Russ Lane Dominates Opening Day at Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four at Lake Chickamauga Presented by ATG by Wrangler
DAYTON, Tenn. (June 4, 2021) – It was the best opening day of the season at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four Presented by ATG by Wrangler at Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. The 40 pros in Group A caught a single-day total of 271 bass weighing 806 pounds, 10 ounces, Thursday – the heaviest weight caught on any Day 1 so far this season.
B&W Trailer Hitches pro Russ Lane of Prattville, Alabama, was firmly in control of the Group A leaderboard after Day 1 concluded, catching 23 bass totaling 70 pounds,12 ounces, to grab the early lead in the two-day Group A Qualifying Round. The six-day event, hosted by Fish Dayton and the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council, features 80 of the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.
Lane will bring a 21-pound, 6-ounce, lead into Sunday’s second day of competition for Group A. Berkley pro Jordan Lee of Cullman, Alabama, the reigning Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year (AOY), caught 13 bass weighing 49-6 to end the day in second place. Michie, Tennessee’s Jason Lambert sits in third place after a 34-pound third period rally, just 1-ounce behind Lee with at total of 17 bass weighing 49-5.
The 40 anglers in Group A will now enjoy a day off Saturday, while the 40 anglers in Group B will begin their first day of competition. Group A resumes competition on Sunday.
“Man, what a day,” said Lane in his post-game interview from the water. “It is so much fun out here when things go right, and they really did today. I’ve got around a 20-pound lead and that is rare territory for me. I’m just enjoying the moment right now and I cannot wait to get back out here again for Day 2.”
Lane said that he mainly targeted Chickamauga’s offshore hydrilla beds and grass flats.
“I’m around them. There are a lot of good ones under the hydrilla, I just have to cover a lot of water,” Lane continued. “I caught them on a ¾-ounce ChatterBait with a little Big Bite (Baits) (Kamikaze) Swimon trailer with the tails cut down to make it have a little less action so the bait would get down deeper. I had 16-pound-test Sunline Sniper line spooled on a 7:1 (Shimano) Curado reel, and that setup has been doing some work today.”
Reigning AOY Jordan Lee has struggled so far this season and has not made it out of the Qualifying Rounds. But, after a productive day Thursday, it looks like the 30-year-old Alabamian may have broken out of his slump.
“It was a really good day for me,” Lee said. “I made some good decisions and things were just going right for me this morning. I haven’t made a cut yet this year, so to get off to a good start today feels really good.
“I caught some nice ones early and then just kept the ball rolling, picking up a few here and there all day. I mixed in a lot of different summertime, Tennessee River, ledge baits – cranking, a hair jig, and a Berkley (Havoc) Bottom Hopper. These fish here get a lot of pressure, so it was important to get off to a good start. Now, we’ll regroup and get after them again on Sunday.”
The top 20 pros in Group A after Day 1 on Lake Chickamauga are:
1st: Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala., 23 bass, 70-12 2nd: Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., 13 bass, 49-6 3rd: Jason Lambert, Michie, Tenn., 17 bass, 49-5 4th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 17 bass, 44-8 5th: Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., 11 bass, 38-14 6th: Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., eight bass, 31-11 7th: Matt Lee, Cullman, Ala., 10 bass, 29-12 8th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., nine bass, 27-5 9th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., eight bass, 26-2 10th: Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, nine bass, 23-5 11th: Roy Hawk, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., eight bass, 22-13 12th: Cliff Pace, Petal, Miss., eight bass, 21-10 13th: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., seven bass, 21-4 14th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., eight bass, 20-8 15th: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., seven bass, 20-4 16th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., five bass, 20-4 17th: Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., seven bass, 19-5 18th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., six bass, 19-4 19th: Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., five bass, 18-13 20th: Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., seven bass, 18-12
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Oklahoma, won Friday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing in an 8-pound, 7-ounce largemouth on a Carolina rig during Period 1. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler who weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.
The MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four at Lake Chickamauga Presented by ATG by Wrangler is hosted by Fish Dayton and the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council.
The 40 Anglers in Group A compete in their two-day qualifying round on Lake Chickamauga on Friday and Sunday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Saturday and Monday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers that finish in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 38 anglers compete to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
Anglers will take off from the Dayton Boat Dock, located at 175 Lakeshore St., in Dayton, at 6:30 a.m. ET each day of competition. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will also be held at the Dayton Boat Dock, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
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The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 76 of the top professional anglers in the world – joined at each event by 4 pros that qualify from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2022 championship.
TULSA, Okla. (Sept. 13, 2022) – Major League Fishing (MLF) announced today the formation of a new qualifying series that will launch in Spring of 2023 – the MLF Invitationals. The Invitationals will feature six events in 2023 and serve as the sole qualifying circuit into the MLF Bass Pro Tour.
