Evolving Patterns to be Crucial at Harris Chain
By Walker Smith - Dynamic Sponsorships / Photo: Michael Engelmeyer
Coming off a solid finish at Lake Conroe, Team Toyota pro Mark Daniel looks to recognize a developing pattern early at Suzuki Marine Stage 2 - Harris Chain of Lakes.
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Oh, Florida, how we have missed you.
After a particularly brutal past month or two full of winter weather and nearly unbearable cold fronts, all is right in the world again as the MLF Bass Pro Tour heads south to Florida’s Harris Chain of Lakes. The days are getting longer, and the weather is set to be in the 80s which means one thing: You can expect to see some giant bass caught.
At first glance, the Harris Chain seems quite friendly to Team Toyota pro Mark Daniels, Jr., as it features prominent vegetation and plenty of enticing isolated cover. These features are trademarks of his home fishery of the California Delta. But will he be able to bring that California Love to The Sunshine State?
“I’m coming off a solid 15th-place finish at Lake Conroe and although it might look great in the standings, I actually got a little spun out on the last day of competition,” Daniels said. “Other guys in my area were crushing the bass and I was having a hard time even getting bit. I can’t be bringing that energy into this tournament; I left it on the highway on my way home. I’ve only fished one event on the Harris Chain in my career but my gosh, it sure looks like prime habitat for some big ones.”
The current warming trend in Florida has made this tournament even more interesting, with big spawners expected to be shallow throughout the event. The sudden warm-up, however, has unfortunately caused a fish kill in certain areas known for their above-average quality of bass. The prevailing mentality going into this tournament could best be described as “cautious optimism”.
“I honestly think they’ll be comfortably spawning by the time this tournament kicks off,” Daniels said. “Heck, some of the fish in Alabama are trying to get on beds right now so if it’s happening here, the Harris Chain could be on fire. But that can burn you this time of year if you’re not careful. All the fish in the lake don’t flood the shallows at the same time. I have to keep a very open mind. There are going to be some big pre- and post-spawners caught which means you can’t mentally lock in to thinking you’ll be sight fishing all week. Recognizing new patterns as they evolve is everything in multi-day tournaments, but especially in Florida.”
Time management is another priority for the Team Toyota pro at this fishery. Because of its expansive layout, Daniels has a plan to be as efficient as possible throughout practice.
“I’ve thought about this a lot because I know how easy it is to waste a bunch of time on the Harris Chain,” Daniels said. “What I’ll probably do is limit myself to one or two lakes and get a feel for which one is fishing the best. I want to use my second and final day of practice to get dialed in on one particular lake. I’m looking for potential more than anything else.”
Daniels believes the tournament will be won on a variety of techniques. Versatility will be important for everyone in this derby, so expect to see some Florida favorites such as bladed swim jigs, frogs and swimming worms mixed with some other big-fish techniques.
“There will be some guys who will smoke ‘em on those offshore shell beds, if I had to guess,” Daniels said. “This might be one of those tournaments that will allow you to fish your favorite styles but again, an open mind and the ability to quickly pivot will be key.”
Patience, adaptability and positivity are a few things you can count on while watching Daniels this week. As the camera cuts to him, one thing above all is guaranteed: He’ll be wearing a big California smile while he soaks up the Florida sun.
Tennessee’s Nutt Completes Record Week at Central Division Opener on Pickwick Lake with First Toyota Series Win
FLORENCE, Ala. (Feb. 8, 2025) – It’s almost impossible to look at the results of this week’s Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Central Division tournament on Pickwick Lake and not jump right into sports analogies. Was it a heavyweight fight? A battle royale? A slugfest? A marathon?
It was all of the above, actually.
With 30 five-fish bags over 25 pounds and an average of 21 ½ pounds required to squeeze into the Top 25, the 2025 Central Division kickoff produced one of the most impressive three-day weight totals in Toyota Series history. And with a 30-pound bag on the final day and a three-day total of 84-4 – which broke the weight record for a three-day Series tournament on Pickwick – University of North Alabama standout and college national champion Dylan Nutt is the new heavyweight champion of Pickwick Lake.
Nutt, who has collected four Top 10s and two wins in MLF competition on the Tennessee River in less than a year, surged past six-time Tennessee River winner Jake Lawrence (79-14), 2024 Toyota Series Championship winner Hayden Marbut (76-4) and 2024 Toyota Series winner Banks Shaw (76-0) to earn a $39,000 paycheck in his first Toyota Series event.
“It seemed like I couldn’t do anything wrong this week,” Nutt admitted shortly after hoisting the trophy in front of a crowd of family, friends and UNA Lions. “They say ‘when it’s your time, it’s your time’. That sure feels true right now, it’s humbling.”
Entering tournament week, the buzz around Pickwick was that the three-day Central Division event would probably be a rowdy one. Pickwick’s angler lineup looked like an all-star roster that included multiple local hammers and a handful of pros from the Bass Pro Tour and Elite Series, most of them gunning for bags in the 25-plus-pound range.
Turns out that Mother Nature felt like playing along.
A winter cold snap had dropped the water temperature into the low 40s at the start of practice and sent fish into deep-winter patterns. But according to Nutt, warmer days and rising water temperatures at the start of the tournament primed Pickwick for a banner three days.
“It’s been really cold in Florence, but as the week went on and we had some warmer days, that water rose to about 50 degrees,” Nutt said. “I found some areas where fish were in transition between winter patterns and prespawn, and settled down in those areas where I knew I could find some big ones. But I thought it might take 80 pounds to win.”
Nutt started strong and improved throughout the week.
Throwing a Picasso Lures Bait Ball Extreme with 1/8- and ¼-ounce VMC Boxer Jig Heads and Keitech swimbaits, and a 3/8-ounce Scottsboro Tackle Tungsten jighead with a True Bass FF Minnow, his 26-13 on Day 1 was good enough for fourth, just over 4 pounds shy of leader Ken Thompson, who dropped the biggest bag of the tournament that day with 31-3. Nutt chipped away at Thompson’s lead on Day 2, weighing in 27-7 to climb within 2-10.
At the end of that day, Nutt worked his way to some water he hadn’t even looked at in practice and connected with two of his bigger fish. He went right back there on the final day and pounded away with ActiveTarget and the minnow.
“I had a couple of areas I knew there were some big ones, I went back there and grinded it out,” Nutt said. “I had a couple of groups of fish that would leave, and then I had one school show back up (on the final day), I ended up catching a bunch of my fish out of that school. The bites I got there were big ones.”
Nutt, who grew up in Nashville and fished Chickamauga and Guntersville multiple times before moving to Florence for college, used his familiarity with Tennessee River currents to his advantage, especially for the bigger bites he coaxed off of deeper bars, where fish were pegged tight to the bottom.
"(Tennessee Valley Authority) bumped up the current a lot, it's been pumping pretty steady for awhile now," he said. "That made fish start sitting down near the bottom. They were harder to see sitting tight on the bottom, you had to throw your bait in first before you could see them."
Nutt’s 84-4 is the heaviest ever weighed in a three-day Series tournament on Pickwick, eclipsing Randy Haynes’ 79-11 in 2013. It’s also the fourth-highest total in three-day Series history, trailing only two Falcon Lake tournaments in 2009 and 2010, and a 2013 event on Lake Guntersville.
The top 10 pros at the Toyota Series at Pickwick Lake finished:
1st: Dylan Nutt of Nashville, Tenn., 15 bass, 84-4, $39,659
2nd: Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 15 bass, 79-14, $15,368
3rd: Hayden Marbut, Birmingham, Ala., 15 bass, 76-5, $12,898 (includes $1,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus)
4th: Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 15 bass, 76-0, $9,915
5th: Presley Lannom, Lebanon, Tenn., 15 bass, 74-12, $8,923
6th: Broderick Luckey, Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass, 74-6, $7,932
7th: Dillon Falardeau, Hixson, Tenn., 15 bass, 73-5, $6,940
8th: Logan Parks, Auburn, Ala., 15 bass, 72-7, $5,949
9th: Caz Anderson, Haysville, N.C., 15 bass, 72-7, $5,207
10th: Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 15 bass, 72-4, $3,966
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Pro Ken Thompson of Roaring Springs, Pennsylvania, earned Wednesday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass Award with a bass weighing 8 pounds, 13 ounces. Two pros split the Berkley Big Bass Award on Thursday – both Gavin Clevenger of Knoxville, Tennessee, and pro Caz Anderson of Haysville, North Carolina, brought a bass weighing 7 pounds, 11 ounces to the scale, to split the $500 award.
Michael Luckey of Lynchburg, Virginia, won the Strike King Co-angler Division Friday with a three-day total of 7 bass weighing 31 pounds, 7 ounces. Luckey 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 Strike King co-anglers at the Toyota Series at Pickwick Lake finished:
1st: Michael Luckey, Lynchburg, Va., seven bass, 31-7, Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp outboard motor
2nd: Johnny Suratt, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., seven bass, 27-10, $4,966
3rd; Rodney Keel, Bedford, Ind., six bass, 27-2, $4,123
4th: John Morales, Plainfield, Ill., eight bass, 25-12, $3,476
5th: Andrew Wright, Crossville, Tenn., seven bass, 25-5, $2,980
6th: Corey Smith, Hazard, Ky., seven bass, 24-1, $2,483
7th: Brian Lopp, Springfield, Ill., seven bass, 24-0, $1,987
8th: Daniel Vasquez, Boynton Beach, Fla., seven bass, 23-10, $1,738
9th: Ricky Sexton, Oliver Springs, Tenn., seven bass, 22-7, $1,490
10th: Keith Iddins, Knoxville, Tenn., seven bass, 22-1, $1,242
Strike King Co-angler Alan Bernicky of Dardanelle, Arkansas, earned Wednesday’s $150 Berkley Big Bass co-angler award with a 6-pound, 6-ounce bass, while Thursday’s Day 2 $150 co-angler award went to Rodney Keel of Bedford, Indiana, who weighed in a 9-pound, 13-ounce bass.
The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at Pickwick Lake was hosted by the Visit the Shoals. It was the first of three regular-season tournament for the Toyota Series Central Division. The next event for the Toyota Series Central Division will be March 18-20 on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. 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 Strike King 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 Sports Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Vosker, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Toyota Series updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 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.
Joe Uribe Jr. goes Wire-to-Wire, wins 2025 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open
Chris Martin Holds Steady in Second Place for three Consecutive Days
Redding, Calif. – February 7, 2025 –– Joe Uribe Jr. of Surprise, Ariz. is no stranger to winning major tournaments. He has accomplished that feat several times over the last decade, however, competing in events at Lake Shasta has always left him feeling less than confident. Finishing third at the 2024 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open gave him a confidence boost, and in winning the 2025 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open in wire-to-wire fashion, he and Lake Shasta are now familiar.
Uribe rode an A-Rig and Swimbait pattern during the first two days of the event when it was either windy, raining or snowing, however, when the conditions slicked off on day three, Uribe showed his versatility and picked up a Neko Rig and closed out the win.
His final day, 16.22-pound limit pushed his total weight to 55.37 pounds, earning him the title of Lake Shasta Champion and the keys to the 2025 Ranger Boats Z518 with Mercury 150 ProXS outboard prize boat presented by Bass Pro Shops with Power-Pole Charge and Volta Power Lithium Power Batteries, a package valued at $55,000 and an additional $12,000 cash.
Uribe was thrilled with the event. “I really had a bad practice and just decided to go fishing,” he said. “I went to the Pit River arm and fished a few pockets in there and around Jones Bay. It’s the area I felt most comfortable in to start.”
On days one and two, he used a one-two punch of an 88 Baits A-Rig with 1/4-ounce VMC Boxer Heads rigged with 4.3 Keitech Swimbaits in Electric Shad and a Uribe Magic Swimmer swimbaits designed by his father. He targeted main lake points and transition areas making long casts and watching the lure on his Livescope unit, when he saw fish rise on the lure, he varied his retrieve to trigger strikes. Those two lures were thrown on a 7’11” medium-heavy Daiwa Zillion Reaction Bait rod and Tatula SV reel spooled with 40-pound-test Sunline SX-1 Braid and a 16-pound-test FC Sniper Fluorocarbon leader.
On the final day, after a few smaller strikes on reaction baits, Uribe figured out that the fish had made a move into the cuts, and he turned to a 7’1” Daiwa Tatula Elite Takahiro Omori All Around spinning rod and Tatula 2500 size reel spooled with 20-pound-test Sunline Siglon PE8 yellow braid and 8-pound-test FC Sniper Fluorocarbon leader and a Neko Rig with a Green Pumpkin Daiwa Neko Fat worm, a 5/64-ounce Voss Tungsten nail weight and a size 4 Gamakatsu B10S hook.
Uribe said that being able to adjust to the conditions was key. “We had to hunt a little, but when we found that they had moved into the cuts and gotten shallower, the Neko Rig really helped us,” he said. “I fished clean all week; I never lost any fish, and I’m just really humbled to have won this event against these anglers and to have qualified for the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship for the second year.”
Chris Martin, of Rocklin, Calif. was able to maintain his second-place position from the first two days of the event as well, finishing with 52.06 pounds. The Bass Pro Shops Marine Department Manager in Rocklin said that he fished close to the same areas as Uribe and used one technique the whole event. He threw a trio of 3/4-ounce Bass Union Football Jigs, purple, brown and purple and green pumpkin with green pumpkin purple copper Yamamoto Bait Cowboys as a trailer.
“I caught them in 15 to 30-feet on day one, and they went shallower, in 5 to 20 feet today,” he said. “I really would have liked to pull out the win, but I fished as clean as I could and just got beaten. Congratulations to Joe, he fished a great event. I’m excited to have qualified for the 2026 B.A.S.S. Nation
Each of the pros and AAA anglers who finished in the top five will earn a Golden Ticket berth into the 2025 Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Championship for a chance to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic, and I really need to thank Jeff Ahrens at Cultivated Landscape for his help in being here this year.”
Alex Niapas of Altaville, Calif caught his second consecutive limit eclipsing 21 pounds on day three and finished third for the event with 51.28 pounds, fourth place went to Jerry Ballesteros of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. finished fourth with a total weight of 46.96 pounds and Ryan Cool of Redding, Calif, rounded out the top five in the pro division with a three-ay total of 45.87 pounds.
Jacob Crawford of San Pedro, Calif. claimed the title of AAA Division Champion, posting a three-day total of 55.00 pounds to walk away with the trophy and a $5,000 payday. Troy Diatte of Salina, Calif. finished in second place with 48.20 pounds. Third place went to Dennis Saiki of Torrance, Calif. with 43.64 pounds.Derek Anderson f Meadow Vista, Calif. finished fourth with 42.74 pounds and Redding, California’s Eddie Bouslaugh Jones finished out the AAA Division top five with 42.67 pounds.
Follow future WON Bass Pro Am events with a daily livestream of the weigh-ins at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.
The Top 10 in each division are below, for complete standings go to: https://wonbassevents.com/pages/won-bass-shasta-open-pairings-results.
2025 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open Final Pro Standings
| RANK | Angler | Hometown | Fish | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Total |
| 1 | Joe Uribe, Jr. | Surprise AZ | 15-15 | 20.32 | 18.83 | 16.22 | 55.37 |
| 2 | Chris Martin | Rocklin CA | 15-15 | 18.75 | 16.46 | 16.85 | 52.06 |
| 3 | Alex Niapas | Altaville CA | 15-15 | 7.96 | 21.89 | 21.43 | 51.28 |
| 4 | Jerry Ballesteros | Rancho Cucamonga CA | 15-15 | 13.72 | 16.72 | 16.52 | 46.96 |
| 5 | Ryan Cool | Redding CA | 15-15 | 13.47 | 15.03 | 17.37 | 45.87 |
| 6 | Greg Gutierrez | Red Bluff CA | 15-15 | 16.31 | 12.27 | 16.82 | 45.40 |
| 7 | Kyle Grover | Rancho Santa Margarita CA | 15-15 | 11.66 | 13.53 | 19.88 | 45.07 |
| 8 | Logan Huntze | Discovery Bay CA | 15-15 | 17.91 | 12.93 | 14.13 | 44.97 |
| 9 | Cody Meyer | Eagle ID | 15-15 | 15.25 | 13.96 | 13.82 | 43.03 |
| 10 | Joe Mariani | Winters CA | 15-15 | 16.88 | 13.21 | 12.01 | 42.10 |
2025 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open Final AAA Standings
| Rank | Angler | Hometown | Fish | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Total |
| 1 | Jacob Crawford | San Pedro CA | 15-15 | 13.23 | 21.89 | 19.88 | 55.00 |
| 2 | Troy Diatte | Salinas CA | 15-15 | 9.09 | 17.68 | 21.43 | 48.20 |
| 3 | Dennis Saiki | Torrance CA | 15-15 | 15.00 | 14.47 | 14.17 | 43.64 |
| 4 | Derek Andersen | Meadow Vista CA | 15-15 | 15.60 | 11.25 | 15.89 | 42.74 |
| 5 | Eddie Bouslaugh Jones | Redding CA | 15-15 | 16.88 | 8.97 | 16.82 | 42.67 |
| 6 | Kody Sindorf | Anderson CA | 15-15 | 16.06 | 13.96 | 12.14 | 42.16 |
| 7 | Jeff Baird | Washington UT | 15-15 | 14.40 | 15.03 | 12.22 | 41.65 |
| 8 | Eric Giordano | Redding CA | 15-15 | 13.94 | 13.51 | 13.74 | 41.19 |
| 9 | James Scott | Lancaster CA | 15-15 | 9.96 | 11.58 | 19.32 | 40.86 |
| 10 | Jake Etcheverry | Hughson CA | 15-15 | 16.87 | 13.95 | 9.96 | 40.78 |
The 2025 WON Bass Western Opens Series of events Consisting of five events in California, Arizona and Nevada, will culminate with the 2024 WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mohave in October. The five event dates are as follows:
Feb. 5 to 7, 2025 - Lake Shasta – Joe Uribe Jr. – 55.37 pounds
April 9 to 11, 2025 - Clear Lake
May 7 to 9, 2025 - Lake Havasu
Sept. 10 to 12, 2025 - Lake Mead
Oct. 6 to 8, 2025 - U.S. Open at Lake Mohave
For complete details or to register, look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com to hear the latest news about the 2024 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.
The 2025 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open was brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Triton Boats, Bridgford Foods, Volta Power Lithium, Power Pole, Lowrance, Daiwa, AFTCO, Costa, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Fenwick Rods, Anderson Toyota, A&M Graphics, Anglers Marine, Signature Gates, DD26 Fishing, Bad Ass Bearings, Cipher Fishing Megaware Keelguard.
Local presenting sponsors are Visit Redding, Phil’s Propellers Huff’s Restaurant.
Joe Uribe Jr. Holds Serve. Leads Day Two of 2025 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open with 39.15 pounds
Chris Martin Retains Second Place Position with 35.21 pounds for two Days
Redding, Calif. – February 6, 2025 –– As if bass fishing tournaments aren’t a difficult enough proposition, competing in one of the major West Coast events like the 2025 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open at Bridge Bay Marina can get even tougher with variable weather.
Typically
However, one thing that has proven out historically is that Lake Shasta performs well in the kind of conditions that make people want to stay home and sit by a fire. Such was the case on the second day of The WON Bass Lake Shasta Open, when the anglers were greeted with cold temperatures and rain in the morning, then that precipitation turned to snowflakes as the day wore on, and the bite improved for many in the field.
Day one pro leader Joe Uribe Jr. from Surprise, Ariz. and day two AAA David Undwerwood fished new water in the same area he had fished on day one and found the Lake Shasta spotted bass to be cooperative. Uribe managed to bring an 18.83-pound limit to push Uribe’s total weight to 39.15 pounds and retain the lead in the event.
Uribe said that he ran the same area, but completely different stretches of water with the same program from day one. “I still threw my swimbait and watched the fish rise on it on my Livescope unit,” said Uribe. “I’m getting one to eat it every once in a while, but watching bunches of them come take a look can be frustrating; I have to trigger them into striking.”
The pair boated nearly two dozen keepers on day two using Uribe’s swimbait pattern and Underwood finesse fished behind him to contribute to their day’s creel. “David really did a great job fishing behind me today; he caught two of the fish we weighed, including our biggest fish, a five pounder,” said Uribe. “I locked that big rod in my hand and went after it because I feel like that is my best chance to win and I’m gonna do the same thing tomorrow and hopefully it works out.”
Day two second place pro Chris Martin from Rocklin, Calif., who also manages the Rocklin Bass Pro Shops Marine Department, and his AAA partner Rick Mikla managed to bring 16.46 pounds of spotted bass to Bridge Bay Marina to bring his two-day total weight to 35.21 pounds, enough to hold on to second place comfortably on day two.
Martin said he fished the same areas he did on day one but reported getting fewer bites than he did on the first day. “We caught about half as many fish today, but when the first bite is a five-pound spot it kind of settles you down real quick,” he said. “My fish moved shallower with the weather initially, but then pulled back as the sow started, and I leaned on the areas pretty hard, so I’m kind of concerned about tomorrow. I have some pretty good backup areas, I’ll give it a go and see how this turns out.”
Discovery Bay, California’s Logan Huntze maintained his third-place position on the second day by producing a 12.93-pound limit to bring his total weight to 30.84 pounds. He was followed by veteran Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. pro Jerry Ballesteros who posted 16.72 pounds on day two to move into fourth place with 30.44 pounds and Winters, Calif. pro Joe Mariani rounded out the top five with a 13.21-pound limit to bring his total weight to 30.09 pounds
Outside of the day two leaders, the big story of the day was the 9.14-pound spotted bass brought to the scales by Altaville, Calif. pro Alex Niapas. The monster spotted bass anchored a 21.89-pound limit that brought his total weight to 29.85 pounds and rocketed him all the way into sixth place after a disappointing start in 115th place on day one.
In the AAA Division, Jacob Crawford of San Pedro, Calif. leads with a two-day total of 32.12 pounds. Second Place went to Phillip Lopez with 33.21 pounds, he was followed in third place by Jake Etcheverry with 30.82 pounds. Damon Motley stood in fourth place after day two with 30.22 pounds and Kody Sindorf rounded out the top five with 30.02 pounds.
The anglers are vying for the chance to earn the keys to the 2025 Ranger Boats Z518 with Mercury 150 ProXS outboard prize boat presented by Bass Pro Shops with Power-Pole Charge and Volta Power Lithium Power Batteries, a package valued at $55,000.
Each of the pros and AAA anglers who finished in the top five will earn a Golden Ticket berth into the 2025 Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Championship for a chance to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic
The daily livestream of the weigh-ins airs on at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments. Daily weigh-ins from Bridge Bay Marina in Redding, Calif. begin after the first flight checks in at 3:00 PM Pacific Time.
The Top 10 in each division are below, for complete standings go to: https://wonbassevents.com/pages/won-bass-shasta-open-pairings-results.
2025 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open Day One Pro Standings
| Place | Angler | Hometown | Fish | Big Bass | Day 1 | Day 2 | Total |
| 1 | Joe Uribe, Jr. | Surprise AZ | 10-10 | 7.36 | 20.32 | 18.83 | 39.15 |
| 2 | Chris Martin | Rocklin CA | 10-10 | 5.00 | 18.75 | 16.46 | 35.21 |
| 3 | Logan Huntze | Discovery Bay CA | 10-10 | 5.99 | 17.91 | 12.93 | 30.84 |
| 4 | Jerry Ballesteros | Rancho Cucamonga CA | 10-10 | 4.89 | 13.72 | 16.72 | 30.44 |
| 5 | Joe Mariani | Winters CA | 10-10 | 16.88 | 13.21 | 30.09 | |
| 6 | Alex Niapas | Altaville CA | 10-10 | 9.14 | 7.96 | 21.89 | 29.85 |
| 7 | Cody Meyer | Eagle ID | 10-10 | 15.25 | 13.96 | 29.21 | |
| 8 | Ian Boehm | Desrt Hills AZ | 10-10 | 5.53 | 16.87 | 12.04 | 28.91 |
| 9 | Greg Gutierrez | Red Bluff CA | 10-10 | 4.27 | 16.31 | 12.27 | 28.58 |
| 10 | Ryan Cool | Redding CA | 10-10 | 13.47 | 15.03 | 28.50 |
2025 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open Day One AAA Standings
| Place | Angler | Hometown | Fish | Weight | Big Bass | Day 1 | Day 2 | Total |
| 1 | Jacob Crawford | San Pedro CA | 10-10 | 35.12 | 13.23 | 21.89 | 35.12 | |
| 2 | Phillip Lopez | Shingle Springs CA | 10-10 | 33.21 | 5.37 | 18.75 | 14.46 | 33.21 |
| 3 | Jake Etcheverry | Hughson CA | 10-10 | 30.82 | 4.15 | 16.87 | 13.95 | 30.82 |
| 4 | Damon Motley | Orange CA | 10-10 | 30.22 | 4.51 | 20.32 | 9.90 | 30.22 |
| 5 | Kody Sindorf | Anderson CA | 10-10 | 30.02 | 3.93 | 16.06 | 13.96 | 30.02 |
| 6 | David Underwood | Waco TX | 10-10 | 29.57 | 5.30 | 10.74 | 18.83 | 29.57 |
| 7 | Dennis Saiki | Torrance CA | 10-10 | 29.47 | 4.37 | 15.00 | 14.47 | 29.47 |
| 8 | Jeff Baird | Washington UT | 10-10 | 29.43 | 4.21 | 14.40 | 15.03 | 29.43 |
| 9 | Steve Brackmann | Wilder ID | 10-10 | 29.40 | 17.91 | 11.49 | 29.40 | |
| 10 | Michael Grisham | Glendale AZ | 10-10 | 28.81 | 16.31 | 12.50 | 28.81 |
The 2025 WON Bass Western Opens Series of events Consisting of five events in California, Arizona and Nevada, will culminate with the 2024 WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mohave in October. The five event dates are as follows:
Feb. 5 to 7, 2025 - Lake Shasta
April 9 to 11, 2025 - Clear Lake
May 7 to 9, 2025 - Lake Havasu
Sept. 10 to 12, 2025 - Lake Mead
Oct. 6 to 8, 2025 - U.S. Open at Lake Mohave
For complete details or to register, look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com to hear the latest news about the 2024 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.
