Month: August 2019

Categories
MLF BIG-5

MICHIGAN’S TROMBLY WINS T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE TOURNAMENT ON DETROIT RIVER

August 26, 2019 by FLW Communications

TRENTON, Mich. – Boater Mike Trombly of Belleville, Michigan, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Michigan Division tournament on the Detroit RiverSaturday after catching five bass weighing 24 pounds, 13 ounces. For his day on the water, Trombly took home $4,545.

“I fished the north shore of Lake Erie – everything came from 24 to 28 feet,” said Trombly, who earned his eighth career win in FLW competition – all launching out of the Detroit River. “I used shad-style baits – all of the fish that I weighed in came from drop-shot rigs.”

Trombly said he used a few different baits on his drop-shot rigs – a Zoom Fluke, a Strike King 3X ElazTech Z Too Soft Jerkbait and a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flatnose Minnow. He also rotated in a Lure Craft Big D darter-style bait, adding that everything he used was in shad-style colors.

“I had to soak it through the rock piles and breaks I was fishing to get the fish to bite,” said Trombly. “They were finicky – we had a strong northeast wind and the current ran the opposite, moving from west to east. You had to play the current to get them to strike. It was all about presentation.”

Trombly said he caught around 10 keepers throughout the day – all smallmouth. He credited his G. Loomis [IMX822S DSR IMX] Dropshot Spinning Rod and Shimano STRADIC CI4+ reel as being key components of his day.

“With the amount of current I was fishing, at those depths, the sensitivity really made an impact on my catch – I could feel the bites.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st: Mike Trombly, Belleville, Mich., five bass, 24-13, $4,545

2nd: Brett Haake, Shorewood, Ill., five bass, 24-11, $1,973

3rd: Jim Vitaro, Wooster, Ohio, five bass, 24-1, $1,731

4th: John Devries, Fishers, Ind., five bass, 21-7, $1,077

5th: Pat Upthagrove, Monroe, Mich., five bass, 21-6, $709

6th: Andrew Gaul, Saint Clair Shores, Mich., five bass, 20-7, $650

7th: Ross Parsons, Williamston, Mich., five bass, 20-1, $591

8th: David Reault, Livonia, Mich., five bass, 20-0, $532

9th: Troy Stokes, Brownstown, Mich., five bass, 19-14, $443

9th: Heath Wagner, Angola, Ind., five bass, 19-14, $443

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Gary Solomon of Clinton Township, Michigan, caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 15 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $445.

Erik Jacques of Marine City, Michigan, won the Co-angler Division and $1,973 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 25 pounds, 9 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st: Erik Jacques, Marine City, Mich., five bass, 25-9, $1,973

2nd: Brian Kich, Berea, Ohio, five bass, 18-13, $936

3rd: Zach Laupp, Plainwell, Mich., five bass, 18-12, $591

4th: Jeffrey Thomson, Birmingham, Mich., five bass, 18-8, $414

5th: Darwin Griva, Hamilton, Ind., five bass, 18-3, $355

6th: Mike Eldridge, Blairsville, Pa., five bass, 17-2, $325

7th: Craig Fanning, Elwood, Ill., five bass, 16-8, $295

8th: Bill Dodge, Laingsburg, Mich., five bass, 16-7, $266

9th: Robert Busby, Fenton, Mich., five bass, 16-6, $236

10th: Andy Fryer, Westerville, Ohio, five bass, 16-3, $357

Neil Heisler of Plymouth, Michigan, caught the heaviest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 13 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $222.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 17-19 BFL Regional Championship on Kentucky and Barkley lakes in Buchanan, Tennessee, presented by Evinrude. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.

The 2019 BFL 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 BFL All-American. The 2020 BFL All-American will be held April 30-May 2 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina, and is hosted by Visit Anderson. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

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

Categories
Major League Fishing - Bass Pro Tour/Cup Events

EDWIN EVERS RUNS AWAY WITH FIRST EVER REDCREST CHAMPIONSHIP AT UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER

LA CROSSE, Wis. (Aug. 25, 2019) – Before the start of the REDCREST Presented by Venmo, there may have been a debate about who is currently the most feared angler on tour. But now there’s no doubt.
It’s been a good year for Edwin Evers: Stage Two Champion, Bass Pro Tour Points Champion, and now REDCREST Champion. He took home $300,000 for his win today and can add that to the $193,600 he won during the season; no matter how you look at it, it’s been an excellent year.
Today, it was Evers, and then everybody else. His weight total of 85-06 was 15-pounds more than the combined totals of the second and third place anglers.
Edwin Evers was the big story today, and rightfully so.

Evers Dominates
Evers started the Championship Round with a bang and was out in front for nearly every minute today. Greg Hackney made a push towards him during Period 2, but Evers was just getting started and turned it into a runaway victory.
His Period 3 flurry of 28 fish in 45 minutes sealed the deal with an exclamation point. In the third period alone, Evers caught 34 bass for a total of 48-08. That alone would have been enough to claim the win today.

Evers put on a bass-catching clinic in the championship round today, keeping his official and cameraman busy,for the top score to claim the REDCREST championship. (Photo by Garrick Dixon)

He was catching them so fast that his MLF official had a growing backlog of SCORETRACKER® entries. Once all of the anglers were notified of his nearly 40-pound jump when the system caught up, it came down to a battle for second, third and fourth places.

Evers did his damage in a backwater area with current flowing and bass feeding on shad. He had fished this area in previous tour-level events but was never able to secure a victory.

“What an amazing day. I was so excited to catch them where I caught them,” he said. “I’m so thankful I did it now because it was such a bigger stage.” Evers believes that if he had won previously, it would have exposed the area to more fishing pressure, and today’s win might not have happened.

