X Zone Lures signs a legend in the sport of bass fishing
November 14, 2023 - For Immediate Release
X Zone Lures is proud to announce their newly formed relationship with legendary angler, Hank Parker. After conversations including product, business ethics and faith, Hank Parker and Jim Van Ryn, the owner of X Zone Lures, felt there was a path to be followed and the partnership was formed.
Van Ryn says “Hank Parker joining X Zone Lures is a thrill for our company and all those that are associated with it. Having a man that has so much integrity, both personally and professionally, choosing to work with our brand of soft plastic baits, is a blessing that we did not see coming. We have enjoyed great success in the growth of our brand over the last eight years since we bought the company and working with great people, like Hank, has been a major contributor to that success.”
Parker says “I am extremely excited to work with X Zone Lures. They make awesome baits, and they are a company with Christian values. It can’t get any better than this!"
X Zone Lures can be found in the boats of many pros, including top Bassmaster Elite Series anglers, Brandon Palaniuk, Carl Jocumsen and Cooper Gallant. All these great
anglers are influential in the bait designs which make up the X Zone Lures lineup.
About X Zone lures
X Zone Lures is family-owned business operated by the Van Ryn family. X Zone Lures is a brand under the parent company of VRX Fishing Products Ltd. and operates side by side with its sister brand The Rod Glove.
At X Zone Lures the mission is simple: strive to deliver quality products at reasonable prices, with top level designs, complimented by excellent customer service. They serve the freshwater and saltwater market, but the main focus is on bass and walleye fishing. From Elite Series level tournament anglers to fishing hobbyists, they strive to be a brand that can be trusted by all anglers to catch more fish. For more information, visit X Zone Lures.com or email Jim at Jim@vrxfishing.com.
Bradley Hallman steps away from Bassmaster Elite Series
November 10, 2023
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — After rejoining the Bassmaster Elite Series during the 2023 season, Bradley Hallman of Edmond, Okla., has decided to step away from Elite competition. Every angler fishing the Elite Series understands how much time and effort it takes to be successful, and Hallman — citing among other things a desire to be more connected to his family — decided that this lifestyle was no longer a fit.
“I think it’s just a combination of a lot of different things to be honest,” said Hallman on why he’s decided to step away. “I knew in my heart on the way back from the New York tournaments that I had a lot to think about, and I just wanted to make this decision for myself and my family.
“I knew a few years ago when I jumped (into) the Opens that it would be something to help motivate me to have a goal and want to make the Elites, but I’ve realized that I just don’t burn like I used to in order to compete at the highest level.”
Hallman was part of the 2006 Elite Series rookie class and competed for six consecutive seasons, securing five Top 10 finishes in that stretch. Hallman is a two-time FLW Tour champion who requalified for the Elites via a first-place finish in the 2022 St. Croix Bassmaster Central Opens points standings. Throughout a pro fishing career spanning 16 years, Hallman amassed 38 Top 30 finishes in B.A.S.S. events.
Hallman mentioned that being away from his family, including four children, was a big part of the decision.
“My wife and I just had our 26th wedding anniversary not long ago, so she’s used to this lifestyle. But our life just isn’t built for my family to be able to travel with me all the time,” Hallman explained. “I just don’t feel like this lifestyle allows me to stay connected to my family all the time.
“I think I’m just ready for something else.”
Outside of fishing the Bassmaster Elite Series, Hallman stays busy with his YouTube channel, being a guest host on Bass Talk Live and many other things within the sport. While he plans to stay involved in the sport, Hallman currently has no concrete plans.
“I think I’m just going to feel around with the options and see what makes the most sense,” he said. “I’ve been really blessed with great friends and partners over the course of my career that made this decision difficult, and a lot of that doesn’t necessarily have to end, but I just feel like I want some time away from the competitive fishing at the highest level.”
Fall Fishing with the new Seviin GF Series Baitcaster
Earlier this year, we got our hands on the new Seviin GF Series Baitcasters and we finally got to spend some time on the water doing a little fall fishing. If you missed our first impressions, you can check them out here.
Since we did our initial review, Seviin also came out with more information on the testing that went into the new reels, and you can check that out here.
As far as our take, AC Insider, Danny Blandford shares his thoughts after hitting the river. Check it out below!
Here are the full specs:
• One-piece reinforced composite frame and side covers
• 4 + 1 stainless steel bearing system
• Rock-solid one-way clutch anti-reverse
• 32MM forged aluminum spool holds 110 yards of 12 lb mono
• Custom designed carbon fiber handle with EVA grips
• Multi-stack carbon fiber drag / stainless steel drag system
• Micro-adjustable magnetic cast control
• Precision hobbed hard brass pinion and drive gear
• Line memo indicator dial
Check out the website HERE
Fill 'er Up! - Dual Pro Lithium Battery Fuel Gauge Install
Earlier this year we flipped the switch on our Relion Lithium Batteries. If you missed some of the details and specs on that project, click here The batteries have been fantastic, but we wanted real-time monitoring of everything on board and Dual Pro had the answer. We dropped the Dual Pro Lithium Battery Fuel Gauge into the Angler's Channel River Rig, as a DIY project. Check out this overview of the install...and the "Positive" results! Click here for a product information sheet, and you can even click here to see the instructions for yourself.
Score a front-row seat to Elite Series action as a Bassmaster marshal
Discover the ultimate fishing adventure as you ride shotgun with Elite Series pros and experience the thrill of competition firsthand as a Bassmaster marshal.
Photo by Chase Sansom/B.A.S.S.
November 9, 2023
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Bass fishing enthusiasts who want to learn from the world’s best anglers while exploring legendary fisheries can enjoy insider access to their favorite pros as marshals for the 2024 Bassmaster Elite Series.
Not only will marshals learn tips for breaking down a fishery and fast-track their learning curve, but AFTCO will be hooking marshals up with apparel, gear, a gift card and other items with a total value of $75, plus a 20% off coupon for future purchases. For those dedicated few who serve as marshals for more than three events, they will receive a $100 AFTCO gift card.
"I enjoy doing it, for one, because I tournament fish as a co-angler ... and you get to learn a lot from the guys,” said Holly Keen, the marshal who had a front-row seat to Lee Livesay’s record-breaking day on Lake Fork in 2021. “If you’ve got questions, they’ll answer them. They’ll tell exactly what they think you should be doing under certain conditions, what to use and why."
Registration for B.A.S.S. Life and Nation members opens online on November 30. All other B.A.S.S. members may register online beginning December 7. Marshal spots are available for just $99.
According to Keen, the learning experience on the water with Elite anglers is invaluable.
“You’re going to get to learn because you’re watching them actually tournament fish,” Keen said. “If you take a guide trip, you’re going to spend anywhere from $600 to $700, if not more. (As a marshal) you’re not on a guide trip where they’re either casting or helping you do this or that. You get to watch how they put into play everything they use to catch fish during an actual tournament. So to me, it’s worth it.”
Marshals join different Elite anglers to spend two to three days on the water. They are not allowed to fish but are encouraged to take photos, send blog posts to Bassmaster.com and serve as an extra set of eyes for B.A.S.S. tournament officials and the Bassmaster LIVE crew, who frequently reach out to marshals for updates. Additionally, marshals operate the digital BassTrakk scoring system that enables fans to follow the action in real time.
Another benefit? Seeing the interplay and camaraderie among competitors on the water.
"It was cool to see the interaction between the anglers on the water,” said former marshal Doug Lezman. “Checking in on how others are doing, asking permission before cutting past someone to fish a certain spot and even talking about what baits are working. Pretty cool to see a bunch of guys competing with each other but also understanding that they all are trying to make a living by catching bass."
Every marshal is guaranteed to be on the water for the first two competition days. As the Elite Series field is cut throughout the weekend leading up to Championship Sunday, marshals are chosen for Semifinal Saturday based on how early they register for the event as well as their content contributions in the preliminary rounds.
To learn more and register for the Elite Series marshal program, visit Bassmaster.com.
2024 Bassmaster Elite Series Schedule
Feb. 22-25, Many, La., Toledo Bend Reservoir
Feb. 29-March 3, Yantis, Texas, Lake Fork
March 22-24, Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic, Tulsa, Okla., Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees
April 11-14, Leesburg, Fla., Harris Chain of Lakes
April 18-21, Palatka, Fla., St. Johns River
May 9-12, Columbia, S.C., Lake Murray
June 13-16, Decatur, Ala., Wheeler Lake
June 27-30, Cullman, Ala., Smith Lake
Aug. 8-11, Plattsburgh, N.Y., Lake Champlain
Aug. 15-18, Waddington, N.Y., St. Lawrence River
Enhanced REVROS LT Spinning Reels
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DAIWA introduces improved, stylistic, high-performing, and smartly priced spinning reel family. |
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FOOTHILL RANCH, CA (November 7, 2023) – DAIWA enthusiastically announces improvements to its gateway spinning reel – REVROS LT. Available in sizes from 1000 to 6000, DAIWA brings anglers of all budgets a quality reel that doesn’t break the bank. “Even at this price—$59.99 to $79.99—we were able to design and bring to market an improved, affordable spinning reel from size 1000 to 6000 for freshwater, inshore, and light-surf applications,” says DAIWA Senior Marketing Manager, Marc Mills. |
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“What’s great about this improved generation of REVROS LT is it now sports a ZAION V body, which is simultaneously lighter and a lot stronger than what other manufacturers are using in this price range. This is true carbon resin graphite. It keeps all the bearings and gears in precise alignment because the material is harder and more rigid. The body doesn’t bend or lose efficiency,” says Mills. Mills continues: “The new REVROS LT also features an AIRDRIVE ROTOR and AIRDRIVE BAIL. Especially with these new design changes, the REVROS LT is a great starting point for beginning to avid anglers. I can remember when I was just starting out on the water; I was looking for spinning reel options in that $60 to $80 price range. This is that reel.” |
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REVROS LT FEATURES:
MSRP's from $59.99 In a world of you get what you pay for, the re-designed REVROS LT spinning reel family gives you more design technology and concept than reels twice the price. |
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Swindle’s Shaq and Deion of the 2023 Elite Series Season
Courtesy of Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships
Long before his tournament jerseys featured a Toyota logo, Gerald Swindle wore green and white as a quick and skinny hoopster, punt returner, and baseball player for the Locust Fork High School Hornets.
So, it should be no surprise when asked to name his best lures of the 2023 Bassmaster Elite Series season, the former three-sport high school athlete, aligned his lure choices to Shaquille O’Neal and Deion Sanders.
Rapala DT 8 = “Prime Time”
“The DT 8 was my Deion Sanders. He was my speedy burner that wasn’t afraid to put in the work. Whether I was grinding him across gravel points in Knoxville at the Classic, cranking grass at Seminole, long shallow points at Murray, or even at Lake Saint Clair for smallmouth, it caught a ton of fish for me this year,” says Swindle.
He typically ties it to 10 or 12-pound Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon line, and cranks with a 7’ 4” moderate action rod. He confidently states if there’s a bass living in less than 10-feet of water, the Rapala DT 8 can catch him.
Zoom Zlinky = “Shaq”
“This is the lure I use to linger around the paint like 300-pound Shaq. I could count on him to hang around the strike zone long enough to pick off a keeper when I was hurtin’ for one,” grins Swindle.
Swindle breaks out the spinning rod when finessing a Zlinky,and rigs it wacky style on a #1 size VMC Redline hook. He caught fish with it around cypress trees at Santee Cooper, off spawning beds at Seminole, and under mega-stingy conditions at the Sabine River.
So even though the 2023 Bassmaster Elite Series season didn’t go nearly as well as Swindle had hoped, all of us can learn from his one-two punch of vastly different lure choices that helped the Blount County Sports Hall of Fame member score a pile of critical keepers amid a wide variety of conditions this past year.
Jesse and Jordan Wiggins Win ABT 100 Smith Lake
By Jason Duran
The third and final stop for the ABT 100 was on Lewis Smith Lake where 100 of the best teams in bass fishing competed for first place of $25,000 and a total payout of over $100,000 in this event. The points race for AOY was very tight with only 1 point separating first and second place. The spotted bass at Smith Lake love the cold weather and Mother Nature dished up a perfect week of practice and tournament day for this event. Teams were anxious and ready to get this event started. However, on tournament morning, the fog rolled in and delayed blast off for one hour. When the fog finally cleared, teams quickly went to work locating fish with the hope of catching enough to take home the first-place trophy.
The team of Jesse and Jordan Wiggins spent the week at another event in Missouri and after making the long trip home, they arrived early Saturday morning just in time to rig some rods for this event. When asked how they prepared for this event Jesse said, “we have had about 34 years to prepare for this event; we have been on this lake every year since we were born, and we can’t really remember when we started fishing it because we were so young. We used all the information we have gained fishing here and knew the areas to stay in to try and win the tournament.” They fished the previous weekend at Smith Lake; “last week, we didn’t have a single fish the first half of the day, and we knew not to go and do that again today. We started today in a different area and were able to catch a couple keepers, and then we made the run to the creek where we ended up catching them. We knew if it was going down in there today that would be where we could win the tournament. We used two main baits; the first was a top water walking bait, and the second was a Jackall Driftfry. Typically, we don’t weigh any fish on the Driftfry, but we found this massive school of fish. We could see them on the forward-facing sonar, so we dropped the bait down to them. I would catch a 3-pounder, and Jordan would drop down and catch a 25-pound stripe. This happened back and forth a couple times, so it was pretty hectic there for about an hour. It was honestly more fish than I have ever seen, and it was all about being in that right area at the right time.” Jesse and Jordan weighed in 17.50 pounds and collected the 25,000 ABT check and bonuses including $7,000 Phoenix Bonus.
The Second-place team of Chad and Chase Schroeder weighed in 15.35. They had a quick practice arriving about noon on Friday for their very first time on the lake. They practiced separately and caught a couple good largemouth up shallow and spent the rest of practice marking docks in the Brushy Creek area. Their home lake is the Alabama River, so they are used to fishing stained water which is much different than the clear water of Smith Lake. They started on tournament day “fishing a gravel point that was holding some decent spotted bass that were schooling in practice, but that didn’t pan out. It seemed the bait was moving around making the fish scatter, so we moved to our primary pattern of fishing docks using a White Magdraft swimbait and an (unnamed) flipping jig. We got three solid bites in practice and figured if we stuck with it, we could get more on tournament day. We ended up catching 8 fish throughout the day.” They collected a $12,500 pay day for their second-place finish.
The third-place team of Trey and Leon Wade are also an Alabama River team finding success on Smith Lake. They spent two days in practice preparing for this event. “We were able to locate spotted bass using our live scope, but they were just not big enough. We caught a good largemouth in practice that helped clue us in to what we needed to do. We made the run up Ryan Creek to the back of a pocket and fished the docks where we located the largemouth in practice. We used a big swimbait that skips easily under the docks. When we got it back deep under the dock, we were able to catch fish. To let the dock fish rest, we made a run to another area that was not productive for us, so we came back to the docks and were able to catch a couple more. We ended up weighing in all largemouth totaling 14.93-pounds.” They collected a $10,000 check for third place finish.
The Angler of the Year title was also awarded at this event. The team of Jonathan Collins and
Derek Hicks came into this event leading by only 1 point. Jonathan fished solo in this event because Derek had some family obligations. Jonathan still came with the hopes of holding onto their lead and winning the Championship belts. Jonathan started the day as boat number one at blast off, so he had his pick of the lake to start. He made a short run to an area where he located some schooling fish in practice. Those fish didn’t produce, so he made a long run towards the Cullman Park area and quickly went to work targeting fish up shallow. “I tried my hardest all day to pick each area apart and keep my bait in the strike zone. I used a Skinny Dipper and an Extreme Lures Drop bait fishing mostly around docks. I fished hard till the very end and at 2:57 when I caught the last fish and quickly made my check in time of 3:00.” He caught 10.66-pounds, enough to finish in 18th place, and collected enough points to earn the title of Angler of the Year in the ABT 100 against the best of the best team fishermen.
The top five standings are below for a complete list of standings please visit:
https://www.alabamabasstrail100.org/lewis-smith-lake-results/
Download and listen to the ABT Podcast on your favorite Podcast app by searching for “Alabama Bass Trail Podcast.” The Podcast is released each week on Tuesday.
The sponsors of the 2023 Alabama Bass Trail 100 include; Phoenix Bass Boats, Bill Penney Automotive Group, Banjio Sunglasses, Garmin, America’s First Federal Credit Union, Sweet Home Alabama, Alabama Tourism Department, T-H Marine Supplies, Big Bite Bait Company, Black Rifle Coffee Company, Anheuser - Busch, Inc., fishalabama.org, Freedom Tackle Corp, Halo Fishing, NetBait, and Scum Frog
The Personal Rewards of Fishing
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Forestville, WI (November 6, 2023) – Why do you fish, or why would you want to try fishing? The short answer is that it's "fun". But it's not that simple. We're all about science and research, so let's take a moment to reveal the deeper meaning of the "fun" of fishing into defined areas of "personal rewards". |
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We're programmed to fish: Believe it or not, some say fishing is part of our DNA and who we are as Paleo-hunters because it fulfills our instinct of pursuing and catching our own food. Besides making us more sustainable as a human on Planet Earth (if you consume some of the fish you catch), fishing both calms and excites our senses. Some say the excitement comes from feeling that shock in your hands when a fish strikes, while others think it’s the thrill of reeling in a thrashing fish fighting on the end of your line. So fulfilling some primal and exciting interaction with something wild is a personal reward. Create Lasting Memories: Studies show that many people equate "happiness" with creating and recalling treasured memories. That makes sense, right? When most people recall a memory of something "fun" or special in their lives, it often includes several key elements: 1) interacting with nature in the outdoors. 2) bonding with family and friends. 3) a first-time experience with something new. Fishing of course checks all those boxes. But so do a lot of things that fail to generate lasting treasured memories. Here's a simple test; ask five people if they remember catching their first baseball, swinging a golf club or hooping their first basket. Chances are few or none will recall those foggy memories of their favorite "sporting pastime". Now ask the same people if they remember catching their first fish. Betcha get a very different response. So, yeah, fishing creates lasting memories that equate to happiness for many people. |
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One of several related classroom lesson plans. |
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A Great Way to Unwind: Let’s admit it. Chores around the house, school homework, and the stress of growing up in a world full of ADULTS can sometimes make kids go coyote crazy with stress. The cure? Fishing is your passport to a stress-free world where you can simply enjoy being outdoors, breathing fresh air, and waiting for a lunker to bite. Some experts believe that fishing brings on a special sense of being free and alive while interacting with nature on the water. Now that’s a sure-fire combo for unwinding. Creating Social Bonds: Look, you can Facebook your way around cyberspace until your thumbs fall off. But nothing forms stronger relationships than face-to-face time with genuine family and friends. And fishing with family and friends can cement bonds that last a lifetime. Besides, who better to help you land that big fish than your parents or peeps? |
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If you like “The Personal Rewards of Fishing,” be sure to check out FAF’s entire online series at Into the Outdoors, or on television in the educational blocks offered on PBS nationwide and other over the air networks. Here you’ll also find shorter, custom video segments complete with lesson plans, for sharing in classroom or fishing club settings. |
Chad Mrazek Wins 2023 Toyota Series Championship Presented by Simms on Table Rock Lake
BRANSON, Mo. (Nov. 4, 2023) – The third time was certainly a charm for pro Chad Mrazek of Montgomery, Texas, who brought a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds even to the scales Saturday to win the 2023 Toyota Series Championship at Table Rock Lake Presented by Simms in Branson, Missouri. Major League Fishing’s signature fall tournament marked the third Toyota Series Championship appearance for the Texas pro, who walked away with the top award of $200,000 and an invitation to compete in REDCREST 2024 – Major League Fishing’s most prestigious event.
After finishing the first day of competition in 22nd place, Mrazek jumped to second place on Day 2 with a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 7 ounces – the second-largest bag of the event. Mrazek backed up the Day 2 limit with another five-bass limit on the final day of competition, weighing 16-0 to catapult to the top of the leaderboard and earn the 2023 Toyota Series Championship win and $200,000. His three-day total of 47 pounds, 2 ounces gave him a slim 7-ounce margin over 2023 All-American champion Emil Wagner of Marietta, Georgia , who brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 16-11, for a three-day total of 46 pounds, 11 ounces, good for second place and $61,300.
Saturday’s final weigh-in marked the finale of the 2023 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats season, which featured thousands of anglers from around the world competing for millions in cash and prizes.
“I have no words,” said Mrazek. “It’s been a really long season and I’ve worked so hard and have so many people to thank, I don’t even know where to start. The 17-pound bag yesterday definitely helped me. I decided to fish comfortably today and fish in a way that I knew could catch a big bag, but I didn’t have a single fish today until about noon, and only had one fish until about 1 p.m.
“Toward the end of the day, I just had this feeling, and I went over to a little drain I’d found just up the river. I caught a 3-pounder and a 4½ -pound smallmouth, and everything just started falling into place. I honestly still wasn’t sure if it was my time or not at that point, but it felt good when it came together.”
Mrazek said he began the event working his LiveScope in water hundreds of feet deep with everyone else, but didn’t believe that pattern would be the winning ticket for him.
“I just wasn’t comfortable doing that,” said Mrazek. “I brought in a decent bag – 13 pounds and some change – but on Day 2 I knew I needed to make some adjustments if I really wanted to make a run at this thing.”
That adjustment meant finding shallow drains, which Mrazek said were few and far between on Table Rock Lake.
“I fished those shallow drains, just like I like to fish back home in Texas, but there aren’t many of them out here, so I only had about 4 to 5 spots to rotate through,” Mrazek said. “I rotated through them all yesterday and weighed in 17-7, then rotated through them all again today, and thankfully it worked out.”
Mrazek’s key bait was a 7/16-ounce football jig with half a 6th Sense Clout as a trailer – a bait Mrazek is super comfortable with and is part of his LiveScope rotation.
“I’ve been scoping with that bait for a while now,” he said. “I used 16-pound Sunline Sniper, and I just can’t break it. There were trees everywhere around most of my better drains, so you’re going to get wrapped up, but I think I only lost two fish all week.”
After a tough rookie year on the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals in 2023, Mrazek’s showing in the 2023 Toyota Series has been a career-saver for the Texas pro.
“This win truly means the world to me,” Mrazek said. “At the beginning of this season, I had some misfortune with a title sponsor backing out on me – it wasn’t anybody’s fault, it’s just the way things go – but since January I’ve been literally fishing paycheck to paycheck. I’ve been cashing a check just to get to the next event, and if it wasn’t for the first few good events this season, I would have been in trouble.
“Those events and those paychecks kept me going. It slowed down a little bit mid-season, but then it picked back up with the Northern Division of the Toyota Series, where I finished strong, and that helped me get here. I think this win might help a little bit as well. I just really want to thank my family and everyone who has supported me since I was five years old and had this crazy dream – everyone who has pushed me to be my best up to this point.
“Hopefully we can keep this momentum going,” Mrazek continued. “I’ve got a lot of big things lined up for next year, sponsor-wise, so I’m excited for the coming year and how this win will continue to help boost those opportunities.”
The top 25 pros at the 2023 Toyota Series Championship on Table Rock Lake finished:
2nd: Emil Wagner of Marietta, Ga., 15 bass, 46-11, $61,300
3rd: Drew Gill of Mount Carmel, Ill., 15 bass, 44-12, $40,000
4th: Jeremy Gordon of Rutledge, Tenn., 15 bass, 44-4, $25,000
5th: Colby Miller of Elmer, La., 15 bass, 43-7, $30,000
6th: Jacob Walker of Springville, Ala., 15 bass, 43-2, $14,000
7th: Christian Ostrander of Turlock, Calif., 15 bass, 43-1, $23,000
8th: Brody Campbell of Oxford, Ohio, 15 bass, 42-12, $12,200
9th: Mike Raber of Elkhart, Ind., 15 bass, 42-11, $21,000
10th: Evan Kung of Pickering, Ontario, 15 bass, 42-9, $20,000
11th: Alec Morrison of Peru, N.Y., 15 bass, 42-2, $14,500
12th: Erik Luzak of Fenelon Falls, Ontario, 15 bass, 42-2, $4,500
13th: Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, Texas, 15 bass, 42-0, $4,500
14th: Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 41-15, $4,500
15th: Cole Breeden of Lebanon, Mo., 15 bass, 41-10, $4,500
16th: Jason Gramada of Les Cedres, Québec, 15 bass, 40-8, $3,500
17th: Rick Harris of Kingsland, Texas, 15 bass, 40-1, $3,500
18th: Brian Green of North Augusta, Ontario, 15 bass, 40-1, $3,500
19th: Jacob Welch of Jefferson City, Mo., 13 bass, 39-14, $3,500
20th: Travis Harriman of Huntsville, Ark., 14 bass, 39-11, $3,500
21st: Jacob Keenom of Wellston, Okla., 15 bass, 39-2, $3,000
22nd: Martin Villa of Charlottesville, Va., 15 bass, 37-6, $3,000
23rd: Derik Hudson of Concord, Va., 15 bass, 37-1, $3,000
24th: Ken Thompson of Roaring Springs, Pa., 15 bass, 36-3, $3,000
25th: Brad Jelinek of Lincoln, Mo., 11 bass, 29-0, $3,000
Overall, there were 120 bass weighing 326 pounds, 1 ounce caught Saturday. The catch included 23 five-bass limits.