The MLF Invitationals will feature a 150-angler field, competing over three days in a five-fish, weigh-in format. All 150 anglers will compete over the first two days of competition, with the top 50 anglers advancing to the third and final day. The winner of each Invitational will be determined by heaviest three-day cumulative weight. Each event will feature a total purse of more than $650,000, with the winner receiving a top payout of up to $115,000 and automatic qualification into MLF’s REDCREST, the Bass Pro Tour Championship that awards the sport’s top prize of $300,000.
MLF Invitationals will feature a $5,000 per tournament entry fee with payouts to the top 50 anglers that place it among the top three circuits in the nation along with providing a qualifying path to the Bass Pro Tour in only six events.
“MLF is committed to offering a wide selection of tournament opportunities to anglers of all skill levels – from our high school and college anglers all the way to our pros who compete on the Bass Pro Tour,” said Kathy Fennel, MLF Executive Vice President and General Manager. “The MLF Invitationals are a new qualifying series geared toward the best interests of anglers and the sport. We believe the Invitationals will be a valuable and efficient option for anglers seeking to compete in high-level five-fish-limit tournaments with an opportunity to qualify for REDCREST, while also providing a pathway for anglers that aspire to compete at the sport’s highest level on the Bass Pro Tour.”
In addition to the six “Win and You’re In” Invitational REDCREST qualifications, the season-long Invitational Angler of the Year (AOY) will also earn a berth into REDCREST for a total of seven REDCREST qualification opportunities. The top eight anglers in the season-long Invitational AOY point standings will qualify for the 2024 Bass Pro Tour.
The MLF Invitationals will replace the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit. Every angler who would have qualified to compete in the 2023 Pro Circuit will receive the first invitations to register for the new MLF Invitationals. The balance of the 150-boat field will be filled by professional anglers from the Bass Pro Tour and 2022 Pro Circuit and Toyota Series anglers who missed initial qualification. All qualified anglers may compete in any number of Invitational events. There will be no co-anglers in the MLF Invitationals.
Every day of competition will be broadcast live on MLF NOW!® and streamed to the Major League Fishing app, MyOutdoorTV (MOTV), and at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Each event will also air on CBS Sports Network, with 13 consecutive weeks of 2-hour shows scheduled in 2023.
Full schedules and locations for all 2023 MLF circuits will be revealed next week.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing, the MLF Invitationals and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
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, the Discovery Channel, the Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, the World Fishing Network, and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with offices 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 13 countries. In 2019, MLF expanded its portfolio of catch, weigh, and immediately release events to include the sport’s strongest five-biggest-fish format tournament circuits. 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.
Arizona Pro Weighs 27 Bass Totaling 86 Pounds, 13 Ounces to Lead Early for Group A – Group B to Start Competition Sunday
ONAMIA, Minn. (Sept. 10, 2022) – Berkley pro Josh Bertrand of Queen Creek, Arizona, caught 27 scorable smallmouth bass weighing 86 pounds, 13 ounces, to grab the early lead after Day 1 of the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Bally Bet Stage Seven at Mille Lacs Lake Presented by Minn Kota. Right behind Bertrand in second place is Hot Springs, Arkansas’ Stephen Browning, who caught 20 scorable bass weighing 84-13. The duo traded the lead back and forth multiple times throughout the third period, with Bertrand ending on top by the narrow 2-pound margin as time expired.
It’s seems to be a two-horse race in Group A, as Bertrand and Browning have a substantial 30-pound lead on the rest of the field. Weights are fairly stacked up in the remainder of the top 10. Pro Matt Lee of Cullman, Alabama, ended the day in third place with 15 bass totaling 53-11. Ardmore, Oklahoma’s Jeff Kriet caught 13 bass weighing 50-5 to end the day in fourth, while Berkley pro Jordan Lee of Cullman, Alabama , rounds out the top five with 15 bass weighing 46-11.
The 40 anglers in Group A will now have an off day from competition on Sunday, while the 40 anglers competing in Group B will begin their first day of competition. Group A will resume competition on Monday.
“It was a great first day – I caught a bunch of fish, and a lot of really good quality ones,” Bertrand said. “I caught them multiple different ways. This morning I caught them cranking and throwing a Carolina rig – they were really biting the reaction baits early. Then this afternoon it slicked off and I ended up catching them on a drop-shot rig, using a Berkley (PowerBait) MaxScent Hit Worm.
“The forecast is calling for really calm conditions for the next few days, but it’s supposed to get nasty again in our Knockout Round on Wednesday. So, I’m really going to try hard to win this Qualifying Round and advance straight to Championship Thursday – I do not want to be out here when it’s nasty,” Bertrand went on to say. “We’ve got a lot of fishing still ahead of us, but I’m thankful to be off to a really good start.”
