Watch to watch for at Seminole, other than big gators.
Courtesy of Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships
Darold Gleason and Gerald Swindle often camp near one another with their wives on the Bassmaster Elite Series tour, and together they’re quite a comedy act. The two graciously took time to share what fans can expect this week at the Bassmaster Elite Series event on Lake Seminole in Southwest Georgia.
Q: Seminole is home to lots of large alligators. How many have you seen so far that were bigger than you?
Gleason: At least 20, and two of those were twice my size. I’m from Louisiana, I respect those giant lizards and keep a safe distance.
Swindle: I saw at least two that were bigger than me, and they sound like a train when they try to slip off the shoreline into the water.
Q: The weather is exceptionally warm. Highs around 85 in the afternoon, warm and pleasant while we sleep with overnight temps in the 60s. So, what percentage of all the bass weighed-in this week do you think will be early spring spawners?
Gleason: 60%
Swindle: 70% will be caught around beds, and the other 30% will be caught using forward facing sonar.
Q: What do you think the two most popular lures will be this week?
Gleason: ChatterBait JackHammer, and a soft stick bait.
Swindle: ChatterBait and a wacky worm.
Q: When Brett Hite won here in mid-March nine years ago, it took an average of 15-pounds a day to get a Top 10. How much weight do you need to average this week to score a Top 10?
Gleason: 18-pounds a day
Swindle: 17-pounds a day
Q: If hypothetically, B.A.S.S. changed the rules, and the AOY points title was based on teams comprised of three anglers, what two other anglers would you choose to pair up with for the rest of this new season?
Gleason: Swindle because he’s so versatile. Plus, he’s seasoned like that old pork rind you find between your boat seats. And also, Palaniuk. How do you not choose BP?
Swindle: I’ll go with Kyle Welcher because of his dry humor and the way he pushes me to think a little different about how to catch fish. And also, Carl Jocumsen for his awesome attitude and work ethic. He’s a fighter.
Bryan College Leads Top 10 into Championship Day at 2023 Abu Garcia College Fishing National Championship
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Feb. 22, 2023) – After a three-hour fog delay to begin the day, 195 teams of college anglers set off across Lake Toho with limited time to find big bass and make big moves on the leaderboard to secure a spot in the Top 10 and the opportunity to compete for the National Championship. The Bryan College duo of Conner DiMauro of Longwood, Florida and Justin Botts of Bluff City, Tennessee, narrowly held their lead Wednesday after Day 2 of the 2023 Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship at Lake Toho Presented by Lowrance.
The Lions started the day with a 3-pound, 8-ounce lead, but it tightened up as the team faced the weather-shortened fishing and brought only four bass to the scale weighing 13 pounds, 12 ounces.
Their two-day total of 40 pounds, 12 ounces gives them a mere 1-pound, 1-ounce lead over the second-place team from Drury University – Cole Breeden of Lebanon, Missouri and Hunter Baird of Salina, Kansas – who brought a limit to the scale weighing 17 pounds, 7 ounces, to bring their two-day total to 39-11.
While the Bryan College duo locked down to Lake Kissimmee on Day One, they had a decision to make as their fears of getting caught in the lock and losing valuable pounds were compounded by the shortened day.
“We were sitting in the fog delay for about 2 hours, with no clearing in sight, and we just looked at each other and said, ‘You don’t win championships fishing scared’, so once the skies cleared, we ran to the lock,” said DiMauro. “It didn’t pay off for us today, but we were able to scrap something together.
“We caught three of our bass in one of our areas on Lake Kissimmee, but they were little – a lot smaller than they were yesterday – so we were sitting on three fish for about 5 pounds toward the end of the day,” DiMauro continued. “We locked back up and ran on Lake Toho and caught a 7-pounder with about 20 minutes left. It was a miracle.”
DiMauro said they found about 10 clumps of grass right in the middle of Lake Toho, with fish and bait around them.
“I would have loved to have had about 30 more minutes today to fish out there, but it is what it is,” DiMauro said. “We were a little intimidated by the lock after guys got caught in it yesterday and missed their check-in time, so we came back a little early today. That ended up working in our favor because we had about 45 minutes left to fish, and we caught that kicker fish.”
Although a large portion of their two-day catch has come out of Lake Toho, the duo said they still plan to lock down to Lake Kissimmee on Championship Thursday.
“On Toho we really only have one area, so if they don’t respond to our bait tomorrow, then we’re in trouble,” said Botts. “Yesterday we caught the Kissimmee fish on a jerkbait, and today they wouldn’t even react to it. Those offshore fish are too fickle, especially with this wind. The clumps we are talking about aren’t very big, so it’s really difficult to hold on to those spots and fish them in 15 mile-per-hour winds.”
While the pair are staying mum about the specific baits they’re using, they did say the 7-pounder and a 4-pounder from yesterday were caught on a swim jig in the grass and their team philosophy is to keep one guy winding a moving bait in the water, while the other follows it up with a slower presentation – flipping a Yamamoto Senko .
“We are absolutely going to lock back up to Lake Toho later in the day tomorrow, with some time left to fish,” said DiMauro. “We caught two of those big fish on the same clumps of grass, so we will definitely hit them again tomorrow afternoon. We know the potential is there, but also know we can’t just sit on a clump of grass all day.”
Botts said it takes about an hour to run and lock down to Lake Kissimmee, but timing of the lock is the wild card.
“We won’t have to worry about it as much tomorrow because there will be way less boats on the water and all of us should be able to get in the first lock,” said Botts. “We can also push the time a little more, knowing there won’t be nearly as many boats trying to lock back up in the afternoon.”
“We only brought in four fish, but we had five bites within 2 hours, so if we’re going to win, it will be right there,” DiMauro added. “When it’s your time, it’s your time and you can’t do anything wrong to mess it up. I just hope we kept ourselves in it enough and can’t wait to get a full day out there tomorrow.”
The full field of 195 teams competed on Tuesday and Wednesday, with only the top 10 – based on two-day cumulative weight – now advancing to Championship Thursday. The National Champions will be crowned Thursday based on the cumulative three-day weight total.
The top 10 teams that now advance to Championship Thursday on Lake Toho are:
1st: Bryan College – Conner DiMauro of Longwood, Fla., and Justin Botts of Bluff City, Tenn., nine bass, 40-12
2nd: Drury University – Cole Breeden of Lebanon, Mo., and Hunter Baird of Salina, Kan., 10 bass, 39-11
3rd: University of Montevallo – Peyton Harris and Dalton Head, both of Montevallo, Ala., 10 bass, 39-4
4th: Webber International University – Andrew Ready of Auburndale, Fla., and Vincent Maffei of Lake Wales, Fla., 10 bass, 38-1
5th: Kentucky Christian University – Lafe and Matt Messer, both of Warfield, Ky., 10 bass, 37-9
6th: Adrian College – Matthew Davis of Morenci, Mich., and Sam Shoemaker of Martinsville, Ind., 10 bass, 37-9
7th: University of Montevallo – Brandon Berry and Hunter Bright, both of Helena, Ala., 10 bass, 33-2
8th: LSU – Beau Landry of Brusly, La., and Peyton Matherne of Walker, La., 10 bass, 32-15
9th: Bryan College – Elijah Kirk of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Andrew Fisher of Calhoun, Ga., 10 bass, 32-14
10th: East Texas Baptist University – Brett Jolley of Kingwood, Texas and Cade Nettles of Stonewall, La., 10 bass, 32-11
For a full list of results, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 843 bass weighing 1,916 pounds, 2 ounces caught by 170 teams Wednesday. The catch included 115 five-bass limits.
The final 10 teams will launch Thursday from Big Toho Marina, located at 69 Lakeview Drive in Kissimmee at 7 a.m. ET. Thursday’s championship weigh-in will be held at the marina starting at 3 p.m. and will be livestreamed. Fans are welcome to attend the event or tune in to the weigh-in and follow the online coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com .
The 14th annual College Fishing National Championship is a three-day event – hosted by the Kissimmee Sports Commission – featuring the top 195 college bass fishing teams from across the nation competing in an internationally televised, no-entry fee tournament for a $33,500 prize package, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard.
In addition to the boat package, both members of the winning team and the runners-up at the 2023 Abu Garcia College Fishing National Championship will advance to the 2023 Toyota Series Championship where they will compete as pros for a top prize of up to $235,000. In addition, the winning team’s highest finishing team member at the Toyota Series Championship will advance to REDCREST 2024 to compete against the world’s best pros for the sport’s top prize of $300,000.
Both members of the third-place team at the College Fishing National Championship will advance to the 2023 Toyota Series Championship to compete as co-anglers for a shot at winning a $33,500 Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard.
Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI teams compete in three regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The Top 10 teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the Top 20 teams from the annual Abu Garcia College Fishing Open advance to the following year’s Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Black Rifle Coffee Company, E3, Favorite Fishing, Fox Rent a Car, General Tire, Grundens, Lawless Lures, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Wiley X and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular College Fishing updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Alabama's Lay Lake hosts Bassmaster High School tournament this weekend
The Strike King Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors will compete on Lay Lake Feb. 25, 2023.
Photo by Chase Sansom/B.A.S.S.
February 22, 2023
Alabama's Lay Lake hosts Bassmaster High School tournament this weekend
SHELBY COUNTY, Ala. — This Saturday, Feb. 25, 246 talented high school and junior teams from a dozen states will converge on historic Lay Lakefor the Strike King Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors and Junior Series tournament.
Doing battle alongside Birmingham-area fishing powerhouse schools like Briarwood Christian School — which won three consecutive national championships from 2018-2020 — are teams from as far away as South Dakota. Teams will take off from Beeswax Creek Park in Columbiana at 6:30 a.m. CT and return for weigh-in starting at 2:30 p.m. The Junior Series weigh-in, for competitors ranging from second to eighth grade, starts at 1:30 p.m. Full coverage will be available on Bassmaster.com.
Each team is accompanied by an adult boat captain.
“We are so excited to welcome the Bassmaster High School series back to Shelby County in 2023,” said Kendall Williams, manager of tourism and events for Shelby County. “Lay Lake offers some of the best bass fishing in the country, and hosting events like this reminds us how fortunate we are to have this resource in our backyard. It is rewarding to see the community of support that has grown for fishing tournaments. Our local restaurants, stores and other businesses are ready to welcome student anglers and their families! We look forward to having new families discover Shelby and all we have to offer.”
The Coosa River reservoir, located just south of Birmingham, has hosted several Bassmaster Classics and in 2023 will also welcome 104 of the world's best anglers May 11-14 for the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Lay Lake and the Strike King Bassmaster College Series Wild Card presented by Bass Pro Shops June 9-10.
Since B.A.S.S. started the High School Series events in 2013, there has been an astounding 724% increase in the number of clubs and schools competing.
Wendlandt Wins an Extra $2,500 from Yamaha
Courtesy of Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships
Clark Wendlandt has been a pro angler for 30 years, so when he noticed intense fishing pressure among fellow Elite Series competitors in massive Lake Okeechobee’s northern waters, he opted to make a long run south to have productive waters largely to himself.
The veteran’s move allowed the 2020 Bassmaster® Angler of the Year to land 83-pounds of largemouth in four days, and a second-place finish that paid him $35,000, plus $2,500 additional dollars because he took time to register for Yamaha’s Power Pay contingency program.
“I needed every minute I could get each day to catch my limit, and never once did I doubt my Yamaha 250-horsepower V6 V MAX SHO® would get me there. Yamaha is all about reliability. It was a 35-mile run and I made it in 38 minutes,” says Wendlandt.
He caught the vast majority of his weight in Okeechobee’s South Bay by reeling a junebug colored Strike King Cut-R worm on a 5/0 Owner hook with a 3/16-ounce bullet weight on 20-pound Sunline.
You don’t have to be a Bassmaster® Elite Series pro to cash-in on Yamaha’s Power Pay. There are dozens of amateur and semi-pro tournament trails sanctioned by the 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/.
Return of the "Pow!"
Fresh from his victory on the Kissimmee Chain, MLF Bass Pro Tour Stop 1 winner Chris Lane shares how this event played out and what it means to him.
Bryan College Grabs Early Lead at 2023 Abu Garcia College Fishing National Championship
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Feb. 21, 2023) – The Bryan College duo of Conner DiMauro of Longwood, Florida and Justin Botts of Bluff City, Tennessee, grabbed the early lead Tuesday after Day 1 of the 2023 Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship at Lake Toho Presented by Lowrance . The Lions team brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 27 pounds even, giving them a 3-pound, 8-ounce lead over the second-place University of Montevallo team of Brandon Berry and Hunter Bright, both of Helena, Alabama.
DiMauro graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in business and is currently a graduate student at Bryan College, working on his MBA and Botts is a senior marketing major.
As was the case with most of the field, DiMauro said the pair made quite the run during Day 1 of competition, locking down to Lake Kissimmee.
“We were boat number 152 at takeoff this morning, and when we got to the lock, we were number 138 in line to lock down,” said DiMauro. “We stopped and fished for an hour in Lake Toho while waiting to lock, caught 3 or 4 fish, and still waited back at the lock for almost an hour before getting through.”
DiMauro said they got to their spot on Lake Kissimmee about 10 a.m. and were able to fish there until around 1:30 p.m. before heading back to the lock – a total of only 3½ fishing hours.
“We caught a good bag on Lake Kissimmee, but once we got back to Toho, we just started idling and looking around,” said DiMauro. “We found a little bit of grass and were able to upgrade and cull one more fish before we came to check in.”
The duo said they spent most of their day targeting isolated grass clumps on their electronics.
“We caught two bass between 7 and 8 pounds within a couple hundred yards of each other,” said DiMauro. “We caught one of them flipping and caught the other one on a 6-inch soft plastic swimbait, just winding it through the pads.
“We got on a pattern by the end of the day today and started running it in some isolated groups of lily pads,” DiMauro continued. “Thankfully, we were able to dial it in and keep our baits in the best areas to get quality bites.”
Botts said they plan to lock down again on day 2, go straight to their main spot on Lake Kissimmee, and stay there as long as they can before heading back.
“One of the boats not far behind us got caught at the lock and was 7 minutes late to check-in,” said Botts. “We know locking is a risk, but it’s a risk we are willing to take to get to some of our good areas.”
This event marks the third College Fishing National Championship qualification for 22-year-old Botts and the fifth for 23-year-old DiMauro.
“We are going to keep an open mind going into tomorrow, just like we did today,” DiMauro said. “We only really hit one area today on Kissimmee, and we have three or four spots that we’ve gotten some good bites in so we’ll see how the day plays out. We’ve got a lot of water to cover, but we’re just going to fish slow.
“The good bites happen fast,” DiMauro continued. “You get in a little area and it’s just one after the other, but then you might go for an hour without a bite. So, you just got to keep a good mindset about it and take your time.”
The 14th annual College Fishing National Championship is a three-day event – hosted by the Kissimmee Sports Commission – featuring the top 198 college bass fishing teams from across the nation competing in an internationally televised, no-entry fee tournament for a $33,500 prize package, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard.
In addition to the boat package, both members of the winning team and the runners-up at the 2023 Abu Garcia College Fishing National Championship will advance to the 2023 Toyota Series Championship where they will compete as pros for a top prize of up to $235,000. In addition, the winning team’s highest finishing team member at the Toyota Series Championship will advance to REDCREST 2024 to compete against the world’s best pros for the sport’s top prize of $300,000.
Both members of the third-place team at the College Fishing National Championship will advance to the 2023 Toyota Series Championship to compete as co-anglers for a shot at winning a $33,500 Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard.
The full field of 198 teams compete on Tuesday and Wednesday, with only the top 10 – based on two-day cumulative weight – advancing to Championship Thursday. The National Champions will be crowned Thursday based on the cumulative three-day weight total.
The top 10 teams after Day One on Lake Toho are:
1st: Bryan College – Conner DiMauro of Longwood, Fla., and Justin Botts of Bluff City, Tenn., five bass, 27-0
2nd: University of Montevallo – Brandon Berry and Hunter Bright, both of Helena, Ala., five bass, 23-8
3rd: Adrian College – Matthew Davis of Morenci, Mich., and Sam Shoemaker of Martinsville, Ind., five bass, 23-4
4th: Drury University – Cole Breeden of Lebanon, Mo., and Hunter Baird of Salina, Kan., five bass, 22-4
5th: Bryan College – Elijah Kirk of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Andrew Fisher of Calhoun, Ga., five bass, 21-8
6th: University of Montevallo – Peyton Harris and Dalton Head, both of Montevallo, Ala., five bass, 20-11
7th: University of Montevallo – Ryan Thomas and Will Thomas, both of Madison, Ga., five bass, 19-7
8th: Florida Gateway College – Seth Slanker and Jackson Swisher, both of Lake City, Fla., five bass, 19-6
9th: Carson-Newman University – Hayden Gaddis of Seymour, Tenn., and Ben Cully of Rockwall, Texas, five bass, 18-12
10th: Dallas Baptist University – Mark Harris of Lindale, Texas and Jacob Witkowski of Dallas, Texas, five bass, 18-7
For a full list of results, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 843 bass weighing 1,919 pounds, 4 ounces caught by 188 teams Tuesday. The catch included 146 five-bass limits.
Anglers will take off from Big Toho Marina, located at 69 Lakeview Dr. in Kissimmee at 7 a.m. ETeach day of competition. Weigh-ins will be held at the marina starting at 3 p.m. and will be livestreamed daily. Fans are welcome to attend the event or tune in to the weigh-in and follow the online coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com .
Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI teams compete in three regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The Top 10 teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the Top 20 teams from the annual Abu Garcia College Fishing Open advance to the following year’s Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Black Rifle Coffee Company, E3, Favorite Fishing, Fox Rent a Car, General Tire, Grundens, Lawless Lures, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Wiley X and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular College Fishing updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
New B.A.S.S. Nation format creates more opportunities for grass-roots anglers
February 21, 2023
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Officials have unveiled a new format for the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series beginning with the 2024 season. Under the new format, individual, grass-roots anglers — even those who are not affiliated with a local club — will have more opportunities to qualify for the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship and a shot at a berth in the iconic Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota.
Beginning in 2024, both individual B.A.S.S. Nation anglers and club members from each state will be able to enter national qualifier events, with the Top 20 finishers advancing to the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship. Additionally, club anglers will be able to qualify directly from their state tournaments to the championship. The Top 3 finishers at the championship earn a berth into the Bassmaster Classic.
“Our goal is to give the everyday angler more chances to make it to the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship, whether they get in via a state-run event or a national qualifier,” said GL Compton, tournament director for the B.A.S.S. Nation. “We know that for many anglers — especially when you’re working or in college — joining a local club isn’t practical, so opening our regional qualifying events to unaffiliated individuals is a way to accommodate those competitors. But, if you’re a club angler, now you’ll have two paths to qualify for the Nation Championship. It really is an all-around win for grass-roots anglers.”
Currently, to qualify for the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship, an angler must first qualify for a 20-member state team via state-level tournaments before competing in a B.A.S.S. Nation regional championship, where only the top boater and nonboater from each state move on to the championship.
The B.A.S.S. Nation Championship tournament will feature qualifiers from the states and the four national qualifier tournaments, as well as international anglers. Not only will the Top 3 anglers from the overall standings realize a dream of competing in the Bassmaster Classic, but the Nation Champion will earn the title of “Nation’s Best,” which includes the use of a fully-rigged tournament boat for a year, an invitation to join the Bassmaster Elite Series and a cash prize. The second- and third-place finishers and nonboater champion will each earn paid entry fees for all divisions of the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens with the opportunity to qualify for the Elites.
Griffin Heffington Wins MLF Toyota Series at Lake Guntersville
Despite a tumultuous practice, rife with electronic issues and only a few bites, followed by the cancellation on Day 1, Heffington said he went into the first day of competition optimistic about his chances in the event.
“Because my practice was so bad, I really only had one spot, but I figured I could still do pretty good with this one area,” said Heffington. “My co-angler and I planned to fish shallow grass, but just didn’t really see anything we liked and weren’t catching many fish up shallow.
“As we idled under the bridges during practice, we noticed that was really the only place we were seeing baitfish. I decided to drop the trolling motor and fish under the Spring Creek bridge on the last day of practice and was shocked,” continued Heffington. “There were easily more than a hundred 4 to 5-pounders swimming around under that bridge chasing bait. I made two casts and caught a five-pounder.”
While he doesn’t typically rely on his electronics much, Heffington said his Garmin LiveScopemade a big difference in this event.
“There were a lot of guys that pulled up to fish there as well, but they mostly stayed closer to the bridge,” said Heffington. “I trolled away from the bridge, about the length of a football field, to go further into the creek. It took forever to troll that far, but there was a huge ball of bait there, so thick that my graph said we were in 8 feet of water, although we were really at a depth of 30 feet.
“The key area was right outside that ball of bait,” Heffington continued. “That’s where the fish had set up and were chasing other smaller bait balls outside of that big group. Using LiveScope, we were able to find that point where the bait ball broke up and throw to the fish outside that area.”
Heffington said his key bait was an umbrella rig with green-bean colored True Bass Hollow Body Swimbaits on it.
“The green tint on that swimbait looked really good in the water,” Heffington said. “I’d caught the 5-pounder in practice on it and that’s just really what they seemed to be biting.”
On Friday, Heffington caught seven bass total, bringing a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 27-9 – the biggest bag of the event.
