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Gunter Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League on Clarks Hill Lake

Jefferson’s Healan Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division

APPLING, Ga. (June 15, 2021) – Boater Bryan Gunter of Ninety Six, South Carolina wins the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine at Clarks Hill Lake Presented by Googan Baits in Appling, Georgia. Gunter earned $6,213 for his victory at the event.

TOP 10 RESULTS

RANK	BOATER NAME/HOMETOWN	BASS	WEIGHT	AWARD
1^st	Bryan Gunter of Ninety-Six, S.C.	5	17-7	$6,213
2^nd	Sterling Banks of Beech Island, S.C.	5	16-9	$2,684
3^rd	Bobby Stanfill of Greenwood, S.C.	5	15-11	$1,789
4^th	Daniel Atkins of Anderson, S.C.	5	15-9	$1,253
5^th	Zack Lamb of Martinez, Ga.	5	14-15	$1,074
6^th	Randy Childers of Anderson, S.C.	5	14-14	$1,184
7^th	Andy Wicker of Pomaria, S.C.	5	14-13	$850
7^th	Sammy Landrum of Appling, Ga.	5	14-13	$850
9^th	Greg Rikard of Leesville, S.C.	5	14-12	$716
10^th	Eric Mora of Evans, Ga.	5	14-8	$626

RANK	STRIKE KING CO-ANGLER NAME/HOMETOWN	BASS	WEIGHT	AWARD
1^st	Tom Healan of Jefferson, Ga.	5	15-2	$2,684
2^nd	James Akins of Cumming, Ga.	5	14-11	$1,342
3^rd	Gregory Littles, Sr. of Columbia, S.C.	5	14-10	$893
4^th	Cameron Holley of Anderson, S.C.	5	13-7	$1,048
5^th	Johnny Hancox of West Union, S.C.	5	12-12	$537
6^th	Bradley Gunter of Greenwood, S.C.	5	12-2	$492
7^th	Joey Alexander of Salem, S.C.	5	12-0	$447
8^th	David Daniel of Gainesville, Ga.	5	11-8	$403
9^th	Westley Denny of Westminster, S.C.	5	11-6	$358
10^th	Kyle Rogers of Cleveland, Ga.	5	11-3	$313

CONTINGENCY AWARDS

AWARD	NAME	CONTINGENCY	PAYOUT
Boater Big Bass	Bryan Gunter of Ninety-Six, S.C.	6-pound, 8-ounce bass	$845
Strike King Co-Angler Berkley Big Bass	Cameron Holley of Anderson, S.C.	6-pound, 4-ounce bass	$422
Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus	Danny Kirk of Bartow, Ga.	Eligible Phoenix Boat*	$500

* Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.

WINNING BAITS

ANGLER	BAIT	COLOR
Boater	Buzzbait & Zoom Brush Hog	Did Not Disclose
Strike King Co-Angler	Zoom Fluke & Shaky-head rig	Did Not Disclose

2021 QUALIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES

EVENT	DATE	LOCATION	HOST
Savannah River Division – Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship	Oct. 14-16	Lake Murray, Columbia, S.C.	Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board
Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American	June 3-5	Douglas Lake, Dandridge, Tenn.	Jefferson County Department of Tourism

The 2021 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championships. Boaters will compete for a $60,000 prize package, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while Strike King co-anglers will fish for a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The top six finishers in each regional will then qualify for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American.
The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division will also earn priority entry into the Toyota Series, the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour.

For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube .

by AnglersChannel

Stephen F. Austin University Wins MLF Wiley X College Faceoff at Lake O’ The Pines

JEFFERSON, Texas (June 15, 2021) – The Stephen F. Austin University duo of Hunter Muncrief of Pineland, Texas, and River Lee of Nacogdoches, Texas, won the Major League Fishing (MLF) Wiley X College Faceoff at Lake O’ The Pines in Jefferson, Texas, Saturday. The Lumberjacks’ bass club boated 24 bass weighing 70 pounds, 12 ounces to win the second of four Wiley X College Faceoff Events in the 2021 season and earn the win by a 45-pound, 14-ounce margin over Arkansas Tech University’s Austin Johnston and Karson Hamilton.

“We caught our fish cranking a 6th Sense Cloud 9 C-10 crankbait,” the duo told MLF officials. “We fished on a point that had shells on it, and we also seemed to believe that there was bream spawning on it as well. When they wouldn’t eat the crankbait. we caught them dragging a Carolina-rig with a 6th Sense Flush . We also caught a few flipping the bushes, but the majority came on that same point.”

The 10 teams that competed in the Wiley X College Faceoff at Lake O’ The Pines finished:
1^st: Stephen F. Austin University – Hunter Muncrief, Pineland, Texas, and River Lee, Nacogdoches, Texas, 24 bass, 70-12
2^nd: Arkansas Tech University – Austin Johnston, Mena, Ark., and Karson Hamilton, Hot Springs, Ark., nine bass, 24-14
3^rd: Arkansas Tech University – Matt Baker, Glenwood, Ark., and Jordan Mungle, Jessieville, Ark., five bass, 19-6
4^th: Lamar State University – Kaiden Dubose, Bridge City, Texas, and Trace Moore, Orange, Texas, five bass, 16-12
5^th: Tarleton State University – Caden Cowan, Stephenville, Texas, and Trevor Easter, Morgan, Texas, four bass, 11-0
6^th: Lamar State University – Dakota Posey, Orange, Texas, and Trent Buchholz, Beaumont, Texas, three bass, 8-12
7^th: Stephen F. Austin University – Dakota Hickman and Benjamin Doss, both of Longview, Texas, two bass, 6-13
8^th: Tarleton State University – Collin Reyes, Saginaw, Texas, and Reagan Nelson, Athens, Texas, two bass, 5-0
9^th: Sam Houston State University – William Vega, Richmond, Texas, and Mason Hoke, Conroe, Texas, two bass, 4-11
10^th: Sam Houston State University – Cash Gideon, Jacksonville, Texas, and Dylan Dunn, Huntsville, Texas, zero bass, 0-0

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The Wiley X College Faceoffs are single-day tournaments where competitors fish in an MLF-style catch, weigh, immediate-release format at each event. The College Faceoff tournaments occur the Saturday following an Abu Garcia College Fishing competition, on the same body of water. The results from the College Fishing tournament the previous day determine the 20 competitors for the Wiley X College Faceoff, with the top two teams (four anglers) from the top five schools in the regular season tournament qualifying to fish in the ten-boat faceoff the following day.

The Wiley X College Faceoff tournament was the second of four Faceoff events for MLF collegiate anglers. The next College Faceoff event will be held July 31 at the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI teams compete in three regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. Registration is accepted from any eligible college team from across the United States. The top ten teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the top 20 teams from the annual Abu Garcia College Fishing Open advance to the following year’s Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI National Championship. One additional team will automatically qualify for the National Championship for every 10 teams over 200 competing.

For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF Wiley X College Faceoffs on MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

by AnglersChannel

Laufenberg Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League on Wolf River Chain Presented by TINCUP

Vonwald Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division

WINNECONE, Wis. (June 15, 2021) – Boater Cade Laufenberg of La Crosse, Wisconsin, won the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine at the Wolf River Chain of Lakes Presented by TINCUP in Winneconne, Wisconsin. Laufenberg earned $12,235 for his victory at the event, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF BIG5 contingency bonus.

TOP 10 RESULTS

RANK	BOATER NAME/HOMETOWN	BASS	WEIGHT	AWARD
1^st	Cade Laufenberg of La Crosse, Wis.	5	15-3	$12,235
2^nd	Brandon Briscoe of McHenry, Ill.	5	15-0	$2,118
3^rd	Clayton Reitz of Morton, Ill.	5	14-9	$1,413
4^th	Mike Feldermann of Galena, Ill.	5	14-4	$988
5^th	Steve Mortenson of Oshkosh, Wis.	5	13-15	$847
6^th	Mark Myers of Cedar Falls, Iowa	5	13-12	$776
7^th	Andrew Behnke of Fond Du Lac, Wis.	5	13-11	$706
8^th	Charles Wright of Becker, Minn.	5	13-10	$600
8^th	Kory Krienke of Annandale, Minn.	5	13-10	$600
10^th	Daniel Ragan of Braceville, Ill.	5	13-5	$494

RANK	STRIKE KING CO-ANGLER NAME/HOMETOWN	BASS	WEIGHT	AWARD
1^st	Paul Vonwald of La Crosse, Wis.	5	13-10	$2,392
2^nd	Mongshua Xiong of La Crosse, Wis.	5	12-14	$1,050
3^rd	Brady Rufenacht of Lavalle, Wis.	5	11-15	$701
4^th	Kalvin Korotka of Manawa, Wis.	5	11-12	$490
5^th	Danny Mancini of Necedah, Wis.	5	10-15	$420
6^th	Jake Minch of Stevens Point, Wis.	5	10-14	$385
7^th	Zeb Mathews of Waunakee, Wis.	5	10-12	$350
8^th	Tom Lyskawka of Arlington Heights, Ill.	5	10-9	$315
9^th	Kevin Anderson of Ettrick, Wis.	5	10-3	$262
9^th	Justin Oppegard of Eagan, Minn.	5	10-3	$262

CONTINGENCY AWARDS

AWARD	NAME	CONTINGENCY	PAYOUT
Boater Big Bass	Kevin Johnson of Sparta, Wis.	4-pound, 15-ounce bass	$590
Strike King Co-Angler Berkley Big Bass	Paul Vonwald of La Crosse, Wis.	4-pound, 12-ounce bass	$292
Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus	Cade Laufenberg of La Crosse, Wis.	Eligible Phoenix Boat*	$7,000

WINNING BAITS

ANGLER	BAIT	COLOR
Boater	Frog 3/8-ounce Jig	N/A Black
Strike King Co-Angler	Tube Frog Worm	N/A Black N/A

2021 QUALIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES

EVENT	DATE	LOCATION	HOST
Great Lakes Division – Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship	Oct. 21-23	Lake Ouachita, Mount Ida, Ark.	Visit Hot Springs
2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American	June 2-4, 2022	Lake Hamilton, Hot Springs, Ark.	Arkansas Dept. of Parks and Tourism & Visit Hot Springs

by AnglersChannel

Wasden Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League on Kentucky-Barkley Lakes Presented by TINCUP

Benton’s Thompson Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division

GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (June 15, 2021) – Boater Michael Wasden of Paris, Tennessee, won the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine at Kentucky and Barkley Lakes Presented by TINCUP in Gilbertsville, Kentucky. Wasden earned $4,559 for his victory at the event, which was hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau.

TOP 10 RESULTS

RANK	BOATER NAME/HOMETOWN	BASS	WEIGHT	AWARD
1^st	Michael Wasden of Paris, Tenn.	5	19-15	$4,559
2^nd	Brian Futch of Herrin, Ill.	5	19-2	$2,505
2^nd	Edward Gettys of Paris, Tenn.	5	16-10	$1,336
4^th	Bill Schroeder III of Benton, Ky.	5	14-1	$935
5^th	Scott Patton of Dayton, Tenn.	5	13-9	$802
6^th	Dan Shoraga of West Frankfort, Ill.	5	13-0	$735
7^th	Lance Freeman of Eddyville, Ky.	5	12-9	$668
8^th	Tyler Brown of Almo, Ky.	5	12-7	$601
9^th	Larry Bailey of Paducah, Ky.	5	12-4	$985
10^th	Daniel Langton of Evansville, Ind.	5	12-1	$468

RANK	STRIKE KING CO-ANGLER NAME/HOMETOWN	BASS	WEIGHT	AWARD
1^st	Jack Thompson of Benton, Ky.	5	13-9	$1,944
2^nd	Dalton Wilson of Bowling Green, Ky.	5	11-9	$972
3^rd	John Dunn of Paducah, Ky.	5	10-0	$649
4^th	Alan Brasher of Decaturville, Tenn.	2	8-15	$716
5^th	Chuck Ledbetter of Fort Campbell, Ky.	4	7-15	$389
6^th	Dennis Taylor of Murray, Ky.	4	7-8	$340
6^th	John Sturdivant of Obion, Tenn.	3	7-8	$340
8^th	Thad Jones of Madisonville, Ky.	4	7-5	$292
9^th	Bryce Newsome of Clarksville, Tenn.	4	6-15	$259
10^th	Benton Peoples of Bardstown, Ky.	4	6-10	$227

CONTINGENCY AWARDS

AWARD	NAME	CONTINGENCY	PAYOUT
Boater Big Bass	Michael Wasden of Paris, Tenn.	5-pound, 12-ounce bass	$550
Strike King Co-Angler Berkley Big Bass	Alan Brasher of Decaturville, Tenn.	5-pound, 3-ounce bass	$262
Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus	Brian Futch of Herrin, Ill.	Eligible Phoenix Boat*	$500

WINNING BAITS

ANGLER	BAIT	COLOR
Boater	Swimbait	N/A
Strike King Co-Angler	Strike King Jig	Black and Blue

2021 QUALIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES

EVENT	DATE	LOCATION	HOST
LBL Division – Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship	Oct. 7-9	Norfork Lake, Mountain Home, Ark.	Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce
2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American	June 2-4, 2022	Lake Hamilton, Hot Springs, Ark.	Arkansas Dept. of Parks and Tourism & Visit Hot Springs

by AnglersChannel

Tennessee’s Short Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League on Cherokee Lake

Jones Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (June 15, 2021) – Boater Joshua Short of Bean Station, Tennessee, won the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine at Cherokee Lake in Jefferson City, Tennessee. Short earned $13,376 for his victory at the event, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF BIG5 contingency award. The event was hosted by the Jefferson County Department of Tourism.

TOP 10 RESULTS

RANK	BOATER NAME/HOMETOWN	BASS	WEIGHT	AWARD
1^st	Joshua Short of Bean Station, Tenn.	5	17-2	$13,376
2^nd	Hunter Sales of Blaine, Tenn.	5	13-13	$2,343
3^rd	Tim Hoskins of Middlesboro, Ky.	5	13-9	$1,562
4^th	Jerry Reagan of Byrdstown, Tenn.	5	12-14	$1,093
5^th	Gregory McDavid of Blountville, Tenn.	5	12-8	$1,187
6^th	Brant Grimm of Church Hill, Tenn.	5	12-6	$859
7^th	Jake Morris of McKee, Ky.	5	12-4	$781
8^th	Jesse Burnett of Norris, Tenn.	5	11-11	$703
9^th	Dylan Wright of Murfreesboro, Tenn.	5	11-10	$625
10^th	Scott Stults of Jamestown, Tenn.	4	11-8	$547

RANK	STRIKE KING CO-ANGLER NAME/HOMETOWN	BASS	WEIGHT	AWARD
1^st	Matthew Jones of Bean Station, Tenn.	4	8-4	$2,270
2^nd	Kendall Parnell of Monticello, Ky.	4	7-15	$1,135
3^rd	Jackie Hatfield of Sweetwater, Tenn.	4	7-10	$757
4^th	Andrew Adams of London, Ky.	3	7-8	$530
5^th	Shaun Sparks of Allardt, Tenn.	2	7-1	$454
6^th	Dean Dalton of Keeling, Va.	3	6-13	$416
7^th	Johnny Douglas of Liberty, Ky.	4	6-10	$378
8^th	Keith Gunsauls of Dandridge, Tenn.	3	6-1	$341
9^th	Todd Stopher of London, Ky.	2	5-14	$284
9^th	Gilbert Jolley of Livingston, Tenn.	2	5-14	$284

CONTINGENCY AWARDS

AWARD	NAME	CONTINGENCY	PAYOUT
Boater Big Bass	Joshua Short of Bean Station, Tenn.	6-pound, 4-ounce bass	$690
Strike King Co-Angler Berkley Big Bass	Sean Connors of Louisville, Ky.	4-pound, 2-ounce bass	$330
Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus	Joshua Short of Bean Station, Tenn.	Eligible Phoenix Boat*	$7,000

WINNING BAITS

ANGLER	BAIT	COLOR
Boater	Buzzbait Swimbait	N/A N/A
Strike King Co-Angler	Yamamoto Senko	N/A

2021 QUALIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES

EVENT	DATE	LOCATION	HOST
Mountain Division – Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship	Oct. 7-9	Wheeler Lake, Decatur, Ala.	Decatur Morgan County Tourism
2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American	June 2-4, 2022	Lake Hamilton, Hot Springs, Ark.	Arkansas Dept. of Parks and Tourism & Visit Hot Springs

by AnglersChannel

Benton High School Wins U.S. Army High School Fishing Presented by Favorite Fishing Lake O' the Pines

JEFFERSON, Texas (June 15, 2021) – The Benton High School duo of Peyton Grantham of Benton, Louisiana, and Tanner Underwood of Bossier City, Louisiana, won the U.S. Army High School Fishing Presented by Favorite Fishing Lake of the Pines Presented by Googan Baits Presented by Hosting Pro Jeff Sprague on Saturday in Jefferson, Texas. The victory advanced the winning team to the 2021 U.S. Army High School Fishing Presented by Favorite Fishing National Championship.

TOP 10 RESULTS

RANK	SCHOOL/CLUB NAME/CITY	ANGLER NAME	BASS	WEIGHT
1^st	Benton High School*	Peyton Grantham* Tanner Underwood*	5	22-15
2^nd	Hallsville*	Noah Jarrett* Cooper Mayes*	5	22-4
3^rd	Henderson*	Brayden Cross* Jack Hacker*	5	16-1
4^th	Elizabeth High School	Ty Haymon Bryce Tichy	5	15-10
5^th	Carlisle High School	Colby Crim Caleb Crim	5	15-9
6^th	Harleton	Brayten Harper Corbin Sanders	5	15-8
7^th	Winnsboro	Gage Ivey Pake South	5	15-4
8^th	North Desoto	Will Henderson Justin Lafitte	5	15-1
9^th	North Desoto	Evan Howe Drake Wadsworth	5	13-14
10^th	Queen City Bass Fishing Assoc.	Dylan Benson Carson Dillinger	5	13-10

*Top 10% of teams advance to the 2021 U.S. Army High School Fishing presented by Favorite Fishing National Championship

Complete results from the event can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

2021 UPCOMING QUALIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES

EVENT	DATE	LOCATION	HOST
U.S. Army High School Fishing Presented by Favorite Fishing Mississippi River Open Presented by Googan Baits	July 31	Mississippi River, La Crosse, Wis.	La Crosse County Convention & Visitors Bureau
2021 U.S. Army High School Fishing National Championship & World Finals	Jun. 30 – Jul. 3	Lake Hartwell, Anderson, S.C.	Anderson Convention & Visitors Bureau

The first 25 high school teams that enter each U.S. Army High School Fishing presented by Favorite Fishing tournament will receive a free Favorite Fishing package, including one Favorite Fishing casting rod and reel, one Favorite Fishing spinning rod and reel, six packs of Googan Baits and two Favorite Fishing hats, a total package value of $230. Most tournaments will also be hosted by a Bass Pro Tour angler or Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit angler, giving high school students the chance to meet the sport’s top pros. As an added bonus, the winning team at each tournament will receive a guided fishing trip with their pro angler host.

U.S. Army High School Fishing presented by Favorite Fishing tournaments are free, two-person (team) events for students in grades 7-12 and are open to any MLF and Student Angler Federation-affiliated high school club. The top 10 percent of teams at each Open event along with the TBF High School Fishing state championships will advance to the 2021 U.S. Army High School Fishing presented by Favorite Fishing National Championship. The U.S. Army High School Fishing national champions will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice.

In addition to the U.S. Army High School Fishing National Championship, all High School Fishing anglers nationwide automatically qualify for the world’s largest open high school bass tournament, the 2021 High School Fishing World Finals, held in conjunction with the National Championship. More than $2.8 million in scholarships and prizes were offered at the 2020 World Finals.
Full schedules and the latest announcements, photos and articles are available at HighSchoolFishing.org and MajorLeagueFishing.com.

by AnglersChannel

University of Louisiana-Monroe Wins Abu Garcia College Fishing Tournament on Lake O' the Pines

JEFFERSON, Texas (June 15, 2021) – The University of Louisiana duo of Jacob Andrews and Connor Nimrod, both of Monroe, Louisiana, took the win on Friday at the Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI at Lake of the Pines. The victory earned the University of Louisiana team $2,000 and qualified the duo to compete in the 2022 College Fishing National Championship.

TOP 10 RESULTS*

RANK	COLLEGE NAME	ANGLER NAME/HOMETOWN	BASS	WEIGHT	AWARD
1^st	University of Louisiana-Monroe	Jacob Andrews of Monroe, La. Connor Nimrod of Monroe, La.	5	26-5	$2,000
2^nd	Stephen F. Austin	Jacob Miller of Fort Worth, Texas Jack York of Colleyville, Texas	5	25-11	$1,000
3^rd	Tarleton State – Stephenville	Caden Cowan of Stephenville, Texas Trevor Easter of Morgan, Texas	5	24-13	$500
4^th	LSU – Shreveport	Tyler Tamburo of Bossier City, La. Blakely Young of Hallsville, Texas	5	24-0	$500
5^th	University of Louisiana - Lafayette	Dylan Friloux of Lafayette, La. Hayden Pinho of Patterson, La.	5	23-5	$500
6^th	Dallas Baptist University	Tanner Foster of Venus, Texas Andrew Rickman of Canton, Texas	5	22-14
7^th	Stephen F. Austin	River Lee of Nacogdoches, Texas Hunter Muncrief of Pineland, Texas	5	22-14
8^th	Arkansas Tech University	Karson Hamilton of Hot Springs, Ark. Austin Johnston of Mena, Ark.	5	22-6
9^th	East Texas Baptist University	Cannon Bird of Marshall, Texas Jacob Keith of Jefferson, Texas	5	21-14
10^th	Louisiana College	Harrison Bieber of Dry Prong, La. Ben South of Dry Prong, La.	5	21-4

*Top 10 teams advance to the 2022 College Fishing National Championship

Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

2021/2022 QUALIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES

EVENT	DATE	LOCATION	HOST
Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI	July 30	Mississippi River, La Crosse, Wis.	La Crosse County Convention & Visitors Bureau
Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship Presented by Lowrance	TBA - 2022	TBA	TBA

The event was the second of three qualifying tournaments for Southern Conference anglers.

Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI teams compete in regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top ten teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the top 20 teams from the annual Abu Garcia College Fishing Open advance to the following year’s Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI National Championship.

For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI on MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

by AnglersChannel

ETBU’s Ross And Thurston Leverage Kicker For College Classic Win

Ethan Thurston and Cody Ross, of East Texas Baptist University, have won the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Classic presented by Bass Pro Shops on Eagle Mountain Lake and Lake Worth with 16 pounds, 6 ounces.
Photo by Chris Mitchell/B.A.S.S.

