AnglersChannel

Avena/Connell and Davis/Klein Final Two Teams to Advance to Championship Round at B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup

Team YETI throws drop-shot rigs to pace final Knockout Round match with 24 smallmouth totaling 50 pounds, final four teams set for Tuesday’s Championship Round

PORT HURON, Mich. (Aug. 28, 2025) – Team YETI’s Adrian Avena and Dustin Connell left little doubt on Thursday, posting a wire-to-wire performance on the northern stretch of the St. Clair River to win Knockout Round Match 2 at the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® . The duo landed 24 scorable smallmouth bass weighing 50 pounds even, securing their spot in the first Fishing Clash Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops Championship Round of the season alongside Team B&W Trailer Hitches’ Mark Davis and Gary Klein.

The day belonged to smallmouth, as all three teams targeted the deep current seams and breaks that dominate the northern river near Lake Huron. Team YETI set the pace early, stacking up 18 pounds in the opening period and steadily building their total with another 21-5 in the second. Connell’s 5-pound, 8-ounce bruiser – the biggest bass of the week so far – anchored their catch and earned Berkley Big Bass of the Day honors.

Team B&W Trailer Hitches, meanwhile, overcame a slow start to rally into second place. After posting just one scorable bass in the first period, Davis and Klein found their groove in the second, weighing eight scorable fish before adding another eight in the final frame. Davis carried much of the load, boating 13 of the team’s 17 total bass to lock up the second advancing spot with 35-0. It was the kind of veteran adjustment that showed why the Arkansas and Texas Hall-of-Fame legends have more than 80 years of combined tour-level experience between them.

For Team Star Tron, Thursday’s Knockout Round was a tale of two halves. Bobby Lane and Jacob Wall jumped out quickly with nine fish in the first period but faltered as conditions shifted, adding only three more bass the rest of the day to finish third and were eliminated from the competition with 22-5.

“It was a fun day,” said Avena. “We knew it was going to come down to smallmouth and current, and that’s exactly what we leaned into. For us it was all about drop-shots – I threw a (Berkley MaxScent) Flat Worm in black most of the day. Anytime you’re up north, MaxScent is an absolute killer, and it came through for us again today.”

Connell paired up with a different look to keep the smallmouth biting.

“I caught them on the (Rapala) Crush City BLT in green pumpkin goby, just threading it on a VMC hook,” Connell said. “It was the perfect profile for these current-driven smallmouth, and it let me stay confident every cast. We had a great 1-2 punch.”

With the Knockout Round complete, the Championship Round field of four is now set – but no one knows where they’ll be fishing. As is Cup tradition, the competition waters remain a secret until the anglers arrive at the ramp Friday morning, leaving Connell, Avena and the other finalists preparing for anything from the St. Clair River to Lake Huron or one of the dozens of nearby lakes.

“We advanced on, and that was the goal,” Connell added. “Now it’s a one-in-four shot, and we’ll be ready for whatever they throw at us tomorrow.”

The top two teams from Knockout Round Match 2 at the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® that now advance to Friday’s Championship Round are:

1st: Team YETI, 24 bass, 50-0
Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 12 bass, 24-14
Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 12 bass, 25-2
2nd: Team B&W Trailer Hitches, 17 bass, 35-0
Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 13 bass, 26-9
Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas, four bass, 8-7

Eliminated from competition are:

3rd: Team Star Tron, nine bass, 22-2
Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., four bass, 10-3
Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., five bass, 11-15

Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 50 bass weighing 107 pounds, 2 ounces caught by the three teams in Knockout Round Match 2 Thursday on the northern half of the St. Clair River. Team YETI pro Dustin Connell caught a 5-pound, 8-ounce smallmouth to earn the Berkley Big Bass of the day.

The final four teams that will compete in Friday’s final-day Championship Round at the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® are:

Team 7Brew Coffee:
Alton Jones Sr., Lorena, Texas
Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas

Team B&W Trailer Hitches:
Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark.
Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas

Team O’Reilly Auto Parts:
Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich.
Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va.

Team YETI:
Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J.
Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala.

The B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® is hosted by Discover the Blue Michigan's Thumbcoast and takes place over six days in Port Huron, Michigan. The competition water for each day is top-secret and is only revealed to the anglers when they arrive at the boat ramp each morning. Anglers are driven directly to the day’s competition area launch ramp by their officials. Competition begins on the water at 10:15 a.m. ET.

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on Championship Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. MLFNOW!® is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) apps, RFD-TV Now, Game & Fish TV and Rumble. The final period of every day of competition of the 2025 Fishing Clash Team Series is broadcast live on RFD-TV, from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET.

The Challenge Cup features 12 two-man teams divided into three groups as they enter the one-day Elimination Round matches. Each of the three Elimination Round matches will feature four new teams, with the top two teams from each match of the Elimination Round advancing to the Knockout Round on Days 4 & 5. In the Knockout Rounds, three teams compete each day, with the top two teams from each Knockout Round match moving on to the Championship Round on Day 6. In Friday’s Day 6 Championship Round, the final four teams will compete in a one-day shootout to determine which team will win the 2025 B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY®.

The MLF Fishing Clash Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops features four Cup events in 2025 – the Challenge, Heritage, Patriot, and Summit Cups – with 12 two-man teams of Bass Pro Tour anglers competing for a share of $560,000 in prize money. Teams were formed through a selection process, where 48 team captains – based on Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) standings throughout the 2025 Bass Pro Tour season – selected a teammate. Teams will compete throughout the fall of 2025.

Television coverage of the MLF Fishing Clash Team Series B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® will premiere on Outdoor Channel as six two-hour original episodes each Saturday afternoon starting January 3, 2026. The complete television schedule for the Fishing Clash Team Series on Outdoor Channel will be posted at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Proud sponsors of the MLF Fishing Clash Team Series include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Boat Technologies, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Ferguson, Fishing Clash, Knighten Industries, Kubota, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, NITRO Boats, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Smokey Mountain Caffeinated Pouches, Star brite, Toyota, YETI and Zenni.

For complete details and updated information on the MLF Fishing Clash Team Series, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

World Record in Jeopardy

The Marathon Man, Jeff Kolodzinski, prepares to break another fishing world record

SPRING BAY, IL (August 27, 2025) – Jeff Kolodzinski is a man on a mission – a Marathon Man out to break a record he already holds. Starting at 5:00pm on September 10^th and ending 5:00 pm on September 11^th at Camp Dallas, outside Spring Bay, Illinois, he will attempt to catch 2,978 fish on hook and line to break his own record of 2,977 set in 2022. The long-standing fishing industry charity event began in 2006, and this year’s is setting up to be the biggest yet!

Not only is Kolodzinski the current world record holder for fish caught in a 24-hour period, but he also represented the United States seven times in international competition at the World Championship of Freshwater Fishing. He currently serves as the Content Marketing – Senior Manager for Fishing at Johnson Outdoors and is a longtime fishing industry professional with dozens of awards and accolades.

Jeff “Kolo” Kolodzinski is not doing it to merely break his own world record. He’s doing it to introduce people and families to fishing and to increase awareness and financial support for Camp Dallas as well as local first response teams.

“My true passion has always been to introduce people – especially families – to the sport of fishing,” Kolo explains.

“Partnering with Camp Dallas is my way of giving back to the sport that’s given me so much, while bringing awareness to a program that supports families of all walks enduring hardships. We hope to raise money – from inside and outside the fishing industry – to fund Camp Dallas’ outreach programs and also help local first responders. Along the way, I think we can show people how great the sport of fishing really is – how it promotes nature, healthy relationships, mental health, camaraderie, and fun. It’s been a huge part of my life, and I want to share it.”

Kolo laughs: “I kind of feel like the Mike Rowe of fishing highlighting these great Americans who are serving their local communities.”

“Since 2006, I have served local charities through the language of fishing. Whether benefitting our military and their families, our first responders, or getting kids into fishing, I love finding amazing people doing extraordinary things in their own communities. The Marathon Man event spotlights their good work and magnifies their impact.”

The goal for 2025 is to raise $50,000 to meet the proceeds raised during the last event in 2022.

The “Marathon Man” event will be hosted live online and livestreamed for all 24 hours on the Marathon Man web site. The live feed is found at https://marathonmanfishing.com.

Kolodzinski set the record at the nearby Giant Goose Ranch in 2022 – 2,977 fish in 24 hours – and he believes it can be broken. To set that record, he averaged more than 90 fish per hour; that’s 1.5 fish per minute! Now he’ll need to average at least 2 fish a minute and expedite his handling and unhooking at a truly unprecedented pace.

And the number 2,977 has meaning,” notes Kolodzinski. “It was on 9/11 where we lost 2,977 loved ones. I want us to remember the families impacted, and this is a way to do that, while honoring our current First Responder and Military Families on 9/11, 2025.”

For his fishing, Kolodzinski will use a 10-foot pole, 10 feet of fluorocarbon line, a small barbless hook, a small float, and live bait. Most of the fish he’ll be catching will be panfish – bluegill, hybrid bluegill, crappie, perch, and the occasional largemouth bass.

“You don’t need a lot of expensive equipment, a lot of time, or a lot of technical know-how to go fishing, or to change lives. All you need are some basics and the desire to get started.”

This year’s event proves to be even more action-packed than previous attempts. Attendees will have the opportunity to groove to the free live tunes of Jake Rebman and the Waitin’ Rounders, savor BBQ delights from Slow Hand, and cheer on the First Responder parade. The night will proceed with fireworks and a heartfelt memorial ceremony featuring a 21-gun salute and a soul-stirring performance of TAPS, remembering our military and their families.

As part of the broadcast, Marathon Man will offer product giveaways from supporting sponsors. Those who donate $25 or more will also be entered into a drawing for even more fishing-related prizes. Current sponsors include AFTCO apparel, St. Croix Rod, Norsk Lithium,

Lew’s rods and reels, Seaguar line, Plano, Frabill, Gemini apparel, VMC hooks, Engel Coolers, Humminbird Fish Finders, Minn Kota trolling motors, Turtle Box Audio, and Herman Brothers Fisheries.

Companies and sponsors interested in making a tax-deductible donation or pledge, may sign up by contacting Kolodzinski via the Contact Page or campdallas.org.

by AnglersChannel

Jones Duo and Nelson/Villa Advance to Championship Round at B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup

Team 7Brew Coffee (Jones/Jones) catches 24 scorable bass totaling 60-13 to cruise to Friday’s Championship Round, final Knockout Round match set for Thursday

PORT HURON, Mich. (Aug. 27, 2025) – The Team 7Brew Coffee father-and-son duo of Alton Jones Sr. and Alton Jones Jr. continued their hot streak on the St. Clair River Wednesday, landing 24 scorable smallmouth bass weighing 60 pounds, 13 ounces to dominate Knockout Round Match 1 of the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY®. With the win, the Joneses became the first team to lock up a berth in Friday’s Championship Round.

Joining them is Team O’Reilly Auto Parts – Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Michigan, and Martin Villa of Charlottesville, Virginia – who put together 18 smallmouth for 42-11 to secure the second advancing spot. Eliminated from competition was Team Kubota’s Edwin Evers and Skeet Reese , who finished third with 15 bass weighing 33-10.

All 57 bass weighed on Wednesday came from the northern half of the St. Clair River – a stretch that offered strong current, steep banks, and classic Great Lakes smallmouth habitat. With no largemouth really in play, anglers leaned heavily on finesse presentations, and the Joneses’ drop-shot approach with the 2.8-inch Geecrack Bellows Shad proved once again to be the winning formula.

“Today has been fun,” said Jones Sr. “One of our greatest strengths as a team is we trust each other. We fish together so much, and although we certainly do have our father-and-son moments, when he has an idea, I trust his judgment enough to follow it. And when I have an idea, he trusts me enough to follow it. That’s not always easy in a high-pressure environment like this, but it worked really well for us today.”

Jones Jr. said that their ability to stay loose was what allowed them to make good adjustments.

“We didn’t overthink it. We just settled into the current, expanded on what we had going, and built confidence with every fish catch,” he said. “I really liked how we fished today, and I felt like by the second period we had it made. From there it was about refining things in case we see this water again later in the week.

“The winning bait for us was the 2.8-inch Bellows Shad that actually just dropped everywhere today – available at retailers nationwide,” Jones Jr. continued. “It’s really lifelike – it shimmies a lot in that heavy current, and the bass absolutely loved it. Dad was throwing electric shad, I was throwing my AJ’s Juice green-pumpkin variation, and both colors produced really well.”

Jones Sr. said the profile of the bait was the final piece of the puzzle.

“A lot of those smallmouth were spitting up baitfish, and they were exactly that same size,” he explained. “We did a great job of mimicking what these fish were naturally eating. Between the action of the Bellows Shad and the way we presented it on the drop-shot in the strongest current we could find, it gave them something new and they couldn’t resist it today.”

The top two teams from Knockout Round Match 1 at the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® that now advance to Friday’s Championship Round are:

1st: Team 7Brew Coffee, 24 bass, 60-13
Alton Jones Sr., Lorena, Texas, nine bass, 25-14
Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 13 bass, 34-15
2nd: Team O’Reilly Auto Parts, 18 bass, 42-11
Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., seven bass, 19-9
Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 11 bass, 23-2

Eliminated from competition are:

3rd: Team Kubota, 15 bass, 33-10
Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 10 bass, 25-1
Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., five bass, 8-9

Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 57 bass weighing 137 pounds, 2 ounces caught by the three teams in Knockout Round Match 1 on the northern half of the St. Clair River. Team 7Brew Coffee pro Alton Jones Sr. caught a 4-pound, 11-ounce smallmouth to earn the Berkley Big Bass of the day.

The three teams that will compete Thursday in Knockout Round Match 2 at the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® are:

Team B&W Trailer Hitches:
Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark.
Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas

Team StarTron:
Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla.
Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala.

Team YETI:
Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J.
Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala.

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live every day of competition from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. MLFNOW!® is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) apps, RFD-TV Now, Game & Fish TV and Rumble. The final period of every day of competition of the 2025 Fishing Clash Team Series is broadcast live on RFD-TV, from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET.

The MLF Fishing Clash Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops will feature four Cup events in 2025 – the Challenge, Heritage, Patriot, and Summit Cups – with 12 two-man teams of Bass Pro Tour anglers competing for a share of $560,000 in prize money. Teams were formed through a selection process, where 48 team captains – based on Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) standings throughout the 2025 Bass Pro Tour season – selected a teammate. Teams will compete throughout the fall of 2025.

by AnglersChannel

MLF Announces Bass Pro Shops REDCREST 2026 on Table Rock Lake

MLF’s Championship Event to feature $300,000 Top Prize, Outdoor Sports Expo Set for Bass Pro Shops’ Flagship Store

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (Aug. 27, 2025) – Major League Fishing (MLF) today unveiled a long-awaited announcement and one of the most exciting championship destinations in its history – Bass Pro Shops REDCREST 2026, the Bass Pro Tour Championship, will take place on Table Rock Lake near Springfield, Missouri, on April 17-19, 2026.

For the first time ever, the premier event will be held near the birthplace of Bass Pro Shops, the original anchor sponsor of Major League Fishing and title sponsor of the Bass Pro Tour since its inception. The prestigious event will showcase 35 of the top bass-fishing professionals in the world competing for the seventh REDCREST Championship trophy and a $300,000 top prize.

In another first for the championship, the REDCREST 2026 Outdoor Sports Expo will be a three-day, open-air, tented festival staged right in the heart of the Bass Pro Shops National Headquarters campus in Springfield – a setting that embodies the passion, heritage and excitement of the sport. Surrounded by the natural beauty of the Ozarks, this vibrant outdoor setting will be filled with top outdoor brands, interactive kids’ activities, casting challenges, live entertainment, food and fun for the whole family.

The competition will feature MLF’s catch, weigh, immediate-release format, with every fish tracked in real-time via SCORETRACKER®. On-the-water action will be streamed live all three days on MLFNOW! ® and MajorLeagueFishing.com while fans shop the Outdoor Sports Expo for great deals from hundreds of exhibitors in what has become the biggest watch party in bass fishing. Onsite fans will have multiple opportunities to take part in MLF pro angler meet & greets, local school visits, lake cleanup efforts and other unique community engagement events throughout the week, including a White River Marine owner’s tournament using SCORETRACKER® LIVE on a nearby lake with recognition of the winners during the REDCREST 2026 postgame show on Championship Sunday.

Although Table Rock Lake has long hosted numerous MLF events over the years – including back-to-back BPT events in 2021 – REDCREST 2026 marks the first time the championship will be held on the legendary fishery. Previous REDCREST champions include three-time winner Dustin Connell (2025, 2024, 2021), Bryan Thrift (2023), Bobby Lane (2022) and Edwin Evers (2019).

“We’ve been working on this event for a long time, and we’re so proud to finally announce Table Rock Lake as the venue for REDCREST 2026,” said Boyd Duckett, MLF President and CEO. “The Ozarks region is the perfect backdrop for a celebration of everything bass fishing, and REDCREST 2026 will combine the highest level of tournament competition with a dynamic outdoor expo that captures the energy and excitement of the sport. The Bass Pro Shops headquarters will offer an incredible setting for fans to experience the action, meet their favorite pros and enjoy a week filled with fishing, fun and the unmatched beauty of the Ozarks.”

Springfield is home to the “Grandaddy of All Outdoor Stores” – the Bass Pro Shops National Headquarters – and the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium, voted “America’s Best Aquarium” an unprecedented seven times, and “America’s Best New Attraction.” This one-of-a-kind destination is home to the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame and draws millions of visitors each year to experience immersive wildlife galleries, hands-on adventures and the world’s largest wildlife collection.

Bass Pro Shops founder and noted conservationist Johnny Morris has spent decades building experiences that connect people to nature, championing conservation and celebrating the heritage of fishing and the outdoors. His commitment to inspiring new generations to enjoy and protect the resources we share is the perfect complement to MLF’s mission, making the Ozarks the ideal home for REDCREST 2026 and the Outdoor Sports Expo.

“Table Rock Lake is truly one of the crown jewels of America’s fishing waters,” said Johnny Morris. “Hosting the Bass Pro Tour REDCREST 2026 right here, in our home in the Ozarks, with the Outdoor Sports Expo at our national headquarters, is a dream come true for us. We are honored to welcome fishing fans from all over the world to experience the Ozarks and share in the fun, fellowship and excitement of this championship.”

The 35 pros that will compete in REDCREST 2026 at Table Rock Lake are:

Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J.
Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn.
Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla.
Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla.
Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala.
Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La.
Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala.
Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark.
Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn.
Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif.
James Elam, Tulsa, Okla.
Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla.
Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas
Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio
Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill.
Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn.
Marshall Hughes, Hemphill, Texas
John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky.
Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas
Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn.
Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala.
Colby Miller, Elmer, La.
Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn.
Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich.
Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan
Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark.
Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas
Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn.
Matteo Turano, Puryear, Tenn.
Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala.
Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn.
2025 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Champion (TBD)
2025 Toyota Series Boater Champion (TBD)
Highest Finishing Member of CF National Champions at Toyota Series Championship (TBD)
International Division Winner at Toyota Series Championship (TBD)

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing, REDCREST 2026 and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.

by AnglersChannel

Adrian Avena/Connell and Evers/Reese Earn Final Two Spots from Elimination Round Match 3 at B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup

Team YETI (Avena/Connell) catches 18 scorable bass weighing 39-11 to win third match of Elimination Round, six teams now set for Knockout Round

PORT HURON, Mich. (Aug. 26, 2025) – The final Elimination Round of the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® at Port Huron on Michigan’s Thumbcoast delivered plenty of drama Tuesday on the St. Clair River, with four teams battling for the last two spots in the Knockout Round at the first event of the 2025 Fishing Clash Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops. When the dust settled, Team YETI’s Adrian Avena and Dustin Connell powered their way to the top of the leaderboard, while Team Kubota – Edwin Evers and Bass Fishing Hall of Famer Skeet Reese – held off a furious late rally to secure the second advancing spot.

Despite a hard charge by Team Fishing Clash, Anthony Gagliardi and Jeremy Lawyer, late in Period 3, Team Kubota locked down second place with a mix of largemouth and smallmouth. Reese capped the day with a 2-3 smallmouth that provided the narrow margin they needed to advance, extending his retirement tour at least one more round alongside longtime friend Evers.

Team Fishing Clash’s Gagliardi and Lawyer nearly pulled off a Cinderella comeback, erasing a 12-pound deficit in the final period to finish just 1 pound, 4 ounces shy of advancing. Despite having four fish disqualified early in the morning for inadvertently being caught outside the competition zone, they stormed back with several quality smallmouth late in the day but ultimately fell below the Elimination Line to end the day in third place.

Team Knighten Industries – Jake Lawrence and Colby Miller – jumped out to an early lead with six scorable bass in Period 1, but their bite fizzled, producing just two more fish the rest of the day to end their Challenge Cup run in fourth place.

Connell was the difference-maker for Team YETI, boating 29 pounds, 13 ounces of bass on his own and anchoring their winning weight of 39-11. The Alabama pro and three-time REDCREST Champion also claimed the Berkley Big Bass of the day with a 4-pound, 1-ounce smallmouth. Together, Connell and Avena dialed in a one-two punch that carried them from a slow start into a dominant finish.

“We just won the day right here on the St. Clair River,” Connell said in his post-game interview. “Today, it was all about that one-two punch – Adrian was throwing a black Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm, I was throwing a green-pumpkin colored Rapala CrushCity Salted Ned Roll, which is a new bait that just came out. Switching it up, changing colors, that little combo got us some good bites and a couple of dang good fish.”

Avena credited the turnaround to finding the combination of the right area and the right bait.

“Today proved you can definitely be throwing the right bait in the wrong area and you’re not going to catch anything,” Avena said. “Once we figured out what the fish were relating to and started dialing in on a couple of spots, it all came together.”

Early on, the duo admitted things weren’t going as planned. After scouting around with limited success, they even debated switching to largemouth.

“It wasn’t that easy at the beginning,” Connell said. “We started out slow and thought about just going after largemouth, but then we settled in on those smallmouth and made it work. We’re literally sandwiched between two smallmouth factories here – Lake St. Clair and Lake Huron – and once we figured out where the fish wanted to be, we had a lot of fun.”

Avena agreed, noting that pressure on the river after three days of competition made location critical.

“I got a feeling a lot of that industrial stuff was pummeled by the other teams earlier in the week,” he said. “It looked so good, but it just wasn’t the right depth. Once we got out on that ridge in 10 feet, the quality was way better. Most of those fish were 2½ to 4 pounds, and that’s exactly what we needed.”

Connell said a key moment came when he spotted one of his bigger fish following his bait.

“That 3-9 I caught kind of clued me in,” Connell explained. “He came out following the bait, and I realized they were up a little bit shallower. After that, things really started clicking.”

For Connell and Avena, Tuesday’s win means momentum heading into the Knockout Round.

“One of the things I love about a team tournament is just having a partner in the boat,” Connell said. “You’ve got somebody to bounce ideas off of, somebody to joke with when it’s slow, and somebody to celebrate with when you figure it out. Adrian’s one of my good buddies, and that makes a day like today even more fun.”

“I know we’re friends and all, but I think you’re a pretty good pick for a teammate,” Avena laughed. “We live to fight another day, and I like our chances. Let’s do it again.”

The top two teams from Elimination Round Match 3 at the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® that now advance to the Knockout Round are:

1st: Team YETI, 18 bass, 39-11
Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., five bass, 9-14
Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 13 bass, 29-13
2nd: Team Kubota, 14 bass, 30-1
Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., seven bass, 14-15
Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., seven bass, 15-2

Eliminated from competition are:

3rd: Team Fishing Clash, 10 bass, 28-14
Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., four bass, 10-10
Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., six bass, 18-4
4th: Team Knighten, eight bass, 13-11
Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., three bass, 4-14
Colby Miller, Elmer, La., five bass, 8-13

Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 50 bass weighing 112 pounds, 5 ounces caught by the four teams in Elimination Round Match 3 on the southern half of the St. Clair River. Team YETI pro Dustin Connell caught the Berkley Big Bass of the day – a smallmouth weighing 4 pounds, 1 ounce.

The three teams that will compete Wednesday in Knockout Round Match 1 at the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® are:

Team 7Brew Coffee:
Alton Jones Sr., Lorena, Texas
Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas

Team O’Reilly Auto Parts:
Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich.
Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va.

Team Kubota:
Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla.
Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif.

The B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® is hosted by Discover the Blue Michigan's Thumbcoast and takes place over six days in Port Huron, Michigan . The competition water for each day is top-secret and is only revealed to the anglers when they arrive at the boat ramp each morning. Anglers are driven directly to the day’s competition area launch ramp by their officials. Competition begins on the water at 8:45 a.m.

by AnglersChannel

Nelson/Villa and Davis/Klein Advance after Elimination Round Match 2 at B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup

Team O’Reilly Auto Parts (Nelson/Villa) catches 37 scorable bass totaling 64 pounds, 15 ounces to win Elimination Round Match 2, top two teams move on to Knockout Round

PORT HURON, Mich. (Aug. 25, 2025) – Four new teams set out on the southern section of the St. Clair River early Monday morning for Elimination Match 2 of the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® at Port Huron on Michigan’s Thumbcoast. The second day of the first of four events in the 2025 Fishing Clash Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops season kept fans on edge as teams moved in and out of the top spot throughout the day. But it was Team O’Reilly Auto Parts – made up of Ron Nelson and Martin Villa – that stormed from behind in Period 3 to secure the win and finish the day atop the leaderboard.

Nelson and Villa delivered a dominant final period, stacking up 31 pounds of bass in the last two hours of competition to rocket from third place into the top spot on SCORETRACKER®. The duo combined for 37 scorable bass weighing 64 pounds, 15 ounces, to advance to the Knockout Round thanks to a balanced mix of largemouth and smallmouth.

Joining them in the Knockout Round are Team B&W Trailer Hitches, the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame duo of Mark Davis and Gary Klein, who pieced together a steady day, boating 29 scorable bass weighing a total of 51-3. Their second-place finish was anchored by Davis’ 22 scorable bass for 36 pounds, 8 ounces – the highest fish and weight count of the event thus far. Davis and Klein found their rhythm around a creek mouth feeding into the main river and added key fish beneath a nearby bridge, a one-two punch that helped them lock down the second advancing position.

That meant heartbreak for Team Ferguson’s Brent Ehrler and Justin Lucas, who fell just one scorable bass short of advancing. Ehrler’s 5-pound Berkley Big Bass of the day – caught on a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm along an industrial stretch of seawall – highlighted their run, but despite several quality smallmouth, the duo was unable to hold their position in the final minutes of competition.

Team Smoky Mountain, featuring Josh Bertrand and Dean Rojas, showed promise early with Rojas’ signature frog and Bertrand flipping cane edges, but their bite fizzled out in the second half of the day. They were eliminated alongside Team Ferguson at the close of Match 2.

The Team O’Reilly Auto Parts duo caught most of their fish along current eddies, seawalls and pilings up and down the St. Clair River, with Nelson boating 17 scorable bass on the day, weighing 30-4, while Villa added 20 bass for 34-11.

“It wasn’t just one winning bait for us today, really it was two,” Villa explained. “I’m a drop-shot fisherman, and every fish I caught came on a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm. Ron’s a Ned-rig guy, and that Z-Man Finesse TRD in green pumpkin really got the key bites along seawalls. There were a couple times I thought we were going to get left behind, but that one-two punch kept us in the hunt.”

Nelson said fishing to their strengths was the key.

“This is what Michigan’s all about – clear water and current – and we had a blast,” he said. “I’m not a drop-shot guy, but I did catch a few on it today. My go-to today was the Ned rig. Simple, but effective, and we survived to fish another day.

The turning point came late in the day when they revisited a stretch near ferry docks.

“It’s the first time either of us has fished the St. Clair River, so it was a little edgy at first. Funny enough, the first time we stopped at our winning spot we didn’t catch a bass – just a few walleye. But we thought it looked too good, so we came back, and that decision made all the difference,” Nelson said.

“Anybody who’s fished around ferry boats knows good things can happen there, and that’s the way it went down for us today,” Villa said. “We’re blessed to have survived this round. Now we’ll see where they put us in the Knockout Round, but you can bet we’ll be looking for another ferry.”

Nelson said teamwork is obviously key in team events like the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup, but the intensity of SCORETRACKER® and the every-fish-counts format makes it that much more crucial – and exciting.

“MLF has got it down with this Team Series – it’s nothing but sheer adrenaline from start to finish,” he said. “It’s hard going in blind without practice, but we’re a great team and the excitement keeps us on our toes. You never know what you’re going to pull out of this water – could be a big brown fish, could be a big green fish – and that makes it so much fun.”

Villa agreed.

“Anytime you can get your hands on some of those big smallmouth, that’s fun,” he said. “And we definitely had fun today.”

The top two teams from Elimination Round Match 2 at the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® that now advance to the Knockout Round are:

1st: Team O’Reilly Auto Parts, 37 bass, 64-15
Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 17 bass, 30-4
Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 20 bass, 34-11
2nd: Team B&W Trailer Hitches, 29 bass, 51-3
Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 22 bass, 36-7
Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas, seven bass, 14-12

Eliminated from competition are:

3rd: Team Ferguson, 24 bass, 50-8
Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 13 bass, 29-5
Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 11 bass, 21-3
4th: Team Smokey Mountain, 23 bass, 38-10
Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 11 bass, 18-11
Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., 12 bass, 19-15

Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 113 bass weighing 205 pounds, 4 ounces caught by the four teams in Elimination Round Match 2 on the southern half of the St. Clair River. Team Ferguson pro Brent Ehrler caught the Berkley Big Bass of the day – a smallmouth weighing 5 pounds even.

The four teams that will compete Tuesday in Elimination Round Match 3 at the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® are:

Team Fishing Clash:
Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C.
Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo.

Team Knighten:
Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn.
Colby Miller, Elmer, La.

Team Kubota:
Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla.
Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif.

Team YETI:
Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J.
Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala.

The B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® is hosted by Discover the Blue Michigan's Thumbcoast and takes place over six days in Port Huron, Michigan . The competition water for each day is top-secret and is only revealed to the anglers when they arrive at the boat ramp each morning. Anglers are driven directly to the day’s competition area launch ramp by their officials. Competition begins on the water at 8:45 a.m.

by AnglersChannel

Lynchburg’s Luckey Earns Fourth Win of Season at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament at James River

Virginia’s Williams Paces Co-Angler Division

HENRICO, Va. (Aug. 25, 2025) – Boater Broderick Luckey of Lynchburg, Virginia, caught 10 bass weighing 41 pounds, 10 ounces over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the James River presented by Suzuki Marine . The tournament was the fifth and final regular-season event of the season for the BFL Piedmont Division. Luckey earned $3,931 for his victory.

A tournament resume with four career BFL wins would be an impressive feat that not many anglers can claim, but even more remarkable is Luckey’s feat of winning four events in one season. Luckey’s winning stretch began at the end of March, with back-to-back victories at Smith Mountain Lake on a two-tournament Saturday and Sunday double-header. He earned his third event of the season in July at the James River, then did it again on Saturday to earn No. 4.

“It has been a crazy season,” Luckey said. “This one was my first win with MLF in a multi-day event, which is really cool.

“We started off in practice, and there was a flood tide from the hurricane,” Luckey said. “The water was way up over the docks. Just crazy conditions. Wind was blowing 30 miles per hour, and it blew a bunch of water in, and I was unsure of what would happen during the tournament. Thankfully, on Day 1, the tide started pushing back out and returning to normal.”

Luckey said he made a long run to the Chickahominy River to work a vibrating jig through hydrilla flats and also found some groups of large bass on offshore structure, although the offshore fish were wary and proved difficult to coax into striking. Luckey rotated between the hydrilla flats and the offshore structure to grind out bites.

“I knew I only need five,” Luckey said. “I was fishing for five to 10 bites a day. I left my fish alone at 11:30 on Day 1 to try to preserve them for Day 2.”

Luckey landed 15 keepers on Day 1 and “eight or nine” bass on Sunday. Beside the vibrating jig, he also employed a drop-shot rig, jerkbait and a jighead minnow to fill the livewell.

“After Day 1 knew if I could get those fish to fire again, I would have a good shot to win,” Luckey said. “I had about 18 pounds around 9:30 on Day 2, and I thought I should have a pretty decent chance. Then, an hour before I had to leave, I culled a 2 ½-pounder with a 4 ½-pounder. As soon as I got that one in the boat, I felt pretty confident I had just sealed the deal. I knew the guys that caught 20 pounds on Day 1 would have to catch a really big bag Sunday to catch up with me.

“I didn’t get much sleep the night before because I was thinking about my gameplan and how I was going to execute,” Luckey added. “I kept running it over and over in my head to try to make sure I had made the right decision. It felt good to get the boat back to weigh-in and get the fish away from the water so I wouldn’t drop them. I was worried about everything that could go wrong, and I wanted to make sure those controllables were controlled. So, yeah, this one felt fantastic.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Broderick Luckey, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 41-10, $3,931
2nd:      Ryan Lachniet, Gum Spring, Va., 10 bass, 38-6, $2,328
3rd:       Brian Laclair, Denton, Md., 10 bass, 27-8, $1,278
4th:        Jeff Hamilton, Henrico, Va., 10 bass, 27-4, $894
5th:        Kevin Chandler, New London, N.C., nine bass, 25-1, $766
6th:        Sam Westbrook, Clarksville, Va., 10 bass, 24-14, $702
7th:        Jason Barnes, Concord, N.C., 10 bass, 22-10, $789
8th:        Matt Floyd, Virginia Beach, Va., 10 bass, 22-10, $1,075
9th:        Jeff Miskell, Vienna, Va., 10 bass, 22-2, $511
10th:     David Perdue, Wirtz, Va., nine bass, 21-13, $447

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Ryan Lachniet of Gum Spring, Virginia, caught a bass that weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $412.

David Williams of Fredericksburg, Virginia, won the co-angler division and $2,166 Sunday, after bringing six bass to the scale that totaled 19 pounds even.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        David Williams, Fredericksburg, Va., six bass, 19-0, $2,166
2nd:      Richard Williams, Sutherland, Va., six bass, 16-15, $1,008
3rd:       David Deciucis, Chester, Va., six bass, 16-12, $640
4th:        Brian Durham, Dinwiddie, Va., six bass, 15-11, $447
5th:        James Roten, West Jefferson, N.C., six bass, 13-7, $383
6th:        Tony Toombs, Drakes Branch, Va., six bass, 13-0, $351
7th:        Derek Stanley, Fuquay Varina, N.C., five bass, 12-10, $319
8th:        Dean Gibbs, North Chesterfield, Va., five bass, 12-4, $493
9th:        Alvin Hicks, Alexandria, Va., six bass, 11-6, $255
10th:     Cornell Badra, Clarksburg, Md., four bass, 8-6, $224

Dean Gibbs of North Chesterfield, Virginia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $206, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 5 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

With all five events in the division now complete, Thomas Milton of Chester, Virginia, won the Fishing Clash Piedmont Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,293 points and earned the $1,000 payout, while Derek Stanley of Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash Piedmont Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,318 points and earned the $500 award.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Norman Presented by Mando Deodorant in Huntersville, North Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

by AnglersChannel

Blue Ridge’s Prince Earns Home-Lake Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament at Lake Lanier

Pennsylvania’s Carey Takes Co-Angler Division

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (Aug. 25, 2025) – Boater Alex Prince of Blue Ridge, Georgia, caught six bass weighing 26 pounds even over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Lanier. The tournament was the fifth and final regular-season event of the season for the BFL Bulldog Division. Prince earned $6,844 for his victory.

Due to recent extremely hot temperatures, MLF tournament directors implemented a three-fish limit for both boaters and co-anglers each day at this event.

“On Day 1 we had some pretty nasty weather come in, and it made for a good bite,” Prince said. “I was catching most of my fish on a Zoom Fluke and a SPRO Sashimmy Swimmer, then on Day 2 it was slick, calm, bluebird skies and extremely tough.”

Prince said the change in weather made him nervous on the second day of the tournament, and he fished a minnow around timber in deeper water – from 30 to 50 feet – in search of bass. He added that the boat traffic that had been present Saturday was not present Sunday.

After boating 25 keepers on Saturday, Prince managed 10 bass from the waters of Lanier below Browns Bridge on the south end of the lake.

“I caught a couple on the topwater on the second day, but mostly it was the minnow,” Price said. “I couldn’t get the big ones to come up when it was that slick. The weather makes a huge difference on that place.

“I was a nervous wreck because it was slick,” Prince added. “The wind started blowing at 1 o’clock, and I had a 5-pound largemouth come up and miss the Sashimmy Swimmer. Then at 2:15 I pulled up to my last spot and caught a 4-pound (spotted bass) that culled out a 3-pounder, and if it hadn’t have been for that fish I wouldn’t have won. I told my co-angler earlier in the day that I had one in the box that weighed 3 pounds that would cost me the tournament if I didn’t cull it.”

In the past, Prince had come close to winning a BFL tournament on Lanier – including two 2nd-place finishes and a 3rd-place effort – but had never been able to seal the deal until Sunday.

“This is incredible,” Prince said. “I never could win on Lanier, and that’s my home lake, so it’s a true blessing to finally get the silver trophy.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Alex Prince, Blue Ridge, Ga., six bass, 26-0, $6,844
2nd:      Damian Szlachta, Center Valley, Pa., six bass, 25-4, $2,971
3rd:       Logan Parker, Ball Ground, Ga., six bass, 25-0, $1,983
4th:        Kristian Kelley, Dawsonville, Ga., six bass, 24-14, $1,386
5th:        William Bates, Alpharetta, Ga., six bass, 24-12, $1,688
6th:        Jack Story, Atlanta, Ga., six bass, 24-11, $1,089
7th:        Hayden Seabolt, Dawsonville, Ga., six bass, 24-11, $990
8th:        Sam Niemeyer, Aviston, Ill., six bass, 24-2, $891
9th:        Levi Self, Dahlonega, Ga., six bass, 24-0, $792
10th:     Troy Harris, Watkinsville, Ga., six bass, 23-13, $693

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Alex Prince of Blue Ridge, Georgia, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 6 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $802.

Trent Carey of York Springs, Pennsylvania, won the co-angler division and $2,971 Sunday, after bringing six bass to the scale that totaled 16 pounds, 3 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Trent Carey, York Springs, Pa., six bass, 16-3, $2,971
2nd:      Daniel Arnberg, Auburn, Ala., six bass, 16-0, $1,486
3rd:       Jared Kutil, Beaufort, S.C., six bass, 14-12, $1,039
4th:        Colby Elliott, Blairsville, Ga., five bass, 11-14, $693
5th:        Benjie Winkler, Cleveland, Ga., five bass, 11-12, $594
6th:        Rowen Vandergriff, Covington, Ga., three bass, 10-6, $545
7th:        Joseph Chilcott, Williamson, Ga., four bass, 10-2, $495
8th:        William Thomas Cowart, Danielsville, Ga., three bass, 9-13, $446
9th:        Adam Johnson, Duluth, Ga., four bass, 9-12, $396
10th:     Tim Greene, Loganville, Ga., five bass, 9-11, $347

Peyton Rinker of Woodstock, Georgia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $401, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 5 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

With all five events in the division now complete, Michael Wilder of Lizella, Georgia, won the Fishing Clash Bulldog Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,298 points and earned the $1,000 payout, while Daniel Arnberg of Auburn, Alabama, won the Fishing Clash Bulldog Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,316 points and earned $500.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 17-18 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Seminole Presented by Mando Deodorant in Bainbridge, Georgia. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

by AnglersChannel

Indiana’s Richardson Edges Field by One Ounce to Win Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Detroit River Presented by Lew’s

Ohio’s Sharp Tops Co-Angler Division

TRENTON, Mich. (Aug. 25, 2025) – Boater Jesse Richardson of Ligonier, Indiana, caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 12 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) on the Detroit River Presented by Lew’s. Richardson edged out second-place Nicholas Seitz of Maumee, Ohio , by one ounce to win the fourth event of the season for the BFL Michigan Division. Richardson earned $3,889 for his victory.

“I went north to Anchor Bay in Lake St. Clair and knew it was going to be tough with all the pressure the water had seen lately,” Richardson said. “I knew the fish were still there, but they were finicky and tough to get to bite.”

Richardson said he focused on Anchor Bay and targeted large weed beds in 10 ½ to 12 feet of water. He said he searched for clean spots, 100 feet off of the weed beds, with forward-facing sonar and picked up wolfpacks as well as single large bass. His bait of choice was a 6-inch minnow, although a drop-shot rig tipped with a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm accounted for a couple of keepers.

Although Richardson knew he had a decent bag, a win in his first BFL Michigan event wasn’t in his mind as he headed to weigh-in.

“I didn’t have a good practice,” Richardson said. “I did have a couple of quality fish, and I thought if I could get 20 pounds, I could maybe get a Top 10. It turns out everybody was right up there with 20 to 20 ½ pounds, but I figured somebody would have had at least 22 or 23 pounds.

