Day: May 19, 2019

Categories
Major League Fishing - Bass Pro Tour/Cup Events

15 ANGLERS WITH 100+ POUNDS – WHILE RECORDS CONTINUE TO FALL DURING ELIMINATION ROUND AT BASS PRO TOUR BERKLEY STAGE SIX PRESENTED BY TRUE TIMBER

BRANSON, Mo., (May 19, 2019) – Three days into competition at the Major League Fishing® (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Berkley Stage Six presented by TrueTimber, we’re starting to run out of superlatives to describe the bite at Table Rock Lake. Choose your favorite – “stellar” and “outstanding” fit – but “record-breaking” is still the most accurate.
Cliff Pace became the most recent record breaker, putting 38 fish on SCORETRACKER® for 60 pounds, 1 ounce on the day, giving the Mississippi pro a two-day total of 134-13 and obliterating the existing Elimination Round record of 105-6 held by Zack Birge. Pace’s two-day fish total of 89 is another record. The field combined to catch 407 fish in the first period and weighed 684-9 (both records).
And while all of the above numbers are impressive, the fact that 15 of the 20 anglers advancing out of the round surpassed the 100-pound mark tells the story of just how prolific this impoundment of the White River has been.

“Of all the years I’ve been around fishing, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like this as far as sheer volume of fish,” said MLF NOW! analyst Marty Stone. “I knew when we came here that this lake was in good shape, but I’ve never seen a like that’s so good from one end to the next. We’re looking at where guys are catching fish, and we’re seeing anglers who are literally 50 miles apart catching them. It’s harder right now to find a place where there’s not a fish than a place there is.”

Pace was followed by Gary Klein (130-2), Birge (129-11), Greg Vinson (125-12), Aaron Martens (121-15) and Jacob Powroznik (116-15). Jesse Wiggins, Michael Neal, Mark Rose, Fletcher Shryock, Russ Lane, Jeff Sprague, Anthony Gagliardi, Casey Ashley, Dave Lefebre, Andy Montgomery, Fred Roumbanis, Brent Chapman, Randy Howell and Randall Tharp qualified for Tuesday’s Knockout Round.

Tharp Escapes Elimination
As has become the daily storyline during Elimination Round competition, the race around the Elimination Line came down to a difference of a single fish. Trailing Jason Christie by 7 ounces entering the final 10 minutes of official competition time, Randall Tharp caught two fish for 2-13 in the final seven minutes, finishing with 94-12 and moving past Jason Christie into 20th. 

“It was extremely intense,” Tharp admitted. “I struggled at times in the second period – dropped all the way to 25th or 26th – so to get on something that late and catch one with 5 to go to get to 20th, and then hook one with 15 seconds left … it was a stressful afternoon for me. I’m glad it worked out the way it did.”

“It’s crazy that you can catch 92 pounds and not make it,” said Christie, who finished with 92-6 on 48 fish. 

Elimination Round 2 Set for Monday
The Bass Pro Tour will see its first Monday action of the season when Group B returns to Table Rock tomorrow for the second Elimination Round of the event. Viewers tuning in on the MLF NOW! live stream will likely see 5 ½ hours of fish catches: 16 Group B anglers put 50-plus pounds on SCORETRACKER in their Shotgun Round on Saturday, led by Josh Bertrand’s 89-5. The biggest X-factor, though, is the water level, which sits at 917.54 as of this writing (just over 1 foot lower than when practice began on May 16). 

“This lake was way up when we got here, but water has been dropping: instead of there being a fish on every bush, there’s a fish on every 10th bush,” Stone said. “These anglers are having to cover more water to get the number of bites they need. As the week goes on, the 45-degree banks will become more relevant, and the guys fishing offshore will become more relevant. But the challenge for these Group B guys on Monday is that whatever they found in the first day of practice is five days old now – they might as well just go ahead and start practicing again. Group B has a big challenge in front of them.”

Today’s Round By The Numbers
The 40 pros caught 1,023 fish in Elimination Round 1, the third day in a row with over 1,000 fish making it into SCORETRACKER.