The top 20 pros in Group A after Day 1 on Mille Lacs Lake are:
1st: Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., 27 bass, 86-13 2nd: Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., 20 bass, 84-13 3rd: Matt Lee, Cullman, Ala., 15 bass, 53-11 4th: Jeff Kriet, Ardmore, Okla., 13 bass, 50-5 5th: Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., 15 bass, 46-11 6th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 13 bass, 43-14 7th: Mark Daniels, Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 12 bass, 43-14 8th: Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., 14 bass, 42-12 9th: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 11 bass, 41-9 10th: Marty Robinson, Lyman, S.C., 11 bass, 41-2 11th: Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 11 bass, 38-8 12th: David Walker, Sevierville, Tenn., 11 bass, 37-10 13th: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 10 bass, 34-7 14th: Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., nine bass, 34-6 15th: Mike McClelland, Blue Eye, Mo., nine bass, 34-1 16th: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 10 bass, 33-10 17th: Boyd Duckett, Guntersville, Ala., 16 bass, 33-6 18th: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 10 bass, 32-4 19th: Brent Chapman, Lake Quivira, Kan., 11 bass, 31-11 20th: Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, eight bass, 31-5
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 396 scorable bass weighing 1,339 pounds, 2 ounces caught by the 40 pros Saturday.
Browning caught the biggest fish of the day, a chunky 5-pound, 8-ounce smallmouth bass during Period 1 to earn the first $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award of the event. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.
Texas Pro Catches 25 Scorable Smallmouth Weighing 92 Pounds, 13 Ounces to Lead Group B Qualifying Round By 27 Pounds after Day 1, Group A to Wrap Up Their Qualifying Round Monday
ONAMIA, Minn. (Sept. 11, 2022) – Although widely regarded as a shallow-water, sight-fishing expert, Texas pro Alton Jones, Sr., demonstrated Sunday that he also knows a thing or two about catching northern smallmouth as well. The Lorena, Texas, pro caught 25 scorable smallmouth bass Sunday weighing 92 pounds, 13 ounces, to pace the field by 27 pounds after Day 1 for Group B at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Bally Bet Stage Seven at Mille Lacs Lake Presented by Minn Kota.
Jones will bring a comfortable lead over second-place, Googan Baits pro Dustin Connell of Clanton, Alabama, into Tuesday’s second day of competition in the Qualifying Round for Group B. Connell landed 17 scoreable bass – all smallmouth – weighing 65-13, while Bally Bet Angler of the Year (AOY) leader pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, rounds out the top three with 17 scorable bass weighing 58-13 to end the day in third place.
The 40 anglers in Group B will now have a day off on Monday, while the 40 anglers from Group A will wrap up their two-day Qualifying Round. Group B will finish their Qualifying Round on Tuesday.
“It’s humbling when you have a day like this,” Jones said in his post-game interview. “It was a great day – better than the other 39 guys today, and better than everyone that was on the water yesterday, too. So, I’m very pleased, and very thankful.
“I had a good practice, but that doesn’t always translate into a good tournament. This week it has, so far,” Jones continued. “I was able to move around to a lot of different places today and get bit, so I’m feeling really good with how my day went.”
With a 27-pound lead heading into the second day of Qualifying Round competition, Jones is already eyeing the automatic qualification to the Championship Round.
“I think I’ve got a strong enough lead that I can really try to go for it and win the round on Tuesday,” Jones went on to say. “The negative part is that if you go for it and someone passes you and you don’t win the round, you end up burning a lot of fish that you’ll need in the Knockout Round. We’ll see. If someone catches up real quick Tuesday and passes me and I’m struggling, I’ll back off and just start practicing. There is so much strategy that goes into this game. We’ll see how it goes.”
The top 20 pros in Group B after Day 1 on Mille Lacs Lake are:
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 382 scorable bass weighing 1,291 pounds, 14 ounces caught by 39 pros Sunday. Pro Keith Poche of Pike Road, Alabama, did not compete due to illness.
Pros Cliff Pace and Gerald Spohrer tied for Sunday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award for the largest bass of the day – each caught a smallmouth weighing 5 pounds, 10 ounces. Pace caught his 5-10 on a Ned rig during Period 1, while Spohrer’s 5-10 came on a medium-diving crankbait, also during Period 1. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.
The six-day tournament, hosted by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, showcases 80 of the best professional anglers in the world competing for a purse of more than $805,000, including a top payout of $100,000 to the winner. The tournament is livestreamed each day at MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MOTV app, and also filmed for television broadcast later this fall on the Discovery Channel.