“The main deal was that backwater being loaded with fish,” he said. He pitched a Berkley Pit Boss to shallow laydowns and a vibrating jig with a Berkley Powerbait The Deal as a trailer to current relating bass.

Hackney a Distant Second
Greg Hackney had a solid day of fishing with 22 bass for 40-07 and was the only angler to seriously challenge Evers today as he got within five pounds during Period 2.

“I caught some fish today but never found a group of them; they were all single fish. I knew the guy who wins would be the one who finds a school of them,” said Hackney.

Like the rest of the field, Hackney was impressed with what Evers was able to accomplish this year.

“He’s in the zone, and he’s made all the right decisions this year. All great fisherman get on a roll where it seems like the fish are looking for them and they can’t do anything wrong,” he added.

Vinson Caps Off a Solid Week
Greg Vinson was fourth after the Elimination Round and then led his group’s Knockout Round. Today, he ended up third during the Championship Round on Pool 7. All in all, it was a great week, and he was near the top of the standings all week long.

This fact isn’t lost on Vinson who was satisfied with his finish. “I’m pleased with how the week went. I have some good tournament history here, but I feel I made the right decision to fish the Black River to catch enough to make it to today,” he said.

He had limited experience on Pool 7 before today. “I’m proud that I put enough together to finish 3rd against this group of guys,” said Vinson.

His daily total was 20 bass for 29-06.

Daily Winners
Championship Round daily awards were:
* The Berkley Big Bass of the day was Greg Hackney’s 3-08 largemouth.
* Edwin Evers won the Berkley Catch Count award with 63 bass on the day.
* Evers’ 85-06 earned him the Phoenix Boats Daily Leader award.

Final Results
https://majorleaguefishing.com/event/redcrest-bass-pro-tour-championship-la-crosse-wi/results/
Categories
BASSMASTER Elite Series/Opens

HARTMAN COMES FROM BEHIND TO WIN BASSMASTER ELITE SERIES EVENT AT CAYUGA LAKE

UNION SPRINGS, N.Y. —

On Sunday afternoon, for the second time in three tournaments, Jamie Hartman claimed a Bassmaster Elite Series victory.

Both were special. But he couldn’t deny this one meant just a little more.

Fishing in his home state of New York, Hartman caught five bass that weighed 22 pounds, 4 ounces Sunday and jumped from fourth place into the winner’s spot at the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake with a four-day total of 80-13.

After all the bass had been weighed, Hartman carried the blue trophy into a boisterous crowd of fans who were eager to hug and high-five their hometown favorite. It was a stark contrast to the celebration he was basically denied when he earned his first victory two months ago at Lake Guntersville and a severe thunderstorm rolled through just as he was handed the trophy.

“It just couldn’t be any better than this,” Hartman said. “For it to happen right here in my home state with all of my family here, it’s incredibly special.

“This is where my heart is. It’ll be hard to top this — ever.”

Hartman was one of the few anglers all week whose trajectory was consistently headed upward. He caught 16-14 Thursday, 19-9 Friday, 22-2 Saturday and 22-4 Sunday.

He spent all week fishing with two baits — a 4.75-inch Synth Worm from Riot Baits in green pumpkin neon on a drop-shot rig and a shad-colored crankbait he said is no longer in production.

He said his weights went up every day because he slowly learned the sweet spots of the area he was fishing on the North end of the lake.

“I had found a place on the South end during practice that was just loaded with them,” he said. “That’s where I started, and they just weren’t in there. I left there with only about 14 pounds and went back up to one little area of grass I found back up North.

“I decided to stick with that the rest of the week, and I learned which parts of it I needed to be fishing and which ones I didn’t have to bother with.”

Hartman said the green pumpkin neon pattern, which is a two-toned worm with green pumpkin on one side and chartreuse on the other, seemed perfect for the water color at Cayuga. He dyed the tail chartreuse to add even more color.

His crankbait bite was best when there was at least a little wind blowing. So, when he found slick calm conditions Sunday morning, he panicked and decided to run to the South end of the lake in an effort to catch one more big bass fishing boat docks.

After fishing 15 docks without a bite, he ran back North.

“As I was running to the South end, I could see that wind was finally putting a little bit of a ripple on the water,” Hartman said. “I started to just turn around and go right back to fish the crankbait. But I knew I would be able to tell pretty fast if the dock bite was happening — and it wasn’t.”

His decision to leave the docks proved to be the right one as he quickly landed a 4-pounder on the crankbait that put him over the top.

“Everything happens for a reason,” he said. “If I don’t make that run to the South — if I just stay where I was — maybe I don’t catch that 4-pounder. It worked out just right.”

Without that final big fish, Hartman would have come up short at the scales. His final total of 80-13 was just 10 ounces better than that of second-place angler Jeff Gustafson (80-3) and less than 2 pounds better than third-place pro Chris Zaldain (79-0).

Hartman’s second $100,000 first-place check of the season brought his career earnings with B.A.S.S. to just over $458,000. He only joined the Elite Series three years ago, and he missed several tournaments last season with back issues.

“The first win was awesome, coming back after everything that happened last year,” Hartman said. “I had missed everything that I had worked so hard for my whole life.

“This is all I’ve ever wanted to do — and to have this happen here today in New York, is literally my dream coming true.”

The Phoenix Boats Big Bass award of $1,500 went to Derek Hudnall for the 8 pound, 1 ounce giant he landed on Day 1 of the tournament.

Hartman earned $3,000 in Toyota Bonus Bucks for being the highest placing angler to drive a Toyota, while Brandon Lester earned an extra $2,000 for being the second highest-placing pro to drive a Toyota.