The 2025 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open is brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Triton Boats, Bridgford Foods, Volta Power Lithium, Power Pole, Lowrance, Daiwa, AFTCO, Costa, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Fenwick Rods, Anderson Toyota, A&M Graphics, Anglers Marine, Signature Gates, DD26 Fishing, Bad Ass Bearings, Cipher Fishing Megaware Keelguard.
Local presenting sponsors are Visit Redding, Phil’s Propellers Huff’s Restaurant.
Carson-Newman Extends Lead in the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year
University of Montevallo remains in 2nd, Bethel University holds steady in 3rd
SAN ANTONIO, TX (February 6, 2025) – The Association of Collegiate Anglers releases the latest points update for the 2024-25 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. College fishing’s only all-encompassing National Rankings system, this year’s race is just past the halfway point as teams compete in national, regional, and local events nationwide to earn valuable points before the conclusion of the season at the end of May. This points update is highlighted by event results for each of the first two Bassmaster College Series tournaments in 2025.
Carson-Newman University places two teams in the Top 10 at Lake Okeechobee to maintain its number one overall ranking. The University of Montevallo’s top two teams were in 13th at Lake Okeechobee, keeping them in 2nd place. Bethel University earns points at both major events, and holds onto to their 3rd place ranking.
Carson-Newman University entered the first events of 2025 in 1st place, with a lead of 1,165 points over 2nd ranked Montevallo. Following competition at Lake Okeechobee, Carson-Newman’s gap between 1st and 2nd place is now 1,285 points. By placing two teams in the Top 10 of the final tournament standings, Carson-Newman earned 2,380 points at their first Bassmaster College Series event in 2025. Easton Drennon & Chase McCarter placed 6th, and Zachary Helton & Blake Wheat took 8th. Those two top finishes earned Carson-Newman the most points of any school to compete at Lake Okeechobee.
Following the first major college fishing events of 2025, there was a lot of movement inside of the Top 25 for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. Here are some of the teams that made key moves up inside of the Top 25:
8) LSU-Shreveport – Previously Ranked 9th
10) Kentucky Christian University – Previously Ranked 13th
14) Catawba Valley C.C. – Previously Ranked 18th
15) Lander University – Previously Ranked 19th
18) Emmanuel University – Previously Ranked 21
Click here to view the complete updated rankings.
Three schools moved up into the Top 25 that were previously not inside that coveted position. Georgia College moved from 31st to 23rd, Stephen F. Austin State went from 26th to 24th, and Florida Gateway College jumped three places to be ranked 25th.
To view a complete list of points eligible events, follow this link.
Water levels and temperature will set the storyline for Bassmaster Open at Sam Rayburn
Feb. 6, 2025
JASPER, Texas — It’s safe to say that a majority of the 200-plus anglers scheduled to compete in the 2025 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Sam Rayburn Reservoir presented by SEVIIN have yet to win a B.A.S.S. event at any level.
They will all, however, be looking for a big win on one of the biggest bass fisheries of all when the tournament is held Feb. 13-15 in east Texas.
Rayburn is synonymous with big bass, making it a mainstay on the B.A.S.S. circuit for decades. There’s plenty of room (approximately 114,500 acres) for competitors to spread out, too, in search of the legendary toads that earned “Big Sam” the No. 7 spot in the Central Division of Bassmaster Magazine's 2024 100 Best Bass Lakes list.
Though he’s an Arkansas native and has been a Louisiana resident for a quarter-century, Bassmaster Elite Series pro Greg Hackney has a special affinity for Sam Rayburn Reservoir. When he was only 20, Hackney won a regional tournament on Rayburn, earning a boat and truck combo and qualifying for a spot in the Bassmaster All-American. Hackney also won his first Elite event on Rayburn back in 2006, the first year of the Elite Series.
“Rayburn has been very good to me through the years,” the 51-year-old pro said. “I love it there.”
Though he won’t be fishing in the Open at Rayburn, Hackney has a good understanding of what competitors can expect on the reservoir.
“It looks like it’s going to be warm just before the tournament and that should make for really good fishing,” he said. “If air temperatures sneak into the 80s, that will have a huge impact on fish migration. February is typically the month when fish will head to the bank (to spawn). You can look at previous Bassmaster events there and see (that) if it’s not cold, it’s gonna be won shallow.”
Water depth will likely be a factor, as well, Hackney said.
“When it’s lower, they hold in more mid-depth water,” he said. “If the water is low, the grass will play a huge role. If so, I’d look for a big crankbait bite out deep. If the water is high, the bushes will come into play. Another thing is the hard spots on the bottom in higher water. The fish tend to hang out there before heading farther in.”
As of early February, a Toyota ShareLunker bass (8 pounds or more) from Rayburn had yet to be reported to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. However, Hackney said he heard a 12-pound, 15-ounce beast had been boated at Rayburn recently. If so, that’s a sure sign that more big bites will follow as largemouth move into full spawn. A total of 26 ShareLunker bass were caught in Rayburn in 2024, making it one of the five most-productive big-bass fisheries in a state loaded with them.
“Everything is setting up for this one to be an absolute slugfest,” Hackney said of the upcoming Open at Rayburn. “The conditions could be perfect. You’ll have warm water, and the fish will start moving up. There should be some big weights caught.”
The St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Sam Rayburn Reservoir presented by SEVIIN will begin Feb. 13 with a 7 a.m. CT takeoff from Umphrey Family Pavilion in Brookeland, Texas, followed by weigh-in back at the pavilion beginning at 3 p.m. The full field will fish again on Feb. 14, with the top anglers advancing to fish for the tournament title on Feb. 15.
Follow the tournament online at Bassmaster.com.
The event is being sponsored by the Jasper County (Texas) Development District No. 1.
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: St. Croix
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Presenting Sponsor: SEVIIN
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 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 Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, 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, Bass Pro Shops 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.
Travis Ely Memorial Scholarship: Deadline to Register of February 17th
The Association of Collegiate Anglers, in working with the Ely family and Bass Pro Shops/White River Marine Group, established the Travis Ely Memorial Scholarship.
The Travis Ely Memorial Scholarship has been created to carry on Travis’ memory and will honor an active college angler for his/her impact both on the water and in the community.
The Travis Ely Memorial Scholarship is an honor that will be awarded at the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops, with applications starting in 2024 and continuing into the future. This scholarship will be awarded to a student angler who exemplifies great success, character, sportsmanship, and work ethic, just like Travis, both on the water and around the community. To find out more information about eligibility criteria, click here.
The deadline to register for the Travis Ely Memorial Scholarship for the 2024-25 school year is February 17, 2025. To apply for the Travis Ely Memorial Scholarship, follow this link to the bold.org website and fully complete the application form.
Thanks to contributions made from the Ely family and Bass Pro Shops/White River Marine Group, the Travis Ely Memorial Scholarship will be a $1,500 scholarship awarded annually to one well-deserving angler.
The Association of Collegiate Anglers (ACA) is a division of CarecoTV that was created twenty years ago to facilitate growth, development, and structure within competitive collegiate bass fishing, with emphasis on competitive fishing events nationwide. The ACA created the original BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship which has now evolved into the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, which is now recognized as the longest-running consecutive collegiate bass fishing series in existence. The ACA has also created various other programs such as the Collegiate School of the Year Rankings system, College Bass Fishing Open, Collegiate Big Bass Bash and the College Bass Fishing Springtime Slam.
The ACA lineup of major college fishing events includes a variety of nationwide tournaments that are multi-day tournaments, all of which are televised and streamed on several networks, as well as streamed on a variety of connected platforms. These major events have no entry fees and no membership costs associated with them. The ACA also provides support to numerous schools operating regional events nationwide which is an effort to provide more opportunities to grow the exposure and awareness of college fishing.
The ACA owns the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, Bass Pro Shops School of Year presented by Abu Garcia program, and associated assets which is widely regarded as the most comprehensive and prestigious collegiate bass fishing title today.
Thanks in part to the large diversity of media exposure the ACA provides, the series boasts the largest amount of televised and streaming coverage of any collegiate fishing series. This includes a dedicated television series on numerous television networks and streaming platforms, as well as additional coverage of select events inside other programs.
This combination includes coverage from national and regional television networks as well as being streamed online on various apps and connected devices. You can also find coverage via video on demand online at any time of past events thanks to coverage on OutdoorActionTV.com and PursuitUp.com
For more information on the ACA or the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, visit www.
For more information on CarecoTV, visit www.CarecoTV.com
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Mark Zona returns to Bassmaster with new podcast, TnZ, launching on the Bassmaster Channel
Feb. 6, 2025
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Bass fishing fans, get ready! Mark Zona is making his highly anticipated return to Bassmaster, bringing his unmistakable energy and insight back to the sport with the launch of the TnZ Podcast alongside his longtime colleague Tommy Sanders. Debuting Monday, Feb. 10, on Bassmaster.com, the TnZ Podcast will be the anchor show of the all-new Bassmaster Channel, which is set to revolutionize the way fans engage with the sport.
After serving as a host of Bassmaster LIVE for a decade, Zona retired from the show after the close of the 2024 season. Now Zona, affectionately known as "Z," steps back into the Bassmaster fold, reuniting with the legendary Tommy Sanders — one of the most respected voices in bass fishing. Together, the dynamic duo will offer a fresh, unfiltered take on the sport, delivering top-tier analysis with their signature mix of expertise, humor and bold opinions.
Phillip Johnson, Chief Operating Officer of B.A.S.S., expressed his excitement for the launch of the new Bassmaster Channel and its flagship program. “We are so excited to have Zona and Tommy bringing their tremendous knowledge and personalities to our new Bassmaster Channel with the TnZ Podcast. I know our fans will love watching these guys tackle some crazy topics as the Elite Series kicks off. We developed the Bassmaster Channel to enhance the fan experience, and the TnZ Podcast will no doubt be the crown jewel of our programming.”
The TnZ Podcast will lead an exciting lineup of programs available on the Bassmaster Channel, which includes other premier shows such as:
- Inside Bassmaster Podcast – A deep dive into the latest in tournament action and fishing industry news.
- O-Fish-Ally, Unofficial Podcast with Dave Mercer – A unique, entertaining take on the sport from Bassmaster’s inimitable emcee.
- And much more!
The Bassmaster Channel is designed to inform and entertain, providing fans with unprecedented access to expert analysis, angler interviews and behind-the-scenes stories from the sport’s biggest personalities.
On the TnZ Podcast, Sanders and Zona will tackle the biggest topics in bass fishing, from angler rankings and tournament breakdowns to equipment trends and even unexpected pop culture crossovers. This will be a pull-no-punches fishing show where no topic is off-limits.
Mike McKinnis, VP of media/content for JM Associates, emphasized the podcast’s unique approach. “This will be unlike any other fishing podcast out there. Zona and Sanders will be no-holds-barred, prognosticating angler tiers from best to worst and making rookie predictions on who makes it and who falls off. Most importantly, these guys are going to offer real information, not misinformation that fishing fans often get from other sources.”
“Ya ... it’s a podcast, but sort of a Bassmaster fishing sport show where we can dive into the good, bad and ugly,” said Zona. “We will also hold ourselves accountable when we are totally wrong, which will probably be often. Going off my last 20 years with Tommy, I don’t think our sport will run out of crazy stuff to talk about. It’s definitely something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”
The TnZ Podcast launches Monday, Feb. 10, on Bassmaster.com. The podcast will have 26 episodes in 2025, and fans can expect a new installment every other week.
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.
Joe Uribe Jr. Takes Day One Lead of 2025 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open with 20.32 pounds
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Chris Martin in Second Place with 18.75 pounds
Redding, Calif. – February 5, 2025 –– Lake Shasta, in extreme Northern California can prove to be one of the more unique fisheries in the Western Unite States. Known for its spotted bass population, Lake Shasta can produce very average limits one week and then become a big weight event the next.
Such was the case on day one at the 2025 WON bass Lake Shasta Open as 126 WON Bass Pros and their AAA partners ventured out onto the Lake from Bridge Bay Marina to try and start the quest at earning the 2025 Ranger Boats Z518 with Mercury 150 ProXS outboard presented by Bass Pro Shops with Power-Pole Charge and Volta Power Lithium Power Batteries, a package valued at $55,000.
With practice conditions that brought cold temperatures and driving rains, many anglers in the field reported tough results, and outlook for a big weigh event was not bright. However, as day one of the event dawned, the rains stopped, the temperatures warmed slightly with the sun and breezes broke up the surface of the water and the fish began to bite.
One angler who reported a slow practice was Surprise, Ariz. pro Joe Uribe Jr. who ran to one of his favorite areas on the lake hoping to catch a limit – he did better. Uribe power fished his way to 12 bites - one of which was a 7.36-pound largemouth that was big fish of the day – to bring 20.32-pounds to the scales with his day one AAA Damon Motley to take the lead.
Rocklin, Calif. pro Chris Martin, who manages the Marine Department at Bass Pro Shops in his hometown, and his AAA partner Phillip Lopez reported catching as many as 50 spotted bass between them to weigh 18.75 pounds to open the event in second place.
Third place went to pro Logan Huntze of Discovery Bay, Calif. and his AAA Steven Brackman with 17.91 pounds. They were followed by Redding, Calif. pro Randy Doyle and AAA partner Daniel Nehrer placed fourth with 17 pounds even, and Millville, Calif. pro Stev Frick and his AAA Scott Holman bagged 16.95 pounds to round out the top five.
Uribe said that he decided to try to make the best of the situation. “I went to an area that has produced for me, put my trolling motor down and fished a swimbait, “he said. “I had never caught a 20-pound bag on Shasta before, and while I didn’t expect it today, I’m certainly glad my name is on that list; it was a blessed day.”
Uribe reported making long casts with a swimbait, then watching the lure as he retrieved it on his Livescope Forward Facing Sonar, and he would see the spotted bass rise off the bottom to take a look. “I had to trigger most of them into biting by playing with the retrieve once I saw them,” he said. “But, we were able to capitalize on enough good bites to have a great day and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Martin made a medium run to the northeast and threw 3/4-ounce Bass Patrol Jigs and reaction baits in three cuts until they had what proved to be their final weigh at around 11:00AM, then he went looking for a big bite. “We caught the majority of our fish in 30 to 50 feet of water,” he said. “Once I had the 18 pounds, I decided to run around and try for a big swimbait bite, which didn’t happen, but I feel good about tomorrow, a solid limit will keep me in contention.”
The daily livestream of the weigh-ins airs on at Facebook.com/
The Top 20 in each division are below, for complete standings go to: https://wonbassevents.com/
2025 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open Day One Pro Standings
|
Place |
PRO Angler |
Hometown |
Fish |
Weight |
Big Bass |
|
1 |
Joe Uribe, Jr. | Surprise AZ |
5-5 |
20.32 |
7.36 |
|
2 |
Chris Martin | Rocklin CA |
5-5 |
18.75 |
4.24 |
|
3 |
Logan Huntze | Discovery Bay CA |
5-5 |
17.91 |
5.99 |
|
4 |
Randy Doyle | Redding CA |
5-5 |
17.00 |
|
|
5 |
Steve Frick | Milville CA |
5-5 |
16.95 |
|
|
6 |
Joe Mariani | Winters CA |
5-5 |
16.88 |
|
|
7 |
Ian Boehm | Desrt Hills AZ |
5-5 |
16.87 |
5.53 |
|
8 |
Alex Klein | Oroville CA |
5-5 |
16.84 |
5.02 |
|
9 |
Ed Arledge | Valley Center CA |
5-5 |
16.39 |
3.63 |
|
10 |
Greg Gutierrez | Red Bluff CA |
5-5 |
16.31 |
4.27 |
|
11 |
Aaron Britt | Yuba City CA |
5-5 |
16.16 |
|
|
12 |
Robert Nakatomi | Sacramento CA |
5-5 |
16.06 |
|
|
13 |
Mark Crutcher | Lakeport CA |
5-5 |
15.66 |
|
|
14 |
Phil Dutra | Arab AL |
5-5 |
15.60 |
|
|
15 |
Cody Meyer | Eagle ID |
5-5 |
15.25 |
|
|
16 |
Roy Hawk | Lake Havasu City AZ |
5-5 |
15.00 |
|
|
17 |
Bill Townsend | Redding CA |
5-5 |
14.57 |
|
|
18 |
Brian Conder | Smartsvile CA |
5-5 |
14.48 |
|
|
19 |
Chris Raza | Orangvalle CA |
5-5 |
14.47 |
|
|
20 |
Todd Kline | San Clemente CA |
5-5 |
14.42 |
2025 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open Day One AAA Standings
|
Place |
AAA Angler |
Hometown |
Fish |
Big Bass |
Weight |
|
1 |
Damon Motley | Orange CA |
5-5 |
20.32 |
|
|
2 |
Phillip Lopez | Shingle Springs CA |
5-5 |
5.37 |
18.75 |
|
3 |
Steve Brackmann | Wilder ID |
5-5 |
17.91 |
|
|
4 |
Daniel Nehrer | Borrego Springs CA |
5-5 |
5.06 |
17.00 |
|
5 |
Scott Holman | Orange CA |
5-5 |
16.95 |
|
|
6 |
Eddie Bouslaugh Jones | Redding CA |
5-5 |
16.88 |
|
|
7 |
Jake Etcheverry | Hughson CA |
5-5 |
16.87 |
|
|
8 |
Steven Cook | Willow AK |
5-5 |
4.08 |
16.84 |
|
9 |
Dante Ray | Fernley NV |
5-5 |
4.42 |
16.39 |
|
10 |
Michael Grisham | Glendale AZ |
5-5 |
16.31 |
|
|
11 |
Glen Wyatt | Stockton CA |
5-5 |
16.16 |
|
|
12 |
Kody Sindorf | Anderson CA |
5-5 |
3.93 |
16.06 |
|
13 |
Scott Stanfield | Anderson CA |
5-5 |
5.13 |
15.66 |
|
14 |
Derek Andersen | Meadow Vista CA |
5-5 |
15.60 |
|
|
15 |
Paul Howard | Sacramento CA |
5-5 |
3.65 |
15.25 |
|
16 |
Dennis Saiki | Torrance CA |
5-5 |
4.37 |
15.00 |
|
17 |
John Garrett | Elk Grove CA |
5-5 |
14.57 |
|
|
18 |
Steve W. Clark | Fresno CA |
5-5 |
14.48 |
|
|
19 |
Thaddeus Vinson | Medford OR |
5-5 |
14.47 |
|
|
20 |
Chad LeBlanc | Weatland CA |
5-5 |
4.57 |
14.42 |
The 2025 WON Bass Western Opens Series of events Consisting of five events in California, Arizona and Nevada, will culminate with the 2024 WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mohave in October. The five event dates are as follows:
Feb. 5 to 7, 2025 - Lake Shasta
April 9 to 11, 2025 - Clear Lake
May 7 to 9, 2025 - Lake Havasu
Sept. 10 to 12, 2025 - Lake Mead
Oct. 6 to 8, 2025 - U.S. Open at Lake Mohave
For complete details or to register, look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com to hear the latest news about the 2024 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/
The 2025 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open is brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Triton Boats, Bridgford Foods, Volta Power Lithium, Power Pole, Lowrance, Daiwa, AFTCO, Costa, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Fenwick Rods, Anderson Toyota, A&M Graphics, Anglers Marine, Signature Gates, DD26 Fishing, Bad Ass Bearings, Cipher Fishing Megaware Keelguard.
Local presenting sponsors are Visit Redding, Phil’s Propellers Huff’s Restaurant.
Postmortem Exam of a Tournament Experience: Practice Makes Perfect?
By Vance McCullough, AC Insider
Photo Credits: Mark Cisneros/Bassmaster.com
Tread lightly when scouting before a tournament but be thorough enough to fully understand what your area has to offer. If you perfect this process, please tell me how.
As one who writes about the sport of tournament bass fishing, I have a unique opportunity to understand the strategies and thought processes that shape on-water success for many of the brightest stars in our sport. Some of the secrets they share don’t make it into print or on screen for various, lamentable, reasons.
I try to incorporate these lessons into stand alone bits of advice, most notably the Fish Tip Friday segments I post to AnglersChannel.com. After all, I do what I do because I love to fish and love (almost equally) to help others think about ways they can catch more fish too.
Occasionally, the writer gets to jump into tournament action. The lessons learned are experienced on a much deeper level than can ever be taught with words, but I try to pass along what I can.
I fished the Bassmaster Kayak Series event on Florida’s Kissimmee Chain of Lakes this past weekend.
The 2-day tourney attracted anglers from dozens of states and Canada as well as a contingent from Puerto Rico, 224 of us in all. Thanks to Bassmaster’s BassmastHER initiative, the ladies showed up – and showed out! Becky Robinson of Maryland led the first day with 100.75 inches on her 5 longest fish.
Robinson reported that she caught a small limit in the pencil reeds before culling them with 20-inchers plucked from among lily pads.
I fished an area on Lake Toho that had plentiful pads and just a few pencil reeds but that was covered in fields of hydrilla, some of which was matted, most of which grew to within inches of the surface. A few isolated acres had clumps of grass with open lanes that invited bladed jigs and spinnerbaits and held fat, healthy bass – some of the prettiest I’ve ever seen.
Among the chief reasons to fish hydrilla, if you can, is that many others cannot, or will not, make the arduous effort to constantly clean their fouled propellers. I burnt up a motor during my bass boating days. I know the pain involved. When fishing tournaments in Florida, the old saw holds that if you’re not around other fishermen, you’re not around fish. But any time I’ve scored well I’ve had a chunk of water to myself, so I prefer to go off and do my own thing, especially in an area that’s hard to access.
So it went in this event. I saw no more than one bass boat per day and none stayed for nearly an hour. As kayakers have added pedal drives and trolling motors, I figured the thick hydrilla would keep many of them out of the area too. I was right. I never saw more than one other kayak any given day and I practiced 3 days, competed for 2.
I had the place to myself. I covered miles of it – with a paddle, sometimes saying words I shouldn’t have. As immense as the fishing grounds were, I still tread lightly, never attempting to catch more than a couple fish in any single spot. I also didn’t quite dial-in the big bite, figuring I would sort though the numbers to find them during tournament hours.
I found two spawning flats within a mile, either direction, of the launch. I concentrated on the nearshore, inside hydrilla edge in these areas. In practice the fish in this zone were running 18-to-19 inches while those up on the flats were just smaller bucks. I could visually scan the clear shallows without hooking fish which is a big deal to me because I never want to be the guy who ‘won practice’ but beat his area up before it counted. I flipped shallow cover to see if big females might be hiding near the fresh beds. No luck. Even the bucks were spooky and not at all territorial yet. Patchy hydrilla offshore, but close to it, was the target for me. It did produce back-to-back limits. I would eventually finish in 55th place.
I firmly believe too many anglers have no clear objective for practice other than riding around and sore mouthing fish and then spending the tournament rounds in those areas where they caught the most fish which, logically, is now the last place you should expect to win a tournament.
The art of tournament practice is tricky. Less is often more. Having the confidence to merely scratch the tip of the proverbial iceberg and bet on what lies beneath can lead you to the winner’s circle. Adjustments made during competition are the ones that lead to victory anyway, so don’t pound the waters too hard beforehand.
To protect the feelings of the foolish, I’ll not name names or locations, but I spoke with a top competitor who picked a good piece of water, went easy on it during practice, and got off to a decent start only to find the bite getting tougher as the tourney wore on even though he hit fresh spots each day. “I talked with several people who also launched there they all said they caught them good in practice and then wondered what happened to the fish during the tournament,” shared the angler, a tone of disbelief in his voice.
