Jagdfeld, Akins advance to finals at Bassmaster College Classic Bracket on Tims Ford Lake
Sept. 29, 2024
Winchester, Tenn. — Dylan Akins enjoyed his best day yet at Tims Ford Lake, landing 16 pounds, 7 ounces — the heaviest bag of the tournament so far — on Day 3 of the Bassmaster College Classic Bracket presented by Lew’s.
Still, there were some anxious moments at weigh-in as the Emmanuel University angler arrived at check-in and realized his head-to-head opponent Andrew Blanton of Lander University had also caught an impressive bag of bass on Day 3.
Blanton fell just 4 ounces short with 16-3, allowing Akins to take a sigh of relief and advance to Championship Monday. He will be joined by Adrian College graduate Aaron Jagdfeld, who caught 12-3 to advance past Caleb Hudson of University of South Carolina-Union (7-3).
“I was feeling pretty optimistic because I had caught a decent sack,” Akins said. “So, I was thinking, if I want to have a chance tomorrow, I don’t know if I can keep grinding on these fish. So, I made a move to a different section of the lake to try and cull up there. I got to weigh-in and realized it was going to be close. I saw he had those two big largemouth.
“Luckily, I slid through. It was nerve-wracking.”
Weights will zero again tomorrow and Akins and Jagdfeld will compete head-to-head for a spot in the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic at Lake Ray Roberts along with paid entries into the 2025 St. Croix Bassmaster Opens with use of a fully rigged Nitro boat and Toyota Tundra.
A light rain continued to fall over Tims Ford as the remnants of Hurricane Helene continued to swirl around the area. But as the conditions have stabilized, the bite has continued to improve for the Emmanuel University graduate.
“Today was the best day I’ve had,” Akins said. “I fished a couple of new areas I found, which helped a lot. I had some key bass off of those areas. Hopefully tomorrow will be the same, too. The weather is kind of moving out of here, so there’s a chance it could completely change.”
Thus far, Akins has been targeting both smallmouth and largemouth in the southwestern section of the lake. The majority of the bass he’s caught have been feeding around suspended bait balls, but he landed one of his bigger bass on Day 3 in shallower water.
“If I see them around bait, then I’m throwing at them,” Akins said. “Today, every fish for a little while was trying to eat. If I saw them shallow or out on bait, I would throw over there and try to get them to eat the topwater.”
Garmin LiveScope has helped him locate these groups of threadfin shad, and has also allowed him to observe where the bass are sitting in the water column. Akins has seen bass swimming and suspended anywhere from just under the surface to as deep as 50 feet.
The bass located in the top 15 feet of the water column are more willing to bite a topwater, but he’ll drop a bait to the bass if they are deeper. Several groups of bass have moved quickly up and down in the water column, which has shocked Akins.
“I can sit there and watch a school of bass that is 50 feet down all of sudden swim up and get right under the surface like they are ready to feed,” he said. “What is even crazier, I know people catch largemouth shallow ... I have caught some of my biggest largemouth here in 40 feet of water. It blows my mind that they will (rise and fall) so much. The smallmouth will swim everywhere, but the schools of largemouth I’m seeing are swimming twice as fast.”
It was a wet start for Akins, but not because of the rain. While fighting a bass, Akins slipped on the gunnel of the boat and fell into the lake. He did, however, manage to land that bass and proceeded to fill out his limit.
“The first bass I caught kept and from there I filled my limit pretty fast. That hasn’t happened the last few days. I would get stuck on four for a while. After that, I had a flurry that lasted until about 10 or 11. It slowed down from there. I noticed a lot of bass starting to not react the same way.”
Jagdfeld, meanwhile, suffered his worst day of fishing since arriving at Tims Ford. Despite losing several bass early in the morning, he was able to land a respectable limit by midmorning, but the way the bass bit today has him a bit worried about his chances for the final day.
“It is good to be here, but I want to win it all,” Jagdfeld said. “I have no clue what I’m going to do tomorrow. I’m completely out of fish. But I’m going to fish free tomorrow and go bassin’. I’m going to act like I’ve never been here before.”
Throughout the first three days, the Adrian College angler has moved between two large areas of the lake searching for bass feeding on threadfin. He has landed a mix of smallmouth and largemouth with two baits, including a topwater popper and a minnow-style bait.
Like Akins, Jagdfeld has found that bass swimming higher in the water column are more willing to bite.
“Most of the bass I’m catching are within 10 feet of the surface over 15 to 100 feet of water,” Jagdfeld said. “That’s why I’m able to catch them on topwater. I switched from a Spook to a Pop-R today. I’ve seen big schools down in 30 to 50 feet of water, but it is really hard to get to them and they are hard to get to bite anyway.”
When he arrived at his starting spot on Day 3, Jagdfeld discovered the bass in the area were in an odd mode.
“I didn’t connect with the first four or five bass that blew up on my topwater. I made some mistakes. Tried to boat flip some bass I shouldn’t have,” Jagdfeld said. “I was able to grind it out and hit a few stretches that had them. I never had a big bite.”
Jagdfeld suspects the bass are starting to transition to their fall patterns, and with the rise in water levels from the tropical rains, he thinks he will have to make a drastic change in strategy.
“With the water coming up, and now that it is stabilizing, I probably will fish shallow. I haven’t done it much all week. When we first got here, there were a lot more fish on the main lake. The bait is still there, but the bass aren’t there in the numbers they were when we first got here.”
Jagdfeld and Akins will launch from Tims Ford Marina at 6:20 a.m. CT and return for weigh-in at 2:30 p.m. Live coverage on Bassmaster.com will begin at 7 a.m. and continue until 2 p.m.
The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development and local businesses are hosting the tournament.
2024 Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Strike King
2024 Bassmaster College Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
2024 Bassmaster College Classic Bracket Presenting Sponsor: Lew's
2024 Bassmaster College Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2024 Bassmaster College Series Premier Sponsors: Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2024 Bassmaster College Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowarance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
2024 Bassmaster College Series Youth Sponsors: Seaguar, Shimano
Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
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Media Contact: Chad Gay, B.A.S.S. Communications Manager, 205-313-0945, [email protected]
2024 Strike King College Bracket Presented by Bass Pro Shops and Lew's 9/27-9/30
Tim Ford's Lake, Winchester TN.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Club/School Pts
1. Dylan Akins - Emmanuel University 0
Day 1: 5 14-04 Day 2: 5 16-00 Day 3: 5 16-07 Total: 5 16-07
2. Andrew Blanton - Lander University 0
Day 1: 2 06-03 Day 2: 5 14-11 Day 3: 5 16-03 Total: 5 16-03
3. Aaron Jagdfeld - Adrian College 0
Day 1: 5 14-13 Day 2: 5 14-05 Day 3: 5 12-03 Total: 5 12-03
4. Caleb Hudson - University of South Carolina - U 0
Day 1: 4 12-12 Day 2: 5 14-05 Day 3: 3 07-03 Total: 3 07-03
------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 2 26 76-12
2 5 31 93-00
3 3 18 52-00
------------------------------
10 75 221-12
Akins overcomes early miscue to lead the way on Day 2 at Bassmaster College Classic Bracket on Tims Ford Lake
Sept. 28, 2024
Winchester, Tenn. — Knowing a full day of fishing was ahead, Emmanuel University’s Dylan Akins knew he would have to take advantage of every quality bite he received on Day 2 of the Bassmaster College Classic Bracket presented by Lew’s to advance.
By landing the tournament’s biggest bag so far, Akins did just that.
With a two-day total of 30 pounds, 4 ounces, Akins finished at the top of the leaderboard on Day 2 and earned the No. 1 seed heading into the bracket portion of the event. Adrian College angler Aaron Jagdfeld earned the No. 2 seed with 29-2 while Caleb Hudson from the University of South Carolina-Union will be the third seed with 27-1. Lander University’s Andrew Blanton claimed the fourth and final seed with 20-14.
Weights will reset, and Akins will go head-to-head against Blanton on Semifinal Sunday while Jagdfeld will face off against Hudson. The winner of the head-to-head matchups will advance to Championship Monday and the overall victor will claim a spot in the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented By Jockey Outdoors at Lake Ray Roberts along with paid entry into the 2025 St. Croix Bassmaster Opens.
“I’m feeling kind of confident, but I don’t have the backing like I did yesterday,” Akins said. “I think you are going to have to burn it to the ground every day. It is going to be interesting to see what the weights are when we are pushing our stuff.”
The remnants of Hurricane Helene shortened the first day of the tournament, and while rain and wind persisted on Saturday, the eight competitors were able to launch on time and enjoyed a full day of fishing.
Akins landed 14-4 on Day 1 before catching a tournament best 16-0 on the second day of competition. Along with a morning bite, he feels conditions have stabilized enough to improve the bite across the lake today.
“Today they seemed a little more active and I think you saw that in people’s bags today,” Akins explained. “Tomorrow is supposed to be about the same, so it will be interesting to see if they keep biting like this, shut down or if it gets even better.”
Tims Ford reminds the recent college graduate and Bassmaster Team of the Year champion of the upper end of his home lake of Lake Lanier, which has helped him break down the lake this week. The river sections of Lanier are full of threadfin, which is the prominent baitfish in Tims Ford as well.
Several different patterns have played out for Akins so far this week. No one thing has been better than another, but he has narrowed his rotation down to four key baits.
“I’ll go through a stretch and fish a pattern,” he said. “I’ve been mixing in a little of everything. I’m mixing it up shallow and deep. Everything I’m fishing is kind of similar, but I haven’t seen a correlation between them.”
With how deep Tims Ford generally is, Akins added it hasn’t been super difficult to switch between his deep and shallow patterns. While he has caught a largemouth or two each day, Akins has landed mostly smallmouth.
“You can see the bank, and then you can pan over with (forward-facing sonar) and there it’s as deep as 80 feet of water,” he said. “You can fish shallow points and then deep stuff; you never really know where they will be.”
After landing everything he flipped in the boat on Day 1, Akins started Day 2 by misjudging a boat flip and losing a key bass. He recovered nicely, though, landing four keeper bass before hitting a lull later in the morning.
“Today off the rip, I tried to flip one and it hit off the gunnel,” he said. “That hurt, but I pushed through it, and I knew I had to catch a limit to make it to the next day.”
The four remaining anglers will launch from Tims Ford Marina beginning at 6:20 a.m. CT on Sunday and return for weigh-in at 2:30 p.m. Live coverage will begin on FS1 at 8 a.m. ET and continue through 11 a.m. before moving over to Bassmaster.com at noon.
The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development and local businesses are hosting the tournament.
2024 Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Strike King
2024 Bassmaster College Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
2024 Bassmaster College Classic Bracket Presenting Sponsor: Lew's
2024 Bassmaster College Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2024 Bassmaster College Series Premier Sponsors: Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2024 Bassmaster College Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowarance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
2024 Bassmaster College Series Youth Sponsors: Seaguar, Shimano
Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
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Media Contact: Chad Gay, B.A.S.S. Communications Manager, 205-313-0945, [email protected]
2024 Strike King College Bracket Presented by Bass Pro Shops and Lew's 9/27-9/30
Tim Ford's Lake, Winchester TN.
(BOATER) Standings Day 2
Angler Club/School Pts
1. Dylan Akins - Emmanuel University 0
Day 1: 5 14-04 Day 2: 5 16-00 Total: 10 30-04
2. Aaron Jagdfeld - Adrian College 0
Day 1: 5 14-13 Day 2: 5 14-05 Total: 10 29-02
3. Caleb Hudson - University of South Carolina - U 0
Day 1: 4 12-12 Day 2: 5 14-05 Total: 9 27-01
4. Andrew Blanton - Lander University 0
Day 1: 2 06-03 Day 2: 5 14-11 Total: 7 20-14
5. Garrett Smith - Lander University 0
Day 1: 2 05-09 Day 2: 5 14-14 Total: 7 20-07
6. Chase Carey - Emmanuel University 0
Day 1: 3 08-04 Day 2: 4 11-03 Total: 7 19-07
7. Tanner Hadden - University of South Carolina - U 0
Day 1: 3 08-09 Day 2: 2 07-10 Total: 5 16-03
8. Elliot Wielgopolski - Adrian College 0
Day 1: 2 06-06 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 2 06-06
------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 2 26 76-12
2 5 31 93-00
------------------------------
7 57 169-12
BFL Super Tournament on Cherokee Lake Cancelled
WHAT:
The Major League Fishing (MLF) Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Volunteer Division two-day Super Tournament on Cherokee Lake, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 28 and Sunday, Sept. 29, has been cancelled due to rapidly rising waters.
MLF and tournament officials are reviewing options regarding a potential rescheduling and more information will be released very soon.
NOTES:
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on final point standings, along with the winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 17-19 BFL Regional tournament on Clarks Hill Lake in Appling, Georgia. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the 2025 BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Proud sponsors of the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Big Bass Tour | Douglas Lake Event Rescheduled to November 1-3, 2024
Due to the recent flooding in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina, and the resulting infrastructure failures over the last 24 hours, Tour officials have decided, in consultation with local authorities and host partners, to reschedule the Douglas Lake event to November 1-3, 2024.
All entries will automatically be moved to the new dates, and online registration will remain open as usual. If you are unable to attend the rescheduled date, your entry can be transferred to the 2025 Big Bass Tour event. To make this change, please email [email protected] with your name, details, and the event you wish to transfer to. Please note that we will not process changes over the phone.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in the region who's been impacted.
Bass Fishing Hall of Fame welcomes five new members and unveils venue expansion
Arbogast, McKinnis, Reese, Williams, Zona enshrined; Clunn collects Murski award
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— For Immediate Release — Sept. 27, 2024 — To the three bullies on the bridge, Mark Zona has a message for you: Bass fishing is cooler than you’ll ever be.
It has perhaps never been as cool as it was Thursday evening at the White River Conference Center as the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame welcomed the 2024 induction class of Fred Arbogast, Mike McKinnis, Skeet Reese, Alfred Williams and Zona.
Zona’s poignant acceptance speech punctuated a memorable and historic evening by telling the story of what, at the time, was the biggest bass of his life. Zona recalled being heckled by three teenage boys who were perched on a small bridge overlooking the area he was fishing.
“You’re a loser. You’re a dork. You’re not gonna catch anything,” they heckled as Zona did his best to ignore them.
“Just give me a bite so I can shut them up,” he remembers thinking.
With the peanut gallery looking on, a 10-year-old Zona made another cast under the bridge and watched his line jump as a fish inhaled his pre-rigged plastic worm.
“I got ‘em,” he said. “I got ‘em!”
He landed the fish – a smallmouth – put it on his stringer and headed home, bullies in his wake, triumphant and steadfast in his love of fishing.
“All I wanted was for those three bullies to understand that bass fishing’s cool,” Zona said while holding a replica mount of the fish in his left hand.
With 23 other Hall of Fame inductees scattered throughout the crowd, the longtime Bassmaster television and Bassmaster Live analyst and host of “Zona’s Awesome Fishing Show” spoke about the opportunity that arose from a meeting at the 2005 Bassmaster Classic that allowed him to transition from tournament angler to television personality.
“Bassmaster has been a part of my life,” said Zona, who retired from his analyst role after the 2024 Elite Series season. “It was so long before I worked there but the opportunity and the group that I worked with, I took pride in that. I still take pride in that. And even though I’m not going to sit in that seat any more on Bassmaster Live, I’m there. Bassmaster is my life. It’s my family’s life.”
The induction ceremony was the culmination of the Hall’s Celebrate Bass Fishing Week, which also featured a week-long silent auction which helped raise funds that will be used toward the Hall’s conservation grants and scholarship programs.
"It was such a great evening at the White River Conference where we celebrated our 2024 Hall of Fame inductees,” said Hall of Fame president John Mazurkiewicz, “It was also a great, diverse crowd from across the bass fishing world between pro anglers, industry executives, high school and college anglers as well as a room full of blue jackets. We were thrilled to see so many Hall of Fame inductees on hand, including some who were attending for the first time. It was a great evening and on behalf of the entire Board of Directors, a massive thank you to the team at Wonders of Wildlife and Johnny Morris for the support they offer which allows us to provide a fun and exciting evening celebrating the sport of bass fishing.”
The night also allowed the Hall of Fame to unveil its newly-expanded venue located within Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium, featuring 300 square feet of new space and displays. The new layout now ensures all WOW visitors will funnel through the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame and be able to explore the artifacts and history of the sport that are on display.
“I was feeling so blessed to be downstairs [in the Hall of Fame] and look at the pictures and scrapbooks of memories and how blessed we’ve all been to spend a good part of our lives around the great sport of fishing,” said Morris.
In addition, Hall of Famer Rick Clunn, whose Bassmaster tournament career spanned six decades and more than 500 events, was given the Ray Murski Lifetime Achievement Award. Clunn is just the third recipient of the award, joining Ray Scott (2013) and Morris (2017).
Williams began fishing bass tournaments after returning from Vietnam, often as the only Black competitor – and won more than his share. He won the 1983 Bassmaster Classic divisional qualifier at Ross Barnett Reservoir, his home waters, to clinch a spot in the 1983 Classic at the Ohio River, the first African-American to do so. He finished 10th out of 42 contenders, placing ahead of fellow Hall of Famers Hank Parker, Clunn, Denny Brauer and Roland Martin.
“Since it was announced I was going to be inducted, I’ve gotten calls from people I hadn’t heard from in 30, 35 years to congratulate me on this achievement,” Williams said. “It truly is an honor for me to be standing here tonight. They’ve said I’m a trailblazer. I didn’t start out to be a trailblazer. I just started on a trail and it got to be blazing, I guess.”
Williams also recalled his affiliation with Snag Proof Lure Company, which produced some of the first floating frog style lures. Williams made modifications to the bait, such as adding skirted legs and even weights to alter how it sat on the surface.
“All of the fishermen in here now all know that all of the frogs are based on that concept,” he added.” I don’t care what brand it is, it’s based on that concept we came up with at Snag Proof. People didn’t really believe it until they saw it in action.”
Early in his career, Reese helped lead a generation of West Coast anglers who parlayed their regional success into lengthy careers on the national bass fishing scene. Once there, he displayed a unique flair and personality that helped him stand out on and off the water.
In 1997, he won two regional Red Man tournaments, a West Coast Bass event and the Bassmaster Western Invitational Angler of The Year title, the latter of which earned Reese a spot in the Bassmaster Top 150 field and a berth in the 1998 Bassmaster Classic, thus kicking off his career as a national tour pro.
From there, he built one of the most impressive résumés of his era. It includes eight B.A.S.S. victories, including the 2009 Bassmaster Classic and five Elite Series triumphs. He also claimed the 2007 Elite Series AOY title. He’s added three Major League Fishing wins since 2018 and his career earnings of $4.09 million between B.A.S.S. and MLF puts him among the top 5 all-time in the sport.
“I’m really here doing this right now,” Reese said as he looked out at a packed banquet hall. “I look out over this room and I see so many people that influenced the sport and without them we wouldn’t be here today. So, for me to be on stage and be recognized it’s not something I dreamed of doing. I never thought this would happen to me. I was just a kid from California who loved to catch fish. To be up here and be doing this right now is really humbling. I’m grateful and thankful for the opportunity to be up here and be part of history.
“Who would have thought some little toe-haired kid from northern California was going to make black and yellow popular and bring a Bassmaster Classic title back to California.
While Reese was a star on the water, McKinnis and the team at JM Associates, the production company founded by his late father, Jerry, provided the television platform where those stars took shape and connected with fans and viewers around the world.
McKinnis and Co. transformed the way fishing fans consume content around the sport. His productions of one-off fishing tournament programs in the mid-1900s attracted the attention of ESPN, which tapped JM to launch the network’s coverage of the then-new FLW Tour in 1996. In 2015, McKinnis helped shepherd in a new era in tournament coverage when the Bassmaster Classic was live-streamed to the world on Bassmaster.com.
The breakthrough production was an immediate success and helped spawn an era during which live broadcasts of on-the-water action have become the norm across the sport as has live coverage of Bassmaster events on Fox Sports networks – all under McKinnis’ watch.
In typical television producer form, though, McKinnis deflected credit to his colleagues over the years at JM Associates.
“Let me get through the list of the shoulders that I’ve been standing on all these years,” he said before rattling off a roster of editors, engineers, camera operators, executives, on-air hosts and his father, Jerry.
Among those mentioned was longtime editor David Lipke, who’s worked alongside McKinnis for nearly a quarter century.
“If you’ve seen some highlight footage of bass anglers over the last 24 years and it made you want to get up and go fishing, there’s a 95 percent chance that guy cut the footage,” McKinnis said. “I’m standing up here getting this honor, but he and all of these people that I’m talking about are the reason.
“None of us would be here without my best friend, my dad, Jerry McKinnis. I am unbelievably proud to be up here and be honored like this with him. It’s just crazy awesome. To know that the Hall of Fame holds me in this high regard means the world to me.”
Arbogast will be remembered as one of the most creative innovators of fishing lures the sport has ever seen. Born in 1894 in Akron, Ohio, he made a name for himself in distance casting competitions before delving into lure design and utilizing new materials in the 1930s. While seeking an alternative to the labor-intensive feather and hair dressings for his bass baits, he hit upon the idea of rubber skirts, drawing on his experience working for Goodyear and B.F. Goodrich in his hometown since high school.
He called his creation the Hula Skirt, and he used it on his Hawaiian Wiggler (a precursor to the buzzbait), Hula Popper and Hula Dancer. His skirt design led to the use of rubber and other materials to make pliable skirts for a multitude of lures still popular today. By the time of his sudden, premature death in 1947, at the age of 53, Arbogast had designed nearly a dozen deadly bass baits, including the iconic Jitterbug.
During the ceremony, PRADCO presented the Hall of Fame with a check for $12,000, which represents the proceeds from the sale of a limited-edition series of Jitterbugs that were made to commemorate Arbogast’s induction.
If you missed the induction ceremony, click here to watch the induction program. The 2025 Bass Fishing Hall of Fame induction ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 25, 2025, in Springfield, Mo.
About the BFHOF -- The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organization led by a volunteer board of directors and is dedicated to celebrating, promoting and preserving the sport of bass fishing. Since 2017, the Hall’s inductees and memorabilia representing the history of bass fishing is showcased in Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife Museum and Aquarium in Springfield, Missouri, where it has rapidly become a popular destination. For more information about the Hall, its mission, and to become a supporting member, visit www.BassFishingHOF.com, or contact BFHOF executive director Barbara Bowman at [email protected].
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Barbara Bowman
Executive Director
BassFishingHOF.com
P.O. Box 26584
Little Rock, AR 72221
501-541-6660
We are dedicated to celebrating, promoting and preserving the sport of bass fishing
Be Social - @BassFishingHOF
Jagdfeld paces the field at Bassmaster College Classic Bracket on Tims Ford Lake
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B.A.S.S. announces College, High School and Junior schedules for 2025
Sept. 27, 2024
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — B.A.S.S. officials today announced the 2025 schedule for the Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Strike King Bassmaster High School Series and Junior Series tournament circuits, and the slate features some of the best competition bass lakes in the country for young anglers to showcase their talent.
“Tournament fishing at the student level is continuing to boom in popularity,” said Glenn Cale, B.A.S.S. tournament manager for the College, High School and Junior Series. “From the college level to the junior level, B.A.S.S. continues to provide even more opportunities for young anglers to compete on some of the best bodies of water in the country.
“Today’s anglers are honing their skills at an early age,” Cale went on to say. “This schedule will be a fun one for the up-and-coming anglers and their families. We will visit some of the most popular fisheries in the United States. Some of these anglers will revisit them many times during their tournament career.”
The Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops features a two-division format with three tour stops each — the Legends Trail and the Lunkers Trail.
The Legends Trail kicks off the season Jan. 22-23 at Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Fla., travels to Smith Lake in Cullman, Ala., Feb. 26-27 and makes a final stop at Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Okla., April 2-3.
The Lunkers Trail begins competition at Lake Okeechobee in Clewiston, Fla., Jan. 29-30, then Buggs Island in Mecklenburg County, N.C., April 30-May 1, before ending the regular season at Chickamauga Lake in Dayton, Tenn., May 30-31.
College anglers will be competing for points in the Bassmaster College Team of the Year standings to qualify for both the Strike King Bassmaster College National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops and the Bassmaster College Classic Bracket presented by Lew’s which will result in a Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic berth for one lucky angler.
Second grade through 12th grade anglers will compete in four regular-season events held in conjunction with several of the college events. Those young anglers will gain valuable tournament-fishing experience on some of the country’s best bass waters. The one-day High School and Junior tournaments will kick off Jan. 26 at Harris Chain of Lakes, followed by stops at Smith Lake on March 2, Lake Tenkiller on March 30 and Buggs Island on May 4.
The College Series and High School Series events will be capped at 250 boats. Each high school event will also include a field of up to 50 boats for competitors ranging from second to eighth grade as part of the Bassmaster Junior Series.
Online registration for the College Series' Legends Trail will open Oct. 22 at 3 p.m. CT, followed by the Lunkers Trail registration which will open Oct. 29 at 3 p.m. Single-event entry will open Nov. 5 at 3 p.m.
Registration for the High School Series will open online Dec. 3 at 3 p.m. and Junior Series registration will open Dec. 10 at 3 p.m.
For more information visit Bassmaster.com.
2025 Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops Schedule
Legends Trail
January 22-23, Harris Chain of Lakes, Leesburg, Fla.
February 26-27, Smith Lake, Cullman, Ala.
April 2-3, Lake Eufaula, Eufaula, Okla.
Lunkers Trail
January 29-30, Lake Okeechobee, Clewiston, Fla.
April 30- May 1, Buggs Island, Mecklenburg County, N.C.
May 30-31, Chickamauga Lake, Dayton, Tenn.
2025 Strike King Bassmaster High School and Junior Series Schedule
January 26, Harris Chain of Lakes, Leesburg, Fla.
March 2, Smith Lake, Cullman Ala.
March 30, Lake Tenkiller, Cookson, Okla.
May 4, Buggs Island, Mecklenburg County, N.C.
2024 Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Strike King
2024 Bassmaster College Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
2024 Bassmaster College Classic Bracket Presenting Sponsor: Lew's
2024 Bassmaster College Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2024 Bassmaster College Series Premier Sponsors: Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2024 Bassmaster College Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowarance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
2024 Bassmaster College Series Youth Sponsors: Seaguar, Shimano
2024 Bassmaster High School
2024 Bassmaster High School Combine Gear Partners: Lew's, Strike King
2024 Bassmaster Youth Sponsors: Seaguar, Shimano
About B.A.S.S.B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
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Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitte
Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 205-313-0945, cgay@bassmaster.
Bassmaster Elite Series welcomes Legendary qualifiers Pace, Howell back to field
Sept. 26, 2024
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — B.A.S.S. tournament officials today announced former Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic champions Randy Howell and Cliff Pace will rejoin the ranks of Elite anglers in 2025 via Legends invitations. Two Legends spots opened with the retirement of Rick Clunn and the fact that all current Elite anglers with Legends eligibility requalified via Elite Series requalification criteria.
“We are excited to welcome back two legends to the Bassmaster Elites,” said Lisa Talmadge, tournament director for the Elite Series. “We can’t wait to see the incredible moments they’ll bring. Here’s to celebrating their legacy and the excitement of what’s to come.”
Howell’s career has spanned four decades, and he has amassed more than $1.9 million in earnings, four wins including the 2014 Bassmaster Classic and posted 37 Top 10 finishes and 125 Top 30 finishes while finishing in the money 173 times.
“It’s really great to have the opportunity to come back and continue my journey with B.A.S.S. again at 51 years old,” the Guntersville, Ala., angler said. “I fished a lot of years with B.A.S.S., and winning the Classic changed my life and helped make a great career for me. I am definitely looking forward to getting back to weighing in on the Bassmaster stage as well as the Classic stage, hopefully.
“I’ve worked every Classic the past few years I’ve been away and sat and watched every Classic winner and it always makes me emotional,” Howell added. “This past year I sat and watched Justin Hamner win it. I know the difference it makes in an angler’s career and what a big deal it was for him, and I thought, ‘I’ve got to get back and win another Classic.’ And that’s my goal now: to win a second one.”
Howell said his son, Laker, fished the 2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by SEVIIN to try to earn his way to the 2025 Elite Series.
"For Laker to get to the Elites and for us to have a chance to fish a Classic together … that would be a dream come true,” Howell said.
Pace has totaled more than $1.6 million while recording three wins including the 2013 Bassmaster Classic. The Ovett, Miss., angler has also notched 29 Top 10 finishes and finished in the money 105 times in 155 total tournaments.
Pace fished the 2024 Bassmaster Opens in an attempt to qualify for the 2025 Elite Series. However, he said he is thankful for the opportunity to rejoin the circuit as a Legends qualifier.
“I would have loved to do it on my own merit, but I’m thankful to get in with the exemption,” Pace said. “I’m really happy to be coming back. There are a lot of things about the Elites I missed. B.A.S.S. is the organization I’ve loved fishing with, and growing up all my heroes fished with B.A.S.S., and it’s just where I want to be. There are a lot of trails that offer anglers a chance to compete, but I feel B.A.S.S. has the best platform.
“All my friends on social media said I’m right back where I belong,” Pace added. “I’m excited to be back and I’m ready to get started. I’m looking forward to seeing how the season unfolds.”
Anglers earn one Legends point for each Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic victory and one point for each Progressive Insurance Bassmaster Angler of the Year title. According to Elite Series rules, up to two Legends qualifiers can be added to the Elite field per season. Although other former Elite Series pros inquired about the Legends exemption, Howell and Pace received their Legends invitations based upon having one Legends point, fishing the Bassmaster Opens and having the most career B.A.S.S. events fished. No spots are being cut from the 2025 Elite field to make room for the Legends qualifiers.
2024 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2024 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2024 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
About B.A.S.S.B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
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Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitte
Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 205-313-0945, cgay@bassmaster.
New format for Opens, Elite Qualifier Series announced
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MLF Cancels Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament at Lake Okeechobee Due to Hurricane Helene
WHAT:
Major League Fishing (MLF) announced today that the Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Super Tournament at Lake Okeechobee, scheduled for Sept. 28-29, has been cancelled due to Hurricane Helene.
The tournament was the fifth and final regular-season event for the Gator Division. With no opportunity to reschedule the tournament prior to the division’s Oct. 10-12 Regional on Santee Cooper Lakes, Gator Division anglers will advance to the regional based on standings from the four qualifiers that have been completed. Anglers who have entered and paid entry fees for the super tournament will be refunded.
NOTES:
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the four tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional tournament on Santee Cooper Lakes in Clarendon County, South Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube .
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Pickwick Lake Set to Host Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Tournament
Pickwick Lake to Host 200 Boaters and Co-anglers from Four BFL Divisions Competing for Spot in 2025 BFL All-American, Top Prize of $60,000
COUNCE, Tenn. (Sept. 24, 2024) – The Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine’s LBL, Mountain, Ozark and Savannah River divisions will wrap up their 2024 season in Counce, Tennessee, next week, Oct. 3-5, with the Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine Regional Event at Pickwick Lake.
Hosted by the Hardin County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the three-day regional tournament will feature the top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners from all four divisions, battling it out for a top prize of $60,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, along with lucrative contingency awards, including up to an additional $7,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus. Strike King co-anglers will compete for a top prize of $50,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard. Winners will be determined by the heaviest three-day catch.
The top six finishers in each regional will qualify for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American. The highest finishing boater from each division will also receive a $1,000 bonus and the highest finishing co-angler from each division will receive a $500 bonus.
Dylan Nutt of Nashville, Tennessee, is a junior at the University of North Alabama and currently fishes in the Abu Garcia College Fishing and Phoenix Bass Fishing League circuits. Nutt won the Phoenix BFL Super Tournament on Pickwick Lake this past Sunday and said anglers are in for a great event.
“The fish are really spread out right now, so fishing’s a bit tougher,” said Nutt. “That’s not what you’re used to seeing on Pickwick in May or June, but I still think we’ll see high weights at the top of the leaderboard this time of year. There are some big ones in the lake and even with it being tough, some people are going to figure it out.”
Nutt said he expects to see a variety of patterns in play throughout the event.
“I think we’ll see guys catching fish on Carolina rigs, football jigs and shaky-head rigs,” said Nutt. “But you’ll see other anglers targeting fish that are chasing shad. We’re early in the fall transition and a lot of the fish are starting to feed on baitfish, so you’re going to see a lot of guys catching them on swimbaits, topwater jigs, lipless crankbaits and stuff like that that are shad imitators.”
Although the bite may be tough, Nutt said he expects to see all three species in play.
“There will definitely be a lot of largemouth and smallmouth weighed in, but there’s also the opportunity for guys to catch some big spotted bass,” said Nutt. “I think it will take a 15- to 20-pound bag all three days to be in the top 10 and probably will take 67 to 75 pounds to win.”
Anglers will launch at 7 a.m. CT each morning from Pickwick Landing State Park, located at 120 Playground Loop, in Counce. Weigh-ins will also be held at the State Park and will begin at 3 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the action online through the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine consisted of 24-divisions devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season and five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, advance to one of six Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regionals. The 2025 BFL All-American will be held May 29-31 at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
The top boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division will also earn priority entry into the Toyota Series, the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Kerr Lake Set to Host Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Tournament
North Carolina-Virginia Reservoir Set to Host 200 Boaters and Strike King Co-anglers from Four BFL Divisions Competing for Spot in 2025 BFL All-American, Top Prize of $60,000
HENDERSON, N.C. (Sept. 24, 2024) – The Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine’s Buckeye, Northeast, Shenandoah and South Carolina divisions will close out the 2024 season in Henderson, North Carolina, Oct. 3-5, with the Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine Regional Tournament at Kerr Lake.
Hosted by the Vance County Tourism Development Authority, the three-day regional tournament will feature the top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners from all four divisions, battling it out for a top prize of $60,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, along with lucrative contingency awards, including up to an additional $7,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus. Strike King co-anglers will compete for a top prize of $50,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard. Winners will be determined by the heaviest three-day catch.
The top six finishers in each regional will qualify for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the 42nd annual BFL All-American. The highest finishing boater from each division will also receive a $1,000 bonus and the highest finishing co-angler from each division will receive a $500 bonus.
“This Regional tournament is going to be a good one to follow, because I think MLF is hitting is at just the right time,” said local pro Derik Hudson of Concord, Virginia, who has eight top-10 finishes on Kerr Lake – including a victory in last year’s 2023 BFL Super-Tournament. “This past weekend the water temperatures will still very high – 77 to 79 degrees. But we’re at that time of the year where the fall transition is coming soon. I think in this one the fish are going to be spread out – shallow and deep – and guys are going to be able to catch them fishing their strengths.”