June 13, 2021

FORT WORTH, Texas — Missing a limit usually dooms championship hopes, but East Texas Baptist University’s Cody Ross and Ethan Thurston defied the odds by winning the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Classic presented by Bass Pro Shops on Eagle Mountain Lake and Lake Worth with a four-fish bag that weighed 16 pounds, 6 ounces.

The winners anchored their catch with a 7-8 kicker that Ross caught with a bone-colored Strike King Popping Perch on his third cast. Thurston also caught a big fish on the Popping Perch and added two keepers with a green pumpkin V&M J-Bugs Texas-rigged on a 4/0 hook with a 3/4-ounce weight.

“We were fishing midlake and we just decided this morning where we wanted to go,” Ross said. “We were running up the lake and pulled in there because that’s where we had the most bites in practice.

“It was a tough practice because there’s not a big population of fish in this lake, so we decided where the best place was to get bites.”

That spot was a main-lake point with reeds and other vegetation. Ross, a senior, noted that a late-season shad spawn was the key to his team’s success.

“It was very surprising because the shad normally don’t spawn this late in the year,” he said. “But we’ve had an unseasonably rainy and cooler spring.”

While the anglers agreed that a slow, vulnerable presentation was the key to making their frog infiltrate the spawning baitfish activity, Thurston said their flipping bite was far more random.

“If you got it in front of their face, they’d bite it, but you couldn’t put a pattern together in the reeds for anything,” the sophomore said. “It was just making as many casts as you could to cover water.”

Ross agreed: “In practice, one of them would be on reeds, one would be on water willows, the next one would be on the bulkhead. But today, reeds were where we got bit.”

The winners got their work done in short order Sunday. Following Ross’ big catch, they had what they weighed in in the first 30 minutes. Despite missing a limit, Ross said he and Thurston were pleased that their game plan delivered what they needed.

“We knew we were on a better-than-average size fish whenever we would get one to bite,” Ross said. “We had a pretty good idea that it was going to take a mid- to upper-teens bag to win, so we knew that if we could just get three or four key bites in the boat that it would go a long way for us.”

Cody Gregory and Levi Mullins of Bethel University finished second with 11-13, and Zeke Gossett and Lucas Smith of Jacksonville State University were third with 10-6.

by AnglersChannel

Cherry Puts Finishing Touches On Second-Straight Bassmaster Classic Win At Ray Roberts

Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk with a three-day total of 50 pounds, 15 ounces.
Photo by Chris Brown/B.A.S.S.
June 13, 2021

FORT WORTH, Texas — Hank Cherry now occupies some rare air in the sport of professional bass fishing, and he has the bank statements to prove it.

The Lincolnton, N.C., pro, caught five bass Sunday that weighed 13 pounds, 1 ounce and won the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk with a three-day total of 50 pounds, 15 ounces.

He is only the fourth angler in the 51-year history of the Super Bowl of Professional Bass Fishing to win the event in back-to-back years. He earned another of the iconic Classic trophies and his second $300,000 check in 18 months.

Another North Carolina pro, Matt Arey, finished second with 49-1 and lost at least one big bass on Championship Sunday that might have put him over the top.

“I feel bad for Matt, and I told him I’ve been where he was,” Cherry said. “I had the same thing happen to me and mine happened a lot closer to the boat.

“I’m not giving it back — not apologizing for it. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

Cherry, a nine-year veteran of the Bassmaster Elite Series, finished third in his first Classic back in 2013 on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees. Like Arey, he lost a crucial fish in that event that would have given him the trophy.

He went through a tough stretch in the Classic after that, finishing no higher than 27th in three tries. But then he put the bad memories of 2013 behind him last year on Lake Guntersville when he caught 29-3 on the first day and rode that mammoth bag to a wire-to-wire victory.

He didn’t quite go wire-to-wire this year, starting in third place on the first day with a limit of 20-4. But as suffocating heat moved into the area, the fishing got tougher and Cherry remained consistent enough to stay on top with a Day 2 catch of 17-10 and a final-round bag of 13-1 that was just enough.

He caught the bulk of his weight during the week flipping flooded bushes along the shoreline and throwing a jerkbait around riprap along the dam.

“The bite in the bushes is going away,” Cherry said. “It’s so hot out there right now. The water temperature was 71 degrees when we got here for practice, and I saw it as high as 87 today. A lot of those bushes are starting to break down, and those fish just don’t want to be there.

“I was fortunate to get enough out of them to win.”

For flipping the bushes, Cherry used a 3/4-ounce tungsten weight with a 4/0 flipping hook and a variety of soft-plastic baits, including a Berkley Pit Boss, a craw lure and a beaver-style bait.

“I would just alternate between five or six baits, back and forth,” he said. “That probably wasn’t as much for the fish as it was for me. Whatever I was using, I was doing the same thing. But it felt like I was doing something different.”

When the bass got extremely lethargic in the 99-degree heat Sunday, Cherry did actually make a change to his flipping setup, switching to a 1/4-ounce tungsten weight with a 3/0 hook. He had two fish in his livewell at the time but caught three bass to fill his limit within 30 minutes after making the switch.

“I caught maybe the dumbest bass in the lake,” Cherry said. “I flipped into a bush and instead of going into the bush, that lighter bait kind of ricocheted off of it. The bass actually swam out of the bush to get the bait and swam back in with it.”

That fish weighed almost 4 1/2 pounds and helped Cherry recharge on a day when he said sweat was constantly rolling into his eyes and blinding him.

When Cherry fished the rocks along the dam, he used a new jerkbait called a Berkley Stunna in the stealth shad color. He believes he caught the tail end of the jerkbait bite, just as he did with the flipping bite.

“The bushes I was fishing, if the lake was at normal pool, they wouldn’t even be in the water,” Cherry said. “So, you know the fish are probably itching to move away from there and go offshore.

“I think the same is true around those rocks. The heat is just radiating off those things — and if it makes us miserable, you know it probably makes them miserable, too.”

Cherry joins Rick Clunn (1976-77), Kevin VanDam (2010-11) and Jordan Lee (2017-18) as the only back-to-back Classic winners. This marks his fourth victory with B.A.S.S., including last year’s Classic, an Opens win on Smith Lake in 2012 and an Elite Series victory on Muskegon and White Lakes in 2013. He was the 2013 Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie of the Year.

Cherry said he enjoyed his reign as the 2020 Classic champion even though the year was marred by the COVID-19 pandemic and many of the personal appearances he might have made as Classic champ didn’t happen.

Whether this next reign will be different, he couldn’t say for sure.

“I don’t know what to expect, I really don’t,” Cherry said. “I’ll just take it as it comes — and I’ll never doubt just how blessed I am.”

Frank Talley of Temple, Texas, took home Berkley Big Bass honors and an additional $2,500 for his 8-3 caught on Day 1.

As part of the Yamaha Power Pay program, sixth-place finisher Scott Canterbury of Odenville, Ala., earned a $20,000 bonus.

Cherry took home an additional $7,500 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, and Chris Jones of Bokoshe, Okla., earned $2,500 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

The Bassmaster Classic was hosted by the Fort Worth Sports Commission and Visit Fort Worth.

2021 Bassmaster Classic Hosts: Fort Worth Sports Commission; Visit Fort Worth

2021 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk 6/11-6/13
Lake Ray Roberts, Fort Worth TX.
(ANGLER) Standings Day 3

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

1. Hank Cherry Jr Lincolnton, NC 15 50-15 0 $300,000.00
Day 1: 5 20-04 Day 2: 5 17-10 Day 3: 5 13-01
2. Matt Arey Shelby, NC 15 49-01 0 $50,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-05 Day 2: 5 15-12 Day 3: 5 18-00
3. Chris Jones Bokoshe, OK 15 45-09 0 $40,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-02 Day 2: 5 15-07 Day 3: 5 13-00
4. Justin Kerr Lake Havasu, AZ 14 45-02 0 $30,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-06 Day 2: 4 19-12 Day 3: 5 12-00
5. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 13 42-00 0 $25,000.00
Day 1: 4 08-10 Day 2: 4 14-05 Day 3: 5 19-01
6. Scott Canterbury Odenville, AL 15 41-06 0 $22,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-11 Day 2: 5 14-06 Day 3: 5 12-05
7. Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 14 40-03 0 $21,500.00
Day 1: 5 16-04 Day 2: 4 09-02 Day 3: 5 14-13
8. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 14 40-02 0 $21,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-00 Day 2: 5 13-09 Day 3: 4 10-09
9. Drew Cook Cairo, GA 14 38-07 0 $20,500.00
Day 1: 5 16-10 Day 2: 5 12-08 Day 3: 4 09-05
10. Patrick Walters Summerville, SC 11 38-01 0 $20,000.00
Day 1: 5 22-07 Day 2: 1 02-06 Day 3: 5 13-04
11. Cory Johnston Cavan CANADA 13 37-00 0 $15,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-02 Day 2: 3 05-09 Day 3: 5 15-05
12. Ed Loughran III Richmond, VA 11 36-07 0 $15,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-08 Day 2: 1 07-13 Day 3: 5 13-02
13. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 11 35-08 0 $15,000.00
Day 1: 5 23-00 Day 2: 4 09-11 Day 3: 2 02-13
14. Todd Auten Lake Wylie, SC 12 34-04 0 $15,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-12 Day 2: 4 10-15 Day 3: 3 07-09
15. Matt Herren Ashville, AL 14 33-11 0 $15,000.00
Day 1: 4 10-02 Day 2: 5 11-04 Day 3: 5 12-05
16. Kyle Welcher Opelika, AL 14 33-03 0 $13,000.00
Day 1: 4 11-14 Day 2: 5 09-09 Day 3: 5 11-12
17. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 12 32-00 0 $13,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-04 Day 2: 4 08-04 Day 3: 3 09-08
18. Jamie Hartman Newport, NY 13 31-09 0 $13,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-04 Day 2: 3 05-07 Day 3: 5 09-14
19. Cody Bird Granbury, TX 12 29-15 0 $14,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-08 Day 2: 5 10-05 Day 3: 2 04-02
20. Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 10 29-02 0 $13,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-01 Day 2: 4 09-14 Day 3: 1 04-03
21. Jeff Gustafson Keewatin Ontario CANADA 12 28-07 0 $13,000.00
Day 1: 4 08-08 Day 2: 5 13-05 Day 3: 3 06-10
22. Frank Talley Temple, TX 9 27-13 0 $15,500.00
Day 1: 4 15-10 Day 2: 3 08-04 Day 3: 2 03-15
23. Clark Wendlandt Leander, TX 11 27-12 0 $13,000.00
Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 3 10-12 Day 3: 3 05-15
24. Chad Pipkens Dewitt, MI 8 27-02 0 $13,000.00
Day 1: 4 12-05 Day 2: 2 10-10 Day 3: 2 04-03
25. Seth Feider New Market, MN 10 26-09 0 $13,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-10 Day 2: 2 08-06 Day 3: 3 05-09
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
BERKLEY BIG BASS
Frank Talley Temple, TX 08-03 $2,500.00

by AnglersChannel

Cullman’s Hopper And Franks Get Redemption In High School Classic

Brody Hopper and Landon Franks, of Cullman (Ala.) High School, have won the Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series Classic presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors on Eagle Mountain Lake and Lake Worth. with 13 pounds, 1 ounce.

Photo by Chris Mitchell/B.A.S.S.

June 12, 2021

FORT WORTH, Texas — Implementing a two-stage game plan, Brody Hopper and Landon Franks of Alabama’s Cullman High School caught a five-bass limit of 13 pounds, 1 ounce to win the Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series Classic presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors on Eagle Mountain Lake and Lake Worth.

Heading into their junior year, Hopper and Franks edged Madison County High School’s Logan Fisher and Will Hart by 6 ounces. In the event’s nine-boat field, Cullman was one of only two teams to catch a limit.

“We started on the south end of the lake because of the clear water and we found the fish right up on the bank. They were right in the dirt,” Franks said.

The winners started their day on seawalls in about 3 feet of water. Franks threw 3/8-ounce jigs in watermelon and green pumpkin colors with a green pumpkin blue flake Strike King Menace, while Hopper fished a 1/4-ounce watermelon shaky head with a watermelon candy Zoom Needle Worm.

“I was throwing my jig right along the seawalls and dragging it off; they were right there,” Franks said. “We tried to focus on shaded banks. We caught a couple off main river seawalls, but most of them were shaded banks.”

Later in the day, the anglers transitioned to docks, where they caught their fish on the same baits. Franks said they were picky about their dock selection.

“We’d try to find docks in about 6 feet of water, but not floating docks; we’d try to find stationary docks,” he said. “The fish will stack up on the poles and find shade under there. You could skip up under there and catch them."

Hopper noted that long casts were essential for the morning seawalls, while his afternoon presentations were shorter and more targeted.

The Cullman team fished last year’s Classic and experienced a disappointing finish. Hopper said that sore memory motivated him and Franks to seek redemption.

“We had one fish and got beat pretty badly last year,” Hopper said. “I knew it was going to change this year.

“We were planning for Lake Grapevine (the original site) and we were going to try deep cranks, but when we heard it was moved to Eagle Mountain, we switched it up and went shallow. Smith Lake, near Cullman, is full of docks, so it was pretty much the same thing.”

Hopper’s father, Jeremy, serves as the team’s boat captain. He said his team focused on the mental toughness necessary to maintain focus in tough conditions.

“I always tell Brody to stay positive,” Jeremy Hopper said. “When it gets hot during the day and your mind wants to wander off from the heat and the exhaustion, I always tell him, ‘Put your head in it, keep it in it and you can do it.’”

In second place, Fisher and Hart caught four fish for 12-11. Chase Hubble and Brent May of Strawberry Crest High School finished third with a limit catch of 10-7.

by AnglersChannel

Cherry Takes Lead On Weather-Shortened Day At Bassmaster Classic On Lake Ray Roberts

Hank Cherry, of Lincolnton, N.C., is leading after Day 2 of the 2021 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk with a two-day total of 37 pounds, 14 ounces.
Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.
June 12, 2021

FORT WORTH, Texas — The 54 anglers competing in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk had planned to start fast and take advantage of an early-morning shad spawn bite that has been extremely reliable this week on Lake Ray Roberts.

But Mother Nature threw up an electric stop sign.

Freak thunderstorms with dangerous lightning delayed the tournament by more than two hours and negated much of the morning bite. While many of the Day 1 leaders struggled, North Carolina pro Hank Cherry landed 17 pounds, 10 ounces to move from third place into the lead with a two-day total of 37-14.

The winner of last year’s Classic on Alabama’s Lake Guntersville, Cherry will now begin Championship Sunday with nearly a 5-pound lead and a chance to become only the fourth angler in the 51-year history of the event to claim back-to-back titles.

“There was definitely more pressure to win the first one last year,” Cherry said. “Winning is one thing, but to win it twice, it’s got to all go right.

“What’s eerie about this is that it’s the same feeling as last year. I’m out there on the dam today and people are stopped all the way down the dam getting out watching me fish — it just feels the same.”

Despite the late takeoff, Cherry got off to a fast start, catching two bass in the 4-pound range flipping a jig into wooden structure. The fish came only four or five casts apart and gave Cherry the shot in the arm he needed to fish confidently all day.

That was especially important when he lost a big bass later in the day on a jerkbait.

“Of course, Day 2, in Hank Cherry fashion, I lose the biggest fish I’ve hooked in the two days of competition and it breaks me off on a jerkbait,” Cherry said. “I don’t know how big it was, but I’ve caught thousands of them on a jerkbait and I know when they bite how big they are. When I set the hook, it didn’t move. When it started diving down, I knew it was gonna go right to the rock and brush.

“It would have been a great fish to have, but I didn’t let it bother me.”

Cherry said he’s taking the same approach with the pressure of leading the Classic once again going into the final day.

“I’ve played in a lot of big games,” Cherry said. “I’ve won this big game — and I’m not going to cry if I don’t win it tomorrow.

“I’ve got my trophy at home. I’ll hand the trophy to the winner tomorrow and go hard at it again next year.”

The biggest mover of the day was B.A.S.S. Nation qualifier Justin Kerr, who rose from 22nd place to second with four bass that weighed 19-12. Kerr put together the day’s biggest limit flipping submerged bushes and using an Evergreen JackHammer ChatterBait.

Though his bag was one shy of a limit, one of his bass weighed 7-2 and another weighed 6-12.

“I have this one area that has a bunch of big ones in it, and I got two bites there yesterday and lost one of them,” Kerr said. “Today, with the half day that we had, I was hoping for two bites that would put me in the 11-pound range, but they just happened to be 7-pounders.”

An Arizona resident and longtime successful angler in the western United States, Kerr has not been exploiting the early-morning shad spawn bite like much of the field. That’s a big part of why he weighed in only a small five-bass limit (13-6) on Day 1 and missed a limit on Day 2.

But he believes he’s around the bass to win — he said he’s seen another bass in the 10-pound range this week — and he realizes the gravity of his situation.

Kerr is vying to become just the second Nation qualifier ever to win professional fishing’s biggest event. Connecticut angler Bryan Kerchal claimed the title in 1994 on North Carolina’s High Rock Lake but was killed in a plane crash months later.

“To represent the Nation this way is an awesome deal,” he said. “It shows that people like me who don’t get the opportunity to fish the Elites or get on tour because of financial or personal reasons … It doesn’t matter who you are, you can get a chance to compete in the Classic.

“It’s a pretty humbling experience to be in this position, for sure.”

Perhaps no one was hurt more by the late start than Auburn, Ala., pro Steve Kennedy.

After catching a big limit of 23 pounds — mostly before 7 a.m. — on Day 1, Kennedy managed just four bass that weighed 9-11 Saturday and tumbled to third with 32-11. He said he plans to spend all day on Championship Sunday fishing for deep suspended bass he found in practice.

He lost a bass he estimated at 8 pounds fishing that way Saturday.

“It was on a jig on standing timber out in the middle of the lake,” Kennedy said. “I got him to the boat without a problem, and the way I remember it, he just kind of laid there for a second like he wasn’t even going to fight. Then he took off and pulled off. Huge fish.”

Though Kennedy had major success fishing the early-morning shad spawn bite on Day 1, he said he may mostly forego that action Sunday to target those big suspended bass.

“I may spend 30 minutes up shallow,” Kennedy said. “But I’ve had this other deal in my back pocket, and you only get so many chances like this. There aren’t big numbers out there, but those big females are there.

“Those are the ones I want to fish for.”

Frank Talley of Temple, Texas, still holds the lead for Berkley Big Bass of the week with the 8-3 largemouth he caught on Day 1. Chad Pipkens of Holt, Mich., came close to topping that mark Saturday with an 8-1.

The Top 25 anglers will take off at 6:15 a.m. CT Sunday from Lake Ray Roberts State Park - Isle du Bois Unit in Pilot Point, Texas. The weigh-in will be held at 4 p.m. at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.

The winning angler will claim a life-changing title, a $300,000 first-place check and the iconic trophy that only a handful anglers have ever had the privilege to hold.

The final day of the annual Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo will be held Sunday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Exhibitors are on-site selling a variety of merchandise for fishing, hunting, camping and more. As part of the Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo, the Go Out{side} Experience will offer fun options for families, including inflatable archery, cornhole, jumping dogs and knot tying. Kids can even catch their first fish at an on-site catfish pond.

The Bassmaster Classic is being hosted by the Fort Worth Sports Commission and Visit Fort Worth.

2021 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk 6/11-6/13
Lake Ray Roberts, Fort Worth TX.
(ANGLER) Standings Day 2

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

1. Hank Cherry Jr Lincolnton, NC 10 37-14 0
Day 1: 5 20-04 Day 2: 5 17-10
2. Justin Kerr Lake Havasu, AZ 9 33-02 0
Day 1: 5 13-06 Day 2: 4 19-12
3. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 9 32-11 0
Day 1: 5 23-00 Day 2: 4 09-11
4. Chris Jones Bokoshe, OK 10 32-09 0
Day 1: 5 17-02 Day 2: 5 15-07
5. Matt Arey Shelby, NC 10 31-01 0
Day 1: 5 15-05 Day 2: 5 15-12
6. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 10 29-09 0
Day 1: 5 16-00 Day 2: 5 13-09
7. Drew Cook Cairo, GA 10 29-02 0
Day 1: 5 16-10 Day 2: 5 12-08
8. Scott Canterbury Odenville, AL 10 29-01 0
Day 1: 5 14-11 Day 2: 5 14-06
9. Todd Auten Lake Wylie, SC 9 26-11 0
Day 1: 5 15-12 Day 2: 4 10-15
10. Cody Bird Granbury, TX 10 25-13 0
Day 1: 5 15-08 Day 2: 5 10-05
11. Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 9 25-06 0
Day 1: 5 16-04 Day 2: 4 09-02
12. Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 9 24-15 0
Day 1: 5 15-01 Day 2: 4 09-14
13. Patrick Walters Summerville, SC 6 24-13 0
Day 1: 5 22-07 Day 2: 1 02-06
14. Frank Talley Temple, TX 7 23-14 0
Day 1: 4 15-10 Day 2: 3 08-04
15. Ed Loughran III Richmond, VA 6 23-05 0
Day 1: 5 15-08 Day 2: 1 07-13
16. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 8 22-15 0
Day 1: 4 08-10 Day 2: 4 14-05
17. Chad Pipkens Dewitt, MI 6 22-15 0
Day 1: 4 12-05 Day 2: 2 10-10
18. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 9 22-08 0
Day 1: 5 14-04 Day 2: 4 08-04
19. Jeff Gustafson Keewatin Ontario CANADA 9 21-13 0
Day 1: 4 08-08 Day 2: 5 13-05
20. Clark Wendlandt Leander, TX 8 21-13 0
Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 3 10-12
21. Jamie Hartman Newport, NY 8 21-11 0
Day 1: 5 16-04 Day 2: 3 05-07
22. Cory Johnston Cavan CANADA 8 21-11 0
Day 1: 5 16-02 Day 2: 3 05-09
23. Kyle Welcher Opelika, AL 9 21-07 0
Day 1: 4 11-14 Day 2: 5 09-09
24. Matt Herren Ashville, AL 9 21-06 0
Day 1: 4 10-02 Day 2: 5 11-04
25. Seth Feider New Market, MN 7 21-00 0
Day 1: 5 12-10 Day 2: 2 08-06
26. Hunter Shryock Ooltewah, TN 7 20-13 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-14 Day 2: 2 04-15
27. Drew Benton Blakely, GA 7 20-10 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-14 Day 2: 2 04-12
28. Luke Palmer Coalgate, OK 7 20-10 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-06 Day 2: 2 07-04
29. Clent Davis Montevallo, AL 8 20-00 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-11 Day 2: 3 07-05
30. Jordan Wiggins Cullman, AL 7 19-13 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-03 Day 2: 2 03-10
31. Trevor McKinney Benton, IL 9 19-09 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-12 Day 2: 4 06-13
32. Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 8 19-00 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 3 07-05 Day 2: 5 11-11
33. John Cox DeBary, FL 8 17-09 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 3 04-00 Day 2: 5 13-09
34. Bryan New Belmont, NC 7 17-02 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 4 11-08 Day 2: 3 05-10
35. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 6 16-04 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 2 05-15 Day 2: 4 10-05
36. Chad Morgenthaler Reeds Spring, MO 7 15-14 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 10-03 Day 2: 2 05-11
37. Jason Williamson Wagener, SC 6 15-01 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-07 Day 2: 1 02-10
38. Chris Zaldain Fort Worth, TX 5 15-00 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 4 13-11 Day 2: 1 01-05
39. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 5 15-00 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 4 12-15 Day 2: 1 02-01
40. Brandon Card Salisbury, NC 7 15-00 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-02 Day 2: 2 02-14
41. Taku Ito Chiba JAPAN 6 14-10 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-02 Day 2: 1 02-08
42. Masayuki Matsushita Tokoname-Shi JAPAN 8 14-01 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 3 05-09 Day 2: 5 08-08
43. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 6 13-15 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 3 08-04 Day 2: 3 05-11
44. Brad Whatley Bivins, TX 6 13-12 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 2 04-10 Day 2: 4 09-02
45. Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 7 13-10 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 2 03-09 Day 2: 5 10-01
46. Jake Whitaker Fairview, NC 6 13-05 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 2 05-10 Day 2: 4 07-11
47. David Mullins Mt Carmel, TN 5 13-03 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-03 Day 2: 0 00-00
48. Stetson Blaylock Benton, AR 5 12-13 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-13 Day 2: 0 00-00
49. Keith Carson DeBary, FL 6 12-06 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 10-15 Day 2: 1 01-07
50. Tommy Williams Shepherdsville, KY 6 11-14 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 1 01-05 Day 2: 5 10-09
51. Micah Frazier Newnan, GA 5 11-11 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 2 03-00 Day 2: 3 08-11
52. Buddy Gross Chickamauga, GA 4 11-05 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 2 05-08 Day 2: 2 05-13
53. Shane LeHew Catawba, NC 5 10-11 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 10-11 Day 2: 0 00-00
54. Blake Sylvester Plaquemine, LA 4 06-04 0 $10,000.00
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 4 06-04

by AnglersChannel

Adjustment Leads Pendergraf To Narrow Bassmaster Kayak Series Championship

Mark Pendergraf of Fort Worth, Texas, has won the Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series Championship powered by TourneyX on Possum Kingdom Lake with a two-day total measuring 209.25 inches.
Photo by Chris Mitchell/B.A.S.S.