Al Hopkins of Pendleton, Indiana, weighed in five bass totaling 10 pounds, 14 ounces, Saturday to win the top Strike King co-angler prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard engine, with a three-day total of 12 bass weighing 25-10. Second place went to co-angler Will Lancett of Jacksonville, Arkansas , who weighed in a three-day total of 7 bass weighing 19-3, good for second place and $12,500.
The top 25 Strike King co-anglers at the 2023 Toyota Series Championship on Table Rock Lake finished:
2nd: Will Lancett of Jacksonville, Ark., seven bass, 19-3, $12,500
3rd: Zack Barrera of Morriston, Fla., seven bass, 17-9, $10,000
4th: Paul Gelles of Pingree, Idaho, eight bass, 16-13, $7,500
5th: David Matual of Chicago, Ill., eight bass, 16-12, $5,000
6th: Levi Allgeier of Bardstown, Ky., seven bass, 16-7, $4,000
7th: Casey McCommons of Ina, Ill., seven bass, 16-6, $3,500
8th: Nycholas Swanson of Cedar Falls, Ind., six bass, 16-4, $3,000
9th: Bruce Harris of Oakdale, Calif., six bass, 16-1, $2,500
10th: Zack Eggleston of Goleta, Calif., seven bass, 16-1, $2,000
11th: Pop Catalin of Cookeville, Tenn., seven bass, 15-7, $1,500
12th: Justin Curnutte of Grove, Okla., seven bass, 14-10, $1,500
13th: James Fender of Hanahan, S.C., six bass, 14-9, $1,500
14th: Brett Robbins of Solvang, Calif., seven bass, 14-1, $1,500
15th: Morgan White of Jasper, Texas, six bass, 13-6, $1,500
16th: Sakae Ushio of Tonawanda, N.Y., six bass, 13-3, $1,000
17th: Kirk Marshall of Discovery Bay, Calif., six bass, 13-2, $1,000
18th: Robert Griswold of Lincolnton, N.C., five bass, 13-0, $1,350
19th: Robert Massey of Calhoun, La., five bass, 12-12, $1,000
20th: Benjie Winkler of Cleveland, Ga., six bass, 11-13, $1,000
21st: Scott Spencer of Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 11-8, $900
22nd: Kenneth Heckel of Santa Claus, Ind., five bass, 11-5, $900
23rd: William Lewis of Jacksonville, Fla., four bass, 11-2, $900
24th: Riley Nielsen of Murray, Utah, four bass, 10-4, $900
25th: Chad Garton of Des Moines, Iowa, five bass, 9-15, $900
The 2023 Toyota Series Championship Presented by Simms will premiere on CBS Sports in 2024.
The full field of anglers competed on Days 1 and 2 of the event, with the top 25 pros and top 25 Strike King co-anglers based on cumulative weight from the first two days continuing to the third and final day. The 2023 Toyota Series champions were determined by the heaviest three-day total weight.
The 2023 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consisted of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern, Southwestern and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International division and the Wild Card. The highest finishing pro from each division at the championship will claim a $10,000 bonus. The bonus will go to the second-highest finishing pro in the division represented by the overall champion.
The 2023 Toyota Series Championship field featured the top 25 pros, top 25 Strike King co-anglers and tournament winners from each of the six divisions; the top 25 pros and 25 co-anglers from the Wild Card division plus tournament winners; the highest finishing boater and co-angler from each of the six Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regionals and the TBF at the All-American; the top three teams from the College Fishing National Championship; High School Fishing National Champions; TBF National Champions; and MLF International anglers from Canada, Central Europe, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Zimbabwe.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Toyota Series updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Raber Maintains Lead After Day 2 of Toyota Series Championship Presented by Simms on Table Rock Lake
Elkhart, Indiana Pro Leads by Slim 5-Ounce Margin, Top 25 Set in the Battle for up to $235,000
BRANSON, Mo. (Nov. 3, 2023) – Anglers were faced with another day of tough fishing conditions at the 2023 Toyota Series Championship at Table Rock Lake Presented by Simms in Branson, Missouri on Friday. Pro Mike Raber of Elkhart, Indiana , brought a five-bass limit to the stage weighing 13 pounds, 11 ounces to maintain the lead after Day 2 of the long-running championship event. Raber’s two-day total of 10 bass weighing 31 pounds, 7 ounces gives him a slim 5-ounce lead over charging pro Chad Mrazek of Montgomery, Texas, who brought 17 pounds, 7 ounces to the scale – the largest bag of the day – for a two-day total of 31-2, good for second place.
Hosted by ExploreBranson.com, the championship event features more than 400 pros and co-anglers from around the world, competing for a top cash award of up to $235,000. The field is now cut to just the top 25 pros and Strike King co-anglers heading into the final day of competition, the culmination of the 2023 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats season.
Raber said he only caught six keepers throughout the entire second day, and as the day neared its end, he had just three fish with only 25 minutes remaining in the competition day.
“Today was a lot tougher,” said Raber. “I mixed up my rotation a little bit and I honestly think that made me fish a little too quickly. I rotated a lot, and it just wasn’t really happening for me this morning – I didn’t catch a keeper for more than two hours.
“As the day went on, I started to get back in the groove. I caught a few to build some momentum and got a few good bites at the end to save me.”
The Indiana native said he spent the day doing a lot of the same things he did on the first day of competition, but conditions were rapidly changing throughout the day.
“I’m basically running two different patterns – I’m doing some of the LiveScope stuff, just like everybody else. That is how I caught a lot of my bigger fish, but I’ve also mixed it up with some shallow-water patterns,” said Raber. “I’m just flying by the seat of my pants at the moment and don’t really know where my next bite is coming from, so I’m trying to stay on my toes and have things ready to go.”
Although Raber had hoped to have a better understanding of the fishery and the patterns the fish were running after the second day of competition, he said he ended the day just as confused as he was on Day 1 of the championship event.
“I’ve been on this lake for almost a week now, but I still can’t really figure out a rhyme or reason as to why the fish are biting in one area and not in another,” said Raber. “I’ll think I’ve crossed a spot off, then the next day that same spot will be firing. It was like that in practice for me too. So, I could pull up on the right section tomorrow and get it done, or we could stumble really bad, like it felt like we were about to do this morning.”
Raber said he weighed in four largemouth and a spotted bass on Day 2 of the event.
“I caught a couple bass on one pattern and the rest on a second pattern,” said Raber. “Going into the final day, I’m not really sure what I’m better off spending my time on. When it’s right, it’s very obvious what I should be doing, but when I do that for a couple hours and don’t catch anything, I feel like I’m wasting time.
“That’s really the balance I’ve got to find tomorrow if I’m going to survive and do well at all,” Raber continued. “It’s going to be a struggle, but I definitely feel optimistic, and this is a great opportunity. It’s not often that you get to go fish one full day with $200,000 on the line, so I’m super pumped. The possibility of me catching enough to win is definitely there, but it will not come easy.”
The top 25 pros that advanced to the final day of competition on Table Rock Lake are:
1st: Mike Raber of Elkhart, Ind., 10 bass, 31-7
2nd: Chad Mrazek of Montgomery, Texas, 10 bass, 31-2
3rd: Colby Miller of Elmer, La., 10 bass, 30-13
4th: Travis Harriman of Huntsville, Ark., 10 bass, 30-8
5th: Drew Gill of Mount Carmel, Ill., 10 bass, 30-4
6th: Jeremy Gordon of Rutledge, Tenn., 10 bass, 30-1
7th: Emil Wagner of Marietta, Ga., 10 bass, 30-0
8th: Jacob Walker of Springville, Ala., 10 bass, 29-4
9th: Christian Ostrander of Turlock, Calif., 10 bass, 28-11
10th: Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, Texas, 10 bass, 28-8
11th: Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 28 – 07
12th: Alec Morrison of Peru, N.Y., 10 bass, 27 - 13
13th: Evan Kung of Pickering, Ontario, 10 bass, 27 - 13
14th: Rick Harris of Kingsland, Texas, 10 bass, 27 - 06
15th: Brian Green of North Augusta, Ontario, 10 bass, 27 - 01
16th: Jason Gramada of Les Cedres, Québec, 10 bass, 26 - 15
17th: Brad Jelinek of Lincoln, Mo., 10 bass, 26 - 12
18th: Erik Luzak of Fenelon Falls, Ontario, 10 bass, 26 - 11
19th: Brody Campbell of Oxford, Ohio, 10 bass, 26 - 10
20th: Jacob Welch of Jefferson City, Mo., eight bass, 26 - 08
21st: Cole Breeden of Lebanon, Mo., 10 bass, 26 - 07
22nd: Derik Hudson of Concord, Va., 10 bass, 26 - 06
23rd: Jacob Keenom of Wellston, Okla., 10 bass, 26 - 02
24th: Ken Thompson of Roaring Springs, Pa., 10 bass, 25 - 13
25th: Martin Villa of Charlottesville, Va., 10 bass, 25 - 12
For a full list of results visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 564 bass weighing 1.387 pounds, 2 ounces caught Friday. The catch included 72 five-bass limits.
Levi Allgeier of Bardstown, Kentucky, leads the Strike King co-angler division with seven bass weighing 16 pounds, 7 ounces, followed by Will Lancett of Jacksonville, Arkansas , who weighed in six bass totaling 15 pounds, 10 ounces, to secure his second-place position. Strike King co-anglers are competing for a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard.
The top 25 Strike King co-anglers that will fish the final day on Table Rock Lake are:
1st: Levi Allgeier of Bardstown, Ky., seven bass, 16-7
2nd: Will Lancett of Jacksonville, Ark., six bass, 15-10
3rd: Zack Barrera of Morriston, Fla., six bass, 15-10
4th: Al Hopkins of Pendleton, Ind., seven bass, 14-12
5th: Justin Curnutte of Grove, Okla., seven bass, 14-10
6th: Brett Robbins of Solvang, Calif., seven bass, 14-1
7th: Morgan White of Jasper, Texas, six bass, 13-6
8th: Casey McCommons of Ina, Ill., six bass, 13-4
9th: David Matual of Chicago, Ill., six bass, 12-12
10th: James Fender of Hanahan, S.C., five bass, 12-0
11th: Benjie Winkler of Cleveland, Ga., six bass, 11 - 13
12th: Scott Spencer of Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 11 - 08
13th: Kenneth Heckel of Santa Claus, Ind., five bass, 11 - 05
14th: Pop Catalin of Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 11 - 04
15th: Nycholas Swanson of Cedar Falls, Ind., four bass, 11 - 03
16th: William Lewis of Jacksonville, Fla., four bass, 11 - 02
17th: Robert Griswold of Lincolnton, N.C., four bass, 10 - 15
18th: Kirk Marshall of Discovery Bay, Calif., five bass, 10 - 14
19th: Sakae Ushio of Tonawanda, N.Y., five bass, 10 - 14
20th: Paul Gelles of Pingree, Idaho, five bass, 10 - 13
21st: Bruce Harris of Oakdale, Calif., four bass, 10 - 12
22nd: Riley Nielsen of Murray, Utah, four bass, 10 - 04
23rd: Zack Eggleston of Goleta, Calif., four bass, 10 - 02
24th: Chad Garton of Des Moines, Iowa, five bass, 9 - 15
25th: Robert Massey of Calhoun, La., four bass, 9 - 14
The final 25 pros and Strike King co-anglers will take off Saturday at 7:30 a.m. CT from Table Rock State Park Marina, located at 380 State Park Marina Road, in Branson. Saturday’s Championship weigh-in will also be held at the marina and will begin at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the daily takeoffs and weigh-ins and also follow the action online through the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts and daily coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com. The 2023 Toyota Series Championship Presented by Simms will premiere on CBS Sports in 2024.
The full field of anglers competed on Days 1 and 2 of the event, with the top 25 pros and top 25 Strike King co-anglers based on cumulative weight from the first two days continuing to the third and final day on Saturday. The 2023 Toyota Series champions will be determined by the heaviest three-day total weight.
Pros and co-anglers can qualify for multiple contingency awards based on final standings in the championship, including the lucrative $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus for pros. The winning Strike King co-angler will earn a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard motor.
The 2023 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consisted of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern, Southwestern and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International division and the Wild Card. The highest finishing pro from each division at the championship will claim a $10,000 bonus. The bonus will go to the second-highest finishing pro in the division represented by the overall champion.
The 2023 Toyota Series Championship field features the top 25 pros, top 25 Strike King co-anglers and tournament winners from each of the six divisions; the top 25 pros and 25 co-anglers from the Wild Card division plus tournament winners; the highest finishing boater and co-angler from each of the six Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regionals and the TBF at the All-American; the top three teams from the College Fishing National Championship; High School Fishing National Champions; TBF National Champions; and MLF International anglers from Canada, Central Europe, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Zimbabwe.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Toyota Series updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Bassmaster events make economic waves in Tennessee and South Carolina
The Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic and Strike King Bassmaster High School Championship presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors combined to generate more than $38.2 million for their host communities, earning honors in the Sports Destination Management 2023 Champions of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism awards.
Photo by Breanne Jackson/B.A.S.S.
November 3, 2023
Bassmaster events make economic waves in Tennessee and South Carolina
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic and the 2023 Strike King Bassmaster High School Championship presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors have been recognized by Sports Destination Management after generating a combined economic impact of more than $38.2 million.
“We are so proud to have the positive economic impact of the iconic Bassmaster Classic recognized again, but also to highlight the incredible draw of our High School National Championship,” said B.A.S.S. CEO Chase Anderson. “Through extensive media coverage of our exciting tournaments on the sport’s biggest platform and by attracting our signature large, enthusiastic crowds to a fishery, it is our goal to make every B.A.S.S. tournament an economic win for our host cities.”
The Bassmaster Classic, hosted by the Visit Knoxville Sports Commission, has proven itself as one of the best investments in sports, earning recognition as a 2023 Champion of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism (Mid-Market Division). The Super Bowl of Bass Fishing welcomed a staggering crowd of 163,914 fans to Classic Week activities. According to numbers released by Visit Knoxville, the Bassmaster Classic generated an economic windfall of more than $35.5 million for the community. In addition to producing more than $2.85 million in state and local tax revenue, including taxes on sales, restaurant purchases and lodging, the 2023 Bassmaster Classic and associated activities supported a total of 12,698 jobs. Fans traveling from across the nation and from as far away as Australia and Japan also accounted for 31,525 room nights at hotels across Knox County. Tournament coverage reached 4.5 million viewers across the two days of FOX and FS1 coverage.
The Bassmaster Classic was also recently honored as the “Best Professional Event” at the annual SportsTravel Awards.
2022 marked the first time the Bassmaster High School National Championship was held on Lake Hartwell in Anderson, S.C., and this year’s event enjoyed massive growth among participants and fans, earning the distinction of Sports Tourism Hero in the 2023 Champions of Economic Impact awards. Young anglers from 35 states and Ontario, Canada, qualified for the 480-plus-boat field. The tournament accounted for more than 10,000 room nights and had a total economic impact of $2.73 million for Anderson County.
“The Bassmaster High School Championship has been on our radar since 2016 as a must-have event for our community,” said Neil Paul, executive director of Visit Anderson, which hosted the event. “We knew the impact of this event would be major given the growth pattern of high school fishing and the continued development of high school fishing within the Bassmaster platform. The leadership of Anderson County has provided us with a tremendous facility in Green Pond Landing and the resources to be able to host events such as the Bassmaster High School Championship. This event, with 481 boats, was a landmark event for Anderson County, Green Pond Landing and Lake Hartwell!”
Sports Destination Management is the leading publication with the largest circulation of sports event planners and tournament directors in the sports tourism market.
“Bass fishing events are some of the heaviest hitters in the travel sports industry in terms of economic impact, bringing in not just dollars and hotel business, but new attention to destinations that can host events or just attract amateur anglers for a weekend of fishing,” said Mary Helen Sprecher, managing editor at Sports Destination Management.
The 2023 Champions of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism awards included a variety of sporting events across small, mid and large market
Indiana Pro Mike Raber Leads Day One of the Toyota Series Championship Presented by Simms on Table Rock Lake
BRANSON, Mo. (Nov. 2, 2023) – After several frigid days of practice on Table Rock Lake, over 400 anglers welcomed a bit of a warming trend Thursday to begin the three-day competition for a top cash award of up to $235,000 at the 2023 Toyota Series Championship at Table Rock Lake Presented by Simms in Branson, Missouri.
The long-running bass-fishing championship, hosted by ExploreBranson.com, features the nation’s best Toyota Series pros and international anglers, and is the culmination of the 2023 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats season.
Pro Mike Raber of Elkhart, Indiana, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 12 ounces to take the early lead after Day 1 of the three-day event. Raber holds a 1-pound, 5-ounce lead over pro Emil Wagner of Marietta, Georgia, who caught five bass weighing 16 pounds, 7 ounces, good for second place. Wagner was followed closely by local pro Brad Jelinek of Lincoln, Missouri, who weighed a five-bass limit totaling 15-12 to finish the day in third place.
After a vicious cold front swept through the Ozark region earlier in the week, warmer temperatures on Thursday seemed to be shaking things up on the Missouri fishery.
“I didn’t expect this outcome at all when I started out this morning,” said Raber. “I caught a couple fish today that were a caliber I never saw in practice, so I think the conditions are starting to change out there. Hopefully that’s going to continue throughout the tournament.
“The warmer weather today really got the fish more mobile,” Raber continued. “I caught about 10 keepers today, nothing too crazy, and not a ton of fish. I think they are pretty pressured, and bites are at a premium right now.”
With hundreds of anglers spread out across Table Rock Lake trying to figure out the bite in the changing conditions, Day 1 began with a wide array of game plans throughout the field.
“I started my morning on one pattern and caught a big one doing that, then transitioned a little throughout the day,” said Raber. “I covered a lot of water – a couple places were firing, and a whole lot of places weren’t. The fishing’s not easy out there – it was brutal – and I think anyone in the field would tell you that right now.”
Raber said the championship event is the first time he’s visited Table Rock Lake, or even fished anywhere near the region, but despite that, the Indiana pro was definitely a force to be reckoned with on Thursday.
“I fished the four days of practice here, but I’ve never fished a lake that looks like this, or even seen a highland reservoir until this week,” said Raber. “It took some getting used to, especially the first couple days of practice – it was like being on the moon. Where I’m from, largemouth fishing is grass, and there’s none of that here – there’s not even moss on the rocks. I’m a smallmouth guy too though, so that helped. But it’s definitely a different type of fishery for me.”
Raber said he caught a mixed bag of fish throughout the day, including spotted, smallmouth and largemouth bass.
“I caught mostly spotted bass, but my big ones were largemouth,” said Raber. “I don’t really have areas for each species, they just kind of caught me by surprise today – especially the places where I found smallmouth. There weren’t smallmouth in those spots earlier in the week.
“This is my very first season fishing the Toyota Series, so I just feel extremely blessed to be here, and doubly blessed for the day today,” Raber continued. “God has given me more than I deserve, so we’ll see what happens. Pulling off a win would obviously mean the world to me, but win, lose or draw, we’re going to go out there and try to do things the right way and see what we can get done.”
The top 20 pros after Day One on Table Rock Lake are:
2nd: Emil Wagner of Marietta, Ga., five bass, 16-7
3rd: Brad Jelinek of Lincoln, Mo., five bass, 15-12
4th: Alec Morrison of Peru, N.Y., five bass, 15-4
5th: Evan Kung of Pickering, Ontario, five bass, 15-2
6th: Ken Thompson of Roaring Springs, Pa., five bass, 15-0
7th: Colby Miller of Elmer, La., five bass, 14-11
8th: Kyle Cortiana of Broken Arrow, Okla., five bass, 14-9
9th: Jacob Keenom of Wellston, Okla., five bass, 14-9
10th: Jeremy Gordon of Rutledge, Tenn., five bass, 14-6
11th: Charlie Weyer of Branson West, Mo., five bass, 14-5
12th: Jacob Welch of Jefferson City, Mo., four bass, 14-3
13th: Derik Hudson of Concord, Va., five bass, 14-0
14th: Erik Luzak of Fenelon Falls, Ontario, five bass, 13-15
14th: Ish Monroe of Oakdale, Calif., five bass, 13-15
16th: Dakota Ebare, Brookeland, Texas, five bass, 13-14
17th: Travis Harriman of Huntsville, Ark., five bass, 13-13
17th: Brian LaClair of Denton, Md., five bass, 13-13
17th: Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 13-13
17th: Andrew Ready of Auburndale, Fla., five bass, 13-13
Overall, there were 745 bass weighing 1767 pounds caught by 196 pros Thursday. The catch included 97 five-bass limits.
Will Lancett of Jacksonville, Arkansas, leads the Strike King co-angler division with four bass weighing 11 pounds, 12 ounces, followed by Al Hopkins of Pendleton, Indiana, who weighed five bass totaling 10-3 to end the day in second place. Co-anglers are competing for a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard.
The top 20 Strike King co-anglers after Day One on Table Rock Lake are:
2nd: Al Hopkins of Pendleton, Ind., five bass, 10-3
3rd: Brett Robbins of Solvang, Calif., five bass, 10-2
4th: Larry Taylor of Seaford, Del., five bass, 9-8
5th: Paul Gelles of Pingree, Idaho, four bass, 8-14
6th: Morgan White of Jasper, Texas, four bass, 8-12
7th: Chad Garton of Des Moines, Iowa, four bass, 7-11
7th: Bruce Harris of Oakdale, Calif., three bass, 7-11
9th: Alex Berry of Pomona Harare, Zimbabwe, four bass, 7-10
10th: Andrew Harper of Shelbyville, Ill., three bass, 7-6
11th: Cole Semler of Dalbo, Minn., three bass, 7-4
12th: Kirk Marshall of Discovery Bay, Calif., three bass, 7-1
12th: Nycholas Swanson of Cedar Falls, Iowa, two bass, 7-1
12th: Todd Woods of Long Beach, Calif., three bass, 7-1
15th: Leigh Lutz of Concord, Calif., three bass, 6-8
16th: Mason Chapman of Lenexa, Kan., three bass, 6-5
16th: Chase Johnson of Quincy, Ill., three bass, 6-5
18th: Sakae Ushio of Tonawanda, N.Y., three bass, 6-0
19th: Akira Okuyama of Forest Hills, N.Y., three bass, 5-11
19th: Chad Roorda of Palm Desert, Calif., three bass, 5-11
19th: Toon Van Ham of Merksplas, Belgium, three bass, 5-11
The full field of anglers compete on Days 1 and 2 of the event, with the top 10 pros and top 10 Strike King co-anglers based on cumulative weight from the first two days continuing to the third and final day. The 2023 Toyota Series champions will be determined by the heaviest three-day total weight.
Pros and co-anglers can qualify for multiple contingency awards based on final standings in the championship, including the lucrative $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus for pros. The winning Strike King co-angler will earn a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard motor.
The 2023 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consisted of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern, Southwestern and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International division and the Wild Card. The highest finishing pro from each division at the championship will claim a $10,000 bonus. The bonus will go to the second-highest finishing pro in the division represented by the overall champion.
The 2023 Toyota Series Championship field features the top 25 pros, top 25 Strike King co-anglers and tournament winners from each of the six divisions; the top 25 pros and 25 co-anglers from the Wild Card division plus tournament winners; the highest finishing boater and co-angler from each of the six Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regionals and the TBF at the All-American; the top three teams from the College Fishing National Championship; High School Fishing National Champions; TBF National Champions; and MLF International anglers from Canada, Central Europe, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Zimbabwe.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Toyota Series updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Anglers Channel Bass Wrap Up Show, Brought to you by Sportsman’s Warehouse, Premiers Saturday!
Columbia, SC (November 3, 2023) - The Angler’s Channel Bass Wrap Up show brought to you by Sportsman's Warehouse, entering its 14th Season, is set to premiere this Saturday, November 4, 2023 on the Discovery Network at 6:30 am EST. The Angler’s Channel Bass Wrap Up show is an informative recap of professional, amateur, and grassroots-level bass fishing tournaments across the country. Bringing tournament trails of all sizes to the spotlight, by capturing the anglers who fish and finish well in these events. The program also mixes in informative segments on new techniques, new products, and share useful information to help the weekend angler achieve their goals of learning about all things fishing.
The Anglers Channel kicks off the season at the Inaugural Minn Kota / Humminbird Owner’s Tournament, from Pickwick Lake. Anglers Channel was there to cover the event and capture some Humminbird Highlights and document the festivities and fishing. $50,000 was up for grabs for the largest bass of the weekend, as well as countless other prizes, and first-class treatment for customers from across the country.
According to John Byrne, Anglers Channel CEO, “We’re excited to launch our 14th season of the program on the Discovery Network. Each year we work to improve the program and we’re looking forward to our best season yet. After the premieres on Discovery, we’ll also be airing on Pursuit in Q1 and Q2, and we’ve bolstered digital delivery, so we’ll be reaching more anglers than ever with our Anglers Channel Bass Wrap Up Show.”