“I caught a 7-12 close to the ramp toward the end of the first day, but I still only thought I had 24 pounds,” Heffington said. “And since I caught that big one shallow, I figured they were really biting for guys up shallow, and we’d see a 30-pound bag. So, I was super surprised when I had over 27 pounds and didn’t get knocked out of the lead.”
Following his weigh-in after the first day of competition, Heffington said he got a call from a friend and fellow angler, who was dead on the water and didn’t think he would be able to make it back for his check-in time. Heffington drove over to help jump his boat and get him back to weigh-in, a decision that almost cost him on Championship Saturday.
“On the morning of the final day, I went to turn on my trolling motor and it was dead,” Heffington said. “Turns out jumping the other boat fried my battery. We reset it and it worked, but soon after we took off, it went dead again.”
Fortunately, Heffinton was able to swap batteries with one of the MLF camera boats and get back on his trolling motor to continue the tournament.
“Going into Day 2, I figured if I could get 23 pounds, I could probably shut the door and make it pretty tough to get beat,” Heffington said. “I ended the day with 24-12 and a victory.
“It’s still hard to wrap my head around,” Heffington continued. “I was able to look back and really think about the fact that we only had two days of competition on the fabled Lake Guntersville, and to win with a nearly 10-pound margin – it’s just mind-blowing to me.
“I feel like I was really blessed in this event and despite all the issues we had, things just fell into place. I’m looking forward to the next event at Smith Lake,” Heffington finished.
The top 10 pros on Lake Guntersville finished:
2nd: Corey Bradley, McDonald, Tenn., 10 bass, 42-14, $27,500
3rd: Gabe Jelley, Mulkeytown, Ill., 10 bass, 42-12, $18,000
4th: Aaron Stephens, Hanceville, Ala., 10 bass, 41-15, $16,000
5th: Terry Fisher, Decatur, Ala., 10 bass, 41-14, $15,000
6th: Josh Bragg, Fayetteville, Ga., 10 bass, 41-13, $12,500
7th: Vernon Lowe, Oneida, Tenn., 10 bass, 39-11, $10,000
8th: Jake Lee, Powell, Tenn., eight bass, 39-10, $8,500
9th: Isaac Warta, Mount Juliet, Tenn., 10 bass, 37-14, $7,500
10th: Travis Alcock, Burlington, Wis., 10 bass, 36-7, $5,500
Pro Chris Ferguson of Wittensville, Kentucky won the $500 Day 1 Berkley Big Bass award in the pro division Friday with a bass weighing 8 pounds, 5 ounces. On Saturday, pro Donavan Carson of Bluff City, Tennessee, earned the $500 Berkley Big Bass prize after bringing an 8-pound, 3-ounce bass to the scale.
Bragg took home an extra $1,000 as the highest finishing Phoenix MLF Bonus member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $35,000 per event in each Toyota Series tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the Phoenix MLF Bonus contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.
Alan Hults of Gautier, Mississippi won the Strike King Co-angler Division Saturday with a two-day total of nine bass weighing 36 pounds, 2 ounces. Hults took home the top 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 on Lake Guntersville finished:
2nd: Kyle Gelles, Pingree, Idaho, eight bass, 32-2, $8,150
3rd: Andy Miles, White House, Tenn., eight bass, 29-12, $6,500
4th: Sam Maxwell, Vincennes, Ind., 10 bass, 28-7, $5,150
5th: Dakota Bishop, Brodhead, Ky., nine bass, 27-15, $4,500
6th: Andrew Kilgore, Whitewell, Tenn., six bass, 27-2, $3,750
7th: Michael Miller, Greenville, S.C., seven bass, 26-11, $3,250
8th: Jon Fatheree, Grantsburg, Ill., seven bass, 26-10, $2,500
9th: Mark Lyons, Marion, Ind., six bass, 25-10, $1,800
10th: Joseph Koch, Kewaskum, Wis., seven bass, 25-4, $1,600
With one regular-season event in the Toyota Series Central Division now complete, pro Griffin Heffington of Murfreesboro, Tennessee leads the Central Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 260 points, while Alan Hults of Gautier, Mississippi leads the Strike King Co-angler Division AOY race with 260 points.
The Toyota Series at Lake Gunterville, hosted by the Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce, was the first of three regular-season events for the Toyota Series Central Division. The next event for Toyota Series anglers will be the Toyota Series at the California Delta Presented by Psycho Tuna, March 15-17, in Bethel Island, California. For a complete schedule of events, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The 2023 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 V. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard. The 2023 Toyota Series Championship will be held Nov. 2-4 on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri, and is hosted by ExploreBranson.com.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Toyota Series include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Black Rifle Coffee Company, E3, Favorite Fishing, Fox Rent a Car, General Tire, Gill, Grundéns, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Wiley X 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.
Early Season Froggin'
https://youtu.be/DBWZgBs3Ow0
Vance goes into details about how frogs become an important part of the plan for early Florida fishing
Hughes & Franklin win TXTT season opener on Sam Rayburn Reservoir
Clarks Hill Lake Set to Host MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 2
Full Field of 150 Professional Anglers to Compete in Invitational Tournament for Top Prize of up to $115,000 and Qualification into REDCREST 2024
APPLING, Ga. (Feb. 20, 2023) – The second Major League Fishing (MLF) Tackle Warehouse Invitational event of the season is set to take place in Appling, Georgia, next week, Feb. 28- March 2, with the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 2 at Clarks Hill Lake. The MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals feature a roster of 150 anglers, competing at each event for a top prize of up to $115,000 and an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2024 – the Bass Pro Tour championship – for the chance to win up to $300,000.
Hosted by the Columbia County Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Thomson-McDuffie County Convention & Visitors Bureau, the tournament marks the second of six Tackle Warehouse Invitational events in 2023, offering competitors a total season purse of more than $3.9 million. The field is also competing for valuable points to win the coveted Invitational Angler of the Year (AOY) title. The top eight pros in the Tackle Warehouse Invitational AOY standings at the end of the season will receive an invitation to compete on the Bass Pro Tour.
Clarks Hill Lake has played host to numerous MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) events over the years, but this event marks the first time the fishery has hosted a professional-level MLF event. While the professional history on Clarks Hill is limited, the BFL stats are pretty telling – it took more than 20 pounds to win two of the last five events, and the biggest winning weight over the years came back in 1997, when Majors Hamby walloped 24-14 at the end of April.
“We are excited to be welcoming some of the best anglers in the world to Wildwood Park as part of the Tackle Warehouse Invitational,” said John Luton, Director of Community Services for the Columbia County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Wildwood Park and Clarks Hill Lake are consistently voted the top fishing and camping sites in Columbia County, and we are happy to be able to show them off on a national level.”
One thing is for sure – this event is scheduled at a prime time for big weight. February and March have produced consistent weights on Clarks Hill over the years. So, while the potential to catch a really big bag is there during the spawn, we’re likely to see really good fishing for the Invitational.
“The lake is really big – it’s pretty much a home lake for me. I grew up fishing club tournaments there, and it’s so big there’s a whole half of the lake I know nothing about,” said Belton, South Carolina, pro Brian Latimer. “The whole Georgia arm, I’ve fished about twice.
“The lake is very diverse, it used to have grass in it, it’s not there anymore,” Latimer said. “Everything is going to play in this tournament. It has the potential to be a forward-facing sonar tournament because the fish get in the ditches. There’s a strong offshore bite there, so the potential of it being a LiveScope tournament is extremely high. Also, depending on the weather, it could be snowing, or it could be 70 and the fish moving up to spawn.
“There’s always the potential to catch them shallow, because there are so many water clarities,” Latimer continued. “You’re going to have extremely clear water, you can go in the creeks and it’ll be muddy, you can get in between in a nice pretty strain. There’s timber, there’s docks, it’s just got a lot of different options. Everybody is going to spread out and probably have something that’ll fit what they like.”
Latimer said to look for a winning weight around 60 pounds and that he expects a strong prespawn tournament.
“They move up a little quicker on Clarks Hill than they do on other lakes,” Latimer went on to say. “It’s a little flatter, so it warms up quicker. You get that initial push pretty fast. I can’t imagine it not being a good tournament.”
Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. ET, Tuesday through Thursday, from Wildwood Park, located at 6212 Holloway Road in Appling. Weigh-ins will also be held at the park beginning at 3 p.m. each day. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the live on-the-water action all three days of competition online on MLF NOW! beginning at 7:30 a.m. ET at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
In MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational competition, the full field of 150 anglers compete in the two-day opening round on Tuesday and Wednesday in a traditional five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 50 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight will advance to the final round on Championship Thursday, where they will compete for the grand prize of up to $115,000. The winner of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 2 at Clarks Hill Lake will be determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative weight and will receive an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2024.
The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on all four days of competition. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
The MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 1 at Clarks Hill Lake will also feature a two-hour television broadcast that will premiere on the CBS Sports Network on Saturday, Oct. 7.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Favorite Fishing, Fox Rent a Car, General Tire, Grundéns, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Wiley X and YETI.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals on the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Rock An Elite Series Mimic Swim Jig
|
Northland Fishing Tackle’s new Elite Series Mimic Swim Jig works wonders for fishing swimbaits through weeds, brush, and over open water |
|
BEMIDJI, Minn. (February 20, 2023) – Designed for serious bass anglers working paddletails, flukes, and other swimbait variations, Northland’s new Elite Series Mimic Swim Jig is perfect for rippin’ through salad and wood, as well as over open water—shallow to deep and everywhere in between. Featuring a 60-degree line tie to leverage the bait through cover, the Elite Series Mimic Swim Jig almost magically slips through vegetation, brush, and other woody cover. It’s also a great option for stalking pods of largemouths, smallmouths, or spotted bass feeding on pelagic baitfish over expansive open-water areas, around humps, and along deeper grass-lines. |
|
|
Especially aimed at tempting visually-feeding bass in clear water, the Northland design team sought to create a jighead that was beyond ultra-realistic. Each size and weight in the Elite Series Mimic Swim Jig family features a baitfish-mimicking head complete with 3D eyes, gill rakers, and multi-hued, forage-matching color patterns. “We started with the iconic, super-selling Northland Mimic Minnow jighead and made it super heavy duty. The result—after countless prototypes—is the current Elite Series Mimic Swim Jig, which features a super-strong and ultra-sharp Gamakatsu hook to ensure solid hooksets when targeting trophy bass,” said Northland Fishing Tackle Marketing Director (and serious bass angler), Mike Anselmo. |
|
|
Anselmo continues: “But it all starts with the new jig’s 60-degree line-tie eyelet, which allows the jig to slide through everything from coontail to cabbage and wood—precisely the places you find big bass. It also keeps the bait horizontal when worked through open water.” Aware of the deficiencies of other swimbait jigheads, Northland architects instituted wire-form and molded-lead bait keepers to provide balance, superior action, and ease when rigging the gamut of TPE and PVC soft-plastic swimbaits available to bass anglers today. Northland marketing manager, Charlie Peterson, adds: “While a lot of bass guys will use an adhesive like Loctite Gel to keep their plastics pinned to jig heads, you don’t really need to do that with this jig—although you can if you want. Even without adhesive, your bigger flukes, paddletails, and other swimbaits tend to stay up on the shank of the hook thanks to the dual keeper design.” |
|
|
SEXY SHAD |
|
|
PERCH |
|
|
PURPLE SHAD |
|
|
WALLEYE |
|
|
GREEN PUMPKIN |
|
|
WHITE |
|
|
SMELT |
|
While aimed at bass anglers, the new Northland Elite Series Mimic Swim Jig has also caught on with the ever-growing crowd of walleye anglers casting to fish. “Rip Jigging is a surefire way to draw a lot of reaction strikes from walleyes,” says Peterson. “During testing, we crushed a lot of ‘eyes ripping this jig through cabbage. Same goes for walleyes feeding in open water, shallow to deep. River walleye anglers, too, are also starting to use them with success. And with sizes up to ¾-ounce with a beefy 5/0 Gamakatsu hook, they also translate to pike and even lake trout fishing.” Northland Fishing Tackle’s Elite Series Mimic Swim Jig is available in four sizes: ¼-ounce, 3/0 hook; 3/8-ounce, 4/0 hook; ½-ounce, 5/0 hook; and ¾-ounce, 5/0 hook. Colors include Black, Walleye, Perch, Bluegill, Sexy Shad, Smelt, Purple Shad, and Green Pumpkin. Packaged two per card with an MSRP of $6.49. |
|
Nalley Makes Splash in Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Lake Lanier
Spencer Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
GAINESVILLE, Ga. (Feb. 20, 2023) – Boater Justin Nalley of Hampton, Georgia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 8 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Lanier. The tournament was the first event of the 2023 season for the BFL Bulldog Division. Nalley earned $5,970 for his victory.
Nalley’s win came in his first BFL event fished as a boater after learning the tournament ropes in prior seasons as a co-angler.
“I can’t even really fathom this,” said Nalley. “It hasn’t really set in yet. I had fished as a co-angler for four years and had some early success and just stuck with it. Then last year, for my 30thbirthday, my wife surprised me with a bass boat she had bought from my father-in-law. So I took the leap and registered as a boater.”
Nalley said he practiced on Lanier before the tournament but only managed to catch three fish Thursday and two Friday.
“On tournament day I knew from past experience that the tournament would be won on the south end of the lake where the big spotted bass live,” Nalley said. “So, I started offshore fishing chunk rock and caught two fish early.
“Then I started running new stuff,” Nalley went on to say. “I caught a big spotted bass, a 5-7, which is my personal best for a spotted bass, then ran into a creek and caught my personal best largemouth on Lanier.”
Nalley relocated, caught some short fish, then managed to catch his fifth keeper - a largemouth. Nalley said his baits of choice during the day were a Berkley Powerbait The General Worm, a Rapala DT8 crankbait around chunk rock for spotted bass and an Advantage Bait Company Jawbreaker jig in the backs of creeks.
“The bites weren’t plentiful; they were really spread out, Nalley said. “But when I caught that last keeper I thought maybe I had a shot at winning,” Nalley said. “I was lowballing my weight and thought I had maybe 17 or 18 pounds.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Justin Nalley, Hampton, Ga., five bass, 22-8, $5,970
2nd: Alex Prince, Blue Ridge, Ga., five bass, 21-2, $2,582
3rd: Paul Marks, Cumming, Ga., five bass, 21-0, $2,222 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th: Matthew O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., five bass, 20-14, $1,505
5th: Randy Dover, Buford, Ga., five bass, 20-1, $1,033
6th: Rene Leon, Flowery Branch, Ga., five bass, 19-3, $947
7th: Brad Stalnaker, Eatonton, Ga., five bass, 18-15, $861
8th: Richie Brown, Dahlonega, Ga, five bass, 18-11, $775
9th: Matt Green, Cartersville, Ga., five bass, 18-8, $646
9th: Reid Daniel, Gainesville, Ga., five bass, 18-8, $646
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Nalley’s biggest largemouth that weighed 5 pounds, 13 ounces, also earned him the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $805.
Lance Spencer of Donalsonville, Georgia, won the Strike King co-angler division and a total of $2,582 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 17 pounds, 11 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Lance Spencer, Donalsonville, Ga., five bass, 17-11, $2,582
2nd: Jake Staley, Atlanta, Ga., five bass, 16-13, $1,291
3rd: Colton Sowash, Gainesville, Ga., five bass, 15-13, $863
4th: Grayson Brewster, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 15-4, $603
5th: Charles Ellington, Cumming, Ga., five bass, 14-1, $494
5th: Max Heaton, Hartwell, Ga., five bass, 14-1, $494
7th: Eric Lovvorn, Archer, Fla., four bass, 14-0, $430
8th: Guy Jordan, Gainesville, Ga., five bass, 13-12, $387
9th: Justin Farmer, Woodstock, Ga., four bass, 13-7, $344
10th: Austin Zigler, Clarkesville, Ga., five bass, 13-6, $301
Randy Reece of Woodstock, Georgia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $402, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 7 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
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. 19-21 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury 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 outboard.
The 2023 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2023 All-American event will take place May 31-June 2, on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina. The event is hosted by Visit Oconee SC.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Louisiana's Tyler Rivet claims first Bassmaster Elite Series victory at Lake Okeechobee
Tyler Rivet of Raceland, La., has won the 2023 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee with a four-day total of 86 pounds, 15 ounces.
Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.
February 19, 2023
OKEECHOBEE, Fla. — Tyler Rivet called his shot on Day 1.
The fifth-year Elite Series pro from Raceland, La., said Thursday he had the location and game plan to win the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee — and on Sunday, his claim came to fruition as he finished with a four-day total of 86 pounds, 15 ounces to earn his first career blue trophy.
After placing third on Day 1 with 24-5, Rivet gained one spot with a second-round limit of 29-2 on Friday. A slower Saturday yielded only 14-11 and Rivet dropped back to third. But he turned in a Championship Sunday bag that went 18-13 to seal the deal and collect the $100,000 top prize.
“This is what I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid,” Rivet said. “I remember every day at the (Lake Cataouatche) Tank Ponds during the 2011 Bassmaster Classic in New Orleans, hearing boats coming through the fog and seeing all the big names and thinking ‘One day, I want to do that.’”
Rivet spent this week in the Kissimmee River, about two miles upstream from the lake. With the exception of a few local boats, he had the river all to himself.
“Nobody else was doing what I was doing and that’s the key to winning an Elite tournament — finding that one little thing off the wall,” Rivet said. “That’s how it’s won (most) of the time.
“I thought this one would be won out in the lake on one of the community holes. But when I found my spot in the river, I thought, ‘This could be something.’ But I didn’t know until that first day and I was like ‘We could win.’”
The story of how Rivet landed in this area enhanced his victory experience.
“I just went sac-a-lait (French for crappie) fishing before the tournament,” Rivet said. “I’m the cook in my travel family, so I went up the river and caught some sac-a-lait. Then I looked to the left on Garmin LiveScope and said ‘That looks like a bass.’
“I threw over there with a jerkbait and caught a 6-pounder. I went down about 20 yards, saw another one, caught it on the first cast — 4-pounder. I just kept going down the river and they were staging everywhere.”
In the river, Rivet targeted hard-bottom spots off the bank. These classic prespawn staging areas attracted groups of bass that seemed to periodically come and go throughout each day.
“The main spot was a dead-end canal with a little dam at the back of it, and I guess the fish were going in there to spawn, or they were sitting on a little hard point that was coming off of it,” Rivet said. “They would come in waves. You’d see them on Garmin LiveScope.
“You’d have to hit them perfectly. You’d have to throw in front of them and not behind them. If you come from behind, it would spook them away, so you had to have that perfect angle.”
Rivet said he caught 80% of his bass on a Berkley Stunna jerkbait. He also caught a few of his weight fish by punching hyacinth mats and Kissimmee grass with a black/blue and junebug Xcite Baits Sucka Punch. A Carolina-rigged Xcite Baits Hawgalicious produced a couple more keepers.
Rivet dedicated his victory to his grandmother who passed in January.
“She was watching me from up there every day,” Rivet said with a trembling voice. “Every fish that I caught this week that was over 4, I said, ‘Thank you Mammaw.’”
Elite Series veteran Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas, placed second with 83 pounds. Committing all four days to the South Bay region, Wendlandt turned in daily bags of 18-9, 25-5, 23-4 and 15-14.
“I just felt most confident in that area,” Wendlandt said. “I practiced at the north end, too, but I just felt like my better bites would be down south.
“I honestly didn’t get any big bites in practice, but I caught some big fish in the tournament.”
Wendlandt caught the majority of his bass on a junebug Strike King Cut-R Worm with a 3/16-ounce weight. He also caught a couple of key fish on a Strike King Thunder Cricket with a Strike King Blade Minnow trailer.
“I was fishing dead reeds that were below the surface,” Wendlandt said. “In between the clumps were open spots, so I’d fish my worm over those reeds and let it fall down into those lower spots.”
Brandon Cobb of Greenwood, S.C., placed third with 81-9. After placing sixth in the first round with 22-9, Cobb added 32-15, 14-4 and 11-13.
With days 1 and 2 bringing warm, partly sunny conditions, Cobb found his bass in shallow cover mostly cooperative. The cold front on Day 3 rattled his area, but he hoped the final day’s calm warming conditions would deliver a revival that never materialized.
“Day 1, most everything I caught was spawning fish,” Cobb said. “On Day 2, most of my big ones were prespawn, so that made me excited. On Day 3, the weather wasn’t right and they weren’t ready. Today, I fully expected them to be spawning. I expected it to get hot any hour, but it just never did.”
After catching his bass on a black and blue 3/8-ounce ChatterBait with a Zoom Super Fluke and flipping a Texas-rigged Zoom Fluke Stick, Cobb’s tough final day saw him switch to a Yo-Zuri prop bait. The color was bluegill and Cobb accented the belly with a black marker.
Rookie Logan Latuso of Gonzales, La., earned the $1,000 daily bonus for catching the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day Sunday with his 6-14 largemouth. Cobb won the Day 2 award, as well as the overall $2,000 Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the tournament title, with an 8-12.
Cobb's Day 2 catch of 32-15 won the $2,000 VMC Monster Bag honors.
Rivet also took home an additional $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program while Cobb earned $2,000 for being the second-highest placing entrant.
As part of the Yamaha Power Pay program, Wendlandt also earned an additional $2,500 as the highest-placing entrant and Australian pro Carl Jocumsen claimed an additional $1,500 for being the second-highest placing entrant.