I followed the same basic approach as eventual champion Sherman Bishop did, throwing bladed jigs along inside grass lines, though he did so on a smaller lake nearby that doesn’t get the pressure of our larger, more famous tournament lakes. Smart move on his part.
Oh, and he stated to Andrew Canulette at Bassmaster, “. . . I saw what I needed to see,” during a single practice visit to the lake. And then he got out of there. Having the confidence to know what he had found and, more importantly, to leave it alone until it mattered was a decision that led him to a dominating win of over 5 inches against a huge field of anglers who caught thousands of bass over the two days.
For his exploits, Bishop won a blue trophy and over $11,000 in prize money.
And we all got another reminder of how important it is to accurately assess the value of an area without wearing it out during practice.
Look Sharp While Fishing TATULA
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Buy Any TATULA Rod or Reel and Get a FREE DAIWA / AFTCO Hooded Performance Shirt |
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FOOTHILL RANCH, CA (February 4, 2025) – For over a decade, anglers have required no added incentive to fish DAIWA’s TATULA branded rods and reels. The fantastic performance at a fair price is motivation enough. So why the 2025 TATULA promotion? It’s really a reward for loyalty as anglers add to their collection. Beginning February 1, 2025, anglers purchasing any TATULA rod, reel, or combo can register to receive a FREE TATULA branded AFTCO hooded performance shirt. AFTCO's lightweight, technical hooded performance shirt feels smooth and stretches with each cast, while wicking moisture away from the skin to keep you comfortable in hot weather. The hood is constructed to comfortably protect your ears, neck, and back of your head from the sun. Qualify with the purchase of any DAIWA TATULA reel, rod or combo between February 1, 2025, and May 31, 2025 (NO EXCEPTIONS). US and Canadian residents only. Visit DAIWA website for details and redemption instructions |
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This refreshed version of the TATULA SV 100 is laden with upgrades, most notably the groundbreaking SV BOOST System. It employs a proprietary spool and paired technology that lets a novice angler cast like a pro. First, backlash is virtually eliminated as the spool self-manages resistance throughout the duration of a cast. Spool speed is controlled at the start of a cast – where backlash typically happens – and relinquishes resistance progressively as the bait flies. SV BOOST also amplifies casting distance and provides optimal cast control. Other significant features include DAIWA’s HYPERDRIVE SYSTEM, T-Wing System and Ultimate Tournament Drag (UTD). MSRP $219.99 |
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The new TATULA SV TW 150 is geared for the power-fishing crowd, introducing them to SV spool technology and HYPERDRIVE DESIGN in a mid-priced baitcaster. The upsized reel casts and controls bigger baits like swimbaits, deep crankbaits, bladebaits, and smaller A-rigs. Energized by SV (Stress-Free, Versatile), the TATULA SV TW 150 yields the ultimate castability with a heavier line. Bassers who spool 50- and 60-pound braid will notice the improved casting distance compared to their current reels. The spool is sized to accommodate more and heavier line, too. Beyond providing a jolt to casting distance, SV technology virtually eliminates backlash. The TATULA SV TW 150’s feature-set includes HYPERDRIVE DESIGN, consisting of the HYPERDRIVE ARMED HOUSING, HYPERDRIVE DIGIGEAR, HYPERDRICE DOUBLE SUPPORT, and HYPERDRIVE TOUGH CLUTCH. In summary, DAIWA’s new TATULA SV TW 150 is a powerhouse baitcasting reel that minimizes backlash, casts for distance with control, and will be welcomed by new and experienced anglers alike. MSRP $219.99 |
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For Daiwa’s latest color catalog and/or information on Daiwa dealers in your area, call Daiwa’s Customer Service Department at 562-375-6800 or e-mail inquiries to: CSR@Daiwa.com. The URL for Daiwa’s web site is daiwa.us. |
Softbait Superpower
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MLF Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Southern Division Set to Open Season on Lake Okeechobee
CLEWISTON, Fla. (Feb. 5, 2025) –The Major League Fishing (MLF) Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats is headed back to Lake Okeechobee, Feb. 13-15, for the first event of the 2025 Southern division – the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at Lake Okeechobee.
The three-day tournament, hosted by the Hendry County Tourism Development Council, will showcase the region’s top bass-fishing pros and Strike King co-anglers. Competitors will vie for a grand prize of up to $100,000 in the pro division and a new Phoenix 518 Pro boat with a 115-horsepower outboard motor plus $5,000 in the co-angler division.
Lake Okeechobee has faced an unusual winter – a brutally cold start followed by an abrupt warming trend. According to Bass Pro Tour angler Keith Carson of DeBary, Florida, the lake got too warm, too fast, which could lead to some interesting dynamics on the water. Carson said the fish are in spawn mode, and the conditions will create opportunities for big bags. But the lake’s murkier water and slightly higher levels could make finding those fish more challenging.
“The water is kind of dirty. I think it’s a little bit higher,” Carson said. “I think we’ll likely see a lot of guys blind pitching at the reeds. They’re still really going to catch them, though. There was a local tournament last Saturday and first place was 29 pounds, so I think we’re going to see some giants.”
Carson said he expects that forward-facing sonar will play a significant role in the tournament, continuing a trend seen in recent years.
“I used to think that it wasn’t that big of a deal for Florida because our lakes are so different from the lakes up north,” he said. “But, man, after last year, where just about everyone in the top 10 was using it – it’s going to be a big deal.”
When asked what he would have tied on for this event, Carson had a few go-to picks that he suggested.
“I’d definitely be throwing the Berkley Spin Rocket,” he said. “I’d have a black-and-blue Berkley swimjig tied on, with a MaxScent Meaty Chunk trailer – that would also be really good. And I think an old-school spinnerbait could be a player in this one, especially if a guy can get on a shad spawn.”
Anglers will begin each day at 7 a.m. ET, launching from Roland & Mary Ann Martin’s Marina & Resort, located at 920 E. Del Monte Ave. in Clewiston. Weigh-ins will take place at the marina, starting at 3 p.m. daily. Fans are invited to attend in person and can also stay connected by following the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts and daily updates on MajorLeagueFishing.com.
In Toyota Series regular-season competition, payouts are based on the number of participants competing in the event, scaling up for every 20 boats over 160 and scaling down for every boat below 160. With a 160-boat field, pros fish for a top prize of up to $75,000, if Phoenix MLF Bonus qualified. Strike King co-anglers cast for the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard (valued at $33,500). With a 260-boat field, pros fish for a top award of up to $100,000, if Phoenix MLF Bonus qualified. Strike King co-anglers cast for the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard plus $5,000 cash.
The 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 Strike King 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 Sports Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Vosker, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Toyota Series updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 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.
The Bassmaster Classic returns to Knoxville for 2026
February 5, 2025
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Super Bowl of Bass Fishing is making its way back to one of the most electrifying destinations in the sport. B.A.S.S. officials announced today that the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour will return to Knoxville, Tenn., for the third time on March 13-15, 2026.
With competition set on the Tennessee River’s Fort Loudoun and Tellico lakes, daily weigh-ins will take place at the University of Tennessee’s Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in downtown Knoxville. The Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo presented by GSM Outdoors, featuring more than 200 exhibitors, will be held at the Knoxville Convention Center and World’s Fair Exhibition Hall, offering over 250,000 square feet of event space. Visit Knoxville will once again serve as the event’s host.
“We are thrilled to return to the site of two of our most successful Classics in history,” said B.A.S.S. CEO Chase Anderson. “East Tennessee fully embraces the Classic for what it truly is — a celebration of the sport of bass fishing. The fan experience in Knoxville is second to none, with all event venues within walking distance. With our ever-growing global fanbase, we expect the 2026 Classic to be even bigger and more exciting.”
The 2026 Bassmaster Classic will feature 58 of the world’s top bass anglers, who will earn their spots through the Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by SEVIIN, Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship presented by Lowrance, Bassmaster College Classic Bracket presented by Lew’s and the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Team Championship. These elite competitors will battle for a $300,000 first-place prize and a total purse of over $850,000.
Knoxville has become a premier destination for the Bassmaster Classic, drawing record-breaking crowds and delivering significant economic benefits.
“This will be the third Bassmaster Classic we bring to Knoxville, which speaks to the perfect combination of our strong partnership and the exceptional experience our city provides,” said Chad Culver, senior director of the Visit Knoxville Sports Commission and Convention Sales.
The 2023 Bassmaster Classic set a new attendance record with 163,914 fans, generating an economic impact of $35.5 million for Knoxville and east Tennessee. Additionally, the event generated $2.85 million in state and local tax revenue, with attendees booking 31,525 hotel room nights across Knox County. The Classic also supported 12,698 jobs throughout the event. The Classic celebration continued when B.A.S.S. was honored as the Best Professional Event at the 2023 SportsTravel Awards.
“Knoxville shines during major events like the Bassmaster Classic,” said Kim Bumpas, president of Visit Knoxville. “Both the anglers and fans enjoy an unmatched experience, from the Tennessee River to the world-class venues hosting events throughout Classic weekend. We are excited to welcome everyone back in 2026.”
Fort Loudoun and Tellico lakes, covering approximately 30,000 acres, will once again provide anglers with a dynamic and competitive fishery. Competitors will also have access to waters upstream from Fort Loudoun Dam, extending to the Interstate 40 bridge on the Holston River and the Highway 168 bridge on the French Broad River.
Elite Series angler Jeff Gustafson knows the potential of these waters well. In 2023, he secured victory at the Bassmaster Classic by landing 42 pounds, 7 ounces of bass, becoming the first Canadian angler to win the championship and taking home the coveted Ray Scott Trophy and the $300,000 prize.
Daily takeoffs will take place at Volunteer Landing, where more than 15,000 fans gathered in 2023 to watch the world’s best bass anglers embark on their quest for Classic glory.
“B.A.S.S. is extremely excited to return to Knoxville for the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour,” said Chris Bowes, B.A.S.S. vice president of tournaments. “This event should be just as competitive as past Classics on Fort Loudoun and Tellico lakes.
“We expect to see all three black bass species cross the weigh-in scales, and with such a versatile fishery, competitors will be able to play to their strengths,” Bowes added. “One thing that won’t change is the breathtaking backdrop of Knoxville and the convenience of its world-class venues for both anglers and fans.”
About Visit Knoxville
Visit Knoxville (Knoxville Convention and Visitors Bureau) is the official CVB for the City of Knoxville and Knox County. Visit Knoxville is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, private company that works together with the community, business leaders and local and state government to further develop Knoxville as a premier leisure, meetings and travel destination. Tourism is the second-highest grossing industry in the state of Tennessee. Knoxville/Knox County annually produces over $1 billion in travel spending. For more information, visit visitknoxville.com and follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
About Visit Knoxville Sports Commission
The Visit Knoxville Sports Commission (VKSC), established under Visit Knoxville in 2016, is responsible for bringing tournaments and sporting events to Knoxville and Knox County. The VKSC has hosted top-tier events including the Bassmaster Classic, the USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships and the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Diving. The VKSC was recognized as Sports ETA’s 2019 Sport Tourism Organization of the Year and was awarded SportsTravel’s Best Professional Event and HospitalityTN’s Purple Iris Award Special Event of the Year for the 2023 Bassmaster Classic. For more information, visit sports.visitknoxville.
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.
Harris Chain of Lakes Set for MLF Bass Pro Tour Suzuki Stage 2 Presented by YETI
66 Anglers to Compete Next Week for $150,000 Top Prize in Leesburg, Follow the Action Live All Four Days at MajorLeagueFishing.com
LEESBURG, Fla. (Feb. 4, 2025) – The Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour continues its action-packed 2025 season next week, Feb. 13-16, with Suzuki Stage 2 at the Harris Chain of Lakes Presented by YETI, in Leesburg, Florida. Hosted by Discover Lake County Florida, the four-day tournament will feature 66 of the world’s top professional anglers competing for a $150,000 top prize, crucial points in the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) race and coveted qualification spots for the Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2026.
The star-studded field will feature top pros and local favorites, including reigning Fishing Clash AOY Jacob Wheeler, REDCREST 2024 Champion Dustin Connell and defending Harris Chain champion Ott DeFoe, as well as Florida favorites Keith Carson , Bobby Lane and Terry Scroggins , looking to leverage their local knowledge.
The tournament will feature the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, in which anglers catch as much weight as they can each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard. The tournament is being filmed for broadcast later this year on Discovery.
"We are thrilled to welcome Major League Fishing’s 2025 Bass Pro Tour to Lake County, Florida,” said Ryan Ritchie, Director of Discover Lake County, Florida. “This event showcases our world-class fisheries and reinforces our reputation as a premier destination for competitive fishing. A huge thank you to our partners at the City of Leesburg and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission for their collaboration in making this event possible."
"Hosting the Major League Fishing 2025 Bass Pro Tour is an exciting opportunity for Lake County to shine on the national stage,” said Kirby Smith, Lake County Commissioner. “Our lakes, our community and our hospitality make this the perfect setting for anglers and fans alike. We greatly appreciate the support of the City of Leesburg and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission in bringing this prestigious event to our area."
The last time the Bass Pro Tour visited the Harris Chain of Lakes was in 2021, where Tennessee’s DeFoe claimed victory, capitalizing on the shad spawn early in the day before transitioning to offshore cranking. This year, it seems anglers will face very different conditions, as Florida’s warm weather has accelerated the spawn, creating a dynamic playing field.
Lane, a Lakeland, Florida native, finished second to DeFoe in 2021, and said he is eager for another shot at the title.
“The last time the Bass Pro Tour was here was in May, and the fish were everywhere,” said Lane. “This time, it’ll be different. It’s earlier in the year, but we’re transitioning big time. Florida has gone from a brutal winter – culminated by two weeks in a row of miserably cold weather – to three weeks of brutal heat. It’s basically summertime now, so we’ll see fish in all three stages of the spawn throughout the event and there’s plenty of vegetation in almost every lake now.”
Lane predicts winning weights will range between 30 to 45 pounds on the final day, with anglers needing around 60 to 70 pounds over the first two days to advance to the Knockout Round. He also said he expects a variety of techniques to come into play.
“I think we’ll see guys throwing ChatterBaits, swim worms, flipping sticks, crankbaits, frogs, drop-shot rigs, shaky heads and topwater baits,” said Lane. “I think it's all going to work. I don't think one guy is going to be able to light it on fire in one spot. I think he's going to have to cover a lot of water.”
Lane said a key strategic challenge will be the Harris Chain locking system. Anglers choosing to lock into Apopka or Griffin could lose valuable fishing time, making decisions on location critical.
“There’s a risk in locking,” Lane explained. “If Harris, Eustis or Dora are fishing good in the morning, there’s no way a guy locking in is going to catch up. It’s kind of a puzzle, and we’ve got to figure out how to put the puzzle together.”
Unlike the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 at Lake Conroe event, where forward-facing sonar played a dominant role in the first period, Lane believes its impact on the Harris Chain will be more limited.
“There will definitely be fish caught on forward-facing sonar, but I don’t see it being as big of a factor as it was in Texas,” Lane noted. “This event is going to have a lot more diversity in techniques.”
Anglers will launch at 7:15 a.m. ET each day from the Venetian Gardens, located at 201 E. Lake Harris Drive in Leesburg. Each day’s takeout will be held at the same location, beginning at 3:45 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.
In conjunction with the tournament, on Wednesday, Feb. 12, Bass Pro Tour pros competing in the event will be at Bass Pro Shops Orlando, located at 5156 International Drive in Orlando, from noon to 2 p.m., meeting with fans and signing autographs.
On Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 15-16, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to visit the Venetian Gardens 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 Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand both days to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.
The Suzuki Stage 2 at the Harris Chain of Lakes Presented by YETI will feature anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
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.
The full field of anglers will compete in the two-day Qualifying Round on Thursday and Friday. After the two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the pro with the highest 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.
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 MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.
Television coverage of the Suzuki Stage 2 at the Harris Chain of Lakes Presented by YETI will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Sept. 13 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering the following Saturday on Sept. 20. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.
Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, Bass Force, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sport Apparel, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Rapala, Star brite, Suzuki and Toyota.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 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.
Travel Tuesday - The Offshore Game
There have always been a certain percentage of tournament bass anglers who specialize in the offshore game. Guys like David Fritts made careers out of it while most of their competitors were beating the banks. With the rise of new technologies in recent years, more of them have headed offshore.
For me, however, since 2021 the term “offshore” has taken on a different meaning – I’ll always love Guntersville and Rayburn and the smallmouth of the Great Lakes, but I’ve gained a new appreciation for the ocean and the fish that truly live offshore.
I’d been fishing in Costa Rica in the 90s, but when we went to Casa Vieja Lodge in 2020, and then Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge in 2021 (twice in 2021, to be exact), something more clicked in my brain. These fish were apex predators, big and mean and altogether new to me. I had next to no clue about how to catch them, how they fed, or how they lived. I became obsessed.
Part of it, but not all of it, is just how damn big and how damn strong these fish are. Until you’ve lost to a 100-pound yellowfin tuna on spinning gear, and then conquered the next one, you can’t fully understand it. Until you’ve seen two sailfish zigzagging in the spread, greyhounding your teasers looking to eat, you can’t understand it. Until you’ve had a roosterfish stalk your popper, and felt the hairs on the back of your neck standing up just like his comb, you can’t understand it.
I know that many of our readers are hard core bass anglers. That’s what you live, sleep and breathe. That’s cool. It was my first love and resides in my DNA, too. But I strongly suggest that if you think you are a capital-A-Angler that you at least intersperse a trip into the ocean.
I’m now planning trips number six to Guatemala and Panama. If you want more info about those, shoot me an email. We’re also headed to Cabo this fall to chase striped marlin. This is the stuff that inspired Melville and Hemingway and countless others, and it’s not out of your reach.
After our first trip to Panama, I told my wife Hanna that I’d sell my bass boat if I could pop for tuna 30 days a year. Fortunately, it didn’t come to that, but we’ve taken a whole bunch of serious, accomplished bass anglers down there since then, and every one has had those same wide-eyed moments. No one’s going to force you to give up your trolling motor, your hollow-bodied frogs, your flipping sticks, or your Roland Martin signature glasses, but time on the big pond will change the way you think about fighting fish, about tackle, and about breaking down water.
Legends and Trailblazers: The 2025 Bass Fishing Hall of Fame Ballot Unveiled
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— For Immediate Release — Feb. 3, 2025 — Tackle pioneers, legendary boat builders, record-setting competitors and all-around trailblazers is just one way to describe the diverse group of individuals that comprise the 2025 Bass Fishing Hall of Fame ballot.
There will be 20 names on the ballot this year as the Hall of Fame prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary by honoring another distinguished class of legends that has made a lasting and meaningful impact on the sport of bass fishing.
"It's a special honor in itself to even be considered for induction into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, and for Hall's Board of Directors, it is one of the most important decisions every year in presenting the ballot to our selection panel and current Hall of Fame inductees for them to choose the next class," said John Mazurkiewicz, president of the Hall's Board. "Along with the new 2025 inductees, we look forward to also giving special recognition to the first Hall's induction class as part of the 25th anniversary of the Hall's inception at this year's induction dinner in September.”
The 2025 ballot consists of (in alphabetical order):
- Boyd Duckett (Guntersville, Ala.)
- David Dudley (Lynchburg, Va.)
- Dion Hibdon (Versailles, Mo.)
- Randy Hopper (Flippin, Ark.)
- Don Iovino (Burbank, Calif.)
- Craig Lamb (Murfreesboro, Tenn.)
- Pam Martin-Wells (Bowman, Ga.)
- Dave Mercer (Port Perry, Ont.)
- Andy Morgan (Dayton, Tenn.)
- John Murray (Spring City, Tenn.)
- Takahiro Omori (Emory, Texas)
- E.A. Pflueger (Akron, Ohio)
- Rick Pierce (Mountain Home, Ark.)
- Lynn Reeves (Springfield, Mo.)
- Zell Rowland (Montgomery, Texas)
- William Shakespeare Jr. (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
- Bill Taylor (Danville, Ky.)
- Clark Wendlandt (Leander, Texas)
- Mike Whitaker (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
- Jim Wilburn (Tulsa, Okla.)
The slate of nominees will be considered and voted on by the 30-member Hall of Fame Selection Panel and the 50 living members of the Hall. Each voter will choose five names and rank them in order of preference with the top choice receiving five (5) points, second receiving four (4) points, and so on. Voting will conclude on Feb. 13.
The 11-member Nominations Committee, comprised of members of the Hall’s Board of Directors, selected the names for this year’s ballot after reviewing newly submitted nominations as well as candidates who were previously on the Hall’s master list of nominees. Names that appear on the master list for five years without being placed on the final ballot are automatically removed but can be subsequently re-nominated.
“We’re very happy with the ballot we presented to the Selection Panel for Hall of Fame consideration. The Nominations Committee spent hours reviewing and discussing the nominees from our master list," said Neil Paul, who chairs the Board's nominations committee. “Our goal, first and foremost, is to maintain the integrity of the Hall of Fame by putting our best foot forward in this process of assembling a ballot of individuals that will contribute to the legacy of the Hall of Fame, and I am confident this ballot represents those efforts.”
The Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors will announce the Class of 2025 next month. The Hall of Fame will hold its annual induction ceremony on Sept. 25, 2025, at Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium in Springfield, Mo.
B.A.S.S. adds T-H Marine Bassmaster Pick ’Em Challenge to stable of fantasy games
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — B.A.S.S. has announced the addition of a third fantasy game, the T-H Marine Bassmaster Pick ’Em Challenge, to the wildly popular lineup of Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing Challenge and Falcon Rods Bassmaster Drain the Lake Challenge. Like the other fantasy games, playing is free and thousands of dollars in prizes are up for grabs.
"We are super-excited to add a third Fantasy Game to an already stellar lineup of games," said B.A.S.S. Executive Editor, Digital Kyle Jessie. "The T-H Marine Bassmaster Pick ’Em Challenge is an extremely easy game to play and requires players to do no homework prior to each event. Simply pick one angler from each of the head-to-head matchups and let it ride!
"The pick ’em style of game has become increasingly popular amongst Fantasy sports, so it made perfect sense to add this game to the lineup," said Jessie. "For each event there will be seven matchups selected based on interesting, and sometimes silly, storylines."
The Pick ’Em rules are simple:
- Players will be faced with seven head-to-head matchups between two anglers. Pick ’Em players will choose one of the two anglers offered.
- To secure a point, the player must select the angler that finishes highest between the two anglers.
- For each matchup the participant guesses correctly, they will be awarded one point with a maximum of seven total points for each event.
- In the case of a tie, the tiebreaker will be determined by the player who guesses the winning weight (or closest to) for the winner of the tournament.
T-H Marine has taken the title sponsor role of the new Bassmaster Pick ’Em Challenge game. T-H Marine is a leading manufacturer of boat parts and boat accessories. The vast catalog of products to choose from at thmarinesupplies.com marries perfectly with the concept of this new game. What, or in the case of the game, who, will you choose?
"The Bassmaster Pick ’Em Challenge is such a fun concept, and we at T-H Marine are proud to be the title sponsor. It's a simple game that adds another layer of excitement and competition to the Bassmaster tournaments. We can't wait to see how viewers engage with it and who comes out on top,” said T-H Marine Brand Marketing Director, Shana Christie.
All Bassmaster Fantasy Games are now live and you can play them at Bassmasterfantasy.com. Be sure to get your picks in before the first Elite kicks off on February 20!
About T-H Marine
Since 1975, T-H Marine Supplies, LLC, a proud member of the OneWater Marine family, has served the marine industry by manufacturing quality products for boaters and fishermen. We are committed to innovation, speed and exceptional customer service, ensuring fast shipping and competitive prices for our OEM and after-market customers.
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.
Nominations now open for 2025 class of Bassmaster High School All-Americans
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — B.A.S.S. is now accepting nominations for the most exceptional high school bass anglers in the country for the annual Bassmaster High School All-American Fishing Team.
B.A.S.S. is celebrating the 11th year of the selection of the team, which recognizes the 12 most outstanding high school
Applications for the team will be accepted today through June 9.
To be considered, a student must be nominated by a parent, coach, teacher or other school official. Students currently enrolled in grades 10 through 12 with a current grade point average of 2.5 or higher are eligible.
Judges will select up to two student anglers in each state. These All-State Fishing Team members will become semifinalists in the selection of the 12-member Bassmaster High School All-
“This is such a great program for anglers to showcase all their talents from the classroom, tournament success and giving back to the community,” said Glenn Cale, B.A.S.S. tournament manager of the College, High School and
All nominees for the All-American team must be B.A.S.S. members. The online membership form provides multiple membership options.
