Jasper, Alabama angler sacks up 18-11 to take early lead

CULLMAN, Ala. (April 15, 2025) – Day 1 of  Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 3 Presented by Phoenix Boats at Lewis Smith Lake went about to plan. Plenty of fish being caught, but top-end size was tough to come by. With most of the field packed tight, ounces will decide who gets checks, points and a chance at a win.

Still, Jasper, Alabama pro David Kilgore separated himself in a big way on Day 1, sacking up 18 pounds, 11 ounces for the lead – which is a lot of weight most times of year at Smith, and especially now with so many postspawn fish in the mix.

In second, pro Lane Olson of Forest Grove, Oregon, scrapped up 15-12, and Joseph Webster and Emil Wagner are tied for third with 15-2. We’ll see what happens on Day 2, but it already looks like a tough road for some of the anglers who caught their fish mostly with forward-facing sonar on Day 1 – Killgore and Webster were not reliant on the tech early and figure to have a great chance to stay steady the rest of the way.

Competitors will conclude the two-day opening round on Wednesday, with only the top 30 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight advancing to Championship Thursday. The three-day tournament, hosted by Visit Cullman, Alabama, features pro anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000 and valuable points to qualify for the 2025 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship in September.

A longtime local on Smith, Kilgore’s start with such a strong weight could set him up very well, though he knows as well as anyone that Smith is a tough place to be consistent. Today, after a slow start, he packed on the pounds in the latter half of the morning.
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“I’m a little disappointed in myself,” Kilgore said. “I thought I had a spot that was a lot better than it was. Then I wasted a couple of hours this morning. Eventually, I said, ‘I gotta move.’

“I moved and it wasn’t fast and furious; I could catch little keepers no problem, but every now and then, I would catch a decent fish. It was just a numbers game, pretty much, so I’ll try to do it again tomorrow.”

Weighing all largemouth on Day 1, Kilgore plans to run the same program on Day 2, but he’s got an intriguing herring spawn game plan for the final day.

“I’ve got a couple more areas I didn’t need to go to today,” he said. “And I’ve got a spot, way up – as in, get gas on the water – that’s a herring spot that’s loaded. So, hopefully if I can get through tomorrow in good position, I’ll abandon ship and go fish for the herring fish the last day.”

“The last few years here, we’ve done very good this time of year,” he said. “I’ve kind of got the herring gig figured out, and then I’ve kind of got the largemouth coming off bed gig figured out. So, it’s perfect time of year for me. I’m excited.”

The top 20 pros after Day 1 on Lewis Smith Lake are:

1st:        David Kilgore, Jasper, Ala., five bass, 18-11
2nd:       Lane Olson, Forest Grove, Ore., five bass, 15-12
3rd:       Emil Wagner, Marietta, Ga., five bass, 15-2
3rd:       Joseph Webster, Hamilton, Ala., five bass, 15-12
5th:        Britt Myers Jr., Lake Wylie, S.C., five bass, 14-15
6th:        Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., five bass, 14-10
7th:        Colby Miller, Elmer, La., five bass, 14-5
8th:        Ryan Armstrong, Robinson, Ill., five bass, 14-3
8th:        Austin Swindle, Parrish, Ala., five bass, 14-3
10th:     Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., five bass, 14-2
11th:     Hayden Marbut, Birmingham, Ala., five bass, 14-0
12th:     Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, five bass, 13-15
13th:     Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., five bass, 13-13
13th:     Keith Poche, Cecil, Ala., five bass, 13-13
15th:     Flint Davis, Leesburg, Ga., five bass, 13-12
16th:     Josh Butler, Hayden, Ala., five bass, 13-9
16th:     Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., five bass, 13-9
18th:     Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., five bass, 13-6
19th:     Cody Petit, Arundel, Maine, five bass, 13-5
20th:     Charles Abshire, Lake Charles, La., five bass, 13-4
20th:     Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., five bass, 13-4
20th:     Dustin Smith, Trussville, Ala., five bass, 13-4

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

Pro Keith Poche earned Tuesday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award with a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 6 ounces.

In Tackle Warehouse Invitationals competition, the full field compete in the two-day opening round on Tuesday and Wednesday 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 Thursday, where they will compete for the grand prize of up to $115,000. The winner of the Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 3 at Lewis Smith Lake Presented by Phoenix Boats is determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative weight.

Anglers will launch at 6:30 a.m. CT each day from Smith Lake Park, located at 403 County Road 386 in Cullman, Alabama. Weigh-ins will be held at Smith Lake 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 all three days of competition from 7 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. CT. MLFNOW! will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 3 at Lewis Smith Lake Presented by Phoenix Boats will air as a two-hour episode, premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 18 on CBS Sports Network.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Bubba, Deep Dive, E3 Sports Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Tackle Warehouse Invitationals 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 20 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.