“Anybody can run into giants on that fishery,” Richardson added. “It just happens.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Jessee Richardson, Ligonier, Ind., five bass, 20-12, $3,889
2nd:      Nicholas Seitz, Maumee, Ohio, five bass, 20-11, $2,544 (includes $500 Phoenix Bonus)
3rd:       Dan Mittlestat, Woodhaven, Mich., five bass, 20-10, $1,297
4th:        Nolan Mandel, Kimball, Mich., five bass, 20-7, $907
5th:        Derek Rodriguez, Okemos, Mich., five bass, 20-5, $778
6th:        Pat Upthagrove, Monroe, Mich., five bass, 20-3, $713
7th:        Jeremy Reese, Powell, Ohio, five bass, 20-1, $615
7th:        Noah Stauffer, Gowen, Mich., five bass, 20-1, $615
9th:        Hunter Colwell, Zanesfield, Ohio, five bass, 20-0, $519
10th:     Jeff Copley, Morengo, Ohio, five bass, 19-7, $454

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Matt Vermilyea of Perrysburg, Ohio, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $525.

Matthew Sharp of Troy, Ohio, won the co-angler division and $1,944 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 2 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Matthew Sharp, Troy, Ohio, three bass, 12-2, $1,944
2nd:      Charles Williams, Heath, Ohio, three bass, 11-9, $1,234
3rd:       Terry Bucciarelli, Ypsilanti, Mich., three bass, 10-6, $799
4th:        Anthony Shields, Harrison, Mich., three bass, 10-5, $454
5th:        Billy Crider Jr., Kettering, Ohio, three bass, 10-4, $389
6th:        Karmen McKenna, Kalamazoo, Mich., three bass, 10-3, $356
7th:        Scott Davis, Morenci, Mich., three bass, 10-2, $308
7th:        Jacob Cox, Corunna, Mich., three bass, 10-2, $308
9th:        Rece Kimmel, Lewiston, Ohio, three bass, 9-15, $259
10th:     Robert Busby, Fenton, Mich., three bass, 9-14, $227

Charles Williams of Heath, Ohio, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $262, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 14 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Nolan Mandel of Kimball, Michigan, leads the Fishing Clash Michigan Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 992 points, while Brian Ruetz of Toledo, Ohio, leads the Fishing Clash Michigan Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 944 points.

The next event for BFL Michigan Division anglers will be the two-day Super Tournament Presented by Lew’s, held Sept. 6-7, at the Detroit River in Trenton, Michigan. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Erie Presented by Lew’s in Sandusky, Ohio. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

by AnglersChannel

Fairport’s Blake Posts Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Oneida Lake Presented by Lew’s

Delaware’s Given Tops Co-Angler Division

BREWERTON, N.Y. (Aug. 25, 2025) – Boater Liam Blake of Fairport, New York, caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 7 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Oneida Lake presented by Lew’s. The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Northeast Division. Blake earned $3,632 for his victory.

“I fished history on the lake and just went back to the basics with a jig and a dropshot around grass and rocks,” Blake said. “It was nothing too crazy – just 13 to 20 feet of water. The perfect mix of grass and rock was what you needed to be around to get bit.”

Blake said he fished west-central Oneida on the south shore and used forward-facing sonar to see fish through the grass. He cited being able to see the fish on his electronics as being the key to his victory.

“I just put the bait in front of as many fish as I could to get bites. It was tough,” Blake said. “I caught 20 keepers all day. Ten of those were shallow and came on a drop-shot with a 4-inch Yamamoto Senko and a ¼-ounce drop-shot weight. I also threw a ½-ounce homemade football jig.”

Blake said Oneida has been fishing so well lately he estimated it would take, “22 and some change to win”, and figured he was one bite short of a win at weigh-in.

“Apparently, it was pretty tough out there,” Blake said. “I didn’t think I had enough until I put my boat on the trailer and a couple of people came over and commented about how tough it was, and 20 pounds was leading. That’s when I realized I might have a chance.

“This win is amazing,” Blake added. “I’ve had a bunch of second places in tournaments out there, so to win one feels really good.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Liam Blake, Fairport, N.Y., five bass, 21-7, $3,632
2nd:      Jason Putman, Cicero, N.Y., five bass, 20-2, $2,281
3rd:       Ricky Brodeur, Chaumont, N.Y., five bass, 20-0, $1,210
4th:        Casey Smith, Victor, N.Y., five bass, 19-14, $947
5th:        Jordan Sypeck, Weston, Pa., five bass, 19-11, $726
6th:        Jared Adamski, Dallas, Pa., five bass, 19-9, $666
7th:        Henry Fristik, Blandford, Mass., five bass, 19-5, $605
8th:        Dylan Fogerty, Mechanicsburg, Pa., five bass, 19-4, $545
9th:        Ken Golub, Pittsford, N.Y., five bass, 19-2, $484
10th:     Dean Diviesti, Walden, N.Y., five bass, 19-1, $424

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Jason Putman of Cicero, New York, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 5 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $465.

Randall Given of Laurel, Delaware, won the co-angler division and $1,816 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 14 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Randall Given, Laurel, Del., three bass, 12-14, $1,816
2nd:      Kade Wesner, Lancaster, Pa., three bass, 12-8, $958
3rd:       Andrew Hostler, Tyrone, Pa., three bass, 10-14, $706
4th:        Jared Burrows, Butler, Pa., three bass, 10-13, $424
5th:        Cole Bernier, Saylorsburg, Pa., three bass, 10-12, $363
6th:        Timothy Rougier, Watertown, N.Y., three bass, 10-9, $333
7th:        Wes Woolridge, Phoenix, N.Y., three bass, 10-8, $303
8th:        Sudhir Nath, Buffalo, N.Y., three bass, 10-6, $272
9th:        Thomas Tennity, Newark, N.Y., three bass, 10-1, $242
10th:     Wes Vyverberg, Rochester, N.Y., three bass, 9-15, $201
10th:     Matthew Belmore, Indian Lake, N.Y., three bass, 9-15, $201

Gerald Dam of Pine Plains, New York, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $232, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 14 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Tom Balachvili of Scarsdale, New York, leads the Fishing Clash Northeast Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 935 points, while Kade Wesner of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, leads the Fishing Clash Northeast Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 956 points.

The next event for BFL Northeast Division anglers will be the two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 20-21, at the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on the James River Presented by Mando Deodorant in Richmond, Virginia. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

by AnglersChannel

Pat Schlapper Doubles Down With Sunline

Torrance, CA- Sunline America proudly congratulates Pat Schlapper on his victory at the Bassmaster Elite Series event on the Mississippi River, where he secured his second Elite Series title of the season and the second of his career, finishing with a four-day total of 62 pounds, 6 ounces. Schlapper’s ability to adjust to changing conditions while relying on the strength and precision of Sunline braid was the key to his success.

Throughout the tournament, Schlapper leaned on a combination of techniques powered by Sunline. To cover water, he turned to a SPRO Bronzeye Frog, trusting 60lb Sunline Xplasma Asegai Braid to deliver solid hooksets in thick vegetation. When bass were schooling and feeding in current, he fished a Big Bite Baits Jerk Minnow rigged on a 5/0 round bend hook, spooled with 50lb Sunline SX1 Braid, which gave him the casting distance and lure control needed to generate strikes. In Pool 8’s Goose Pond area, Schlapper punched through dense mats with a creature bait on a 4/0 hook and a 1 1/2-ounce weight, again relying on the abrasion resistance and strength of 60lb Xplasma Asegai Braid to handle the heaviest cover.

“Every cast, every hookset, I had total confidence in my line,” Schlapper said. “Whether I was throwing a frog, working a Jerk Minnow, or punching mats, Sunline gave me the strength and precision I needed to win.”

Schlapper’s second win of the season highlights why so many of the sport’s top professionals trust Sunline. With unmatched strength, sensitivity, and durability, Sunline braid is built for the moments that decide championships.

Sunline maintains a top share in the line market in Japan, where it was founded, and exports its line to more than 40 countries worldwide. Sunline America is a subsidiary of Sunline Japan and is responsible for distribution and marketing in North American markets. For more information, please visit http://www.sunlineamerica.comTop of Form

by AnglersChannel

SPRO Pro Chris Johnston Secures Back-to-Back Bassmaster Angler of the Year Titles

Kennesaw, GA - SPRO is thrilled to congratulate Chris Johnston on securing the 2025 Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY) title, marking his second consecutive season earning the sport’s most prestigious honor. Johnston, hailing from Otonabee, Ontario, capped off a season of relentless consistency with a 19th-place finish at the final Elite Series stop on the Mississippi River, accumulating 776 points over the nine-tournament season to outlast second-year phenom Trey McKinney and earn the $100,000 first-place prize.

“Winning back-to-back AOY titles is something I’ve dreamed about my whole career,” said Johnston. “This achievement is the result of countless hours on the water, careful planning, and trusting the gear, from great partners like SPRO that helps me perform at my best.”

“Chris has shown incredible skill, patience, and focus all season,” said SPRO National Sales Manager, Syd Rives. “We’re proud to support him and celebrate his historic accomplishment, which highlights the level of performance our products help anglers achieve.”

Johnston’s season was a masterclass in patience and skill, steadily moving up the AOY standings with strong, consistent finishes—including back-to-back 11th-place showings at Lake Tenkiller and Lake St. Clair. The championship came down to the wire at the Mississippi River, where a decisive late-day cull not only filled his limit but clinched the historic back-to-back title.

We are Sports Professionals. SPRO works with America's best anglers to design the world's finest fishing tackle. Using cutting edge technology and innovation, SPRO leads the way in developing the highest quality premium fishing equipment available.

For more information, please visit

WWW.SPRO.COM

by AnglersChannel

Schlapper’s local knowledge seals Bassmaster Elite win at Mississippi River

Elite_eventLogo_2025_MissRiver_Raster (2).png

LA CROSSE, Wis. — Pat Schlapper was surprised by his first Bassmaster Elite trophy, but not his second. The latter — this week’s season-ending Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Upper Mississippi River — fulfilled the Eleva, Wis., pro’s honest expectation with a winning total of 66 pounds, 5 ounces.

“This one’s so sweet, it means a lot to me,” said Schlapper, who also won the MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River in mid-May. “The people that I get to fish with down here, it’s for them. We put in a ton of work down here (prior to the off-limits period a month prior to the event) and it paid off.

“The Sabine was a kind of surprise to me, but this one I’m not surprised, because I fish down here so much and I have a ton of history. I’m so happy I won this (event). I love the Mississippi River and I hope we come back.”

In a week marked with fluctuating water levels from heavy pre-tournament rains and strong winds the third and fourth days, Schlapper adjusted to the changing conditions and kept himself in the hunt.

On Day 1, he caught a fourth-place limit of 18-8. Adding a second-round bag that weighed 15-4, he rose to third. A limit of 14-2 kept him in third for Semifinal Saturday.

Concluding with a Championship Sunday limit of 18-7, Schlapper recorded the heaviest winning weight in a Bassmaster Elite event at the Mississippi River. Californian Ish Monroe won with 65-7 in 2018.

Edging fellow Wisconsin pro Caleb Kuphall by 2-12, Schlapper took home the $101,000 top prize. The season finale also awarded an invitation to fish the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour, March 13-15 at the Tennessee River.

Because Schlapper qualified for the Classic through his 30th-place finish in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year points, his invitation goes to Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series rookie Dakota Ebare, the first angler outside the Classic cut.

Tapping into what he described as significant local knowledge, Schlapper followed a well-calculated daily game plan that involved locking up to Pool 7 and then returning to Pool 8, from which the tournament launched.

“I know Pool 7 better and I figured with the Classic qualification and a lot of things on the line, a lot of people wouldn’t lock,” he said. “A lot of people get scared of (not making it back in time).”

In Pool 7, Schlapper targeted vast expanses of eel grass, where he used a Big Bite Baits Jerk Minnow on a 5/0 round bend hook and a Spro Bronzeye Frog to search for schooling fish. In Pool 8, he punched dense vegetation in the Goose Pond area with a creature bait on a 4/0 hook with a 1 1/2-ounce weight.

“Those are all ways I love to fish,” Schlapper said. “I only lost one key fish all week. I like fishing this way and I’m really glad I got to do it this week.”

In a fishery known for impressive quantity, big bites were the difference makers. On Championship Sunday, Schlapper caught two in the 4-pound class — one around a quarter to 9, the other at a quarter past 2. Schlapper’s 4-5 was the final day’s biggest bass.

“I wasn’t lying on the dock this morning when I said that these guys should be scared if they knew what I was around,” Schlapper said. “They thought I was just trying to get into their heads, but that was the caliber of fish I’ve been around all week.

“It’s just been tricky to get them to bite. Today, I got five of them to bite and I got all of them in the boat.”

Hailing from Mukwonago, Wis., Kuphall led the first three days with limits of 18-15, 17-3 and 14-10. Ending with 12-13, Kuphall finished second with 63-9.

All week, Kuphall also leveraged his extensive experience, as he committed himself to a pattern he learned over 20 years ago. Targeting undercut banks with occasional current breaks, he caught all of his fish on a 3/8- to 1/2-ounce Do-it Molds Sparky Head jig with a Big Bite Baits 2.75-inch Chunk.

“Coming into this event, the whole deal was making the Classic,” Kuphall said. “I was in 36th place (in AOY points) coming in and, out here, that is a very consistent way to catch fish. I felt like I could catch enough to make the Classic. I had no idea it was that good, that it would contend for the win.”

“I probably caught double the fish today that I did yesterday. I was just missing the big bites.”

Cory Johnston of Otonabee, Canada finished third with 62-6. His daily weights were 17-7, 14-9, 14-10 and 15-12.

Johnston caught his fish on a 6th Sense frog, a 3/8-, 1/2- and 3/4-ounce jig with a chunk trailer and a Texas-rigged 6th Sense Bongo. The key, he said, was locating small zones of opportunity amid the river’s vast habitat.

“This place is spot-oriented; you gotta find the sweet spot with a group of fish,” Johnston said. “I found two of those the first day of the tournament in Pool 7 and they carried me through the tournament.

“I had one really good grassmat the size of my boat. It was starting to blow away yesterday, but I still caught a 4-pounder out of it. Today, it was totally gone and I had to rely on my other spot.”

Cooper Gallant of Bowmanville, Canada and Jonathan Kelley of Old Forge, Pa., tied for Phoenix Boats Big Bass award. Each angler received a $1,000 award for their 5-pound, 9-ounce fish.

Texas pro Lee Livesay earned the $2,000 Rapala CrushCity Monster Bag of the Tournament bonus for his 21-11 limit from Day 2.

Austin Felix earned the $1,000 BassTrakk contingency award for accurate reporting.

Virgina’s John Crews the highest place entrant to the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, earning the $3,000 bonus while Paul Mueller earned the $2,000 bonus as the second-highest entrant.

Schlapper earned the $4,000 Yamaha PowerPay bonus for the highest finishing entrant running a Yamaha Outboard while Kyoya Fujita earned a $1,500 PowerPay bonus.

Chris Johnston of Otonabee, Canada won the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year title with 776 points. Johnston, who also won the 2024 title, became only the fourth angler in Bassmaster history to win consecutive AOY titles. Previous consecutive winners were Roland Martin (1971-73, 78-79, 84-85), Guido Hibdon (1990-91) and Kevin VanDam (2008-11).

Tucker Smith of Birmingham, Ala., won the Dakota Lithium Elite Series Rookie of the Year title with 631 points.

This event was hosted by Explore La Crosse.

2025 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsors: Progressive, Toyota
2025 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2025 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Triton Boats, VMC, Yokohama

About B.A.S.S.

B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, Nitro Boats Elite Qualifiers Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier Series presented by Lowrance, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Strike King Bassmaster High School Series, Bassmaster Junior Series, Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Bassmaster College Kayak Series, Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.

by AnglersChannel

Joneses and Wall/Lane Advance from Elimination Round Match 1 at B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup

PORT HURON, Mich. (Aug. 24, 2025) – The first day of the 2025 Major League Fishing (MLF) Fishing Clash Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops launched in style Sunday at the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® at Port Huron on Michigan’s Thumbcoast. Warm, sunny skies and a light breeze made for near-perfect fishing conditions, and by the time the BUBBA scales stopped running at the end of three periods, it was a familiar family duo who stole the show on Day 1.

Representing Team 7Brew Coffee, Alton Jones Sr. and Alton Jones Jr. turned in a solid performance, boating 27 scorable bass weighing 65 pounds, 5 ounces to secure the first Elimination Round victory of the season. The father-and-son pairing, who fished together last year and finished runner-up at the Heritage Cup in Neenah, Wisconsin, wasted little time finding their rhythm on the southern half of the St. Clair River, where competitors were restricted to Sunday. Their smallmouth bite set the pace for much of the day and carried them to the top of the leaderboard, becoming the very first team to punch through to the Knockout Round.

Joining them in advancement was Team Star Tron, the tandem of Florida veteran Bobby Lane and rising pro Jacob Wall, who connected with 20 scorable bass weighing 39 pounds, 14 ounces. Like the Joneses, Lane and Wall worked steadily through the Elimination Round, piecing together enough quality bites to comfortably secure the second and final advancing spot of the day.

That meant the end of the road for the Lucas Oil duo of Michael Neal and Brent Chapman and Team BUBBA’s John Hunter and Justin Cooper, who were eliminated from the Challenge Cup after finishing third and fourth, respectively.

Team 7Brew Coffee wasted little time taking control of the match, jumping out to an early lead in Period 1 and never letting go. Their edge came from experience and execution – Alton Jones Sr. has competed on these waters many times over his career, and that knowledge helped the duo lock in on today’s winning pattern almost immediately.

“We’ve continued to dial down and dial in the pattern,” Jones Sr. said. “The key today was finding the current – finding where it really roars. Anytime you can dial in a good pattern in the first period it really helps you. You don’t have to spend half the day trying to figure out what you need to be doing.”

Fishing almost exclusively for smallmouth – 25 of their 27 scorable bass came from brown fish – the Joneses spent the day targeting current seams in 12 to 25 feet of water. Both anglers leaned heavily on the new 2.8-inch Geecrack Bellows Shad, a size that has yet to hit the U.S. market but proved to be the difference-maker.

“It was a really good day,” Jones Jr. said. “We caught them really well on the Bellows Shad, but we weren’t even throwing it at the end of the day because we’re trying to save the few packs of Bellows Shads we’ve got left. They’re not even out, yet, and we’ve only got three packs. So we’re going to be making some phone calls to see if we can get some stuff overnighted to us in time for the Knockout Round.”

For Jones Sr., it was his first time ever tying on the bait, and he was impressed.

“The Bellows Shad, the little 2.8, looks as much like a goby or baitfish as anything I’ve ever seen,” he said. “After Jr. caught a couple on it this morning I went straight to it, and I started getting bit. I’m pretty pumped about that little bait.”

The father-son duo alternated between different color patterns – Jr. with green pumpkin, Sr. with electric shad – and both produced equally well. The combination of a unique presentation and knowledge of where to apply it made all the difference.

“These fish are pressured, they’re seeing a lot of the same stuff,” Jones Jr. added. “Showing them a bait they’ve never seen before was the ticket today.”

Though Alton Jr. was quick to credit his father’s decision-making, Sr. pointed out that the learning now goes both ways.

“There are not many times where we fish together and I call the shots and run the show,” he admitted. “He’s already heads and tails beyond what I’ve ever known, and I learn from him way more than he learns from me now. But he might have learned a thing or two today.”

“I did,” Jones Jr. replied with a grin.

The top two teams from Elimination Round Match 1 at the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® that now advance to the Knockout Round are:

1st: 7Brew Coffee, 27 bass, 65-5
Alton Jones Sr., Lorena, Texas, 13 bass, 29-4
Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 14 bass, 36-1
2nd: Team Star Tron, 20 bass, 39-14
Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., nine bass, 18-4
Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 11 bass, 21-10

Eliminated from competition are:

3rd: Team Lucas Oil, 14 bass, 26-11
Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 18-10
Brent Chapman, Lake Quivira, Kan., four bass, 8-1
4th: Team BUBBA, eight bass, 16-5
John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., five bass, 10-8
Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La., three bass, 5-13

Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 69 bass weighing 148 pounds, 3 ounces caught by the four teams in Elimination Round Match 1 on the southern half of the St. Clair River. Team 7 Brew Coffee pro Alton Jones Jr. caught the Berkley Big Bass of the day – a smallmouth weighing 4 pounds, 13 ounces.

The four teams that will compete Monday in Elimination Round Match 2 at the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® are:

Team B&W Trailer Hitches:
Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark.
Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas

Team Ferguson:
Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif.
Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala.

Team O’Reilly Auto Parts:
Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich.
Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va.

Team Smokey Mountain:
Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz.

The B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® is hosted by Discover the Blue Michigan's Thumbcoast and takes place over six days in Port Huron, Michigan. The competition water for each day is top-secret and is only revealed to the anglers when they arrive at the boat ramp each morning. Anglers are driven directly to the day’s competition area launch ramp by their officials. Competition begins on the water at 8:45 a.m.

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live every day of competition from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. MLFNOW!® is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) apps, RFD-TV Now, Game & Fish TV and Rumble. The final period of every day of competition of the 2025 Fishing Clash Team Series is broadcast live on RFD-TV, from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET.

by AnglersChannel

Kuphall manages challenging conditions to remain atop Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River

Elite_eventLogo_2025_MissRiver_Raster (2).png

LA CROSSE, Wis. — Conditions changed, but Caleb Kuphall’s game plan did not.

Sticking with a technique he employed the previous two days, the pro from Mukwonago, Wis., tallied a three-day total of 50 pounds, 12 ounces and remained atop the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Upper Mississippi River.

Kuphall, who claimed a wire-to-wire win at the 2021 Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville, took the Day 1 lead at the Upper Mississippi River with a limit of 18-15. Following with 17-3, he maintained his position by a margin of 1-13 over Bryan Schmitt, who won the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River.

On Semifinal Saturday, Kuphall added 14-10 and heads into Championship Sunday leading Schmitt by the same amount.

“I would love to win this tournament,” Kuphall said. “It would absolutely be incredible. I have a ton of family and friends that would make the trip up. I want to win it for them, for sure.”

All week, Kuphall has been fishing the middle of Pool 8 and targeting undercut banks where big fish move up to feed. Having learned this pattern over 20 years ago, Kuphall has systematically worked through particular areas where he knows the scenario occurs.

He’s mostly working in depths of 3 feet or less and, while the fish could be on any section of the undercut banks, he has found that isolated details such as a laydown tree, a weed clump or a small point tend to be most consistent.

After relatively calm conditions on Days 1 and 2 brought early action, Kuphall endured a slow Day 3 start. That was likely the result of the third day's 15- to 20-mph winds and changing river level.

“Falling water and wind pretty much wrecked my day, compared to what I’d been catching,” Kuphall said. “I think I caught one or two fish off the stuff I had been hitting. My biggest fish came the previous day’s area.

“I kinda had to scramble and get into some new areas. Mid-morning, I started to get some bites, I put them in the boat and the rest of the day kinda rolled.”

As Kuphall explained, the falling water increased turbidity and elevated the current strength. That pushed most of the fish out of the areas he had previously fished and forced Kuphall to seek sheltered areas.

“I was fishing the same type of habitat, but I went further into the areas to try and find cleaner water and a little slower current,” Kuphall said. “I’m fishing about a 5-mile area, just bouncing from one end to the other, trying to feel it out and trying to get bites.”

Kuphall has caught all of the fish he’s weighed on a 3/8-ounce Do-it Molds Sparky Head jig with a Big Bite Baits 2.75-inch Chunk. The combination of a lighter jig and the trailer hung on the hook, rather than threaded, created the right fall rate and presentation that enticed the bites.

Kuphall said he’s hopeful his pattern will hold up for one more day.

“I don’t know what tomorrow’s gonna bring,” Kuphall said. “The conditions are really changing out here. Today, we got that wind that came in and tomorrow, it’s not gonna let up. We’ll just have to see what happens.”

Hailing from Deale, Md., Schmitt added 14-10 to his previous day's limits of 17-3 and 17-2 for a 48-15 total. Schmitt said he believes he’s getting himself dialed in with the changing conditions, but he needs to refine his game for Day 4.

“We have a shot,” Schmitt said. “We’re not fishing just right; we were off just a little bit today. We had some opportunities. We just have to make the right adjustment.

“The water’s falling, so there will be some fish that move around tonight. They’re going to adjust and they’re going to get into a little deeper water and, hopefully, we can get right on top of them.”

Schmitt caught his Day 3 fish on a frog, a buzzbait and a ChatterBait.

Pat Schlapper of Eleva, Wis., is in third place with 47-14. His daily weights were 18-8, 15-4 and 14-2.

Schlapper, who won the 2025 MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River, said he also struggled with the day’s windy conditions. Spending most of his time on Pool 7 and a few hours in Pool 9, Schlapper did what he could to find leeward fishable areas.

“I couldn’t fish my main area; I caught one there that I weighed, but it was really hard to fish, so I scrambled,” Schlapper said. “I fished my other main area and got ’em there. I got one big one and lost a really big one.

“I just used a lot of local knowledge to scrap together what I had.”

Tucking behind wind breaks, Schlapper caught fish on a variety of baits that included a frog, a Texas-rigged worm, a tube, a ChatterBait and a punch rig.

Cooper Gallant of Bowmanville, Canada and Jonathan Kelley of Old Forge, Pa., are tied for the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors, each with 5-pound, 9-ounce fish.

“Just being mentioned among those anglers, I never even thought it would be possible for a kid from Canada to come down here and compete and make a living fishing,” said Johnston, who finished 19th in the tournament, with 43 pounds. “Kevin VanDam has been one of my idols and to even come close to one of his records is unbelievable.

“What a year it’s been. I can’t do this without my family and my friends. They’ve supported me since I was 2-feet-tall. Now they’re here cheering me on, just like they did all my life, where it was fishing, hockey, baseball, whatever. They gave me the opportunity to do this and I’m super grateful for it.”

Tucker Smith of Birmingham, Ala., won the Dakota Lithium Elite Series Rookie of the Year title with 631 points. In mid-May, Smith won the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork.

Sunday’s takeoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. CT at Loggers Stadium. The weigh-in will be held at the stadium at 3 p.m.

Live coverage of the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Upper Mississippi River will be available Sunday on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. before moving to Bassmaster.com from Noon to 3 p.m.

This event is being hosted by Explore La Crosse.

About B.A.S.S.

-30-

Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Media Contact: Mandy Pascal, Communications Manager, 334-414-8677, m pascal@bassmaster.com

2025 Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite Series Mississippi River 8/21-8/24
Mississippi River, LaCrosse WI.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 3

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Caleb Kuphall Mukwonago, WI 15 50-12 104
Day 1: 5 18-15 Day 2: 5 17-03 Day 3: 5 14-10
2. Bryan Schmitt Deale, MD 15 48-15 103
Day 1: 5 17-03 Day 2: 5 17-02 Day 3: 5 14-10
3. Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 15 47-14 102
Day 1: 5 18-08 Day 2: 5 15-04 Day 3: 5 14-02
4. Jay Przekurat Plover, WI 15 46-13 101
Day 1: 5 17-01 Day 2: 5 15-10 Day 3: 5 14-02
5. Cory Johnston Otonabee CANADA 15 46-10 100 $500.00
Day 1: 5 17-07 Day 2: 5 14-09 Day 3: 5 14-10
6. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 15 46-05 99
Day 1: 5 14-14 Day 2: 5 15-05 Day 3: 5 16-02
7. KJ Queen Catawba, NC 15 46-04 98
Day 1: 5 18-14 Day 2: 5 13-11 Day 3: 5 13-11
8. Stetson Blaylock Benton, AR 15 46-02 97
Day 1: 5 15-01 Day 2: 5 17-02 Day 3: 5 13-15
9. Cooper Gallant Bowmanville Ontario CAN 15 45-14 96 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-10 Day 2: 5 17-15 Day 3: 5 13-05
10. Tucker Smith Birmingham, AL 15 45-07 95
Day 1: 5 14-01 Day 2: 5 15-05 Day 3: 5 16-01
11. Jordan Lee Cullman, AL 15 45-06 94 $7,500.00
Day 1: 5 14-04 Day 2: 5 14-04 Day 3: 5 16-14
12. John Crews Jr Salem, VA 15 45-02 93 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-05 Day 2: 5 14-09 Day 3: 5 15-04
13. Andrew Loberg Guntersville, AL 15 45-01 92 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-12 Day 2: 5 14-06 Day 3: 5 12-15
14. Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 15 44-11 91 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-00 Day 2: 5 15-12 Day 3: 5 13-15
15. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 15 43-10 90 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-07 Day 2: 5 14-05 Day 3: 5 13-14
16. JT Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 15 43-08 89 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 15-07 Day 2: 5 16-10 Day 3: 5 11-07
17. Lee Livesay Longview, TX 15 43-04 88 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 10-13 Day 2: 5 21-11 Day 3: 5 10-12
18. Jason Williamson Aiken, SC 15 43-04 87 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 14-01 Day 2: 5 15-11 Day 3: 5 13-08
19. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 15 43-00 86 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-01 Day 2: 5 16-08 Day 3: 5 13-07
20. Tyler Williams Belgrade, ME 15 42-15 85 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 15-14 Day 2: 5 13-03 Day 3: 5 13-14
21. Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 15 42-09 84 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 5 14-06 Day 3: 5 14-12
22. Will Davis Jr Sylacauga, AL 15 42-07 83 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 5 13-12 Day 3: 5 15-04
23. Seth Feider Elko New Market, MN 15 42-04 82 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-11 Day 2: 5 15-05 Day 3: 5 14-04
24. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 15 42-03 81 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-08 Day 2: 5 15-05 Day 3: 5 13-06
25. Hank Cherry Jr Lincolnton, NC 15 42-00 80 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-02 Day 2: 5 14-02 Day 3: 5 11-12
26. Scott Canterbury Odenville, AL 15 41-15 79 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-04 Day 2: 5 15-07 Day 3: 5 13-04
27. Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 15 41-09 78 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 12-15 Day 2: 5 14-01 Day 3: 5 14-09
28. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 15 41-07 77 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 17-04 Day 2: 5 11-13 Day 3: 5 12-06
29. Tyler Rivet Raceland, LA 14 40-14 76 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 15-10 Day 2: 5 15-10 Day 3: 4 09-10
30. David Gaston Sylacauga, AL 15 40-11 75 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 15-00 Day 2: 5 12-13 Day 3: 5 12-14
31. Brad Whatley Bivins, TX 15 40-10 74 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 14-09 Day 2: 5 13-03 Day 3: 5 12-14
32. Jason Christie Dry Creek, OK 14 40-08 73 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 17-06 Day 2: 5 13-05 Day 3: 4 09-13
33. Wesley Gore Clanton, AL 15 39-14 72 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 14-07 Day 2: 5 14-15 Day 3: 5 10-08
34. Matt Arey Shelby, NC 15 39-14 71 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 14-13 Day 2: 5 12-08 Day 3: 5 12-09
35. Ray Hanselman Jr Del Rio, TX 15 39-10 70 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-09 Day 2: 5 14-00 Day 3: 5 12-01
36. Wes Logan Springville, AL 15 39-05 69 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 5 14-11 Day 3: 5 11-03
37. John Cox Debary, FL 14 38-15 68 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 11-08 Day 2: 5 18-03 Day 3: 4 09-04
38. Buddy Gross Chattanooga, TN 15 38-09 67 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 16-01 Day 2: 5 12-03 Day 3: 5 10-05
39. Bryant Smith Roseville, CA 15 38-07 66 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-11 Day 2: 5 13-06 Day 3: 5 11-06
40. Justin Atkins Florence, AL 15 38-05 65 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 14-12 Day 2: 5 12-12 Day 3: 5 10-13
41. Emil Wagner Marietta, GA 14 38-01 64 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-01 Day 2: 5 14-00 Day 3: 4 11-00
42. Dakota Ebare Brookeland, TX 15 38-00 63 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 14-07 Day 2: 5 13-06 Day 3: 5 10-03
43. Brandon Card Salisbury, NC 12 36-14 62 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 18-10 Day 2: 5 12-02 Day 3: 2 06-02
44. Alex Redwine Blue Ash, OH 14 36-08 61 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 12-09 Day 2: 5 15-02 Day 3: 4 08-13
45. Jacob Foutz Charleston, TN 13 36-02 60 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 14-13 Day 2: 5 13-03 Day 3: 3 08-02
46. Cody Meyer Eagle, ID 13 34-04 59 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 12-07 Day 2: 5 15-02 Day 3: 3 06-11
47. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 13 33-06 58 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-04 Day 2: 5 14-00 Day 3: 3 06-02
48. Chris Zaldain Boyd, TX 11 32-05 57 $5,500.00
Day 1: 4 08-08 Day 2: 5 18-09 Day 3: 2 05-04
49. Cliff Pace Ovett, MS 12 32-00 56 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 10-14 Day 2: 5 16-04 Day 3: 2 04-14
50. Robert Gee Knoxville, TN 12 30-07 55 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 15-14 Day 2: 5 11-08 Day 3: 2 03-01
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Jonathan Kelley Old Forge, PA 05-09 $1,000.00
2 Cooper Gallant Bowmanville Ontario CANADA05-09 $1,000.00
3 Jordan Lee Cullman, AL 04-06 $500.00
3 Cory Johnston Otonabee CANADA 04-06 $500.00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 94 493 1327-15
2 88 484 1309-13
3 38 227 594-03
----------------------------------
220 1204 3231-15

by AnglersChannel

Last minute heroics push Johnston to back-to-back AOY titles

LA CROSSE, Wis. — When he decided he wanted to be a professional bass angler, Chris Johnston had no idea if he would ever be able to win a single Angler of the Year title. Now, the Otonabee, Ontario angler’s name is written in the B.A.S.S. record books forever.

For the second-straight season, Johnston claimed the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year title, accumulating 776 points during the nine-tournament season to outlast second-year phenom Trey McKinney and earn the $100,000 first-place prize.

“This is such a relief,” Johnston said. “I feel like someone lifted a bus off my chest. It is unbelievable the amount of pressure that comes with that trophy. The closer you get to winning it, the more stress there is.

“(Trey) is an unbelievable fisherman. He is going to push all of us to get better and he will have his moment on this stage.”

Johnston becomes just the fourth angler ever to win the Angler of the Year title in consecutive years, joining Kevin VanDam, Roland Martin and the late Guido Hibdon as the only anglers to do so.

“Just to be mentioned among those anglers is unreal,” Johnston said. “I never even thought it would be possible for a kid from Canada to come down here, compete and make a living fishing. Kevin VanDam is someone I’ve always looked up to and to even come close to one of his records is unbelievable.”

Remarkably, Johnston achieved his second Angler of the Year title without making a final day cut, unlike the 2024 season where he notched four Top 10s.

He opened the 2025 season with a 15th at the St. Johns River before finishing 33rd at Lake Okeechobee, which turned out to be his worst finish of the season. He added a 21st and 31st at the Pasquotank River and Lake Hartwell respectively before hitting his stride mid-season, rattling off a 15th and 13th at Lake Fork and the Sabine River. He followed that up with back-to-back 11th place showings at Lake Tenkiller and Lake St. Clair.

“I just take it one tournament at a time. I don’t want to bomb the first tournament, and I want to be in contention going into the last few tournaments,” he said. “This Angler of the Year was completely different. I was just consistent all year and cashed checks.”

He wrapped up the season with a 19th at the Upper Mississippi River, a tournament he called the most stressful of his life. Johnston and McKinney entered the season finale tied for the AOY lead, and both anglers found themselves in a hole after the Day 1 weigh-in, landing just below the Top 50.

Although the morning did not pan out how he had hoped, Johnston separated himself in the afternoon hours of Day 2, landing 16-8 to move into the Top 25.

“I gambled and went to Pool 7 in the morning. I ended up with four small ones with a 2 3/4,” he explained. “At 9:45, I didn’t have a limit, so I went back to Pool 8. I went to one little stretch and caught seven bass out of a spot the size of the back deck of my boat, including a 4-pounder. It was just one little hole in the grass.”

McKinney, meanwhile, dug himself a hole he couldn’t climb out of, bringing just 14-1 to the scales and sneaking into the Top 50.

Semifinal Saturday, however, turned out to be one of the most difficult days of the season for Johnston, who didn’t even fill out his five-bass limit until around 2 p.m. CT. His special area from Day 2 did yield a 3-pounder, an important confidence booster. At no point did he feel like he secured the title though, especially when he lost a 5-pounder with 20 minutes left in the day.

Still, with several minutes to fish, Johnston stopped in an area close to the boat ramp and made a key cull that gave him enough weight to secure 19th place and put the finishing touches on AOY.

“I thought I was coming up short. My goal was 14 pounds,” Johnston said. “I lost a 5-pounder and thought that was it. I thought I blew it. I came back up to the boat ramp and had two or three minutes to fish. I caught a 2 1/4, which gave me a half-pound cull. At that point, I knew (McKinney) would need 15 pounds to catch me. But at no point did I think I had it in the bag.”

Those types of last-minute catches made all the difference for Johnston in 2025. Two stand out above the others. At the opening event at the St. Johns River, the Elite Series champion made a stop with 10 minutes to fish that yielded an 8-pounder, anchoring an otherwise unimpressive limit on Day 2.

Then to close the gap on first place at Lake St. Clair, Johnston landed a 5-2 smallmouth with seven minutes left before check-in on Day 3, giving him an extra pound and a half and initiating the tie with McKinney heading into the last event.

“I made it back with a minute left,” he said. “Without that fish, I would have lost.

“Never give up, right?”

2025 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsors: Progressive, Toyota
2025 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2025 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Triton Boats, VMC, Yokohama

About B.A.S.S.

by AnglersChannel

Kuphall widens lead in Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River

Elite_eventLogo_2025_MissRiver_Raster (2).png

LA CROSSE, Wis. — Caleb Kuphall was banking on his local knowledge and that expectation delivered both metaphorically and practically as the pro from Mukwonago, Wis., retained the lead on Day 2 of the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Upper Mississippi River.

After setting the high mark with a first-round limit of 18-pounds, 15-ounces, Kuphall entered Day 2 an ounce ahead of second-place KJ Queen. Today, Kuphall added 17-3, tallied a total of 36-2 and widened his lead to a 1-13 margin over Bryan Schmitt, who won the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Upper Mississippi River.

“What a day today; I think I’ve weighed in the two biggest bags that I’ve ever weighed in on this river today and yesterday,” Kuphall said. “I got out of the gate good this morning and caught them right away. I think I caught five and culled like four or five times in the first 40 minutes.

“I had a lot of confidence that I can catch a lot of fish here, but the big ones show up when they want to. We’ll see what happens. Hopefully another couple big ones show up tomorrow.”

Trusting the Mississippi River pattern he learned over 20 years ago, Kuphall has been focusing on undercut banks. Key spots had an isolated tree, a cluster of weeds, or a little point to influence fish positioning.

With practice bringing heavy rains, fluctuating water level and widespread turbidity has plagued many anglers fishing the river’s expansive backwaters and grassbeds. Sticking to main river banks, Kuphall has found ideal conditions for big fish to pull up and feed.

Kuphall fished one spot where his boat was sitting in 15 feet and the fish were in 5. Most of his action came in less than 3.

“I think I know where the bigger ones are coming,” Kuphall said. “I’ve caught a few that are deep in the sloughs, but it really seems that the bigger fish are out on the main river.

“It’s all area, so I think I have that going for me. I just have to keep pounding those areas and hopefully I can get another good bag.”

Kuphall caught all of his fish on a homemade Do-it Molds Sparky Head jig. Using a 3/8-ounce jig, Kuphall said, was critical.

“You could try throwing a 1/2-ounce and you might be able to fish it a little quicker, but you’ll miss a lot more fish,” Kuphall said. “That 3/8-ounce has a slower fall and when those fish are coming off the bank, a lot of times those fish are going to miss that heavier jig.”

Also important was his jig trailer — a green pumpkin Big Bite Baits 2.75-inch Chunk, which he hung on the hook, rather than thread it.

“That trailer gives that jig the action that it needed,” Kuphall said. “I’d say 50% of my bites were straight up reaction bites and the other 50 were ‘I want to eat it.’”

Hailing from Deale, Md., Schmitt turned in a remarkably consistent performance, by adding 17-2 to his first-round limit of 17-3 and improving from ninth to second with 34-5.

Schmitt had a good start to his morning, but continued his search for the clean water spots that concentrate fish amid the turbidity. Later in the day, he located just such a spot, caught one of his keepers on a frog and lost several quality fish that boosted his Day 3 optimism.

“I moved around late this afternoon and pulled into an area I had never been, but I think the current had put them there,” Schmitt said. “They were fresh fish and they were biting.

“This spot is a current break with grass and they might be coming there. We have some options tomorrow and that’s what you need.”

Pat Schlapper of Eleva, Wis., placed fourth on Day 1 with 18-8 and gained one spot with his second day’s limit of 15-4. His two-day total is 33-12.

Schlapper, who won the MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River, mostly repeated his grass-based program from Day 1. Fishing pressure disrupted his timing and took away the topwater from action that contributed much of his first-round weight.

“I only weighed one on a frog and I also weighed fish on a topwater, a fluke and flipping,” Schlapper said. “I just went and fished some other water that I wanted to try to eliminate and see what was there. I kinda got it narrowed down to what I need to do to have a chance at this thing.