June 11, 2021

Adjustment Leads Pendergraf To Narrow Bassmaster Kayak Series Championship

FORT WORTH, Texas — When conditions trashed his practice findings, Mark Pendergraf of Fort Worth, Texas, made a key adjustment and won the inaugural Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series Championship powered by TourneyX on Possum Kingdom Lake with a two-day total of 209.25 inches.

Edging second-place Joe McElroy of Alabama by 1/2 inch, Pendergraf won the $20,000 first-place award. TourneyX owner/operator Dwayne Walley confirmed that the winner notched the highest two-day total in TourneyX history.

Possum Kingdom, an 18,000-acre Brazos River reservoir located 90 miles west of Fort Worth, is normally relatively clear. However, Day 1 brought muddy conditions. McElroy had graphed chunk rock sweet spots on bluff walls during practice, but the declining clarity fizzled that bite.

“From about 6:30 to 1, I caught fish on bluff walls with a Strike King 5XD in the sexy shad color, but I fished closer than I did in practice because of the muddy water,” Pendergraf said. “I had a rough start to the day and I only had 4 fish at 12:30.”

Frustrated with his low productivity, Pendergraf steered his Old Town Autopilot 120 kayak back to his launch ramp where he assumed he’d wind up his day with a few random casts.

“I made a cast and caught a striper. So, I thought, that’s not a bad way to spend the last 30 minutes of the tournament,” Pendergraf said. “I made a cast to the left and caught a 19-inch (largemouth). I made another cast, 20 1/2; made another cast, 18 3/4.

“Day 2, I literally launched my kayak, I went out, made a U-turn, waited until lines-in and I stayed there for 10 hours. I punched some heavy, heavy fish. I think my first fish was a 24-inch bass. That was my fourth cast, about 6:05.”

Pendergraf targeted the concrete boat ramp with a Strike King 6XD (sexy shad) and quickly dialed in a particular positioning preference.

“I would crank from about 3 feet down to 12,” Pendergraf said. “On Day 1, it was a fast flurry, just a lot of fish in a short amount of time, so I didn’t have anything pinpointed on that boat ramp that they were attracted to.

“Day 2, I found that one side of the boat ramp had a lip on it. There was a solid drop-off on it and the fish were tucking down on the side of that. If I could land my bait on that lip and run it down, they would smash it cast after cast after cast.”

Reflecting on the way his tournament played out, Pendergraf said he should have spent his entire tournament on that boat ramp. “I could have just gone out with one rod and one bait and just been done.”

Daniel Lyons earned Big Bass honors on Day 1 with his 24 1/2-inch fish. Pendergraf’s 24-inch bass took top honors for Day 2.

McElroy finished second with 208.75 inches. Mississippi's Brad Case finished third with 201.75.

by AnglersChannel

Kennedy Starts Fast, Takes Day 1 Lead At Bassmaster Classic On Lake Ray Roberts

Steve Kennedy, of Auburn, Ala., is leading after Day 1 of the 2021 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk with 23 pounds.
Photo by Chris Brown/B.A.S.S.
June 11, 2021

FORT WORTH, Texas — Steve Kennedy caught a five-bass limit that weighed 23 pounds Friday to take the lead during the opening round of the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk.

And the scary thing is, he said he didn’t even get to go to the biggest bass he found in practice.

The Auburn, Ala., pro made the most of an early-morning shad spawn bite, putting the bulk of his limit in the livewell before 7 a.m. Then with the winds blowing hard across Lake Ray Roberts, he decided he wouldn’t be able to proceed with the second part of his game plan.

On Saturday, he hopes to exploit that morning bite again — and hopefully move on to Phase 2.

“I kind of got stuck up on one end of the lake because the wind was blowing so hard,” said Kennedy, a 10-time Classic qualifier who has finished as high as second in the event. “I didn’t go anywhere near where I was planning on fishing my second deal.

“Maybe I will tomorrow. Maybe I won’t have to. If I don’t have to show that until the final day, I sure don’t want to.”

During Kennedy’s final day of practice, he said he got 18 bites the first two hours of the morning. But those came during cloudy conditions — and since he didn’t know if there would be cloud cover Friday, he said he tried to cover water as quickly as he could.

“I was trying to condense that two hours into 30 minutes,” he said. “I was fishing a jig, and they were just eating it like crazy. The morning went just like I had hoped it would.”

After the morning bite died down, Kennedy had hoped to move to deeper water and target larger bass with big glide baits. But the weather nixed those plans.

“It was extremely rough,” he said. “My core was hurting. There were times when I was on my tippy-toes and times when I was on my heels trying not to go over.

“I was headed to my other fish and taking waves over the bow. If I had gone all the way there, I might not have been able to stand up.”

South Carolina pro Patrick Walters is right on Kennedy’s heels in second place with 22-7 — and like Kennedy, Walters found the morning conditions much more favorable.

“I was really hoping for an afternoon bite, but the wind made that nonexistent,” said Walters, who earned his first Bassmaster Elite Series victory last season on Lake Fork in Texas and finished second in another event on Fork earlier this year. “I planned to spend the entire afternoon fishing offshore, but you really couldn’t position on the fish and present your bait the way you needed to.”

That left him to rely on the early-morning bite — and, as it was for most of the field, that was short-lived.

“The shallow bite is good first thing,” Walters said. “But then about 9 o’clock, it cuts off like a light switch. I don’t know what happens, if they just move out or what. But you have until about 9, and then you have to go do something different.”

Walters — who earned Bassmaster Century Belts in both Fork events with four-day limits that weighed more than 100 pounds — did so by targeting big suspended bass in standing timber. He said Ray Roberts features a different kind of structure than Fork, but he’s counting on those same suspended fish to earn the biggest win of his career.

“You have to cover so much water out there offshore just to get a bite or two,” Walters said. “If you can’t fish efficiently, it’s just not worth it.”

But if conditions allow, Walters said the tournament could certainly be won offshore.

“You’re talking about isolated bass that are eating white bass and crappie instead of the ones up shallow that are eating little shad,” Walters said. “A fish that suspends owns the water column. When they get up that high in the water column, they’re usually pretty big fish — and in Texas, they’re especially big.

“I only need 15 fish to win this tournament, so those are the ones I’m looking for.”

A familiar name — reigning Classic champ Hank Cherry of North Carolina — finished the day in third after landing five bass that weighed 20-4.

“This was actually my worst day since I’ve been here,” said Cherry, who caught 29-3 on the first day of last year’s Classic at Lake Guntersville. “I never got comfortable today. The situation, the water color, the wind.

“I kept second-guessing myself and thinking I should be somewhere else.”

It was a midmorning revelation that finally made Cherry feel at home.

“I kind of slowed down and started kind of retracking how the morning went and noticing that I got more bites on the trees than I did in the bushes,” Cherry said. “So, I picked up a jig and kind of went back to that and started getting bit.”

Though he weighed in 20-plus pounds, Cherry said fans shouldn’t confuse Friday’s bag with the big opening-round total he weighed in last year’s event.

“This was a lot of work,” he said. “I spent a lot of time wondering what was going on, and I tried to force it. I tried to get up on some of those shallower points and really fish it, but I just wasn’t comfortable there.

“I figured out what I needed to be doing, and I’m not leaving the area I fished today.”

The full field of 54 anglers will take off again at 6:15 a.m. CT Saturday from Lake Ray Roberts State Park - Isle du Bois in Pilot Point, Texas. The weigh-in will be held at 4 p.m. CT at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. After Saturday’s weigh-in, only the Top 25 anglers will advance to Championship Sunday with a chance at the $300,000 first-place prize.

FOX network will broadcast four hours of live coverage with tournament leaders beginning at 7 a.m., and full event coverage is available on Bassmaster.com.

The annual Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo will be held Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Exhibitors are on-site selling a variety of merchandise for fishing, hunting, camping and more. As part of the Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo, the Go Out{side} Experience will offer fun options for families, including inflatable archery, cornhole, jumping dogs and knot tying. Kids can even catch their first fish at an on-site catfish pond.

The Bassmaster Classic is being hosted by the Fort Worth Sports Commission and Visit Fort Worth.

2021 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk 6/11-6/13
Lake Ray Roberts, Fort Worth TX.
(ANGLER) Standings Day 1

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

1. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 5 23-00 0
Day 1: 5 23-00
2. Patrick Walters Summerville, SC 5 22-07 0
Day 1: 5 22-07
3. Hank Cherry Jr Lincolnton, NC 5 20-04 0
Day 1: 5 20-04
4. Chris Jones Bokoshe, OK 5 17-02 0
Day 1: 5 17-02
5. Drew Cook Cairo, GA 5 16-10 0
Day 1: 5 16-10
6. Jamie Hartman Newport, NY 5 16-04 0
Day 1: 5 16-04
6. Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 5 16-04 0
Day 1: 5 16-04
8. Jordan Wiggins Cullman, AL 5 16-03 0
Day 1: 5 16-03
9. Cory Johnston Cavan CANADA 5 16-02 0
Day 1: 5 16-02
10. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 5 16-00 0
Day 1: 5 16-00
11. Drew Benton Blakely, GA 5 15-14 0
Day 1: 5 15-14
11. Hunter Shryock Ooltewah, TN 5 15-14 0
Day 1: 5 15-14
13. Todd Auten Lake Wylie, SC 5 15-12 0
Day 1: 5 15-12
14. Frank Talley Temple, TX 4 15-10 0
Day 1: 4 15-10
15. Cody Bird Granbury, TX 5 15-08 0
Day 1: 5 15-08
16. Ed Loughran III Richmond, VA 5 15-08 0
Day 1: 5 15-08
17. Matt Arey Shelby, NC 5 15-05 0
Day 1: 5 15-05
18. Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 5 15-01 0
Day 1: 5 15-01
19. Scott Canterbury Odenville, AL 5 14-11 0
Day 1: 5 14-11
20. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 5 14-04 0
Day 1: 5 14-04
21. Chris Zaldain Fort Worth, TX 4 13-11 0
Day 1: 4 13-11
22. Justin Kerr Lake Havasu, AZ 5 13-06 0
Day 1: 5 13-06
22. Luke Palmer Coalgate, OK 5 13-06 0
Day 1: 5 13-06
24. David Mullins Mt Carmel, TN 5 13-03 0
Day 1: 5 13-03
25. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 4 12-15 0
Day 1: 4 12-15
26. Stetson Blaylock Benton, AR 5 12-13 0
Day 1: 5 12-13
27. Trevor McKinney Benton, IL 5 12-12 0
Day 1: 5 12-12
28. Clent Davis Montevallo, AL 5 12-11 0
Day 1: 5 12-11
29. Seth Feider New Market, MN 5 12-10 0
Day 1: 5 12-10
30. Jason Williamson Wagener, SC 5 12-07 0
Day 1: 5 12-07
31. Chad Pipkens Dewitt, MI 4 12-05 0
Day 1: 4 12-05
32. Brandon Card Salisbury, NC 5 12-02 0
Day 1: 5 12-02
33. Taku Ito Chiba JAPAN 3 12-02 0
Day 1: 3 12-02
34. Kyle Welcher Opelika, AL 4 11-14 0
Day 1: 4 11-14
35. Bryan New Belmont, NC 4 11-08 0
Day 1: 4 11-08
36. Clark Wendlandt Leander, TX 5 11-01 0
Day 1: 5 11-01
37. Keith Carson DeBary, FL 5 10-15 0
Day 1: 5 10-15
38. Shane LeHew Catawba, NC 5 10-11 0
Day 1: 5 10-11
39. Chad Morgenthaler Reeds Spring, MO 5 10-03 0
Day 1: 5 10-03
40. Matt Herren Ashville, AL 4 10-02 0
Day 1: 4 10-02
41. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 4 08-10 0
Day 1: 4 08-10
42. Jeff Gustafson Keewatin Ontario CANADA 4 08-08 0
Day 1: 4 08-08
43. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 3 08-04 0
Day 1: 3 08-04
44. Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 3 07-05 0
Day 1: 3 07-05
45. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 2 05-15 0
Day 1: 2 05-15
46. Jake Whitaker Fairview, NC 2 05-10 0
Day 1: 2 05-10
47. Masayuki Matsushita Tokoname-Shi JAPAN 3 05-09 0
Day 1: 3 05-09
48. Buddy Gross Chickamauga, GA 2 05-08 0
Day 1: 2 05-08
49. Brad Whatley Bivins, TX 2 04-10 0
Day 1: 2 04-10
50. John Cox Debary, FL 3 04-00 0
Day 1: 3 04-00
51. Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 2 03-09 0
Day 1: 2 03-09
52. Micah Frazier Newnan, GA 2 03-00 0
Day 1: 2 03-00
53. Tommy Williams Shepherdsville, KY 1 01-05 0
Day 1: 1 01-05
54. Blake Sylvester Plaquemine, LA 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00

by AnglersChannel

College Champion is Ready to Fish

Courtesy of Luke Stoner - Dynamic Sponsorships

After spending nearly a week in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the 2021 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series champion Trevor McKinney is ready to put the busy BassmasterClassic itinerary behind him and get to fishing on Lake Ray Roberts. Not only is the Classic the biggest tournament of the year, the week leading into the derby includes the most stressful media and events schedule of the season.

Even though he is twenty-two years young, McKinney is an avid tournament angler and has been competing at a high level on the Bassmaster Opens throughout 2021. The tournament aspect of this week isn’t exactly new, but the Classic hustle and bustle has been a bit of a learning experience for McKinney.

“So far this week has been pretty much what I expected,” McKinney said. “Whenever I’m not on the water fishing, it’s been pretty hectic and super busy. Which I was warned about and tried to mentally prepare for coming into this deal. I’ll be honest… at this point I’m just ready to go fishing.”

McKinney grew up in southern Illinois and was an extremely accomplished high school angler before attending McKendree University where he excelled at the collegiate level, too. In 2020 McKinney out worked and out fished all his peers to be named college fishing’s representative at the biggest stage in bass fishing.

Along with a ticket to compete in the Classic, McKinney was given a brand new Toyota Tundra and Nitro Boat package wrapped in his alma maters colors and decked out with the latest and greatest in bass fishing equipment. McKinney also was given the opportunity to compete in the 2021 Bassmaster Opens with his entry fees paid for; a dream package for any aspiring collegiate angler.

“This year really has been a dream come true,” McKinney reflected. “I’m proud to represent college fishing this week, along with McKendree and the incredible list of sponsors I’ve been blessed to work with. It’s hard to put into words.”

McKinney has been competitive in the Bassmaster Opens, only missing one check thus far, while sharpening his skills in preparation for the Classic. He has half a season behind him and he’s been able to get into a bit of a groove… that fact isn’t lost on McKinney who has proven to be mature beyond his years.

“Initially I was bummed to learn the Classic was pushed from March to June, but looking back on it I think it was a blessing,” McKinney explained. “I was able to get comfortable with my new boat, put some miles on the Tundra, and work out those early season kinks. Ray Roberts is fishing to my strengths right now and I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

by AnglersChannel

Arey and Zaldain talk Classic magic and rubber fish

Courtesy of Alan McGuckin - Dynamic

Class acts, and two of professional angling’s most accomplished pros, Matt Arey and Chris Zaldain, talked Classic memories, magical moments, and what fans can expect at the 51st Bassmaster Classic that begins Friday on Lake Ray Roberts, Texas.

Q: What excites you most about Lake Ray Roberts?

Arey: The potential to catch a 10-pounder at the biggest event in bass fishing.

Zaldain: The fact that we’re weighing-in 12 miles from my home, and the chance to share the incredible excitement of this event with all the people I call friends and neighbors here who love bass fishing.

Q: You’re a fan of the sport. What is your favorite Classic memory?

Arey: Attending the 2004 Bassmaster Classic in Charlottesoon after graduating from North Carolina State and watching Takahiro Omori win in the final hours. That lit a serious fire in me to do this for a living.

Zaldain: Without a doubt, the 2004 Classic. Watching Takahiro Omori follow his heart and run up the river to throw a balsa crankbait on laydowns because “he knew it” could be the chance to win – and do so – was so inspiring!

Q: How much weight will you need to average per day on Lake Ray Roberts for a chance to win the 2021 Bassmaster Classic?

Arey: 19 ½ pounds per day

Zaldain: 18 ½ pound per day

Q: Name three lures you won’t leave the dock without on Friday morning.

Arey: Flipping jig, Lunker Hunt compact frog, and a big worm.

Zaldain: Frog, flipping jig, and a big fake rubber fish (laughs).

Q: What’s been the coolest moment of your Classic week so far?

Arey: Seeing my wife and little girls arrive in the hotel lobbyfrom the airport, and my little girls jumped into my arms. There’s absolutely nothing better in this life than that.

Zaldain: All of us walked into Dickie’s Arena for a sound check this morning, and the sounds and smells of that new arena just put off an incredible vibe. I can’t imagine how awesome it will be when so many fans are in there!

by AnglersChannel

Sportsmans Product Spotlight - Under Armour ISO-Chill

As the weather gets HOTTER AnglersChannel.com's Social Ninja, David Xiong walks you through the new Under Armour Fish ISO-Chill Shorebreak Hoodie and the new Canyon Cargo Pants! Find these items and more at your local Sportsmans Warehouse, Sportsmans.com or UAFish.com

by AnglersChannel

Berkley Bringing Promotions, Seminars from Top Pros to Bassmaster Outdoor Expo

COLUMBIA, S.C. (June 9, 2021) –– Professional bass fishing fans headed to the 2021 Bassmaster Classic and the accompanying Bassmaster Classic Outdoor Expo can visit the Berkley booth to cash in on sales promotions and get tips from their favorite pros, including bass fishing legend, Hank Parker.

Attendees who purchase a reel at the Classic Outdoor Expo can bring their new reel to the Berkley booth to have it spooled with Berkley monofilament (Trilene XL or XT), fluorocarbon (Vanish or Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon) or braid (X5 or X9). Reel spooling is limited to three reels per person and no more than 1,000 yards of line.

Berkley fans looking for ways to win tackle can visit one of the Berkley Bait Vending Machines located near the Bassmaster Classic venues. The vending machine can be accessed via a QR code displayed on the machine. Vending machines will be located near the Bassmaster Classic boat launch on Lake Ray Roberts, outside the main exhibit hall for the Classic Outdoor Expo and in popular locations in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

Throughout the three-day run of the Classic Outdoor Expo, Berkley’s top bass fishing pros will appear on the Berkley Bass Tank to teach fans about the best ways to utilize the company’s science-fueled innovations to catch more and bigger fish.

To learn more about Berkley products and the company’s legacy for research and innovation, go to https://www.berkley-fishing.com/.

Berkley Booth - Bass Tank Seminar Schedule

Friday, June 11
12:30 p.m. - Justin Atkins
1:30 p.m. - Hank Parker
2:30 p.m. - Mike Huff
3:00 p.m. - Josh Bertrand

Saturday, June 12
10:30 a.m. - Josh Bertrand
11:00 a.m. - Scott Suggs
11:30 a.m. - Jordan Lee
12:00 p.m. - Edwin Evers
1:00 p.m. - David Fritts
2:00 p.m. - Hank Parker
3:00 p.m. - Mike Huff

Sunday - June 13
10:30 a.m. - David Fritts
11:00 a.m. - Josh Bertrand
11:30 a.m. - Scott Suggs
12:00 p.m. - Chris Groh
1:00 p.m. - Hank Parker

by AnglersChannel

Academy Sports + Outdoors Announces Deion Sanders as Celebrity Fishing Tournament Winner

LEWISVILLE, Texas (June 9th, 2021) Academy Sports + Outdoors held its second annual celebrity fishing tournament this week ahead of the 51st Bassmaster Classic in Fort Worth, Texas. Athletes, celebrities, country music stars, and members of the bass community hit the water to battle for the top spot with Deion Sanders's team edging out the competition to take home the title. The winning team presented their charity of choice, Tiger Fund Athletic Foundation, with a $5,000 check from Academy. All other participants were given $1,000 to their respective non-profits as well.

SEC Network and ESPN reporter Marty Smith kicked off the event on Lake Lewisville Wednesday morning. The six teams were led by pro bass anglers who worked hard to put their teams atop the leaderboard.

Deion Sanders's team reeled in the winning Largemouth Bass weighing in at 3 lbs 6 oz on an H2O XPRESS Tac 40 spinning rod paired with an H2O Mettle spinning reel. The cumulative total weight in Sanders's boat of 12 lbs 8 oz put Deion and his partners Sydnie Wells, James Hall, and Bassmaster Pro Greg Hackney in first-place at the 2021 Academy Sports + Outdoors Celebrity Tournament.