In addition to the Discovery premiere and runs on Pursuit, The Anglers Channel Bass Wrap Up Show, Presented by Sportsman’s Warehouse, will also be available digitally via OutdoorActionTV.com as well as the network streaming services. Outdoor Action is a 24/7 streaming network that’s free to download on any connected device or to watch on a variety of channels. You’ll find your favorite hunting, fishing, outdoor programming, and more. This platform was built for the avid outdoorsmen and women who crave adventures, stories, tournaments, tips, and tricks from the field and on the water! Currently available via Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, iOS, and Android as well as www.OutdoorAction.com, this is the go-to place for desired outdoor content, on-demand at no cost to the viewer. You can also find Outdoor Action on the TCL Channel and Sports.TV streaming apps for 24×7 entertainment. If you want to catch the action as it unfolds, or see previous episodes, visit www.AnglersChannel.com, and be sure to follow along on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
About AnglersChannel.com
AnglersChannel.com multimedia platform combines the web, social media platforms, podcasts, on-site event coverage and The Anglers Channel Bass Wrap Up Show on Discovery to bring you the No. 1 resource in tournament bass fishing. Anglers Channel features the web’s most robust tournament database, used by thousands of anglers daily, including schedules, results and searchable details by body of water. Anglers Channel also delivers industry news as it happens, along with coverage of all tournament bass fishing, from BASS and Major League Fishing to the weekend warriors. Visit Anglers Channel via the web, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
For more information contact Danny Blandford at danny@anglerschannel.com
Boasting Unmatched Power, Control, and Reliability; The Minn Kota Ultrex QUEST is Now Shipping
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Wade Fishing Insurance Policy
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EGO Fishing Wade Nets are critical to lake, stream, and river shore/wade fishing success |
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Caldwell, ID (November 2, 2023) – Idaho, USA-based fishing accessories designer and manufacturer, EGO Fishing, offers 17 different nets to meet the wade-fishing needs of anglers across the globe. Whether you’re fishing springfed, back-country trout streams, larger rivers, lake public access points, salty flats, or anywhere in between, EGO Fishing has the solution for you. Choose from three different sizes (small, medium, and large); various netting types including traditional nylon, rubber-coated nylon, clear/black rubber, or PVC-coated netting; and two different handles, either fixed length or Kryptek extending handle. We know one thing (from lots of experience): nothing ends a happy fishing story like a fish dumped because we forgot the net. Whether the fish was intended for the table, a quick water’s surface release photo, or a high-hold to demonstrate prowess to throngs of other wading anglers, a good wading net is critical. And especially this time of year, what with ongoing salmon and steelhead runs through winter; warm-water discharge river smallmouth bass bites; fluff-chucking for big brown trout; chasing minnow-gorging walleyes on smaller rivers; the fall/winter wade bite list goes on. |
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CLEAR RUBBER MESH |
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BLACK RUBBER MESH |
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The downside to rubber mesh—clear or black—says Corbett, is it’s more expensive than other netting material options. It also has the most water drag and isn’t as durable as PVC options. Rubber mesh works exceptionally for fish without fangs, like largemouth and smallmouth bass, and panfish. Releasing healthy fish is major tenet in bass fishing. Rubber mesh is gentle on their fins and doesn’t wipe away the slime. “If you’re fishing for walleyes and you tie into a giant pike or muskie, it's possible that the pike might slip through the bottom of a rubber mesh net because their teeth are so sharp. Pike can literally cut through rubber. If you’re fishing pike, rubber mesh is not the best option. However, we do have the right net for the job,” continues Corbett. For pike, muskies, and toothy saltwater species, Corbett recommends EGO Fishing’s PVC net material options. EGO’s PVC material is a woven fabric that’s completely encased in another coating of PVC rubber. Like rubber mesh, PVC nets do not knot up. While there are countless net options on the market—specifically fly fishing nets—EGO Fishing is likely the only company who spent the time talking with wade anglers of all walks to offer a wide range of options specifically for wade fishing—fly, spinning, center-pinning, you-name-it. Two immediate benefits of EGO Fishing Wade Nets? First, they float – and second, many feature 11” handles. |
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EGO Fishing’s Three Net Hoop Sizes – An Option For Every Species EGO Fishing offers three primary wade net sizes. All feature 11” handles but vary from small, medium, to large with 11” to 20” hoop depth in the small size; 20” to 28” hoop depth in the medium size; and 20” to 31” in large hook depth—all dependent on the netting material chosen. Small wade nets feature a 14” x 16” hoop; medium measure 17” x 19”; and large comes in at 19” x 21”. |
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PVC NETTING |
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EGO Fishing Netting Material Options for Today’s Wade Angler In terms of actual construction materials, EGO fishing utilizes aluminum, corrosion-resistant stainless steel parts, and polypropylene-injected molded parts, besides the obvious netting materials composed of clear and black rubber, PVC, nylon, and coated nylon. We’re big fans of clear rubber mesh wade net material for three reasons: 1) It doesn’t spook fish; 2) It preserves fish slime coating for healthy release; 3) and last, it resists hook snags. It costs a little bit more than other EGO Fishing netting material options, but is worth the small upcharge. Specifically, many on our staff use the EGO Wade – Large Clear Rubber Net, which was bestowed Fish Alaska’s Editors’ Choice Award in 2019. This net features a lightweight, durable hexagonal extruded aluminum handle, innovative grip design, and an 11” elastic adjustable/removable tether. Features an 11” flat bottom bag depth, 19” x 21” hoop size, and 11” handle. |
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COATED NYLON MESH |
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However, all wade anglers have their favorites—and depending on the species and locale—other options may be better suited to the application. For example, some anglers like black rubber mesh, which is also very soft on the fish’s slime-like coating and fins. It also will not knot up when being used. The downside to both clear and black rubber mesh is the material has the most water drag and isn’t quite as durable as some of EGO Fishing’s other options. For anglers chasing toothy critters like pike, EGO Fishing Founder, Grant Corbett, recommends EGO’s PVC material, a woven fabric that’s completely encased in another coating of PVC rubber. Like rubber mesh, PVC nets do not knot up. “Another bonus is that PVC net material is pretty easy on fish health for catch & release fishing. Plus, the woven fabric is a very difficult thing for pike, muskies, and toothy saltwater fish to cut through. So, PVC is actually the most durable landing net material option out there,” notes Corbett. |
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Other pluses to PVC net material? First, less water drag than rubber and it’s slightly less expensive. If there’s a downside, it’s that PVC net material is not quite as “hook friendly” as EGO Fishing’s clear or black rubber mesh options. “In terms of sales, we sell more PVC netting than any other mesh type. It is the most common and popular landing net type out there,” concludes Corbett. EGO Fishing also offers traditional nylon and coated nylonwade nets, the latter which prevents most hook snags, especially if you’re flinging flies and not using baits with multiple treble hooks. The other benefit with nylon EGO Fishing wade fishing net options is they’re extremely affordable. |
Premier Weekend is Coming! - Sneak Peek
The Anglers Channel Bass Wrap Up Show, Presented by Sportsman's Warehouse is premiering this weekend on Discovery! We'll be on Saturday morning, at 6:30 am EST, so be sure to check out our trip to the Minn Kota / Humminbird Owner's Tournament and more. Here's a little sneak peek to get you thinking about the weekend!
Barefooted, Jig-Man Williams Collects Power Pay Bonuses
Courtesy of Alan McGuckin. - Dynamic Sponsorships
With an average snowfall of six feet annually, Maine is probably not a place most think of first when it comes to lighthearted barefoot fun. But that’s exactly how 21-year-old Tyler Williams treated life in the Bassmaster Opens, a long way from his hometown of Belgrade.
This season he amassed an astonishing four Top 10s, including a victory at Watts Barr, a 2024 Bassmaster Classic® qualification, and an Elite Series qualification. On top of that, he earned $5,000 in Yamaha Power Pay bonuses, mostly all with one lure – a ¾ ounce jig with a living rubber skirt.
“Whether I’m in Maine, Florida, Tennessee or wherever, I just feel comfortable and confident when I have that jig in my hands. I don’t know if it’s the jig, or how I work it, but whether I’m dragging it or hopping it, I’m going to trim it with a Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog, and it accounted for about 90 percent of the fish I weighed-in this season,” smiles Williams.
Often asked how a kid from Maine showed such domination throughout the South, Williams explains that he fished just about daily as a kid. In fact, his parents, who own a fence company, would often drop him off at one of the dozens of lakes surrounding their home in Belgrade, as they headed off to the next fence installation project each morning.
Fishing as frequently as Williams does, demands relentless reliability from his equipment. He says that why he bought a Yamaha powered Skeeter and signed up for Yamaha Power Pay.
“I ran a competitive brand of engine before, and so did my buddies, but we had too many mechanical issues. So, we switched to Yamaha because it does its job every day. The Power Pay bonus on top of that kind of reliability makes running a Yamaha a no-brainer,” says Williams.
As the saying goes, “No Shoes, No Problems.” In Williams’ case it seems to be the perfect mantra for a phenomenal young pro bass fishing career anchored in a fun attitude and a ¾-ounce rubber skirted jig.
To learn how you too can cash-in on Yamaha Power Pay money like the young New Englander, please visit https://yamahapowerpay.com/.
Travel Tuesday - Go While It's Good
By Pete Robbins - Half Past FIrst Cast
If you’re as anal and compulsive as I am about scheduling, you probably have some big trips planned for the long term future. I don’t mean the deposits-paid-written-in-ink kind of plan, but rather a general expectation of something to come.
As in: “When the kids all graduate, we’ll go on an African safari.”
Or: “In five more years I’ll treat myself to a trout-by-helicopter adventure in Patagonia.”
I have more goals than I can possibly fulfill, but I’m going to try like hell to achieve as many as I can. I think it’s healthy. So long as you don’t discount being present in your day-to-day life, these goals allow you to celebrate milestones and the long horizon gives you time for planning and $aving.
At the same time, you need to be ready to change those plans, no matter how dear you hold them to your heart.
First, environmental or political forces can wreak havoc on those intentions. For example, if years ago you’d intended to travel to the interior of Venezuela for payara, that eventually became a non-starter. Or if five years ago you’d put Lake Okeechobee on your bucket list for 2020, seeing some of the recent tournament results might lead you to turn your focus elsewhere.
On the flip side, sometimes it pays to move your dreams FORWARD. I’m not saying that you should mortgage your house and sell grandma’s jewelry to do it, but if you infer from reputable sources that a place is peaking, it can make sense to pull the trigger.
I know this from experience. I fished the famous Elite Series event on Falcon in 2008. It was so good that on Day One the tournament director told competitors not to weigh any fish clearly under 10 pounds for the big fish award. During practice with Jeff Kriet, he had to make a phone call, so he set me down on a school of 2- and 3-pounders and let me catch dozens of them, noting that they’d be worthless during competition. After that event, I made an effort to go back every year and it seemed to get a little bit worse each time. By 2012, it seemed every boat was doodling little 4-inch worms. I was so glad that I had been during the heyday, but that time was over. [Note: I continue to monitor the fishing at Falcon through Facebook accounts of Matt Reed and others, and it appears that it has rebounded somewhat. I’m due for a trip sometime in the near future.]
Learning from that lesson, I’d always been curious about ice fishing and had heard about the big stocked brown trout in Lake Michigan. In fact, the IGFA world record had been caught right in Milwaukee Harbor. Those trout were non-reproducing, and when we heard that the state was ending or severely reducing the trout stocking plans going forward, we made plans to be there as soon as the ice was thick enough and we had a free weekend. But for the catalyst of that news, we likely would not have done it that soon, if at all. [Note: After this was initially written, the state of Wisconsin increased stocking numbers to 450,000 fish annually.]
The point is, if you have reason to believe that a particular opportunity may go away, or at least decrease substantially in quality, screw your plan – get there while the getting is good. If it doesn’t get worse you can always go again.
If you want to know where the bite is hot, or you want to know the best time to go to one of our favorite locations, check out www.halfpastfirstcast.com or email us at fishmore@halfpastfirstcast.com.
AC Insider Podcast - A Look Into Kayak Bass Fishing
The guys team up and talk kayak bass fishing in this week's episode of the AC Insider Podcast. They are joined by Steve Owens, Tournament Director for the Bassmaster Kayak Series, to catch up on his first year as captain of the ship, as well as what we can look forward to in 2024. The guys then are joined by Drew Gregory. Drew won AOY in BOTH the Bassmaster AND Hobie Kayak Series, while notching 6 professional wins in 2022! Now he has his sights set on a new endeavor, The Kayak Adventure Series, designed to allow the anglers to "Choose Their Adventure". Check it out!
Fish with John Crews on the St. John’s Sweepstakes from Missile Baits
Salem, Va. – October 30, 2023 –Missile Baits is offering the opportunity to fish with John Crews on the St. John’s River in Florida in April 2024 through a sweepstakes running from October 30 to November 19, 2023. The winner will get a full day of fishing with their guest and John Crews after the BASS Elite in April, travel expenses for two people, accommodations for two people, and a product assortment worth over $200. The promotion is featuring a limited run merch drop of Missile Baits and Missile Jigs apparel only on www.missilebaits.com during the three week sweepstakes period.
Missile Baits owner and pro angler, John Crews, explains, “The St. John’s River is a special fishery to me because of my BASS Elite win in 2022, other high finishes, and it is where I caught my biggest bass ever. I can’t think of a better place to share an amazing day on the water with another angler and their guest. It’s going to be so much fun.”
To enter the sweepstakes, entrants will be able to enter online and through the mail. To enter online, entrants will get one entry per dollar spent on a limited run of new Missile apparel on www.missilebaits.com during the sweepstakes time period. To enter by mail and read all the rules, click on the following link: https://missilebaits.store/pages/sweepstakes-rules . The winner will be randomly selected through an independent service after the sweepstakes time period concludes.
Major League Fishing Wraps Final General Tire Team Series Qualifier in Longview, Texas
MLF Completes Builders FirstSource Qualifier Presented by Berkley Television Shoot on Local Lakes with Nine Three-Man Teams Competing to Advance to Bass Pro Shops Team Series Championship
LONGVIEW, Texas (Oct. 30, 2023) – Major League Fishing (MLF) and 27 of the top pro anglers in the world officially wrapped production Friday at the third and final regular season event of the 2024 General Tire Team Series season – the Builders FirstSource Qualifier Presented by Berkley in Longview, Texas. The competition was filmed entirely for television broadcast and shot over six days last week, featuring nine teams of three anglers competing to finish in the top three and advance to the Bass Pro Shops Team Series Championship.
The event featured professional anglers visiting East Texas to compete in select areas of Lake O’ the Pines, Lake Bob Sandlin, Brady Branch Reservoir and Martin Creek Lake. The competition waters for each day of the event were not disclosed until the anglers arrived at the launch ramp each morning, creating a reality-based television episode that showcases how the top anglers in the world work with their teammates to break down new and unfamiliar waters.
The nine teams that competed in the General Tire Team Series Builders FirstSource Qualifier Presented by Berkley in Texas were:
Team B&W Trailer Hitches:
Randall Tharp, Port Saint Joe, Fla.
Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La.
Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala.
Team Builders FirstSource:
Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala.
Kyle Hall, Granbury, Texas
Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas
Team Crockett Creek:
Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn.
Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C.
Brandon Coulter, Knoxville, Tenn.
Team Ferguson:
Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark.
Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C.
Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala.
Team Knighten Industries:
Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn.
Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan
Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
Team Kubota:
Alton Jones, Jr., Waco, Texas
Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La.
Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C.
Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff & Pouches:
Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz.
Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla.
Marty Robinson, Lyman, S.C.
Team Sqwincher:
Mark Daniels, Jr., Tuskegee, Ala.
Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala.
Cliff Crochet, Pierre Part, La.
Team Star brite:
Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas
Brent Chapman, Lake Quivira, Kan.
Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa.
The MLF General Tire Team Series Builders FirstSource Qualifier Presented by Berkey will air on Outdoor Channel as six, two-hour original episodes each Saturday afternoon starting March 30, 2024, airing from 2 to 4 p.m. EDT. The full television schedule can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com/tv-schedule.
The 2024 General Tire Team Series is comprised of three Qualifying Events, filmed for production in the fall of 2023, where teams compete for advancement to the Bass Pro Shops Teams Series Championship, set to film in early December 2023. Each of the three Team Series Qualifiers consist of nine teams, each comprising three anglers.
Nearly half a million dollars will be paid out over the three no-entry fee Qualifiers, and the total season-long purse for the General Tire Team Series is more than $720,000.
Proud sponsors of the MLF General Tire Team Series include: Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Barbasol, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Bubba, Builders FirstSource, Costa, Crockett Creek Beef Jerky, Ferguson, General Tire, Knighten Industries, Kubota, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury Marine, Mossy Oak, NITRO Boats, Onyx, Optima Batteries, Power-Pole, Quad Lock, Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff & Pouches, Sqwincher, St. Croix Rods, Star brite, Toyota and YETI.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the General Tire Team Series, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
“Can’t Miss” Event
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Registration Now Open for NPAA Annual Conference In Fort Myers, FL. |
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Forestville, WI (October 30, 2023) – The dates and location have been announced and anticipation is already on the rise for the National Professional Anglers Association (NPAA) 2024 Annual Conference. The premier event for all sportfishing industry professionals ranging from tournament anglers and guides, to tackle shop staff, service crews and industry representatives will commence on Friday, January 5th, and run through Sunday, January 7th, at Southwest Florida’s newly renovated Crown Plaza Fort Myers Gulf Coast, an IHG Hotel. “This is an awesome venue, and we are really looking forward to this event,” says NPAA president, Patrick Neu. Located just five minutes from the SW Florida Regional Airport (RSW), which offers direct flights daily to/from most major cities across the country, the conference promises to be informative, fun and convenient to attend while focusing on its “Passion to Profession” theme. |
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“An NPAA Conference attendee can learn more about making a living in this industry in a weekend at this event than they can in 10 years on their own, just ask anyone who has attended a conference over its 15-year history," states Neu. “The event will zero-in on what it really takes to make a successful transition from passionate angler to a sportfishing industry professional. Speaking from years of experience, I can tell you, it’s a journey that’s a lot easier and faster to undertake if you have a little inside knowledge – which is exactly what the NPAA’s high-power panel of successful industry pros plan to impart through professional workshops, partner and educational breakout sessions, meet and greet parties, networking lunches, banquets and more.” |
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According to Neu, the conference will focus on providing attendees with an understanding of the tools needed to be successful on a professional level in this industry. The early January timing, he adds, is perfect for attendees to sample the amazing fishing opportunities available in this part of the Sunshine State or extend their visit to find out why Southwest Florida is a destination for millions of visitors each year. NPAA’s robust line-up of featured speakers includes a mix of top-level professional anglers and industry leading executives covering subjects you really need to comprehend whether just starting out in the recreational fishing industry or looking to climb to the next level. Among others, you’ll hear from Elite Series bass angler and 2018 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year, Justin Lucas, angling podcast host and sportfishing author Sid Dobrin, Tall Pines Tackle VP of Business Development, Eric Naig, will also step up to the podium, as will Mike Leonard, VP of Government Affairs at the American Sportfishing Association, and Freshwater Fishing Hall of Famer, walleye expert and TV personality, Keith Kavajecz, along with many others whose combined knowledge of the sportfishing industry is both comprehensive and compelling. |
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Featured Educational Workshops and breakouts include titles such as Crafting Impactful 1-Minute Videos, Women Anglers Taking Their Passion to a Profession, Taxes Done Right, Passion Drives Professionalism as a Guide, How to Gain and Retain Sponsorships, Boat Financing in Today’s Market, Maximizing Customer Acquisition & Retention, Batteries: Wet, AGM, Lithium and Why, Safe Boating Practices Save Lives, and more. In addition to superior networking opportunities, sportfishing advocacy and promoting entry into the sport, NPAA offers a monthly member newsletter, a weekly industry NewsBLAST, and access to significant discounts on gear and services provided by many of its nearly 80 supporting partners. |
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The NPAA 2024 Annual Conference is expected to sell out quickly as registration is limited to the first 200 registrants. Registration is now open to any angler looking to take the step from “Passion to Profession”. The registration fee of $300 for Non-Members and $250 for Members includes all activities, meals, and one ticket for the Future Anglers Foundation (FAF Banquet). More information on registration can be found on the NPAA Conference Page. (Note: Non-Members who pre-register for the Conference and opt to join the association prior to the end of the Conference will receive a $50 rebate on their Conference Registration Fee.) For more information on joining the NPAA, attending the Annual Conference, and exploring the many benefits membership provides, visit www.npaa.net. |
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Dawson County High School Wins MLF High School Fishing Open Tournament on Lake Hartwell
ANDERSON, S.C. (Oct. 30, 2023) – Dawsonville, Georgia’s, Dawson County High School team of Carter Cunningham and Landon Glander, both of Dawsonville, Georgia, brought five bass to the scale Saturday weighing 15 pounds, 15 ounces, to win the MLF High School Fishing Presented by Favorite Fishing Open at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina.
A field of 85 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which was hosted by the Anderson Convention and Visitors Bureau. In MLF High School Fishing competition, the top 10 percent of teams competing advance to the High School Fishing National Championship.
The top eight teams that advanced to the 2024 High School Fishing National Championship are:
1st: Dawson County High School, Dawsonville, Ga. – Carter Cunningham and Landon Glander, five bass, 15-15
2nd: Greenbrier High School, Evans, Ga. – Landon Brazier and Austin Fulghum, five bass, 14-3
3rd: Cherokee High School, Canton, Ga. – Noah Dzyuba and Lane Parker, five bass, 13-7
4th: South Forsyth High School, Cumming, Ga. – Maddox Ferrell and Grady Williamson, five bass, 13-0
5th: Pickens High School, Pickens. S.C. – Anders Fernstrom and Carter McCollum, five bass, 12-0
6th: Palmetto High School, Williamston, S.C. – Ethan Evatt and Bryson Gurley, five bass, 11-15
7th: Cherokee High School, Canton, Ga. – Hudson Howell and Logan Parker, five bass, 11-15
8th: Dawson County High School, Dawsonville, Ga. – Reed Rooke and Hayden Seabolt, five bass, 11-14
Rounding out the top 10 teams were:
9th: York County High School, York, S.C. – Fielding Faulkenberry and Greyden Hovis, five bass, 11-12
10th: Madison County High School, Danielsville, Ga. – Brady Garrison and Riley Haney, five bass, 11-10
Complete results from the event can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
MLF High School Fishing presented by Favorite Fishing 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, advanced to the 2024 High School Fishing National Championship held on Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina, June 19, hosted by the Anderson Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF High School Fishing Presented by Favorite Fishing include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X 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.
Lander University Wins MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Tournament on Lake Hartwell
ANDERSON, S.C. (Oct. 30, 2023) – The Lander University duo of Kaleb Brown of Greenwood, South Carolina, and Cole Moulton of Enfield, New Hampshire, bested a full field of 250 boats – the fourth-largest collegiate field in MLF history – to win the MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI event on Lake Hartwell Friday with a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 1 ounce. The victory earned the Bearcats’ bass club $2,000 and a qualification into the 2024 MLF College Fishing National Championship.
“We spent a lot of time out here the last couple of weeks because the lake is pretty close to school,” said Moulton, a sophomore. “We found a spot in practice on Thursday morning where we caught 16 pounds in 15 minutes.
“We drew a boat number in the middle of the pack and made a run, and nobody was sitting on our spot,” Moulton continued. “We started off the day with a spotted bass that was just shy of 4 pounds and a couple of 2-pounders off that spot in the first 35 minutes. So that got us some momentum going.”
Moulton said the team used a 7/16- and 5/8-ounce Beast Coast Tungsten Compound Baby Dozer Jig and rotated through a couple of spots, but didn’t catch fish. High temperatures and sunny conditions combined to make tough tournament conditions, so they relocated to a spot they hadn’t fished in three weeks hoping their luck would change.
“Kaleb threw out there with his jig and set his hook, and it was another 4-pound spotted bass,” Moulton said. “We filled our limit there and had 11 pounds, but we had three small ones.”
Moulton said they moved around trying to cull their three smaller fish and ran to a spot where they had found schooling fish previously. As soon as they stopped the boat the fish turned on, and Moulton caught a 3-pound largemouth.
“Largemouth were rare for us all week – we hadn’t caught any in practice – so that largemouth was a bonus fish,” Moulton said.
Brown added another 3¼-pound largemouth and one more spotted bass just shy of 3 pounds to the livewell to set the team’s final weight for the day.
“We didn’t feel confident for a win with a full moon and the way the tournament was setting up, especially with a lot of local hammers here,” Brown said. “We figured we might squeeze out a top-10 finish. As we were running up the lake it dawned on us that we might have a shot at this one.
“With me being a senior, and Cole’s accomplishments as a decorated High School Fishing angler … I’ve been chasing my win for so long; to finally get it is just incredible,” Brown added. “It’s everything I’ve wanted.”