“I’m going to start on some schooling fish and then, hopefully transition to frog fish and just see where I’m at.”

Cooper Gallant of Bowmanville, Canada and Jonathan Kelley of Old Forge, Pa., are tied for the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors, both with 5-pound, 9-ounce fish.

Chris Johnston of Otonabee, Canada leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 773 points. Jay Przekurat of Plover, Wis., is in second with 749, followed by Trey McKinney of Carbondale, Ill., with 745, Kyoya Fujita of Yamanashi, Japan with 738, and Will Davis Jr. of Sylacauga, Ala., with 687.

Tucker Smith of Birmingham, Ala., won the Dakota Lithium Elite Series Rookie of the Year title with 631 points. Smith highlighted his debut season with a mid-May win at the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork.

“It’s been an amazing year, but today, I was really stressed out when I had three (bass) for 12 pounds at 12:30,” Smith said of his risky afternoon call. “I had a gut decision to make a run to another pool where I had some bites in practice.

“I locked at 1 o’clock and ended up going to the place where I had some bites in practice. I made 10 casts, caught my weight and came all the way back. It was definitely a God thing because I was about to spin out, but I held it together somehow.”

Saturday’s takeoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. CT at Loggers Stadium. The weigh-in will be held at the stadium at 3 p.m.

Live coverage of the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Upper Mississippi River will be available Saturday on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. before moving to Bassmaster.com from Noon to 3 p.m. Championship Sunday coverage can be found on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with afternoon action to follow on Bassmaster.com.

This event is being hosted by Explore La Crosse.

About B.A.S.S.

-30-

Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Media Contact: Mandy Pascal, Communications Manager, 334-414-8677, m pascal@bassmaster.com

2025 Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite Series Mississippi River 8/21-8/24
Mississippi River, LaCrosse WI.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 2

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Caleb Kuphall Mukwonago, WI 10 36-02 104
Day 1: 5 18-15 Day 2: 5 17-03
2. Bryan Schmitt Deale, MD 10 34-05 103
Day 1: 5 17-03 Day 2: 5 17-02
3. Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 10 33-12 102
Day 1: 5 18-08 Day 2: 5 15-04
4. Jay Przekurat Plover, WI 10 32-11 101
Day 1: 5 17-01 Day 2: 5 15-10
5. KJ Queen Catawba, NC 10 32-09 100
Day 1: 5 18-14 Day 2: 5 13-11
6. Cooper Gallant Bowmanville Ontario CAN 10 32-09 99 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-10 Day 2: 5 17-15
7. Lee Livesay Longview, TX 10 32-08 98
Day 1: 5 10-13 Day 2: 5 21-11
8. Stetson Blaylock Benton, AR 10 32-03 97
Day 1: 5 15-01 Day 2: 5 17-02
9. Andrew Loberg Guntersville, AL 10 32-02 96
Day 1: 5 17-12 Day 2: 5 14-06
10. JT Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 10 32-01 95
Day 1: 5 15-07 Day 2: 5 16-10
11. Cory Johnston Otonabee CANADA 10 32-00 94
Day 1: 5 17-07 Day 2: 5 14-09
12. Tyler Rivet Raceland, LA 10 31-04 93
Day 1: 5 15-10 Day 2: 5 15-10
13. Brandon Card Salisbury, NC 10 30-12 92
Day 1: 5 18-10 Day 2: 5 12-02
14. Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 10 30-12 91
Day 1: 5 15-00 Day 2: 5 15-12
15. Jason Christie Dry Creek, OK 10 30-11 90
Day 1: 5 17-06 Day 2: 5 13-05
16. Hank Cherry Jr Lincolnton, NC 10 30-04 89
Day 1: 5 16-02 Day 2: 5 14-02
17. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 10 30-03 88
Day 1: 5 14-14 Day 2: 5 15-05
18. John Crews Jr Salem, VA 10 29-14 87
Day 1: 5 15-05 Day 2: 5 14-09
19. Jason Williamson Aiken, SC 10 29-12 86
Day 1: 5 14-01 Day 2: 5 15-11
20. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 10 29-12 85
Day 1: 5 15-07 Day 2: 5 14-05
21. John Cox Debary, FL 10 29-11 84
Day 1: 5 11-08 Day 2: 5 18-03
22. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 10 29-09 83
Day 1: 5 13-01 Day 2: 5 16-08
23. Tucker Smith Birmingham, AL 10 29-06 82
Day 1: 5 14-01 Day 2: 5 15-05
24. Wesley Gore Clanton, AL 10 29-06 81
Day 1: 5 14-07 Day 2: 5 14-15
25. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 10 29-01 80
Day 1: 5 17-04 Day 2: 5 11-13
26. Tyler Williams Belgrade, ME 10 29-01 79
Day 1: 5 15-14 Day 2: 5 13-03
27. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 10 28-13 78
Day 1: 5 13-08 Day 2: 5 15-05
28. Scott Canterbury Odenville, AL 10 28-11 77
Day 1: 5 13-04 Day 2: 5 15-07
29. Jordan Lee Cullman, AL 10 28-08 76
Day 1: 5 14-04 Day 2: 5 14-04
30. Buddy Gross Chattanooga, TN 10 28-04 75
Day 1: 5 16-01 Day 2: 5 12-03
31. Wes Logan Springville, AL 10 28-02 74
Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 5 14-11
32. Seth Feider Elko New Market, MN 10 28-00 73
Day 1: 5 12-11 Day 2: 5 15-05
33. Jacob Foutz Charleston, TN 10 28-00 72
Day 1: 5 14-13 Day 2: 5 13-03
34. David Gaston Sylacauga, AL 10 27-13 71
Day 1: 5 15-00 Day 2: 5 12-13
35. Dakota Ebare Brookeland, TX 10 27-13 70
Day 1: 5 14-07 Day 2: 5 13-06
36. Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 10 27-13 69
Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 5 14-06
37. Brad Whatley Bivins, TX 10 27-12 68
Day 1: 5 14-09 Day 2: 5 13-03
38. Alex Redwine Blue Ash, OH 10 27-11 67
Day 1: 5 12-09 Day 2: 5 15-02
39. Cody Meyer Eagle, ID 10 27-09 66
Day 1: 5 12-07 Day 2: 5 15-02
40. Ray Hanselman Jr Del Rio, TX 10 27-09 65
Day 1: 5 13-09 Day 2: 5 14-00
41. Justin Atkins Florence, AL 10 27-08 64
Day 1: 5 14-12 Day 2: 5 12-12
42. Robert Gee Knoxville, TN 10 27-06 63
Day 1: 5 15-14 Day 2: 5 11-08
43. Matt Arey Shelby, NC 10 27-05 62
Day 1: 5 14-13 Day 2: 5 12-08
44. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 10 27-04 61
Day 1: 5 13-04 Day 2: 5 14-00
45. Will Davis Jr Sylacauga, AL 10 27-03 60
Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 5 13-12
46. Cliff Pace Ovett, MS 10 27-02 59
Day 1: 5 10-14 Day 2: 5 16-04
47. Chris Zaldain Boyd, TX 9 27-01 58
Day 1: 4 08-08 Day 2: 5 18-09
48. Emil Wagner Marietta, GA 10 27-01 57
Day 1: 5 13-01 Day 2: 5 14-00
49. Bryant Smith Roseville, CA 10 27-01 56
Day 1: 5 13-11 Day 2: 5 13-06
50. Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 10 27-00 55
Day 1: 5 12-15 Day 2: 5 14-01
51. Gregory DiPalma Millville, NJ 10 27-00 54
Day 1: 5 13-10 Day 2: 5 13-06
52. Ben Milliken Omaha, NE 10 26-11 53
Day 1: 5 14-13 Day 2: 5 11-14
53. Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 10 26-10 52
Day 1: 5 11-15 Day 2: 5 14-11
54. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 10 26-05 51
Day 1: 5 13-12 Day 2: 5 12-09
55. Drew Cook Cairo, GA 10 26-04 50
Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 5 12-13
56. Cole Sands Johnson City, TN 10 25-14 49
Day 1: 5 11-04 Day 2: 5 14-10
57. Justin Hamner Northport, AL 10 25-12 48
Day 1: 5 14-07 Day 2: 5 11-05
58. Keith Combs Huntington, TX 10 25-11 47
Day 1: 5 13-14 Day 2: 5 11-13
59. Jacob Powroznik North Prince George, VA 10 25-08 46
Day 1: 5 13-10 Day 2: 5 11-14
60. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 10 25-07 45
Day 1: 5 13-13 Day 2: 5 11-10
61. Taku Ito Dalton GA JAPAN 10 25-05 44
Day 1: 5 10-03 Day 2: 5 15-02
62. Bob Downey Detroit Lakes, MN 10 25-05 43
Day 1: 5 12-04 Day 2: 5 13-01
63. Jamie Hartman Newport, NY 10 25-03 42
Day 1: 5 13-05 Day 2: 5 11-14
63. Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 10 25-03 42
Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 5 13-05
65. Drew Benton Panama City, FL 10 24-14 40
Day 1: 5 11-10 Day 2: 5 13-04
66. Caleb Sumrall New Iberia, LA 10 24-13 39
Day 1: 5 10-14 Day 2: 5 13-15
67. Easton Fothergill Grand Rapids , MN 10 24-13 38
Day 1: 5 11-15 Day 2: 5 12-14
68. Hunter Shryock Ooltewah, TN 10 24-08 37
Day 1: 5 11-02 Day 2: 5 13-06
69. David Mullins Mt Carmel, TN 10 24-08 36
Day 1: 5 11-12 Day 2: 5 12-12
70. Gerald Swindle Guntersville, AL 10 24-07 35
Day 1: 5 10-11 Day 2: 5 13-12
71. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 10 24-07 34
Day 1: 5 12-04 Day 2: 5 12-03
72. Blake Capps Muskogee, OK 10 24-06 33
Day 1: 5 11-10 Day 2: 5 12-12
73. Kyle Welcher Valley, AL 10 24-05 32
Day 1: 5 09-07 Day 2: 5 14-14
74. Beau Browning Hot Springs National Pa 10 24-05 31
Day 1: 5 13-01 Day 2: 5 11-04
75. Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 10 24-00 30
Day 1: 5 11-13 Day 2: 5 12-03
76. Timothy Dube Nashua , NH 10 23-14 29
Day 1: 5 13-06 Day 2: 5 10-08
77. Shane LeHew Catawba, NC 9 23-02 28
Day 1: 5 14-10 Day 2: 4 08-08
78. Bryan New Leesville, SC 9 22-11 27
Day 1: 4 09-04 Day 2: 5 13-07
79. Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 10 22-06 26
Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 5 11-05
80. Jake Whitaker Hendersonville, NC 9 22-05 25
Day 1: 5 12-14 Day 2: 4 09-07
81. Logan Parks Auburn, AL 9 22-04 24
Day 1: 5 13-15 Day 2: 4 08-05
82. Evan Kung Pickering Ontario CANAD 10 22-04 23
Day 1: 5 11-04 Day 2: 5 11-00
83. Randy Howell Guntersville, AL 8 21-10 22
Day 1: 5 14-02 Day 2: 3 07-08
84. John Garrett Union City, TN 10 21-10 21
Day 1: 5 11-05 Day 2: 5 10-05
85. Patrick Walters Eutawville, SC 10 21-09 20
Day 1: 5 09-12 Day 2: 5 11-13
86. Jeff Gustafson Kenora, ON Ontario CANA 10 21-07 19
Day 1: 5 10-01 Day 2: 5 11-06
87. Kyle Norsetter Cottage Grove, WI 10 21-01 18
Day 1: 5 10-07 Day 2: 5 10-10
88. Luke Palmer Coalgate, OK 10 21-00 17
Day 1: 5 09-14 Day 2: 5 11-02
89. Joey Cifuentes III Clinton, AR 10 21-00 16
Day 1: 5 10-03 Day 2: 5 10-13
90. Jonathan Kelley Old Forge, PA 8 20-12 15 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-15 Day 2: 3 05-13
91. Carl Jocumsen Queensland TN AUSTRALIA 8 20-08 14
Day 1: 3 07-12 Day 2: 5 12-12
92. Chad Pipkens Dewitt, MI 9 20-08 13
Day 1: 5 11-09 Day 2: 4 08-15
93. Logan Latuso Gonzales, LA 9 20-03 12
Day 1: 5 11-09 Day 2: 4 08-10
94. Paul Marks Cumming, GA 8 19-05 11
Day 1: 3 06-08 Day 2: 5 12-13
95. Ed Loughran III Richmond, VA 8 18-13 10
Day 1: 4 10-10 Day 2: 4 08-03
96. Kenta Kimura Osaka OK JAPAN 8 18-06 9
Day 1: 5 12-11 Day 2: 3 05-11
97. Marc Frazier Newnan, GA 9 18-05 8
Day 1: 5 10-04 Day 2: 4 08-01
98. Matty Wong Honolulu, HI 7 18-02 7
Day 1: 5 11-13 Day 2: 2 06-05
99. Alex Wetherell Middletown, CT 7 16-10 6
Day 1: 5 12-08 Day 2: 2 04-02
100. Cody Huff Ava, MO 7 15-05 5
Day 1: 2 03-13 Day 2: 5 11-08
101. Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 6 14-11 4
Day 1: 3 07-15 Day 2: 3 06-12
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Jonathan Kelley Old Forge, PA 05-09 $1,000.00
2 Cooper Gallant Bowmanville Ontario CANADA05-09 $1,000.00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 94 493 1327-15
2 88 484 1309-13
----------------------------------
182 977 2637-12

by AnglersChannel

Smith adds Rookie of the Year title to Bassmaster trophy case

LA CROSSE, Wis. — Following instincts led Tucker Smith to his best finishes during his rookie year on the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series. He made his most impactful gut feeling move on Day 2 of the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Upper Mississippi River, earning him yet another trophy for his trophy case.

The Birmingham, Ala., pro claimed the 2025 Dakota Lithium Rookie of the Year title, outlasting Georgia’s Paul Marks (Tucker’s roommate) and Minnesota’s Easton Fothergill for the coveted award. Smith currently has 631 points, but that number will shift depending on where he finishes at La Crosse. Marks finished the season with 569 points while Fothergill accumulated 565 points.

“This means a lot to me. I have worked super hard this year and to make it happen is unbelievable,” Smith said. “Angler of the Year and Rookie of the Year mean more than any other title. It means you are the most consistent angler throughout the year on different types of fisheries.”

Georgia’s Emil Wagner and California’s Andrew Loberg are fourth and fifth currently with 564 points and 519 points respectively. Both anglers will be competing on Semifinal Saturday.

Smith was highly touted coming through the Bassmaster youth divisions, and it’s obvious to see why. He claimed three High School National Championship titles, a College Series National Championship in 2023 and a College Series Team of the Year title in 2021 before winning an Elite Series title at Lake Fork earlier in the year.

It is an impressive resume, but Smith said he rarely reflects on those moments, choosing instead to focus on his next goal.

“I don’t ever look back,” Smith said. “My mindset has always been to look at the next tournament or the next stage. I don’t really think about what I’ve done much. Never be satisfied is what I like to say.”

It was a bit of a roller coaster ride for Smith in 2025. He opened the season strong with a 25th at the St. Johns River and followed that up by missing the cut at Okeechobee and finishing 63rd. He then embarked on an impressive climb, finishing 36th at Pasquotank River before rattling off a second at Hartwell and winning his first blue trophy at Lake Fork.

The wheels fell off the bus at the Sabine River, where he finished 85th. Lake Tenkiller wasn’t much better, finishing 71st. He returned to form at St. Clair, notching an eighth place to close the gap on Marks, who finished 62nd in southern Michigan.

“It wasn’t until St. Clair that I had the vision in my head that I could win this thing,” Smith said. “I had those two bad tournaments, and I knew I had to catch them after that.”

Entering this week, Smith trailed Marks by nine points, a gap Smith figured would be tough to close. He put together a solid Day 1 at the Upper Mississippi while Marks only caught three bass on a day marred by mechanical issues. which allowed Smith to claim the lead on Day 1.

“I was nervous coming into it,” he said. “Paul is an amazing fisherman and had a Top 10 at La Crosse last year in the (Bassmaster) Open. I just kept my head down and fished as hard as I could and it ended up working out.”

While he had taken the lead in ROY, Smith didn’t feel comfortable until he made it back to weigh-in Friday. At noon, he only had three bass in his livewell and made a last second decision to lock into a different pool. There, he filled out his limit weighing 15-5, earning him enough points to claim the title.

“I had three fish for 5 pounds. I made a 20-mile run one way to a place I got some bites in practice, and they were loaded there,” he explained. “I ended up catching my weight in 10 casts and ran back.”

Looking back on the season, Day 2 of the Lake St. Clair event was certainly a catalyst for his comeback victory in ROY. Smith landed a tournament best 26-2 limit of smallmouth, lifting him into the Top 10 for the remainder of the tournament.

“It was a day I won’t ever forget,” he said. “I’ve never had a day like that. It was unreal.”

His favorite moment of the year, no doubt, came at Lake Fork as he landed over 127 pounds of largemouth to claim his first blue trophy.

“It was a blessing. Going into that one, I found some areas, but I didn’t know how good they could be,” Smith explained. “I really like those slugfest tournaments.”

About B.A.S.S.

by AnglersChannel

Kuphall claims narrow Day 1 lead in Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River

Elite_eventLogo_2025_MissRiver_Raster (2).png

LA CROSSE, Wis. — Four years ago, when Caleb Kuphall claimed his first Bassmaster Elite trophy at Lake Guntersville, the Wisconsin pro leveraged his deep knowledge of northern grass fishing to pull the winning fish out of Alabama milfoil.

Today, Kuphall intentionally avoided the typically prominent local game to find the 18-pound, 15-ounce limit that leads Day 1 of the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Upper Mississippi River.

Topping a tight leaderboard with only a pound and 14 ounces separating first and 10th, Kuphall leads second-place KJ Queen by an ounce. Third-place Brandon Card sits 5 ounces off the lead.

“I’m actually not fishing any grass at all,” Kuphall said. “I’m just fishing the way I like to fish up here. I mostly fish grass back home (in Mukwonago, Wis.), but I kinda avoid the grass here.

“We’ve had a major influx of eelgrass in this (area of the river) in probably the last five years. There used to be more milfoil, but most of that is gone now.”

Drawing on his solid river history, Kuphall said he did all of his work around a particular type of current break. He kept his specifics thin, but he noted that the way he’s fishing is the way he’s fished for two decades.

“I think I have something better figured out,” Kuphall said. “My first tournaments were here, way back in the early 2000s and I kinda learned this style of fishing and a particular technique throughout the years.

“This is a really consistent pattern. I caught two 4 1/2-pounders — you just don’t catch those here.”

Kuphall said all of his bites came in less than 3 feet of water. He caught all of his fish on a single reaction bait.

Kuphall ended up catching fish throughout his day, but the action required a little upfront patience.

“I didn’t catch anything on my first spot, but my first fish on my second spot was a high-3, so that kinda got me going,” Kuphall said. “My third spot, which I was really looking forward to fishing was blown out (by recent muddy runoff) and I never caught anything in there.

“The rest of the day was pretty consistent. I was catching them one here, one there and just keeping it going. The 4 1/2-pounders were in different sections of the river. The first one bit around 10 o’clock and the other one was 11:30.”

As Kuphall explained, his choice of tactics had short-term and long-term objectives. Adding another blue trophy to his mantle ranks high in his motivations, but so does the sport’s premier invitational event.

“I’m right on the bubble for the (the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour, March 13–15 at the Tennessee River) and I thought to myself, if I can be consistent and weigh in a couple decent bags, it’ll get me there,” Kuphall said. “Today went way better than I thought it would.”

Kuphall said his extensive experience on the Upper Mississippi gives him an advantage in identifying the most productive stretches. That being said, he’s keenly aware of the dynamics impacting a tournament that follows a major rain event like the one anglers experienced during practice.

“I don’t think I can do it again tomorrow, but you never know,” he said. “I’m around some good ones.”

Hailing from Catawba, N.C., Queen is in second place with 18-14. Celebrating his 29th birthday, he made a long run and focused on areas with blended vegetation.

“It seemed that if I could find a mix of eelgrass and peppergrass, that was better than just one type of grass,” Queen said. “If I could find a little bit of coontail and a little bit of pads mixed in, that was even better.

“I have a couple holes in the vegetation that the fish are sitting in. The bait is around the vegetation and the fish are sitting in the holes. It’s just a matter of covering a lot of water until you find where they’re at and then trying to slow down and pick it apart.”

Queen said he fished three main areas and caught his fish on a selection of finesse baits.

Card, who makes his home in Salisbury, N.C., is in third place with 18-10. Card said he’s targeting grassy habitat with a reaction bait.

“I was just looking for good, clean grass,” Card said. “There are some area where it’s kinda slimy and the fish don’t like that.

“I just got in an area where I had a few bites in practice and really slowed down and the big ones just showed up,” Card said. “Today was better than I thought and I was able to expand on my area.”

Jonathan Kelley of Old Forge, Pa., is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 5-9.

Jay Przekurat of Plover, Wis., leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 743 points. Chris Johnston of Otonabee, Canada is in second with 740, followed by Trey McKinney of Carbondale, Ill., with 737, Kyoya Fujita of Yamanashi, Japan with 732, and Will Davis Jr. of Sylacauga, Ala., with 685.

Tucker Smith of Birmingham, Ala., leads the Dakota Lithium Rookie of the Year standings with 618 points.

Friday’s takeoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. CT at Loggers Stadium. The weigh-in will be held at the stadium at 3 p.m.

Live coverage of the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Upper Mississippi River will be available on Bassmaster.com Friday beginning at 8 a.m. ET and running until 3 p.m. Roku will have coverage on Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Noon to 3 p.m. Coverage on Saturday will be available on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. before moving to Bassmaster.com from Noon to 3 p.m. Championship Sunday coverage can be found on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with afternoon action to follow on Bassmaster.com.

This event is being hosted by Explore La Crosse.

About B.A.S.S.

by AnglersChannel

La Crosse Set to Host Major League Fishing Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship

LA CROSSE, Wis. (Aug. 21, 2025) – The top 36 professional bass anglers from the Major League Fishing (MLF) Tackle Warehouse Invitationals will compete for a top prize of up to $135,000, qualification for REDCREST 2026 and the 2025 Invitationals Champion trophy in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Sept. 5-7, at the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats on the Mississippi River.

The three-day event, hosted by Explore La Crosse, will showcase professional anglers from 15 states as they compete for a share of a $417,000 prize pool.

“To say we are excited to host the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship is an understatement,” said A.J. Frels, Executive Director of Explore La Crosse. “We have been eagerly anticipating its arrival since we announced it in July of 2024. If you have not visited the La Crosse region in the past, get ready for something truly inspiring. Once you have visited our area, we know it will remain at the top of your list for fishing, hiking, hunting, canoeing, boating, kayaking or simply enjoying the outdoors.”

With takeoff in Pool 8, right at La Crosse, the pros can fish in Pool 8, or lock up to Pool 7 or down to Pool 9. A lot of times, one pool turns out to be the hot pool for the week, though events don’t always get won in whichever pool is the most popular. The last few years, Pool 7 has been very good, but Pool 8 still produces a lot of checks and wins, in part due to the increased fishing time anglers gain by not needing to lock.

Pro Steve Lopez of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, who will be among the 36 competitors, finished runner-up at the last Tackle Warehouse Invitational event in La Crosse in 2023, and he’s a fair bet to do well again this time around.

“The fishing has been pretty phenomenal this year,” Lopez said. “They had some good spawns or really good bait – the weights have been really high. I don’t expect it to slow down anytime soon. I think it’s only going to get better as we get into September as well.”

Lopez relishes the chance to fish a big event in his home state, and he loves everything about river fishing.

“I look forward to current and grass, and the northern strain of bass just bite a little bit different – they bite a little bit harder,” he said. “My favorite part about that river is that anything can win. Like, Jimmy (Washam) won there with a Neko rig. (Matt) Stefan won with a wacky rig. Bobby (Lane) almost won flipping. Mike Brueggen always does well with a frog. I just think there’s so much diversity in that body of water that makes it truly one of the best tournament bodies of water we go to. And now you add in September with topwater – it’s going to be phenomenal TV.”

Water temperature and levels will be key next week. Lower water can pull fish out of the shoreline cover and vegetation, making them more accessible on sand drops and wing dams. Cooler weather could trigger a transition in what the fish feed on.

“They will start transitioning to shad,” Lopez said. “I don’t know if it’s going to happen or not, but there’s definitely going be a big transition to the shad coming up here soon. September and October are typically when it happens.”

With big money and advancement opportunities on the line, this event has drama built in. Add in locks, explosive topwater bites and an incredible fishery and the ingredients are there for a very exciting season finale on the Mississippi River.

Anglers will launch at 7 a.m. CT each day from Veterans Freedom Park, located at 1 Clinton St. in La Crosse. Weigh-ins will be held at the park and will begin at 3 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and weigh-in events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW!® live stream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The full field of 36 anglers will compete in Days 1 & 2 on Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 10 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, advance to the final round on Championship Sunday. The angler with the heaviest three-day total will win the grand prize of up to $135,000 and qualification into REDCREST 2026 where they will compete against the sport’s best for $300,000.

Forward-facing and/or 360-degree sonar is limited to days 1 and 3 of competition. No forward-facing and/or 360-degree sonar is allowed on day 2 of competition.

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and Rob Newell will break down the extended action live on each day of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats at the Mississippi River in La Crosse will premiere as two two-hour episodes, with the first episode premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Nov. 8 on CBS Sports Network, and the Championship Round premiering on Saturday, Nov. 15. New MLF5 episodes premiere each Saturday morning on CBS Sports beginning in October.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Bubba, Deep Dive, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PirahnO2, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Tackle Warehouse Invitationals updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

by AnglersChannel

Palaniuk Poised for Pressure on the Mississippi River

Courtesy of Dynamic Sponsorships / Photo: Bassmaster

Coming into the final tournament of the 2025 Bassmaster Elite Series season, Brandon Palaniuk finds himself just outside the projected points total to qualify for his 14^th Bassmaster Classic. Palaniuk has good intentions to end this event on the right side of the Classic cut, but first he’ll have to perform on the water while enduring four days of season-defining pressure.

The mere thought of the stress Palaniuk and many of his peers are feeling this week could cause sweaty palms and mental breakdowns, but Palaniuk is used to competing in a pressure cooker on this fishery. The longtime Yamaha Outboards pro has a provocative relationship with this shallow, rolling stretch of the Mississippi River.

“You know, it seems like it always comes down to a tournament in La Crosse,” Palaniuk said with a chuckle. “Whenever we come here it can never just be a fun, relaxing tournament for me. It’s usually on the schedule at the end of the season and I’ve almost become accustomed to fishing here with what feels like the weight of the world on my shoulders.”

Every time Palaniuk visits La Crosse, Wisconsin there are dramatics. In 2013 Palaniuk needed a victory on the Mississippi River to qualify for the Classic through a “win and you’re in” route. After dominating the tournament the first two days, he was DQed due to culling infraction in Minnesota waters. Things ultimately went his way when he won the very next tournament, but the sting of that debacle stuck with him.

Nearly a decade later in 2022, on the same body of water, Palaniuk needed just a decent finish to lock up his second Angler of the Year title. After struggling on day one, it looked as though the Mighty Mississippi may sabotage “The Prodigy” once again. But Palaniuk came back strong on day two and three, finishing in 20^th place and taking the AOY trophy back to Idaho.

The irony of being stressed and not able to truly enjoy fishing the Mississippi River’s vast backwater sloughs, thick with different species of aquatic vegetation, is not lost on Palaniuk. By all accounts, this fishery offers Elite Series anglers one of the more enjoyable playing fields of the season.

“Someday I am going to fish this place when it’s low stress and I can’t freaking wait,” Palaniuk beamed. “There are so many ways to catch them but mainly power fishing tactics in the current, grass mats, or epic backwaters. If you close your eyes and think of bass fishing heaven, you’d get something pretty close to this area on the (Mississippi) River. This should be such a fun place to fish, but like usual the stress is cranked up this week.”

Regardless of the results of this tournament, it would be hard to look at this season as anything but a success for Team Toyota’s newest pro angler.

There have been lots of highs: winning his sixth Elite Series trophy in dominating fashion on Lake Okeechobee, catching a ten-pound beast in the Bassmaster Classic Celebrity Pro-Am, a fifth-place finish on Lake St. Clair. All while keeping his family first and making memories on the road with his wife Tiffany and their two daughters.

That said, the competitive fire burns hot inside Palaniuk to lock up a Classic berth and get back to bass fishing’s biggest stage in Knoxville, Tennessee next March. His goal is attainable this week, but Palaniuk purposely keeps himself blind to the specific point totals or exactly where he needs to finish.

“I know I need to catch ‘em but I intentionally do not want to know the point gap,” Palaniuk explained. “I don’t want to go into this event, or any tournament, thinking I just need a top 50, or top 20 finish. Even if that’s the case, I don’t want to put a target in my mind and feel like I can let off. Earlier in my career that burned me, nowadays I just choose not to look at the points.”

Palaniuk leaned on this headstrong mindset going into the last tournament on Lake St. Clair and it served him well. The logic is simple, if he fishes to win and falls short, he’ll still have put his best effort forward to finish as high as possible.

‘Shoot for the moon and end up among the stars’, type thinking.

There is a lot on the line for BP and many others this week and regardless of the result, Palaniuk will be composed as he backs his boat down the Veterans Freedom Park boat launch Thursday morning, ready for another round of high-stakes chess with his familiar rival that is the Mississippi River.

by AnglersChannel

MLF Announces Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Returns in 2026 with Elevated Payouts, Championship Berths, Pathway to REDCREST

BENTON, Ky. (Aug. 19, 2025) – Major League Fishing (MLF) announced today details for the return of one of the sport’s most prestigious series – the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – with an upgraded program designed to deliver bigger payouts, more advancement opportunities, and a platform worthy of the sport’s best pros all with reduced entry fees.

Formerly the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, the Pro Circuit name returns in 2026 to reflect the elevated status of the league as the qualifying route to the Bass Pro Tour. With new lower entry fees, a guaranteed $100,000 first-place award at every tournament, advancement to REDCREST from every tournament and championship berths for 50 anglers, the Pro Circuit solidifies itself as the place for pro anglers to make their mark.

“Bringing back the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit name is about honoring the legacy of the circuit while also recognizing that we are delivering a program that’s bigger and better than ever,” said Kathy Fennel, MLF Executive Vice President and General Manager. “From lower entry fees to BPT advancement to national media coverage, the 2026 Pro Circuit offers unmatched value and opportunity for pros looking to compete in a five-bass, weigh-in format with limited use of forward-facing sonar and 360 imaging.”

2026 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Highlights:

$100,000 guaranteed first-place award at all six qualifying events and the no-entry-fee Championship – plus a $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus that pushes the top award to $135,000 for qualified pros.
Lower $5,000 entry fee (down from $5,500 in 2025).
Biggest payouts per event outside of the Bass Pro Tour.
Seven direct berths to REDCREST 2027 – The winner of each tournament, including the Championship, advances.
50 Championship berths guaranteed regardless of field size.
Top 5 anglers in AOY standings advance to the 2027 Bass Pro Tour, with no double-qualifying restrictions.
$50,000 Fishing Clash Angler of the Year award.
Forward-facing sonar and 360 imaging limited to 3 hours of each competition day, similar to the fan-favorite Bass Pro Tour format, using new tracking technology.
Live on-the-water and weigh-in coverage daily, plus national television broadcasts.

Each qualifying event will feature 150 pros battling over three days in a five-bass, weigh-in format. The full field will compete the first two days before the top 50 advance to Championship Day.

The no-entry-fee Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Championship will see the top 50 anglers from the Fishing Clash AOY standings compete for $100,000 guaranteed ($135,000 including Phoenix MLF Bonus) and a REDCREST berth, with every qualified competitor earning a paycheck.

“The Pro Circuit is back and better than ever,” said Joey Reggio, General Manager of Tackle Warehouse. “With $100,000 for first place at every stop and new, dynamic forward-facing sonar rules in play, fans can expect the most intense and dramatic competition yet.”

Every day of the 2026 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit season will stream live on MLFNOW! at MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF app, MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) and Rumble, with television coverage airing nationally on VICE Sports.

Entries will be accepted beginning August 25 for qualified pros from the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series and the Bass Pro Tour. These anglers have until October 3 to secure their spot in the 2026 Pro Circuit. Entries from Tackle Warehouse Invitational anglers outside the top 75 will be accepted October 6, followed by 2026 Bass Pro Tour anglers October 7 and the top 25 Toyota Series anglers from each division October 8. Entries from the general public will be accepted to fill any remaining spots beginning October 9. Entry priority will be given to anglers fishing all six stops followed by date and time of entry. For complete schedules, rules and payout details, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Proud sponsors of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Bubba, Deep Dive, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PirahnO2, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, WIX Filters and YETI.

by AnglersChannel

Mark Daniels Jr. Fights Through Saginaw Bay, Secures 2026 REDCREST Qualification

By Walker Smith, Courtesy of Dynamic Sponsorships

In the churning, wind-swept waters of Michigan’s Saginaw Bay Bass Pro Tour and Team Toyota pro Mark Daniels Jr. battled to a hard-earned 19th-place finish. It wasn’t a win, not a podium, but in the rough-and-tumble world of professional bass fishing, it was a gutty performance that locked him into the 2026 REDCREST—a major deal for MDJ.

For a guy who’s had to adapt on the fly all season, twisting and turning like a crankbait in a current, that qualification is a badge of honor. Daniels Jr.’s run at Saginaw Bay is a tale of hard lessons, relentless hustle and a fisherman who knows the water has absolutely no patience for mistakes.

“I finished 19th overall at Saginaw Bay,” Daniels says, his voice carrying an obvious post-adrenal edge. “It was a solid finish, but I feel like I spread myself too thin at times. I had a good tournament. But I really overestimated how good the smallmouth fishing would be.”

That’s the kind of straight talk you get from a pro who’s taken his lumps but never backs down. Saginaw Bay, a sprawling 1,143 square miles of Great Lakes chaos, is a beast of a fishery—part smallmouth stronghold, part largemouth diamond in the rough. MDJ knows that betting wrong can sink you faster than a storm.

“Or maybe, I underestimated how good the largemouth fishing would be. You wouldn’t believe what an incredible largemouth fishery that place is.”

This season’s been a grind for Daniels Jr., a veteran who’s had to stay sharp to keep up in the Bass Pro Tour’s high-stakes game. With real-time scoring and every fish counting, it’s a mental brawl as much as a fishing tournament, demanding constant adjustments and no room for error.

“I feel like now, going into 2026, you have to work harder than you ever have,” he says. “You can’t just roll up to the lake anymore and expect to compete. You have to work harder and be as efficient as you can be in practice with our format.”

In a sport where complacency is a one-way ticket home, MDJ has stayed in the fight by rethinking strategies and staying hungry. Saginaw Bay tested that hunger. Daniels Jr. came in hot off a strong practice, banking on smallmouth bass schooling in the early light.

“After a great practice, I decided I was going to go about 30 percent smallmouth and 70 percent largemouth,” he explains. “I thought that during the scoping period, I could catch a bunch of smallmouth early in the day. Then figured I’d fish for largemouth at the end of the day.”

It was a calculated move, leaning on morning smallmouth action.

“I used the one scoping period for smallmouth in the mornings because I felt like the smallies were more active in the mornings and most importantly, were more grouped up.”

But Saginaw Bay had other ideas. The wind kicked up, howling across the water like a freight train and those smallmouth vanished.

“I don’t know what it is, but the smallmouth population vanished when the wind got high,” MDJ said. “I’ve learned my lesson with that from now on. It has burned me a lot throughout my career.”

That’s the kind of wisdom forged in the heat of failure, the kind that keeps a pro in the game. When the smallmouth plan tanked, MDJ didn’t blink—he pivoted to largemouth.

“When the sun got high on my tournament days, it would position largemouth in the reeds and make them predictable and easy to locate,” he says.

Those reeds became his battleground, where he worked with precision, catching fish that kept him in the hunt. That adaptability is what earned Daniels Jr. a spot in REDCREST 2026, the Bass Pro Tour’s biggest stage. Qualifying for REDCREST isn’t just a checkmark—it’s a shot at a massive payout and a title that cements your name in bass fishing history. For MDJ, it’s proof he can navigate the toughest waters in a league where standing still means getting left behind.

“Complacency will get you eliminated from this league. Period,” he says, his tone heavy with the sting of seeing others fall short.

Saginaw Bay itself is a monster, a fishery that’ll break you if you’re not ready. Its vast expanse holds smallmouth that school like predators and largemouth that lurk in thick cover, but it’s as unpredictable as a bar fight. Daniels Jr.’s misstep on smallmouth hurt but his shift to largemouth showed why he’s had such success throughout his career.

MDJ’s 19th-place finish wasn’t just a number. It was the result of relentless prep and the guts to change course when the wind rewrote the rules. You’re either on the fish or you’re on the trailer headed home. Off the water, Daniels is planning a reset.

“With this being the last tournament of the year, during my off-time I’m going to spend a lot of time fishing around the house,” he says. “A little relaxation away from the grind will probably be good for me.”

But don’t think he’s easing up. Daniels Jr. is a hunter, itching for duck season and dove hunts. When the air turns crisp, he’ll be chasing crappie with the same fire he brings to bass. That balance—grinding on tour, recharging in the outdoors—keeps MDJ sharp.

In the rough-and-tumble world of pro bass fishing, Mark Daniels Jr. is a fighter, a man who’s learned to adapt faster than the fish can hide. Saginaw Bay threw him a curve and he swung back, once again proving he’s got the chops to hang with the best. As he heads into the off-season, he’s not coasting—he’s fishing local waters, hunting with that same relentless drive and gearing up for REDCREST with a hunger that won’t quit.

In a sport where the line between winning and going home is razor-thin, MDJ is proof that hard work and a quick pivot can keep you in the game.

by AnglersChannel

Scottsburg’s McClain Claims Victory Sunday at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Ohio River-Rocky Point

Indiana’s Hanson Wins Co-Angler Division

CANNELTON, Ind. (Aug. 18, 2025) – Boater Frank McClain of Scottsburg, Indiana, caught a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 4 ounces, Sunday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Ohio River -Rocky Point . The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Hoosier Division. McClain earned $3,505 for his victory.

“I had a limit by 10 o’clock,” McClain said. “It was mostly topwater bites and flipping stuff. Then it slowed down a little bit, and I buckled down and started flipping to see if I could find some quality bites.”

McClain filled an early limit of bass that fell for a buzzbait, then switched his approach to capitalize on the flipping bite. McClain said most of his fish came from stumps in 1 to 4 feet of water. He focused on the mouths of creeks off of the main river and felt that was key to his win.

McClain counted 10 keepers during the course of the day, and he was thankful for a day of better-than-average bass.

“I definitely had to get away from the crowd and made long runs to fish a long way from the takeoff ramp,” McClain said. “I fished two creeks today. I just buckled down where I knew there were quality fish and stuck with that.”

McClain notched a runner-up spot the previous day at a BFL event at Ohio River-Rocky Point that had been rescheduled. McClain fell just 8 ounces shy of claiming back-to-back BFL wins in consecutive days.

“I should have won that one,” said McClain. “This is my 8th (BFL) win. I love it. It doesn’t get old, for sure. I mean I’ve won eight of them, but you don’t get tired of winning them. You fish against these guys, and they really know how to fish. It’s a good feeling.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:         Frank McClain, Scottsburg, Ind., five bass, 12-4, $3,505
2nd:       Justin Berger, Murray, Ky., five bass, 10-6, $1,753
3rd:        John Melton, Corydon, Ind., five bass, 8-9, $1,169
4th:         Mike Quinlin, Mooresville, Ind., five bass, 8-7, $1,318 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Bonus)
5th:         Chris Leclere, Cannelton, Ind., five bass, 8-2, $701
6th:         Braxton Munson, Anderson, Ind., five bass, 8-1, $643
7th:         Adrian Urso, Union, Ky., five bass, 7-9, $584
8th:         Allen Boyd, Salem, Ind., five bass, 7-4, $526
9th:         William Spivey, Middletown, Ohio, four bass, 7-1, $438
9th:         Chase Hall, Orleans, Ind., five bass, 7-1, $538

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Noah Woodring of Evansville, Indiana, caught a bass that weighed 3 pounds, 13 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $440.

Steve Hanson of Shelbyville, Indiana, won the co-angler division and $1,973 Sunday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 7 pounds, 10 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:         Steve Hanson, Shelbyville, Ind., three bass, 7-10, $1,973
2nd:       Dale Walton, Greenwood, Ind., three bass, 6-13, $876
3rd:        Martin Bryant, North Vernon, Ind., three bass, 5-13, $585
4th:         Zach Fields, Scottsburg, Ind., three bass, 5-11, $409
5th:         Steven Sanders, Orleans, Ind., three bass, 5-6, $351
6th:         Nathaniel Hester, Indianapolis, Ind., three bass, 4-14, $321
7th:         Tommy Pritchard, Bargersville, Ind., three bass, 4-11, $342
8th:         Judd Linette, Jasper, Ind., three bass, 4-10, $263
9th:         Bo Bivins, Evansville, Ind., three bass, 4-7, $234
10th:      Daniel Fromme, Jasper, Ind., three bass, 4-6, $194
10th:      Larry Turner Jr., Marion, Ind., two bass, 4-6, $294

Steve Hanson of Shelbyville, Indiana, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $220, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 8 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Chris Wilkinson of Farmersburg, Indiana, leads the Fishing Clash Hoosier Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 953 points, while Martin Bryant of North Vernon, Indiana, leads the Fishing Clash Hoosier Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 941 points.