This year’s field of anglers included NFL Hall of Famer and Jackson State Head Football Coach Deion Sanders, former NFL star and current ESPN talent Marcus Spears, WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes, country music artist Jimmie Allen, and country music duo Maddie & Tae. These celebrities joined Greg Hackney and other members of the bass community at the event. Video and images from the day on the water are available here: Photo/Video Assets

Academy is the title sponsor of the upcoming Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, where 55 of the world’s best bass anglers will compete on the storied waters of North Texas’ Lake Ray Roberts.

Academy Sports + Outdoors has 30 locations across North Texas, where customers can find a wide assortment of fishing products including rods and reels, baits, lures, fish finders, tackle, storage, waders, kayaks, sunglasses, fishing apparel, footwear, and more. For store locations and to shop Academy’s selection of fishing products, customers can visit academy.com.

by AnglersChannel

The Best-Equipped Boats in Fishing: Humminbird® Pros Arrive at the Bassmaster Classic

MEGA Live Imaging™ gives Humminbird pros an added advantage as they look to build on an already successful 2021 Elite Series season.

RACINE, Wis. (June 9, 2021) — Already some of the most accomplished pros in professional bass fishing this year, eight members of the Humminbird pro team are headed to the 2021 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk on Lake Ray Roberts equipped with the latest live sonar technology from fishing’s preeminent electronics maker.

Humminbird announced the launch of its MEGA Live technology this week, bringing to reality the pairing of live sonar with the unsurpassed clarity and detail of MEGA Imaging (Side, Down and 360 Imaging). Humminbird fans will have their chance to upgrade to the platform later this summer and, when they do, they’ll be able to turn to Humminbird’s pro team for tips, tricks and insights about how to get the most out of fishing’s most powerful live-imaging technology.

"The addition of MEGA Live to the One Boat Network is going to change the book on how we understand fish behavior,” said Humminbird Pro and Bassmaster Elite Series angler Brandon Palaniuk. “It’s adding one step to my process of finding and catching fish. First step is using my Lakemaster mapping to find areas. Second is launching the boat. Third is using my MEGA Side imaging and down imaging to find the fish. Fourth is using my MEGA 360 imaging to relocate that structure from the front of the boat. And now I have a fifth, MEGA Live, giving me a real-time shot of what the fish are doing and how they’re behaving.”

MEGA Live Imaging delivers on the Humminbird benchmark of the finest sonar available by providing MEGA Imaging-level images throughout the entire live sonar view. In addition, an optimized sonar cone angle provides ample coverage area to easily keep both fish and lure within view while maintaining precision and the ability to target individual fish. No matter the fishing scenario, the versatility and performance of MEGA Live makes it easy to see and catch fish in real time on the Humminbird display.

"My electronics setup is already extremely efficient at finding fish and structure by using MEGA Side, Down and 360 imaging," said Humminbird pro Chris Zaldain. "But now, with MEGA Live, there’s a clear cut image of the fish that helps me focus on individual fish or schools of fish and catch them faster. I can see my giant flutter spoon and how fish behave toward it, allowing me to adjust my presentation and waste less time.”
The launch of Humminbird’s MEGA Live combined with MEGA Side and Down Imaging Dual Spectrum CHIRP 2D sonar, MEGA 360 Imaging® and High-Definition LakeMaster® charts means that some of the best anglers in the world will be that much more effective thanks to the most complete set of fish-catching features available anywhere. In addition, Humminbird pros will have seamless from their HELIX and SOLIX units to their Minn Kota trolling motors and Raptor shallow water anchors via the One-Boat Network™.

Palaniuk is one of eight Humminbird pro staff members who will be vying for the most prestigious title in professional fishing when the Bassmaster Classic kicks off its three-day run June 11. Each Humminbird pro qualified for this year’s Bassmaster Classic by virtue of their Angler of the Year points total from the 2020 Bassmaster Elite Series and each is in search of their first Classic title.

"Humminbird pros have already left their mark on the 2021 Bassmaster Elite Series schedule by winning four of the season’s seven tournaments so far and with Seth Feider leading in the Angler of the Year standings and multiple others in the Top 15. We’re incredibly proud of their on-the-water successes and wish them all the best in this year’s Classic,” said Humminbird Brand Manager Matt Cook.

"If initial pro reactions are any indication, the process of perfecting a live-sonar technology that delivers the exceptional detail and crystal-clear images for which MEGA Imaging is known has definitely been worth the effort. We can’t wait to see what these incredibly talented anglers can do with MEGA Live and all the tools Humminbird provides anglers at the Classic and the two remaining Elite Series events.”

Humminbird’s new MEGA Live Imaging retails for $1,499.99 and will begin shipping in September 2021. Humminbird MEGA Live Imaging transducers are compatible with all APEX and SOLIX models, as well as HELIX 8-15 G3N / G4N models with MEGA Imaging.

For more information on Humminbird’s new MEGA Live technology, visit www.humminbird.com/MEGALive.

Humminbird Pros Competing in the 2021 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk:

Seth Feider — New Market, Minnesota

Jeff Gustafson — Keewatin, Ontario, Canada

Matt Herren — Ashville, Alabama

Bill Lowen — Brookville, Indiana

Brandon Palaniuk — Rathdrum, Idaho

Chad Pipkens — Lansing, Michigan

Brad Whatley — Bivins, Texas

Chris Zaldain — Fort Worth, Texas

by AnglersChannel

"Its all about Deception"

XZone Angler Blog with Elite Series Pro Brandon Palanuik

Photo Courtesy of BASS - James Overstreet

They say everything is bigger in Texas and this year that equals rain and rising water in the Lonestar state. After pre-practice for this week’s Bassmaster’s Classic on Ray Roberts and now official practice I think it’s safe to say, it’s still anyone’s ball game.

We haven’t had a Classic since March of 2020. When it was originally scheduled for March, I kind of expected a lot of those fish to be working their way back towards spawning pockets and doing things like they often do for that time of year. I had not planned to do much pre-practice before the lake went off limits, but when the event got changed, I felt like I still needed to go and look for navigation purposes. As with the typical Texas reservoir, Ray Roberts has tons of flooded timber. The only difference is that it's one of the “newer” reservoirs in the state and there are no man-made boat lanes here. So, I went and looked around to take the navigation factor out of play so when I started this past Friday morning.

As in the past, I'm still holding true to not looking at points during this Elite season. I know that I’ve had a good season, but I don't know exactly how good of a season it's been. It’s been one of those years where I have had to grind every single event to put something together. One of the baits I have relied on heavily this year has been the XZone Deception worm, especially on a drop shot. It’s a bait I have had to utilize a lot of this year because well, we’ve had weird, changing conditions with crazy weather, and it seems like everywhere we go that bait on a drop shot seems to take fish who are in a negative mood and make them bite, even when they aren’t actively feeding. It just makes them mad!

The Deception worm has such a cool size and shape and the fact that it floats makes it set horizontal in the water and a lot of places we fish this year have been places that have a lot of soft bottom. Anytime you're around any type of vegetation or anything, you get kind of that bottom decay and a worm like the Deception worm that floats above that allows those fish to see it better and be right in their face. I also think having that horizontal presentation requires a lot less movement from the angler making it a more natural looking presentation to the fish.

When this tournament kicks off on Friday, the Deception worm is a no brainer to have tied on to a drop shot for me. Another BIG player for me I think in this event will be the XZone Adrenaline Craw tied on in three different ways. A Texas-Rig to flip with, a football jig, a buzzbait and maybe a Carolina-Rig just in case…….I will also have a variation of the Swammer tied on depending on the size of the bait fish, as a swim bait, as a trailer on a chatter bait and if I had to have one though, it’s going to be the Mega Swammer, I mean we are in Texas for the Bassmaster’s Classic so go big or go home right!

by AnglersChannel

Kevin VanDam Wins Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four at Lake Chickamauga

Professional Bass Fishing’s G.O.A.T. Earns First Career Victory on Bass Pro Tour, Takes Home $100,000

DAYTON, Tenn. (June 9, 2021) – Bass Pro Shops angler Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, promised that MLF NOW!® livestream viewers would see fireworks on Lake Chickamauga, Wednesday, and the man most consider the G.O.A.T. of professional bass fishing did not disappoint. VanDam caught 25 bass weighing 70 pounds, 1 ounce to win the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four Presented by ATG by Wrangler at Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee, and earn the top prize of $100,000.

It was a tight five-angler race to start the third and final period of competition but VanDam quickly pulled away, boating a dozen scorable bass weighing 34 pounds, 2 ounces, in just 30 minutes. VanDam won by a 6-pound, 10-ounce margin over second-place pro Jacob Wheeler, who caught 24 bass totaling 63 pounds, 7 ounces, good for $45,000.

“That last period – to get on a flurry like that. Man, that was incredible,” said VanDam, who pushed his career earnings to more than $6.9 million. “Any time you can have that kind of day fishing is special, but to do it on the last day of a Bass Pro Tour event is pretty dang awesome. This (trophy) was something that I’ve really wanted since we started this, so today was a pretty special day for me.”

VanDam earned his victory this week on Lake Chickamauga doing what he loves to do – fishing the deep Tennessee River ledges.

“I found those fish in practice and when I hit that school, I knew that I’d really found something special,” VanDam said. “I just had to wait for that window when the current gets just right and when it happened, it was magical.

“I caught fish on a lot of different baits this week, but far and away the Strike King Series 5 (green gizzard) and Strike King 5XD (blue gizzard shad) crankbaits were my money baits, all week long,” VanDam continued. “I fished them on my signature system – a Lew’s CC4 Cranking rod paired with a Lew’s BB1 Pro reel , 12-pound Bass Pro XPS fluorocarbon line, and I threw a couple of No. 2 Mustad Triple Grip (treble hooks) on there. I was fishing the bait real fast and really making the fish react to it, even when they didn’t want to bite.”

VanDam also credited his Humminbird electronics and HydroWave as being crucial to his success.

“My confidence was through the roof today,” VanDam said. “I had all of the tools that I needed. My whole system – my boat, my electronics, my rods, my reels, my hooks – it’s a whole system that I’ve developed over the past 31 years and I was really able to showcase them today.

“I finished runner-up to (Jacob) Wheeler the last time we were here, so today was really gratifying,” VanDam went on to say. “To go against the field that I did – Wheeler, Jordan (Lee), Michael Neal and Jason Lambert – two Tennessee ledge hammers – and win is just really special. I’ve won a lot of events and I promise you this – you appreciate every win more than the last, because you never know when you’re going to get your next one. And you never know when it could be your last one.”

The top 10 pros at the Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four on Lake Chickamauga finished:

1st: Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 25 bass, 70-1, $100,000
2nd: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 24 bass, 63-7, $45,000
3rd: Jason Lambert, Michie, Tenn., 16 bass, 59-8, $38,000
4th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 15 bass, 46-1, $32,000
5th: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 14 bass, 40-13, $30,000
6th: Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan, 15 bass, 36-13, $26,000
7th: Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 25-3, $23,000
8th: Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., six bass, 17-4, $21,000
9th: Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., four bass, 13-13, $19,000
10th: Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., three bass, 10-11, $16,000

Full results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 132 bass weighing 383 pounds, 9 ounces caught by the final 10 pros on Wednesday.

VanDam and Lambert split Wednesday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, each weighing a 6-pound, 5-ounce largemouth to split the prize. Favorite Fishing pro Matt Becker of Finleyville, Pennsylvania, earned the $3,000 Berkley Big Bass award for the largest bass of the event with his 8-pound, 12-ounce largemouth that he weighed on Day 5 of competition.

Pro Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tennessee, finished the event in 17th place and did not qualify for Wednesday’s Championship Round, but his finish was still good enough to overtake Lakeland, Florida’s Bobby Lane in the MLF Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year standings. DeFoe’s total of 283 points gives him a 17-point lead over the second-place pro, California’s Brent Ehrler (266), with three events remaining in the season. Wheeler is third with 258, followed by Kansan Brent Chapman in fourth place with 257 and Lane with 256 to fall into fifth place. Full AOY standings for the entire Bass Pro Tour field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four at Lake Chickamauga Presented by ATG by Wrangler was hosted by Fish Dayton and the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council. The six-day tournament featured 80 of the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.

Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four Presented by Wrangler at Lake Chickamauga will be showcased across two two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 a.m. ET, Oct. 9 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.

The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 76 of the top professional anglers in the world – joined at each event by 4 pros that qualify from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2022 championship. The next event for Bass Pro Tour anglers will be the General Tire Stage Five at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Berkley, June 25-30 in Massena, New York.

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

by AnglersChannel

Humminbird® Introduces MEGA Live Imaging™, Delivering the Detail and Clarity of MEGA Imaging® in Live Motion

RACINE, Wis. (June 9th, 2021) – Humminbird®, long known as the leader in fishing electronics, expands the performance of its MEGA Imaging ® sonar technology with the introduction of MEGA Live Imaging™.

This new sonar technology delivers the clarity and detail of MEGA Imaging in live action, allowing anglers to see fish and structure in real time, even watching fish on screen as they move in to bite an angler’s lure. With the release of this technology, anglers have access to the most complete package of industry-leading technologies and products offered by a single brand.

MEGA Live Imaging sonar views are provided by a compatible Humminbird fish finder and a state-of-the-art transducer, designed to mount to a trolling motor shaft, providing rapid deployment into the water and easy steering control of the live sonar views. The MEGA Live Imaging transducer comes with a multi-position bracket that provides three sonar views, each suited for different fishing applications and techniques.

MEGA Live Imaging Views

• Down Mode: Live imaging looking directly below the transducer• Forward Mode: Live imaging looking out and away from the transducer, steered using the trolling motor’s foot pedal or remote

• Landscape Mode: Live imaging from a wide, bird’s-eye view looking out and around the boat.

Across all three views, MEGA Live Imaging delivers on the Humminbird benchmark of the finest sonar available by providing MEGA Imaging-level images throughout the entire live sonar view. In addition, an optimized sonar cone angle provides ample coverage area to easily keep both fish and lure within view while maintaining precision and the ability to target individual fish. No matter the fishing scenario, the versatility and performance of MEGA Live Imaging makes it easy to see and catch fish in real time on the Humminbird display.

"We have taken the world-class imaging quality that anglers have come to expect from our MEGA Imaging sonar and brought that to life in our new MEGA Live Imaging product,” said Matt Cook, Humminbird brand manager. “MEGA Live Imaging will allow anglers to watch structure and fish in real time, which is not only an effective tool but a fun and entertaining way to catch fish.”

The MEGA Live Imaging transducer is offered as an accessory and comes with everything needed to install on a trolling motor, including a 20-foot Ethernet cable, 10-foot power cable and trolling motor mounting bracket and hardware.

MEGA Live Imaging connects to compatible Humminbird APEX ®, SOLIX ® and HELIX® control heads via an Ethernet connection and requires no external sonar module, leaving more room in the boat for gear. This Ethernet connection also allows anglers to connect additional sonar sources to the same control head, such as Humminbird’s MEGA 360 Imaging® or Built-in MEGA Imaging on Minn Kota® trolling motors.

"Bringing MEGA Live Imaging to our already best-in-class imaging capabilities has added one more reason for anglers to choose Humminbird,” Cook said. “With Humminbird’s MEGA Imaging and Dual Spectrum CHIRP 2D sonar, along with premium accessories like MEGA 360 Imaging® and LakeMaster® charts, anglers who run Humminbird will have the most complete picture on the water. With the added ability to integrate and control Minn Kota products via the One-Boat Network™, Humminbird provides the most comprehensive offering of fish-catching features and capabilities available anywhere.”

Humminbird’s new MEGA Live Imaging retails for $1,499.99 and will begin shipping September 2021. MEGA Live Imaging transducers are compatible with all APEX and SOLIX models, as well as HELIX 8-15 G3N / G4N models with MEGA Imaging. For optimal performance, the MEGA Live Imaging transducer is designed to be paired with a Minn Kota Ultrex™ trolling motor.

For more information, call Humminbird at 800-633-1468 or visit www.humminbird.com/MEGALive.

by AnglersChannel

AC Insider Podcast - West Bound & Down

This week Chris & the boys prepare for Classic week in Fort Worth. David is headed out to a celebrity fishing event on Lake Lewisville & Chris is getting his camera gear straight to provide you guys with some awesome content. Chris sat down before Classic Pre-Practice with Patrick Walters to talk about strategy prior to the event and then welcomed in All- American Champ Brant Grimm to the show to talk about his awesome win on Douglas last week!

by AnglersChannel

3 Lures Lester thinks can win the 2021 Bassmaster Classic

Courtesy of Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships

Brandon Lester is fishing his 6th Bassmaster Classic, and yet the super-likeable God-fearing family man from Tennessee doesn’t have a lure sponsor. So, there’s no bias, no sponsor-satisfying commercial slant to his opinion on three lures that could win the 51st Bassmaster Classic on Lake Ray Roberts.

“There’s a 70% chance this Classic will be won in less than 10-feet of water around flooded bushes, but there’s still a 30% chance a deep water post-spawn spot could play a major role too, so I’m giving you two shallow lures and one for the deep stuff,” says Lester on the eve of the 2001 Classic’s final practice day.

5/8-ounce jig – “This particular one is from Dirty Jigs and I dress it with a Zoom Big Salty Chunk. When you’re dealing with a crazy amount of flooded bushes and cover, you need a little heavier jig to cover more water. Plus, with 77-degree water I like my lure to fall a little faster, so I prefer a little heavier jig,” says the Team Toyota pro.

Big Creature Bait – “I truly believe a big creature bait gets bites from bigger fish. It’s one of my all-time favorites. It’s bulky, it’s invasive, and it looks like a lot of the prey bass eat -- from bluegill to crawdads. I’ll rig it with a Mustad Grip Pin flippin’ hook and a 3/8-ounce Mustad tungsten weight on 25-pound Vicious fluorocarbon line, and cover a lot of water,” he says.

Deep crankbait – “This one is just to keep ‘em honest. Again, I’m not counting on deep schools to win, but I will check a couple spots I found in practice in that 12 to 18-feet deep zone, and a crankbait always seems to get bites from the bigger bass faster than dragging a jig or worm around,” concludes Lester.

by AnglersChannel

Kevin VanDam Earns Knockout Round Win at Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour

Michigan Pro Catches 18 Bass Weighing 46-6 to Pace Knockout Round Field, Final 10 Anglers Set for Wednesday’s Final-Day Shootout for $100,000

DAYTON, Tenn. (June 8, 2021) – Bass Pro Shops pro Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, caught 18 bass Tuesday totaling 46 pounds, 6 ounces to win the Knockout Round and advance to the final day of competition at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four Presented by ATG by Wrangler at Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. The final 10 anglers are now set, and competition will resume Wednesday morning with the Championship Round. Weights are zeroed, and the angler that catches the most weight will win the top prize of $100,000.

The six-day tournament, hosted by Fish Dayton and the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council, featured 80 of the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.

The top eight pros from Tuesday’s Knockout Round that will compete in Wednesday’s Championship Round on Lake Chickamauga are:

1^st:        Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 18 bass, 46-6
2^nd:       Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., 14 bass, 45-12
3^rd:       Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 15 bass, 39-15
4^th:       Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., 16 bass, 38-10
5^th:       Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 14 bass, 38-1
6^th:       Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 13 bass, 36-15
7^th:       Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 13 bass, 36-4
8^th:       Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., 12 bass, 33-9

They’ll be joined by Qualifying Round Winners:

Group A: Jason Lambert, Michie, Tenn.
Group B: Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan

Full results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

“Today was a really good Knockout Round for me,” said VanDam, who qualified for his first Championship Round of the season. “It started off pretty slow, but I made a good decision and started to get a little movement going. I got a few fish on the SCORETRACKER™, and once that happened I knew that if I just stuck to my game plan, I could make it happen today. Lo and behold, we’re moving on to Championship Round and I couldn’t be more excited.”

VanDam said that he is fishing how he loves to fish this week – out on the Tennessee River ledges.

“This is my favorite way to fish. I love ledge fishing. It’s something that I’ve got a lot of experience in, and I’ve had a lot of success up and down the Tennessee River,” VanDam said. “I’ve got a whole cranking system that I’ve built around it with Lew’s. We’ve got a whole new series of rods and reels for it, and that’s what I’m using. I’m doing what I’ve got the most confidence in. I’m pretty dang dialed in this week and I understand the timing of these fish and how they’re moving.

“There is a lot of things changing by the minute, though, and that’s why you’re seeing the diversity from a lot of guys,” VanDam went on to say. “It’s going to be a shootout tomorrow. It’s going to be a really, really fun day to watch as a fishing fan. I’m fishing against some of the best guys in the world at this type of fishing. It’s going to come down to some fireworks, and hopefully I’m in contention at the end and can make it happen. The last time we were here at Chickamauga for the Bass Pro Tour I didn’t have a great event, so I’m looking forward to rectifying that with this one.”

Also making his first Championship Round on the Bass Pro Tour this season is the reigning Angler of the Year, Jordan Lee. Although he didn’t divulge any real details, he did say that he was dialed in to two main baits, and specifically mentioned a hair jig.

“I had one good flurry this morning and got out to the lead, and then I just kind of hit a lull for a couple of hours in the middle of the day,” Lee said. “This afternoon I caught two that really just sealed the deal for me. I caught them on two main baits, using my new line of Abu Garcia rods that I’ve got coming out this summer. I’m real excited about them. They’re affordable, and they have really good blanks. That’s what I’ve been using, just dragging stuff like a hair jig.

“I’m tickled to death to be going back out there again tomorrow,” Lee continued. “It’s my first final-day cut of the year, and I can’t wait to see what happens.”

Rounding out the top 40 finishers were:

11^th:     Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 12 bass, 32-13, $10,000
12^th:     Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 14 bass, 32-9, $10,000
13^th:     Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 12 bass, 32-4, $10,000
14^th:     Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 10 bass, 30-2, $10,000
15^th:     Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 10 bass, 28-12, $10,000
16^th:     Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala., 11 bass, 28-11, $10,000
17^th:     Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 12 bass, 28-10, $10,000
18^th:     Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., eight bass, 27-15, $10,000
19^th:     Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., 10 bass, 27-4, $10,000
20^th:     Matt Lee, Cullman, Ala., nine bass, 26-4, $10,000
21^st:     Bradley Roy, Lexington, Ky., seven bass, 25-14, $10,000
22^nd:    Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., seven bass, 24-9, $10,000
23^rd:    Ish Monroe, Oakdale, Calif., six bass, 18-2, $10,000
24^th:     Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, six bass, 17-10, $10,000
25^th:     Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., five bass, 17-9, $10,000
26^th:     Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., seven bass, 16-13, $10,000
27^th:     Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., four bass, 15-7, $10,000
28^th:     Shaw Grigsby, Gainesville, Fla., five bass, 14-10, $10,000
29^th:     James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., five bass, 14-9, $10,000
30^th:     Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., five bass, 14-7, $10,000
31^st:     Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., six bass, 13-7, $10,000
32^nd:    Cliff Pace, Petal, Miss., five bass, 12-8, $10,000
33^rd:    Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., five bass, 11-12, $10,000
34^th:     Roy Hawk, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., four bass, 11-4, $10,000
35^th:     Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., three bass, 8-11, $10,000
36^th:     Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, three bass, 7-7, $10,000
37^th:     Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala., three bass, 7-3, $10,000
38^th:     Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, three bass, 7-0, $10,000
39^th:     Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., one bass, 4-2, $10,000
40^th:     Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., zero bass, 0-0, $10,000

Overall, there were 312 bass weighing 871 pounds, 12 ounces caught by 37 pros on Tuesday.