Hudson said that he expects forward-facing sonar to play a large role in this tournament, but he does think that an angler can compete to win strictly by fishing shallow.
“There is a ton of shad in the lake right now, and out deep those fish are going to be keyed in on the shad,” Hudson said. “The majority of fish seem to still be out offshore, but lately it seems like the bigger fish are moving shallow and being caught on transition banks, stumpy points and on rock. That’s what makes this one so interesting – they’re going to hit it right in the middle of the fall transition and it’s still really anybody’s ballgame.”
When Hudson won the BFL Super Tournament on Kerr Lake last year, he weighed in limits totaling 16- and 15- pounds and his 31-pound total won by nearly a 5-pound margin. He expects weights to be down a little bit in this Regional tournament due to the fall transition.
“I feel like if you catch if you catch 13 to 14 pounds a day, you're going to be sitting really good,” Hudson went on to say. “But, like we just saw this last weekend in the Super Tournament, if you get on that right roll offshore or on the bank, the lake has 18 or 19 right around the corner. So, I would say to shoot to stay right in the middle. If you shoot for 15 a day, that'll be a great day for anybody. But know that 18 to 19 (pounds) is still out there somewhere.”
Anglers will launch at 7 a.m. ET each morning from the Nutbrush Bridge Access at the Kerr Lake State Recreation Area, located at 115 Jack Wade Farm Road, in Henderson, North Carolina. Weigh-ins will also be held at the landing and will begin at 3 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the action online through the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
The top boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division also earn priority entry into the Toyota Series, the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour. For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Ken Mah Blows Out BAM Pro Tour, Winning by More Than 12 Pounds at Thermalito
Colby Pearson Prevails as Inaugural Angler of the Year
by Jody Only
OROVILLE, Calif. – The final day of the season-ending bass battle of the BAM Pro Tour concluded today as Ken Mah of Elk Grove, Calif. cruised to a blowout win at the Thermalito Afterbay with a five-fish limit that tipped the scales at 29.82 pounds, outpacing the runner-up by more than 12 pounds. Mah’s effort earned him a $12,073 payday.
“Today was crazy,” said Mah, reflecting on his second major victory at the Oroville fishery. “I’m humbled, I’m blessed, and I’m thankful. It’s so hard to win even one of these multi-day events. It’s crazy to win anywhere, even once, but to win here again – I’m speechless.”
Mah qualified for Championship Sunday with the second-heaviest weight of 32.69 pounds, accumulated over the first two days of fishing. Blasting off with a leaderboard reset to zero, the top 10 anglers launched for their final limit to determine the winner. Fish management was a key part of Mah’s strategy.
“The first day I fished a ChatterBait with a Big Bite Baits Kamikaze Swimon trailer,” he said. “It wasn’t easy, but I caught them fairly early, and once I reached my target weight, I was able to fish more freely.”
A finicky bite on Day Three forced Mah to adjust for his Clear Lake-sized bag. He credited the River2Sea Phat Mat Daddy frog and a flippin’ stick for the big bites.
“I glued a 1-ounce weight and 80-pound Sunline braid to a 7’11” Loomis flippin’ stick and went to work,” he said.
His flippin’ plastics included both a YoMama and College Craw from Big Bite Baits, along with a Missile Baits Craw Father. A specific, slow retrieve with a subtle shake after bottom contact was essential for Mah's success.
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NPFL Cancels St. Johns River Event
DELAND, Fla. — The National Professional Fishing League and the West Volusia Visitor Center have canceled Stop #5 of the 2024 NPFL season on the St. Johns River out of DeLand, Florida, due to potential dangerous weather conditions.
The decision was made after tournament, state and local officials consulted with the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center and determined that imminent weather conditions are likely to make boating and travel unsafe.
“Our commitment is to the safety and well-being of our anglers,” said NPFL president Brad Fuller. “We take that commitment very seriously and believe that the forecasted weather presents a threat that’s too great to risk.”
Georgia Turner, Executive Director of the West Volusia Visitor Center, local host for the event, agreed adding, “We look forward to hosting the NPFL under more favorable conditions in the future. It’s not often that weather threatens our activities here, but when it does, we take it very seriously. Canceling the tournament is in the best interest of all concerned.”
About the National Professional Fishing League
The National Professional Fishing League (NPFL) was founded to bring competitive fishing to a broader audience and offer anglers a platform to compete at the highest level. The NPFL is committed to fostering integrity, competition, and innovation in the sport, providing anglers and fans alike with an exciting and unique experience.
Media Contact: Ken Duke — (407) 574-1898 or [email protected].
B.A.S.S. LLC names Phillip Johnson Chief Operating Officer
Sept. 23, 2024
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — B.A.S.S., the world’s largest fishing organization, today announced the promotion of Executive Vice President Phillip Johnson to Chief Operating Officer. For the past two years, Johnson has steered the organization’s content strategy, advertising, events, marketing and communications. Now, he will also assume management responsibilities of the Bassmaster Tournament operations as well as focus on new processes to improve and expand total business operations.
“I am pleased to announce the promotion of Phillip Johnson to Chief Operating Officer, B.A.S.S. LLC,” said B.A.S.S. CEO Chase Anderson. “I have known and worked with Phillip for well over a decade. He has been a trusted executive for the Anderson Companies for 17 years, at one time leading a department of more than 7,000 associates. I have been very impressed with Phillip’s work at B.A.S.S. as he has spearheaded the reorganization of business operations.
“Phillip’s leadership and collaborative approach to working with our associates and customers is taking our company to a new level,” Anderson added. “Phillip’s new expanded role will give him management responsibilities over our operations, and I’m confident we will continue to evolve with an ‘outside-in’ culture and maintain our position of strength and leadership in our industry.”
Johnson’s 25 years of experience in sales and operations management will prove vital to B.A.S.S., as the organization continues to focus on growing the sport and more completely engaging current participants and fans. He will continue to play a crucial part of ad and sponsorship sales, events and content, and has also played a vital role in building the organization's relationship with FOX Sports, which recently led to a contract renewal with increased coverage that has the potential to deliver the biggest audience the sport has ever seen.
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
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Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitte
Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 205-313-0945, cgay@bassmaster.
Onalaska’s Ruh Has Big Second Day to Win Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament at Mississippi River in La Crosse
Illinois’ Griffin Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
LA CROSSE, Wis. (Sept. 23, 2024) – Boater Kevin Ruh of Onalaska, Wisconsin, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 40 pounds, 7 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Super Tournament on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The tournament, which concluded Sunday, was hosted by Explore La Crosse. It was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Great Lakes Division. Ruh earned $7,577, including the lucrative $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.
In a way, Ruh owes his tournament win to a misfortunate situation at a Mississippi River lock on day two. More accurately, it was the way he made the most of the situation that made the difference.
But first, Ruh started the tournament by locking down from Pool 8 to Pool 9 on day one.
“My first spot was pretty good,” he said. “I caught a big bag, which allowed me to save a lot of fish down there. So, I locked up. I had some good stuff going on 8. I ran that and culled a little bit on pool 8.”
That “good stuff” on Pool 8 was a frog bite that helped Ruh cull past 18 pounds to get in the hunt. Sunday morning is when things got interesting. When he got to the lock, Ruh – and others – got stopped by a barge.
“We were told we could get down at about 8:30, so I had time for a couple stops,” he said. “So, I stopped on a place. It was just right place, right time, on something I saved the first day. I thought it could be pretty good. I caught a 5-pounder on my first cast.”
From there, Ruh hammered the fish, putting up a 22-pound, 4-ounce limit in about 20 minutes.
“It was a good morning flurry,” he said, putting it lightly. “It was windy this morning out of the north, and it was something I’ve got history with. I knew how those fish were setting up. I thought there could be a good bag there. You can’t imagine catching 22 pounds on the spot, but typically when you blow out a tournament or have a real big bag in a tournament, it’s off a magic spot – one spot – and it’s the right place at the right time.”
Ruh admitted that the barge actually helped him. Since other top competitors weren’t able to get through until about 11 a.m., they lost enough fishing time to open the door for him to make a move up the standings. He also thanked his co-angler, Will Ahnen, for being patient while Ruh fished his program in the morning. Ahnen finished fourth.
Not surprisingly, Ruh was tight-lipped about the exact pattern he fished in the morning. He only said that it was the same pattern each day. Ruh is not done competing on the river this fall and believes it could be a winner again – maybe even at the regional event coming up on the Mississippi River in Quad Cities, Illinois.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Kevin Ruh, Onalaska, Wis., 10 bass, 40-7, $7,577 (includes $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Clayton Weber, West Salem, Wis., 10 bass, 35-0, $2,539
3rd: Tony Puelz, Garnavillo, Iowa, 10 bass, 34-10, $2,331
4th: Adam Crigger, Le Claire, Iowa, 10 bass, 34-2, $1,185
5th: Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 32-13, $1,315
6th: Nick Trim, Galesville, Wis., 10 bass, 32-11, $931
7th: Mike Brueggen, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 32-9, $846
8th: Glenn Walker, Savage, Minn., 10 bass, 32-6, $762
9th: Jacob Erickson, Onalaska, Wis., 10 bass, 31-9, $677
10th: Cade Laufenberg, Onalaska, Wis., 10 bass, 31-3, $592
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Tony Puelz of Garnavillo, Iowa, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $637.
Gage Griffin of Lake Forest, Illinois, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,539 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of 10 bass to the scale that weighed 30 pounds, 1 ounce.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Gage Griffin, Lake Forest, Ill., 10 bass, 30-1, $2,539
2nd: Blake Miller, Cedar Falls, Iowa, 10 bass, 28-8, $1,419
3rd: Jamie Gomez, Holmen, Wis., 10 bass, 27-14, $846
4th: Will Ahnen, Fennimore, Wis., 10 bass, 27-7, $592
5th: Jason Swanson, Waterloo, Iowa, 10 bass, 25-7, $508
6th: Richard Conrad, Arcadia, Wis., 10 bass, 25-0, $565
7th: Lee Lewis, Ontario, Wis., 10 bass, 23-14, $423
8th: Timothy Wittren, Ontario, Wis., eight bass, 22-12, $381
9th: Dan McAdams, Reedsburg, Wis., eight bass, 20-12, $339
10th: Nick Kramersmeier, Johnston, Iowa, 10 bass, 20-10, $296
Jessie Pollard of Whitehall, Wisconsin, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $319, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 3 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the tournament.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Jeff Ritter of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, was crowned the Fishing Clash Great Lakes Division Angler of the Year (AOY) with 1,311 points and took home the $1,000 payout, while Jason Olson of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, won the Fishing Clash Great Lakes Division Co-angler of the Year race with 1,307 points and earned the $500 award.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, have qualified for the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional tournament on Pools 13-17 of the Mississippi River in Quad Cities, Illinois. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Oldfield’s Marler Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament at Bull Shoals Lake
Salem’s Guiltner Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
BULL SHOALS, Ark. (Sept. 23, 2024) – Boater Wyatt Marler of Oldfield, Missouri, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 33 pounds, 1 ounce, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Super Tournament on Bull Shoals Lake . The tournament, which concluded Sunday, was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Arkie Division. Marler earned $5,817 for his victory.
Marler’s winning pattern was a one-two punch.
“I caught a lot of my fish deep on a 6th Sense 1/2- and 3/4-ounce jig, and then the rest were shallow, all mid-lake,” he said.
Marler started each day on his deep fish. He targeted “big runoff points” with rock in about 25 to 30 feet of water. His jig was the 6th Sense Divine Hybrid Jig with a 6th Sense Congo Craw trailer.
When he slid up shallow, Marler didn’t go far. He moved to adjacent flat pockets where he slung a River2Sea Whopper Plopper. It’s a popular fall pattern in the Ozarks, and that bite got better as the day went on.
“Yesterday (Saturday), I had 16 pounds by 9:30, and I actually went and tried to help my co-angler the rest of the day and just kind of left my fish alone for the next day,” Marler said. “Then today (Sunday) I probably caught 40 keepers. I caught a lot of fish. It was a fun day.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Wyatt Marler, Oldfield, Mo., 10 bass, 33-1, $5,817
2nd: Connor Crafton, Paragould, Ark., 10 bass, 31-0, $2,909
3rd: Les Brandenburg, Springfield, Mo., 10 bass, 27-8, $3,011
4th: Cody Huff, Ava, Mo., 10 bass, 26-6, $1,357
5th: Dustin Blevins, Harrison, Ark., 10 bass, 24-7, $1,163
6th: Cloys Warren, Tuckerman, Ark., 10 bass, 23-13, $1,066
7th: Scott Hardin, Little Rock, Ark., nine bass, 23-10, $970
8th: Drew Tabor, Harrison, Ark., 10 bass, 23-0, $873
9th: Colton Welch, Leola, Ark., 10 bass, 22-10, $1,276 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
10th: Cameron Rhodes, Higden, Ark., 10 bass, 22-4, $679
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Les Brandenburg of Springfield, Missouri, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds even and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $772.
Wade Guiltner of Salem, Arkansas, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,909 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of seven bass to the scale that weighed 17 pounds, 8 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Wade Guiltner, Salem, Ark., seven bass, 17-8, $2,909
2nd: Zachary Ramsey, Little Rock, Ark., seven bass, 17-1, $1,454
3rd: Brock Tabor, Harrison, Ark., seven bass, 14-7, $970
4th: Isaiah Vickers, Sherwood, Ark., seven bass, 14-5, $679
5th: Jackson Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 11-8, $582
6th: Jonathan Dotson, Dover, Ark., six bass, 11-5, $533
7th: Michael Shinstine, Springdale, Ark., five bass, 10-13, $485
8th: BJ Davis, Mountain Home, Ark., five bass, 10-13, $436
9th: Don Billiot, Hot Springs Village, Ark., four bass, 9-8, $388
10th: James Edmonds, Hot Springs Village, Ark., four bass, 9-6, $339
Hayden Vavak of Piggott, Arkansas, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $386, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 9 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the tournament.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Chris Darby of Hot Springs, Arkansas, was crowned the Fishing Clash Arkie Division Angler of the Year (AOY) with 1,315 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Jonathan Dotson of Dover, Arkansas, won the Fishing Clash Arkie Division Co-angler of the Year race with 1,316 points and earned the $500 prize.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, have qualified for the Oct. 17-19 BFL Regional tournament on Wright Patman Lake in Texarkana, Texas. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Harrison Township’s Mandel Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament at Detroit River, Locks Down AOY
Ypsilanti’s Bucciarelli Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
TRENTON, Mich. (Sept. 23, 2024) – Boater Nolan Mandel of Harrison Township, Michigan, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 46 pounds, 5 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Super Tournament on the Detroit River . The tournament, which concluded Sunday, was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Michigan Division. Mandel earned $12,077, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.
It’s been a banner season for Mandel, to put it lightly. He finished in the top 10 in all five Michigan Division events, including wins in the opener and the Super Tournament. Between his regular tournament winnings and Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus dollars, Mandel earned more than $25,000 just in Michigan Division tournaments this season. He also won the Fishing Clash Michigan Division Angler of the Year title in a stacked division of big-water smallmouth anglers.
Of course, what you don’t see in the stats are the unique challenges tournament anglers face. For Mandel, a bad case of food poisoning derailed most of his plans to dissect the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair during Super Tournament practice. Thankfully, he didn’t need much practice time on Friday to figure out where to start the tournament.
“I was fishing and saw a lot of perch fishermen in this section of the lake called the dumping grounds,” he said. “I thought, I’m just going to go try out there because there’s all these perch fishermen, and that’s a pretty good sign. I went out there and took one cast with a jerkbait on a hump and caught a 5-pounder.”
In the tournament, Mandel ran to his starting area and began trying to put together a bag using live sonar. It became clear very quickly that he needed to make an adjustment.
“I wasn’t seeing anything, so I started using heavier weighted Ned rigs and heavier weighted drop-shots. I used 1/2 and 5/8 ounce to get down in the grass. I started catching them doing that.”
Mandel’s go-to baits were a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent The General and a Z-Man Scented TRD . If he did mark fish on live sonar, he threw a small swimbait at them. But mostly he used the heavy drop-shot and Ned rigs to pitch to holes in the grass or thicker clumps of grass. The clumps were spots where he knew he wouldn’t be able to see fish on live sonar, but where they might be set up.
“I fished two spots,” Mandel said. “One was anywhere from like 16 to 18 feet deep, and then the other area was around 12 foot but had humps that came up to 8 feet of water. I probably covered two miles of water, but I had like four or five different humps that were either thick grass or bald that I would kind of rotate through.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Nolan Mandel, Harrison Township, Mich., 10 bass, 46-5, $12,077 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Dan Mittlestat, Woodhaven, Mich., 10 bass, 44-11, $2,839
3rd: Brayden Federer, Adrian, Mich., 10 bass, 44-3, $1,694
4th: Cody Kelley, Plainwell, Mich., 10 bass, 43-1, $1,822
5th: Noah Stauffer, Gowen, Mich., 10 bass, 41-5, $1,015
6th: Jeff Vizachero, Grosse Ile, Mich., 10 bass, 41-1, $931
7th: Wilson Burton, Findlay, Ohio, 10 bass, 39-0, $846
8th: Pat Upthagrove, Monroe, Mich., 10 bass, 38-14, $762
9th: Matthew Davis, Morenci, Mich., 10 bass, 38-9, $677
10th: Shane Nelson, Wadsworth, Ohio, 10 bass, 36-13, $592
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Cody Kelley of Plainwell, Michigan, caught a bass that weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $637.
Terry Bucciarelli of Ypsilanti, Michigan, won the Strike King co-angler division and $3,082 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of 10 bass to the scale that weighed 39 pounds, 6 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Terry Bucciarelli, Ypsilanti, Mich., 10 bass, 39-6, $3,082
2nd: Tommy Pritchard, Bargersville, Ind., eight bass, 36-14, $1,266
3rd: Craig Fanning, Elwood, Ill., 10 bass, 36-2, $846
4th: Dayton Land, Coatesville, Ind., 10 bass, 33-6, $591
5th: Michael Sitko, Pinckney, Mich., 10 bass, 33-0, $506
6th: John Wall, Western Springs, Ill., nine bass, 32-13, $464
7th: Ashten Lynch, Waynesville, Ohio, 10 bass, 32-9, $422
8th: Brian Townley, Wyoming, Mich., nine bass, 31-4, $380
9th: Daniel Dumais, Trenton, Mich., 10 bass, 30-5, $338
10th: Kendra Mueller, Fowlerville, Mich., eight bass, 27-13, $295
Jon Angstmann of St. Marys, Ohio, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $311, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 12 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the tournament.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Mandel was crowned the Fishing Clash Michigan Division Angler of the Year (AOY) with 1,364 points to take home the $1,000 payout, while Scott Davis of Morenci, Michigan, won the Fishing Clash Michigan Division Co-angler of the Year race with 1,339 points and earned the $500 prize.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, have qualified for the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional tournament on Pools 13-17 of the Mississippi River in Quad Cities, Illinois. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
College Standout Dylan Nutt Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament at Pickwick Lake Presented by Suzuki Marine
Memphis’ Kelly Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
IUKA, Miss. (Sept. 23, 2024) – Boater Dylan Nutt of Nashville, Tennessee, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 47 pounds, 14 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Super Tournament on Pickwick Lake Presented by Suzuki Marine . The tournament, which concluded Sunday, was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Mississippi Division. Nutt earned $4,651 for his victory.
Nutt is a great example of a collegiate angler making the most of his opportunities. The junior at the University of North Alabama (UNA) started the year by winning an Abu Garcia College Fishing tournament on the Harris Chain of Lakes. Now, he’s shown what he can do against the best weekend anglers by winning the BFL Super Tournament on Pickwick. To further illustrate the quality of the UNA bass fishing program, Nutt finished just 10 ounces ahead of Banks Shaw, a fellow UNA angler and Nutt’s own roommate.
To get it done on Pickwick, Nutt had a two-part pattern.
“In practice, I located a few schools of fish, and I had one pretty good topwater spot in the morning that was big,” he said. “I caught big ones off it both mornings. Other than that, I caught all my fish on a Scottsboro Tackle Co. Sniper Shad on a Damiki rig and also a Scottsboro Tackle Co. 3/4-ounce football jig.
“Saturday, I caught ’em pretty quick. I had most of my weight by about 8 o’clock, but Sunday was kind of slower. I caught fish throughout the day, but it was definitely better in the afternoon.”
Nutt targeted a couple keys schools of ledge fish as well as a few spots that, as a local, he knew he could rely on if needed. While he caught some of the fish using forward-facing sonar, Nutt found the jig to be more productive for getting bigger bites.
“It really just depended,” he said. “It seemed like I could throw a Damiki rig in there with that Sniper Shad and catch one or two, then I’d have to throw a jig in there. It would just be slow. That’s what I had a lot of my better bites on.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Dylan Nutt, Nashville, Tenn., 10 bass, 47-14, $4,651
2nd: Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 10 bass, 47-4, $2,700 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
3rd: Hunter Nanney, Iuka, Miss., 10 bass, 33-10, $1,466
4th: Luke Glasgow, Guin, Ala., nine bass, 33-8, $1,027
5th: Donny Beck, Killen, Ala., 10 bass, 32-13, $880
6th: Lake Johnson, Trinity, Ala., 10 bass, 32-5, $807
7th: Michael Swider, Oxford, Miss., nine bass, 28-3, $733
8th: Mitch Crane, Columbus, Miss., 10 bass, 27-7, $660
9th: Tim McDaniel, Grenada, Miss., 10 bass, 25-7, $587
10th: Chris Quaintance, Muscle Shoals, Ala., nine bass, 22-2, $513
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Nutt and Skip Howell of Okolona, Mississippi, split the Berkley Big Bass Boater award, each taking home $251 for catching a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 4 ounces.
Isiah Kelly of Memphis, Tennessee, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,162 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of six bass to the scale that weighed 13 pounds, 11 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Isiah Kelly, Memphis, Tenn., six bass, 13-11, $2,162
2nd: Brandon Mast, Mathiston, Miss., five bass, 10-13, $1,081
3rd: Jeffery Reece, Guys, Tenn., four bass, 10-10, $723
4th: Christopher Daughdrill, Foxworth, Miss., four bass, 10-9, $505
5th: Troy Ladner, Bay Saint Louis, Miss., four bass, 8-12, $532
6th: Bobby McKee, Cedar Bluff, Miss., three bass, 8-11, $396
7th: Brent Willey, Anderson, S.C., three bass, 7-15, $360
8th: Reggie Thornton, Columbus, Miss., three bass, 6-12, $324
9th: Anthony Rasberry, New Albany, Miss., three bass, 6-12, $288
10th: John Bates, Hartselle, Ala., two bass, 6-10, $492
John Bates of Hartselle, Alabama, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $240, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 12 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the tournament.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Dakota Fleming of Oak Grove, Louisiana, was crowned the Fishing Clash Mississippi Division Angler of the Year (AOY) with 1,337 points to earn the $1,000 AOY payout, while Thomas Smith of Brandon, Mississippi, won the Fishing Clash Mississippi Division Co-angler of the Year race with 1,338 points and earned the $500 award.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, have qualified for the Oct. 17-19 BFL Regional tournament on Wright Patman Lake in Texarkana, Texas. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Bainbridge’s Conley Posts Second Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament at Lake Oconee
Williamson’s Chilcott Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
BUCKHEAD, Ga. (Sept. 23, 2024) – Boater Michael Conley of Bainbridge, Georgia, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 25 pounds, 10 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Super Tournament on Lake Oconee. The tournament, which concluded Sunday, was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Bulldog Division. Conley earned $4,869 for his victory.
According to Conley, fall experienced a false start around Lake Oconee, and that has the fish in a bit of a funk.
“Right now, being fall of the year, the temperature normally starts dropping on the water, but the weather is kind of backed up a little bit,” he said. “We’ve had some cooler weather the last couple weeks to drop the water temperature some, and all the sudden in the last week it has gotten extremely hot.”
Last weekend, when he was pre-practicing for the tournament, Conley saw water temps around 74 degrees on Oconee. When he finished the tournament on Sunday afternoon, the water temperature was 88.
That sudden turnaround halted the fall transition, at least for now.
“The fish just kind of slammed on the brakes from moving up shallow, and then they started kind of backing out, from what I could tell.”
Conley basically went with them. Oconee is full of docks and seawalls. Once he realized the fish weren’t making their push shallow into creeks, Conley backed off and targeted the deeper docks on the main lake, in areas where the water had a little bit of stain. He also stuck to one area to maximize his fishing time.
Fishing was slow in the mornings for Conley, but as they say, he made hay while the sun was shining.
“When the sun got up, they’d hold tight on certain docks. I did not have a keeper fish in the boat at 10 o’clock yesterday (Saturday),” he said. “I caught my first fish at 10, and I had a limit by 11:30. Once I got dialed into how they were sitting on the docks, I had a limit in an hour and a half.”
Conley made the most of the midday, but eventually culled out three of those keepers between 1 and 3 p.m. in what turned out to be the peak window of activity. On day two, he fished the same areas, but changed up his timing so that he was hitting the docks with the best quality bass within that key afternoon window. That move produced a 5-pound fish that helped seal the win.
Making accurate casts was another key for Conley. The Bainbridge boater caught fish on a mix of soft-plastic lures, including a Zoom Brush Hog, Zoom Trick Worm and Yamamoto Senko, but the lure was less important than the presentation.
“It really didn’t seem to matter (which bait),” he said. “I caught a 5-pounder on a Senko. My co-angler one dock later caught one over 5 on a Trick Worm. It was just a matter of hitting them on the face. You had to hit them in the head. And when they bit it, you couldn’t really feel it. They were just there. They were not aggressive at all.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Michael Conley, Bainbridge, Ga., 10 bass, 25-10, $4,869
2nd: David Lowery, Milledgeville, Ga., 10 bass, 24-14, $2,934 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
3rd: Mike Cleveland, Jackson, Ga., 10 bass, 24-12, $1,623
4th: Grant Kelly, Milledgeville, Ga., 10 bass, 24-2, $1,436
5th: Emil Wagner, Marietta, Ga., 10 bass, 22-8, $974
6th: Michael Wilder, Lizella, Ga., 10 bass, 22-1, $893
7th: Mark Burns, Good Hope, Ga., 10 bass, 21-11, $811
8th: Brooks Anderson, Marietta, Ga., 10 bass, 21-2, $730
9th: Matt O'Connell, Brooks, Ga., 10 bass, 20-15, $774
10th: Joe Eubanks, Marietta, Ga., seven bass, 20-7, $1,153
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Joe Eubanks of Marietta, Georgia, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 10 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $585.
Joseph Chilcott of Williamson, Georgia, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,434 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of eight bass to the scale that weighed 19 pounds, 2 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Joseph Chilcott, Williamson, Ga., eight bass, 19-2, $2,434
2nd: Richard Causey, Perry, Ga., eight bass, 15-10, $1,217
3rd: Chandler White, Covington, Ga., six bass, 14-10, $1,105
4th: Jackson Riddle, Watkinsville, Ga., six bass, 14-2, $568
5th: Steven King, Cumming, Ga., seven bass, 12-8, $487
6th: Tim Greene, Loganville, Ga., six bass, 12-3, $446
7th: Brad Mullinax, Lula, Ga., four bass, 11-14, $406
8th: Ben Brisbois, Jefferson, Ga., six bass, 10-9, $365
9th: Patrick Watson, Newnan, Ga., six bass, 9-0, $325
10th: John Battle, Gillville, Ga., four bass, 8-4, $284
Chandler White of Covington, Georgia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $292, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 4 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the tournament.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Michael Wilder of Lizella, Georgia, was crowned the Fishing Clash Bulldog Division Angler of the Year (AOY) with 1,297 points to earn the $1,000 payout, while Steven King of Cumming, Georgia, won the Fishing Clash Bulldog Division Co-angler of the Year race with 1,280 points and earned the $500 prize.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, have qualified for the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional tournament on Santee Cooper Lakes in Clarendon County, South Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Brummett, Fishing to Honor His Late Friend, Wraps Up Stellar Season at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament at Kerr Lake
Greensboro’s Tobatto Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
HENDERSON, N.C. (Sept. 23, 2024) – Boater Chris Brummett of Lynch Station, Virginia, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 34 pounds even to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Super Tournament on Kerr Lake . The tournament, which concluded Sunday, was hosted by the Vance County Tourism Development Authority. It was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Piedmont Division. Brummett earned $5,379 for his victory.
No one has had a bigger year in BFL competition than Brummett. Just check the standings. It’s remarkable.
Brummett earned seven top-10 finishes in Shenandoah Division and Piedmont Division competition in 2024. He won the Shenandoah opener on Smith Mountain in April. He won again at the Piedmont Division tournament on the James River in August. Then he wrapped up the Piedmont Division by going back to back with his win at Kerr Lake.
All those top finishes helped Brummett win the Angler of the Year title in both the Piedmont and Shenandoah divisions, qualifying him for two regional tournaments and two opportunities to make his first BFL All-American.
“Unbelievable,” Brummett said. “It’s crazy. It was not expected, but I did start the year off pretty good in both divisions, which is why I continued to keep up with both divisions. When you’re doing well, it’s hard to give that up.”
Indeed, good finishes build momentum, and momentum leads to bigger and better things. But what’s most remarkable about Brummett’s season isn’t just how well he’s been catching fish. It’s what he’s been fishing for.
“I had one of my best friends in the world pass away in February,” said Brummett, referring to his friend Rick Tilley. “We traveled together. We did a lot of fishing together, and we kept no secrets. His spots are my spots. I’ve been fishing a lot of his spots. I’ve been fishing a lot of my spots as well, obviously, but that’s kind of been my driving force is just fishing for both of us. He actually fished the Toyota Series Championship last year with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
“It’s definitely more special. I feel like it’s a lot of pressure, but I honestly feel like things have happened this year that shouldn’t have happened. Everything has kind of fallen in place. I’m fishing beyond what I should be fishing.”
The way Brummett tells it, Tilley was a home run hitter. He swung for the fences in zero-or-hero style. Brummett, by contrast, was a plodder. He fished for points and for consistency. He’d won some derbies in the past, but he was more focused on being consistently good than momentarily great.
This season, it seems as though Tilley’s in-it-to-win-it attitude has rubbed off on Brummett and helped fuel his success.
“I was always more consistent, and this year I’ve been more consistent, but it’s been consistent at a whole new level,” Brummett said.
Tilley’s influence was felt again on Kerr Lake. In practice, Brummett was on about 12 pounds per day running as many deep spots a day as he could, which is his preferred way to fish the lake.
“And then Saturday, the first day of the tournament, there was a boat dock that Rick always started on,” Brummett said. “So the national anthem was playing, and I told myself I’m going to go hit that boat dock. It’s the first stop he made every tournament.”
Brummett didn’t catch any on Tilley’s dock. Yet, the decision worked out in a different way.
“When I left the boat dock, there’s a shoal sitting out there that you have to ride right by to get in this pocket, but I typically don’t fish it. I’d fished it before but never really caught any fish on it. But something was telling me to fish that shoal. Within 10 casts, I had a limit of fish. It wasn’t a big limit, but that 10 to 12 pounds gave me the confidence first thing in the morning that I had a limit and could just go fishing and kind of swing for the fences at that point.”
From there, Brummett ran his deep pattern. He eventually added a 5-pound, 5-ounce fish that earned him the tournament’s Berkley Big Bass award of $457. Within 20 minutes, he had another 4-pounder in the boat, which gave him a lead of almost 3 pounds on day one.
Day two started much slower. Brummett caught a few on his starting spot then sat on three fish until about 10:30, when he caught two more keepers on a deep point. He ran around fishing history after that to upgrade to about 11 pounds. It wasn’t until about 1:30 that he finally put a 4-pound kicker in the boat. That fish put the tournament away, but Brummett added another 4-pounder with 30 minutes left to bump his winning margin to 4 1/2 pounds.
Brummett caught most of his fish with a hand-poured green-pumpkin worm and a topwater lure. More important than how he caught them is where this win positions him. A dual AOY. A three-time winner in 2024. A bass angler eyeing two regionals and fishing for one more opportunity on behalf of a late dear friend.
“I really wanna qualify for an All-American,” Brummett added. “That would be the cherry on top.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Chris Brummett, Lynch Station, Va., 10 bass, 34-0, $5,379
2nd: Joe Anders, Easley, S.C., 10 bass, 29-8, $2,561 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
3rd: Robert Hoyt Jr., Union Hall, Va., 10 bass, 27-11, $1,374
4th: Evan White, Roanoke Rapids, N.C., 10 bass, 26-7, $962
5th: Jonathan Bailey, Peterstown, W.Va., 10 bass, 25-13, $824
6th: Derik Hudson, Concord, Va., 10 bass, 25-13, $756
7th: Tyler Trent, Nathalie, Va., 10 bass, 25-1, $687
8th: Greg Rikard, Leesville, S.C., 10 bass, 25-0, $618
9th: Michael Birr, Franklinton, N.C., 10 bass, 23-4, $550
10th: Colin Bennett, Axton, Va., 10 bass, 23-0, $481
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Sean Tobatto of Greensboro, North Carolina, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,027 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of eight bass to the scale that weighed 17 pounds.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Sean Tobatto, Greensboro, N.C., eight bass, 17-0, $2,027
2nd: Daniel Litwin, Bentonville, Va., six bass, 15-14, $1,126
3rd: Dustin Wilhelm, Buena Vista, Va., five bass, 12-5, $676
4th: Shaquille Freeman, Farmville, Va., six bass, 12-4, $473
5th: Jason Hinger, Timberlake, N.C., five bass, 12-2, $655
6th: Michael Garrett, Buena Vista, Va., five bass, 11-11, $484
7th: Phillip Ragland Jr., Rustburg, Va., six bass, 11-6, $338
8th: Jeff Rikard, Leesville, S.C., five bass, 9-7, $304
9th: Robert Green, Whitsett, N.C., four bass, 8-7, $270
10th: Chuck Willis, Dayton, Ohio, two bass, 5-3, $236
Michael Garrett of Buena Vista, Virginia, and Daniel Litwin of Bentonville, Virginia, tied for the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award by each catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 11 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the tournament. They each took home $112 for their share of the prize.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Brummett was crowned the Fishing Clash Piedmont Division Angler of the Year (AOY) with 1,331 points and earned the $1,000 award, while Mekye Barnes of Knightdale, North Carolina, won the Fishing Clash Piedmont Division Co-angler of the Year race with 1,315 points to take home the $500 prize.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, have qualified for the Oct. 17-19 BFL Regional tournament on Clarks Hill Lake in Appling, Georgia. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Vexus® builds Hall of Fame cooler for a good cause
There’s a group of folks in Flippin, AR who combine decades of premium boat building experience with an inherit desire to do the right thing.