The next event for BFL Hoosier Division anglers will be the two-day Super Tournament, held Sept. 20-21, at Ohio River-Tanners Creek. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 10-11 BFL Regional tournament on Kentucky/Barkley Lake in Buchanan, Tennessee. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

by AnglersChannel

Keith Poche Grinds Out Two-Day Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament at Alabama River

Georgia’s Chilcott Takes Co-Angler Title

PRATTVILLE, Ala. (Aug. 18, 2025) – Boater Keith Poche of Pike Road, Alabama, caught 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 14 ounces, over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Super Tournament (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Alabama River . The tournament was the fifth and final regular-season event of the season for the BFL Bama Division. Poche earned $5,315 for his victory.

“I’ve been fishing for 20 years, and the Alabama River is one of my favorite places to fish,” said Poche. “I’ve got a lot of places I catch fish; I just go fishing. If it ain’t here, I go there. If it ain’t there, I go somewhere else.”

Poche said he had three fish for 2½ pounds at noon the first day of the tournament, so he kept moving in search of larger bass. He caught a 5-pounder in a spot that he had visited earlier in the morning, but conditions were different – there was current, water was dropping and fish were moving.

“You just have to keep moving, and that’s what I do,” Poche said.

Poche said he hit some of his small, shallow spots and managed to end up with 15-12 after the first day’s weigh-in.

Poche started out Day 2 on a spot he didn’t hit the first day and continued the trend of fishing new water throughout the day. After catching a few spotted bass, he focused on largemouth and relocated to a creek where he managed to land a 4-pounder that sealed the deal for him.

“I caught all my fish on the first day flipping a black and blue 3-inch Berkley Powerbait Pit Boss with a 3/8-ounce weight,” Poche said. “I also caught a few spots today on a green pumpkin 5-inch Berkley (PowerBait) MaxScent The General on a shaky-head rig.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:         Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., 10 bass, 28-14, $5,315
2nd:       Hunter Davidson, Reform, Ala., 10 bass, 27-7, $2,334
3rd:        James Willoughby, Gulfport, Miss., 10 bass, 25-9, $1,557
4th:         Logan Sims, Bessemer, Ala., 10 bass, 25-5, $1,589 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Bonus)
5th:         Zeke Gossett, Pell City, Ala., 10 bass, 24-5, $934
6th:         Michael Smith, Andalusia, Ala., 10 bass, 24-2, $856
7th:         Jim Beavers, Manchester, Ga., 10 bass, 22-11, $778
8th:         Blake Tomlin, Greenville, Ga., 10 bass, 21-15, $700
9th:         Kris Colley, Ragland, Ala., 10 bass, 21-3, $622
10th:      Ronnie McDonough, Birmingham, Ala., 10 bass, 20-13, $545

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Poche caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 2 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $547.

Joseph Chilcott of Williamson, Georgia, won the co-angler division and $2,608, after bringing six bass to the scale that totaled 14 pounds, 13 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:         Joseph Chilcott, Williamson, Ga., six bass, 14-13, $2,608
2nd:       Timothy Shockley, Booneville, Miss., five bass, 13-5, $1,167
3rd:        Mason Carden, Shelby, Ala., six bass, 11-15, $779
4th:         Jeffery McCoy, Montgomery, Ala., six bass, 11-8, $595
5th:         Jeffrey Ford, Trion, Ga., six bass, 11-4, $467
6th:         Paul Nelson, Acworth, Ga., five bass, 9-11, $428
7th:         Colton Jennings, Moody, Ala., six bass, 9-6, $389
8th:         Rodney Graham, Childersburg, Ala., six bass, 9-5, $350
9th:         Stuart Vitollo, Vance, Ala., six bass, 9-1, $311
10th:      Roger Veracoechea, Birmingham, Ala., four bass, 8-6, $272

Chilcott earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $274, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 4 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

With all five events in the division now complete, boater Kris Colley of Ragland, Alabama, won the Fishing Clash Bama Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,331 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Larry Chastain of Laurel, Mississippi, won the Fishing Clash Bama Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,307 points and earned the $500 payout.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, now qualify for the Oct. 10-11 BFL Regional tournament on Logan Martin Lake in Lincoln, Alabama. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

by AnglersChannel

Illinois’ Reitz Earns Fifth Wolf River Title at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Wolf River Chain Presented by Lew’s

Wisconsin’s Kurth Tops Co-Angler Division

WINNECONNE, Wis. (Aug. 18, 2025) – Boater Clayton Reitz of Morton, Illinois, proved he’s got the Wolf River dialed in, as he caught a five-bass limit Saturday weighing 16 pounds, 10 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Wolf River Chain Presented by Lew’s . The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Great Lakes Division. Reitz earned $3,337 for his victory.

“I normally fish for smallmouth,” said Reitz, who earned his fifth career BFL victory on the Wolf River Chain – six overall. “I practiced for five days and got the idea that the largemouth were biting a lot better and running a lot bigger than the smallies. So, for the first time in 20-something years, I opted to fish for largemouth. It worked out good.”

Reitz said he caught four solid largemouth on Lake Poygan, and that cemented his largemouth-only approach.

“I had a decent bag of largemouth, and I said, ‘I’m not even going to mess with (smallmouth),’” Reitz said. “I had shaken off a handful off smaller smallmouth, but I never really went to them.”

Reitz said at 10:30 he upgraded bass twice – trading 2¾-pound fish for ones that weighed 3¾ pounds – and had his final weigh bag by 11:00.

Reitz said he flipped a green pumpkin and blue creature bait all day to weigh four of his final weigh fish, and his last cull fish came on a black Spro Bronzeye Frog.

“Winneconne is a special place to me, and as I get older those wins get more and more special,” Reitz said. “It’s very hard to win against such a stacked field where a lot of people have things pretty well figured out.

“I really have to give a big shout out to my co-angler, Chris Morgan,” Reitz added. “He did everything for me and was key to me getting the win. When I was really catching them, he was right there for me.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Clayton Reitz, Morton, Ill., five bass, 16-10, $3,337
2nd:      Mike Feldermann, Galena, Ill, five bass, 16-9, $1,668
3rd:       Geoff Williams, New London, Wis., five bass, 16-3, $1,317
4th:        Tyler Fitch, Fall River, Wis., five bass, 16-0, $779
5th:        Jim Tomsovic, Sparta, Wis., five bass, 15-15, $667
6th:        Jim Jones, Big Bend, Wis., five bass, 15-12, $712
7th:        Severin Tubbin, Viroqua, Wis., five bass, 14-15, $556
8th:        Myles Steward, Omro, Wis., five bass, 14-8, $501
9th:        Jerry Robackouski, Joliet, Ill., five bass, 14-5, $945 (includes $500 Phoenix Bonus)
10th:     Jack Webb, Trempealeau, Wis., five bass, 14-3, $594

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Jack Webb of Trempealeau, Wisconsin, and Geoff Williams of New London, Wisconsin, each caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 6 ounces, to split the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $410.

Logan Kurth of Pound, Wisconsin, won the co-angler division and $1,668 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 9 pounds, 10 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Logan Kurth, Pound, Wis., three bass, 9-10, $1,668
2nd:      Brad Juen, La Crosse, Wis., three bass, 8-10, $936
3rd:       Chia Xiong, Onalaska, Wis., three bass, 8-4, $558
4th:        Timothy Wittren, Ontario, Wis., three bass, 8-3, $393
4th:        Jamie Gomez, Holmen, Wis., three bass, 8-3, $343
4th:        Robert Johnson, Omro, Wis., three bass, 8-3, $343
7th:        Kenny Nachtman, Bellevue, Iowa, three bass, 8-1, $378
8th:        Sean Ricker, Springfield, Ill., three bass, 7-8, $236
8th:        Amanda Riley, Galesville, Wis., three bass, 7-8, $338
10th:     Adam Beckwith, Madison, Wis., three bass, 7-6, $195

Amanda Riley of Galesville, Wisconsin, and Brad Juen of La Crosse, Wisconsin, each caught a bass that weighed 3 pounds, 14 ounces, to split the Berkley Big Bass Co-boater award of $204.

After four events, Tyler Fitch of Fall River, Wisconsin, leads the Fishing Clash Great Lakes Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 969 points, while Timothy Wittren of Ontario, Wisconsin, leads the Fishing Clash Great Lakes Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 961 points.

The next event for BFL Great Lakes Division anglers will be the two-day Super Tournament Presented by Lew’s, held Sept. 13-14, at Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on the Mississippi River in Quad Cities, Illinois. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

Cannelton’s Leclere Tops Field for Third Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Ohio River-Rocky Point

Indiana’s Deal Takes Co-Angler Division

CANNELTON, Ind. (Aug. 18, 2025) – After back-to-back Ohio River BFL wins in 2018 and 2019, boater Chris Leclere of Cannelton, Indiana, had to wait a few years, but Saturday he made his return to the winner’s circle. Leclere caught a five-bass limit weighing 9 pounds, 15 ounces to win his third career BFL title at the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Ohio River at Rocky Point . The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Hoosier Division. Leclere earned $3,679 for his victory.

“It was really a pretty slow day for me,” Leclere said. “I only got like six keeper bites all day. I only had one keeper at 9 o’clock. It was just typical Ohio River creek fishing. I just kept grinding, pitching and flipping stumps and laydowns, and I ended up coming up with the right bites.”

Leclere said he focused his efforts during the tournament in a creek upriver from takeoff at Rocky Point Marina. A couple of bass fell for a topwater bait, but the majority came pitching a soft-plastic craw.

“It feels pretty good to win this one,” Leclere said. “It’s my third one (on the Ohio River) I had a good day, a good practice this week. I felt great going into this tournament and my confidence was high.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Chris Leclere, Cannelton, Ind., five bass, 9-15, $3,679
2nd:      Frank McClain, Scottsburg, Ind, five bass, 9-8, $1,840
3rd:       Allen Boyd, Salem, Ind., five bass, 9-7, $1,725 (includes $500 Phoenix Bonus)
4th:        Brian Funkhouser, Bloomington, Ind., five bass, 9-4, $859
5th:        Ryan Deal, Evansville, Ind., five bass, 9-0, $986
6th:        Jeremy Knepp, Montgomery, Ind., four bass, 8-14, $1,155
7th:        Scott Bateman, Jasper, Ind., five bass, 8-12, $613
8th:        Adrian Urso, Union, Ky., five bass, 8-9, $552
9th:        Justin Berger, Murray, Ky., five bass, 7-12, $491
10th:     Jeramiah Sifers, Sellersburg, Ind., five bass, 7-8, $429

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Jeremy Knepp of Montgomery, Indiana, caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 5 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $480.

Garrett Deal of Evansville, Indiana, won the co-angler division and $1,840 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 6 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Garrett Deal, Evansville, Ind., three bass, 8-6, $1,840
2nd:      Brant Gish, Evansville, Ind., three bass, 6-10, $1,040
3rd:       Dan Pardue, Morgantown, Ind., three bass, 5-15, $662
4th:        Jarrod Pickel, Indianapolis, Ind., three bass, 5-14, $429
5th:        Paul Dehart, Franklin, Ind., three bass, 5-5, $368
6th:        Scottie Davis, Martinsville, Ind., two bass, 4-14, $457
7th:        Derek Jackson, New Albany, Ind., three bass, 4-10, $307
8th:        David Rector, Brazil, Ind., three bass, 4-7, $276
9th:        Don Bessler Jr, Coatesville, Ind., two bass, 4-5, $245
10th:     Kade Oliver, Muncie, Ind., three bass, 4-0, $215

Brant Gish of Evansville, Indiana, and Scottie Davis of Martinsville, Indiana, each caught a bass that weighed 3 pounds, 5 ounces, to split the Berkley Big Bass Co-boater award of $240.

The next event for BFL Hoosier Division anglers will be the two-day Super Tournament, held Sept. 20-21, at Ohio River-Tanners Creek in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

Ohio’s Brody Campbell Stays Steady for the Win at Toyota Series at St. Lawrence River

MASSENA, N.Y. (Aug. 17, 2025) – It’s always good to get out of the blocks fast with a win in your first tournament of the year. It’s also pretty terrific to earn another trophy, a big paycheck and some major momentum as you head into “championship season.”

Seven months after kicking off his 2025 campaign in late January with a win at the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats season opener at Sam Rayburn, Brody Campbell of Oxford, Ohio , added another win to his résumé thanks to a 26-pound bag of smallmouth on the final day of the Toyota Series Northern Division tournament on the St. Lawrence River Presented by Suzuki Marine. The Ohio pro finished the three-day event with 79-1 to outdistance Alex Korol (78-1) and Erik Luzak (74-11) and earn a $72,402 paycheck (including a $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus). He also moved into the lead in the division’s Fishing Clash Angler of the Year race.

Campbell’s win came three weeks to the day after a disappointing 47th-place finish in the final Tackle Warehouse Invitationals tournament of the year – also on the St. Lawrence – cost him an invitation to the 2026 Bass Pro Tour by 1 point.

“This place is special, but I was really mad at ‘em this week,” Campbell joked as he accepted the trophy. “I went out there every day, daylight ‘til dark, and tried to learn as much about this fishery as possible. I think I learned some key new areas and put all of that time and energy to work this week.”

Korol made a fierce run at Campbell with 25-15, 25-10 and 26-8, competing in his first-ever Toyota Series tournament. Luzak, who electrified the Day 2 weigh-in with an MLF-record 31-5, earned his first MLF Top 10 and big-fish honors with a 7-14.

Campbell has invested a hearty portion of his past two summers fishing the St. Lawrence every day from sunup to sundown, and it paid off handsomely this week – he was the model of consistency on the big river, weighing in 26-2 on Day 1 and 26-15 on Day 2 to set the stage for his 26-0 winning bag on Saturday, all on spots that he’s identified recently.

He landed on a school of big smallmouth early on Day 1, loading up nearly 27 pounds in 45 minutes with a Deps Sakamata Shad on a 1/4-ounce jighead and a Megabass Hazedong Shad on a 3/8-ounce drop-shot. For the drop-shot, he used a 7-foot, 2-inch medium Bird Dog BDR-862S spinning rod.

He returned to the same spot to start Day 2 and found “almost nothing” (one bite) before hopping to a handful of other places, eventually settling onto a choice spot where he dragged a drop-shot and loaded up another 26-pound bag.

“I had a couple of key places that I ended up bouncing around on Day 2,” Campbell said. “Knowing other places to go that day was a key for me. I started running new stuff after that first spot didn’t pan out, found a subtle little vein of rock and caught 26 again. I couldn’t see any of those fish – I just knew that’s where they should be.”

He entered the final morning with 4-4 to make up on Luzak, but the Canadian pro couldn’t match his big-fish mojo from the previous two days, faltering Saturday with 17-6 and opening the door for a Campbell comeback. Campbell repeated his pattern on the final day, moving around between a handful of spots with the drop-shot, eventually “scrounging up” another 26-pound bag to claim the win.

“Spending as much time here as I have and just knowing where big fish are was big for me this week,” Campbell said. “I didn’t waste my time on anything I didn’t think had big fish, I knew that, if I was catching fish on those spots, they were going to be big. Going all-in like that can work out really good or really bad – it turned out to be good this week.”

The top 10 pros at the Toyota Series at the St. Lawrence River finished:

1st:        Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, 15 bass, 79-1, $72,402 (includes $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus)
2nd:      Alex Korol, Fairport, N.Y., 15 bass, 78-1, $14,300
3rd:      Erik Luzak, Fenelon Falls, Ontario, 15 bass, 74-11, $12,571
4th:       Tommy Dickerson, Orange, Texas, 15 bass, 73-0, $9,226
5th:       Logan Dyar, Cleveland, Ala., 15 bass, 71-5, $8,303
6th:       Jeremy Gordon, Rutledge, Tenn., 15 bass, 70-0, $7,380
7th:       Dante Piraino, Baldwinsville, N.Y., 15 bass, 69-15, $6,458
8th:       Hayden O’Barr, Scottsboro, Ala., 15 bass, 69-10, $5,535
9th:       Lee Stephens, Columbia, Ky., 15 bass, 69-5, $4,613
10th:    Spike Stoker, Cisco, Texas, 15 bass, 69-3, $3,690

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Campbell won Thursday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass Award, catching a bass weighing 6 pounds, 13 ounces, while Luzak brought a bass weighing 7 pounds, 14 ounces to the scale Friday to take home the $500 Berkley Big Bass Award for Day 2.

Daun Nicholson of Normalville, Pennsylvania, won the Co-angler Division Saturday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 58 pounds, 1 ounce. Nicholson earned the top co-angler prize package worth $33,500, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard motor.

The top 10 co-anglers at the Toyota Series at the St. Lawrence River finished:

1st:         Daun Nicholson, Normalville, Penn., 15 bass, 58-1, Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp outboard
2nd:       Carter Lanclos, Sulphur, La., 15 bass, 57-0, $4,656
3rd:        Hunter Navari, Colchester, Vt., 14 bass, 56-9, $3,725
4th:         Jakob Labelle, Hinesburg, Vt., 15 bass, 54-12, $3,259
5th:         Lavon Raber, Wolcottville, Ind., 15 bass, 53-12, $2,794
6th:         Todd Lee, Jasper, Ala., 15 bass, 52-0, $2,328
7th:         Chad Dorney, Slatington, Pa., 15 bass, 52-0, $1,963
8th:         D. Scott Gibson, Hattiesburg, Miss., 15 bass, 51-15, $1,630
9th:         Ted Kephart, Philipsburg, Pa., 15 bass, 50-10, $1,397
10th:       Chris Hurley, Carlisle, Pa., 14 bass, 48-14, $1,164

Co-angler Jimmy Schaffer of Oak Ridge, New Jersey, earned Thursday’s $150 Berkley Big Bass co-angler award with a 6-pound, 15-ounce bass, while Friday’s Day 2 $150 co-angler award went to Takaaki Kojima of Temecula, California, who weighed in a 5-pound, 12-ounce bass.

The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Suzuki Marine was hosted by the Town of Massena. It was the second of three regular-season tournaments for the Toyota Series Northern Division. The next event for Toyota Series anglers will be Sept. 11-13 on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. For a complete schedule of events, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The 2025 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern and the Southwestern – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International and Wild Card divisions. Anglers who fish in any of the five 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 2026. The winning co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard. The 2025 Toyota Series Championship will be held Nov. 6-8 on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma, and is hosted by the City of Grove Convention & Tourism Bureau.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Toyota Series include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Toyota Series updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network. RFD-TV and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

Long reach leads Howell to Bassmaster Open win at Leech Lake

WALKER, Minn. — The only thing that stood taller than Laker Howell was the fishing rod he used to win the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Leech Lake presented by SEVIIN.

At 6-foot-5, the pro from Guntersville, Ala., armed himself with a 7-foot-9 Daiwa Kage medium swimbait rod and leaned on his largemouth prowess to tally a two-day total of 39 pounds, 13 ounces. Turning in daily weights of 19-10 and 20-3, Howell edged Texan Jace Lindsay by a pound.

The tournament’s scheduled start was postponed from Thursday to Friday due to a hazardous wind forecast. The event was shortened to two days, with the full field fishing both days.

“I don’t even have the words; I gotta thank the Lord right now,” a tearful Howell said. “Everyone who does this for a living understands why I’m crying. There’s so much you put into it. All the emotion, all the hard work. The late nights, the early mornings, all the YouTube fishing videos you study.”

For his efforts, Howell took home the top prize of $47,000 and earned a berth in the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour, March 13-15 at the Tennessee River. Notably, his father, Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pro Randy Howell, won the 2014 Bassmaster Classic at Lake Guntersville.

Howell committed his tournament to a football field size wild rice field near Boy Bay. Catching largemouth in 2 1/2 to 5 feet of water, he looked for deeper pockets with relatively clean bottom. Also important were obvious ambush spots such as a turn in rice edge.

“This area had the best looking rice with a mix of milfoil and a pad field zone,” Howell said. “All that mixing together with deep water turned into a good tournament.

“I caught them in the same place I caught them (during last year’s Open at Leech),” Howell said, in reference to his 2024 22nd-place finish. “Lord have mercy, I didn’t even have a clue this was a possibility.”

Throwing a Snagproof frog in the mossback color, Howell paired that 7-9 rod with a Daiwa Kage 150 reel, which afforded him plenty of spool capacity for 70-pound Daiwa Samaurai braid. This outfit played a key role in reaching his fish, as the lake’s rice fields are off limits to recreational boats, due to their cultural significance to the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.

“I don’t understand these Minnesota smallmouth,” Howell said of his largemouth game plan. “They’re a lot smarter, this water is super clear, they get ’Scoped (forward facing sonar) a lot. There are a lot of variables that go into it.

“The majority of the field was doing that, so the way I saw it, I just fished my strength and went frogging, because that’s what I love to do. I made a check doing it (in 2024), so I came up here just to make a check and I made a pretty good one.”

Howell caught all of his Day 2 weight by about 9:30 a.m. The action started early and the sting of a deflating loss quickly faded with a day-making catch.

“This morning, I lost one that I really thought was going to cost me,” Howell said. “I threw my frog by the edge of some grass and rice and the fish just sucked it down. I set the hook and it started coming up, but it came off and I was like, ‘This is gonna haunt me later.’

“Two casts later, I caught a 5 1/4. I guess God said, ‘Now watch this. We’re gonna turn that around really quick.’”

Lindsay placed ninth on Day 1 with 20-10 and gained seven spots with his second-round bag that went 18-3. Fishing the jig head minnow application, he caught his fish on a Deps Sackamata Shad and a Z-Man Scented Jerk ShadZ.

“These smallmouth are really smart out here and I think the scent from that Z-Man Jerk ShadZ really helped me get couple of those extra bites,” Lindsay said. “It was a grind out there today. You’re fishing for five when there’s this much pressure on this place.”

Lindsay targeted boulders on slight drops. In his view, the boulders sitting on the offshore flats were getting so much pressure they were unlikely to hold up.

“I scooted off to the edge and luckily, it seemed like there was less pressure on my areas that were right on the drop,” Lindsay said. “I was targeting the biggest isolated boulders I could find.”

Sam Hanggi of Knoxville, Tenn., finished third with 38-3. Mounting an impressive comeback, Hanggi placed 57th on Day 1 with 16-1 and followed with a second-round limit of 22-2 — the event’s heaviest bag.

Targeting isolated boulders in 10 to 15 feet of water, Hanggi fished the lake’s north end on Day 1. When a wind shift left his area too exposed, he moved to a protected area on the east side.

“This morning, I went to the area I fished yesterday and I saw that the waves were crashing on it, so I called an audible mid-morning and ran to a new area,” Hanggi said. “I was tucked behind an island in a protected area.”

Hanggi caught all of his fish on a 1/4-ounce Evergreen tungsten finesse jig with a green pumpkin Z-Man T.R.D. trailer and a drop shot with a green pumpkin Megabass Hazedong.

Paul Marks of Cumming, Ga., won the $750 Phoenix Boats Big Bass award for his 5-14.

Pake South of Winnsboro, Texas leads the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by SEVIIN Division 2 points standings with 751 points. Fisher Anaya of Eva, Ala., is in second with 749, followed by Tanner Hadden of Appling, Ga., with 717, Howell with 697, and Nic Rand of Paw Paw, Mich., with 684.

The Top 50 anglers from Division 2 have qualified for the three-event Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series presented by Bass Pro Shops. With one event each in September, October and November, this series will determine the 10 anglers that receive invitations to the 2026 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series.

This event was hosted by the Leech Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.

2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: St. Croix

2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Presenting Sponsor: SEVIIN

2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Platinum Sponsors: Progressive, Toyota
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Triton Boats, VMC, Yokohama

About B.A.S.S.

-30-

Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Media Contact: Mandy Pascal, Communications Manager, 334-414-8677, m pascal@bassmaster.com

2025 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Leech Lake presented by SEVIIN 8/14-8/16
Leech Lake, Walker MN.
(BOATER) Standings Day 2

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Laker Howell Guntersville, AL 10 39-13 200
Day 1: 5 19-10 Day 2: 5 20-03
2. Jace Lindsay Beckville, TX 10 38-13 199
Day 1: 5 20-10 Day 2: 5 18-03
3. Sam Hanggi Knoxville, TN 10 38-03 198
Day 1: 5 16-01 Day 2: 5 22-02
4. Pake South Winnsboro, TX 10 38-02 197
Day 1: 5 20-04 Day 2: 5 17-14
5. Tommy Parker Delano, MN 10 38-01 196
Day 1: 5 21-15 Day 2: 5 16-02
6. Emil Wagner Marietta, GA 10 38-01 195
Day 1: 5 20-01 Day 2: 5 18-00
7. Trey Schroeder Theodosia, MO 10 36-12 194
Day 1: 5 21-09 Day 2: 5 15-03
8. Chase Clarke Virginia Beach, VA 10 36-04 193
Day 1: 5 20-04 Day 2: 5 16-00
9. Jack York Emory, TX 10 35-08 192
Day 1: 5 20-07 Day 2: 5 15-01
10. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 10 35-08 191
Day 1: 5 20-04 Day 2: 5 15-04
11. Brian Post Janesville, WI 10 35-05 190 $8,534.00
Day 1: 5 20-04 Day 2: 5 15-01
12. Tommy Wood Peregian Springs AUSTRA 10 35-05 189 $6,638.00
Day 1: 5 18-13 Day 2: 5 16-08
13. Joe Wieberg Freeburg, MO 10 35-00 188 $5,689.00
Day 1: 5 16-05 Day 2: 5 18-11
14. Danny McGarry Newcastle CANADA 10 34-15 187 $4,741.00
Day 1: 5 20-13 Day 2: 5 14-02
15. Chris Beaudrie Princeton, KY 9 34-11 186 $4,741.00
Day 1: 4 16-01 Day 2: 5 18-10
16. Ethan Fields Carlyle, IL 10 34-10 185 $4,741.00
Day 1: 5 18-05 Day 2: 5 16-05
17. Bailey Bleser Burlington, WI 10 34-08 184 $4,741.00
Day 1: 5 19-06 Day 2: 5 15-02
18. Tanner Hadden Appling, GA 10 34-04 183 $4,741.00
Day 1: 5 20-08 Day 2: 5 13-12
19. Harmon Marien Eagle River, WI 9 34-04 182 $4,741.00
Day 1: 4 14-13 Day 2: 5 19-07
20. Austin Cranford Moore, OK 10 34-02 181 $4,741.00
Day 1: 5 21-03 Day 2: 5 12-15
21. Brock Reinkemeyer Warsaw, MO 10 33-15 180 $4,741.00
Day 1: 5 14-07 Day 2: 5 19-08
22. Buddy Benson Dahlonega, GA 10 33-13 179 $4,741.00
Day 1: 5 20-01 Day 2: 5 13-12
23. Blake Schroeder Bullard, TX 10 33-12 178 $4,741.00
Day 1: 5 14-13 Day 2: 5 18-15
24. Fisher Anaya Eva, AL 10 33-11 177 $4,741.00
Day 1: 5 17-09 Day 2: 5 16-02
25. Matt Pangrac Shawnee, OK 9 33-09 176 $4,741.00
Day 1: 5 19-01 Day 2: 4 14-08
26. Wyatt Marler Oldfield, MO 10 33-09 175 $4,741.00
Day 1: 5 18-06 Day 2: 5 15-03
27. Kyle Minke Lindsrom, MN 9 33-08 174 $4,741.00
Day 1: 5 22-00 Day 2: 4 11-08
28. Dillon Harrell New Caney, TX 10 33-07 173 $4,741.00
Day 1: 5 16-02 Day 2: 5 17-05
29. Jamie Bruce Kenora Ontario CANADA 9 33-02 172 $4,741.00
Day 1: 5 21-13 Day 2: 4 11-05
30. Aaron Jagdfeld Rochester Hills, MI 10 32-15 171 $4,741.00
Day 1: 5 16-15 Day 2: 5 16-00
31. Steve Lee Minneapolis, MN 10 32-12 170 $3,793.00
Day 1: 5 15-09 Day 2: 5 17-03
32. Dylan Akins Flowery Branch, GA 10 32-11 169 $3,793.00
Day 1: 5 16-13 Day 2: 5 15-14
33. Bryan Finch Belton, TX 10 32-09 168 $3,793.00
Day 1: 5 19-15 Day 2: 5 12-10
34. Kurt Chelminiak Delafield, WI 10 32-07 167 $3,793.00
Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 5 18-02
35. Evan Cox-VanVliet Loveland, CO 10 32-05 166 $3,793.00
Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 5 18-14
36. Andy Newcomb Camdenton, MO 10 32-04 165 $3,793.00
Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 5 18-13
37. Jimmy Washam Stantonville, TN 10 32-03 164 $3,793.00
Day 1: 5 17-08 Day 2: 5 14-11
38. Nick Dumke Grand Rapids, MN 8 32-02 163 $3,793.00
Day 1: 5 18-08 Day 2: 3 13-10
39. James Niggemeyer Van, TX 10 31-07 162 $3,793.00
Day 1: 5 14-00 Day 2: 5 17-07
40. Chad Grigsby Maple Grove, MN 10 31-07 161 $3,793.00
Day 1: 5 16-08 Day 2: 5 14-15
41. Tai Au Glendale, AZ 10 31-07 160 $3,793.00
Day 1: 5 15-05 Day 2: 5 16-02
42. Paul Marks Cumming, GA 7 31-05 159 $3,793.00
Day 1: 5 20-05 Day 2: 2 11-00
43. Matt Stefan Junction City, WI 10 31-04 158 $3,793.00
Day 1: 5 12-05 Day 2: 5 18-15
44. Casey Scanlon Eldon, MO 10 31-03 157 $3,793.00
Day 1: 5 16-07 Day 2: 5 14-12
45. Bryan Partak Marseilles, IL 10 31-03 156 $3,793.00
Day 1: 5 16-04 Day 2: 5 14-15
46. Andy Dassow Medford, WI 9 31-01 155
Day 1: 5 14-09 Day 2: 4 16-08
47. Ethen Preston Tower City, ND 10 31-01 154
Day 1: 5 14-10 Day 2: 5 16-07
48. Mike McClelland Blue Eye, MO 10 31-00 153
Day 1: 5 14-04 Day 2: 5 16-12
49. Billy McDonald Greenwood, IN 10 31-00 152
Day 1: 5 14-08 Day 2: 5 16-08
50. Nic Rand Paw Paw, MI 8 30-13 151
Day 1: 5 20-05 Day 2: 3 10-08
51. Ish Monroe Oakdale, CA 10 30-12 150
Day 1: 5 15-08 Day 2: 5 15-04
52. Ian Waterer East Selkirk CANADA 10 30-10 149
Day 1: 5 19-03 Day 2: 5 11-07
53. Luke Clausen Otis Orchards, WA 10 30-10 148
Day 1: 5 14-13 Day 2: 5 15-13
54. Kane Weekley Davie, FL 10 30-08 147
Day 1: 5 12-06 Day 2: 5 18-02
55. Riley Nielsen Salt Lake City, UT 10 30-08 146
Day 1: 5 14-07 Day 2: 5 16-01
56. Michael Lebsack Duluth, MN 10 30-05 145
Day 1: 5 12-12 Day 2: 5 17-09
57. Jacob Policka Twin Lake, MI 10 30-05 144
Day 1: 5 16-07 Day 2: 5 13-14
58. Andrew Behnke Fond Du Lac, WI 10 30-00 143
Day 1: 5 12-07 Day 2: 5 17-09
59. Charlie Wright Becker, MN 10 29-14 142
Day 1: 5 12-11 Day 2: 5 17-03
60. Kyle Palmer Winchester, TN 10 29-13 141
Day 1: 5 15-13 Day 2: 5 14-00
61. Jordan Knutson Saint Croix Falls, WI 10 29-12 140
Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 5 15-07
62. Freddy Palmer Estill Springs, TN 10 29-11 139
Day 1: 5 13-06 Day 2: 5 16-05
63. Jeff Johnson Bemidji, MN 10 29-10 138
Day 1: 5 15-04 Day 2: 5 14-06
63. Nathaniel Melgaard Elk Mound, WI 10 29-10 138
Day 1: 5 15-04 Day 2: 5 14-06
65. Jonathan Pimentel Camdenton, MO 10 29-09 136
Day 1: 5 17-00 Day 2: 5 12-09
66. Jack Tindel III Orange, TX 10 29-09 135
Day 1: 5 16-07 Day 2: 5 13-02
67. Clint Knight Russellville, KY 10 29-09 134
Day 1: 5 15-04 Day 2: 5 14-05
68. Chris Groh Spring Grove, IL 10 29-08 133
Day 1: 5 14-08 Day 2: 5 15-00
69. Dylan Mayo Athens, TX 10 29-07 132
Day 1: 5 15-10 Day 2: 5 13-13
70. Blaine Bunney Claremore, OK 8 29-05 131
Day 1: 5 20-13 Day 2: 3 08-08
71. Doug Chapin Tigerton, WI 10 29-03 130
Day 1: 5 15-05 Day 2: 5 13-14
72. Dan Welsh Elko New Mrkt, MN 10 28-15 129
Day 1: 5 14-08 Day 2: 5 14-07
73. Kenny Mittelstaedt Minnetonka, MN 8 28-13 128
Day 1: 5 16-14 Day 2: 3 11-15
74. Garrett Paquette Canton, MI 10 28-12 127
Day 1: 5 17-04 Day 2: 5 11-08
75. Trent Palmer Cumming, GA 10 28-11 126
Day 1: 5 12-01 Day 2: 5 16-10
76. Kyle Metzger Pearl River, LA 10 28-11 125
Day 1: 5 14-06 Day 2: 5 14-05
77. Jacob Bigelow Cecil, WI 10 28-08 124
Day 1: 5 16-02 Day 2: 5 12-06
78. Lucas Ragusa Gonzales, LA 10 28-07 123
Day 1: 5 12-08 Day 2: 5 15-15
79. Blake Smith Lakeland, FL 10 28-07 122
Day 1: 5 13-15 Day 2: 5 14-08
80. Lane Olson Forest Grove, OR 10 28-06 121
Day 1: 5 11-15 Day 2: 5 16-07
81. Jacob Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 10 28-04 120
Day 1: 5 14-15 Day 2: 5 13-05
82. John Murray Spring City, TN 10 28-03 119
Day 1: 5 12-06 Day 2: 5 15-13
83. Cameron Mattison Benton, LA 10 28-03 118
Day 1: 5 13-12 Day 2: 5 14-07
84. Adam Rasmussen Sturgeon Bay, WI 7 28-02 117
Day 1: 4 14-01 Day 2: 3 14-01
85. Matt Baker Glenwood, AR 10 28-00 116
Day 1: 5 15-07 Day 2: 5 12-09
86. Michael Corbishley Raleigh, NC 10 27-15 115
Day 1: 5 15-09 Day 2: 5 12-06
87. Ty Faber Pagosa Springs, CO 10 27-12 114
Day 1: 5 14-12 Day 2: 5 13-00
88. Brad Leuthner Victoria, MN 10 27-12 113
Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 5 13-07
89. Brock Bila Republic, MO 10 27-05 112
Day 1: 5 15-09 Day 2: 5 11-12
90. Alex Heintze Denham Springs, LA 10 27-04 111
Day 1: 5 15-01 Day 2: 5 12-03
91. Niko Romero Coldspring, TX 10 27-04 110
Day 1: 5 12-08 Day 2: 5 14-12
92. Scott Isaacs Ladonia, TX 10 27-02 109
Day 1: 5 15-02 Day 2: 5 12-00
93. Bailey Gay Union, KY 10 27-02 108
Day 1: 5 14-09 Day 2: 5 12-09
94. Jaden Parrish Liberty, TX 10 27-01 107
Day 1: 5 12-14 Day 2: 5 14-03
95. Christian Ostrander Turlock, CA 10 27-01 106
Day 1: 5 13-00 Day 2: 5 14-01
96. Josh Gauthier Petawawa CANADA 10 27-00 105
Day 1: 5 14-06 Day 2: 5 12-10
97. Kevin Ledoux Choctaw, OK 9 26-14 104
Day 1: 5 13-02 Day 2: 4 13-12
98. Darold Gleason Leesville, LA 10 26-10 103
Day 1: 5 15-00 Day 2: 5 11-10
99. Kevin Dritschler Prosper, TX 10 26-04 102
Day 1: 5 13-13 Day 2: 5 12-07
100. Chris Miller Spirit Lake, IA 10 26-04 101
Day 1: 5 12-12 Day 2: 5 13-08
101. Randall Tharp Port St. Joe, FL 10 26-04 100
Day 1: 5 13-03 Day 2: 5 13-01
102. Jack Dice Lynchburg, VA 10 26-03 99
Day 1: 5 15-12 Day 2: 5 10-07
103. Ken Day Kennewick, WA 10 26-00 98
Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 5 14-15
104. Satoshi Egawa Fort Lee, NJ 10 26-00 97
Day 1: 5 14-04 Day 2: 5 11-12
105. Brent Shores Savannah, TN 10 25-14 96
Day 1: 5 12-10 Day 2: 5 13-04
106. Matthew Kennedy Littlefork, MN 10 25-12 95
Day 1: 5 09-09 Day 2: 5 16-03
107. Travis Peterson Bemidji, MN 9 25-12 94
Day 1: 5 15-08 Day 2: 4 10-04
108. Billy Billeaud Lafayette, LA 10 25-11 93
Day 1: 5 13-04 Day 2: 5 12-07
109. Brandon Ackerson Afton, OK 10 25-08 92
Day 1: 5 15-02 Day 2: 5 10-06
110. Aaron Yavorsky Palm Harbor, FL 10 25-08 91
Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 5 13-10
111. Matt Molitor Canton, IL 10 25-07 90
Day 1: 5 12-12 Day 2: 5 12-11
112. Joey Nania Cropwell, AL 10 25-02 89
Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 5 10-13
113. Paul Browning Monahans, TX 10 25-01 88
Day 1: 5 13-10 Day 2: 5 11-07
114. Russ Lane Prattville, AL 10 25-00 87
Day 1: 5 13-15 Day 2: 5 11-01
115. Jason Barber Gun Barrel City, TX 10 24-15 86
Day 1: 5 15-08 Day 2: 5 09-07
116. Kobie Koenig Cohassett, MN 8 24-15 85
Day 1: 3 09-09 Day 2: 5 15-06
117. Jason Pruess Haysville, KS 8 24-13 84
Day 1: 5 18-02 Day 2: 3 06-11
118. Ryan Thompson Seymour, MO 10 24-11 83
Day 1: 5 13-06 Day 2: 5 11-05
119. Cody Bird Granbury, TX 10 24-11 82
Day 1: 5 13-04 Day 2: 5 11-07
120. Stephen Browning Hot Springs, AR 9 24-08 81
Day 1: 4 08-13 Day 2: 5 15-11
121. Colby Dark West Monroe, LA 8 24-05 80
Day 1: 5 17-03 Day 2: 3 07-02
122. Bj Miller Adams, NE 10 24-04 79
Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 5 12-06
123. Brennan Flick West Monroe, LA 6 24-03 78
Day 1: 5 21-02 Day 2: 1 03-01
124. Timothy Matt Lake Village, IN 10 23-14 77
Day 1: 5 12-08 Day 2: 5 11-06
125. Anthony Garcia Los Angeles, CA 7 23-08 76
Day 1: 5 16-02 Day 2: 2 07-06
126. Danny Ramsey Trinidad, TX 8 23-06 75
Day 1: 5 15-10 Day 2: 3 07-12
127. Bo Thomas Edwardsburg, MI 7 23-03 74
Day 1: 5 16-09 Day 2: 2 06-10
128. Mike Mayo Athens, TX 10 23-03 73
Day 1: 5 11-08 Day 2: 5 11-11
129. Dalton Smith Taylorsville, KY 7 22-14 72
Day 1: 5 19-00 Day 2: 2 03-14
130. Miles Burghoff Dayton, TN 6 22-11 71
Day 1: 5 19-08 Day 2: 1 03-03
131. Brian Bengtson Bloomington, MN 8 22-10 70
Day 1: 5 13-06 Day 2: 3 09-04
132. Cliff Crochet Pierre Part, LA 8 22-10 69
Day 1: 5 12-04 Day 2: 3 10-06
133. Greg Bohannan Bentonville, AR 10 22-09 68
Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 5 10-11
134. Teb Jones Yalaha, MS 10 22-08 67
Day 1: 5 12-03 Day 2: 5 10-05
135. Keith Tuma Brainerd, MN 7 22-05 66
Day 1: 4 11-05 Day 2: 3 11-00
136. Ryan Michl Newton, IL 10 22-04 65
Day 1: 5 11-11 Day 2: 5 10-09
137. Drake Hemby Tallbot, TN 7 22-04 64
Day 1: 3 11-03 Day 2: 4 11-01
138. Tyler Lubbat Wheeling, IL 8 22-01 63
Day 1: 5 15-10 Day 2: 3 06-07
139. Daniel Vega Lake Park, IA 10 22-01 62
Day 1: 5 11-09 Day 2: 5 10-08
140. Kollin Crawford Broken Bow, OK 9 21-13 61
Day 1: 5 13-13 Day 2: 4 08-00
141. Jacob Welch Jefferson City, MO 9 21-12 60
Day 1: 4 07-03 Day 2: 5 14-09
142. Evan Poroznik Nestleton Station Ontar 9 21-11 59
Day 1: 5 15-06 Day 2: 4 06-05
143. Yui Aoki Minamitsurugun JAPAN 7 21-08 58
Day 1: 2 04-04 Day 2: 5 17-04
144. Jim Moynagh Outing, MN 8 21-07 57
Day 1: 5 13-03 Day 2: 3 08-04
145. Easton Fothergill Grand Rapids , MN 6 21-03 56
Day 1: 5 18-03 Day 2: 1 03-00
146. Chris Hellebuyck White Lake, MI 9 20-10 55
Day 1: 5 13-03 Day 2: 4 07-07
147. Lunday Nornberg Little Falls, MN 5 20-10 54
Day 1: 3 11-07 Day 2: 2 09-03
148. Brad Jelinek Lincoln, MO 6 20-08 53
Day 1: 5 17-10 Day 2: 1 02-14
149. Julius Mazy Vinemont, AL 9 20-07 52
Day 1: 5 09-06 Day 2: 4 11-01
150. Trevor McKinney Noble, IL 7 20-03 51
Day 1: 2 07-01 Day 2: 5 13-02
151. Caz Anderson Hayesville, NC 7 20-01 50
Day 1: 5 16-03 Day 2: 2 03-14
152. Nick Trim Galesville, WI 9 19-09 49
Day 1: 5 10-00 Day 2: 4 09-09
153. Easton Lindus Woodville, WI 7 19-03 48
Day 1: 5 14-15 Day 2: 2 04-04
154. Johno Roberts Golden, CO 8 19-02 47
Day 1: 5 11-12 Day 2: 3 07-06
155. Mike Johnson Park Rapids, MN 9 18-12 46
Day 1: 4 07-08 Day 2: 5 11-04
156. Brennan Berglund Zimmerman, MN 7 18-10 45
Day 1: 4 09-01 Day 2: 3 09-09
157. Joe Titus Bemidji, MN 6 18-00 44
Day 1: 4 11-14 Day 2: 2 06-02
158. Joey Hanna Corsicana, TX 8 17-11 43
Day 1: 4 10-11 Day 2: 4 07-00
159. Brett Hite Phoenix, AZ 5 17-01 42
Day 1: 5 17-01 Day 2: 0 00-00
160. Andy Hribar Lakeville, MN 5 16-11 41
Day 1: 5 16-11 Day 2: 0 00-00
160. Jeff Somers Otsego, MN 5 16-11 41
Day 1: 5 16-11 Day 2: 0 00-00
162. Dave Parsons Yantis, TX 7 16-08 39
Day 1: 5 11-12 Day 2: 2 04-12
163. Chancy Walters West Des Moines, IA 5 16-06 38
Day 1: 5 16-06 Day 2: 0 00-00
164. Garrett Wurm Monticello, MN 7 16-05 37
Day 1: 2 04-06 Day 2: 5 11-15
165. Chad Schauf Sparta, WI 7 16-05 36
Day 1: 2 04-12 Day 2: 5 11-09
166. Rylan Hamlin Jackson, MI 5 16-00 35
Day 1: 5 16-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
167. Jack Hakala Esko, MN 8 15-09 34
Day 1: 3 05-00 Day 2: 5 10-09
168. Chase Carey Hoschton, GA 5 15-01 33
Day 1: 2 05-07 Day 2: 3 09-10
169. Lance Crawford Broken Bow, OK 5 14-11 32
Day 1: 5 14-11 Day 2: 0 00-00
170. Yukihiro Sawamura Harker Heights, TX 5 14-06 31
Day 1: 5 14-06 Day 2: 0 00-00
171. Josh Wiesner Fon du Lac, WI 5 14-01 30
Day 1: 5 14-01 Day 2: 0 00-00
172. Brooks Anderson Marietta, GA 5 13-09 29
Day 1: 5 13-09 Day 2: 0 00-00
172. Joey Teofilo Richmond Hill Ontario C 5 13-09 29
Day 1: 5 13-09 Day 2: 0 00-00
172. Nathan Thompson Eagan, MN 5 13-09 29
Day 1: 5 13-09 Day 2: 0 00-00
175. Sean Lofgren Forest Lake, MN 5 13-08 26
Day 1: 5 13-08 Day 2: 0 00-00
175. Hunter Wendt Pequot Lakes, MN 5 13-08 26
Day 1: 5 13-08 Day 2: 0 00-00
177. Andrew Loberg Guntersville, AL 5 13-03 24
Day 1: 5 13-03 Day 2: 0 00-00
178. Brian Neal Big Lake, MN 4 13-02 23
Day 1: 4 13-02 Day 2: 0 00-00
179. Justin Oppegard Eagan, MN 5 12-14 22
Day 1: 5 12-14 Day 2: 0 00-00
180. Kenta Kimura Osaka OK JAPAN 5 12-11 21
Day 1: 5 12-11 Day 2: 0 00-00
181. Josh Butler Hayden, AL 4 12-11 20
Day 1: 4 12-11 Day 2: 0 00-00
182. Allan Nail Sand Springs, OK 5 12-09 19
Day 1: 5 12-09 Day 2: 0 00-00
182. Joey Punko Broomfield, CO 5 12-09 19
Day 1: 5 12-09 Day 2: 0 00-00
184. Logan Johnson Jasper, AL 5 12-03 17
Day 1: 5 12-03 Day 2: 0 00-00
185. Gary Hall Wardville, OK 5 12-01 16
Day 1: 5 12-01 Day 2: 0 00-00
186. Philip Roesener Choctaw, OK 4 11-11 15
Day 1: 2 05-09 Day 2: 2 06-02
187. Neal Gilmore Magnolia, TX 5 11-09 14
Day 1: 5 11-09 Day 2: 0 00-00
188. Anastasia Patterson Sumter, SC 6 11-06 13
Day 1: 4 07-11 Day 2: 2 03-11
189. Josh Douglas Isle, MN 5 10-15 12
Day 1: 5 10-15 Day 2: 0 00-00
190. Brett Cannon Kiln, MS 3 10-15 11
Day 1: 3 10-15 Day 2: 0 00-00
191. Jonathon VanDam Gobles, MI 3 10-04 10
Day 1: 3 10-04 Day 2: 0 00-00
192. Rick Clunn Ava, MO 5 10-02 9
Day 1: 5 10-02 Day 2: 0 00-00
193. Doc Wootton Collierville, TN 5 09-15 8
Day 1: 5 09-15 Day 2: 0 00-00
194. Mark Condron Murfreesboro, TN 4 09-12 7
Day 1: 4 09-12 Day 2: 0 00-00
195. Wyatt Burkhalter Coker, AL 3 09-11 6
Day 1: 2 07-06 Day 2: 1 02-05
196. Sho Egawa Osaka JAPAN 3 09-10 5
Day 1: 3 09-10 Day 2: 0 00-00
197. Jay Przekurat Plover, WI 3 09-03 4
Day 1: 3 09-03 Day 2: 0 00-00
198. Rick Pierce Mountain Home, AR 4 09-01 3
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 4 09-01
199. John Hammersmith Branson, MO 3 08-14 2
Day 1: 3 08-14 Day 2: 0 00-00
200. Dewayne French Mammoth Spring, AR 5 08-12 1
Day 1: 2 03-12 Day 2: 3 05-00
201. Michael Harlin Gravois Mills, MO 3 08-07 0
Day 1: 3 08-07 Day 2: 0 00-00
202. Ryan Teigen West Fargo, ND 3 08-00 0
Day 1: 3 08-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
203. Wyatt Wisian Ardmore, OK 4 07-08 0
Day 1: 4 07-08 Day 2: 0 00-00
204. Denny Fiedler Wabasha, MN 2 05-15 0
Day 1: 2 05-15 Day 2: 0 00-00
205. Nate Caldwell Fort Collins, CO 2 04-04 0
Day 1: 2 04-04 Day 2: 0 00-00
206. Kara Pasma Golden Valley, MN 2 03-12 0
Day 1: 2 03-12 Day 2: 0 00-00
207. A.J. Menssen Bloomington, IL 1 02-14 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 02-14
208. Troy O'Rourke Bentonville, AR 1 02-01 0
Day 1: 1 02-01 Day 2: 0 00-00
209. Trevor Stevenson Coon Rapids, MN 1 01-05 0
Day 1: 1 01-05 Day 2: 0 00-00
210. Gary Clouse Winchester, TN 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
210. Travis Ledford Tuttle, OK 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
210. Christian Nash Allons, TN 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
210. Tim Sprouse Clarksville, TN 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 168 957 2885-08
2 121 740 2148-13
----------------------------------
289 1697 5034-05