Notices have been sent to youth fishing directors of the B.A.S.S. Nation and other organizations, as well as leaders of state high school fishing programs. Adults can nominate students by filling out an online form here. Nominations must be submitted before midnight on June 9. Please send all questions to allamerican@bassmaster.com.
2025 Bassmaster High School Series Title Sponsor: Strike King
2025 Bassmaster High School Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
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Alexander City’s Stihl Smith Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Bama Division Opener at Lake Martin
Georgia’s Ford Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. (Feb. 3, 2025) – Boater Stihl Smith of Alexander City, Alabama, caught a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 13 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Martin. The tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Bama Division. Smith earned $4,163 for his victory.
“It was not a very good morning bite,” Smith said,” but at around 8 I caught my first fish. I caught it on a jig.”
Smith spent the first couple hours of the day “hodgepodging” around and fishing a mix of targets. He threw at docks, brush, points and any fish he saw on his Garmin LiveScope. While it wasn’t exactly a pattern, the junk-fishing approach put a couple quality largemouth bass in the livewell as Smith sorted out a more consistent way to get bit.
“As the sun came up more, I started getting around the bait more,” he said. “If the bait was there, the fish were there. I was using LiveScope, just using forward-facing sonar and throwing at fish in the bait balls. I had to catch a bunch to catch a decent one.
“I was catching mostly spots. I believe the spots were getting where they’re gonna spawn, but not quite spawning yet. So more of a prespawn deal.”
Smith had two primary areas in the middle part of the lake. While he caught his two best fish on a jig, Smith boated many more using a Damiki rig and said his overall approach was “pretty plain and simple” for the early season at Lake Martin.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Stihl Smith, Alexander City, Ala., five bass, 13-13, $4,163
2nd: Kyle Dorsett, Springville, Ala., five bass, 11-9, $2,082
3rd: Joseph Nania, Cropwell, Ala., five bass, 11-7, $1,387
4th: Bruce Thompson, Midland, Ga., five bass, 11-3, $971
5th: Vernelle Quinnie, Duncanville, Ala., five bass, 11-1, $1,413
6th: Michael M. Smith, Andalusia, Ala., five bass, 10-15, $763
7th: Joe Minor, Clanton, Ala., five bass, 10-12, $659
7th: Drake Sturgill, Lincolnton, N.C., five bass, 10-12, $659
9th: Blake Tomlin, Greenville, Ga., five bass, 10-3, $520
9th: Kris Colley, Ragland, Ala., five bass, 10-3, $520
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Vernelle Quinnie of Duncanville, Alabama, caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 6 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $580.
Jeffrey Ford of Trion, Georgia, won the Strike King co-angler division and $2,082 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 7 pounds, 11 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Jeffrey Ford, Trion, Ga., three bass, 7-11, $2,082
2nd: Gary Marlowe, Montgomery, Ala., three bass, 7-3, $1,431
3rd: Adrian Gonzales, Anniston, Ala., three bass, 6-12, $692
4th: Michael Stevenson, Leitchfield, Ky., three bass, 6-8, $486
5th: Ben Caldwell, Hartselle, Ala., three bass, 6-7, $416
6th: Daniel Vasquez, Boynton Beach, Fla., three bass, 6-5, $382
7th: Kyle Schuchard, Morris, Ala., three bass, 5-10, $347
8th: Garrett Brown, Trion, Ga., three bass, 5-5, $312
9th: Hudson Choquette, Montevallo, Ala., three bass, 5-4, $260
9th: Jeffery McCoy, Birmingham, Ala., three bass, 5-4, $260
Gary Marlowe of Montgomery, Alabama, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $290, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 3 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
In addition to earning the win, Stihl Smith of Alexander, Alabama, has the early lead in the Fishing Clash Bama Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 250 points, while Jeffrey Ford of Trion, Georgia, leads the Fishing Clash Bama Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 250 points.
The next event for BFL Bama Division anglers will be held March 1, at Lay Lake out of Columbiana, Alabama. 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 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.
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 Strike King 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. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Proud sponsors of the 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 Sports 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, Vosker, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 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.
Anderson’s Day Earns First Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Lake Hartwell
Georgia’s Mims Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
ANDERSON, S.C. (Feb. 3, 2025) – Boater Bradley Day of Anderson, South Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds even Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine at Lake Hartwell. The tournament, hosted by Visit Anderson, was the second event of the season for the BFL South Carolina Division. Day earned $3,514 for his victory.
Day didn’t waste any time on tournament morning. In fact, his game plan involved making hay “before” the sun was shining.
“I caught them all in the first 45 minutes,” he said. “I pulled up in a ditch and got lucky and caught a couple threes (3-pounders) right off the bat, and then I went to the next ditch over – a couple pockets down – and caught like a 5 and a 4 in that ditch, too. I pretty much had 21 pounds in the first 45 minutes to an hour. I struggled the rest of the day.”
The early action was no surprise to Day, who fishes Hartwell just about every weekend. He knew the fishing would get tougher once the sun got high. That’s why he chose to stay close to the ramp and ran spots that he could cover quickly.
Most of the fish Day caught were suspending right at the tops of standing timber. While they were relating to the timber, the fish were continuously on the move. To track them down, he used finesse tackle, including a shaky head and a Keitech swimbait, while fishing most of the time with his forward-facing sonar.
“Some of the stuff is prespawn,” Day added, referring to his target areas. “A couple of them did slide up just a little bit with the warmer days – shallower in the ditches. Rather than 50, 60 foot, instead they were 35, 40 foot, kind of in the backs of some of those places – in the backs of the creeks. That’s kind of what they do as they get further back. That’s kind of their prespawn, and then they go from there.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Bradley Day, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 21-0, $3,514
2nd: Xander Patton, Hartwell, Ga., five bass, 19-13, $1,757
3rd: Max Heaton, Hartwell, Ga., five bass, 19-12, $1,172
4th: Logan Anderson, Sherrills Ford, N.C., five bass, 18-6, $820
5th: Dylan Akins, Flowery Branch, Ga., five bass, 18-5, $703
6th: T.J. Souther, Brevard, N.C., five bass, 18-3, $1,085 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
6th: Caleb Allgood, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 18-3, $585
6th: Michael Webster, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 18-3, $1,035
9th: Michael Gammons, North Charleston, S.C., five bass, 18-0, $469
10th: Josh Kauffman, Marysville, Pa., five bass, 17-4, $410
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Michael Webster of Gastonia, North Carolina, caught a bass that weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $450.
Troy Mims of Suwanee, Georgia, won the Strike King co-angler division and $1,982 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 11 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Troy Mims, Suwanee, Ga., three bass, 12-11, $1,982
2nd: Dan Marin, Appling, Ga., three bass, 11-8, $879
3rd: Mark Garrett, Six Mile, S.C., three bass, 10-7, $585
4th: Marvin Godard, Charlotte, N.C., three bass, 9-9, $510
5th: Chris Wilson, Easley, S.C., three bass, 9-7, $351
6th: Gibson Huntley, Inman, S.C., three bass, 9-5, $322
7th: Roger McKee, Columbia, S.C., three bass, 7-15, $293
8th: Rodney Tapp, Inman, S.C., three bass, 7-14, $264
9th: Darren Jeter, Asheville, N.C., three bass, 7-10, $234
10th: Chuck Bagwell, Laurens, S.C., three bass, 6-14, $205
Mims also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $225, catching a bass that weighed in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After two events, Lucas Murphy of West Columbia, South Carolina, now leads the Fishing Clash South Carolina Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 487 points, while Rodney Tapp of Inman, South Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash South Carolina Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 486 points.
The next event for BFL South Carolina Division anglers will be held Feb. 22, at Santee Cooper Lakes out of Summerton, South Carolina. 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 Norman 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 Strike King 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. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Proud sponsors of the 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 Sports 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, Vosker, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 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.
Justin Cooper Wins a Thriller in Season-Opening MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 Presented by Power-Pole at Lake Conroe
Bass Pro Shops pro catches 34 bass totaling 78-5 in final day Championship Round to earn top prize of $150,000
CONROE, Texas (Feb. 2, 2025) – For about 3 hours and 40 minutes Sunday afternoon, Bass Pro Shops angler Justin Cooper sat atop SCORETRACKER® at B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 Presented by Power-Pole. The Louisiana pro’s lead had been threatened repeatedly – including, at one point, pro Jacob Wall tying him in weight – but every time, he mustered an answer.
So, when Cooper boated a 1-pound, 10-ounce Lake Conroe largemouth with about a minute left before lines out, he thought he’d simply added a little insurance to his cushion. He didn’t realize the fish, one of the smallest of the 34 scorable bass he caught on the day, would be worth $150,000.
A few seconds earlier, pro Colby Miller – one of Cooper’s closest friends who’d been steadily gaining ground on him since the first period – landed a 2-10. That fish finally unseated Cooper, giving Miller a 9-ounce lead. All of 22 seconds later, Cooper’s 1-10 hit SCORETRACKER®. Another 68 seconds after that, time ran out on an epic first Championship Round of the 2025 Bass Pro Tour season.
The final tallies: 78-5 for Cooper, 77-4 for Miller. Cooper had his first professional win.
“It’s indescribable,” Cooper said. “I never thought that I could win one. I’ve always been a bridesmaid and never a bride. I just never thought it was in the cards for me to win a big event like that. I thought I could have a good, solid career but always missed that part. So, to get that win and have my family here, it means everything.”
Anytime the margin of victory is that narrow, it’s impossible to pinpoint a single winning moment. Indeed, without any one of the 34 scorable bass he caught during the Championship Round (including another 1-10 that narrowly beat the buzzer at the end of Period 1), Cooper would have fallen short of Miller.
But one could make the argument that Cooper’s most important catch came three days earlier, on the first day of the event.
Cooper started Day 1 slowly. He opted to use his one allotted period with forward-facing sonar in Period 1 – a strategy he’d replicate all four days – and he went more than 90 minutes before cracking SCORETRACKER®. Finally, he caught his first scorable bass of the season (once again, a 1-10), then added five more before the end of the frame. He finished the day in 33rd place, well below the 20th-place Elimination Line to qualify for the Knockout Round following Day 2, but that flurry at the end of the first period had provided a clue: The offshore, bait-chasing bass he’d found during practice had moved shallower.
So, Cooper started Day 2 in that shallower zone. He landed on the mother lode. Cooper stacked up 72-4 during the first period alone. By far the best single period of any angler all week, it not only rocketed him well above the cut line, but it also gave him confidence for the first time since joining the BPT last year that he could contend for the win.
“When I had that big period on Day 2 and I saw what was swimming around, I was like, wow, the fish are here to win it,” Cooper said.
Fast-forward to Sunday’s Championship Round, and Cooper started his day in the same 100-yard stretch. Once again utilizing a jighead minnow in conjunction with Garmin LiveScope, he rocketed out of the gates, boating 19 scorable bass for more than 40 pounds in the opening hour and a half.
This time, though, he couldn’t quite keep up the torrid pace. As his bite slowed, Wall – who fished the entire opening period less than a cast away – got hot. Wall ended up finishing Period 1 in first place with nearly 50 pounds. Cooper sat in third, a little more than 5 pounds behind. While the two coexisted amicably, their literal head-to-head battle would set the stage for the rest of the day.
With the bulk of Lake Conroe’s bass still in their winter patterns, chasing shad offshore, anglers figured forward-facing sonar would play an outsized role in determining who earned the first trophy of the year. However, the Bass Pro Tour’s new restrictions forced the competitors to find other ways to catch them, too.
For Cooper, that meant swimming moving baits over submerged hydrilla, a technique near and dear to the Toledo Bend local. So, when he found himself within striking distance after the first period, he felt confident he could catch up.
“I knew that I could get the bites,” Cooper said. “The wind was picking up, which was what I needed. … I knew the fish were there. They were swimming to me from where I was ‘Scoping; I knew they were swimming to that grass. I knew the grass has been replenishing every night, and if that wind would blow, I could catch them on my moving baits.”
During the first two hours of Period 2, Cooper added eight bass for nearly 20 pounds to his tally, taking the lead in the process. After that, though, his bite slowed. Primarily wielding a lipless crankbait, Cooper kept generating strikes, but it seemed like the fish were knocking or nipping at the bait rather than engulfing it. Multiple times, he dropped to his knees on the front deck in anguish after feeling a fish load up on his bait and then pull free.
Cooper attributed that to the heavy fishing pressure in Caney Creek, where he (like most of the field) spent the entire event. One wrinkle he used to trigger a few extra bites was burning his lipless crankbaits on an 8.3:1 gear ratio Johnny Morris Platinum Signature reel, forcing the bass to react. Still, he said, “it was a grind.”
“I had a lot of bites that would just knock slack in my line, foul my lipless up,” Cooper said. “It was frustrating to say the least. I lost a couple that just pulled off, and I hit my knees two, three, four, five times. Fish locked it up, and I leaned into them, and they just pulled off, and I knew that they were solid fish that would have helped big time.”
Meanwhile, Miller – one of the few competitors to catch more weight with his forward-facing sonar turned off (44-2) than on (33-2) during the Championship Round – kept gaining ground. A fellow Louisiana native and Toledo Bend regular, the BPT rookie pulled within 14 ounces about midway through Period 3. Cooper promptly answered with his biggest bass of the day, a 5-3.
“I’ve kissed two bass in my life now, and it was that 5-3 and the 1-10 that gave me the win,” Cooper said. “I think those two fish are deserving.”
Cooper followed it up with a 2-1 a few minutes later, but that lead still wasn’t safe. Wall made a late move to an isolated boat dock and was rewarded with three keepers, including a 4-15. The third fish, a 3-3, tied him with Cooper at 74-2 apiece with 40 minutes left. Miller continued to lurk 2 pounds back.
Cooper resisted the urge to panic, instead keeping the lipless crankbait locked in his hands. Three minutes later, he caught a 2-9 that broke his tie with Wall.
“I stayed the course,” Cooper said. “I continued to throw what I was getting bites on. I knew if I was going to do it, I was going to do it with one or two baits. And that’s what I did.”
Then, 35 agonizing minutes later, he had another bass swipe at his bait but miss it. He cast back to the same spot and hooked the 1-10 that would seal his victory. It wasn’t until after his official called lines out that Cooper realized the magnitude of that catch.
“When (the boat official) said zero, I asked if (the result) was official, and he said, ‘So far; Colby needs a 1-8,’” Cooper recalled. “I said, ‘He caught one?’ And he said, ‘Yes, he took the lead, and then that one you weighed took the lead back.’ And so I waited for a few seconds to see if he caught another one, because I know how it is – you can catch them back-to-back casts.
“But I would expect nothing less from a battle of me and Colby, being good friends and old travel partners. And if I was going to go back and forth with anybody, I’m glad it was him.”
There’s a long list of reasons why this victory means so much to Cooper, not the least of which is the boosted $150,000 top prize for Bass Pro Tour winners. He also took the early lead in the 2025 Fishing Clash Angler of the Year race.
Most important to him, though, was giving the family members that have supported his fishing career something to celebrate. The fact that his parents; his wife, Anna; and his one-year-old daughter, Stormi, made the short drive to watch the win in-person made it even sweeter.
“To have my family here, it’s everything,” Cooper said. “Luckily, we’re three hours away from home, and it’s close enough that my parents could be here. To get to see them and my wife and my little girl – they get to travel with me a lot. So, to have that group of family that has been with me through all of this, it’s special.”
The top 10 pros at the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 Presented by Power-Pole on Lake Conroe finished:
1st: Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La., 34 bass, 78-5, $150,000
2nd: Colby Miller, Elmer, La., 35 bass, 77-4, $45,000
3rd: Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., 32 bass, 74-2, $35,000
4th: Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 26 bass, 69-7, $30,000
5th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 29 bass, 63-11, $25,000
6th: Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 25 bass, 60-10, $23,000
7th: Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Illinois, 23 bass, 58-9, $22,000
8th: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 24 bass, 46-15, $21,000
9th: Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., 18 bass, 40-3, $20,500
10th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 12 bass, 26-12, $20,000
For a full list of results visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 258 scorable bass weighing 595 pounds, 14 ounces caught by the final 10 pros on Sunday.
Pro Drew Gill of Mount Carmel, Illinois, won the Berkley Big Bass Award on Sunday with an 8-pound, 2-ounce largemouth that he boated on a lipless crankbait in Period 3. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day.
The four-day tournament, hosted by Visit Conroe, showcased 66 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a purse of $650,000, including a top payout of $150,000 and valuable Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2026, the Bass Pro Tour championship.
Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 at Lake Conroe Presented by Power-Pole will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Aug. 30 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering the following Saturday on Sept. 6. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.
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 General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2026 championship.
Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, Bass Force, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sports Apparel, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Rapala, Star brite, Suzuki Marine and Toyota.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X , Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 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.
Florida's Bishop returns to roots to win Bassmaster Kayak Series at Kissimmee Chain
Feb. 2, 2025
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Sherman Bishop vividly remembers time spent as a boy fishing from a johnboat with his uncle in Lake Marion — a 3,000-acre pearl located only a few miles northwest of Lake Kissimmee in central Florida.
He chose to fish Marion during the Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series at Kissimmee Chain presented by Native Watercraft, too, as much in search of nostalgia as the prospect of winning the tournament.
He got both this weekend, though, with a two-day total of 10 largemouth bass measuring 204.75 total inches. That was the best performance of the tournament, placing him a full 5.25 inches ahead of his nearest competitor on the Kissimmee Chain.
Bishop, who lives in Auburndale, Fla., caught the longest limit of Florida largemouth bass on Sunday, measuring 104.25 inches. That vaulted him from second place, with 100.50 total inches on Saturday, to the top of the podium on Sunday.
Bishop, 47, collected $11,250 for the first-place finish — part of a $44,800 cash purse that was split among the Top 22 anglers fishing on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. In all, 222 competitors from around the U.S. took part in the tournament, the second of the year in the 2025 Bassmaster Kayak Series.
Bishop cut his angling teeth at his aunt and uncle’s place out on Lake Marion Creek. When he closes his eyes, he can see his aunt netting golden shiners near their house. Bishop and his uncle used the bait to boat bulky largemouths back in the 1980s.
“The nostalgia of it is really the reason I went there this weekend,” he said. “It’s one of the areas I pre-fished, and I saw what I needed to see.”
That turned out to be bass in all three phases of the spawn. Bishop found what he called “transitional lanes” — areas where bass were moving into shallow water to spawn and those who’d finished spawning and were moving out.
“I thought it looked like a good spot, but it seemed to be overlooked by everybody else,” he said. “The water was about 5 feet deep and there was a sandy bottom that moved up to about 3 feet of water where there were hydrilla lines. The bass were hanging out there at the edge, staging in that hydrilla before moving farther inland.”
The lake was churned to the color of chocolate milk, Bishop said, so he couldn’t see any bass on beds. Remembering the golden shiners that were successful bait when he was a boy, he threw a variety of golden-colored lures on both days of the tournament. The best ones included a Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer (bluegill) with a gold blade and a golden-tailed swimbait. A paddle-tailed Gambler weightless swimbait produced the best catch of the day — one of two 22-inch bass he hooked in his surge to victory.
Bishop is chief foreman with a commercial roofing company and doesn’t get to fish as many national events as he’d like. But he’s a respected stick on the central Florida kayak circuit, with a couple dozen wins in local tournaments in seven years of competitive kayak angling.
“I’d get in more national events if I had time, but you can guarantee I won’t miss that (Bassmaster Kayak Series National Championship) next year,” he said, referring to the title event he qualified for with his first-place finish on the Kissimmee Chain.
Rounding out the Top 10 in the tournament are: second, Texas angler Guillermo Gonzalez, 199.5, $5,250; third, Florida’s Chris Mitchell, 197.25, $3,750; fourth, Kentucky’s Anthony Winkleman, 196.75, $2,750; fifth, Alabama’s Garrett Wade, 195.5, $2,550; sixth, Pennsylvania’s Abby Abondanza, 195.25, $2,000; seventh, Georgia’s Gene Jensen, 193.25; $1,600; eighth, Massachusetts kayaker Ken Wood, 193.25; $1,500; ninth, Tennessee’s Jimmy McClurkan, 191.25, $1,400; and 10th, Virginia’s Casey Reed, 191.25, $1,300.
A total of 15 anglers from two different universities competed in the inaugural Bassmaster College Kayak Series tournament in Kissimmee, as well. Carson-Newman University won the event with their 10 best bass of the weekend totaling 193.5 inches. Campbellsville (Ky.) University trailed with the team’s 10 best bass measuring 176.5 inches.
Jimmy Entwistle of Campbellsville won the individual college title with 10 bass measuring 165.75 inches. Carson-Newman’s Ewing Minor placed second with 161.25 inches and Nate Faulkner of Campbellsville finished third with 154.5 inches.
College divisions will be held in two additional Kayak Series events this year — at Tennessee’s Dale Hollow in April and Toledo Bend on the Texas/Louisiana border in September. Like Entwistle, the top college angler in both of those tournaments also will earn a berth in the 2026 Bassmaster Kayak Series Championship.
Full results from the Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series at Kissimmee Chain presented by Native Watercraft are scored by TourneyX and can be found here.
Experience Kissimmee and Kissimmee Sports hosted this week’s tournament.
2025 Bassmaster Kayak Series Title Sponsor: Newport
2025 Bassmaster Kayak Series Presenting Sponsor: Native Watercraft2025 Bassmaster Kayak Series Angler of the Year Sponsor: Dakota Lithium
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 Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, 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, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, 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.
Wheeler Tops Knockout Round at MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 Presented by Power-Pole at Lake Conroe
Final 10 pros now set for Championship Sunday, heaviest one-day total to earn top prize of $150,000
CONROE, Texas (Feb. 1, 2025) –A new season on the Bass Pro Tour arrived with several new wrinkles, most notably the league’s limitations on forward-facing sonar. Yet a familiar name topped the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard at the conclusion of Saturday’s Knockout Round at the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 Presented by Power-Pole.
Reigning Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, stacked up 75 pounds, 7 ounces on 35 scorable bass to pace the 19-angler field, topping New Hope, Alabama pro Jacob Wall by 2-5. The most decorated angler in BPT history added a 30th Championship Round appearance (in 51 total events) to his gaudy resume. Sunday, he’ll seek to tack on his ninth victory, too.
Wheeler and the rest of the top nine finishers will join Qualifying Round winner Nick LeBrun of Bossier City, Louisiana, in what’s shaping up to be a wide-open Championship Round. Six anglers weighed more than 69 pounds on Saturday, and that doesn’t include LeBrun, who totaled 83-6 on Day 1.
Totals will once again zero overnight, and the angler who catches the most weight will take home the $150,000 top prize. The four-day event, hosted by Visit Conroe, showcases 66 of the top professional bass anglers in the world competing in the first tournament of the 2025 season.
It came as little surprise that Wheeler opted to use his one period with forward-facing sonar in Period 1, as most anglers have done all week. However, he still threw the field a curveball. Rather than starting his day in Caney Creek, which has been by far the most popular area of Conroe, Wheeler spent the opening frame in a new cove on the lower section of the lake.
Wheeler felt like the bass in Caney Creek had received too much fishing pressure, and he didn’t want to risk sharing water with other competitors during his forward-facing sonar period, which has proven to be pivotal this week. The decision paid off. Wheeler landed 23 scorable bass totaling 47-4 in Period 1, which positioned him in fourth place.
“Everybody and their brother had been in those same places, and I just didn’t want to be back in the same old rotation and potentially only catch 20 pounds,” Wheeler said. “I needed some fresh fish and felt like the area had the potential for that, and it turned out to be a good start.”
Wheeler’s forward-facing sonar success didn’t come as a surprise; he caught more than 50 pounds in the opening period on Day 1. During the Knockout Round, he was able to keep the momentum rolling after turning his transducers off better than he had during the first two days.
Across the final two periods, Wheeler added another 12 bass for 28-3, largely by seining submerged hydrilla with a lipless crankbait and vibrating jig. While he admitted he hadn’t leaned on his best grass areas on Days 1 and 2 (and he eventually switched into practice mode Saturday afternoon as well), he also thinks he’s identified a few spots that fresh fish have moved into.
“We had that rain on the off day and then the first day of the tournament, and that really stained up the middle of the creeks and made some areas that were a little bit too clean to catch them in (productive),” Wheeler explained. “I fished this patch of grass twice in practice and never got a bite, and today I rolled up there and caught a 3-14. It’s a combination of the weather warming up and the water being a little bit more stained.”
That ability to keep his finger on the pulse of a fishery throughout the course of a tournament and find new, productive water has long been one of Wheeler’s hallmarks. He didn’t rule out starting in a different spot again on Sunday – or even waiting until later in the day to utilize forward-facing sonar, a decision he’ll base on the weather forecast.
“I seriously do not know yet,” Wheeler said of his Championship Round strategy. “A lot of the stuff that I was fishing, I’m not fishing by myself. At least for shallow stuff, it’s pretty crowded. And then the deeper stuff, I had that one zone, but there were also a lot of locals in that area that saw where I was fishing, too.”