The top 10 teams at the Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI event on Lake Hartwell are:
1st: Lander University – Kaleb Brown, Greenwood, S.C., and Cole Moulton, Enfield, N.H., five bass, 17-1, $2,000
2nd: University of South Carolina-Union – Jacob Butts, Starr, S.C., and Mark Kershaw, Fort Mill, S.C., five bass, 15-13, $1,000
3rd: Emmanuel College – Brooks Anderson, Marietta, Ga., and Max Heaton, Hartwell, Ga., five bass, 15-12, $700
4th: Emmanuel College – Dawson Carden, Canon, Ga., and Colby Elliott, Blairsville, Ga., five bass, 15-3, $600
5th: Georgia College – Trice Cannon, Milledgeville, Ga., and Josh Finnerty, Alpharetta, Ga., five bass, 14-12, $500
6th: Emmanuel College – Scooter Ligon, Dahlonega, Ga., and Levi Seagraves, Comer, Ga., five bass, 14-10
7th: University of North Alabama – Nathan Reynolds, Nashville, Tenn., and Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 14-5
8th: Bethel University – David Gummow, New Roads, La., and Coleman Self, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 14-4
9th: Emmanuel University – Tyler Campbell, Martin, Ga., and Parker Guy, Ocilla, Ga., five bass, 13-15
10th: Auburn University – Carson Maddux, Hoover, Ala., and Bennett Slinkard, Huntsville, Ala., five bass, 13-14
Complete results for the entire field, including all 24 MLF College Fishing National Championship qualifiers, can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI event on Lake Hartwell was hosted by the Anderson Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The 2023 MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI features college teams from across the country competing in nine regular-season tournaments. The top 12 percent of teams from each regular-season tournament advance to the Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship. The Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship will be held Jan. 9-11, 2024, at Lake Tohopekaliga (Toho) in Kissimmee, Florida, and is hosted by the Kissimmee Sports Commission.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular College Fishing updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
SITKA’s Diverge 12 photo contest celebrates honest and inspiring photos that expand what hunting photography can look like
Submit your entry and be part of the storytelling legacy.
BOZEMAN, Mont. (October 30, 2023) - SITKA Gear, a pioneer in the outdoor apparel industry, presents Diverge 12, the annual photo contest with a unique platform created to deepen the art of hunting storytelling and portray the lives of hunters in an honest and inspiring way. This contest, now in its 12th year, shifts focus from the harvest of game species to the broader, more authentic hunting experience.
Instead of focusing on “grip-and-grin” photos, SITKA Gear’s Diverge 12 photo contest addresses the need to share the “moments in between” that accurately depict and celebrate the hunting experience. It expands the definition of "trophy" to encompass any experience in the field that is hard-earned, ethically considered and mindful of future generations. It's about presenting hunting stories that inspire and honor our shared hunting heritage.
"Capturing the holistic hunting experience is a powerful way to convey the true spirit and beauty of hunting and the outdoors," said Todd Barker, Marketing Director at SITKA Gear. "The SITKA Diverge Photo Contest encourages hunters and photographers to share the real, unfiltered stories from their pursuits."
SITKA Gear invites all hunters and outdoor enthusiasts to participate in Diverge 12 by sharing their moments of triumph, suffering, reflection and adventure.
Contest Categories: Big Game, Whitetail, Waterfowl, Turkey, The Life, and Roughcuts
Category winners, as well as the grand prize winner, will receive exciting prizes from SITKA Gear and participating brand partners.
How to Enter:
Participants can enter the SITKA Diverge Photo Contest through Instagram by using the hashtag #Diverge12, or by submitting their entries online at www.sitkagear.com/diverge.
The submission period for this year's contest is from October 2, 2023, to January 15, 2024.
To learn more about the Diverge 12 Contest or SITKA Gear products, visit the website at www.sitkagear.com/diverge
SITKA Diverge Hall of Fame Link: www.sitkagear.com/experience/diverge-hall-of-fame
Diverge 12 YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZZLQkXbP9I
Myers and Chivas close the deal on Redfish Cup Championship at Winyah Bay
Fred Myers III and Cody Chivas have won the 2023 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter Boats on Winyah Bay with a three-day total of 36 pounds, 7 ounces.
Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.
October 29, 2023
GEORGETOWN, S.C. — Teamwork made the difference for Fred Myers III and Cody Chivas, who systematically executed a game plan that delivered a three-day total of 36 pounds, 7 ounces to win the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter Boats at Winyah Bay.
Myers and Chivas turned in daily weights of 8-8, 12-6 and 15-9 — Championship Sunday’s biggest bag — and won by a margin of 1-7 over Elite Redfish Series pros Travis Land and Jeremy Reeves. They won the $75,000 top prize and an automatic invitation to the 2024 event.
“This means the world to us,” Myers said. “I follow a couple of close friends of mine that fish the Bassmaster Elites and to be here on their stage, in their atmosphere, it’s just awesome to compete at this level.”
The tournament included a 10-boat field with a mix of championship-caliber professional redfish teams along with four all-star teams featuring Bassmaster Elite Series pros paired with redfish pros.
Hailing from of Panama City, Fla., and Indian Shores, Fla., respectively, Myers and Chivas qualified for this week’s event through the 2023 Redfish World Series Championship Sept. 27-30 in Lake Charles, La. Chivas said claiming back-to-back wins was overwhelming.
“We came off another big win before we came here, and we were driving home from (the Redfish World Series Championship) trying to figure out what we were going to do,” Chivas said. “This is as good as it gets.”
Myers and Chivas spent most of the tournament working around a marsh island south of takeoff. Dialing in the island’s sweet spots daily, the anglers caught the majority of their fish on popping cork rigs with Berkley Gulp! Shrimp on 1/8-ounce ball-head jigs.
On Days 1 and 2, Myers also used a 4-inch Saltwater Assassin Elite Shiner swimbait rigged weedless on a 4/0, 3/16-ounce belly-weighted hook to target fish over oyster bars.
“We used 25-pound AFTCO Saiko Pro 100% fluorocarbon for leaders on our popping cork rigs, and that is the strongest fluorocarbon I’ve ever used,” Chivas said. “Today, I had a fish completely (entangled) in the marsh grass and I was able to pull him out. I don’t think I could have done that with any other 25-pound fluorocarbon.”
The tournament format allowed anglers to keep redfish measuring between 17 and 23 inches. Each angler could weigh in up to two fish per day for a total of four fish per team. After catching only half a limit on Day 1, Myers and Chivas connected the key details and filled their four-fish limits on the second and final days.
“What we learned was that when you get a bite, you have to get right back in there,” Chivas said of casting discipline. “These tides move so fast here that the bite windows are really short.”
Chivas referenced Winyah Bay’s huge tidal swing of 5 to 7 feet, which is created by the Georgia Bight — a large coastal indentation starting around Cape Hatteras, N.C., and extending to Cape Canaveral, Fla. With rising tides moving farther inward, water piles high and then recedes at a rapid pace.
By comparison, last year’s event in Port Aransas, Texas, saw tides of 1 to 1 1/2 feet.
Given this challenging tidal scenario — accelerated by the influence of Saturday’s full moon — most teams struggled to find “slot” fish. Like their competitors, Myers and Chivas had little trouble getting bites, but picking off legal catches amid the many “shorts” and “overs” required patience and persistence.
“There was one key to targeting those slot fish — you gotta have numbers and you've got to be able to go through those fish and keep going, keep going, keep going because each one is a clue,” Myers said. “We’d catch a bunch of unders and then we’d catch an over, then another over and another over.
“On (Saturday), I caught eight overs, but that made us stay there. Today, we Power-Poled down in a place right after Cody had caught two good ones. I caught a 4-pound slot fish right after I had just caught about 12 shorts. Then we went around the corner, and I caught another slot fish that sealed the deal.”
Hailing from Sequin, Texas, and Orange, Texas, respectively, Land and Reeves finished second with 35 pounds. A lean first round left them with a lone slot fish that weighed 3-7. But with half of the field blanking, they placed fourth.
Land and Reeves rebounded with a Day 2 limit of 16-6 — the event’s heaviest bag —and moved into second. The Texas duo added a final-round limit of 15-3.
“We stuck with our game plan,” Land said. “We were fishing oyster points with water moving over the top of them and (drains) every 25 to 50 yards. We stayed on those all day long.”
Using the same mix of baits that fueled their Day 2 surge, Land and Reeves caught their fish on Berkley Gulp! Shrimp and Paddle Tail Minnows on 1/4-ounce jigheads and a 5-inch Berkley Hollow Belly swimbait rigged weedless on a 1/4-ounce jighead.
“We really needed to make long casts, but the retrieve was the biggest thing to us,” Reeves said. “If you bounced that lure and the fish was anywhere close, he was going to spook. You had to glide that bait slowly and methodically over that oyster bar or over that sand to get that fish to bite.”
Elite Redfish Series pro Dwayne Eschete from Lake Jackson, Texas, and Bassmaster Elite Series pro Drew Cook from Cairo, Ga., finished third with 29-5. Eschete and Cook got off to a blistering start by catching the first round’s only limit — a bag of 16-4 that nearly doubled Myers and Chivas’s starting effort.
The anglers got most of their Day 1 weight in a protected lagoon with a low bridge challenging their entry on the morning high tide and then hastening their falling-tide exit. They would finish the opening limit on a marsh island edge.
Eschete and Cook struggled the next two days with one 3-2 fish on Day 2 and two fish for 9-15 in the final round. Berkley Gulp! Shrimp on 1/4-ounce jigheads produced all of their fish.
The 2023 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter Boats was hosted by Georgetown County, S.C.
2023 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship
presented by Skeeter Boats 10/27-10/29
Winyah Bay, Winyah Bay SC.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Club/School Pts
1. Fred Myers III - Cody Chivas
Day 1: 2 08-08 Day 2: 4 12-06 Day 3: 4 15-09 Total: 10 36-07 $ 75,000.00
2. Travis Land - Jeremy Reeves
Day 1: 1 03-07 Day 2: 4 16-06 Day 3: 4 15-03 Total: 9 35-00 $ 6,000.00
3. Drew Cook - Dwayne Eschete
Day 1: 4 16-04 Day 2: 1 03-02 Day 3: 2 09-15 Total: 7 29-05 $ 4,000.00
4. Pat Schlapper - Ben Powers
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 11-08 Day 3: 3 12-11 Total: 6 24-03 $ 3,500.00
5. Eddie Adams IV - Sean O'Connell
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 13-15 Day 3: 1 04-07 Total: 4 18-06 $ 3,000.00
6. Scott Canterbury - Krista Miller
Day 1: 1 02-07 Day 2: 2 07-14 Day 3: 1 04-00 Total: 4 14-05 $ 2,500.00
7. Justin Atkins - Ryan Rickard
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 09-15 Day 3: 1 02-06 Total: 3 12-05 $ 2,000.00
8. Aaron Salazar - Ben Human
Day 1: 1 04-03 Day 2: 0 00-00 Day 3: 1 03-12 Total: 2 07-15 $ 1,500.00
9. Jeff Mullett - Ken Mullett
Day 1: 0 -01-00 Day 2: 2 06-13 Day 3: 0 00-00 Total: 2 05-13 $ 1,500.00
10. Gary Moreno - Tony Viator
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Day 3: 1 02-09 Total: 1 02-09 $ 1,000.00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 1 9 33-13
2 2 21 81-15
3 2 18 70-08
----------------------------------
5 48 186-04
WALTERS CLAIMS NPFL VICTORY AT LAKE LANIER, GOADE WINS PROGRESSIVE AOY
Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
Patrick Walters wraps up his third NPFL victory with the winning three-day total weight of 57 pounds, 5 ounces in the season finale on Lake Lanier.
“I just want to thank the NPFL, this is truly a family-oriented league and I can’t thank you all enough,” said Walters. “To my mom, dad, and beautiful wife, I can’t thank you all enough for the support, and thanks for coming up for the weigh-in.”
Walters, who led after Day 2, complemented his first two limits of 19 pounds, 13 ounces, and 20 pounds, 1 ounce with a Day 3 bag that weighed 17 pounds, 7 ounces to seal the victory over Will Harkins.
Like most of the field, Walters was keying in on the vast amount of brush that Lake Lanier has to offer. The big difference in getting bigger fish to bite each day, and surviving the local pressure, was targeting piles with a larger group of fish than normal.
“You had to find brush with a lot of fish, and they had to be set up right within,” he said. “Usually, they didn’t get set up until later in the morning and it was really hard to trick five or ten bass. If you found a pile with twenty, you could get them to compete for it and bite.”
Walters estimated fishing around fifty brush piles on Showdown Saturday and was physically tired from lifting and deploying the trolling motor all day. While he located some key piles in practice, he credits new water for his final two days’ weight leading to his third win.
“I was literally making 2 or 3 casts per spot this afternoon, and it was exhausting. I ran the Falcon/Mercury all over the lake this week. The majority of my bites came in the new brush; I just went fishing and rotated between the Zoom Super Fluke and Zoom Magnum Shakey Head worm each day,” he added.
Walters wanted to credit one of his good friends and travel partner Trent Palmer, and Sonar Pros for getting the Falcon dialed for the season. With all of the tournaments in 2023, it was relaxing to fish with Trent and Mike at the NPFL and stay fresh all season long all over the country.
“Trent, Mike, and I share everything to break down water,” he said before receiving his NPFL trophy. “I don’t know where we all finished in this event, but we had a phenomenal season and it was a pleasure traveling with those guys. We just need Mike to get a trophy next season.”
Will Harkins
After leading on Day 1 with 20 pounds, 6 ounces, Harkins added 18 pounds, 9 ounces on Day 2 — the second biggest bag of the day — and a Showdown Saturday bag that weighed 13 pounds, 9 ounces. With a three-day total of 52 pounds, 8 ounces, Harkins wraps up a phenomenal season with back-to-back second-place finishes, runner-up in the Progressive Angler of the Year, and an NPFL championship qualification.
Leading after day one, Harkins is familiar with Lake Lanier and spent the majority of his time on certain brush piles on high-percentage schooling points and rotating through nearly fifty per day. His two-bait approach this week included pulling out an old reliable bait from the tackle.
“I was not fishing anything special by Lanier standards, but it was off the path enough for most of the field,” he said. “Each day I would typically hit fifty spots and then rotate my best five of those spots later in the day. I was fishing a really old Bomber Wake Bait, and I don’t even know what it’s called.”
When the brush fishing got slow, Harkins hit the bank and targeted small groups of spotted bass chasing baitfish along the bank. His bait of choice, similar to Walters, was a Zoom Super Fluke.
“I would troll down the bank and throw that Fluke at them feeding towards the surface and get them to bite. Today four of the five I weighed in came on the Fluke; on days one and two, it was the wake bait that yielded the best luck,” he added.
With added pressure from over 200 boats on the lake, coupled with high skies and no wind, his bite was tough to execute and it just didn’t work out.
“You really need to have some cloud or wind to mask the bait a little otherwise they get too good a look at it,” he said.” Today with the pressure, I could only fish four of the main places, but it was still a great week.
“Overall, the season was a lot better than I could have expected. I had no expectations, but in the first two events I was too stressed, and then I decided to have fun and fish and ended with a run of 3rd, 7th, 2nd, and 2nd, which put me right behind Todd in the Angler of the Year and qualified me for the Championship. No complaints, it’s been an awesome year and I have an amazing support group.
Todd Goade
With the mentality of simply doing his job every day, Todd Goade closed out a storybook fishing season with a third-place finish in the season finale on Lake Lanier, and wrapped up the 2023 Progressive Angler of the Year award on a body of water he knows so well.
With a three-day total of 48 pounds, 10 ounces, Goade did what he does best and saved his 17 pounds, 15 pounds biggest bag of the week for the final day. He began the week with 17 pounds, 10 ounces on day one, and survived day two with 13 pounds, 1 ounce which set him up for a final day comeback.
“It really was a storybook ending for the season,” said an emotional Goade with his wife on stage. “I said I had to do my job all year, and I am not going to lie, when I caught that last 3.5 pounder this morning I hollered, and I knew I had done it. “It’s what you dream about and work for. I love Lake Lanier and Spotted Bass; it was an incredible way to end the season.”
Although he doesn’t reside in Georgia any longer, Goade’s experience and history with Lanier runs deep, and today he was able to enjoy a lot of the time he spent with good friends in the past.
“I have so many memories on this lake it was amazing to have caught them by 9 AM this morning. I was able to just go fishing and enjoy the day. I went down memory lane fishing some places from the past, and some new places,” he said.
As far as how he caught his bass this week, Goade relied on a bait he feels is one of the best spotted bass baits ever made – Zoom Magnum Shakey head Worm in Green Pumpkin Green color.
“The deep fish didn’t bite for me on day two, but I was able to survive,” he said. “I saw them all, and today it was stupid – I culled a limit of 15 pounds. I still don’t know why yesterday was tough but today was incredible and the Mag Shakey Head Worm fished alongside brush piles was key. I caught fish from 10 to 35 feet.”
Goade was revisiting brush piles from the past as well as lots of new ones in Lanier. After a year of good decisions and making the right moves, first thing this morning Goade had another right call to get his Showdown Saturday off to a great start.
“This morning, I was headed to a spot they have been schooling and I noticed another good spot was open,” he added. “I peeled off and caught them quickly, two of my bigger fish. It’s those kinds of decisions that lead to good finishes and winning the AOY.
“I want to thank my wife for being my rock and biggest fan and supporter. She puts up with all of this and I am glad she could be here today. Also, I have to thank all of my sponsors, family, and friends. I just looked and I have 176 texts on my phone,” he laughed.
Billy Hackworth
With his biggest bag of the day on the final day, Billy Hackworth finished at Lake Lanier with a three-day total of 46 pounds, 8 ounces. Increasing his weights each day, Hackworth started with 14 pounds, 7 ounces on day one, added 15 pounds, 15 ounces on day two, and 16 pounds, 2 ounces on the final day.
Ryan Satterfield 46-7
Increasing his weight each day, Ryan Satterfield added a final day limit weighing 16 pounds, 13 ounces to his day one weight of 13 pounds, 6 ounces and day two weight of 16 pounds, 4 ounces to finish at Lake Lanier in fifth place with a total weight of 46 pounds, 7 ounces.
Like the other, Satterfield rotated through different brush piles using Livescope to locate fish around the edges. He started on day one catching fish with a drop shot but had to change as the lake pressure increased.
“I swapped to a shakey head yesterday and today,” he said. “The bait had to sit on the bottom and shake, but not move. Eventually one would grab it.”
As the pressure increased from local traffic, Satterfield eventually ended up not making a cast until he saw a fish he felt might bite, to allow him to move quicker and cover more water.
“I kept running as many as I could find to find feeding fish. I could tell what fish might be in the mood but they were so finicky it had to be still. The other thing, some of these piles had twenty big ones, but you could only catch one out of each. After 2 PM this afternoon, I culled almost everything which allowed me to slide up to fifth.”
Rest of the Best:
Keith Carson 43-11
Reagan Nelson 42-11
Mike Corbishley 42-6
Hunter Baughman 40-4
Quentin Cappo 40-1
Myers and Chivas play it smart to take Day 2 lead at Redfish Cup Championship
Fred Myers III and Cody Chivas are leading after Day 2 of the 2023 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter Boats on Winyah Bay with a two-day total of 20 pounds, 14 ounces.
Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.
October 28,2023
GEORGETOWN, S.C. — Efficiency and adjustment proved foundational for Fred Myers III of Panama City, Fla., and Cody Chivas of Indian Shores, Fla., who took over the Day 2 lead at the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter Boats at Winyah Bay with a two-day total of 20 pounds, 14 ounces.
Myers and Chivas, the 2023 Redfish World Series champions, placed second on Day 1 with two fish for 8-8. The second round was more generous, with both anglers filling their two-fish limits and tallying a team total of four redfish that weighed 12-6.
The leaders edged Elite Redfish Series pros Travis Land and Jeremy Reeves by 1-1.
“We caught a lot of fish yesterday and only came in with two, so we were kinda scratching our heads,” Chivas said. “Today was just as tough. I caught two (keepers) back to back, then we went 2 1/2 hours with Fred on the bow and he did the same thing — boom-boom.”
The tournament format allows anglers to keep redfish measuring between 17 and 23 inches. Each angler can weigh up to two fish per day for a total of four fish per team.
“We just have to do the same thing tomorrow,” Chivas said. “This fishery is actually very good; there’s a ton of fish here. We’ve caught more fish here the last two days than we did all year fishing Texas, Louisiana and Florida.”
The leaders returned to the same marsh island they fished on Day 1 and expanded their game to capitalize on both ends of the tide.
“The bite was a little slower this morning, but once the tide started to turn a little bit, we caught more of the bigger fish today,” Chivas said. “We really only had about one hour where we didn’t catch fish. The slot fish are just tough to come by.”
As Myers explained, securing two angler limits required him and Chivas to fish two different patterns.
“We had a deep-water bite and a shallow-water bite,” he said. “That was the key, in my opinion. Instead of wasting a lot of boat running time, we would just trolling motor over to the next bank.”
During the higher water period, Chivas caught his two keepers on a Berkley Gulp! Shrimp under a popping cork. When the water was lower, Myers got his two on a 4-inch Saltwater Assassin Elite Shiner swimbait rigged weedless on a 4/0, 3/16-ounce belly-weighted hook.
“We sat with the Power-Poles down the majority of the day, waiting for the tide to get right,” Myers said. “We just had fish coming to us.
“Tomorrow, we may not have the fish to win, but we learned a lot about the area, and I believe we can finally target some of those slot fish. The high-water bite, we’re just catching whatever will bite, but the shallow-water fish seem to fit that slot a little better.”
Chivas said he and Myers will start on the same water they’ve fished for two days. But if needed, they have a tempting backup.
“We have some fish in another area that may have been our best day of pre-fishing, but it’s a longer run,” Chivas said. “We haven’t done it because we’re catching fish (closer). The last couple of days, when it got slow, we’ll ask ourselves, ‘Do we make a move?’
“We were going to make a move this morning, but I’m glad we stayed.”
Myers agreed: “It’s hard to leave fish to find fish.”
Hailing from Sequin, Texas, and Orange, Texas, respectively, Land and Reeves placed fourth on Day 1 with a single 3-7 slot fish. The second round saw them step on the gas and sack up a team limit of four redfish that weighed 16-6 — the event’s heaviest bag — for a 19-13 total.
Land said he and Reeves fished the hard edge of oyster bars close to marsh grass. Targeting tidal drains was their main strategy.
Reeves caught his fish on Berkley Gulp! Shrimp and Paddle Tail Minnows on 1/4-ounce jigheads, while Land found success with a 5-inch Berkley Hollow Belly swimbait rigged weedless on a 1/4-ounce jighead.
“We made a small adjustment (in location), but we surely didn’t know what was there,” Reeves said. “We said, ‘Why don’t we go over there and try it,’ and we caught a bunch of fish.”
Land said the area he and Reeves transitioned to rewarded them with astounding action.
“I feel better than I’ve felt in a long time about a redfish tournament,” he said. “We left them biting. That spot is absolutely loaded; we were catching them right off the trolling motor.”
Dwayne Eschete, the Elite Redfish Series pro from Lake Jackson, Texas, and Drew Cook, a Bassmaster Elite Series pro from Cairo, Ga., placed third with 19-6. After topping the first day with the opening round’s only four-fish limit — 16-4 — they added one keeper Saturday that went 3-2.
Seeking to repeat the game plan that served them well in the opening round, Eschete and Cook struggled through a painfully slow day that saw their main spot fizzle.
“Fishing can be weird sometimes,” Eschete said. “We actually put eyes on fish today all around us and they just wouldn’t eat.
“Yesterday, we got the bites. Today, we caught maybe five or six fish and some big flounder. We just didn’t get the slot fish today. But tomorrow we’re going to go back and do the same thing we did today and yesterday, because tomorrow might be another day like Day 1.”
Transitioning to their second area, which produced one of their slot fish on Day 1, Eschete and Cook continued to struggle finding slot fish until Cook nabbed their one keeper about 5 minutes before they had to leave. That fish ate a Berkley Gulp! Shrimp on a 1/4-ounce jighead.
Sunday’s takeoff is scheduled for 7:15 a.m. ET at East Bay Public Ramp. The weigh-in will be held at Francis Marion Park at 3 p.m. Coverage will be simulcast on FS1 and Bassmaster.com beginning at 8 a.m.
The 2023 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter Boats is being hosted by Georgetown County, S.C.
2023 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship
presented by Skeeter Boats 10/27-10/29
Winyah Bay, Winyah Bay SC.
(BOATER) Standings Day 2
Angler Club/School Pts
1. Fred Myers III - Cody Chivas 0
Day 1: 2 08-08 Day 2: 4 12-06 Total: 6 20-14
2. Travis Land - Jeremy Reeves 0
Day 1: 1 03-07 Day 2: 4 16-06 Total: 5 19-13
3. Drew Cook - Dwayne Eschete 0
Day 1: 4 16-04 Day 2: 1 03-02 Total: 5 19-06
4. Eddie Adams IV - Sean O'Connell 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 13-15 Total: 3 13-15
5. Pat Schlapper - Ben Powers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 11-08 Total: 3 11-08
6. Scott Canterbury - Krista Miller 0
Day 1: 1 02-07 Day 2: 2 07-14 Total: 3 10-05
7. Justin Atkins - Ryan Rickard 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 09-15 Total: 2 09-15
8. Jeff Mullett - Ken Mullett 0
Day 1: 0 -01-00 Day 2: 2 06-13 Total: 2 05-13
9. Aaron Salazar - Ben Human 0
Day 1: 1 04-03 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 1 04-03
10. Gary Moreno - Tony Viator 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 1 9 33-13
2 2 21 81-15
----------------------------------
3 30 115-12
PATRICK WALTERS GRABS NPFL LEAD AT LAKE LANIER
Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
With his biggest bag of the event on day two, Patrick Walters takes over the lead on Lake Lanier with a two-day total of 39 pounds, 14 ounces. He began the day in second place with a bag of 19 pounds, 13 ounces on day one, and his 20-pound, 1-ounce weight today gives him a 15-ounce lead going into the final day.
