DETROIT (July 26, 2024) – With most of the contenders (but not all) making the trek to Lake St. Clair on Day 1 of Stop 6 Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches at the Detroit River, the standings are packed tight as you’d expect in a smallmouth event. Leading the way, pro Keith Carson of DeBary, Florida, tallied 22 pounds, 15 ounces, and pro Alec Morrison of Peru, New York, is an ounce back with 22-14. Behind the leaders, Jon Canada, Jacob Wheeler and Jesse Wiggins all weighed more than 22 pounds, which has set the stage for a fantastic weekend of action.

Notable Friday, with both tournament-specific and Fishing Clash Angler of the Year implications on the line, Morrison was assessed a 2-pound penalty for making a cast with six fish in the livewell. Though he doesn’t have much higher to climb in the standings, you never know when 2 pounds could come in handy.

The full field of pros will conclude the two-day opening round on Saturday, with only the top 30 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight advancing to Championship Sunday. The three-day tournament, hosted by the Detroit Sports Commission, features a roster of professional anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000 and an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2025.

Running to St. Clair and hunting smallmouth with Lowrance ActiveTarget, tournament leader Keith Carson put together a fantastic day of smallmouth fishing.

“I found in practice that the big ones seem to be all by themselves,” explained Carson. “If you get in schools, you’re catching 3s and 4s; if you get out and see one every once in a while, they’re all over 4, every one of them. I’m just out there roaming around. I don’t have a single spot anywhere. I’ve got an area where there’s some perch, and there seems to be bass around them. But you really have to search and move a lot. I’m only seeing one fish every 20 minutes or so.”

Culling multiple 4-pounders on the day, Carson did most of his damage with a drop-shot and a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm or a minnow.

While some folks reported that the fish were very difficult to trick in practice, Carson ran pretty good percentages today.

“I love smallmouth fishing. There’s something about them, I’ve been able to find bigger ones and figure out the structure almost everywhere,” said Carson. “Every day in practice and today, I’ll get a flurry where I catch three in a row, and then I’ll get three in a row that won’t bite it or will nip it or get the tail. So, it’s about 50 percent, I’d say.”

Carson is mired in a pretty tough rookie season on the Bass Pro Tour, but his Invitationals performance has been strong, as it usually is. With a couple more good days, he could be heading to the season finale at the St. Lawrence with some serious smallmouth mojo.

The top 20 pros after Day 1 on the Detroit River are:

1st:        Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., five bass, 22-15
2nd:       Alec Morrison, Peru, N.Y., five bass, 22-14
3rd:       Jon Canada, Helena, Ala., five bass, 22-12
4th:        Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 22-6
5th:        Jesse Wiggins, Logan, Ala., five bass, 22-3
6th:        Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., five bass, 21-15
6th:        Matteo Turano, Puryear, Tenn., five bass, 21-15
8th:        Connor Cunningham, Springfield, Mo., five bass, 21-14
9th:        John Cox, DeBary, Fla., five bass, 21-12
9th:        Troy Stokes, Trenton, Mich., five bass, 21-12
11th:     Brad Jelinek, Lincoln, Mo., five bass, 21-10
12th:     Colby Dark, West Monroe, La., five bass, 21-9
13th:     Jeremy Gordon, Rutledge, Tenn., five bass, 21-8
14th:     Adrian Avena, Marmora, N.J., five bass, 21-7
14th:     Robby Lefere, Jackson, Mich., five bass, 21-7
14th:     Brock Reinkemeyer, Warsaw, Mo., five bass, 21-7
17th:     Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., five bass, 21-5
18th:     Justin Atkins, Florence, Ala., five bass, 21-4
19th:     Chris Groh, Spring Grove, Ill., five bass, 21-0
19th:     Jaden Parrish, Liberty, Texas, five bass, 21-0
19th:     Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., five bass, 21-0

Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Pro Brad Jelinek of Lincoln, Missouri, earned the Day 1 $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award Friday with a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 8 ounces.

Overall, there were 672 bass weighing 2,357 pounds 14 ounces caught by 137 pros Friday. The catch included 130 five-bass limits.

In Tackle Warehouse Invitational competition, the full field of anglers compete in the two-day opening round on Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 30 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, advance to the final round on Championship Sunday, where they will compete for the grand prize of up to $115,000. The winner of the Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 6 at the Detroit River Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches will be determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative weight and will receive an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2025 on Lake Guntersville in Huntsville, Alabama.

Anglers will launch at 6:30 a.m. ET each day from Elizabeth Park, located at 202 Grosse Ile Parkway in Trenton, Michigan. Weigh-ins will also be held at the park and will begin at 2:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and weigh-in events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW!® live stream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and Rob Newell will break down the extended action live each day of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) and Rumble apps.

Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 6 at the Detroit River Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches will air as a two-hour episode, premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Nov. 9 on CBS Sports Network.

Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sports Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak Fishing, Onyx, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Tackle Warehouse Invitational updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 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.