Categories
MLF BIG-5

MARYLAND’S REESE GOES WIRE-TO-WIRE, WINS COSTA FLW SERIES TOURNAMENT ON POTOMAC RIVER PRESENTED BY LOWRANCE

CHARLES COUNTY, Md. (Aug. 24, 2019) – Pro Marvin Reese of Randallstown, Maryland, caught four bass weighing 8 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the Costa FLW Series Northern Division tournament on the Potomac River presented by Lowrance. Reese’s three-day total of 14 bass weighing 38 pounds, 15 ounces, was enough to earn him the victory by a 1-pound, 6-ounce margin and a cash prize of $38,026. Reese also tallied 250 points in the Northern Division presented by Gajo Baits Angler of the Year (AOY) standings.

“This is my first win as a boater – it feels pretty special,” said Reese, who earned his fifth career victory in FLW competition – third on the Potomac River. “I’ve been in this position [to win] before as a co-angler and it always seems like things don’t go right the last day and you fall short. I had two fish break off today, and two other fish hooked up. I had the bites and I’m like ‘I blew it.’ It shouldn’t have been this close, but I’ll tell you what, this win feels great.”

Reese caught a fish or two in grass on days one and two and caught a couple on shallower hard cover up near Washington, D.C., but the vast bulk of his weight came from one particular structure.

“It was a pier in 20 feet of water in D.C., and I just fished simple. I threw up on the side of it, and they would hit the bait on the fall,” said Reese. “I was feeding the lure line so it could get down to the bottom – it was nothing more complicated than that.

“It had two key spots on it that accounted for 12 of the 14 bass I weighed-in,” continued Reese. “The two corners are the sweet spots, and I had stuff pretty dialed in on that dock. That structure is hollow underneath, and once that tide gets to a certain level they sit under there and they’d come out and hit it [the bait] on the fall. Not a fish we caught there all week hit it on the bottom.”

Reese cited a jig and a shaky-head rig as key lures this week. He preferred a ½-ounce handmade green-pumpkin-colored jig with a Strike King Rage Tail Craw trailer of the same color and a green-pumpkin/green-flake Zoom Trick Worm on a 3/16-ounce Spot Remover shaky-head hook. He said he caught six keepers Thursday and Friday, with each lure catching an equal amount of fish.

On Saturday, Reese struggled a bit, but managed to scrape up three late in the day, with his third fish coming from an area called the Spoils. He added that the shaky-head rig was what produced for him on the final day of the tournament.

“I thought if I could get one more fish I would run back up there to that dock to try and get a kicker,” said Reese. “I fished and fished and didn’t catch one, so with 15 minutes left I ran back up there anyway. With three fish in the boat and 15 or 20 minutes to fish I pulled up on it and caught one, and that ended up being the difference.”

The top 10 pros on the Potomac River finished:

1st: Marvin Reese, Randallstown, Md., 14 bass, 38-15, $38,026

2nd: Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., 15 bass, 37-9, $14,932

3rd: Justin Atkins, Florence, Ala., 15 bass, 37-3, $12,948

4th: Ryan Davidson, Branchland, W. Va., 15 bass, 36-3, $9,457

5th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 15 bass, 36-3, $9,511

6th: Robert Grike, Dumfries, Va., 14 bass, 36-0, $7,565

7th: Jordan Thompkins, Myrtle Beach, S.C., 15 bass, 33-10, $6,620

8th: Nitro pro Dylan Hays, El Dorado, Ark., 14 bass, 31-12, $5,874

9th: Casey Smith, Macedon, N.Y., 14 bass, 30-9, $4,728

10th: Wil Dieffenbauch, Morgantown, W. Va., 12 bass, 30-1, $3,783

A complete list of results will be posted at FLWFishing.com.

Chris Moxley of Strasburg, Virginia, weighed a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass Friday – the heaviest fish of the tournament in the Pro Division. The catch earned Moxley the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $272.

Jim Short of Ocean Pines, Maryland, won the Co-angler Division with a three-day total catch of 13 bass weighing 29 pounds, 9 ounces. For his win, Short took home a $32,350 prize package, including a Ranger Z175 with a 115-horsepower outboard motor.

The top 10 co-anglers on the Potomac River finished:

1st: Jim Short, Ocean Pines, Md., 13 bass, 29-9, $27,350 + $5,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2nd: Ted Kephart, Philipsburg, Pa., 13 bass, 28-10, $4,800

3rd: Austin Archer, Anniston, Ala., 12 bass, 26-11, $3,840

4th: Michael Duarte, Baltimore, Md., 14 bass, 26-1, $3,410

5th: Ryan Bauman, Fleetwood, Pa., 14 bass, 23-1, $3,030

6th: Dennis Blakely, Norwalk, Ohio, 13 bass, 22-7, $2,400

7th: William Puduski, Portsmouth, N.H., 10 bass, 19-4, $1,920

8th: Daniel Taylor, Elizabethton, Tenn., 6 bass, 17-6, $1,861

9th: David Williams, Fredericksburg, Va., 9 bass, 17-1, $1,440

10th: Sakae Ushio, Tonawanda, N.Y., 8 bass, 17-0, $1,200

Jeff Mellott of Warfordsburg, Pennsylvania, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 13 ounces. For his catch, Mellott earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $181.

The Costa FLW Series on the Potomac River presented by Lowrance was hosted by the Charles County Board of Commissioners. It was the second Northern Division tournament of the 2019 regular season. The next tournament for FLW Series anglers will be the Costa FLW Series at the St. Lawrence River presented by Realtree Fishing, held Sept. 19-21, in Massena, New York. For a complete schedule, visit FLWFishing.com.