So, when the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame asked them to donate a unique item to the Hall’s annual fundraising auction, a group of skilled Vexus® Boats employees jumped at the chance to build a one-of-a-kind cooler, that one winning bidder can proudly utilize in their boat garage, or on their back porch.
“When the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame asked for help, I immediately thought of our friend and mentor Forrest L. Wood, who always taught us to do our best to support great causes for the fishing and marine industry,” says longtime Vexus V.P. of Operations, Lance Newton.
The cooler is a replica of those found in the sleek high-end VXs series of Vexus fiberglass bass boats, built of vacuum infused fiberglass by experienced ladies like Paula Burns and Laikynne Whitsel, seen here on the left side of the photo.
The unique vacuum infused process assures a perfect blend of fiberglass and resin with tremendous consistency, in much the same way guys like Elliot Calhoun and Clayton Welch achieved perfection on the cooler’s gel coal and paint finish.
The cooler’s gel coated liner is surrounded by foam insulation, and the lid showcases a classy image of 2001 Bass Fishing Hall of Fame inductee, Forrest L. Wood’s signature cowboy hat. The lid is made with a core material that insulates the cooler from the top side. In all, the custom piece preserves ice for days, in much the same way today’s popular and costly rotomolded coolers do.
However, not content to stop there, David Henley, who has spent more than three decades as a boat builder, then fabricated a custom stand made of steel for the unique showpiece, and Darrin Wilson added the final sizzle by decorating it with high-end hardware and lighting. His co-worker John Payne gave it one final inspection, and buffed it to provide the perfect shine.
Truly, a team effort involving arguably the most experienced and talented folks in the premium fishing boat building business, who never hesitated to showcase their talents for a good cause when the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame called to ask for their help.
Proceeds from the winning bid on this premium cooler will be used to fund academic scholarships for students conducting bass fishing related research, as well as conservation projects aimed to enhance bass fishing.
"While many involved in the bass fishing world have a competitive spirit, be it on the water at a big tournament, or on the business side where we try to gain market share from competing brands, that all gets thrown to the wayside when it come to the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, and this really unique project from Vexus exemplifies that," said HOF Board president John Mazurkiewicz.
For a chance to win this first-class cooler, please visit https://one.bidpal.net/BFHOF/search/cooler(details:item/163) and to learn more about the skilled folks at Vexus, and the premium boats they craft, please visit https://vexusboats.com/.
Evan Mabrey from 6th Ranked Montevallo Wins the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley
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Julius Mazy Wins WON Bass Lake Mead Open with 45.24 pounds
Las Vegas, Nev. – September 20, 2024 –– Blue skies, light breezes and unusually cool conditions were the conditions for the first two competition days of the 2024 WON Bass Lake Mead Open presented by Ranger Boats and Mercury. The morning launch of Championship Friday was more of the same, if not more pleasant. While those conditions were ideal for a serene day on the water, they often are not ideal for fishing success.
On Lake Mead, those types of conditions can mean downright difficult fishing as the clear water allows the lake’s largemouth and smallmouth bass population to get too good a look at the anglers’ offerings. Following his 19.80-pound performance on day two, leader Julius Mazy opened the day .74 pounds ahead of second place pro Shane Edgar, but with such calm conditions at the beginning of the day, who knew how the pivotal final eight hours of competition would proceed.
While he wasn’t able to match his monster bag from day two, however he watched with nervous excitement as Tournament Director Bill Egan’s scales hit 13.52 pounds, bringing the Phoenix, Arizona pro’s total weight to 45.24 pounds, earning his first WON Bass Open Series trophy, the keys to a 2024 Ranger Boats 518 from Bass Pro Shops powered by a 200HP Mercury ProXS four Stroke valued at $55,000 and an additional $10,000 cash.
Bill Brown, from Grand Junction, Colorado had a 13.83-pound limit of his own on day three, rising one spot to finish in second place with 41.67 pounds. Jeff Baird from Washington, Utah had 13.17 pounds to finish third for the event with 38.34 pounds, while two-time U.S. Open Champion and WON Bass Hall of Fame inductee John Murray from Spring City, Tenn. finished fourth with 37.71 pounds and another past U.S. Open Champion Justin Patti from Peoria, Ariz. rounded out the top five with 37.35 pounds.
Mazy said that he was able to continue his topwater / Livescope approach from day two despite the slick conditions. “I was really targeting pelagic largemouth and smallmouth that were feeding on larger shad around schooling striper in Temple Bar and the Virgin Basin,” he said. “I could catch some on topwater and my jighead minnow but when the striper got too excited by the faster baits, I would dropshot an OSP Dice lure and let it slowly fall under the school; I caught five really key fish on that that made a huge difference.”
Mazy has been chasing the premier events in the West for at least 10 years, he has also competed on the national stage in the Bassmaster Opens; this is his first major win. “I have been close on Lake Mead before and had a bad day two that cost me the win,” he said. "To win this week on a lake that means so much to me, in front of my family and friends is something I just can’t put into words; it is absolutely amazing.”
Brown also fished in the Temple Bar and Virgin Basin areas however, he targeted brush filled ditches from the bank 10 feet deep. “I found the better fish in practice fishing a topwater, but with the exception of a couple that I caught on a buzzbait or Reaction Innovations Vixen and my AAA caught on a topwater, all of my fish came on a Pepper Custom Baits Jig,” he said. “I worked my 1/2-ounce Bill’s Gill jig and color number 953 Yamamoto Baits Flapping Hog through the brush to catch 95-percent of my fish.
“I would have obviously loved to win, but Julius is a great guy and a good friend of mine, so I’m happy for him,” he said. “It’s been a good year, it’s my third top 10 in the WON Bass Opens in a row, so I’m having a year I can be proud of.”
James Scott from Lancaster, Calif. claimed the AAA Division title with 36.88 pounds. He was followed in second place by Huntington Beach, Calif. angler Geoff Peterson with 36.35 pounds. Third place went to Dale Roesener of Las Vegas, Nev. with 36.26 pounds and fourth place AAA went to former U.S. Open Champion Nick Salvucci from Paso Robles, Calif. with 36.20 pounds and Todd Holverson of San Diego, Calif. rounded out the top five with 35.83 pounds.
The top 10 anglers in each division are listed below, for complete standings visit: https://wonbassevents.com/
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WON Bass Lake Mead Open 9/18 to 9/20/2024 |
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Place |
Pro Day 3 | Hometown |
Fish |
Pnlty |
Day 1 |
Day 2 |
Day 3 |
Total |
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1 |
Julius Mazy | Phoenix AZ |
15-15 |
11.92 |
19.80 |
13.52 |
45.24 |
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2 |
Bill Brown | Grand Junction CO |
15-14 |
0.50 |
14.38 |
13.40 |
13.83 |
41.61 |
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3 |
Jeff Baird | Washington UT |
15-13 |
1.00 |
12.18 |
12.99 |
13.17 |
38.34 |
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4 |
John Murray | Spring City TN |
15-15 |
10.95 |
14.15 |
12.61 |
37.71 |
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5 |
Justin Patti | Peoria AZ |
15-14 |
0.50 |
11.20 |
10.92 |
14.73 |
36.85 |
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6 |
Shane Edgar | Glendale AZ |
13-13 |
16.33 |
14.65 |
5.81 |
36.79 |
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7 |
Tom Lowery | Lakeside CA |
15-13 |
1.00 |
15.93 |
11.57 |
9.06 |
36.56 |
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8 |
Kyle Grover | RCHO STA MARG CA |
15-15 |
13.63 |
11.87 |
10.66 |
36.16 |
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9 |
Sean Coffey | Mesa AZ |
15-15 |
11.59 |
9.61 |
14.88 |
36.08 |
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10 |
Trace Myers | Santaquin UT |
15-14 |
0.50 |
12.72 |
10.71 |
12.52 |
35.95 |
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Place |
AAA Angler Day 3 | Hometown |
Fish |
Pnlty |
Day 1 |
Day 2 |
Day 3 |
Total |
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1 |
James Scott | Lancaster CA |
14-14 |
9.41 |
19.80 |
7.67 |
36.88 |
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2 |
Geoff Peterson | Huntington Beach CA |
15-15 |
12.83 |
8.64 |
14.88 |
36.35 |
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3 |
Dale Roesener | Lav Vegas NV |
15-14 |
0.50 |
9.96 |
11.57 |
14.73 |
36.26 |
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4 |
Nick Salvucci | Paso Robles CA |
15-14 |
0.50 |
13.98 |
11.49 |
10.73 |
36.20 |
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5 |
Todd Holverson | San Diego CA |
15-14 |
0.50 |
14.58 |
7.42 |
13.83 |
35.83 |
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6 |
Jody Lazzaretti | Midland TX |
15-13 |
1.00 |
9.47 |
12.99 |
13.15 |
35.61 |
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7 |
Jason Randall | Las Vegas NV |
15-15 |
12.80 |
9.14 |
12.81 |
34.75 |
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8 |
Brian Reaves | Bullhead City AZ |
15-15 |
11.12 |
11.87 |
11.43 |
34.42 |
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9 |
Chris Card | North Las Vegas NV |
14-13 |
0.50 |
11.20 |
10.00 |
12.94 |
34.14 |
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10 |
Tyler Bolin | Valley Springs CA |
15-13 |
1.00 |
15.93 |
9.95 |
7.96 |
33.84 |
That concludes the 2024 WON Bass Lake Mead Open presented by Ranger Boats and Mercury, next up will be the 2024 WON Bass U.S. Open on Lake Mohave October 14 – 16, 2024.
The winner of the 2024 WON Bass Lake Mead Open earned the Ranger Boats / Mercury Motor prize boat, and the Golden Tickets to the 2025 Bassmaster BASS Nation National Championship will be awarded to the top five Pro and AAA anglers and will further develop the season long competition to see who will receive guaranteed slots into the 2025 Bassmaster Opens Elite Qualifiers.
The 2024 WON Bass Western Opens Series of events Consisting of five events in California, Arizona and Nevada moves next to the Lake Mead Open September 18 to 20, 2024. The series will culminate with the 2024 WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mohave in October. The full schedule of the five event dates are as follows:
Jan. 31–Feb. 2, Lake Shasta - Champion Nick Wood – 47.42 pounds
April 17-19, Clear Lake – Austin Bonjour – 83.28 pounds
May 15-17, Lake Havasu – Joe Uribe Jr. – 57.31 pounds
Sept. 18-20, Lake Mead – Julius Mazy – 45.24 pounds
Oct. 14-16, U.S. Open at Lake Mohave
For complete details or to register, look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com to hear the latest news about the 2024 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/
The 2024 WON Bass Northern California Lake Mead Open is brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Triton Boats, Bridgford Foods, Phenix Rods, Yamamoto Baits, Bill Lewis Lures, Buckeye Lures, Steel Shad, Bioenno Power, DD26 Fishing, SOG Knives, Cold Steel Knives, Gamma Line, Power Pole, Lowrance, Daiwa, AFTCO, Costa, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Anderson Toyota, A&M Graphics, Anglers Marine and Signature Gates.
Local presenting sponsors are Callville Bay Marina, Boulder City Chamber of Commerce and Boulder City Tackle
DeFoe and Montgomery Win General Tire Team Series Knighten Industries Heritage Cup
Team REDCON1 catches 29 bass totaling 55-8 in Championship Round to win second event of season and earn Heritage Cup
NEENAH, Wis. (Sept. 20, 2024) – The final four teams were thrown a curveball Friday at the General Tire Team Series Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley. While they had spent the week targeting mostly largemouth in stained water on several lakes in the Fox River system earlier in the competition, the two-man teams now turned their sights to Green Lake – a crystal-clear, 7,900-acre spring-fed glacial fishery with a maximum depth of 236 feet – a far cry from the shallow, stained water the teams had been fishing earlier in the event.
With no prior knowledge of where they were fishing in the Championship Round, no practice and only a 30-minute ride around before the competition began, it was anyone’s guess how the day would shape up. And while the offshore smallmouth in deeper water were certainly enticing to several of the teams, it was flipping and pitching shallow docks that won the Championship Round on Green Lake.
Team REDCON1 – made up of Ott DeFoe and Andy Montgomery – got off to a good start early in the day, catching eight scorable bass in Period 1, before taking the lead from Team Star Tron – Grae Buck and Martin Villa – midway through the second period. Despite a hard-charge late in the third period by Team Builders First Source – Alton Jones Jr. and Alton Jones Sr. – Team REDCON1 finished the day atop the leaderboard to take home the Heritage Cup. The duo ended the Championship Round with 29 bass weighing 55-8, 5-7 ahead of Team Builders FirstSource, who finished the day with 31 bass weighing 50-1, good for second place.
After winning their Knockout Round on Wednesday, the REDCON1 tandem enjoyed a day off to regroup before the Championship Round. The duo spent the entire day Friday bouncing around the fishery targeting shallow boat docks.
“Period 2 was really good for us,” said Montgomery. “We made a heck of a run about midway through and got a little bit of a cushion between us and second place. It was a grind, though. Even though we were keeping pace, we felt like we just had to keep fresh docks in front of us all day long.”
DeFoe agreed that was key to being around bigger numbers of fish that were willing to bite.
“Don’t get us wrong, we’d still get bites at docks where we’d already caught a couple,” DeFoe said. “But moving and hitting fresh docks and keeping fresh fish constantly in front of us was really important to our success today.
“Green Lake has such clear water, so it was easy to see the fish and see what they were doing,” DeFoe continued. “The fish we found had definitely been caught before. They weren’t really aggressive, and we had to almost trick them to get them to follow the bait.”
The type of docks seemed to make a big difference as well for the entire field of competitors. While the fishery is full of both largemouth and smallmouth bass, the fish were not distributed randomly.
As teams took turns targeting boat docks throughout the day, it became apparent that the longer docks on shallow, flat portions of the bank produced significantly more fish than the steep banks with shorter docks in deeper water. Team REDCON1 made hay on those long, shallow docks.
“The setup that really caught the numbers for us was a 4-inch wacky-rigged stick worm on a spinning rod, using a No. 2 VMC Weedless Neko Hook. That hook was really key,” said DeFoe. “I was throwing it on a 7-foot, 1-inch Johnny Morris Platinum Signature Spinning Rod with 10-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS Hyper Braid and a 12-pound XPS Fluorocarbon leader.”
Montgomery spent the day skipping a swim jig under the docks, letting it fall to the bottom, while DeFoe followed behind him with the wacky rig, a combo that worked great for the duo.
“My whole setup was a skipping rod on a skipping reel with a skipping bait,” Montgomery said, laughing. “Ott is deadly with a spinning rod, and I feel like I can get the job done with a baitcaster. It was definitely a one-two punch. There’s no way either one of these baits alone would have won this thing by itself.”
DeFoe caught a largemouth weighing 4-9 in the final period, a fish that not only added to their weight but bolstered their confidence to finish out the Championship Round on top. While the close friends and traveling roommates had a 10-pound lead over second place going into the third period, that fish was one of many that secured their fairly slim margin of victory.
“We worked hard. I mean every day of this thing, we worked hard,” said a choked up DeFoe in his post-game interview. “My dad had heart surgery two weeks ago and it was tough leaving him so soon after his surgery. My wife Jennie’s there with him. But it was still tough. Dad, I love you. This is for you.
“And this guy right here is my best buddy in the whole world,” DeFoe continued, giving Montgomery a hug to celebrate their victory. “I think I ended up catching the biggest fish, but Andy caught most of the bigger fish throughout the day and we got it done.”
“It’s been a tough year for me, man,” said Montgomery. “This dude’s just one of the most steadfast people in my life. Him and my wife, they just don’t change.”
The duo said they enjoyed spending the week competing together on the boat, not something they get to do very often.
“We know what we have is a God-given talent and we give Him all the glory,” said DeFoe. “Every day of competition this week, we made good, key decisions.”
“And we flat out assaulted some reeds and some docks,” Montgomery added, laughing while reaching for the Heritage Cup trophy. “Where’s the money at, that’s what I’m worried about. You can’t trade this for a cheeseburger.”
The top four teams at the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley Championship Round finished:
1st: Team REDCON1, 29 bass, 55-8
Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 16 bass, 28-3
Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., 13 bass, 27-5
2nd: Team Builders FirstSource, 31 bass, 50-1
Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 21 bass, 32-9
Alton Jones Sr., Lorena, Texas, 10 bass, 17-8
3rd: Team Star Tron, 12 bass, 28-8
Grae Buck, Green Lane, Pa., five bass, 10-12
Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., seven bass, 17-12
4th: Team Knighten Industries, nine bass, 16-7
Kelly Jordon, Flint, Texas., five bass, 9-7
Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., four bass, 7-0
Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 81 bass weighing 150 pounds, 8 ounces caught by the four teams competing in the Championship Round on Green Lake. Martin Villa caught the Berkley Big Bass of the day with a smallmouth weighing 4 pounds, 12 ounces.
The Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley was hosted by the Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau and took place over six days in Neenah, Wisconsin. The competition water for each day was top-secret and only revealed to the anglers after they arrived at the boat ramp each morning.
The Heritage Cup featured 12 two-man teams, divided into three groups as they entered the one-day Elimination Round matches. Each of the three Elimination Round matches featured four new teams, with the top two teams from each match of the Elimination Round advancing to the Knockout Round on Days 4 & 5. In the Knockout Rounds, three teams competed each day, with the top two teams from each Knockout Round match moving on to the Championship Round on Day 6. In Friday’s Day 6 Championship Round, the final four teams competed in a one-day shootout to determine which team was the winner of the 2024 Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley.
The 2024 General Tire Team Series is comprised of four events – Challenge Cup, Heritage Cup, Patriot Cup and Summit Cup – featuring two-man teams of MLF Bass Pro Tour pros competing from the same boat. Each event features a roster of 24 anglers, teamed up and working together to claim part of a season purse of more than $720,000. Teams were formed through a selection process, where 48 team captains – based on Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) standings throughout the 2024 Bass Pro Tour season – selected a teammate. Teams will compete throughout the fall of 2024.
The Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley featured the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, in which anglers caught as much weight as they could each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard. With no practice and anglers only getting a few hours to break down brand-new water, the tournament featured anglers competing with a 1-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable.
The next General Tire Team Series event – the Patriot Cup – will take place Oct. 24-29. The location for the event will be announced to anglers thirty days prior to the start of the event.
Television coverage of the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley will premiere on Outdoor Channel as six two-hour episodes in February 2025. New MLF General Tire Team Series episodes will premiere each Saturday morning on Outdoor Channel and posted to MOTV.
Proud sponsors of the MLF General Tire Team Series include: 7 Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Barbasol, Bass Boat Technologies, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Builders FirstSource, C-MAP, Coign, Epic Baits, Ferguson, Fishing Clash, General Tire, Knighten Industries, Kubota, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Nitro Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala Baits, REDCON1, Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff, Star brite, Toyota, USAA, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Bass Pro Tour Suzuki Stage Two at Santee Cooper Lakes Presented by Fenwick to Premiere Saturday on Discovery
WHAT:
The Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Suzuki Stage Two Presented by Fenwick at the Santee Cooper Lakes premieres this weekend on Discovery. The event, hosted by the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce, featured a field of 80 professional anglers competing in the second event of the season for a top prize of $100,000 and valuable Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2025, the Bass Pro Tour championship.
WHEN:
Saturday, Sept. 21, 7-9 a.m. ET
Saturday, Sept. 28, 7-9 a.m. ET
WHERE:
Discovery – New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on the Outdoor Channel
NOTES:
Although the fishery has hosted numerous MLF bass tournaments over the years, this event marked the first time that the MLF’s top level, the Bass Pro Tour, had visited Santee Cooper Lakes.
The tournament featured the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, in which anglers catch as much weight as they can each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard.
The Suzuki Stage Two at Santee Cooper Lakes featured anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Garmin, General Tire, Humminbird, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, Rapala, REDCON1, Star brite, Suzuki, Toyota, WIX Filters and U.S. Air Force.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Bass Fishing HOF Celebrate Bass Fishing Week
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — For Immediate Release — Sept. 20, 2024 — Bucket list fishing trips, exotic vacations, autographed tournament jerseys, original artwork, premium fishing tackle and a boat package are among the exclusive auction items up for bids as part of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame’s annual ‘Celebrate Bass Fishing Week.’
Bidding for the Celebrate Bass Fishing online auction, presented by Major League Fishing, begins on Sept. 20 and concludes Sept. 26. View items and participate in the bidding at https://one.bidpal.net/bfhof/
Up for bid for the first time is a 2025 G3 Boats 15 DK Duck Boat with an all-aluminum and welded camo hull. The package includes a Yamaha 25-HP electric start tiller motor with a trailer. The boat is rigged with a duck-bill platform with LED lights, trolling motor wiring, side gun box, front storage and a portable fuel tank.
Also notable on the bucket list of exclusive items:
- Trips to Texas big bass fisheries O.H. Ivie and Lake Fork; a fishing trip with Whiskey Myers lead singer Cody Cannon; guided smallmouth trips on Idaho’s Snake River, and a two-day fishing getaway to the greater Niagara Region in western New York;
- An ultimate mountain vacation experience at Bison Lodge, voted Canada’s best luxury ski lodge, including lodge rental and full service for three nights for up to eight guests;
- Ski package courtesy of Kayak Angler at Revelstoke Mountain Resort in British Columbia (includes three-night stay with six ski lift tickets);
- Rods, reels, lures and other fishing essentials from leading brands, including Daiwa, AFTCO, Strike King, Falcon Rods, Lew’s, PRADCO brands, Rapala, Big Bite Baits, Simms Fishing, SPRO, Sunline, HUK, Kast King, St. Croix, DHUKR, Island Optics, Eagle Claw, TFO Rods, Northland Tackle, EGO and more;
- Hand-crafted custom lures from Epic Eric’s Bass Lab, Angry Sturgeon Lures, Bull Shad Swimbaits and more;
- Kayak package featuring a Vibe Makana 100 Kayak/X Drive, Bixpy K1 Motor Package, Suspenz airless wheeled cart and a five-year subscription to Kayak Angler Magazine.
‘Celebrate Bass Fishing Week’ culminates with the induction dinner and ceremony, presented by B.A.S.S., during which the 2024 Hall of Fame class will be honored on Thursday, Sept. 26 at Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife Museum & Aquarium in Springfield, Mo. Event attendees will have another opportunity to bid on items during the silent and live auction, presented by Major League Fishing.
Formally inducted at a plaque unveiling ceremony, presented by Phoenix Boats, inside the BFHOF venue at WOW will be the late lure designer Fred Arbogast, video and TV producer Mike McKinnis, noted pro angler, tackle designer and promoter Skeet Reese, trailblazer and pro angler Alfred Williams and TV analyst and outdoor personality Mark Zona.
Auction proceeds benefit the Hall of Fame’s core mission values of celebrating, preserving and promoting the sport of bass fishing. Funding grants for fisheries conservation, scholarships for fisheries science students, and backing youth fishing are among the many supported initiatives.
The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame wishes to acknowledge the generous financial support provided by Presenting sponsors: B.A.S.S., Major League Fishing, Phoenix Boats; Gold sponsors: Bass Cat Boats, Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s, G3 Boats, PRADCO, Wired2Fish, ; Silver sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Rapala, Rather Outdoors; and Bronze sponsors: Bass Forecast, Extreme Outdoors, Simms, Sunline & Visit Anderson
About the BFHOF -- The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organization led by a volunteer board of directors and is dedicated to celebrating, promoting and preserving the sport of bass fishing. Since 2017, the Hall’s inductees and memorabilia representing the history of bass fishing is showcased in Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife Museum and Aquarium in Springfield, Missouri, where it has rapidly become a popular destination. For more information about the Hall, its mission, and to become a supporting member, visit www.BassFishingHOF.com, or contact BFHOF executive director Barbara Bowman at [email protected].
Buck/Villa and Father-Son Jones Duo Advance to Championship Round at General Tire Team Series Knighten Industries Heritage Cup
But, the second match of the Knockout Round ended with a tale of ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’, with the Team Builders FirstSource father-son duo of Alton Jones Jr. and Alton Jones Sr. finishing atop the leaderboard with 21 bass weighing 38-7 to pace the field and advance to Friday’s Championship Round. Also advancing is Team Star Tron – comprised of Grae Buck and Martin Villa – who ended the day with 11 bass totaling 23 pounds even to finish in second.
Team Star Tron started off with a bang at the top of the leaderboard, holding that lead throughout the first period and finding themselves neck and neck with Builders FirstSource midday. However, the Jones duo pulled ahead at the start of the second period and widened their gap throughout the remainder of the competition day.
Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff & Pouches, made up of Casey Ashley and Terry Scroggins, fought back from a huge deficit period after only catching one scorable bass in Period 1. The tandem rallied and went on an afternoon flurry in Period 2 that brought them above the elimination line. That bite was short-lived, however, and the pair just weren’t around enough quality fish to survive the Knockout Round.
Team Builders FirstSource and Team Star Tron now join Team REDCON1 and Team Knighten Industries to advance to Friday’s Championship Round. Eliminated from competition was Team Smokey Mountain, who caught 10 scorable bass weighing 21-3.
Team Builders FirstSource began the day targeting boat docks, boating one keeper out of a drainage pipe while catching everything else around retaining walls and boat docks the remainder of the day.
“What a great day,” said Jones Sr. “The conditions today really made a difference for us. The bass chased the bait a little bit today, whereas they wouldn’t chase anything in our Elimination Match on Sunday.”
The father-son duo took over the top spot from Team Star Tron at the beginning of the second period and ended the period with an 8-pound lead.
“We finished out the end of the day fishing some main-lake boat docks with wind blowing on them to see if any smallmouth were patternable,” said Jones Jr. “We were just trying to figure out some new patterns and new possibilities. We assume we might be going to Lake Winnebago for the Championship Round, so we decided to come to the other side of the lake, because that was the closest we could get to Winnebago.
“Honestly, I hope they send us to Green Lake and it’s a crystal clear, smallmouth smash fest,” said Jones Jr. “But we had a good cushion toward the end of the day, so we started thinking through possible game plans for tomorrow.”
That strategy may or may not play out for the pair. While the competition waters for the Heritage Cup have included Lakes Poygan, Winneconne and Butte des Morts thus far, anglers won’t find out the competition waters for Friday’s Championship Round until they are driven to the ramp by competition officials Friday morning.
“That’s the hard part, because we really don’t know what we’re going to do until we get there – and find out where ‘there’ is,” Alton Sr. added, laughing.
Jones Jr. spent the majority of the day throwing an unweighted wacky rig on the shallow end of boat docks, while Jones Sr. threw a weighted wacky rig on the deeper end of the docks, a tactic that worked great for the duo.
“We really just caught them junk-fishing today,” said Jones Jr. “Whatever looked right, whatever presentation for the piece of cover in front of us. We caught a lot of fish on a wacky rig, but my biggest and best quality fish today came on a green-pumpkin-colored 3/8-ounce bladed jig with a green-pumpkin-and-white-
“It just seemed like every time I got a bite, it was one of those 2 1/2- to 3-pound class fish, and with SCORETRACKER® as slow as it was, it’s been tough. So, catching those 2-pound or better fish has been really key, because bites have been really hard to come by,” Jones Jr. finished.
Team Star Tron led most of the first period, starting the morning fishing the outside edge of cane grass with a ChatterBait and a wacky rig before moving to boat docks and catching a few fish there. They made another successful move, stacking up more weight targeting riprap before ending the day around willow trees in the third period.
“I was super happy with our first period,” said Villa. “The rest of the day was a grind, but any time you’re at least catching them on pace with the other teams is a good deal. The bridge move we made was a good one. We made a lot of moves today while also trying to spend our time fishing, not just running around.”
While they moved around the fishery more than any other team on Thursday, Team Star Tron strategically slowed their fishing down during Period 1, a decision that definitely played in their favor.
The duo made a move right before the start of the second period that they hoped would continue to propel them up the leaderboard, but the hard-charging Jones duo had other thoughts in mind. Team Star Tron went the final 45 minutes without a scorable bass but were able to hold off Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff and Pouches by a mere 1-13.
“We had a bite right after we made that move, before the first period ended, so we were hoping that would prove to be a good spot,” said Buck. “As the sun got higher, the bite started fading, so we had to try some different things. Thankfully it was enough to move us on to the Championship Round.”
The duo credit a one-two punch to their success on the day, with Buck throwing a Z-Man ChatterBait Jack Hammer Evergreen Custom Bladed Jig and Villa sweeping up behind him with a wacky-rigged worm.
The top two teams now advancing to the Championship Round at the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley are:
1st: Team Builders FirstSource, 21 bass, 38-7
Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 13 bass, 25-14
Alton Jones Sr., Lorena, Texas, eight bass, 12-9
2nd: Team Star Tron, 11 bass, 23-0
Grae Buck, Green Lane, Pa., six bass, 12-2
Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., five bass, 10-14
Eliminated from competition are:
3rd: Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff and Pouches, 10 bass, 21-3
Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., five bass, 10-1
Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., five bass, 11-2
Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 42 bass weighing 82 pounds, 10 ounces caught by the three teams competing in Match 2 of the Knockout Round on Lake Butte des Morts. Jones Jr. caught the Berkley Big Bass of the day – only one of three smallmouth caught on the day – weighing 3 pounds, 2 ounces.
The Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley is hosted by the Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau and takes place over six days in the Fox Cities in Wisconsin. The competition water for each day is top-secret and is only revealed to the anglers when they arrive at the boat ramp each morning.
The final day Championship Round will take place Friday featuring Team REDCON1 (Ott DeFoe/Andy Montgomery), Team Knighten Industries (Kelly Jordon/Keith Poche), Team Builders FirstSource (Alton Jones Jr./Alton Jones Sr.) and Team Star Tron (Grae Buck/Martin Villa).
Anglers depart the host hotel in Neenah each morning as early as 5:30 a.m. CT. They are driven directly to the day’s competition area launch ramp by their officials. Competition begins on the water at 8:45 a.m.
The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live every day of competition from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.
The Heritage Cup features 12 two-man teams, divided into three groups as they enter the one-day Elimination Round matches. Each of the three Elimination Round matches featured four new teams, with the top two teams from each match of the Elimination Round advancing to the Knockout Round on Days 4 & 5. In the Knockout Rounds, three teams competed each day, with the top two teams from each Knockout Round match moving on to the Championship Round on Day 6. In Friday’s Day 6 Championship Round, the final four teams will compete in a one-day shootout to determine which team will win the 2024 Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley.
The 2024 General Tire Team Series is comprised of four events – Challenge Cup, Heritage Cup, Patriot Cup and Summit Cup – featuring two-man teams of MLF Bass Pro Tour pros competing from the same boat. Each event features a roster of 24 anglers, teamed up and working together to claim part of a season purse of more than $720,000. Teams were formed through a selection process, where 48 team captains – based on Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) standings throughout the 2024 Bass Pro Tour season – selected a teammate. Teams will compete throughout the fall of 2024.
Television coverage of the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley will premiere on Outdoor Channel as six two-hour episodes in February 2025. New MLF General Tire Team Series episodes will premiere each Saturday morning on Outdoor Channel and posted to MOTV.
Proud sponsors of the MLF General Tire Team Series include: 7 Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Barbasol, Bass Boat Technologies, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Builders FirstSource, C-MAP, Coign, Epic Baits, Ferguson, Fishing Clash, General Tire, Knighten Industries, Kubota, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Nitro Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala Baits, REDCON1, Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff, Star brite, Toyota, USAA, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Julius Mazy Smashes 19.80 pounds to Take Over Day Two Lead of WON Bass Lake Mead Open with 31.72
Day One Leader Shane Edgar in Second place .74 pounds behind at 30.98.
Las Vegas, Nev. – September 19, 2024 –– When the morning of day two of the 2024 WON Bass Lake Mead Open presented by Ranger Boats and Mercury commenced with clear skies and little to no wind, not too many could have predicted the storm that would arise later in the day. Any time there is a bass tournament, the adage that is often repeated is the “somebody is going to catch them.
On day two at Lake Mead, somebody who figured them out better than the rest was pro Julius Mazy.
The Phoenix, Ariz. pro opened the event with a limit of Lake Mead bass that weighed 11.92 pounds, landing him in a respectable 17th place. But his 19.80-pound limit on day two catapulted him into the lead in the pro division with a two-day total of 31.72 pounds.
Mazy’s effort earned him just short of a three quarter-pound margin over day one leader Shane Edgar from Surprise, Ariz. Edgar added 14.65 pounds on day two to his first day’s 16.33 pounds to bring his total weight to 30.98 pounds heading into the final day. He is followed in third place by Grand Junction Colorado’s Bill Brown who added 13.40 pounds on the second day to bring his total to 27.78 pounds and move up one place in the standings.
Tom Lowery, who opened the event in second place fell to fourth place with 27.50 pounds by posting 11.57 pounds on day two. Santee, Calif. pro Dennis Kolender rounded out the top five by bringing his second consecutive 12.80-pound limit to the Callville Bay scales to total 25.60 pounds.
Mazy reported that he let some opportunities slip through his grasp on day one but adjusted on day two. “I didn’t execute yesterday and it cost me three or four pounds on the first day,” he said. "I knew I needed to make some adjustments, so I fine tuned my rotation and was able to capitalize on my primary areas, then found another that would help later in the day – I didn’t expect to even come close to this weight.”
Mazy, who felt his high-water mark for a great day would be between 15 and 16 pounds, said he had that midday. “I started practicing a little and pulled into a pocket on my way back and culled up with a four pounder,” he reported. “I’m looking for a certain set of ingredients, and when I find them, I can find quality fish.”
He said he switched things up and started throwing topwater in the morning, then started looking deeper with his Livescope and jighead and minnow as the day progressed. “I figured out that I wasn’t fishing deep enough with the finesse tactics yesterday, so I had to go deeper today,” he said. “I also switched up to throwing topwater in the morning with the slick conditions, and that’s what made the difference for me today.”
Edgar flatly said that his day two was one of good fortune. “I got lucky today, and that’s all I can say about it,” he reported. “I had three fish at 11:00 and had 11 pounds at 3:30. I made a move into a cut and caught a four pounder, and while I was culling it, Joe Sr. (AAA Joe Uribe Sr.) caught a three and a half that gave us our weight – I’m lucky to be here in contention.”
In the AAA Division, AAA James Scott of Lancaster, Calif. rode his day two pairing with Mazy to the lead with 29.21 pounds, a leap from 57th place. After helping his pro with a key fish, Uribe Sr. moved into second place on day two with 27.37 pounds. Third place went to Tyler Bolin of Valley Springs, Calif. with a two-day total of 26.38 pounds. He is followed in fourth place by Wes Nunley of Washington, Utah with 26.20 pounds and past U.S. Open Champion filling in as a last-minute AAA Nick Salvucci sits in fifth place with 25.47 pounds.