The 40 Anglers in Group A compete in their two-day qualifying round on Saturday and Monday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Sunday and Tuesday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers that finish in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Thursday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 38 anglers compete to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
Anglers will launch each day at 7:30 a.m. CT from Eddy’s Resort, located at 41334 Shakopee Lake Road in Onamia. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the Resort, beginning at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
On Championship Thursday, Sept. 15, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF will host a Celebration Event for fans of all ages, inviting fans to come out and celebrate with the professional anglers from the Bass Pro Tour as they crown the champion of the Bally Bet Stage Seven on Mille Lacs Lake Presented by Minn Kota. The first 50 youth anglers 10 and under in attendance will receive a free Pure Fishing Shakespeare Kid’s Rod and Reel combo. The final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration to meet and greet fans, sign autographs, and take selfies.
The Bally Bet Stage Seven on Mille Lacs Lake Presented by Minn Kota features anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST IV, the Bass Pro Tour championship, which will be held next March on Lake Norman in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all six days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the Bally Bet Stage Seven on Mille Lacs Lake Presented by Minn Kota will premiere as a two-hour episode at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Nov. 19 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of tournament competition.
Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bally Bet, Bass Cat, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Covercraft, Favorite Fishing, Garmin, General Tire, Googan Baits, Grundéns, Guaranteed Rate, Humminbird, Lowrance, Luminox, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Nitro Performance Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Power Stop, Rapala, Starbrite, Toro, Toyota, Wrangler, Yellowstone Bourbon and Zoom.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (July 13, 2022) – Major League Fishing (MLF)’s REDCREST, the world championship of professional bass fishing, is heading to the Queen City.
REDCREST IV will showcase the top 40 anglers from the 2022 Bass Pro Tour season competing for the REDCREST Championship trophy and the top prize of $300,000. Previous winners of the prestigious event include Bobby Lane (2022), Dustin Connell (2021) and Edwin Evers (2019).
In addition to the tournament and the international media coverage it receives, the MLF Outdoor Sports Expo featuring hundreds of exhibitors and activities will be held at The Park Expo & Conference Center in Charlotte. Fishing and outdoor enthusiasts will have the opportunity to visit booths and vendors showcasing the latest and greatest in fishing, boating, hunting, camping and more. The biggest names in the outdoor industry will be on hand, including all 80 Bass Pro Tour anglers. Visitors from around the globe will not only watch the world’s best bass-fishing action, but they’ll also receive great deals on everything from crankbaits to rods and reels to bass boats at the outdoor show.
As Charlotte’s hospitality industry continues to see strong recovery, we are ecstatic to welcome Major League Fishing’s REDCREST IV championship next year,” said Tom Murray, Chief Executive Officer of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. “Charlotte offers a diverse mix of experiential activities for travelers and locals alike including thrilling outdoor adventures. We look forward to welcoming MLF fans and outdoor enthusiasts to the Queen City.”
“Following an exciting and successful REDCREST in Tulsa, we’re thrilled to announce that we’re bringing REDCREST IV to Charlotte. The city has a passionate outdoor community and offers numerous locations and facilities that will enable us to build the tournament and outdoor show in unique ways,” said Michael Mulone, MLF Vice President of Strategic Business Planning. “We are excited to work with the CRVA, Visit Lake Norman and the Mecklenburg Park and Recreation Department to deliver a memorable celebration of fishing and the outdoors to our fans and outdoor enthusiasts.”
Although Lake Norman has played host to dozens of MLF (and former FLW) tournaments over the years, this event will mark the first time that the MLF Bass Pro Tour will visit Lake Norman. The majority of MLF experience is limited to some Phoenix Bass Fishing League tournaments, a handful of Toyota Series events and five Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit events – the last in 2016. This tournament will feature the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format in which anglers catch as much weight as they can each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard.
“REDCREST IV is the most prestigious fishing event Lake Norman has ever hosted, and we very much appreciate the partnership with MLF, and formerly FLW, in hosting their events over the last couple of decades. Also, we could never host this type of event without our continued partnerships with the CRVA and Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation. We are thrilled to partner in making sure this is the best REDCREST yet,” said Sally Ashworth, Executive Director of Visit Lake Norman.
Each day of competition will be livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app. Television coverage of REDCREST IV will be showcased across two two-hour episodes, premiering next summer on the Discovery Channel. A one-hour special episode, MLF REDCREST IV, is also scheduled to air next summer on CBS.
Proud sponsors of the MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, BallyBet, Bass Cat, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Covercraft, Favorite Fishing, Garmin, General Tire, Googan Baits, Grundéns, Guaranteed Rate, Humminbird, Lowrance, Luminox, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Nitro Performance Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Power Stop, Rapala, Starbrite, Toro, Toyota, Wrangler, Yellowstone Bourbon and Zoom.