One thing Wheeler feels pretty sure about is that it’s going to take at least 80 pounds to claim the first trophy of the 2025 season. He figures he needs to catch at least half that weight during the forward-facing sonar period to have a chance at adding it to his extensive collection – but given the number of forward-facing sonar wizards in the field, the other periods could make the difference.
“I think 80-plus pounds wins the tournament,” he said. “If I catch 40 (in Period 1) and then 20 and 20 (in each of the next two periods), or catch 60 and then catch 10 and 10, then I give myself a chance to win. So, that’s the goal. We’ll see what happens.”
The top nine pros from the Knockout Round that now advance to Championship Sunday on Lake Conroe are:
1st: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 35 bass, 75-7
2nd: Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., 28 bass, 73-2
3rd: Colby Miller, Elmer, La., 29 bass, 70-5
4th: Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 27 bass, 69-7
5th: Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La., 27 bass, 69-5
6th: Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Illinois, 29 bass, 65-8
7th: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 25 bass, 65-1
8th: Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 25 bass, 62-13
9th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 25 bass, 58-12
*QR Winner: Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La.
Eliminated from competition is:
11th: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 21 bass, 50-14, $15,900
12th: Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, 21 bass, 50-13, $15,800
13th: Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 13 bass, 43-7, $15,700
14th: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 17 bass, 38-14, $15,600
15th: Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 17 bass, 31-14, $15,500
16th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 14 bass, 31-3, $15,400
17th: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 14 bass, 25-14, $15,300
18th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 10 bass, 21-10, $15,200
19th: Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 10 bass, 21-5, $15,100
20th: Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, two bass, 4-5, $15,000
For a full list of results visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 389 scorable bass weighing 929 pounds, 15 ounces caught by the 19 pros on Saturday.
Pro Justin Cooper of Zwolle, Louisiana, won Saturday’s Berkley Big Bass Award, catching a 7-pound, 10-ounce largemouth on a vibrating jig in Period 3. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day.
The full field of anglers competed in the two-day Qualifying Round on Thursday and Friday. After the two-day Qualifying Round was complete, leader Nick LeBrun 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 top nine finishers now join LeBrun in Sunday’s Championship Round. In the 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 at 5:30 a.m. CT to the Outlets at Conroe, located at 1111 League Line Road in Conroe. The Bass Pro Tour trailering policy has been enacted for this event, so anglers will depart the Outlets at 6:15 a.m. to one of four optional launch ramps located around the fishery. Anglers will return to the Outlets at Conroe each evening, following the end of competition at 3:45 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 Championship Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.
On Sunday, Feb. 2, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to visit the Outlets at Conroe 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 and cheer on their favorite pros. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel. The final 10 Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.
The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 at Lake Conroe Presented by Power-Pole features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
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 General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2026 championship.
Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 at Lake Conroe Presented by Power-Pole will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Aug. 30 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering the following Saturday on Sept. 6. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.
Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, Bass Force, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sports Apparel, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Rapala, Star brite, Suzuki Marine and Toyota.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X , Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 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.
Maryland's Robinson takes it slow and steady for Day 1 lead at Bassmaster Kayak Series at Kissimmee Chain
Feb. 1, 2025
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Becky Robinson likes to fish methodically.
As she watched fellow competitors zip past her Saturday at the Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series at Kissimmee Chain presented by Native Watercraft, she couldn’t help but think they were doing the wrong thing.
The Day 1 results prove her right.
Robinson, a 68-year-old resident of Salisbury, Md., has the lead in this two-day derby in central Florida with a five-bass limit measuring 100.75 inches. The haul included a pair of 21-inch largemouth bass that were among the longest anyone in the field hooked Saturday.
True to form, Robinson took her time working patches of lily pads in anywhere from 1 to 2 feet of water. She shared a lake with about 30 other kayaks, she estimated, including her husband Ronnie, who’s in 11th place with 97.25 inches.
“I started the day fishing the reeds and had an early limit, but they were smaller fish,” she said. “When I moved to the lily pads the fish got bigger. I stayed in one small area all day. I had to put the motor up because there was a lot of grass.
“We’re from the Eastern Shore area of Maryland and we do a lot of pond fishing,” she added. “Today was like that — just pick the motor up, let the wind drift you and just take it slow and steady.”
Robinson said a gooseberry-colored worm was her go-to lure on Day 1. She anticipates going back to the same spot on Sunday and hopes her Day 1 fortune wasn’t a fluke.
“I’m still new to kayak fishing and I’m still learning,” she said. “So, sometimes you have that really good day and then you struggle the next day. I’m praying for two good days in a row.”
She said she did a lot of praying today, too.
“I checked the leaderboard with about five minutes to go and I was in ninth place,” she said. “I thought, ‘If I catch a 20-incher now, I can win this thing.’ And that’s when I caught my second 21-incher … That put me in the lead for now. I could hear my husband hollering from across the pond. It was a great way to end the day.”
A pair of Florida anglers are hot on Robinson’s heels — Sherman Bishop with 100.50 inches and Chris Mitchell with 100 inches. A total of 222 competitors from throughout the U.S. are competing in the second Kayak Series event of the 2025 season and there’s a cash purse of $44,800 to be split among the Top 22 (10% of competitors) in the tournament.
A college division is part of this tournament, as well, which is a first for the Bassmaster Kayak Series. A total of 15 anglers from two schools are competing — Carson-Newman (10 best bass totaling 164 inches) and Campbellsville University (10 bass, 158.75 inches). Ewing Minor of Carson-Newman leads the individual college standings with 80.50 inches on Day 1.
There will be college divisions in three Kayak Series events this year — at the Kissimmee Chain, as well as tournaments at Tennessee’s Dale Hollow in April and Toledo Bend on the Texas/Louisiana border in September. The winner of each event will earn a berth in the 2026 Bassmaster Kayak Series Championship.
The second and final day of the Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series at Kissimmee Chain presented by Native Watercraft will begin Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET. Anglers can launch from any approved public access on the chain. Lines must be out of the water by 3:30 p.m. and winners will be announced at an awards ceremony scheduled for approximately 6 p.m.
That ceremony will take place live on Bassmaster.com and fishing fans also can follow the catch throughout the day via the online leaderboard found there.
The Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft is scored by TourneyX.
Full results from the Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series at Kissimmee Chain presented by Native Watercraft are scored by TourneyX and can be found here.
Experience Kissimmee and Kissimmee Sports are hosting this week’s tournament.
2025 Bassmaster Kayak Series Title Sponsor: Newport
2025 Bassmaster Kayak Series Presenting Sponsor: Native Watercraft2025 Bassmaster Kayak Series Angler of the Year Sponsor: Dakota Lithium
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 Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, 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, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, 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.
LeBrun Sets the Pace at MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 Presented by Power-Pole at Lake Conroe
Louisiana pro advances directly to Championship Sunday with two-day total of 60 bass weighing 135-2, 2nd through 20th advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round
CONROE, Texas (Jan. 31, 2025) – When pro Nick LeBrun left Lake Conroe on Thursday after Day 1 at the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 Presented by Power-Pole , he wasn’t sure what to do next. The Bossier City, Louisiana native, who found himself atop the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard, had to decide whether to shoot for the Qualifying Round victory and the automatic berth to the Championship Round that comes with it or to ease off his fish, explore new water and use Friday to practice.
LeBrun ultimately opted to fish for the win. Mission accomplished.
Despite an early challenge from a few anglers who got on a hot morning bite and a late charge by pro Spencer Shuffield, LeBrun spent almost the entire day Friday atop SCORETRACKER, adding 22 scorable bass weighing 51 pounds, 12 ounces to his Day 1 weight. His two-day total of 135-2 topped Shuffield by nearly 11 pounds.
“I knew that there wasn’t no such thing as saving fish for this event,” LeBrun said. “If I would have stayed out of that creek and went looking for new stuff, there would have still been 20 boats back in there catching them. So, I thought, it might as well be me.”
As a result, LeBrun will take Saturday off before competing for the Stage 1 trophy during Sunday’s Championship Round. The rest of the Top 20 will take the water for the Knockout Round to duke it out for the other nine spots. The four-day event, hosted by Visit Conroe, showcases 66 of the top professional bass anglers in the world competing for a top prize of $150,000.
Despite catching more than 83 pounds on Day 1 and leading his nearest pursuer by nearly 9 pounds, LeBrun tinkered with his strategy on Day 2. Most of the field once again chose to use the one forward-facing sonar period allowed by the Bass Pro Tour’s new restrictions during Period 1, but LeBrun began the day where he ended Thursday – a hydrilla flat in the back of a creek – with his transducers turned off.
LeBrun made that call due to the heavy fishing pressure in the area. More than half the field has congregated in one creek, and this particular grass flat has been especially crowded when anglers aren’t using forward-facing sonar. With an early boat number Friday, LeBrun wanted to beat the crowd to the juice and catch as many fish as he could before they got too beat up.
“I knew that I was going to be fishing to win the round, and a lot of times, prespawn fish or fish that are wintering in a creek, they’ll bite right at daylight,” LeBrun explained. “So, I decided to go get in the mix in that grass with those other guys, because I knew I was boat No. 2, and I knew I could get in there and get whatever spot I wanted to get on.”
LeBrun is already seeing the effects of that fishing pressure. Still, he managed to boat seven bass for 16-15, which had him in second place at the end of the opening frame.
“I had a few fish that would absolutely just smoke the bait, but I’d set the hook, and I’d have them on a second or two and they’d come off,” he said. “Yesterday, you couldn’t beat one off with a hammer. So, I’m seeing the fish just react a little bit different. Some of them are kind of just swiping at it. So, yeah, the pressure is taking it’s toll. A lot of them have got holes in their mouth.”
LeBrun then opted to move offshore and use forward-facing sonar in Period 2. He had to battle some wind but added 10 bass for nearly 25 pounds to his total. That was enough to take a lead he wouldn’t relinquish.
LeBrun admitted he’s concerned about the mounting pressure on both his grass and offshore spots. However, he still feels like the event can be won from the creek where he’s done all his damage – if an angler finds something to make himself stand out.
“You’re going to have to find a few little key casts, a few key boat positions, and you’re going to have to get a little lucky with Mother Nature and have a few fresh fish move in there,” LeBrun said. “If you can get a few fresh fish coming to you and have a few key boat positions, I think that you could make it happen.”
LeBrun will use Saturday to fine tune his Championship Round strategy. He won’t be all business, though. His wife and children are planning to make the drive from Bossier City, Louisiana, to Conroe, and he’s excited to spend some time with them.
“I can’t wait to see them,” LeBrun said. “Just going to be taking it easy, and definitely going to sleep in tomorrow.”
The top 20 pros that now advance in competition on Lake Conroe are:
1st: Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., 60 bass, 135-2
2nd: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 51 bass, 124-3
3rd: Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La., 51 bass, 120-13
4th: Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 41 bass, 120-8
5th: Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., 42 bass, 101-3
6th: Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 43 bass, 100-15
7th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 41 bass, 99-9
8th: Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, 39 bass, 98-1
9th: Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Illinois, 42 bass, 97-13
10th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 41 bass, 95-6
11th: Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, 37 bass, 95-1
12th: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 43 bass, 92-8
13th: Colby Miller, Elmer, La., 39 bass, 92-3
14th: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 40 bass, 89-15
15th: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 39 bass, 89-13
16th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 37 bass, 82-10
17th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 38 bass, 82-9
18th: Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 38 bass, 81-1
19th: Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 31 bass, 80-9
20th: Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 36 bass, 80-6
For a full list of results visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 859 scorable bass weighing 2,014 pounds, 13 ounces caught by the 66 pros on Friday.
Friday’s Berkley Big Bass Award went to pro Marshall Hughes of Hemphill, Texas, who boated a chunky 7-pound, 11-ounce largemouth in Period 3. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day.
The full field of anglers competed in the two-day Qualifying Round on Thursday and Friday. With the two-day Qualifying Round now complete, LeBrun advances directly to Sunday’s Championship Round. The anglers that finished 2nd through 20th advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the top nine anglers will join LeBrun in Sunday’s Championship Round. In the Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $150,000.
Anglers will arrive each morning at 5:30 a.m. CT to the Outlets at Conroe, located at 1111 League Line Road in Conroe. The Bass Pro Tour trailering policy has been enacted for this event, so anglers will depart the Outlets each morning at 6:30 a.m. to one of five optional launch ramps located around the fishery. Anglers will return to the Outlets at Conroe 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 each day of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.
On Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 1-2, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to visit the Outlets at Conroe 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 and cheer on their favorite pros. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel each day. The Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand both days to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.
Also on Saturday, pros and staff from the Bass Pro Tour, along with volunteers from local college and high school fishing teams, will assemble and deploy artificial bass habitat into Lake Conroe. The Minn Kota Habitat Restoration Event at Lake Conroe is supported by Kubota and conducted in partnership with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the San Jacinto River Authority. Habitat will be constructed and deployed on Saturday, Feb. 1, from 9 to 11 a.m. CT at the San Jacinto River Authority Boat Ramp, located at 14340 TX-105 in Conroe.
The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 at Lake Conroe Presented by Power-Pole features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
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 General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2026 championship.
Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 at Lake Conroe Presented by Power-Pole will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Aug. 30 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering the following Saturday on Sept. 6. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.
Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, Bass Force, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sports Apparel, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Rapala, Star brite, Suzuki Marine and Toyota.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X , Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 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.
B.A.S.S. and C.A.S.T. for Kids Foundation opens nominations for 2025 Humanitarian Award
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — B.A.S.S. and the C.A.S.T. for Kids Foundation are now accepting nominations for the annual C.A.S.T. for Kids B.A.S.S. Humanitarian Award, which honors a B.A.S.S. member who has demonstrated exceptional commitment to serving underprivileged groups. This includes efforts directed toward special needs children, abuse survivors, veterans and others facing significant challenges.
Jay Yelas, former Bassmaster Elite Series angler and current Executive Director of C.A.S.T. for Kids, embodies the spirit of this award. With 16 Bassmaster Classic appearances, a 2002 Classic victory at Lay Lake and the 2003 Bassmaster Angler of the Year title, Yelas has seamlessly transitioned from a decorated professional fishing career to impactful community service leader.
"The significance of the award is it recognizes and honors all the B.A.S.S. members that do such a tremendous amount of community service and humanitarian work," Yelas said. "Unfortunately, there’s only one winner each year, but there are thousands of tremendous individuals that serve less-fortunate populations and they really give back.
"That’s what this award is all about; it brings awareness to this (segment) of the B.A.S.S. membership. Most of the attention is given to the people that win or excel at tournament fishing, but this award is like a time-out that says, 'Hey guys, there’s a lot of other people that are members of B.A.S.S. besides hard-core tournament fishermen.' That speaks volumes to the nature of people that are B.A.S.S. members."
Reflecting on the award's importance, Yelas compared it to honors in other professional sports: "Baseball has the Roberto Clemente Award, the NFL has the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award; this is fishing’s version of those honors. It’s a great way to honor people of character within the organization."
The 2024 award recognized Jake Klopfenstein of Tampa, Fla., for his dedication to providing fishing opportunities to pediatric cancer patients through Angling for Relief, the organization he founded.
Chase Anderson, CEO of B.A.S.S. and C.A.S.T. for Kids board member, emphasized the collaborative spirit of the award: "We are privileged to have collaborated with the C.A.S.T. for Kids Foundation for several years. Recognizing a devoted B.A.S.S. member with this Humanitarian award is our way of celebrating the incredible community that stands united under the B.A.S.S. shield. Witnessing the impactful contributions of those nominated is truly inspiring and showcases the profound influence their efforts have on countless lives."
Nominations for the 2025 award are open until February 24, 2025. Any B.A.S.S. member engaged in exemplary community service is eligible. The nomination form is available at Bassmaster.com/award.
A panel from B.A.S.S. and the C.A.S.T. for Kids Foundation will review all submissions and verify the humanitarian work of the nominees. While C.A.S.T. for Kids focuses on providing fishing opportunities for special needs children, nominations are open to B.A.S.S. members involved in any form of service benefiting vulnerable populations.
The recipient will be announced during the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour, scheduled for March 21-23 in Fort Worth, Texas.
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 Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, 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, Bass Pro Shops 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.
Magic area delivers win for Batchelor and Williams in Bassmaster College Series at Lake Okeechobee
CLEWISTON, Fla. — Brayden Batchelor and Quinn Williams of Georgia Southern University knew they’d found the spot, and their confidence delivered a two-day winning total of 42 pounds, 3 ounces in the Strike King Bassmaster College Series event at Lake Okeechobee presented by Bass Pro Shops.
Edging Kentucky Christian University’s Cameron Dials and Ethan Burnette by a margin of 2-3, Batchelor and Williams took home $2,966.50 each and earned a spot in the Strike King Bassmaster College Series National Championship.
“This win means so much for me and my team,” said Batchelor, who serves as team president. “To come into this year as the new president, I couldn’t ask for more.
“I really wanted to make my family proud. They usually come to our tournaments, but they weren’t able to this time,” Batchelor said. “I told my mom she’d be sorry — and she was.”
Batchelor said he and Williams spent both days in the Pelican Bay area on the lake’s southeast side. During practice, they dialed in a pair of backwater ponds in Winnie’s Cove and quickly recognized the potential they had discovered.
“We pulled in an area, and it was loaded,” Batchelor said. “I (hooked) a 5-pounder on a Chatterbait during practice on Tuesday and we just came home after that at 11 a.m. We knew that was going to be our first spot.
"We started there both days and caught like 70 fish off it in two days.”
Noting that clear water and hard bottom were the key features that attracted a parade of spawning fish, Batchelor said he and his partner were so impressed with their findings that they never visited their second pond during the event.
“We had to push back in there with our net,” Batchelor said of the shallow pond. “The depth was about 1.7 feet, with 2-foot depressions and beds everywhere today.
“We found that magical spot and we had it almost all to ourselves. There was one other boat in that area.”
The week’s warming trend prompted widespread spawning activity throughout much of Okeechobee’s vastness. As Williams pointed out, rising water temperatures explained their day-to-day improvement — 19-1 and 23-2.
“I think the water heating up definitely had an impact on the fish moving into our area,” Williams said. “We had double the bites that we had (on Day 1) and we had big fish — a 7-3 and a 5-6 — and that water heating up caused them to eat more.
“The water was about 4 degrees warmer today. Right when we got into the cove in the morning it was already hotter than it was yesterday. We both think the big fish moved in overnight, and that’s what helped us win today.”
The winners caught all of their fish on Zoom Super Flukes in watermelon red. Batchelor used a 4/0 round bend hook, while Williams opted for a wide gap hook.
“We noticed that the fish liked it when we popped an unweighted Fluke off the bottom,” Williams said. “We’d cast it out, let it sink and work it slow; just a few pops, let it sit, another few pops, let it sit. We didn’t get any bites when we worked it fast.”
Describing the all-day action, Williams said a stealthy approach served his team’s objective.
“Today, we just slowly rotated around the area,” Williams said. “We tried to not use the trolling motor as much because the fish didn’t like the noise and the dirt being kicked up. We just let the boat drift with the wind and Power-Poled down every 15 feet.”
Batchelor also noted that fishing with their sonar units off maximized their stealth, as did super-long casts.
“Every one of our big fish came at the end of an 80-foot cast,” he said.
Batchelor said their bites started quickly, and they had a limit in the livewell by 7:45. Pulling the plug early, they headed back to the weigh-in at Roland Martin Marina.
“At 1:45 we made the decision to come on back,” Batchelor said. “We didn’t think we had won, but we thought we should go ahead and come back in case something happened.”
Dials and Burnette finished second with 40-0. After placing sixth on Day 1 with 18-6, they added a Day 2 limit of 21-10.
Fishing a canal on the lake’s north side, Dials and Burnette focused on a 100-yard stretch, where they caught their prespawn fish in depths of 10 to 20 feet. Damiki rigs comprised of 3/16-ounce heads and Strike King Z-Too minnows in the Arkansas shiner color produced all of their weight.
“I was seeing them (on forward facing sonar) a good ways out and I was trying to get to them before I got too close,” Dials said. “Sometimes, we’d see a ball of shad and there would be two or three (bass) dotted up.
“We could catch 2- to 3-pounders doing that, but most of our big ones came closer to the bank. It seemed like those bigger females were sitting there right off the bank, waiting to move up.”
Cody Abbot and Trenton Carey of Lander University finished third with 38-2. Their daily weights were 23-10 and 14-08.
Rylan Green and Luke McGuffin of Erskine College won the $100 Big Bass award for their 9-5.
New for 2025, the top two highest-finishing teams in the Strike King Bassmaster College Series Bass Pro Shops Team of the Year race as well as each team that stands atop the rankings in the Legends and Lunkers divisions of the College Series will receive the exclusive honor of being named a Bassmaster College All-American. The All-Americans will be honored on the biggest stage in bass fishing, the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.
Discover Hendry County hosted the tournament.
2025 Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Strike King
2025 Bassmaster College Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
2025 Bassmaster College Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2025 Bassmaster College Series Premier Sponsors: Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2025 Bassmaster College Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
2025 Bassmaster College Series Youth Sponsors: Seaguar, Shimano
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 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 Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, 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, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, 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.
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Nick LeBrun Leads Early at MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 Presented by Power-Pole at Lake Conroe
Louisiana pro catches 38 largemouth weighing 83-6 to lead after Day 1 on Lake Conroe, full field to complete Qualifying Round Friday
CONROE, Texas (Jan. 30, 2025) – The first day of the Bass Pro Tour season at B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 Presented by Power-Pole on Lake Conroe was a tale of two bites. With Major League Fishing’s new forward-facing sonar restrictions only allowing pros to use the technology for one of three periods, the forward-facing bite dominated Period 1, while winding through submerged grass emerged as the best secondary pattern.
No one combined the two better than pro Nick LeBrun. Like most in the field, the Louisiana pro used forward-facing sonar to target bass chasing baitfish offshore to start the day, stacking up 17 scorable bass for 35 pounds, 11 ounces in the opening period. He then slid to the back of a creek and added nearly 50 more pounds over the next two frames, bringing his total to 83-6 on 38 scorable bass, which earned the top spot on SCORETRACKER®. A late flurry allowed LeBrun to swipe the top spot from Tokyo, Japan’s Takahiro Omori , whom he leads by 8-14. Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Arkansas, sits in third with 69-1.
LeBrun was one of many pros who found practice tough on Conroe, a result of the recent cold snap that moved through the south. So, he admitted he didn’t see an 80-pound opening day coming.
“Today caught me by surprise,” he said. “I had a few areas that I knew had potential, but I didn’t know what was really there. So, I’m really excited about that.”
The most discussed aspect of the forward-facing sonar limitations was which period most anglers would decide to turn on their transducers. Like more than half the field, LeBrun opted to do so in Period 1. His reasoning was two-fold: He didn’t want others to pressure those fish before he had a chance to target them, and he was concerned the weather system that moved through the area Thursday afternoon would mess up the bite.
That proved prescient. Utilizing forward-facing sonar in Period 1 was not only the most popular decision Thursday, it appeared to be the wise one. All of the Top 10 anglers on SCORETRACKER® began the day with all their technology online.
“I was pretty certain that a lot of competitors found the same suspended fish that I had found,” LeBrun said. “And they did; we kind of split them up. Another factor was just the weather. I didn’t want to risk going into the third period with bad storms and rain and really high winds and not even be effective.”
LeBrun’s opening period was solid, putting him in seventh place. But he separated himself from the rest of the field with his ability to continue boating bass after Period 1. Even as effective as forward-facing sonar was Thursday, he believes the ability to produce both with and without the technology is going to be mandatory to compete at a high level both on Conroe this week and all year long on the BPT.
“I don’t think you can win an event unless you do both well,” he said. “I think that you’re going to have to really maximize forward-facing and have a great period with that, but then you’re also going to have to go fishing and catch them other ways, too.”
After he turned off his transducers, LeBrun headed to the back of a creek that’s full of submerged hydrilla and covered the area with moving baits. While he shared the area with several other boats, he employed a slightly different approach that he thinks might have garnered a few extra bites.
“I got keyed in on a very unique, specific bait and a specific retrieve to go with it,” he said. “I was around some other competitors, and some were catching them, and some were not, so I’m not real sure how special the bait and the retrieve is. But we’ll find out tomorrow, I guess.”
LeBrun admitted he’s concerned that the fishing pressure could take a toll on the suspended bass he targeted with forward-facing sonar and, especially, on the hydrilla fish. The good news is he found a new sweet spot late in Period 3 that he hadn’t fished during practice. It produced a pair of 4-pounders, part of a 13-pound spree in the final 35 minutes that boosted him into the lead.
“I’m a little concerned about the pressure,” LeBrun said. “There’s a lot of boats – a lot of fish got caught in there today. I actually expanded my water in the third period. I kind of just went fishing, looking for some new stuff, and caught two 4-pounders. So, I’m really excited about that.”