Pennsylvania’s Jonathan Kelley won the $1,000 BassTrakk Contingency award for the most accurate weight reporting.
Since this was the first event of the Elite Series season, Rivet claimed the lead in the Progressive Insurance Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 104 points. Wendlandt is in second with 103, followed by Cobb with 102, Latuso with 101 and Steve Kennedy of Auburn, Ala., with 100.
Latuso also leads the Bassmaster Rookie of the Year standings
POW! Chris Lane Lands 5-Pounder in Final Minute to Overtake Davis and Earn First Career Bass Pro Tour Victory at B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes
Power-Pole Pro Catches Five-Bass Limit Weighing 26-1 to Win by 9-Ounce Margin over Hall of Famer Mark Davis, Earn First Tour-Level Win Since 2015 and $100,000 Top Prize
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Feb. 18, 2023) – If there were any questions that the Bass Pro Tour scoring change to a five-fish limit would be less exciting than the every-fish-counts format, Power-Pole pro Chris Lane of Guntersville, Alabama, showed the world the answer, Saturday. In the most dramatic finish in Major League Fishing (MLF) history, Lane boated a 5-pound, 5-ounce bass with just 40 seconds remaining in the event to overtake B&W Trailer Hitches pro Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Arkansas, and win the season-opening Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Presented by Grundéns. Lane’s two-day total of 10 bass weighing 49 pounds, 3 ounces, earned him the win by a 9-ounce margin over Davis, who had led the entire day, and earned him the top payout of $100,000.
“Holy smokes, I can’t believe it,” an emotional Lane said in his post-game interview. “I don’t know what to say. This is unbelievable. What an ending. To do it here, where I grew up… man. This is where I cut my teeth, where I learned how to fish. Right over there is Brahma Island. Where I fished with my brothers. My dad. My grandpa. My gosh, I don’t know how we did it. This has been one amazing, amazing event.”
Lane’s improbable rally from starting the day 12-8 behind Davis became a reality late in the day. With an hour and 15 minutes left in the third and final period he boated a 4-pound, 5-ouncer, then added a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass to move within 14 ounces of Davis in the final hour. Lane needed to catch a 4-pound, 12-ounce bass to gain enough weight to catch Davis, and with one minute remaining he hooked up.
“With five minutes left I made the decision to come back to this spot, where I had caught a 6-8 earlier in the day,” Lane said. “I was super quiet, eased up and Power-Poled down, then threw that black and blue Bass Pro Shops Stick O out there.
“I knew it could be done with just one swing of the rod,” Lane continued. “I kept telling myself that – ‘one swing of the rod, just one swing.’ When she bit and I swung that rod, I saw it jump and I didn’t think it was big enough. I thought I needed a 7- or 8-pounder. When my official kept telling me congratulations, I didn’t believe him at first.”
The Championship Round appearance was Lane’s first career Championship Round on the Bass Pro Tour.
“Knowing the score, and knowing what you have to catch – it makes you fish so intensely until the very end,” Lane said. “If you watched the process of this event, the wind has done a full circle – from north, to east, to south, to west. Every day was different. It was a lot of new water, and I really just tried to go with the conditions. Knowing the lake like I do down there in Kissimmee, I was able to just pull up to a stop and if they’re not biting there then I’m off to something else.
“I still just can’t believe how this all played out,” Lane went on to say. “It has been an absolutely epic week. This is one of, if not the most memorable tournament that I think I will ever have.”
The top 10 pros from the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Presented by Grundéns finished:
1st: Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 49-3, $100,000
2nd: Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 10 bass, 48-10, $45,000
3rd: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 10 bass, 45-13, $38,000
4th: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 10 bass, 43-15, $32,000
5th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 42-6, $30,000
6th: Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 36-10, $26,000
7th: Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 10 bass, 36-0, $23,000
8th: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 10 bass, 32-8, $21,000
9th: Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., 10 bass, 28-9, $19,000
10th: Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., seven bass, 23-10, $16,000
Full results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 98 scorable bass weighing 265 pounds, 6 ounces caught by the final 10 pros Saturday.
Brent Ehrler earned Saturday’s Championship Round $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award with a 7-pound, 8-ounce largemouth that bit a bladed swimjig in Period 3. Tokyo, Japan, pro Takahiro Omori earned the $3,000 Berkley Big Bass award for the overall largest bass of the event with his 9-pound, 8-ounce largemouth that he weighed on Day 4 of competition.
After his win, Saturday, Chris Lane also now becomes the default leader in the 2023 Bass Pro Tour Bally Bet Angler of the Year (AOY) race. Lane earned 80 points for his victory, while runner-up Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Arkansas, earned 79 points for his second-place finish. Bally Bet will award $100,000 to the 2023 Bally Bet Angler of the Year winner.
The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Presented by Grundéns featured anglers competing with a 1-pound, 4-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The six-day event, hosted by the Kissimmee Sports Commission, showcases 80 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a purse of more than $805,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters All-Star event and REDCREST, the Bass Pro Tour championship.
Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Presented by Grundéns will air as two, two-hour episodes starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, July 15on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with re-airings on the Outdoor Channel.
The 2023 MLF Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, fishing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2024, the Bass Pro Tour championship, held March 13-17, 2024, on a fishery to be announced.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, Ark Fishing, ATG + Wrangler, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bally Bet, Bass Cat Boats, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, Daiwa, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Ferguson, Fox Rent A Car, General Tire, Grundéns, Humminbird, Lowrance, Minn Kota, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Power-Pole, Rapala, Star tron, T-H Marine, TORO, Toyota, U.S. Air Force, Yellowstone Bourbon, Yo-Zuri and Zoom Baits.
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, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Kennedy will carry slim lead into final round of Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee
Steve Kennedy of Auburn, Ala., is leading after Day 3 of the 2023 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee with a three-day total of 70 pounds, 2 ounces.
Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.
February 18, 2023
OKEECHOBEE, Fla. — Frog fishing is generally considered one of bass fishing’s least consistent techniques, but Steve Kennedy employed it Saturday to land a whopping five-bass limit that weighed 23 pounds, 1 ounce. With a three-day total of 70-2, the Alabama pro now sits atop the leaderboard heading into the final round of the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee.
Kennedy heads into Championship Sunday with a 6-ounce advantage over Day 2 leader Brandon Cobb of Greenwood, S.C.
On a day when his bag was anchored by an 8-4 largemouth, Kennedy caught most of his fish on a black SPRO Bronzeye popping frog. He’s working his reaction bait over shallow dollar pads and, while he’s experiencing the inconsistency common to the frogging technique, Kennedy said he’s having a blast.
“Today, I had two big fish; the rest of my fish were 3-pounders,” he said. “The last two days, I’ve had three big fish (each day). That big one today makes up a little difference.
“It’s a pretty incredible bite and if I can catch all of my bites, it would be awesome. But it is some of the most fun. You throw that thing out there, twitch it a couple of times and it goes ka-bloom! It’s an impressive bite, for sure.”
Despite turning in a similar weight to what he caught the first two days, Kennedy said he experienced a slower day — likely because of the dim, colder conditions that starkly contrasted the warmth and partly cloudy skies on days 1 and 2. A shift from southerly winds the first two days to a northeast wind also seemed to rattle the fish.
On Day 2, Kennedy said he thought the north wind might help his cause by blowing more clear water out of the grass-filtering marsh above his area at the lake’s upper end. While he did not see any improvement, the 8-4 was his best catch of the tournament.
“I caught a bigger fish than I’ve caught any day, but I wouldn’t say it was better,” Kennedy said. “It took me until 11:30 to get a limit. I missed a couple of small ones.
“I didn’t feel like we had a wave of fish move in, but it’s truly incredible how many big fish are in this area. We had 31 boats there yesterday. We probably had a few less today, but everybody catches them.
“I’m covering so much more water than anyone in there. It just gets hard when other boats are going over the spots.”
In addition to his frog fish, Kennedy weighed one keeper on a Texas-rigged 8-inch lizard.
“I was trying to get a big bite,” he said. “They’re bedding in those holes. You can see them on Lowrance ActiveTarget (forward-facing sonar).”
Looking ahead to Championship Sunday, Kennedy said he’s hoping the returning warmth and calmer southeast wind will ignite the bite and improve his opportunities. After two days of full field competition and Saturday’s Top 50, the final round’s 10-boat field will relieve some of the pressure the key areas have endured.
“I’m getting nervous; I had eight big bites the first day, six yesterday and four today,” he said. “It’s going downhill, but we’re going to lose some guys. The sun’s coming out and that’s going to change things, so I just have to figure out where the little sweet spot is and milk it for all it’s worth.”
After placing sixth in the first round with 22-9, Cobb added a Day 2 limit of 32-15. Day 3 saw him weigh 14-4 to bring his total to 69-12.
On Day 2, Cobb said he capitalized on a wave of fish moving into his area southwest of the Kissimmee River. Saturday’s weather seemed to hold back any new arrivals.
“I don’t think my area has a ton of fish until a wave comes in,” Cobb said. “With no sun and cloudy conditions, it wasn’t a moving day for Florida fish.
“There are a few too many boats in my area to just catch resident fish. With no new ones coming in, I ran out of fish.”
Cobb caught his bass on a black and blue 3/8-ounce ChatterBait with a Zoom Super Fluke.
Tyler Rivet of Raceland, La., is in third with 68-2. His daily weights have been 24-5, 29-2 and 14-11.
Rivet has parked in the Kissimmee River for three days and caught most of his fish on a prototype jerkbait from Xcite Baits, along with the Sucka Punch creature bait he designed for Xcite. On Saturday, the jerkbait did all the work.
“I really thought the wind and the clouds would get them going today,” Rivet said. “I caught a 3-8 right off the bat and I was like ‘They’re here; this is it. We’re going to catch them.’
“They did the same thing as yesterday, but they never had that frenzy they had the first two days. They just never fired up. I was watching them on Garmin LiveScope. They would chase and chase, but they just wouldn’t commit. I probably had 25 pounds chase the bait, but they were just inches away.”
Cody Huff of Ava, Mo., earned the $1,000 daily bonus for catching the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day with his 8-6. Cobb still holds the overall lead in that category with his 8-12 from Day 2.
Cobb's Day 2 catch of 32-15 also leads the race for VMC Monster Bag honors.
The Top 10 remaining anglers will take off at 7:30 a.m. from C. Scott Driver Park with a chance to win the $100,000 first-place prize. The weigh-in will be held at the park at 3:45 p.m. FS1 will broadcast live with the leaders beginning at 8 a.m. with continuing coverage on Bassmaster.com.
2023 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee 2/16-2/19
Lake Okeechobee, Okeechobee FL.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 15 70-02 104
Day 1: 5 23-08 Day 2: 5 23-09 Day 3: 5 23-01
2. Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 15 69-12 103 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 22-09 Day 2: 5 32-15 Day 3: 5 14-04
3. Tyler Rivet Raceland, LA 15 68-02 102
Day 1: 5 24-05 Day 2: 5 29-02 Day 3: 5 14-11
4. Clark Wendlandt Leander, TX 15 67-02 101
Day 1: 5 18-09 Day 2: 5 25-05 Day 3: 5 23-04
5. Logan Latuso Gonzales, LA 15 63-03 100
Day 1: 5 17-01 Day 2: 5 21-03 Day 3: 5 24-15
6. Jake Whitaker Hendersonville, NC 15 61-10 99
Day 1: 5 15-03 Day 2: 5 27-12 Day 3: 5 18-11
7. Carl Jocumsen Queensland AUSTRALIA 15 61-01 98
Day 1: 5 12-14 Day 2: 5 24-13 Day 3: 5 23-06
8. Brandon Card Salisbury, NC 15 57-14 97
Day 1: 5 16-01 Day 2: 5 23-04 Day 3: 5 18-09
9. Drew Cook Cairo, GA 15 57-01 96
Day 1: 5 22-12 Day 2: 5 22-14 Day 3: 5 11-07
10. Marc Frazier Newnan, GA 15 56-06 95
Day 1: 5 21-00 Day 2: 5 13-13 Day 3: 5 21-09
11. Gerald Swindle Guntersville, AL 15 55-01 94 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-07 Day 2: 5 24-09 Day 3: 5 13-01
12. Ed Loughran III Richmond, VA 15 54-08 93 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 20-03 Day 2: 5 18-09 Day 3: 5 15-12
13. Kyle Welcher Opelika, AL 15 53-15 92 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 18-08 Day 2: 5 20-06 Day 3: 5 15-01
14. Will Davis Jr Sylacauga, AL 15 53-09 91 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 21-07 Day 2: 5 16-01 Day 3: 5 16-01
15. Patrick Walters Eutawville, SC 15 52-00 90 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 21-05 Day 2: 5 22-13 Day 3: 5 07-14
16. Cooper Gallant Bowmanville Ontario CAN 15 51-12 89 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 21-03 Day 2: 5 19-10 Day 3: 5 10-15
17. Jay Przekurat Stevens Point, WI 15 51-11 88 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 18-01 Day 2: 5 17-11 Day 3: 5 15-15
18. Scott Canterbury Odenville, AL 15 51-03 87 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-12 Day 2: 5 17-10 Day 3: 5 16-13
19. Joey Cifuentes III Clinton, AR 15 50-13 86 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-06 Day 2: 5 15-03 Day 3: 5 20-04
20. Lee Livesay Longview, TX 15 50-06 85 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-05 Day 2: 5 18-14 Day 3: 5 16-03
21. Brad Whatley Bivins, TX 15 49-09 84 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-04 Day 2: 5 18-02 Day 3: 5 17-03
22. Skylar Hamilton Jefferson, TN 15 49-05 83 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-10 Day 2: 5 23-06 Day 3: 5 09-05
23. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 15 49-01 82 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-06 Day 2: 5 22-00 Day 3: 5 09-11
24. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 15 47-12 81 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 19-03 Day 2: 5 19-15 Day 3: 5 08-10
25. Cody Huff Ava, MO 15 47-10 80 $11,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-03 Day 2: 5 14-08 Day 3: 5 15-15
26. Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 15 47-01 79 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-09 Day 2: 5 16-05 Day 3: 5 14-03
27. Buddy Gross Chattanooga, TN 15 46-10 78 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-15 Day 2: 5 17-06 Day 3: 5 12-05
28. Ray Hanselman Jr Del Rio, TX 15 46-09 77 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-06 Day 2: 5 24-03 Day 3: 5 07-00
29. Bradley Hallman Edmond, OK 15 46-09 76 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-06 Day 2: 5 15-15 Day 3: 5 16-04
30. Scott Martin Clewiston, FL 15 46-06 75 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 25-11 Day 2: 5 12-04 Day 3: 5 08-07
31. Shane LeHew Catawba, NC 15 46-05 74 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-13 Day 2: 5 19-07 Day 3: 5 10-01
32. Keith Combs Huntington, TX 15 46-02 73 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-06 Day 2: 5 16-07 Day 3: 5 16-05
33. John Crews Jr Salem, VA 15 46-00 72 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-06 Day 2: 5 17-08 Day 3: 5 16-02
34. Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 13 45-13 71 $11,000.00
Day 1: 5 28-11 Day 2: 5 10-12 Day 3: 3 06-06
35. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 15 45-12 70 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-13 Day 2: 5 12-09 Day 3: 5 15-06
36. Jamie Hartman Newport, NY 15 45-05 69 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-07 Day 2: 5 21-10 Day 3: 5 09-04
37. Micah Frazier Newnan, GA 13 45-03 68 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-00 Day 2: 5 26-13 Day 3: 3 05-06
38. Jeff Gustafson Kenora, Ontario CANADA 15 45-03 67 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-07 Day 2: 5 17-04 Day 3: 5 10-08
39. Caleb Kuphall Mukwonago, WI 15 44-14 66 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-00 Day 2: 5 15-03 Day 3: 5 14-11
40. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 12 44-09 65 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 11-09 Day 2: 5 29-01 Day 3: 2 03-15
41. Michael Iaconelli Pittsgrove, NJ 15 43-12 64 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 19-10 Day 2: 5 10-02 Day 3: 5 14-00
42. Cliff Prince Palatka, FL 15 43-12 63 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-09 Day 2: 5 18-09 Day 3: 5 10-10
43. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 15 43-10 62 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-06 Day 2: 5 13-10 Day 3: 5 12-10
44. David Gaston Sylacauga, AL 15 43-08 61 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-01 Day 2: 5 15-13 Day 3: 5 10-10
45. Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 15 43-05 60 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 18-12 Day 2: 5 15-00 Day 3: 5 09-09
46. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 15 42-15 59 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-05 Day 2: 5 20-11 Day 3: 5 06-15
47. Stetson Blaylock Benton, AR 15 41-05 58 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-02 Day 2: 5 12-13 Day 3: 5 11-06
48. Gary Clouse Winchester, TN 12 38-09 57 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-04 Day 2: 5 20-03 Day 3: 2 03-02
49. John Cox DeBary, FL 15 37-07 56 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-05 Day 2: 5 12-12 Day 3: 5 07-06
50. Gregory DiPalma Millville, NJ 15 36-14 55 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-03 Day 2: 5 16-14 Day 3: 5 05-13
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 08-10 $1,000.00
2 Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 08-12 $1,000.00
3 Cody Huff Ava, MO 08-06 $1,000.00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 99 506 1495-09
2 103 515 1625-11
3 46 240 660-12
----------------------------------
248 1261 3782-00
Cobb capitalizes on spawning waves for Bassmaster Elite lead on Okeechobee
Brandon Cobb of Greenwood, S.C., is leading after Day 2 of the 2023 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee with a two-day total of 55 pounds, 8 ounces.
Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.
February 17, 2023
OKEECHOBEE, Fla. — Patience and persistence paid big dividends for Brandon Cobb, whose huge Day 2 limit of 32 pounds, 15 ounces boosted him to a two-day total of 55-8, which leads the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee.
Starting the second round in sixth place with 22-9, the Elite veteran from Greenwood, S.C., turned in the event’s heaviest bag and heads into Semifinal Saturday with a margin of 2-1 over Tyler Rivet.
Cobb, who won two Elites in 2019 — on Lake Hartwell and at Lake Fork — broke the 30-pound mark twice during the latter (37-15 and 31-11). Reaching this elusive threshold, he said, requires measured aggression.
“You can’t be like ‘I’m going to catch 20 pounds today.’ You don’t know because it’s based on big bites,” Cobb said. “There’s a lot of fish in certain areas and there’s a lot of boats in the areas where there’s a lot of fish.
“You just go fish and try to catch everything you can. It’s just a matter of whether you’re catching bucks (male bass) or females. I wish I could say there’s a real strategy, but it’s mostly just keeping yourself in the right area and hoping you run into some females.”
Cobb’s prime area comprised a small patch of dollar pads with scattered reeds and hydrilla on the lake’s north end. Staying close to takeoff helped him maximize his time, but he believes the timing of spawning movements was the key to his success.
“There were a few boats around me and everyone seemed to be catching them except me, but I was taking my time and fishing really slow like you do down here. I hit one group in one little patch of grass and caught a big one every cast,” Cobb said. “It was literally a one-cast spot. I don’t know if there’s anything (unique) there; I just think it’s a funnel.
“Yesterday, I think I was catching spawning fish. I was catching one here and there. I’d flip and catch a buck, then catch a female. Today, it seemed like I hit a wave of new fish in the funnel as they were coming in.”
One of the area’s key features, Cobb said, was abundant food.
“There were a lot of shiners or shad in the area,” he said. “They came up schooling a few times and I saw bass blow up on the bait. One of the bigger ones I caught, I saw it blow up and I threw at it and caught it.”
Anchoring his bag with an 8-12 that now leads the Phoenix Boats Big Bass standings, Cobb said he started on the specific spot that produced his late-morning flurry but caught nothing. While fishing nearby cover, he saw other boats catch fish as they passed through.
“I went back to it and they were there,” Cobb said. “After that, I just sat there. Even though I didn’t expect to catch any more, people just saw me catch 30 pounds, so I felt like I needed to guard it.”
Cobb caught his fish by flipping a Zoom Fluke Stick and casting a Z-Man ChatterBait with various trailers, including a Zoom Super Fluke. He’ll keep those same baits handy for Day 3 and look for another group of fish to arrive.
“I don’t know how many are left,” Cobb said. “I sat around the spot most of the day, playing defense and hoping they’d show back up. It’s Florida and they’re coming every day, so I hope a few new ones show up.”
Hailing from Raceland, La., Rivet has spent the past two days in the Kissimmee River, which feeds into Lake Okeechobee’s northwest corner. After placing third on Day 1 with 24-5, he added 29-2 and gained one spot with a total of 53-7.
“That was the biggest bag I’ve ever caught in my life and to know I left them biting is crazy,” Rivet said. “I wanted to hit 30, but I said ‘I need to be smart about this.’
“I had to block a few people off of my spot, but they’re there and they’re willing to bite. I think I can do this.”
Rivet caught most of his fish on a prototype jerkbait from Xcite Baits and the Sucka Punch creature bait he designed for Xcite. Most of what he’s targeting are classic prespawn areas.
“It’s hard spots on the bottom and they’re just waiting to spawn,” Rivet said. “It just comes in waves. They’re just coming in and out of that main spot. I have two other spots like that.
“I could literally go down the whole river and do this. It’s all about sitting there and being patient because there’s a ton of fish there and it’s just getting one to bite.”