The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western – along with the International division. Each U.S. division consists of three regular-season tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to compete in the season-ending Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2019 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Oct. 31 – Nov. 2 on Lake Cumberland in Burnside, Kentucky.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Costa FLW Series on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Categories
Major League Fishing - Bass Pro Tour/Cup Events

VINSON, POWROZNIK, NEAL, IACONELLI, EVERS ADVANCE TO CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND OF REDCREST PRESENTED BY VENMO

LA CROSSE, Wis. (Aug. 23, 2019) – Round 1 of the Knockout Round at REDCREST Presented by Venmo did not disappoint. After yesterday’s Elimination Round featured little to no drama near the Elimination Line, we had plenty of it today.
The 10 anglers battling to survive made it exciting down to the last second, and it truly came down to the wire. Edwin Evers was the last man in thanks to a Period 3 rally that bumped Stephen Browning to the wrong side of the Top 5.
Here’s what we know: Stephen Browning, Mark Daniels, Jr., Jeff Sprague, Andy Morgan, and Jacob Wheeler were eliminated, but each of them had their chances and they made valiant attempts to survive.
Greg Vinson, Michael Neal, Jacob Powroznik, Mike Iaconelli, and Edwin Evers have advanced. These five will be joined by five anglers from tomorrow’s Knockout Round – Round 2 and will compete for the REDCREST title at Sunday’s Championship Round on Pool 7.

Vinson Cruises
During the Shotgun and Elimination Rounds, Vinson was the most consistent angler in the field, weighing 48-7 and 50-4, respectively. He continued his solid tournament with 40 bass for 63-10 today, with the bulk of his weight coming on a jerkbait and topwater walking bait.
He took over the lead from Powroznik late in the day and then continued to catch fish until “lines out”.
Vinson credits the management of his locations for his success.
“I had a really good first day of practice there and saw other anglers fishing in the same area, but they were not keying on the same things,” he said. “I had to be careful not to be seen fishing the way I was the first two days.”
Pool 7 – site of the Championship Round – features a slightly different layout, and it is unclear if Vinson can run the same pattern, but he’s happy to have a chance.
“I’ll keep an open mind during my ride around and see what catches my eye,” he said. “It’s awesome to have a shot against nine other guys for the title of the first REDCREST champion,” he said.

Neal Stays Steady
Over the first two rounds, Neal was a solid performer with 82-7 during the first two days to land in 10th place. Today, he weighed over 60 pounds doing the same thing, mostly in the same location.
“I started there every day, and it is one of those ‘magical spots’ that seems to always have fish there,” said Neal. “It is what got me through each round.”
When he left his primary area and then returned, the bass were biting.
“I came back to it and caught nine fish in the afternoon with four on consecutive casts,” Neal added.

Powroznik Rides Massive Morning
Early on, Powroznik could do no wrong. He had an area stacked with fish and went to work with a wacky-rig to build his lead. The majority of his 53-13 came in Period 1, and it was enough for him to advance.

Iaconelli Survives
Iaconelli had plenty of peaks and valleys as he occupied every place from 10th to 4th at some point today. He made a switch to a small buzzbait in the final 30 minutes, and it was the difference-maker as he landed key bass that cemented his spot in the Championship Round.

Edwin Squeaks In
Evers, the 2019 Points Champion, shook off a slow morning and stayed focused all day, even with a tense close to Period 3.
“This format is so intense and exciting knowing exactly where you stand,” he said.
His final 3 minutes consisted of two fish catches and one two-minute fish landing violation. It was a crazy finish, but it worked out just fine for Evers.

Browning Falls Late
Stephen Browning had the unfortunate distinction of being the first man out. He had stayed in the top five the entire day, until when it mattered most. In the final 30 minutes, he was bumped by Evers. Browning caught a solid keeper in the final moments, but it was not enough as Evers also placed a bass on the scale in the last minute.
Browning was speechless as he was informed that he was eliminated by less than 2 pounds. Instead of addressing the MLF NOW! cameras, he strapped down his rods and prepared to leave.

MDJ’s Rally Comes Up Short
Late in Period 3, Mark Daniels Jr. had a shot and was within striking distance of the fifth position, but couldn’t get over the hump and finished just over 3 pounds out of the final spot. He remained unflappable even after hooking his official, having to remove the hook and then losing another bass in the final moments.

Daily Winners
Shotgun Round daily awards were:
* The Berkley Big Bass of the day was Stephen Browning’s 3-15 largemouth.
* Michael Neal won the Berkley Catch Count award with 42 bass on the day.
* Greg Vinson’s 63-10 earned him the Phoenix Boats Daily Leader award.

Looking Ahead
Knockout Round 2 commences tomorrow with the remaining 10 anglers vying for five spots to advance. They will be joined by today’s top finishers for the Championship Round on Pool 7 this Sunday.

How, When, Where to Watch
Competition continues on Friday at 7 a.m. CDT, with live, official scoring available via SCORETRACKER® on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MLF app.
MLF NOW! Live Stream Schedule (Times CDT)
  • Saturday, Aug. 24: 6:55 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Postgame Show at approximately 4 p.m.
  • Sunday, Aug. 25: 6:55 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Postgame Show at approximately 4 p.m.
How to Attend
Fans are invited to the Onalaska Omni Center for the MLF Midway and Postgame Show Presented by Berkley
  • REDCREST Midway: Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 23-25; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Postgame Show Presented by Berkley: Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 24-25; approximately 4 p.m.
Official Results

https://majorleaguefishing.com/event/redcrest-bass-pro-tour-championship-la-crosse-wi/results/

Categories
BASSMASTER Elite Series/Opens

Gustafson Cracks 25 Pounds, Takes Lead At Bassmaster Elite Series Event On Cayuga Lake

UNION SPRINGS, N.Y. —

Canadian pro Jeff Gustafson came into the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake with modest expectations.