Now, another key strategy decision awaits LeBrun: Keep his foot on the gas in an effort to remain atop SCORETRACKER® or switch gears into practice mode and search for fresh fish. This year, the winner of the Qualifying Round advances directly to the Championship Round, and an automatic Top 10 finish is tough to pass up. However, LeBrun is concerned the areas he plied Thursday won’t withstand another three days of pressure.
“I haven’t decided yet,” he said. “I’ve got to pray about that and think about that, because I don’t want to just burn up a ton of fish. But at the same time, it would be cool to not have to worry about fishing the Knockout (Round).”
Forward-facing sonar dominated the chatter leading up to and during the opening day of the BPT season – when anglers would use it and how significant a role it would play amid the new restrictions.
Omori never gave it much thought. Instead, the power-fishing maestro fished his way, locking a casting rod in his hands and never putting it down.
Omori caught all but one of his 28 scorable bass on a bladed jig. Spending virtually the entire day fishing hydrilla in the back of a creek, he racked up 35-11 on 13 scorable bass in the first period, keeping pace even with the hot forward-facing sonar bite. He then took the lead in the second period, holding the top spot until LeBrun passed him late.
“I started back there with only two boats, and after the first period, everybody got done with the forward-facing sonar bite, they just came to me,” he said. “There ended up being like eight, nine boats back there sharing fish, so it’s getting tougher and tougher. But I kind of expected that to happen. I’m glad I caught them early.”
Omori not only generated numbers of bites, he triggered some of the big ones Conroe has been known to produce. The Japanese angler landed four bass that weighed 4-15 or larger, his biggest being 5-14.
Like LeBrun, he’s concerned about the number of competitors in the area. However, there’s no question that he plans to fish for the Qualifying Round win on Friday.
“I’m going to fish as hard as I can,” Omori said. “I don’t worry about saving the fish, because you never know what’s going to happen.”
Omori is hopeful that the creek will continue to replenish as fish move shallow to stage prior to spawning. The weather should help. With the forecast calling for sunshine and highs in the low-70s for each of the next three days of competition, Omori thinks more fish should be heading to him.
“Once it warms up, the sun’s going to come out, it should have more fish coming in,” he said. “So, it’s got a lot of potential. It depends on how many boats, all that fishing pressure. But I haven’t seen sunshine in like five days since I got here, so I’m looking forward to the next couple of days, for it to warm up and bring more fish to the bank.”
The top 20 pros in after Day 1 on Lake Conroe are:
1st: Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., 38 bass, 83-6
2nd: Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, 28 bass, 74-8
3rd: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 27 bass, 69-1
4th: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 28 bass, 60-3
5th: Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Illinois, 25 bass, 59-0
6th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 24 bass, 58-1
7th: Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, 23 bass, 56-8
8th: Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 23 bass, 53-7
9th: Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 20 bass, 53-6
10th: Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 23 bass, 53-3
11th: Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., 21 bass, 50-15
12th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 20. bass, 49-5
13th: Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 18 bass, 46-7
14th: Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 19 bass, 46-1
15th: Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 22 bass, 45-9
16th: Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, 15 bass, 45-0
17th: Colby Miller, Elmer, La., 19 bass, 44-3
18th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 16 bass, 41-3
19th: Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., 16 bass, 40-11
20th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 18 bass, 39-15
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
San Mateo, Florida’s “Big Show” Terry Scroggins earned the Day 1 Berkley Big Bass Award Thursday with a beautiful 9-pound, 5-ounce largemouth that he caught in Period 1. 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 highest two-day total advances 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.
Anglers will arrive each morning at 5:30 a.m. CT to the Outlets at Conroe, located at 1111 League Line Road in Conroe. The Bass Pro Tour trailering policy has been enacted for this event, so anglers will depart the Outlets each morning at 6:30 a.m. to one of five optional launch ramps located around the fishery. Anglers will return to the Outlets at Conroe 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 each day of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.
On Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 1-2, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to visit the Outlets at Conroe 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 and cheer on their favorite pros. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel each day. The Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand both days to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.
The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 at Lake Conroe Presented by Power-Pole will feature anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
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 General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2026 championship.
Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 at Lake Conroe Presented by Power-Pole will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Aug. 30 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering the following Saturday on Sept. 6. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.
Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, Bass Force, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sports Apparel, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Rapala, Star brite, Suzuki Marine and Toyota.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 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.
Bass Pro Tour Anglers Inspire and Entertain at Texas Elementary Schools
CONROE, Texas (Jan. 30, 2025) – Six Major League Fishing (MLF) pros swapped their rods and reels for books and markers Wednesday, using their “off day” to bring smiles and inspiration to students at Creekside Elementary and Madeley Ranch Elementary in Montgomery, Texas. As the Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 at Lake Conroe loomed, the visiting anglers shared fish stories, answered questions, signed autographs – even on an unexpected item – and left a lasting impression on the young fans.
LINK TO PHOTO GALLERY FROM EVENTS
The day began at Creekside Elementary, where students welcomed pros Ott DeFoe, Edwin Evers, and Andy Montgomery with boundless energy. Students eagerly swapped fishing tales, boasting about their biggest catches and peppered the pros with questions about their lives on the water. Evers, who won when the Bass Pro Tour last visited Lake Conroe in 2019, encouraged the students to chase their dreams, while DeFoe shared his journey to becoming a professional angler and a four-time Bass Pro Tour winner.
The visit also delivered some unexpected humor. Montgomery, known for his calm precision on the water, couldn’t hide his discomfort when he realized one of the classrooms they visited had a pet snake. He spent most of his time standing near the door, drawing laughs from students and teachers.
Later in the day, pros Skeet Reese, Greg Vinson, and Drew Gill brought their own brand of excitement to Madeley Ranch Elementary. The halls were abuzz as students eagerly showed off their hand-colored largemouth bass artwork, which the anglers happily signed. Reese’s truck and boat were a hit, drawing crowds of enthusiastic kids who marveled at the custom rig and peppered him with questions.
“It’s great to see so much joy and curiosity,” Reese said. “This community loves fishing, and being able to connect with these kids is one of the most rewarding parts of what we do.”
One moment of laughter came during the autograph session when an excited student asked Vinson to sign a pair of Crocs—a standout moment that highlighted the fun that everyone was having.
Key school staff, including Creekside’s Betsy Baney and Madeley Ranch’s librarian Jordan Anderson and principal Dallas Clark, were instrumental in organizing the visits. Their efforts ensured a seamless day filled with laughter, learning, and plenty of autograph requests.
Beyond the schools, the excitement for the Bass Pro Tour has swept through Texas. Local newspapers featured stories on the event, billboards dotted the town, and a few anglers took to the airwaves Wednesday to promote the tournament and its accompanying Watch Party. Conroe, a community deeply connected to bass fishing, is buzzing with anticipation for the competition, which launched today at Lake Conroe.
As the anglers return to the water to compete for the $150,000 top prize, they leave behind more than autographs—they leave a legacy of encouragement and excitement in the hearts of Lake Conroe’s young fishing fans.
Hosted by Visit Conroe, the four-day MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 Presented by Power-Pole kicks off today on Lake Conroe. 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 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT, live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.
On Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 1-2, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to visit the Outlets at Conroe 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 and cheer on their favorite pros. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel each day. The Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand both days to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 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.
Register for the Historic 20th Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops
The Association of Collegiate Anglers’ National Championship event will be contested at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, SC on May 22-23, 2025
SAN ANTONIO, TX (January 30, 2025) – The Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops is college fishing’s longest-running National Championship tournament. The 2025 event will mark the 20th anniversary of the Association of Collegiate Anglers’ National Championship. This no-entry-fee, nationally televised event that is set to have coverage across a wide-range of digital assets will take place at the historic Lake Hartwell in Anderson, SC on May 22-23, 2025.
Register for the event here.
The Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops is a no-entry-fee tournament that will pay out well over $30,000 in prizes and contingencies. The tournament will be nationally televised, with live weigh-ins streamed for both days of tournament competition.
“The 20th National Championship is a huge milestone for the Association of Collegiate Anglers, our series partners, as well as the anglers, coaches, and teams that compete in college fishing events nationwide,” said Wade Middleton, ACA Director and President of CarecoTV. “Championship week is going to be an awesome celebration of all things college fishing. From the first event 20 years ago to now, it’s been amazing to see the growth and evolution of collegiate bass fishing.”
The first ACA National Championship was contested at Lake Lewisville in Texas 20 seasons ago. At that time, a field of approximately 65 teams travelled from all across the country to compete in the inaugural tournament.
Here in 2025, a full field of 200 teams, comprised of 400 anglers, will qualify to compete in the 20th Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops. Schools can qualify boats through a multitude of different ways. View the Championship Qualification Criteria to see how many boats your team can send.
The deadline to register for the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops is Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at 6:00 PM (ET).
The ACA National Championship at Lake Hartwell will be the final event of the 2024-25 season on the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series. It will also be the final ACA event to count towards the 2024-25 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. Teams will be eligible to earn triple points at the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops. First place will earn 2,500 points, with teams all the way down to 150th in the final overall tournament standings earning points.
View the official rules for this event.
Championship week will begin with the annual Angler & Sponsor Banquet on Wednesday night. This is the biggest night in collegiate bass fishing, with dozens of ACA series partners on-hand to meet with and provide anglers awesome swag.
The 20th Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops is a major milestone for the sport of collegiate bass fishing, and the Association of Collegiate Anglers looks forward to celebrating this accomplishment with anglers, series partners, and the team at Visit Anderson!
Ten Square Games Extends Sponsorship with Major League Fishing, Retains Fishing Clash Angler of the Year Awards
Fishing Clash Continues as the Title Sponsor for MLF’s Angler of the Year Programs Across Top Professional and Amateur Circuits
BENTON, Ky. & WARSAW, Poland (Jan. 29, 2025) – Major League Fishing (MLF) and Ten Square Games, the creators of the globally popular mobile game Fishing Clash, announced today the continuation of Fishing Clash’s sponsorship of the prestigious Angler of the Year (AOY) awards across MLF’s top four circuits in 2025. The partnership positions Fishing Clash as title AOY sponsor for the Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats and Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine.
Building on the success of last year’s collaboration, this renewed partnership underscores Ten Square Games’ dedication to supporting professional fishing while enhancing the visibility and reach of Fishing Clash among outdoor enthusiasts. With co-branded initiatives and record-breaking in-game engagement, the collaboration between MLF and Fishing Clash continues to bridge the gap between virtual and real-world fishing, offering unique experiences that resonate with fans, players and anglers worldwide.
“With millions of active players worldwide, Fishing Clash has become an influential platform for engaging outdoor enthusiasts and growing the sport of fishing globally,” said Kathy Fennel, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Major League Fishing. “This partnership highlights Ten Square Games’ dedication to the fishing community and underscores MLF’s commitment to offering fans and anglers opportunities to connect on every level, from digital engagement to on-the-water competition.”
Fishing Clash has revolutionized fishing entertainment by creating an immersive mobile experience enjoyed by more than 80 million players globally. In tandem with MLF, the collaboration continues to deepen connections between fans and the sport, highlighted by unique integrations like virtual tournaments mirroring real-life MLF events.
“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Major League Fishing, which demonstrates our dedication to the fishing community and strengthens Fishing Clash’s presence in the U.S. – our largest single market,” said Andrzej Ilczuk, CEO of Ten Square Games. “Following the success of our previous collaboration, we’ve seen remarkable growth in game installations and engagement, proving that MLF’s passionate fanbase is perfectly aligned with our game. This renewal allows us to bridge the gap between virtual and real-world fishing experiences, deepening our connection with outdoor enthusiasts globally.”
The collaboration with Major League Fishing has significantly enhanced brand visibility for Fishing Clash. In addition to logo placement on angler jerseys and boats, the game is showcased across all MLF media platforms. Fishing Clash is seamlessly integrated into coverage of AOY programs, including editorial features, social media updates, and earned media exposure in national outlets. Additionally, Fishing Clash is highlighted through voiceover mentions during MLFNOW! live streams and Bass Pro Tour linear TV broadcasts, tying everything together with high-impact touchpoints. This comprehensive strategy ensures that Fishing Clash reaches millions of outdoor enthusiasts globally and strengthens its position as a leading mobile fishing game.
Fishing Clash 2025 Angler of the Year Awards:
Bass Pro Tour Fishing Clash Angler of the Year: $100,000
Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Fishing Clash Angler of the Year: $50,000
Toyota Series Fishing Clash Angler of the Year: $5,000 per division (six divisions total)
Phoenix Bass Fishing League Fishing Clash Angler of the Year: $1,000 per division (24 divisions total)
A Fishing Clash AOY title is among the sport’s most challenging accolades, rewarding consistent performance throughout an entire season on different fisheries. The Bass Pro Tour Fishing Clash AOY must outperform 65 of the world’s best anglers through seven tournaments, showcasing versatility and perseverance, just as players do in Fishing Clash.
As a part of the partnership, MLF will award five fishing prize packs to Fishing Clash players who excel in the game’s MLF-themed challenges. The prize packs will be available throughout the year for top players during the MLF-themed events in Fishing Clash.
Fishing Clash continues to be one of the most popular mobile games in the world. The game offers a dynamic 3D fishing experience with a variety of virtual locations, including the host of MLF REDCREST 2025, Lake Guntersville, where Fishing Clash players can virtually compete.
The 2025 Bass Pro Tour Fishing Clash Angler of the Year race kicks off January 30 at the Bass Pro Tour Stage 1 at Lake Conroe in Conroe, Texas.
For more information about Fishing Clash, visit FishingClash.game or download the app for iOS or Android. To learn more about MLF, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 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 Ten Square Games
The Ten Square Games Group is one of the largest Polish producers of mobile games in the free-to-play model and the leader in the outdoor hobbies mobile-game segment (fishing and hunting). Its team consists of 330 people working in studios in Wrocław and Warsaw. Ten Square Games S.A. has acquired the Rortos studio in Verona, as well as a minority stake in the Krakow Gamesture studio. The Group’s portfolio includes, among others: Fishing Clash, one of the world’s most popular 3D fishing simulators, Hunting Clash, a realistic hunting simulator, as well as Real Flight Simulator, one of the most recognizable flight simulators, and the dynamically growing game Wings of Heroes.
B.A.S.S., MAXAM Tire announce Elite Series title sponsorship extension
Jan. 29, 2025
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — B.A.S.S. and MAXAM Tire, a global leader in specialty tire manufacturing, have announced a two-year extension of MAXAM’s return as a title sponsor for the Elite Series, starting with the 2025 MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River in Orange, Texas, May 15-18.
MAXAM Tire’s sponsorship demonstrates the company’s passion for the sport and its dedication to empowering anglers and outdoors enthusiasts alike. From off-road terrain to the open road, MAXAM’s specialty tires are engineered to deliver peak performance in the most demanding conditions, just as anglers rely on top-tier gear to excel in challenging waters.
“We are thrilled to extend our partnership with Bassmaster for another two years as a title sponsor,” said Steve Cunningham, director of marketing for MAXAM Tire. “The Bassmaster Elite Series embodies the same values as we do at MAXAM Tire — dedication, precision and performance. Just as anglers rely on the best equipment to excel, we provide specialty tires that deliver exceptional reliability in the most demanding conditions. We look forward to continuing this journey, supporting the passionate fishing community and connecting with the hardworking professionals who share our love for the outdoors.”
“This partnership between the Bassmaster Elite Series and MAXAM Tire has been a natural fit for both sides,” said B.A.S.S. Chief Operating Officer Phillip Johnson. “Much like the Elite anglers who take to the water to compete at professional fishing’s highest level, MAXAM Tire shares the same work ethic and values necessary for their customers to succeed under tough conditions. We look forward to standing together for an additional two years.”
The last time the Elite Series visited the Sabine River was in 2023 when Brock Mosley of Collinsville, Miss., won with a total weight of 44 pounds, 3 ounces. Mosley edged out runner-up Clark Wendlandt by almost three pounds.
Live coverage of all four days of the MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River will be featured beginning May 15 on Bassmaster.com as well as the FOX Sports digital platforms. FS1 will also broadcast the event live May 17-18.
About MAXAM Tire
MAXAM Tire is a major global specialty tire manufacturer and distributor with a strong reputation for market-leading quality, reliability and delivered value. Our organization’s foundation is centered around world-class engineering practices and the most advanced manufacturing platforms within our industry, ensuring superior product quality.
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.
Helton and Wheat capitalize on key bites to lead Day 1 of Bassmaster College Series at Lake Okeechobee
Jan. 29, 2025
CLEWISTON, Fla. — A late-morning kicker buoyed the bag for Carson-Newman University’s Zachary Helton and Blake Wheat, whose five-bass limit of 24 pounds, 5 ounces topped the Day 1 leaderboard for the Strike King Bassmaster College Series at Lake Okeechobee presented by Bass Pro Shops.
Helton and Wheat, both sophomores, spent their day at the lake’s north end, where they focused on reed heads amid hyacinths. With most of their bites coming in about 2 feet of water, they weren’t sight fishing, but Helton said they were likely catching newly arriving spawners.
“It was just something different on the bank and it gave them something to spawn on,” Helton said. “I think they were all moving up.”
Around 11 a.m., Helton flipped toward a patch of reeds and came tight on an Okeechobee giant that went 9-1. A few hours later, the leaders would capitalize on another big opportunity.
“We had our limit around 10, then we had a really good cull at the end of the day, around 2 o’clock,” Wheat said. “It was about a 4-pound upgrade.”
Wheat said one particular flipping bait produced all of their weight. Color was key and, while he held his cards low, Wheat said he and his partner kept it simple with a standard Florida selection.
With no lack of company in their area, Wheat said he and Helton strived to separate themselves from the pack.
“I think we slowed down a lot and that kind of set us apart today,” he said. “There were quite a few people in the areas we were in today.”
Helton said he and his partner rotated among three main spots. With fish actively advancing, they did their best to intercept new arrivals as frequently as possible.
“We just kind of put it together as we went along,” Helton said. “They came in waves, and we were just hitting them on the head when they were there.”
Looking ahead to Day 2, Helton said he and his partner will return to the same areas. With prime spawning waters in high demand, he believes some of the spots that produced first-round fish will reload.
As for final-round expectations, Wheat said he’s confident that he and Helton can back up their opening effort with another big bag.
“We had a 1-pounder (in our limit) today, but that big one jumped us up there,” Wheat said. “I think if we just slow down and get five of the good bites tomorrow, we won’t have to have a big one. We can just have good average weights.”
Cody Abbott and Trenton Carey of Lander University are in second place with 23-10.
Kyle Zainitzer and Brock Vogel of University of North Alabama are in third place with 22-3.
Helton and Wheat lead the Big Bass standings with a 9-1.
New for 2025, the top two highest-finishing teams in the Strike King Bassmaster College Series Bass Pro Shops Team of the Year race as well as each team that stands atop the rankings in the Legends and Lunkers divisions of the College Series will receive the exclusive honor of being named a Bassmaster College All-American. The All-Americans will be honored on the biggest stage in bass fishing, the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.
Discover Hendry County is hosting the tournament.
2025 Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Strike King
2025 Bassmaster College Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
2025 Bassmaster College Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2025 Bassmaster College Series Premier Sponsors: Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2025 Bassmaster College Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
2025 Bassmaster College Series Youth Sponsors: Seaguar, Shimano
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 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 Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, 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, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, 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.
Team Toyota Talks Bass Pro Tour Strategy Changes
Courtesy of Dynamic Sponsorships
The 2025 Bass Pro Tour season kicks off tomorrow on Lake Conroe in Montgomery County, Texas. Each new season conjures excitement, anticipation, and nerves for BPT competitors but the nervous energy is ramped up tenfold this year thanks to new format changes for the Bass Pro Tour in 2025.
Perhaps the most notable revision revolves around forward facing sonar (FFS) use. BPT competitors will only be able to use FFS for a single 2.5-hour period each competition day. The angler gets to choose the period they employ FFS and 360-degree sonar technology, but they must do so before the period begins.
As a fan of the sport, I’m excited to see how this format change plays out in real time with the best anglers in the world solving a puzzle that has never existed before the B&W Trailer Hitch Stage One on Conroe.
Will FFS aficionados continue to dominate the tournament scene when they can only employ the technology one third of their competition days, or will anglers have to lean on more traditional methods of fishing to consistently make the Knockout and Championship Rounds? For fishing fans who pay attention, we will get to learn more about anglers in terms of their strategy and fishing prowess than perhaps ever before.
To be fair to BPT competitors, practicing and planning for this new format must be somewhat of a nightmare. Two days of practice to break down 22,000 acres of Lake Conroe isn’t much to begin with, but you add in having to strategize for two different styles of tournaments that are blended in a way they’ve never experienced, and you have a paradox that could befuddle even the best anglers.
We caught up with Team Toyota’s Mark Daniels Jr. and Terry Scroggins on their off day to peer into their minds after their first official practice trying to decipher this new puzzle.
Q – How did you practice for your first tournament with the new hybrid FFS format? What was your practice breakdown of FFS vs traditional fishing?
MDJ – “I spent one whole day looking at my Garmins, scoping around to find an area with a concentration of fish I could rely on for my FFS period. I spent 3/4s of the next day fishing old-school. Covering water and trying to get a vibe on another way to catch bass to add to the SCORETRACKER. My breakdown was about 60% FFS focused and 40% old-school.
“It ain’t real easy to catch them without FFS right now, so I’m going to be honest with you I still don’t know exactly how I’m going to approach this thing. It’s weighing on me but it’s gotta be weighing on all of us. It’s scary but exciting.”
Big Show – “I probably spent 60% of my time ‘just fishing’, trying to find some shallower fish to target and 40% of my time out scoping. It’s a bit of a catch-22. It’s tough to get bites without scoping, so the period you choose to use FFS has to be a strong one this week. You have to choose the right period, right area, and it all needs to come together quick. I tried to find places I can employ both styles of fishing in a smaller area, so I don’t burn time up running around.”
Q – There are 66 anglers competing this year vs 80 anglers last year, and your events are four days vs six days last year. How will the smaller field and fewer competition days affect your strategy?
MDJ – “It’s a blessing and a curse. Technically we have less anglers, but with no more groups all 66 of us will be fishing the first two days, whereas in the past it was only 40 anglers per day. In my mind that means there is no laying up this year. When you land on them you better catch them now and ride the wave into the next round. I think you’ll see less guys saving spots. More people capitalizing on the here and now.”
Big Show – “There are less anglers in the field, but we’ll be fishing against more than in the past on the first two days. I love that we’ll all be fishing the same days, experiencing the same conditions, but it will be harder to get a check this year and there is a chance productive areas will be more crowded during the Qualifying Rounds. We’ll have to see how things shake out in this first one.”
Q – What is your biggest goal coming into the 2025 season?
MDJ – “Just to compete at a higher level in general this year. I’ve had a few subpar seasons by my own standards, and I know I’m capable of competing better. I want to be in contention to win and get more top tens this year. It’s time to get after ‘em!”
Big Show – “My number one goal is to have a consistent season and ensure I qualify to fish the BPT next year. We are cutting from 66 anglers to the top 50 next year, and I’m pretty sure I’m right around that 50 cut right now. I made up some good ground last year, and I need to keep the hammer down in 2025.”
B.A.S.S. announces 2025 Bassmaster College Kayak Series
Jan. 29, 2024
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — New for 2025, B.A.S.S. has announced a companion circuit to the Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft. The Bassmaster College Kayak Series will offer college anglers the opportunity to punch their ticket to the 2026 Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series Championship presented by Native Watercraft over the course of three tournaments to be held concurrently with Kayak Series events.
The College Kayak events will be held Feb. 1-2 at Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Fla., April 26-27 at Dale Hollow Reservoir in Byrdstown, Tenn., and Sept. 27-28 at Toledo Bend Reservoir in Hemphill, Texas.
College Kayak Series anglers must register and pay entry fees for each regular-season Bassmaster Kayak Series event they compete in. The highest-placing College Kayak Series angler will be named winner of the College Kayak Series event and receive a trophy in addition to winning a berth to the 2026 Bassmaster Kayak Series Championship. College Kayak Series anglers will still be competing against the regular Kayak Series field, and it is possible for a College Kayak Series angler to win both the standard Kayak Series event alongside winning the College Kayak Series event.
Registration Links:
Kissimmee Chain of Lakes: tourneyx.com/leaderboard/
Dale Hollow Reservoir: tourneyx.com/leaderboard/
Toledo Bend Reservoir: tourneyx.com/leaderboard/
2025 Bassmaster College Kayak Series Schedule
February 1-2, Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, Kissimmee, Fla.
April 26-27, Dale Hollow Reservoir, Byrdstown, Tenn.