Steve Kennedy of Auburn, Ala., added 23-9 to the 23-8 he caught on Day 1 and improved from fourth to third with 47-1. Fishing the lake’s upper end, he spent most of his day working a black popping frog over dollar pads.
“I’m having fun,” he said. “It’s an incredible way to get bit, but I’m struggling with execution. I’m about 50/50, but I’m getting some big bites and hopefully, they show up again tomorrow.”
Kennedy also threw a 7-inch Senko in hopes of tempting a big bite, but the frog produced all of his weight. He’s concerned that his area’s opportunity may be dwindling, but he’s hoping tomorrow’s forecast for north winds will help his cause by blowing more clean water out from the shallow, filtering vegetation.
“I’m fishing fast and aggressive and covering a bunch of water,” Kennedy said. “It seems to be drying up. I had eight big bites yesterday and landed two of them. Today, I only had six good bites.”
The Top 50 remaining anglers will take off for Semifinal Saturday at 7:30 a.m. from C. Scott Driver Park. The weigh-in will be held at the park at 3:30 p.m., with only the Top 10 advancing to Championship Sunday with a chance to win the $100,000 first-place prize. FS1 will broadcast live with the leaders beginning at 8 a.m. with continuing coverage on Bassmaster.com.
Cobb earned the $1,000 daily bonus for catching the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day with his 8-12. Florida pro Bernie Schultz took that honor on Day 1 with an 8-10. Cobb's massive catch of 32-15 also leads the race for VMC Monster Bag honors.
Correction: The Day 1 report incorrectly stated that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has applied herbicide treatments to eliminate hydrilla and eelgrass from Lake Okeechobee. According to FWC Lake Okeechobee biologist Matt Stevens, the agency has not treated for hydrilla since 2015 and does not use herbicides to eliminate eelgrass.
Bass Fishing Hall of Famer Mark Davis Puts on a Clinic with 34-Pound Limit to Pace Knockout Round at B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes
Arkansas Pro Brings 10-Pound Lead into Final Day on Championship Saturday, Morgan Catches 6-3 as Time Expires to Bounce Wheeler
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Feb. 17, 2023) – Already with a Hall of Fame career that has seen countless memorable moments on the water, 59-year-old B&W Trailer Hitches pro Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Arkansas, showed he still has a few more tricks left up his sleeve. Davis caught 13 scorable bass Friday, with his best five weighing 34 pounds, 10 ounces, to win the Knockout Round and advance to the final day of competition at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One on the Kissimmee Chain Presented by Grundéns.
Davis’ total of 34-10 will give him a 10-pound cushion over second-place angler General Tire pro Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tennessee, who weighed in five scorable bass totaling 24-10. Power-Pole pro Chris Lane of Guntersville, Alabama, sits in third place with five bass weighing 23-2, while Addison, Alabama’s Jesse Wiggins weighed in five bass totaling 21-8 to finish the day in fourth. Pro Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tennessee, added to the Toro Cut Line drama, Friday, as the Tennessee pro caught a 6-pound, 3-ounce largemouth as time expired to vault from 13th place into fifth, and bounce out the reigning Angler of the Year (AOY) Jacob Wheeler.
The final 10 anglers are now set, and competition resumes Saturday morning with the Championship Round. In the Championship Round, weight carries over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total will win the top prize of $100,000.
“Today was a heck of a day for me,” said Davis. “It wasn’t my biggest limit I’ve ever caught – I caught around 42 pounds on this fishery once, I think back in 2001 – but I’m very pleased to have caught 34 (pounds) today. You can never really be comfortable competing in Florida, but 10 pounds is a very nice lead.”
Davis spent the day targeting grass patches and lily pads on a spawning flat in Lake Kissimmee with a Texas-rigged blue craw with red flake-colored Strike King Ocho, with a 3/16-ounce Strike King tungsten weight.
“It was all new water for me today,” Davis said. “This morning on the ride down, I just felt like I needed to go and look at some new water. I pulled into an area that I hadn’t fished – I might have fished it at some point in my career, but it was new this week. I pulled up there and caught one almost 4 (pounds), then a 6-12, and I still didn’t quite have it figured out. But as the day went on I kind of got dialed into the bite, and once I got dialed in, it was game on.”
Another impressive stat that showcases just how special Davis’ day was Friday – although his best five went for 34-10, his next best five scorable fish would have given him a limit for 23 pounds even and he would be in third place.
“I figure I’m going to have to catch at least 15 to 16 pounds tomorrow to have any chance at winning,” Davis went on to say. “One of the reasons I worked so hard today to catch as much as I could was because the weather is going to change. We’re going to have a stout north wind, and there is supposed to be a cold front coming in overnight. It could really turn the fish off, for everybody, so I felt like I needed to amass as much weight as I could, today.”
The top 10 pros from Friday’s Knockout Round that now advance to Saturday’s Championship Round on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes are:
1st: Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., five bass, 34-10
2nd: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., five bass, 24-10
3rd: Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 23-2
4th: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., five bass, 21-8
5th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 20-15
6th: Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., five bass, 20-15
7th: Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., five bass, 20-5
8th: Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 19-4
9th: Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 18-14
10th: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., five bass, 18-11
Finishing in 11th through 40th place are:
11th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 18-9, $10,000
12th: Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 18-4, $10,000
13th: Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 17-15, $10,000
14th: Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., five bass, 17-7, $10,000
15th: Mitch Crane, Columbus, Miss., five bass, 16-10, $10,000
16th: Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., five bass, 16-8, $10,000
17th: Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., five bass, 16-0, $10,000
18th: Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, five bass, 15-15, $10,000
19th: Cliff Pace, Petal, Miss., five bass, 15-13, $10,000
20th: Josh Butler, Hayden, Ala., five bass, 15-7, $10,000
21st: Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, five bass, 14-14, $10,000
22nd: Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., five bass, 14-2, $10,000
23rd: Alton Jones, Jr., Waco, Texas, four bass, 13-14, $10,000
24th: John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., five bass, 13-14, $10,000
25th: Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., five bass, 13-13, $10,000
26th: Ryan Salzman, Huntsville, Ala., five bass, 13-6, $10,000
27th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 13-5, $10,000
28th: Dakota Ebare, Brookeland, Texas, five bass, 12-12, $10,000
29th: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., five bass, 11-12, $10,000
30th: Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., five bass, 11-0, $10,000
31st: Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 10-13, $10,000
32nd: Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., five bass, 9-11, $10,000
33rd: Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., five bass, 9-10, $10,000
34th: Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, five bass, 9-6, $10,000
35th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., four bass, 7-7, $10,000
36th: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., two bass, 7-5, $10,000
37th: Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan, three bass, 6-9, $10,000
38th: Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., three bass, 5-7, $10,000
39th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., two bass, 5-4, $10,000
40th: Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala., three bass, 5-4, $10,000
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 359 scorable bass weighing 933 pounds even caught by the 40 pros Friday.
Friday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award went to pro Jesse Wiggins of Addison, Alabama, who caught an 8-pound largemouth in Period 3 on a medium-diving crankbait to earn the payout. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.
The six-day event, hosted by the Kissimmee Sports Commission, showcases 80 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a purse of more than $805,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters All-Star event and REDCREST, the Bass Pro Tour championship.
The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Monday and Wednesday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Tuesday and Thursday. After the two-day qualifying round, the top 20 anglers from each group advanced to Friday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights were zeroed, and the remaining 40 anglers competed to finish in the top 10 to advance to the Championship Round. In the Championship Round on Saturday, weight carries over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total will win the top prize of $100,000.
The final 10 anglers will launch Saturday at 7:30 a.m. ET from Big Toho Marina, located at 69 Lakeview Drive in Kissimmee. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the Marina, beginning at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
On Championship Saturday, Feb. 18, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF will welcome fans of all ages to come in to celebrate the top 10 and crown the Stage 1 Champion at the Trophy Presentation. The final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration to meet and greet fans, sign autographs, and take selfies.
The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Presented by Grundéns features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 4-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The 2023 MLF Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, fishing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2024, the Bass Pro Tour championship, held March 13-17, 2024, on a fishery to be announced.
The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down all of the extended action live from the final day of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. MLF NOW!® is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and free via the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Presented by Grundéns will air as two, two-hour episodes starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, July 15on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with re-airings on the Outdoor Channel.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, Ark Fishing, ATG + Wrangler, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bally Bet, Bass Cat Boats, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, Daiwa, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Ferguson, Fox Rent A Car, General Tire, Grundéns, Humminbird, Lowrance, Minn Kota, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Power-Pole, Rapala, Star tron, T-H Marine, TORO, Toyota, U.S. Air Force, Yellowstone Bourbon, Yo-Zuri and Zoom Baits.
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, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Rebounding Seminole could deliver Bassmaster Elite Series fireworks
Bassmaster Elite Series champion Drew Cook, who grew up fishing Lake Seminole, will be among the field when the Bassmaster Elite Series heads to Bainbridge for the Gamakatsu Bassmaster Elite at Lake Seminole Feb. 23-26.
Photo by Kyle Jessie/B.A.S.S.
February 17, 2023
BAINBRIDGE, Ga. — Santee Cooper Lakes will forever hold a special place in Drew Cook’s heart; however, he’s expecting similar opportunities from the waters of his youth during the Gamakatsu Bassmaster Elite at Lake Seminole.
Competition days will be Feb. 23-26 with daily takeoffs from Earle May Boat Basin Park at 7:30 a.m. ET and weigh-ins each day back at the park at 3:30 p.m.
Cook notched his first Elite Series win last year on the Santee Cooper Lakes, an event that saw the South Carolina fishery give up two century belts (awarded for a four-day total of 100 pounds or more) — one for his win and another to second-place Caleb Kuphall. Having grown up fishing Seminole, Cook knows well this lake’s fireworks potential.
“It really would not surprise me at all if it took over 100 pounds to win,” Cook said. “Last year, the weights were really good all year. It took pretty much 30 pounds to win most of the team tournaments.
“The thing about Seminole is there’s not a lot of big bass — the 7- to 9-pounders — but there are so many 5- and 6-pounders that it truly is a phenomenal lake.”
Primarily located in Georgia, but also touching Alabama and Florida, the 37,500-acre Lake Seminole comprises the union of the Chattahoochee River on the west side with the Flint River on the east and Spring Creek in the middle. The smaller area known as “Fish Pond Drain” tucks between the Hooch and Spring Creek.
Below the Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam, which impounds the lake, Seminole’s water runs south to the Gulf of Mexico via the Apalachicola River. Despite its coastal connection, the dam prevents Seminole from experiencing any tidal influence.
Describing the habitat, Cook said the agricultural fields near the Flint keep that water dingy and receptive for moving baits, while Spring Creek’s extreme clarity could require a finesse touch with drop shots, Damiki rigs and the like. Cook said the Hooch usually has more of a chalky, greenish tint. All have hydrilla, milfoil and fishable emergents, while the Chattahoochee sports a lot of bank grass, spatterdock and reeds.
Cook said Seminole is rebounding well from a few down years, partly caused by heavy fishing pressure. With most major tournaments running out of the Flint River Arm, a lot of bass have been relocated. That’s no reflection of lake quality or fishing opportunity, but as Cook notes, it takes a while for released fish to redistribute to some of Seminole’s historically productive areas.
The most impactful event in recent years was 2018’s Hurricane Michael — the first Category 5 hurricane to make U.S. landfall since Andrew (1992) — which passed directly over Lake Seminole. Much of the lake’s standing timber was destroyed and submerged vegetation suffered severe damage.
“The Army Corps of Engineers dropped the lake because the storm was coming and that left a lot of grass exposed,” Cook said. “The wind and waves ripped a lot of grass out of the lake, but honestly, that was a good thing, because we had seen several warm winters and the grass hadn’t been dying back.
“So, that hurricane impact actually helped the lake a lot. It ripped up a lot of hydrilla and now there’s more milfoil in the lake than there was before the hurricane. There’s more milfoil now than I’ve ever seen.”
As Cook noted, the hurricane also cleared the way for new pad fields and pushed away silt to leave more of the clean hard bottom spawning bass prefer. On the downside, Seminole still has a lot of wood and storm debris clogging backwaters, so shallow-water navigation demands caution.
While he’s not ruling out the sight-fishing tactics that delivered his Santee Cooper win — a tactic Seminole is universally known for — Cook believes prespawn action will take center stage.
“You’re going to have to catch prespawn fish, whether it’s all prespawn or a mix to win,” he said. “You’re just so much more apt to catch one of those big 7- to 8-pounders in prespawn than bed fishing.”
Cook expects Seminole will see plenty of shallow-water flipping with various soft plastics like the Quarantine Craw he designed for Big Bite Baits. Anglers will also catch fish by punching heavier cover like hyacinth mats, while the usual mix of reaction baits will tempt those prespawners.
“You can pick your poison: A Northern guy can drop shot in Spring Creek, a Jason Christie can throw a spinnerbait in the Flint and an Alabama guy like Wes Logan can swim a jig in the Hooch,” Cook said. “The Flint is least sight-fishing friendly unless you get into some of the backwaters.”
Precisely how the event unfolds will depend on the weather. Partly sunny and warm is definitely possible, but this time of year, stable practice conditions could quickly yield to a postfrontal shutdown. While Cook said the Seminole bass are a heartier lot than the pure Florida-strain fish, largemouth in general do not like such changes.
“We’re in that very vulnerable time where it could be 30 degrees with a high of 50, or it could be 65 degrees with a high of 75 or 80,” Cook said. “That’s going to be the key factor on whether it’s going to take 23 to 25 pounds a day to win, or (if) it’s going to take 17 pounds a day to win.”
Notwithstanding unpredictable spring weather, Cook said he’s encouraged by what he calls ideal late-winter weather. Essentially, recent conditions have lined up well to spur the prespawn movement and prepare the bass for spawning activity; some of which could occur during the tournament.
“We’ve had exactly what I wanted,” Cook said. “I wanted a cold winter, and we had 19 days below freezing in this region. But we had 10 consecutive days of really cold weather in the teens to the 20s.
“That did good things to kill back some of the grass to position fish. Now we just need some sunshine and some help from Mother Nature.”
Cook believes the entire lake will be in play, but experience has shown him Seminole’s concentrated potential.
“A guy could definitely park in one area and win; it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s the way it’s won,” Cook said. “A guy could sit there and catch them for four days on one cast.
“The key will be noticing one of those areas. You really don’t know if you’re catching the tail end of something or the beginning. You have to just fish and see how they bite.”
Even though giant bass may be less common than what’s expected from the Elite season-opener on Lake Okeechobee the week prior, Cook said Seminole’s impressive population of quality fish will keep a lot of anglers in contention. In fact, he said the century belt requirement of 25-pound daily averages is no stretch.
Assessing the five-bass limit, Cook said Seminole definitely has the numbers.
“I have literally seen it where you can Power-Pole down and catch 100 5-pounders because they’re all swimming to you,” he said.
The full field of 104 pros will fish the first two days, with only the Top 50 advancing to Semifinal Saturday. After Saturday’s weigh-in, the Top 10 remaining pros will advance to Championship Sunday with a chance to claim the $100,000 first-place prize.
New for 2023, fans can enjoy predictions, conditions and live hits from the lake as part of the LIVE Preview show streaming on Bassmaster.comWednesday, Feb. 22 at 9 a.m. ET. Bassmaster LIVE kicks off tournament coverage Thursday and Friday mornings at 8 a.m. on Bassmaster.com, Tubi and the FOX Sports platforms while FS1 will broadcast live with the tournament leaders on Saturday and Sunday.
Wacky Worm Bassin’ Done Better
|
Northland Fishing Tackle’s new Weedless Wacky Jig brings bass anglers a deadly, weedless solution to fishing wacky worms for bass |
|
BEMIDJI, Minn. (February 17, 2023) – Since introduced stateside, there’s been little that competes by way of versatility on bass waters everywhere. Its beauty is the pure simplicity of the rig, which at the onset of the wacky revolution seemed counter-intuitive after years of Texas- and Carolina-rigging. Rig a worm in the middle, right through the molded-in egg sac? Absolutely. While nearly murderous when rigged with an octopus, specially-designed wacky hook, or even a circle hook, anglers learned early on that slipping in a weight did the rig wonders. In fact, we probably all know anglers who carry a small box of nails in different sizes and weights to give the slow-sinking wacky worm a faster rate-of-fall. Soon to follow DIY weighting came molded nail sinkers, pencil weights, Neko weights, ring weights, and half-moon designs, which all fit into (or around) soft-plastic worms effectively. Some weigh down one tail tip of a horizontally-presented worm, while others keep the weight in the middle for a more lateral fall. |
|
|
BLACK |
|
|
GREEN PUMPKIN |
|
Along these lines, Northland is proud of their new Weedless Wacky Jig with its sleek, built-in weighted jig-head to get your bait to where the fish are fast. And read: no weight tweaking necessary. Especially with buoyant plastics, this is a godsend. Covering all depths and conditions, the new Northland Weedless Wacky Jig comes in 1/16-, 1/8-, and a middle-ground 3/16-ounce option, all featuring a #2 sticky-sharp, premium Gamakatsu hook. But that’s just the start. We’ve all run into situations chasing grass-buried bass where a standard-hooked wacky rig clogs with veggies cast-after-cast… To solve this common dilemma, Northland designed the Elite Series Weedless Wacky Jig, complete with two easily-bendable (but almost unbreakable) titanium wire weed guards for penetrating the fish-filled bush. And when it comes to keeping bass pinned, Northland’s Weedless Wacky Jig design features a wide hook gap and straight eye shank to ensure you can winch bruisers out of the salad and into the boat for a quick photo and release. |
|
|
In terms of colors, most experienced bass sticks rely on two worm jig-head colors to do serious damage—and that’s what Northland offers: Black and Green Pumpkin. The new Weedless Wacky Jigs come two per card with an MSRP of $4.99. Northland Tackle Marketing Manager, Charlie Peterson, explains: “First, the Weedless Wacky Jig comes in all the weights bass anglers need to cover a lot of weed-choked depths, shallow to deep. And the dual titanium weed-guard bends nicely and slithers through the salad, no matter what kind of vegetation you’re fishing. Its design is part finesse, part power. From the dead, shallow vegetation of early-season through weeds just emerging—and deeper in the cabbage as the season progresses, it’s an absolute fish-catcher. Depending on where bass are cruising, it’ll will work along the inside or outside weedline.” Looking for a way to get more bites on the vegetation-filled bass lakes, rivers, and reservoirs you fish? Give the new Northland Weedless Wacky Jig a shot with your favorite wacky worms. Here’s another tip: The Weedless Wacky Jig is also catching on with bassheads fishing wacky worms around brush and timber. Not only does it slither through grass, but it also deflects off of woody cover, too… Yep, it’s probably time to return those six-penny nails to the garage. |
|
Lester’s Hawg Head
Courtesy of Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships
If you watched Bassmaster Live Thursday, you heard Team Toyota’s Brandon Lester say he just needed one more “hawg head” like the one he had in his livewell.
Lester was richly blessed with a big bite one hour into the brand new 2023 Bassmaster Elite Series season when the toad of an Okeechobee largemouth swam off with his soft stickbait from a small patch of aquatic vegetation known as arrowhead that formed a point on the reed line he was fishing.
“That’s one of the reasons I love fishing in Florida so much. You pick up your lure after a pitch to visible cover and it’s just got that unmistakable one-of-a-kind heavy feeling, and you know it might be a giant!” smiles Lester.
By Okeechobee standards the 6-pound 14-ounce fish fell short of King Kong status, but is still far bigger than most bass anglers will ever catch in their lifetime. And worth noting, Lester is 90% sure the big gal was hovering over a spawning bed when she bit.
Ironically, eight years ago on the St. Johns River, on the very first morning of the 2015 Elite Series season, Lester also started the day with a giant. It was a 9-pound 4 ounce largemouth that was only nine ounces smaller than the biggest bass he’s ever caught in his life.
Doesn’t like that sawing noise
Lester let 40-pound Vicious braided line do most of the heavy workThursday, but he ties a 20-pound fluorocarbon leader to the business end because he doesn’t like the way braided line makes what he describes as a “sawing noise” against the vegetation.
What makes pros different
Ninety percent of all bass anglers would rush right back to where the big one bit to start the next tournament day, but not Lester. He’s pulling a pro move. He says he’ll begin Friday elsewhere and give the fish in that special area a little more time to migrate in as the sun gets warmer in the afternoon.
Can he finally catch a double digit?
Today’s beast was a one any bass angler would treasure catching, but Lester is still after a 10-pounder. The biggest bass of his life was actually a Tennessee giant that bit a jerkbait in a 30-acre lake he grew up fishing. It weighed 9 pounds 13 ounces.
So maybe this week will finally allow him to catch that magical 10-pounder, but if not, “Ol Hawg Head” provided a pretty special start to the 2023 season.
Surprisingly productive day puts Schultz atop Bassmaster Elite on Okeechobee
Bernie Schultz of Gainesville, Fla., is leading after Day 1 of the 2023 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee with 28 pounds, 11 ounces.
Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.
February 16, 2023
OKEECHOBEE, Fla. — Expectations did not match reality for Bernie Schultz, but the veteran Florida pro was delighted with a surprising day that yielded a five-bass limit of 28 pounds, 11 ounces, which leads Day 1 of the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee.
Hailing from Gainesville, Fla., Schultz anchored his bag with an 8-10 that leads the Phoenix Boats Big Bass standings. He heads into Day 2 with a 3-pound lead over local favorite Scott Martin.