HOTTEST NEW LURES FOR 2020
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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, the Discovery Channel, the Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, the World Fishing Network, and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with offices 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 13 countries. In 2019, MLF expanded its portfolio of catch, weigh, and immediately release events to include the sport’s strongest five-biggest-fish format tournament circuits. 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.
TULSA, Okla. – Country music star Clayton Anderson (Visionary Media Group) will perform a free concert on the Mossy Oak Music stage at the SageNet Center at Expo Square in Tulsa on Sunday, March 27, beginning at 4 p.m. before the world’s premier bass anglers return from Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees to crown the REDCREST 2022 Champion – professional bass fishing’s world championship. Fans of all ages are encouraged to attend the free concert which is presented by Ugly Stik.
Anderson’s latest hit: “Show Me Your Fish” resonates with anglers of all ages and included mention of the iconic fishing brand Ugly Stik throughout the song. The summertime anthem, which had its World Premiere on Country Music Television (CMT) earlier this week, is sure to be heard blasting from boats and trucks across the country this year as he encourages fishermen and women of all ages to break out their Ugly Stiks and show off their best catch.
“I’m so pumped to be headlining REDCREST this year. Country music and fishin’, what goes together better than that,” said Anderson. “And it couldn’t be better timing with the release of ‘Show Me Your Fish’. As a little kid floating the East Fork of the White River, if you told me this would be happening, I’d never believed ya. Really looking forward to grabbing an Ugly Stik, getting out there and hanging with the pros, amateurs, and all the fishin’ fans. Gonna be a heckuva time.”
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A country singer-songwriter with a midwestern rock flair, Anderson grew up on the lakes of Southern Indiana — fishing, boating, and playing his guitar. As a student at Indiana University, he kicked off his music career, building a grassroots fan following playing local bars and parties. In 2008, he walked onstage at Kenny Chesney’s Next Big Star Battle in Cincinnati and walked off as the winner. He released his debut album, Torn Jeans & Tailgates, in 2011, followed by Right Where I Belong (2014) and Only to Borrow (2016). Pre-COVID, he toured nonstop, opening for Eric Church, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Jimmy Buffett, Thomas Rhett, Lee Brice, and Carly Pearce.
During the pandemic, Anderson got creative, going virtual and diving back into his roots on the water with a lineup of Lake Tour concerts. To kick off 2022, Anderson released two brand new singles: “Nothin’ But Net” (produced by Grammy-winning Dave Audé and as heard on ESPN for College Basketball Season) and “Get After It” (produced by Nash Overstreet), a song that celebrates hard work and getting the job done. Stay tuned for much more to come from Clayton in 2022.
Anderson’s appearance at REDCREST 2022 is presented by Ugly Stik. The brand will also be hosting a meet and greet with Anderson at the Berkley booth during the expo and hand out Ugly Stik giveaways to fishing fans who watch his appearance on the Mossy Oak Music Stage. More information on Anderson’s appearance can be found by following Ugly Stik on Facebook and Instagram.
Hosted by VisitTulsa, REDCREST 2022 Presented by Costa will take place March 23-27, 2022, with competition set for Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, and the REDCREST Outdoor Sports Expo Presented by Costa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event will showcase the top 41 Bass Pro Tour anglers from the 2021 season competing for the prestigious REDCREST Championship and the top prize of $300,000.
About Clayton Anderson’s Partner, Visionary Media Group
Visionary Media Group is a homegrown, Nashville-based Music, Film, Media and Technology company. Our mission is to illuminate purpose-driven stories through a new end-to-end storytelling paradigm. Visionary employs world-class talent and state-of-the-art technology to Empower Creators, Enhance Content, Engage Community, and Amplify Storytelling. We invite you to join us in an exciting new journey to empower artists and fans to reimagine authentic connections and rekindle a shared sense of purpose as we launch our interactive storytelling platform, Evernova.
MONROE-WEST MONROE, La. (Feb. 10, 2022) – The Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole in Monroe-West Monroe, Louisiana, won’t necessarily be remembered for the number of fish caught, but it will go down in the history books for the size of the fish caught.
In an incredible day of fishing on Bussey Brake, the final 10 Bass Pro Tour anglers caught 31 scorable bass weighing 163 pounds, 2 ounces – an average weight of 5 pounds, 5 ounces. The catch included three 7-pounders, one 8-pounder, two 9-pounders and one 12-pounder, a remarkable day that had the professional bass fishing world buzzing.
After the final fish had hit the SCORETRACKER™ leaderboard Thursday evening, it was Covercraft pro Bradley Roy of Lancaster, Kentucky, whose name remained at the top. Roy weighed in five bass totaling 26 pounds, 2 ounces, enough to hold off a hard-charging Alton Jones of Lorena, Texas, by a 1-pound, 3-ounce margin.