“It was a good day,” said Walters. “I found some new stuff this afternoon and ran a lot of new water today; I like what I saw, it was good.”
Dealing with changing conditions and finicky fish, he knows that being in the right rotation is key, and with added lake pressure today, and four events on the lake tomorrow, covering water and being efficient will make or break the day.
“I had to throw the kitchen sink today, and will be doing more of it tomorrow,” he said. “You have to keep moving and figure out if you can get some bites. If you’re in a bad rotation, it doesn’t take long to figure that out. You can tell when a spot looks really good and assume you may get a bite, but even when it doesn’t look good, they may still bite.
Will Harkins
Adding 18 pounds, 9 ounces on day two to his day one leading weight of 20 pounds, 6 ounces, Georgia pro Will Harkins goes into Showdown Saturday in second place with a two-day total of 38 pounds, 15 ounces. Despite great bags at the scales, the fishing on day two got tougher for Harkins.
“I only did the ‘Harky’ once today, it was slow overall,” laughed Harkins. “We still have one more day and a lot can happen, we will see. With several close calls in 2023, it would be amazing to get it done here on Lanier. This season, I circled this event; it was one of the reasons I signed up for this year,” he added.
Harkins was seen on live roaming around looking at live sonar, but his pattern is a bit more dialed than that. His bait of choice, which he chose not to go into detail on yet, is something he has confidence in to get some bigger more aggressive fish to commit.
“It’s just a small bait, nothing special, and it seems to be something that will trigger a bite,” he said. “I am around brush, but not necessarily fishing in it much. I am looking for groups of fish that are feeding up and willing to bite.”
With over 2000 waypoints on Lanier from the past, Harkins has no shortage of water to run, but with a big local derby scheduled for Showdown, getting into the right rotation could make or break his final day.
“If you have the right rotation, you are golden. If not, you can be in trouble,” he added. Tomorrow we will have more pressure and we have to see what the pressure does to the fish; anything can happen on the final day.”
Mike Corbishley
In the third-place spot going into the final day, Mike Corbishley added 14 pounds, 4 ounces on day two to his day one bag 17 pounds, 15 ounces. His two-day weight of 32 pounds, 3 ounces once again keeps him at the top of the leaderboard with an outside shot at victory.
“This one feels like Saginaw,” laughed Corbishley. “I am in third and 7-pounds back. It’s crazy, I can shoot for a second again. But in reality, I am in third and will not complain. I feel fortunate to have caught my weight today and the bite has been changing.”
As things change, and the weekend pressure starts to take effect, Corbishley knows he has to adjust on the final day to keep his position.
“It’s changing, and tomorrow I need to adapt. I will keep running as much as I can trying for a good bag. I am staring at my Lowrance and just running the Phoenix/Mercury to as many spots as I can.”
Trent Palmer
Sonar Pros pro Trent Palmer goes into Showdown Saturday in the fourth-place spot with a two-day total of 31 pounds, 10 ounces. Palmer started with 17 pounds, 10 ounces on day one, and added 14 pounds on a much tougher day two.
“This lake is all about timing and making good decisions, and I got into a bad rotation,” he said. “I have fished here for ten years and this is my least favorite time to fish the lake, but they are biting and my goal has now shifted, I want to get a good finish this week. I made the championship with my win (at Saginaw), now we’re just going for a good check.”
It’s no secret that ‘the house’ works together to break down water but when timing becomes so key, it’s easy to miss the window.
“I ran into those guys a few times today and could feel like I was behind on the spots,” he added. “Tomorrow I am going to swap a few things up and try to find some fresh fish. Today, my afternoon bite didn’t really pan out, but I still had some opportunities at fish that missed my plug. Hopefully tomorrow I can combine the limit fish with executing in the afternoon and see what happens.”
John Cox
Beginning the day in eighth with 15 pounds, 15 ounces on day one, Florida pro John Cox slides into the fifth-place spot with 15 pounds, 4 ounces on day two, and a total weight of 31 pounds, 3 ounces. Cox, the only angler at the top not relying on electronics, caught some late schooling fish today to salvage his day.
“I have been throwing the new Berkley Nessie, and the one bait they have been eating I skipped up to a dock this morning and broke it up,” laughed Cox. “I almost cried. I can get them to follow the Berkley CullShad, but they won’t commit.”
Cox was running back near the take-off this afternoon with an hour left to go and saw a school start busting bait. Within ten minutes he filled his limit and caught his day’s weight.
“I shut the engine off and fired up there while the boat was still moving and got bit,” he said. “They actually schooled there yesterday and I caught one, but today it saved me, and I am going to spend the day there tomorrow waiting for them to come up.”
Rest of the Best:
Todd Goade 30-11
Billy Hackworth 30-6
Ryan Satterfield 29-10
Reagan Nelson 28-9
Quentin Cappo 28-0
Eschete and Cook use day’s lone limit to take lead at Redfish Cup Championship
2023 Redfish Day 1 leaders.jpg
The all-star team of Drew Cook and Dwayne Eschete are leading after Day 1 of the 2023 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter Boats on Winyah Bay with 16 pounds, 4 ounces.
Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.
October 27, 2023
GEORGETOWN, S.C. — On a day marked by grueling leanness and treacherous tides, the all-star team of Elite Redfish Tour pro Dwayne Eschete and Bassmaster Elite Series pro Drew Cook executed perfectly and caught a four-fish limit of 16 pounds, 4 ounces to lead Day 1 of the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter Boats at Winyah Bay.
The only team to catch their boat limit, Eschete and Cook topped second-place Fred Myers III and Cody Chivas by 7-12.
“The key to our area was deep water,” Cook said. “The fish could stay in there even when the tide dropped. We just had to know when to get out of there so we didn’t get stuck.
“We left them biting — that was so hard to do. But the tide was falling and we had to go.”
Eschete said marsh grass edges comprised their spot’s main habitat feature. As the morning’s high tide fell, the redfish pulled out of the cover and settled into a deeper trough adjacent to the vegetation. The leaders caught their fish on Berkley GULP! Shrimp on light jigheads.
“Once we got in there, it turned out really good because we probably caught 10 to 12 fish in that spot,” Eschete said. “The first fish we caught was our biggest one, so I was feeling pretty good.
“After that, Drew caught two fish back to back. Actually, he caught the second fish that we put in the boat while I was measuring the first fish. He caught his second fish, then the water started getting low and we were like, ‘Man, we need to get out of this creek.’”
After leaving their starting spot, the leaders found their fourth fish — Eschete’s second.
Tournament format allows anglers to keep redfish within South Carolina’s 17- to 23-inch slot limit. Each angler can weigh up to two fish per day for a total of four fish per team.
Cook, who placed third at last year’s event alongside Kevin Akin, said he’s found several similarities between bass and redfish. However, for a bass pro accustomed to seeking five keepers with constant upgrading effort, this year’s tournament format has taken some adjustment.
“I think I caught my second fish at 10:30, so I was done; I just sat there,” Cook said. “That was so hard to do. Whenever we got to another area, I couldn’t stand it. I was just throwing out in the middle and I actually caught a 19-incher that would have helped. Had he caught that one, we would have come in.
“Luckily, on his last cast, Dwayne caught a 22-incher, so it all worked out perfectly. Hopefully, tomorrow, we can get into our area and be able to stay in there a little bit longer. Maybe we can catch our four really quickly, and then we’ll just come in and eat pizza at the dock.”
Hailing from Panama City, Fla., and Indian Shores, Fla., respectively, Myers and Chivas are in second place with a two-fish bag that went 8-8. Targeting a small marsh island, the anglers expected to find the fish in a series of small depressions, but they actually found them on the perimeter.
“Right off the bat this morning, we caught a 15-inch fish and that kind of gave us a clue that they were not in the middle,” Chivas said. “We made a couple of laps around that island and caught a couple more fish — one was just a little too big.
“Then we went down a bank, worked that for about a quarter mile and caught probably 20 fish.”
Berkley GULP! Shrimp under popping corks did much of their work, but when Myers and Chivas found fish feeding over shallow oyster bars, a Bass Assassin jerkbait rigged weedless on a weighted wide-gap hook allowed them to fish right across the snag-prone structure.
“We caught so many fish, just a lot of little fish — 13 to 15 inches,” Chivas said. “We caught a few that were oversized. Fred caught a fish today that was a little over 6 pounds and it was 23 1/4 inches.
“That could have changed our whole weekend for us. It would be easy to get down about that, but we were around a lot of fish. We just have to get on a little roll tomorrow. This place is tough, but we’re gonna keep grinding and hopefully, we can catch ‘em.”
Aaron Salazar and Ben Human of Corpus Christi, Texas, are in third place with one redfish that went 4-3. After starting at the upper end of tournament waters and working their way south with the tides, Salazar and Human caught several fish that did not measure but found their critical keeper in the last hour of their day within sight of the check-in.
“We were fishing a deep bank with some flats, so we wanted to come back to that at the end of the day,” Salazar said. “We’ve caught fish on high tide and low tide (near the weigh-in site).”
A Berkley GULP! Mantis Shrimp fished on a 1/8-ounce jighead produced that lone keeper for Salazar and Human.
South Carolina’s high tides and perilous outgoing cycles created timing challenges for anglers who had to quickly identify bite windows and adjust on the fly. Moreover, the falling water, plus numerous bars made of soft, sticky “pluff mud,” presented daunting navigational challenges.
Defending champions Eddie Adams of Metairie, La., and Sean O’Connell of Mandeville, La., ran aground on a muddy bar and missed the weigh-in. According to BassTrakk’s unofficial standings, Adams and O’Connell would have placed third with two fish that weighed 7 pounds.
IFA Redfish Tour standout Ryan Rickard of Wimauma, Fla., and Elite pro Justin Atkins of Florence, Ala., suffered a similar fate, although they had no keepers for the day. (Rickard won the 2021 event and placed second in 2022, alongside Elite Chris Zaldain).
Saturday’s takeoff is scheduled for 7:15 a.m. ET at East Bay Public Ramp. The weigh-in will be held at Francis Marion Park at 3 p.m. Coverage will be simulcast on FS1 and Bassmaster.com beginning at 8 a.m.
The 2023 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter Boats is being hosted by Georgetown County, S.C.
2023 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter Boats 10/27-10/29
Winyah Bay, Winyah Bay SC.
(BOATER) Standings Day 1
Angler Club/School Pts
1. Drew Cook - Dwayne Eschete 0
Day 1: 4 16-04 Total: 4 16-04
2. Fred Myers III - Cody Chivas 0
Day 1: 2 08-08 Total: 2 08-08
3. Aaron Salazar - Ben Human 0
Day 1: 1 04-03 Total: 1 04-03
4. Travis Land - Jeremy Reeves 0
Day 1: 1 03-07 Total: 1 03-07
5. Scott Canterbury - Krista Miller 0
Day 1: 1 02-07 Total: 1 02-07
6. Eddie Adams IV - Sean O'Connell 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
6. Justin Atkins - Ryan Rickard 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
6. Gary Moreno - Tony Viator 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
6. Pat Schlapper - Ben Powers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
10. Jeff Mullett - Ken Mullett 0
Day 1: 0 -01-00 Total: 0 -1-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 1 9 33-13
----------------------------------
1 9 33-13
AC Extra - Costa Compete & Conserve
Winning CASH and protecting BASS! Now that is something we support. Check out this AnglersChannel.com Extra, featuring a Costa Compete and Conserve highlight with B.A.S.S. National Conservation Director, Gene Gilliland. Over $72,000 and counting has been awarded to conservation efforts across the country on behalf of Costa anglers. Anglers choose from a list of projects, including: American Rivers, Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, Friends of Reservoirs, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, and the Johnny Morris Conservation Foundation. It's as simple as - Own Costa Sunglasses - Register at Compete & Conserve - Win - Donate. Time to #seewhatsoutthere
THE NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL FISHING LEAGUE ANNOUNCES 2024 SCHEDULE
Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
WILKESVILLE, OH (OCTOBER 26, 2023) — The National Professional Fishing League (NPFL) announces its 2024 season that kicks off in early February with a stop in Alabama at Lake Logan Martin. The schedule brings anglers to new venues as well as some constants for the NPFL.
With stops ranging from Alabama to South Carolina, and Tennessee to Michigan and Florida, as well as a trip to the Midwest, the League is excited to continue to expand its reach in the fishing industry.
Said Brad Fuller, President of the NPFL. “We dedicated tremendous effort to preserving the essence and identity of The National Professional Fishing League in our 2024 schedule. This is a truly diverse schedule that covers the full spectrum of bass fishing throughout the entire year and the angler who secures the title of Angler of the Year will undoubtedly prove themselves as the most consistently well-rounded contender on our circuit. We’re thrilled to revisit some of the cherished stops from our history while also exploring exciting new venues. It’s of utmost importance that we leverage our schedule to continually expand the League’s brand and introduce ‘The League’ to bass havens around the country.”
Stop number one kicks off in February on Alabama’s Lake Logan Martin where the anglers get the season started on the Coosa River. The 49-mile playing field features over 26 square miles of Spotted and Largemouth bass-filled waters.
Following stop one, the 2024 season pauses briefly for the 2023 NPFL championship. Lake Amistad and the City of Del Rio, Texas, play host to the top anglers from the 2023 Progressive Angler of the Year race on March 7-9. With a $200,000 total purse and a $100,000 first-place prize, the event in Texas will make for a fun tournament.
“The City of Del Rio, Texas is excited to host the quantity and quality of people coming in with the NPFL Championship next spring,” said Blanca Larson, Executive Director of Explore Del Rio Amistad Oasis. “In addition to the financial impact on the local economy, we look forward to the NPFL showcasing all that Del Rio has to offer, on and off the water. We are excited to showcase the value of coming to Del Rio, TX to fish historic Lake Amistad.”
After the 2023 NPFL championship in March, the season resumes, and the anglers return to Anderson, South Carolina for stop number two, and the second trip to Lake Hartwell for ‘The League,’ on May 16 through 18. In 2022, Drew Six took the victory with a three-day total of 51 pounds, 5 ounces, edging out Patrick Walters who weighed 46 pounds, 14 ounces.
“We are thrilled to welcome the NPFL back to Anderson County’s Green Pond Landing and Lake Hartwell! The leadership of Anderson County has provided us with the necessary resources to bring high-level events to our facilities that create an economic impact in our community, and the NPFL delivers,” said Neil Paul, TMP, Executive Director of Visit Anderson. “From their Angler Roundtables, their Community Spotlights, and their Community Service Projects, they go above and beyond in leaving their mark on a host community, and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to welcome them back to Anderson County in 2024!”
From South Carolina, stop three brings the anglers and their families back to the Tennessee River and Pickwick Lake. The City of Counce, Tennessee plays host July 11 – 13, and this marks the third trip to the Tennessee River in four seasons. In 2021, Brandon Perkins took the victory with 55 pounds, 11 ounces. To begin this season, Perkins also took a win on Pickwick with a total of 66 pounds, 3 ounces.
For stop four, the league returns to the North to Bay City, Michigan, and the big water of Lake Huron, on August 29 – 31. This will mark the third consecutive trip to Bay City for the NPFL with Gary Adkins taking the victory in 2022 with 51 pounds, 13 ounces, and this season, Trent Palmer claimed the victory with 62 pounds, 12 ounces.
“Bay City is excited to welcome back The National Professional Fishing League in 2024,” said Ed Clements, Bay City Fishing Committee. “The end of August should provide an excellent event for competitors and fans; weights should be close and the winner will come right down to the wire. Look for largemouth to play a bigger role than ever on Saginaw Bay and river.”
After the trip to the North, the anglers will head South to none only than the St. Johns River. The City of Deland, Florida plays host for stop five on the famed river in the early fall, September 26-28. The NPFL returns to Florida for the third time in four years for the 2024 season. In 2021, the league visited the Harris Chain of Lakes in June with John Soukup winning his second trophy of the season with a total weight of 61 pounds, 15 ounces. In 2022, Taylor Watkins took the victory on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in November with 69 pounds, 14 ounces.
Stop number six will bring the anglers to the Midwest in October with details TBD.
2024 National Professional Fishing League Schedule
Stop 1 – Lake Logan Martin: Oxford, Alabama, February 1 – 3
2023 NPFL Championship – Lake Amistad: Del Rio, Texas, March 7-9
Stop 2 – Lake Hartwell: Anderson, South Carolina, May 16 – 18
Stop 3 – Pickwick Lake: Counce, Tennessee, July 11 – 13
Stop 4 – Saginaw Bay: Bay City, Michigan, August 29 – 31
Stop 5 – St. Johns River, Deland, Florida, September 26-28
Stop 6 – TBD: Midwest, October
WILL HARKINS GRABS DAY ONE LEAD AT LAKE LANIER
Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
With a 6-pound, 12-ounce lunker to anchor his weight, Will Harkins brought a tournament-leading 20-pound, 6-ounce bag to the scales on day one at Lake Lanier. Despite a tie at Lake Eufaula which resulted in a second-place finish after tie-breakers, Harkins bounced back in a big way on a familiar body of water at the NPFL season finale.
“You have to have a short-term memory in these events and just roll into the next one,” said Harkins. “I have a lot of history here and it is fishing tough, the key is execution. We may have 10-pounds, or we may have 20-pounds.”
Harkins is fishing in his comfort zone this week and focusing on various schools of fish all over the lake. As he noted before, execution is key on a lake such as Lanier.
“I have a deck full of rods and you can get them to bite, but you have to get them in the boat,” he added. “I did lose two 5-pounder fish today but that is how it goes. I have two more days and have to execute.”
Patrick Walters
Getting off to a fast start, NPFL pro Patrick Waltersbrought a five-bass limit of 19-pounds, 13-ounces with a 5-pound, 4-ounce lunker to the scales to finish day one at Lake Lanier in second place.
After a tougher practice than he expected, Walters was thrilled to have a solid day one this week with two tournament days remaining.
“We will take it; it was a good day,” said Walters. “I got these two good ones, and another good largemouth, and after an iffy practice, it was good. I hit about ¼ of my water today so we got some more stuff for this week.”
Mike Corbishley
After a near miss at victory in Oklahoma the last event at Lake Eufaula, Mike Corbishley finished day one in third place with a limit weighing 17-pounds, 15-ounces.
“I have fished Lanier a few times with Trent, but overall have not been here much,” said Corbishley. “I have had some close calls this year and I really want to win one of these things; the best way I know how is to do what I do – I ran my Pheonix Boats/Mercury all over and looked at them on my Lowrance Active Target 2 and caught what I could.”
Trent Palmer
With 17-pounds, 10-ounces on day one, Sonar Pros Pro Trent Palmer goes into day two tied with Todd Goade in fourth place.
“This lake is about execution and I did not do that today,” said Palmer. “I had the opportunity this afternoon for a 20-pound bag but that’s how it goes. I didn’t have a fish until 11 AM this morning so I am looking forward to figuring them out a little sooner tomorrow and seeing what happens.”
Despite the lost fish, Palmer is happy the ‘house’ is doing well so far in the tournament but is looking to make up some ground on day two.
“I am happy to see the house do well; they begged me for info and it looks like the tips worked out well,” he laughed.
Todd Goade
As seen on live coverage, Progressive AOY leader Todd Goade finishes day one tied for fourth place with a 17-pound, 10-ounce bag. Starting the event with a 12-point lead over Jesse Wise, Goade “did his job” once again despite a day-one charge by Wise, and leader Will Harkins.
“Today started with a bang but got tough on me after lunch,” said Goade. “I know Fat Cat and Luke won’t like it, but I did my job today, and I have to do it two more days out here. I want to thank everyone who tuned in on the Live Coverage today and watched me fish; thanks for the support.”
Rest of the best:
Hunter Baughman 16-15
Quentin Cappo 16-4
John Cox 15-15
Richard Cooper 15-10
Jesse Wise 15-9
B.A.S.S. boosts Opens with new investment, including expanded live coverage
All nine 2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series tournaments will feature live coverage, while anglers will compete for increased payouts and a new Angler of the Year purse.
Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.
October 26, 2023
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — As buzz continues around the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens, B.A.S.S. officials announced increased payouts and widely expanded coverage for 2024. These enhancements not only reinforce the longstanding stability and popularity of the Opens format, but also highlight the organization's commitment to leadership in serving the bass fishing community.
Live coverage from all nine Bassmaster Opens will be streamed on Bassmaster.com, with expanded coverage for the 2024 season on FS1, FS2, Tubi and the Fox Sports digital platforms. The newly expanded live coverage on multiple platforms will allow fishing fans to follow the intense competition and see every hookset, battle and weigh-in as they get to know the sport’s rising stars.
“B.A.S.S. continues our commitment to fueling a passion for fishing by entertaining and educating fans as well as serving anglers, who pour their time and efforts into our events. We have been exploring opportunities to further support our Opens Series, and after listening to anglers, fans and industry partners, we are thrilled to announce these exciting changes,” said Chase Anderson, B.A.S.S. CEO. “Providing the best possible platform for anglers is a top priority for us, and showcasing all levels of Bassmaster tournament fishing only helps to strengthen the entire sport.”
With nearly 1 million fans tuning in to live, final-day broadcasts of three Opens tournaments on FS1 in 2023, it's clear the fierce competition and dramatic fight for Elite Series invitations resonated with viewers. In total, fishing fans eagerly devoured more than 38.8 million minutes of live Opens coverage across all platforms.
Also beginning in 2024, Bassmaster Opens Elite Qualifiers Division anglers will be competing for a combined Angler of the Year purse of $110,000, which includes an increased first-place cash prize of $45,000. The prize payouts for every tournament will also increase, with the top 45 anglers — one in five competitors — in each event earning a check.
Based on a full field of 225 anglers in the pro division, the payout for each Opens event will total more than $332,500. Alongside the new AOY purse, that totals a prize purse of more than $3.1 million over the course of the season.
The EQ Division designation goes to those anglers who are competing in all nine St. Croix Bassmaster Opens and is the only path to earning an Elite Series invitation through the Opens.
“The EQ model is as close as you can get to competing at the Elite level in terms of the diverse skill set, travel, time and financial commitment needed to succeed,” said Executive Director of Tournaments Hank Weldon. “B.A.S.S. is not only bringing even more attention to the skills and incredible commitment made by Opens anglers, but I’m excited that the organization is also honoring and rewarding the anglers financially by backing an Angler of the Year purse with cash payouts to the Top 10 and increasing the overall field payouts.
“It’s impossible to overstate how well-received the new Opens EQ format was last season and the drama that built as anglers fought for coveted Classic berths and spots in the Elite Series field. Now, with an even bigger stage and greater financial awards — both backed by the stability and longevity of B.A.S.S. — I expect the Opens to be even more popular.”
Registration for B.A.S.S. Nation and Life members who want to compete in the Bassmaster Opens EQs opens November 7. For full registration information, visit Bassmaster.com.
2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Opens
Division 1
Feb. 1-3, Lake Okeechobee, Clewiston, Fla.
March 7-9, Santee Cooper Lakes, Clarendon County, S.C.
Oct. 10-12, Lake Hartwell, Anderson, S.C.
Division 2
Feb. 15-17, Lake Ouachita, Hot Springs, Ark.
May 2-4, Logan Martin Lake, Lincoln, Ala.
June 20-22, Lake Eufaula, Eufaula, Okla.
Division 3
July 11-13, Lake St. Clair, Macomb County, Mich.
Aug. 22-24, Leech Lake, Walker, Minn.
Sept. 12-14, Mississippi River, La Crosse, Wis.
Humminbird Highlight - Breaking down a bluff bank with Side Imaging
AnglersChannel.com had the pleasure of covering the Humminbird/Minn Kota Owners Tournament this year. Check out this Humminbird Highlight with AC Insider, Vance McCullough, and Humminbird Pro Staffer Bill Wilcox. They were idling a bluff wall being fished by several anglers and Bill shows us what he looks for in identifying sweet spots using his Side Scan technology.
Branson Readies for Toyota Series Championship on Table Rock Lake Presented by Simms
More Than 400 Bass Anglers Set to Compete for Top Prize of Up to $235,000 + REDCREST Qualification in 2023 Toyota Series Finale
BRANSON, Mo. (Oct. 24, 2023) – The 2023 Toyota Series Championship at Table Rock Lake Presented by Simms will take place next week in Branson, Missouri, Nov. 2-4, where the nation’s best Toyota Series pros and international anglers will compete for a top award of up to $235,000 cash, including the lucrative $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus, and an invitation to REDCREST 2024 – Major League Fishing’s most prestigious event. Hosted by ExploreBranson.com, the three-day, no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship is the culmination of the 2023 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats season, a six-division circuit that offers a path to the 2024 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour.