“It was a remarkable day; I didn’t expect to catch that,” Schultz said. “I thought I’d get one — if I was lucky maybe two — big bites, but I got four big bites.”
Schultz caught his bass in two main sections of one general area that he found prior to the off-limits period. With depths of about 3 feet, the area held a mix of vegetation — a key ingredient, given the lake’s present condition.
High water has altered much of the traditional spawning areas, while herbicide treatments have dramatically reduced the hydrilla and eelgrass that once covered vast acreage. The area Schultz fished had a mix of these submerged aquatic plants, along with dollar pads, bulrush and cattails.
“I knew this area was going to be good because the vegetation is very healthy; that’s really a rare thing in this lake these days,” Schultz said. “The lake has shrunk because of habitat loss. Places that were once lush and healthy are barren right now.
“There’s not a lot of filtration in places that were historically really productive this time of year because the fish aren’t using them.”
Schultz caught all of his fish on a 5-inch Yamamoto Senko. He’s using two rigging styles — one for open-water presentations and one for tighter spots amid vegetation.
“I’m fishing slow because I’m in an area where there’s a lot of pressure,” he said. “I got my first big bite pretty early. I had a limit early, but it took a pretty good while to get the second big bite. That was the 8-10.
“I moved areas and caught another 8-pounder and one that was about 6.”
Schultz noted that, while the first half of his day produced more numbers of fish, the latter half yielded the biggest bites.
“I think the afternoons are better once you get that water temperature up,” Schultz said.
Tournament practice saw colder and mostly windy conditions whipping the lake and limiting the opportunity level.
“The first day of practice it was blowing like crazy throughout the day and it was just hard to fish,” Schultz said. “I was getting bit on moving baits but I never had a big bite.
“I had one 4-pounder, and I think that really tipped me off that I’m in a good area.”
Schultz said he will return to his area on Day 2. He’s confident he left plenty of bass there, but he’s unsure of how the overall fishing pressure will affect it.
“I don’t know what’s left (in my area); there were a lot of other boats there so we’ll have to see what happens,” Schultz said. “I’m trying to out-fish guys that are really good.”
Hailing from Clewiston, Fla., Martin admits that home-field advantage is often overstated, but his lifetime of local knowledge served him well by delivering a second-place limit of 25-11. Fishing the lake’s south end, Martin spent his day in a tucked-away area that he had all to himself.
“I prepared for this week, but I didn’t find a whole lot,” Martin said. “A couple of things gave me some clues as to what might happen. I kind of went with my gut this morning and it paid off big time.
“We have, maybe, three more days of fishing out here, so I may have to make adjustments throughout the week.”
Martin caught most of his fish with a prop bait. A slow, methodical presentation proved most effective for provoking fish that were becoming increasingly active with the week’s warming trend.
Martin also caught keepers by flipping shallow vegetation with a Texas-rigged Googan Squad Bandito Bug.
Tyler Rivet of Raceland, La., is in third place with 24-5. Clearly enthusiastic about not only his Day 1 performance but also his upcoming prospects, Rivet credited his success to making good adjustments.
“I was doing what I like to do, flipping an Xcite Baits Sucka Punch and throwing a ChatterBait and a few secret deals that I found would work,” Rivet said. “There’s a ton of fish the way I’m catching them, so I think I can go out there tomorrow and catch them.
“I haven’t had this feeling for a tournament in a while, and I think it can happen for this one. There are a few people in my area, but what they’re throwing and what I’m throwing are different. Hopefully, it can stay that way.”
Friday’s takeoff is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. ET at C. Scott Driver Park. The weigh-in will be held at the park at 3:30 p.m. Only the Top 50 anglers will advance to Semifinal Saturday. Bassmaster LIVE coverage begins at 8 a.m. on Bassmaster.com, Tubi and the FOX Sports platforms.
Randy Howell Earns Group B Qualifying Round Win at B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes
Weights Now Zeroed, Top 20 Anglers from Each Group Combine to Compete in Friday’s Knockout Round
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Feb. 16, 2023) – Guntersville, Alabama, pro Randy Howell caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 36 pounds, 2 ounces, to lead Group B and win Thursday’s Qualifying Round at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One on the Kissimmee Chain Presented by Grundéns.
Howell held the lead for most of the day, Thursday, before briefly losing it late in the third period to California pro Brent Ehrler. Howell caught a 2-pound, 14-ounce largemouth as time expired to re-claim the lead from Ehrler and earn the Group B win. After starting the day in 20th place, Ehrler weighed in five bass totaling 23 pounds, 1 ounce to vault up the leaderboard and end the Qualifying Round in second place. South Carolina’s Casey Ashley rounds out the top three with 10 bass weighing 34-3.
The remaining 40 anglers – the top 20 from each group – now advance to Friday’s Knockout Round, where weights are zeroed, and the anglers compete to finish in the top 10 to advance to the Championship Round on Saturday. Weights will carry over from the Knockout Round into the Championship Round, which will feature the final 10 anglers competing for the heaviest two-day cumulative total and the top prize of $100,000.
“Thankfully, we had another decent day,” Howell said in his post-game interview. “I had a good start to the morning and caught a limit pretty early and that really took the pressure off. I spent the rest of the day practicing around and covering a lot of water. I didn’t find a lot of new stuff, but I did figure out that the area I’m in has quite a bit of fish in it, so I feel pretty good about tomorrow.”
Howell spent the morning targeting fish keying on the shad spawn, rotating through Livingston topwater baits and jerkbaits. He flipped mats later in the day and caught a key fish as time expired – not only to reclaim first place atop the leaderboard, but it also provided him a clue for the Knockout Round.
“Right at the end I caught that one and found another stretch of flipping water that might be good tomorrow,” Howell said. “We got a lot accomplished today and held on for the win, just for the fun of it.
“Tomorrow, we want to be in the top 10 to get to the final day,” Howell went on to say. “It’s been going really good so far, but I want to be here on Saturday fishing for $100,000.
The top 20 pros from Group B that now advance to Friday’s Knockout Round on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes are:
1st: Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 36-2
2nd: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 10 bass, 35-10
3rd: Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., 10 bass, 34-3
4th: Dakota Ebare, Brookeland, Texas, 10 bass, 34-1
5th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., eight bass, 33-5
6th: Alton Jones, Jr., Waco, Texas, 10 bass, 32-15
7th: Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, 10 bass, 32-5
8th: Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 31-9
9th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 10 bass, 31-5
10th: Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., eight bass, 31-2
11th: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., 10 bass, 30-3
12th: Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., 10 bass, 29-10
13th: Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 10 bass, 29-6
14th: Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., 10 bass, 28-15
15th: Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., 10 bass, 28-14
16th: Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 10 bass, 28-3
17th: Cliff Pace, Petal, Miss., 10 bass, 27-11
18th: Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala., 10 bass, 27-11
19th: Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 27-0
20th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 26-4
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 302 scorable bass weighing 726 pounds, 3 ounces caught by the 40 pros Thursday.
Thursday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award was awarded to pro Takahiro Omori of Tokyo, Japan, who weighed in a 9-pound, 8-ounce largemouth which bit a bladed swimjig in Period 2. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.
The six-day event, hosted by the Kissimmee Sports Commission, showcases 80 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a purse of more than $805,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters All-Star event and REDCREST, the Bass Pro Tour championship.
The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Monday and Wednesday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Tuesday and Thursday. Now that each two-day qualifying round is complete, the top 20 anglers from each group advance to Friday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 40 anglers compete to finish in the top 10 to advance to the Championship Round. In the Championship Round on Saturday, weight carries over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
Anglers will launch each day at 7:30 a.m. ET from Big Toho Marina, located at 69 Lakeview Drive in Kissimmee. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the Marina, beginning at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
On Championship Saturday, Feb. 18, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF will welcome fans of all ages to come in to celebrate the top 10 and crown the Stage 1 Champion at the Trophy Presentation. The final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration to meet and greet fans, sign autographs, and take selfies.
The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Presented by Grundéns features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 4-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The 2023 MLF Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, fishing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2024, the Bass Pro Tour championship, held March 13-17, 2024, on a fishery to be announced.
The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on all six days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Presented by Grundéns will air as two, two-hour episodes starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, July 15on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with re-airings on the Outdoor Channel.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, Ark Fishing, ATG + Wrangler, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bally Bet, Bass Cat Boats, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, Daiwa, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Ferguson, Fox Rent A Car, General Tire, Grundéns, Humminbird, Lowrance, Minn Kota, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Power-Pole, Rapala, Star tron, T-H Marine, TORO, Toyota, U.S. Air Force, Yellowstone Bourbon, Yo-Zuri and Zoom Baits.
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, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Toyota hooks 2023 Bassmaster Classic presenting sponsorship
February 16, 2023
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Longtime partners B.A.S.S. and Toyota, which has served as the exclusive Automobile/Truck and Mobility partner of B.A.S.S. for nearly 20 years, announced today that Toyota inked a deal to become the presenting sponsor of the 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic, sportfishing’s most iconic event. The 2023 edition of the Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota will be held March 24-26 in Knoxville, Tenn.
"The Bassmaster Classic is not only the pinnacle of tournament bass fishing, it's a celebration of the fans, the competitors, the sponsors and the sport itself. The three-day expo brings out thousands of avid fishing fans while anglers compete for fishing's most coveted trophy. It is truly a world-class event year after year," said Steve Appelbaum of Toyota Motor Sales North America. "We are extremely excited and proud to be the presenting sponsor of the 2023 Bassmaster Classic in Knoxville, Tennessee, and to continue celebrating our longstanding partnership with B.A.S.S. Toyota will not only be the presenting sponsor, but will have many of our latest vehicles in the Toyota booth space [at the Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo] with exciting games, awesome prizes and the chance to meet your favorite Team Toyota Anglers. We are honored to be such a large part of what will surely be another incredible Classic.”
The 100,000 or more fans attending the Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo can look forward to Toyota’s family-friendly activities, vehicle displays and the ultra-popular Toyota Ride & Drive course.
In addition to its strong presenting sponsorship of the Bassmaster Classic, Toyota is a platinum sponsor of the six-circuit Bassmaster Tournament Trail and will continue garnering prime visibility in B.A.S.S. multimedia platforms, magazines and on Bassmaster LIVE, which airs on FOX, FS1, Tubi and the FOX Sports digital platforms.
“Competing in the Bassmaster Classic is the dream of just about anyone who has picked up a rod to fish a tournament,” said Chase Anderson, CEO of B.A.S.S. “While many of our pro anglers already rely on Toyota’s quality to get them through the long Bassmaster season, we also know that many grass-roots anglers are dreaming about the sport’s biggest stage while hauling their boat to the lake with their trusted Toyota.
“We are thankful for Toyota’s longstanding partnership and support and welcome this tremendous opportunity to further associate our two brands at this year’s Classic.”
Iaconelli: Don’t put all your oranges in one basket
Courtesy of Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships
Great tournament anglers always have a Plan B, but at massive Lake Okeechobee -- “Florida’s Inland Sea” -- you’d better have a Plan C and Plan D too, because a shift in the wind direction can wreck your best spots really fast.
“This is definitely not a place where you can put all your oranges in one basket. Okeechobee is a giant shallow bowl of water that wind affects drastically. Wind creates muddy water, and muddy water is the kiss of death here. So you have to have productive areas for every wind direction,” warns Iaconelli.
Practice afforded a great trial run for Bassmaster Elite Series anglers as winds blew from the west at 20-30 mph on Sunday, then from the northeast on Monday, and then light and easterly on Tuesday.
“I played the wind in practice by launching in a different area of the lake each day based on what direction it was blowing. My goal was to find clean water in every circumstance, so that I’ll be in good shape no matter what the wind does during the tournament,” says Iaconelli.
Wind won’t be the only factor that forces anglers to have numerous key areas located. Fishing pressure is critical here too. Despite the fact you can’t see land from the middle of this 448,000 surface acre monstrosity, hundreds of tournament boats compete here nearly every weekend, and Iaconelli estimates at least 100 guides carry clients out daily in search of the giant bass that made this fishery famous.
“You might play the wind perfectly but show up to your best spot and find 20 other Elite Series guys and 10 fishing guides. So that’s another huge reason to have numerous spots to run to,” emphasizes Iaconelli.
“I’m ready,” says Ike. “I’ve got four key oranges in my basket to start Day 1. They all set up different. So, I feel like I’ll be in good shape no matter what.”
That’s an exciting statement for Iaconelli fans who know a confident “Ike” is a dude capable of doing amazing things no matter how challenging the conditions.
MLF Cancels Day 1 of Toyota Series at Lake Guntersville Due to High Winds
WHAT:
Major League Fishing announced this morning that Day 1 of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at Lake Guntersville has been cancelled. Tournament Director Mark McWha canceled Day 1 of the Central Division season-opener due to strong winds and the threat of severe weather.
All pros and co-anglers will hit the water for two days of action on Friday and Saturday, with winners determined by heaviest two-day cumulative weight.
NOTES:
Anglers will launch at 6:30 a.m. CT on Friday and Saturday from the Goose Pond Colony Marina, located at 417 Ed Hembree Drive in Scottsboro. Weigh-ins will also be held at the Marina and will begin at 2:30 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 $40,000, plus an extra $35,000 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 outboard (valued at $33,500). With a 260-boat field, pros fish for a top award of $65,000, plus an extra $35,000 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 outboard (valued at $33,500) plus $5,000 cash.
The 2023 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 V. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard. The 2023 Toyota Series Championship will be held Nov. 2-4 on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri, and is hosted by ExploreBranson.com.
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.
Dream to Reality
Winner of the first MLF Invitationals Joshua Weaver breaks down how the event on Lake Okeechobee played out
Jeremy Lawyer Tops Group A Qualifying Round at B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Feb. 15, 2023) – Bass Pro Shops pro Jeremy Lawyer of Sarcoxie, Missouri, paced the Group A field weighing in five bass totaling 15 pounds, 14 ounces to win the Qualifying Round, Wednesday, for the group at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One on the Kissimmee Chain Presented by Grundéns . Lawyer’s two-day total of 35-7 earned him the win by a 1-pound, 13-ounce margin over second place angler Jeff Sprague of Wills Point, Texas, who held onto the second place position with a two-day total of 10 scorable bass weighing 33-10.
The top 20 advancing anglers from Group A will now have an off day from competition Thursday, while the 40 anglers competing in Qualifying Group B will complete their two-day Qualifying Round. The top 20 anglers from each group advance to Friday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 40 anglers compete to finish in the top 10 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weight carries over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
“Well, goal number one for this tournament has been accomplished – I’ve made the Knockout Round,” Lawyer said in his postgame interview. “Unfortunately, you don’t really get anything except a pat on the back and some bragging rights, but that’s okay and we’ll take it for now.
“What happened today was very confusing,” Lawyer continued. “Nothing that I thought was going to happen went down, except for my very first starting spot. But, the Knockout Round is a new day and I’m excited that I’ll be there and hope that I can get the right bites.”
Lawyer targeted offshore hydrilla with a vibrating jig and a swimjig for most of the day. He also added a couple of scorable bass on a ribbon-tail worm, but the vibrating jig was the key bait for him, Wednesday.
“I capitalized on some hydrilla and eelgrass mixed out deep,” Lawyer said. “I’d wind around a vibrating jig, then turn around and throw a Zoom Speed Worm around pads and up shallow, trying to catch some spawning fish. It was kind of a 1-2 punch. I didn’t get a lot of bites but what I did get was pretty good quality. Overall, it was a pretty solid day and I’m looking forward to the Knockout Round.
The top 20 pros from Group A that now advance to Friday’s Knockout Round on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes are:
1st: Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 10 bass, 35-7
2nd: Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, 10 bass, 33-10
3rd: Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan, nine bass, 33-9
4th: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 10 bass, 33-4
5th: Mitch Crane, Columbus, Miss., 10 bass, 32-11
6th: Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., 10 bass, 32-7
7th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 10 bass, 31-0
8th: Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., 10 bass, 30-15
9th: Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, 10 bass, 30-6
10th: Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., eight bass, 30-5
11th: Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., 10 bass, 29-13
12th: John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 29-6
13th: Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., nine bass, 29-5
14th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 28-6
15th: Ryan Salzman, Huntsville, Ala., nine bass, 28-1
16th: Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., 10 bass, 25-15
17th: Josh Butler, Hayden, Ala., 10 bass, 25-4
18th: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., nine bass, 24-14
19th: Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., 10 bass, 24-9
20th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 24-6
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 270 scorable bass weighing 635 pounds, 9 ounces caught by the 40 pros Wednesday.
Pro Mitch Crane of Columbus, Mississippi, earned Wednesday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with a stocky largemouth weighing 7 pounds, 4 ounces that he caught in Period 1 on a swimjig. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $1,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.
The six-day event, hosted by the Kissimmee Sports Commission, showcases 80 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a purse of more than $805,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters All-Star event and REDCREST, the Bass Pro Tour championship.
The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Monday and Wednesday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Tuesday and Thursday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the top 20 anglers from each group advance to Friday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 40 anglers compete to finish in the top 10 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weight carries over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
Anglers will launch each day at 7:30 a.m. ET from Big Toho Marina, located at 69 Lakeview Drive in Kissimmee. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the Marina, beginning at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
On Championship Saturday, Feb. 18, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF will welcome fans of all ages to come in to celebrate the top 10 and crown the Stage 1 Champion at the Trophy Presentation. The final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration to meet and greet fans, sign autographs, and take selfies.
The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Presented by Grundéns features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 4-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The 2023 MLF Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, fishing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2024, the Bass Pro Tour championship, held March 13-17, 2024, on a fishery to be announced.
The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on all six days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Presented by Grundéns will air as two, two-hour episodes starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, July 15on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with re-airings on the Outdoor Channel.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, Ark Fishing, ATG + Wrangler, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bally Bet, Bass Cat Boats, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, Daiwa, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Ferguson, Fox Rent A Car, General Tire, Grundéns, Humminbird, Lowrance, Minn Kota, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Power-Pole, Rapala, Star tron, T-H Marine, TORO, Toyota, U.S. Air Force, Yellowstone Bourbon, Yo-Zuri and Zoom Baits.
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, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Following MLF Bass Pro Tour Competition, Lake Toho Set to Host 2023 Abu Garcia College Fishing National Championship
Nearly 400 of the Nation’s Top College Fishing Anglers Compete for the Opportunity to Fish as a Pro in the 2023 Toyota Series Championship and the Chance to Win up to $235,000
Hosted by the Kissimmee Sports Commission, the 15th annual College Fishing National Championship will feature 198 teams of the nation’s best collegiate anglers – a record-breaking number of teams for the MLF College Fishing National Championship, representing 82 colleges across the nation – to compete for a $33,500 prize package, including a new Phoenix 518 pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard, and the chance to advance to the 2023 Toyota Series Championship to compete for a top prize of up to $235,000.
"Kissimmee has been a host to many Major League Fishing events in the past, but this is the first time to host the College Fishing National Championship,” said Tyler Weyant, Director of Sports Development for the Kissimmee Sports Commission. “Many of the veteran anglers call Lake Toho and the Kissimmee Chain a rite of passage for anglers. We are excited to see how the college anglers perform and wish them the best of luck."
Both members of the winning team and the runners-up at the 2023 Abu Garcia College Fishing National Championship will advance to the 2023 Toyota Series Championship where they will compete as pros for a top prize of up to $235,000. In addition, the winning team’s highest finishing team member at the Toyota Series Championship will advance to REDCREST 2024 to compete against the world’s best pros for the sport’s top prize of $300,000.
Both members of the third-place team at the College Fishing National Championship will advance to the 2023 Toyota Series Championship to compete as co-anglers for a shot at winning a $33,500 Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard.
The Florida Gateway College duo of Seth Slanker and Jackson Swisher , both of Lake City, Florida, won the MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Open Presented by YETI on Lake Guntersville last year. The victory earned the team a coveted slot in the 2023 MLF College Fishing National Championship, in their home state.
“I’m really looking forward to the tournament next week and the high temperatures that are forecasted,” said Slanker. “Jackson and I fished on our high school bass team all four years, so we were always fishing high school tournaments at Kissimmee and have a lot of experience down there.
“The fishery changes a lot, but the bass are mid-spawn and this is the best time of year to fish on Kissimmee, so we are hoping to be able to fish up shallow, fish to our strengths and see what we can get in the boat,” Slanker continued.
The duo started the 2023 season with a bang, finishing second at the MLF College Fishing Open on the Harris Chain of Lakes last month in Leesburg, Florida. Slanker said they are excited to get back out on the water and expect to see a lot of big weights – and big fish – in this event.
“I think there will be several 20-pound bags weighed in, especially with the cold front that we’ve had this week and the anticipated warm up next week,” said Slanker. “I believe it will take more than 20 pounds per day to win this event. I think teams will do really well if they can get 25 pounds per day.”
Slanker and Swisher are both in their third year at Florida Gateway College and are enrolled in the Commercial Heating and Air Conditioning Technology program. This is their second time to qualify for the MLF College Fishing National Championship.
“We have about a day and a half to practice, so we’ll just see where the bigger fish are, try to use our time wisely and see if we can figure out something special,” said Slanker. “We really like flipping the Strike King Ocho and the Rage Tail Craw this year, so that’s definitely where we will start and hopefully get some key bites.
“There will also be a bunch of post-spawn fish, so we will definitely throw a (Z-Man) ChatterBaitand a ( Bill Lewis) Rat-L-Trap around some offshore hydrilla as well.”