Favorite Fishing pro Matt Becker won the $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award on Tuesday, catching an 8-pound, 12-ounce largemouth on a Ned rig in Period 2. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler who weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.

The MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four at Lake Chickamauga Presented by ATG by Wrangler is hosted by Fish Dayton and the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council.

The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Friday and Sunday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Saturday and Monday. After the two-day Qualifying Round, the anglers that finished in 2^nd through 20^th place from both groups advanced to Tuesday’s Knockout Round, while the winner from each group advanced directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, the weights were zeroed and the remaining 38 anglers competed to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round. Tomorrow, in the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins.

The final 10 anglers will take off from the Dayton Boat Dock, located at 175 Lakeshore St., in Dayton, at 6:30 a.m. ET Wednesday. The General Tire Takeout and Championship Moment will also be held at the Dayton Boat Dock, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action from the final day of competition on Wednesday from 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

by AnglersChannel

Plano Pros Feider, Gustafson Set for 2021 Bassmaster Classic

COLUMBIA, S.C. (June 8, 2021) — June on Texas’s Lake Ray Roberts could hold a lot of options for anglers fishing the 2021 Bassmaster Classic. Off-shore structure could be key, but it’s Texas, and the shallows and the shorelines could produce a world championship-clinching bass on any cast.

While a variety of techniques could factor into this year’s Classic, quick and easy access to the entire tackle collection is going to be key for pros to remain efficient. Plano’s acclaimed EDGE boxes give Classic qualifiers Seth Feider and Jeff Gustafson the features they need to make quick work of rigging up for a new presentation.

Features like the DuraView crystal-clear lid lets anglers know exactly what’s in the Plano EDGE boxes without opening. The Polycarbonate lid, one handed latch and stainless-steel hinge pins add to the overall durability of the Plano EDGE boxes, making them more than tough enough for professional bass fishing’s biggest stage. Moisture inside tackle boxes can lead to oxidation and ruined tackle—even in Texas—so Plano EDGE boxes feature Rustrictor technology for 360 degrees of effective rust-prevention, as well as a reuseable Water Wick divider and a Dri-Loc O-ring seal to keep water out.

“We’re extremely proud of the fact that the best anglers in the world turn to us to provide them with the most advanced storage options they need to compete for the most prestigious titles in the sport,” said Plano Vice President of Marketing Allen Gerten. “We wish Seth and Jeff the best of luck in this year’s Classic and hope they can use some of the momentum they’ve produced in this year’s Elite Series to propel them to a Classic title.”

Feider, who leads the 2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year race with two regular-season events remaining, is appearing in his fourth Bassmaster Classic. His best finish came in the 2020 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Guntersville where he finished fourth. Gustafson, who won his first Bassmaster Elite Series tournament earlier this season on the Tennessee River, is making his second Bassmaster Classic appearance.

For more information about Plano’s legendary line of fishing tackle storage solutions, go to www.planomolding.com.

by AnglersChannel

Lew’s partners with YouTube’s Kickin’ Their Bass TV Introduces New Kickin’ Their Bass TV Baitcasting and Spinning Combos

Lexington, SC — June 8, 2021 – Kickin Their Bass TV’s Noah Pescitelli, Internet sensation and fishing’s newest rising star, has a maxim in life and in fishing; Put your head down and work hard. This sums up why Team Lew’s is proud to partner with Noah to introduce, new for 2021, the Kickin’ Their Bass baitcasting and spinning combos. This combo is a legend in the making as the sturdy workhorse in an angler's arsenal.

"I fish hard, and I fish often," Pescitelli said at the announcement of the combos. "I wanted to create a combo at an affordable price while maintaining an exceptional performance."

The Kickin Their Bass reel is built on a sturdy, yet lightweight, SLP graphite frame with high strength and solid brass Speed Gears. The premium 4+1 stainless steel, double shielded bearing system is built to last, and the durable Rulon drag system provides up to 15 pounds of fish fighting power.

"This rig can take serious pressure, but my favorite feature is the versatility," Pescitelli proclaimed. "My fans don’t want to haul 20 different combos around a farm pond or a private lake; they want two or three rigs that can get the job done,” he said. “I use the 7'-1” medium-heavy baitcasting combo to fish soft plastics, crankbaits, and topwater. The 7’1 medium heavy combo is one of the most versatile in the market.."

Pescitelli leans on the Kickin’ Their Bass spinning combo for its versatility and strength as well. The 7'-1” Medium Fast spinning combo has the strength to pull fish out of heavy cover but is light enough and sensitive enough for any finesse application. "It is the perfect set up for a drop shot, a weightless Texas rig, or a jerkbait," Pescitelli added.

This versatile spinning combo is also ideal for those fans who aren’t yet fishing a baitcasting rig. "I would not be afraid at all to throw a crankbait on this combo or use it to drag a big worm across the bottom," he said. For the legions of Pescitelli's fans who only have a handful of rods in their arsenal, the Kickin’ Their Bass Spinning combo is a must.

Both the 7'-1 Medium Heavy Baitcasting rod and the 7'-1 Medium Fast Spinning rod are built on premium IM6, high modulus graphite blanks, with stainless steel and zirconia line guides and inserts. Both rods feature Lew's exclusive graphite skeletal real seat for light weight and sensitivity, and with the popular Winn Dri-Tac grip and EVA rod butt for all day fishing comfort. These rods are priced for great value at with the spinning combo 89.99 MSRP and the casting combos 139.99 MSRP.

by AnglersChannel

Strike King Introduces New Skip’ N Buzz

Lexington, S.C. – June 8, 2021 – With a relentless drive to offer anglers new tools to catch more fish, Strike King Lure Company is pleased to announce the new Andy Montgomery Skip’ N Buzz. This game-changing lure is specifically built to help anglers target out-of-reach fish in places where few baits will go. The legendary Strike King buzzbait, with a new design twist, is reshaping the way anglers find and catch fish.

To engineer this innovative design, Strike King turned to arguably the most proficient skipping and pitching angler on the water, Bass Pro Tour veteran Andy Montgomery. For two of his tour-level wins in his career — on Lake Norman and Smith Lake — the Blacksburg, SC native credits his ability to skip a lure into the dark recesses underneath a dock to target tournament-winning fish.

He said it took a company like Strike King to capture his extended vision for lure offerings. “My guys at Strike King and I designed this buzzbait to go where other buzzbaits just don’t go, and you can cast and pitch them too.” Montgomery said. “Overall, it is an amazing lure to run down the bank with and fish whatever comes your way without changing lures. But, there is simply nothing better than to skip it under a low hanging tree or put it beneath a dock and hear the explosion of the strike.”

To augment the skipping design of the buzzbait, Montgomery and Strike King also replaced the traditional buzzbait skirt with a soft plastic Strike King Toad. The bait is also sold with an interchangeable Rage Swimmer.

The Andy Montgomery Skip’ N Buzz comes in four colors. Andy favors the white design when fish are targeting shad. In low light conditions, and when fish are feeding on bluegill, Andy will switch to a green pumpkinseed or black to get the job done, and pink when the fish want something different.

The Skip’ N Buzz will be available in a 3/8-ounce size with an MSRP of $8.99

- SKBZ-204 (White)

- SKBZ-10 (Black)

- SKBZ-46 (Green Pumpkin)

- SKBZ-98 (Pink)

by AnglersChannel

Linganore High School Wins U.S. Army High School Fishing Open at Potomac River

Marbury, Md. (June 8, 2021) – The Linganore High School duo of Clifton Bennett of Damascus, Maryland, and Garyden Scibila of Hagerstown, Maryland, won the U.S. Army High School Fishing presented by Favorite Fishing Open at the Potomac River Presented by Googan Baits on Saturday in Marbury, Maryland.

The event was hosted by the Charles County Board of Commissioners and the victory advanced the winning team to the 2021 U.S. Army High School Fishing presented by Favorite Fishing National Championship.

TOP 10 RESULTS

RANK	SCHOOL/CLUB NAME/CITY	ANGLER NAME	BASS	WEIGHT
1^st	Linganore High School*	Clifton Bennett, Damascus, Md. Grayden Scibilia, Hagerstown, Md.	5	16-32021
2^nd	Fishaholics Bass Club	Trenton Carey, York Springs, Pa. Josh Kaufman, Marysville, Pa.	5	14-5
3^rd	Carroll Fish Hawks	Peter Sheggrud, Phoenix, Md. Haden Sisk, Reisterstown, Md.	5	12-8
4^th	Capital City Jr. Bass Masters	Wade Detweiler, Dillsburg, Pa. Jacob Vanscoik, Dauphin, Pa.	5	11-2
5^th	Pequannock Township	Dylan Aulbach, Monroe Twp., N.J. Nicholas Dellaporta, Pequannock, N.J.	5	10-9
6^th	Jr. Potomac River Bassmasters	Jarren Crowder, Clearspring, Md. Kyle Petrisko, Kearneysville, W. Va.	4	9-14
7^th	New Breed Bassers	Kyle Gilson, Cedarville, N.J. Billy Whitehead IV, Cedarville, N.J.	4	9-11
8^th	Bass Legends BBT	Joey Booker, Elkton, Md. Spencer Grishkot, Abingdon, Md.	3	6-2
9^th	Bass Legends BBT	Chris Nolte, Bowie, Md. Alex Walsberg, Chester Springs, Pa.	2	4-12
10^th	Madison County	Austin Blow, Rochelle, Va. Mason Brunner, Madison, Va.	1	3-3

*National Championship Qualifier. The top 10% of teams advance to the 2021 U.S. Army High School Fishing presented by Favorite Fishing National Championship

Complete results from the event can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

2021 UPCOMING QUALIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES

EVENT	DATE	LOCATION	HOST
2021 U.S. Army High School Fishing National Championship & World Finals	Jun. 30 – Jul. 3	Lake Hartwell, Anderson, S.C.	Anderson Convention & Visitors Bureau

Full schedules and the latest announcements, photos and articles are available at HighSchoolFishing.org and MajorLeagueFishing.com.

by AnglersChannel

California University of Pennsylvania Wins Abu Garcia College Fishing Tournament on the Potomac River

MARBURY, Md. (June 8, 2021) – The California University of Pennsylvania’s David Blaker of Rices Landing, Pennsylvania, and Nick Fulks of Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, took the win on Friday at the Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI at the Potomac River. The victory earned the Vulcans’ bass club $2,000 and qualified the duo to compete in the 2022 College Fishing National Championship.

TOP 10 RESULTS*

RANK	COLLEGE NAME	ANGLER NAME/HOMETOWN	BASS	WEIGHT	AWARD
1^st	California University of Pennsylvania	David Blaker, Rices Landing, Pa. Nick Fulks, Burgettstown, Pa.	5	17-4	$2,000
2^nd	University of Massachusetts Amherst	Julian Burgoff, Amherst, Mass. Jared Muzyka, Hadley, Mass.	5	16-10	$1,000
3^rd	Adrian College	Caleb Dachenhaus, Whitehouse, Ohio Elliot Wielgopolski, Waterville, Ohio	5	16-0	$500
4^th	Adrian College	Brayden Federer, Deerfield, Mich. Shane Nelson, Wadsworth, Ohio	5	15-2	$500
5^th	Roanoke College	Will Hamilton, Roanoke, Va. Branen McKeon, Henrico, Va.	5	15-1	$500
6^th	SUNY-College of Environmental Science and Forestry	Nicholas Sanderson, Williamsville, N.Y. Nathan Wojslaw, Avon, N.Y.	5	14-15
7^th	Auburn University	Robert Cruvellier, Alburgh, Vt. Sam Harvey, Auburn, Ala.	5	14-12
8^th	Adrian College	Jenson Kay, Milford, Mich. Sam Shoemaker, Martinsville, Ind.	5	14-9
9^th	Shippensburg University	Nathan Housel, Carlisle, Pa. Evan Paules, Shippensburg, Pa.	5	14-7
10^th	SUNY-College of Environmental Science and Forestry	Patrick Durand, Cherry Hill, N.J. Thomas Harvey, Delmar, N.Y.	5	14-5

*Top 10 teams advance to the 2022 College Fishing National Championship

Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

2021 QUALIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES

EVENT	DATE	LOCATION	HOST
Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI National Championship	TBD	TBD	TBD

The event was the second of three qualifying tournaments for Northern Conference anglers and was hosted by the Charles County Board of Commissioners.

by AnglersChannel

Arey’s Midseason Turnaround

Courtesy of Luke Stoner - Dynamic Sponsorships

Matt Arey is feeling good as he prepares for his second appearance in the Bassmaster Classic on Lake Ray Roberts here in the Lone Star State. The Team Toyota pro is coming off of four solid finishes on the Bassmaster Elite Series, including a top five finish a few weeks ago on Neely Henry and back-to-back checks here in Texas prior to that.

Arey is fishing well and mentally in tune, exactly how you’d hope to be feeling heading into the biggest event of the season. But if you had talked to Arey just a couple months ago you would have gotten a completely different impression.

“Just a few short months ago I felt a little lost out there on the water if I’m being honest,” Arey said. “I had two of the worst finishes of my career in Knoxville and at Pickwick and mentally I was just in a weird place. For the first time in years I found myself having doubts in practice and never felt quite right.”

After finishing a disappointing 72^nd at Pickwick Lake, Arey said the only positive thought he could muster was getting home to see his wife and daughters.

As usual, Arey’s girls lifted his spirits and allowed him to focus on what he could do to bust the fishing downturn he’d been living in.

“We’ve all watched guys go through slumps but foolishly I think I believed I was too far in my career for it to happen to me,” the 14-year pro admitted. “Of course that’s not true. Slumps can happen to anyone at anytime and I’m convinced it’s about 95% mental. “

Heading into the Sabine River Elite Series event, a notoriously fickle and tough-to-crack fishery, Arey talked to his travel mates Scott Martin and Scott Canterbury to try and help himself out of his rut.

After consulting with several respected peers, Arey ultimately decided that for better or worse… he was just going to have to put his head down and fish his way through it.

“Gerald Swindle put a video up on his Instagram about losing and learning,” Arey recalled. “The video was for his fans, but I watched it and it hit home. I texted Swindle and told him thank you. Told him I needed to hear that video.”

It turns out a little R&R with family, time to reflect, and motivation from fellow anglers did the North Carolina family man a lot of good. Arey turned things around at the Sabine River with a solid 36^th place finish, before backing it up with a top-20 result at the big bass factory of Lake Fork.

Arey has now fished well enough to work himself back in contention to qualify for his third Bassmaster Classic in 2022 and is riding some momentum into his second trip to the Super Bowl of bass fishing.

“I’m not going to tell you I’ve completely turned things around, the first part of this season proved to me just how fragile a fisherman’s brain can be,” Arey laughed. “But I’m fishing with confidence again and I feel like I’m moving in the right direction.”

Rough days on the water, bad tournaments, and slumps are bound to happen when it comes to bass fishing. Whether you’re a rookie or a seasoned tournament veteran, you are going to fail and leave the lake mad sometimes.

Instead of letting those shortcomings seethe and simmer in your head, learn a lesson from your failures, cut yourself some slack and keep moving forward.

“Don’t be afraid to reach out to your peers and simply fish way your way through it,” Arey offered. “It might take two weeks or it might take a year but if you keep your mind right and work hard, things will turn around. I think that’s true whether it’s fishing or we’re talking life.”

by AnglersChannel

Jason Lambert Earns Qualifying Round Win at Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four at Lake Chickamauga

Tennessee Ledge-Hammer Catches Two-Day Total of 109-13 to Advance Directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round, 19 Anglers Advance to Knockout Round

DAYTON, Tenn. (June 6, 2021) – Pro Jason Lambert of Michie, Tennessee, overtook Day 1 leader Russ Lane of Prattville, Alabama , early in Period 1 Sunday and never looked back. Lambert boated 17 bass on the day totaling 60 pounds, 8 ounces, to win the Qualifying Round for Group A at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four Presented by ATG by Wrangler at Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee.

Lambert’s two-day total of 34 bass weighing 109 pounds, 13 ounces earned him the win by a 22-pound, 1-ounce margin over Lane, who finished the round in second place with a two-day catch of 26 bass totaling 77-12. The reigning Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year (AOY) Berkley pro Jordan Lee of Cullman, Alabama, boated a two-day total of 20 bass weighing 73-13 to end the round in third place, while his brother, Matt Lee, also of Cullman, Alabama, finished in fourth place with a two-day total of 20 bass for 59-12. Rounding out the top five is Berkley pro Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Alabama, who caught a two-day total of 16 bass weighing 59-1.

The top 20 anglers from Group A will now enjoy an off day, while the 40 anglers in Qualifying Group B will complete their two-day Qualifying Round of competition on Monday. The Knockout Round, featuring 38 anglers competing to finish in the top eight, will take place on Tuesday. Wednesday’s Championship Round will feature Lambert, Monday’s Group B winner, and the top eight anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.

“I was sitting in third coming in to today, and my objective was to go out and have a good first period,” said Lambert, who qualified for his first career Championship Round on the Bass Pro Tour. “If I did, I knew that I would have a good chance to win the round. That happened, we got ahead in the first period, and we never looked back.

“I ended up with a little more than 60 pounds today,” Lambert continued. “It wasn’t as good as I thought it was going to be - especially in the afternoon – but this morning is what mattered. What was really cool for me, though, was catching them the way I want to catch them. Not only the way I want to catch them, but on the stuff that I’ve designed like the Hardcore (Bullet) Crank 7+, a crankbait that we worked very hard on to get put together just right, and the Kitana Stagger (Scrounger) Head with a (Castaic) Jerky J. Catching them the way you want to catch them, on the stuff you built to catch them, is really cool.”

With six career victories on the Tennessee River in MLF competition – two FLW Tour (now Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit) wins on Kentucky Lake, one Toyota Series win on Kentucky Lake and three Phoenix Bass Fishing League wins on Pickwick Lake – Lambert is known to be a tournament-closer on the ledges, and he will absolutely be one of the favorites heading into Wednesday’s Championship Round.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back out there for the Championship Round on Wednesday,” Lambert went on to say. “I’ve just got to go out there and catch them again. I think I’ve got just as good of a shot as anyone.”

The top 20 pros from Qualifying Group A that now advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round on Lake Chickamauga are:

1^st:           Jason Lambert, Michie, Tenn., 34 bass, 109-13 – ADVANCES TO CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
2^nd:          Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala., 26 bass, 77-12
3^rd:          Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., 20 bass, 73-13
4^th:           Matt Lee, Cullman, Ala., 20 bass, 59-12
5^th:           Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 16 bass, 59-1
6^th:           Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 20 bass, 51-1
7^th:           Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 16 bass, 51-0
8^th:           Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 19 bass, 50-14
9^th:           Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., 14 bass, 50-12
10^th:        Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 17 bass, 50-5
11^th:        Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., 14 bass, 48-15
12^th:        Cliff Pace, Petal, Miss., 16 bass, 48-9
13^th:        Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 18 bass, 47-6
14^th:        Roy Hawk, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 16 bass, 44-7
15^th:        Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 17 bass, 43-1
16^th:        Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., 12 bass, 42-13
17^th:        Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 14 bass, 40-8
18^th:        Ish Monroe, Oakdale, Calif., 14 bass, 40-4
19^th:        Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 14 bass, 35-13
20^th:        Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., 10 bass, 35-8

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 224 bass weighing 667 pounds even caught by 38 pros on Sunday.

Clausen won Sunday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing in a 7-pound, 14-ounce largemouth on a shaky-head rig during Period 1. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler that weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.

The MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four at Lake Chickamauga Presented by ATG by Wrangler is hosted by Fish Dayton and the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council.

The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Lake Chickamauga on Friday and Sunday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Saturday and Monday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers that finish in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 38 anglers compete to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

Anglers will take off from the Dayton Boat Dock, located at 175 Lakeshore St., in Dayton, at 6:30 a.m. ET each day of competition. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will also be held at the Dayton Boat Dock, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all six days of competition from 6:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

by AnglersChannel

BASS FISHING HALL OF FAME WILL HONOR WESTERN BASS CLUB AT BASSMASTER CLASSIC

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – For Immediate Release – 6.7.21 – The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors announced this week that the Western Bass Club will be honored prior to the upcoming Bassmaster Classic as a recipient of the Hall’s Meritorious Service Award. This special award is for groups and people whom the Board deems to have made a significant contribution to bass fishing. The club will be formally honored at the Hall of Fame Classic Mixer for Hall inductees, supporters and media on Thursday, June 10, 2021, in Ft. Worth, Texas.

The Western Bass Club (www.westernbassclub.com), which bills itself as the “oldest chartered bass club in the United States,” was founded in 1938 by anglers from western Washington, but eventually grew to include residents of Oregon, Idaho and Northern California. The organization has remained in continuous operation since that time. They are not affiliated with any particular umbrella organization, but continue to conduct tournaments, meetings and conservation projects.

“The bass club structure has been integral in teaching anglers both the techniques and the ethics surrounding our sport,” said Bass Fishing Hall of Fame President John Mazurkiewicz. “There are challenges for all of them, but those removed geographically from the ‘bass belt’ of the southeast have to be particularly strong to persevere. The Western Bass Club’s longevity demonstrates their importance both to its region and to the sport as a whole.”

While the Western Bass Club existed as the State of Washington’s only organized bass club for nearly 40 years, since that time it's worked diligently to seed the growth of bass fishing in the west by helping to establish numerous other clubs.

The Board greatly appreciates the efforts of Richard “Dick” Streater to make the Western Bass Club’s achievements known.

The BFHOF’s next event will be its annual Hall of Fame Induction dinner at Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife Museum in Springfield, Mo., on September 30, 2021, honoring both the 2020 and 2021 classes. Information on event and table sponsorships, dinner seats and tickets for a special VIP unveiling reception, along with details about the Hall and its mission are available at www.BassFishingHOF.com, or by contacting BFHOF executive director Barbara Bowman at [email protected].

by AnglersChannel

Steve Hatfield and Jim Leary win Alabama Bass Trail 100 on Lake Eufaula with 25.26 pounds

By Jason Duran

Photos by Chris Brown

June 5, 2021 - Eufaula, AL- 100 Teams launched at Lakepoint State Park for the second of three events in the brand-new Alabama Bass Trail 100 series. The ABT 100 series features 100 teams, 100 percent payback and a $100,000 total payout in each event. Steve Hatfield and Jim Leary claimed the first-place title, took home the hardware and $25,000.

