Day: June 29, 2019, The National Angler

NEENAH, Wis. (June 29, 2019) – As the competition switched to a new lake today for the Knockout Round of the Bass Pro Tour Evinrude Stage Eight Presented by Tracker Off Road, Brent Ehrler figured it out better than anyone and ran away with a convincing daily victory.

Lake Butte des Morts proved to be a nice change of pace for the anglers after four days of fishing Lake Winnebago. This new, smaller lake produced good numbers of fish, several 3-plus-pound specimens, and all-day action on the Major League Fishing® (MLF) SCORETRACKER®.
Tomorrow, the field will again try their best to tackle another new body of water as the tournament concludes on nearby Green Lake for the Championship Round.

Ehrler Wins by 13 Pounds
In the final 15 minutes of the day, Ehrler landed his biggest bass of the day. It was a fitting end to the day. The 3-11 largemouth caught on a frog was the exclamation point on a stellar outing.
“Today was a blast! It was stressful, but still so much fun,” he said.

The majority of Ehrler’s fish today fell for a frog, but he also landed several key fish on a Gary Yamamoto Senko. He spent much of his day in a backwater area that was full of grass, submerged trees, and hungry largemouth bass.
He grabbed the lead midday through the day and never let go. Ehrler ended the Knockout Round with 28 bass for 56 pounds, 7 ounces, outdistancing second-place finisher Bobby Lane by over 13 pounds. Lane finished with 42-10.

Klein Rallies
As Major League Fishing fans watched MLF NOW! today, there was no mention of Gary Klein until late in the final period as he was buried deep in the standings. But at the 1:10 mark in Period 3, Klein picked up momentum and found himself in 15th place. When it was all said and done, the Mercury pro found himself in 8th place with 18 bass for 30-5.

Wheeler Still Alive
For most of the day, it appeared that Jacob Wheeler would not be present on Championship Sunday to try for back-to-back wins. But, he found another gear late in the day and was able to sneak into the Top 10 and finish in 9th place.
His day totals were 17 bass for 28-3. With weights starting at zero tomorrow, Wheeler has a new life and must be considered one of the favorites to win.

“Boom Boom” Falters Late
Fred Roumbanis started the day strong thanks to a solid smallmouth bite on a vibrating jig. His morning bite was excellent, but his afternoon stalled as he continued to slide down the standings.
In the end, he was the first angler out of the Top 10 but took it in stride despite missing the cut by just ten ounces.
“Boy, I let that one slip out of my fingers. It just wasn’t meant to be this week, but at least I qualified for the final Cup and REDCREST,” he said as time expired and he accepted his fate in Wisconsin.

The REDCREST Shuffle
After yesterday, our estimated calculations had 10 anglers vying for just four spots. Still, nothing is set in stone until the last fish is weighed tomorrow.
For now, it appears that Randall Tharp, Mark Daniels, Jr., Takahiro Omori, and Cody Meyer have done what they needed to do this week to make REDCREST.

Final official results will be tabulated at the close of tomorrow’s competition.

Daily Winners
Shotgun Round daily awards were:
* The Berkley Big Bass of the day was Mark Daniels, Jr.’s 4-0 largemouth.* Brent Ehrler won the Berkley Catch Count award with 28 bass on the day.* Ehrler also earned the Phoenix Boats Daily Leader award with 56-07.

Looking Ahead
The Elimination Round will be Green Lake, which is approximately 45-minutes outside of Neenah. The weather forecast calls for scattered thunderstorms, a high of 83-degrees and winds out of the south at 5 to 10 miles per hour.

How, When, Where to Watch
Competition continues on Sunday at 7 a.m. CT, with live, official scoring available via SCORETRACKER on MajorLeagueFishing.com and on the MLF app. The MLF NOW! live stream begins at 9:30 a.m. CT with Chad McKee, JT Kenney, Marty Stone, and Natalie Dillon.
The Postgame Show Presented by Berkley will begin at approximately 4:30 p.m CT. The public is invited to attend the activity at Shattuck Middle School in Neenah.

Shotgun Rounds’ Results

To see all results for today’s Knockout Round, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com and click “Results.”

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (June 29, 2019) Photo courtesy of FLW – Pro Tyler Stewart of West Monroe, Louisiana, caught a five-bass limit Saturday weighing 18 pounds, 5 ounces, to keep the lead after day three of the FLW Tour at Lake Champlain presented by T-H Marine. Stewart’s three-day total of 58-6 will lead the final 10 pros into Championship Sunday, where the top prize of up to $125,000 will be up for grabs.

“The day started off kind of slow. I got down to my main places and it was crowded – there was a [local] tournament out of Ticonderoga and someone was fishing one of my main holes for fun,” said Stewart, who is looking to win his first career FLW Tour event. “I ended up catching a 4½-pounder and got some good momentum going. I just grinded all day – caught some good fish and kept the wheels on. I ran some new stuff, too – stuff that looks right.”

Stewart said he caught the majority of his largemouth flipping a jig. He also weighed one from a square-billed crankbait and a 3½-pound smallmouth on a Keitech swimbait, which culled out a largemouth toward the end of the day.

“The largemouth are in about 6 inches of water, and I think a lot of people are overlooking that. I’m catching them super shallow and on current- and bait-related stuff,” said Stewart. “I’d love to be able to get on my stuff tomorrow and fish it thoroughly.”