Anglers will take off from Big Toho Marina, located at 69 Lakeview Dr. in Kissimmee at 7 a.m. ETeach day of competition. Weigh-ins will be held at the marina starting at 3 p.m. and will be livestreamed daily. Fans are welcome to attend the event or tune in to the weigh-in and follow the online coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com .
Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI teams compete in three regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The Top 10 teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the Top 20 teams from the annual Abu Garcia College Fishing Open advance to the following year’s Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Black Rifle Coffee Company, E3, Favorite Fishing, Fox Rent a Car, General Tire, Grundens, Lawless Lures, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Wiley X and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular College Fishing updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube .
Nominations now open for 2023 class of Bassmaster High School All-Americans
February 15, 2023
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — B.A.S.S. is seeking nominations for the best and brightest high school bass anglers in the country.
The Bassmaster High School All-American Fishing Team presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors recognizes the 12 most outstanding high school anglers in the nation. The program is designed to reward young athletes for their performance in tournaments, leadership in their communities and involvement in conservation efforts.
Applications for the team, which is now in its ninth year, will be accepted today through March 31.
To be considered, a student must be nominated by a parent, coach, teacher or other school official. Students currently enrolled in grades 10 through 12 with a current grade point average of 2.5 or higher are eligible.
Judges will select up to two student anglers in each state. These All-State Fishing Team members will become semifinalists in the selection of the 12-member Bassmaster High School All-American Fishing Team presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors. Criteria include success in high school fishing tournaments and involvement in conservation efforts and other community service activities.
The anglers chosen will compete in a one-day Bassmaster High School All-American Tournament to be held in conjunction with a 2023 Bassmaster Elite tournament, to be announced at a later date. Elite Series anglers will serve as “coaches” for the student anglers in the one-day fishing event. The high school standouts and Elite Series coaches will be honored before the weigh-in crowd.
“I am super-excited to share this platform with the best high school anglers in the country,” said Glenn Cale, B.A.S.S. tournament manager of theCollege, High School and Junior series. “Balancing school and fishing is key and hard work.”
All students who compete in high school fishing events are eligible, regardless if they are affiliated with B.A.S.S. or another fishing organization.
Notices have been sent to youth fishing directors of the B.A.S.S. Nation and other organizations, as well as leaders of state high school fishing programs. Adults can nominate students by filling out an online form at Bassmaster.com/allamerican. Nominations must be submitted before midnight on March 31. Please send all questions to [email protected].
Academy Sports + Outdoors Launches H2OX: A Complete Assortment of Fishing Gear Featuring New Products and Design
- Premier Series – offers value for entry-level anglers of all skill levels
- Ethos Series – mixes elements of elevated features and benefits while still maintaining substantial value
- Evo Series – designed in partnership with professional Elite Series angler, Stetson Blaylock, focuses on elevated products with unique, innovative features
Adrian Avena Grabs Early Group B Lead at B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Feb. 14, 2023) – Pro Adrian Avena of Vineland, New Jersey, weighed in five scorable largemouth bass totaling 26 pounds, 5 ounces, to grab the early lead for Group B after their Day 1 of the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One on the Kissimmee Chain Presented by Grundéns. Pro Randy Howell of Guntersville, Alabama, sits 2 pounds, 7 ounces behind Avena in second place for Group B with five scorable bass totaling 23-14.
The six-day event, hosted by the Kissimmee Sports Commission, showcases 80 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a top payout of $100,000, and a total purse of more than $805,000. Anglers are also fishing for valuable Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters All-Star event and REDCREST, the Bass Pro Tour championship.
Avena started the day out slow, and was tied for 33rd place after the first period of competition. He went on a tear in Period 2, upgrading by 25 pounds and charging into the lead which he then held for the remainder of the day.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the event,” Avena said. “Now I just have to figure out a way to make it count.”
Avena was done fishing by 1 p.m. Tuesday and spent the rest of the day in practice mode. He’s fishing in an area that he has all to himself and that MLF commentator Marty Stone described as, “pretty far down south.”
“This is probably, low key, one of my most favorite Valentine’s days that I’ve ever had,” said Avena. “I caught 26 pounds – the biggest bag I’ve ever caught in my life. And I caught them in a tournament. That’s freaking awesome.
“A key bait for me today was a 5.75(-inch Berkley Powerbait) Speed Boss, that I caught two of my big ones on,” Avena continued. “It’s a great little swimming worm. I’m going to have to call up Brad from Pure Fishing and ask him to overnight me some more of these, because I’ve got a feeling that I’m going to catch quite a few more on it the rest of this week.”
The 40 anglers in Group B will now have a day off on Wednesday, while the 40 anglers from Group A will wrap up their two-day Qualifying Round. Group B will finish their Qualifying Round on Thursday.
The top 20 pros in Group B after Day 1 on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes are:
1st: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., five bass, 26-5
2nd: Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 23-14
3rd: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 19-2
4th: Dakota Ebare, Brookeland, Texas, five bass, 18-1
5th: Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., five bass, 17-5
6th: Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala., five bass, 16-11
7th: Alton Jones, Jr., Waco, Texas, five bass, 16-4
8th: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, five bass, 16-0
9th: Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., five bass, 15-15
10th: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., five bass, 15-4
11th: Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 15-0
12th: Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 14-10
13th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 14-10
14th: Roy Hawk, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., five bass, 13-15
15th: Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., five bass, 13-12
16th: Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., five bass, 13-3
17th: Matt Lee, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 13-1
18th: Timmy Horton, Muscle Shoals, Ala., five bass, 13-0
19th: Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., five bass, 12-11
20th: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., five bass, 12-8
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Favorite Fishing pro Matt Becker earned the $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award after a 7-pound, 1-ounce largemouth bit his bladed swimjig during Period 2. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and another $1,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.
The 40 Anglers in Group A compete in their two-day qualifying round on Monday and Wednesday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Tuesday and Thursday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the top 20 anglers from each group advance to Friday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 40 anglers compete to finish in the top 10 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weight carries over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
Anglers will launch each day at 7:30 a.m. ET from Big Toho Marina, located at 69 Lakeview Drive in Kissimmee. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the Marina, beginning at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
On Championship Saturday, Feb. 18, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF will welcome fans of all ages to come in to celebrate the top 10 and crown the Stage 1 Champion at the Trophy Presentation. The final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration to meet and greet fans, sign autographs, and take selfies.
The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Presented by Grundéns features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 4-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The 2023 MLF Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, fishing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2024, the Bass Pro Tour championship, held March 13-17, 2024, on a fishery to be announced.
The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on all six days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Presented by Grundéns will air as two, two-hour episodes starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, July 15on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with re-airings on the Outdoor Channel.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, Ark Fishing, ATG + Wrangler, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bally Bet, Bass Cat Boats, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, Daiwa, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Ferguson, Fox Rent A Car, General Tire, Grundéns, Humminbird, Lowrance, Minn Kota, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Power-Pole, Rapala, Star tron, T-H Marine, TORO, Toyota, U.S. Air Force, Yellowstone Bourbon, Yo-Zuri and Zoom Baits.
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, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
KVD Announces His Final Season as a Touring Pro
Columbia, S.C. – February 14, 2023 – All good things must come to an end. Kevin VanDam’s last season as a professional touring pro will end after this year’s 2023 Bass Pro Tour season. Arguably the greatest tournament angler ever, has decided this years Bass Pro Tour season will be his last as a tournament angler. “This being my 33rd season as a touring pro, at the age and my place in life and career, I have decided I can be more impactful in the industry I love very much,” Kevin said. “I still have a lot to give back to the sport I am so passionate about.” Kevin is the most decorated tournament angler of all time with records that may never be broken. Seven BASS AOY Titles and an FLW AOY title; 4 Bassmaster Classic wins; 25 total BASS wins and 4 MLF wins. What’s more, KVD has competed in over 320 BASS events and owns 121 top-10 finishes (183 top-20’s). Amazingly, he has scored a top 10 in 35-percent of the BASS events he has ever entered.
Kevin is known as a loyal and committed partner to his sponsors. “I have a long history with the brands as a competitive angler. Brands like Strike King and Quantum have been with me since the beginning and Lew’s, along with Strike King and Quantum, have been invaluable partners that helped get me to where I am. The people at these brands are like family, and I look forward to being a better ambassador in the future and being even more involved,” Kevin proclaimed. Rather Outdoors CEO Ken Eubanks reminisces on the impact Kevin has had throughout the years. “Kevin’s impact on this business has been profound, and among those who contribute to the success of Strike King and Lew’s, he is simply without peer. Yet, when Kevin walks through the shop at Strike King, or sits at the table with the Lew’s team, we don’t see him as a business collaborator, or a pro we sponsor; we see him as family,” shares Eubanks.
Major League Fishing President and CEO Boyd Duckett noted, “Today is both a sad day and a time for celebration in our sport. Kevin VanDam, the greatest professional angler of all time, announced that he is retiring at the end of the season. Kevin has been an integral part of Major League Fishing from our very beginning and has been a pioneer in helping develop this league. There has never been a more unselfish angler when it comes to helping grow the sport of bass fishing, for the anglers or the fans.” Dave Mercer, long time emcee of the Bassmaster Elites Series, said, “Kevin VanDam is without a doubt, the greatest professional angler in history. Not only does his list of accomplishments dominate almost every single category of the record books, he changed & reinvented all aspects of the sport – both on and off the water. One of the most over used quotes in the world today is ‘The GOAT,’ but Kevin VanDam truly is the Greatest of All Time. Thank You Kevin!”
We at Rather Outdoors congratulate Kevin on his retirement from competitive tournaments and look forward to continued collaborations in the future.
Early Season Bladed Jig tips
https://youtu.be/OVvKMsbGbqk
Vance McCollough breaks down bladed jigs for fishing the early parts of the year
Fletcher Shryock Leads After Day 1 of B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Feb. 13, 2023) – Favorite Fishing pro Fletcher Shryock’s five largest bass Monday weighed 23 pounds, 6 ounces and earned him the early lead after Day 1 for Group A of the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One on the Kissimmee Chain Presented by Grundéns. Right behind Shryock in second place is Jeff Sprague of Wills Point, Texas, who weighed in five scorable largemouth totaling 20-4.
The six-day event, hosted by the Kissimmee Sports Commission, showcases 80 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a purse of more than $805,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters All-Star event and REDCREST, the Bass Pro Tour championship.
Weights remain fairly tight in the remainder of the top five. Pro Jeremy Lawyer of Sarcoxie, Missouri, ended the day in third place with five bass totaling 19-9, while Osaka, Japan’s Shinichi Fukae, who led the tournament for a good majority of the day, ended the day in fourth with five bass worth 18-15. General Tire pro Mark Rose of Wynne, Arkansas, rounds out the top five with five bass weighing 18-7.
The 40 anglers in Group A will now have an off day from competition on Tuesday, while the 40 anglers competing in Group B will begin their first day of competition. Group A will resume competition on Wednesday.
Shryock said he felt like he had a solid plan after his practice rounds, but as the wind picked up and rolled through the Kissimmee Chain on Monday, it had all but ruined his strategy.
“It started off this morning just not good,” Shryock said in his post-game interview. “I had to make adjustments today to be able to catch what I caught. The second and the third periods were really where I made my move.”
A midday flurry netted Shryock four of his best five bass. That pushed him right behind Fukae for first place. Then, the final 6-13 to end his day secured him the top spot. While he remains guarded about exactly how and where he’s catching his fish, he did give a little insight.
“I was being me and doing what I always do — flipping grass,” Shryock said simply. “I alternated between two baits. One is a Florida staple and the other is something I’m working on coming out with for Yamamoto. I’m keeping those baits quiet for now because I want to make sure that I don’t give too much away.”
Day 1 of the 2023 season is also the first day of the new five-fish format of the Bass Pro Tour. It took some time to get used to for the anglers on the water today, but all-in-all some positive reviews.
“I love the five-fish format paired with the live-scoring of SCORETRACKER®,” Shryock said. “Knowing that I only have to catch five fish and I know just how big those five have to be to keep pace is a great feeling and something I’ve never had before.”
Fukae echoed Shryock’s sentiments.
“It’s kind of weird compared to the last four years, but I like it,” Fukae said. “I think I’m more comfortable fishing five fish and I think that showed today.”
The top 20 pros in Group A after Day 1 on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes are:
1st: Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 23-6
2nd: Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, five bass, 20-4
3rd: Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., five bass, 19-9
4th: Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan, five bass, 18-15
5th: Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., five bass, 18-7
6th: Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., five bass, 17-10
7th: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., five bass, 17-4
8th: Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., five bass, 16-11
9th: John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., five bass, 16-11
10th: Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 15-8
11th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., five bass, 15-1
12th: Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas, five bass, 14-9
13th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 14-8
14th: Ryan Salzman, Huntsville, Ala., five bass, 14-3
15th: Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, five bass, 13-4
16th: Mitch Crane, Columbus, Miss., five bass, 13-2
17th: Alton Jones, Sr., Lorena, Texas, five bass, 13-1
18th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 12-4
19th: Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., five bass, 12-1
20th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va, five bass, 11-14
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Fukae caught the biggest fish of the day in Period 1, a nice 8-pound, 11-ounce largemouth bass that bit his lipless crankbait to earn the first $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award of the event. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and another $1,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.
The 40 Anglers in Group A compete in their two-day qualifying round on Monday and Wednesday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Tuesday and Thursday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the top 20 anglers from each group advance to Friday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 40 anglers compete to finish in the top 10 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weight carries over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
Anglers will launch each day at 7:30 a.m. ET from Big Toho Marina, located at 69 Lakeview Drive in Kissimmee. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the Marina, beginning at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
On Championship Saturday, Feb. 18, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF will welcome fans of all ages to come in to celebrate the top 10 and crown the Stage 1 Champion at the Trophy Presentation. The final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration to meet and greet fans, sign autographs, and take selfies.
The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Presented by Grundéns features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 4-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The 2023 MLF Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, fishing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2024, the Bass Pro Tour championship, held March 13-17, 2024, on a fishery to be announced.
The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on all six days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Presented by Grundéns will air as two, two-hour episodes starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, July 15on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with re-airings on the Outdoor Channel.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, Ark Fishing, ATG + Wrangler, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bally Bet, Bass Cat Boats, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, Daiwa, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Ferguson, Fox Rent A Car, General Tire, Grundéns, Humminbird, Lowrance, Minn Kota, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Power-Pole, Rapala, Star tron, T-H Marine, TORO, Toyota, U.S. Air Force, Yellowstone Bourbon, Yo-Zuri and Zoom Baits.
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, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
White Claims Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Lake Chickamauga
DAYTON, Tenn. (Feb. 13, 2023) – Boater Rusty White of Soddy Daisy, Tennessee, caught a five-bass limit weighing 24 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Chickamauga . The tournament, hosted by Fish Dayton/Rhea Economic & Tourism, was the first event of the season for the BFL Volunteer Division. White earned $5,921 for his victory.
“It was a grind. Despite my big limit, it was tough,” said White. “I only caught five fish all day. Thankfully it started with one that weighed 9-4. My next fish was over 5 pounds and was my second biggest fish.”
White said his first bass was landed around 9 a.m., and his second fish wasn’t netted until 11 a.m.Two more keepers followed, and he said he then had to scramble just to fill his limit.
White scoured the lower end of the lake, focusing on grass flats in less than three feet of water and employing a red ½-ounce BOOYAH One Knocker to entice the few strikes he had. White said he used 25-pound monofilament line to keep the bait higher in the water column and out of the grass. He said the heavy line also gave him confidence while landing big fish.
“I didn’t know how much weight I had at the end of the day,” White said. “I thought I might have had 17 or 18 pounds. Fishing against the best guys in Tennessee and the best on Chickamauga … I’m pretty happy with this win.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
2nd: Dillon Falardeau, Hixson, Tenn., five bass, 22-11, $2,960
3rd: Travis Akers, Berea, Ky., four bass, 18-9, $2,954
4th: Justin Freeman, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 17-9, $1,283
4th: Casey Majni, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 17-9, $1,283
6th: Jason Pierce, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 16-14, $1,085
7th: Derrick Stafford, Kingston, Tenn., four bass, 16-9, $987
8th: Daniel Keyes, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 16-7, $888
9th: Cody Mackie, McMinnville, Tenn., five bass, 16-6, $789
10th: Chase Henley, Kingston, Tenn., five bass, 16-2, $1,391 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
Akers caught a largemouth that weighed 10 pounds, 12 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $980.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
2nd: Luke Shrader, Maple Shade, N.J., four bass, 13-6, $1,480
3rd: Travis Sneed, Decatur, Tenn., four bass, 13-3, $988
4th: Joshua Paul, Oliver Springs, Tenn., four bass, 11-13, $691
5th: Scott Peters, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 11-0, $592
6th: Lenny Bays, Dayton, Ky., five bass, 10-10, $543
7th: Luke Fraley, South Pittsburgh, Tenn., four bass, 9-11, $493
8th: Kevin Hughes, Bristol, Va., three bass, 9-10, $419
8th: Stephen Vick, Dandridge, Tenn., three bass, 9-10, $419
10th: Darryl Brown, Lebanon, Va., three bass, 9-8, $345
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. 12-14 BFL Regional tournament on Dale Hollow Lake in Byrdstown, Tennessee. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury 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 outboard.
The 2023 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2023 All-American event will take place May 31-June 2, on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina. The event is hosted by Visit Oconee SC.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
John Kellett and Zeke Gossett win ABT Smith Lake with 17.88
By Jason Duran
The 10th Season of the Alabama Bass Trail began on Lewis Smith Lake in Walker County. Anticipation was high for this first event of five in the ABT North Division. A full field of 225 teams, including over 70 new teams, joined this year. They were all primed and ready for this event, and even the nasty weather couldn’t stop the best team anglers in the southeast from catching solid limits of Smith Lake bass.
During practice for this event, teams reported catching fish in ditches and suspended off shore. The key baits in practice were swimbaits, shaky heads and crankbaits. Throughout the week,the weather was on a warming trend, but on tournament morning, the weather conditions changed and brought cooler temperatures and lots of wind rain in the afternoon making the conditions horrible.
The first-place team of John Kellett and Zeke Gossett caught 17.88 pounds. They spent time in practice “trying to figure them out. With the sunny days in practice, we caught fish a lot shallower than we did today. With the cloud cover and rain, we had to make adjustments. We didn’t catch our first fish till 10:30. We discussed leaving the plan to go and catch a limit and come back but sometimes being hardheaded pays off. We stuck with the plan, and after making the decision to stay, we caught one over 4-pounds and knew we were doing the right thing. We were boat 154 with a 4:30 check-in time. We felt the fish would pull up later in the day, and the late check-in time would help with that. We made the adjustment from the shallower water and felt the fish move out a little deeper. In practice, the fish were in the 1-foot range, but today we found them form 1-12 feet range. The productive areas for us today were the deeper banks. We would put the boat in 20 feet of water and fish the bank swings. We covered a lot of water, running and gunning looking for those channel swings along the bank. We caught only five keepers today, but they were the five needed. We caught them on a Strike King Rage Swimmer Swimbait Electric shad used a belly weighed hook.” For the win they collected a $10,000 payday plus a $2000 AmFirst Bonus.
The second-place team of Terry Tucker and Jeremy Greencaught one or two small fish during Friday’s practice with a game plan today to just go fishing. “We targeted fish in staging areas. We didn’t really find anyone else doing that. The depth range was anywhere 8-12 feet in the back of pockets. We attacked those areas. We could see them on the graph and kept fishing those areas all day. Today it worked for us. The water clarity was stained, and the water temps were 52-53 degrees. We bounced around and hit about 3 or 4 areas continuing to rotate though them. We caught fish most of the day with a midday lull. The morning bite was good, and we had a limit by 9:00. This is our second year to fish the ABT, and we feel this is the best competition in the south.” They fished the whole day using crankbaits targeting fish on different brands of mid-range crankbaits in a shad patterns. They shared that they are from the Gadsden area and are “really looking forward to the Neely Henry Lake tournament later this year.” For their second-placefinish, they weighed in 17.55 and earned $5,000.
Craig Daniel and Jackie Flack are no strangers to the Smith Lake Leader board. They have had much success on this lake throughout their many years of fishing it. They weighed in 17.27 pounds- enough for third-place in this event and a $4000 check plus the $2,500 Phoenix Boats Pay Day and the $500 Garmin highest finisher for a total of $7000 including bonuses. “Depth and color mean a lot here and finding the right conditions are key at Smith Lake. The temps changed a lot, but the water temp didn’t fluctuate much so we felt the fish would be doing some of the same things today. We started out in a ditch in about 25 feetof water and caught three out of it. We moved to another ditch and caught three more, moved once again and caught about 10. We pulled the trolling motor about 100 times today fishing lots of water. We figured out we needed to focus on smaller ditches instead of big ditches. The jig bite was better today and that surprised us. The fish were tight to the bottom. You can catch one and see on the Garmin Live Scope about 10 come off the bottom with it. We caught them on a homemade jig in green pumpkin. The key to the jig was a heavy weed guard that kept it from getting hung up in the wooded areas where we were fishing.”
The top five standings are below for a complete list of standings please visit:
https://www.alabamabasstrail.org/lewis-smith-lake/results/
Epting Notches Second Career Lake Murray Win in Phoenix Bass Fishing League Competition
PROSPERITY, S.C. (Feb. 13, 2023) – Boater Chris Epting of Chapin, South Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 25 pounds, 10 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Murray . The tournament, hosted by the Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board, was the first event of 2023 for the BFL South Carolina Division. Epting earned $8,500 for his victory, including the lucrative $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus.