As a result of mechanical failures, 99 boats ventured out onto the surface of Lake Mead for day two of the 2024 WON Bass Lake Mead Open presented by Ranger Boats and Mercury. The top 10 anglers in each division are listed below, for complete standings visit: https://wonbassevents.com/
|
WON Bass Lake Mead Open 9/18 to 9/20/2024 |
||||||||
|
Place |
Pro Day 2 | Hometown |
Fish |
B/B |
Pnlty |
Day 1 |
Day 2 |
Total |
|
1 |
Julius Mazy | Phoenix AZ |
10-10 |
5.99 |
11.92 |
19.80 |
31.72 |
|
|
2 |
Shane Edgar | Glendale AZ |
10-10 |
4.04 |
16.33 |
14.65 |
30.98 |
|
|
3 |
Bill Brown | Grand Junction CO |
10-9 |
5.81 |
0.50 |
14.38 |
13.40 |
27.78 |
|
4 |
Tom Lowery | Lakeside CA |
10-8 |
3.94 |
1.00 |
15.93 |
11.57 |
27.50 |
|
5 |
Dennis Kolender | Santee CA |
10-10 |
4.01 |
12.80 |
12.80 |
25.60 |
|
|
6 |
Kyle Grover | RCHO STA MARG CA |
10-10 |
13.63 |
11.87 |
25.50 |
||
|
7 |
Andy Doudna | Discovery Bay CA |
10-8 |
3.04 |
1.00 |
11.21 |
14.10 |
25.31 |
|
8 |
Jeff Baird | Washington UT |
10-8 |
4.06 |
1.00 |
12.18 |
12.99 |
25.17 |
|
9 |
John Murray | Spring City TN |
10-10 |
5.94 |
10.95 |
14.15 |
25.10 |
|
|
10 |
Cody Steckel | Las Vegas NV |
10-9 |
0.50 |
14.58 |
10.49 |
25.07 |
|
|
Place |
AAA Angler Day 2 | Hometown |
Fish |
B/B |
Pnlty |
Day 1 |
Day 2 |
Total |
|
1 |
James Scott | Lancaster CA |
10-10 |
9.41 |
19.80 |
29.21 |
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2 |
Joe Uribe, Sr. | Lake Havasu City AZ |
10-10 |
3.34 |
12.72 |
14.65 |
27.37 |
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3 |
Tyler Bolin | Valley Springs CA |
10-9 |
3.84 |
0.50 |
15.93 |
9.95 |
25.88 |
|
4 |
Wes Nunley | Washington UT |
10-9 |
0.50 |
13.63 |
12.07 |
25.70 |
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5 |
Nick Salvucci | Paso Robles CA |
10-10 |
5.78 |
13.98 |
11.49 |
25.47 |
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6 |
Mike Hawkins | Boulder City NV |
10-10 |
13.54 |
10.57 |
24.11 |
||
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7 |
George Azevedo | Desert Hot Springs CA |
10-10 |
9.18 |
14.15 |
23.33 |
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8 |
Jay Guterding | Redding CA |
10-10 |
3.04 |
10.36 |
12.80 |
23.16 |
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9 |
Brian Reaves | Bullhead City AZ |
10-10 |
2.95 |
11.12 |
11.87 |
22.99 |
|
|
10 |
David Childress | Bakersfield CA |
10-9 |
0.50 |
9.53 |
13.40 |
22.93 |
|
The winner of the 2024 WON Bass Lake Mead Open will earn the Ranger Boats / Mercury Motor prize boat, and the Golden Tickets to the 2025 Bassmaster BASS Nation National Championship will be awarded to the top five Pro and AAA anglers and will further develop the season long competition to see who will receive guaranteed slots into the 2025 Bassmaster Opens Elite Qualifiers.
The 2024 WON Bass Western Opens Series of events Consisting of five events in California, Arizona and Nevada moves next to the Lake Mead Open September 18 to 20, 2024. The series will culminate with the 2024 WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mohave in October. The full schedule of the five event dates are as follows:
Jan. 31–Feb. 2, Lake Shasta - Champion Nick Wood – 47.42 pounds
April 17-19, Clear Lake – Austin Bonjour – 83.28 pounds
May 15-17, Lake Havasu – Joe Uribe Jr. – 57.31 pounds
Sept. 18-20, Lake Mead
Oct. 14-16, U.S. Open at Lake Mohave
For complete details or to register, look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com to hear the latest news about the 2024 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/
The 2024 WON Bass Lake Mead Open is brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Triton Boats, Bridgford Foods, Phenix Rods, Yamamoto Baits, Bill Lewis Lures, Buckeye Lures, Steel Shad, Bioenno Power, DD26 Fishing, SOG Knives, Cold Steel Knives, Gamma Line, Power Pole, Lowrance, Daiwa, AFTCO, Costa, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Anderson Toyota, A&M Graphics, Anglers Marine and Signature Gates.
Local presenting sponsors are Callville Bay Marina, Boulder City Chamber of Commerce and Boulder City Tackle
Bassmaster expands LIVE coverage on FOX/FS1 for 2025 season
Sept. 19, 2024
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Following a 2024 season of record viewership and increased interest in Bassmaster LIVE programming, B.A.S.S., FOX and FS1 have announced plans to expand Bassmaster’s live coverage in 2025. The new agreement sets the stage for a monumental surge in viewership for 2025.
“The demand for increased coverage of Bassmaster’s high-quality, professional fishing product is increasing, and FOX has recognized that desire and is stepping up to satisfy the fishing community’s rabid consumption of Bassmaster LIVE content,” said B.A.S.S. Chief Operating Officer Phillip Johnson. “The relationship between FOX/FS1 and B.A.S.S. has been exceptional, and we look forward to continuing to showcase even more tournament coverage from the worldwide authority on bass fishing.”
As part of the new agreement, the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors will now have six hours of broadcast coverage on FOX across Saturday and Sunday, as well as 54 hours of Elite Series coverage on Saturdays and Sundays featured on FS1 next year — with the potential for six additional hours on FOX each season.
“FOX and FS1 are thrilled to extend the relationship with B.A.S.S. and the Bassmaster brand,” said FOX Sports EVP/Head of Programming & Scheduling Bill Wanger. “The new deal with this best-in-class fishing organization continues to deliver unsurpassed action on the water from all over the country, highlighted by live weekend coverage of the Bassmaster Elite Series on FS1.”
The additional coverage follows a season of record-breaking viewership in 2024, with one event still to air. The previous high-water mark for Bassmaster LIVE viewership was 14 million in 2021.
This historic television agreement comes on the heels of B.A.S.S. announcing an Elite Series schedule that will feature diverse venues across the nation. Based on the passionate nature of the fan bases in these host communities, B.A.S.S. expects not only record-breaking viewership numbers, but record-setting attendance in 2025, as well.
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
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Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitte
Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 205-313-0945, cgay@bassmaster.
Emmanuel College Cashes in with Yamaha Power Pay
Courtesy of Dynamic Sponsorships
College bass fishing can be a tricky endeavor. With the stress of limited income and maintaining good grades while chasing big bass throughout much of the country, it’s a lot to balance at one time. Staying on the proverbial grind is not an easy thing, but college angler Tyler Campbell figured out a way to keep everything in line while chasing his dream.
Coming off an impressive second-place finish representing Emmanuel University at the 2024 Bassmaster® Strike King College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops with his partner Parker Guy, the Martin, Ga. native is thankful he runs a Yamaha Outboard and took the time to register for the Yamaha Power Pay contingency program.
“I’ve seriously made thousands of dollars through the Power Pay program competing in college,” Campbell said. “That’s a lot of boat payments when you add it all together, and it only takes about 15 minutes to sign up for it. If you’re a college angler, you should be running a Yamaha and if have a qualified outboard, there is absolutely no reason not to sign up for this program.”
The reliability of his Yamaha 250-horsepower V6 V MAX SHO® also played a big role in his run-and-gun strategy on Lake Hartwell. Targeting very specific offshore brush piles with topwater lures was essential to his gameplan, and confidence in his equipment allowed him to fully execute his gameplan.
“I burned a full tank of gas almost every single day,” Campbell said. “I bet I cranked my Yamaha 200 times each day of competition looking for very specific brush piles. My current outboard is about 11 months old, and I already have 400 hours on it. I never give a second thought to motor problems because if you want to stay out of the shop, a Yamaha is the only way to go.”
Campbell recently graduated with honors (not to mention a 3.9 GPA with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management) and the future proves to be bright with the young bass angler from rural Georgia.
“I’m doing guide trips full-time right now for the sole purpose of saving up enough money to fish every Bassmaster Open next year,” Campbell said. “And you can bet I’ll have a Yamaha on the back of my boat.”
There are dozens of collegiate, amateur and semi-pro tournament trails sanctioned by the Yamaha Power Pay program. But you do have to make sure you are registered to be eligible.
It’s free to sign up and anglers don’t have to place first in their tournament to cash in on the Power Pay money. To learn more, please visit https://yamahapowerpay.com/.
Over 600 Anglers Set to Compete at Kentucky Lake for the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley
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Alabama’s Choquette claims Overall title at 2024 Skeeter Bassmaster High School Combine
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Shane Edgar Leads Day One of WON Bass Lake Mead Open with 16.33 pounds
Tom Lowery close behind in Second place with 15.93 pounds.
Las Vegas, Nev. – September 18, 2024 –– There was talk in the weeks leading up to the 2024 WON Bass Lake Mead Open presented by Ranger Boats and Mercury that the limits the field would bring to the scales would be heavier than usual for Lake Mead. Following two years of light fishing pressure because of low water levels, the word was that not only have the fish had a chance to grow in relative peace, but they hadn’t seen a lure during that time, so they may be aggressive.
As day one of the event approached, the weather conditions that had been hot and predicted for heavy winds subsided and the temperatures dipped, and the wind forecast eased meaning anglers could go where they wanted and fish how they wanted. The result was a perfect set of circumstances that ended with Shane Edgar of Surprise, Ariz. fishing by himself due to a AAA angler not arriving at the last minute but weighing 16.33 pounds to take the day one lead.
Tom Lowery of Lakeside, Calif. and his AAA partner Tyer Bolin of Valley Springs, Calif. suffered a half pound penalty but stood in second place after day one with 15.93 pounds. Third place went to Las Vegas, Nev. pro Cody Steckel and his AAA partner Todd Holverson of San Diego, Calif. landed in third place for the opening round with 15.08 pounds. Fourth place on the first day went to Grand Junction, Colorado’s Bill Brown and his partner Eric Hammer from Peoria, Ariz. with 14.38 and past U.S. Open Champion Josh Bertrand from San Tan Valley, Ariz. and his AAA partner Larry Llanes from Madera, Calif. rounded out the top five with 14.29 pounds.
Edgar said he had a slightly better day than he expected to open the event. “I had around 15 pounds on one of my practice days, but I didn’t expect to see 16 pounds leading the event,” he said. “I found an area that I had to myself, and I fished hard in there. I had a limit that weighed a little more than 15 pounds at seven thirty this morning and laid off my area to start practicing; I culled one time later in the day to move up to 16.33, and I’m happy with the day.”
The day one leader declined to state what area of the lake he is fishing, but said he was fishing aggressively to get strikes. “I’m definitely fishing a reaction technique, but I don’t know what to expect tomorrow; they could leave the area,” he said. “It’s Lake Mead, and when their forage moves, they will follow them. I’m going to start there tomorrow and see if they’re there. I could catch another good bag, or come in with 8 pounds; it’s Lake Mead, you never know.”
Lowery reported catching numbers of Lake Mead bass on reaction baits himself but was a little concerned that he had leaned on his areas a little too hard. “I’m rotating through four areas that have a lot of bait in them, and probably caught 20 fish today,” he said. “I left for a little while, but felt like I needed one more good fish, so I returned at one o’clock and culled once more, I just hope that I can locate them in there tomorrow and keep making a run at this event.”
Altogether 103 boats ventured out onto the surface of Lake Mead on day one of the 2024 WON Bass Lake Mead Open presented by Ranger Boats and Mercury. The top 10 anglers in each division are listed below, for complete standings visit: https://wonbassevents.com/pages/lake-mead-open-pairings-and-results
| Place | Pro Day 1 | Hometown | Fish | B/B | Pnlty | Day 1 | Total |
| 1 | Shane Edgar | Glendale AZ | 5-5 | 4.04 | 16.33 | 16.33 | |
| 2 | Tom Lowery | Lakeside CA | 5-4 | 3.90 | 0.50 | 16.43 | 15.93 |
| 3 | Cody Steckel | Las Vegas NV | 5-4 | 0.50 | 15.08 | 14.58 | |
| 4 | Bill Brown | Grand Junction CO | 5-5 | 5.81 | 14.38 | 14.38 | |
| 5 | Josh Bertrand | San Tan Valley AZ | 5-5 | 4.05 | 14.29 | 14.29 | |
| 6 | Hayden Metz | Eastvalle CA | 5-5 | 13.98 | 13.98 | ||
| 7 | Kyle Grover | Rcho Sta Marg CA | 5-5 | 13.63 | 13.63 | ||
| 8 | Duke Ayers | Flagstaff AZ | 5-5 | 3.97 | 13.54 | 13.54 | |
| 9 | Scott Hellesen | Paso Robles CA | 5-5 | 12.83 | 12.83 | ||
| 10 | Dennis Kolender | Santee CA | 5-5 | 12.80 | 12.80 | ||
| Place | AAA Angler Day 1 | Hometown | Fish | B/B | Pnlty | Day 1 | Total |
| 1 | Kaliane McMurray Did Not Fish | Dana Point CA | 5-5 | 16.33 | 0.00 | ||
| 2 | Tyler Bolin | Valley Spring CA | 5-4 | 3.84 | 0.50 | 16.43 | 15.93 |
| 3 | Todd Holverson | San Diego CA | 5-4 | 4.16 | 0.50 | 15.08 | 14.58 |
| 4 | Eric Hammer | Peoria AZ | 5-5 | 14.38 | 14.38 | ||
| 5 | Larry Llanes | Madera CA | 5-5 | 14.29 | 14.29 | ||
| 6 | Nick Salvucci | Paso Robles CA | 5-5 | 5.78 | 13.98 | 13.98 | |
| 7 | Wes Nunley | Washington UT | 5-5 | 13.63 | 13.63 | ||
| 8 | Mike Hawkins | Boulder City NV | 5-5 | 13.54 | 13.54 | ||
| 9 | Geoff Peterson | Huntington Beach CA | 5-5 | 12.83 | 12.83 | ||
| 10 | Jason Randall | Las Vegas NV | 5-5 | 12.80 | 12.80 |
The winner of the 2024 WON Bass Lake Mead Open will earn the Ranger Boats / Mercury Motor prize boat, and the Golden Tickets to the 2025 Bassmaster BASS Nation National Championship will be awarded to the top five Pro and AAA anglers and will further develop the season long competition to see who will receive guaranteed slots into the 2025 Bassmaster Opens Elite Qualifiers.
There are currently 110 pro anglers, and 104 AAA partners signed up for the event - signups remain open until September 13, 2024.
The 2024 WON Bass Western Opens Series of events Consisting of five events in California, Arizona and Nevada moves next to the Lake Mead Open September 18 to 20, 2024. The series will culminate with the 2024 WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mohave in October. The full schedule of the five event dates are as follows:
Jan. 31–Feb. 2, Lake Shasta - Champion Nick Wood – 47.42 pounds
April 17-19, Clear Lake – Austin Bonjour – 83.28 pounds
May 15-17, Lake Havasu – Joe Uribe Jr. – 57.31 pounds
Sept. 18-20, Lake Mead
Oct. 14-16, U.S. Open at Lake Mohave
For complete details or to register, look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com to hear the latest news about the 2024 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.
The 2024 WON Bass Northern California Lake Mead Open is brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Triton Boats, Bridgford Foods, Phenix Rods, Yamamoto Baits, Bill Lewis Lures, Buckeye Lures, Steel Shad, Bioenno Power, DD26 Fishing, SOG Knives, Cold Steel Knives, Gamma Line, Power Pole, Lowrance, Daiwa, AFTCO, Costa, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Anderson Toyota, A&M Graphics, Anglers Marine and Signature Gates.
Local presenting sponsors are Callville Bay Marina, Boulder City Chamber of Commerce and Boulder City Tackle
DeFoe/Montgomery and Jordon/Poche Advance to Championship Round at General Tire Team Series Knighten Industries Heritage Cup
Three teams compete on Wisconsin’s Lake Butte des Morts in first match of Knockout Round, Team REDCON1 (DeFoe/Montgomery) catches 18 scorable bass to advance to Championship
NEENAH, Wis. (Sept. 18, 2024) – Lake Butte des Morts was the playing field Wednesday for the three two-man teams competing in Match 1 of the Knockout Round at the General Tire Team Series Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley. After competitors spent the Elimination Round competing on Lakes Poygan and Winneconne earlier this week, Lake Butte des Morts offered competitors numerous new areas to explore and slightly different conditions.
Despite the change in competition waters, fishing was generally the same as teams relied mainly on frogs, wacky rigs and flipping jigs to break down the 8,500-acre fishery at the second General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops event of the season.
It was a closely contested day – just 3 1/2 pounds separated the bottom two teams – but as SCORETRACKER® expired, it was the Team REDCON1 duo of Ott DeFoe and Andy Montgomery that stood alone atop the leaderboard. Team REDCON1 caught 18 bass weighing 27 pounds, 14 ounces to pace the field and advance to the Championship Round on Friday. Also advancing in second place was Team Knighten Industries – Kelly Jordon and Keith Poche – who boated 13 bass totaling 22-13.
Team REDCON1 and Team Knighten Industries now advance to Friday’s Championship Round to compete against the top two finishing teams from Match 2 of the Knockout Round on Thursday. Eliminated from competition was Team WIX Filters – David Dudley and Dave Lefebre – who caught 10 scorable bass weighing 18-2.
“Man, we can finally breathe,” Montgomery said as the third period came to an end. “I thought this one was tracking toward an easy day, but we had to work for it today. We did just enough and we are two for two. But the one that matters the most is two days from now. We want to be three for three.”
“It was a hard day of fishing, no doubt,” DeFoe said. “We had to battle, and we ended up catching 18 – just over half of what we caught the other day. It was tough. But we made it to the Championship Round, and that is such a good feeling.”
“We had to work for every dang fish we caught. We had 18 fish, but we made 180,000 casts today,” Montgomery joked.
Team REDCON1 started out the day fishing cane grass, mixing it up throwing and throwing a hodge-podge of lures. DeFoe weighed in scorable keepers on five different baits, the majority coming on a stick-worm, while Montgomery caught them mainly flipping a jig.
“At the end of the day, we came back and were fishing some of the little grass mats back in a canal,” DeFoe said. “It just looked like it would have a good population of fish in it. Andy and I talked, and we thought we could come in and beat out a few bites. I picked up a frog, and it got a few of those bites and was able to give us just enough cushion to make it through.”
The key bait for DeFoe at the end of the day was a Terminator Walking Frog Jr., which DeFoe fished on a Johnny Morris Signature Series 7-foot, 2-inch heavy-action rod paired with a Johnny Morris Platinum high-speed 8:3:1 reel with 50-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS braid.
For the second consecutive day of competition, the Team Knighten Industries duo of Kelly Jordon and Keith Poche advanced as the No. 2 team on the day.
Poche mainly threw a topwater, catching five bass on a frog and adding two more scorable smallmouth on a popper. Jordon committed to a soft-plastic stick worm, adding six keepers as the duo targeted a large grassy area in the northwest portion of the lake for the majority of the day.
“There was a hole in the grass that was our bread and butter,” Poche said. “I honestly didn’t think it had enough, but it had just enough, and we were able to kind of build off of it.”
“I fish better when it’s intense, but I’m enjoying it, and that was the case for us today,” said Jordon. “We found this grassy area, and it turned us on to a few things. There was a key stretch near the end and we managed to catch several from it. It was a tough day, but a great day.”
The top two teams now advancing to the Championship Round at the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley are:
1st: Team REDCON1, 18 bass, 27-14
Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 11 bass, 15-2
Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., seven bass, 12-12
2nd: Team Knighten Industries, 13 bass, 22-13
Kelly Jordon, Flint, Texas, six bass, 9-14
Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., seven bass, 12-15
Eliminated from competition are:
3rd: Team WIX Filters, 11 bass, 19-6
David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., six bass, 10-0
Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa., five bass, 9-6
Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 42 bass weighing 70 pounds, 1 ounce caught by the three teams competing in Match 1 of the Knockout Round on Lake Butte des Morts. Poche caught the Berkley Big Bass of the day – a largemouth weighing 3 pounds, 5 ounces.
The Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley is hosted by the Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau and takes place over six days in the Fox Cities in Wisconsin. The competition water for each day is top-secret and is only revealed to the anglers when they arrive at the boat ramp each morning.
Anglers depart the host hotel in Neenah each morning as early as 5:30 a.m. CT. They are driven directly to the day’s competition area launch ramp by their officials. Competition begins on the water at 8:45 a.m.
The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live every day of competition from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.
The Heritage Cup features 12 two-man teams, divided into three groups as they enter the one-day Elimination Round matches. Each of the three Elimination Round matches featured four new teams, with the top two teams from each match of the Elimination Round advancing to the Knockout Round on Days 4 & 5. In the Knockout Rounds, three teams compete each day, with the top two teams from each Knockout Round match moving on to the Championship Round on Day 6. In Friday’s Day 6 Championship Round, the final four teams will compete in a one-day shootout to determine which team will win the 2024 Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley.
The 2024 General Tire Team Series is comprised of four events – Challenge Cup, Heritage Cup, Patriot Cup and Summit Cup – featuring two-man teams of MLF Bass Pro Tour pros competing from the same boat. Each event features a roster of 24 anglers, teamed up and working together to claim part of a season purse of more than $720,000. Teams were formed through a selection process, where 48 team captains – based on Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) standings throughout the 2024 Bass Pro Tour season – selected a teammate. Teams will compete throughout the fall of 2024.
Television coverage of the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley will premiere on Outdoor Channel as six two-hour episodes in February 2025. New MLF General Tire Team Series episodes will premiere each Saturday morning on Outdoor Channel and posted to MOTV.
Proud sponsors of the MLF General Tire Team Series include: 7 Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Barbasol, Bass Boat Technologies, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Builders FirstSource, C-MAP, Coign, Epic Baits, Ferguson, Fishing Clash, General Tire, Knighten Industries, Kubota, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Nitro Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala Baits, REDCON1, Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff, Star brite, Toyota, USAA, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
MLF Set to Wrap Toyota Series Plains Division at Lake of the Ozarks Presented by Suzuki Marine
The three-day tournament is the third and final event of the year for Plains Division anglers and is hosted by the Tri-County Lodging Association. The event will feature a roster of the region’s best bass-fishing pros and Strike King co-anglers competing for a top prize of up to $100,000 in the pro division and a new Phoenix 518 Pro boat with a 115-horsepower outboard motor plus $5,000 in the co-angler division.
Local Tackle Warehouse Invitational pro Michael Harlin of Sunrise Beach, Missouri, has extensive history on the fishery and said he is looking forward to a great event.
“There are a lot of things in play in September on Lake of the Ozarks,” said Harlin. “It really opens up the tacklebox and lets guys fish to their strengths. I expect to see some guys out fishing deep and others up super shallow. They’ll be catching them on reaction baits and bottom baits the same – basically just fall fishing 101.”
Harlin said the entire lake will be in play next week during the tournament, but there’s no specific technique or pattern that’s currently dominating the fishery.
“Most likely there will be some big bags caught at least one or two days of the tournament, and I anticipate those big bags will be caught up shallow, whether it’s throwing topwater or flipping boat docks,” Harlin said. “I think it’s going to take anywhere between 45 to 47 pounds to win the event.
“That isn’t huge weight, but that’s typical here for this time of year,” Harlin continued. “I figure the winning guy will have to catch at least one 17- to 20-pound bag, or a couple 17-pound bags to take home the win.”
While it’s a bit too early to dial in the exact weather conditions anglers will be facing throughout the three-day tournament, Harlin said he expects that to make a big difference in angler’s game plans.
“With everything in play, the weather is probably going to be the deciding factor on how it all goes down,” said Harlin. “Depending on whether it’s sunny and hot, or we get a cold front with overcast, windy conditions – that’s going to really determine the winning pattern.”
Anglers will launch at 7 a.m. CT each day from Public Beach #2 located at 711 Public Beach Road in Osage Beach. Weigh-ins will also be held at that location and will begin at 3 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend and encouraged to follow the event online through the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts and daily coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
In Toyota Series regular-season competition, payouts are based on the number of participants competing in the event, scaling up for every 20 boats over 160 and scaling down for every boat below 160. With a 160-boat field, pros fish for a top prize of up to $75,000, if Phoenix MLF Bonus qualified. Strike King co-anglers cast for the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard (valued at $33,500). With a 260-boat field, pros fish for a top award of up to $100,000, if Phoenix MLF Bonus qualified. Strike King co-anglers cast for the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard plus $5,000 cash.
The 2024 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consists of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern, Southwestern and the Western Division Presented by Tackle Warehouse – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International and Wild Card divisions. Anglers who fish in any of the six divisions or the Wild Card division and finish in the top 25 will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning up to $235,000 and a qualification to REDCREST 2025. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard. The 2024 Toyota Series Championship will be held Nov. 7-9 on Wheeler Lake in Huntsville, Alabama, and is hosted by the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Madison County Commission, and the Huntsville Sports Commission.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Toyota Series include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, FX Custom Rods, General Tire, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak Fishing, Onyx, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, REDCON1, Simms, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.
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.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
NPFL Looking for a Few Quality Anglers
WILKESVILLE, Ohio, September 17, 2024 — The National Professional Fishing League will be accepting applications for the 2025 season beginning October 1, 2024. Anglers who wish to be part of the 130-angler field should visit www.thenationalprofessionalfishingleague.com and fill out the application form beginning on that date. Anglers currently on the NPFL roster do not need to reapply, but they must notify the NPFL in writing of their intention to participate in 2025. The application and notification periods end on October 31, 2024.
“The NPFL offers a platform for all anglers to prove their skill and dedication at the highest level, regardless of their background,” vows league president Brad Fuller. “We’re committed to providing a fair and competitive environment, and we look forward to assembling a diverse and talented field of 130 anglers."
The 2025 season will feature six regular season tournaments plus the 2025 NPFL Championship, spread across half a dozen states and covering spring, summer and fall. Each event will challenge and showcase the skills of every angler. The NPFL’s dedication to maintaining a level playing field ensures that all participants — from seasoned pros to emerging talents — have an equal opportunity to succeed.
The full 2025 schedule will be announced before the application period closes. The NPFL made news earlier this month when it became the first major tour to restrict the use of real-time imaging units (commonly referred to as “forward-facing sonar”).
Beginning with the 2025 season, such technology is prohibited in NPFL competition. This prohibition does not apply to the 2025 NPFL Championship, for which anglers are currently qualifying under previously established rules." We want to work with the anglers who are ready to test themselves under the very highest standards of tournament competition, tradition, and integrity,” Fuller adds.
“We’re looking forward to the return of many anglers who have fished with us and become like family, and we’re excited to add new anglers that will help us grow even better and stronger. Our sport is at a crossroads, and we’re going to show the angling community that the NPFL is on the right path."
Competition for a berth in the 130-angler field for 2025 will be fierce. Applicants must commit to a locked field and agree to participate in all six regular-season events. This ensures a committed group of anglers for the entire season. Choosing the right anglers for the field is critical to the NPFL’s mission.
“We take our selection process very seriously,” Fuller says. “We interview each angler before they’re selected. No one is automatically accepted into the league simply because they won a big tournament or have a lot of sponsors. We’re not just looking for excellent anglers. We also want excellent people who are passionate about the sport — people who share our commitment and vision.
“You can sign up tournament anglers at any boat ramp on any Saturday morning. We’re looking for partners who are ready to grow with us and improve the sport we all love.”
About the National Professional Fishing League
The National Professional Fishing League was founded to bring competitive fishing to a broader audience and offer anglers a platform to compete at the highest level. The NPFL is committed to fostering integrity, competition, and innovation in the sport, providing anglers and fans alike with an exciting and unique experience.
For more information, visit our website.
Virginia’s Langford Posts Fourth Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament at the Potomac River
Hampton Robinson of Bealeton, Virginia, tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
MARBURY, Md. (Sept. 16, 2024) – Boater Todd Langford of Great Falls, Virginia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 15 ounces, Sunday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Super Tournament on the Potomac River . Hosted by the Charles County Board of Commissioners, the tournament was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Northeast Division. Langford earned $7,232, including the lucrative $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.
BFL Super Tournaments are typically two-day events, scheduled in early fall to conclude each BFL division season. In order to make up a previous tournament that was postponed due to unsafe boating divisions, the Northeast Division anglers squared off twice over the weekend at the Potomac River. First, they fished their fourth qualifying event on Saturday – a normal one-day tournament. They then squared off again on Sunday to conclude their season in a shortened one-day Super Tournament.
Langford finished second in Saturday’s Potomac River event with 16 pounds, 4 ounces. He fished more or less the same area and pattern in Sunday’s event. And even though he said the fishing was a little tougher (he caught about half as many fish on Sunday), he managed to get bigger bites, improving his weight and locking down the win.
“I was just fishing heavy matted grass,” he said. “You’ve really got to kind of pinpoint the best areas, and I just got fortunate. I found a couple little hundred-yard stretches that they were on.”
One of the keys, said Langford, was “waiting them out.” In other words: being patient. The fish repositioned within the mats based on the tides and were on the move throughout the tournament. To try to stay on them, Langford worked the mats thoroughly, fishing in the middle and the edges with a punch rig and a frog.
“You had to make them react,” he added. “You could get some bites on a frog, but you had to kind of call them up a little bit.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Todd Langford, Great Falls, Va., five bass, 18-15, $7,232 (includes $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Aaron Dixon, Bel Alton, Md., five bass, 18-9, $2,366
3rd: Tom Bateman, Welcome, Md., five bass, 16-14, $1,577
4th: Michael Ortel, Stewartstown, Pa., five bass, 15-11, $1,229
5th: Joseph Thompson, Coatesville, Pa., five bass, 15-4, $946
6th: Fred Aldridge, Brandy Station, Va., five bass, 13-14, $868
7th: John Duarte, Middle River, Md., five bass, 13-14, $1,089
8th: Jarrett Kuipers, Oakland, N.H., five bass, 13-14 , $710
9th: Spencer Cookson, Sheffield, Mass., five bass, 13-7, $631
10th: Robert Grike, Dumfries, Va., five bass, 12-15, $552
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Jason Orecchio of Andover, New Jersey, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 8 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $555.
Hampton Robinson of Bealeton, Virginia, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,366 Sunday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 9 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Hampton Robinson, Bealeton, Va., five bass, 11-9, $2,366
2nd: Ryan Spivey, Fairfax, Va., five bass, 11-2, $1,183
3rd: Ricky Windsor III, Huntingtown, Md., five bass, 10-3, $790
4th: Brent Kauffman, Marysville, Pa., five bass, 10-1, $552
5th: Bonnie Lucas, Largo, Md., five bass, 9-14, $473
6th: Logan Bloomfield, East Berlin, Pa., five bass, 9-12, $434
7th: Lenny Baird, Stafford, Va., five bass, 9-9, $394
8th: Nathan Routzahn, Myersville, Md., five bass, 9-9, $355
9th: Troy Mills, Lewistown, Pa., five bass, 9-8, $315
10th: Robert Wedding, Welcome, Md., five bass, 9-3, $276
Jeff Turner of Morris, Illinois, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $277, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 12 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Joseph Thompson of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, was crowned the Fishing Clash Northeast Division Angler of the Year (AOY) with 1,298 points to bring home the $1,000 award, while Lenny Baird of Stafford, Virginia, won the Fishing Clash Northeast Division Co-angler of the Year race with 1,341 points to earn $500.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-5 BFL Regional tournament on Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Claremore’s Montgomery Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament at Grand Lake Presented by Suzuki Marine
GROVE, Okla. (Sept. 16, 2024) – Boater Vance Montgomery of Claremore, Oklahoma, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 35 pounds, 2 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Super Tournament at Grand Lake Presented by Suzuki Marine. Hosted by the City of Grove and the Grove Convention and Tourism Bureau, the tournament concluded on Sunday. It was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Okie Division. Montgomery earned $6,586 for his victory.
According to Montgomery, fishing is typically pretty tough on Grand in September. The fish are in transition, which makes them difficult to pattern.
“I fished another team event last weekend there and had 20 pounds the first day and 8 pounds the next day,” he said. “So, it’s one of those deals where the fish are really moving a lot right now. But the main key that I found was finding the big gizzard shad. That was really the main key to this, as a pattern. I found about five different coves or pockets that had the big gizzard, and I’m talking 8-, 9-, 10-inch shad. That’s where those big fish were.”
Once he found the gizzard shad, Montgomery went to work with two techniques. He flipped an Elk River Jig around docks and threw a discontinued Excalibur Series Jimmy Houston Super Spook at schooling fish.
“That bait actually is pretty unique,” he said of the Super Spook topwater. “It actually has a different knocker in it than the new ones do. Everybody kept telling me you can’t get a topwater bite, but that bait was getting bites every day.”
While the bait was cool, it was actually the jig that did the heavy lifting because the better-quality fish were on the docks. Montgomery was actually fishing a worm in practice, but on day one, he tried the jig and immediately caught a keeper that weighed about 5 pounds. Then he caught a 4-pounder two casts later, followed by a 3-pounder. From then on, the jig was the deal.
Montgomery’s best areas were in 8 to 15 feet of water in the mid-lake area. He was fishing about midway back in the creeks, and he said he fished new docks both days.
“It’s kind of something I’ve done for a long time,” he said of the dock pattern. “I’ve won quite a bit of money on Grand Lake in late summer and fall time. I have a lot of confidence in it. Definitely, what I do is a power deal. It’s not something you’re going to get a lot of bites doing, but the bites that you get are going to be better-than-average fish. Today (Sunday), it was pretty easy. I had a limit in about two hours. Yesterday, it took me ’til almost 2 o’clock to get a bite. You kind of have to be willing to lose to win doing what I do because you’re not going to get a lot of bites.”