“Man, this has been a long time coming. God gets all the glory for this one, because I tried every way in the world to mess this one up,” Roy said in his post-game interview. “The third period for me was miserable. I just felt like I was taking blow after blow. Randy (Howell) catches a 12. Jordan Lee was coming – I knew he wouldn’t quit. Then Alton (Jones) – I could see him. I could see (Bryan) Thrift. They were all catching them, and I couldn’t get a bite.
“SCORETRACKER is bad when you’re around the cut, but it was another level this afternoon,” Roy continued. “I just kept looking down at the clock and listening to my official. Every time he’d clear his throat and get ready to speak again my heart would just drop. I’m just so grateful that I had enough weight. To come out on top is pretty special.”
“I think the baby pattern must be the deal,” Roy said, of his new son Lucas who was just born in August. “Everyone always says – you have a new baby, and you win a tournament. Well, we just had Lucas, and now I win. I think there might be something to that.”
For the second consecutive day, pro Randy Howell of Guntersville, For the second consecutive day, pro Randy Howell of Guntersville, Alabama , broke the Bass Pro Tour record for heaviest bass ever weighed in during competition. After earning Wednesday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award for his then record-setting 10-pound, 11-ounce giant from Caney Creek, Howell backed it up on Thursday with a new record-setting 12-pound, 14-ounce lunker – a new Bass Pro Tour record and a new lake record for Bussey Brake. Howell also won Thursday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award and earned the $3,000 Berkley Big Bass award for the overall largest bass of the event.
“Overall, I didn’t catch many bass this week, but I made it all the way to sixth place,” Howell said. “It just goes to show you that one flip, one cast can change your whole life. Never give up, fish to the last minute and good things will happen.
“I never really found what I know this lake is capable of, but we ended up a lot better than how we started today,” Howell continued. “Towards the end of the day I was flipping the old (Yamamoto) Senko – and the big one bit. It was a black and blue Senko, with a red Bass Pro XPS tungsten weight – I think the red gives it a little flash – and I threw it on a 7-foot, 6-inch Daiwa Ish Monroe Flipping Stick with a 8:1 Daiwa Tatula reel and 22-pound Daiwa Fluorocarbon line.”
The top 10 pros at the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole finished:
1st: Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., five bass, 26-2, $100,000 2nd: Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, five bass, 24-15, $45,000 3rd: Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 24-9, $38,000 4th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., four bass, 23-15, $32,000 5th: Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, four bass, 18-13, $30,000 6th: Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., two bass, 16-3, $26,000 7th: Mark Daniels, Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., three bass, 13-6, $23,000 8th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., two bass, 11-4, $28,000 9th: Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan, one bass, 3-15, $19,000 10th: Jared Lintner, Covington, Ga., zero bass, $16,000
The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole featured anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement on Lake D’Arbonne, and a 2-pound minimum weight requirement on Caney Creek and Bussey Brake for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole, hosted by Discover Monroe-West Monroe, showcased 80 of the top professional bass-fishing anglers in the world competing over six days for a total purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.
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Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole will premiere at 7 a.m. ET, Sept. 3 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.
The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2023 championship.
Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, BallyBet, Bass Cat, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Covercraft, Favorite Fishing, Garmin, General Tire, Googan Baits, Grundéns, Guaranteed Rate, Humminbird, Lowrance, Luminox, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Nitro Performance Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Power Stop, Rapala, Starbrite, Toro, Toyota, Wrangler, Yellowstone Bourbon and Zoom.
MONROE-WEST MONROE, La. (Feb. 9, 2022) – After surviving a tough four-day Qualifying Round on Lake D’Arbonne, the 38 Bass Pro Tour anglers that advanced to Wednesday’s Knockout Round on Caney Creek Reservoir were rewarded with an incredible day of fishing, that included a new record for the all-time heaviest bass weighed in Bass Pro Tour competition.
When time expired at 5 p.m., Academy Sports + Outdoors pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, had tallied “one of the best fishing days of his entire life” – nine bass totaling 43 pounds, 7 ounces – to win the Knockout Round and advance to the final day of competition at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole in Monroe-West Monroe, Louisiana. Wheeler’s closest competitor was Berkley pro Jordan Lee of Cullman, Alabama, who boated six bass – including a pair of 8-pounders – for a total weight of 34 pounds, 10 ounces.
MLF NOW! analyst Marty Stone often likes to say, the best anglers will catch fish and win, no matter the format. His point was well proven, Wednesday, as Wheeler’s best five-fish weight would have been 32 pounds, 5 ounces, and Lee’s best five would have gone for 32 pounds even – magical days by any format.