Daily Winners
Elimination Round 1 daily awards were:
*    The Berkley Big Bass of the day was a 5-9 largemouth caught by Mark Rose
*    Andy Montgomery was the Berkley Catch Count winner with 42 fish
*    Birge earned the Phoenix Boats Daily Leader award with 69-14            

When, Where & How to Watch
Elimination Round 2 competition begins at 6:30 a.m. CT, with live, official scoring available from “lines in” via SCORETRACKER on MajorLeagueFishing.com and on the MLF app. The MLF NOW! live stream starts at 9 a.m. CT, with live, on-the-water coverage and analysis provided by Chad McKee, JT Kenney, Marty Stone and Natalie Dillon until lines out at 2:30 p.m. The Berkley Postgame Show – hosted by Steven “Lurch” Scott – will start at 4 p.m. daily.


Elimination Round 1 Final Results

https://majorleaguefishing.com/event/bass-pro-tour-stage-six-table-rock-lake-branson-mo/results/

Categories
MLF BIG-5

POTOMAC RIVER READIES TO HOST TWO FLW BASS FISHING CHAMPIONSHIPS – T-H MARINE BFL ALL-AMERICAN AND YETI FLW COLLEGE FISHING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

May 16, 2019  by FLW Communications – Photo courtesy of FLW

CHARLES COUNTY, Md. – The nation’s top weekend and collegiate bass-fishing anglers are set to compete at two of the most prestigious bass-fishing championships in the country on the Potomac River later this month – the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) All-American on the Potomac River presented by General Tire, May 30-June 1, and the YETI FLW College Fishing National Championship on the Potomac River presented by Lowrance, June 4-6.

An automatic entry to compete at the 2019 FLW Cup is up for grabs to the winners of each respective event, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money and a brand new Ranger Boat. The events are hosted by the Charles County Board of Commissioners and Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism.

“The Potomac River has been fishing strong for the past few months and is the perfect fishery to host these two championships,” said FLW Tour pro Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Maryland. “They’re going to be hitting it at one of the best times of the year. You’re going to see a lot of different tactics – ChatterBaits, swimjigs, shallow-diving crankbaits, stickbait worms and flipping creature baits. The key to winning will be finding something – a pattern or a location – that nobody else is on.”

The 2019 BFL All-American on the Potomac River presented by General Tire will feature a field of the top 98 boaters and co-anglers from across the 24-division BFL circuit competing for a grand prize of up to $120,000 in the boater division and $60,000 in the co-angler division. The top boater will receive an invitation to compete for bass fishing’s most coveted prize – the 2019 FLW Cup – Aug. 9-11 on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Since its inaugural event in 1983, the BFL All-American championship has visited the Potomac River just once (2012) in its 36-year history. In 2012, boater Brian Maloney of Osage Beach, Missouri, targeted shallow flats with contoured ditches with dark-colored crankbaits to claim the title and the $120,000 top prize.

The 2019 YETI FLW College Fishing National Championship at the Potomac River presented by Lowrance will be comprised of the top qualifying teams from each of the 15 regular-season events from around the country, along with the top 20 teams from the annual FLW College Fishing Open. A field of 172 teams representing 100 different colleges and universities will be competing for a prize package that includes a new Ranger Z175 boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Evinrude outboard and an automatic qualification for both team members to move on to compete against the best bass-anglers in the world at the 2019 FLW Cup.

“Winning the FLW College Fishing National Championship last year kicked off my career as a professional angler,” said 2019 FLW Tour rookie Hunter Freeman, who won the event last year on the Red River while competing for the University of Louisiana-Monroe along with partner Thomas Soileau. “The entire experience was amazing. From the banquet, to the three-day tournament, the media coverage – everything was a blast. Winning the championship showed me that I had what it takes to become a professional fisherman and gave me the confidence to sign up to compete at the highest level – the FLW Tour.”

BFL All-American competitors will take off from Smallwood State Park, located at 2750 Sweden Point Road in Marbury, at 7 a.m. EDT each morning, May 30 to June 1. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins, May 30-31, will be held at the park beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s Championship weigh-in, June 1, will also be held at the park, but will begin at 4 p.m.