September 27-28, Toledo Bend Reservoir, Hemphill, Texas
2025 Bassmaster Kayak Series Title Sponsor: Newport
2025 Bassmaster Kayak Series Presenting Sponsor: Native Watercraft2025 Bassmaster Kayak Series Angler of the Year Sponsor: Dakota Lithium
About B.A.S.S.B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
Why Vexus Wednesday - The New AVX 2085s
This week we're taking a look at the new Vexus AVX 2085s. Sporting measurements and the horsepower rating of bigger bass boats, the 2085s opens up a ton of possibilities on the water. It's a big water fishing boat, packed with family friendly features...the best of both worlds!
Below the rub rail, the tournament-engineered V2 hull includes computer-modeled lifting strakes, integrated spray rails, and a 44-gallon fuel tank on the center line. It’s a powerful combination geared for an extremely smooth, dry ride as well as responsive handling and lightning fast hole shots. Further equipped with stretch-formed gunnels, Trac-tight™ handling, and the added good looks of fiberglass-infused parts, this advanced aluminum rig is built to rout rough water while keeping comfort and convenience, front and center. Click Here for full details, or watch the walkthrough below.
Applications open for 2025 AFTCO X B.A.S.S. Nation Conservation Grant Program
Jan. 29, 2025
SANTA ANA, Calif. — The AFTCO X B.A.S.S. Nation Conservation Grant Program continues its efforts to support conservation initiatives throughout the country in 2025. The Conservation Grant Program was created in 2018 to help provide funds to approved freshwater bass conservation projects proposed by B.A.S.S. Nation clubs. To date, AFTCO’s total contribution to this program has exceeded $152,000 in grants. This partnership with B.A.S.S. Nation Conservation has actively contributed to the shared goals of AFTCO and B.A.S.S., fostering community and youth-oriented conservation projects that positively impact local fisheries.
The Grant Program provides financial support for stocking bass, habitat enhancements and ensuring that bass are properly cared for and returned to lakes and rivers in the best possible condition for future generations to enjoy. These efforts are coordinated locally with the aid of B.A.S.S Nation chapters, governmental fishery management agencies, local businesses and the valuable support of volunteers and youth organizations contributing their time and labor to the cause.
“These grants are a great example of the efforts our B.A.S.S. Nation clubs are putting forth to enhance the fishing in their local lakes and reservoirs,” said B.A.S.S. Conservation Director Gene Gilliland. “Our state chapters are blessed to be associated with a company like AFTCO that takes conservation to heart. That continued commitment to the B.A.S.S. Nation and to the fishery resources that our sport depends on is unmatched.”
You can submit your conservation proposal here. The deadline for entries is March 31, 2025. Proposals will be judged by a panel that includes representatives from B.A.S.S. and AFTCO. Please direct any questions to Gene Gilliland at ggilliland@bassmaster.com.
About AFTCO
Family owned and operated, the American Fishing Tackle Company (AFTCO) represents unparalleled quality, performance, and reliability when it counts most. Worn across the globe, AFTCO's fishing clothing and fishing raingear is designed to handle the harshest elements. Whether you're a tournament bass angler looking to stay dry in a late fall downpour or an offshore weekend warrior seeking protection from the sun's harmful UV rays, AFTCO keeps you fishing comfortably.
AFTCO reflects a legacy of firsts. From former company Chairman Milt Shedd's pioneering conservation achievements, to the invention of the roller guide and the introduction of the world's first pair of true fishing shorts, AFTCO provides conservation leadership and innovative products proven to deliver performance on the water. Our passion for the outdoors goes beyond our product offering because of an unwavering commitment to help protect our fishing resources and angler rights. Through our 10% Pledge to Protect and Conserve, your purchase of any AFTCO product directly supports conservation initiatives.
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 Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, 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, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, 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.
Fred Roumbanis Faces His Toughest Offseason Yet, Eyes Strong Start to 2025 Bass Pro Tour
Jan. 28, 2025
Charity Muehlenweg • Major League Fishing
Fred Roumbanis of Russellville, Arkansas, is about to enter his 20th season of professional fishing, a milestone that marks two decades of triumphs, struggles and resilience. The offseason leading into 2025, however, was particularly tough for the veteran angler. Personal loss, professional uncertainty and unexpected setbacks tested his mental and emotional strength like never before.
Yet, Roumbanis is approaching the upcoming Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour season with renewed determination – powered by his family, his passion for the sport and the legacy he’s building for the future.
The California native’s journey in professional bass fishing has never been easy but has been defined by resilience. Starting at just 18 – and sinking a boat during a tournament on his 19th birthday – Roumbanis quickly learned that success required perseverance.
“I’ve had so many rock-bottom moments,” Roumbanis reflected. “But every time I found myself scraping the bottom, I’ve found a way to dig deep and not give up. If you keep pushing, even when things feel impossible, you’ll find a way.”
One such moment came in 2005 after he missed qualifying for the FLW Tour (now the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals) by a single point.
“I was one point away from making the cut and had a fish jump out of my livewell during a tournament on Lake Champlain,” he recalled. “That’s the kind of stuff that stays with you.”
But instead of giving up, Roumbanis forged ahead and joined the EverStart Series (now the Toyota Series) that fall.
“This was long before GPS or navigation systems. I bought a paper map and drove to La Crosse, Wisconsin, for a tournament. I didn’t really have the money to make it home, let alone fuel the boat every day for the tournament,” Roumbanis laughed. “Before the event began, MLF emcee Chris Jones gave me a pep talk. He told me to stop thinking about what I couldn’t do and focus on what I could do.
“I told him I could probably bring in 12 to 14 pounds per day and he said, ‘If you can do 14 pounds per day, I’ll see you on Championship Day’,” Roumbanis continued. “That was the first time I saw light at the end of the tunnel.”
That talk gave Roumbanis a renewed mindset. He went on to win the tournament, a turning point that marked the beginning of a successful career. Roumbanis continued to rack up victories and earned an invite to the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2006, fishing that tour for more than a decade before transitioning to the MLF Bass Pro Tour in 2019.
That unwavering determination has shaped his career, and Roumbanis relied on it again during the challenging 2024 season. With a reduction in the number of anglers on the Bass Pro Tour from 80 to 66 for 2025, Roumbanis fought to secure his spot and was one of the last to qualify.
As if the requalification wasn’t stressful enough, more obstacles were headed his way. While driving to a Bass Pro Tour event at the Chowan River in North Carolina last May, a drunk driver totaled his boat. Yet, Roumbanis didn’t let this setback derail his performance. Phoenix Boats delivered a boat the next day, which Roumbanis later purchased to complete the season, and he went on to achieve one of his best finishes of the year.
“You can’t control everything around you, but you can control how you react to it. It was a huge mental hurdle all season, knowing so many guys wouldn’t make it to the 2025 Bass Pro Tour,” he admitted. “I had the fear of not performing, but I kept pushing forward and thankfully secured that spot.”
While Roumbanis was navigating these professional challenges, the most personal blow came during the holiday season. On Christmas Day, his mother passed away, a devastating loss that left him emotionally shaken.
"She was just so strong," he said, his voice heavy with emotion. "We lost my dad years ago and had moved my mom to be closer to us the last few years. I really thought I had more time with her and that she would pull through this.
“She was such an amazing person. I didn’t plan on losing her this soon, but she held on until Christmas. I think she knew that would be the time our family could all be together and knew we needed that."
Losing his mother just weeks before the season’s start has made it difficult to focus, but Roumbanis credits his wife, Julie, as his greatest support.
“Julie has been my rock through all of this. I couldn’t have gotten through it without her keeping me moving.”
Despite the turbulent offseason, Roumbanis found bright spots over the past year. One of the greatest joys of his career has been watching his 17-year-old son, Jackson, carve his own path in the sport. Jackson began fishing tournaments at 11 and has already earned two Angler of the Year titles and numerous wins with the Arkansas Youth Bass Hogs. At 15, he won a Hobie kayak tournament and, at 17, earned a spot as team captain on the USA BASS youth team, representing the USA in Zimbabwe last fall.
“He’s already better than I was at 25,” Roumbanis said proudly. “Jackson is finishing high school virtually, taking college courses and starting his first season as a boater on the Toyota Series. He already has a clear vision of what he wants and is excelling in every aspect of it.”
Roumbanis said he admires Jackson’s drive to create his own identity.
“He doesn’t want to be in my shadow. He’s made it clear he wants to be his own man, and I respect that. We’re excited for him and will always support him. It’s a big step, but I know he’s ready.”
With the 2025 season looming and new MLF forward-facing sonar rule changes in place, Roumbanis is excited to return to his roots and focus more on shallow-water power fishing, a style that helped launch his career.
“I enjoy LiveScoping, and it’s a fun way to fish,” Roumbanis said. “I’ve worked on it a lot during the offseason and have all the best gear for when it’s time to use it. But I’m excited to have some limits in place and focus on what works best for me. With the field only able to use forward-facing sonar for one period, I think you’ll see the true talent rise to the top. It’s about the skills that got us here and utilizing various methods of fishing.”
As Roumbanis embarks on his 20th professional season at B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 Presented by Power-Pole, there’s no doubt it will be a testament to his resilience and love for the sport. No matter what comes his way, he’s ready to tackle the challenges, armed with the strength of family, a clear vision and an unyielding belief in himself.
“Life’s a book, right?” Roumbanis said with a wide grin. “You just go through these chapters of learning, and I’m really looking forward to digging into this next chapter.”
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.
Florence, Alabama Set for MLF Toyota Series at Pickwick Lake
FLORENCE, Ala. (Jan. 28, 2025) –The Major League Fishing (MLF) Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats is set to visit Florence, Alabama, next week, Feb. 5-7, for the first event of the Central division – the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at Pickwick Lake.
The three-day tournament, hosted by Visit the Shoals, will feature a roster of the region’s best bass-fishing pros and Strike King co-anglers competing for a top prize of up to $100,000 in the pro division and a new Phoenix 518 Pro boat with a 115-horsepower outboard motor plus $5,000 in the co-angler division.
As anglers prepare for the 2025 MLF Toyota Series event on Pickwick Lake, excitement is high due to the lake’s current fishing conditions. The winter months have seen impressive catches, with multiple 20-pound bags being weighed in at recent tournaments. Local angler and seasoned competitor, Jimmy Washam of Stantonville, Tennessee, said he believes this tournament could see some of the highest weights in recent years.
“Pickwick has been on fire – it’s probably fishing as good as I’ve ever seen it,” Washam said. “The lake has been producing a lot of big largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. In fact, we’ve been seeing 10 to 12 bags over 20 pounds per event recently. It just seems like there are a lot more 4- and 5-pounders showing up this year.”
In a tournament last month, Washam weighed in a 5-pound smallmouth, a 5-pound spotted bass and multiple 5-pound largemouth, a feat he said makes Pickwick Lake unique.
“There aren’t many lakes in the country where you can weigh in three species of black bass over 5 pounds in one bag,” said Washam. “That’s why Pickwick Lake is held in such high regard among anglers. This is a bold statement, but I believe if things go just right for someone, it could take up to 80 pounds to win the three-day event.”
Washam said bait choice will be crucial, with a variety of techniques expected to come into play. He anticipates cranking and throwing lipless crankbaits like the Azuma Shaker Z will be popular, as well as fishing with a Ned rig and a jig, particularly around the tailrace smallmouth. The Tennessee native said the Alabama rig and jerkbaits are also expected to be players.
“Stable weather is definitely a plus,” Washam said. “In looking at the extended forecast, there’s a good chance we’ll avoid any extreme cold fronts, which can make things tricky. The lake’s in full winter mode now, and we could see some rain, which will likely help the current flow and make the fish easier to find.”
With water temperatures dipping to around 44 degrees, Washam said anglers will likely find fish at depths ranging from 10 to 20 feet, though shallower waters could become productive with warmer rain.
“I’m looking forward to a great event,” Washam added. “Fishing at home, on one of the best lakes in the South, with the potential for multiple 5-pound bass of different species – it doesn’t get much better than that.”
Anglers will begin each day at 7 a.m. CT, launching from McFarland Park at 200 Jim Spain Drive in Florence. Weigh-ins will take place at the same location, starting at 3 p.m. daily. Fans are invited to attend in person and can also stay connected by following the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts and daily updates on MajorLeagueFishing.com.
In Toyota Series regular-season competition, payouts are based on the number of participants competing in the event, scaling up for every 20 boats over 160 and scaling down for every boat below 160. With a 160-boat field, pros fish for a top prize of up to $75,000, if Phoenix MLF Bonus qualified. Strike King co-anglers cast for the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard (valued at $33,500). With a 260-boat field, pros fish for a top award of up to $100,000, if Phoenix MLF Bonus qualified. Strike King co-anglers cast for the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard plus $5,000 cash.
The 2025 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern and 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 Strike King 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 Sports Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Vosker, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Toyota Series updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 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.
Snow Start, Not Slow Start for College Champ Dylan Akins
Courtesy of Dynamic Sponsorships
Dylan Akins year as the Bassmaster College Series Bracket champion is off to a strong, albeit snowy start. Akins finished the first Bassmaster Open of his career in 18th-place, and while most Open competitors would agree they could have done without the frigid forecast through practice and tournament days, Akins may be getting used to the cold.
Not only did Akins deal with the historic winter storm that saw snow accumulation as far south as Florida and caused day one of the Bassmaster Opens season on Clarks Hill to be postponed. The 23-year-old Georgia native also made a white-knuckle cross-country drive in his brand-new Toyota Tundra on January 9th, the day he took possession of his new ride.
One of the perks of winning the Bassmaster College Series Classic Bracket, besides qualification to the Bassmaster Classic and a slot in the Opens, is the full use of a Toyota Tundra and a Nitro Z20 bass boat sporting your school’s colors. Unfortunately for Akins, he was scheduled to pick up his truck at Dynamic Sponsorships headquarters in Tulsa, OK the same day a winter storm was set to wreak havoc on travelers along the I-40 corridor (Jan. 9-11).
Akins flight landed about the same time the snow flurries began. His trip back to Georgia would normally take 12-hours in good conditions, but with every minute that passed travel conditions worsened. While Akins would have preferred to wait until the storm passed, the reality was he needed to get back home to continue rigging his new truck and boat. After studying a few weather radars, Akins elected to gas up his new ride, grab a Chick-Fil-A sandwich to go and hit the road.
“I was eager to get my new rig home, and I thought, well hoped I guess, that the forecast wasn’t going to be as bad as they were saying,” Akins said. “I figured I might have to drive in snow for the first few hours or so, but I’d get in front of it by Little Rock at the latest. Man was I wrong.”
Akins spent approximately the next 9-hours averaging 45-mph on the interstate and dealt with more stress than fighting a double-digit bass on light line. While this may sound a bit dramatic to northern readers, many parts of Arkansas saw anywhere from 8-inches to over a foot of snow on January ninth. Those are difficult driving conditions for anyone, let alone for a dude from the south who had “driven in flurries once or twice.”
After witnessing his share of weather-related wrecks and staying connected with his Dad who was actively following his progress, Akins finally got in front of the storm around Memphis. He opted to drive until the wee hours of the morning so the weather wouldn’t catch back up with him. Many aspiring young anglers might not realize it, but being a part-time truck driver and meteorologist is all part of the job description of “professional angler”, which Akins can now attest to.
Little did he know that this was a precursor for things to come, as Akins and the entire field of Bassmaster Open anglers were dealt a forecast of snow, ice, and temperatures in the teens last week at Clarks Hill. Akins winter storm driving experience came in handy immediately.
“I bought the first ice scraper of my life driving home from Tulsa,” Akins said with a laugh. “Out of six people in our house at Clarks Hill, I was the only one with ice scraper. It was a hot commodity... Everyone was wanting to borrow it all week.”
When it came to fishing, Akins hand stayed hot much like his 2024 efforts. The former college fishing standout used a Strike King Baby Z-Too on a ½-ounce Spotlight Head Jig Head to target deep water largemouth relating to bait and brushpiles or rocks. With his ultimate goal of finishing in the top 50 of the points standings so he can advance to the three Bassmaster Elite Qualifier tournaments, Akins 18th-place finish is a perfect start to his 2025 Opens campaign.
Authenticity Leads Cox and Feider to Vexus® Boats
There’s no question John Cox and Seth Feider are two of bass fishing’s most accomplished pros, and they’re also among the sport’s most entertaining and authentic characters. Each has their own highly relatable style, but both offer a genuine connectivity that led them to join Vexus® Boats recently.
“Cox and Feider have flirted with the idea of running our boats for quite some time, but much like life, it’s all about timing, and now’s the time in our relatively young company’s history to make them a part of the Vexus family,” says Vexus leader Keith Daffron.
“Our employees here in Flippin, Arkansas, as well as our dealers around the country, are pretty fired up about this news. But I promise you, if John and Seth weren’t the genuinely good family men they are, this would never work,” adds Daffron. “They also exhibit a sincere appreciation for the premium quality of our boats and have great relationships with our dealers, which is critical.”
Feider will run the new sleek-profile VXs20 fiberglass Vexus and has a long-standing friendship with In Tune Marine of Central Minnesota. Cox, who’s never met a stranger, shares a longtime relationship with Clark Marine in Tennessee as well as dealers in his home state of Florida. He will run the new 250-hp rated AVX2100 aluminum boat to chase shallow bass, but don’t be surprised if you also see him gathering redfish and gators throughout the Sunshine State from an aluminum center console Vexus ACX2210.
“People are going to laugh when they read this, but I literally had a tear in my eye the first time I ran an aluminum Vexus for a test lap on Bull Shoals Lake. I was so grateful for the smooth ride, I got emotional,” grins Cox. “I kept expecting it would ‘bunny hop’ at slower speeds like most boats, but it never did. This boat is bad to the bone!”
Feider doesn’t apologize for his excitement about running a Vexus, either. “The hull design Randy Hopper and his crew engineered, along with the AirWave® suspension seats, make it the smoothest riding bass boat on the planet. When you’re trying to compete at places notorious for rough water like Lake Ontario, Okeechobee, and Lake Saint Clair, that’s a level of comfort that’s tough to put into words,” says Feider.
Like tournament anglers of all ages and species preferences who fish from a Vexus boat, Cox and Feider will also be eligible to win cash bonuses and heritage-rich commemorative belt buckles for their trophy cases through the Vexus REV Rewards™ program.
To ensure you’re eligible to win bonuses from Vexus and learn all the details of the premium quality boats Seth Feider and John Cox are excited to be running, please check them out at vexusboats.com.
Travel Tuesday - Pack Your Bags!
The Clothing You Need for a Week-Long Panama Fishing Trip
By Pete Robbins - Half Past First Cast
We took 20 people to Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge in January, and our first-timers were understandably a bit nervous about what clothing to bring. We’d be be on a remote island, exposed to the elements for eight or nine hours a day, and no one wants to be uncomfortable. We didn’t need to bring tackle, but that didn’t lessen the nervousness.
I recognize that just telling people what to bring doesn’t always convey the message accurately (especially since everyone has different tolerances for heat, rain and other conditions), so I figured it would just be easier to show exactly what I’m packing. Check out the video below:
Anderson’s Brent Willey Earns First Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Lake Keowee
Easley’s Wilson Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division
SENECA, S.C. (Jan. 27, 2025) – Boater Brent Willey of Anderson, South Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 15 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Keowee. The tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Savannah River Division. Willey earned $10,679, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency bonus, for his victory.
Willey said he was on some good fishing coming into the tournament, but it took adapting to changing conditions to dial in the winning bite.
“I actually caught ’em two days ago in probably 60 feet of water, 20 feet below the surface, and then today (Saturday) I got out there and they weren’t there,” he said. “I had to get in that 60 to 80 foot of water.
“You could see them about 5 feet off the bottom. I’d drop a Damiki rig down and get them to come up and sort of play with them. If I could get a school together, obviously, they’d compete for it, and it was a little bit easier to catch them.”
Willey caught his fish using Garmin LiveScope. The change in depth – from 20 feet deep to closer to 80 – was so drastic he had to adjust his sonar settings to be able to spot the fish.
What’s most interesting about the depth shift, according to Willey, is that the baitfish were still up high. He thinks maybe the warming trend in the region and a coinciding high-pressure system might have forced the fish to move.
Willey caught the bulk of his limit from one stretch – a deep channel – that was about a mile long. It’s a spot he wasn’t planning to make his primary area, but it’s a spot he’s fished a lot in the past. When his starting spot didn’t produce, he moved to the winning area and quickly put a 3.80-pound bass in the livewell, which told him he was on the right quality fish. He spent the rest of the day milking that spot, then running to check other areas, before returning to do it all again.
“I think the key was I was seeing big schools of herring swimming around,” Willey said of the primary area. “They were up high in the water column, but I think in the morning time when I got most of my bites – especially the fish that I weighed in – they generate power on this lake, and there was water flowing out. I think that gets a lot of the bait schooled up, and the fish seem to be more active during that time. When they stopped generation around 10 o’clock it definitely got tougher, but I was able to get a few bites. Then they started pumping water, where they actually send water up to Lake Jocassee, and that’s when it got really tough.”
Of note, Willey wasn’t alone in his tournament celebration. His tournament partner, Chris Wilson of Easley, South Carolina, also claimed victory in the co-angler division.
“He’s actually my best bud, my fishing partner, and we always fish together in the buddy tournaments,” Willey added. “So it’s pretty cool that we both got to win in the same day.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Brent Willey, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 15-11, $10,679 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Andy Wicker, Pomaria, S.C., five bass, 14-7, $1,532
2nd: Davis Madden, Thomson, Ga., five bass, 14-7, $1,532
4th: Jesse Dodson, Greenville, S.C., five bass, 14-5, $859
5th: Keaton Owens, Inman, S.C., five bass, 14-3, $705
5th: Greg Glouse, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 14-3, $705
7th: Brody Manley, Pickens, S.C., five bass, 13-14, $613
8th: Lane Parker, Waleska, Ga., five bass, 13-11, $552
9th: Tim Watson, Martin, Ga., five bass, 13-6, $491
10th: Taylor Green, Royston, Ga., five bass, 13-4, $429
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Jason Burroughs of Hodges, South Carolina, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $480.
Chris Wilson of Easley, South Carolina, won the Strike King co-angler division and $1,840 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 8 ounces.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st: Chris Wilson, Easley, S.C., three bass, 8-8, $1,840
2nd: Colin Matthews, Hartsville, S.C., three bass, 8-7, $920
3rd: Rusty Odom, Simpsonville, S.C., three bass, 8-6, $612
4th: Jeff Horton, Inman, S.C., three bass, 8-5, $429
5th: Daniel Owens, Townville, S.C., three bass, 8-3, $368
6th: Joseph Tucci, Salem, S.C., three bass, 7-4, $337
7th: Chuck Bagwell, Laurens, S.C., three bass, 7-0, $307
8th: David Allen, Mableton, Ga., three bass, 6-15, $276
9th: Chase Gurkin, Simpsonville, S.C., three bass, 6-11, $245
10th: Darren Jeter, Asheville, N.C., three bass, 6-9, $215
Dwayne Parton of Anderson, South Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $240, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 7 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
In addition to earning the win, Willey also has the early lead in the Fishing Clash Savannah River Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 250 points, while co-angler champ Wilson leads the Fishing Clash Savannah River Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 250 points.
On March 8, the BFL Savannah River Division anglers will once again square off at Lake Keowee out of Seneca, South Carolina, for the second event of their season. 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 at Lake Norman 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 Strike King 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. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Proud sponsors of the 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 Sports 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, Vosker, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Catching up with Kayak Ace Drew Gregory
By Vance McCullough - AC InsiderMy dad taught me young, “There are dreamers. And then there are doers. Be a doer.”
Then you meet a guy like Drew Gregory. A doer of dreams. Big dreams. Winner of too many bass tournaments to enumerate here, including the 2024 Bassmaster Kayak Series championship held concurrently with the Bassmaster Classic in Oklahoma.
Gregory works his magic from the cockpit of his Shoalie, a kayak he designed for Crescent Kayaks.
Most recently Gregory started 2025 with a bang, winning the national Bassmaster Kayak Series tournament on Lake Havasu, AZ, a long haul from his home in Ohio.
A minimalist by nature, Gregory paddled his Shoalie, sans electronics, “as far as we were allowed to fish up the river. There were no obvious bends, no cover, no wood or grass, just a little riprap for the fish to warm themselves on. This eliminated most of the angling crowd.”
Gregory’s winning tactic is often referred to as fishing ‘ugly water’, that is, water that most would overlook. But there was nothing ugly about the beautiful conditions Havasu offered, though the fishing was tough. “I could see 25 feet down so when I stood, I could see the smallmouth. There weren’t many, but I found a group of 15 or 20 bunched up where the riprap gave way to the bare sand bottom, 3-to-5-feet below. I worked that group for most of my limit both days.”
He used the new Z-man ‘Gobius’, basically a finesse swimbait which he fished on 8lb braided line in the gin clear water. “The fish were pecking at the line where it entered the water the way bluegill often do. I would speed the bait up to get it front of them and they would bite.”