But his confidence has grown with each passing day — and on Friday, it grew by leaps and bounds as Gustafson caught five bass that weighed 25 pounds, 6 ounces and took the lead with a two-day total of 49-1.

His catch of 25-6 is the biggest of the tournament so far.

“It was a dream day — both of the last two days were,” said Gustafson, who lives in Keewatin, Canada. “I was expecting that to happen either day, but now the expectations are pretty high. I’ve seen what’s out there, and it’s pretty impressive.”

While much of the field has been concentrating on shallow grass, Gustafson has focused on small patches of hard bottom offshore. Since this is his first trip to Cayuga, he said he doesn’t know a lot of spots to try.

So, he’s been sticking mainly with one area.

“There’s just not a lot of rock here,” he said. “In practice, I idled for hours and every couple of hours I’d kind of find something.

“When I started the tournament, my plan was to get a limit of largemouth and then go fish for smallmouth. I thought the smallmouth would be my biggest fish, but they disappeared.”

Gustafson has been using an Aqua-Vu underwater camera — and on Friday, he saw a few smallmouth that gave him an extra tinge of hope for the final two days.

“Even though I caught 25 pounds today, it wasn’t as easy as it might have seemed,” he said. “I’m really just catching one here and one there, but they’re the right ones.

“If the smallmouth turn back on, that could really make a big difference for me.”

Thursday’s leader Chris Zaldain of Fort Worth, Texas, caught another impressive bag of 21-11 and now rests in second place with 46-0.

He said his day could have been much better if it hadn’t been for some early miscues.

“With the way they’re biting, you’ve got to capitalize early,” Zaldain said. “I had some big bites early today and didn’t catch any of them. I missed a bite on a swimbait when the fish just crushed it, and then I broke one off.

“You have to put fish in the boat in that situation.”

Like Gustafson, Zaldain is fishing offshore structure with a variety of baits, including the big swimbaits he’s known for using.

“I think these big bass roam, they’re nomadic,” he said. “There’s 400 feet of water out in the middle of this place, and it’s nothing for a 5- or 6-pound largemouth to live in 35 feet of water — just like they do during the wintertime here.

“Where they go after the morning bite, I have no clue. I think they just hang out in the lake with the lake trout.”

Tennessee pro David Mullins, who caught 22-1 on Day 1, added 23-13 Friday and is now in third place with 45-14. Mullins said he’s fishing “mid-range” depths and has been lucky enough to have several spots to himself.

“Not only have I been fishing by myself, but I’ve got several places from practice I haven’t even tried yet, and I haven’t seen anybody on those spots either,” he said. “It may be that there’s no fish there, but they were there in practice.

“It’s nice to have that in reserve.”

Alabama pro Scott Canterbury had yet another solid day, bringing in 22-4 to move into fourth place with 45-2. With that showing, he maintained his stranglehold on the lead for Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year.

Canterbury’s total of 686 puts him 24 points ahead of second-place angler Drew Cook, a rookie from Florida.

“It’s just been a dream week for me,” said Canterbury, who was obviously emotional over the prospect of winning the AOY title. “The last two weeks have been that way.

“There’s so much fishing left to do. But winning Angler of the year … that would just be a dream come true.”

Cook caught 21-10 Thursday and jumped from 20th place in the tournament to seventh. He maintained his lead in the race for DICK’S Sporting Goods Rookie of the Year.

Louisiana’s Derek Hudnall still holds the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the week with an 8-1 largemouth.

The tournament resumes Saturday, with the Top 35 remaining pros taking off at 6:30 a.m. ET from Frontenac Park. The weigh-in will be held back at the park at 3 p.m., with only the Top 10 advancing to Championship Sunday for a chance to win the $100,000 first-place prize.

Categories
Major League Fishing - Bass Pro Tour/Cup Events

BIRGE CONTINUES ONSAUGHT, ROSE ROLLS AT REDCRESRT ON UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER ELIMINATION ROUND

LA CROSSE, Wis. (Aug. 22, 2019) – Another day on the Upper Mississippi River is in the books at the 2019 REDCREST Presented by Venmo, the Major League Fishing® (MLF) Bass Pro Tour championship. The fish continued to bite, and the field is set for the two Knockout Rounds to be held Friday and Saturday.

This week is a case of anglers either catching them or not, with nothing in between: The gap between 20th and 21st place was over 11 pounds. There were few changes in the standings as 19 of the Top 20 from yesterday’s Shotgun Round have advanced.

Only one angler was able to make a move up, and the bottom 10 anglers could not do enough to keep pace. Mark Rose is in, and Wesley Strader is out. Those are the only two changes from the day.

Rose was the star of the day as he moved up 18 places, and Birge continued to roll as he and several other top anglers cruised through the day. In total, the field caught over 943 pounds of bass, which was down from yesterday with some of the field in practice mode for the Knockout Rounds.

Birge Reaches 117 pounds
With a massive lead going into today, Birge had a stress-free day until getting his boat stuck late in the day.

“Today was pretty good until I got stuck,” Birge said. “I went to one of the places I got bit yesterday and in practice, caught six in a row and left. I just bounced around the rest of the day. I caught plenty in the morning, but they weren’t biting real good this afternoon.”

He caught 19 fish for 35-2 and pushed his weight total well past the 100-pound mark. No other angler was able to reach triple digits, but several came close.

During Period 3, Birge got stuck in shallow water and was not able to free it before time expired. He will occur a 15-minute penalty that starts as “Lines In” is called during tomorrow’s Knockout Round.