The FLW College Fishing National Championship anglers will also take off each day, June 4-6, from Smallwood State Park, at 7 a.m. EDT. All weigh-ins will be held at the State Park, beginning at 3 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

Television coverage of both events will premiere in the fall of 2019. The Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show airs each Saturday night at 7 p.m. EST and is broadcast to more than 63 million cable, satellite and telecommunications households in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean on the World Fishing Network (WFN), the leading entertainment destination and digital resource for anglers throughout North America. FLW television is also distributed internationally to FLW partner countries, including Canada, China, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Zimbabwe.

The popular FLW Live on-the-water program will air on Days Three and Four of both events – Friday, May 31 and Saturday, June 1 for the All-American and Wednesday, June 5, and Thursday, June 6, for the College Fishing National Championship. FLW Live features live action from the boats of the tournament’s top anglers each day. Host Travis Moran will be joined by FLW Tour pros Luke Dunkin and Miles Burghoff to break down the extended action each day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. On-the-water broadcasts will be live streamed on FLWFishing.com, the FLW YouTube channel and the FLW Facebook page.

Categories
BASSMASTER Elite Series/Opens

TIMING WILL BE EVERYTHING IN NEXT WEEK’S BASSMASTER EASTERN OPEN ON CHICHAMAUGA LAKE

May 16, 2019 DAYTON, Tenn. —

When a major professional bass tournament is held on Chickamauga Lake, there’s no question big bass will be caught.

But how they’ll be caught — and where — is always a question of timing.

That will be the interesting theme for the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open scheduled for May 23-25 on the 36,240-acre Tennessee River fishery.

Have enough bass moved out for the lake’s famed deep-water crankbait bite to dominate the standings? Or will anglers be forced to look shallower for the giant largemouth “The Chick” is known for?

“If somebody gets on a school that has just moved out deep, they could certainly win it,” said Scott Canterbury, a Bassmaster Elite Series pro from Odenville, Ala., who has extensive experience on Chickamauga. “But I’m not sure enough fish are really out there yet. Plus, the lake gets a lot of pressure this time of year, and a lot of those offshore places are already covered up with boats.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s won by somebody doing something a little different.”

The tournament will have daily takeoffs at 6:15 a.m. ET from Dayton Boat Dock. Weigh-ins on Days 1 and 2 will be held at 2:15 p.m. at Dayton Boat Dock, and the championship weigh-in on Day 3 will be held at 3:15 p.m. at the Bass Pro Shops in East Ridge, Tenn.

Canterbury, who currently ranks fifth in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, was planning to fish the event himself if it seemed like the offshore bite was in full swing. But he elected not to fish because he believes the winning pattern will be centered more around aquatic vegetation.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see it won over some grass in that 4- to 8-foot range,” he said. “It’ll be fish that have spawned and have already moved out, but they haven’t made it all the way out to the ledges yet.”

During the 2017 Bassmaster Open held on Chickamauga in late April, Florida pro John Cox won with a three-day total of 68 pounds, 3 ounces, and the Top 4 anglers averaged more than 20 pounds per day. Spawning bass were the talk of the week for that tournament.

Canterbury said sight fishing for bedding bass could play a small role in this event, but not the vital one it played in 2017.

“There’s a bunch that haven’t spawned yet,” he said. “A lot of those fish on Chickamauga usually hold off every year — and it hasn’t been hot this year. It’s been in the 40s there the last two mornings.

“I think a lot of the fish that haven’t spawned will pull up to spawn, and you could see a few big fish caught that way — but not enough to win it.”

The Chattanooga Bass Association held a team tournament on the lake May 11, and the Top 2 teams had 30.1 and 27.03 pounds, respectively.

“In that CBA tournament, the talk was that the first- and second-place teams shared one deep hole all day,” Canterbury said. “So, they’re starting to get out there a little bit. But I don’t know if they’re out there enough.”

With fishing pressure increasing on Chickamauga, it’s also hard to predict how long bass will stay on the ledges once they make the move.