“I won here in 2021, but it was a lot colder and a lot wetter,” said Epting. “But fishing conditions were similar this time as to they were then.”
Epting lives on the lake and said he began fishing windy points and rocks using spinnerbaits, Lunker Lure Jigs and Buckeye Lures Jigs in the mid-lake section of Murray, but his first spot held three other boats. He managed to catch one keeper there before relocating.
“I told my co-angler that I had some spots that were kind of hidey-holes, so I said, ‘Let’s go down there and check those and see what happens,’” Epting said. “And bam-bam-bam, I had a limit.”
Epting said he started culling fish, adding one over 6 pounds and then one over 5 pounds. Epting said he braved rough wind and ran down the lake, but quickly returned to mid-lake and caught another large bass that weighed more than 7 pounds. He had a 2¾-pound bass in the livewell he tried to cull but never managed to replace.
“I was really nervous because I knew what it had been taking to win here,” Epting said. “My team partner and I weighed one of the biggest bags I’d ever heard of here not too long ago, and it went more than 29½ pounds. So, I wasn’t sure I had enough to win this time.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
2nd: Daniel Jordan, Hartsville, S.C., five bass, 23-13, $3,000
3rd: Chuck Howard, Elloree, S.C., five bass, 23-9, $2,000
4th: Spencer Black, Hickory, N.C., five bass, 22-7, $1,400
5th: Adam Waters, Denver, N.C., five bass, 22-2, $1,200
6th: Grayson Cook, Canton, N.C., five bass, 21-7, $1,100
7th: Brandon Jeffcoat, Columbia, S.C., five bass, 21-1, $1,000
8th: Wendell Causey, Jr., Irmo, S.C., five bass, 20-13, $900
9th: Cody Hoyle, Rutherfordton, N.C., five bass, 20-6, $750
9th: Mark Collins, Inman, S.C., five bass, 20-6, $750
Noah Nicholson of Union Mills, North Carolina, caught a largemouth bass that weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $1,000.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
2nd: Eddie Hall, Inman, S.C., five bass, 21-8, $1,495
3rd: Trent Killian, Bostic, N.C., five bass, 16-6, $1,198
4th: Jacob Yaden, Evans, Ga., four bass, 15-11, $898
5th: Stephen Sprouse, Pauline, S.C., five bass, 15-10, $598
6th: Bill Beard, Prosperity, S.C., five bass, 14-14, $548
7th: James Warncke, Camden, S.C., five bass, 14-13, $498
8th: Kodell Keels, Columbia, S.C., five bass, 14-5, $449
9th: Justin Tingen, Moore, S.C., five bass, 13-1, $399
10th: David Bright, Mooresville, N.C., five bass, 12-15, $331
10th: Brandon Kelley, Evans, Ga., two bass, 12-15, $331
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. 19-21 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury 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 outboard.
The 2023 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2023 All-American event will take place May 31-June 2, on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina. The event is hosted by Visit Oconee SC.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Garrett Warren Edges Field By One Ounce for Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Lake Martin
Only Two Ounces Separate Winner From Third-Place Finisher and Auburn College Fishing Teammate Connor Jacob
ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. (Feb. 13, 2023) – Boater Garrett Warren of Hoover, Alabama, caught a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Martin . The tournament, hosted by the Alexander City Chamber of Commerce, was the first event for the BFL Bama Division. Warren earned $4,394 for his victory.
Warren’s winning weight was good enough to win by one ounce over second-place finisher Brady Vernon of Sterrett, Alabama, and two ounces ahead of the third-place angler, Warren’s College Fishing teammate at the University of Auburn, Connor Jacob of Peoria, Illinois.
“The conditions were so good today,” Warren said. “I had probably 60 bites and only landed about 20. I lost a 4-pounder and another 4- to 5-pounder that I saw. So I knew the conditions were fire for good fishing, if you knew what you were doing.
“A lot of the guys in that field were hammers, so I thought it was going to take 16 or 17 pounds to win,” Warren added.
Warren, a self-proclaimed “river rat,” said fishing Lake Martin doesn’t fit his style very well, but he adapted to the river bank-fishing techniques and situations that Lake Martin presented. The 22-year-old Auburn University senior said he focused on docks on the lower end of the lake with a Hornet swimbait.
“I caught my fifth keeper with maybe 15 minutes left to fish and it culled a small one that weighed maybe a pound and a quarter,” said Warren. “All of my fish were solid today. When I caught that last fish I was really pumped up because I knew I had a solid bag and was going to cut a solid check. The win was really unexpected, but I have accomplished a big goal.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Garrett Warren, Hoover, Ala., five bass, 13-6, $4,394
2nd: Brady Vernon, Sterrett, Ala., five bass, 13-5, $2,197
3rd: Connor Jacob, Peoria, Ill., five bass, 13-4, $1,464
4th: Robbie Robinson, Mobile, Ala., five bass, 12-13, $1,655
5th: Matthew Welcher, Opelika, Ala., five bass, 12-11, $879
6th: Austin Shields, Lake View, Ala., five bass, 12-0, $805
7th: Robbie Pritchard, Dadeville, Ala., five bass, 11-12, $732
8th: Jake Akin, Heflin, Ala., five bass, 11-3, $659
9th: Jonathan Powell, Elmore, Ala., five bass, 11-2, $586
10th: Donald Griffith, Robertsdale, Ala., five bass, 10-13, $513
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Robinson caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $630.
Robinson Cruz of Montgomery, Alabama, won the Strike King co-angler division and a total of $2,197 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 9 pounds, 5 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Robinson Cruz, Montgomery, Ala., five bass, 9-5, $2,197
2nd: Cameron Petras, Biloxi, Miss., five bass, 8-15, $915
2nd: O’Brien Brown, Pinson, Ala., five bass, 8-15, $1,230
4th: Jared Turnbloom, Calera, Ala., five bass, 8-7, $513
5th: Ethan McDonald, Livingston, Tenn., five bass, 8-6, $439
6th: Larry Harvey, Montgomery, Ala., five bass, 8-5, $403
7th: Turner Carlisle, Columbus, Ga., five bass, 8-2, $366
8th: Don Reeves, Eufaula, Ala., five bass, 7-13, $311
8th: Ervin Heard, Brent, Ala., five bass, 7-13, $311
10th: James Lehman, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., five bass, 7-12, $256
Brown earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $315, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 3 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
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. 12-14 BFL Regional tournament on Dale Hollow Lake in Byrdstown, Tennessee. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury 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 outboard.
The 2023 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2023 All-American event will take place May 31-June 2, on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina. The event is hosted by Visit Oconee SC.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Spearpoint Performance Hooks adds Scott Canterbury to National Pro Staff Former Bassmaster AOY to Headline Elite Series Staff
Visalia, Calif. – February 13, 2023 – On the eve of the first event of the 2023 Bassmaster Elite Series season, Spearpoint Performance Hooks announces the addition of 2019 Bassmaster Angler of the Year Scott Canterbury to the National Pro Staff.
Canterbury, from Odenville, Ala., first became acquainted with the brand at ICAST 2021 when the company introduced their Fury Flip Hooks. He visited the booth and was intrigued by the product line. Spearpoint management gave him samples, hopeful that they would make a connection with the veteran angler.
Having not heard from him several months later, the company felt that there must not have been a fit. Little did they know, Canterbury was putting the hooks through a rigorous evaluation process when he wasn’t competing in tournaments. “I really liked the concept of the Spearpoint Hooks and the VGrip® Technology, but I wanted to make sure it was a match for my style,” he said. “I really put the hooks to the test for more than a year before contacting Art (Nubaryan) to make things official.”
Canterbury said he has been impressed with the hooks in every way. “I have seen marked improvement in my hook to land ratios, which is where it matters most for a professional who counts on his equipment on the Elite Series,” said the veteran pro. “Spearpoint Hooks check off every box of the hook performance list for me, they are sharp, strong and the VGrip® Technology really digs deep and doesn’t let go; I was so impressed I wanted to represent the brand.”
For Spearpoint, having someone of Canterbury’s credentials vet the product thoroughly and return with a desire to promote the company was an honor, and was an easy decision. “Scott is the consummate professional, and the type of guy who makes you feel like you’ve known him your whole life,” said Nubaryan, Spearpoint Hooks’ Vice President. “He is someone who works hard for his partners, makes himself available to them for promotional needs and is one of the best people out there; he became a priority for us instantly.”
Erik Hennesay, President of Spearpoint Hooks agreed with his partner’s assessment. “I could tell that Scott was the kind of guy we would want to work with the moment we met him,” said Hennesay. “We are thrilled to have him on the team and look forward to seeing him have an amazing year with Spearpoint Hooks on the business end of his line.”
Canterbury began his professional fishing career in 2008 on the FLW Tour, claiming the Rookie of the Year title and has been one of the sport’s most consistent performers since he arrived on the scene. Throughout his nearly 15-year career, the Alabama pro has notched two professional wins, 53 top 10 finishes, qualified for 10 Forrest Wood Cup and two Bassmaster Classics, won the 2019 Bassmaster Angler of the Year crown and posted more than $1.8-million in career earnings.
MLF President Boyd Duckett Issues Statement on Kevin VanDam Retirement Announcement
BENTON, Ky. (Feb. 13, 2023) – Major League Fishing President and CEO Boyd Duckett issued the following statement today regarding the announcement of Kevin VanDam’s retirement following the 2023 Bass Pro Tour season:
“Today is both a sad day and a time for celebration in our sport. Kevin VanDam, the greatest professional angler of all time, announced that he is retiring at the end of the season. Kevin has been an integral part of Major League Fishing from our very beginning and has been a pioneer in helping develop this league. There has never been a more unselfish angler when it comes to helping grow the sport of bass fishing, for the anglers or the fans.
On a personal note, having known Kevin through my entire pro career, he is not only the best angler of all time but also one of the best human beings that I know. He is the most liked and caring individual that I have ever met, and Kevin is always willing to share his time and resources with all anglers at every level. There are thousands of stories of him loaning a bait to another angler or competitor, or talking fishing and taking pictures with fans in the parking lot after a full day of competition. It truly speaks volumes about him as a human being.
On behalf of the entire MLF organization, we wish Kevin and his family all the best. I look forward to watching him compete on the water for the 2023 season, and we take comfort in knowing he is not leaving the sport, but helping to further it through his work off the water. Thank you, Kevin.”
Scroggins Predicts Fireworks for BPT Season Opener
Courtesy of Luke Stoner - Dynamic Sponsorships
Terry Scroggins is entering his 20th year as a full-time professional angler this week on the Kissimmee Chain as the Bass Pro Tour kicks off the 2023 season. “Big Show” is a seasoned-veteran at this point in his career, but he isn’t ashamed to say he feels like an 8-year-old on Christmas morning in anticipation of the start of the season.
The Team Toyota pro says he’s always excited to get a new year of competition started, but he’s extra fired up in 2023 due to theBPT format change and because the season is kicking off on a body of water he’s got a lot of history with.
“I’m pretty pumped to get back to a five-fish limit in some of our tournaments, and what’s better than starting off on a body of water where we can really showcase this format,” Scroggins said. “With how the weather is lining up, I think we are going to see a lot of five-to-eight-pound fish caught and I would be surprised if we don’t see some 30-lb stringers this week.”
Real time weather trends
Big Show Scroggins is a Florida native who lives on the St. Johns River, just a short drive away from the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes and he’ll be the first to tell you that weather trends are everything this time of year. Weather plays a huge role in every fishing tournament, but this fact is magnified when we come to Florida in the early spring.
Bass in the sunshine state want to be shallow and spawning right now, but Florida strain largemouth are extremely susceptible to cold-fronts and weather changes. These early spring Florida fish are here today and gone tomorrow, which has burned just about every competitor in the 80-person field.
“It’s been a typical, inconsistent spring in Florida,” Scroggins offered. “We’ll have a short warming trend followed by a cold front and we’re going to experience that during our practice period. It’s supposed to dip down into the 40s on Sunday and Monday, which I expect to set the fish back a bit. But throughout the tournament the temps are going to rise, the sun is going to shine, and we should see a big wave of fish move up and get right.”
While Scroggins’ forecast gives BPT competitors and fishing fans a lot to look forward to, he warns Stage One won’t be an easy tournament to prepare for. Big Show believes practice could lead a lot of guys astray. Noting there will be anglers who have terrible practices that turn in big stringers come tourney time, while on the contrary some pros who thought they found the mother load will come back to the ramp scratching their heads.
“This will be a tournament where you have to find the fish in the event more so than practice,” Scroggins admitted. “But that’s nothing new for this bunch, the every-fish-counts format trained this group of anglers to stay on the hunt during the event. You just gotta keep an open mind.”
Patterns will be wide open
Scroggins explained one of the best things about the Kissimmee Chain this time of year is it should spread anglers out and really allow people to fish their strengths.
“The major spawn really occurs from January to April down here, so there will be fish in all stages,” Scroggins explained. “Some up shallow spawning, some post-spawn headed out, and some in between. You could catch a big bag sight fishing, flipping heavy cover, winding something through hydrilla, or fishing open water. It should be wide open!”
Big show also recognized that the five-fish format will allow guys to settle in and fish for fewer, bigger bites each day as opposed to searching for big groups of fish to keep up with the SCORETRACKER.
“This should be a fun one to watch for the fans, especially later in the week as the weather gets right,” Scroggins believes. “Lots of techniques at play and plenty of big bass will be caught. I’m just excited to get it going!”
Competition begins Monday morning, February 13th at 8 A.M. and you can follow the coverage on the MLF NOW! Live stream on majorleaguefishing.com
Joshua Weaver Clinches Win at MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Power-Pole Stop 1 on Lake Okeechobee
Macon, Georgia Pro Grabs First Major Win of His Career, Takes Home Top Prize of $115,000
CLEWISTON, Fla. (Feb. 10, 2023) – Warm Florida sunshine and a slight breeze greeted the crowd as Favorite Fishing pro Joshua Weaver of Macon, Georgia , brought a five-bass-limit to the scale on Championship Friday weighing 26 pounds, 4 ounces to win the Major League Fishing (MLF) Tackle Warehouse Invitational Power-Pole Stop 1 at Lake Okeechobee Presented by Phoenix Boats . Weaver’s three-day total of 72-9 earned him his first major career win by a whopping 8-pound, 13-ounce margin over second-place pro Colby Schrumpf of Highland, Illinois, and the top prize of $115,000, including the lucrative $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus. Weaver will now also receive an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2024.
The 2023 season marks Weaver’s seventh year on tour with MLF. The six-time championship qualifier said he had a dream years ago that he would get his first major win on Lake Okeechobee – a dream that finally became reality at the first 2023 Tackle Warehouse Invitational tournament.
After ending Day 1 in 61st place with only 14 pounds, 12 ounces, Weaver weighed in the largest limit of the event on Day 2 – five bass totaling 31-9 – to catapult into 2nd place. The Georgia pro brought another solid limit of 26-4 to the scales on Friday to seal the deal and take home the championship hardware.
“This tournament has been the kind of event you dream about having,” said Weaver. “The first day I lost quite a few fish and was pretty bummed but backing it up with over 30 pounds yesterday and another 26-pound bag today is just incredible – Okeechobee has been unbelievable to me this week.”
Championship Friday started off with a bang, with Weaver catching more than 20 pounds within the first hour. But several hard-charging pros stayed in contention throughout the day, making it impossible for him to let off the gas.
“I knew I needed at least 24 pounds to have a shot at winning, and I got pretty close to it this morning,” said Weaver. “But with Michael Neal right behind me, I knew I was nowhere near safe. I sweated it out all day, and never really thought I had it in the bag, until I got back here to the weigh-in and people began congratulating me.
“I kept with a similar game plan today, starting in the same area as the two days prior,” Weaver continued. “I got in there early this morning and things kicked off quick.
“I ran to my second spot mid-morning, where I’d caught a big bag on Day 2, but only caught 2-pounders. I pivoted back to my starting spot and caught a 3½- and a 5-pounder, so I decided to just stay in there all day and slowly culled up.”
Weaver said he credits his win to the heavy 7’6” Favorite Fishing Hex Casting Rod and reel he was throwing all week.
“I spent most of the week winding a Z-Man ChatterBait with a Googan Baits Happy Trailer and a swim jig around anything that I thought might have a female bass on a bed,” said Weaver. “This lake is really something special to me because it fits how I like to fish – I’m a shallow water grass fisherman. The last two times I’ve been here haven’t been so great, so I’m excited that we’ve righted those wrongs this week.
“It definitely hasn’t hit me yet,” Weaver went on to say. “You wait so long for a day like today, then when it happens, you’re just in a daze. I’ve wanted this for so long. This is the reason why we do what we do. For it to finally happen after seven seasons – finishing in 2nd place multiple times and a ton of Top 10’s – to finally get it done is a relief and I’m already looking forward to the next tournament.”
The top 20 pros at the Tackle Warehouse Invitational Power-Pole Stop 1 at Lake Okeechobee finished:
1st: Joshua Weaver, Macon, Ga., 15 bass, 72-9, $115,000
2nd: Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., 15 bass, 63-12, $50,000
3rd: Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., 15 bass, 63-1, $20,000
4th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 15 bass, 61-13, $18,000
5th: Jacopo Gallelli, Florence, Italy, 14 bass, 61-13, $17,000
6th: Jonathan Dietz, Corry, Pa., 15 bass, 58-2, $16,000
7th: Kyle Weisenburger, Columbus Grove, Ohio, 15 bass, 57-2, $15,000
8th: Michael Harlin, Sunrise Beach, Mo., 15 bass, 56-14, $14,000
9th: Paul Elias, Laurel, Miss., 15 bass, 56-8, $13,000
10th: Spike Stoker, Cisco, Texas, 15 bass, 55-14, $12,000
11th: David Walker, Sevierville, Tenn., 15 bass, 55-8, $10,000
12th: Jason Vance, Battle Ground, Ind., 15 bass, 55-6, $10,000
13th: Troy Stokes, Trenton, Mich., 15 bass, 55-3, $10,000
14th: Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 15 bass, 54-14, $10,000
15th: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 15 bass, 54-7, $10,000
16th: Marty Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 15 bass, 54-6, $10,000
17th: Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., 15 bass, 53-11, $10,000
18th: Matthew Stefan, Junction City, Wis., 15 bass, 51-15, $10,000
19th: Jacob Wheeler, Birchwood, Tenn., 15 bass, 51-9, $10,000
20th: Tai Au, Glendale, Ariz., 15 bass, 51-2, $10,000
Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 238 bass weighing 714 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 50 pros Friday. The catch included 47 five-bass limits.
The three-day tournament, hosted by the Hendry County Tourism Development Council, featured a roster of 150 anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000 and an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2024 – the Bass Pro Tour championship – for the chance to win up to $300,000.
In MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational competition, the full field of 150 anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Wednesday and Thursday in a traditional five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 50 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight advanced to the final round on Championship Friday, where they competed for the grand prize of up to $115,000, including the lucrative $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus for qualified anglers. The winner of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational Power-Pole Stop 1 at Lake Okeechobee Presented by Phoenix Boats was determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative weight and will receive an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2024.
The season-long Invitational Bally Bet Angler of the Year (AOY) will also earn a berth into REDCREST and the Top 8 anglers in the season-long Invitational AOY point standings will qualify for the 2024 Bass Pro Tour. With his victory Friday, Weaver currently sits in first place with 200 points.
The MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational Power-Pole Stop 1 at Lake Okeechobee Presented by Phoenix Boats two-hour action-packed television show will premiere on the CBS Sports Network on Saturday, September 30th.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Favorite Fishing, Fox Rent a Car, General Tire, Grundéns, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Wiley X and YETI.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals on the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Lake Guntersville Readies for Toyota Series Central Division Opener
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (Feb. 10, 2023) – The Major League Fishing (MLF) Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats is set to visit Lake Guntersville and Scottsboro, Alabama, next week, Feb. 16-18, for the Central Division opener – the Toyota Series at Lake Guntersville . The three-day tournament, hosted by the Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce, 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 Mercury outboard motor in the co-angler division.
“Lake Guntersville is fishing so strong right now, so healthy,” said Bass Pro Tour angler Fletcher Shryock of Guntersville, Alabama. “I emceed a local tournament on the lake with Boyd Duckett this past weekend, and the lake is really starting to take off. There was around 20 bags over 20 pounds, and a lot of big fish caught. It was a really good event, and I expect that the lake will continue to show out for this Toyota Series event.”
Shryock said that he expects reaction bites to be strong.
“You’re going to see a lot of lipless crankbaits – the (Bill Lewis) Rat-L-Trap is a staple there, and emceeing that tournament I heard guy after guy saying they were catching them on a ¼- or ½-ounce red Trap,” Shryock said. “I think a (Z-Man) ChatterBait (Jack Hammer) is going to play well – I’d be throwing the Fire Craw color with a Yamamoto Zako Fire Craw trailer. Possibly some jerkbaits could be in the mix, and of course the Alabama rig might be a factor as well.
“The big question for this event is going to be how the lake is affected by the three days of pressure,” Shryock went on to say. “The lake is fishing well, so I predict that the winner of this one is going to need 65 pounds to get it done.”