by AnglersChannel

Minke manages minute lead in Bassmaster Open at Leech Lake

WALKER, Minn — Kyle Minke knew his opportunities would be slim, but capitalizing on what he had to work with yielded a 22-pound Day 1 limit that leads the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Leech Lake presented by SEVIIN.

On a tight leaderboard that finds only 1 1/2 pounds separating first place from 10th, Minke holds a 1-ounce advantage over second-place Tommy Parker.

“I got lucky today; I only got six bites and they were definitely the right ones,” Minke said.

Minke, who makes his home in Lindsrom, Minn., focused his efforts on smallmouth, but he admitted that was not his preference.

“I wanted to fish for largemouth so bad, but I know you can’t win with them, so I stuck with the smallmouth game all day,” Minke said.

Fortunately, a productive morning gave him the confidence to continue pressing for improvement.

“I had a limit by noon, so it kinda made me comfortable to just keep working at it and I ended up getting one more big bite,” Minke said. “You just have to find the ones that want to bite.”

Sticking with the standard Leech Lake game plan of targeting boulders, Minke worked in depths ranging from 6 to 15 feet.

“I varied my depth with the wind,” Minke said. “I think the wind will push (the smallmouth) a little shallower on the windy side of stuff, so I was basing my approach on that.

“I was just running the boulders I had marked in practice. Maybe it was just good timing.”

Minke said he spent two hours on his starting spot. That location produced two of his keepers, as did his second and third spots.

“I had three main areas, all of them were miles apart,” Minke said. “I spent my day in the north and mid-lake regions. I don’t think these regions get as pressured as the (popular) south end, but it still gets pressure; there were tons of bots all over it today.”

Minke said he identified his targets during practice by side scanning likely areas in an effort to locate isolated boulders that other anglers might overlook. Even with such promising sites identified, Minke said he still had to play a flexible game.

“Usually the single boulders are better, but they really get smart when they get pressured like a week straight like they have,” Minke said. “There was actually a tournament here last weekend, too, so when they get pressured hard, they start to use other areas near the isolated boulders.

“You don’t see them sitting on boulders because they’re hiding so good. You have to cast to them so they’ll show themselves.”

Minke said he rotated through a 3-bait arsenal that included a jighead minnow, a drop shot and a Ned rig. All of those options produced bites and with each, accurate proved essential.

“You really only get one chance at these fish,” Minke said. “Every once in a while you’ll get a second chance, but that first cast has to be on target.”

The tournament’s scheduled start was postponed from Thursday to Friday due to a hazardous wind forecast. The event was shortened to two days, with the full field fishing both days.

Looking ahead to Championship Saturday, Minke said this: “I know that (my Day 1 spots) aren’t going to produce again, so I’ll probably run a bunch of new stuff.”

Hailing from Delano, Minn., Parker is in second place with 21-15. He attributes his opening-round success to versatility and adjustment.

“I tried throwing the classic jighead minnow application, a drop shot and things like that and I could see them come out for it, but they just weren’t committing,” Parker said. “After a couple hours of that, I started throwing some weird, unique things that they would eat.

“I’m fishing in the same areas as everyone else, but I’m showing them fish something different.”

Parker kept his bait details under wraps, but he noted that he’s shaking something different than most of his competitors.

“I burned probably 3/4 of a tank (of gas) today,” Parker said of his mobile game plan. “I ran all over the place.

“I actually got sick during practice and I was only able to practice a day and a half. I didn’t find a whole lot but it looks like I found the right ones.”

Jamie Bruce of Kenora, Ontario is in third place with 21-13. Anchoring his bag with a 5-14, Bruce said he spent a lot of time running his big engine.

“I fished the entire lake twice,” he said. “I have a 49-gallon tank in my Lund and I have no gas left. I had to econo cruise in, because I thought I was going to run out.

“I’ve never fished so hard in my life, just because of how many targets you have to hit to find (an active) zone. It took most of the day to find it, but we found her.”

While most competitors have been targeting smallmouth around particular rock structure, Bruce took a different approach. He looked for schools of small yellow perch and shiners and fished fast with a 3/8-ounce Smeltinator jighead with a 3.75-inch Rapala Crush City Jerk.

Bruce is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 5-14.

Pake South of Winnsboro, Texas leads the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by SEVIIN Division 2 points standings with 741 points. Fisher Anaya of Eva, Ala., is in second with 739, followed by Tanner Hadden of Appling, Ga., with 725, Nic Rand of Paw Paw, Mich., with 722, and Austin Cranford of Moore, Okla., with 693.

Saturday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6 a.m. Central Time at Walker Public Dock. The weigh-in will be held at the dock at 2 p.m.

Coverage of the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Leech Lake presented by SEVIIN will be available on Bassmaster.com each day of the tournament. Roku will carry Bassmaster LIVE on Championship Saturday.

This event is being hosted by the Leech Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.

2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: St. Croix

2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Presenting Sponsor: SEVIIN

About B.A.S.S.

-30-

Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Media Contact: Mandy Pascal, Communications Manager, 334-414-8677, m pascal@bassmaster.com

2025 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Leech Lake presented by SEVIIN 8/14-8/16
Leech Lake, Walker MN.
(BOATER) Standings Day 1

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Kyle Minke Lindsrom, MN 5 22-00 200
Day 1: 5 22-00
2. Tommy Parker Delano, MN 5 21-15 199
Day 1: 5 21-15
3. Jamie Bruce Kenora Ontario CANADA 5 21-13 198
Day 1: 5 21-13
4. Trey Schroeder Theodosia, MO 5 21-09 197
Day 1: 5 21-09
5. Austin Cranford Moore, OK 5 21-03 196
Day 1: 5 21-03
6. Brennan Flick West Monroe, LA 5 21-02 195
Day 1: 5 21-02
7. Blaine Bunney Claremore, OK 5 20-13 194
Day 1: 5 20-13
7. Danny McGarry Newcastle CANADA 5 20-13 194
Day 1: 5 20-13
9. Jace Lindsay Beckville, TX 5 20-10 192
Day 1: 5 20-10
10. Tanner Hadden Appling, GA 5 20-08 191
Day 1: 5 20-08
11. Jack York Emory, TX 5 20-07 190
Day 1: 5 20-07
12. Paul Marks Cumming, GA 5 20-05 189
Day 1: 5 20-05
12. Nic Rand Paw Paw, MI 5 20-05 189
Day 1: 5 20-05
14. Chase Clarke Virginia Beach, VA 5 20-04 187
Day 1: 5 20-04
14. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 5 20-04 187
Day 1: 5 20-04
14. Brian Post Janesville, WI 5 20-04 187
Day 1: 5 20-04
14. Pake South Winnsboro, TX 5 20-04 187
Day 1: 5 20-04
18. Buddy Benson Dahlonega, GA 5 20-01 183
Day 1: 5 20-01
18. Emil Wagner Marietta, GA 5 20-01 183
Day 1: 5 20-01
20. Bryan Finch Belton, TX 5 19-15 181
Day 1: 5 19-15
21. Laker Howell Guntersville, AL 5 19-10 180
Day 1: 5 19-10
22. Miles Burghoff Dayton, TN 5 19-08 179
Day 1: 5 19-08
23. Bailey Bleser Burlington, WI 5 19-06 178
Day 1: 5 19-06
24. Ian Waterer East Selkirk CANADA 5 19-03 177
Day 1: 5 19-03
25. Matt Pangrac Shawnee, OK 5 19-01 176
Day 1: 5 19-01
26. Dalton Smith Taylorsville, KY 5 19-00 175
Day 1: 5 19-00
27. Tommy Wood Peregian Springs AUSTRA 5 18-13 174
Day 1: 5 18-13
28. Nick Dumke Grand Rapids, MN 5 18-08 173
Day 1: 5 18-08
29. Wyatt Marler Oldfield, MO 5 18-06 172
Day 1: 5 18-06
30. Ethan Fields Carlyle, IL 5 18-05 171
Day 1: 5 18-05
31. Easton Fothergill Grand Rapids , MN 5 18-03 170
Day 1: 5 18-03
32. Jason Pruess Haysville, KS 5 18-02 169
Day 1: 5 18-02
33. Brad Jelinek Lincoln, MO 5 17-10 168
Day 1: 5 17-10
34. Fisher Anaya Eva, AL 5 17-09 167
Day 1: 5 17-09
35. Jimmy Washam Stantonville, TN 5 17-08 166
Day 1: 5 17-08
36. Garrett Paquette Canton, MI 5 17-04 165
Day 1: 5 17-04
37. Colby Dark West Monroe, LA 5 17-03 164
Day 1: 5 17-03
38. Brett Hite Phoenix, AZ 5 17-01 163
Day 1: 5 17-01
39. Jonathan Pimentel Camdenton, MO 5 17-00 162
Day 1: 5 17-00
40. Aaron Jagdfeld Rochester Hills, MI 5 16-15 161
Day 1: 5 16-15
41. Kenny Mittelstaedt Minnetonka, MN 5 16-14 160
Day 1: 5 16-14
42. Dylan Akins Flowery Branch, GA 5 16-13 159
Day 1: 5 16-13
43. Andy Hribar Lakeville, MN 5 16-11 158
Day 1: 5 16-11
43. Jeff Somers Otsego, MN 5 16-11 158
Day 1: 5 16-11
45. Bo Thomas Edwardsburg, MI 5 16-09 156
Day 1: 5 16-09
46. Chad Grigsby Maple Grove, MN 5 16-08 155
Day 1: 5 16-08
47. Jacob Policka Twin Lake, MI 5 16-07 154
Day 1: 5 16-07
47. Casey Scanlon Eldon, MO 5 16-07 154
Day 1: 5 16-07
47. Jack Tindel III Orange, TX 5 16-07 154
Day 1: 5 16-07
50. Chancy Walters West Des Moines, IA 5 16-06 151
Day 1: 5 16-06
51. Joe Wieberg Freeburg, MO 5 16-05 150
Day 1: 5 16-05
52. Bryan Partak Marseilles, IL 5 16-04 149
Day 1: 5 16-04
53. Caz Anderson Hayesville, NC 5 16-03 148
Day 1: 5 16-03
54. Jacob Bigelow Cecil, WI 5 16-02 147
Day 1: 5 16-02
54. Anthony Garcia Los Angeles, CA 5 16-02 147
Day 1: 5 16-02
56. Dillon Harrell New Caney, TX 5 16-02 145
Day 1: 5 16-02
57. Sam Hanggi Knoxville, TN 5 16-01 144
Day 1: 5 16-01
58. Chris Beaudrie Princeton, KY 4 16-01 143
Day 1: 4 16-01
59. Rylan Hamlin Jackson, MI 5 16-00 142
Day 1: 5 16-00
60. Kyle Palmer Winchester, TN 5 15-13 141
Day 1: 5 15-13
61. Jack Dice Lynchburg, VA 5 15-12 140
Day 1: 5 15-12
62. Tyler Lubbat Wheeling, IL 5 15-10 139
Day 1: 5 15-10
62. Dylan Mayo Athens, TX 5 15-10 139
Day 1: 5 15-10
62. Danny Ramsey Trinidad, TX 5 15-10 139
Day 1: 5 15-10
65. Brock Bila Republic, MO 5 15-09 136
Day 1: 5 15-09
65. Michael Corbishley Raleigh, NC 5 15-09 136
Day 1: 5 15-09
65. Steve Lee Minneapolis, MN 5 15-09 136
Day 1: 5 15-09
68. Jason Barber Gun Barrel City, TX 5 15-08 133
Day 1: 5 15-08
68. Ish Monroe Oakdale, CA 5 15-08 133
Day 1: 5 15-08
68. Travis Peterson Bemidji, MN 5 15-08 133
Day 1: 5 15-08
71. Matt Baker Glenwood, AR 5 15-07 130
Day 1: 5 15-07
72. Evan Poroznik Nestleton Station Ontar 5 15-06 129
Day 1: 5 15-06
73. Tai Au Glendale, AZ 5 15-05 128
Day 1: 5 15-05
73. Doug Chapin Tigerton, WI 5 15-05 128
Day 1: 5 15-05
75. Jeff Johnson Bemidji, MN 5 15-04 126
Day 1: 5 15-04
75. Clint Knight Russellville, KY 5 15-04 126
Day 1: 5 15-04
75. Nathaniel Melgaard Elk Mound, WI 5 15-04 126
Day 1: 5 15-04
78. Brandon Ackerson Afton, OK 5 15-02 123
Day 1: 5 15-02
78. Scott Isaacs Ladonia, TX 5 15-02 123
Day 1: 5 15-02
80. Alex Heintze Denham Springs, LA 5 15-01 121
Day 1: 5 15-01
81. Darold Gleason Leesville, LA 5 15-00 120
Day 1: 5 15-00
82. Easton Lindus Woodville, WI 5 14-15 119
Day 1: 5 14-15
82. Jacob Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 5 14-15 119
Day 1: 5 14-15
84. Luke Clausen Otis Orchards, WA 5 14-13 117
Day 1: 5 14-13
84. Blake Schroeder Bullard, TX 5 14-13 117
Day 1: 5 14-13
86. Harmon Marien Eagle River, WI 4 14-13 115
Day 1: 4 14-13
87. Ty Faber Pagosa Springs, CO 5 14-12 114
Day 1: 5 14-12
88. Lance Crawford Broken Bow, OK 5 14-11 113
Day 1: 5 14-11
89. Ethen Preston Tower City, ND 5 14-10 112
Day 1: 5 14-10
90. Andy Dassow Medford, WI 5 14-09 111
Day 1: 5 14-09
90. Bailey Gay Union, KY 5 14-09 111
Day 1: 5 14-09
92. Chris Groh Spring Grove, IL 5 14-08 109
Day 1: 5 14-08
92. Billy McDonald Greenwood, IN 5 14-08 109
Day 1: 5 14-08
92. Dan Welsh Elko New Mrkt, MN 5 14-08 109
Day 1: 5 14-08
95. Riley Nielsen Salt Lake City, UT 5 14-07 106
Day 1: 5 14-07
95. Brock Reinkemeyer Warsaw, MO 5 14-07 106
Day 1: 5 14-07
97. Josh Gauthier Petawawa CANADA 5 14-06 104
Day 1: 5 14-06
97. Kyle Metzger Pearl River, LA 5 14-06 104
Day 1: 5 14-06
97. Yukihiro Sawamura Harker Heights, TX 5 14-06 104
Day 1: 5 14-06
100. Kurt Chelminiak Delafield, WI 5 14-05 101
Day 1: 5 14-05
100. Jordan Knutson Saint Croix Falls, WI 5 14-05 101
Day 1: 5 14-05
100. Brad Leuthner Victoria, MN 5 14-05 101
Day 1: 5 14-05
100. Joey Nania Cropwell, AL 5 14-05 101
Day 1: 5 14-05
104. Satoshi Egawa Fort Lee, NJ 5 14-04 97
Day 1: 5 14-04
104. Mike McClelland Blue Eye, MO 5 14-04 97
Day 1: 5 14-04
106. Josh Wiesner Fon du Lac, WI 5 14-01 95
Day 1: 5 14-01
107. Adam Rasmussen Sturgeon Bay, WI 4 14-01 94
Day 1: 4 14-01
108. James Niggemeyer Van, TX 5 14-00 93
Day 1: 5 14-00
109. Russ Lane Prattville, AL 5 13-15 92
Day 1: 5 13-15
109. Blake Smith Lakeland, FL 5 13-15 92
Day 1: 5 13-15
111. Kollin Crawford Broken Bow, OK 5 13-13 90
Day 1: 5 13-13
111. Kevin Dritschler Prosper, TX 5 13-13 90
Day 1: 5 13-13
113. Cameron Mattison Benton, LA 5 13-12 88
Day 1: 5 13-12
114. Paul Browning Monahans, TX 5 13-10 87
Day 1: 5 13-10
115. Brooks Anderson Marietta, GA 5 13-09 86
Day 1: 5 13-09
115. Joey Teofilo Richmond Hill Ontario C 5 13-09 86
Day 1: 5 13-09
115. Nathan Thompson Eagan, MN 5 13-09 86
Day 1: 5 13-09
118. Sean Lofgren Forest Lake, MN 5 13-08 83
Day 1: 5 13-08
118. Hunter Wendt Pequot Lakes, MN 5 13-08 83
Day 1: 5 13-08
120. Evan Cox-VanVliet Loveland, CO 5 13-07 81
Day 1: 5 13-07
120. Andy Newcomb Camdenton, MO 5 13-07 81
Day 1: 5 13-07
122. Brian Bengtson Bloomington, MN 5 13-06 79
Day 1: 5 13-06
122. Freddy Palmer Estill Springs, TN 5 13-06 79
Day 1: 5 13-06
122. Ryan Thompson Seymour, MO 5 13-06 79
Day 1: 5 13-06
125. Billy Billeaud Lafayette, LA 5 13-04 76
Day 1: 5 13-04
125. Cody Bird Granbury, TX 5 13-04 76
Day 1: 5 13-04
127. Chris Hellebuyck White Lake, MI 5 13-03 74
Day 1: 5 13-03
127. Andrew Loberg Guntersville, AL 5 13-03 74
Day 1: 5 13-03
127. Jim Moynagh Outing, MN 5 13-03 74
Day 1: 5 13-03
127. Randall Tharp Port St. Joe, FL 5 13-03 74
Day 1: 5 13-03
131. Kevin Ledoux Choctaw, OK 5 13-02 70
Day 1: 5 13-02
132. Brian Neal Big Lake, MN 4 13-02 69
Day 1: 4 13-02
133. Christian Ostrander Turlock, CA 5 13-00 68
Day 1: 5 13-00
134. Justin Oppegard Eagan, MN 5 12-14 67
Day 1: 5 12-14
134. Jaden Parrish Liberty, TX 5 12-14 67
Day 1: 5 12-14
136. Michael Lebsack Duluth, MN 5 12-12 65
Day 1: 5 12-12
136. Chris Miller Spirit Lake, IA 5 12-12 65
Day 1: 5 12-12
136. Matt Molitor Canton, IL 5 12-12 65
Day 1: 5 12-12
139. Kenta Kimura Osaka OK JAPAN 5 12-11 62
Day 1: 5 12-11
139. Charlie Wright Becker, MN 5 12-11 62
Day 1: 5 12-11
141. Josh Butler Hayden, AL 4 12-11 60
Day 1: 4 12-11
142. Brent Shores Savannah, TN 5 12-10 59
Day 1: 5 12-10
143. Allan Nail Sand Springs, OK 5 12-09 58
Day 1: 5 12-09
143. Joey Punko Broomfield, CO 5 12-09 58
Day 1: 5 12-09
145. Timothy Matt Lake Village, IN 5 12-08 56
Day 1: 5 12-08
145. Lucas Ragusa Gonzales, LA 5 12-08 56
Day 1: 5 12-08
145. Niko Romero Coldspring, TX 5 12-08 56
Day 1: 5 12-08
148. Andrew Behnke Fond Du Lac, WI 5 12-07 53
Day 1: 5 12-07
149. John Murray Spring City, TN 5 12-06 52
Day 1: 5 12-06
149. Kane Weekley Davie, FL 5 12-06 52
Day 1: 5 12-06
151. Matt Stefan Junction City, WI 5 12-05 50
Day 1: 5 12-05
152. Cliff Crochet Pierre Part, LA 5 12-04 49
Day 1: 5 12-04
153. Logan Johnson Jasper, AL 5 12-03 48
Day 1: 5 12-03
153. Teb Jones Yalaha, MS 5 12-03 48
Day 1: 5 12-03
155. Gary Hall Wardville, OK 5 12-01 46
Day 1: 5 12-01
155. Trent Palmer Cumming, GA 5 12-01 46
Day 1: 5 12-01
157. Lane Olson Forest Grove, OR 5 11-15 44
Day 1: 5 11-15
158. Greg Bohannan Bentonville, AR 5 11-14 43
Day 1: 5 11-14
158. Bj Miller Adams, NE 5 11-14 43
Day 1: 5 11-14
158. Aaron Yavorsky Palm Harbor, FL 5 11-14 43
Day 1: 5 11-14
161. Joe Titus Bemidji, MN 4 11-14 40
Day 1: 4 11-14
162. Dave Parsons Yantis, TX 5 11-12 39
Day 1: 5 11-12
162. Johno Roberts Golden, CO 5 11-12 39
Day 1: 5 11-12
164. Ryan Michl Newton, IL 5 11-11 37
Day 1: 5 11-11
165. Neal Gilmore Magnolia, TX 5 11-09 36
Day 1: 5 11-09
165. Daniel Vega Lake Park, IA 5 11-09 36
Day 1: 5 11-09
167. Mike Mayo Athens, TX 5 11-08 34
Day 1: 5 11-08
168. Lunday Nornberg Little Falls, MN 3 11-07 33
Day 1: 3 11-07
169. Keith Tuma Brainerd, MN 4 11-05 32
Day 1: 4 11-05
170. Drake Hemby Tallbot, TN 3 11-03 31
Day 1: 3 11-03
171. Ken Day Kennewick, WA 5 11-01 30
Day 1: 5 11-01
172. Josh Douglas Isle, MN 5 10-15 29
Day 1: 5 10-15
173. Brett Cannon Kiln, MS 3 10-15 28
Day 1: 3 10-15
174. Joey Hanna Corsicana, TX 4 10-11 27
Day 1: 4 10-11
175. Jonathon VanDam Gobles, MI 3 10-04 26
Day 1: 3 10-04
176. Rick Clunn Ava, MO 5 10-02 25
Day 1: 5 10-02
177. Nick Trim Galesville, WI 5 10-00 24
Day 1: 5 10-00
178. Doc Wootton Collierville, TN 5 09-15 23
Day 1: 5 09-15
179. Mark Condron Murfreesboro, TN 4 09-12 22
Day 1: 4 09-12
180. Sho Egawa Osaka JAPAN 3 09-10 21
Day 1: 3 09-10
181. Matthew Kennedy Littlefork, MN 5 09-09 20
Day 1: 5 09-09
182. Kobie Koenig Cohassett, MN 3 09-09 19
Day 1: 3 09-09
183. Julius Mazy Vinemont, AL 5 09-06 18
Day 1: 5 09-06
184. Jay Przekurat Plover, WI 3 09-03 17
Day 1: 3 09-03
185. Brennan Berglund Zimmerman, MN 4 09-01 16
Day 1: 4 09-01
186. John Hammersmith Branson, MO 3 08-14 15
Day 1: 3 08-14
187. Stephen Browning Hot Springs, AR 4 08-13 14
Day 1: 4 08-13
188. Michael Harlin Gravois Mills, MO 3 08-07 13
Day 1: 3 08-07
189. Ryan Teigen West Fargo, ND 3 08-00 12
Day 1: 3 08-00
190. Anastasia Patterson Sumter, SC 4 07-11 11
Day 1: 4 07-11
191. Mike Johnson Park Rapids, MN 4 07-08 10
Day 1: 4 07-08
191. Wyatt Wisian Ardmore, OK 4 07-08 10
Day 1: 4 07-08
193. Wyatt Burkhalter Coker, AL 2 07-06 8
Day 1: 2 07-06
194. Jacob Welch Jefferson City, MO 4 07-03 7
Day 1: 4 07-03
195. Trevor McKinney Noble, IL 2 07-01 6
Day 1: 2 07-01
196. Denny Fiedler Wabasha, MN 2 05-15 5
Day 1: 2 05-15
197. Philip Roesener Choctaw, OK 2 05-09 4
Day 1: 2 05-09
198. Chase Carey Hoschton, GA 2 05-07 3
Day 1: 2 05-07
199. Jack Hakala Esko, MN 3 05-00 2
Day 1: 3 05-00
200. Chad Schauf Sparta, WI 2 04-12 1
Day 1: 2 04-12
201. Garrett Wurm Monticello, MN 2 04-06 0
Day 1: 2 04-06
202. Yui Aoki Minamitsurugun JAPAN 2 04-04 0
Day 1: 2 04-04
202. Nate Caldwell Fort Collins, CO 2 04-04 0
Day 1: 2 04-04
204. Kara Pasma Golden Valley, MN 2 03-12 0
Day 1: 2 03-12
205. Dewayne French Mammoth Spring, AR 2 03-12 0
Day 1: 2 03-12
206. Troy O'Rourke Bentonville, AR 1 02-01 0
Day 1: 1 02-01
207. Trevor Stevenson Coon Rapids, MN 1 01-05 0
Day 1: 1 01-05
208. Gary Clouse Winchester, TN 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
208. Travis Ledford Tuttle, OK 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
208. A.J. Menssen Bloomington, IL 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
208. Christian Nash Allons, TN 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
208. Rick Pierce Mountain Home, AR 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
208. Tim Sprouse Clarksville, TN 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 168 957 2885-08
----------------------------------
168 957 2885-08

by AnglersChannel

Port Huron on Michigan’s Thumbcoast Set for B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® Next Week

5-hour ENERGY® announced as Presenting Sponsor of First MLF Fishing Clash Team Series event of season

PORT HURON, Mich. (Aug. 14, 2025) – The Major League Fishing (MLF) Fishing Clash Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops is set to kickoff the 2025 season next week at Port Huron on Michigan’s Thumbcoast with the season-opening B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY®.

5-hour ENERGY® joins Major League Fishing for the first time as the presenting sponsor of the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup, marking the brand’s debut in the professional bass fishing arena. Known for fueling go-getters across the country, 5-hour ENERGY’s entry into the sport underscores the shared values of endurance, focus and high performance – qualities that define both MLF anglers and the brand’s loyal consumers.

“Major League Fishing is a perfect collaboration for us. Their high-energy competitions truly align with our brand and our fans,” said Leah Key, President of Living Essentials, LLC, the maker of 5-hour ENERGY® products. “Anglers know that early mornings and long days on the water require focus and a fast and effective energy boost. That’s where our portable and tasty 5-hour ENERGY shots really deliver.”

Hosted by Discover the Blue Michigan's Thumbcoast, the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® is the first of the four-event Fishing Clash Team series. In keeping with traditional MLF Cup protocols, Port Huron, Michigan, was not revealed to Team Series competitors until six weeks prior to the start of the tournament. All fishable waters within 60 miles of Port Huron then went off limits to anglers. Fans watching the MLFNOW! livestream will find out the day’s competition waters right along with the anglers each morning.

“We are thrilled to welcome Major League Fishing's Team Series to Michigan's Thumbcoast,” said Terra Damchuk, Director of Sports and Groups for Discover the Blue Michigan’s Thumbcoast. “Our beautiful waterways provide the perfect backdrop for this exciting competition. We can't wait for the anglers to experience the incredible fishing opportunities and our vibrant community that make our region so special. We look forward to welcoming the MLF team and anglers next week.”

On Day 1 in Port Huron, RFD-TV will broadcast the full day of competition live – a special one-time feature to kick off the season and new broadcast partnership. For the rest of the season, RFD-TV will carry the final period of each day’s competition. Every day of every event will still stream in full on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) apps, RFD-TV Now, Game & Fish TV, and Rumble, with post-produced episodes starting in January 2026 on Outdoor Channel.

The 12 teams that will compete in the Fishing Clash Team Series B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® at Port Huron on Michigan’s Thumbcoast are:

Team 7Brew Coffee:
Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas
Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas

Team B&W Trailer Hitches:
Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark.
Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas

Team BUBBA:
Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La.
John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky.

Team Ferguson:
Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif.
Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala.

Team Fishing Clash:
Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C.
Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo.

Team Knighten:
Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn.
Colby Miller, Elmer, La.

Team Kubota:
Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla.
Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif.

Team Lucas Oil:
Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn.
Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn.

Team O’Reilly Auto Parts:
Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich.
Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va.

Team Smokey Mountain:
Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz.

Team StarTron:
Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala.
Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla.

Team YETI:
Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J.
Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala.

The MLF Fishing Clash Team Series B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® will also air on Outdoor Channel as six two-hour original episodes each Saturday afternoon starting January 3, 2026. The complete television schedule for the Fishing Clash Team Series on Outdoor Channel will be posted at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

About 5-hour ENERGY® Shots
Since launching in 2004, the 5-hour ENERGY® brand and its iconic 2-fl oz. shot has become a household staple for its ability to help you feel alert and get you through whatever each day brings. Find more information about 5-hour ENERGY®, which is widely available in convenience, grocery, retail, club stores, and online outlets, at 5hourENERGY.com.

by AnglersChannel

Seasonal movement critical in Bassmaster Elite finale at Upper Mississippi River

Elite_eventLogo_2025_MissRiver_Raster (2).png

LA CROSSE, Wis. — To catch fish, you have to know where they are. But looking past that obvious truth, knowing where they are often requires an understanding of where they’re going.

Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pro Pat Schlapper said that principle will factor keenly into the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Upper Mississippi River.

Competition days will be August 21-24 with daily takeoffs from the Loggers Baseball Stadium at Copeland Park at 7 a.m. CT and weigh-ins each day back at the park at 3 p.m.

“It’s the time of year when mornings are starting to get cool and fish are probably going to transition into fall stuff,” Schlapper said. “In my opinion, it’s probably going to be at the early stages of (the transition).

“I think you’ll see the main channel play. I think you’ll see backwaters play. A little bit of everything will be going on. I think it should be a good tournament.”

As Schlapper explained, the fall transition finds fish heading toward the sites that they’ll use to ride out winter’s harshness. The fish move gradually, but steadily, and they do their best to fill their bellies along that course.

“Both smallmouth and largemouth want to feed, but they’ll typically set up on different places depending on where they’re moving to,” Schlapper said. “In certain areas, you will catch a mix of fish off a spot; or one day, it’ll be smallmouth on a spot, and the next day, it’ll be largemouth.

“That happened the last time we were at La Crosse, and that’s all about those fish migrating. You could definitely catch both on the same type of (main-river) stuff, but you’re not gonna go find a school of smallmouth way in a backwater on a patch of duckweed.”

In terms of calculating the course to those cold-season destinations, Schlapper said smallmouth typically winter on slackwater areas of the main-river channel. Largemouth tend to hunker down in heavily vegetated areas close to deep water.

The last time the Elite Series visited La Crosse in 2022, heavy rains sent muddy plumes into the Mississippi. Finding ribbons and pools of cleaner water proved essential to many anglers’ success, and Schlapper’s looking for the same importance this year.

“That’s always a major factor on the river,” he said. “That’s what the vegetation does, especially the eelgrass; it’ll really help filter out the water. Current, vegetation and clean water — those are the biggest things that dictate where fish are going to be.”

Wing dams, the rock walls positioned along the river to direct current inward and prevent siltation of the navigational channel, will be a popular target.

As Schlapper notes, these structures create prime feeding opportunities for fall fish, so some anglers will likely base at least some of their game plan on running several wing dams until they find active fish.

Another of the Upper Mississippi’s distinctive habitat scenarios comprises deeper water edging up to a shallow sandy ledge. These “sand breaks” offer prime feeding spots for fish — especially smallmouth bass — to run up and gobble the local forage, but it’s all about timing.

“Sand is always a factor down there, but it’s one of the more difficult things to figure out,” Schlapper said. “You could win on sand if you found the right deal, but unless you know where the good stuff is, it’s really hard to find that stuff.

“Somebody might be fishing down a stretch of vegetation and the fish come up busting and they find a spot like that. I’ve fished (the Upper Mississippi) for over 20 years and that’s one of the hardest things to find, because there’s so much of it and so much of it looks good, but the fish are not always there.”

Having closely monitored water levels, Schlapper said: “Overall, the water has been higher than normal pretty much all summer. It’s been dropping, but then all of a sudden, it’ll rain a bunch and then it’ll come back up. Unless something crazy happens, I think it’s gonna be a little higher than the last time we were there.”

Schlapper said a high river will expand opportunities, as fish — mostly largemouth — push farther into shoreline cover. That’s particularly relevant, as this year’s flourishing vegetation offers expansive habitat.

Top largemouth baits include frogs, swim jigs, bladed jigs, Texas-rigged flipping baits and Carolina rigs. Smallmouth anglers typically throw a mix of topwater walkers or poppers, swimbaits, Fluke-style baits and lipless baits.