Rose’s Birthday Present to Himself
Today is Mark Rose’s birthday, and he celebrated all day. Rose started the day at a furious pace and continued to catch bass throughout the day. When it was all said and done, he had found 44 bass for 67-8. His great day pushed him from 22nd to 4th place.

“I had some ground to make up and went to the same place as yesterday and fished the same way,” Rose said. “There were more baitfish in there, and the bass were much more active. To be honest, I think the Good Lord blessed me on my birthday.”

Based on the seeding for the Knockout Rounds, Rose will have tomorrow off and will have to wait to see if his fish are still there on Saturday.

“It was a special day today, and if they turn on Saturday like they did today, I will have a chance. If not, I do have some backup areas, but will be scratching and clawing to survive,” said Rose.

Strader Falls Out
The lone angler to fall out of the Top 20 was Wesley Strader. He started the day in 20th and remained at or near 21st for the entire day. He tallied 16 bass for 26-5, a respectable total for the day, but was the victim of Rose’s meteoric rise today.

Elimination Line Watch
Casey Ashley finished the day in 20th and was an astonishing 11-11 above 21st place Wesley Strader.

Aside from Strader, the following anglers were eliminated from contention: Dustin Connell, Andy Montgomery, Cody Meyer, Ott DeFoe, Jordan Lee, Bradley Roy, Aaron Martens, Jared Lintner, and Bobby Lane.
Daily Winners
Shotgun Round daily awards
  • The Berkley Big Bass of the day was Jacob Wheeler’s 4-0 smallmouth.
  • Mark Rose won the Berkley Catch Count award with 44 bass on the day.
  • Rose’s 67-8 earned him the Phoenix Boats Daily Leader award.
Looking Ahead
The Top 20 anglers have advanced to the Knockout Rounds. Weights will be zeroed and the field split, with 10 MLF pros competing on Friday, Aug. 23, and 10 more on Saturday, Aug. 24. The Top 5 from each of these round will advance to Sunday’s Championship Round, where weights will again start over, and the playing field switched to Pool 7.

How, When, Where to Watch
Competition continues on Friday at 7 a.m. CDT, with live, official scoring available via SCORETRACKER® on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MLF app.

MLF NOW! Live Stream Schedule (Times CDT)
  • Friday, Aug. 23: 6:55 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • Saturday, Aug. 24: 6:55 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Postgame Show at approximately 4 p.m.
  • Sunday, Aug. 25: 6:55 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Postgame Show at approximately 4 p.m.
How to Attend
Fans are invited to the Onalaska Omni Center for the MLF Midway and Postgame Show Presented by Berkley
  • REDCREST Midway: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 23-25; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Postgame Show Presented by Berkley: Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 24-25; approximately 4 p.m.
Categories
BASSMASTER Elite Series/Opens

AFTER BIZARRE START, ZALDAIN TAKES DAY 1 LEAD ST BASSMASTER ELITE SERIES EVENT ON CAYUGA LAKE

UNION SPRINGS, N.Y. —

Chris Zaldain’s day couldn’t have started much worse.

Or ended much better.

The California native who now lives in Fort Worth, Texas, woke up Thursday to find that several of his best rod-and-reels had been stolen during the night.

But with what he had left, he went out and caught five bass that weighed 24 pounds, 5 ounces to take the first-round lead at the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake. His catch was 10 ounces better than that of second-place angler Jeff Gustafson (23-11) and one of 14 bags of the day that weighed at least 20 pounds.

“I opened up my rod box and my whole top layer — my starting lineup of Megabass rods and Shimano reels, $1,000 combos — were just gone,” Zaldain said. “It started out really bad. But I decided to salvage what I had, re-tie a few things and just stick to what I knew.”

As is often the case during the early rounds of an Elite event, Zaldain was tight-lipped about how he caught his fish. He said he only used two or three baits most of the day, but wasn’t specific about what they were.

It helped him, he added, that the situation took place on a fishery where the bass are often very cooperative once you locate them.

“Just like any northern fishery, when you find the bass here, they will bite,” he said. “I will say they’re not as easy to find as they were when we were here in 2016. I’m not finding huge groups of fish where you catch one every cast.

“You’ve got to work every spot, see what’s there and mine everything out of it.”

Despite not finding giant schools of bass, Zaldain was hopeful about his chances of repeating his success Friday.

“This place is unique in that your spots replenish,” he said. “I learned that the last time I was here. There are so many bass in Cayuga that it’s not even funny — and when they pull up to some of your waypoints, it happens fast.

“The average fish on this place reminds me of Clear Lake back in California — just fatties that weigh about 3 3/4 pounds.”

Zaldain’s excellent day was just enough to put him ahead of Gustafson, who came close to leading an Elite Series event on Day 1 for the second time this year. The Canadian newcomer led the first round on Georgia’s Lake Lanier — the second event of the season — only to struggle on Day 2 and finish 48th.

Gustafson, who is making his first trip to Cayuga, said he was surprised by the size of his catch, judging from what he caught in practice.

“I was hoping to catch 19 or 20 pounds today,” he said. “I wasn’t really expecting to catch the quality of fish that I did. I don’t really have a lot of spots — and the ones I do have, I’m having to lean on pretty hard.”

Gustafson grew up fishing deep water in Canada, and he said the offshore bite on Cayuga has been relatable to what he’s used to at home.

“This time of year and into the fall, we’re fishing deep water back home,” he said. “The same thing is kind of happening here — at least for me.

“I know guys are fishing grass and fishing shallow, too. That’s what’s really cool about this place. You can kind of do what you want to.”

Alabama angler Scott Canterbury continued his impressive run of consistency by catching a five-bass limit of 22-14 that landed him in third place.

It also helped him maintain his lead in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race. He now has 687 total points, with Zaldain following in second with 655.