“I would like to welcome the championship field of anglers and their families to the Branson/Lakes Area,” said Jonas Arjes, Interim President and CEO of Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau. “After a great day of fishing on Table Rock Lake, I hope anglers and fans will take time to enjoy some of our live music shows and family attractions. There’s family fun for everyone in Branson.”
In addition to the top award of up to $235,000, the signature fall championship hands out thousands in awards to top finishers in each division, while introducing international qualifiers to tournament bass-fishing stateside. The long-running championship also provides advancement opportunities for anglers across the globe, furthering their reach and amplifying their fishing platforms.
The reigning Toyota Series champion, pro Kyle Hall of Granbury, Texas, won the event on Lake Guntersville in 2022. A regular atop the leaderboard in his young career, Hall has an impressive career résumé with four top-10 finishes, a 2018 Toyota Series win at 1000 Islands, Rookie of the Year (ROY) honors in 2020, and a 2022 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit win at Lake Champlain. Hall said the Toyota Series Championship, however, has been his most lucrative career win to date.
“I started fishing the Toyota Series events in 2018, mostly to figure out new bodies of water and to get a feel for tournament fishing away from home,” said Hall. “Going into that event, I didn’t really have much going for me – I had only caught a couple bass on one bait during practice – but I ended up winning the entire tournament on that one bait.
“That win wasn’t something I was expecting at all, but when it happened, it meant the world to me, especially because I was in the process of buying a house,” Hall continued. “Winning that event helped me to purchase the house and pay cash for it, so that was a big step for me and for the future of my fishing career.
“Since the pandemic, sponsors have definitely been pulling back more, but I was able to add a few important sponsors last year and I have a lot more in the works this year, all in direct correlation to that championship win,” said Hall. “I feel like this tournament provides ‘local anglers’ the opportunity to branch out and compete on new fisheries, while strengthening their personal brand and providing significant advancement opportunities to the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals.”
Pro Travis Harriman currently resides in Huntsville, Arkansas, but grew up on Table Rock Lake and said he’s spent more time on the fishery than anywhere else over the past five years. Harriman qualified for the championship after his recent win at the Toyota Series Plains Division finale on Lake of the Ozarks .
“The great thing about Table Rock Lake is that guys can really fish their strengths,” said Harriman. “I think we’ll see a mix of different techniques throughout this event, with guys running up the rivers, fishing both deep and shallow.
“I do expect the fishery to shift a bit before we get there next week,” Harriman continued. “They’re forecasting a cold front, which will really change things up and provide more opportunities for a lot of guys. I expect the shallow game will be strong, with guys throwing buzzbaits, ploppers and jigs. And of course forward-facing sonar is going to be in play as well – Table Rock Lake is a deep, clear lake that sets up well for that.”
Harriman said he expects to see daily weights around the mid- to upper-teens, and a winning weight up around 50 pounds, especially if the shallow bite kicks off.
“The spotted bass are big enough that you can get 16 or 17 pounds easily with just spots,” said Harriman. “I think the coolest part is that you can throw three casts in a row and catch three different species of bass.
“There are particular brush piles, points, cedar trees and other locations that hold fish year to year, and this event has the potential to be a junk fisherman’s paradise,” Harriman continued. “They could catch one on the bank with a plopper-style bait, hit a brush pile or a point with a different bait – that will definitely be the local advantage, knowing which locations hold fish and which baits to throw in each spot.
“There are so many bass in this place – any given creek could fire up at any moment, and you can really win anywhere on the lake,” said Harriman. “That’s what’s a little scary about this fishery. You might write an area off, but someone else might be able to get it firing. No one will be able to really let off the gas during this event.”
Anglers will take off daily at 7:30 a.m. CT from Table Rock State Park Marina, located at 380 State Park Marina Road, in Branson. Weigh-ins will also be held at the marina and will begin at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the daily takeoffs and weigh-ins and also follow the action online through the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts and daily coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com. The 2023 Toyota Series Championship Presented by Simms will premiere on CBS Sports in 2024.
The full field of anglers will compete on Days 1 and 2 of the event, with the top 10 pros and top 10 Strike King co-anglers based on cumulative weight from the first two days continuing to the third and final day. The 2023 Toyota Series champions will be determined by the heaviest three-day total weight.
Pros and co-anglers can qualify for multiple contingency awards based on final standings in the championship, including the lucrative $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus for pros. The winning Strike King co-angler will earn a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard motor.
The 2023 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consisted of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern, Southwestern and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International division and the Wild Card. The highest finishing pro from each division at the championship will claim a $10,000 bonus. The bonus will go to the second-highest finishing pro in the division represented by the overall champion.
The 2023 Toyota Series Championship field features the top 25 pros, top 25 Strike King co-anglers and tournament winners from each of the six divisions; the top 25 pros and 25 co-anglers from the Wild Card division plus tournament winners; the highest finishing boater and co-angler from each of the six Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regionals and the TBF at the All-American; the top three teams from the College Fishing National Championship; High School Fishing National Champions; TBF National Champions; and MLF International anglers from Canada, Central Europe, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Zimbabwe.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Toyota Series updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Terry Tucker and Jeremy Green win ABT Championship
By Jason Duran
Leesburg, AL Oct. 21—The Alabama Bass Trail concluded the 10th season with the Championship on Weiss Lake. This event was a no entry fee event consisting of two days of fishing by the top 75 teams from the north division, the top 75 teams from the south division, and qualifying couples, student and college teams. The event paid out over $100,000 through 25 places. The team of Terry Tucker and Jeremy Green took home $50,000 cash for their first-place finish.
After two days of fishing, Terry Tucker and Jeremy Green were crowned the 10th team champion of the Alabama Bass Trail making them part of a small group of anglers than can call themselves among the best of the best when it comes to team fishing. Their day one weight was 12.74-pounds, and on day two, they brough the biggest bag of the event to the scales with 19-pounds adding up to a two-day total of 31.74-pounds. In practice the key was “trying to figure out what areas had enough fish to get us through day one in order to really hammer down on day two. We don’t think we really figured it out; it just happened for us.”
“On day one, we went to an area where we knew we could get a limit hoping to get a big bite out of that area. We got a limit, but the big bite never developed. We then moved to other areas, and we lost one good fish which hurt us, but we hoped it wouldn’t kill us. We knew we needed at least 15 to 16-pounds a day to win it. Today, we regrouped, made a different round and changed up the timing of our areas, and it worked out good today. We caught fish today where we didn’t catch them yesterday.”
They said their pattern was to target isolated big fish and move around a lot. On day two, “we caught our first fish at 9:00, and we knew then what was going to happen from there. We didn’t catch a lot of fish, but it was because we weren’t targeting numbers. Instead, we were looking for the bigger fish. When we caught the last fish that moved us up to our final weight, we decided to head back an hour early to make sure we got back in time for weigh in. We caught everything we weighed in on a white spinner bait, but the key was for us to throw a different size- a 1/2 oz. and a 3/8 oz. Throwing different sizes allowed us to target the whole water column.”
The second-place team of CJ Knight and Anthony Goggins reported, “ on day one we had a primary area that was about three miles long in the mid-lake area. We felt like we had some decent fish in practice that would be pulling up shallow on tournament day, but we didn’t get a bite till 11:00, and within an hour, we caught all our day one wight of 14.10 pounds by just continuing to rotate that area. We spent the rest of the day practicing, and we lost one fish that would have moved us up to around 16-pounds. We continued to dial in our area a little more on day one with the hope of expanding it on day two. On day two, we knew the bite was going to be a little later, so we went to an area where we could just catch keepers and fill out our limit. That built our confidence to go to our main area with a limit and upgrade. The fish just bit better on day two. We targeted a lot of wood and docks that seemed to hold fish. One of our key baits was a Shad Rap that we fished really fast in areas that looked good to us. We covered lots of water, and because of the cold front, we noticed we got lots of short strikes where the fish missed the bait, but we didn’t give up. Another key bait for us was a 9/16 ADL Jig in brown made by Jason Howard at the Tackle Box in Oxford, AL. It is a flipping jig, and the key is a hand tied skirt. It doesn’t hang boat dock cross members, and it has a great hook. We also caught some on small crank baits. We knew we needed to catch a big fish each day. On the first day we caught a 5.50, and on the second day we caught a 4-pound fish off the same stump.” The key “was a staying in the area we caught big fish in during practice and not giving up on the area.” They weighed in a total of 28.50 for a pay day of $10,000 and add to that winning a $2,500 Phoenix Boats Pay Day bonus and a $500 Garmin Bonus.
The Third-place team of Michael Wooley and Joe Wooley weighed in a total of 28.03 and collected $5,000. “We didn’t have a good practice, but on the last day late in practice, we found a spot way upriver that was holding fish around laydowns and stumps. We spent day one fishing any wood we could find, and we caught a lot of fish including one that weighed 4.30 pounds and another 4.20 that helped us cull up. We caught all our fish on a green pumpkin 1/8 oz Ned Rig. The boat traffic in our areas on day two seemed to affect the fish some. We worked it the best we could and caught six keepers off one lay down. We caught another big one 4.30 in another area. We made our final cull at 4:10 pm that moved us up to third place with 28.03. The team has qualified to fish the BASS Team Championship and have set the goal to make the Bassmaster Classic.
The Top 10 places are below for a complete list of standings visit:
Download and listen to the ABT Podcast on your favorite Podcast app by searching for “Alabama Bass Trail Podcast.” The podcast is released each week on Tuesday, and this week will feature the winners 2023 ABT Champs
The sponsors of the 2023 Alabama Bass Trail include: Phoenix Boats, Academy Sports, Alabama
Power, America’s First Federal Credit Union, American Trailer Rental Group, BAJIO, Big Bite
Baits, Bill Penney Automotive, Black Rifle Coffee Company, Anheuser – Bush, Inc., E3 Sports
Apparel, Fish Neely Henry Lake.com, Garmin, Jack’s, Lew’s, Mountain Dew, Alabama Mountain
Lakes Tourist Association, Power-Pole, Strike King, Sweet Home Alabama, T-H Marine, Yamaha,
YETI Coolers
Ruler of Topwater Frogs – the Berkley Swamp Lord
A hollow belly topwater frog that elicits explosive bites from big bass in the nastiest of environments
COLUMBIA, SC. (OCT. 24, 2023) – Every angler knows just how much fun a topwater frog bite can be. But not all frogs are made the same. Designed by Berkley Labs in partnership with expert frog fisherman and 2022 Major League Fishing Redcrest Champion Bobby Lane, the Berkley Swamp Lord is the true frog king of fishing.
The Berkley Swamp Lord features optimally angled, sticky sharp Berkley Fusion19 hooks and a soft, yet extremely durable material that easily collapses – maximizing an angler’s hookup ratio. The sealed hook shank allows for a tighter fit with the body of the bait, reducing water intrusion for uninterrupted fishing. Available in both standard and popping models, the Swamp Lord conquers any environment to elicit only the most explosive of topwater blowups.
KEY FEATURES
• Optimized system to increase hook-up ratio
• Ultra soft body and design allows for quick collapse
• Sealed hook shank, body chamber reduces water intrusion
• Optimally angled sticky sharp Berkley Fusion19 hook
• Standard & popping models
Colors: Maverick • Honey Shad • Potomac • Copperhead • Green Pumpkin • Burnt Bone • Bone • Chartreuse Perch • MF Bluegill • Spring Frog • Bully • Voodoo Black
MSRP: $9.99
Available: September, 2023
Ranger Boats Under the Lid - A BOATLOAD of Storage with Bryan Thrift
We caught up with Ranger Boats / Sportsman's Warehouse Pro Bryan Thrift, the 2023 MLF Redcrest Champion. In this Ranger Under the Lid Series, Bryan is going to walk us through his Ranger Z520 R and how he sets it up for domination out there on tour. In this episode, he shows us a few tips and tricks on how he carries everything he can think of in the bow of his 20 foot Ranger. If it works for a champion, it's sure to work for us!
Brumnett Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Tournament on Lake of the Ozarks
| Strike King Co-angler Victory Goes to Oologah’s Parchman
OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (Oct. 23, 2023) – Boater Eli Brumnett of Wagoner, Oklahoma, brought a three-day total of 15 bass to the scale weighing 49 pounds, 14 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regional Event on Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri . For his victory, Brumnett earned $68,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, along with the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF contingency bonus. Brumnett also received automatic entry into the 2024 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American Championship, May 29-June 31, at Cherokee Lake in Jefferson County, Tennessee. “I only got to pre-fish for the tournament for two hours,” Brumnett said. “I made about 100 casts, and I only had one or two bites. “I started out the tournament Thursday with only two 2-pounders until about 11 o’clock,” Brumnett continued. “I idled to the back of a pocket and noticed a cluster of concrete around a marina dock on my Garmin Livescope. I marked it, turned around and made three casts to it, and caught a 5-9 and two 4½-pounders. After I caught those three big ones, I knew I was going to win the tournament. I could see close to 40 fish bigger than 4 pounds swimming around the concrete block.” Brumnett said the large, boat-length concrete blocks needed to have shad around them to hold the bigger bass he was seeking, and he threw a homemade ¾-ounce living rubber green-pumpkin jig with a green pumpkin Strike King Rage Tail Craw trailer, as well as a ½-ounce Greenfish Tackle jig and Rage Tail Craw, both in green pumpkin. Brumnett said he started the second day of competition on the same concrete feature to catch a quick limit. By 8:30 he had his limit, so he left and searched for more pockets that had concrete in 18 to 26 feet of water, near marina docks. His next stop produced two large bass that boosted his second-day weight to 21-8 - all by 9 a.m. The third day of competition was different for Brumnett. He said he fished for five hours and could not get a big bass to bite. He struggled but caught his fifth fish at 2:30. “This tournament was awesome,” Brumnett said. “I’ve had a lot of second-, third- and fourth-place finishes, but not a major win.” The top six boaters that qualified for the 2024 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were: 1st: Eli Brumnett, Wagoner, Okla., 15 bass, 49-14, $68,000 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MFL Contingency Bonus) Rounding out the top 10 boaters were: 7th: Todd Hollowell, Fishers, Ind., 14 bass, 34-14, $1,600 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. |
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| The top four boaters from each division that earned a $1,000 bonus for placing highest in the event were:
Great Lakes: Mike Feldermann, Galena, Ill., 6th Place, $1,000 Brumnett took home an extra $7,000 as the highest finishing Phoenix MLF Bonus member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the Phoenix MLF Bonus contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.
Justin Parchman of Oologah, Oklahoma, weighed in 13 bass over three days totaling 21 pounds, 4 ounces to win the top Strike King co-angler prize package of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard. The top six Strike King co-anglers that qualified for the 2024 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were: 1st: Justin Parchman, Oologah, Okla., 13 bass, 21-4, $50,000 Rounding out the top 10 Strike King co-anglers were: 7th: Jacob Parks, Noblesville, Ind., seven bass, 14-8, $800 The top four Strike King Co-anglers from each division that earned a $500 bonus for placing highest in the event were: Great Lakes: Thomas Bridges, Kankakee, Ill., 5th Place, $500 The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regional Tournament on Lake of the Ozarks was hosted by the Tri-County Lodging Association. It featured the top pros and Strike King co-anglers from the Great Lakes, Hoosier, LBL and Okie divisions. The 2023 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. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division will also earn priority entry into the MLF Toyota Series, the pathway to the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour. Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X 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. |
Micah Frazier retiring from Bassmaster Elite Series
October 23, 2023
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — After fishing nine seasons on the Bassmaster Elite Series, Micah Frazierof Newnan, Ga., is stepping away from professional fishing. Over the course of his B.A.S.S. career, Frazier has earned one Elite win, nine Top 10 finishes and 34 Top 30 finishes.
Although Frazier has experienced consistent success in the Elite Series, he felt as if now was the right time to step away for his family and future endeavors.
“This has been a decision that has been two or three years in the making,” said Frazier. “My family has always been able to travel with me, but with my son (Huck) about to start kindergarten, I just can’t come to peace with leaving them so often when they start school.
“I keep reminding myself that if I fish for another 10 years how much time I would miss with my kids, and I truly think that if you gave me the chance at the end of those 10 years, I would absolutely buy that time back.”
The five-time Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic qualifier also feels as if some of the business opportunities he’s passionate about have forced him to step back from providing bass fishing the attention it demands to be successful.
“I’ve really had to come to grips with the fact that I simply can’t do everything I want to do,” he said. “I feel like I have to free up some space in my life and in my mind. I haven’t been giving fishing the attention it deserves.”
Frazier fished his first St. Croix Bassmaster Open in 2013 and has since given bass fishing everything he has. Over the course of time, he’s made relationships that will never be broken and experienced things that most anglers never get to experience.
One of those things is to mentor his brother Marc through his young Elite Series career.
“I’m really proud of my brother and all he’s been able to accomplish in a really short amount of time,” he said. “Not many people get the chance to share those kinds of memories with their siblings. Leaving Marc out there (on the Elite Series) is one of the main reasons this decision was so difficult to make.”
Like all Elite pros, Frazier knows how much of a sacrifice being a professional angler is, and doing it without the support of his wife Anna, parents, friends, sponsors and fans would make it impossible.
“I’ve really been blown away by all the comments and support that I’ve been given since I made the announcement,” he said. “I know I’m doing the right thing. It’s a bittersweet decision, and there are going to be times that I miss it, but it just doesn’t sit in my life the same way it used to.
“The filter in which I see things now and my reason for living is my family and my kids, and it just doesn’t suit them as much as it suits me, which is a big part of the reason I’ve made this decision.”
Pickwick 9-pounder anchors Bonus Bucks Owners victory
Courtesy of Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships
Smallmouth tend to have the same mystical qualities at Pickwick as the many iconic hit songs recorded in the surrounding Shoals region, but on a gorgeous late October Sunday it was a 9-pound largemouth that became the top hit at the 12th annual Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners event.
Jake Lawrence and Monty Williams, both of Northwest Tennessee, leveraged Lawrence’s supreme knowledge of forward-facing sonar to catch the green beast that highlighted their mighty impressive 26 pound 10 ounce limit, and seven pound margin of victory over second place.
“Our boat was in 15-feet of water, but our keepers were swimming in the top third of the water column about 5-feet below the surface,” says Lawrence, a full-time fishing guide who provides forward facing sonar tutorials to his clients.
“The fact this is a no entry fee event is awesome, but it’s the catered food, hanging out with all the top Toyota pros, and hundreds of people walking around smiling that make it so special. Toyota just does so much for people who love to fish, and that played a big role in buying a brand-new Highlander for my wife last week,” added Lawrence, who tows with a Tundra.
Second and third place showed strong reflection of the unique family and fellowship aspect of the Toyota Bonus Bucks event, as husband and wife teams posted very impressive limits. Maddison and Triston Crowder finished second, and Keith and Penny Miller finished third, with 19-pound limits each.
However, you don’t have to be in the Top 3 to go home smiling from this annual event. The 15th place team scored a $1,000 Bass Pro Shops gift card, and the first team outside the guaranteed paycheck line got $1,000 from Yamaha for their 31st place finish.
Simply said, it pays to tow with a Toyota and sign-up for Bonus Bucks. Not only can you win cash throughout the year, but this annual no-entry fee event provides all the good vibes of a #1 song as well.
To learn more, and get signed up, please visit https://www.toyotatrucksbonusbucks.com/.
Davis makes history as first back-to-back winner of B.A.S.S. Nation Championship
Will Davis Jr. of Sylacauga, Ala., has become the first angler in history to win back-to-back B.A.S.S. Nation Championships, winning the 2023 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship at Lake Hartwell with a three-day total of 45 pounds, 6 ounces.
Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.
October 20, 2023
Davis makes history as first back-to-back winner of B.A.S.S. Nation Championship
ANDERSON, S.C. — Will Davis Jr. made history Friday when he won the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship for the second consecutive year.
Not only did the 31-year-old Sylacauga, Ala., resident become the first angler to win the event in back-to-back seasons, but he started a chain reaction that helped two other anglers receive a bit of B.A.S.S. glory as well.
Davis weighed a five-bass limit of 15 pounds, 1 ounce on Day 3, giving him an overall weight of 15 bass for 45-6. That was nearly 4 pounds more than any other angler competing in this three-day derby on Lake Hartwell, and it guaranteed him a spot in the 2024 Bassmaster Elite Series.
Thing is, Davis had already qualified for next year’s Elite Series, so his double qualification opened the door for New Hampshire’s Tim Dube, who finished second at Hartwell, to earn a spot in the Elite Series in 2024.
Davis’ win also had a ripple effect on the 2024 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic, which will be held March 22-24 on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees near Tulsa, Okla.
The Top 3 anglers in the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship earn spots in the 2024 Classic. But with Davis already having punched his ticket to the sport’s biggest tournament through the 2023 Progressive Insurance Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, B.A.S.S. officials said his berth would go to the first Elite out in those rankings.
That lucky angler is Elite Series pro David Gaston, who ironically also hails from Sylacauga, Ala., and who now slides into the 2024 Bassmaster Classic courtesy of his 43rd-place finish in the AOY race and Davis’ victory at Hartwell.
“I had a feeling this week,” Davis said. “I did a lot of praying on it ... I even keep a Bible in the boat, and I’ll read a verse to calm me down.”
Unlike last year, when he had to mount a come-from-behind win on Pickwick Lake to hoist the Bryan V. Kerchal Memorial Trophy, Davis had more than 3 pounds of cushion heading into the final day on Hartwell.
Davis ended Day 1 with a 16-1 limit, only 2 ounces behind Dube for the tournament lead, and he seized it on Day 2 with a 14-4 limit to take the lead. The weather changed overnight, and intermittent rain and steady winds moved through the area Friday morning.
But Davis didn’t blink. He had the big bag of the day and collected $20,000 for the win.
Despite having already secured his spot in the Classic and Elite Series, Davis said he fishes to win every tournament.
And at one point on Friday, Davis said he felt his nerves getting shaky. He switched to a Davis Bait Company spinnerbait (in the peacock color) early, anticipating it would work better in the windy weather. But he only had 9 pounds in his livewell as morning turned to afternoon.
“At that point, I went back to the (Davis) Wood Jig and headed to a hump that was in about 40 feet of water. I hadn’t fished it before, and I could see fish down there at about 35 feet. I dropped the Wood Jig right by them and prayed they’d hit it. I was able to get three big hits in a short amount of time and those few extra pounds made the difference.”
Davis rode last year’s Nation Championship to success in the Elite Series, winning a tournament on Lay Lake in May and finishing fifth in the Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Rookie of the Year standings. He wasn’t necessarily expecting to repeat as the B.A.S.S. Nation champ, but he’ll certainly take the victory.
“Last year was more emotional, but every win is sweet,” he said.
Dube, who finished second with a three-day total of 41-11, was amazed by his good fortune. He knew a Bassmaster Classic berth could be in the mix, but the chance to fish the 2024 Elite Series had the 29-year-old searching for words. A $15,000 check for finishing second in the tournament, plus $16,000 to cover Elite Series entry fees should he choose to compete, added to his amazement.
“This is all a dream,” Dube said. “I don’t know if you can say no to it. I’m just a rollercoaster of emotions.”
Dube caught a 14-8 limit on Friday, opting for spinnerbaits in choppy water.
“I’d pull up and bomb a 3/4-ounce spinner as far as I could,” he said. “It was shad color with silver blades. They’d come up and knock it out of the water.”
Wisconsin’s Josh Wiesner finished third with 37 pounds at Lake Hartwell. The performance secured him a Classic bid, as well as $10,000 for a podium finish on this storied fishery.
“This is unbelievable,” he said. “I thought I was maybe seventh place. To pull off a third? Unreal.”
Wiesner caught his best bass on a Hartwell Hammer Custom Rapala Jigging Rap and a 1/4-ounce shaky head with a Bass Assassin Tapout worm (peanut butter and jelly color).
A total of 113 anglers (58 boaters, 55 nonboaters) began the tournament on this 56,000-acre fishery straddling the South Carolina-Georgia border. They hailed from 48 states and eight foreign countries, earning their way into the field with their showings at one of five B.A.S.S. Nation regionals held across the country this year.
Arizona's Hayden Spradling won the nonboater title on Thursday with 10 fish for 18 pounds. He earned $10,000 and was invited to fish in Friday’s final round, finishing with a three-day total of 29-4.
Georgia’s Chris Moody caught the Big Bass of the Tournament among boaters and earned a $1,000 prize. Kansas’ Kyle Klein had the Big Bass among nonboaters (4-8) and won a $500 prize.
Dube also won $500 for being the angler using Garmin electronics who finished highest in the overall boater standings.
The field split a total purse of $96,500.
Visit Anderson hosted the event.