The team said this was the first time for them to fish Lake Eufaula. “We began to prepare for this lake right after the Lay Lake event” starting practice last weekend and spending the whole week here developing a game plan. “We spent two days idling, mapping and marking. We marked everything because we didn’t know what we would need until we actually started fishing."

They found their key spot in practice on Monday “on the side of a road bed with some key brush piles on it and standing timber around it. The water depth was 8-12 feet, and it was near a channel that came from shore out to the main lake. We believe the fish were working their way out to the ledges." They fished the road bed and found it to be holding the quality fish they were looking for.

They feared that this spot wouldn’t hold up because the fish were headed out to the ledges and would pass through this area quickly, so they spent the rest of the week looking for the same type areas. They also fished the ledges “but struggled getting any size or very many bites on them.”

On tournament morning they made the run to the road bed and quickly went to work. They were surprised that no one else was already on the spot and hoped the fish were still there. They targeted the fish using “big snake style worms,” and found that a Zoom and Big Bite Baits 8-13 inch worm Texas Rigged, Red Bug and Plum Apple were the most productive. They quickly discovered the fish were still there, and in ten minutes, they caught three fish close to 17 pounds including the 6.32 pound largemouth that took big fish in the event. Most of the ten minutes was spent trying to land those big fish. They said, “the fish were so strong they actually pulled the boat onto the brush pile.” They fished around the area catching a few smaller fish returning to the key spot throughout the day but did not get any bigger bites. However, it was more than enough to take the win with 25.26 pounds- almost a 4 pound lead over second place. They collected a $25,000 check plus bonuses including a Phoenix Boats bonus.

The second-place team of Ken Walters and Dallas Weldon weighed in 21.31 pounds of Lake Eufaula Bass. Dallas shared, “in practice we didn’t get on anything out deep.” They practiced separately and he focused out deeper while Ken focused in the mid-range water depth. They both “found a shad spawn that they hoped would produce early, but because of the warmer weather, the water temps warmed up about six degrees and caused that bite to die out” on Saturday. Combine warming water with falling water and “the fish are going to have to move somewhere.” After they discovered that the shad bite had gone away, they headed out to fish other areas and they defined “stuff fish get on when they leave the bank, like the first little piece of cover.” Ken said, it was the “kind of stuff he was marking in practice.” It's why you have to “practice and find those kind of areas” because today it paid off using the backup plan,” said Dallas. The baits used were a Texas rigged 10 inch worm and unnamed creature bait paired up with a Crusher Lures ½ oz head. Key colors were Green Pumpkin and red bug. They felt this event “fished more like a club tournament that pays a lot more and the field size really helped them have more water to fish.” They also added the Wedowee Marine Bonus to their $12,000 payday.

Anthony Goggins and Dustin Wood claimed third place with 20.93. Dustin was a favorite in this event after winning an event the previous weekend with over 22 pounds. The morning was tough for them because they didn’t get to fish anything they wanted to fish- they had a “local following them trying to figure them out.” They work hard to keep the areas they fish a secret, so instead of helping someone else figure out their spots, they left their main areas to go and “fish community holes and get a limit around lake point.” After they got a limit they went back to some of their key areas, and since the on-looker didn’t follow them, they were able to get to their areas. Dustin said, “the Lord really blessed us because every time we made a cast where we felt something was good we caught a four pounder.” The team shared their frustration in having to protect their areas, but they felt it was something worth protecting for future events. “We really baby our areas and don’t fun fish them during the week. They are kind like pets, and we wanted to take care of them. It takes hard work to find them, and we don’t want to give them up.” They targeted the fish using a Red Shad worm on a ¾ oz drop shot. They also shared that the Garmin Live Scope really helped them to be able to find the fish on the cover. In spite of the circumstances, they were able to be successful and cash the third place $10,000 check.

The third and final stop of the Alabama Bass Trail 100 will be on Lake Eufaula, Saturday, November 20, where, once again, 100 teams will go for the $100,000 total payout. The Angler of the Year points race is really tight with lots of big names at the top of that list.

Top five standings are below for a complete list see https://www.alabamabasstrail100.org/lake-eufaula-results/

Download and listen to the ABT Podcast on your favorite Podcast app by searching for “Alabama Bass Trail Podcast.” The Podcast is released each week on Tuesday. This week podcast will feature winners form Lake Eufaula.

The sponsors of the 2021 Alabama Bass Trail 100 include; Phoenix Bass Boats, Bill Penney Automotive Group, Garmin, America’s First Federal Credit Union, Sweet Home Alabama, Alabama Tourism Department, T-H Marine Supplies, Wedowee Marine, Big Bite Bait Company, Black Rifle Coffee Company, Anheuser- Busch, Inc., fishalabama.org and American Baitworks.

For information about Alabama Bass Trail 100 visit www.alabamabasstrail100.org

by AnglersChannel

#MyClassicChallenge from Humminbird and Minn Kota Allows Fans to Compete in the Classic from Anywhere

Prizes include multiple $250 brand apparel prize packs and a chance to fish with a Humminbird / Minn Kota pro.

RACINE, Wis. (June 7, 2021) — While the world’s top bass pros battle for the 2021 Bassmaster Classic title on Lake Ray Roberts, fans across the country have the chance to compete for a Classic title of their own. Through June 12, anglers can post a fishing picture to Facebook or Instagram along with #MyClassicChallenge to be entered into a drawing for prizes from Humminbird and Minn Kota.

Branded apparel prize packages from Humminbird and Minn Kota, valued at $250, will be awarded each day between June 10-12. The grand prize winner will get home-lake advantage in a one-on-one fishing showdown against a Humminbird/Minn Kota pro. The grand prize winner will be announced on or before July 1.

“The eyes of the professional bass fishing world might be turned toward the 2021 Bassmaster Classic, but we know so many more people may be searching for fish of their own and posting pictures on social media while the pros compete in Texas,” said Joe Brown, Senior Director of Brand Management. “#MyClassicChallenge is a great way for anglers across the country to share in the excitement of the Classic, no matter if they attend the event in-person or follow online, with a chance to win prizes that help them dress like a pro—or even compete against one.”

There is no limit to the number of times fans can enter using the sweepstakes hashtag, #MyClassicChallenge, and the contest is open to U.S. residents age 18 and over.

For official rules and additional information, please visit www.minnkotamotors.com/myclassicchallenge .

by AnglersChannel

Shin Fukae Wins Group B at Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four at Lake Chickamauga

Japanese Pro Boats Massive Haul of 79 Pounds, 6 Ounces, Monday to Win by 20+ Pounds, Field of 38 Set for Tuesday’s Knockout Round

DAYTON, Tenn. (June 6, 2021) – While most of the anglers on Lake Chickamauga were throwing standard summer-time Tennessee River baits – big crankbaits, big jigs, big worms and big spoons – Japanese pro Shinichi Fukae proved Monday that sometimes finesse is best. Fukae caught 24 scorable bass totaling 79 pounds, 6 ounces to win the two-day Qualifying Group B round at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four Presented by ATG by Wrangler at Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee.

Fukae’s two-day total of 37 bass weighing 114 pounds, 2 ounces earned him the round win by a 20-pound, 12-ounce margin and advances him straight into Wednesday’s final-day Championship Round of competition. The six-day showcases 80 of the best bass anglers in the world competing for a purse of more than $805,000, with a top prize of $100,000 going to the winner.

Day 1 leader General Tire pro Edwin Evers of Talala, Oklahoma, caught a two-day total of 30 bass weighing 93-6 to end the round in second place, and reigning REDCREST Champion Dustin Connell of Clanton, Alabama, finished the round in third place with a two-day total of 21 bass weighing 75-5.

The remaining 38 anglers – 19 from Group A and 19 from Group B – will now compete Tuesday in the Knockout Round, where weights are zeroed, and the anglers compete to finish in the top eight to advance to Championship Wednesday. Wednesday’s Championship Round will feature Group A winner Jason Lambert, Group B winner Fukae, and the top eight anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.

“It was a little bit hard to catch (them) the first day, and I had no idea where I was going to start today,” Fukae said. “I chose this area in the morning, and that was the super-right decision for me. I caught 79 pounds and finally made a Championship Round. I am so happy for that and I am ready to go right now.”

Fukae has battled through plenty of adversity this week, not only on the water but off of it as well. His father-in-law passed away just a few days ago in Japan, and his wife Miyu, who has been by Shin’s side since he first came to the United States in 2004, is back in Japan mourning with her family.

“Thank you so much to my wife, for letting me fish,” an emotional Fukae said in his post-game interview. “She has been in a super-tough situation the last two or three days. I want to try to help her, but she told me to just concentrate on fish and don’t think about other things. But, of course, I can not do that. I worry a lot. I talked to her yesterday. She is so strong. My father-in-law helped me from the sky, today, and I thank him so much.”

According to the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard, the Japanese pro caught his fish on two main baits Monday – a Ned Rig and a soft-body swimbait. However, Fukae credited his Lowrance units as being the main reason that he had so much success, Monday.

“The most important thing for me, today, was my Lowrance ActiveTarget,” Fukae said. “I can see where the fish come from, what depths the fish are at, and that was the key to me making the Championship Round.

“I also used Shimano rods and Shimano reels, and YGK fishing line, the most famous braided line in the world,” Fukae went on to say. “I used their sinking braided line, which was very helpful because the wind was blowing hard and it made the line really drift a lot. So, the sinking line really helped me today.”

The top 20 pros in Qualifying Group B that now advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round on Lake Chickamauga are:

1^st:          Shin Fukae, Osaka, Japan, 37 bass, 114-02 – ADVANCES DIRECTLY TO CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
2^nd:         Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 30 bass, 93-6
3^rd:         Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 21 bass, 75-5
4^th:         Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., 24 bass, 70-7
5^th:         Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 26 bass, 66-12
6^th:         Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Ark., 22 bass, 59-8
7^th:         Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 24 bass, 58-9
8^th:         Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, 16 bass, 52-3
9^th:         Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., 18 bass, 51-5
10^th:       Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., 17 bass, 48-6
11^th:       Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala., 17 bass, 45-4
12^th:       Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 18 bass, 44-5
13^th:       Shaw Grigsby, Gainesville, Fla., 14 bass, 42-6
14^th:       Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., 14 bass, 39-11
15^th:       James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., 14 bass, 38-13
16^th:       Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, 13 bass, 37-6
17^th:       Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., 13 bass, 36-1
18^th:       Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., 11 bass, 35-5
19^th:       Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., 11 bass, 31-0
20^th:       Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 11 bass, 30-11

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 265 bass weighing 744 pounds, 5 ounces caught by the 40 pros on Monday.

Fukae also earned Monday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with a 7-pound, 5-ounce largemouth that bit on a Ned Rig in Period 1. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler who weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.

The MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four at Lake Chickamauga Presented by ATG by Wrangler is hosted by Fish Dayton and the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council.

The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Friday and Sunday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Saturday and Monday. With both groups two-day qualifying round now complete, the anglers that finish in 2^nd through 20^th place from both groups now advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round, while the the winner of each group advances directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 38 anglers compete to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins.

Anglers will take off from the Dayton Boat Dock, located at 175 Lakeshore St., in Dayton, at 6:30 a.m. ET each day of competition. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will also be held at the Dayton Boat Dock, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all six days of competition from 6:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

by AnglersChannel

Soukup adds another NPFL Trophy to the case with the win on the Harris Chain of Lakes.

By Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons and Rob Connors

John Soukup added 22-pounds, 10-ounces to his total for his second win in just three events in the inaugural season on the National Professional Fishing League. With a total of 61-pounds, 15-ounces, Soukup increased his weight all three days of the tourney and dominated on Showdown Saturday.

“One thing people don’t know about me; I spent the last 13 years on a grass lake flipping like 4 days a week. This week I practiced offshore but I could never make it happen. By default, I went to the bank and it turns out the big ones like big weights.”

Big bass do like big weights and Soukup’s 7-pound, 6-ounce lunker anchored his second 20-pound bag in a row. Like other, Soukup employed a reaction style bite in the morning opting for a chatterbait to catch his fish. Once the sun came up, Soukup would pull out the big stick and go to work.

“I used my electronics to be my eyes under the water. I was punching a 1.5-ounce weight with a Big Bite Baits BFE Creature and a Trick Stick and a ¾-ounce weight to hit the edges of the Kissimmee grass. I was using 25-pound Sunline Meter fluorocarbon and the big fish just stop it, there is no bite. On Day two, I did catch two key fish and I tried the frog today for a little bit but I went back to the Denali 7’ 8” Denali In 3 Series XH Flipping stick.”

With two wins now on the NPFL trail, Soukup proves he can win under any conditions. Utilizing his electronics helped seal his victory on Lake Eufaula and now this Florida win will keep Soukup within the top five in the Progressive AOY Standings with just three events remaining.

“I was fishing around guys in Big Harris all week and the key to getting the bigger bites flipping was understanding the fish and bait. When it was calm, you have to have needlefish and bluegills. If there was some chop, you had to be in an area with balls of shad. That’s where the electronics came in as I could see the bait fish. Every day I fished new water and rotated some of the better stretches.

I want to thanks The Bass Tank, XPress boats, Yamaha, Denali Rods, Sunline, Big Bite Baits, Spro, Gamkatsu Hooks, and Daiwa Reels and all of my sponsors.”

Jake Boomer

Jake Boomer began the day as the leader on the Harris Chain with 40-pounds, 7-ounces. With his limit of 13-pounds, 12-ounces, Boomer rotated between offshore and shallow bites to finish in 2nd place with a total of 54-pounds, 3-ounces.

Keith Carson

Starting the day in the 10th spot, Keith Carson added 16-pounds, 15-ounces to his total for a three-day total of 50-pounds, 4-ounces. Carson worked the shallows of the Harris Chain combining a flipping bite and topwater bite to finish in 3rd place.

“My plan coming into this event was to fish Kissimmee grass like a lot of guys but the wind blew and they just didn’t bite. I ended up leaving to find some calmer water and went to catch 12-pounds and survive and cut a check.”

Fishing pockets and creeks on the South end of Lake Harris, Carson mixed between flipping a Berkley Creature Hog and buzzing a Berkly Wind Up across shallow grass to catch his fish.

“That worm is kind of something different and it really fired them up. It’s a reaction bite compares to slower topwater baits and they have only a second to decide if they want to bite or not – they smash it. I had about 40 bites a day but only hooked 10 to 12 bass.”

With a low catch ratio comes lots of swings and misses. Carson will take it as his goal of 15-pounds a day this week tuned into almost 19-pounds on day one, 14.5-pounds on day two, and almost 17-pounds on day three.

“I kept rotating creeks every day and covering water. I was throwing that worm on a 7’ 6” Abu Garcia Fantasista with a high speed Revo Premier reel spooled with 40-pound Berkley X5 braid. It’s absolutely huge to have a top ten finish before headed to the Texas and Lake Lay Roberts to fish the Bassmaster Classic.”

Bryant Smith

With his lowest weight of the week, Bryan Smith caught 13-pounds, 6-ounces on the final day to finish the event in 4th place with a total weight of 5-pounds, 4-ounces. Utilizing a mix of techniques, Smith capitalized on his bites and fished his strengths this week for a top five finish.

“I fished the same area today and first thing this morning I got fortunate to pull up to fish busting shad. I picked up a Strike King swim jig and went to work around that Kissimmee grass. I caught 3 keepers quick and one good one.”

When the bite died, it was back to business with the crankbait. Smith spent all three days starting his morning covering water with a Strike King 1.5 squarebill crankbait. Targeting hard targets shallow, the Roseville, California pro would get a solid limit before getting back to the flipping bite.

“I was basically fishing docks, walls, and cypress trees with that crankbait and it was frustrating as you had to make multiple casts. Every now and then you could get one to get it but it was great to have that to start each day. I was able to finish my limit this morning on the crankbait but the flipping bite totally died on me.”

Smith opted to spend his event in Harris fishing shallow after the offshore bite yielded lots of small fish in practice.

“I do similar stuff on Clear Lake back home and I am just very comfortable with it. I tried fishing offshore but after catching only small fish, I opted to stay shallow all week. For the squarebill, I went with a bigger rod this week – a Dobyns Champion 764CB with 15-pound fluorocarbon. We are in the land of the giants and I wanted to have as much control over the bigger fish and that longer rod allowed me to do it.”

Nick Prvonozac

For the Progressive AOY Leader Nick Prvonozac, the first two days of competition will be easy to forget about. Weighing in bags of 14-pounds, 2-ounces and 13-pounds, 2-ounces, Prvonzac smashed 21-pounds, 12-ounces on the final day to finish the event in 5th place.

“The first day, I had 14-pounds but I lost two big ones and easily could have had 19-pounds. Day two, I fished the day stuff but I got in a bad rotation. I spoke to some other anglers who were fishing some of the same areas and it seems like they caught them before I got there.”

Third time is a charm, right? The Warren, Ohio pro kept his cool and went back to work on day three in a big way. Starting shallow with a chatterbait to begin each day, when the sun came up around 11AM, Prvonozac got to flipping and broke 20-pounds for the first time this week.

“Today, I did the exact same thing, same rotation, and I didn’t lose any fish. I stayed in Harris all week and was using the chatterbait and flipping a Yum Christie Craw. Today I had a 6-pounder, a 5-pounder, and another one that was around 4-pounds.”

With AOY on his mind, Prvonozac set a goal before the event and rallied in a big way to take some of the pressure off. After landing in the 20’s on the leaderboard after the first couple days, a big Showdown Saturday was an answered prayer.

“I was thinking about AOY for sure. I just wanted to stay within check range and not bomb. If you finish in the 50’s or 60’s against these guys, there is no way. I was thinking before the season that the top 20 in each event would probably get it done. This week, I prayed a lot and the lord blessed me. I am headed to Pickwick after the event and I’ll get to work again. I have a little history fishing offshore there and I am looking forward to it.”

David Gaston

David Gaston began the day in second place and adds 8-pounds, 5-ounces today for a three-day total of 48-pounds, 7-ounces to finish in 6th place. Although today was the slowest of all three days , Gaston is happy how the week played out.

“I was making the trip to Lake Griffen all week and it was about an hour. I scrapped my practice and went shallow to throw a frog. The first two days I had some chop on the water and those big fish just ate it. Today, I had one big bite and lost it, and ended with 5 rats. I anticipated a breeze today and when I got down there it didn’t blow at all. I am happy to finish where I did after practice.”

See the Full Leaderboard, here.

Best of the Rest:

7th Dale Prinkey 47-Pounds, 9-Ounces

8th Robby Frazier 47-Pounds, 9-Ounces

9th Bryan Tyler 47-Pounds, 6-Ounces

10th Joel Willert 46-Pounds, 11-Ounces

by AnglersChannel

Grimm Earns Win at 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented By T-H Marine All-American Championship

ANDRIDGE, Tenn. (June 5, 2021) – Fishing in his first All-American Championship, boater Brant Grimm of Church Hill, Tennessee, won the 38th annual Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine All-American at Douglas Lake presented by TINCUP after bringing five bass weighing 14 pounds, 4 ounces to the scale Saturday. Grimm’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 46-9 bested second-place boater Leslie Brandenburg of Springfield, Missouri, by 1 pound, 15 ounces. Grimm took home $100,000 for his victory and earned a spot in the 2021 Toyota Series Championship on Pickwick Lake, Oct. 28-30.

“I’m usually a really talkative person, but today at noon I hadn’t said more than three words,” Grimm said after earning the victory. “It was kind of tough, today. I only managed seven keeper bites. But thankfully they were the right ones and it all worked out.

“It really hasn’t sunk in for me, yet,” Grimm continued. “It’s a lot of money. I’ll probably do something boring with it – stick it into a retirement account or buy a rental property or something like that. I’m not going to go buy a yacht, or anything like that.”

Grimm said he caught his fish this week fishing a narrow section below the Nolichucky River, targeting offshore river drops where the fish gang up with a shad-colored Strike King 6XD crankbait.

“I love fishing shallow – I consider myself a shallow-water angler. But I fished shallow here for two weeks prior to the off-limits period and I couldn’t catch anything more than 3 pounds. I didn’t feel like I could win on the bank, so I committed my time offshore.”

Grimm considers Douglas Lake and Cherokee Lake his home waters, and when asked if he had any aspirations of moving up to the Toyota Series or Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit, he said he’s happy to stay around home.

“I fished the (FLW) Tour one year – I’ve been there, done that,” Grimm said. “I don’t know that I’m good enough to compete. I’m not on that level. I’m good around here on a couple of lakes, and I’m going to stay here on these couple of lakes and just keep trying to catch them.”

With his victory, Grimm now automatically earns entry into the 2021 Toyota Series Championship on Pickwick Lake in October.

“I’ll definitely be giving that tournament my all, and I’ll prepare for that event just like I did this one. Hopefully that one will work out just as well.”

The top 10 boaters on Douglas Lake finished:

1st: Brant Grimm, Church Hill, Tenn., 15 bass, 46-9, $100,000
2nd: Leslie Brandenburg, Springfield, Mo., 15 bass, 44-10, $20,000
3rd: Cody Hoyle, Rutherfordton, N.C., 15 bass, 43-6, $15,000
4th: Blake Tomlin, Greenville, Ga., 15 bass, 40-8, $14,000
5th: Chris Baldwin, Lexington, N.C., 15 bass, 40-1, $13,000
6th: Chris Nelson, Social Circle, Ga., 15 bass, 39-15, $12,000
7th: Roger Fitzpatrick, Eldon, Mo., 15 bass, 39-11, $11,000
8th: Harmon Davis, Marlow, Okla., 15 bass, 38-14, $10,000
9th: Dale Pelfrey, Rockwood, Tenn., 15 bass, 37-10, $9,700
10th: Austin Culbertson, Moberly, Mo., 15 bass, 35-13, $8,000

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 50 bass weighing 121 pounds, 10 ounces, caught by the final 10 boaters Saturday. All of the final 10 boaters brought a five-bass limit to the scales.

Daniel Buswell Jr. of Fayetteville, Georgia, won the Strike King Co-angler Division at the All-American Championship and $50,000 Saturday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 34 pounds, 2 ounces. Rod MacKinnon III of Middletown, New York, finished in second place with 14 bass weighing 31-3, good for $10,000.