“For a week or two last year, tournaments were being won out deep there,” Canterbury said. “But those fish stayed out there a couple of weeks and then moved back shallow.

“Fishing pressure and timing always play a role on Chickamauga — and really all the lakes of the Tennessee River.”

The Chickamauga event is the second of four Eastern Opens being held this season. The Eastern and Central Opens are the main routes to qualify for the prestigious Bassmaster Elite Series. In addition, the winning boater in each Open is invited to compete in the 2020 Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, provided he or she competes in all four events in the division in which the victory occurred.

Local host is Fish Dayton.

Categories
King Kat

EDWARDS AND KERNS WIN CABELA’S KING KAT AT TELL CITY, IN – OHIO RIVER ANGLERS WERE CHALLENGED BY A FULL MOON AND HIGH-PRESSURE

Louisville, KY – May 19, 2019 – Catfish anglers from nine states traveled to Tell City, IN on the Ohio River for a King Kat Tournament Trail event presented by Bass Pro Shops Cabela’s. Thirty-four teams gathered at Tell City to test their catfishing skills against other anglers and Mother Nature.

Competitors were vying for $ 8,855 in cash and prizes, and an opportunity to qualify for the $120,000 Classic Championship to be held November 1 and 2, 2019, on the Tennessee River (Wheeler Lake) at Decatur, Alabama.

The competitors faced a hot fishing day with air temperatures in high 90’s. The wind was blowing from the SSE at 10-20 mph. Rains had the water conditions high and muddy with the 65-degree water running at about 2 mph. Several anglers commented that the current was helpful to the bite.

Results for the Top Catfish Teams

The top spot at Tell City went to Greg Edwards and Dale Kerns from Norris City, IL. They had a total weight of 117.88 pounds to earn a check for $3,600. They added the Driftmaster Bonus $300 for using Driftmaster Rod Holders on their boat.

Edwards and Kerns fished at Derby, IN all day. They starting off by anchoring in the morning on log piles and structure. After not producing their intended results the team moved to the river channel in 35-40 feet of water.

“Since we were fishing the full moon and high pressure, we decided to stick with fishing heavy cove.” Reported Edwards. “We began by anchor fishing a log covered bank. After our bite went away around 10 am we started bumping covered ledges.”

The Indiana team stated that they thought the current helped them land about a dozen fish on the day. They caught fish from the morning hours until about lunchtime before the bite stopped after 1:00. All their fish came on skipjack.

The runner up spot went to Wayne and Travis Bodine from Bardstown, KY. Team Bodine brought 106.82 pounds to the scales to earn a check for $1,800.

The team fished up around the McAlpine Dam where they were targeting fish on the river channel. They bumped all day long using skipjack for bait in 25-30 feet of water. They targeted the current seams to land 10 fish for the day.

The 2018 Classic champs, Justin Cook and Gary Ryan drove their Excel StormCat 230 to third place. Cook, from New Franklin, MO, and Ryan from Columbia, MO had a total weight of 103. 2 pounds and earned a check for $1,300.

They fished below Cannelton Dam targeting fish in 35 feet of water. They were bumping with skipjack to land 10 fish for the day.

They started tournament day with the thought of the fish they caught the day before lingering in their mind. They caught a 95-pound blue during practice on Friday in the same area they fished on tournament day.

Fourth place went to Tom Petrowski and Henry Neafus. The Brooks, Ky anglers weighed 91.6 pounds to earn their place and a check for $700.

Petrowski and Neafus fished upriver toward the McAlpine Dam. They were targeting water of 25 feet or less. They caught 10 fish on the day bumping with skipjack.

Fifth place and Big Kat went to Wayne and Conner King from Mt. Vernon, IN. They brought 73.54 pounds to the scales and 58 of those pounds was in the Big Kat of the tournament. They earned a check for $475 for 5th place and added $680 for Big Kat.

5TH PLACE AND BIG CAT

Wayne and Conner only had 4 fish for the day but their 58 pounder lifted them to the 5th place spot. They bumped in the Derby, IN area using skipjack for bait.