“Today was an unbelievable day on the water,” Canterbury said. “We blasted them today — and I had no idea I was going to catch them like that. It was a lot of fun.”

After finishing third last week at the St. Lawrence River, Canterbury now has three Top 10s this season and has finished lower than 22nd in only one event.

For maybe the first time all year, he admitted Thursday that thoughts of the AOY title are starting to creep into his head.

“There’s still a lot of fishing left,” he said. “But you know, you are starting to think about it a little bit. I just want to keep fishing — and fish to win.”

Florida pro Drew Cook caught 19-2 Thursday and finished in 20th place, but he maintained his lead in the race for DICK’S Sporting Goods Rookie of the Year. Another rookie, Louisiana’s Derek Hudnall, took the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the week with an 8-1 giant.

The tournament resumes Friday with takeoff at 6:30 a.m. ET from Frontenac Park and the weigh-in back at the park at 3 p.m. After Friday, only the Top 35 remaining anglers will advance to Saturday’s semifinal round.

Categories
Major League Fishing - Bass Pro Tour/Cup Events

TOP 30 PRO ANGLERS COMPETE IN LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN, AUGUST 21-25 FOR TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

LA CROSSE, WIS. (Aug. 20, 2019) – REDCREST presented by Venmo, the Major League Fishing® (MLF) Bass Pro Tour championship, launches Wednesday, Aug. 21 in La Crosse featuring a field of the top 30 professional anglers based on points earned across the league’s eight-event Bass Pro Tour.

Major League Fishing features a fast-paced competition format in which all fish over 1 pound count and day-end weight totals whittle the field over four days until the final 10 compete for a total purse exceeding $700,000 in cash, as well as the final trophy of the year. As with each stage of the Bass Pro Tour, fans can catch live, continuous action online at majorleaguefishing.com or on the MLF app.

REDCREST takes place in Pools 7 and 8 of the Upper Mississippi River over the five-day event. All 30 anglers compete on days one and two, with the top 20 based on their two-day cumulative weight total advancing to the Knockout Rounds on Friday (day three) and Saturday (day four), in which 10 anglers compete each day. The top five from each group of the Knockout Rounds advance to the Championship Round on Sunday, Aug. 25.

The 30 REDCREST competitors, in order of points earned on the Bass Pro Tour, include: 2019 Points Champion Edwin Evers (510 points), Jeff Sprague (500), Brent Ehrler (491), Jacob Wheeler (488), Michael Neal (470), Todd Faircloth (468), Jordan Lee (460), Dustin Connell (445), Bobby Lane (437), Mark Rose (431), Andy Morgan (428), Mike Iaconelli (417), Casey Ashley (414), Aaron Martens (413), Andy Montgomery (413), Ott DeFoe (406), Wesley Strader (406), Jared Lintner (406), Greg Hackney (406), Fred Roumbanis (405), Bradley Roy (402), Stephen Browning (399), Jacob Powroznik (390), Zack Birge (385), Takahiro Omori (376), Greg Vinson (374), Brandon Palaniuk (371), Mark Daniels, Jr. (369), Cody Meyer (365) and Randall Tharp (361).

Jeff Sprague easily qualified for REDCREST after finishing second in the Race for the Points Championship behind Edwin Evers. The battle for the top spot came down to the final Stage of the season before Evers went home with the crown. After taking a couple of days to shake off the second-place finish, Sprague set his sights on going after a REDCREST title.

“I’m ready to get back in the saddle,” Sprague said. “I had a mediocre event in Stage Eight. It wasn’t a bad event, but it just so happened it was the event I really needed to do well at, but it didn’t work out. I’m ready to get back in the boat and to get the juices going again. After Stage Eight, I came straight home to Texas and took my son fishing and remembered that fishing is fun. I want to go out there and have some fun.”

Jordan Lee rode his Stage One championship all the way to the seventh-place spot in the points standings. While Lee spent his regular season trying to capture another Stage championship, he always had the thought of what the postseason could bring in the back of his mind.

“Throughout the year it’s always on your mind that you want to make it to the championship,” Lee described. “You don’t want to be sitting at home when the big one is around. I’m excited to get there because La Crosse is a great venue and I’m looking forward to having a chance to be the first winner of the REDCREST.”

MLF Executive Vice President and General Manager Don Rucks provided the origin of the REDCREST name, explaining that the prominent red MLF logo itself is a symbolic crest meant to represent the League’s family atmosphere among the anglers, sponsors, fans and host communities.

“A crest is also the highest point of a mountain, therefore REDCREST is our pinnacle of achievement – the peak of proficiency,” relayed Rucks. “Every MLF angler wants to be the best of the best, and all want the right to prove it by first earning an entry into REDCREST, and then winning the event.”

About the MLF Midway
Along with the competition days, REDCREST will include the MLF Midway, a free expo featuring the MLF NOW! live stage, autograph sessions with Major League Fishing pro anglers, and the chance to win prizes and test gear from the Bass Pro Tour sponsors, Friday to Sunday, Aug. 23-25. All activities, including interaction with the pros, are free and open to the public.

The MLF Midway is located at the Onalaska Omni Center (255 Riders Club Road, Onalaska, Wisconsin) and open Friday, Aug. 23 through Sunday, Aug. 25, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. CST. Sponsors present include: Venmo, Bass Pro Shops, Pure Fishing, General Tire, White River Marine Group, and Pure Fishing, to name a few, featuring over $25,000 in prizes and giveaways throughout the weekend. Fans can test ride boats and motors driven by MLF pros from Mercury Marine, Evinrude, Phoenix, and Bass Cat. Families can also learn about the importance of protecting fisheries through interactive exhibits from the Major League Fishing Conservation Team.