Buswell became the first co-angler to ever win the All-American Championship twice – he previously won the title in 2013 on Nickajack Lake in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The final 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st: Daniel Buswell Jr., Fayetteville, Ga., 15 bass, 34-2, $50,000
2nd: Rod MacKinnon III, Middletown, N.Y., 14 bass, 31-3, $10,000
3rd: Rex Henry, Knoxville, Tenn., 12 bass, 30-7, $6,000
4th: Melinda Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., 14 bass, 30-6, $5,000
5th: James Jarvis, West Frankfort, Ill., 15 bass, 29-4, $4,700
6th: Chase Fitzpatrick, Eldon, Mo., 15 bass, 29-2, $4,000
7th: Andrew Starnes, Chapin, S.C., 15 bass, 28-15, $3,500
8th: Dustin Elrod, Jasper, Ga.., 14 bass, 26-9, $3,000
9th: Travis Garrett, Little Rock, Ark., 13 bass, 25-14, $2,500
10th: Ken Coats, Greenup, Ill., 13 bass, 24-14, $2,000

Overall, there were 46 bass weighing 76 pounds, 1 ounce, caught by the final 10 Strike King co-anglers Saturday. The catch included five five-bass limits.

In addition to the cash payouts, the highest-finishing boater and Strike King co-angler from each of the seven Regional Championships (including the Wild Card) and the TBF National Championship at the All-American will advance to the 2021 Toyota Series Championship on Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee, Oct. 28-30, for a shot at winning $235,000 and $33,500, respectively.

The eight boaters and Strike King co-anglers that now advance to the 2021 Toyota Series Championship on Pickwick Lake are:

Region 1 (Lake Chickamauga) Boater Champion: Blake Tomlin, Greenville, Ga.
Region 2 (James River) Boater Champion: Chris Baldwin, Lexington, N.C.
Region 3 (Mississippi River at La Crosse) Boater Champion: Leslie Brandenburg, Springfield, Mo.
Region 4 (Cherokee Lake) Boater Champion: Brant Grimm, Church Hill, Tenn.
Region 5 (Table Rock Lake) Boater Champion: Roger Fitzpatrick, Eldon, Mo.
Region 6 (Lake Lanier) Boater Champion: Cody Hoyle, Rutherfordton, N.C.
WildCard (Lake of the Ozarks) Boater Champion: Harmon Davis, Marlow, Okla.
TBF (Red River) Boater Champion: Jason Crone, Kalispell, Mont.

Region 1 (Lake Chickamauga) Strike King Co-angler Champion: Allen Neal, Whitley City, Ky.
Region 2 (James River) Strike King Co-angler Champion: Rod MacKinnon III, Middletown, N.Y.
Region 3 (Mississippi River at La Crosse) Strike King Co-angler Champion: James Jarvis, W. Frankfort, Ill.
Region 4 (Cherokee Lake) Strike King Co-angler Champion: Daniel Buswell Jr., Fayetteville, Ga.
Region 5 (Table Rock Lake) Strike King Co-angler Champion: Melinda Hays, Hot Springs, Ark.
Region 6 (Lake Lanier) Strike King Co-angler Champion: Dustin Elrod, Jasper, Ga.
WildCard (Lake of the Ozarks) Strike King Co-angler Champion: Chris Gebhardt, Columbia, Mo.
TBF (Red River) Strike King Co-angler Champion: Matt Felty, Sykesville, Md.

The 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine All-American at Douglas Lake Presented by TINCUP was hosted by Visit Jefferson County TN. The event featured a field of the top 49 boaters and 49 Strike King co-anglers from across the 24-division Bass Fishing League and The Bass Federation, all competing for a grand prize of up to $120,000 in the boater division, including the lucrative $20,000 Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus contingency award, and $50,000 in the Strike King co-angler division.

Television coverage of the 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine All-American at Douglas Lake Presented by TINCUP will premiere on the Sportsman Channel Sept. 29, 2021, and on the Outdoor Channel on Oct. 3, 2021.

For complete details and updated information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter , Instagram and YouTube.

by AnglersChannel

Edwin Evers Paces Group B at Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four at Lake Chickamauga

Oklahoma Angler Catches 22 Bass Weighing 72 Pounds, 14 Ounces to Pace Group B, Group A Qualifying Round to Wrap Up Sunday

Link to Photo of Qualifying Group B Leader Edwin Evers
Link to Photo Gallery of Fish Catch Highlights from Day 1 at Lake Chickamauga, Qualifying Group B

DAYTON, Tenn. (June 5, 2021) – General Tire pro Edwin Evers of Talala, Oklahoma, caught 22 largemouth bass Saturday totaling 72 pounds, 14 ounces, to jump out to the early lead for Group B’s Day 1 Qualifying Round at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four Presented by ATG by Wrangler at Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. Evers will bring an 18-pound, 3-ounce lead over second-place pro Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, who boated 22 bass worth 56-11.

The 40 anglers in Group B will have the day off on Sunday, while the 40 anglers in Group A will complete their two-day Qualifying Round of competition. Group B will conclude their Qualifying Round on Monday. The six-day event, hosted by Fish Dayton and the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council, features 80 of the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.

“Man, what a day. I just love offshore fishing,” said Evers, who finished in seventh place when the Bass Pro Tour last visited Lake Chickamauga in 2019. “I just kept bouncing around and covering water. We worked hard, today, and it worked out good. I’m not married to one particular spot. I feel like there are fish everywhere and they are constantly moving, so you just have to keep moving around until you find a school that’s active.”

Evers caught all of his bass offshore, between 14 and 20 feet of water. He credited his Lowrance electronics as being the key to his success, and said he caught his fish on two baits.

“The two main baits for me today were a (Berkley) Dredger 20.5 crankbait - I threw it on a 7-foot, 6-inc Bass Pro Shops Mag-Heavy Cranking rod with a 6:8:1 (Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris) Platinum (Signature) reel with 12-pound Bass Pro fluorocarbon line and just really blistered them on that,” Evers said. “A lot of fish this morning came on a 7-inch (Berkley PowerBait) MaxScent Hit Worm. I fished it on a Profound Outdoors Stand Up head, on a 7-foot, 3-inch, heavy-action (Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris) CarbonLite rod with a high-speed reel.

“I’m super excited about my start today. I just need to do it one more day, catch all that I can catch and put them on that SCORETRACKER. I’m looking forward to getting back out here on Monday,” Evers went on to say.

Also having a great day on the water Saturday was bass-fishing superstar Kevin VanDam, who had his best day of the season so far weighing in 56 pounds, 11 ounces to end the day in second place.

“For the kind of year that I’ve had up to now, it was a pretty solid day,” VanDam said. “I’ve had some really close calls this season – I’ve missed two cuts that I should have been in. This sport is all about decision-making, so it feels good to have a good start to this one. I’m going to try to not blow this opportunity.

“This tournament is setting up to be an incredible event. I think it’s going to be a really, really fun week. If you’re a fan of professional bass fishing, you’re going to see some fireworks at Lake Chickamauga this week. These fish are just coming out to the right areas, and it’s going to be a shootout come Championship Wednesday. I just hope I can make it there, because if I do, I will have a good chance,” VanDam said.

The top 20 pros in Group B after Day 1 on Lake Chickamauga are:

1st: Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 23 bass, 74-14
2nd: Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 22 bass, 56-11
3rd: Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 15 bass, 53-14
4th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Ark., 15 bass, 41-10
5th: Shin Fukae, Osaka, Japan, 13 bass, 34-12
6th: Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., 11 bass, 32-14
7th: Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., 11 bass, 31-8
8th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 12 bass, 29-7
9th: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 11 bass, 27-3
10th: Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., nine bass, 26-7
11th: Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., eight bass, 23-2
12th: Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, seven bass, 20-3
13th: Jeff Kriet, Ardmore, Okla., seven bass, 19-14
14th: Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 17-8
15th: Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, six bass, 17-7
16th: Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, six bass, 16-15
17th: Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, five bass, 16-5
18th: Brandon Coulter, Knoxville, Tenn., six bass, 14-3
19th: Cody Meyer, Star, Idaho, six bass, 13-15
20th: Shaw Grigsby, Gainesville, Fla., four bass, 13-15

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 264 bass weighing 745 pounds, 11 ounces caught by the 40 pros on Saturday.

Evers won Saturday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing in an 8-pound, 9-ounce largemouth on the Berkley Dredger crankbait during Period 1. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler who weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.

The MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four at Lake Chickamauga Presented by ATG by Wrangler is hosted by Fish Dayton and the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council.

The 40 Anglers in Group A compete in their two-day qualifying round on Lake Chickamauga on Friday and Sunday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Saturday and Monday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers that finish in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 38 anglers compete to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

by AnglersChannel

Russ Lane Dominates Opening Day at Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four at Lake Chickamauga

Alabama Pro Leads with 23 Bass Weighing 70 Pounds, 12 Ounces After Day 1 of Qualifying Round Group A– Group B to Compete Saturday

Link to Photo of Qualifying Group A Leader Russ Lane
Link to Photo Gallery of Fish Catch Highlights from Day 1 at Lake Chickamauga, Qualifying Group A

DAYTON, Tenn. (June 4, 2021) – It was the best opening day of the season at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four Presented by ATG by Wrangler at Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. The 40 pros in Group A caught a single-day total of 271 bass weighing 806 pounds, 10 ounces, Thursday – the heaviest weight caught on any Day 1 so far this season.

B&W Trailer Hitches pro Russ Lane of Prattville, Alabama, was firmly in control of the Group A leaderboard after Day 1 concluded, catching 23 bass totaling 70 pounds,12 ounces, to grab the early lead in the two-day Group A Qualifying Round. The six-day event, hosted by Fish Dayton and the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council, features 80 of the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.

Lane will bring a 21-pound, 6-ounce, lead into Sunday’s second day of competition for Group A. Berkley pro Jordan Lee of Cullman, Alabama, the reigning Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year (AOY), caught 13 bass weighing 49-6 to end the day in second place. Michie, Tennessee’s Jason Lambert sits in third place after a 34-pound third period rally, just 1-ounce behind Lee with at total of 17 bass weighing 49-5.

The 40 anglers in Group A will now enjoy a day off Saturday, while the 40 anglers in Group B will begin their first day of competition. Group A resumes competition on Sunday.

“Man, what a day,” said Lane in his post-game interview from the water. “It is so much fun out here when things go right, and they really did today. I’ve got around a 20-pound lead and that is rare territory for me. I’m just enjoying the moment right now and I cannot wait to get back out here again for Day 2.”

Lane said that he mainly targeted Chickamauga’s offshore hydrilla beds and grass flats.

“I’m around them. There are a lot of good ones under the hydrilla, I just have to cover a lot of water,” Lane continued. “I caught them on a ¾-ounce ChatterBait with a little Big Bite (Baits) (Kamikaze) Swimon trailer with the tails cut down to make it have a little less action so the bait would get down deeper. I had 16-pound-test Sunline Sniper line spooled on a 7:1 (Shimano) Curado reel, and that setup has been doing some work today.”

Reigning AOY Jordan Lee has struggled so far this season and has not made it out of the Qualifying Rounds. But, after a productive day Thursday, it looks like the 30-year-old Alabamian may have broken out of his slump.

“It was a really good day for me,” Lee said. “I made some good decisions and things were just going right for me this morning. I haven’t made a cut yet this year, so to get off to a good start today feels really good.

“I caught some nice ones early and then just kept the ball rolling, picking up a few here and there all day. I mixed in a lot of different summertime, Tennessee River, ledge baits – cranking, a hair jig, and a Berkley (Havoc) Bottom Hopper. These fish here get a lot of pressure, so it was important to get off to a good start. Now, we’ll regroup and get after them again on Sunday.”

The top 20 pros in Group A after Day 1 on Lake Chickamauga are:

1st: Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala., 23 bass, 70-12
2nd: Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., 13 bass, 49-6
3rd: Jason Lambert, Michie, Tenn., 17 bass, 49-5
4th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 17 bass, 44-8
5th: Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., 11 bass, 38-14
6th: Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., eight bass, 31-11
7th: Matt Lee, Cullman, Ala., 10 bass, 29-12
8th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., nine bass, 27-5
9th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., eight bass, 26-2
10th: Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, nine bass, 23-5
11th: Roy Hawk, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., eight bass, 22-13
12th: Cliff Pace, Petal, Miss., eight bass, 21-10
13th: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., seven bass, 21-4
14th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., eight bass, 20-8
15th: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., seven bass, 20-4
16th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., five bass, 20-4
17th: Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., seven bass, 19-5
18th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., six bass, 19-4
19th: Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., five bass, 18-13
20th: Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., seven bass, 18-12

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Oklahoma, won Friday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing in an 8-pound, 7-ounce largemouth on a Carolina rig during Period 1. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler who weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.

The MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four at Lake Chickamauga Presented by ATG by Wrangler is hosted by Fish Dayton and the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council.

by AnglersChannel

Grimm Moves into Lead at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented By T-H Marine All-American at Douglas Lake

Choo Choo Division Boater Takes 3-Ounce Lead into Final Day, Arkansas’ Melinda Hays Leads Co-angler Division – Looking to Become First Female All-American Champion

Photo of Day Two Leader Brant Grimm

DANDRIDGE, Tenn. (June 4, 2021) – Forty-nine of the best weekend boaters and Strike King co-anglers from across the country continued their three-day competition Friday in Dandridge, Tennessee, for a top prize of $120,000 at the 38th annual Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine All-American at Douglas Lake presented by TINCUP.

After starting the day in ninth place, Church Hill, Tennessee, boater Brant Grimm weighed a 19-pound, 1-ounce limit – the largest limit so far in the event – to vault to the top of the leaderboard with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 32 pounds, 5 ounces. Day 1 leader, Leslie Brandenburg of Springfield, Missouri, fell to second place with a limit of bass weighing 13-12, good for a two-day total of 32-2.

The field is now cut to just the top 10 boaters and co-anglers as they prepare to head out Saturday for the third and final day of competition.

“My game plan today was the exact same as yesterday – deep cranking,” said Grimm, who lives just over an hour away from Douglas Lake. “I’ve fished this lake my whole life. I fished the exact same stuff (as yesterday). My fish bit a little better today than they did yesterday, and we had a great day.

“I caught a lot of fish, but I never could cull,” Grimm continued. “I caught most of my weight pretty early, then I just kept catching 3-pounders and couldn’t cull.”

Grimm said that he hit several holes, deep-cranking a Strike King 6XD. He said that he wasn’t really running a rotation of spots, but rather running whatever he could get to. With only 10 competitors on the water tomorrow, the prime areas should be a bit more open going forth.

“The community holes are definitely at play, but I had a couple of places that were a little sneakier than average,” Grimm said.

With just a 3-ounce cushion separating Grimm from the pack, Grimm plans to stick to his game plan and hopes he can earn the biggest victory of his career tomorrow.

“I’m ready. I’m ready to go. We could go right now,” Grimm said. “I am very excited – I’ve been waiting for this event for a long time. I haven’t been able to sleep for months. But I’m going to sleep well tonight. I’m ready to go get them.”

The top 10 boaters advancing to the final day of competition on Douglas Lake are:

1st: Brant Grimm, Church Hill, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-5
2nd: Leslie Brandenburg, Springfield, Mo., 10 bass, 32-2
3rd: Blake Tomlin, Greenville, Ga., 10 bass, 31-1
4th: Cody Hoyle, Rutherfordton, N.C., 10 bass, 29-7
5th: Roger Fitzpatrick, Eldon, Mo., 10 bass, 27-10
6th: Austin Culbertson, Moberly, Mo., 10 bass, 26-13
7th: Chris Baldwin, Lexington, N.C., 10 bass, 26-12
8th: Chris Nelson, Social Circle, Ga., 10 bass, 26-12
9th: Harmon Davis, Marlow, Okla., 10 bass, 26-11
10th: Dale Pelfrey, Rockwood, Tenn., 10 bass, 25-14

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 235 bass weighing 524 pounds, 6 ounces, caught by 49 boaters Friday. The catch included 41 five-bass limits.

Melinda Hays of Hot Springs, Arkansas, leads the Strike King Co-angler Division with 10 bass weighing 23 pounds, 14 ounces, followed by Daniel Buswell Jr. of Fayetteville, Georgia, in second place with 10 bass weighing 23 pounds, 6 ounces. If victorious tomorrow, Hays would become the first female angler to ever win the All-American Championship.

The final 10 Strike King co-anglers are:

1st: Melinda Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 23-14
2nd: Daniel Buswell Jr., Fayetteville, Ga., 10 bass, 23-6
3rd: Rex Henry, Knoxville, Tenn., 10 bass, 23-0
4th: Rod MacKinnon III, Middletown, N.Y., nine bass, 22-14
5th: Chase Fitzpatrick, Eldon, Mo., 10 bass, 22-0
6th: Travis Garrett, Little Rock, Ark., 10 bass, 21-10
7th: James Jarvis, West Frankfort, Ill., 10 bass, 20-11
8th: Ken Coats, Greenup, Ill., 10 bass, 19-11
9th: Andrew Starnes, Chapin, S.C., 10 bass, 19-2
10th: Dustin Elrod, Jasper, Ga.., 10 bass, 18-7

Overall, there were 192 bass weighing 356 pounds, 10 ounces, caught by 48 Strike King co-anglers Friday. The catch included 27 five-bass limits.

The final 10 All-American boaters and Strike King co-anglers will take off from the Dandridge Boat Dock, located at 100 Public Drive in Dandridge, at 7 a.m. ET Saturday. Saturday’s final Championship Weigh-in will also be held at the dock at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend or follow the event online through daily coverage, live blogs and photos at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine All-American at Douglas Lake Presented by TINCUP is hosted by Visit Jefferson County TN.

Live weigh-in coverage will be streamed daily on MajorLeagueFishing.com. Television coverage of the 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine All-American at Douglas Lake Presented by TINCUP will premiere on the Sportsman Channel Sept. 29, 2021, and on the Outdoor Channel on Oct. 3, 2021.

The 2021 All-American features field of the top 49 boaters and 49 Strike King co-anglers from across the 24-division Bass Fishing League and The Bass Federation, all competing for a grand prize of up to $120,000 in the boater division, including the lucrative $20,000 Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus contingency award, and $50,000 in the Strike King co-angler division.

Additionally, the highest-finishing boater and Strike King co-angler from each of the seven Regional Championships (including the Wild Card) and the TBF National Championship at the All-American will advance to the 2021 Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning $235,000 and $33,500, respectively.

The full field of anglers competed on Thursday and Friday, with only the top 10 boaters and top 10 co-anglers based on their two-day cumulative weight now continuing to Championship Saturday. The 2021 All-American champions will be determined by the heaviest three-day total weight.

by AnglersChannel

Missouri’s Brandenburg Leads Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented By T-H Marine All-American at Douglas Lake

DANDRIDGE, Tenn. (June 3, 2021) – Boater Leslie Brandenburg of Springfield, Missouri, grabbed the early lead Thursday at the 38th annual Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine All-American at Douglas Lake presented by TINCUP with a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 6 ounces. Behind Brandenburg in second place is Rutherfordton, North Carolina’s Cody Hoyle, who brought five bass to the scale good for 15 pounds, 11 ounces.

Brandenburg said that he spent the majority of the day fishing the upper end of the lake, in the river, flipping a jig to a countless number of bushes.

“I’ve only been here one other time – I was a co-angler, and we went up that river and I won a check that time,” said Brandenburg, who is fishing in his 18th career event as a boater in MLF competition. “Sometimes, it just works out and maybe it’s God’s plan. I hope. We’ll know tomorrow. You dang sure can’t win it the first day but you can lose it. Hopefully I can turn this good start into a Top 10.”

One advantage that Brandenburg has this week is his custom-designed boat, made for getting into places that others can’t.

“I brought a boat that I built. It’s an aluminum Xpress. It’s got a hydraulic jack plate, and I built it purposely to get to places where other people can’t go. It’s a rugged old boat and I’m not afraid to tear it up to go catch them,” Brandenburg said. “I’ve got a lot more places to fish, and I think I’ve got enough to carry me through.”

With sunnier conditions being forecast for Friday, Brandenburg is realistic about his chances of weighing in another big bag but said that he does like his chances in what could be a tough day of fishing.

“I don’t think I can have that kind of weight again, but I think I can have a good sack,” the Missouri boater went on to say. “I think I can weigh 12 pounds. If I get lucky and get a good fish or two, I really think I can come in with 12 or 13 pounds a day the next two days and I think I can [win] it.”

The top 10 boaters after day one on Douglas Lake are:

1st: Leslie Brandenburg, Springfield, Mo., five bass, 18-6
2nd: Cody Hoyle, Rutherfordton, N.C., five bass, 15-11
3rd: Blake Tomlin, Greenville, Ga., five bass, 15-7
3rd: Kyle Kitts, Joplin, Mo., five bass, 14-13
5th: Chris Baldwin, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 14-12
6th: Josh Butler, Hayden, Ala., five bass, 14-4
7th: Austin Culbertson, Moberly, Mo., five bass, 14-2
8th: Eric Olliverson, Lampe, Mo., five bass, 13-12
9th: Brant Grimm, Church Hill, Tenn., five bass, 13-4
10th: Harmon Davis, Marlow, Okla., five bass, 13-1

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 239 bass weighing 537 pounds, 12 ounces, caught by 49 boaters Thursday. The catch included 46 five-bass limits.

Rod MacKinnon III of Middletown, New York, leads the Co-angler Division with four bass weighing 13 pounds, 6 ounces, followed by Chase Fitzpatrick of Eldon, Missouri, in second place with five bass weighing 11 pounds, 8 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers are:

1st: Rod MacKinnon III, Middletown, N.Y., four bass, 13-6
2nd: Chase Fitzpatrick, Eldon, Mo., five bass, 11-8
3rd: Lenny Bays, Bethel Island, Calif., five bass, 11-6
4th: James Jarvis, Athens, Ga., five bass, 11-5
4th: Rex Henry, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 11-5
6th: Chris Gebhardt, Shelbyville, Ind., five bass, 10-13
7th: Dustin Elrod, Cushing, Okla., five bass, 10-9
8th: Ken Coats, Greenup, Ill., five bass, 10-7
9th: Travis Garrett, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 10-2
10th: Dax Liner, Eddyville, Ky., five bass, 9-13

Overall, there were 203 bass weighing 353 pounds, 9 ounces, caught by 49 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 28 five-bass limits.

All-American competitors will take off from the Dandridge Boat Dock, located at 100 Public Drive in Dandridge, at 7 a.m. ET each morning, June 3-5. Weigh-in will also be held at the dock at 3:30 p.m. daily. Fans are welcome to attend or follow the event online through daily coverage, live blogs and photos at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine All-American at Douglas Lake Presented by TINCUP is hosted by Visit Jefferson County TN.

Additionally, the highest-finishing boater and Strike King co-angler from each of seven Regional Championships (including the Wild Card) and the TBF National Championship at the All-American will advance to the 2021 Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning $235,000 and $33,500, respectively.