2023 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship 10/18-10/20
Lake Hartwell, Anderson SC.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Will Davis Jr Sylacauga, AL 15 45-06 0 $20,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-01 Day 2: 5 14-04 Day 3: 5 15-01
2. Timothy Dube Nashua, NH 15 41-11 0 $15,500.00
Day 1: 5 16-03 Day 2: 5 11-00 Day 3: 5 14-08
3. Josh Wiesner Fon du Lac, WI 15 37-00 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-08 Day 2: 5 13-12 Day 3: 5 09-12
4. Zach Taylor Kimberly, ID 15 36-14 0 $5,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-00 Day 2: 5 12-11 Day 3: 5 10-03
5. Nic Rand Kalamazoo, MI 15 36-00 0 $4,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 5 12-09 Day 3: 5 09-02
6. Andrew Nienaber Cape Town Western Cape 15 35-10 0 $3,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-07 Day 2: 5 11-14 Day 3: 5 09-05
7. Zeke Gossett Pell City, AL 15 35-05 0 $2,000.00
Day 1: 5 11-04 Day 2: 5 13-07 Day 3: 5 10-10
8. Cole Findley Forsyth, MO 15 33-13 0 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 11-15 Day 2: 5 13-07 Day 3: 5 08-07
9. Brian La Clair Denton, MD 15 32-12 0 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 10-09 Day 2: 5 15-08 Day 3: 5 06-11
10. Cody Steckel Las Vegas, NV 15 32-12 0 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 5 12-04 Day 3: 5 09-07
11. Nate Caldwell Fort Collins, CO 15 31-14 0 $500.00
Day 1: 5 12-04 Day 2: 5 11-00 Day 3: 5 08-10
12. Jonathan Carter Portland, ME 14 31-10 0 $500.00
Day 1: 5 12-08 Day 2: 5 11-02 Day 3: 4 08-00
13. Hayden Spradling Gilbert, AZ 15 29-04 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 09-07 Day 2: 5 08-09 Day 3: 5 11-04
14. Taylor Umland Carlock, IL 10 23-08 0
Day 1: 5 12-13 Day 2: 5 10-11 Day 3: 0 00-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
BIG BASS OF TOURN
Chris Moody Brooks, GA 04-04 $0.00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 48 268 541-09
2 46 264 504-14
3 12 64 131-00
----------------------------------
106 596 1177-07
Productive fall conditions await Redfish Cup Championship field at Winyah Bay
The 2022 defending champions Edward Adams and Sean O'Connell will be among the field when the 2023 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter Boats takes on South Carolina's Winyah Bay Oct. 27-29.
Photo by Andy Crawford/B.A.S.S.
October 20, 2023
GEORGETOWN, S.C. — During the 18th century, pirates staked out hidden bays and coastal islands in hopes of capturing their cut of the wealth flowing in and out of Georgetown’s deep-water port.
For three autumn days, 20 anglers will be snooping around some of the same areas in hopes of capturing the winning weight for the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter Boats at Winyah Bay.
Competition days will be Oct. 27-29 with daily takeoffs from East Bay Public Ramp at 7:15 a.m. ET and weigh-ins each day at Francis Marion Park at 3 p.m. Fans can catch Bassmaster Redfish LIVE coverage all three days of the tournament on Bassmaster.com. FS1 will broadcast live Oct. 28-29 beginning at 8 a.m. ET.
“It should be a great time of year to be out there,” said Ryan Rickard, the Tampa, Fla., angler who won the 2021 Championship alongside Bassmaster Elite Series pro Chris Zaldain. (The pair placed second in 2022.) “The water temperatures have probably cooled down enough to make fish a lot more active than their summer patterns.”
Boasting a history rich with rice and indigo production, Georgetown’s commerce attracted marauding types such as Blackbeard, Anne Bonney, Mary Read and Calico Jack Rackham. The tournament will host a far more congenial group with 10 two-angler teams — six top-tier redfish duos and four all-star teams comprising Bassmaster Elite pros and talented redfish anglers.
Leading the all-star lineup, Rickard is the only angler who has competed both of the past two years. He will pair with Elite pro Justin Atkins, a past Forrest Wood Cup and St. Croix Bassmaster Opens champion hailing from Florence, Ala.
Leading the pure redfish teams will be Louisiana pros Sean O’Connell and Edward Adams, the Redfish World Series champions that won last year’s Redfish Cup Championship in Port Aransas, Texas. Adams said he’s hoping his vast experience guiding the Mississippi Delta marsh will translate into South Carolina success.
Making his first fishing trip to the Palmetto State, Adams expects to gather critical practice recon during the lowest tidal periods. This is when the sea draws back its curtain to reveal key details like oyster bars, rocks and subtle marsh drains.
“I would think a lot of these fish will be in the creeks or little (backwater) pools,” Adams said. “It’s easy to target these spots during low tide, but when they’re covered with water, I’d think you’ll have to blind fish them with spinnerbaits or popping corks (a jig or shrimp suspended beneath a noisy rattling cork).”
The East Coast’s fourth-largest estuary, Winyah Bay marks the southern end of South Carolina’s famous beaches known as the Grand Strand. The bay is fed from the north by the confluence of the Black and the Great Pee Dee rivers and the Waccamaw River, while the Sampit River inflows from the west, through Georgetown.
As Rickard points out, tournament days will start with high tides that slowly drop throughout the competition hours. Outgoing to low tides are generally considered favorable for redfish, as they pull food sources out of hiding.
Falling water also drains shallow arteries and Rickard said this unyielding truth should not be taken lightly.
“This year will be very different, because we’re fishing a lot more tidal flow,” Rickard said. “We’re fishing 6- to 7-foot tidal swings (as opposed to approximately 1 1/2 feet in coastal Texas). A lot of that style fishing is creek fishing and fishing on the Intracoastal Waterway, so you have to be sure that you’re in and out of areas quickly so you don’t get stuck for the rest of the day.”
Notably, the Winyah Bay area also holds a tremendous largemouth bass fishery that has twice attracted Bassmaster Elite Series events (2016 and 2019). Scott Canterbury, the 2019 Progressive Insurance Bassmaster Angler of the Year who partners with veteran redfish angler and charter captain Krista Miller, will be seeking to leverage his Winyah Bay knowledge.
“I am hoping the redfish on the South Carolina coast act like the largemouth bass,” Canterbury said. “I finished second in the 2019 Elite out of there and hope that my knowledge of tides pays off. Being able to run the tide at the right times is definitely going to be key.”
The previous two Redfish Cup Championship events, both held in Port Aransas, Texas, saw a mix of tried-and-true redfish baits and tactics and several traditional bass strategies produce competitive catches. While this event may see a similar mixing of styles, there will be a noticeable departure from the larger, more aggressive presentations that tempt giant reds.
“We won’t be throwing a lot of the same things we were throwing in Texas,” Rickard said. “You’re not targeting the bigger fish. You’re targeting a 23-inch fish, so you’ll probably downsize your bait quite a bit.”
As Rickard alluded, tournament anglers will be targeting redfish in South Carolina’s 17- to 23-inch slot. Each angler can weigh up to two fish per day for a total of four fish per team. These parameters contrast the previous two years’ events in which teams were allowed to weigh a total of two fish between 20 and 28 inches.
Although he and O’Connell clearly demonstrated their ability to put big redfish in the boat, Adams believes his background could provide a Winyah Bay advantage.
“In most of the tournaments I fish, we’re trying to catch 27- or 28-inch redfish (depending on state regulations), so trying to catch 23-inch redfish will be different,” Adams admits. “But that’s pretty much what I target every day when I’m guiding. When people are looking for fish to eat, that’s the size you want.
“Those smaller fish are usually in groups and they’re usually all the same size. There’s usually more of those little fish around than those big ones."
Given the South Carolina slot size, plus Atlantic water that’s relatively cooler than the warm Gulf brine, Rickard expects much of the field to use smaller jigs with soft-plastic jerkbaits, Ned-style rigs and artificial shrimp baits. Other likely baits include topwaters, bladed jigs and gold spoons, as well as those popping cork rigs and spinnerbaits Adams mentioned.
“If someone has the knowledge of that place, I think the entire area could be in play, but my gut tells me the majority of the field is going to run south (through the Intracoastal Waterway) to McClellanville and Isle of Palms,” Rickard said. “To me, it’s better habitat, plus, the Winyah Bay area gets a lot of guide pressure, so I think a lot of us will be trying to get away from that.
“I think, given how the fishery allows you to fish, it would shock me if a team won in one area. You may have one area with multiple spots, but I think you’re going to have to cover a lot of water.”
Fishin' Tip Friday - Greg Hackney on the Head Banger Buzzbait
We're dropping a preview of an upcoming Strike King Gear Review for this week's Fishin' TIp. Greg breaks down his set up for the Hack Attack Select Head Banger Buzz Bait and gives us a few trailer tips that'll come in handy. Catch this and many more tips and tricks on the upcoming Anglers Channel Bass Wrap Up Show. We're premiering on Discovery this fall!
Davis takes lead, eyes repeat at B.A.S.S. Nation Championship on Lake Hartwell
Will Davis Jr. of Sylacauga, Ala., is leading after Day 2 of the 2023 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship at Lake Hartwell with a two-day total of 30 pounds, 5 ounces.
Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.
October 19, 2023
ANDERSON, S.C. — Will Davis Jr. hoisted the Bryan V. Kerchal Memorial Trophy a year ago, and by all accounts, it looks like he wants to hold on to the hardware that is awarded annually to the winner of the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship.
Davis, in second place after Day 1 with 16 pounds, 1 ounce, jumped into the pole position Thursday on Lake Hartwell with another five-bass limit, this one weighing 14-4. That gives the 31-year-old Sylacauga, Ala., resident a two-day total of 30-5 and a 3-pound cushion as the derby heads into the final day on this storied 56,000-acre fishery.
Davis is trying to defend the B.A.S.S. Nation title he won a year ago on Pickwick Lake in his home state. That win earned him a spot in the 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic in Knoxville and entry into the 2023 Bassmaster Elite Series. Davis impressed there, winning on Lay Lake in May and finishing fifth in the Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Rookie of the Year standings.
He's continued his hot hand at Hartwell.
“I spent a lot of time after winning the championship last year getting used to forward-facing sonar,” Davis said. “You have to be able to do it in the Elite Series, and it’s definitely played a role this week.”
Davis only had eight bites on Day 2, catching six Hartwell spotted bass, but they were quality catches. All came on the same Davis Bait Company Wood Jig he used for his best bass a day earlier.
“That Wood Jig is my go-to for big bass,” he said. “I’m not catching a lot of fish, which is frustrating. But I’m getting the right bites.”
Friday’s weather is supposed to be rainy and windy, which Davis said might force him to change tactics.
“I’ll probably have to throw out a spinnerbait more tomorrow,” he said. “But I won’t change up too much. I think I’m on the right fish. I just have to get them to bite.”
The field of 58 boaters was whittled to 10 after the Day 2 weigh-in at Green Pond Landing.
Wisconsin’s Josh Wiesner jumped from ninth place to second in the boater division, courtesy of a 13-12 limit on Thursday, giving him 27-4 for the tournament.
“The bite was fairly steady throughout the day, but it really started getting active at the end of the day when the wind picked up,” Wiesner said. “I caught my biggest one with about a minute to go today. It was about 3 3/4 pounds and probably a 2-pound upgrade for me.”
Day 1 leader Tim Dube fell to third place in the angler division Thursday after catching an 11-pound limit to give him a two-day total of 27-3.
Unlike Wednesday, when hard-hitting spotted bass were gobbling Dube’s lures, Thursday was much more difficult for the 29-year-old New Hampshire resident.
“They weren’t committing to the bait today,” he said. “Every fish I hooked, it was in the corner of the mouth or barely in the lip. I lost more fish than I can count. But I’m getting past that. It’s good to know the fish are still there.
“I like the way tomorrow’s weather is looking for my bite. I want some cloud cover because they’ll school better.”
Rounding out the Top 10 boaters fishing Friday are Michigan’s Nic Rand, 26-14; fifth, Zach Taylor, who’s fishing for Wyoming, 26-11; sixth, South Africa’s Andrew Nienaber, 26-5; seventh, Brian La Clair, fishing for Delaware, 26-1; eighth, Missouri’s Cole Findley, 25-6; ninth, Alabama’s Zeke Gossett, 24-11; and 10th, Maine’s Jonathan Carter, 23-10.
Hayden Spradling of Gilbert, Ariz., won the nonboater title Thursday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 18 pounds. He collected the Louis “Pee Wee” Powers Memorial Trophy for being the top nonboater, as well as a $10,000 prize and a spot in Friday’s final round.
It’s the second time Spradling has competed in the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship, having qualified previously in 2020.
“That experience made me a lot more headstrong about getting to this point, to be able to win,” he said. “I had to throw a little bit of everything this week to win the nonboater (division) and give myself a chance to fish on the last day.”
Kyle Klein, of Kansas, won $500 for the Big Bass among nonboaters (a 4-8 he hooked Wednesday.)
Nevada’s Cody Steckel (12th overall, 23-5) and Colorado’s Nate Caldwell (13th, 23-4) also will fish on Friday, after leading their respective regionals in the Hartwell boater standings.
A total of 113 B.A.S.S. Nation anglers from 48 states and eight other countries are competing at Hartwell.
The remaining 13 anglers will start the third and final day of the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship at 7:30 a.m. ET from Green Pond Landing. Weigh-in is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. Full coverage will be available on Bassmaster.com.
The top three anglers will earn berths in the 2024 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic, which is scheduled for March 22-24 on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees near Tulsa, Okla. The champion will also receive an invitation to fish the 2024 Bassmaster Elite Series. The second- and third-place finishers and Spradling will each earn paid entry fees for all divisions of the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens with the opportunity to qualify for the Elites.
2023 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship 10/18-10/20
Lake Hartwell, Anderson SC.
(BOATER) Standings Day 2
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Will Davis Jr Sylacauga, AL 10 30-05 0
Day 1: 5 16-01 Day 2: 5 14-04
2. Josh Wiesner Fon du Lac, WI 10 27-04 0
Day 1: 5 13-08 Day 2: 5 13-12
3. Timothy Dube Nashua, NH 10 27-03 0
Day 1: 5 16-03 Day 2: 5 11-00
4. Nic Rand Kalamazoo, MI 10 26-14 0
Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 5 12-09
5. Zach Taylor Kimberly, ID 10 26-11 0
Day 1: 5 14-00 Day 2: 5 12-11
6. Andrew Nienaber Cape Town Western Cape 10 26-05 0
Day 1: 5 14-07 Day 2: 5 11-14
7. Brian La Clair Denton, MD 10 26-01 0
Day 1: 5 10-09 Day 2: 5 15-08
8. Cole Findley Forsyth, MO 10 25-06 0
Day 1: 5 11-15 Day 2: 5 13-07
9. Zeke Gossett Pell City, AL 10 24-11 0
Day 1: 5 11-04 Day 2: 5 13-07
10. Jonathan Carter Portland, ME 10 23-10 0
Day 1: 5 12-08 Day 2: 5 11-02
11. Taylor Umland Carlock, IL 10 23-08 0
Day 1: 5 12-13 Day 2: 5 10-11
12. Cody Steckel Las Vegas, NV 10 23-05 0
Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 5 12-04
13. Nate Caldwell Fort Collins, CO 10 23-04 0
Day 1: 5 12-04 Day 2: 5 11-00
14. Aaron Green Everett, PA 10 22-08 0
Day 1: 5 11-07 Day 2: 5 11-01
15. Andrew Sams Easton, MD 10 22-06 0
Day 1: 5 14-08 Day 2: 5 07-14
16. Riley Nielsen Murray, UT 10 21-12 0
Day 1: 5 11-13 Day 2: 5 09-15
17. Austin Bonjour Templeton, CA 10 21-01 0
Day 1: 5 10-10 Day 2: 5 10-07
18. Dave Frost Mount Dora, FL 10 20-15 0
Day 1: 5 10-00 Day 2: 5 10-15
19. Troy Diede Sioux Falls, SD 10 20-14 0
Day 1: 5 09-14 Day 2: 5 11-00
20. Chris Moody Brooks, GA 10 20-10 0
Day 1: 5 14-03 Day 2: 5 06-07
21. Jess Pottenger Harrison, ID 10 20-10 0
Day 1: 5 10-13 Day 2: 5 09-13
22. BJ Baxter Willshire, OH 10 20-09 0
Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 5 09-08
23. Jordan Card Knoxville, TN 10 20-03 0
Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 5 09-02
24. Tyler Darling Rapid City, SD 9 19-15 0
Day 1: 5 13-12 Day 2: 4 06-03
25. Matthew Abeyta Albuquerque, NM 10 19-14 0
Day 1: 5 09-04 Day 2: 5 10-10
26. Kevin Walton Norfolk, VA 10 19-13 0
Day 1: 5 10-15 Day 2: 5 08-14
27. Tyler Ramsey Sand Springs, OK 10 19-07 0
Day 1: 5 11-10 Day 2: 5 07-13
28. Blake Wilson Benton, AR 10 19-02 0
Day 1: 5 12-00 Day 2: 5 07-02
29. Gary Pope Georgetown, SC 10 18-01 0
Day 1: 5 09-07 Day 2: 5 08-10
30. Marc Leech Kings Mountian , NC 10 17-15 0
Day 1: 5 07-15 Day 2: 5 10-00
31. Cody Hollen Beaverton, OR 10 17-14 0
Day 1: 5 10-02 Day 2: 5 07-12
32. Frankie Mueller Kingman, AZ 10 17-11 0
Day 1: 5 08-00 Day 2: 5 09-11
33. Jerry Pape Bella Vista, AR 10 16-15 0
Day 1: 5 05-10 Day 2: 5 11-05
34. Adam Hamann Prairie Du Chien, IA 9 16-13 0
Day 1: 5 09-03 Day 2: 4 07-10
35. Dustin Hollen Buckhannon, WV 10 16-10 0
Day 1: 5 06-13 Day 2: 5 09-13
36. Jay Swanson Lakeville, MN 10 16-10 0
Day 1: 5 08-10 Day 2: 5 08-00
37. Jurgen Geiger Luxury Hill Windoek NA 10 16-08 0
Day 1: 5 08-05 Day 2: 5 08-03
38. Manuel Cruz Clifton, NJ 10 16-07 0
Day 1: 5 08-12 Day 2: 5 07-11
39. Luis Tavares Mendes Cernache Do Bonjardim P 10 15-06 0
Day 1: 5 06-11 Day 2: 5 08-11
40. Byron Albrecht Waco, TX 9 15-03 0
Day 1: 5 08-12 Day 2: 4 06-07
41. Brian Hensley Edwardsburg, MI 10 15-02 0
Day 1: 5 08-05 Day 2: 5 06-13
42. Matthew Nobile Sorrento, LA 10 14-13 0
Day 1: 5 08-00 Day 2: 5 06-13
43. Sean Andrachick Marion, MT 9 14-12 0
Day 1: 4 05-10 Day 2: 5 09-02
44. Ken Day Kennewick, WA 10 14-07 0
Day 1: 5 07-00 Day 2: 5 07-07
45. Andrej Chowaniec Beeton Ontario CANADA 8 12-05 0
Day 1: 5 09-06 Day 2: 3 02-15
46. Michael Mello Jr Manville, RI 7 11-13 0
Day 1: 5 09-00 Day 2: 2 02-13
47. Lukas Matt Syracuse, NY 10 11-11 0
Day 1: 5 05-02 Day 2: 5 06-09
48. Chad Warnol Moss Point, MS 7 10-13 0
Day 1: 2 03-06 Day 2: 5 07-07
49. Thomas Waltz St. Albans, VT 6 10-01 0
Day 1: 1 01-05 Day 2: 5 08-12
50. Yoshi Komada Nishinomiya JAPAN 6 09-14 0
Day 1: 1 01-01 Day 2: 5 08-13
51. Mickey Soler Newington, CT 7 09-10 0
Day 1: 3 03-11 Day 2: 4 05-15
52. Andre Kondonis Harare ZIMBABWE 6 09-07 0
Day 1: 4 06-10 Day 2: 2 02-13
53. Jacob Marcantonio Moosup, CT 7 08-06 0
Day 1: 5 05-11 Day 2: 2 02-11
54. Jorge Trapero Barraza Culiac n Rosales TX MEX 5 07-11 0
Day 1: 2 02-11 Day 2: 3 05-00
55. Richard Young Jr Melbourne, KY 6 06-12 0
Day 1: 4 03-15 Day 2: 2 02-13
56. Oscar Gonzalez Barcelona SPAIN 4 06-06 0
Day 1: 2 02-11 Day 2: 2 03-11
57. Andy Gill Wellsville, KS 4 04-15 0
Day 1: 3 04-00 Day 2: 1 00-15
58. Jackie Barber West, TX 3 03-06 0
Day 1: 2 02-09 Day 2: 1 00-13
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 47 263 532-02
2 45 259 496-05
----------------------------------
92 522 1028-07
2023 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship 10/18-10/20
Lake Hartwell, Anderson SC.
(NON_BOATER) Standings Day 2
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Hayden Spradling Gilbert, AZ 10 18-00 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 09-07 Day 2: 5 08-09
2. Richard White Alexander City, AL 10 17-13 0 $7,500.00
Day 1: 5 10-04 Day 2: 5 07-09
3. Tristan Garriga Lucedale, MS 10 16-11 0 $5,000.00
Day 1: 5 06-15 Day 2: 5 09-12
4. Cooper Haase Duncannon, PA 10 16-07 0 $2,500.00
Day 1: 5 07-00 Day 2: 5 09-07
5. Larry Witt Evington, VA 8 16-01 0 $2,000.00
Day 1: 5 11-11 Day 2: 3 04-06
6. James D'Ambra Hanover, MA 10 15-13 0 $1,500.00
Day 1: 5 07-11 Day 2: 5 08-02
7. Kyle Klein Hutchinson, KS 8 15-08 0 $1,500.00
Day 1: 5 10-15 Day 2: 3 04-09
8. Gary Belanger Plainville, CT 10 14-15 0 $500.00
Day 1: 5 06-02 Day 2: 5 08-13
9. Cole Buser Moscow, ID 7 14-08 0 $500.00
Day 1: 5 13-00 Day 2: 2 01-08
10. Marshal Allen Greeley, CO 7 14-07 0 $500.00
Day 1: 4 07-15 Day 2: 3 06-08
11. Zachary Queeney Atco, NJ 9 14-01 0 $250.00
Day 1: 5 08-13 Day 2: 4 05-04
12. Edward Owens Hemingway, SC 8 14-00 0 $250.00
Day 1: 3 05-10 Day 2: 5 08-06
13. Ron Stierstorfer Middle River, MD 9 13-14 0
Day 1: 4 07-15 Day 2: 5 05-15
14. Keisuke Sakamoto Shiga JAPAN 8 13-10 0
Day 1: 4 07-00 Day 2: 4 06-10
15. Colten Hutson Edmond, OK 8 12-14 0
Day 1: 5 06-07 Day 2: 3 06-07
16. Joe Whelan Ozark, MO 9 12-02 0
Day 1: 5 06-10 Day 2: 4 05-08
17. Robert Rull Jr Coventry, RI 7 12-00 0
Day 1: 2 01-13 Day 2: 5 10-03
18. Grant Aumiller Danville, KY 6 11-15 0
Day 1: 5 10-05 Day 2: 1 01-10
19. Kin Pui Wong Bakersfield, CA 9 11-15 0
Day 1: 4 05-07 Day 2: 5 06-08
20. Dez Ruffin Tukwila, WA 7 11-11 0
Day 1: 2 01-13 Day 2: 5 09-14
21. Hunter Frederickson Redford, MI 10 11-11 0
Day 1: 5 06-10 Day 2: 5 05-01
22. James Seymour Oglesby, TX 8 11-03 0
Day 1: 3 04-05 Day 2: 5 06-14
23. Christian Hanson Rathdrum, ID 5 11-02 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 11-02
24. Dave Roberts Sisters, OR 8 11-02 0
Day 1: 5 08-06 Day 2: 3 02-12
25. Tristen Boyd Monteagle, TN 8 11-01 0
Day 1: 4 06-08 Day 2: 4 04-09
26. Andrew Sayles Middleton, ID 9 10-13 0
Day 1: 5 06-10 Day 2: 4 04-03
27. Matt Summers Gassaway, WV 8 10-06 0
Day 1: 3 03-13 Day 2: 5 06-09
28. Matt Luken Independence, KY 7 09-10 0
Day 1: 4 06-09 Day 2: 3 03-01
29. Dean Yamagata Las Vegas, NV 5 09-04 0
Day 1: 2 03-00 Day 2: 3 06-04
30. Jason Campbell Berwick, LA 7 08-13 0
Day 1: 3 03-08 Day 2: 4 05-05
31. Jesus Morales Apodaca Nuevo Leon MEX 6 08-13 0
Day 1: 3 04-11 Day 2: 3 04-02
32. David Pfeiffer Milton Mills, NH 5 08-06 0
Day 1: 1 01-05 Day 2: 4 07-01
33. Greg Pink Montrose, CO 5 08-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 08-00
34. Fernando Henriques Henriques Cernache Do Bonjardim P 5 07-08 0
Day 1: 1 00-15 Day 2: 4 06-09
35. Alex Ellerbrock Sugar Grove, IL 5 07-04 0
Day 1: 2 02-06 Day 2: 3 04-14
36. Mike Bell Ogdensburg, NY 4 07-02 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 4 07-02
37. Will Presley Jr Grove City, OH 5 06-12 0
Day 1: 2 02-02 Day 2: 3 04-10
38. Eric Moulton Enfield, NH 5 06-12 0
Day 1: 2 02-10 Day 2: 3 04-02
39. Bryan Schumacher Sparta, WI 4 06-10 0
Day 1: 4 06-10 Day 2: 0 00-00
40. Garrett Sicely Albany, VT 5 05-12 0
Day 1: 1 01-09 Day 2: 4 04-03
41. Miles Lausch Lakeville, MN 6 05-10 0
Day 1: 2 01-10 Day 2: 4 04-00
42. Tyler Guthmiller Yankton, SD 5 04-13 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 04-13
43. Agustin Pintado Salas El Burgo Del Ebro, Zara 3 04-07 0
Day 1: 3 04-07 Day 2: 0 00-00
44. Blake Macumber Elkhorn, NE 2 04-06 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 04-06
45. Neels Beneke Amanzimtoti SOUTH AFRIC 3 03-15 0
Day 1: 1 01-14 Day 2: 2 02-01
46. Brad Gandee Mcdonough, GA 3 03-09 0
Day 1: 2 01-10 Day 2: 1 01-15
47. Roger Foraker Magnolia, DE 2 02-15 0
Day 1: 1 01-12 Day 2: 1 01-03
48. Carl Bowser Indianapolis, IN 2 02-00 0
Day 1: 1 01-06 Day 2: 1 00-10
49. Leray Anderson II Crofton, NE 2 01-13 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 01-13
50. Jeremiah Proulx Cherokee Village, AR 1 01-11 0
Day 1: 1 01-11 Day 2: 0 00-00
51. Andrew Krauss Seabright CANADA 1 01-03 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 01-03
52. Grant Harris Maiden, NC 1 01-00 0
Day 1: 1 01-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
53. Gavin Fraser Bulawayo ZIMBABWE 1 00-14 0
Day 1: 1 00-14 Day 2: 0 00-00
54. Jerry Duncklee Fayette, IA 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
54. Claude Loftin Jacksonville, FL 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 16 151 240-10
2 17 175 263-15
----------------------------------
33 326 504-09
PLANO EDGE 3700 SWIMBAIT BOX
The new EDGE Swimbait Box is the ultimate solution for organized and protected baits
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Oct. 19, 2023) — Engineered with meticulous attention to detail and designed for the needs of serious swimbait anglers, the innovative Plano EDGE 3700 Swimbait box sets a new standard for protecting and organizing swimbaits. Revolutionizing swimbait storage, the Plano EDGE 3700 Swimbait box provides a reliable and secure environment for storing and protecting up to 24 swimbaits in the horizontal position and 10 in the vertical position. The box utilizes gravity to suspend swimbaits and glide baits, keeping them separated and shielded from tail deformation and preserving bait action during transit and storage.