In addition to the anglers competing in REDCREST, fans can meet Major League Fishing pro anglers: Kevin VanDam, Skeet Reese, Josh Bertrand, Brent Chapman, Jason Christie, Cliff Crochet, Boyd Duckett, James Elam, Paul Elias, Shaw Grigsby, Roy Hawk, Randy Howell, Alton Jones, Alton Jones Jr., Kelly Jordon, Gary Klein, Jason Lambert, Chris Lane, Justin Lucas, Mike McClelland, John Murray, Britt Myers, Keith Poche, Marty Robinson, Dean Rojas, Terry Scroggins, Gerald Spohrer, Jonathon VanDam, James Watson and Russ Lane.

About the Postgame Show
Fans can also catch the Berkley Postgame Show live from the MLF NOW! stage at the MLF Midway on Thursday, Aug. 22, Saturday, Aug. 24, and Sunday, Aug. 25 beginning at approximately 4 p.m. CST. Postgame shows are free and open to the public, featuring competitors from that round, as well as prizes and giveaways from MLF.

About the Location
Major League Fishing chose La Crosse, Wisconsin, as the site of its inaugural REDCREST for the bass-rich waters of the Upper Mississippi, as well as the outdoor-centric lifestyle among its residents. “The entire La Crosse region overflows with fans who love the outdoors,” remarked Michael Mulone, Senior Director, Events for Major League Fishing. “It’s only fitting that the (Bass Pro Tour) championship happens where fishing is woven into the fabric of the community. Explore La Crosse and Onalaska Parks have done an exceptional job of welcoming our anglers, sponsors, and fans to their beautiful region.”

For more information on REDCREST and all MLF news, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

About Major League Fishing
Founded in 2011, Major League Fishing (MLF) brings the high-intensity sport of competitive bass fishing into America’s living rooms on Outdoor Channel, Discovery, CBS, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network, Sportsman Channel and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). New for 2019, the Bass Pro Tour consists of eight events and a championship streamed live on www.MajorLeagueFishing.com and MOTV. MLF uses the entertaining and conservation-friendly catch, weigh and immediate-release format where every scorable bass counts and the winner is the angler with the highest cumulative weight.

For more information on the league and anglers, visit www.majorleaguefishing.com and follow MLF on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

For more in-depth coverage, see Game & Fish magazine, the official publication of MLF.
Categories
MLF BIG-5

VIRGINIA’ LANGFORD WINS T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE TOURNAMENT ON POTOMAC RIVER

August 19, 2019 by FLW Communications

MARBURY, Md. – Boater Todd Langford of Great Falls, Virginia, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Shenandoah Division tournament on the Potomac River Saturday after catching a five-bass limit weighing 15 pounds, 2 ounces. Langford took home $2,600 for his efforts.

Langford said he fished mid-river, in Occoquan Bay. He caught them out of heavy grass mats using a Texas-rigged green-pumpkin-colored Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver, paired with a 1¾-ounce weight.

“I really fished one area where you could get bit on– the river is fishing tough right now,” said Langford, who notched his first career win in FLW competition. “The area was probably 500 yards, but had key spots within the stretch. There was some moving water in those spots and the high tide helped.”

Langford’s bait was rigged on a straight shank hook via snell knot, tied to 65-pound-test PowerPro Super Slick braided line on a 7-foot, 11-inch Halo Twilite Series heavy–action flipping rod.

“I caught 7 or 8 keepers during the tournament,” said Langford. “They bit best when the water was moving – at the end of the incoming tide and the beginning of the outgoing tide.”

Langford went on to say that he caught a key fish in the very back of a creek during low tide around 1:30 p.m. using a white 3/8-ounce Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer with a white Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper trailer.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st: Todd Langford, Great Falls, Va., five bass, 15-2, $2,600

2nd: Thomas Svec, Chesapeake, Va., five bass, 14-1, $1,440

3rd: Greg Lahr, Fayetteville, N.C., five bass, 13-8, $900

4th: Ronnie Baker, Providence Forge, Va., five bass, 11-0, $810

5th: Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., five bass, 10-5, $460

5th: Jim Jarvis, Timberville, Va., three bass, 10-5, $460

7th: Brian Mullaney, New Market, Md., five bass, 10-4, $400

8th: Kermit Crowder, Matoaca, Va., five bass, 10-0, $510

9th: Dennis Middleton, Madison Heights, Va., five bass, 9-15, $320

10th: Travis Lugar, McGaheysville, Va., five bass, 9-12

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Svec caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 3 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $240.

Shawn Huwar of Fredericksburg, Virginia, won the Co-angler Division and $1,320 Saturday after catching four bass weighing 11 pounds, 6 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st: Shawn Huwar, Fredericksburg, Va., four bass, 11-6, $1,320

2nd: Costas Melendez, Shenandoah, Va., four bass, 8-15, $600

3rd: Michael Taylor, Providence Forge, Va., five bass, 8-10, $600

4th: Jeff Mellott, Warfordsburg, Pa., five bass, 7-10, $280

5th: Keith Allen, Sumerduck, Va., five bass, 7-6, $240

6th: John Poos, Manassas, Va., four bass, 7-5, $420

7th: Hayward Thaxton III, Emmitsburg, Md., three bass, 6-14, $200

8th: Barker Plake, Hodges, S.C., three bass, 6-4, $180

9th: John Castro, Lorton, Va., three bass, 6-1, $160

10th: Timothy Patch, Lorton, Va., two bass, 5-14

Huwar also caught the heaviest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 10 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $120.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina, presented by Navionics. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.

The 2019 BFL 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 BFL All-American. The 2020 BFL All-American will be held April 30-May 2 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina, and is hosted by Visit Anderson. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

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