Montgomery also used live sonar to get dialed in. Yes, he used it to see some fish under the docks, but he also used it to scan for brush. Mostly, it was a tool for ruling out docks that likely wouldn’t be productive. Altogether, his approach was on the mark: Flip the jig on high-percentage docks in areas with big gizzard shad and keep the topwater handy in case any bass showed themselves. He caught 16 pounds, 5 ounces doing it on day one then followed up with an impressive limit of 18-13 on day two. It all equaled out to a winning margin of more than 5 pounds.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Vance Montgomery, Claremore, Okla., 10 bass, 35-2, $6,586
2nd: Micah Littlejohn, Grove, Okla., 10 bass, 29-11, $3,293
3rd: Josh Greer, Carthage, Mo., 10 bass, 27-15, $2,695 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th: Brad Cook, Afton, Okla., 10 bass, 27-1, $1,537
5th: Brett Brumnett, Wagoner, Okla., 10 bass, 26-15, $1,317
6th: Nick Kincaid, Brookeland, Texas, 10 bass, 26-13, $1,207
7th: Brandon Ackerson, Afton, Okla., 10 bass, 26-1, $1,398
8th: Alex Torkleson, Coweta, Okla., 10 bass, 26-0, $988
9th: Dale Andrews, Jay, Okla., 10 bass, 25-11, $878
10th: Jeremy Johnson, Kansas City, Kan., 10 bass, 25-10, $768
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Robert Capps of Muskogee, Oklahoma, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $945.
Gene Mitchell of Stuart, Oklahoma, won the Strike King co-angler division and $3,181 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of eight bass to the scale that totaled 18 pounds, 5 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Gene Mitchell, Stuart, Okla., eight bass, 18-5, $3,181
2nd: Kelsey Ray, Joplin, Mo., six bass, 17-0, $1,591
3rd: Nathan Christie, Claremore, Okla., seven bass, 15-15, $1,211
4th: Brianna Batton , Norman, Okla., five bass, 14-11, $742
5th: David Hamilton, Rogers, Ark., seven bass, 14-9, $636
6th: Kaleb O'Brien, Wagoner, Okla., seven bass, 14-3, $583
7th: Ken Coats, Tulsa, Okla., eight bass, 13-15, $530
8th: Ken Hagar, Colcord, Okla., five bass, 13-9, $477
9th: Keith Hays, Broken Arrow, Okla., four bass, 12-14, $424
10th: Michael Dillon, Wichita, Kan., six bass, 12-6, $371
Bryan Schuster of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $450, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 2 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
At the conclusion of the event, Camden Kozikoski of Edmond, Oklahoma, was crowned the Fishing Clash Okie Division Angler of the Year (AOY) with 1,282 points to take home the $1,000 prize, while Kaleb O’Brien of Wagoner, Oklahoma, won the Fishing Clash Okie Division Co-angler of the Year race with 1,286 points and earned the $500 award.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 17-19 BFL Regional tournament on Wright Patman Lake in Texarkana, Texas. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
St. Paris’ Nesbitt Gets Second Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament at Indian Lake
Valley City’s Saunders Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
LAKEVIEW, Ohio. (Sept. 16, 2024) – Boater Michael Nesbitt of St. Paris, Ohio, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 23 pounds, 1 ounce, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Super Tournament at Indian Lake . The tournament, which concluded Sunday, was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Buckeye Division. Nesbitt earned $5,137 for his victory.
It was a tale of two days for Nesbitt.
“On day one, I think I had 45 spots on the main lake, and when I’m talking spots I’m talking just pulling up and making three or four casts to a ladder or a corner of a seawall,” he said. “I ran all that, and I caught fish. I just couldn’t get the big ones. And I lost a couple that were key fish in the 3-pound range in the (lily) pad areas.”
The main-lake bite was good enough for 9 pounds, 9 ounces and sixth place on day one. Nesbitt caught them using a mix of lures, including a ChatterBait, crankbait and Ned rig. However, those big pad bites that he missed, along with the need to make up a little ground on the second day, motivated Nesbitt to vacate the main lake on day two and instead spend his entire final tournament day fishing lily pads with a homemade creature bait and a frog.
“I’m a pad flipper. I knew I needed a big bag today (Sunday), so I just said forget the main lake and went and flipped pads. I lost a 2 1/2-pounder first thing in the morning I thought was really going to hurt me, and I was a little down. Turned out, I didn’t even need that fish.”
On day two, the pad bite started off quick, with Nesbitt putting a couple nice keepers in the box one right after the other. He managed another couple keepers after that but still didn’t have the big bag he was looking for.
“I had four fish at this point, and I made a move just because of wind direction,” he said. “I knew an area that the wind would be pushing in there. It had some duckweed pushed up there and a bunch of shad.”
It was the perfect mix, and Nesbitt capitalized quickly with a pair of quality keepers. Those fish jumped him from sixth place to first with a final-day limit of 13-8, earning him his second BFL win on Indian Lake in three seasons.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Michael Nesbitt, St. Paris, Ohio, 10 bass, 23-1, $5,137
2nd: Nick Leonard, Amelia, Ohio, 10 bass, 20-14, $2,569
3rd: Chuck Willis, Dayton, Ohio, 10 bass, 20-3, $2,357
4th: Clyde McNaron, Trenton, Ohio, 10 bass, 20-0, $1,199
5th: Hunter Colwell, Sidney, Ohio, 10 bass, 19-12, $1,527 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
6th: Rusty Kisor, Millfield, Ohio, 10 bass, 19-3, $1,367
7th: Chris Martinkovic, Hamilton, Ohio, 10 bass, 18-5, $856
8th: Cody Seeger, Lewistown, Ohio, 10 bass, 17-14, $771
9th: Josh Smith, Liberty, Ind., 10 bass, 17-10, $685
10th: Kevin Spears, New Boston, Ohio, 10 bass, 17-10, $599
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Chuck Willis of Dayton, Ohio, caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 12 ounces, to earn the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $645.
Mark Saunders of Valley City, Ohio, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,569 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of 10 bass to the scale that totaled 16 pounds, 2 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Mark Saunders, Valley City, Ohio, 10 bass, 16-2, $2,569
2nd: Dakota Johnston, Uniontown, Ohio, 10 bass, 15-10, $1,284
3rd: Austin Herbst, Hamilton, Ohio, 10 bass, 15-6, $858
4th: Dylan Phillips, Albany, Ohio, 10 bass, 15-4, $599
5th: Matt Fisher, Glouster, Ohio, 10 bass, 14-9, $764
6th: Kenneth Ritchie, Trenton, Ohio, eight bass, 14-1, $471
7th: David Prater, Franklin, Ohio, eight bass, 13-8, $750
8th: Bryan Hofstetter, Lewistown, Ohio, 10 bass, 12-14, $385
9th: Jeff Moorman, Liberty Township, Ohio, 10 bass, 12-13, $342
10th: Jason Riley, Cleveland, Ohio, 10 bass, 11-7, $300
David Prater of Franklin, Ohio, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $322, catching a bass that weighed in at 3 pounds, 7 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Sean Wieda of Alexandria, Kentucky, was crowned the Fishing Clash Buckeye Division Angler of the Year (AOY) with 1,328 points to take home the $1,000 payout, while Brent Jones of Okeana, Ohio, won the Fishing Clash Buckeye Division Co-angler of the Year race with 1,274 points and earned $500.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, have qualified for the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional tournament on Pools 13-17 of the Mississippi River in Quad Cities, Illinois. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Tennessee’s Nash Posts Second Win of the Season at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament at Lake Cumberland
Erlanger’s van Hoene Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
MONTICELLO, Ky. (Sept. 16, 2024) – Boater Christian Nash of Allons, Tennessee, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 34 pounds, 13 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Super Tournament at Lake Cumberland. The tournament, which concluded Sunday, was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Mountain Division. Nash earned $11,465, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.
For Nash, this makes BFL win No. 2 this season. He also won a Music City Division tournament on Dale Hollow in March. And like he did at Dale Hollow, Nash won the Lake Cumberland tournament using his Lowrance ActiveTarget live sonar. He also experienced an interesting bit of luck … but more on that later.
“I had no practice,” Nash said of the tournament. “I actually haven’t been on Cumberland since this past spring. I just went fishing.
“The first day, I ran down the lake and actually pulled in the holler and just sat down right on top of them. I started out catching a few keeper spots. Then once the sun got higher up, the bait would actually get tighter in the water column, and I could pick off single, individual smallmouth. They were 30 to 40 feet deep.”
When the bait balls tightened up, Nash was better able to spot and target the smallies on sonar. He said it was challenging fishing due to the wind, depth and the impressive speed of the fish, forcing him to lead them by as much as 40 yards to make an accurate presentation.
Nash stayed in that area most of the day. But with a decent limit of 14 pounds in the livewell, he vacated and did some bank fishing in search of a backup pattern. It never really panned out, so in the afternoon he returned to his primary area and caught a 3-pound, 9-ounce largemouth that culled out the only remaining spotted bass in his livewell. That cull put him at 16 pounds, 4 ounces with a healthy day-one lead.
On day two, Nash returned to his primary area and put about 11 pounds in the box by 11 a.m. That’s when things got interesting.
“I proceeded to lose four fish, four straight casts in a row, that were all pretty big,” he said. “And I thought I’d blown my chance to win. But, this is gonna sound funny, but my buddy Jacob Woods, he gave me some lucky arrowheads, he called ’em. He said if you need some luck, just take them out and rub them for good luck. After I lost those four fish, I told my co-angler, ‘You might think I’m a little crazy, but I’ve gotta give these things a try.’ Within an hour and a half after that, I had a little over 18 pounds.”
Whether it was skill, timing or a little something extra thanks to a fishing partner’s good-luck charms, the turnaround put Nash way ahead of the competition. His day-two limit of 18-9 was the biggest of the tournament, boosting his total to 34-13 and a winning margin of 7 1/2 pounds.
Nash caught all his key fish on a prototype swimbait he’s working on with Burtek Tackle, which he paired with a 1/2-ounce Zorro Baits Booza Sonar FFS jighead.
“It’s been a blessed year,” Nash added. “I have no complaints. God’s been good to me. He’s been good to my family, too.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Christian Nash, Allons, Tenn., 10 bass, 34-13, $11,465 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Lee Sinclair, Albany, Ky., 10 bass, 27-5, $2,743
3rd: Andrew Napier , Fisherville, Ky., 10 bass, 24-14, $1,488
4th: Isaac Peavyhouse, Jamestown, Tenn., 10 bass, 24-11, $1,167
5th: Evan Fields, Shelbyville, Ky., 10 bass, 24-6, $893
6th: Branden Grubb, Lily, Ky., 10 bass, 23-13, $819
7th: Bailey Gay, Union, Ky., 10 bass, 23-6, $744
8th: Ryan Davidson, Branchland, W.Va., eight bass, 20-0, $970
9th: Aaron Singleton, Lagrange, Ky., 10 bass, 19-10, $595
10th: Jason Smith, Union, Ky., eight bass, 19-7, $521
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Lee Sinclair of Albany, Kentucky, caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 9 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $510.
Joey von Hoene of Erlanger, Kentucky, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,167 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of four bass to the scale that totaled 10 pounds, 3 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Joey von Hoene, Erlanger, Ky., four bass, 10-3, $2,167
2nd: Grant Aumiller, Danville, Ky., five bass, 8-11, $1,083
3rd: Pop Catalin, Cookeville, Tenn., four bass, 8-8, $724
4th: Robbie Mattingly, Junction City, Ky., four bass, 6-10, $506
5th: Jordan Garrett, Jamestown, Tenn., three bass, 6-8, $433
6th: Richard Payne, Portland, Tenn., four bass, 6-3, $397
7th: Caden Ayers, McKee, Ky., two bass, 5-12, $608
8th: Adler Odle, Willow Springs, Mo., four bass, 4-15, $325
9th: Chris Rushing, Gamaliel, Ky., two bass, 4-7, $289
10th: Garrett Haggerty, Campbellsville, Ky., two bass, 3-13, $253
Caden Ayers of McKee, Kentucky, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $247, catching a bass that weighed in at 3 pounds, 8 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Bailey Gay of Union, Kentucky, was crowned Fishing Clash Mountain Division Angler of the Year (AOY) with 1,327 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Johnny Suratt of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, won the Fishing Clash Mountain Division Co-angler of the Year race with 1,300 points to win $500.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, have qualified for the Oct. 3-5 BFL Regional tournament on Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Southside’s Wesson Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament at Alabama River
Jackson’s Graham Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
PRATTVILLE, Ala. (Sept. 16, 2024) – Boater David Wesson of Southside, Alabama, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 5 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Super Tournament on the Alabama River. The tournament, which concluded Sunday, was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Bama Division. Wesson earned $4,334 for his victory.
Not having any practice for the tournament actually helped Wesson, in his opinion. That’s because fluctuating water levels changed the playing field from practice to the tournament, and even during the tournament. So, anything learned in practice could have been high and dry when it counted.
“From Friday night to the start of the tournament Saturday, they dropped the water about 2 1/2 feet,” Wesson said.
The water then jumped back up a foot or so overnight from Saturday to Sunday and continued to rise throughout Sunday’s tournament hours. Both changes forced the anglers to adapt.
“Day one, I caught most of my fish on a swimbait in lily pads,” Wesson said. “Day two, I had to make some changes because the water came back up, and those fish weren’t doing the same thing. So I went and hit some water willow with a frog.”
Wesson’s lily pad spot is one he’s fished in the past. Having some familiarity with the area was helpful, but he went in knowing he’d have to feel out the bite. He cycled through a few different baits before settling on the swimbait, which produced 12 pounds, 8 ounces the first day. It would’ve been more had he not lost a couple good fish.
On the second day, not surprisingly, Wesson ran back to the lily pads first thing. But he did it with an open mind and 15 rods on the front deck.
“I went back there thinking those fish should be set up the same but having it in the back of my mind I might have to change up a little since the water level changed,” he said. “I spent the first four hours giving it its due and trying to make it work. I caught one 3-pounder doing that and pulled the plug on it and went out and started running some water willow and got on them with the frog.”
The water willow bite is something Wesson is experienced with from his home waters of Neely Henry. He knows it can require some stubbornness to grind it out and get the right bites, which was the case on Sunday. Thankfully, it put Wesson around the right fish and he was able to bring home the win on the back of a SPRO Bronzeye Frog.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: David Wesson, Southside, Ala., 10 bass, 28-5, $4,334
2nd: Donald Griffith, Robertsdale, Ala., 10 bass, 24-12, $2,167
3rd: Robert Robinson, Mobile, Ala., 10 bass, 23-13, $1,444
4th: Jason Nixon, Wetumpka, Ala., 10 bass, 23-10, $1,011
5th: Morgan Brown, Spanish Fort, Ala., 10 bass, 22-8, $1,167
6th: Stephen Perry, Pike Road, Ala., 10 bass, 21-11, $795
7th: Allan Glasgow, Ashville, Ala., 10 bass, 21-8, $1,222 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
8th: Tyler Malone, Chunchula, Ala., 10 bass, 21-0, $650
9th: Michael M. Smith, Andalusia, Ala., 10 bass, 20-15, $578
10th: Vernelle Quinnie, Duncanville, Ala., 10 bass, 20-10, $506
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
James Willoughby of Gulfport, Mississippi, caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 4 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $495.
Brian Graham of Jackson, Alabama, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,167 Sunday, after bringing a two-day total of 10 bass to the scale that totaled 16 pounds, 9 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Brian Graham, Jackson, Ala., 10 bass, 16-9, $2,167
2nd: Frank Mackin, State Line, Miss., 10 bass, 14-12, $1,083
3rd: Brian Carroll, Glencoe, Ala., 10 bass, 14-7, $724
4th: Daniel Arnberg, Auburn, Ala., 10 bass, 13-6, $506
5th: Samuel Fish, Chelsea, Ala., eight bass, 12-8, $433
6th: Caleb Gwaltney, Athens, Ala., eight bass, 12-4, $397
7th: Danny Pinho, Bay Minette, Ala., five bass, 10-8, $608
8th: Curtis Simmons, Chancellor, Ala., five bass, 9-15, $325
9th: Mark Black, Selma, Ala., seven bass, 9-14, $289
10th: Chandler Sheehan, Valley Grande, Ala., seven bass, 9-6, $253
Danny Pinho of Bay Minette, Alabama, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $247, catching a bass that weighed in at 3 pounds, 11 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Robert Robinson of Mobile, Alabama, was crowned Fishing Clash Bama Division Angler of the Year (AOY) with 1,334 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Reid Hale of Jasper, Alabama, won the Fishing Clash Bama Division Co-angler of the Year race with 1,287 points to win the $500 prize.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, have qualified for the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional tournament on Santee Cooper Lakes in Clarendon County, South Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
New Jersey Angler Alex Johnson Wins Rescheduled Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Potomac River
Virginia’s Baird Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
MARBURY, Md. (Sept. 16, 2024) – Boater Alex Johnson of Milltown, New Jersey, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 12 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Potomac River . Hosted by the Charles County Board of Commissioners and Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau, the tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Northeast Division. Johnson earned $3,383 for his victory.
This tournament was originally scheduled for Lake Oneida earlier this season but was postponed due to unsafe boating conditions and later rescheduled for Saturday on the Potomac. Northeast Division anglers clashed again on Sunday in a one-day Super Tournament on the Potomac River to conclude their season.
To get the win in Saturday’s event, Johnson relied primarily on a homemade black-and-blue ball-head jig. Catching the Berkley Big Bass of the day – a 5 1/2-pounder that earned him $355 – along with a pair of 4-pounders boosted him to the top of the standings.
“It was not a total slugfest,” he said. “I caught 15 fish probably. I stayed in one area for most of the day, for probably four or five hours, but then the back half of the day I started running around a little bit and kind of chasing the tide. The water had totally stopped moving where I was. It was wind against tide today, so it kind of held the water up and slacked off a bit.”
Johnson’s primary area was a creek he located during practice on Friday. He targeted four key stretches, hitting each one twice and flipping a “little bit of a mix” of targets.
“I was trying to concentrate on hard cover,” he said. “But the hard cover needed to have grass around it. It couldn’t just be like a random bank of laydowns. It had to be hard cover within a grass bed.”
Johnson, who owns a commercial swimming pool business with his college roommate, caught that big kicker early in the morning. He said it was entirely unexpected – a nice surprise on tournament day – and helped him accumulate about 16 pounds in the first three hours of competition. When he left his starting creek in the afternoon, he ran around to areas where he could find some moving water. That changeup produced the key 4-pounder that sealed his victory.
“I just tried to keep the trolling motor moving and take as many casts as I could,” he added. “I was trying to pick everything apart. I was flipping every 5 feet.”
The top 11 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Alex Johnson, Milltown, N.J., five bass, 18-12, $3,383
2nd: Todd Langford, Great Falls, Va., five bass, 16-4, $2,014 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
3rd: Stacey Craft, Dunkirk, Md., five bass, 14-4, $1,008
4th: Fred Aldridge, Brandy Station, Va., five bass, 13-10, $707
5th: Connor MacDougall, Cape Coral, Fla., five bass, 12-15, $606
6th: Robert Grike, Dumfries, Va., five bass, 12-14, $555
7th: Jeffrey Davis, Wendell, N.C., five bass, 12-13, $479
7th: Logan Kaplon, Rural Valley, Pa., five bass, 12-13, $479
9th: Joe Zombek II, Scranton, Pa., five bass, 12-12, $829
10th: William Kronander, Brownsville, Pa., five bass, 12-10, $335
10th: John Duarte, Middle River, Md., five bass, 12-10, $335
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Lenny Baird of Stafford, Virginia, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,064 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 14 pounds, 13 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Lenny Baird, Stafford, Va., five bass, 14-13, $2,064
2nd: Matt Hummel, Dillsburg, Pa., four bass, 12-15, $934
3rd: Robert Wedding, Welcome, Md., five bass, 12-7, $505
4th: Clarence Dove, Linthicum Heights, Md., five bass, 12-5, $353
5th: Hunter Navari, Colchester, Vt., five bass, 11-4, $303
6th: Melvin Smitson, Baltimore, Md., five bass, 10-9, $278
7th: Richard Jordan, Muncy Valley, Pa., five bass, 10-2, $252
8th: Logan Bloomfield, East Berlin, Pa., five bass, 10-0, $227
9th: Troy Mills, Lewistown, Pa., five bass, 9-14, $202
10th: Andrew Hostler, Tyrone, Pa., five bass, 9-9, $177
Matt Hummel of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $177, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 13 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After Saturday’s tournament, Daniel Gray of Butler, Pennsylvania, held the lead in the Fishing Clash Northeast Division Angler of the Year race with 937 points, while Lenny Baird of Stafford, Virginia, led the Fishing Clash Northeast Division Co-angler of the Year race with 972 points.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, have qualified for the Oct. 3-5 BFL Regional tournament on Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.
The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
DeFoe/Montgomery and Ashley/Scroggins Advance After Elimination Round Match 2 at General Tire Team Series
Team REDCON1 (DeFoe/Montgomery) catches 30 scorable bass totaling 53 pounds, 13 ounces to win Elimination Round Match 2, top two teams move on to Knockout Rounds
NEENAH, Wis. (Sept. 16, 2024) – It was a fight to the finish as four new teams hit the water Monday with no practice, no information and no real game plan during the second event of the 2024 General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops in Neenah, Wisconsin.
Two-man teams were driven to the boat ramp by Major League Fishing officials Monday morning, where they were given maps of Lakes Poygan and Winneconne before setting out to break down the fishery. But it didn’t take long for teams to get on the juice and start lighting up SCORETRACKER®. While boat docks were the preeminent player during Match 1 on Sunday, teams spent the majority of the day Monday flipping grass during Match 2 of the Elimination Round at the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley .
Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff and Pouches – made up of Casey Ashley of Donalds, South Carolina, and Terry Scroggins of San Mateo, Florida – rose to the top of the leaderboard early in the day, holding the top spot all of Period 1 before falling back in Period 2 after going an hour and half with zero scorable bass. They regained and held the top spot for most of Period 3 but couldn’t hold off a hard charge by TEAM REDCON1 – Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tennessee, and Andy Montgomery of Blacksburg, South Carolina – who took over the top spot with 45 minutes left in the third period. Both teams now move on to the Knockout Rounds, with Ashley/Scroggins competing on Wednesday and DeFoe/Montgomery competing on Thursday.
It was a slow start to the morning for Team REDCON1 who started their day bouncing around the north side of the lake without making much headway. At the end of Period 1, they were in third place with four bass weighing a mere 4-1 on SCORETRACKER®.
The tandem made a move to the southeast corner of the lake late in the morning, transitioning to pitching along cane grass lines, a move that proved fortuitous for the duo. They got all the way up into first place at the end of Period 2 before falling to second behind Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff and Pouches.
That’s when Montgomery picked up a vibrating jig and the team went to work targeting boat docks, going on an afternoon flurry to rally in the final period, stacking up 13 scorable bass for 21-9 in the final 45 minutes of competition.
“What a day,” said Montgomery. “We had a whole lot of nothing for most of the day, but it ended up being a big day. We had that one stretch around the islands where Ott was just cremating them early on, but we struggled the majority of the day. Once we got on those docks though, everything changed.”
The duo worked seamlessly together, with Montgomery hooking up with most of their third period bass and DeFoe picking up the stragglers behind him.
“The key bait for me today was a Bass Pro Shops Wacky Stick-O Worm, black and blue laminate, on a VMC Redline Series Weedless Wacky Neko Hook,” said DeFoe. “I threw that on a J ohnny Morris Platinum Signature Spinning Rod with a Platinum Signature Spinning Reel and 10-lb Bass Pro Shops XPS Braid and a 12-pound XPS fluorocarbon leader.
“That was a really good back-up bait to Andy’s bladed jig skipping around these docks here at the end of the day,” DeFoe continued. “He went on a heck of a run, and we were able to catch a lot of fish and get the win.”
Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff and Pouches may have finished in second place, but they had the most consistent day from start to finish. The duo got into the cane grass early in the morning and stayed with it all day, catching them off the outside edges early, then moving into really thick grass as the day progressed.
“What a roller coaster of a day,” said Scroggins. “We went from being on top, to totally sucking in the second period, to turning out pretty good.
“We left an area that we shouldn’t have left looking for greener pastures and trying to find something new,” Scroggins continued. “We went back through a grass line that had produced earlier in the day, and it just wasn’t producing again, so we figured we needed to run new stuff.”
That move opened up the door for Team REDCON1.
“We were just about two minutes late getting into that area, but that allowed Ott and Andy to get the jump on us,” said Scroggins. “But we still caught them good and are looking forward to teaming up again for the Knockout Round.”
The top two teams from Elimination Round Match 2 at the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley that now advance to the Knockout Round are:
1st: Team REDCON1, 30 bass, 53-13
Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 19 bass, 35-4
Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., 11 bass, 18-9
2nd: Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff & Pouches, 22 bass, 50-14
Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C. nine bass, 21-10
Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla. 13 bass, 29-4
Eliminated from competition are:
3rd: Team 7 Brew Coffee, 22 bass, 37-9
Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 14 bass, 23-3
Ryan Salzman, Huntsville, Ala., eight bass, 14-6
4th: Team U.S. Air Force, seven bass, 17-12
Matt Lee, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 11-14
Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., two bass, 5-14
Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 81 bass weighing 160 pounds even caught by the four teams during Elimination Round Match 2 on Lakes Poygan and Winneconne on the Fox River Chain. Teams U.S. Air Force and Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff and Pouches tied for the Berkley Big Bass of the day with both Casey Ashley and Jesse Wiggins catching bass weighing 3 pounds, 12 ounces.
The Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley is hosted by the Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau and takes place over six days in the Fox Cities in Wisconsin. The competition water for each day is top-secret and is only revealed to the anglers when they arrive at the boat ramp each morning.
Anglers depart the host hotel in Neenah each morning at 5:30 a.m. CT. They are driven directly to the day’s competition area launch ramp by their officials. Competition begins on the water at 8:45 a.m.
The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live every day of competition from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.
The Heritage Cup features 12 two-man teams, divided into three groups as they enter the one-day Elimination Round matches. Each of the three Elimination Round matches will feature four new teams, with the top two teams from each match of the Elimination Round advancing to the Knockout Round on Days 4 & 5. In the Knockout Rounds, three teams compete each day, with the top two teams from each Knockout Round match moving on to the Championship Round on Day 6. In Friday’s Day 6 Championship Round, the final four teams will compete in a one-day shootout to determine which team will win the 2024 Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley.
The 2024 General Tire Team Series is comprised of four events – Challenge Cup, Heritage Cup, Patriot Cup and Summit Cup – featuring two-man teams of MLF Bass Pro Tour pros competing from the same boat. Each event features a roster of 24 anglers, teamed up and working together to claim part of a season purse of more than $720,000. Teams were formed through a selection process, where 48 team captains – based on Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) standings throughout the 2024 Bass Pro Tour season – selected a teammate. Teams will compete throughout the fall of 2024.
Television coverage of the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley will premiere on Outdoor Channel as six two-hour episodes in February 2025. New MLF General Tire Team Series episodes will premiere each Saturday morning on Outdoor Channel and posted to MOTV.
Proud sponsors of the MLF General Tire Team Series include: 7 Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Barbasol, Bass Boat Technologies, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Builders FirstSource, C-MAP, Coign, Epic Baits, Ferguson, Fishing Clash, General Tire, Knighten Industries, Kubota, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Nitro Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala Baits, REDCON1, Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff, Star brite, Toyota, USAA, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Dudley/Lefebre and Father-Son Jones Duo Advance After Match 1 of Elimination Round at General Tire Team Series Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley
Four teams compete on Fox River’s Lakes Poygan and Winneconne, Team WIX Filters (Dudley/Lefebre) boats 17 bass totaling 38 pounds, 14 ounces to earn Elimination Round victory
NEENAH, Wis. (Sept. 15, 2024) – Kicking off the second event of the 2024 General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops from the Fox Cities in Wisconsin meant it was impossible for the first group of anglers to guess where there’d fish during Match 1 of the Elimination Round at the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley . Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, the Fox River, and Lake Michigan were all on the table as options that might be the day’s competition fishery.
Anglers learned this morning at the boat ramp that they would compete on Lakes Poygan and Winneconne on the Fox River Chain, and it didn’t take long before the bass were biting as the teams found their honey holes and SCORETRACKER® lit up on Sunday morning.
The Team WIX Filters duo of David Dudley of Lynchburg, Virginia, and Erie, Pennsylvania’s Dave Lefebre led the way, catching 17 bass totaling 38 pounds, 14 ounces, to win Match 1 of the Elimination round by a 10-pound, 7-ounce margin. Also advancing is the Team Builders FirstSource father-son duo of Alton Jones, Sr ., and Alton Jones, Jr ., who caught 16 bass weighing 28-7 to move on in competition.
The majority of the teams spent the day fishing boat docks, with the lead interchanging multiple times at different points of the day in the close competition. Team WIX Filters got on the dock pattern in the beginning of the second period and never looked back. Lefebre fished from the front of the boat with a small jig, while Dudley cleaned up behind him with a Dudley’s Wacky rig.
“We started off on some deeper docks in the morning, then as the weather got hotter and the sun got higher, they started moving shallower and shallower and we started catching them in what we would call dirt – just inches of water up underneath those docks,” said Dudley, who caught nine scorables totaling 20-12. “That's why this wacky rig became dominant in the latter part of the day.
“The key today, for me, was definitely my setup. I caught them on a 7-foot, 2-inch medium-heavy Profishiency Krazy Spinning Combo, throwing a (Perfection Lures) Dudley Wacky Worm. I paired it up with 15-pound braided line attached to 8-pound fluorocarbon, and I used a 2/0 round bend hook. That was the key for me, today.”
As competition wrapped and Dudley and Lefebre began to prepare to return to the launch ramp, Dudley tried to goad Lefebre into a victory dance on the front deck of the boat. Lefebre, however, didn’t bite.
“David, my wife and kids watch these things,” Lefebre laughed. “However, I’ll make you a deal. If we win $20,000 this week, I will do something. I’ll get something happening and get jiggy with it.”
“Deal,” Dudley responded.
Team WIX Filters now moves on to Knockout Round competition on Wednesday.
It was a mad race to the second qualifying spot on Sunday. The Team B&W Trailer Hitches duo of Nick Hatfield and Justin Lucas held the No. 2 spot for most of the third period, but a key decision by Team Builders FirstSource late in the day turned out to be the difference maker.
As the final minutes ticked down in the third period, the Builders FirstSource duo threw a Hail Mary, running three miles to fish a lone boat dock that they had boated a couple of scorable bass on earlier in the day. With just 2 minutes remaining in competition, behind by 9 ounces, Lorena, Texas pro Alton Jones connected with a 1-pound, 2-ounce bass to overtake the Hatfield/Lucas duo and seize the final qualifying spot from Match 1.
“Man, we had to make a decision right there in the last little bit, and we decided to fish this one dock,” Jones Sr. said. “And there was nothing else back here for us to fish. It was either going to work or it wasn't. And it paid off. I almost missed that fish. I saw him spit it, then right back in he ate it again. It was a pretty lucky catch.”
Like most of the field, the Team Builders FirstSource father-son duo caught all of its fish throwing soft plastics around grass and boat docks.
“We had to play from behind all day, so we just kept our head down and kept working,” said Alton Jones Jr. of Waco, Texas. “We didn’t catch a lot of fish, but we ended up scrapping up enough.”
“I’m just glad we get to do this again for another day,” Jones Sr. went on to say. “I hope I performed well enough to make it where you might actually want to draw me again.”
“Maybe so,” Jones Jr. joked. “We’ll see how it goes in the Knockout Round on Thursday.”
The top two teams from Elimination Round Match 1 at the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley that now advance to the Knockout Round are:
1st: Team WIX Filters, 17 bass, 38-14
David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., nine bass, 20-12
Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa., eight bass, 18-2
2nd: Team Builders FirstSource, 16 bass, 28-7
Alton Jones, Jr., Waco, Texas, four bass, 5-15
Alton Jones, Sr., Lorena, Texas, 12 bass, 22-8
Eliminated from competition are:
3rd: Team B&W Trailer Hitches, 12 bass, 27-14
Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn., four bass, 10-7
Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., eight bass, 17-7
4th: Team Kubota, 11 bass, 23-14
Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., five bass, 10-11
Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., six bass, 13-3
Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 56 bass weighing 119 pounds, 1 ounce caught by the four teams during Elimination Round Match 1 on Lakes Poygan and Winneconne on the Fox River Chain. Team B&W Trailer Hitches pro Justin Lucas caught the Berkley Big Bass of the day – a largemouth weighing 4 pounds, 1 ounce.
The Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley is hosted by the Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau and takes place over six days in the Fox Cities in Wisconsin. The competition water for each day is top-secret and is only revealed to the anglers when they arrive at the boat ramp each morning.
Anglers depart the host hotel in Neenah each morning at 5:30 a.m. CT. They are driven directly to the day’s competition area launch ramp by their officials. Competition begins on the water at 8:45 a.m.
The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live every day of competition from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.
The Challenge Cup features 12 two-man teams, divided into three groups as they enter the one-day Elimination Round matches. Each of the three Elimination Round matches will feature four new teams, with the top two teams from each match of the Elimination Round advancing to the Knockout Round on Days 4 & 5. In the Knockout Rounds, three teams compete each day, with the top two teams from each Knockout Round match moving on to the Championship Round on Day 6. In Friday’s Day 6 Championship Round, the final four teams will compete in a one-day shootout to determine which team will win the 2024 Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley.
The 2024 General Tire Team Series is comprised of four events – Challenge Cup, Heritage Cup, Patriot Cup and Summit Cup – featuring two-man teams of MLF Bass Pro Tour pros competing from the same boat. Each event features a roster of 24 anglers, teamed up and working together to claim part of a season purse of more than $720,000. Teams were formed through a selection process, where 48 team captains – based on Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) standings throughout the 2024 Bass Pro Tour season – selected a teammate. Teams will compete throughout the fall of 2024.
Television coverage of the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley will premiere on Outdoor Channel as six two-hour episodes in February 2025. New MLF General Tire Team Series episodes will premiere each Saturday morning on Outdoor Channel and posted to MOTV.
Proud sponsors of the MLF General Tire Team Series include: 7 Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Barbasol, Bass Boat Technologies, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Builders FirstSource, C-MAP, Coign, Epic Baits, Ferguson, Fishing Clash, General Tire, Knighten Industries, Kubota, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Nitro Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala Baits, REDCON1, Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff, Star brite, Toyota, USAA, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Georgetown’s Bennett Lawshe Battles Elements to Triumph at Toyota Series at Santee Cooper Lakes Presented by Suzuki Marine
CLARENDON COUNTY, S.C. (Sept. 15, 2024) – Were it not for blustery conditions and massive waves on the dual lakes of Santee Cooper on Saturday, Georgetown, South Carolina pro Bennett Lawshe may have turned a blowout into a beatdown. Instead, his trolling motor batteries died by lunchtime as he fought the conditions and came to the scales on the final day of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Southern Division finale with 13 pounds, 8 ounces – good enough to best pro Reid Heard of Bainbridge, Georgia, by an ounce shy of 7 pounds.