Guntersville, Alabama’s Randy Howell won the day’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award after he caught the largest bass ever weighed in Bass Pro Tour competition – a 10-pound, 11-ounce giant that bit his lipless crankbait in Period 1. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.
The final 10 anglers are now set, and competition will resume Thursday morning with the Championship Round when weights are zeroed, and the angler that catches the most one-day weight will win the top prize of $100,000.
The six-day event, hosted by Discover Monroe-West Monroe, showcases 80 of the top professional bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a total purse of $805,000.
The top eight pros from Wednesday’s Knockout Round that will compete in Thursday’s Championship Round on Bussey Brake are:
1st: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., nine bass, 43-7 2nd: Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., six bass, 34-10 3rd: Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., six bass, 27-12 4th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., six bass, 23-0 5th: Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., three bass, 18-3 6th: Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, five bass, 18-1 7th: Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, four bass, 15-6 8th: Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan, three bass, 14-9
They’ll be joined by Qualifying Round winners:
Group A: Mark Daniels, Jr., Tuskegee, Ala. Group B: Jared Lintner, Covington, Ga.
Full results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
“What an unbelievable day,” said an excited Wheeler said in his post-game interview. “That was so much fun. As many big ones as I caught – it was definitely the best tournament fishing day I’ve ever had. One of the best fishing days of my entire life.”
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Wheeler spent the day throwing a jerkbait, targeting offshore structure – rock, points and brush.
“Multiple different jerkbaits played for me today,” Wheeler said. “It was pretty much Jerkbait Fishing 101. I threw it on a 6-foot, 8-inch medium-action (Duckett) Kelly Jordon Pro Series rod with 12-pound Sufix line.
“I promise that this isn’t the last time that you’ll see me here,” Wheeler went on to say. “I’ll definitely be making a couple of trips back to Caney Lake, this place was unreal.”
Also having a special day on the water was Alabama’s Jordan Lee, who weighed in two fish over 8 pounds and one over 7 pounds.
“Today was just crazy, the size of fish that I caught today,” Lee said. “I only caught six, but they were big. It was an incredible day.
“I caught the first fish on a ½-ounce football jig with a Berkley Chigger Craw, and it was one of those 8s,” Lee said. “From then on, I couldn’t get those fish to bite. I could see them on my Lowrance, so that’s when I went to a little Ned Rig.
“I was cutting a Berkley Hit Worm in half and using that on a spinning rod, and that was pretty much my 1-2 punch out deep.”
Rounding out the top 40 finishers were:
11th: Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., four bass, 14-5, $10,000 12th: Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., three bass, 12-2, $10,000 13th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., three bass, 10-13, $10,000 14th: Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., three bass, 8-15, $1, $10,000 15th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., three bass, 7-13, $10,000 16th: Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala., three bass, 7-12, $10,000 17th: Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., two bass, 7-11, $10,000 18th: Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., three bass, 7-4, $10,000 19th: Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., three bass, 7-1, $10,000 20th: Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., two bass, 6-6, $10,000 21st: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., three bass, 6-5, $10,000 22nd: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., two bass, 6-0, $10,000 23rd: Randall Tharp, Port Saint Joe, Fla., two bass, 5-15, $10,000 24th: Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., two bass, 5-5, $10,000 25th: Jonathon VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., one bass, 5-1, $10,000 26th: Roy Hawk, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., two bass, 4-14, $10,000 27th: Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., one bass, 4-7, $10,000 28th: Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., one bass, 3-12, $10,000 29th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., one bass, 3-11, $10,000 30th: James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., one bass, 3-2, $10,000 31st: Cody Meyer, Star, Idaho, one bass, 2-7, $10,000 32nd: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., one bass, 2-6, $10,000 33rd: Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., one bass, 2-5, $10,000 34th: Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., one bass, 2-2, $10,000 35th: Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, zero bass, $10,000 35th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., zero bass, $10,000 35th: Timmy Horton, Muscle Shoals, Ala., zero bass, $10,000 35th: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., zero bass, $10,000 35th: Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., zero bass, $10,000 35th: Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., zero bass, $10,000
Overall, there were 91 scorable bass weighing 342 pounds, 14 ounces caught by 32 pros on Wednesday, which included six 7-pounders, two 8-pounders, and one 10-pounder.
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The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Lake D’Arbonne Saturday and Monday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Sunday and Tuesday. After the two-day Qualifying Round, the anglers that finished in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advanced to Wednesday’s Knockout Round on Caney Creek Reservoir, while the winner of each group advanced directly to Thursday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round weights are zeroed, and the remaining 38 anglers competed to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round on Bussey Brake. Tomorrow, in the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
The final 10 anglers competing in Thursday’s Championship Round on Bussey Brake will launch from Bonner Ferry Road, five miles northwest of Bastrop off of Hwy 593 at 8:30 a.m. The General Tire Takeout will be held at the launch ramp, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole features anglers competing in the Championship Round with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement on Bussey Brake for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2023 championship.