Equipped with Plano's advanced Rustrictor corrosion and rust-preventive technology to deliver 360 degrees of rust and moisture preventative protection, the EDGE Swimbait box safeguards your baits against the elements to help extend their lifespan. The Dri-Loc O-ring watertight seal guarantees the box remains waterproof when closed, and moisture is no longer a concern, as the WaterWick divider with a moisture-wicking packet protects both wet and dry baits, maintaining their integrity and functionality.
Convenience is at the forefront of the design, with the EZ Label system facilitating effortless organization of your swimbaits. The DuraView crystal-clear transparent polycarbonate lid allows for quick identification of contents, saving you valuable time on the water.
Built to withstand the rigors of angling adventures, the Plano EDGE 3700 Swimbait Box features durable components such as steel pin hinges and a one-hand latch for secure opening and closing. With the Plano EDGE 3700 Swimbait Box, anglers can have peace of mind, knowing that their swimbaits are protected, organized, and always readily accessible when the water is calling.
Key Features
● Dri-Loc O-Ring watertight seal
● WaterWick divider with a moisture-wicking packet
● EZ Label system for effortless organization
● DuraView transparent polycarbonate lid
● 360 degrees of Rustrictor rust prevention technology
Dimensions: 14"L x 9"W x 2.63"H
MSRP: $49.99
Available: October 2023
MLF Announces Entry Dates for 2024 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series, Phoenix Bass Fishing League, Abu Garcia College Fishing and High School Fishing Programs
BENTON, Ky. (Oct. 19, 2023) – Major League Fishing (MLF), the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, announced today the complete rules and entry dates for the 2024 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats, Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine, Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI and High School Fishing seasons.
Tackle Warehouse Invitationals:
With national television coverage on CBS Sports, daily MLFNOW! on-the-water livestreams, a top award of $115,000 (including a $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus), and advancement to REDCREST 2025 on the line at every stop, the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals are a lucrative proving ground for anglers looking to qualify for the 2025 Bass Pro Tour where they will fish as part of an exclusive field of 50 pros competing for the sport’s most lucrative payouts. Invitations will be distributed this week to qualified anglers from the 2023 Toyota Series, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals and Bass Pro Tour.
The complete 2024 Tackle Warehouse Invitational schedule, rules and payouts are available online at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats:
Offering the biggest payouts for the lowest entry fees of any national tournament trail, the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats gives anglers the opportunity to fish close to home for incredible awards and advancement to the nationally televised Toyota Series Championship where pros compete for up to $235,000, including a $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus, and co-anglers compete for a $33,500 Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat powered by a 115hp outboard.
The winning pro at the Toyota Series Championship qualifies for REDCREST 2025 for the chance to win $300,000, and the highest-finishing pro from each division, including the Wild Card, at the Toyota Series Championship receives a $10,000 bonus.
The 2024 Toyota Series Championship, hosted by the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Madison County Commission and the Huntsville Sports Commission, is scheduled for Nov. 7-9, at Wheeler Lake in Huntsville, Alabama. The championship field will feature the top 25 pros and co-anglers from each of the six U.S. Toyota Series divisions and the Wild Card division plus tournament winners; the highest finishing boater and co-angler from each of the six Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regionals and the TBF from the All-American; the top three teams from the Abu Garcia College Fishing National Championship; the High School Fishing National Champions; the TBF National Champions; and up to two pros from each MLF International country.
Every Toyota Series tournament features live weigh-in coverage and the Toyota Series Championship will be nationally televised on CBS Sports. New for 2024, the Toyota Series Championship will also include MLFNOW! on-the-water livestream during the final day of competition.
The top five pros from each U.S. division in Angler of the Year standings qualify for the MLF Invitationals. If a top-five pro declines his or her bid or earns qualification through the Invitationals or Bass Pro Tour, the next eligible pro qualifies. This process continues through the top 10 pros in each division.
The Anglers of the Year and Strike King Co-anglers of the Year will also be awarded $5,000 and $2,000, respectively, in each of the six U.S. divisions.
Entry fees are unchanged for 2024 at $1,700 per tournament for pros and $550 per tournament for co-anglers. Anglers can register for the 2024 Toyota Series season at MajorLeagueFishing.com or by calling 270.252.1000, beginning at 8 a.m. CT on the dates listed below:
- Entries from the top 25 pros and co-anglers and tournament winners from each division of the 2023 Toyota Series and the top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division of the 2023 Phoenix Bass Fishing League – plus the winner of each 2023 Bass Fishing League tournament (who paid an entry fee for all five tournaments in a division and fished at least two tournaments in the same division) and the top 10 anglers from the 2023 College Fishing National Championship – will be accepted beginning November 6. These anglers have until November 27 to secure their priority entry position.
- Phoenix boat owners (Phoenix owners with current registrations or confirmation of a boat order who will use their Phoenix boat in Toyota Series competition) may enter beginning November 28.
- Anglers who fished a full division of the 2023 Toyota Series or a full division of the 2023 Bass Fishing League may enter beginning November 29.
- TBF members may enter beginning November 30.
- All other entries will be accepted beginning December 1.
The complete 2024 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats schedule, rules and payouts are available online at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine:
The Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine is the premier grassroots tournament circuit for weekend anglers, maintaining the best payouts and advancement opportunities for the lowest entry fees available in the sport. The BFL is the only circuit offering weekend anglers the opportunity to advance to the prestigious All-American, Toyota Series Championship and REDCREST 2025 for a shot at winning top boater awards of $120,000, $235,000 and $300,000, respectively, including lucrative Phoenix MLF Bonuses.
The 2024 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American will be hosted by Visit Jefferson County, TN on May 29-31 at Cherokee Lake in Jefferson County, Tennessee. The top six boaters and co-anglers from each of six Regional tournaments and the Wild Card will qualify. The highest-finishing boater and co-angler from each Regional and the Wild Card at the All-American advance to the Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning $235,000 (including a $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus). Beat just five anglers from your regional and advance to a second no-entry-fee championship for a shot at one of the sport’s biggest paydays. The All-American boater champion will also advance to REDCREST 2025 for a shot at winning $300,000.
With every tournament featuring livestreamed weigh-in coverage, the Phoenix Bass Fishing League allows anglers to fish close to home – creating a clear path to the Toyota Series, the MLF Invitationals and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour – while placing anglers in front of the sport’s largest fan base. This also provides grassroots anglers the opportunity to showcase their talents to more than 5 million visitors on MajorLeagueFishing.com and 2.3 million followers on MLF’s social media outlets, as well as coverage in Bass Fishing magazine and in dedicated public relations outreach that generates a potential reach of up to 5.5 billion impressions annually across all MLF circuits.
The Phoenix MLF Bonus contingency award will continue for the 2024 season, enhancing payouts from $500 to $7,000 for registered Phoenix boat owners in every qualifier, super-tournament and regional tournament, an additional $20,000 in the All-American, and $35,000 in the Toyota Series Championship.
Each qualifying tournament will continue to offer a top boater award of up to $13,000, including a $7,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus, and a top Strike King co-angler award of $3,000. Top awards jump up to $16,000 for boaters, including a $7,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus, and $4,500 for Strike King co-anglers in super tournaments.
The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers, plus the five tournament winners in each division, advance to a Regional. Boaters in each Regional compete for a $67,000 top award, including a Phoenix 819 Pro with 200hp outboard and $10,000 plus a $7,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus for qualified anglers. Co-anglers in each Regional compete for a $50,000 Phoenix 819 Pro with 200hp outboard. Additionally, the highest finishing boater from each division in each Regional receives a $1,000 bonus and the highest finishing co-angler from each division receives a $500 bonus – you only have to beat 49 anglers from your division to win big. Each Regional also features a $1,000 boater and $500 co-angler Berkley Big Bass award.
Entry fees will remain the same in 2024 – $220 per boater and $110 per co-angler for one-day qualifying tournaments, and $330 per boater and $165 per co-angler in two-day Super Tournaments and Regional events.
.
The Wild Card will maintain its $13,000 top boater award, including Phoenix MLF Bonus, and a top co-angler award of $3,000. Enter all five events in a division, fish at least two and automatically advance to the Wild Card if you are not qualified for a Regional. The top six boaters and co-anglers from each Regional and the Wild Card advance to the All-American.
The 2024 All-American will be nationally televised on CBS Sports, offering Bass Fishing League anglers unmatched media exposure. New for 2024, the All-American will also include MLFNOW! on-the-water livestream during the final day of competition.
Anglers can register for the 2024 Phoenix Bass Fishing League season at MajorLeagueFishing.comor by calling 270.252.1000, beginning at 8 a.m. CT on the dates listed below:
Dec. 4, 2023 – Bama, Choo Choo, Cowboy, Gator and Savannah River.
Dec. 5, 2023 – Arkie, Bulldog, North Carolina, South Carolina and Volunteer.
Dec. 6, 2023 – LBL, Mississippi, Okie, Ozark and Piedmont.
Dec. 7, 2023 – Great Lakes, Hoosier, Mountain, Music City and Shenandoah.
Dec. 8, 2023 – Buckeye, Illini, Michigan and Northeast.
Phoenix boat owners (Phoenix owners with current registrations or confirmation of a boat on order who will use their Phoenix boat in Bass Fishing League competition) and TBF members may enter all divisions by phone starting Dec. 1, 2023.
The complete 2024 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine schedule, rules and payouts are available online at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI:
The winning team at the 2024 Abu Garcia College Fishing National Championship will receive $43,500, including a $33,500 Phoenix 518 Pro powered by a 115hp outboard and $10,000. The winning team also advances to the 2024 Toyota Series Championship to compete as pros for a shot at winning as much as $235,000. The highest finishing team member at the Toyota Series Championship advances to REDCREST 2025. The runner-up at the 2024 College Fishing National Championship will receive a $33,500 Phoenix 518 Pro powered by a 115hp outboard. The team will also advance to the 2024 Toyota Series Championship to compete as pros. Third place at the 2024 National Championship will receive $4,000 and advance to the 2024 Toyota Series Championship to compete as co-anglers for the chance to win a $33,500 Phoenix 518 Pro powered by a 115hp outboard. Fourth and fifth place will receive $3,000 and $2,000, respectively, with sixth through 10th receiving $1,000 each.
Each angler finishing in the top 10 at the 2024 College Fishing National Championship will receive priority entry into the 2025 Toyota Series, the pathway to the MLF Invitationals and the Bass Pro Tour. Every tournament will feature live weigh-in coverage and the National Championship will receive national television coverage on CBS Sports. New for 2024, the College Fishing National Championship will also include MLFNOW! on-the-water livestream during the final day of competition.
MLF will recognize the top performing school with the Tackle Warehouse School of the Year Presented by QuikTrip title, which includes a $10,000 award. Each school receives the total points earned by its top two teams in each tournament. School of the Year is awarded to the school with the highest point total from its three best tournaments.
Abu Garcia College Fishing teams can compete in up to nine qualifying tournaments around the country. The top 12 percent of teams from each event will advance to the following year’s College Fishing National Championship.
Registration for the 2024 season opens at 8 a.m. CT on Dec. 11, 2023. Fields are capped at 250 boats per tournament, so teams are encouraged to enter at their earliest opportunity. Teams can register at MajorLeagueFishing.com or by calling 270.252.1000. The entry fee is unchanged at $100 per team.
The complete 2024 Abu Garcia College Fishing schedule, rules and payouts are available online at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
MLF High School Fishing:
The 2024 MLF High School Fishing circuit will feature teams competing in seven open events held in conjunction with Abu Garcia College Fishing events so students and parents can network with prospective college teams and coaches during college weigh-ins. MLF High School Fishing Opens are two-person (team) events for students in grades 7-12 and open to any Student Angler Federation (SAF)-affiliated high school club in the United States. The top 10 percent of teams in each tournament 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.
Both members of the winning team at the 2024 High School Fishing National Championship, held simultaneously with the TBF High School Fishing World Finals, are guaranteed $5,000 scholarships to the school of their choice, plus the opportunity to compete for a share of more than $3 million in scholarships and prizes. The 2024 High School Fishing National Champions will also advance to the 2024 Toyota Series Championship as co-anglers to compete on national television for a Phoenix 518 Pro powered by a 115hp outboard.
Registration for the 2024 MLF High School Fishing Opens will begin at 8 a.m. CT on Dec. 13, 2023. Teams can register at MajorLeagueFishing.com or by calling 270.252.1000. There is no entry fee for high school anglers to compete in any MLF or TBF High School Fishing tournament. Both anglers must, however, be a member of the Student Angler Federation (SAF). There is no limit to the number of teams accepted into a tournament from each school or club, but the maximum field size is 250 boats. Teams are encouraged to enter at their earliest opportunity.
The complete 2024 High School Fishing schedule, rules and payouts are available online at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
MLF High School Fishing Camp:
The extremely popular MLF High School Fishing Camp for students and parents will be held July 10-12 at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky. The three-day camp experience immerses passionate young anglers and coaches into the world of bass fishing. Students and coaches learn techniques from top MLF pros in small groups, and receive a glimpse into the inner workings of the fishing industry through interaction with MLF staff and special guests. Registration for the 2024 MLF High School Fishing Camp will begin at 8 a.m. CT on Nov. 30, 2023. Visit MajorLeagueFishing.com/camp for details.
For complete details and updated tournament information on all MLF circuits, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Major League Fishing updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
2024 B.A.S.S. Nation qualifier schedule announced
The 2024 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series includes four national qualifying events in Alabama, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and New York.
Photo by Mark Cisneros/B.A.S.S.
October 19, 2023
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The 2024 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series schedule features four national qualifiers on some of the country’s best bass fisheries along with a new format giving grass-roots anglers more opportunities to qualify for the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship and a shot at a berth in the iconic Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic.
Beginning in 2024, both individual B.A.S.S. Nation anglers and club members from each state will be able to enter national qualifier events, with the Top 20 finishers advancing to the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship. Additionally, club anglers will be able to qualify directly from their state tournaments to the championship.
“Our goal is to give the everyday angler more chances to make it to the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship, whether they get in via a state-run event or a national qualifier,” said GL Compton, tournament director for the B.A.S.S. Nation. “We know that for many anglers — especially when you’re working or in college — joining a local club isn’t practical, so opening our regional qualifying events to unaffiliated individuals is a way to accommodate those competitors. But, if you’re a club angler, now you’ll have two paths to qualify for the Nation Championship. It really is an all-around win for grass-roots anglers.”
The schedule will kick off early next year on Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Ala., February 7-9. Known as the “Bass Fishing Capital of the World” and the hometown of late fishing industry legend Tom Mann, the brushpile-laden Chattahoochee River fishery has hosted 18 major B.A.S.S. events since 1968.
After a stop in Muskogee, Okla., April 3-5, the schedule will swing to the upper region of the United States in May with a qualifier on the Mississippi River May 8-10 in La Crosse, Wis.
Just weeks before the Elite Series heads to New York, the final national qualifier event will take place July 24-26 on Lake Champlain in Plattsburgh, N.Y. One of the most picturesque fisheries the B.A.S.S. events visit, this 435-square-mile natural lake straddling the New York/Vermont border delights anglers with the bass fishing trifecta — diversity, quantity and quality.
“We're excited to roll out the welcome mat for the B.A.S.S. Nation Series on Lake Champlain in 2024,” said Alyssa Senecal, assistant director of tourism and marketing for the North Country Chamber of Commerce. “Our beautiful lake has been serving up big bass and good times for ages, making it a beloved hotspot for anglers and outdoor enthusiasts alike. Get ready for a 'reel' adventure as we proudly showcase our backyard to fellow lake-loving tournament participants who, like us, can't resist the lure of some seriously epic bass action!”
The B.A.S.S. Nation Championship tournament will feature qualifiers from the states and the national qualifier tournaments, as well as international anglers and the Paralyzed Veterans of America Angler of the Year.
Not only will the Top 3 anglers from the overall standings realize a dream of competing in the 2025 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic, the winning angler will also be named the Nation’s Best, punch their ticket to the 2025 Elite Series and enjoy the use of a fully-rigged Nitro Boat and Toyota Tundra. The second- and third-place finishers and nonboater champion will each earn paid entry fees for all divisions of the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens with the opportunity to qualify for the Elites.
“The B.A.S.S. Nation local clubs have been the foundation of our organization for more than five decades and mean so much to so many different people,” said GL Compton, tournament director for the B.A.S.S. Nation. “As someone who grew up fishing with the South Carolina B.A.S.S. Nation, I know that these clubs add so much to the culture and growth of our sport through their conservation efforts and youth events and initiatives.”
For more information on registration, visit Bassmaster.com/b-a-s-s-nation.
2024 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier Schedule
Southeast Qualifier: February 7-9, Lake Eufaula, Eufaula, Ala.
Central Qualifier: April 3-5, Arkansas River, Muskogee, Okla.
Northern Qualifier: May 8-10, Mississippi River, La Crosse, Wis.
Northeast Qualifier: July 24-26, Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Costa Sunglasses pioneers first recorded billfish research tagging mission completed on fly
The ultimate culmination of community and conservation, Costa’s Marlin Fly Project benefits the Striped Marlin fishery in Magdalena Bay, Mexico and the people who depend on it
JUPITER, Fla. (Oct. 19, 2023) – Focused on conservation and driven by its community-based ethos, Costa Sunglasses is announcing the Marlin Fly Project, the first recorded billfish research mission solely using fly tackle. In partnership with the locals of San Carlos, Mexico, The Billfish Foundation (TBF) and International Game Fish Association (IGFA), the Marlin Fly Project team successfully deployed 15 satellite tags in two days to better understand and protect this understudied billfish species.
The project, which took place in Southwestern Baja, Mexico, December 2022, stands as the ultimate culmination of community and conservation. Led by Costa, it brought together Costa Pros (professional anglers and fishing guides), leading billfish scientists, conservation organizations, and community partners to pursue this mission in tandem with local captains, guides and the San Carlos community.
“The epic fishing tales coming out of Magdalena “Mag” Bay alone attracted us to the region in 2021, but what we found there was an authentic community, rich with culture, built alongside an untamed ecosystem,” said Jed Larkin, Brand Director for Costa Sunglasses. “That trip sparked a trailblazing idea – what if we brought our global community of scientists, partners and pros together with the local community of San Carlos to research and protect this special resource? And that’s how Marlin Fly was born. Rooted in both community and conservation, this project is everything we stand for as a brand.”
An eight minute documentary on the Marlin Fly Project can be seen HERE.
“There’s no place on earth with an ecosystem quite like Mag Bay. Every year anglers from around the world travel to this unique destination to experience one of the most incredible billfish fisheries on the planet,” said Dr. Bruce Pohlot, IGFA Conservation Director. “But the reality is, there has not been a lot of scientific research done on this population of Striped Marlin in the Eastern Pacific. That’s why the IGFA was happy to jump on board with our longtime partners at Costa when they started asking questions about what can be done to protect this magnificent resource.”
Of the 15 short and long term satellite tags that were deployed during the project, Costa resourced three tags to support IGFA’s Great Marlin Race, and seven were donated by TBF. The tags will track post release survivability, migrational patterns, swimming depth, and water temperature. An additional 20 spaghetti tags were deployed, which will provide important ongoing recapture data. The discoveries from Costa’s Marlin Fly Project will help fill crucial data gaps and aid in global and local efforts to conserve this highly migratory species (HMS).
Scientists from The Billfish Foundation, International Game Fish Association, and the University of Southern Mississippi Center for Fisheries Research & Development, vetted all landed fish to make sure they were viable candidates prior to tagging. All landed and tagged fish were healthy and swam off strong.
"Through this collaboration, Costa's Marlin Fly Project is set to collect unparalleled data about Striped Marlin that will help play a pivotal role in supporting conservation and enhancing fisheries management efforts,” said Peter Chaibongsai, Director of Conservation Programs at The Billfish Foundation. “We’re honored to be a part of such a unique project that puts community at the forefront. The strong bond forged with the locals not only enables them, but also fosters a sense of advocacy. This ensures that the project's impact extends far beyond scientific research – it creates a network of passionate advocates dedicated to conserving this resource for years to come.”
Costa has spent the past four decades carrying out its ‘higher calling’ to protect the waters we love, connect those who come to life on the water, and to conserve the life within. The Marlin Fly Project is an extension of that commitment. In addition to the history-making, field-science study, the project served the local community through the following initiatives.
Community-first nonprofit and original Costa-born project, Indifly, joined the mission to meet with the community of San Carlos and assess a potential social impact project. Inspired by both the people and operation, Indifly plans to collaborate with San Carlos, the Marlin Fly Project, and Los Locos to innovate ways for this vital community to write their own future.
Costa partnered with Los Locos Mag Bay, a unique fly-fishing operation that employs and works directly with the locals of San Carlos, Mexico to support this one-of-a-kind community through angling tourism.
Building on Costa’s One Coast initiative for emergency preparedness, partner Finns West outfitted the Los Locos operation and guideboats with safety equipment and medical training.
Costa partnered with Travel Creel, who hosted cooking classes in the community, and sourced produce, meats and seafood from local fisherman and farmers to prepare dinners each night to feed the crew.
The Marlin Fly team participated in organized clean ups along San Carlos’ coastline, and on the final night hosted local guide families for a celebration, in gratitude for their hospitality and guidance.
The Marlin Fly Project will continue its mission to create advocates for the Striped Marlin fishery, both locally and globally, by fostering dynamic relationships and supporting this ecosystem and the people who depend on it.
In honor of its 40th Anniversary, Costa Sunglasses will release its Second Edition: Protect Purpose Report next month. Led by the success of the Marlin Fly Project, The Protect Report highlights Costa’s commitment to conservation, community and sustainability in 2021-2022.
For more information on Costa’s ongoing work to ‘protect what’s out there,’ as well as its complete collection of award-winning performance, optical and lifestyle frames, visit Costasunglasses.com.
About Costa Sunglasses
As the first manufacturer of color-enhancing all-polarized glass sunglass lenses, Costa combines superior lens technology with unparalleled fit and durability. Costa has made the highest quality, best-performing sunglasses and prescription sunglasses (Rx) for outdoor enthusiasts since 1983, and now its product portfolio includes optical frames. Costa’s growing cult-brand status ties directly to its purpose to provide high-quality products with a focus on sustainability and conservation as the company works hard to protect the waters it calls home. From the use of sustainable and water-friendly materials to its Kick Plastic initiative, IndiFly Foundation, and meaningful partnerships with mission-aligned organizations, Costa encourages people to help protect the Earth’s natural resources in any way they can. Find out more on Costa’s website and join the conversation on Facebook,Instagram, or Twitter at @CostaSunglasses.