The Upper Mississippi usually delivers plenty of fish, and most anglers will catch their limit, but those bigger fish of 3-plus pounds are the difference-makers. Hefty largemouth and smallmouth roam this fishery, but finding such kickers can prove challenging.

At the 2022 event, Maryland pro Bryan Schmitt found just enough to edge out 2024 Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year Chris Johnston by just 4 ounces, winning the event with a total of 63-4. Schlapper said he expects this year’s weights to be tight at the top of the leaderboard.

“I’ve been following the weights for local tournaments pretty closely this year, and I think if you can stay in that 16 1/2 to 16 3/4 pounds a day (range), I think you would have a chance at winning,” Schlapper said. “As far as making the cut, I really think that 13 (pounds) a day will do it.”

Those that excel in this final Elite event of the 2025 season will do so by figuring out those seasonal movements, finding ways to tempt bigger-than-average fish and capitalizing on every bite.

Live coverage of the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Upper Mississippi River will be available on Bassmaster.com Thursday and Friday beginning at 8 a.m. ET and running until 3 p.m. Roku will have coverage on Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Noon to 3 p.m. Coverage on Saturday will be available on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. before moving to Bassmaster.com from Noon to 3 p.m. Championship Sunday coverage can be found on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with afternoon action to follow on Bassmaster.com.

This event is being hosted by Explore La Crosse.

About B.A.S.S.

by AnglersChannel

Maggie Jo Outdoors: The Magic of Local Tournaments

Courtesy of Dynamic Sponsorships

The big bass, big stage, and big dreams of Bassmaster and other national tournament trails provide a pathway for anyone with ambition to compete at the highest levels of tournament fishing. That’s the pinnacle of bass fishing, but the culture of bass fishing tournaments is perhaps best represented at a weeknight jackpot with a few dozen anglers talking fishing in a half empty boat ramp parking lot, eager for a couple hours on the water after work.

Depending on what part of the country you live they may be called fruit jars, wildcats, week-nighters, jackpots, derbies, or opens, but regardless of the region this community of anglers looks and feels about the same. BassmastHER ambassador Maggie Jo Carsello will be the first to tell you, there is something special about weeknight derbies and local tournaments.

“Small, local tournaments are my favorites because they are almost always lighthearted and fun,” Carsello said. “You don’t have to have a $80,000 bass boat with all the latest gadgets for this kind of fishing, any old Jon boat or bass boat with an operational livewell will get the job done. Everyone gets to know each other, and it really does become a tight-knit community.”

Juggling a fulltime job, content production for her burgeoning social media, and her role as a BassmastHER representative keeps Maggie Jo plenty busy; but she still fits as many local tournaments into her weekly routine as possible. Her longtime boyfriend Andrew is the tournament director for the Madison Bass Club and Maggie is his right-hand woman.

The two run their Wednesday night tournament trail from 5:00PM to 8:00PM each week, along with select weekend tournaments that span the more traditional timeframe of sunrise until 2:00 or 3:00PM. Maggie and Andrew also squeeze in competing in a Tuesday night league and try for at least one team tournament each weekend.

There is no lack of opportunity and Maggie believes there is no better place for an angler to get their feet wet with fishing competition than at the local level.

“It’s always intimidating to try something new but people who are passionate about fishing want to see the sport grow and are quick to be supportive,” the Team Toyota pro offered. “I started out as one of the only females in our hometown trail but now there are lots of lady anglers competing. These tournaments are welcoming and these days there are more resources to get involved than ever.

“You can find a regional Facebook fishing group to join and ask questions in. You can become part of your local bass club, or your high school and college fishing team if you’re still in school. If you’re struggling to make connections, go to a local weigh-in and don’t be afraid to be a beginner. It’s an easy way to strike up conversation and it’ll help you feel more comfortable.”

Maggie has been obsessed with the outdoors for as long as she can remember and has been fishing local tournaments around her home in Wisconsin for close to decade, but she got her start in tournament fishing through many of the tips she laid out.

“I was introduced to tournament fishing in college at UW Stephens Point,” Carsello said. “I joined the school fishing club and made some great friends. I was convinced to fish a bar-league muskie tournament where I met a super friendly man named Greg who kind of took me under his wing. I was super inexperienced, but he had a young daughter and was gracious with his time.

“He invited me to fish my first bass tournament, the Waupaca Open on the Waupaca Chain O’ Lakes. We didn’t win the tournament or anything, but we had such a good time! That experience opened my eyes to bass tournaments, which has gone on to become a huge part of my life.”

The community feel and low-stress nature of local bass tournaments is what lured Maggie in and remains her favorite aspect of competing ‘around the house’. These events offer anglers the opportunity to scratch their competitive itch without a cutthroat, “me-first” undertone.

Where you want to beat your peers, but once you’re standing around the scales at the end of the evening, you’re the first to cheer on and congratulate one another. A scene where competitors are quick to lend a hand if mechanical issues arise. You can find these examples at all levels of bass fishing, but the seeds are planted and grown at local tournaments.

“Every week when we show up to host a tournament and fish, I am just reminded of the love I have for fishing,” Carsello beamed. “Whether there are 70 boats or 14 boats doesn’t really matter, it’s just an excuse to chase some fish, have some fun and spend time together.”

The low-cost, low-stress, and welcoming nature of local tournament trails is why so many people start their competitive fishing journey here. Some aspire to compete at higher levels, and they may move to bigger stages, while others may fish the same tournament trails their entire lives.

That’s the beauty of fishing. It’s a recreational hobby that can be whatever you want it to be. For some, an hour of fishing may be best spent kicked back in a lawn chair on a shady bank, watching a bobber with a worm wiggling a few feet below. Others may need the competition of a smaller-scale tournament to satisfy their fishing desires, and some will not be content until they chase their fishing passions all the way to highest levels of competition.

Strong roots grow tall trees, and the community of local tournaments have grown many of bass fishing’s biggest names. Regardless of where you want to end up with your fishing pursuits, these local events are a great place to start.

by AnglersChannel

Has Tournament Fishing Gone Soft?

By Vance McCullough, AC Insider

The following is not intended to criticize any tournament directors or organizations.

I have a strong respect for those who must make tough calls on short notice while the rest of us have forever to dissect, and often criticize, those decisions. And of course, hindsight is 20/20.

But questions remain. So, here’s some food for thought:

How many tournament days have Bassmaster Opens anglers lost this year, specifically in Division 2? How many PTO days have these anglers, many of whom are balancing their ‘day job’ with their dream job, had to burn? Time sacrificed by themselves and their families. Vacations not taken with the kids. Time set aside to pursue the American Dream but now spent playing cards or twiddling thumbs. Money spent on lodging and food. An investment of time and money forever spent.

Bassmaster arranged the current Opens divisions and the associated EQ tournaments in part to develop and promote a more professional corps of anglers coming up through the pipeline. Is safe boat handling not a required skill for a professional angler?

This morning was supposed to see the launch of the final 2025 Bassmaster Open event of Division 2. To this point, only one of the 3 tournaments in this division has been completed as planned. In fact, 2 of the 3 three-day tournaments have been stripped down to single-day shootouts. Hardly a test of the best over multiple days with changeable conditions.

Can the winners fish, well enough to compete at an elite level, under varied weather conditions? We don’t know. We do know they can watch a screen as long as the waves are flat enough to keep their high-tech transducer below the surface.

There’s a number of very capable, seasoned pros trying to requalify for the Elite Series via the Opens. These guys cut their teeth on windy waters under threatening skies and, occasionally, ideal conditions wherein they could really show off. If conditions nullified a preferred technique, these anglers figured out a work-around and somebody always found the solution. We all learned along with them and became better, smarter anglers.

Everybody won.

In today’s softer, gentler environment a stiff breeze has become cause for concern. But extreme risk aversion is a fast path to irrelevancy.

Do we want drivers to crash? No. But NASCAR would not be the spectacle it is without such eye-catching carnage. Nobody tuned in to watch Evel Knievel successfully jump something as small as a picnic table. When he botched the landing on a 141-foot attempt over the fountain at Cesar’s in Las Vegas, the footage of even his failure became legendary. And when he cleared 50 cars in the LA Coliseum, 35,000 live fans went nuts as he brought his Harley to a safe landing.

It's good to fail occasionally, as long as we’re reaching for something worth grabbing.

“Safety first,” you say?

Maybe. But anglers in Division 2 of the Bassmaster Opens have, at the time of this writing, fished a mere 5 days out of 10 scheduled competition rounds.

The Bassmaster Kayak Series has only lost 2 days out of a scheduled 10. And they’re fishing from kayaks, not high horsepower motors on seaworthy bass boats with real time weather updates.

At the very least, the cancellation of so much competition under a variety of weather threats has had the effect – intended or not – of promoting those anglers who need calm waters to effectively use their favored electronics whether they have a secondary strength to fall back on or not. Can these guys power fish, relying on blind faith that they will grind their way into a winning sack of bass? There’s a list of veteran pros who’ve proven they can. They are fighting, often with a family depending on them, to get back on the Tour level and they’ve had exactly 5 days so far to do so. And every one of those days has been favorable for the young tech bros who have a deep well of somebody else’s money to keep their career ambitions afloat.

I don’t wish to infer that there are any intentions on the part of B.A.S.S., it’s leadership or sponsors to rig the playing field in anybody’s favor, but rather to raise a voice of concern over how the general softness of our society may be hurting the spirit of true competition and the bravery historically required to compete at bass fishing’s highest level.

So what were the forecast conditions that warranted cancelation of yet another tournament round? My weather app called for 13 mph peak sustained winds. And that isn’t expected until two hours after weigh in starts. As I type this, the wind is blowing at a rate of a single mile per hour with ‘gusts’ to 3 mph an hour before the scheduled weigh time. Bassmaster states that the National Weather Service forecasted gusts of up to 25 mph.

Does this qualify as extreme weather?

Your thoughts, opinions and opposing points of view are welcome (another throwback to an era when people were tougher and could handle constructive criticism and lively debate).

by AnglersChannel

Keith Carson’s kinda stinky good luck Vexus® hat

Unlike a lot of anglers, Keith Carson doesn’t feel the least bit cursed by having a banana in his boat. Matter of fact, in case you need one, he often keeps more than one of the potassium-rich treats onboard to share. Just don’t ask to borrow his somewhat stinky, once bright red, now badly sun-bleached, good luck Vexus® Boats hat.

“I started wearing this particular Vexus hat in December before the 2025 season kicked-off, and I’ve been wearing it ever since. It’s got me three Top10s, and helped me qualify for REDCREST. So yea, I definitely think it’s good luck,” says the always jovial Floridian, and best friend of fellow Vexus pro, John Cox.

Carson and Cox started running around together at age 14, mostly on BMX bicycles in the year 2000, and when they discovered a mutual love of bass fishing, the bikes got shelved for aluminum boats. They towed their first shared aluminum boat around with a 1984 Chevrolet Caprice that Carson’s grandma gave him.

Now, as two of the top pros in America, not much has changed. Their penchant for aluminum versus fiberglass is stronger than ever.

“Part of our reliance on aluminum boats started with the fact neither John nor I came from money. So, aluminum boats were always more affordable, but when we discovered we could take them into water others couldn’t access in a heavier glass boat, and that we could catch fish they couldn’t get to, our love of aluminum grew even greater,” says Carson.

“This will sound like a promotional plug, but I swear to you the biggest factor in my recent Top 10s on both the Potomac River and Saginaw Bay was the boat. My AVX2100 floats about 4” shallower than most pros’ fiberglass boats. Not to mention, I’m not afraid to drive it over top of things they wouldn’t dare drive over in a glass boat,” grins Carson.

And while Keith Daffron, Hunter Baird, and the good folks at Vexus promise to ship him a handful of fresh hats, Carson is just fine remaining loyal to the sun-bleached model that’s brought him so much good fortune the past eight months.

“Shaylee bought one of those hat washing things you can use to clean a ball cap in a dishwasher or washing machine. We tried it, but it’s still a little stinky, and I’m okay with that. It tells me we didn’t wash all the good luck out of it,” laughs Carson in conclusion.

by AnglersChannel

The Voyager Jacket and Pant is your Everyday Essential.

Jacksonville Beach, FL – August 12,2025 – Gill, a leading innovator in high-performance outerwear, is proud to share the Voyager Suit, a lightweight and versatile waterproof solution for unpredictable weather. The Voyager Suit, consisting of the Voyager Jacket and Pant, is designed to provide dependable wet weather protection for both everyday use and your outdoor adventures like fishing and hiking.

The Voyager Suit is crafted from Gill's exclusive XPLORE® 2-layer waterproof and breathable fabric, ensuring exceptional comfort and performance in changeable conditions. Its minimalist design makes it suitable for a wide range of activities, while its robust features provide reliable protection from the elements.

Voyager Key Features:

Lightweight and packable design
XPLORE® 2-layer waterproof and breathable fabric
PFAS-Free water repellent finish
Adjustable hood, hem, and cuffs for customizable protection on jacket
Adjustable ankle closures on pant
Reverse-coil front zip with internal storm guard
Zippered pockets for secure storage

The Voyager Pant complements the Voyager Jacket, offering instant, lightweight waterproof protection when it's needed most. Utilizing XPLORE® 2-layer waterproof and breathable fabric, the Voyager features a PFAS-Free water repellent finish and adjustable ankle closures to ensure a dry and comfortable fit.

"We are thrilled to share the Voyager Suit to our customers," said Travis Watson, Fishing Sales Manager. "This suit represents our commitment to providing high-quality, performance-driven apparel that can be relied upon in any weather. Whether you're navigating city streets, fishing the bank after work or exploring the great outdoors, the Voyager Suit will keep you dry and comfortable."

The Voyager Suit is now available for purchase at gillfishing.com.

About Gill

Trusted on the water for 50 years Gill did not start as a brand or business, it started as a solution to find better more capable sailing clothing using the best fabrics possible. Combined with innovative design to increase performance and tested on elite athletes in the most challenging of conditions it means you can rely on Gill on or off the water – only you limit how you use our products.

Our collection of fishing apparel and gear is specially designed to cover all bases, with fishing clothing and accessories that can truly help you focus on the task at hand, rather than worrying about protecting your body and staying comfortable. Our fishing apparel comes with the best design features and fabrics to allow you to stay warm, dry, and able to concentrate fully on your fishing. Engineered for all elements.

by AnglersChannel

Yamaha Power Pay Rewards Bassmaster College Champions

Courtesy of Dynamic Sponsorships / Photo Credit: Bassmaster

On top of making college fishing history in more ways than one, Lander University anglers Garrett Smith and Andrew Blanton won the Yamaha Power Pay bonus for the 2025 Strike King^Ò Bassmaster^Ò College National Championship on beautiful Lake Cherokee in the hills of east Tennessee.

The Lander University Bearcats won an additional $5,000 from Yamaha’s popular contingency program for being the highest finishing team with an eligible Yamaha outboard on their boat. Smith and Blanton became the first two-time National Champions in Bassmaster’s storied college series. They also won the 2024 Championship on Lake Hartwell.

Smith and Blanton narrowly edged out the team of Andrew Turner and James Sumrell during a sudden death fish-off following day three, due to the two teams being tied at the conclusion of the weigh-in. They caught a legal keeper within five minutes of the start of the first-ever overtime, buttoning up their first-place finish in dramatic fashion.

The younger team of Turner and Sumrell (Carson-Newman) ultimately fell to second, but also earned a $1,250 Yamaha Power Pay bonus for being the second highest placing team running an eligible Yamaha. Highlighting one of the many benefits of Yamaha Power Pay; there are numerous opportunities to earn additional money even if you don’t place first.

The back-to-back National Champions fished out of Garrett Smith’s new Falcon boat powered by a Yamaha 250-HP V MAX SHO^Ò. Smith was deliberate when buying his new boat and motor package this offseason, after not being eligible for Power Pay during the 2024 championship.

“I was able to get into a new boat for the 2025 season, and I specifically made sure it was powered by a Yamaha so we’d be eligible for Power Pay,” Smith explained. “We missed out on the Power Pay bonus last year, and I wasn’t going to let that happen again! Contingencies like Yamaha offers are so clutch for us college anglers. Bonus payouts go a long way for any angler, but especially at the college level. Yamaha is the way to go for sure.”

A smart decision from Smith, a fifth-year senior who is currently pursuing his master’s in business administration after graduating last year with a degree in Business Marketing. However, Smith’s satisfaction with his Yamaha motor goes beyond contingency payouts.

“I’ve found this Yamaha gets my boat up on pad a lot quicker than other brands I’ve run in the past,” Smith offered. “I’m a shallow water guy, so being able to jump up on pad in skinny water just saves me so much idling time and stress. It has really helped me be a lot more efficient and trust my equipment more this year.”

The ability to safely and efficiently get his Falcon Boat on plane in shallow water may have mitigated some of Smith’s stress throughout the 2025 college fishing season, but it’s safe to say the nail-biting end to the championship on Cherokee induced plenty of anxiety for Smith, Blanton, and Lander University.

Out of all the bass the duo from Lander caught in their college fishing careers, who would have thought a 17-inch largemouth from Lake Cherokee caught within shouting distance from the launch ramp would go down as the most memorable fish catch of their lives?

If you compete in fishing tournaments in high school, college, or in one of the over 600 supported tournaments across the country each year, you should sign up for Yamaha Power Pay. Register online, find more information on the program, and peruse the full list of events and payouts through this link: https://yamahapowerpay.com/ or send an email to [email protected].

by AnglersChannel

Healthy Leech Lake will demand diligence for Bassmaster Opens anglers

WALKER, Minn. — In the Ojibwe language, the name translates to “lake abundant with blood suckers,” but anglers competing in the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Leech Lake presented by SEVIIN will find this vast northern Minnesota fishery abounding in rod-bending opportunity.

Competition days will be August 14-16 with daily takeoffs from Walker Public Dock at 6 a.m. CT and weigh-ins each day at the same location at 2 p.m.

Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pro and reigning Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour champion Easton Fothergill calls Leech his home lake, and his resounding victory at the 2024 Open at Leech demonstrated not only his local knowledge, but also the lake’s potential. Fothergill, who’s set to defend his title, expects Leech Lake to turn in another impressive performance.

“The lake is full of (forage) right now,” Fothergill said. “As we all know, it’s loaded with crawfish and there’s also a ton of perch in the lake right now.”

Sounds promising, and it is. However, fishing such a well-provisioned lake can, at times, feel like selling hot dogs at a dinner buffet.

“The lake is extremely healthy, top to bottom, in terms of fish populations and bait,” Fothergill said. “The lake is in great shape right now and that can make for tough fishing at times, just because of how much food there is in the system.

“To compete with all the bait in the ecosystem, some anglers like to go big in their profiles, some like to go small. Some go with bright colors. There’s a whole lot of different philosophies on how to combat that.”

With several major rivers and lesser streams feeding its form, Leech Lake benefits from daily freshening. With pollen season in the rearview mirror, Fothergill said the water quality/clarity should remain stable.

Noting that he expects the entire lake to be in play, Fothergill breaks the Leech Lake options into two main categories: the deep, rocky basin with big, isolated boulders and the shallow, muddy bays sprouting with wild rice fields, lily pads and other aquatic plants.

“They’ll be biting in both areas, so just pick your poison,” Fothergill said. “You can go anywhere in the lake right now and catch a bass.”

Expanding the opportunity, Leech offers quality smallmouth and largemouth bass. Last year, Fothergill boated the event’s biggest fish — a smallmouth that went 6-4. For brown or green fish, 5 pounds is considered big.

“Leech Lake is very similar to Lake Champlain (New York/Vermont), because the forward-facing sonar definitely puts the smallmouth a little more in play,” Fothergill explained. “That being said, the size of largemouth is definitely there to compete. If someone could make a perfect game plan, I think they could make a run at it, if they found largemouth.

“With largemouth, milfoil has been introduced in the last couple of years, so that’s going to create another dynamic.”

Last year, extreme winds postponed Day 1 and shortened the tournament to a two-day schedule. Lacking any meteorological limitations, anglers will need to plan on mobility.

During his 2024 winning effort, Fothergill fished nearly the entire lake and hit several dozen waypoints. He’s certain this year will require the same level of diligence.

“The fish will be set up on the summer haunts,” Fothergill said. “If we have wind, you could definitely win on one spot, but if it’s calmer conditions, you’ll need at least a couple spots to be able to pull off a win.

“The bite varies day to day; the fish move more on this lake than any lake I’ve ever seen, so you definitely have to take each day as a new day and break it down. It’s very hard to make a consistent game plan on that lake.”

Anglers targeting the largemouth will likely flip shallow cover, fling frogs across the emergent vegetation and throw ChatterBaits. For smallmouth, the standard mix of drop shots, Ned rigs and jighead minnows will handle much of the work.

Given the lake’s healthy condition and robust fish populations, Fothergill believes a competitor will need 21 pounds a day to make the Championship Saturday cut. For a winning weight, he’s looking for a three-day total of 72 pounds.

Options will be many, but Fothergill said consistency will demand an open-minded approach. Success will hinge on alertness and adaptation.

“You have to be willing to move with the conditions and attack it like a new lake every day.”

Coverage of the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Leech Lake presented by SEVIIN will be available on Bassmaster.com each day of the tournament. Roku will carry Bassmaster LIVE on Championship Saturday.

This event is being hosted by the Leech Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.

2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: St. Croix

2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Presenting Sponsor: SEVIIN

About B.A.S.S.

by AnglersChannel

Major League Fishing Reveals 2026 Toyota Series Schedule

BENTON, Ky. (Aug. 12, 2025) – Major League Fishing (MLF) announced today the schedule for the 2026 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats , set to kick off in February on Alabama’s famed Lake Guntersville and wrap up in November with the Toyota Series Championship on Pickwick Lake – a Bill Dance Signature Lake – in Counce, Tennessee.

“The 2026 Toyota Series schedule builds on the momentum of an incredible 2025 season,” said MLF Toyota Series Tournament Director Mark McWha. “We’re confident that the 2026 schedule is set to deliver both high-level competition and the chance for grassroots anglers to shine on major stages. From legendary fisheries to exciting new opportunities, the upcoming season is shaping up to be one of the best yet for our anglers and fans.”

As one of the premier tournament trails in the country, the Toyota Series offers the highest payouts at the lowest entry fees available nationally. The series gives anglers the opportunity to compete in familiar regional waters for lucrative awards and advancement to the nationally televised Toyota Series Championship.

For Hardin County and Pickwick Landing State Park, the Toyota Series Championship’s return underscores the strong partnership between MLF, Tennessee State Parks and local tourism leaders – a relationship that continues to spotlight the fishery’s reputation as a premier fishing destination.

“Explore Pickwick Lake/Hardin County Tourism is pleased once again to host Major League Fishing for the Toyota Series Championship out of Pickwick Landing State Park, Tennessee,” said Beth Pippin, Tourism Executive Director. “Our partnership with Tennessee State Parks and MLF is a valuable opportunity in our efforts to continue our reputation as a national fishing destination. This economic impact drives our economy through sales tax, lodging tax, restaurants and other small businesses engagement, making MLF's time here a boost to our revenue.”

At the championship, professional anglers will compete for a top prize of up to $235,000, including a $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus, while co-anglers will vie for a Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat powered by a 115-horsepower outboard, valued at $33,500.

The winning pro at the 2026 Toyota Series Championship will also earn a coveted invitation to REDCREST 2027, the Bass Pro Tour championship event, where a top prize of $300,000 is on the line.

2026 MLF Toyota Series Schedule:

Central Division

Feb. 18-20* Lake Guntersville Guntersville, Ala.
Hosted by Marshall County Tourism & Sports

March 31 – April 2** Pickwick Lake Counce, Tenn.
Hosted by Explore Pickwick Lake/Hardin County Tourism

May 13-15* Lake Eufaula Eufaula, Ala.
Hosted by the Eufaula Barbour County Chamber of Commerce

Northern Division

June 25-27 Potomac River Marbury, Md.
Hosted by the Charles County Government, Dept. of Recreation, Parks, and Tourism

July 30 – Aug. 1 St. Lawrence River Massena, N.Y.
Hosted by the Town of Massena

Aug. 27-29 Lake Champlain Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Hosted by the City of Plattsburgh & Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau

Plains Division

Mar. 10-12** Lake of the Ozarks Osage Beach, Mo.
Hosted by the City of Osage Beach

April 9-11 Kentucky Lake Gilbertsville, Ky.
Hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau

June 18-20 Lake Dardanelle Russellville, Ark.
Hosted by the Russellville Tourism & Visitors Center

Southern Division

Jan. 29-31 Lake Okeechobee Clewiston, Fla.
Hosted by the Hendry County Tourism Development Council

March 4-6* Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Kissimmee, Fla.
Hosted by Experience Kissimmee

April 30 – May 2 Lake Seminole Bainbridge, Ga.
Hosted by Visit Bainbridge

Southwestern Division

Feb. 12-14 Sam Rayburn Reservoir Brookeland, Texas
Hosted by the Jasper – Lake Sam Rayburn Area Chamber of Commerce

March 26-28 Grand Lake Grove, Okla.
Hosted by the City of Grove & Grove Convention and Tourism Bureau

June 11-13 Arkansas River Muskogee, Okla.
Hosted by Visit Muskogee

Toyota Series Championship

Nov. 5-7 Pickwick Lake Counce, Tenn.
Hosted by Explore Pickwick Lake/Hardin County Tourism

*Wednesday-Friday event
**Tuesday-Thursday event

Full program rules and details for the 2026 MLF Toyota Series will be announced later this year.

For complete details and updated information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Toyota Series on the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube .

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, RFD-TV, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

Joplin’s Kyle Kitts Earns Third Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Arkansas River

Oklahoma’s Logan and West Top Co-Angler Division

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (Aug. 11, 2025) – Boater Kyle Kitts of Joplin, Missouri, caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 8 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Arkansas River. The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Okie Division. Kitts earned $4,009 for his victory.

Kitts did all of his damage with a 5/8-ounce chartreuse-and-white spinnerbait fitted with Indiana and Colorado blades, targeting wood in the dirtier water.

“I was just fishing laydowns, stumps, and wood targets,” Kitts said. “The stuff I practiced last week muddied up, so I went to where I had the most confidence and just locked that big blade in my hand all day.”

Although he covered a lot of water, Kitts said nearly all of his fish came from just two key areas.

“I fished more than that, but really only caught them out of those two spots,” he said. “I probably caught eight to 10 fish all day, and the bigger ones all came on that spinnerbait.”

Kitts’ day wasn’t without adversity – his trolling motor broke down around noon, forcing him to end his day early.

“I wasn’t confident at all coming in,” he admitted. “I figured some guys would be locking down and bringing back some bigger weights, and I thought I only had around 16 pounds. I really felt like I was one or two bites short.”

Instead, the weight was enough to secure the win and add another trophy to his resume – his third career BFL victory.

“It feels great to get the win, especially here, because I don’t normally do well on the Arkansas River,” Kitts said. “The key was just committing to that spinnerbait and not putting it down.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Kyle Kitts, Joplin, Mo., five bass, 17-8, $4,009
2nd:      Nick Kincaid, Brookeland, Texas, five bass, 16-8, $2,005
3rd:       Ronnie Allen, Chouteau, Okla., five bass, 16-6, $1,336
4th:        Kevin Slate, Eufaula, Okla., five bass, 16-5, $935
5th:        William Gaddis, Afton, Okla., five bass, 15-4, $802
6th:        Jeff Clark, Van Buren, Ark., five bass, 14-11, $735
7th:        Wyatt Ryan, Ada, Okla., five bass, 14-7, $668
8th:        Mick Fenn, Grove, Okla., five bass, 13-11, $601
9th:        Dillon Roberts, Oologah, Okla., five bass, 13-9, $535
10th:     Lane Stephens Owasso, Okla., five bass, 12-13, $445
10th:     Devin Freeman, Coweta, Okla., five bass, 12-13, $445

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Dakotah Edwards of Talala, Oklahoma, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 5 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $550.

James West of Spiro, Oklahoma, and Steven Logan of Hugo, Oklahoma, both brought three bass to the scale totaling 8 pounds, 6 ounces, to tie for the win in the co-angler division Saturday. The duo split the first and second place payouts, each earning $1,504 for their share of the victory.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        James West, Spiro, Okla., three bass, 8-6, $1,504
1st:        Steven Logan, Hugo, Okla., three bass, 8-6, $1,504
3rd:       Markus Mills, Norman, Okla., three bass, 8-4, $668
4th:        Mason Eudy, Muskogee, Okla., three bass, 8-2, $468
5th:        Bryan Schuster, Oklahoma City, Okla., three bass, 7-14, $401
6th:        Mark Johnson, Weleetka, Okla., three bass, 7-12, $351
6th:        Ryan Doel, Springfield, Mo., three bass, 7-12, $351
8th:        Fred Fielder, Afton, Okla., three bass, 7-11, $284
8th:        Robert Shedrick, Blanchard, Okla., three bass, 7-11, $284
10th:     Berton Pritchett, Gentry, Ark., three bass, 7-10, $234

Porky Roberts of Morris, Oklahoma, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $275, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 14 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Nick Kincaid of Brookeland, Texas, still leads the Fishing Clash Okie Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 985 points, while James West of Spiro, Oklahoma, leads the Fishing Clash Okie Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 958 points.

The next event for BFL Okie Division anglers will the two-day Super Tournament Presented by Suzuki Marine, held Sept. 6-7, at Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 10-11 BFL Regional tournament on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

Brandon Palaniuk: Family and Fishing

By Walker Smith, Courtesy of Dynamic Sponsorships

The dawn breaks over the lake, a thin veil of mist hanging low over the water and Brandon Palaniuk is already out there, his Skeeter boat slicing through the quiet. His mind and eyes are steady, constantly scanning on the search for fish but his heart is elsewhere—back at the camper, where his two daughters, 3 and almost 2 years old, are likely stirring, their soft voices filling the air with the kind of chaos that makes him smile.

His wife, Tiff, is there too, the unyielding force who keeps their world from unraveling. For this Team Toyota pro, the road from sleeping in the bed of his truck in his early days to building a life with his girls is a raw, emotional journey; one that’s reshaped his soul as much as it has his days.

Years ago, Palaniuk was a lone dreamer, a young angler with nothing but a fire in his gut. He’d pull into tournament sites, crawl in the truck bed and call it home—what he now jokingly refers to as the “Tundra Suites.”

Those were gritty days, filled with the ache of long drives and the uncertainty of chasing a dream.

“When I was sleeping in the back of the Tundra, I always wanted to know what my life would look like in ten years,” he says, his voice becoming much more solemn.

Back then, it was just him, the open road and a relentless hunger to make it as a pro. Every cast felt like a gamble, every tournament a chance to prove he belonged. The solitude of those nights under the stars was both a burden and a fuel, pushing him to keep going, to keep believing.

Now, that dream has a new shape, one that’s messier, louder and infinitely more alive. It’s in the laughter of his daughters, whose tiny hands and boundless energy have turned his world upside down. It’s in the quiet strength of his wife, who holds their family together through the grind of the tournament trail.

“It’s not even a possibility without my wife, Tiff,” Palaniuk says. “There are times where our lifestyle, sponsor obligations, everything, comes together and it’s almost like she’s raising them as a single parent. Having a rock-solid wife is everything for a professional angler.”

This life—part fishing, part family, all heart—is what he’s built and it’s a far cry from those long nights in the bed of his Tundra.

The heartbeat of the road

Before kids, Brandon and Tiff were a two-person team, a well-oiled machine tearing across the country, boat in tow. They moved fast, lived lean and thrived on the rhythm of the road.

“Me and Tiff traveled so long being just the two of us, we could drive all day and get places quickly,” he recalls, a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

They’d camp under wide skies, plan strategies over gas station coffee enroute to tournaments from Florida’s swamps to New York’s glacial lakes. It was a life of freedom, but also of focus—every mile, every cast, was about building something bigger.

Then came their daughters and everything changed. Their camper, once a mobile base for two, is now a rolling home, stuffed with stuffed animals, sippy cups and the sweet chaos of toddlerhood.

“With two little ones, we need to give ourselves two days to get places sometimes,” Palaniuk says. “We don’t do iPads and phones. We try to let their beautiful little brains be creative. I can’t imagine not having them.”

The long drives aren’t just about covering ground anymore—they’re about pit stops for snacks, impromptu sing-alongs and the patience to answer a 3-year-old’s endless questions. The camper is a sanctuary of sorts, a place where crayon scribbles decorate the table and bedtime stories echo off the walls. It’s exhausting, exhilarating and everything Palaniuk never knew he needed.

The grind of the fishing life hasn’t changed—long days on the water, sponsor commitments, the pressure to perform. But adding two daughters to the mix has made it a different kind of hard.

“Our lifestyle is difficult as it is and then you throw kids in the mix, it has its challenges,” he says. “But it’s proof that the most difficult things in life are the most rewarding.”

There are moments when the weight of it all feels heavy—the missed naps, the late-nights after a tournament. But when Palaniuk steps off the boat and his daughters run to him, their tiny arms wrapping around his legs, it’s like the world rights itself. Those girls are his compass, their joy a reminder of why he keeps going.

Tiff is the heartbeat of this life. While Brandon’s out on the water, she’s the one keeping the camp humming—making meals, wiping tears and turning chaos into order. She’s the one who makes sure the girls are fed, dressed and loved, even when the road feels endless.

“She’s my rock,” Palaniuk says, his voice softening. “I can focus on fishing because I know she’s got everything else handled.”

Tiff’s strength isn’t loud—it’s in the quiet moments, the way she packs lunches or braids hair while juggling a phone call with a sponsor. She’s the one who makes this wild, beautiful life possible, and Palaniuk knows it.

A heart remade

Fatherhood has stretched Palaniuk’s heart in ways he never imagined. The man who once lived for the thrill of a big bite now finds himself undone by a toddler’s babbling.

“You learn a certain level of patience and selflessness when you have kids,” he says. “I’ve always enjoyed being around kids, whether it was coaching wrestling or being around nieces and nephews. But when you’re set in your ways professionally, then you make changes—that’s difficult. But it’s worth it.”

That patience, made from sleepless nights and toddler logic, has seeped into his fishing.

“Patience-wise, it makes sitting on one place on a dead-end canal on Okeechobee seem easy!” he laughs.

“I always wanted to have kids,” he says. “I also knew I didn’t want to have kids and never see them.”

That fear—of missing out on their lives—drives him to be present, to soak up every hug, every bedtime story. He and Tiff are deliberate about raising their girls to dream without limits.

“We want our girls to know that the only limits we have are the ones we put on ourselves,” he says. “I want them to be dreamers and have a positive impact on society.”

A dream redefined

Palaniuk’s dream used to be about making it, about proving he could stand among the best in bass fishing. He’s done that, carving out a career that’s taken him from Idaho to the biggest stages in the sport. But the dream has grown, reshaped by the love of his family.

“We slowly built out a lifestyle together and it just comes together through hard work,” he says.

It’s not a glossy life—it’s late-night drives, busy campgrounds and the constant juggle of fishing and fatherhood. But it’s theirs, built on sweat and love, with Tiff by his side and their daughters lighting the way.

When he’s out on the water, Palaniuk carries them with him. Every cast is for them—to show his girls what it means to chase something you love, to never give up.

The Tundra Suites are now a distant memory, replaced by a camper filled with the warmth of family.

“It’s tough at times and it’s chaotic,” he says. “But I wouldn’t trade it for anything. This is home.”

And in that home, surrounded by the laughter of his girls and the strength of his wife, Palaniuk has found a dream bigger than any blue trophy—a life full of love, purpose and the kind of joy that makes every struggle worth it.

by AnglersChannel

McKinney puts finishing touches on wire-to-wire victory at Lake St. Clai

Elite_eventLogo_2025_LakeStClair_Vector REV 1.png

MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. — The Yokohama Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair certainly hasn’t been difficult for Trey McKinney, but after three days of competition the second-year pro didn’t know how many big smallmouth were left in his best area.

His questions were quickly answered on Championship Sunday as McKinney caught a 6 pound, 2-ounce smallmouth within the first several minutes of fishing, putting the exclamation point on a dominating performance.

The 20-year-old from Carbondale, Ill., claimed his second Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series trophy in wire-to-wire fashion, catching 96 pounds, 1 ounce over four days at Lake St. Clair. It is the heaviest winning weight in Bassmaster competition at Lake St. Clair and the fifth heaviest winning weight in a smallmouth event in B.A.S.S. history.

“It was an incredible week,” McKinney said. “Once I caught those fish this morning, I was so excited. It was a pretty awesome day. When I got to my spot, I made three casts and that 6-2 came up and smoked it.”

The victory just adds to an already stunning resume. In just two years at the highest level, McKinney has two titles (2024 Lake Fork, 2025 St. Clair), nine Top 10s in 17 events and a runner-up finish at the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour. That doesn’t include the four Top 10s he racked up in the 2023 Bassmaster Opens.

Opening the tournament third in Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year, McKinney is now in a tie with Canadian pro Chris Johnston with 690 points heading into the final event at the Upper Mississippi River.

McKinney was in control from the jump at St. Clair, landing 24-11 on Day 1 before adding limits weighing 23-10, 23-15 and 23-13 to his tally the next three days to beat second-place Logan Parks by over 5 1/2 pounds.

“The cool thing about it was, I didn’t really have them found. And we fished around everybody. The thing I’m proud of this week is putting my head down and being able to out-fish everyone. It was a really good area if no one else was fishing it, but with everyone out there, you saw a quarter of the fish and they were hard to get to bite. So it was a pretty big achievement to (do that).”

Spending most of his tournament on the outer edges of Anchor Bay, targeting patches of short sand grass that mixed with a type of taller vegetation in 15 to 18 feet of water. In the expansive area, the 2024 Dakota Lithium Rookie of the Year caught most of his 4 1/2 to 5-pound smallmouth in a 100-yard stretch of his half mile to mile long drift.

Most of the bass he saw were either single smallmouth or small groups of smallmouth. As the day progressed, those bass would rise in the water column and roam.

“There is a river that dumps into the lake that carries cold water from the lake above it (Huron). You can’t see the current, but I figured it moved through this area,” McKinney explained. “I was about a mile from the mouth of the river. It is set up just right with the hard sand and then a (mixture) of sand grass and tall grass.

“I had one waypoint where I would always see a good one.”

In practice, McKinney generated bites with a perch-colored 6th Sense Saltwater Shindo Shad, but as the tournament pressure ramped up in Anchor Bay, he needed to adjust his bait selection. A 6th Sense prototype dice bait paired with a No. 4 Gamakatsu G Finesse hook with a 1/32-ounce nail weight was his best finesse presentation.

He tossed that bait on a 7-foot-1 medium-fast action St. Croix Legend Tournament X2 with a Lew’s Custom Speed Spool spinning reel. He connected his light braid to either a 10-pound Seaguar Tatsu leader or a 10-pound Seaguar Gold fluorocarbon leader.

“They haven’t seen it before,” he said. “When they see it, they don’t really know what it is. It is weird. As the tournament went on, they got more wise to it.”

A smaller jighead minnow setup and a spybait also caught key bass. A St. Croix Legend Tournament was his choice of rod for the minnow.

His early morning 6-2 on Championship Sunday was by far the biggest smallmouth he landed this week, and it gave McKinney a tremendous boost of confidence for the rest of the day.

“When I hooked into it, I didn’t know it was that big until it fully jumped out of the water,” McKinney said. “That fish was unbelievable. When I got my hands on it and in the boat, I about done a backflip.”

He wasted no time filling out the rest of his limit, landing close to 20 pounds by 9 a.m. From there, he added several more 4-pounders to his team before noon to reach his final tally. Unfortunately, boat pressure from a local derby scattered the smallmouth in his best area, making for a tough afternoon.

“Thank goodness we took off early enough to beat those guys there,” he said.

Parks claimed his best finish of his Elite Series career, finishing second with a four-day total of 90-6. The Auburn, Ala., pro opened the tournament just above the cutline with 19-12, Parks rocketed up the leaderboard on Day 2 with 25-9 and backed it up with limits weighing 22-5 and 22-12.

“Obviously I would love to be holding the big trophy,” Parks said. “I had one of the most unbelievable days of fishing ever on Day 2. I just went from there and stayed in that area.”

On Day 1, Parks spent most of his time towards the main lake but moved into the shallows of Anchor Bay on Day 2 and stayed in the area the rest of the tournament. While other places had grass fully covering the bottom, the area Parks found was mostly a hard sand bottom with isolated clumps of grass.

A 1/4-ounce or 3/8-ounce drop shot with a 5-inch Berkley MaxScent Flatnose Minnow in watermelon magic was his best presentation while a 1/4-ounce jighead minnow and a Berkley Stunna also came into play.

On Championship Sunday, Parks saw as many big fish as he had all week but couldn’t get them to bite nearly as well as he did on the second day.

“Yesterday was tough, and I feel like my day was a lot better today,” Parks said. “I caught big ones to start out and thought it was going to go down. It was so frustrating because I knew they were there, but they would just follow the bait to the trolling motor but not bite.

“I saw the biggest smallmouth of my life, and it was 5 feet from me. It nipped the tail of my bait and swam off.”