On Championship Sunday, Stewart said he plans to stay the course and fish Ticonderoga – the area that’s produced the majority of his weight all week – no matter what challenges the weather may pose.

“I don’t care if takes me three hours to get to Ticonderoga – that’s where I’m going,” Stewart went on to say.

The top 10 pros advancing to the final day of competition Sunday on Lake Champlain are:

1^st: Tyler Stewart, West Monroe, La., 15 bass, 58-6

2^nd: Casey Scanlon, Lake Ozark, Mo., 15 bass, 56-8

3^rd: Jackson Kayak pro Eric Jackson, Walling, Tenn., 15 bass, 55-13

4^th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 15 bass, 55-6

5^th: Daryl Biron, South Windsor, Conn., 15 bass, 55-2

6^th: Polaris pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass, 55-2

7^th: A.J. Slegona, Pine Bush, N.Y., 15 bass, 54-15

8^th: Tom Redington, Royse City, Texas, 15 bass, 54-15

9^th: Christopher Brasher, Longview, Texas, 15 bass, 54-11

10^th: Hensley Powell, Whitwell, Tenn., 15 bass, 54-4

Finishing 11^th through 30^th are:

11^th: Bryan Schmitt, Deale, Md., 15 bass, 54-2, $12,000

12^th: Lowrance pro Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minn., 15 bass, 53-13, $12,000

13^th: Joseph Webster, Winfield, Ala., 15 bass, 53-13, $12,000

14^th: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 15 bass, 53-12, $12,000

15^th: Kurt Dove, Del Rio, Texas, 15 bass, 53-4, $12,000

16^th: John Voyles, Petersburg, Ind., 15 bass, 53-0, $11,500

17^th: Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., 15 bass, 53-0, $11,500

18^th: Charles Sim, Nepean, Ontario, Canada, 15 bass, 52-10, $11,500

19^th: Chad Warren, Sand Springs, Okla., 15 bass, 51-13, $11,500

20^th: Joel Willert, Prior Lake, Minn., 15 bass, 51-7, $11,500

21^st: Lowrance pro Jeff Dobson, Bartlesville, Okla., 15 bass, 51-4, $10,500

22^nd: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 15 bass, 51-3, $10,500

23^rd: Tommy Dickerson, Orange, Texas, 15 bass, 51-0, $10,500

24^th: Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., 15 bass, 50-13, $10,500

25^th: Shawn Murphy, Nicholasville, Ky., 15 bass, 50-12, $10,500

26^th: Kurt Mitchell, Milford, Del., 15 bass, 50-9, $10,500

27^th: Joshua Weaver, Macon, Ga., 15 bass, 49-3, $10,500

28^th: Berkley pro John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 15 bass, 49-1, $10,500

29^th: Ryan Salzman, Huntsville, Ala., 15 bass, 47-4, $11,000

30^th: Robert Behrle, Hoover, Ala., 13 bass, 42-0, $10,500

For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.

Overall there were 148 bass weighing 493 pounds, 3 ounces, caught by 30 pros Saturday. The catch included 29 five-bass limits.

Anglers were also vying for the prestigious 2019 FLW Tour Angler of the Year (AOY) title that is determined by the most points accumulated over the seven Tour events in 2019.

Polaris pro David Dudley of Lynchburg, Virginia, won the AOY title Saturday, becoming the first angler in the history of the FLW Tour to claim four titles (2019, 2012, 2011 and 2008). He narrowly edged out Berkley pro John Cox of DeBary, Florida, by just 17 points in a tightly contested race that was too close to call until Cox’s 28th place finish today. Dudley, who received $100,000 for the title, will also receive an automatic berth into the 2020 FLW Cup.

Pro Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Michigan, clinched the Polaris 2019 FLW Tour Rookie of the Year (ROY) award Saturday, which is awarded to the rookie pro angler who finishes the season with the highest point total. For his efforts, Nelson won a Polaris Sportsman® 570 ATV.

In FLW Tour competition, the full field of 163 pro anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. The top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advanced to Saturday. Now, only the top 10 pros continue will competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

The total purse for the FLW Tour at Lake Champlain presented by T-H Marine is more than $860,000. The tournament is hosted by the City of Plattsburgh and the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau.

Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2019 FLW Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2019 FLW Cup will be on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 9-11 and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.

Anglers will take off for the final day of competition at 6:30 a.m. EST Sunday from Plattsburgh City Marina, located at 5 Dock St., in Plattsburgh. Sunday’s championship weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 4 p.m.

In conjunction with the weigh-in, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at Plattsburgh City Marina from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, as well as learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.

Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Lake Champlain presented by T-H Marine will premiere in 2019. The exact air-date will be announced soon. 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, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.

The popular FLW Live on-the-water program will air on Sunday, featuring live action from the boats of the tournament’s top pros each day. Host Travis Moran will be joined by veteran FLW Tour pro Todd Hollowell to break down the extended action from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.On-the-water broadcasts will be live streamed onFLWFishing.com, the FLW YouTube channel and the FLW Facebook page.

For complete details and updated information visitFLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the sport’s top anglers on the FLW Tour on FLW’s social media outletsat Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.