day in my Everglades 243 center console, and the water down here is very tannic, so most boats develop a solid brown line on them at the water level. I like to pull up to the gas station with a big, shiny white boat.” |
|
|
Prior to discovering SRD20, Capt. Hotze said he used “a lot of other waxes and a big rotary buffer and really went at it to the point it was hard holding on to the buffer.” “With SRD20 Graphene, you just spray it on and wipe it off. In a matter of minutes, I was impressed how even the rough, beat-up spots came out looking good. Then I'll follow up with the Waterless Wash & Wax. It might take a month for it to get really dirty now, so it protects, too. Like a lot of anglers, I used to stand at the boat ramp every day with a big bucket of soap and really brush the whole boat down. I hardly ever give it a freshwater rinse now.” “And if I'm really lazy,” adds Hotze, “when I’m waiting to fill the boat up with 50 to 60 gallons of gas, I'll go around looking for that little brown line and clean it with the Waterless Wash and Wax as I’m filling up.” |
|
|
A Vinyl Protectant application to Capt. Hotze's trolling motor shaft makes for a silky deployment. |
|
Besides the Graphene and Waterless Wash & Wax, Hotze’s also a fan of the Vinyl Protectant—not only for his cushions—but to keep his Minn Kota Riptide trolling motor looking and deploying at its best. “Besides treating every square inch of the trolling motor, the application to the shaft keeps it looking new and makes it much easier to deploy, it really shoots out after application” Capt. Hotze concludes: “The Vinyl Protectant is great for cleaning stuff around the boat like where the vinyl and rubber meets the glass of my console, which can get squeaky and fade over time. I coat the track of the windshield with the Vinyl Protectant and I’m good.” |
|
2024 AFTCO x B.A.S.S. Conservation Grant Deadline
SANTA ANA, Ca., March 27, 2024 – As the deadline of March 31st, 2024 draws near, B.A.S.S. Nation Clubs are reminded to submit their applications for the AFTCO x B.A.S.S. Nation Conservation Grant Program. This initiative, continuing its support for conservation endeavors nationwide, aims to provide essential funds to approved freshwater bass conservation projects proposed by B.A.S.S. Nation clubs.
Launched in 2018, the Conservation Grant Program has been instrumental in the aid of numerous conservation projects, thanks to the generous contributions from AFTCO. With a total contribution exceeding $120,000 in grants to date, this partnership underscores a shared commitment to preserving and enhancing local fisheries.
The collaborative efforts between AFTCO and B.A.S.S. Nation Conservation have significantly advanced community and youth-oriented conservation initiatives. By fostering these projects, both organizations align with their overarching goals of environmental stewardship and community engagement.
B.A.S.S. Nation Clubs are urged to finalize and submit their applications before the approaching deadline. This presents an invaluable opportunity to secure funding and make a tangible difference in freshwater bass conservation efforts across the nation.
You can submit your conservation proposal HERE. The deadline for entries is March 31, 2024. Proposals will be judged by a panel that includes representatives from B.A.S.S. and AFTCO. Please direct any questions to Gene Gilliland at [email protected].
About AFTCO
Family-owned and operated by three generations of the Shedd family, the American Fishing Tackle Company (AFTCO) represents unparalleled quality, performance, and reliability when it counts most. Worn across the globe, AFTCO’s fishing clothing is designed to handle the harshest elements. AFTCO products are field tested from our Southern California offices where many of our core saltwater fishing tackle products are still proudly handcrafted and manufactured in our U.S. based machine shop. Marine conservation has been a brand focus since 1973. Through our 10% Pledge to Protect and Conserve, we give 10% of profits back to causes for the resource and angling rights.
Costa's PRO Series complete with addition of Whitetip PRO
JUPITER, Fla. (March 27, 2024) – Costa Sunglasses, manufacturer of the first color-enhancing all-polarized glass sunglass lens, redesigns a legacy favorite with the launch of Whitetip PRO. Completing the lineup of seven best-selling performance frames, Whitetip PRO diversifies the PRO portfolio, which now includes a variety of styles and fits across Costa’s most technical line of products.
Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the best-selling Whitetip, the Whitetip PRO features a more modern design with added performance features - while still giving a nod to its well-loved predecessor. Whitetip PRO keeps the same proportions, coming in as the smallest PRO model, while adding updated aesthetic and performance features for the modern angler. These include six updated technical features to keep your frames locked in place when the water gets rough, reduce fogging to keep your vision clear and redirect sweat so you can focus on what’s most important - catching fish.
“The PRO series represents our top-of-the-line frames for those who need the best of the best for long days on the water,” says Jed Larkin, Brand Marketing Director, Costa Sunglasses. “Since we launched the series in 2021 with Blackfin PRO and Fantail PRO, it has been a best-performing series. We’ve worked closely with our pros and guides to fine-tune every detail and engineer a frame that meets the needs for our community. And now, with the addition of Whitetip PRO, we have a PRO frame for everyone - including Costa and MLF pro Casey Ashley, who you will regularly see out on the tournament circuit rocking Whitetip PRO and the entire PRO Series.”
Whitetip PRO is equipped with Costa's cutting-edge polarized 580® glass lens technology, providing exceptional clarity and color enhancement. These scratch-resistant lenses effectively reduce haze and blur, while boosting essential colors for superior definition. Built with Costa's proprietary Bio-Resin, Whitetip PRO is also lightweight and maintains the durability necessary for long days on the water. Costa’s use of Bio-Resin is a part of its Kick Plastic program, a Costa owned initiative to help reduce the amount of single-use plastic finding its way into our waterways.
Starting at $264, Whitetip PRO is currently available at local dealers and Costasunglasses.com. For more information about Costa’s complete collection of award-winning performance, optical and lifestyle frames, visit Costasunglasses.com.
About Costa Sunglasses
More than 40 years ago, a group of anglers created Costa Sunglasses to stand up to the harsh light, unforgiving salt and rough conditions of a day at sea. The gear they made was up to the task, and it’s been on the water ever since. Today, Costa combines its superior 580® lens technology with unparalleled fit and durability to make the highest-quality sunglasses and prescription eyewear for adventures on the water. Committed to protecting the watery world it calls home, sustainability and conservation is woven throughout everything they do. From building products made of responsible materials, to Costa-owned initiatives like Kick Plastic® and #OneCoast, and its partnerships with 40+ mission-aligned conservation organizations, Costa inspires its community to help protect the earth’s resources and #SeeWhatsOutThere. Find out more on Costa’s website and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter at @CostaSunglasses.
Adam Rasmussen Stops by the Vexus® Plant
They say nobody remembers the guy who finished 2nd.
But we do.
All of us at Vexus couldn’t be more proud of our treasured friend, Adam Rasmussen, the so called “walleye guide” from Sturgeon Bay, who nearly won the Bassmaster Classic.
When the winds came sweeping down the Oklahoma plains on the final two days of the Bassmaster Classic, Rasmussen never flinched in the face of Grand Lake’s big waves.
Instead, he placed his confidence in a boat he knows is built to stand up to bass fishing’s biggest challenges better than any vessel out there.
He caught big limits while the winds gusted to 30 mph and nearly blew the doors off bass fishing’s biggest event.
You put pride in our hearts and goosebumps on our skin, Adam.
So much so, we’ll remember it for a really long time.
AC Insider Podcast - REDCREST Champ - Dustin Connell
The guys are back in the studio and they've caught with TWO TIME REDCREST winner, Dustin Connell. They talk about the event, DC's humble beginnings, and they open a can of worms...or two. Tune in and give a listen...a few passion buttons get pushed and it's a GOOD ONE!