With bags of 22-13, 23-1, 21-2 and 21-1, Kyoya Fujita finished third with a total of 88-1. Fishing pressure took a toll on Fujita’s best area, making it harder for him to trick finicky smallmouth into biting.

“The waves were big today,” Fujita said.

The two-time Elite Series champion primarily used a Jackall King Jimmy Henge, a new dice style bait on a 1/4-ounce drop-shop weight. To winch the smallmouth to the boat, Fujita connected a 16-pound Daiwa fluorocarbon leader to a 30-pound main-line braid.

McKinney and Rathdrum, Idaho pro Brandon Palaniuk both caught 6-2 smallmouth on Championship Sunday, splitting the daily Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day and Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Tournament awards, each earning a $1,500 bonus.

Ontario pro Evan Kung, Kentucky’s Matt Robertson and Parks also earned $1,000 bonuses for their daily Phoenix Boat Big Bass of the Day.

Alabama’s Tucker Smith earned the $2,000 Rapala CrushCity Monster Bag of the Tournament bonus for his 26-2 limit of smallmouth from Day 2.

Carl Jocumsen earned the $1,000 BassTrakk contingency award for accurate reporting.

Parks was also the highest place entrant to the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, earning the $3,000 bonus while Paul Mueller earned the $2,000 bonus as the second-highest entrant.

Fujita earned the $2,500 Yamaha PowerPay bonus for the highest finishing entrant running a Yamaha Outboard while Palaniuk earned a $1,500 PowerPay bonus.

McKinney and Johnston are tied for the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year lead with 690 points with one tournament remaining in the Elite Series season. Fujita is third with 650 points, Wisconsin’s Jay Przekurat is fourth with 648 points and Patrick Walters in fifth with 638 points. Taku Ito, Will Davis Jr., Tyler Williams, Parks and Paul Marks round out the Top 10.

The Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair was hosted by the D etroit Sports Commission.

About B.A.S.S.

-30-

Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Media Contact: Mandy Pascal, Communications Manager, 334-414-8677, m pascal@bassmaster.com

2025 Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair 8/7-8/10
Lake St. Clair, Macomb County MI.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 4

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 20 96-01 104 $102,500.00
Day 1: 5 24-11 Day 2: 5 23-10 Day 3: 5 23-15 Day 4: 5 23-13
2. Logan Parks Auburn, AL 20 90-06 103 $21,000.00
Day 1: 5 19-12 Day 2: 5 25-09 Day 3: 5 22-05 Day 4: 5 22-12
3. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 20 88-01 102 $15,000.00
Day 1: 5 22-13 Day 2: 5 23-01 Day 3: 5 21-02 Day 4: 5 21-01
4. Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 20 87-02 101 $13,500.00
Day 1: 5 24-00 Day 2: 5 20-00 Day 3: 5 20-05 Day 4: 5 22-13
5. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 20 86-14 100 $13,250.00
Day 1: 5 20-01 Day 2: 5 21-04 Day 3: 5 22-08 Day 4: 5 23-01
6. Evan Kung Pickering Ontario CANAD 20 85-00 99 $12,000.00
Day 1: 5 21-06 Day 2: 5 21-03 Day 3: 5 21-10 Day 4: 5 20-13
7. Cole Sands Johnson City, TN 20 84-06 98 $10,500.00
Day 1: 5 21-01 Day 2: 5 22-09 Day 3: 5 20-04 Day 4: 5 20-08
8. Tucker Smith Birmingham, AL 20 82-12 97 $12,300.00
Day 1: 5 21-15 Day 2: 5 26-02 Day 3: 5 18-13 Day 4: 5 15-14
9. Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 20 81-06 96 $10,200.00
Day 1: 5 22-07 Day 2: 5 21-00 Day 3: 5 20-10 Day 4: 5 17-05
10. Alex Redwine Blue Ash, OH 20 80-15 95 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 20-02 Day 2: 5 22-09 Day 3: 5 21-04 Day 4: 5 17-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 05-14 $1,000.00
2 Logan Parks Auburn, AL 05-13 $1,000.00
3 Evan Kung Pickering Ontario CANADA05-11 $1,000.00
4 Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 06-02 $500.00
4 Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 06-02 $500.00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 06-02 $1,000.00
Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 06-02 $1,000.00
RAPALA CRUSHCITY MONSTER BAG

Tucker Smith Birmingham, AL 26-02 $2,000.00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 99 499 1949-07
2 100 500 1945-09
3 50 250 979-07
4 10 50 205-00
----------------------------------
259 1299 5079-07

by AnglersChannel

Wheeler Earns 10th Career Bass Pro Tour Win at Toyota Stage 7 at Saginaw Bay

Tennessee pro clinches AOY title for $100,000, then catches 42 bass weighing 110 pounds to win tournament and take home top prize of $150,000

BAY CITY, Mich. (Aug. 10, 2025) – Jacob Wheeler couldn’t help himself.

Time had already run out in Toyota Stage 7 Presented by Ranger Boats on Saginaw Bay with Wheeler atop SCORETRACKER®, his 10th career Bass Pro Tour win secured. Yet after Wheeler addressed the MLFNOW! viewers and offered some thank yous to those who had helped him get his tournament fishing start growing up in Indiana, he picked his rod back up and pitched a topwater frog back to the clump of reeds and lily pads in front of his boat, trying to elicit one more blowup.

That summed up Wheeler’s week on Saginaw Bay. Needing only to finish 27th or better to secure his fourth Fishing Clash Angler of the Year title in the past five seasons, he could have played it safe, then celebrated and gone through the motions after he secured the hardware on Friday. Instead, he not only made Sunday’s Championship Round but overcame an early 22-pound deficit to Todd Faircloth and willed his way to a win in a three-way battle with Faircloth and Edwin Evers . His total of 110 pounds even on 42 scorable bass ultimately topped Faircloth by 7-6.

For the win, Wheeler earned $150,000 – he’ll leave Saginaw Bay with $250,000 and two trophies thanks to his AOY victory. The dream end to yet another dominant season left even Wheeler, who is no stranger to recapping victories, short for words.

“I still don’t know what to say, to be honest with you,” he said with a chuckle. “I don’t even believe it half the time. I just go fishing and things happen. I’m just speechless. It’s crazy, it really is.”

Wheeler took his first lead of the Championship Round with about 10 minutes left in Period 2. From there, he and Faircloth traded blows, the top spot on SCORETRACKER® changing hands six times during the final period. Wheeler finally took the lead for good by catching a 2-11 with 40 minutes left, then added five more scorable bass to pull away.

In typical Wheeler fashion, he pointed not to those bites that earned him win No. 10 but a series of decisions that started on the opening day of the event.

Wheeler spent the first period of Day 1 fishing for smallmouth on the outer edges of the competition boundary. Using a drop-shot and forward-facing sonar, he stacked up nearly 52 pounds, then spent the rest of the day largemouth fishing amid the shallow vegetation that lines Saginaw Bay. In the third period, he hit a key area that yielded more than 30 pounds in about 90 minutes.

On the second day of qualifying, he once again sampled both shallow largemouth and offshore smallmouth, this time starting on the green fish. Like the rest of the field, he found the smallmouth bite to be getting tougher, making it difficult to justify the hour or so it would take to travel from largemouth habitat to smallmouth waters (or vice versa).

So, Wheeler committed to frogging for largemouth during the Knockout Round. While he finished third, easily advancing to Championship Sunday, he knew the area he’d fished, which he shared with Brent Ehrler, wasn’t likely to hold up for another day.

“After basically sharing one stretch with Ehrler, I’m like, I’m not going to win this tournament sharing fish, especially after we beat on them this bad,” Wheeler said. “It was just not going to happen. I knew we’d probably catch some fish there in the morning, and then after that, it was going to be all about making the right decisions, and I’m going to have to have some stuff that I can get away from.”

Sunday morning, Wheeler (and just about everyone else in the Top 10) found the bite slower than a day prior. Faircloth, on the other hand, landed on an offshore school of largemouth and piled on 17 scorable bass for 44-3 in the opening hour and a half. At that point, he’d more than doubled every other angler on the water. He finished the first period with 50 pounds exactly, 17-4 ahead of Wheeler.

Wheeler knew he needed to find a fresh spot. He considered loading his boat on the trailer and heading for smallmouth waters. But first, he figured he’d check the area that had produced for him on Thursday afternoon. He hadn’t been back since, figuring no other angler would find it since it was only accessible with a long idle.

At first, Wheeler couldn’t relocate his fish. A couple times in the second period, he wondered aloud whether to stay or go. Eventually, a few hundred yards away from where he’d caught them on Day 1, he started to get bites in bunches. In the span of 1 hour, 22 minutes, he boated 13 scorable bass for 33-12 and climbed all the way to the top of SCORETRACKER®.

“When I found them, it was pretty apparent that they all decided to show up right there,” he said. “And I knew when that sort of happened and we caught them like that, there’s a good chance we can win this tournament.”

Wheeler targeted a mixture of reeds and lily pads in about a foot of water, catching almost all his bass with a frog but mixing in a Rapala CrushCity Bronco Bug. The key to his area, he believes, was that it wasn’t full of submerged vegetation.

“You had a lot of reeds and pads there that were really clean, meaning there wasn’t a lot of grass that was choking them out,” he explained. “Even though it was super, super shallow, it was a deal where they could swim around and they could live in there; they had room to swim around. Where if you have choked out pads or reeds, they’re not as good. A little bit of grass is good, but not a whole lot of grass.”

As the third period ticked by and he and Faircloth remained neck-and-neck, Wheeler leaned on his ample experience in tight Bass Pro Tour finishes. Not only had he hoisted nine red trophies entering this event, he’s fallen just short a few times, too, including a pair of runner-up finishes this season.

Instead of skewing his decision-making, the pressure sharpened it. Wheeler, the ultimate competitor, entered “kill mode.”

“I know what it takes to win,” Wheeler said. “When I get in those positions, I get in kill mode. You do everything to push you mentally to keep your mind sharp and make the right cast, and every cast matters and every fish matters. You get it to where you’re just like locked and trained to focus on that.”

The last key decision he made was leaving the spot where he’d relocated his fish from Day 1. Perceiving that the bass had noticed his presence and scattered, Wheeler trolled out toward his starting spot and then back again, picking off a few bass on the way. He arrived at the juice with about an hour left and promptly caught eight more scorable bass.

“I didn’t stay in there,” he said. “I went back out and I was able to catch a few and sort of settle back down and come back in the last hour basically and close it out.”

While Wheeler is no stranger to the winner’s circle, this victory carries significance for a few reasons. For one, it’s his first national win on a frog, one of his favorite techniques and something he said he “cut my teeth doing.”

It also represented the perfect ending to a season-long redemption tour. Earlier this year, he finished in the top six at Lake Conroe, the Harris Chain of Lakes and Lake Murray – all fisheries where he’d failed to make the Knockout Round during previous BPT visits. While he’d fared better in his first event on Saginaw Bay, finishing eighth in the 2023 regular-season finale, Wheeler had to watch another angler, Matt Becker, hoist both the Stage 7 and AOY trophies after that event. Finishing second to Becker by 4 points, that’s the only time in the past five years Wheeler’s campaign hasn’t ended with AOY hardware in hand.

He admitted that was on his mind this week. This time, Wheeler made sure it was him who gets to ride off into the offseason as a double winner.

“It definitely gave me a sour taste in my mouth,” he said. “I caught them and Top 10’d, but I just didn’t perform that week. I had a bad Championship Day... So, I was focused and determined that this one wouldn’t get me. I controlled my own destiny that day, and I lost, which is what it’s about. Thankfully, I didn’t have the Angler of the Year pressure on me (today), but I was able to focus and just call it good.”

The top 10 pros at the Toyota Stage 7 at Saginaw Bay Presented by Ranger Boats finished:

1st:        Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 42 bass, 110-0, $150,000
2nd:       Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, 40 bass, 102-10, $45,000
3rd:       Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 36 bass, 86-10, $35,000
4th:        Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 26 bass, 66-2, $30,000
5th:        Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 25 bass, 61-2, $25,000
6th:        Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 23 bass, 58-0, $23,000
7th:        Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn., 23 bass, 54-12, $22,000
8th:        Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 21 bass, 49-15, $21,000
9th:        Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., 18 bass, 45-7, $20,500
10th:     James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., 18 bass, 43-6, $20,000

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 272 scorable bass caught weighing 678 pounds even by the final 10 pros on Sunday.

Pro Cole Floyd won Sunday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with a 4-pound, 6-ounce largemouth that he caught on a Strike King Rage Tail Cut-R-Worm in Period 2. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day.

The four-day Toyota Stage 7 at Saginaw Bay Presented by Ranger Boats was hosted by Go Great Lake Bay and the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce and featured 66 of the top professional anglers in the world competing for a $150,000 top prize, a share of the $6.49 million season purse, and valuable AOY points in hopes of qualifying for the Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2026, the Bass Pro Tour championship.

Television coverage of the Toyota Stage 7 at Saginaw Bay Presented by Ranger Boats will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Nov. 15 on Discovery. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.

Proud sponsors of the MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing Co., Bass Force, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sport Apparel, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, NITRO Boats, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Star brite, Suzuki Marine, Toyota and Zenni.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

Tennessee’s Hatfield Paces Knockout Round at MLF Bass Pro Tour Toyota Stage 7 at Saginaw Bay

Final 10 anglers set for Championship Sunday showdown, heaviest one-day total to win top prize of $150,000

BAY CITY, Mich. (Aug. 9, 2025) – Toyota Stage 7 Presented by Ranger Boats on Saginaw Bay evolved into a full-fledged power fishing slugfest during Saturday’s Knockout Round. The 10-angler Championship Round field is now set for what should be a wide-open race to hoist the final Bass Pro Tour trophy of the 2025 season, with anglers almost certainly needing to hit triple digits to give themselves a chance.

One of eight anglers to eclipse 80 pounds Saturday, pro Nick Hatfield of Greeneville, Tennessee, led the way with 97 pounds, 14 ounces on 43 scorable bass. Three other pros – Bryan Thrift, Jacob Wheeler and Spencer Shuffield – finished within 10 pounds of his total. Those hammers and the rest of the top nine finishers will be joined by Qualifying Round winner Edwin Evers on- Sunday for the final day of the Bass Pro Tour season.

After a surprising stumble at Stage 6 on the Potomac River, where he finished last, Hatfield entered Stage 7 on the wrong side of the bubbles to requalify for the Bass Pro Tour in 2026 and make next year’s REDCREST field. Knowing he’d need a strong finish to accomplish those objectives, he never eased off the gas during the two-day Qualifying Round, trying to earn the automatic berth to the Championship Round awarded to the winner but never quite catching Evers.

As a result, he entered Saturday unsure how many fish would still be willing to bite in his best area. That concern was quickly assuaged, as he stacked up more than 28 pounds in the opening hour and 42-1 in the first period.

“I was concerned about having enough fish left,” he said. “Obviously (Zack) Birge found that one group of fish. That one group of fish is a giant school. And had I had it to myself the whole tournament, I feel like I could have probably won the thing. It’s pretty dumb what’s over there. And today, I caught 30-something pounds out of there, and he caught 30-something pounds as well, and then we kind of went our separate ways.”

From there, Hatfield sampled a few other places that had produced during the Qualifying Round, then explored some new water. Just about all of it proved bountiful. Primarily wielding a swim jig and mixing in a bladed jig and a topwater, he got to witness a lot of ferocious bites and winch bass out of heavy cover.

“My hands hurt and my ribs hurt from setting the hook,” he said. “But it’s awesome.”

Hatfield thinks of himself as a strong smallmouth angler, but a scouting trip to Saginaw Bay before it went off limits convinced him that the smallmouth couldn’t compete with the sheer number of shallow largemouth in the fishery. That proved prescient – the 19 anglers competing Saturday weighed 504 scorable largemouth compared to just 13 smallmouth.

Rather than green ones versus brown ones, the question Sunday will be whether fishing around the emergent vegetation that lines Saginaw Bay or targeting submerged offshore grass patches is the way to win. Hatfield has done his damage around the shallow reeds. He said the key has been relocating the schools of bass as they move throughout the cover.

“It seems like those groups of fish are moving within those reeds,” Hatfield explained. “It's like they move 300, 400 yards in a day’s time. They’ll be out on the edge schooling, and then they’ll be up in it eating a swim jig.”

After putting nearly 300 pounds on SCORETRACKER® through three days, Hatfield remains unsure whether he has enough fish left to compete for the win. But he’s optimistic that he found some new areas late Saturday that might not be getting as much pressure.

“I found a place early on the third period where there was a bunch,” he said. “I kind of just started skipping through some of it after I caught a couple here, a couple there. But they’d come up schooling, and it’s hard to say how many of them are in there.”

Hatfield guessed it’ll take at least 120 pounds during the Championship Round to win the $150,000 top prize. The keys to getting there will be not spending too much time searching for those schools and landing a high percentage of the bass that bite.

“I think you’ve just got to land on the right groups of fish early, and you’ve got to land all of them that bite and just have everything go your way,” he said.

The good news for Hatfield is that, regardless of whether he weighs a bass on Sunday, he’s secured his spots on the BPT roster and in REDCREST for 2026. However, he’s not taking the pressure off himself just yet. After tasting victory at Heavy Hitters earlier this season, he’s hungrier than ever for a regular-season Bass Pro Tour win.

“I’m going to try to just keep the same mindset, keep doing what I’m doing,” he said. “I’m not going to change anything up too much. I’ll probably have more pressure on me tomorrow now than I’ve had all week just because I know I have a chance to win, and when you get those chances, you want to seal the deal. I’ve been able to a couple times, but to get a Bass Pro Tour trophy would be super special.”

The top nine pros from the Knockout Round that now advance to Championship Sunday on Saginaw Bay are:

1st:        Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn., 43 bass, 97-14
2nd:       Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 37 bass, 94-11
3rd:       Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 33 bass, 88-7
4th:        Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 34 bass, 88-4
5th:        Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, 33 bass, 84-14
6th:        Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., 32 bass, 83-7
7th:        Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 33 bass, 82-7
8th:        Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 36 bass, 81-15
9th:        James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., 33 bass, 78-5
*QR Winner: Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla.

Eliminated from competition are:

11th:     Marshall Hughes, Hemphill, Texas, 31 bass, 73-13, $15,900
12th:     Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 31 bass, 72-8, $15,800
13th:     Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, 28 bass, 69-14, $15,700
14th:     Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 20 bass, 49-12, $15,600
15th:     Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 17 bass, 44-0, $15,500
16th:     Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., 19 bass, 43-6, $15,400
17th:     Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 17 bass, 41-11, $15,300
18th:     Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 17 bass, 41-5, $15,200
19th:     Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 16 bass, 40-0, $15,100
20th:     Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan, seven bass, 16-9, $15,000

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 517 scorable bass caught weighing 1,273 pounds, 2 ounces, by the 19 pros on Saturday.

Pro Mark Daniels Jr. won Saturday’s Berkley Big Bass Award, boating a 4-pound smallmouth in Period 1. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day.

Hosted by Go Great Lake Bay and the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, the four-day event features 66 of the top professional anglers in the world competing for a $150,000 top prize, a share of the $6.49 million season purse, and valuable AOY points in hopes of qualifying for the Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2026, the Bass Pro Tour championship.

The full field of anglers competed in the two-day Qualifying Round on Thursday and Friday. After the two-day Qualifying Round was complete, Evers advanced directly to Sunday’s Championship Round. The anglers that finished 2nd through 20th competed in Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights were zeroed, and the remaining 19 anglers competed to finish in the top nine to join Evers in Sunday’s Championship Round. In Sunday’s final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $150,000.

The final 10 anglers will arrive Sunday morning at 5:15 a.m. ET to the Golson Boat Launch, located at 1598 N. Johnson St. in Bay City, Michigan. The Bass Pro Tour trailering policy has been enacted for this event, so anglers will depart the Golson Boat Launch at 6:15 a.m. to one of nine optional launch ramps located around the fishery. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on Championship Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. MLFNOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) apps and Rumble.

On Sunday, Aug. 10, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to visit Wenonah Park at 103 Center Ave., in Bay City for the MLF Fan Experience & Watch Party. Fans can watch the pros live on the MLFNOW!® big screen, enjoy free food, enter to win hourly giveaways, listen to live music and cheer on their favorite pros. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel. The event also includes a youth fishing derby and a casting contest.

The Toyota Stage 7 at Saginaw Bay Presented by Ranger Boats features anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The 2025 Bass Pro Tour features a field of 66 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2026 championship.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

McKinney continues smallmouth master class, increases lead on Day 3 at Lake St. Clair

Elite_eventLogo_2025_LakeStClair_Vector REV 1.png

MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. — When Trey McKinney is at his best, the 20-year-old can dissect one big area of a body of water and find where the bigger bass are within that location.

That strategy has worked to perfection through three days of the Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair as McKinney has combed through one area to catch a three-day total of 72 pounds, 4 ounces.

“I do like this style of fishing,” he said. “I know I’m going to see fish, and if I do my thing right, they are going to be pretty nice ones. I’m an area guy. I find an area and find where they go within that area. (This lake) is fitting my style pretty well.”

The second-year pro from Carbondale, Ill., has never trailed in this tournament, opening the tournament with 24-11 before catching 23-10 on Day 2. His leads were just ounces over the second-place angler the first two days, but with a 23-15 limit of smallmouth on Semifinal Saturday, he increased his lead to 4-10 over Logan Parks.

In total, McKinney now has nine Top 10 finishes in Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series competition and is five quality smallies away from winning his second blue trophy in as many years. The 2024 Dakota Lithium Rookie of the Year also finds himself in an unofficial tie for first in the 2025 Progressive Angler of the Year race with five days left of competition.

“We’ve done good for three days,” McKinney said. “We’ve got one more day to go. It hasn’t been terribly hard, but it hasn’t been easy either. I keep thinking, ‘Do I have enough to still catch 21 or 22 pounds?’ I don’t really know. There is a lot of stuff going on. You can stumble really bad here, and that is the scary part. We’ve been on top of them the last few days, but tomorrow is a scary animal.”

McKinney has spent all his time weaving between other competitors in a large section of Anchor Bay where short sand grass mixes with taller vegetation. While he has landed keepers elsewhere, one half mile to a mile long drift has produced the bulk of his weight and the majority of his 4 1/2-pound to 5-pound smallies have come around a 100-yard stretch within that drift.

“I caught my three big ones today in the same 100-yard stretch and saw quite a few more big ones,” McKinney said. “Every time I go through there, I see a good one.”

In several instances, McKinney has had to chase a 5-pounder with his forward-facing sonar, making multiple casts to the bass before it decided to commit to his presentation. He chased one particular bass for 300 yards before it bit.

Three baits have come into play, including a 5-inch jighead minnow and an unnamed finesse bait with a 1/32-ounce nail weight.

That unmanned bait was key to his Day 3 success.

“I threw it out there and the first one shot up and ate it. That was a 4 1/2,” McKinney said. “I threw it back out there and a 4 1/4 eats it. Then another 4 1/4 ate it. I went back to my big fish hole, threw it out there, and caught a 4-13. I don’t think a lot of people are throwing it and it is something I like.”

The first two days, McKinney was able to find success early in the day. While Day 3 wasn’t painfully slow by any stretch, it did take McKinney most of the day to catch every bass that made his team. In fact, with a half-hour to go before check-in, he landed his biggest bass of the day, a smallmouth that registered 5-0 on BassTrakk.

“I caught one big one in the morning, one big one around 9 or 10, and my last one (late),” he explained. “I caught fish all day, but I didn’t catch the big ones all day.”

McKinney’s best area has also produced big bags for several of his competitors, and he has noticed the smallmouth have become less willing to bite with each passing day.

“I’ve never seen fish that are as educated as these,” he remarked. “We are going to do the same thing tomorrow though. I’m probably going to hunker down more tomorrow. I know that area has them, and if I land on them, I can catch 5-pounders.”

Parks jumped into second on Semifinal Saturday, adding 22-5 to his 19-12 and 25-9 limits to increase his total to 67-10. Although consistently in the Top 50 all year, this is the Auburn, Ala., pro’s first Top 10 of the year.

After spending much of the first day out in deeper water, Parks moved shallow on Day 2 and caught 20 of his 25 pounds in one main area. That same area produced the bulk of his weight again today, although the smallmouth were a bit more finicky on Semifinal Saturday.

“I was worried going into today that they may not reload and they really didn’t. There are still some there, but they are really wise. They didn’t like my drop shot nearly as much today and I had to break out the Berkley Stunna, which is terrifying. Smallmouth and treble hooks don’t mix well. Luckily, I caught one big one that ate it headfirst and then jumped off a nice one.”

With three bass in the livewell, Parks made several moves to achieve a limit, losing several key smallmouth in the process. After several trying hours, the former College Series champion returned to his best area with an hour to go and landed a 5-pounder and a 4 1/2-pounder.

“We made some major upgrades there. They definitely seem to bite there in the afternoon,” Parks said. “I’m going to learn from what I did today and not waste as much time tomorrow.”

With bags of 22-13, 23-1 and 21-2, Japanese pro Kyoya Fujita remained in third place with a total of 67-0. It is Fujita’s fifth Top 10 of the season.

Fujita noted the fishing pressure in his area has made it tougher and tougher to get a bite. While he saw several 5-pounders on his forward-facing sonar, he could not get them to bite and only brought 4-pounders back to weigh-in.

“Very, very tough today,” the two-time Elite Series champion said. “They chase but not bite.”

One bait has done much of his damage: a drop shot rigged with a new bait from Jackall.

Ontario pro Evan Kung caught the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of Day 3, a 5-11 smallmouth. Kentucky’s Matt Robertson holds Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Tournament honors with his 5-14 from Day 1.

Carl Jocumsen earned the $1,000 BassTrakk contingency award for accurate reporting.

McKinney and Johnston are tied for the Progressive Angler of the Year lead with 690 points followed by Fujita in third with 650 points. Wisconsin’s Jay Przekurat is fourth with 648 points and Patrick Walters in fifth with 638 points. Taku Ito, Will Davis Jr., Tyler Williams, Parks and Paul Marks round out the Top 10.

The Top 10 anglers will launch from Brandenburg Park at 7 a.m. ET Sunday and return for weigh-in at 3 p.m. The winner will claim the $100,000 first-place prize as well as a coveted blue trophy. Bassmaster LIVE coverage on Sunday will be available on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. before moving to Bassmaster.com from Noon to 3 p.m.

The Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair is being hosted by the D etroit Sports Commission.

About B.A.S.S.

-30-

Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Media Contact: Mandy Pascal, Communications Manager, 334-414-8677, m pascal@bassmaster.com

2025 Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair 8/7-8/10
Lake St. Clair, Macomb County MI.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 3

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 15 72-04 104
Day 1: 5 24-11 Day 2: 5 23-10 Day 3: 5 23-15
2. Logan Parks Auburn, AL 15 67-10 103 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 19-12 Day 2: 5 25-09 Day 3: 5 22-05
3. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 15 67-00 102
Day 1: 5 22-13 Day 2: 5 23-01 Day 3: 5 21-02
4. Tucker Smith Birmingham, AL 15 66-14 101
Day 1: 5 21-15 Day 2: 5 26-02 Day 3: 5 18-13
5. Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 15 64-05 100 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 24-00 Day 2: 5 20-00 Day 3: 5 20-05
6. Evan Kung Pickering Ontario CANAD 15 64-03 99 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 21-06 Day 2: 5 21-03 Day 3: 5 21-10
7. Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 15 64-01 98
Day 1: 5 22-07 Day 2: 5 21-00 Day 3: 5 20-10
8. Alex Redwine Blue Ash, OH 15 63-15 97
Day 1: 5 20-02 Day 2: 5 22-09 Day 3: 5 21-04
9. Cole Sands Johnson City, TN 15 63-14 96
Day 1: 5 21-01 Day 2: 5 22-09 Day 3: 5 20-04
10. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 15 63-13 95
Day 1: 5 20-01 Day 2: 5 21-04 Day 3: 5 22-08
11. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 15 63-11 94 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 20-02 Day 2: 5 21-02 Day 3: 5 22-07
12. Justin Atkins Florence, AL 15 63-10 93 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 20-10 Day 2: 5 23-07 Day 3: 5 19-09
13. KJ Queen Catawba, NC 15 63-00 92 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 21-14 Day 2: 5 20-13 Day 3: 5 20-05
14. Easton Fothergill Grand Rapids , MN 15 62-15 91 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 22-14 Day 2: 5 21-12 Day 3: 5 18-05
15. Kyle Norsetter Cottage Grove, WI 15 62-11 90 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 22-06 Day 2: 5 18-11 Day 3: 5 21-10
16. Jordan Lee Cullman, AL 15 62-11 89 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 21-01 Day 2: 5 21-05 Day 3: 5 20-05
17. Taku Ito Dalton GA JAPAN 15 62-09 88 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 22-02 Day 2: 5 21-02 Day 3: 5 19-05
18. Brandon Card Salisbury, NC 15 62-02 87 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 18-03 Day 2: 5 23-09 Day 3: 5 20-06
19. Jamie Hartman Newport, NY 15 62-02 86 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 20-10 Day 2: 5 20-01 Day 3: 5 21-07
20. Timothy Dube Nashua , NH 15 61-15 85 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 21-03 Day 2: 5 18-13 Day 3: 5 21-15
21. Patrick Walters Eutawville, SC 15 61-15 84 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 21-05 Day 2: 5 20-03 Day 3: 5 20-07
22. Will Davis Jr Sylacauga, AL 15 61-05 83 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 23-03 Day 2: 5 19-12 Day 3: 5 18-06
23. Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 15 61-04 82 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 21-11 Day 2: 5 19-08 Day 3: 5 20-01
24. JT Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 15 61-02 81 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 21-01 Day 2: 5 21-12 Day 3: 5 18-05
25. Gerald Swindle Guntersville, AL 15 60-15 80 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 21-08 Day 2: 5 19-12 Day 3: 5 19-11
26. Dakota Ebare Brookeland, TX 15 60-11 79 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 23-01 Day 2: 5 19-06 Day 3: 5 18-04
27. Emil Wagner Marietta, GA 15 60-11 78 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 21-03 Day 2: 5 18-12 Day 3: 5 20-12
28. Cory Johnston Otonabee CANADA 15 60-09 77 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 20-15 Day 2: 5 21-05 Day 3: 5 18-05
29. Drew Cook Cairo, GA 15 60-05 76 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 19-10 Day 2: 5 20-04 Day 3: 5 20-07
30. Caleb Sumrall New Iberia, LA 15 59-15 75 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 22-14 Day 2: 5 17-07 Day 3: 5 19-10
31. Tyler Williams Belgrade, ME 15 59-15 74 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 19-06 Day 2: 5 20-02 Day 3: 5 20-07
32. Andrew Loberg Guntersville, AL 15 59-13 73 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 20-06 Day 2: 5 22-00 Day 3: 5 17-07
33. Cody Meyer Eagle, ID 15 59-11 72 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 20-11 Day 2: 5 20-00 Day 3: 5 19-00
34. Cooper Gallant Bowmanville Ontario CAN 15 59-10 71 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 18-03 Day 2: 5 21-07 Day 3: 5 20-00
35. Cody Huff Ava, MO 15 59-10 70 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 19-14 Day 2: 5 20-03 Day 3: 5 19-09
36. Wesley Gore Clanton, AL 15 59-07 69 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 20-07 Day 2: 5 20-11 Day 3: 5 18-05
37. Matty Wong Honolulu, HI 15 59-06 68 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 19-15 Day 2: 5 20-14 Day 3: 5 18-09
38. John Cox Debary, FL 15 59-00 67 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 20-02 Day 2: 5 19-08 Day 3: 5 19-06
39. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 15 58-14 66 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 19-02 Day 2: 5 21-11 Day 3: 5 18-01
40. Jonathan Kelley Old Forge, PA 15 58-12 65 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 21-06 Day 2: 5 19-01 Day 3: 5 18-05
41. Bryan Schmitt Deale, MD 15 58-11 64 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 22-13 Day 2: 5 16-10 Day 3: 5 19-04
42. John Crews Jr Salem, VA 15 58-10 63 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 22-04 Day 2: 5 18-08 Day 3: 5 17-14
43. Jason Christie Dry Creek, OK 15 58-07 62 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 18-13 Day 2: 5 21-09 Day 3: 5 18-01
44. Seth Feider Elko New Market, MN 15 58-05 61 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 21-12 Day 2: 5 18-09 Day 3: 5 18-00
45. Kyle Welcher Valley, AL 15 58-02 60 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 20-00 Day 2: 5 19-14 Day 3: 5 18-04
46. Joey Cifuentes III Clinton, AR 15 57-15 59 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 18-06 Day 2: 5 21-14 Day 3: 5 17-11
47. Chris Zaldain Boyd, TX 15 57-13 58 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 21-07 Day 2: 5 18-10 Day 3: 5 17-12
48. Alex Wetherell Middletown, CT 15 57-13 57 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 21-05 Day 2: 5 18-15 Day 3: 5 17-09
49. John Garrett Union City, TN 15 56-14 56 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 20-12 Day 2: 5 18-15 Day 3: 5 17-03
50. Jeff Gustafson Kenora, ON Ontario CANA 15 55-14 55 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 20-11 Day 2: 5 19-01 Day 3: 5 16-02
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 05-14 $1,000.00
2 Logan Parks Auburn, AL 05-13 $1,000.00
3 Evan Kung Pickering Ontario CANADA05-11 $1,000.00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 99 499 1949-07
2 100 500 1945-09
3 50 250 979-07
----------------------------------
249 1249 4874-07

by AnglersChannel

McKinney maintains Day 2 lead, takes control of AOY race

McKinney maintains Day 2 lead, takes control of AOY race Elite_eventLogo_2025_LakeStClair_Vector REV 1.png

MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. — Trey McKinney has been more nervous during the Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair than any tournament in his short career. Country music helps ease that anxiousness, and it seemed like on Day 2, the smallmouth enjoyed the sound of fiddles and steel guitars too.

“Country music makes me fish better, especially when I get out there and have a knot in my stomach,” the 20-year-old said.

The second-year pro from Carbondale, Ill., maintained his lead on Day 2 at Lake St. Clair, landing a limit weighing 23 pounds, 10 ounces on Friday to increase his two-day total to 48-5, anchoring his bag with a 5-8 smallmouth. McKinney’s lead over second place Tucker Smith is just 4 ounces, but the gap between him and third place Kyoya Fujita is almost 2 1/2 pounds.

Not only that, McKinney took the unofficial lead in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year race. That is partially to blame for his nervousness. The 2024 Dakota Lithium Elite Series Rookie of the Year could have won AOY in 2024 as well had it not been for self-inflicted errors.

“I’m coming in early and making sure I have all my T’s crossed,” McKinney said. “It’s not that I mean to do something, but one thing can make it all go away. I just want to make sure nothing happens, whether it be boat problems or losing fish.”

Winning was not the main focus for McKinney this week at St. Clair, given he was third in the points race entering this tournament. He did, however, land his personal best smallmouth, a 6-13 that indicated something special could go down.

“I didn’t see it coming. I was going to try and catch 22 every day and be good,” he said. “That fish was one perch away from being 7 pounds. I figured I might have a chance if there were a few more around, and I have caught my big one around that area every day. But, there are less and less every day.”

Opening the tournament with a limit weighing 24-11, McKinney has been targeting a specific bottom composition in Anchor Bay where short sand grass mixes with the taller grasses.

Using his forward-facing sonar, he has noticed many of the smallmouth begin their day feeding on the bottom. As the sun rises, the smallmouth rises in the water column, making it easier for McKinney to see and cast to.

While he hasn’t been able to predict when they will happen, McKinney has noticed bite windows emerge throughout the day.

“You’ll have a lull, and then at Noon you’ll have a hot streak,” he said. “It is weird. At one point in the day, I caught every bass I threw at. A half an hour later, nothing.”

Four baits have produced the bulk of his weight, but it has been difficult to dial in a specific forage to mimic.

“They just see something and eat it,” he explained. “They spit up crawfish, perch, minnow, anything they can find. I wish I could figure it out. I think the bigger ones eat perch.”

It was a slower start for McKinney on Day 2, landing only 18 pounds in the first couple hours of the day. Around noon though, he landed his two best smallmouth, a 4 1/2-pounder and the 5-8 on back-to-back casts. Later in the day, McKinney located a big smallmouth on his FFS and followed it for a quarter mile but couldn’t get it to commit to his bait.

“That was a new little area,” McKinney said. “I looked at my map and said, ‘Okay, this is where they were, where are they going to be?’ Maybe the fish moved out from where the boat pressure is, and it can work for me tomorrow.”

After landing 21-15 on Day 1 to land in 13th, Smith rocketed up the leaderboard with a tournament-best 26-2 limit of smallmouth to increase his total to 48-1.

“I didn’t expect this at all. I caught a giant yesterday, a 5 1/2, and that was the biggest one I had caught out here,” the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series rookie said. “I was just excited to have two 5-pounders today and then I caught three more. It was just mind-blowing today.”

Although he struggled in the early morning, the Alabama pro stopped in an area where he caught a couple good ones on Day 1 and landed a 5-pounder around mid-morning. Another move produced three smallies over 5 pounds before the Auburn grad landed his final 5-pounder in a different spot later in the day.

Smith has discovered one contour range the bigger smallmouth seem to be setting up around, with two baits coaxing most of the bass into biting.

“There are specific feeding times for each place,” Smith said.

Fujita, meanwhile, landed 23-1 to add to his 22-13 Day 1 showing, keeping him on pace to make his second Championship Sunday at Lake St. Clair after finishing seventh in 2023.

“Good day, but very tough,” Fujita said. “The fish are very smart.”

A mix of grass and sand in 11 feet of water has been the key for the two-time Elite Series champion. He has pitched one bait to those areas, but only if he can see a smallmouth he believes to be 4 or 5 pounds on his Garmin LiveScope.

On Day 2, he filled out his limit by 10 a.m. and made several key culls throughout the day. His goal for Semifinal Saturday is to top Smith’s Day 2 mark.

“I try (to catch) 26 pounds,” he remarked.

Auburn, Ala., pro Logan Parks landed the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day, a 5-13 smallmouth that anchored his 25-9 Day 2 limit. It was just an ounce short of the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Tournament, a 5-14 caught by Kentucky pro Matt Robertson on Day 1.

McKinney leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year race with 690 points followed by Canadian pro Chris Johnston with 677 points. Fujita in third with 650 points followed by Wisconsin’s Jay Przekurat in fourth with 648 points and Patrick Walters in fifth with 638 points. Will Davis Jr., Taku Ito, Parks, Tyler Williams and Paul Marks round out the Top 10.

The Top 50 anglers will launch from Brandenburg Park at 7 a.m. ET Saturday and return for weigh-in at 3:10 p.m. The Top 10 anglers at the conclusion of weigh-in will advance to the championship round and compete for the $100,000 first-place prize as well as a coveted blue trophy.

Bassmaster LIVE coverage on Saturday and Sunday will be available on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. before moving to Bassmaster.com from Noon to 3 p.m.

The Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair is being hosted by the D etroit Sports Commission.

About B.A.S.S.