Lawshe, 24, calls Santee his home lakes and rarely fishes anywhere else. For years, he’s been unlocking the secrets of Lakes Marion and Moultrie, which aided in his massive 25-7 bag on Day 2 and allowed him to fill out a limit on the final day despite gusting winds and a nonfunctional trolling motor.
“I wasn’t really stressed,” he said of losing trolling motor capabilities early in the day. “If it would have been two years ago, I would have probably spun out. It wasn’t that bad. I didn’t panic or anything.”
Part of the reason for his calmness was knowing it would have taken a big bag to overtake him, and considering the stingy late-summer bite that pushed weights down and made big bites few and far between, Lawshe knew he was still in good position to win. And that all came down to making some sound decisions on Days 1 and 2 after observing a key factor on the last day of practice.
“There was a mayfly hatch,” Lawshe explained. “You could drive by the trees and shake them and mayflies hit the water and bream would be popping all over the place. I found it the last day of practice and I probably shook off 30 pounds.
“I’ve caught them like that before, but never this time of year. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in the fall. I just know what happens when they do that. It’s like all the big fish in the area scoot into that one place. I didn’t have one small bite in that area.”
That area was near Pack’s Landing, where Lawshe took advantage of the mayfly hatch by popping a SPRO Bronzeye frog around trees. That pattern accounted for a 4- and a 5-pounder on Day 1 and a 7-pounder on Day 2. After catching those kickers, Lawshe ran back to his primary offshore area to utilize forward-facing sonar to fill out his limit and cull up.
“It’s just a big area and I’ve just spent a lot of time there,” he said of his primary offshore spot. “I’ve graphed the entire area and can tell you where everything is on the bottom.
“At some point in the day there was a big school of fish that would pull up on one of two brushpiles, and I had to be sitting on the right one at the right time.”
To fish those brushpiles situated in 20 and 15 feet of water, Lawshe relied on a pair of jerkbaits: a deep-diving Rapala model and a shallow-diving Megabass model. While he used forward-facing sonar to locate those brushpiles and fish and know where to cast, he says he’s not proficient enough with the technology to see his bait on the screen and watch the fish eat it.
The win was only Lawshe’s third tournament with Major League Fishing, having previously turned in a couple Top-25 finishes in Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine events at Santee in 2022 and 2023. Those tournaments took place in early spring, though – a time of year during which he’s not all that confident fishing.
“I’ve always been good this time of year,” he said. “It’s my favorite time of year to fish. I’m good at junk fishing. I’ve gotten good at knowing when to pick your trolling motor up and leave somewhere. I literally burned an entire tank of gas each day all three days.”
Though still a college student (he’ll graduate in December from Francis Marion University with a degree in environmental science), he’s not sweating the gas money. Winning $32,142 will have that effect.
“All the contingency money for the boat and truck, I always give it to my grandad,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with the winner check.”
The top 10 pros at the Toyota Series at Santee Cooper Lakes Presented by Suzuki Marine finished:
1st: Bennett Lawshe, Georgetown, S.C., 15 bass, 64-1, $32,142
2nd: Reid Heard, Bainbridge, Ga., 14 bass, 63-6, $12,955
3rd: Bryan Cook, .Vance, S.C., 15 bass, 63-1, $9,643
4th: Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 15 bass, 61-13, $8,036
5th: Ben Harris, Haines City, Fla., 14 bass, 61-3, $7,232
6th: Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, 11 bass, 61-1, $6,428
7th: Colbie Caigle, Edgewater, Fla., 13 bass, 61-0, $5,625
8th: Casey Warren, Longs, S.C., 11 bass, 60-9, $4,821
9th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 15 bass, 60-6, $4,018
10th: Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 15 bass, 60-4, $5,214 (includes $1,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus)
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Pro Brad Robinson of Hagerstown, Indiana, earned Thursday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass Award with a bass weighing 7 pounds, 5 ounces. Pro Reid Heard of Bainbridge, Georgia, earned the $500 Berkley Big Bass Award on Friday with a bass weighing 8 pounds, 9 ounces.
Keith Honeycutt of Temple, Texas, won the Strike King Co-angler Division Saturday with a three-day total of 11 bass weighing 27 pounds, 4 ounces. Honeycutt earned the top co-angler prize package worth $33,500, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard motor.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers at the Toyota Series at Santee Cooper Lakes Presented by Suzuki Marine finished:
1st: Keith Honeycutt, Temple, Texas, 11 bass, 27-4, Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp Mercury outboard
2nd: Dan Basham, Taylorsville, Ky., nine bass, 24-4, $4,141
3rd: Grant McPeters, Marion, N.C., six bass, 23-13, $3,313
4th: Billy Foster, Leesburg, Ga., 10 bass, 23-11, $2,899
5th: Alan Hults, Gautier, Miss., nine bass, 23-4, $2,485
6th: David Underwood, Waco, Texas, eight bass, 21-9, $2,071
7th: Wendell Grantham, Eatonton, Ga., eight bass, 20-11, $1,656
8th: Patrick Brown, Swainsboro, Ga., eight bass, 20-0, $1,449
9th: Clyde Cox, Silver Grove, Ky., six bass, 19-2, $1,542
10th: Todd Mowery, Madison, Ala., eight bass, 18-12, $1,035
Strike King Co-angler Clyde Cox of Silver Grove, Kentucky, earned Thursday’s $150 Berkley Big Bass co-angler award with a 7-pound, 12-ounce bass, while Friday’s Day 2 $150 co-angler award went to Josh Williams of Orange Park, Florida, who weighed in a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass.
The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at Santee Cooper Lakes Presented by Suzuki was hosted by the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce. It was the third and final regular-season tournament for the Toyota Series Southern Division. The next event for the Toyota Series Southern Division will be the 2024 Toyota Series Championship, Nov. 7-9 on Wheeler Lake in Huntsville, Alabama. For a complete schedule of events, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The 2024 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consists of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern, Southwestern and the Western Division Presented by Tackle Warehouse – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International and Wild Card divisions. Anglers who fish in any of the six divisions or the Wild Card division and finish in the top 25 will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship on Wheeler Lake for a shot at winning up to $235,000 and a qualification to REDCREST 2025. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard. The 2024 Toyota Series Championship on Wheeler Lake is hosted by the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Madison County Commission, and the Huntsville Sports Commission.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Toyota Series include: 7 Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, FX Custom Rods, General Tire, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters, YETI.
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.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Stahl claims narrow win in Bassmaster Open at Mississippi River
Sept. 14, 2024
Stahl claims narrow win in Bassmaster Open at Mississippi River
LA CROSSE, Wis. — At Thursday’s tournament commencement, Cody Stahl was one of 213 pros in the hunt. Two days prior, a completely different hunt gave him the clues he needed to amass a three-day total of 53 pounds, 1 ounce and win the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Mississippi River presented by SEVIIN.
Placing 29th on Day 1 with 15-09, Stahl added a second-round limit of 18-0 and moved up to fifth. Day 3 saw the pro from Barnsville, Ga., weigh 19-8 — the event’s biggest bag — and edge Day 2 leader Chris Hellebuyck by 10 ounces.
Along with the top prize of $40,607, Stahl received an invitation to fish the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors March 21-23 on Lake Ray Roberts.
“I’m speechless,” a clearly emotional Stahl said. “To start the season out with a 187th place at Lake Okeechobee, I didn’t think I deserved to be here and compete with these guys. After all the years of hard work and time on the water, it feels good to finally bring one home. I feel like I belong here.
“It’s been a phenomenal week. I never would have thought this would happen.”
As Stahl explained, his tournament unfolded much differently than he had originally planned. Upon arriving, he decided he’d avoid the often-crowded Pool 8 and lock up to Pool 7.
“Coming into this, I knew there was going to be a pile of boats that fish Pool 8 and I really wanted to get away from the crowd, because I knew that shallow water doesn’t do well with a lot of pressure,” Stahl said. “The first day of practice, I put in at the upper end of Pool 8 and just looked around and caught one pretty good one.
“Day 2 of practice, my plan was to practice in Pool 7, but me and my buddy (fellow Opens EQ pro) Trevor McKinney talked coming up here about goose hunting one day. I was out of it in (EQ) points going into this event, so I was like, ‘I’m just going to have fun, and I’ll probably goose hunt one day.”
McKinney located some geese in Pool 8 and the pair set out for the backwater area. The morning went well, but Stahl’s post-hunt observations put him on course to victory.
“After we got done goose hunting, I went right behind where we were hunting and I ended up catching a 4-pounder,” Stahl said. “I said, ‘Okay, there’s quality around here. If there’s one 4-pounder here, there’s going to be some places where I can get one or two 4-pounders throughout the day.”
Stahl said that revelation had him leaning toward reworking his game plan for a Pool-8 focus, but the cementing factor came by way of a commercial shipping vessel.
“About 11:30, I watched a barge just come through the lock into Pool 8,” he said. “It had been in the lock all morning and I realized if that barge came through the lock on the lower end of Pool 8 (during the tournament), it’s gonna have to go up and I’m going to have to deal with it.”
Opting to avoid wasting time on tournament days, Stahl committed his event to Pool 8, where he fished shallow vegetation and focused on what he called the sweet spots — key fallback areas.
“I knew the dropping water level was going to change a few things,” Stahl said. “A sweet spot was a drain, a point or anything where the fish would pull back to when the water fell.
“They’re not obvious because of all the (vegetation) on these big, massive grass flats, but there are subtle little places inside the flats that are more high-percentage areas. I knew from the water level forecast it was going to continue dropping and I’d have to find secondary stuff where those fish were going to funnel out to.”
Anchoring his final limit with a 5-4, Stahl caught his fish on multiple frogs, including the SPRO Bronzeye 65, the SPRO Bronzeye King Daddy, and Stanford Baits Boom Boom Frog, a 3/8-ounce Z-Man Chatterbait JackHammer with a Big Bite Baits Kamikazi Swimon trailer and a Berkley CullShad swimbait.
Hellebuyck, who resides in White Lake, Mich., finished second with 52-07. Placing 19th on Day 1 with a limit of 16-3, he rose to the top spot with a second-round limit of 18-3. Hellebuyck closed it out with a limit of 18-1.
Working a large flat, Hellebuyck focused on a high spot where funneling water washed away sediment and exposed shell bottom. This hard spot was a fish magnet where he caught most of his Day 1 and Day 2 fish on a BOOYAH Boss Pop.
“I was fishing in current (all week) and it definitely seemed a little stronger today,” Hellebuyck said. “I don’t think I could have drawn up better topwater conditions (with the final day’s cloudy skies and intermittent rains), but it was a little tougher to get them going on a topwater.”
Hellebuyck ended up catching most of his Day 3 fish on a 3/8-ounce hand-tied brown jig with a Berkley MaxScent Chigger Craw.
“It seemed like every time I’d get the jig stuck on a stump, when I’d snap it off, I’d get a bite,” Hellebuyck said.
Chris Beaudrie of Princeton, Ky., finished third with 50-13. Beaudrie led Day 1 with 19 pounds, then added 15-4 and 16-9.
In his first visit to the upper Mississippi River, Beaudrie dialed in a couple of productive areas with the vast fields of vegetation and focused on deeper zones along the grass edges. Channeling his Kentucky Lake experience with fall drawdowns, he targeted bigger fish that were holding in these safe zones.
“I started on the same spot every day,” Beaudrie said. “I pulled up on the spot this morning and caught two really good ones really quick and missed a couple of good ones.
“I caught my fish on a frog and a Picasso Lures spinnerbait.”
Stahl won the $750 Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 5-4.
Easton Fothergill of Grand Rapids, Minn., leads the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers standings with 1,422 points. Cody Meyer of Eagle, Idaho, is second with 1,395, followed by Tucker Smith of Birmingham, Ala., with 1,350, Emil Wagner of Marietta, Ga., with 1,331, and Andrew Loberg of Grant, Ala., with 1,327.
ExploreLaCrosse.com hosted the event.
2024 Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: St. Croix
2024 Bassmaster Opens Series Presenting Sponsor: SEVIIN
2024 Bassmaster Opens Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2024 Bassmaster Opens Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2024 Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
About B.A.S.S.B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
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Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 205-313-0945, cgay@bassmaster.
2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Mississippi River presented by SEVIIN 9/12-9/14 Mississippi River, La Crosse WI. (BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Cody Stahl Barnsville, GA 15 53-01 200 $48,607.00 Day 1: 5 15-09 Day 2: 5 18-00 Day 3: 5 19-08 2. Chris Hellebuyck White Lake, MI 15 52-07 199 $19,143.00 Day 1: 5 16-03 Day 2: 5 18-03 Day 3: 5 18-01 3. Chris Beaudrie Princeton, KY 15 50-13 198 $14,657.00 Day 1: 5 19-00 Day 2: 5 15-04 Day 3: 5 16-09 4. Garrett Paquette Canton, MI 15 50-03 197 $13,400.00 Day 1: 5 15-08 Day 2: 5 17-01 Day 3: 5 17-10 5. Cody Meyer Eagle, ID 15 49-04 196 $12,643.00 Day 1: 5 18-00 Day 2: 5 15-06 Day 3: 5 15-14 6. Josh Butler Hayden, AL 15 48-11 195 $11,486.00 Day 1: 5 16-15 Day 2: 5 15-14 Day 3: 5 15-14 7. Matt Adams Oxford, AL 15 47-12 194 $10,528.00 Day 1: 5 14-11 Day 2: 5 18-06 Day 3: 5 14-11 8. John Engler Vinton, IA 15 47-10 193 $9,572.00 Day 1: 5 16-05 Day 2: 5 17-09 Day 3: 5 13-12 9. Danny McGarry Newcastle CANADA 15 47-03 192 $9,572.00 Day 1: 5 17-09 Day 2: 5 16-01 Day 3: 5 13-09 10. Paul Marks Cumming, GA 15 46-12 191 $9,572.00 Day 1: 5 15-02 Day 2: 5 17-09 Day 3: 5 14-01 ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------- PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS Cody Stahl Barnsville, GA 05-04 $750.00 ------------------------------ ------------------------------ ----------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 177 982 2557-07 2 157 849 2198-09 3 10 50 159-09 ------------------------------ ---- 344 1881 4915-09
Hellebuyck pops into Day 2 lead in Bassmaster Open at Mississippi River
LA CROSSE, Wis. — Chris Hellebuyck knows what works, but he also knows what works a little better. Trusting his instincts, the White Lake, Mich., angler tallied 34 pounds, 6 ounces and leads Day 2 at the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Mississippi River presented by SEVIIN.
Hellebuyck placed 19th on Day 1 with 16-3 and took over the top spot by adding a second-round limit of 18-3.
With less than a pound between first and fifth places, Hellebuyck heads into Championship Saturday with a 2-ounce lead over Day 1 leader Chris Beaudrie.
“As much as I love coming here to frog and flip and do the Mississippi River stuff, I ended up doing something a little more similar to what I do back home,” Hellebuyck said. “My home lake is Lake St. Clair (Michigan) and I spend a lot of time in the St. Clair River, and the way I’m catching them here sets up very similar.
“I’m using a BOOYAH Boss Pop because I’m so comfortable doing that.”
Hellebuyck said he prefers a popper with a dressed rear treble, but he always uses No. 4 Gamakatsu hooks for their sharpness, reliability and holding power.
“Sometimes I’ll change hooks twice a day,” Hellebuyck said. “That is so important, and I have a really good landing ratio.”
Hellebuyck fished in Pool 8 and worked his bait around current. Throwing his popper along current lines, he surmised that the popper gave the fish a look they don’t often see.
“At home, I’ll get bit on a popper in 10 feet of water, but here I’m fishing 2 to 3 feet, so it’s easy for them to come up,” Hellebuyck said.
Catching most of his fish in the morning hours, Hellebuyck said presentation proved important to tempting pressured fish.
“It seemed like the slower I could get myself to chug that popper, the more bites I’d get,” he said. “It’s hard; sometimes you want to move that thing along, but it seems that the longer pause between each pop is what really gets bites.”
Hellebuyck said he also worked a jig and swimbait into his day, but the topwater was the clear favorite.
“The reason I use the popper is that it just seems to get bigger bites,” he said. “I don’t know why, but the bigger ones seem to like that.”
Beaudrie, who makes his home in Princeton, Ky., is in second place with 34-4. He started strong with 19 pounds on Day 1 and added 15-4.
Beaudrie returned to the same grass bed he fished on Day 1 but found two boats working the area. Fortunately, a first-round observation clued him in to something that helped get him back in the hunt.
“Yesterday afternoon when I went practicing, I stopped on an area that looked good for frogging and my co-angler caught a 4 1/2 there,” Beaudrie said. “I just left it alone as a backup, and that came in handy today. I caught about 15 keepers off that stretch.”
Same as Day 1, Beaudrie said the key to his success was targeting deeper zones along the grass edges. He caught his fish on a topwater walker, a frog and a Texas-rigged craw.
“I caught a lot of keepers today; I just didn’t find those lot bigger fish today,” Beaudrie said. “Hopefully, they’ll pull in for me tomorrow.”
John Engler of Vinton, Iowa, is in third with 33-14. After placing 18th on Day 1 with 16-05, Engler secured his final-round spot by adding 17-09.
Engler anchored his Day 1 limit with a 4-8 around 1 o’clock in Pool 8. He started his day in Pool 8 and locked down to Pool 9, but most of his weight came from the local pool.
“I actually caught the majority of my fish on Pool 8, so I didn’t need to lock, but it helps getting that solid limit in the boat because that takes a lot of pressure off,” Engler said. “There was a barge in the lock this morning, but I had a couple of fish in the boat when I went through, so that took some of the pressure off. I was able to start culling down there.”
A mix of baits including a topwater walker, a frog and a bladed jig produced Engler’s weight. The big fish bit the latter.
Bobby Bakewell of Orlando, Fla., is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 5-2.
Richard Conrad of Arcadia, Wis., won the co-angler division with 18-11. Day 1 found Conrad and Jimmy Brumfield of Madison, Miss., sharing the lead with 10-8 each. Adding a second-round limit of 8-3, Conrad surged across the finish line and collected the top prize of $15,300.
“It’s been a long road to get here,” Conrad said. “I fish a lot of big tournaments and I’ve been so close a few times.”
Conrad fished Pool 8 on Day 1 and locked down to Pool 9 for Day 2. His top bait was a 1/4-ounce Lethal Weapon swim jig with a twin-tail trailer.
“I just fished really hard, and it wasn’t easy,” Conrad said. “We didn’t get locked down until 9:30 and I was pretty nervous, but I got one key bite and that helped.
“I also did a little dragging with a craw and caught some fish on that, too. But that Lethal Weapon swim jig really paid off for me.”
Amanda Riley of Galesville, Wis., won the $250 Phoenix Boats Big Bass award among co-anglers with a 4-7.
Easton Fothergill of Grand Rapids, Minn., leads the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers standings with 1,422 points. Cody Meyer of Eagle, Idaho, is second with 1,394, followed by Tucker Smith of Birmingham, Ala., with 1,350, Emil Wagner of Marietta, Ga., with 1,331, and Andrew Loberg of Grant, Ala., with 1,327.
Saturday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:30 a.m. CT at Veterans Freedom Park. The weigh-in will be held at the park at 2:30 p.m.
Coverage of the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Mississippi River presented by SEVIIN will air on FS1 on Saturday from 8 to 11 a.m. ET. Bassmaster LIVE will be streaming on Bassmaster.com.
ExploreLaCrosse.com is hosting the event.
2024 Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: St. Croix
2024 Bassmaster Opens Series Presenting Sponsor: SEVIIN
2024 Bassmaster Opens Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2024 Bassmaster Opens Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2024 Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
About B.A.S.S.B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
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Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 205-313-0945, cgay@bassmaster.
2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Mississippi River presented by SEVIIN 9/12-9/14 Mississippi River, La Crosse WI. (BOATER) Standings Day 2
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Chris Hellebuyck White Lake, MI 10 34-06 200 Day 1: 5 16-03 Day 2: 5 18-03 2. Chris Beaudrie Princeton, KY 10 34-04 199 Day 1: 5 19-00 Day 2: 5 15-04 3. John Engler Vinton, IA 10 33-14 198 Day 1: 5 16-05 Day 2: 5 17-09 4. Danny McGarry Newcastle CANADA 10 33-10 197 Day 1: 5 17-09 Day 2: 5 16-01 5. Cody Stahl Barnsville, GA 10 33-09 196 Day 1: 5 15-09 Day 2: 5 18-00 6. Cody Meyer Eagle, ID 10 33-06 195 Day 1: 5 18-00 Day 2: 5 15-06 7. Matt Adams Oxford, AL 10 33-01 194 Day 1: 5 14-11 Day 2: 5 18-06 8. Josh Butler Hayden, AL 10 32-13 193 Day 1: 5 16-15 Day 2: 5 15-14 9. Paul Marks Cumming, GA 10 32-11 192 Day 1: 5 15-02 Day 2: 5 17-09 10. Garrett Paquette Canton, MI 10 32-09 191 Day 1: 5 15-08 Day 2: 5 17-01 11. Emil Wagner Marietta, GA 10 32-04 190 $8,614.00 Day 1: 5 15-10 Day 2: 5 16-10 12. Easton Fothergill Grand Rapids , MN 10 32-01 189 $6,700.00 Day 1: 5 16-09 Day 2: 5 15-08 13. Connor Jacob Auburn, AL 10 32-01 188 $5,743.00 Day 1: 5 15-12 Day 2: 5 16-05 14. Ish Monroe Oakdale, CA 10 32-00 187 $4,786.00 Day 1: 5 17-14 Day 2: 5 14-02 15. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 10 31-12 186 $4,786.00 Day 1: 5 15-02 Day 2: 5 16-10 16. Cade Laufenberg Onalaska, WI 10 31-10 185 $4,786.00 Day 1: 5 18-01 Day 2: 5 13-09 17. Brock Belik Orchard, NE 10 31-09 184 $4,786.00 Day 1: 5 14-01 Day 2: 5 17-08 18. Mike Brueggen La Crosse, WI 10 31-09 183 $4,786.00 Day 1: 5 16-10 Day 2: 5 14-15 19. Tucker Smith Birmingham, AL 10 31-08 182 $4,786.00 Day 1: 5 18-04 Day 2: 5 13-04 20. Beau Browning Hot Springs National Pa 10 31-06 181 $4,786.00 Day 1: 5 15-01 Day 2: 5 16-05 21. Jeremiah Shaver Holmen, WI 10 31-04 180 $4,786.00 Day 1: 5 12-10 Day 2: 5 18-10 22. Freddy Palmer Estill Springs, TN 10 31-03 179 $4,786.00 Day 1: 5 13-08 Day 2: 5 17-11 23. Blake Smith Lakeland, FL 10 31-03 178 $4,786.00 Day 1: 5 14-08 Day 2: 5 16-11 24. Adam Hamann Prairie Du Chien, IA 10 31-02 177 $4,786.00 Day 1: 5 15-11 Day 2: 5 15-07 25. Logan Parks Auburn, AL 10 30-15 176 $4,786.00 Day 1: 5 12-10 Day 2: 5 18-05 26. Dan Mohn Lansing, IA 10 30-09 175 $4,786.00 Day 1: 5 14-15 Day 2: 5 15-10 27. Bobby Bakewell Orlando, FL 10 30-08 174 $4,786.00 Day 1: 5 13-06 Day 2: 5 17-02 28. Yui Aoki Minamitsurugun JAPAN 10 30-07 173 $4,786.00 Day 1: 5 14-10 Day 2: 5 15-13 29. Kevin Ruh Onalaska, WI 10 30-05 172 $4,786.00 Day 1: 5 15-15 Day 2: 5 14-06 30. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 10 30-05 171 $4,786.00 Day 1: 5 14-13 Day 2: 5 15-08 31. Brett Hite Phoenix, AZ 10 30-04 170 $3,829.00 Day 1: 5 15-10 Day 2: 5 14-10 32. Joey Nania Cropwell, AL 10 30-02 169 $3,829.00 Day 1: 5 16-01 Day 2: 5 14-01 33. Andy Newcomb Camdenton, MO 10 30-01 168 $3,829.00 Day 1: 5 14-00 Day 2: 5 16-01 34. Kyle Patrick Cooperstown, NY 10 29-15 167 $3,829.00 Day 1: 5 12-14 Day 2: 5 17-01 35. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 10 29-14 166 $3,829.00 Day 1: 5 13-08 Day 2: 5 16-06 36. Nick Trim Galesville, WI 10 29-14 165 $3,829.00 Day 1: 5 15-07 Day 2: 5 14-07 37. Tom Monsoor La Crosse, WI 10 29-10 164 $3,829.00 Day 1: 5 15-02 Day 2: 5 14-08 38. Tai Au Glendale, AZ 10 29-06 163 $3,829.00 Day 1: 5 14-09 Day 2: 5 14-13 39. Garrett Warren Scottsboro, AL 10 29-05 162 $3,829.00 Day 1: 5 14-14 Day 2: 5 14-07 40. Andrew Behnke Fond Du Lac, WI 10 29-04 161 $3,829.00 Day 1: 5 15-07 Day 2: 5 13-13 41. Kyle Seubert Chaseburg, WI 10 29-03 160 $3,829.00 Day 1: 5 13-14 Day 2: 5 15-05 42. Andrew Loberg Grant, AL 10 29-03 159 $3,829.00 Day 1: 5 14-15 Day 2: 5 14-04 43. Lance Keene Manistee, MI 10 29-02 158 $3,829.00 Day 1: 5 15-13 Day 2: 5 13-05 44. Dakota Ebare Brookeland, TX 10 29-02 157 $3,829.00 Day 1: 5 14-06 Day 2: 5 14-12 45. Randall Tharp Port St. Joe, FL 10 29-01 156 $3,829.00 Day 1: 5 16-09 Day 2: 5 12-08 46. Brian Post Janesville, WI 10 28-15 155 Day 1: 5 16-01 Day 2: 5 12-14 47. Kyle Minke Lindsrom, MN 10 28-08 154 Day 1: 5 13-12 Day 2: 5 14-12 48. Casey Goode La Crosse, WI 10 28-07 153 Day 1: 5 13-10 Day 2: 5 14-13 49. Trey Schroeder Theodosia, MO 10 28-05 152 Day 1: 5 14-11 Day 2: 5 13-10 50. Brady Vernon Sterrett, AL 9 28-04 151 Day 1: 5 18-05 Day 2: 4 09-15 51. Jason Elliott Warsaw, IN 10 28-03 150 Day 1: 5 14-01 Day 2: 5 14-02 52. Alex Redwine Blue Ash, OH 10 28-02 149 Day 1: 5 14-10 Day 2: 5 13-08 53. Darold Gleason Many, LA 10 28-01 148 Day 1: 5 15-14 Day 2: 5 12-03 54. Brad Leuthner Victoria, MN 10 28-00 147 Day 1: 5 17-05 Day 2: 5 10-11 55. Jack Dice Lynchburg, VA 10 28-00 146 Day 1: 5 15-04 Day 2: 5 12-12 56. Kollin Crawford Broken Bow, OK 10 27-15 145 Day 1: 5 14-06 Day 2: 5 13-09 57. Adam Crigger Le Claire, IA 10 27-14 144 Day 1: 5 14-09 Day 2: 5 13-05 58. Brandon Gann Sparta, WI 10 27-12 143 Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 5 14-05 59. Bailey Bleser Burlington, WI 10 27-11 142 Day 1: 5 13-14 Day 2: 5 13-13 60. Nathan Thompson Eagan, MN 10 27-10 141 Day 1: 5 15-07 Day 2: 5 12-03 61. Clayton Weber West Salem, WI 10 27-10 140 Day 1: 5 15-03 Day 2: 5 12-07 62. Charlie Hartley Grove City, OH 10 27-10 139 Day 1: 5 13-05 Day 2: 5 14-05 62. Kenta Kimura Osaka OK JAPAN 10 27-10 139 Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 5 13-05 64. Elijah Benson Dahlonega, GA 10 27-09 137 Day 1: 5 15-04 Day 2: 5 12-05 65. Cody Steckel Las Vegas, NV 10 27-08 136 Day 1: 5 12-01 Day 2: 5 15-07 66. Satoshi Egawa Fort Lee, NJ 9 27-06 135 Day 1: 5 17-02 Day 2: 4 10-04 67. Cole Drummond Effingham, SC 10 27-02 134 Day 1: 5 12-10 Day 2: 5 14-08 68. Seth Feider New Market, MN 10 27-01 133 Day 1: 5 16-13 Day 2: 5 10-04 69. Kevin Dritschler Prosper, TX 10 26-14 132 Day 1: 5 11-10 Day 2: 5 15-04 70. Andrew Julson Stoughton, WI 10 26-14 131 Day 1: 5 11-15 Day 2: 5 14-15 71. Tristan McCormick Burns, TN 10 26-13 130 Day 1: 5 11-13 Day 2: 5 15-00 72. Derek Lehtonen Woodruff, SC 10 26-10 129 Day 1: 5 14-13 Day 2: 5 11-13 73. Jack Tindel III Orange, TX 10 26-10 128 Day 1: 5 13-10 Day 2: 5 13-00 74. Mike McClelland Blue Eye, MO 10 26-10 127 Day 1: 5 13-04 Day 2: 5 13-06 75. Chris Aswegan Tiffin, IA 10 26-06 126 Day 1: 5 13-15 Day 2: 5 12-07 76. Jimmy Washam Stantonville, TN 10 26-01 125 Day 1: 5 11-02 Day 2: 5 14-15 77. Kyle Austin Ridgeville, SC 10 26-01 124 Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 5 12-10 78. Russ Lane Prattville, AL 10 26-00 123 Day 1: 5 11-10 Day 2: 5 14-06 79. Dave Parsons Yantis, TX 10 26-00 122 Day 1: 5 14-02 Day 2: 5 11-14 80. Aaron Jagdfeld Rochester Hills, MI 10 25-14 121 Day 1: 5 13-02 Day 2: 5 12-12 81. James Niggemeyer Van, TX 10 25-11 120 Day 1: 5 11-07 Day 2: 5 14-04 82. Casey Scanlon Eldon, MO 10 25-10 119 Day 1: 5 13-14 Day 2: 5 11-12 83. James Watson Lampe, MO 10 25-10 118 Day 1: 5 12-05 Day 2: 5 13-05 84. Chad Pipkens Dewitt, MI 10 25-10 117 Day 1: 5 13-00 Day 2: 5 12-10 85. Zach Goutremout Chaumont, NY 10 25-09 116 Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 5 11-04 86. Evan Kung Pickering Ontario CANAD 10 25-09 115 Day 1: 5 12-14 Day 2: 5 12-11 87. Richard Lowitzki Fort Myers, FL 10 25-08 114 Day 1: 5 10-15 Day 2: 5 14-09 88. Parker Kratochvill Onalaska, WI 9 25-07 113 Day 1: 5 16-10 Day 2: 4 08-13 89. Christian Ostrander Turlock, CA 10 25-07 112 Day 1: 5 14-04 Day 2: 5 11-03 90. Trey Swindle Cleveland, AL 10 25-07 111 Day 1: 5 13-03 Day 2: 5 12-04 91. Josh Douglas Isle, MN 10 25-05 110 Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 5 13-07 91. Tommy Dunaway Havana, FL 10 25-05 110 Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 5 13-07 93. Kyle Weisenburger Columbus Grv, OH 10 25-04 108 Day 1: 5 10-14 Day 2: 5 14-06 