After twice losing his limit fish in the final round, Gregory felt his chance of victory slipping away. “Then I went to an area where they were doing some dredging so the water had a stain to it. That color in the water was enough to raise the temperature maybe just a degree or so. I soaked a Crosseyez jig on 30lb braid and caught a 14-inch largemouth with 20 minutes left to fish. He was my smallest fish of the tournament, but he was the biggest catch. That one sealed the win.”
Gregory will fish the next Bassmaster Kayak Series event on Florida’s Kissimmee Chain as we flip the calendar to February.
Then he will kick off the Kayak Adventure Series season with the ‘Ocalapalooza’ – a tournament whose playing field encompasses most lakes, rivers and puddles within an hour of Ocala, FL. That’s a lot of water. And Gregory expects a big field of participants in the tournament trail of his own creation.
I did say the man was a big dreamer, right?
Ocalapalooza will take place February 21st and 22nd. For those keeping score at home, that’s a Friday and Saturday – a break from the traditional Saturday/Sunday schedule of most national series. This gives anglers a travel day back home that doesn’t eat into any more vacation time, a nice wrinkle born from the mind of a man who actually fishes tournaments and understands the needs of anglers.
Gregory has built a bunch of flexibility into the Kayak Adventure Series. Each event features a pre-tournament meeting Thursday afternoon followed by seminars and networking opportunities Friday morning. The first round of competition begins Friday afternoon and the fishing concludes with an entire day of tournament angling on Saturday. Over the day-and-a-half, contestants are still only posting their 5 best bass. This arrangement encourages exploration, given the extra half day on Friday.
Also, anglers are allowed to portage over obstacles, even wade through whitewater riffles in some events, and roam far upstream, away from the motorboat crowd – which is why many of us took to kayaks in the first place although other national trails have recently enacted rules that keep anglers bound to big waters where many use the latest electronics and compete with the bass boat crowd. You can do that too on the KAS but their tagline ‘find your own adventure’ is more than a slogan, it’s the way we actually do things on this fun, competitive trail dreamed up by a guy who’s won everything you can from a kayak.
One piece of electronic equipment Gregory does embrace is the camera. He has the coolest social media pics and vids. He wants the rest of us to follow suit. To that end, he has enlisted GoPro to pay huge contingency bonuses, as much as $10,000 to winners who video-record their biggest two bass catches!
Not only does this help us share the winning moments, but the camera offers an iron-clad guarantee that everything was done in a legal manner. This is often missing in our sport where we generally self-police our activities.
“It’s getting to the point,” notes Gregory, “with the big bonus money offered by GoPro, if somebody doesn’t want to film themselves it sort of raises eyebrows. The cameras are affordable and portable. Why would you not want to double or triple your payday?”
I’ll be fishing the Bassmaster tourney and the Kayak Adventure Series in my home state this February. Come on down and get your feet wet where it’s warm enough to do so!
Got to KayakAdventureSeries.com for info or to register, go tot TourneyX.com or the Tourney X app.
For information on the Bassmaster Kayak Series check Bassmaster.com and register for their events Tourney X as well.
And as always, to find upcoming tournaments you can follow or even fish in, check out the Anglers Channel Tournaments tab.
Quilatan and Rust leverage local knowledge for Bassmaster High School Series win at Harris Chain
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Ohio’s Brody Campbell Dominates at Season-Opening Toyota Series at Sam Rayburn Reservoir
BROOKELAND, Texas (Jan. 26, 2025) – You know you’re having a good tournament week when the only thing you’re chasing on the final day is a record.
Such was the case for Oxford, Ohio pro Brody Campbell on a blustery, cloudy Championship Saturday at the Toyota Series Southwestern Division season opener on Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas. Campbell, an Ohio-based pro with 47 Top 10s to his credit, left the dock with a 9-pound, 13-ounce cushion over second place and a shot at the record for total weight in a three-day Toyota Series event on Big Sam. Campbell didn’t eclipse the record, but he nonetheless earned his second career Toyota Series win, bagging 16 pounds even on the day to bring his three-day total to 70-5.
That’s shy of pro Colby Miller’s all-time three-day mark of 77-7 on Sam Rayburn that he set in 2024, but still a comfortable margin over Kaden Mueck (64-14), Dakota Ebare (63-15) and Marshall Hughes (60-12). The win is Campbell’s second Toyota Series victory in three years – he won at Chickamauga in 2023 – and his first Top 10 in Texas, a state he’s quickly learning to love.
“I’d never even been to Texas until last year,” Cambell said. “(Sam Rayburn) sets up nothing like the Ohio River, where I was born and raised, and the caliber of fishermen down here is just insane. But I’ve caught five fish over 10 pounds down here already, and I’d never even seen a 10-pounder until I came to Texas. I like it down here.”
Campbell had modest expectations heading into the tournament, thinking that 14 to 15 pounds a day was a realistic goal. After a mechanical issue delayed his start for two hours on Day 1, he began fishing an offshore timber field that sat in 30 to 50 feet of water and dropped a Deps Sakamata Shad on a 3/8-ounce jighead to an 8-8 largemouth that his Garmin LiveScope revealed was holding tight to the timber 25 feet down. That first fish was a momentum-starter that propelled him to 27-1 and the Day 1 lead.
Campbell backed that up with 27-3 on Day 2, fishing the same pattern in the same area in the middle of the lake, to stake a 9-13 lead over Cole Moore.
While a near 10-pound advantage heading into the final day is almost a shoo-in on most fisheries, Campbell admits that his back-to-back 27-pound limits on Days 1 and 2 – and the cushion they afforded him when he headed out on Saturday – didn’t exactly give him a can’t-miss feeling with the likes of Moore, Ebare and Miller lurking in second, third and fourth. All three anglers can boast 32- to 35-pound five-fish limits on Big Sam among them.
With a modest goal of at least 15 to 16 pounds in mind when he left the ramp Saturday, Miller’s wish was to return to the same general offshore area in the middle of Rayburn where he had built his lead. But that area lay right in the barrel of sustained 10 mph winds and 20 mph gusts, which turned the middle of the lake into a no-man’s-land of waves that made it impossible to fish effectively.
“The wind kind of ruined my spot,” Campbell admitted. “I couldn’t really tell how rough it was out there until I got there, but I had a suspicion that it was going to be a different kind of day. Once I got out there, it was rough rough. I gave it about 90 minutes first thing, but I had to scrap everything and just go fishing. I feel like I got lucky having two 27-pound days out there to start.”
Campbell’s Plan B came out of pure instinct (and a desire to get out of the washing machine at the middle of the lake).
“I just ran to the first pocket that was out of the wind,” he said. “I headed to the beach and got in a protected pocket that I’d never even been to before. I just needed something that was out of the wind, and I found a little corner in that pocket that had a lot of threadfin shad. They weren’t very big, but I was able to scrape up a bunch of fish. It was a totally random place, but I caught the most fish there I had all week.”
Campbell stated earlier in the week that he was fishing to cover his entry fees for the year. He’s well on the way, with a $67,522 payout that includes $35,000 in Phoenix Boats contingency money.
“I just came here from Florida, where I won a big team tournament on the Kissimmee Chain last week; I have good momentum going,” he said. “I’ve worked hard at this sport. I spent 300-plus days a year on the water last year, so it feels good to be fishing good and to start the season rolling with good momentum.”
The top 10 pros at the Toyota Series at Sam Rayburn Reservoir finished:
1st: Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, 15 bass, 70-5, $67,522
2nd: Kaden Mueck, Livingston, Texas, 15 bass, 64-14, $12,602
3rd: Dakota Ebare, Brookeland, Texas, 15 bass, 63-15, $9,757
4th: Marshall Hughes, Hemphill, Texas, 15 bass, 60-12, $8,130
5th: Hayden Marbut, Birmingham, Ala., 15 bass, 57-6, $7,317
6th: Cole Moore, Anacoco, La., 15 bass, 55-7, $6,754
7th: Mike Hawkes, Sabinal, Texas, 14 bass, 55-2, $6,191
8th: Colby Miller, Elmer, La., 15 bass, 54-10, $4,878
9th: Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, 15 bass, 53-2, $4,065
10th: Wesley Baxley, Cypress, Texas, 15 bass, 51-8, $3,252
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Pro Mike Hawkes of Sabinal, Texas, earned Thursday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass Award with a bass weighing 9 pounds, 5 ounces. Two pros split the Berkley Big Bass Award on Friday – both Cole Moore of Anacoco, Louisiana, and pro Kevin Lasyone of Dry Prong, Louisiana, brought a bass weighing 8 pounds, 14 ounces to the scale, to split the $500 award.
Alan Bernicky of Dardanelle, Arkansas, won the Strike King Co-angler Division Saturday with a three-day total of 13 bass weighing 27 pounds, 5 ounces. Honeycutt earned the top co-angler prize package worth $33,900, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard motor.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers at the Toyota Series at Sam Rayburn Reservoir finished:
1st: Alan Bernicky, Dardanelle, Ark., 13 bass, 27-5, Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp Mercury outboard
2nd: Darrell Denton, Georgetown, Texas, nine bass, 27-2, $4,150
3rd: Justin Swayze, Gurdon, Ark., 10 bass, 23-13, $3,320
4th: Robert Williams, Houston, Texas, 11 bass, 21-4, $2,905
5th: Mitchell Adams Sr., Smyrna, Tenn., four bass, 20-12, $2,640
6th: Robert Jacuzzi, Mount Ida, Ark., seven bass, 19-8, $2,075
7th: Robert Massey, Calhoun, La., seven bass, 19-3, $1,660
8th: Mike Holland, Brookeland, Texas, nine bass, 18-12, $1,453
9th: William Easley, Pollok, Texas, six bass, 18-5, $1,245
10th: Buck Hux, Barksdale, Texas, six bass, 16-13, $1,038
Strike King Co-angler Mitchell Adams of Smyrna, Tennessee, earned Thursday’s $150 Berkley Big Bass co-angler award with a 12-pound, 15-ounce giant bass, while Friday’s Day 2 $150 co-angler award went to Mark Shores of Irving, Texas, who weighed in a 9-pound, 15-ounce largemouth bass.
The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at Sam Rayburn Reservoir was hosted by the Jasper-Lake Sam Rayburn Area Chamber of Commerce. It was the first of three regular-season tournament for the Toyota Series Southwestern Division. The next event for the Toyota Series Southwestern Division will be March 6-8 on Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Brookeland, Texas. 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 Strike King 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 Sports Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Vosker, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Toyota Series updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 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.
Largemouth carry Clarke to victory on Clarks Hill
Jan. 25, 2025
EVANS, Ga. — It didn’t result in many bites, but Chase Clarke perfectly executed a big-bass pattern to win the weather-shortened St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Clarks Hill Reservoir presented by SEVIIN with a two-day total of 47 pounds, 7 ounces.
The 2022 Auburn University graduate caught three 6-pound or better largemouth during the tournament, two on the first day that lifted him to a daily total of 25-14 and one on the second day that anchored his 21-9 Day 2 total. Those two bags propelled him over second-place Blaine Bunney by 6 pounds.
“I caught the right ones, but they were frustrating. They were so hard to catch,” the Virginia Beach pro said. “I figured I would only catch 10 or 11 bass a day, and I figured if I did that, I would have a good bag. Both days I happened to catch 6-pounders. I couldn’t have drawn it up any better.”
With the win, Clarke is the first angler to clinch their spot in the 2026 Bassmaster Classic, given he competes in the final three tournaments in Division I. Clarke was in contention to win an Open at Leech Lake last year, but fell short with a third-place finish.
As he drove to the boat ramp this morning, those same feelings he felt the final morning at Leech came flooding back to him.
“That was only four tournaments ago, and to have another opportunity this soon … this is a win of a lifetime and one I will never forget. I will always cherish this.”
Several curveballs were thrown at the Opens competitors this week, starting with frigid temperatures and a winter storm that pushed through the area Tuesday. The snowfall from that storm forced the postponement of Day 1 scheduled for Thursday and shortened the event to two days.
Each morning, Clarke started by fishing ditches on the Georgia side of the lake before moving to the South Carolina side in the afternoons. While other anglers fished in the “abyss”, Clarke caught all of his bass in 35 feet of water or less.
In the mornings, he saw the bass suspended 10 feet under the surface over 35 feet of water, while one of his 6-pounders came in the back of a ditch where the bottom was in 10 feet of water. As the day wore on, brushpiles became his main target.
“They would push up way shallow in the backs of the ditches in the mornings and then in the afternoons I was catching them in brushpiles. It didn’t matter how deep the brushpile was, it just mattered where it was. And the brush had to have blueback herring around it.”
Clarke figured out early on that largemouth would be the key to cashing a check on Clarks Hill, so when he did catch a largemouth, he would pick apart that area searching for more. A Greenfish Tackle Bad Little Shad jighead paired with a Fluke-style bait was his best presentation.
He used several different sizes of that jighead throughout the tournament, but he always used one with a 3/0 hook to make sure he kept the bass pegged.
After practice, Clarke did not think he would have a chance to win, but he did locate a small group of big largemouth that ended up being a crucial part of his tournament.
“I had what I would call a magic brushpile,” he explained. “I caught a 6-pounder out of it the first day of practice and I could see there were four more in there. I went back (Day 1), and it took me about 30 minutes, but I caught another one. So, there were three left. I started there this morning, and they were gone.”
That brushpile happened to be in the mouth of a ditch, so Clarke went all the way to the back of the ditch but couldn’t find those bass until he heard a splash behind him.
“About the time I u-turned to go back out, I heard something bust the water,” Clarke said. “And it was right in the reflection of the sun, so I couldn’t see anything. I panned over with my trolling motor and saw two of those bass. I made a really long cast and got the bait to them at 110 feet out.”
Those bass followed his bait back to within 20 feet of the boat before another largemouth Clarke did not see swam up from the bottom to eat his lure. That 6-2 largemouth anchored his bag for the day.
With just two bass in the livewell around 10:30, Clarke hooked up with another big largemouth. After working it to the boat, he was able to lip it and bring it in the boat, where the hook immediately fell out of the bass’s mouth. That 5-10 bass turned out to be the winning catch, as he filled out his limit soon after that.
“If it is your time to win, things happen that don’t happen every day,” he said. “I pulled up there and my second cast, she ate it. Stuff like that doesn’t happen.”
Bunney claimed second in his first Open with a two-day total of 41-4. The 18-year-old Okie landed 22-7 on Day 1 before adding 18-13 to his total on the final day.
Using a Spro RkCrawler crankbait and a ⅜-ounce Queen Tackle Tungsten jighead paired with a Yum Houdini Shad, he picked apart a long, rocky point where the bass were chasing herring in 17 feet of water. A creek channel ran up against that point before running into shallow water. To get some of his better bites, Bunney said he had to crawl his crankbait across some of the bigger chunk rock.
“It was the deepest ledge point before going all the way out,” Bunney explained. “The bass were using it like a ladder to go up or down.”
On Day 1, Bunney caught the majority of his limit early in the morning before letting his primary area rest. On Day 2, things did not heat up until the afternoon hours. With 12 pounds in the livewell around noon, he moved back to his primary area and landed two 5-pounders to bolster his bag.
“We had no wind this morning. I mean, it was absolute glass, and that had everything screwed up,” he said.
Lucas Lindsay, another Auburn graduate, finished third with a two-day total of 39-14. Lindsay landed in the middle of the pack on Day 1 with a daily total of 16-0, but rebounded on Day 2 with a 23-14 limit that was anchored by a 7-5 largemouth, the Big Bass of the Tournament.
On the final day, Lindsay spent most of his time in the Little River, fishing brushpiles, rockpiles or trashpiles holding bass. A Z-Man Scented Jerk ShadZ or a CrushCity Mooch Minnow rigged on an Echo Bait Company jighead caught the majority of his bass.
All anglers earned points towards the Division I standings. At the conclusion of the four-event schedule, the Top 50 anglers in the division will advance to the Elite Qualifier round starting at Lake Champlain in September.
Visit Columbia County hosted the event.
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: St. Croix
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Presenting Sponsor: SEVIIN
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 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 Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, 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, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, 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.
Two 6-pounders carry Clarke to the lead at Clarks Hill
Jan. 24, 2025
EVANS, Ga. — Using lessons learned from last season, Virginia Beach’s Chase Clarke landed a five-bass limit weighing 25 pounds, 14 ounces to take the Day 1 lead at the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Clarks Hill Reservoir presented by SEVIIN.
The former Auburn University angler anchored his bag with two largemouth over 6 pounds, including a 6-8 bucketmouth that claimed Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day honors.
“I know I’m not going to catch very many. But when they are that size, I’m doing something right,” Clarke said. “It was just one of those days where every decision I made was the right one. Hopefully that happens again tomorrow.”
Oklahoma’s Blaine Bunney holds second place with 22-7 followed by Tennessee’s Christian Nash in third with 22-5.
Winter has been in full swing this week in northeast Georgia, as a winter storm brought as much as 2 inches of snow to the area Tuesday night. That caused unsafe road conditions, leading to the cancellation of the regularly scheduled Day 1 on Thursday and shortening the event to two days. Anglers were greeted to 25-degree temperatures as they launched Friday morning.
With two full days off, though, the Opens pros showed the true potential of Clarks Hill. Nineteen bags over 18 pounds, including four over 20 pounds, hit the scales Friday and 116 limits were caught by the field of 161 anglers.
The 2024 season was Clarke’s first as an Elite Qualifier angler, and one tournament in particular from last year has helped him tremendously this week at Clarks Hill.
“I’m taking what I used at Lake Ouachita (last February) and implementing it here,” he explained. “Even though there aren’t blueback herring in Ouachita, the same thing is working for me.”
Clarke had a solid practice period on Clarks Hill, but as it progressed his daily weights went down. He never imagined a 25-pound bag was possible the way things were going.
“I didn’t think there was any chance. My best day in practice was 18 pounds, but that was the first day. The second day I had 14 and then 12 the last day. I was going downhill throughout practice. But I would pull up and look at some stuff in practice and just leave. I didn’t really know what was there exactly.”
When the tournament finally started on Thursday, Clarke worked his way to a limit by 11 a.m. Shortly after, Clarke made his lone mistake of the day. He landed a 3 ½-pounder that would have helped him, but in the process of culling, he accidentally threw that bass back, costing him a half pound.
“I caught a 2-pounder right after that, which didn’t help,” Clarke said. “I looked up to the clouds wondering, ‘How did I mess this up.’ I looked back down and on my next cast I caught one of the 6-pounders.”
Clarke mixed things up throughout the day, moving back and forth between shallow and deep water. Three baits caught the bulk of his bass — two bottom-contact baits and one bait he suspended in the water column.
Water clarity is a key component to what he is doing.
“I don’t want the clearest water in the lake, but I don’t want it to be super stained either,” Chase explained. “I’m looking for that in-between with 6 or 7 feet of visibility.”
While warmer, the forecast calls for less wind on Saturday, which Clarke thinks might change what his bass are doing.
Bunney, meanwhile, is fishing his first Open. The recent high school graduate is targeting largemouth in deep water using a jighead minnow and forward-facing sonar. He also landed a 4-3 spotted bass.
“Largemouth are what I’m looking for. That is what is going to win,” he said. “I stumbled into something the first day of practice that led me to this.”
While plenty of other competitors are chasing bass feeding on blueback herring, there isn’t much in the way of bait where Bunney is fishing. As the week has progressed, he has noticed the bass sinking lower and lower in the water column.
“You would think the bass would be really (targeting) the bait balls, but they really aren’t. They are kind of just floating in the nothing, the abyss. And they are wanting to push deeper down. When you think they would be 5 feet under the surface, they are 35 feet under the surface in 50 feet of water.”
Hailing from Dale Hollow, Nash got off to a hot start, catching a 4-pounder before filling out his limit in that same pocket. He then caught a 6-pounder out of a brushpile, anchoring his bag for the day.
“I pulled in a pocket this morning and there was someone already there, so I made a slight adjustment and went to another pocket,” he said. “The wind was blowing into a pocket, and I said, ‘Man, that looks good.’”
Nash has utilized forward-facing sonar to catch his bass, which are located between 35 feet of water to 50 feet of water.
“I’m using ¾-ounce and 1-ounce heads. When one sees it, they’ve got it,” he said. “In the mornings, I think the herring get tucked down to the bottom in the creeks. To me, it seemed like the bass just kept going deeper.”
The full field of anglers will launch from Wildwood Park beginning at 7:15 a.m. ET and return for weigh-in beginning at 3:15 p.m. The winner, given they fish all of the events in Division 1, will earn a spot in the 2026 Bassmaster Classic. The Top 50 in points at the end of Division 1 will advance to the Elite Qualifier round, details of which were just announced.
Bassmaster LIVE coverage of the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Clarks Hill Reservoir presented by SEVIIN begins at 8 a.m. Saturday on Bassmaster.com.
Visit Columbia County is hosting the tournament.
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: St. Croix
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Presenting Sponsor: SEVIIN
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 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 Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, 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, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, 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.
Major League Fishing Launches 2025 Phoenix Fantasy Fishing
BENTON, Ky. (Jan. 24, 2025) – Major League Fishing (MLF) is excited to announce the launch of the 2025 Phoenix Fantasy Fishing game, offering fans the ultimate way to engage with the world’s premier bass fishing league. Open now, fishing fans can test their skills by selecting the top anglers at each Bass Pro Tour and Tackle Warehouse Invitational tournament and competing for a chance to win some exciting prizes.
How to Play
The 2025 Phoenix Fantasy Fishing game is free to play and open to legal residents of the contiguous United States who are at least 18 years old. Participants can register at FantasyFishing.com and select ten anglers – five from Flight 1 and five from Flight 2 – to build their team. The goal is to predict the anglers who will achieve the highest cumulative weight of scorable fish during each tournament.
Players can submit their picks during the official entry period before each event. The entry period for the first event of the year, the Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 at Lake Conroe closes at 7:45 a.m. CT on Jan. 30, 2025.
Entries can be updated anytime during the official entry period, but all changes must be saved by clicking the ‘update team’ button. Players are encouraged to double-check their selections prior to the start of the event to account for any last-minute angler replacements.
Scoring and Prizes
Participants’ scores will be determined by the combined weight of fish caught by their selected anglers. The player with the highest total weight at each event will win a Major League Fishing Bait Prize Pack. The two season-long winners of the Bass Pro Tour game and the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals game will each win a coveted Tackle Warehouse Prize Pack, with more than $1,500 worth of various baits, lures, plastics and accessories. In the event of a tie, the winner will be determined by the closest prediction of the total weight of scorable fish caught by the tournament champion.
Engage and Win
Fantasy Fishing offers fans an interactive way to follow the action and root for their favorite anglers. With every cast and catch, players can track their team’s performance and compete against other fans across the country. Leaderboards and updates will be available throughout each tournament, enhancing the excitement of the 2025 Major League Fishing season.
Join the Action
Registration is now open! Don’t miss the opportunity to make your selections and earn your share of the exciting fishing prizes. Points accumulate throughout the season – the more you participate, the more you earn.
Sign up today at FantasyFishing.com and make your picks!
The 2025 Bass Pro Tour season kicks off Jan. 30-Feb. 2, with the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 Presented by Power-Pole at Lake Conroe in Conroe, Texas. The 2025 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals season launches Feb. 21-23 at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 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.
MLF Toyota Series Championship on Wheeler Lake Presented by Bass Boat Technologies to Premiere Saturday on CBS Sports
WHAT:
The 2024 Major League Fishing (MLF) Toyota Series Championship on Wheeler Lake Presented by Bass Boat Technologies will premiere this Saturday, Jan. 25, at 11 a.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
Hosted by the Huntsville-Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Madison County Commission and the Huntsville Sports Commission, the three-day, no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship showcased the nation’s best Toyota Series pros and international anglers competing for a top award of up to $235,000 cash and an invitation to REDCREST 2025– Major League Fishing’s most prestigious event.
WHEN:
Saturday, Jan. 25, 11 a.m. – Noon ET
WHERE:
CBS Sports Network
NOTES:
The event was the culmination of the 2024 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats season, a six-division circuit that offered a path to the 2025 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour.
The 2024 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consisted of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern, Southwestern and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International division and the Wild Card. The highest finishing pro from each division at the championship earned a $10,000 bonus.
The 2024 Toyota Series Championship field features the top 25 pros, top 25 Strike King co-anglers and tournament winners from each of the six divisions; the top 25 pros and 25 co-anglers from the Wild Card division plus tournament winners; the highest finishing boater and co-angler from each of the six Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regionals and the TBF at the All-American; the top three teams from the College Fishing National Championship; High School Fishing National Champions; TBF National Champions; and MLF International anglers from Canada, Central Europe, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Zimbabwe.
For complete details and updated information on the Toyota Series visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Toyota Series updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 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.