The Remaining Top Catfish Teams

6th Place – Willie Smith and Nick Anderson – 69.52

7th Place – Rodney Hall and Justin Hodges – 61.64

8th Place – Denver Burden and Joe Garrett – 57.28

9th Place – Steven Fancher and Henry Price – 57.24

10 Place – Jon Reedy and Tyler Bennett – 47.94

Epilogue

Tournament director, Jeremy Coe thanked Betty Cash and her staff at the Perry County CVB for making this event possible. He also thanked all the local businesses and people for their hospitality toward the anglers.

“We really look forward to this stop on the schedule,” said Coe. “We saw some great fish this weekend in the high waters. Tell City is a beautiful area to travel to. It has some great fishing and we look forward to returning.”

National Sponsors

Bass Pro Shops Cabela’s King Kat Tournament Trail sponsors include: Bass Pro Shops Cabela’s, Excel Boats, Mercury Marine, Mustad Hooks, Humminbird, Minn Kota, B’n’M Poles, Gamma Line, Driftmaster Rod Holders, Ego Nets, Xtreme Bait Systems, Clear Boards, EFX Graphics, Catfish Now, Fin n’ Frames, and Crown Trophy

For more information on the championship and other King Kat activities visit their website at www.kingkatusa.com. Anglers can also follow the trail on the King Kat Facebook Page.

Categories
Crappie USA

CUSA PRO DIVISION VICTORY AT MONROE LAKE, IN GOES TO EGAN AND RITTER: WILLIAMS AND GUARD TAKE AMATEUR DIVISION

Louisville, KY – May 19, 2019 – Crappie anglers from several states traveled to Monroe Lake, Bloomington, IN to participate in a Crappie USA (CUSA) event. The May 18, 2019 event is presented by Bass Pro Shops Cabela’s. Local and traveling anglers fished for cash, prizes, and an opportunity to compete at the 2019 CUSA Classic which will feature a guaranteed payout of $125,000 in cash and prizes.

Crappie anglers were greeted with a beautiful day at Monroe Lake. Air temps in the 80’s and light wind made for comfortable fishing. The water level is still high at 11 feet over pool, but falling. The tournament produced a large number of crappie over the one-pound mark.

“We saw some of the best quality male white crappie I have ever seen,” observed Darrell Van Vactor, CUSA Operations Manager. “All our 2.0-pound plus fish

were males. The females have most likely spawned and males are guarding the nest and feeding.”

A total of 41 boats fished the Monroe Lake event—16 in the Pro Division and 25 in the Amateur Division. A total of $7,650 was distributed to the winners.

Pro Division Results

Bill Egan from Bloomington, IN and Ron Ritter from Bedford, IN teamed up to win the Pro Division on Lake Monroe. They brought a bag that weighed 11.91 pounds to earn the top spot and a check for $2000. They added an additional $500 for the Ranger Cup Bonus and $250 for the Talon Bonus.

“We were fishing on the east end of Lake Monroe in Middle Fork,” reported Ritter. “All of our fish came out of 3 to 5 feet of water. We were casting jigs to cover, tipping our jigs with various makes and colors.”

The team observed that the water had visibility to five feet. As the day got lighter it was obvious to them that some changes would have to be made.

“We rotated through 5 or 6 areas throughout the day,” continued Ritter. “Seemingly, as the wind picked up the areas with the most wind had the more active fish. I lost 2 big fish in the first dozen casts. That was very hard to overcome mentally. But you just have to try putting it out of your mind and keep fishing.”

Egan and Ritter included blue/white chartreuse Jenko jigs in their arsenal to catch more than 100 fish on the day with 60 weighing more than one pound.

The runner-up spot went to Tom Hankins and Ron Bilbrey. Hankins from Indianapolis, IN and Bilbrey from Bedford, IN weighed 11.33 pounds to earn $800.