94. Steven Caldwell Whitesboro, TX 10 25-04 107 Day 1: 5 11-05 Day 2: 5 13-15 95. Greg Bohannan Bentonville, AR 10 25-04 106 Day 1: 5 13-14 Day 2: 5 11-06 96. Allen Armour Cumming, GA 10 25-03 105 Day 1: 5 13-12 Day 2: 5 11-07 97. Glenn Walker Savage, MN 10 25-02 104 Day 1: 5 11-12 Day 2: 5 13-06 98. Chris Blanchette Edisto Island, SC 10 25-01 103 Day 1: 5 13-09 Day 2: 5 11-08 99. Rich Lindgren Lakeville, MN 10 25-01 102 Day 1: 5 13-02 Day 2: 5 11-15 100. Masayuki Matsushita Porter TX JAPAN 10 25-01 101 Day 1: 5 12-03 Day 2: 5 12-14 101. Caden Cowan Stephenville, TX 10 25-00 100 Day 1: 5 13-04 Day 2: 5 11-12 102. Tyler Lubbat Wheeling, IL 10 24-14 99 Day 1: 5 14-01 Day 2: 5 10-13 103. Teb Jones Yalaha, MS 10 24-14 98 Day 1: 5 12-03 Day 2: 5 12-11 104. Doc Wootton Collierville, TN 10 24-12 97 Day 1: 5 12-03 Day 2: 5 12-09 105. Yukihiro Sawamura Harker Heights, TX 10 24-11 96 Day 1: 5 13-01 Day 2: 5 11-10 106. Fernando Lobato Sparta, WI 10 24-11 95 Day 1: 5 12-04 Day 2: 5 12-07 107. Dalton Smith Taylorsville, KY 10 24-09 94 Day 1: 5 11-08 Day 2: 5 13-01 108. Christopher Welch Fall River, WI 10 24-09 93 Day 1: 5 12-03 Day 2: 5 12-06 109. Adam Bartusek Clearwater, MN 10 24-05 92 Day 1: 5 11-12 Day 2: 5 12-09 109. Lafe Messer Warfield, KY 10 24-05 92 Day 1: 5 12-09 Day 2: 5 11-12 111. Jody Gardner Tippecanoe, OH 10 24-03 90 Day 1: 5 12-08 Day 2: 5 11-11 112. Harvey Horne Bella Vista, AR 10 24-02 89 Day 1: 5 12-07 Day 2: 5 11-11 113. Jeremy Radford Huntly, VA 10 23-15 88 Day 1: 5 12-02 Day 2: 5 11-13 114. Josh Wiesner Fon du Lac, WI 10 23-13 87 Day 1: 5 12-12 Day 2: 5 11-01 115. Trevor McKinney Noble, IL 10 23-12 86 Day 1: 5 13-03 Day 2: 5 10-09 116. Jacob Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 10 23-12 85 Day 1: 5 11-04 Day 2: 5 12-08 117. Brandon McMillan Clewiston, FL 10 23-09 84 Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 5 12-08 118. Cody Bird Granbury, TX 10 23-08 83 Day 1: 5 11-12 Day 2: 5 11-12 119. Matt Thompson Stacy, MN 10 23-07 82 Day 1: 5 09-05 Day 2: 5 14-02 120. Billy Gilbert Hamburg, NY 8 23-07 81 Day 1: 5 13-13 Day 2: 3 09-10 121. Alexander Welter Onalaska, WI 10 23-07 80 Day 1: 5 12-01 Day 2: 5 11-06 122. Cole Zagrzebski Stevens Point, WI 10 23-05 79 Day 1: 5 11-07 Day 2: 5 11-14 123. Andrew Smith Chesterfield, MI 10 23-04 78 Day 1: 5 13-03 Day 2: 5 10-01 124. Chase Clarke Virginia Beach, VA 10 23-02 77 Day 1: 5 12-04 Day 2: 5 10-14 125. Cody Detweiler Guntersville, AL 10 23-00 76 Day 1: 5 10-07 Day 2: 5 12-09 126. Brett Cannon Kiln, MS 10 22-11 75 Day 1: 5 11-04 Day 2: 5 11-07 127. Bryan Finch Belton, TX 10 22-10 74 Day 1: 5 12-08 Day 2: 5 10-02 128. Blake Schroeder Whitehouse, TX 10 22-07 73 Day 1: 5 10-04 Day 2: 5 12-03 129. Lucas Murphy West Columbia, MI 10 22-05 72 Day 1: 5 09-11 Day 2: 5 12-10 130. Randy Ramsey Burlington, MI 10 22-04 71 Day 1: 5 12-09 Day 2: 5 09-11 131. Laker Howell Guntersville, AL 10 22-04 70 Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 5 10-06 132. Kevin Johnson Sparta, WI 10 22-04 69 Day 1: 5 10-10 Day 2: 5 11-10 133. Jackson Swisher Lake City, FL 10 22-02 68 Day 1: 5 12-12 Day 2: 5 09-06 134. Jim Moynagh Remer, MN 10 22-01 67 Day 1: 5 10-09 Day 2: 5 11-08 135. Vue Thao Madison, WI 10 22-00 66 Day 1: 5 11-02 Day 2: 5 10-14 136. Jack York Emory, TX 9 21-13 65 Day 1: 5 14-00 Day 2: 4 07-13 137. Joe Wieberg Freeburg, MO 10 21-12 64 Day 1: 5 10-09 Day 2: 5 11-03 138. Jacob Bigelow Cecil, WI 10 21-11 63 Day 1: 5 10-05 Day 2: 5 11-06 139. Chris Kingree Inverness, FL 10 21-07 62 Day 1: 5 09-13 Day 2: 5 11-10 140. Phillip Kroll Otego, NY 10 21-00 61 Day 1: 5 09-07 Day 2: 5 11-09 140. Matt Messer Warfield, KY 10 21-00 61 Day 1: 5 09-07 Day 2: 5 11-09 142. Ethen Preston Tower City, ND 8 20-13 59 Day 1: 4 11-03 Day 2: 4 09-10 143. Chad Grigsby Maple Grove, MN 10 20-12 58 Day 1: 5 09-14 Day 2: 5 10-14 144. Avery Williams Murrells Inlt, SC 10 20-11 57 Day 1: 5 10-06 Day 2: 5 10-05 145. Kyle Palmer Winchester, TN 8 20-06 56 Day 1: 3 07-01 Day 2: 5 13-05 146. Sam Hanggi Knoxville, TN 10 19-11 55 Day 1: 5 09-14 Day 2: 5 09-13 147. Dylan Mayo Athens, TX 10 19-10 54 Day 1: 5 10-11 Day 2: 5 08-15 148. Lance Crawford Broken Bow, OK 10 19-10 53 Day 1: 5 09-12 Day 2: 5 09-14 149. Paul Browning Monahans, TX 10 19-01 52 Day 1: 5 09-09 Day 2: 5 09-08 150. Tripp Noojin Bryant, AL 10 18-15 51 Day 1: 5 08-13 Day 2: 5 10-02 151. Clint Leonard Jr Saint Cloud, FL 8 18-13 50 Day 1: 3 06-13 Day 2: 5 12-00 152. Scott Isaacs Ladonia, TX 8 18-11 49 Day 1: 4 09-03 Day 2: 4 09-08 153. Parker Knudsen Minnetonka, MN 8 18-08 48 Day 1: 3 05-10 Day 2: 5 12-14 154. Joey Punko Broomfield, CO 9 17-14 47 Day 1: 4 08-00 Day 2: 5 09-14 155. Tadd Johnson Lakeville, MN 8 17-11 46 Day 1: 3 05-01 Day 2: 5 12-10 156. Billy McDonald Greenwood, IN 8 17-11 45 Day 1: 5 11-08 Day 2: 3 06-03 157. Logan Johnson Jasper, AL 9 17-11 44 Day 1: 4 07-12 Day 2: 5 09-15 158. Brayden Rakes Winston Salem, NC 7 17-05 43 Day 1: 2 06-11 Day 2: 5 10-10 159. Randy Howell Guntersville, AL 10 17-03 42 Day 1: 5 17-03 Day 2: 5 00-00 160. Brent Shores Boise, ID 8 17-00 41 Day 1: 3 06-00 Day 2: 5 11-00 161. Bryan Partak Marseilles, IL 10 16-15 40 Day 1: 5 12-02 Day 2: 5 04-13 162. Mike Feldermann Galena, IL 5 16-08 39 Day 1: 5 16-08 Day 2: 0 00-00 162. Jay Przekurat Plover, WI 5 16-08 39 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 16-08 164. Keith Brumfield Vicksburg, MS 7 16-04 37 Day 1: 3 06-05 Day 2: 4 09-15 165. Scout Echols Monticello, AR 8 15-13 36 Day 1: 3 06-08 Day 2: 5 09-05 166. Cliff Pace Ovett, MS 5 15-02 35 Day 1: 5 15-02 Day 2: 0 00-00 167. Brian Bengtson Bloomington, MN 8 14-11 34 Day 1: 5 07-13 Day 2: 3 06-14 168. Mitch Van Ert Okauchee, WI 5 14-08 33 Day 1: 5 14-08 Day 2: 0 00-00 169. David Boelkins Waukesha, WI 5 14-07 32 Day 1: 5 14-07 Day 2: 0 00-00 170. Chancy Walters West Des Moines, IA 10 14-05 31 Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 5 00-00 171. Jamie Bruce Kenora Ontario CANADA 5 14-05 30 Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 0 00-00 172. Clemente Gutierrez Woodbridge, VA 7 13-11 29 Day 1: 4 07-13 Day 2: 3 05-14 173. Brady Hanna Silvis, IL 5 13-08 28 Day 1: 5 13-08 Day 2: 0 00-00 174. Casey Ashley Donalds, SC 5 13-07 27 Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 0 00-00 174. John Voyles Petersburg, IN 5 13-07 27 Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 0 00-00 176. Scott Kerslake Okeechobee, FL 5 13-05 25 Day 1: 2 03-12 Day 2: 3 09-09 177. Dale Salzmann Hazel Green, WI 6 13-04 24 Day 1: 1 01-14 Day 2: 5 11-06 178. Daisuke Kita Ostu Shiga JAPAN 6 13-04 23 Day 1: 3 06-12 Day 2: 3 06-08 179. David Bromenshenkel Sauk Centre, MN 6 13-01 22 Day 1: 5 10-13 Day 2: 1 02-04 180. Joey Hanna Corsicana, TX 6 12-14 21 Day 1: 2 04-14 Day 2: 4 08-00 181. Manny Sciberras Liberty Twp, OH 5 12-13 20 Day 1: 5 12-13 Day 2: 0 00-00 182. Robert Gee Knoxville, TN 5 12-06 19 Day 1: 5 12-06 Day 2: 0 00-00 183. Brady Schran Zumbrota, MN 5 12-02 18 Day 1: 2 03-13 Day 2: 3 08-05 184. Zack Williams Shell Knob, MO 5 12-01 17 Day 1: 5 12-01 Day 2: 0 00-00 185. Fritz Lubinski Rochester, MN 5 11-14 16 Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 0 00-00 186. Andrew Harp Linden, TX 5 11-13 15 Day 1: 5 11-13 Day 2: 0 00-00 187. Ty Faber Pagosa Springs, CO 5 11-11 14 Day 1: 5 11-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 187. Cody Salzmann Southgate, MI 5 11-11 14 Day 1: 5 11-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 189. Sean Clayton Seneca, SC 6 11-07 12 Day 1: 4 07-13 Day 2: 2 03-10 190. Tim Frederick Leesburg, FL 5 11-06 11 Day 1: 5 11-06 Day 2: 0 00-00 191. Adam Rasmussen Sturgeon Bay, WI 5 11-03 10 Day 1: 5 11-03 Day 2: 0 00-00 192. Kenny Mittelstaedt Minnetonka, MN 5 11-01 9 Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 0 00-00 193. Brandyn Baum La Crosse, WI 5 10-10 8 Day 1: 5 10-10 Day 2: 0 00-00 194. Andy Dassow Medford, WI 5 10-06 7 Day 1: 5 10-06 Day 2: 0 00-00 194. Jordan Knutson Saint Croix Falls, WI 5 10-06 7 Day 1: 5 10-06 Day 2: 0 00-00 196. Derrick Sadlowski Monaca, PA 5 10-00 5 Day 1: 5 10-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 197. Kevin Ledoux Choctaw, OK 5 09-13 4 Day 1: 4 06-14 Day 2: 1 02-15 198. Austin Cranford Norman, OK 5 09-12 3 Day 1: 4 08-01 Day 2: 1 01-11 199. A.J. Menssen Bloomington, IL 5 09-07 2 Day 1: 5 09-07 Day 2: 0 00-00 200. Wayne Hall Cottonwood, AZ 4 09-01 1 Day 1: 4 09-01 Day 2: 0 00-00 201. Andrew Hargrove Moody, TX 5 08-15 0 Day 1: 3 05-09 Day 2: 2 03-06 202. Ryan Redmann Brandon, WI 4 08-00 0 Day 1: 4 08-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 203. Brian Bird Eastland, TX 4 07-14 0 Day 1: 4 07-14 Day 2: 0 00-00 204. Mike Mayo Athens, TX 4 07-08 0 Day 1: 4 07-08 Day 2: 0 00-00 205. Chris Miller Spirit Lake, IA 3 06-15 0 Day 1: 3 06-15 Day 2: 0 00-00 206. Tim Tyndell Mineola, TX 3 06-07 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 06-07 207. Frankie Arado Eastman, WI 3 05-11 0 Day 1: 3 05-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 208. Tony Dumitras Winston, GA 2 04-12 0 Day 1: 2 04-12 Day 2: 0 00-00 209. Mark Tonjum Spencer, IA 2 03-11 0 Day 1: 2 03-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 210. Lance Owen Greer, SC 2 03-07 0 Day 1: 2 03-07 Day 2: 0 00-00 211. Austin Anderson Ashley, IN 1 02-03 0 Day 1: 1 02-03 Day 2: 0 00-00 212. Bo Thomas Edwardsburg, MI 1 02-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 02-00 213. Brian Fitzpatrick La Crosse, WI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 213. Joseph Titus Bemidji, MN 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 213. Kelvin Wilcox Hazlehurst, GA 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 177 982 2557-07 2 157 849 2198-09 ------------------------------ ---- 334 1831 4756-00
2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Mississippi River presented by SEVIIN 9/12-9/14 Mississippi River, La Crosse WI. (NON_BOATER) Standings Day 2
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Richard Conrad Arcadia, WI 6 18-11 200 $15,300.00 Day 1: 3 10-08 Day 2: 3 08-03 2. Ricardo Guzman Farmington, MO 6 17-15 199 $3,600.00 Day 1: 3 08-01 Day 2: 3 09-14 3. Mack Traynor Hanover, MN 6 16-12 198 $2,700.00 Day 1: 3 08-10 Day 2: 3 08-02 4. Niko Romero Coldspring, TX 6 15-10 197 $2,025.00 Day 1: 3 09-02 Day 2: 3 06-08 5. Chris Stelter Chisago City, MN 6 15-10 196 $1,890.00 Day 1: 3 08-01 Day 2: 3 07-09 6. Jimmy Brumfield Madison, MS 6 15-09 195 $1,800.00 Day 1: 3 10-08 Day 2: 3 05-01 7. Leo Morris Beaver Dam, WI 6 15-03 194 $1,710.00 Day 1: 3 07-02 Day 2: 3 08-01 8. Josh Hubbard Citrus Springs, FL 6 14-15 193 $1,620.00 Day 1: 3 07-04 Day 2: 3 07-11 9. Levi Warner Hilbert, WI 6 14-14 192 $1,485.00 Day 1: 3 06-14 Day 2: 3 08-00 10. Calvin Landsberg Raleigh, NC 6 14-14 191 $1,350.00 Day 1: 3 07-01 Day 2: 3 07-13 11. John Miller Sunrise Beach, MO 6 14-14 190 $1,260.00 Day 1: 3 07-12 Day 2: 3 07-02 12. Jason Barber Gun Barrel City, TX 6 14-12 189 $1,170.00 Day 1: 3 05-03 Day 2: 3 09-09 13. Dan Mcadams Reedsburg, WI 6 14-11 188 $990.00 Day 1: 3 07-14 Day 2: 3 06-13 14. Roy Biwer Shakopee, MN 6 14-11 187 $900.00 Day 1: 3 07-02 Day 2: 3 07-09 15. Chad Stahl Barnesville, GA 6 14-11 186 $810.00 Day 1: 3 07-03 Day 2: 3 07-08 16. Tanner Visco Chicago, IL 6 14-05 185 $720.00 Day 1: 3 08-05 Day 2: 3 06-00 17. Shane Kuehn Bennington, NE 6 14-05 184 $675.00 Day 1: 3 07-02 Day 2: 3 07-03 17. Nic Rand Paw Paw, MI 6 14-05 184 $675.00 Day 1: 3 07-02 Day 2: 3 07-03 19. David Ondrla Elmhurst, IL 6 14-02 182 $675.00 Day 1: 3 07-09 Day 2: 3 06-09 20. Larry Peterson Hammond, WI 6 14-01 181 $675.00 Day 1: 3 06-11 Day 2: 3 07-06 21. Andrew Brandstrom Shoreview, MN 6 14-00 180 $630.00 Day 1: 3 06-02 Day 2: 3 07-14 22. JJ Patton Eldridge, IA 6 14-00 179 $630.00 Day 1: 3 06-07 Day 2: 3 07-09 23. Brian Forcier Akron, IA 6 14-00 178 $630.00 Day 1: 3 06-10 Day 2: 3 07-06 24. Anthony Kromke La Crosse, WI 6 13-15 177 $630.00 Day 1: 3 08-03 Day 2: 3 05-12 25. Erik Gaffron Hanover, MN 6 13-12 176 $585.00 Day 1: 3 07-08 Day 2: 3 06-04 25. Mark Ripp Belmont, WI 6 13-12 176 $585.00 Day 1: 3 07-08 Day 2: 3 06-04 27. Mitch Johnson Dayton, OH 5 13-09 174 $540.00 Day 1: 2 04-04 Day 2: 3 09-05 28. Gary Haraguchi Murfreesboro, TN 6 13-09 173 $540.00 Day 1: 3 05-08 Day 2: 3 08-01 29. Dennis Duffy Westmont, IL 6 13-08 172 $540.00 Day 1: 3 07-06 Day 2: 3 06-02 30. Christopher Morgan Greendale, WI 6 13-07 171 $540.00 Day 1: 3 05-11 Day 2: 3 07-12 31. Brandon Troupe Chicago, IL 6 13-07 170 $495.00 Day 1: 3 06-07 Day 2: 3 07-00 32. Mike Steckel Las Vegas, NV 6 13-05 169 $495.00 Day 1: 3 07-05 Day 2: 3 06-00 33. Jimmy Obrien Southampton, NY 5 13-05 168 $495.00 Day 1: 2 06-01 Day 2: 3 07-04 34. Taylor Umland Carlock, IL 6 13-03 167 $495.00 Day 1: 3 07-10 Day 2: 3 05-09 35. Joshua Kantor Tomah, WI 6 13-00 166 $495.00 Day 1: 3 07-03 Day 2: 3 05-13 36. Josh Mohn Lansing, IA 6 13-00 165 $495.00 Day 1: 3 06-00 Day 2: 3 07-00 37. Eugene Kim Lindenhurst, IL 6 12-12 164 $495.00 Day 1: 3 06-11 Day 2: 3 06-01 38. Tom Howland Riceville, IA 5 12-09 163 $495.00 Day 1: 3 07-15 Day 2: 2 04-10 39. Donald Biggs Murphysboro, IL 6 12-09 162 $495.00 Day 1: 3 05-10 Day 2: 3 06-15 40. Hayden Spradling Gilbert, AZ 6 12-07 161 $495.00 Day 1: 3 06-10 Day 2: 3 05-13 41. Willie Meyer North Mankato, MN 6 12-06 160 Day 1: 3 06-03 Day 2: 3 06-03 42. Danny Knispel Grimes, IA 4 12-05 159 Day 1: 3 09-14 Day 2: 1 02-07 43. Jacob Collins Hillsboro, IL 6 12-04 158 Day 1: 3 05-08 Day 2: 3 06-12 44. David Riggs Highland, IL 4 12-03 157 Day 1: 3 10-03 Day 2: 1 02-00 45. Gary Baranowski Otsego, MN 6 12-03 156 Day 1: 3 07-02 Day 2: 3 05-01 46. Richard Kiblinger Kansas City, KS 4 12-02 155 Day 1: 1 04-02 Day 2: 3 08-00 47. Bob Zagrzebski Stevens Point, WI 5 12-01 154 Day 1: 3 07-15 Day 2: 2 04-02 48. Dawson Wisner Palatka, FL 6 12-01 153 Day 1: 3 04-11 Day 2: 3 07-06 49. Danny Mancini Necedah, WI 6 12-01 152 Day 1: 3 05-08 Day 2: 3 06-09 50. Jamie Gomez Holmen, WI 5 11-14 151 Day 1: 3 07-10 Day 2: 2 04-04 51. Ty Kenyon Dodgeville, WI 4 11-11 150 Day 1: 1 02-01 Day 2: 3 09-10 52. Andre Yee Columbia, SC 5 11-10 149 Day 1: 3 08-03 Day 2: 2 03-07 53. Patrick Andres Long Grove, IL 4 11-05 148 Day 1: 2 05-03 Day 2: 2 06-02 54. Adam Omlid Grand Forks, ND 4 11-04 147 Day 1: 1 02-07 Day 2: 3 08-13 55. Albert Jones Jr Covington, GA 5 11-01 146 Day 1: 2 04-02 Day 2: 3 06-15 56. Chase Traeger Lino Lakes, MN 5 10-09 145 Day 1: 2 04-01 Day 2: 3 06-08 57. Makoto Maehira Hiroshima JAPAN 5 10-08 144 Day 1: 3 06-09 Day 2: 2 03-15 58. Matthew Cunningham Independence, MN 3 10-03 143 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 10-03 59. Shawn Overton Coal Valley, IL 5 10-02 142 Day 1: 3 06-08 Day 2: 2 03-10 60. Mark Cowart Kearney, MO 5 09-15 141 Day 1: 2 02-12 Day 2: 3 07-03 61. Greg Spaid Brainerd, MN 4 09-14 140 Day 1: 1 02-04 Day 2: 3 07-10 62. Zachary Demler Marinette, WI 4 09-14 139 Day 1: 1 02-12 Day 2: 3 07-02 63. Maggie Carsello Stoughton, WI 4 09-12 138 Day 1: 1 01-13 Day 2: 3 07-15 64. Mark Schill Minneapolis, MN 4 09-12 137 Day 1: 3 05-13 Day 2: 1 03-15 65. Amanda Riley Galesville, WI 4 09-11 136 $250.00 Day 1: 3 07-14 Day 2: 1 01-13 66. Jimmy Fellegy Mustang, OK 5 09-10 135 Day 1: 2 03-04 Day 2: 3 06-06 67. Sean Lofgren Forest Lake, MN 3 09-09 134 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 09-09 67. Joshua Sokol Orland Park, IL 3 09-09 134 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 09-09 69. Dave Van Ert Watertown, WI 4 09-07 132 Day 1: 1 02-13 Day 2: 3 06-10 70. Kyle Dowdy El Paso, IL 5 08-12 131 Day 1: 3 05-04 Day 2: 2 03-08 71. Jerry Fullen Clifton, TX 4 08-10 130 Day 1: 1 01-15 Day 2: 3 06-11 72. Nick Veselka Fishers, IN 4 08-08 129 Day 1: 1 02-05 Day 2: 3 06-03 73. Kurt Chelminiak Delafield, WI 5 08-07 128 Day 1: 2 02-14 Day 2: 3 05-09 74. Hunter Stanislawski Lake Geneva, WI 5 08-06 127 Day 1: 2 03-11 Day 2: 3 04-11 75. Todd Lee Jasper, AL 3 08-03 126 Day 1: 2 05-08 Day 2: 1 02-11 76. Curt Blomquist Wright, MN 4 08-02 125 Day 1: 3 05-06 Day 2: 1 02-12 77. Troy Jutting Savage, MN 4 08-01 124 Day 1: 3 05-08 Day 2: 1 02-09 78. Richard Simmons Pewamo , MI 3 07-10 123 Day 1: 3 07-10 Day 2: 0 00-00 79. David Zimmermann Eagan, MN 4 07-09 122 Day 1: 3 05-12 Day 2: 1 01-13 80. William Salzmann Galena, IL 4 07-09 121 Day 1: 3 05-11 Day 2: 1 01-14 81. Carson Knutson St Croix Falls, WI 4 07-09 120 Day 1: 2 04-03 Day 2: 2 03-06 82. Aaron Konopacki New Albin, IA 6 07-08 119 Day 1: 3 07-08 Day 2: 3 00-00 83. Darrin Wood Rochester, MN 3 07-07 118 Day 1: 3 07-07 Day 2: 0 00-00 84. Klaus Kuester Forest Park, IL 4 07-06 117 Day 1: 1 01-15 Day 2: 3 05-07 85. Landon Winton Salado, TX 4 07-05 116 Day 1: 1 01-13 Day 2: 3 05-08 86. Matt Houman Chisago City, MN 4 07-04 115 Day 1: 1 02-01 Day 2: 3 05-03 87. Bradley Juen La Crosse, WI 3 07-03 114 Day 1: 2 04-00 Day 2: 1 03-03 88. Daniel Vasquez Boynton Beach, FL 4 07-01 113 Day 1: 1 01-12 Day 2: 3 05-05 89. Matt Commerford Wendell, MN 4 07-00 112 Day 1: 3 05-04 Day 2: 1 01-12 90. Scott Dunn Morris, IL 3 06-13 111 Day 1: 2 05-04 Day 2: 1 01-09 91. Kevin Yeska Madison, WI 2 06-11 110 Day 1: 2 06-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 92. Adam Panoff Waukesha, WI 3 06-10 109 Day 1: 3 06-10 Day 2: 0 00-00 93. Christopher Majerle Trenton, MI 3 06-10 108 Day 1: 1 01-09 Day 2: 2 05-01 94. Steven Lopez Sparta, WI 3 06-08 107 Day 1: 3 06-08 Day 2: 0 00-00 95. Devin Sulk Marinette, WI 3 06-07 106 Day 1: 1 02-08 Day 2: 2 03-15 96. Brian Brecka Alma, WI 3 06-06 105 Day 1: 3 06-06 Day 2: 0 00-00 96. Mark Dempsey Dixon, IL 3 06-06 105 Day 1: 3 06-06 Day 2: 0 00-00 96. Art Gneuhs Plainfield, IL 3 06-06 105 Day 1: 3 06-06 Day 2: 0 00-00 96. Jason Steger Stanley, WI 3 06-06 105 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 06-06 100. Stephen Martens Milwaukee, WI 3 06-05 101 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 06-05 101. David Waack Cary, NC 3 06-02 100 Day 1: 1 01-15 Day 2: 2 04-03 102. Sean Ruegemer Bloomington, MN 3 06-02 99 Day 1: 2 03-10 Day 2: 1 02-08 103. Tyler Jaskiewicz Rogers, AR 3 06-01 98 Day 1: 3 06-01 Day 2: 0 00-00 103. Gary Michalski Naperville, IL 3 06-01 98 Day 1: 3 06-01 Day 2: 0 00-00 105. Eric Breitkreutz Sheboygan, WI 2 06-01 96 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 06-01 106. Brad Thieman Sioux City, IA 3 06-01 95 Day 1: 1 01-10 Day 2: 2 04-07 107. Justin Oppegard Eagan, MN 3 06-00 94 Day 1: 2 04-11 Day 2: 1 01-05 108. Don Kimmel Fishers, IN 3 05-15 93 Day 1: 1 02-05 Day 2: 2 03-10 109. Scott Dondlinger Scottsboro, AL 3 05-14 92 Day 1: 1 02-04 Day 2: 2 03-10 110. Kenny Stelter Forest Lake, MN 2 05-10 91 Day 1: 2 05-10 Day 2: 0 00-00 111. Brandon Welke Lacrescent, MN 3 05-07 90 Day 1: 1 01-15 Day 2: 2 03-08 112. Scott Hill Sunrise Beach, MO 3 05-05 89 Day 1: 3 05-05 Day 2: 0 00-00 113. Bob Harper Lombard, IL 2 04-11 88 Day 1: 1 02-12 Day 2: 1 01-15 114. Troy Sippl Sussex, WI 2 04-10 87 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 04-10 115. Michael Zawicki Muskego, WI 2 04-04 86 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 04-04 116. Charles Johnson Newberry, MI 2 03-12 85 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 03-12 117. Ma Xiong Menomonee Falls, WI 2 03-09 84 Day 1: 2 03-09 Day 2: 0 00-00 118. Martin Terveer Otsego, MN 2 03-06 83 Day 1: 2 03-06 Day 2: 0 00-00 119. Derrick Peterson Brooklyn Park, MN 2 03-03 82 Day 1: 2 03-03 Day 2: 0 00-00 120. Alex Grimbos Innisfil CANADA 1 02-13 81 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 02-13 121. Tom Lyskawka Arlington Heights , IL 1 02-07 80 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 02-07 122. Nicholas Van Ert Menomonee Falls, WI 1 02-06 79 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 02-06 123. John Rawdin Jr Foosland, IL 1 02-03 78 Day 1: 1 02-03 Day 2: 0 00-00 124. Gary Dennis Ravenswood, WV 1 02-01 77 Day 1: 1 02-01 Day 2: 0 00-00 125. Will Yelverton Hazel Green, AL 1 02-00 76 Day 1: 1 02-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 126. Tim Krantz Somonauk, IL 1 01-14 75 Day 1: 1 01-14 Day 2: 0 00-00 127. Aric Wilber Saint Paul, MN 1 01-09 74 Day 1: 1 01-09 Day 2: 0 00-00 128. Patrick Bartley Waconia, MN 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 128. Tim Berg Prior Lake, MN 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 128. Thomas Berkowitz Littleton, MA 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 128. Tristian Dupuis Shreveport, LA 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 128. Brad Goetz Waunakee, WI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 128. Carter Golat Bruce, WI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 128. Matt Kelley Detroit, MI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 128. Larry Miller Onalaska, WI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 69 273 624-11 2 69 265 606-09 ------------------------------ ---- 138 538 1231-04
MLF Announces Expanded 2025 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Schedule
MLF’s grassroots weekend circuit expands to 12 Regional tournaments, allowing bass anglers to compete closer to home for lucrative prizes and qualify for the 43rd Annual BFL All-American Championship
BENTON, Ky. (Sept. 13, 2024) – Major League Fishing (MLF) announced today the 2025 schedule for the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine (BFL), highlighted by the expansion to 12 Regional tournaments. This expansion ensures that grassroots MLF anglers can fish closer to home on lakes they know and love for a chance to win a $50,000 Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower outboard as a boater and a new $20,000 cash award as a co-angler, plus qualification into the BFL All-American Championship.
Increasing the number of Regional tournaments to 12 will allow 65 boaters and co-anglers to qualify from each division – up from 50 in 2024 – while simultaneously reducing the field size in each Regional from 200 to 130 boats.
With advancement opportunities to the All-American, Toyota Series Championship and REDCREST – the Bass Pro Tour championship – for a shot at winning top awards of $120,000, $235,000 and $300,000, respectively, the BFL offers the best payouts and advancement opportunities for the lowest entry fee available anywhere.
“The Phoenix Bass Fishing League is the foundation of tournament bass fishing,” said MLF Executive Vice President & General Manager Kathy Fennel. “Our passionate BFL anglers represent the single largest group of bass tournament anglers in the world. They are the lifeblood of MLF that keeps the industry moving forward, and we are excited to provide them with the highest-quality, most rewarding, close-to-home weekend tournaments available anywhere.”
The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, including five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments. There they’ll compete to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American.
The 2025 BFL All-American, for qualifiers from the 2024 season, will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Full program details, including payouts, rules and entry dates, will be announced later this fall. For the complete 2025 BFL schedule visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
2025 MLF Phoenix BFL Regional Tournament Schedule:
Oct. 3-4
Hosted by Richmond Region Tourism
Oct. 3-4
Hosted by Shore & Islands Ohio
Oct. 3-4
Hosted by Visit Lake Norman and Visit Charlotte & Mecklenburg
Oct. 3-4
Hosted by Visit Quad Cities
Oct. 10-11 Douglas Lake (Mountain & Music City) Dandridge, Tenn.
Hosted by Visit Jefferson County TN
Oct. 10-11 Grand Lake (Okie & Ozark) Grove, Okla.
Hosted by the City of Grove and the Grove Convention and Tourism Bureau
Oct. 10-11 Kentucky Lake (Hoosier & Mississippi) Buchanan, Tenn.
Hosted by the Henry County – Tourism Authority
Oct. 10-11 Lake Murray (North Carolina & Savannah River) Columbia, S.C.
Hosted by the Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board
Oct. 10-11 Logan Martin Lake (Bama & Choo Choo) Lincoln, Ala.
Hosted by the City of Lincoln
Oct. 17-18 Lake Seminole (Bulldog & Gator) Bainbridge, Ga.
Hosted by Visit Bainbridge
Oct. 24-25 Dale Hollow Reservoir (LBL & Volunteer) Byrdstown, Tenn.
Hosted by the Byrdstown-Pickett County Chamber of Commerce
Oct. 24-25 Lake Eufaula (Arkie & Cowboy) Eufaula, Okla.
Hosted by Vision Eufaula
Proud sponsors of the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.
For the latest tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
2024 Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship set for Florida’s Apalachicola Bay
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Ten teams will compete for their share of a $100,000 purse when the 2024 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter travels to Apalachicola Bay in Apalachicola, Fla., Oct. 25-27. Tournament launches and weight reveal will be at Scipio Creek Marina located at 301 Market St. in Apalachicola, Fla.
“We are extremely excited to bring this Redfish Cup Championship to Florida for the first time,” said B.A.S.S. Executive Director of Tournaments Hank Weldon. “Showcasing the waters of the northern Gulf live on both FS1 and Bassmaster.com will provide great entertainment for fishing fans.”
The fourth annual no-entry fee event will feature four Bassmaster All-Star teams made up of four Bassmaster Elite Series pros and four Skeeter/Yamaha saltwater pros. The four Bassmaster All-Star teams are:
- Forrest Wood Cup and St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by SEVIIN champion Justin Atkins and charter captain Krista Miller, known in many circles as “Krista Redfish.”
- Elite Series champion John Garrett and sixth-generation Floridian and charter captain and guide Chad Manning.
- Five-time Elite Series champion Brandon Palaniuk and three-time Redfish Cup Championship qualifier Chris Cenci.
- Six-time Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors qualifier Shane Lehew and Plant City, Fla., charter guide Mike Goodwine.
The Bassmaster All-Star teams will be joined by defending champions Fred Myers III and Cody Chivas as well as five additional teams — two from the Power-Pole National Redfish Tour Presented by Mercury: the team of Carter Myers and James Drysdale and the team of Ryan Rickard and Pat Marsonek, two from the Elite Solo Tour (TBD) and one from the Professional Redfish League (TBD).
The format for the Redfish Cup Championship will be a catch, weigh and release format. Teams will be able to weigh their two largest legal slot-limit (18 to 27 inches) fish per boat, per day.
Coverage of the Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship will air on FS1 on Saturday and Sunday from 8 to 11 a.m. ET. Bassmaster LIVE will be streaming on Bassmaster.com all three days.
The local sponsor of the 2024 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter is Florida’s Forgotten Coast.
2024 Redfish Cup Championship Title Sponsor: Yamaha
2024 Redfish Cup Championship Presenting Sponsor: Skeeter Boats
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Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 205-313-0945, [email protected]
Beaudrie finds fallback spots for Day 1 lead in Bassmaster Open at Mississippi River
Sept. 12, 2024
LA CROSSE, Wis. — It might sound intrusive, but Chris Beaudrie of Princeton, Ky., exploited safe spaces to sack up a 19-pound limit that leads Day 1 of the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Mississippi River presented by SEVIIN.
In a tight race where only 1-14 separates first and 10th places, Beaudrie leads Brady Vernon by 11 ounces. Making his first visit to the upper Mississippi River, Beaudrie said his lack of local experience plus the minefield of shallow bars and obstructions proved daunting.
“It was really tough for me to navigate this place in low water because I’ve never been here,” he said. “I just tried to put myself in good places.”
Addressing the newness, Beaudrie drew upon his Tennessee River knowledge. Seasonally, the fall reservoir drawdowns that impact his home waters have taught him what bass prefer during falling-water periods like the upper Mississippi has recently experienced.
“It was just understanding the conditions and adjusting to that,” Beaudrie said. “They’ve had high water all year, and I’m sure that had fish positioned a little easier to catch. But I knew the falling water would pull them out and group them up.”
Beaudrie’s intuition was spot-on, as he found most of his fish in deeper troughs along the shallow grass beds.
“I’m looking for ditches and (deeper) edges that run up against these shallow grass beds,” Beaudrie said. “It’s just a safe haven for them to pull to. If you have 300 yards of a foot and a half of water and the water’s been falling for a week or more, they gotta get out of there.
“That’s what I struggled with in practice. Shallow wasn’t working and everywhere that looked good didn’t have hardly any water. I just did what instinct told me to do and I looked for their safe haven.”
Spending his day in Pool 8, Beaudrie said that after the cooler temperatures of practice week, he had been waiting for warmer weather. This week’s warming trend is working in his favor, as it seems to be stimulating his shallow fish.
Beaudrie said he caught his fish early on topwaters and once the day turned sunny and the water slicked off, the bite slowed significantly. During that tough period, he explored other areas and switched to slower presentations, which yielded a couple of key culls.
“On the way in, I culled out a 3 1/4 with a 4 maybe 2 miles from the weigh-in,” Beaudrie said. “I had over 18 pounds before that.”
Looking at his Day 2 plan, Beaudrie said: “I think I pushed those (early fish) to another area in the mat. Luckily, I was able to relocate them, so, hopefully, I can get back on them tomorrow.”
