COUNCE, Tenn. (April 30, 2025) – The next Major League Fishing (MLF) Tackle Warehouse Invitational event of the 2025 season is set to take place in Counce, Tennessee, next week, May 9-11, at Pickwick Lake – the Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 4 Presented by E3 Sports Apparel.

The three-day tournament, hosted by Explore Pickwick Lake/Hardin County Tourism, will feature professional bass anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000. Anglers will take to the water to catch their five biggest bass each day, and the winner will be determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative total.

“Once again, we are grateful to welcome Major League Fishing to Pickwick Lake and for their continued partnership”, said Beth Pippin, Executive Director for Hardin County Tourism. “Pickwick Lake in West Tennessee is on the Bill Dance Signature Lake trail offering world-class fishing where three states meet. We look forward to welcoming the anglers, staff, sponsors, and fans and allowing us to showcase our side of this beautiful lake, and in return bringing us a vast economic impact.”

Former Pickwick Lake champion Jon Canada of Helena, Alabama, is excited to return to the site of his 2022 victory and looking to reclaim his dominance on one of the Tennessee River’s most dynamic spring fisheries. He’ll be competing against Pickwick Lake standouts like Bass Pro Tour phenoms Drew Gill and Jake Lawrence, brothers Carter and Dylan Nutt – the Tennessee River aces who compete collegiately for the University of North Alabama – and a returning Jason Lambert, who recently retired from pro-level competition but couldn’t resist the allure of big-time competition on his home fishery.

“It’s shaping up to be one of those tournaments where you could see it all,” said Canada. “With the weather we’ve had – it hit 89 or 90 degrees this week – everything’s happening fast. Guys are going to be catching fish off the shad spawn, some guarding fry, postspawners, and there may even be a few pre-spawn stragglers pulling up.”

Unlike his 2022 win, when grass played a key role, Canada doesn’t expect vegetation to be a factor this time around.

“The lake had a lot more grass back then. This year, I’ve looked around and haven’t seen any,” he said. “They’ve been managing it pretty aggressively, and it’s basically gone.”

Instead, Canada anticipates a return to more traditional structure fishing.

“You’ll see guys fishing stumps, shell bars, docks, maybe some offshore brush. A spinnerbait or flipping bite could definitely be in play.”

With Day 2 of competition enforcing a no-forward-facing sonar rule, offshore success may come down to “blind fishing” and familiarity.

“I’m okay with that,” Canada said. “It might be a challenge to find offshore schools that fast, but if we get the right conditions – some current and stable water – it could spread people out and open up opportunities.”

Canada emphasized that the Tennessee River system thrives on current.

“That lake – everything relates to current. Doesn’t matter if it’s ledges, ditches, bars, shallow or deep – if they’re pulling water, those fish will bite. That’ll be the biggest thing I’ll be watching next week.”

While a few early-morning smallmouth might show up, Canada is betting on largemouth to anchor most of the top bags. “If someone can unlock the smallmouth after they vanish post-spawn, they’ll be dangerous – but that’s a tough puzzle. It’s going to come down to current, water level, and making good decisions each day.”

Anglers will launch at 6:30 a.m. CT each day from Pickwick Landing State Park, located at 120 Playground Loop in Counce, Tennessee. Weigh-ins will be held at the State Park and will begin at 2:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and weigh-in events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW!® live stream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The 2025 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals feature a field of professional anglers competing across six invitational tournaments around the country, for a total purse of $4.3 million and valuable Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) points to qualify for the Invitationals Championship, set for Sept. 5-7 on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, and a coveted spot on the MLF Bass Pro Tour – the sport’s premier circuit.

In Tackle Warehouse Invitationals competition, the full field competes in the two-day opening round on Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 30 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, advance to the final round on Championship Sunday, where they will compete for the grand prize of up to $115,000.

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

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and Rob Newell will break down the extended action live all three days of competition from 7 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. CT. MLFNOW! will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 4 at Pickwick Lake Presented by E3 Sports Apparel will air as a two-hour episode, premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 25 on CBS Sports Network.

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

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

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