-30-

Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Media Contact: Mandy Pascal, Communications Manager, 334-414-8677, m pascal@bassmaster.com

2025 Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair 8/7-8/10
Lake St. Clair, Macomb County MI.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 2

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 10 48-05 104
Day 1: 5 24-11 Day 2: 5 23-10
2. Tucker Smith Birmingham, AL 10 48-01 103
Day 1: 5 21-15 Day 2: 5 26-02
3. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 10 45-14 102
Day 1: 5 22-13 Day 2: 5 23-01
4. Logan Parks Auburn, AL 10 45-05 101 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 19-12 Day 2: 5 25-09
5. Easton Fothergill Grand Rapids , MN 10 44-10 100
Day 1: 5 22-14 Day 2: 5 21-12
6. Justin Atkins Florence, AL 10 44-01 99
Day 1: 5 20-10 Day 2: 5 23-07
7. Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 10 44-00 98 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 24-00 Day 2: 5 20-00
8. Cole Sands Johnson City, TN 10 43-10 97
Day 1: 5 21-01 Day 2: 5 22-09
9. Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 10 43-07 96
Day 1: 5 22-07 Day 2: 5 21-00
10. Taku Ito Dalton GA JAPAN 10 43-04 95
Day 1: 5 22-02 Day 2: 5 21-02
11. Will Davis Jr Sylacauga, AL 10 42-15 94
Day 1: 5 23-03 Day 2: 5 19-12
12. JT Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 10 42-13 93
Day 1: 5 21-01 Day 2: 5 21-12
13. Alex Redwine Blue Ash, OH 10 42-11 92
Day 1: 5 20-02 Day 2: 5 22-09
14. KJ Queen Catawba, NC 10 42-11 91
Day 1: 5 21-14 Day 2: 5 20-13
15. Evan Kung Pickering Ontario CANAD 10 42-09 90
Day 1: 5 21-06 Day 2: 5 21-03
16. Dakota Ebare Brookeland, TX 10 42-07 89
Day 1: 5 23-01 Day 2: 5 19-06
17. Andrew Loberg Guntersville, AL 10 42-06 88
Day 1: 5 20-06 Day 2: 5 22-00
18. Jordan Lee Cullman, AL 10 42-06 87
Day 1: 5 21-01 Day 2: 5 21-05
19. Cory Johnston Otonabee CANADA 10 42-04 86
Day 1: 5 20-15 Day 2: 5 21-05
20. Brandon Card Salisbury, NC 10 41-12 85
Day 1: 5 18-03 Day 2: 5 23-09
21. Patrick Walters Eutawville, SC 10 41-08 84
Day 1: 5 21-05 Day 2: 5 20-03
22. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 10 41-05 83
Day 1: 5 20-01 Day 2: 5 21-04
23. Gerald Swindle Guntersville, AL 10 41-04 82
Day 1: 5 21-08 Day 2: 5 19-12
24. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 10 41-04 81
Day 1: 5 20-02 Day 2: 5 21-02
25. Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 10 41-03 80
Day 1: 5 21-11 Day 2: 5 19-08
26. Wesley Gore Clanton, AL 10 41-02 79
Day 1: 5 20-07 Day 2: 5 20-11
27. Kyle Norsetter Cottage Grove, WI 10 41-01 78
Day 1: 5 22-06 Day 2: 5 18-11
28. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 10 40-13 77
Day 1: 5 19-02 Day 2: 5 21-11
29. Matty Wong Honolulu, HI 10 40-13 76
Day 1: 5 19-15 Day 2: 5 20-14
30. John Crews Jr Salem, VA 10 40-12 75
Day 1: 5 22-04 Day 2: 5 18-08
31. Cody Meyer Eagle, ID 10 40-11 74
Day 1: 5 20-11 Day 2: 5 20-00
32. Jamie Hartman Newport, NY 10 40-11 73
Day 1: 5 20-10 Day 2: 5 20-01
33. Jonathan Kelley Old Forge, PA 10 40-07 72
Day 1: 5 21-06 Day 2: 5 19-01
34. Jason Christie Dry Creek, OK 10 40-06 71
Day 1: 5 18-13 Day 2: 5 21-09
35. Caleb Sumrall New Iberia, LA 10 40-05 70
Day 1: 5 22-14 Day 2: 5 17-07
36. Seth Feider Elko New Market, MN 10 40-05 69
Day 1: 5 21-12 Day 2: 5 18-09
37. Joey Cifuentes III Clinton, AR 10 40-04 68
Day 1: 5 18-06 Day 2: 5 21-14
38. Alex Wetherell Middletown, CT 10 40-04 67
Day 1: 5 21-05 Day 2: 5 18-15
39. Chris Zaldain Boyd, TX 10 40-01 66
Day 1: 5 21-07 Day 2: 5 18-10
40. Cody Huff Ava, MO 10 40-01 65
Day 1: 5 19-14 Day 2: 5 20-03
41. Timothy Dube Nashua , NH 10 40-00 64
Day 1: 5 21-03 Day 2: 5 18-13
42. Emil Wagner Marietta, GA 10 39-15 63
Day 1: 5 21-03 Day 2: 5 18-12
43. Drew Cook Cairo, GA 10 39-14 62
Day 1: 5 19-10 Day 2: 5 20-04
44. Kyle Welcher Valley, AL 10 39-14 61
Day 1: 5 20-00 Day 2: 5 19-14
45. Jeff Gustafson Kenora, ON Ontario CANA 10 39-12 60
Day 1: 5 20-11 Day 2: 5 19-01
46. John Garrett Union City, TN 10 39-11 59
Day 1: 5 20-12 Day 2: 5 18-15
47. Cooper Gallant Bowmanville Ontario CAN 10 39-10 58
Day 1: 5 18-03 Day 2: 5 21-07
48. John Cox Debary, FL 10 39-10 57
Day 1: 5 20-02 Day 2: 5 19-08
49. Tyler Williams Belgrade, ME 10 39-08 56
Day 1: 5 19-06 Day 2: 5 20-02
50. Bryan Schmitt Deale, MD 10 39-07 55
Day 1: 5 22-13 Day 2: 5 16-10
51. Brad Whatley Bivins, TX 10 39-05 54
Day 1: 5 20-08 Day 2: 5 18-13
52. Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 10 39-05 0
Day 1: 5 19-01 Day 2: 5 20-04
53. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 10 39-05 52
Day 1: 5 20-01 Day 2: 5 19-04
54. Logan Latuso Gonzales, LA 10 39-04 51
Day 1: 5 20-12 Day 2: 5 18-08
55. Keith Combs Huntington, TX 10 39-03 50
Day 1: 5 18-09 Day 2: 5 20-10
56. Jay Przekurat Plover, WI 10 39-03 49
Day 1: 5 19-07 Day 2: 5 19-12
57. Gregory DiPalma Millville, NJ 10 39-02 48
Day 1: 5 20-04 Day 2: 5 18-14
58. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 10 39-02 47
Day 1: 5 19-06 Day 2: 5 19-12
59. Stetson Blaylock Benton, AR 10 38-12 46
Day 1: 5 19-07 Day 2: 5 19-05
60. Lee Livesay Longview, TX 10 38-07 45
Day 1: 5 19-15 Day 2: 5 18-08
61. Bryan New Leesville, SC 10 38-05 44
Day 1: 5 18-06 Day 2: 5 19-15
62. Bob Downey Detroit Lakes, MN 10 38-03 43
Day 1: 5 19-05 Day 2: 5 18-14
62. Paul Marks Cumming, GA 10 38-03 43
Day 1: 5 18-14 Day 2: 5 19-05
64. Jacob Powroznik North Prince George, VA 10 37-15 41
Day 1: 5 19-13 Day 2: 5 18-02
65. Scott Canterbury Odenville, AL 10 37-14 40
Day 1: 5 17-05 Day 2: 5 20-09
66. Randy Howell Guntersville, AL 10 37-08 39
Day 1: 5 17-08 Day 2: 5 20-00
67. Beau Browning Hot Springs National Pa 10 37-05 38
Day 1: 5 18-04 Day 2: 5 19-01
68. Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 10 37-03 37
Day 1: 5 19-10 Day 2: 5 17-09
69. David Mullins Mt Carmel, TN 10 37-02 36
Day 1: 5 16-06 Day 2: 5 20-12
70. Matt Arey Shelby, NC 10 37-02 35
Day 1: 5 17-14 Day 2: 5 19-04
71. Ben Milliken Omaha, NE 10 37-01 34
Day 1: 5 17-10 Day 2: 5 19-07
72. Tyler Rivet Raceland, LA 10 37-01 33
Day 1: 5 18-09 Day 2: 5 18-08
73. Hank Cherry Jr Lincolnton, NC 10 36-15 32
Day 1: 5 16-07 Day 2: 5 20-08
74. Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 10 36-10 31
Day 1: 5 15-13 Day 2: 5 20-13
75. David Gaston Sylacauga, AL 10 36-08 30
Day 1: 5 19-07 Day 2: 5 17-01
76. Hunter Shryock Ooltewah, TN 10 36-05 29
Day 1: 5 16-07 Day 2: 5 19-14
77. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 10 36-05 28
Day 1: 5 19-13 Day 2: 5 16-08
78. Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 10 36-02 27
Day 1: 5 14-15 Day 2: 5 21-03
79. Cliff Pace Ovett, MS 10 35-12 26
Day 1: 5 18-14 Day 2: 5 16-14
80. Jacob Foutz Charleston, TN 10 35-12 25
Day 1: 5 17-03 Day 2: 5 18-09
81. Jake Whitaker Hendersonville, NC 10 35-11 24
Day 1: 5 18-06 Day 2: 5 17-05
82. Bryant Smith Roseville, CA 10 35-11 23
Day 1: 5 17-09 Day 2: 5 18-02
83. Shane LeHew Catawba, NC 10 35-08 22
Day 1: 5 18-03 Day 2: 5 17-05
84. Carl Jocumsen Queensland TN AUSTRALIA 10 35-06 21
Day 1: 5 17-12 Day 2: 5 17-10
85. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 10 35-00 20
Day 1: 5 19-02 Day 2: 5 15-14
86. Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 10 34-12 19
Day 1: 5 18-05 Day 2: 5 16-07
87. Robert Gee Knoxville, TN 10 34-07 18
Day 1: 5 15-10 Day 2: 5 18-13
88. Luke Palmer Coalgate, OK 10 34-07 17
Day 1: 5 17-14 Day 2: 5 16-09
89. Jason Williamson Aiken, SC 10 34-03 16
Day 1: 5 19-01 Day 2: 5 15-02
90. Marc Frazier Newnan, GA 10 33-15 15
Day 1: 5 18-01 Day 2: 5 15-14
91. Wes Logan Springville, AL 10 33-12 14
Day 1: 5 14-15 Day 2: 5 18-13
92. Kenta Kimura Osaka OK JAPAN 10 33-09 13
Day 1: 5 15-05 Day 2: 5 18-04
93. Drew Benton Panama City, FL 10 33-08 12
Day 1: 5 16-00 Day 2: 5 17-08
94. Ray Hanselman Jr Del Rio, TX 10 33-07 11
Day 1: 5 15-05 Day 2: 5 18-02
95. Caleb Kuphall Mukwonago, WI 10 33-04 10
Day 1: 5 18-12 Day 2: 5 14-08
96. Buddy Gross Chattanooga, TN 10 32-09 9
Day 1: 5 16-10 Day 2: 5 15-15
97. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 10 32-08 8
Day 1: 5 17-12 Day 2: 5 14-12
98. Justin Hamner Northport, AL 10 31-15 7
Day 1: 5 17-06 Day 2: 5 14-09
99. Chad Pipkens Dewitt, MI 10 31-10 6
Day 1: 5 15-08 Day 2: 5 16-02
100. Blake Capps Muskogee, OK 9 30-07 5
Day 1: 4 12-11 Day 2: 5 17-12
101. Ed Loughran III Richmond, VA 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 05-14 $1,000.00
2 Logan Parks Auburn, AL 05-13 $1,000.00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 99 499 1949-07
2 100 500 1945-09
----------------------------------
199 999 3895-00

by AnglersChannel

Evers Wins Qualifying Round, Wheeler Clinches Fourth AOY Title at MLF Bass Pro Tour

Wheeler Advances from Qualifying Round and clinches fourth BPT Angler of the Year title in five years, Evers catches 216-5 to win Qualifying Round and advance straight to Sunday’s Championship Round

BAY CITY, Mich. (Aug. 8, 2025) – After a scorching opening day on Saginaw Bay, the bite somehow got even better on Day 2 of Toyota Stage 7 Presented by Ranger Boats. Pro Edwin Evers of Talala, Oklahoma, led the way, cracking the 100-pound mark for the second day in a row and adding 105 pounds, 2 ounces on 43 scorable bass to bring his two-day total to 216-5.

Pro Nick Hatfield of Greeneville, Tennessee, put up a fight for the Qualifying Round win and the automatic Championship Round berth that comes with it, but Evers ultimately pulled away to top SCORETRACKER® by more than 17 pounds. His two-day tally is the third-highest Qualifying Round weight in BPT history, just 6-7 shy of Michael Neal’s record set in 2021 on Lake St. Clair.

Meanwhile, Harrison, Tennessee pro Jacob Wheeler was content to let others duke it out for the Qualifying Round win, but he solidified the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year title. Wheeler’s fourth Bass Pro Tour points crown in the past five years earned him another $100,000 and put him in even more elite historical company.

Catching 88 bass over 2 pounds and more than 200 pounds total across two days would be any angler’s idea of fun. But the fact that Evers caught just about all those fish on a buzzbait made this Qualifying Round stand out amid his storied, 25-year touring career.

“It was a lot of fun,” Evers said. “I know I have never caught that many bass on a topwater two days in a row. It was incredible.”

Evers has wrestled in the past with deciding whether or not to push for a Qualifying Round win. While pros Bryan Thrift and Keith Carson – the anglers who bookended Evers on the leaderboard to start the day – opted not to keep the pedal to the floor, Evers thinks earning the Championship Round berth will be worth leaning on his best area again Friday.

For one thing, he noted that he hasn’t seen any competitors fishing nearby, so he thinks the area will get a chance to rest Saturday. He’s optimistic it might even reload with some fresh fish.

He also entered the season finale needing a high finish to climb from 43rd place in the points standings into the top 29, which would earn him a spot in the field for REDCREST 2026. He figured the best way to get there was to guarantee himself a place in the Top 10.

“Nobody else is in that area,” Evers said. “Those fish can rest tomorrow. And for me to make REDCREST, I have to be in the Top 10. So, to chance tomorrow and something not going right, I just thought that was the thing to do.”

The Top-10 finish will be Evers’ first in a regular-season BPT event since May of 2023 (although he finished fifth at Heavy Hitters this year). The 13-time winner said putting himself in contention to hoist another trophy feels good.

If he can sneak into the REDCREST field, it’ll feel even better. The 2019 REDCREST champ has only missed out on one championship event in his career (the 2010 Bassmaster Classic), and his top goal every season is to put himself in the championship field.

“It’s just something that through my whole career I’ve been able to hang my hat on,” Evers said. “I’ve made it with the exception of one time – and there’s a big story behind that. It’s part of my testimony. The one year I didn’t make it, I took a Catch a Dream kid fishing the exact week of the championship. And I’ve just always felt like that’s what I’m supposed to do is be at those championships. And I don’t want to not make one.”

Wheeler’s reign continues
By finishing the Qualifying Round in 11th place and earning a spot in the Knockout Round field, Wheeler ensured that he’ll finish ahead of runner-up pro Jake Lawrence of Paris, Tennessee, in the Angler of the Year standings. The triumph marks Wheeler’s fourth Bass Pro Tour AOY crown (to go along with titles in 2021, 2022 and 2024) and adds to his fast-growing case to be considered one of the best tournament anglers of all time. He’s now one of just five pros to win four or more tour-level Angler of the Year awards and the third ever to win four in a five-year span, joining Bass Fishing Hall of Famers Roland Martin and Kevin VanDam.

Wheeler has now made the Knockout Round in six of seven events on the season, and he has a chance to make it six Top 10s as well. He opened the season with a fifth-place finish at Lake Conroe, then finished sixth at the Harris Chain. He wound up second at both Stage 3 on Lake Murray and Stage 4 on Chickamauga and Nickajack before breaking through to win his ninth BPT event on Kentucky Lake.

Shortly after lines out, Wheeler reflected on his journey from an aspiring angler growing up in Indiana to the undisputed top pro in the world.

“This is what’s crazy to me: Starting where I started, with no boat and going up through the junior program, qualifying through the BFL All-American and winning the BFL All-American, I basically had a 1 in a million shot that there was a chance that I would be out here fishing professionally,” Wheeler said. “My parents didn’t have a whole lot; I didn’t have a whole lot. And so, to be in this position in this sport, I don’t take that lightly.”

The top 20 pros that now advance in competition on Saginaw Bay are:

1st:        Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 88 bass, 216-5
2nd:       Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn., 83 bass, 199-1
3rd:       Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 61 bass, 161-5
4th:        Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., 61 bass, 153-13
5th:        Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 64 bass, 152-11
6th:        Marshall Hughes, Hemphill, Texas, 62 bass, 147-7
7th:        James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., 60 bass, 145-8
8th:        Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 59 bass, 144-1
9th:        Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 59 bass, 141-6
10th:     Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, 55 bass, 134-12
11th:     Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 50 bass, 134-2
12th:     Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 53 bass, 125-10
13th:     Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., 54 bass, 124-1
14th:     Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 49 bass, 123-13
15th:     Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 48 bass, 121-11
16th:     Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 48 bass, 119-3
17th:     Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, 46 bass, 118-13
18th:     Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 44 bass, 117-2
19th:     Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 46 bass, 115-13
20th:     Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan, 49 bass, 115-5

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 1,309 scorable bass weighing 3,219 pounds, 4 ounces caught by the 66 pros on Friday.

Pro Brent Ehrler of Redlands, California, earned Friday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, catching a 4-pound, 8-ounce largemouth on a frog in Period 2 to earn the prize. Berkley awards $1,000 each day to the angler that weighs in the heaviest bass.

The full field of anglers competed in the two-day Qualifying Round on Thursday and Friday. With the two-day Qualifying Round now complete, Evers will advance directly to Sunday’s Championship Round. The anglers that finished 2nd through 20th now advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 19 anglers compete to finish in the top nine and join Evers in Sunday’s Championship Round. In the final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $150,000.

Anglers will arrive each morning at 5:15 a.m. ET to the Golson Boat Launch, located at 1598 N. Johnson St. in Bay City, Michigan. The Bass Pro Tour trailering policy has been enacted for this event, so anglers will depart the Golson Boat Launch each morning at 6:15 a.m. to one of nine optional launch ramps located around the fishery. Anglers will return to the Golson Boat Launch each evening, following the end of competition 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 MLFNOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on all four days of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. MLFNOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) apps and Rumble.

On Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 9-10, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to visit Wenonah Park at 103 Center Ave., in Bay City for the MLF Fan Experience & Watch Party. Fans can watch the pros live on the MLFNOW!® big screen, enjoy free food, enter to win hourly giveaways, listen to live music and cheer on their favorite pros. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel each day. The event also includes a meet and greet with Paw Patrol's Skye and Marshall, a youth fishing derby and a casting contest.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

McKinney unlocks the right cadence to lead Day 1 at St. Clair

Elite_eventLogo_2025_LakeStClair_Vector REV 1.png

MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. –— In his first three years as a Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series angler, Trey McKinney has come to realize a northern smallmouth bass is smarter than a southern largemouth. On Day 1 of the Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair, McKinney found the right cadence to trick five big brown fish into biting.

The 20-year-old phenom from Carbondale, Ill., leads the 101 Elite Series field with 24 pounds, 11 ounces, anchoring his bag with a 5-10 smallmouth. McKinney’s lead over second-place Matt Robertson is just 11-ounce while Will Davis Jr. trails by 1-8.

“I’ve never been nervous for a tournament, but I was nervous for this one,” McKinney said. “I think the main thing will be staying consistent on finding new areas as the days go on.”

Despite reports of a tougher than usual bite, Lake St. Clair once again proved why it is one of the best smallmouth lakes in the country. Forty-four anglers landed limits of 20 pounds or better on Day 1 and 100 anglers landed a five-bass limit. Two pounds separates the leader from 16th-place Pat Schlapper.

To prepare for this tournament, the 2024 Dakota Lithium Rookie of the Year spent several days on Lake Michigan. While Lake St. Clair and Lake Michigan are vastly different fisheries, McKinney has learned smallmouth have the same tendencies no matter which body of water they are in.

That realization has helped the young angler quickly get a grip on northern fisheries.

“Smallmouth are smallmouth. They have the same instincts,” he explained. “A lot of it is cadence. They are sight feeders. Everyone says largemouth are smarter, but I think smallmouth are smarter. When you present your bait, it has to look so natural for a big one to eat it. How you present the bait to them is the difference between them eating it and bumping it.”

McKinney’s morning started off with a bang, landing a 4-pounder right off the bat and then the 5-10 smallmouth. He followed that with a 4-12 before moving around and filling out his bag by noon. From there, he went to practice, landing several 4-8’s that didn’t help before calling it quits for the day.

“To compete in this tournament, you have to have all smallmouth over 4 pounds,” McKinney remarked.

Outside of his morning area, McKinney stayed on his trolling motor looking for a specific bottom composition. A mix of tall and short grasses, combined with sand, has been the best combination for him so far. Three baits produced his best bites.

“As long as the bottom looks right with the grass and the sand, I’ll keep going,” he said.

While the way he is fishing can be inconsistent, McKinney caught enough fish on Day 1 to feel confident about his chances moving forward. His goal is to catch as many bass over 4 1/2 pounds as he can the next three days.

“If I can catch 22 1/2 pounds from here on out, I still have a shot,” he said.

Robertson, meanwhile, anchored his 24-pound Day 1 limit with a 5-14 smallmouth, the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day. The Kuttawa, Ky., pro opened the morning by landing 17 pounds before moving to an area he felt had better quality bass and making several upgrades using two different baits.

“I took a chance and tried to get two or three big ones the rest of the day,” Robertson said. “It was good enough and I’m going to do it all day tomorrow.”

Two different baits produced his weight, but one bait has been key to getting his bigger bites in his best area.

“It is a day-by-day thing, one area is definitely keyed in on one bait,” he explained. “It is a little different from what most people are fishing. So, I mean, that deal I’ve got it dialed.”

Davis Jr., meanwhile, caught the majority of his 23-3 in an hour flurry around mid-morning. Around 9:30 a.m., he drifted through an area and landed two 4-pounders before boating a 5-8 and a 5-4 on back-to-back casts. He landed one more 4-pounder before the bite died.

“That was it,” he said.

A Big Bite Baits Thresher Worm on a drop shot and a Big Bite Jerk Minnow on a Davis Bait Company jighead were his best producers. Late in the day, the Sylacauga, Ala., native said he found a bait that better quality smallmouth would bite and lost two good ones before coming to weigh-in.

McKinney leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year race with 690 points followed by Canadian pro Chris Johnston with 662 points. Wisconsin’s Jay Przekurat is third with 651 points followed by Kyoya Fujita in fourth with 646 points and Davis Jr. in fifth with 646 points. Patrick Walters, Taku Ito, Bill Lowen, Shane LeHew and Paul Marks round out the Top 10.

The full field will launch from Brandenburg Park beginning at 7 a.m. and return for weigh-in at 3:10 p.m. The Top 50 anglers after the Day 2 weigh-in will advance to Semifinal Saturday before the Top 10 anglers compete on Championship Sunday.

Bassmaster LIVE will run from 8 a.m. ET until 3 p.m. on Bassmaster.com. Roku will carry coverage on Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Noon to 3 p.m. Coverage on Saturday and Sunday will be available on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. before moving to Bassmaster.com from Noon to 3 p.m.

The Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair is being hosted by the D etroit Sports Commission.

About B.A.S.S.

-30-

Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Media Contact: Mandy Pascal, Communications Manager, 334-414-8677, m pascal@bassmaster.com

2025 Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair 8/7-8/10
Lake St. Clair, Macomb County MI.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 1

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 5 24-11 104
Day 1: 5 24-11
2. Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 5 24-00 103 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 24-00
3. Will Davis Jr Sylacauga, AL 5 23-03 102
Day 1: 5 23-03
4. Dakota Ebare Brookeland, TX 5 23-01 101
Day 1: 5 23-01
5. Easton Fothergill Grand Rapids , MN 5 22-14 100
Day 1: 5 22-14
5. Caleb Sumrall New Iberia, LA 5 22-14 100
Day 1: 5 22-14
7. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 5 22-13 98
Day 1: 5 22-13
7. Bryan Schmitt Deale, MD 5 22-13 98
Day 1: 5 22-13
9. Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 5 22-07 96
Day 1: 5 22-07
10. Kyle Norsetter Cottage Grove, WI 5 22-06 95
Day 1: 5 22-06
11. John Crews Jr Salem, VA 5 22-04 94
Day 1: 5 22-04
12. Taku Ito Dalton GA JAPAN 5 22-02 93
Day 1: 5 22-02
13. Tucker Smith Birmingham, AL 5 21-15 92
Day 1: 5 21-15
14. KJ Queen Catawba, NC 5 21-14 91
Day 1: 5 21-14
15. Seth Feider Elko New Market, MN 5 21-12 90
Day 1: 5 21-12
16. Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 5 21-11 89
Day 1: 5 21-11
17. Gerald Swindle Guntersville, AL 5 21-08 88
Day 1: 5 21-08
18. Chris Zaldain Boyd, TX 5 21-07 87
Day 1: 5 21-07
19. Jonathan Kelley Old Forge, PA 5 21-06 86
Day 1: 5 21-06
19. Evan Kung Pickering Ontario CANAD 5 21-06 86
Day 1: 5 21-06
21. Patrick Walters Eutawville, SC 5 21-05 84
Day 1: 5 21-05
21. Alex Wetherell Middletown, CT 5 21-05 84
Day 1: 5 21-05
23. Timothy Dube Nashua , NH 5 21-03 82
Day 1: 5 21-03
23. Emil Wagner Marietta, GA 5 21-03 82
Day 1: 5 21-03
25. Jordan Lee Cullman, AL 5 21-01 80
Day 1: 5 21-01
25. Cole Sands Johnson City, TN 5 21-01 80
Day 1: 5 21-01
27. JT Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 5 21-01 78
Day 1: 5 21-01
28. Cory Johnston Otonabee CANADA 5 20-15 77
Day 1: 5 20-15
29. John Garrett Union City, TN 5 20-12 76
Day 1: 5 20-12
29. Logan Latuso Gonzales, LA 5 20-12 76
Day 1: 5 20-12
31. Jeff Gustafson Kenora, ON Ontario CANA 5 20-11 74
Day 1: 5 20-11
31. Cody Meyer Eagle, ID 5 20-11 74
Day 1: 5 20-11
33. Justin Atkins Florence, AL 5 20-10 72
Day 1: 5 20-10
33. Jamie Hartman Newport, NY 5 20-10 72
Day 1: 5 20-10
35. Brad Whatley Bivins, TX 5 20-08 70
Day 1: 5 20-08
36. Wesley Gore Clanton, AL 5 20-07 69
Day 1: 5 20-07
37. Andrew Loberg Guntersville, AL 5 20-06 68
Day 1: 5 20-06
38. Gregory DiPalma Millville, NJ 5 20-04 67
Day 1: 5 20-04
39. John Cox Debary, FL 5 20-02 66
Day 1: 5 20-02
39. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 5 20-02 66
Day 1: 5 20-02
39. Alex Redwine Blue Ash, OH 5 20-02 66
Day 1: 5 20-02
42. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 5 20-01 63
Day 1: 5 20-01
42. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 5 20-01 63
Day 1: 5 20-01
44. Kyle Welcher Valley, AL 5 20-00 61
Day 1: 5 20-00
45. Lee Livesay Longview, TX 5 19-15 60
Day 1: 5 19-15
45. Matty Wong Honolulu, HI 5 19-15 60
Day 1: 5 19-15
47. Cody Huff Ava, MO 5 19-14 58
Day 1: 5 19-14
48. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 5 19-13 57
Day 1: 5 19-13
48. Jacob Powroznik North Prince George, VA 5 19-13 57
Day 1: 5 19-13
50. Logan Parks Auburn, AL 5 19-12 55
Day 1: 5 19-12
51. Drew Cook Cairo, GA 5 19-10 54
Day 1: 5 19-10
51. Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 5 19-10 54
Day 1: 5 19-10
53. Stetson Blaylock Benton, AR 5 19-07 52
Day 1: 5 19-07
53. David Gaston Sylacauga, AL 5 19-07 52
Day 1: 5 19-07
53. Jay Przekurat Plover, WI 5 19-07 52
Day 1: 5 19-07
56. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 5 19-06 49
Day 1: 5 19-06
56. Tyler Williams Belgrade, ME 5 19-06 49
Day 1: 5 19-06
58. Bob Downey Detroit Lakes, MN 5 19-05 47
Day 1: 5 19-05
59. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 5 19-02 46
Day 1: 5 19-02
59. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 5 19-02 46
Day 1: 5 19-02
61. Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 5 19-01 0
Day 1: 5 19-01
61. Jason Williamson Aiken, SC 5 19-01 44
Day 1: 5 19-01
63. Paul Marks Cumming, GA 5 18-14 42
Day 1: 5 18-14
63. Cliff Pace Ovett, MS 5 18-14 42
Day 1: 5 18-14
65. Jason Christie Dry Creek, OK 5 18-13 40
Day 1: 5 18-13
66. Caleb Kuphall Mukwonago, WI 5 18-12 39
Day 1: 5 18-12
67. Keith Combs Huntington, TX 5 18-09 38
Day 1: 5 18-09
67. Tyler Rivet Raceland, LA 5 18-09 38
Day 1: 5 18-09
69. Joey Cifuentes III Clinton, AR 5 18-06 36
Day 1: 5 18-06
69. Bryan New Leesville, SC 5 18-06 36
Day 1: 5 18-06
69. Jake Whitaker Hendersonville, NC 5 18-06 36
Day 1: 5 18-06
72. Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 5 18-05 33
Day 1: 5 18-05
73. Beau Browning Hot Springs National Pa 5 18-04 32
Day 1: 5 18-04
73. Ed Loughran III Richmond, VA 5 18-04 32
Day 1: 5 18-04
75. Brandon Card Salisbury, NC 5 18-03 30
Day 1: 5 18-03
75. Cooper Gallant Bowmanville Ontario CAN 5 18-03 30
Day 1: 5 18-03
75. Shane LeHew Catawba, NC 5 18-03 30
Day 1: 5 18-03
78. Marc Frazier Newnan, GA 5 18-01 27
Day 1: 5 18-01
79. Matt Arey Shelby, NC 5 17-14 26
Day 1: 5 17-14
79. Luke Palmer Coalgate, OK 5 17-14 26
Day 1: 5 17-14
81. Carl Jocumsen Queensland TN AUSTRALIA 5 17-12 24
Day 1: 5 17-12
81. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 5 17-12 24
Day 1: 5 17-12
83. Ben Milliken Omaha, NE 5 17-10 22
Day 1: 5 17-10
84. Bryant Smith Roseville, CA 5 17-09 21
Day 1: 5 17-09
85. Randy Howell Guntersville, AL 5 17-08 20
Day 1: 5 17-08
86. Justin Hamner Northport, AL 5 17-06 19
Day 1: 5 17-06
87. Scott Canterbury Odenville, AL 5 17-05 18
Day 1: 5 17-05
88. Jacob Foutz Charleston, TN 5 17-03 17
Day 1: 5 17-03
89. Buddy Gross Chattanooga, TN 5 16-10 16
Day 1: 5 16-10
90. Hank Cherry Jr Lincolnton, NC 5 16-07 15
Day 1: 5 16-07
90. Hunter Shryock Ooltewah, TN 5 16-07 15
Day 1: 5 16-07
92. David Mullins Mt Carmel, TN 5 16-06 13
Day 1: 5 16-06
93. Drew Benton Panama City, FL 5 16-00 12
Day 1: 5 16-00
94. Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 5 15-13 11
Day 1: 5 15-13
95. Robert Gee Knoxville, TN 5 15-10 10
Day 1: 5 15-10
96. Chad Pipkens Dewitt, MI 5 15-08 9
Day 1: 5 15-08
97. Ray Hanselman Jr Del Rio, TX 5 15-05 8
Day 1: 5 15-05
97. Kenta Kimura Osaka OK JAPAN 5 15-05 8
Day 1: 5 15-05
99. Wes Logan Springville, AL 5 14-15 6
Day 1: 5 14-15
99. Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 5 14-15 6
Day 1: 5 14-15
101. Blake Capps Muskogee, OK 4 12-11 4
Day 1: 4 12-11
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 05-14 $1,000.00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 100 504 1967-11
----------------------------------
100 504 1967-11

by AnglersChannel

Bryan Thrift Leads Early at MLF Bass Pro Tour Toyota Stage 7 at Saginaw Bay Presented by Ranger Boats

North Carolina pro catches 48 bass weighing 127 pounds, 11 ounces to grab early lead, six pros break 90-pound mark

BAY CITY, Mich. (Aug. 7, 2025) – The vast waters of Saginaw Bay yielded a little bit of everything on Day 1 at Toyota Stage 7 Presented by Ranger Boats. While much of the Bass Pro Tour field power fished for largemouth, some used finesse tactics to catch smallmouth and a few combined both approaches during Thursday’s opening day of qualifying.

All of the above tactics produced bunches of bass. Pro Bryan Thrift of Shelby, North Carolina, led the way, boating 48 scorable bass for 127 pounds, 11 ounces. One of four pros to top the 100-pound mark on the day, he leads Talala, Oklahoma’s Edwin Evers by 16-9. Thrift’s banner day saw him catch the most scorable bass, amass the most weight and tie for Berkley Big Bass honors with a 4-11 largemouth.

“I didn’t expect it to be that good,” Thrift said. “I thought I could catch some bass, but I never thought I could catch them that good.”

Meanwhile, it took nearly 55 pounds to claim a spot above the 20th-place elimination line. The field as a whole wrangled 1,278 scorable bass totaling more than 3,100 pounds – easily the highest totals for a competition day during the 2025 season.

While Thrift lives more than 700 miles away from Saginaw Bay, he’s clearly taken a liking to this portion of Lake Huron. The North Carolina native made the Championship Round when the Bass Pro Tour first visited the fishery in 2023, finishing ninth. Even though that event was contested with a five-fish limit as opposed to the current every-fish-counts format, Thrift was able to pick up where he left off, catching largemouth around isolated offshore grass patches.

Thrift thinks the featureless nature of the inner bay aligns with his wheelhouse because it allows him to idle and scan for sneaky offshore spots, which he’s long been one of the best at maximizing.

“It’s pretty shallow and featureless, not a lot of contours, and I can spend time looking for stuff with that Humminbird Side Imaging and find some of that isolated structure,” he said. “Luckily, it’s holding a few largemouth.”

Thrift started Day 1 on a spot that produced for him in 2023, then ran a few other areas that set up the same way. Whereas he only got about 10 to 12 scorable bites per day two years ago, Thrift found the grass patches teeming with largemouth. He attributes that to the low water level, theorizing that it prompted some of the bass to move from the ample emergent vegetation that lines the bay to deeper habitat.

“I’ve got to imagine that’s what put as many fish out there this time versus last time we were here,” he said. “Last time we were here, I was only catching 10 or 12 per day, but it was a lot of 3-pounders, 3½-pounders. And today, it was just a lot of 2½ to 2-15s.”

As good as Thrift’s opening day was, he doesn’t believe he’s found the winning formula just yet. He caught all of his weight off four spots Thursday, and he doubts they can hold up across four days of competition. He’s also concerned that the wind, which is forecast to blow harder each day, could hurt his bite. As a result, he’s still not sure whether he’ll use the second day of qualifying to scout for new spots or push to win the Qualifying Round, thus earning an automatic trip to Championship Sunday. Ideally, he’d like to do both.

“I’m going to let the wind decide what I do,” Thrift said. “I would like to go practice. I’d also like to win the round, make that guaranteed Championship berth. But I know I don’t have enough fish for four days, for sure. There’s absolutely no way. I don’t see how I can keep catching that many bass off of it. So, I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. I’m going to play it by ear.”

The top 20 pros in after Day 1 on Saginaw Bay are:

1st:        Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 48 bass, 127-11
2nd:      Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 45 bass, 111-3
3rd:       Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., 44 bass, 109-13
4th:        Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn., 43 bass, 100-4
5th:        Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 35 bass, 94-0
6th:        Marshall Hughes, Hemphill, Texas, 39 bass, 93-8
7th:        Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 34 bass, 87-2
8th:        Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 30 bass, 71-4
9th:        Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 30 bass, 70-13
10th:     Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 27 bass, 69-12
11th:     Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan, 29 bass, 69-4
12th:     Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 28 bass, 68-13
13th:     Colby Miller, Elmer, La., 23 bass, 65-13
14th:     Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 23 bass, 64-10
15th:     Jared Lintner, Covington, Ga., 27 bass, 64-5
16th:     Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, 24 bass, 59-15
17th:     Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 24 bass, 58-11
18th:     Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., 22 bass, 58-8
19th:     Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 24 bass, 57-8
20th:     Marty Robinson, Lyman, S.C., 22 bass, 54-15

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 1,278 bass caught weighing 3,156 pounds, 10 ounces, by the 66 Bass Pro Tour anglers on Thursday. Both the number of bass caught and the total weight were new season-high totals for the circuit.

Thursday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award was a four-way tie – with two different fish species. Tournament leader Bryan Thrift and pro Marshall Robinson both weighed in largemouth bass totaling 4 pounds, 11 ounces, while pros Mark Daniels Jr. and Nick LeBrun both weighed in 4-pound, 11-ounce smallmouth bass to each earn a share of the award. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day.

The full field of anglers compete in the two-day Qualifying Round on Thursday and Friday. After the two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the pro with the heaviest two-day total will advance directly to Sunday’s Championship Round. Anglers that finish 2nd through 20th will advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining anglers compete to finish in the top nine to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. In the final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $150,000.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

by AnglersChannel

Newport® Launches NT600: Redefines Electric Outboard Performance

Stockton, CA – August 7, 2025 – Newport proudly announces the official launch of its most powerful and technologically advanced system to date: the NT600 Electric Outboard Motor, a 6-horsepower equivalent electric outboard designed for serious anglers and boaters. Purpose-built to pair seamlessly with the brand-new 48V LoPRO Lithium Battery, this high-performance duo represents the latest evolution in Newport’s pursuit of clean, quiet, and intelligent marine power.

The NT600 is the shining star of Newport’s 2025 new product introductions, delivering best-in-class performance with GPS-integrated readouts on its full color screen, Bluetooth connectivity, and a high-efficiency brushless motor, all in a compact, portable package. It’s a system made for anglers who demand power without the noise, maintenance, or emissions of gas.

“This is a huge milestone for us,” said Howie Strech, Brand Marketing Manager at Newport. “The NT600 is more than just our most powerful motor, it’s a showcase of Newport’s ability to push the envelope in the electrification of small fishing vessels. From the intuitive color display to the built-in GPS and seamless integration with our LoPRO battery platform, this is a step into the future of angling.”

At the core of the system is the newly released 48V70Ah LoPRO Lithium Battery, a sleek, lightweight, low-profile powerhouse built specifically to maximize the NT600’s performance. Offering advanced energy density and intelligent power management in a compact form factor, the LoPRO simplifies 48V systems for anglers seeking plug-and-play efficiency.

“We didn’t just want to release a bigger battery, we wanted to redefine what a 48V system could look and feel like,” said Jason Kardas, Head of Product Development at Newport. “The LoPRO is the result of extensive R&D and field testing. It’s compact, powerful, and built to work in perfect harmony with the NT600. Together, they offer the ultimate electric boating experience.”

Together, the NT600 and LoPRO battery exemplify Newport’s unwavering focus on innovation, field-tested functionality, and angler-first design. This launch reaffirms Newport’s leadership in electric marine propulsion, opening new possibilities for shallow-water access, silent stealth fishing, and all-day confidence on big water.

About Newport

Newport is the leading innovator in next-generation electric small boat systems, providing anglers with powerful, reliable, and hassle-free solutions for over a decade. From cutting-edge electric motors and high-performance lithium batteries to durable, purpose-built boats, Newport delivers a complete system designed for seamless integration and peak performance on the water. Built for anglers who demand efficiency and reliability, Newport eliminates the noise, maintenance, and hassle of traditional setups so you can focus on what matters. The way forward is electric. Visit www.newportvessels.com.

by AnglersChannel

Fishing Clash Named Title Sponsor of MLF Team Series

BENTON, Ky. (Aug. 7, 2025) – Major League Fishing (MLF), the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, announced today that Fishing Clash, one of the world’s most popular mobile fishing games, has signed on as title sponsor of the MLF Team Series. Now officially named the MLF Fishing Clash Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops, the innovative two-man competition will kick off the 2025 season August 24-29, in Port Huron on Michigan’s Thumbcoast.

Fishing Clash has been a proud MLF partner since 2023 and now deepens its investment by aligning with one of the league’s most dynamic and exciting series.

“We’re proud to continue our collaboration with Major League Fishing – a partnership that not only deepens our engagement with the angling community but also strengthens Fishing Clash’s presence in the U.S.,” said Andrzej Ilczuk, CEO of Ten Square Games. “Our previous campaigns with MLF led to a significant increase in installs and player engagement, confirming that MLF’s passionate fan base aligns perfectly with our audience. Becoming Title Sponsor of the Team Series is a natural next step – one that allows us to authentically connect with millions of fishing enthusiasts and bring the sport to life across digital and real-world experiences.”

Each six-day event will be streamed live on MLFNOW!®, with every catch, cast and strategic decision unfolding in real-time as teams break down unfamiliar waters and adapt together on the fly. Televised coverage of each event will air as six original two-hour episodes on the Outdoor Channel beginning in Q1 of 2026.

The 2025 season will kick off with the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup, held August 24–29 in Port Huron, Michigan – a premier smallmouth destination nestled on the shores of Lake Huron and the St. Clair River.

Fans can follow the action live on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) apps and Rumble, with hosts Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney breaking down every minute of competition on MLFNOW!®.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Team Series include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Boat Technologies, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Ferguson, Fishing Clash, Knighten Industries, Kubota, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, NITRO Boats, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Smokey Mountain Caffeinated Pouches, Star brite, Toyota, YETI and Zenni.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

About Fishing Clash
Fishing Clash was launched in October 2017 and remains one of the most popular fishing titles on mobile. Featuring realistic fishing spots from around the globe, Fishing Clash offers a true-to-life multiplayer simulation experience that attracts millions of players.

The game was developed by Ten Square Games – one of the leading developers of free-to-play mobile games. The company was founded in 2011 in Wrocław, Poland, and has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 2018. The TSG Group includes the Rortos studio in Verona. Its portfolio features Fishing Clash – one of the world’s top 3D fishing games, Hunting Clash – a realistic hunting simulator, Real Flight Simulator, and the rapidly growing Wings of Heroes. On July 3, 2025, the Group released its latest global title – Trophy Hunter . With a team of around 300 professionals, TSG consistently raises the bar in mobile gaming, delivering immersive and realistic experiences to millions of players worldwide.

by AnglersChannel

JOIN THE CIRCUS

Get everything Bass Fishing from Anglers Channel, straight to your inbox.

About

AC

Resources