Hailing from Sterrett, Ala., Vernon is in second place with 18-5. Given the late-summer falling-water scenario, he said he’s happy with the day’s productivity.
“I was surprised to catch what I did; I was expecting 15 to 16 to be at the top,” he said. “I caught 16 and some change pretty early. I (locked) up to Pool 7 and had that by like 8:45.
“I fished around for about 2 hours and I wasn’t getting any bites, so I was like, ‘I’m probably going to go back down to Pool 8 before I get stuck up here.’”
Relying on a clue from practice, Vernon started his day by targeting vast duckweed mats with blown-in eelgrass. He caught those early fish on a frog.
“I found a key place in practice that I got three bites out of, and they were big ones,” Vernon said. “I went back there this morning, and I had no idea, but I caught them fast out of one mat.
“I found one little place that’s deeper than the rest of the bay. I think all the wind in practice pushed the dead eelgrass and matted it up. It kind of protected what I was fishing.”
After leaving Pool 7 around 11:30, Vernon flipped a big jig in hopes of finding another big bite. This strategy added two of his keepers, including a 4-pounder that culled out a 2.8-pounder.
Tucker Smith of Birmingham, Ala., is in third place with 18-4. Entering the tournament fourth in the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Opens Elite Qualifier (EQ) points, Smith opted to protect his standing by remaining in Pool 8 and minimizing the risk of lock delays.
“I did a few different things today,” Smith said of his diverse game plan. “This morning was tough. I caught a limit really quick, but it was only like 9 to 10 pounds.
“I fished hard all day and finally pulled up on a place and caught two 2 1/2s. Then I pulled up on another place and caught a smallmouth that was 4-12 and a 3 1/2. I fished a couple more places and caught some nice largemouth.”
Smith caught his fish on a mix of reaction baits and slow presentations. Maintaining his composure under pressure was essential to his productive day.
“It’s so hard to stay calm, especially when you’re in the points race, to keep a calm mind,” Smith said. “I was out there by myself today. I didn’t have a co-angler, so I really just thought to myself and tried to stay calm. I just ran around a bunch and eventually caught some.”
Satoshi Egawa of Fort Lee, N.J., is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 4-14.
Jimmy Brumfield of Madison, Miss., and Richard Conrad of Arcadia, Wis., share the lead in the co-angler division with 10-8.
Amanda Riley or Galesville, Wis., holds the Phoenix Boats Big Bass lead among co-anglers with a 4-7.
Friday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:30 a.m. CT at Veterans Freedom Park. The weigh-in will be held at the park at 2:30 p.m.
Coverage of the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Mississippi River presented by SEVIIN will air on FS1 on Saturday from 8 to 11 a.m. ET. Bassmaster LIVE will be streaming on Bassmaster.com Friday and Saturday.
ExploreLaCrosse.com is hosting the event.
2024 Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: St. Croix
2024 Bassmaster Opens Series Presenting Sponsor: SEVIIN
2024 Bassmaster Opens Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2024 Bassmaster Opens Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2024 Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
About B.A.S.S.B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
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Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 205-313-0945, cgay@bassmaster.
2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Mississippi River presented by SEVIIN 9/12-9/14 Mississippi River, La Crosse WI. (BOATER) Standings Day 1
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Chris Beaudrie Princeton, KY 5 19-00 200 Day 1: 5 19-00 2. Brady Vernon Sterrett, AL 5 18-05 199 Day 1: 5 18-05 3. Tucker Smith Birmingham, AL 5 18-04 198 Day 1: 5 18-04 4. Cade Laufenberg Onalaska, WI 5 18-01 197 Day 1: 5 18-01 5. Cody Meyer Eagle, ID 5 18-00 196 Day 1: 5 18-00 6. Ish Monroe Oakdale, CA 5 17-14 195 Day 1: 5 17-14 7. Danny McGarry Newcastle CANADA 5 17-09 194 Day 1: 5 17-09 8. Brad Leuthner Victoria, MN 5 17-05 193 Day 1: 5 17-05 9. Randy Howell Guntersville, AL 5 17-03 192 Day 1: 5 17-03 10. Satoshi Egawa Fort Lee, NJ 5 17-02 191 Day 1: 5 17-02 11. Josh Butler Hayden, AL 5 16-15 190 Day 1: 5 16-15 12. Seth Feider New Market, MN 5 16-13 189 Day 1: 5 16-13 13. Mike Brueggen La Crosse, WI 5 16-10 188 Day 1: 5 16-10 13. Parker Kratochvill Onalaska, WI 5 16-10 188 Day 1: 5 16-10 15. Randall Tharp Port St. Joe, FL 5 16-09 186 Day 1: 5 16-09 16. Easton Fothergill Grand Rapids , MN 5 16-09 185 Day 1: 5 16-09 17. Mike Feldermann Galena, IL 5 16-08 184 Day 1: 5 16-08 18. John Engler Vinton, IA 5 16-05 183 Day 1: 5 16-05 19. Chris Hellebuyck White Lake, MI 5 16-03 182 Day 1: 5 16-03 20. Joey Nania Cropwell, AL 5 16-01 181 Day 1: 5 16-01 20. Brian Post Janesville, WI 5 16-01 181 Day 1: 5 16-01 22. Kevin Ruh Onalaska, WI 5 15-15 179 Day 1: 5 15-15 23. Darold Gleason Many, LA 5 15-14 178 Day 1: 5 15-14 24. Lance Keene Manistee, MI 5 15-13 177 Day 1: 5 15-13 25. Connor Jacob Auburn, AL 5 15-12 176 Day 1: 5 15-12 26. Adam Hamann Prairie Du Chien, IA 5 15-11 175 Day 1: 5 15-11 27. Brett Hite Phoenix, AZ 5 15-10 174 Day 1: 5 15-10 27. Emil Wagner Marietta, GA 5 15-10 174 Day 1: 5 15-10 29. Cody Stahl Barnsville, GA 5 15-09 172 Day 1: 5 15-09 30. Garrett Paquette Canton, MI 5 15-08 171 Day 1: 5 15-08 31. Andrew Behnke Fond Du Lac, WI 5 15-07 170 Day 1: 5 15-07 31. Nathan Thompson Eagan, MN 5 15-07 170 Day 1: 5 15-07 31. Nick Trim Galesville, WI 5 15-07 170 Day 1: 5 15-07 34. Elijah Benson Dahlonega, GA 5 15-04 167 Day 1: 5 15-04 34. Jack Dice Lynchburg, VA 5 15-04 167 Day 1: 5 15-04 36. Clayton Weber West Salem, WI 5 15-03 165 Day 1: 5 15-03 37. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 5 15-02 164 Day 1: 5 15-02 37. Paul Marks Cumming, GA 5 15-02 164 Day 1: 5 15-02 37. Tom Monsoor La Crosse, WI 5 15-02 164 Day 1: 5 15-02 37. Cliff Pace Ovett, MS 5 15-02 164 Day 1: 5 15-02 41. Beau Browning Hot Springs National Pa 5 15-01 160 Day 1: 5 15-01 42. Andrew Loberg Grant, AL 5 14-15 159 Day 1: 5 14-15 42. Dan Mohn Lansing, IA 5 14-15 159 Day 1: 5 14-15 44. Garrett Warren Scottsboro, AL 5 14-14 157 Day 1: 5 14-14 45. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 5 14-13 156 Day 1: 5 14-13 45. Derek Lehtonen Woodruff, SC 5 14-13 156 Day 1: 5 14-13 47. Matt Adams Oxford, AL 5 14-11 154 Day 1: 5 14-11 47. Trey Schroeder Theodosia, MO 5 14-11 154 Day 1: 5 14-11 49. Yui Aoki Minamitsurugun JAPAN 5 14-10 152 Day 1: 5 14-10 49. Alex Redwine Blue Ash, OH 5 14-10 152 Day 1: 5 14-10 51. Tai Au Glendale, AZ 5 14-09 150 Day 1: 5 14-09 51. Adam Crigger Le Claire, IA 5 14-09 150 Day 1: 5 14-09 53. Blake Smith Lakeland, FL 5 14-08 148 Day 1: 5 14-08 53. Mitch Van Ert Okauchee, WI 5 14-08 148 Day 1: 5 14-08 55. David Boelkins Waukesha, WI 5 14-07 146 Day 1: 5 14-07 56. Kollin Crawford Broken Bow, OK 5 14-06 145 Day 1: 5 14-06 56. Dakota Ebare Brookeland, TX 5 14-06 145 Day 1: 5 14-06 58. Jamie Bruce Kenora Ontario CANADA 5 14-05 143 Day 1: 5 14-05 58. Zach Goutremout Chaumont, NY 5 14-05 143 Day 1: 5 14-05 58. Kenta Kimura Osaka OK JAPAN 5 14-05 143 Day 1: 5 14-05 58. Chancy Walters West Des Moines, IA 5 14-05 143 Day 1: 5 14-05 62. Christian Ostrander Turlock, CA 5 14-04 139 Day 1: 5 14-04 63. Dave Parsons Yantis, TX 5 14-02 138 Day 1: 5 14-02 64. Brock Belik Orchard, NE 5 14-01 137 Day 1: 5 14-01 64. Jason Elliott Warsaw, IN 5 14-01 137 Day 1: 5 14-01 64. Tyler Lubbat Wheeling, IL 5 14-01 137 Day 1: 5 14-01 67. Andy Newcomb Camdenton, MO 5 14-00 134 Day 1: 5 14-00 67. Jack York Emory, TX 5 14-00 134 Day 1: 5 14-00 69. Chris Aswegan Tiffin, IA 5 13-15 132 Day 1: 5 13-15 70. Bailey Bleser Burlington, WI 5 13-14 131 Day 1: 5 13-14 70. Greg Bohannan Bentonville, AR 5 13-14 131 Day 1: 5 13-14 70. Casey Scanlon Eldon, MO 5 13-14 131 Day 1: 5 13-14 70. Kyle Seubert Chaseburg, WI 5 13-14 131 Day 1: 5 13-14 74. Billy Gilbert Hamburg, NY 5 13-13 127 Day 1: 5 13-13 75. Allen Armour Cumming, GA 5 13-12 126 Day 1: 5 13-12 75. Kyle Minke Lindsrom, MN 5 13-12 126 Day 1: 5 13-12 77. Casey Goode La Crosse, WI 5 13-10 124 Day 1: 5 13-10 77. Jack Tindel III Orange, TX 5 13-10 124 Day 1: 5 13-10 79. Chris Blanchette Edisto Island, SC 5 13-09 122 Day 1: 5 13-09 80. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 5 13-08 121 Day 1: 5 13-08 80. Brady Hanna Silvis, IL 5 13-08 121 Day 1: 5 13-08 80. Freddy Palmer Estill Springs, TN 5 13-08 121 Day 1: 5 13-08 83. Casey Ashley Donalds, SC 5 13-07 118 Day 1: 5 13-07 83. Kyle Austin Ridgeville, SC 5 13-07 118 Day 1: 5 13-07 83. Brandon Gann Sparta, WI 5 13-07 118 Day 1: 5 13-07 83. John Voyles Petersburg, IN 5 13-07 118 Day 1: 5 13-07 87. Bobby Bakewell Orlando, FL 5 13-06 114 Day 1: 5 13-06 88. Charlie Hartley Grove City, OH 5 13-05 113 Day 1: 5 13-05 89. Caden Cowan Stephenville, TX 5 13-04 112 Day 1: 5 13-04 89. Mike McClelland Blue Eye, MO 5 13-04 112 Day 1: 5 13-04 91. Trevor McKinney Noble, IL 5 13-03 110 Day 1: 5 13-03 91. Andrew Smith Chesterfield, MI 5 13-03 110 Day 1: 5 13-03 91. Trey Swindle Cleveland, AL 5 13-03 110 Day 1: 5 13-03 94. Aaron Jagdfeld Rochester Hills, MI 5 13-02 107 Day 1: 5 13-02 94. Rich Lindgren Lakeville, MN 5 13-02 107 Day 1: 5 13-02 96. Yukihiro Sawamura Harker Heights, TX 5 13-01 105 Day 1: 5 13-01 97. Chad Pipkens Dewitt, MI 5 13-00 104 Day 1: 5 13-00 98. Evan Kung Pickering Ontario CANAD 5 12-14 103 Day 1: 5 12-14 98. Kyle Patrick Cooperstown, NY 5 12-14 103 Day 1: 5 12-14 100. Manny Sciberras Liberty Twp, OH 5 12-13 101 Day 1: 5 12-13 101. Jackson Swisher Lake City, FL 5 12-12 100 Day 1: 5 12-12 101. Josh Wiesner Fon du Lac, WI 5 12-12 100 Day 1: 5 12-12 103. Cole Drummond Effingham, SC 5 12-10 98 Day 1: 5 12-10 103. Logan Parks Auburn, AL 5 12-10 98 Day 1: 5 12-10 103. Jeremiah Shaver Holmen, WI 5 12-10 98 Day 1: 5 12-10 106. Lafe Messer Warfield, KY 5 12-09 95 Day 1: 5 12-09 106. Randy Ramsey Burlington, MI 5 12-09 95 Day 1: 5 12-09 108. Bryan Finch Belton, TX 5 12-08 93 Day 1: 5 12-08 108. Jody Gardner Tippecanoe, OH 5 12-08 93 Day 1: 5 12-08 110. Harvey Horne Bella Vista, AR 5 12-07 91 Day 1: 5 12-07 111. Robert Gee Knoxville, TN 5 12-06 90 Day 1: 5 12-06 112. James Watson Lampe, MO 5 12-05 89 Day 1: 5 12-05 113. Chase Clarke Virginia Beach, VA 5 12-04 88 Day 1: 5 12-04 113. Fernando Lobato Sparta, WI 5 12-04 88 Day 1: 5 12-04 115. Teb Jones Yalaha, MS 5 12-03 86 Day 1: 5 12-03 115. Masayuki Matsushita Porter TX JAPAN 5 12-03 86 Day 1: 5 12-03 115. Christopher Welch Fall River, WI 5 12-03 86 Day 1: 5 12-03 115. Doc Wootton Collierville, TN 5 12-03 86 Day 1: 5 12-03 119. Bryan Partak Marseilles, IL 5 12-02 82 Day 1: 5 12-02 119. Jeremy Radford Huntly, VA 5 12-02 82 Day 1: 5 12-02 121. Cody Steckel Las Vegas, NV 5 12-01 80 Day 1: 5 12-01 121. Alexander Welter Onalaska, WI 5 12-01 80 Day 1: 5 12-01 121. Zack Williams Shell Knob, MO 5 12-01 80 Day 1: 5 12-01 124. Andrew Julson Stoughton, WI 5 11-15 77 Day 1: 5 11-15 125. Josh Douglas Isle, MN 5 11-14 76 Day 1: 5 11-14 125. Tommy Dunaway Havana, FL 5 11-14 76 Day 1: 5 11-14 125. Laker Howell Guntersville, AL 5 11-14 76 Day 1: 5 11-14 128. Fritz Lubinski Rochester, MN 5 11-14 73 Day 1: 5 11-14 129. Andrew Harp Linden, TX 5 11-13 72 Day 1: 5 11-13 129. Tristan McCormick Burns, TN 5 11-13 72 Day 1: 5 11-13 131. Adam Bartusek Clearwater, MN 5 11-12 70 Day 1: 5 11-12 131. Cody Bird Granbury, TX 5 11-12 70 Day 1: 5 11-12 131. Glenn Walker Savage, MN 5 11-12 70 Day 1: 5 11-12 134. Ty Faber Pagosa Springs, CO 5 11-11 67 Day 1: 5 11-11 134. Cody Salzmann Southgate, MI 5 11-11 67 Day 1: 5 11-11 136. Kevin Dritschler Prosper, TX 5 11-10 65 Day 1: 5 11-10 136. Russ Lane Prattville, AL 5 11-10 65 Day 1: 5 11-10 138. Billy McDonald Greenwood, IN 5 11-08 63 Day 1: 5 11-08 138. Dalton Smith Taylorsville, KY 5 11-08 63 Day 1: 5 11-08 140. James Niggemeyer Van, TX 5 11-07 61 Day 1: 5 11-07 140. Cole Zagrzebski Stevens Point, WI 5 11-07 61 Day 1: 5 11-07 142. Tim Frederick Leesburg, FL 5 11-06 59 Day 1: 5 11-06 143. Steven Caldwell Whitesboro, TX 5 11-05 58 Day 1: 5 11-05 144. Brett Cannon Kiln, MS 5 11-04 57 Day 1: 5 11-04 144. Jacob Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 5 11-04 57 Day 1: 5 11-04 146. Adam Rasmussen Sturgeon Bay, WI 5 11-03 55 Day 1: 5 11-03 147. Ethen Preston Tower City, ND 4 11-03 54 Day 1: 4 11-03 148. Vue Thao Madison, WI 5 11-02 53 Day 1: 5 11-02 148. Jimmy Washam Stantonville, TN 5 11-02 53 Day 1: 5 11-02 150. Brandon McMillan Clewiston, FL 5 11-01 51 Day 1: 5 11-01 150. Kenny Mittelstaedt Minnetonka, MN 5 11-01 51 Day 1: 5 11-01 152. Richard Lowitzki Fort Myers, FL 5 10-15 49 Day 1: 5 10-15 153. Kyle Weisenburger Columbus Grv, OH 5 10-14 48 Day 1: 5 10-14 154. David Bromenshenkel Sauk Centre, MN 5 10-13 47 Day 1: 5 10-13 155. Dylan Mayo Athens, TX 5 10-11 46 Day 1: 5 10-11 156. Brandyn Baum La Crosse, WI 5 10-10 45 Day 1: 5 10-10 156. Kevin Johnson Sparta, WI 5 10-10 45 Day 1: 5 10-10 158. Jim Moynagh Remer, MN 5 10-09 43 Day 1: 5 10-09 158. Joe Wieberg Freeburg, MO 5 10-09 43 Day 1: 5 10-09 160. Cody Detweiler Guntersville, AL 5 10-07 41 Day 1: 5 10-07 161. Andy Dassow Medford, WI 5 10-06 40 Day 1: 5 10-06 161. Jordan Knutson Saint Croix Falls, WI 5 10-06 40 Day 1: 5 10-06 161. Avery Williams Murrells Inlt, SC 5 10-06 40 Day 1: 5 10-06 164. Jacob Bigelow Cecil, WI 5 10-05 37 Day 1: 5 10-05 165. Blake Schroeder Whitehouse, TX 5 10-04 36 Day 1: 5 10-04 166. Derrick Sadlowski Monaca, PA 5 10-00 35 Day 1: 5 10-00 167. Chad Grigsby Maple Grove, MN 5 09-14 34 Day 1: 5 09-14 167. Sam Hanggi Knoxville, TN 5 09-14 34 Day 1: 5 09-14 169. Chris Kingree Inverness, FL 5 09-13 32 Day 1: 5 09-13 170. Lance Crawford Broken Bow, OK 5 09-12 31 Day 1: 5 09-12 171. Lucas Murphy West Columbia, MI 5 09-11 30 Day 1: 5 09-11 172. Paul Browning Monahans, TX 5 09-09 29 Day 1: 5 09-09 173. Phillip Kroll Otego, NY 5 09-07 28 Day 1: 5 09-07 173. A.J. Menssen Bloomington, IL 5 09-07 28 Day 1: 5 09-07 173. Matt Messer Warfield, KY 5 09-07 28 Day 1: 5 09-07 176. Matt Thompson Stacy, MN 5 09-05 25 Day 1: 5 09-05 177. Scott Isaacs Ladonia, TX 4 09-03 24 Day 1: 4 09-03 178. Wayne Hall Cottonwood, AZ 4 09-01 23 Day 1: 4 09-01 179. Tripp Noojin Bryant, AL 5 08-13 22 Day 1: 5 08-13 180. Austin Cranford Norman, OK 4 08-01 21 Day 1: 4 08-01 181. Joey Punko Broomfield, CO 4 08-00 20 Day 1: 4 08-00 181. Ryan Redmann Brandon, WI 4 08-00 20 Day 1: 4 08-00 183. Brian Bird Eastland, TX 4 07-14 18 Day 1: 4 07-14 184. Brian Bengtson Bloomington, MN 5 07-13 17 Day 1: 5 07-13 185. Sean Clayton Seneca, SC 4 07-13 16 Day 1: 4 07-13 185. Clemente Gutierrez Woodbridge, VA 4 07-13 16 Day 1: 4 07-13 187. Logan Johnson Jasper, AL 4 07-12 14 Day 1: 4 07-12 188. Mike Mayo Athens, TX 4 07-08 13 Day 1: 4 07-08 189. Kyle Palmer Winchester, TN 3 07-01 12 Day 1: 3 07-01 190. Chris Miller Spirit Lake, IA 3 06-15 11 Day 1: 3 06-15 191. Kevin Ledoux Choctaw, OK 4 06-14 10 Day 1: 4 06-14 192. Clint Leonard Jr Saint Cloud, FL 3 06-13 9 Day 1: 3 06-13 193. Daisuke Kita Ostu Shiga JAPAN 3 06-12 8 Day 1: 3 06-12 194. Brayden Rakes Winston Salem, NC 2 06-11 7 Day 1: 2 06-11 195. Scout Echols Monticello, AR 3 06-08 6 Day 1: 3 06-08 196. Keith Brumfield Vicksburg, MS 3 06-05 5 Day 1: 3 06-05 197. Brent Shores Boise, ID 3 06-00 4 Day 1: 3 06-00 198. Frankie Arado Eastman, WI 3 05-11 3 Day 1: 3 05-11 199. Parker Knudsen Minnetonka, MN 3 05-10 2 Day 1: 3 05-10 200. Andrew Hargrove Moody, TX 3 05-09 1 Day 1: 3 05-09 201. Tadd Johnson Lakeville, MN 3 05-01 0 Day 1: 3 05-01 202. Joey Hanna Corsicana, TX 2 04-14 0 Day 1: 2 04-14 203. Tony Dumitras Winston, GA 2 04-12 0 Day 1: 2 04-12 204. Brady Schran Zumbrota, MN 2 03-13 0 Day 1: 2 03-13 205. Scott Kerslake Okeechobee, FL 2 03-12 0 Day 1: 2 03-12 206. Mark Tonjum Spencer, IA 2 03-11 0 Day 1: 2 03-11 207. Lance Owen Greer, SC 2 03-07 0 Day 1: 2 03-07 208. Austin Anderson Ashley, IN 1 02-03 0 Day 1: 1 02-03 209. Dale Salzmann Hazel Green, WI 1 01-14 0 Day 1: 1 01-14 210. Brian Fitzpatrick La Crosse, WI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 210. Jay Przekurat Plover, WI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 210. Bo Thomas Edwardsburg, MI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 210. Joseph Titus Bemidji, MN 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 210. Tim Tyndell Mineola, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 210. Kelvin Wilcox Hazlehurst, GA 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 177 982 2557-07 ------------------------------ ---- 177 982 2557-07
2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Mississippi River presented by SEVIIN 9/12-9/14 Mississippi River, La Crosse WI. (NON_BOATER) Standings Day 1
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Jimmy Brumfield Madison, MS 3 10-08 200 Day 1: 3 10-08 1. Richard Conrad Arcadia, WI 3 10-08 200 Day 1: 3 10-08 3. David Riggs Highland, IL 3 10-03 198 Day 1: 3 10-03 4. Danny Knispel Grimes, IA 3 09-14 197 Day 1: 3 09-14 5. Niko Romero Coldspring, TX 3 09-02 196 Day 1: 3 09-02 6. Mack Traynor Hanover, MN 3 08-10 195 Day 1: 3 08-10 7. Tanner Visco Chicago, IL 3 08-05 194 Day 1: 3 08-05 8. Anthony Kromke La Crosse, WI 3 08-03 193 Day 1: 3 08-03 8. Andre Yee Columbia, SC 3 08-03 193 Day 1: 3 08-03 10. Ricardo Guzman Farmington, MO 3 08-01 191 Day 1: 3 08-01 10. Chris Stelter Chisago City, MN 3 08-01 191 Day 1: 3 08-01 12. Tom Howland Riceville, IA 3 07-15 189 Day 1: 3 07-15 12. Bob Zagrzebski Stevens Point, WI 3 07-15 189 Day 1: 3 07-15 14. Dan Mcadams Reedsburg, WI 3 07-14 187 Day 1: 3 07-14 14. Amanda Riley Galesville, WI 3 07-14 187 Day 1: 3 07-14 16. John Miller Sunrise Beach, MO 3 07-12 185 Day 1: 3 07-12 17. Jamie Gomez Holmen, WI 3 07-10 184 Day 1: 3 07-10 17. Richard Simmons Pewamo , MI 3 07-10 184 Day 1: 3 07-10 17. Taylor Umland Carlock, IL 3 07-10 184 Day 1: 3 07-10 20. David Ondrla Elmhurst, IL 3 07-09 181 Day 1: 3 07-09 21. Erik Gaffron Hanover, MN 3 07-08 180 Day 1: 3 07-08 21. Aaron Konopacki New Albin, IA 3 07-08 180 Day 1: 3 07-08 21. Mark Ripp Belmont, WI 3 07-08 180 Day 1: 3 07-08 24. Darrin Wood Rochester, MN 3 07-07 177 Day 1: 3 07-07 25. Dennis Duffy Westmont, IL 3 07-06 176 Day 1: 3 07-06 26. Mike Steckel Las Vegas, NV 3 07-05 175 Day 1: 3 07-05 27. Josh Hubbard Citrus Springs, FL 3 07-04 174 Day 1: 3 07-04 28. Joshua Kantor Tomah, WI 3 07-03 173 Day 1: 3 07-03 28. Chad Stahl Barnesville, GA 3 07-03 173 Day 1: 3 07-03 30. Gary Baranowski Otsego, MN 3 07-02 171 Day 1: 3 07-02 30. Roy Biwer Shakopee, MN 3 07-02 171 Day 1: 3 07-02 30. Shane Kuehn Bennington, NE 3 07-02 171 Day 1: 3 07-02 30. Leo Morris Beaver Dam, WI 3 07-02 171 Day 1: 3 07-02 30. Nic Rand Paw Paw, MI 3 07-02 171 Day 1: 3 07-02 35. Calvin Landsberg Raleigh, NC 3 07-01 166 Day 1: 3 07-01 36. Levi Warner Hilbert, WI 3 06-14 165 Day 1: 3 06-14 37. Larry Peterson Hammond, WI 3 06-11 164 Day 1: 3 06-11 38. Eugene Kim Lindenhurst, IL 3 06-11 163 Day 1: 3 06-11 39. Kevin Yeska Madison, WI 2 06-11 162 Day 1: 2 06-11 40. Brian Forcier Akron, IA 3 06-10 161 Day 1: 3 06-10 40. Adam Panoff Waukesha, WI 3 06-10 161 Day 1: 3 06-10 40. Hayden Spradling Gilbert, AZ 3 06-10 161 Day 1: 3 06-10 43. Makoto Maehira Hiroshima JAPAN 3 06-09 158 Day 1: 3 06-09 44. Steven Lopez Sparta, WI 3 06-08 157 Day 1: 3 06-08 44. Shawn Overton Coal Valley, IL 3 06-08 157 Day 1: 3 06-08 46. JJ Patton Eldridge, IA 3 06-07 155 Day 1: 3 06-07 46. Brandon Troupe Chicago, IL 3 06-07 155 Day 1: 3 06-07 48. Brian Brecka Alma, WI 3 06-06 153 Day 1: 3 06-06 48. Mark Dempsey Dixon, IL 3 06-06 153 Day 1: 3 06-06 48. Art Gneuhs Plainfield, IL 3 06-06 153 Day 1: 3 06-06 51. Willie Meyer North Mankato, MN 3 06-03 150 Day 1: 3 06-03 52. Andrew Brandstrom Shoreview, MN 3 06-02 149 Day 1: 3 06-02 53. Tyler Jaskiewicz Rogers, AR 3 06-01 148 Day 1: 3 06-01 53. Gary Michalski Naperville, IL 3 06-01 148 Day 1: 3 06-01 55. Jimmy Obrien Southampton, NY 2 06-01 146 Day 1: 2 06-01 56. Josh Mohn Lansing, IA 3 06-00 145 Day 1: 3 06-00 57. Mark Schill Minneapolis, MN 3 05-13 144 Day 1: 3 05-13 58. David Zimmermann Eagan, MN 3 05-12 143 Day 1: 3 05-12 59. Christopher Morgan Greendale, WI 3 05-11 142 Day 1: 3 05-11 59. William Salzmann Galena, IL 3 05-11 142 Day 1: 3 05-11 61. Donald Biggs Murphysboro, IL 3 05-10 140 Day 1: 3 05-10 62. Kenny Stelter Forest Lake, MN 2 05-10 139 Day 1: 2 05-10 63. Jacob Collins Hillsboro, IL 3 05-08 138 Day 1: 3 05-08 63. Gary Haraguchi Murfreesboro, TN 3 05-08 138 Day 1: 3 05-08 63. Danny Mancini Necedah, WI 3 05-08 138 Day 1: 3 05-08 66. Troy Jutting Savage, MN 3 05-08 135 Day 1: 3 05-08 67. Todd Lee Jasper, AL 2 05-08 134 Day 1: 2 05-08 68. Curt Blomquist Wright, MN 3 05-06 133 Day 1: 3 05-06 69. Scott Hill Sunrise Beach, MO 3 05-05 132 Day 1: 3 05-05 70. Matt Commerford Wendell, MN 3 05-04 131 Day 1: 3 05-04 70. Kyle Dowdy El Paso, IL 3 05-04 131 Day 1: 3 05-04 72. Scott Dunn Morris, IL 2 05-04 129 Day 1: 2 05-04 73. Jason Barber Gun Barrel City, TX 3 05-03 128 Day 1: 3 05-03 74. Patrick Andres Long Grove, IL 2 05-03 127 Day 1: 2 05-03 75. Dawson Wisner Palatka, FL 3 04-11 126 Day 1: 3 04-11 76. Justin Oppegard Eagan, MN 2 04-11 125 Day 1: 2 04-11 77. Mitch Johnson Dayton, OH 2 04-04 124 Day 1: 2 04-04 78. Carson Knutson St Croix Falls, WI 2 04-03 123 Day 1: 2 04-03 79. Albert Jones Jr Covington, GA 2 04-02 122 Day 1: 2 04-02 80. Richard Kiblinger Kansas City, KS 1 04-02 121 Day 1: 1 04-02 81. Chase Traeger Lino Lakes, MN 2 04-01 120 Day 1: 2 04-01 82. Bradley Juen La Crosse, WI 2 04-00 119 Day 1: 2 04-00 83. Hunter Stanislawski Lake Geneva, WI 2 03-11 118 Day 1: 2 03-11 84. Sean Ruegemer Bloomington, MN 2 03-10 117 Day 1: 2 03-10 85. Ma Xiong Menomonee Falls, WI 2 03-09 116 Day 1: 2 03-09 86. Martin Terveer Otsego, MN 2 03-06 115 Day 1: 2 03-06 87. Jimmy Fellegy Mustang, OK 2 03-04 114 Day 1: 2 03-04 88. Derrick Peterson Brooklyn Park, MN 2 03-03 113 Day 1: 2 03-03 89. Kurt Chelminiak Delafield, WI 2 02-14 112 Day 1: 2 02-14 90. Dave Van Ert Watertown, WI 1 02-13 111 Day 1: 1 02-13 91. Mark Cowart Kearney, MO 2 02-12 110 Day 1: 2 02-12 92. Zachary Demler Marinette, WI 1 02-12 109 Day 1: 1 02-12 92. Bob Harper Lombard, IL 1 02-12 109 Day 1: 1 02-12 94. Devin Sulk Marinette, WI 1 02-08 107 Day 1: 1 02-08 95. Adam Omlid Grand Forks, ND 1 02-07 106 Day 1: 1 02-07 96. Don Kimmel Fishers, IN 1 02-05 105 Day 1: 1 02-05 96. Nick Veselka Fishers, IN 1 02-05 105 Day 1: 1 02-05 98. Scott Dondlinger Scottsboro, AL 1 02-04 103 Day 1: 1 02-04 98. Greg Spaid Brainerd, MN 1 02-04 103 Day 1: 1 02-04 100. John Rawdin Jr Foosland, IL 1 02-03 101 Day 1: 1 02-03 101. Gary Dennis Ravenswood, WV 1 02-01 100 Day 1: 1 02-01 101. Matt Houman Chisago City, MN 1 02-01 100 Day 1: 1 02-01 101. Ty Kenyon Dodgeville, WI 1 02-01 100 Day 1: 1 02-01 104. Will Yelverton Hazel Green, AL 1 02-00 97 Day 1: 1 02-00 105. Jerry Fullen Clifton, TX 1 01-15 96 Day 1: 1 01-15 105. Klaus Kuester Forest Park, IL 1 01-15 96 Day 1: 1 01-15 105. David Waack Cary, NC 1 01-15 96 Day 1: 1 01-15 105. Brandon Welke Lacrescent, MN 1 01-15 96 Day 1: 1 01-15 109. Tim Krantz Somonauk, IL 1 01-14 92 Day 1: 1 01-14 110. Maggie Carsello Stoughton, WI 1 01-13 91 Day 1: 1 01-13 110. Landon Winton Salado, TX 1 01-13 91 Day 1: 1 01-13 112. Daniel Vasquez Boynton Beach, FL 1 01-12 89 Day 1: 1 01-12 113. Brad Thieman Sioux City, IA 1 01-10 88 Day 1: 1 01-10 114. Christopher Majerle Trenton, MI 1 01-09 87 Day 1: 1 01-09 114. Aric Wilber Saint Paul, MN 1 01-09 87 Day 1: 1 01-09 116. Patrick Bartley Waconia, MN 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Tim Berg Prior Lake, MN 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Thomas Berkowitz Littleton, MA 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Eric Breitkreutz Sheboygan, WI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Matthew Cunningham Independence, MN 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Tristian Dupuis Shreveport, LA 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Brad Goetz Waunakee, WI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Carter Golat Bruce, WI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Alex Grimbos Innisfil CANADA 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Charles Johnson Newberry, MI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Matt Kelley Detroit, MI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Sean Lofgren Forest Lake, MN 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Tom Lyskawka Arlington Heights , IL 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Stephen Martens Milwaukee, WI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Larry Miller Onalaska, WI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Troy Sippl Sussex, WI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Joshua Sokol Orland Park, IL 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Jason Steger Stanley, WI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Nicholas Van Ert Menomonee Falls, WI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 116. Michael Zawicki Muskego, WI 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 69 273 624-11 ------------------------------ ---- 69 273 624-11