Hankins and Bilbrey fished between Middle Fork and Pine Grove areas. They were vertical jigging Crappie Magnet jigs in pink/pearl in 6 feet of water. The team caught more than 20 fish that went over the pound mark

Patrick Stone and Aaron West from Anderson, IN joined Murray, KY’s Ashley Adams to claim the third-place spot. The threesome brought 10.54 pounds to earn their place and a check for $500.00.

Stone, West and Adams fished close to the bank in the Pine Grove area. They were targeting male fish in 4 to 6 feet of water. The team used bluegrass colored Jenko and Long Legs jigs to catch more than 30 one pound and over for the day.

In a Facebook post Adams said, “What a fun lake! Sure surprised me. It sure is hard to throw back 1 1/4-pound crappie when culling.”

The 6th place Pro team of Jim and Rob Raymer caught the 2nd Place Big Fish, a 2.21-pound slab. The big crappie earned them $240.00.

Amateur Division Results

Robert Williams from Ladoga, IN and Tim Guard from Waynestown, IN grabbed the top spot in the Amateur Division. They brought 11.92 pounds to the scales to earn a check for $1,000.00.

“What a beautiful day,” said Williams. “The water temp was 68 degrees. The crappie we found were in 4- to 6-feet of water. Casting plastic jigs around trees seem to be best for us.”

Williams and Guard fished up Pine Grove until about 11:00 am. They spent the rest of the day up Middle Fork.

“We had problems with trolling motor. It kept sticking on high and changing speeds on me. My partner Tim Guard and I kept busy pushing off trees,” joked Williams.

“I love fishing CUSA,” said Williams after catching more than 20 fish on the day.

Tony and Theresa Williams from Bloomington IN weighed a bag of 8.72 pounds to claim the second spot. The husband/wife team earned a check for $500.

Tony and Theresa used Christmas lights and pumpkin/chartreuse colored jigs in 4 foot of water to catch over 100 fish for the day.

Gretchen and Tony Sherrill traveled from North Vernon, IN to take the third spot. They weighed 8.17 pounds to earn $400 plus the $125 Ranger Cup Bonus.

Gretchen and Tony fished Middle Fork with chartreuse jigs on an orange jig head in 4 feet of water. They “went for broke” using 3-inch grubs to avoid so many smaller fish. The team caught a total of 10 crappies for the day.

Gleen and Scott Gill weighed 7.32 pounds to claim the third spot. The Indianapolis, IN team earned $300 for their day of fishing.

Gleen and Scott used pink/white Crappie Magnet lures in 6 to 7 feet of water to catch a total of 50 fish for the day.

Ricky Baker and David Gibson from Lancaster, KY took the 4th place spot with 6.49 pounds. Their bag included the big fish of the tournament at 2.29 pounds. They earned a check for $200 plus $560.00 big fish.

Baker and Gibson fished along the rocky bluff across from the weigh-in site. They were vertical fishing various jigs trying to target 6 to 8 feet of water. They said the color was not as important as getting the jig in front of the suspended fish.

Epilogue

Darrell Van Vactor, CUSA Operations Manager, sent special thanks to Perry-Clear Creek Fire Dept for hosting the seminar and to all the anglers who participated in the event.

The CUSA Classic Championship will be held October 23 – 26, 2019 on Old Hickory Lake, Gallatin, TN. It features a guaranteed payout of $125,000 in cash and prizes.

National Sponsors

National Sponsors of Crappie USA are: Bass Pro Shops Cabela’s, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Mustad Hooks, Minn Kota, Humminbird, Talon, Lake Master Maps, Gamma, B’n’M Poles, Driftmaster Rod Holders, Ego Nets, Xtreme Bait Systems, Cumberland Crappie Double Seats, Brushpile Crappie, Charlie Brewer Slider, Crappie Now Magazine, Church Tackle Co., Jenko Fishing, Big Bite Baits, Lake Cumberland CVB, Crappie Magnet, AWD Baits, EFX Graphics, Fin n’ Frames, Crown Trophy, JR Madd Breading, and Freaky Franks Tackle.

For more information on the Classic and other CUSA events visit the website at  www.crappieusa.com and Crappie USA Tournament Trail Facebook Page. The CUSA office is available by phone at 502-384-5924.