The full field of anglers compete on Thursday and Friday, with only the top 10 boaters and top 10 co-anglers based on cumulative weight from the first two days continuing to Championship Saturday. The 2021 All-American champions will be determined by the heaviest three-day total weight.

by AnglersChannel

Lake Hamilton Selected to Host 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American Championship

39^th Annual Grassroots Bass-Fishing Championship to be held in Hot Springs for Record Sixth Time

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (June 3, 2021) – Major League Fishing, the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, announced Thursday that the 39^th annual Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American will be held on Arkansas’ Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 2022. The tournament, scheduled for June 2-4, 2022, will showcase the nation’s best weekend anglers and award the winner up to $120,000 cash.

The three-day, no-entry-fee-championship hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs is the sixth All-American to be held in Hot Springs – a record for the most times a city has hosted the event. It will provide an estimated $1 million economic impact to the region.

“The entire Hot Springs community is proud to have been selected as the host city for the 39th annual Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American in 2022,” said Steve Arrison, Visit Hot Springs CEO. “Hot Springs loves pro fishing and bringing the tournament back to Lake Hamilton for the fifth time is a real testament to our city’s ability to make the anglers feel welcome, while also providing the opportunity for them to have a great time on and off the water.

“Aside from the million-dollar economic impact that the All-American will bring to the city, the people of Hot Springs are simply great fans of the excitement that the event brings to town. We love the weigh-ins and the entertainment that surrounds the tournament and participants – we can’t wait to host the event again in 2022.”

The championship was previously held on Lake Hamilton in 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2008 and on DeGray Lake, also in the region, in 2010.

“We are thrilled to bring the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American back to Lake Hamilton,” said Kathy Fennel, MLF executive vice president and general manager. “We’ve had great success hosting tournaments in Hot Springs over the years and the community excitement coupled with the competitive fishery has made bringing our All-American championship there an obvious choice.”

As the nation’s leading provider of affordable, close-to-home weekend tournaments, the Phoenix Bass Fishing League is widely credited with opening competitive bass fishing to the masses. It also serves as a steppingstone for anglers who wish to advance to the Toyota Series, Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour. Former All-American champions who currently compete on the Bass Pro Tour and the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit include Shaw Grigsby (1984), Stephen Browning (1996), Troy Morrow (2010), Jacob Wheeler (2011), Kerry Milner (2013), Jeremy Lawyer (2016) and Nick LeBrun (2018).

The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American.

The complete schedule and rules for the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine season will be announced this fall. The full schedule and rules will be posted online at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

by AnglersChannel

Toyota Tundra Giveaway Highlights 10th Anniversary Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners Tournament

Ridgedale, MO (June 3, 2021)- In celebration of the 10th year of the no-entry fee Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners Tournament, one lucky participating angler will win a new 2022 Toyota Tundra in a random drawing. This event will feature generous prizes and is set to take place October 23-24, 2021 at Table Rock Lake in Ridgedale, MO.

“As an angler myself, seeing the number of loyal participants grow consistently over the past nine years of this event has beenvery rewarding,” says Matt Ozawa, Engagement Marketing Manager, Toyota Motor North America. “And this year’s random drawing to give away a new 2022 Toyota Tundra to commemorate our 10th year, promises to add even more excitement to this fun-filled weekend in the Ozarks.”

The weekend kicks-off Saturday afternoon with a registration meeting at the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Shooting Academy where Team Toyota Pro Anglers will be on hand to greet guests and talk fishing tips and tricks of the trade. B.A.S.S. tournament staff will conduct the tournament and be onsite Saturday afternoon for angler registration, where participants will receive a generous amount of 10th Anniversary commemorative gear, along with a complimentary dinner.

Launch and weigh-in for Sunday’s competition will take place at Long Creek Marina on Table Rock Lake. The top 31 teams in the tournament are guaranteed a paycheck and a free gift bag will be given to the first 200 anglers to sign up for the team tournament.

Only one of the two team members must be currently registered in the Toyota Bonus Bucks Program to be eligible to compete in the 2021 Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners Tournament. (To be eligible to participate in the Toyota Bonus Bucks Program- participant must own or lease a 2017 or newer Toyota Tundra, Tacoma, Sequoia, or 4Runner).

Visit toyotafishing.com for more Program details. Bassmaster Elite Series, MLF Bass Pro Tour and Pro Circuit anglers are not eligible to participate in the Toyota Owners Tournament. Teams are required to pre-register by October 15, 2021. Participants are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible for this prize-rich event. Registration is limited to 300 teams.

To register, visit: https://ownersevent.toyotatrucksbonusbucks.com . If you have questions, or need assistance, contact the Toyota Bonus Bucks Headquarters via email: [email protected], or at (918) 742-6424.

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius hybrid and Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota and Lexus brands. Over the past 60 years, we’ve built more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

by AnglersChannel

Montevallo Claims Bass Pro Shops Collegiate School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia

SAN ANTONIO, TX (June 2, 2021) – The 2020-21 season out on the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series came to a historic end last week at Lake Murray in South Carolina. Following the conclusion of weigh-in at Dreher Island State Park last Thursday points totals were calculated, and the standings finalized for this season’s Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. The final standings revealed several shakeups to be one of the most dramatic reveals of the season as one new team leapt up into the Top 3 and Montevallo’s lead over 2nd place shrank to its slimmest margin in the past several months. When it was all said and done, Montevallo did just enough at Lake Murray to claim the school’s first-ever title as Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. Back-to-back defending winners McKendree University closed the margin to less than 300 points to finish the season in 2nd, and Adrian College leap-frogged Murray State to earn 3rd place honors. There were also several other moves inside the Top 25 national rankings which can be seen below.

View the complete standings.

“It was very exciting to see all the hard work finally pay off. This is my 6^th season at Montevallo and each year I felt that we were getting closer and closer of reaching that top spot in collegiate bass fishing,” said William Crawford, Head Fishing Coach at the University of Montevallo. “Being this is the first-ever title for the program or the University there has been a lot of excitement around our campus, community, state and even in the fishing community. I am amazed at the amount of support we have received since winning the title.”

Montevallo’s quest for its first-ever School of the Year title was not accomplished without a slight bit of drama. Following Day 1 of competition, the number one ranked team in the nation had two teams inside of the Top 10 and looked poised to build on its 1,000 plus point lead and run away with the title. James Willoughby & Chance Schwartz were in 5th place with 15.37 pounds, and fellow teammates Solomon Glenn & Ryan Thomas occupied 6th at 15.12 pounds.

Day 2 proved not to be as stress-free as Montevallo likely expected following a picture-perfect start on Day 1. ACA camera crew staff covered both the 5th and 6th place teams throughout the morning, and it quickly became evident that those two angler pairings were finding the conditions to be much more difficult. At weigh-in that afternoon, Montevallo’s confidence quickly began to shrink as several of the nation’s other top teams began to place teams inside of the Top 20 of the tournament standings and pushing Montevallo downward in the standings.

Willoughby & Schwartz zeroed on the final day of competition, dropping from 5th place after Day 1 all the way down to 66th overall. Montevallo’s other highest-placing team after Day 1 struggled immensely on the final day as well. The duo of Glenn & Thomas dropped from 6th overall down to 51st after weighing in just 2.75 pounds of bass on Day 2. In just a matter of 24 hours, Montevallo went from having a commanding seven-month run atop the standings, to possibly watching its title hopes to dwindle as college fishing powerhouse McKendree University lurked within striking distance on the final day.

The team that had Montevallo looking back over its shoulder on Day 2 had won the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia the past two years and was just over 1,000 points shy of first place. Upon the closing of the scales on the final day of competition, McKendree placed two teams inside of the Top 25 in the tournament standings earning valuable points in its quest toward claiming a third straight title. Nate Doty & Bailey Bleser finished in 12th with a two-day total of 26.18 pounds, and Trevor McKinney & Blake Jackson took 24th with 22.48 pounds.

McKendree earned a total of 2,320 points at the 2021 BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops. This point total was nearly 1,000 points higher than that of top-ranked Montevallo. However, the lead Montevallo built up over the past seven months proved to be too much to overcome as McKendree came up 250 points short of claiming a three-peat as School of the Year winners.

A season full of hard work, dedication, and proper scheduling paid off for the University of Montevallo as it claims its first-ever title as Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. For three to four seasons now, Montevallo has been building towards this moment. The team’s spring season has been chalked full of Top 10 finishes across the national stage, including two victories at ACA double points event.

“While the season wrapped up a bit closer than expected, I personally don’t think I’ve seen a school have such a good run as what Montevallo has had this season. The talent pool at the school runs deep as they had a large roster of anglers that all contributed to earning points all season long. Congratulations on a job well done on the water by this fine group of anglers,” said Wade Middleton, Director of Association of Collegiate Anglers.

“This is a group of guys that dedicates their heart and soul into the sport of bass fishing. This means a lot for us because this is something all of us dreamed of and strives for when we came to fish for Montevallo. Our coach, William Crawford, has put everything he has into trying to build the best team in the nation,” added Cal Culpepper, Montevallo angler. “His drive to bring guys in from all over the country is one of the reasons why we ended up on top. Our team is full of versatility. It’s always someone different at the top at every tournament, and you need that if you want to be the best team in the nation.”

A majority of the anglers on this current roster have been at Montevallo for three to four years now and have seen steady growth through that time. Last season ended in a runner-up finish, and the team’s goal entering the 2020-21 season was to cap this year off as the top-ranked team in the nation.

“It really means the world to all of us involved considering this has been one of our top goals, if not the top goal, for this organization for the past couple of years,” noted Adam Carroll, Montevallo angler. “Back when I first came to the University of Montevallo, we established this goal and it seemed pretty far fetched, but after we came so close last year, and have now won it, it just goes to show that with hard work, teamwork and great effort and determination that anything is possible.”

by AnglersChannel

AC Insider Podcast - Classic Countdown Beatdown!

This week Chris and the boys prepare for next weeks Bassmaster's Classic with the help of AU Fishing Team Member and Dallas native Michael Peinado to talk about his latest 5 fish limit on Ray Roberts & how it is setting up for the Super Bowl of Bass Fishing. The Circus also welcomes in All-American Angler Drew Boggs to talk about this weeks Grass Roots Championship on Douglas Lake!

by AnglersChannel

Douglas Lake Gears Up for 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine All-American

Total Event Payout of More Than $480,000 and Advancement to the 2021 Toyota Series Championship Await Nation’s Best Weekend Anglers

DANDRIDGE, Tenn. (June 1, 2021) – The best weekend anglers from across the nation will come together June 3-5 for the 38^th annual Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine All-American Presented by TINCUP on Douglas Lake in Dandridge, Tennessee. The three-day, no-entry-fee event – hosted by Visit Jefferson County TN – features a boater/co-angler format, with lucrative payouts and serves as a stepping-stone for anglers to advance to the 2021 Toyota Series Championship.

The 2021 All-American will feature a field of the top 49 boaters and 49 Strike King co-anglers from across the 24-division Bass Fishing League and The Bass Federation, all competing for a grand prize of up to $120,000 in the boater division, including a lucrative $20,000 Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus contingency award, and $50,000 in the Strike King co-angler division.

MLF pro Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tennessee, is no stranger to bringing home the hardware on Douglas Lake, with three major wins in Bassmaster Opens – the first win coming in 2014, followed by back-to-back wins in 2017 and 2018. DeFoe said he’s excited to watch anglers compete again on his favorite body of water in the country.

“I’m honestly jealous of these anglers, because I haven’t had the opportunity to fish in the All-American,” said DeFoe. “It’s the ultimate weekend angler championship. The payout is a huge draw but the prestige that goes with winning that event is something special. There’s only one All-American – if you say that name in the bass fishing world, people know what you’re talking about.”

DeFoe said there are a lot of fish to be caught on Douglas Lake, but finding larger fish is going to be the key.

“There are tons of 2-pounders, but 3-pounders seem to be more difficult to catch lately,” said DeFoe. “A few years ago on Douglas, 3-pounders didn’t really do you a lot of good in a tournament, but I think that’s what anglers should be targeting at the event. If they do that and can catch a 4-pounder or two per day, they’ll be doing really well.”

While storms and major fronts have rolled across the U.S. over the past week or so, DeFoe said he didn’t think that would significantly affect the fishery.

“It’s been in the 90s a lot up here, but a cold snap came through over the weekend, which probably knocked the surface temperature of the water back a couple degrees,” said DeFoe. “At this point the surface temperature should be in the 70s and that shouldn’t change fishing conditions too much.

“I expect deep cranking to be a major player this time of year, no question about that,” continued DeFoe. “We’ll probably see a lot of the Rapala DT Series crankbaits tied on – anything from the DT10 down to the DT20. Hollow-belly swimbaits rigged on jigheads will also be a big deal, as well as football jigs and big worms, drug around offshore.”

DeFoe said he expects it will take 45-50 pounds to win the three-day event, with anglers at the top of the leaderboard bringing in 15-17 pounds per day.

Live weigh-in coverage will be streamed daily on MajorLeagueFishing.com. Television coverage of the 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine All-American Presented by TINCUP will premiere on the Sportsman Channel Sept. 29, 2021, and on the Outdoor Channel on Oct. 3, 2021.

The 2021 All-American field of 49 boaters and 49 Strike King co-anglers is comprised of the top six boaters and co-anglers from each of the six Bass Fishing League Regional Championships held in 2020, along with the top six boaters and co-anglers from the 2020 Wild Card tournament. They are joined by the top boater and co-angler from each of the seven divisions at the 2021 TBF National Championship.

The full field of anglers will compete on Days One and Two of the event, with the top 10 boaters and top 10 Strike King co-anglers based on cumulative weight from the first two days continuing to the third and final day. The 2021 All-American champions will be determined by the heaviest three-day total weight.

by AnglersChannel

St. Lawrence Lands Bassmaster College National Championship

New York's scenic St. Lawrence River will host the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops August 12-14, 2021.

Photo by B.A.S.S.

May 28, 2021

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Just weeks after the world’s top professional anglers do battle for a Bassmaster Elite Series victory on the St. Lawrence River, the country’s best college teams will converge in Waddington, N.Y., for the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops, which will be held Aug. 12-14, 2021. Clarkson University and its Bass Fishing Team are the local hosts along with the St. Lawrence County Chamber and Village of Waddington.

The Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Championship will field as many as 130 teams of anglers representing colleges and universities across the nation. Qualifications are based on the teams’ finishes in four college tour stops as well as a Wild Card event being held throughout the country.

“We’re excited to work with these great partners to offer college anglers an incredible championship tournament experience,” said College Series Senior Manager Hank Weldon. “I am thrilled that we are able to get these young anglers up to New York to experience the extraordinary St. Lawrence River as well as the legendary hospitality of this community as they compete for a national title and chance to fish the Classic.”

Competitors will not only be fighting for a national championship but also a berth in the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk on South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell via the College Classic Bracket tournament.

The leading anglers in the Bassmaster College Series Team of the Year points standings will be determined after the four regular-season events. The Team of the Year will punch their ticket to the College Classic Bracket event, which will be held in September. The College Classic Bracket takes the Top 3 teams from the National Championship plus the Team of the Year, and individual anglers compete head-to-head in bracket-style competition for a berth in the Classic, where they will compete for a prize purse of over $1 million.

“Clarkson University and its Bass Fishing Team are thrilled to be hosting the Bassmaster collegiate national tournament on the St. Lawrence River and in St. Lawrence County,” said Kelly O. Chezum, Clarkson University Vice President for External Relations. “As New York reopens and with our St. Lawrence County Chamber partners welcoming collegiate anglers to the region, we will be paying tribute through the fan experience during the tournament to the volunteer first-responder community which has done so much for our region, state and country during the pandemic.”

B.A.S.S. has hosted 20 major events at this Upstate New York smallmouth paradise, which took the top spot in 2019 on Bassmaster Magazine’s Top 100 Best Bass Lakes list.

“Collegiate anglers and their families will have a great opportunity to experience New York’s Northern border on and off of the water during the peak of summer in St. Lawrence County,” said Brooke Rouse, St. Lawrence County Chamber Director of Tourism. “The River is internationally recognized and is surrounded by trails, museums, outdoor festivities and warm local charm.”

The Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops is being hosted by the Village of Waddington, St. Lawrence County Chamber and Clarkson University. This tournament is also supported by a Market New York grant from I LOVE NY/New York State’s Division of Tourism awarded as part of the Regional Economic Development Council initiative. The tournament and all associated festivities are being planned to ensure the safety of athletes, staff and guests.

by AnglersChannel

Major League Fishing Returns to Lake Chickamauga for Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four

Fourth Event of Bass Pro Tour Season to Showcase 80 Pro Anglers Competing on Lake Chickamauga Over Six Days for Top Prize of $100,000, Fans Encouraged to Attend and ‘Hangout’ at Chattanooga Bass Pro Shops

DAYTON, Tenn. (May 28, 2021) – Major League Fishing (MLF) is set to return to Lake Chickamauga and Dayton, Tennessee, next week, June 4-9, for the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four Presented by Wrangler at Lake Chickamauga.

The six-day event, hosted by Fish Dayton and the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council, will feature 80 of the best professional anglers in the world, including local favorites like Dayton’s Andy Morgan and Michael Neal, Spring City’s Wesley Strader and John Murray, and Harrison’s Jacob Wheeler, fishing for a purse of more than $805,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable points in hopes of qualifying for REDCREST 2022, the Bass Pro Tour championship.

As part of the event, fans will also be treated to the Stage Four Hangout at Bass Pro Shops in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Friday, June 4 from 4 to 7 p.m., and on Saturday, June 5 and Sunday, June 6 from Noon to 5 p.m. The free event includes the opportunity to interact with Bass Pro Tour anglers, enjoy activities and special fan-only giveaways provided by MLF sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities in fishing seminars. All activities are free and open to the public. For more information on the Stage Four Hangout hosted by Bass Pro Shops, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

“Rhea County is proud to host the top bass anglers in the world here on Lake Chickamauga, and we look forward to seeing the exciting Bass Pro Tour competition unfold. Our lakes are renowned for producing great largemouth bass, and we thank the TWRA for their stocking program that helped bring this about,” said Rhea County Executive George Thacker.

The tournament will be fished using MLF’s catch, weigh, immediate-release format, in which the anglers try to 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 the Discovery Channel.

When the MLF Bass Pro Tour last visited Lake Chickamauga in 2019, hometown favorite Andy Morgan boated 34 bass weighing 80 pounds even in the Championship Round to win by more than 19 pounds and claim the $100,000 top prize. Although Lake Chickamauga has played host to dozens of MLF BIG5 (previously FLW) tournaments over the years, 2021 will mark just the second time that the Bass Pro Tour has visited BassTown USA.

“This is going to be a fun event,” said Spring City’s Strader, who has more than $2 million in career earnings in MLF competition. “The lake has had a lot of pressure on it, but that’s pretty much everywhere because of COVID. But the numbers will still be really good – it should be a typical June offshore bite – and we’re still going to see some Chickamauga giants.”

Strader said the key to doing well will be having multiple different patterns in play.

“The key will be mixing things up,” Strader said. “I don’t think you’re going to be able to rely on one spot – you’ll need several areas. Bait selection and timing will be important, and also the water flow situation. If it rains a lot before the tournament or there is a lot of power usage, the water will be flowing and that would be good.

“I’ll definitely have a Zoom Superfluke on a scrounger head jig tied on,” Strader continued. “A Zoom Ol’ Monster worm, a crankbait like a (Strike King) 6XD, and maybe even a mid-depth PH Custom Lures Balsa Crankbait.”

Anglers will take off from the Dayton Boat Dock, located at 175 Lakeshore St., in Dayton, at 6:30 a.m. ET each day of competition. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will also be held at the Dayton Boat Dock, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four Presented by Wrangler at Lake Chickamauga will feature anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The four pros from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit that will join the Bass Pro Tour to compete at the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four Presented by Wrangler at Lake Chickamauga are Matt Becker, David Williams, Tai Au and Evan Barnes. Those anglers qualified via their finishes in the third Pro Circuit event of the year – the Googan Baits Stop 3 at Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina.

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

by AnglersChannel

Ish Monroe joins Next Gen Lithium Batteries Pro Staff

Peoria, Ariz. – May 28, 2021 – Competing in bass fishing tournaments requires a lot of power. Modern bass boats feature technological advancements from bow to stern. Every single one of those components, requires a tremendous amount of electrical current to operate efficiently. Having battery power that will run the accessories, and outlast the angler is a key, and being able to outwork a professional angler who makes his living on the pro circuits is not easy.

That reason is precisely why MLF Bass Pro Tour angler and winner of nine national tournament titles Ish Monroe has chosen to join the Next Gen Lithium Batteries pro staff. Monroe is running a pair of Next Gen Lithium’s 36-volt, 40 amp hour models rigged in parallel to give him an 80 amp hour system that powers his Lowrance Ghost trolling motor.

Monroe said that believing in his product is essential and that is why he chose to represent Next Gen Lithium Batteries. “I love the NextGen Lithium, their efficiency gives me the confidence to run two 36 volt batteries which gives me all the power I need, and more space in my Battery compartment,” Monroe said. “Next Gen Lithium batteries are lighter, which allows my boat to run faster and draft shallower to allow me to go further and fish shallower.

Monroe added that he can fish longer with confidence. “They also charge faster by design, which allows me to fish longer on practice days and still get a full charge. To top it all off, the owner of the company is a tournament fisherman, so he understands and knows what is needed when I am out there on the water; I couldn’t be happier to be working with Next Gen Lithium Batteries.”

Kevin Johnson, President of Next Gen Lithium Batteries explains what goes into the product. “We have the most advanced Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFe PO4) batteries on the market and we have learned how to keep anglers on the water longer, go further, be able to fish harder and go faster all while eliminating the excess weight of conventional batteries,” said Johnson. “We did all of this while striving to keep our prices affordable and still be able to offer and industry best 12-year warranty.”

Johnson also explained and why they chose Monroe to be their primary spokesman. “Ish has earned a reputation for fishing hard, and for getting himself on the podium, and to do that brings the demand of the best equipment on the market,” said Johnson. He also has a reputation of being one of the few professional anglers that works as hard for his sponsors as our batteries do for the angler, the combination of being a winner and his work ethic are why he is the perfect choice to run Next Gen Lithium Batteries, we are excited and proud to have Ish running our batteries.”

Find more information about Next Gen Lithium Batteries on their website, https://nextgenlithium.com/, on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/NextGenLithium and on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/nextgenlithium/ or contact the company directly for information or to become a dealer at 623-999-4460, [email protected].

About Next Gen Lithium Batteries - At Next Gen Lithium we strive to bring you the world’s best and safest lithium batteries and chargers for the marine, RV, off road and UTV customer. Made with the highest-level materials and workmanship, when you purchase from Next Gen Lithium or any of our authorized dealers if you are not happy within 30 days of your purchase feel free to return your batteries for a refund. Next Gen Lithium offers the industry’s best 12-year warranty that is easy to activate. We strive to show everyone the Next Gen way and lead with our customer service, we want everyone to be happy and we go the extra mile to deliver!

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