Anglers will take off each day at 6:30 a.m. CT from the Goose Pond Colony Marina, located at 417 Ed Hembree Drive in Scottsboro. Weigh-ins will also be held at the Marina and will begin at 2:30 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 $40,000, plus an extra $35,000 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 outboard (valued at $33,500). With a 260-boat field, pros fish for a top award of $65,000, plus an extra $35,000 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 outboard (valued at $33,500) plus $5,000 cash.
The 2023 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 2024. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard. The 2023 Toyota Series Championship will be held Nov. 2-4 on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri, and is hosted by ExploreBranson.com.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Toyota Series include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Black Rifle Coffee Company, E3, Favorite Fishing, Fox Rent a Car, General Tire, Gill, Grundéns, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Wiley X 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.
Colby Schrumpf Moves Ahead on Day Two of MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Power-Pole Stop 1 on Lake Okeechobee
Joshua Weaver Busts 31-Pound Limit to Jump From 61st to 2nd
CLEWISTON, Fla. (Feb. 9, 2023) – After breaking the 20-pound limit two days in a row, Phoenix Boats pro Colby Schrumpf of Highland, Illinois, has his eye on the first ever Tackle Warehouse Invitational trophy. Schrumpf brought a five-bass limit to the scales Thursday weighing 25 pounds, 6 ounces to take the Day 2 lead at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Tackle Warehouse Invitational Power-Pole Stop 1 at Lake Okeechobee Presented by Phoenix Boats . Schrumpf’s two-day total of 47 pounds, 5 ounces gives him a slim 1-pound lead over Favorite Fishing pro Joshua Weaver of Macon, Georgia, who caught a giant five-bass limit weighing 31-9 to move into second place.
Schrumpf said he started Day 2 in the same general area as he did the day prior and was ecstatic to see it was still producing.
“I caught 21-15 there yesterday, and probably within the first hour and a half today I had two bass over five pounds in the boat and just slowly culled my way up,” said Schrumpf. “Around midday I was able to catch another good 5½-pounder, then culled up to another 4-pounder after that.”
Schrumpf said he backed off those fish in the afternoon, in hopes they will still be there – and biting – on the final day.
“I headed back to the weigh-in thinking I would probably be within the top five,” said Schrumpf. “I’d conservatively figured I had 23 pounds today, so I was pretty excited when the scales went over 25 pounds.”
Schrumpf said he is throwing mostly moving baits but isn’t afraid to Power-Pole down and pitch when he gets into tighter areas of water.
“I’ve been throwing a vibrating jig quite a bit,” Schrumpf laughed. “Along with half the field.”
Despite having sticks like Michael Neal, Brian Latimer and Florida ace Brett Hite nipping at his heels, Schrumpf said he feels really good going into Championship Friday.
“I’m really looking forward to tomorrow and as long as the big females keep moving in, I think I’ll have a pretty good opportunity,” Schrumpf said. “My area hasn’t had too many people around it, so as long as I can feel comfortable in that water and not feel pressured to protect areas or have to move around, I feel good.”
The top 50 pros after Day 2 on Lake Okeechobee are:
2nd: Joshua Weaver, Macon, Ga., 10 bass, 46-5
3rd: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 44-4
4th: Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., 10 bass, 43-12
5th: Jonathan Dietz, Corry, Pa., 10 bass, 42-10
6th: Jason Vance, Battle Ground, Ind., 10 bass, 41-14
7th: Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., 10 bass, 41-10
8th: Michael Harlin, Sunrise Beach, Mo., 10 bass, 41-8
9th: David Walker, Sevierville, Tenn., 10 bass, 41-6
10th: Tom Redington, Royse City, Texas, 10 bass, 40-11
11th: Tai Au, Glendale, Ariz., 10 bass, 40-4
12th: Rusty Salewske, Alpine, Calif., 10 bass, 40-2
13th: Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 39-9
14th: Jacopo Gallelli, Florence, Italy, nine bass, 38-4
15th: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 10 bass, 37-13
16th: Paul Elias, Laurel, Miss., 10 bass, 36-13
17th: Dakota Ebare, Brookeland, Texas, 10 bass, 36-7
18th: Matthew Stefan, Junction City, Wis., 10 bass, 35-9
19th: Cody Petit, Arundel, Maine, nine bass, 35-6
20th: Joe Wieberg, Freeburg, Mo., 10 bass, 35-5
21st: Troy Stokes, Trenton, Mich., 10 bass, 34-15
22nd: Marty Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 10 bass, 34-15
23rd: John Voyles, Petersburg, Ind., 10 bass, 34-4
24th: Cameron Mattison, Benton, La., 10 bass, 34-2
25th: Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn., 10 bass, 33-14
26th: Kyle Hall, Granbury, Texas, 10 bass, 33-9
27th: Spike Stoker, Cisco, Texas, 10 bass, 33-8
28th: Richard Lowitzki, Hampshire, Ill., 10 bass, 32-14
29th: Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 32-11
30th: William Fletcher, Dallas, Ga., 10 bass, 32-10
31st: Josh Butler, Hayden, Ala., 10 bass, 32-8
32nd: Jacob Wheeler, Birchwood, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-7
33rd: Jim Moynagh, Shakopee, Minn., 10 bass, 32-7
34th: Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 10 bass, 31-10
35th: Braxton Setzer, Wetumpka, Ala., 10 bass, 31-8
36th: Jesse Millsaps, Jasper, Ga., 10 bass, 31-7
37th: Fred Roumbanis, London, Ark., 10 bass, 31-6
38th: Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La., 10 bass, 31-5
39th: Thomas Wooten, Huddleston, Va., 10 bass, 31-5
40th: Grae Buck, Green Lane, Pa., 10 bass, 31-10
41st: Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., 10 bass, 30-14
42nd: Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., 10 bass, 30-14
43rd: Tyler Stewart, Dubach, La., 10 bass, 30-13
44th: Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., 10 bass, 30-12
45th: Frank Kitchens, Oxford, Ga., 10 bass, 30-8
46th: Kyle Weisenburger, Columbus Grove, Ohio, 10 bass, 30-7
47th: Eric Panzironi, Longwood, Fla., 10 bass, 30-7
48th: Kollin Crawford, Broken Bow, Okla., 10 bass, 30-6
49th: Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 10 bass, 30-5
50th: Colby Miller, Elmer, La., 10 bass, 30-4
Pro Brian Latimer of Belton, South Carolina won Thursday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award with a largemouth bass weighing 7 pounds, 13 ounces.
Overall, there were 696 bass weighing 1,971 pounds, 12 ounces caught by 145 pros Thursday. The catch included 129 five-bass limits.
In MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational competition, the full field of 150 anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Wednesday and Thursday in a traditional five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 50 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight advance to the final round on Championship Friday, where they will compete for the grand prize of up to $115,000, including the lucrative $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus for qualified anglers. The winner of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational Power-Pole Stop 1 at Lake Okeechobee Presented by Phoenix Boats will be determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative weight and will receive an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2024.
The final 50 anglers will take off at 7 a.m. ET, on Championship Friday, from Roland & Mary Ann Martin’s Marina & Resort located at 920 W. Del Monte Ave. in Clewiston. Weigh-in and trophy presentation will also be held at the marina Friday beginning at 2:50 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the live on-the-water action online on MLF NOW! beginning at 7:30 a.m. ET at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
The MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational Power-Pole Stop 1 at Lake Okeechobee Presented by Phoenix Boats will feature live on-the-water coverage and a two-hour action-packed television show that will premiere on the CBS Sports Network on Saturday, September 30th.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Favorite Fishing, Fox Rent a Car, General Tire, Grundéns, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Wiley X and YETI.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals on the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook , Instagram and YouTube .
Tight quarters to challenge Bassmaster Elite Series pros on Okeechobee
The 104 anglers of the Bassmaster Elite Series kick off the 2023 season at the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee Feb. 16-19.
Photo by James Overstreet/B.A.S.S.
February 9, 2023
OKEECHOBEE, Fla. — Of all the factors that could influence the season-opening SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee, it might come down to supply and demand. The largest lake in the southeastern U.S., the Big O covers 734 square miles, but Bassmaster Elite Series veteran Bernie Schultzexpects only a relatively small portion to be in play.
Competition days will be Feb. 16-19 with daily takeoffs from C. Scott Driver Park at 7:30 a.m. ET and weigh-ins each day at the park at 3:30 p.m.Coverage of the weigh-ins can be streamed on Bassmaster.com.
Having pre-practiced prior to the off-limits period, Schultz found a shortage of the clear water that spawning fish will seek. The veteran pro from Gainesville, Fla., attributes this to a dramatic decrease in shallow-water vegetation.
“Water quality was a problem in a large percentage of the lake,” Schultz said. “Where there was clear water and a variety of good-quality vegetation, there was a lot of fishing pressure.
“Areas that are normally lush with vegetation were barren. There’s plenty of maidencane, flat reeds and round reeds, but those don’t filter water as well as hydrilla and eelgrass and peppergrass. A lot of that quality filtering type of vegetation has been eradicated by herbicides, and it has yielded a lot of poor conditions for a large percentage of the lake.”
On the upside, Okeechobee’s massive size always maintains productive waters, often tucked far behind outer vegetation lines. Diligent anglers who find these oases will find cooperative fish. The catch: You’ll rarely have it to yourself.
“Definitely, a couple of regions will support the bulk of the field,” Schultz said. “It may come down to someone setting up in a key area and defending it, or it may be a timing thing.”
Elite Series and local pro Scott Martin has always been clear on his belief that a lifetime of Okeechobee knowledge does not guarantee success. While he’s caught giants up to 11 pounds, 6 ounces on tournament waters, he knows he’ll be sharing the lake with 103 other competitors.
“The only home field advantage I’m going to have on this fishery is understanding how the lake fishes at its current water level and clarity,” said Martin, who grew up on Okeechobee. “Beyond that, I’m competing just like the rest of the field.”
Martin reports that the Lake Okeechobee water level held at 16.5 feet through early January and pulled back to 16.1 by month’s end. Ten days before the event, the water level was 15.96, and Martin expects it will remain just under 16 when the tournament begins. Noting that this will be one of the highest water levels for an Okeechobee tournament, he said anglers will have their work cut out for them.
“The key will be making the right decisions on areas of the lake and trying to find stuff that’s not pressured,” Martin said. “Trying to find fish in that muddy water can be challenging, but it can be very rewarding at the same time.
“Some of the guys are going to find fish in those stained-water areas and that can be the difference-maker. Those are the areas that don’t have as much pressure. The spawning areas and the clear-water areas suck all the fishermen in, and those areas have been getting pounded. So, finding areas away from all that is going to be key.”
One thing Martin stresses is that the big lake’s dynamic nature typically demands a new search each year. “Fishing history” by returning to previously productive areas will only get you in the ballpark and, with the current dearth of vegetation, will further complicate matters.
“The fish are never in the same place the next year; it’s always different,” Martin said. “There aren’t waypoints out there on the lake, there aren’t special ledges offshore, there’s not a special brushpile, there’s not a shellbar. It’s literally about fishing areas and understanding how those areas are affected by the weather.”
Unlike Northern latitudes, Florida lakes — particularly those in the state’s lower region — typically see a long, drawn-out spawning season that can last from November through May. Because the period of viable conditions can be so broad, it’s no rarity for tournaments in the year’s first quarter to find fish in multiple stages, possibly all three (prespawn, spawning, and postspawn).
If the Elite event enjoys stable weather, Martin believes anglers could find just such diversity. Those who locate bed fish will fare well with jigs or Texas-rigged creature baits, craws and stickworms. Popular search baits include bladed jigs, swim jigs, lipless crankbaits, jerkbaits, topwaters and Texas-rigged swimming worms.
“It’s definitely a deeper dive to think about the complexity of (the Florida spawn), but that’s why fishing is very consistent in Florida — you can do lots of different things,” he said. “Somebody’s catching them flipping, someone’s catching them on a worm, someone’s throwing a topwater. Those are all different types of fish.”
Considering the size of bass that call Okeechobee home, the potential exists for the Elite Series to launch a new season with a century belt winner. (The Bassmaster Century Club recognizes a 20-bass total of 100 pounds or more.) Schultz does not deny the opportunity, but he believes the current habitat situation will likely limit the output.
“I think 17 pounds a day will make the Top 10, but I don’t believe the winning weight will be much over 80 pounds,” Schultz said. “There will be too many people dividing up the fish.”
That being said, one kicker like Martin’s personal best could dramatically change someone’s situation. But while giant fish are well worth the effort, the smart game plans will focus more on daily consistency.
The full field of 104 pros will fish the first two days, with only the Top 50 advancing to Semifinal Saturday. After Saturday’s weigh-in, the Top 10 remaining pros will advance to Championship Sunday with a chance to claim the $100,000 first-place prize.
New for 2023, fans can enjoy predictions, conditions and live hits from the lake as part of the LIVE Preview show streaming on Bassmaster.comWednesday, Feb. 15 at 10 a.m. ET. Bassmaster LIVE kicks off tournament coverage Thursday and Friday mornings at 8 a.m. on Bassmaster.com, Tubi and the FOX Sports platforms while FS1 will broadcast live with the tournament leaders on Saturday and Sunday.
David Walker Grabs Opening Day Lead at Power-Pole Stop 1 on Lake Okeechobee
MLF Invitational Opens to Beautiful Florida Sunshine and Big Limits of Bass – 15 in Excess of 20+ Pounds
CLEWISTON, Fla. (Feb. 8, 2023) – Bass Pro Shops pro David Walker of Sevierville, Tennessee, crossed the stage Wednesday with a five-bass limit weighing 28 pounds, 1 ounce, to lead Day 1 of the season-opening Major League Fishing (MLF) Tackle Warehouse Invitational Power-Pole Stop 1 at Lake Okeechobee Presented by Phoenix Boats. Walker now holds a 1-pound, 6-ounce lead over Italian pro Jacopo Gallelli of Florence, Italy, who caught five bass weighing 26-11.
The three-day tournament, hosted by the Hendry County Tourism Development Council, features a roster of 150 anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000 and an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2024.
“My day started out really good. I had some bites, but they weren’t big fish,” Walker said. “I had a couple of areas that I felt like I could get some bites in, but I didn’t know what they were. In practice I was looking for places that I would want to go back to, and I was fortunate to find a couple of areas that I felt like I could go to today. I felt confident that I could get some bites, and then we’d see how it goes. And then it went… really, really well.”
The Tennessee pro estimated that he caught around 25 keepers throughout the day.
“It’s still pretty early so I have to be a little vague, but I can say that Z-Man products were a big player for me today,” Walker said. “Going out this morning I had about a half dozen different options on the deck, and as the day went on I narrowed it down to three key baits.”
Walker mainly stuck to his area for most of the competition day, but he did venture off a couple of times as he tried to expand on his spot.
“We’ve got the possibility of some storms moving in tomorrow afternoon, and I’m in a later flight so I might be in on some of that, but hopefully not,” Walker went on to say. “Tomorrow is going to be more of the same. I’d be foolish to figure that I could do something similar, somewhere else. I think I’ve found the right place and I feel like I’m doing the right thing, and that’s all you can hope for in a tournament. Whether it pans out or not, I want to walk away knowing I did the right thing. I couldn’t talk myself into going anywhere else at this point.”
The top 15 pros after Day 1 on Lake Okeechobee are:
1st: David Walker, Sevierville, Tenn., five bass, 28-1
2nd: Jacopo Gallelli, Florence, Italy, five bass, 26-11
3rd: Jason Vance, Battle Ground, Ind., five bass, 25-9
4th: Tai Au, Glendale, Ariz., five bass, 25-4
5th: Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., five bass, 23-14
6th: Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., five bass, 23-3
7th: William Fletcher, Dallas, Ga., five bass, 22-1
8th: Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., five bass, 21-15
9th: Tom Redington, Royse City, Texas, five bass, 21-11
10th: Jonathan Dietz, Corry, Pa., five bass, 21-3
11th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 21-1
12th: Mark Daniels, Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., five bass, 20-13
12th: Joe Wieberg, Freeburg, Mo., five bass, 20-13
14th: Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 20-9
15th: Eddie Carper, Valiant, Okla., five bass, 20-6
Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Pro Wyatt Frankens of Corrigan, Texas, won Wednesday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award with a chunky largemouth bass that weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces.
Overall, there were 712 bass weighing 2,029 pounds, 9 ounces caught by 149 pros Wednesday. The catch included 127 five-bass limits.
In MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational competition, the full field of 150 anglers compete in the two-day opening round on Wednesday and Thursday in a traditional five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 50 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight will advance to the final round on Championship Friday, where they will compete for the grand prize of up to $115,000, including the lucrative $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus for qualified anglers. The winner of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational Power-Pole Stop 1 at Lake Okeechobee Presented by Phoenix Boats will be determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative weight and will receive an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2024.
Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. ET, each day through Friday, from Roland & Mary Ann Martin’s Marina & Resort located at 920 W. Del Monte Ave. in Clewiston. Weigh-ins will also be held at the marina daily beginning at 2:50 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the live on-the-water action all three days of competition online on MLF NOW! beginning at 7:30 a.m. ET at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all three days of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
The MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitational Power-Pole Stop 1 at Lake Okeechobee Presented by Phoenix Boats will feature live on-the-water coverage and a two-hour action-packed television show that will premiere on the CBS Sports Network on Saturday, September 30th.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Favorite Fishing, Fox Rent a Car, General Tire, Grundéns, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Wiley X and YETI.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals on the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Catch live coverage of the Bassmaster Elite at Okeechobee
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Bass Pro Tour Set to Launch Fifth Season Next Week at B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Feb. 8, 2023) – Major League Fishing (MLF), the world’s largest tournament fishing organization, is set to open the fifth season of the Bass Pro Tour, the top level of professional bass fishing, next week on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes – the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One on the Kissimmee Chain Presented by Grundéns.
The six-day event, hosted by the Kissimmee Sports Commission, will showcase 80 of the top professional anglers in the world, including bass-fishing superstars like Kevin VanDam, Ott DeFoe, Jacob Wheeler, Jordan Lee, and REDCREST Champions Edwin Evers and Dustin Connell. They’ll be competing for a purse of more than $805,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters All-Star event and REDCREST, the Bass Pro Tour championship.
This event marks the third time that the MLF Bass Pro Tour will hold an event on the Kissimmee Chain – the most visited venue in the circuit’s history. The first ever Bass Pro Tour event was held on the Kissimmee Chain in January of 2019, with a return to Kissimmee in June of 2020 for the inaugural General Tire Heavy Hitters event. The same angler – Alabama’s Jordan Lee – has won both times the Bass Pro Tour has visited the Kissimmee Chain.
“I’m no Florida fishing wizard, but I understand that the lakes are always changing from year to year, and you have to be willing to adapt and fish the conditions,” said Lee. “Some years, the best bite is on Toho and others, it’s in Kissimmee. Cypress can also be good, any of them or the others in the chain could be the winning area. It varies based on the vegetation and to be successful, you need to narrow it down to the right one in two days of practice.”
Lee believes the timing of this event in mid-February is ideal for both the fishing and weather.
“This time of year in Florida is all about the cold fronts and that will be the biggest deciding factor in how good the fishing is,” he said. “You’ll always catch big fish in Florida, but a nice warming trend will push more fish shallow because they want to spawn.”
Traditional Florida fishing tactics should play in this event, according to Lee. He listed flipping, pitching, vibrating jigs, and prop baits as likely producers.
“There will also be some sight fishing going on,” Lee said. “The biggest key here is being in the right area with the best-looking grass. That’s true everywhere in the country, but even more important in Florida, where the fish tend to be more sensitive to having the cleanest water.”
On the Bass Pro Tour, pros compete using the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, with each angler’s five (5) heaviest bass per day tallied as their day’s weight. Anglers strive to catch their heaviest five fish each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the live scoring SCORETRACKER® leaderboard. The tournament will be filmed for broadcast on the Discovery Channel in July.
Anglers will launch each day at 7:30 a.m. ET from Big Toho Marina, located at 69 Lakeview Drive in Kissimmee. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the marina, beginning at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
On Championship Saturday, Feb. 18, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF will welcome fans of all ages to come in to celebrate the top 10 and crown the Stage 1 Champion at the Trophy Presentation. The final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration to meet and greet fans, sign autographs, and take selfies.
The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Presented by Grundéns will feature anglers competing with a 1-pound, 6-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The 2023 MLF Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, fishing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2024, the Bass Pro Tour championship, held March 13-17, 2024, on a fishery to be announced.
The 40 Anglers in Group A compete in their two-day qualifying round on Monday and Wednesday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Tuesday and Thursday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the top 20 anglers from each group advance to Friday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 40 anglers compete to finish in the top 10 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weight carries over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on all six days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Presented by Grundéns will air as two, two-hour episodes starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, July 15on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with re-airings on the Outdoor Channel.
Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, Ark Fishing, ATG + Wrangler, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bally Bet, Bass Cat Boats, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, Daiwa, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Ferguson, Fox Rent A Car, General Tire, Grundéns, Humminbird, Lowrance, Minn Kota, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Power-Pole, Rapala, Star tron, T-H Marine, TORO, Toyota, U.S. Air Force, Yellowstone Bourbon, Yo-Zuri and Zoom Baits.
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, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
4 feet or less
We've got Toyota Series Southern Division winner Kennie Steverson to give us the lowdown on how the event played out on the Harris Chain. We dive into the latest results, the upcoming tournaments and look at the latest news in the bass fishing world.