The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all six days of competition from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole will premiere at 7 a.m. ET, Sept. 3 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.
Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, BallyBet, Bass Cat, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Covercraft, Favorite Fishing, Garmin, General Tire, Googan Baits, Grundéns, Guaranteed Rate, Humminbird, Lowrance, Luminox, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Nitro Performance Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Power Stop, Rapala, Starbrite, Toro, Toyota, Wrangler, Yellowstone Bourbon and Zoom.
MONROE-WEST MONROE, La. (Feb. 8, 2022) – Although he didn’t have as quite of good of a day as he did Sunday, pro Jared Lintner of Covington, Georgia, had enough of a cushion that it really was never close. Lintner weighed in a two-day total of 11 scorable bass on Lake D’Arbonne totaling 47 pounds, 5 ounces, to cruise to a Qualifying Round win for Group B at the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole in Monroe-West Monroe, Louisiana, and advance straight into the final-day Championship Round.
Covercraft pro Bradley Roy of Lancaster, Kentucky, caught a two-day total of 11 bass weighing 30-5 to end the round in second place, while Lynchburg, Virginia’s David Dudley, finished the round in third place with a two-day total of 11 bass weighing 29-10. Toro pro Jeff Sprague of Point, Texas , caught 10 bass weighing 26-13 to finish in fourth, while Kalamazoo, Michigan’s Kevin VanDam, the most decorated angler in the sport, advanced to the Knockout Round in fifth place with a two-day total of nine bass weighing 25 pounds even.
The remaining 38 anglers – 19 from each group – now advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round, where weights are zeroed, and the anglers compete to finish in the top eight to advance to the Championship Round on Thursday. The Championship Round will feature Group A winner Mark Daniels Jr., Group B winner Jared Lintner, and the top eight anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.
The six-day event, hosted by Discover Monroe-West Monroe, showcases 80 of the top professional bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a total purse of $805,000.
“You can’t win it if you’re not in it, and I am thrilled to know that we are in it,” Lintner said in his post-game interview. “It has been a grind this week – very few bites to be had. When the fishing is tough, you have to go with what you have confidence in and that’s what I have done this week fishing the Bubba Shot.
“It wasn’t a pretty day, today,” Lintner continued. “I didn’t catch any big ones. And I really started feeling some heat from Bradley Roy in the third period, but luckily I caught enough to hold him off.”
“The Pautzke’s is making a difference,” Lintner said. “Several times throughout this first round I’d have a moment where I thought I’d feel a bite, or I’d miss one. I’d re-lather that worm up in the Fire Gel and they’d choke it.
“I’ve come close to winning several times before – and I’ve also been the guy knocked out at the last minute – so I am so happy to finally win my round,” Lintner went on to say. “I know things are going to be very different on Bussey Brake, so I’ll go back to the house and revamp everything, and I’ll be ready to go.”
After not having a scorable bass well into the third period on Sunday, VanDam caught four bass in the final 10 minutes of the day to start Tuesday in seventh place, He added four more bass Tuesday weighing 11 pounds, 12 ounces to comfortably advance to the Knockout Round in fifth place.
“The only thing that I had left was the upper end of the lake, fishing the river points and tree lines up the river,” VanDam said. “I was throwing a Strike King KVD 300 Jerkbait series and a Strike King Series 3 crankbait – crawfish, or baby carp, or Denny Brauer craw – any kind of brownish crawfish color.
“I’m moving on to Caney Lake, and that was my main goal – I wanted to start the season off strong,” VanDam went on to say. “Hopefully tomorrow we can get into that top eight and move on to the Championship Round.
The top 20 pros in Qualifying Group B that advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round on Caney Creek are:
1st: Jared Lintner, Covington, Ga., 18 bass, 47-5 – ADVANCES TO CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 2nd: Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., 11 bass, 30-5 3rd: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 11 bass, 29-10 4th: Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, 10 bass, 26-13 5th: Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., nine bass, 25-0 6th: Jonathon VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 13 bass, 24-15 7th: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., 10 bass, 23-7 8th: Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., eight bass, 22-2 9th: Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., seven bass, 21-4 10th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., nine bass, 20-5 11th: Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 20-4 12th: Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., eight bass, 19-8 13th: Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., six bass, 18-11 14th: Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., eight bass, 18-10 15th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., eight bass, 18-4 16th: Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., nine bass, 18-2 17th: Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., seven bass, 16-12 18th: James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., five bass, 15-4 19th: Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., seven bass, 14-2 20th: Randall Tharp, Port Saint Joe, Fla., three bass, 13-15
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A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 121 scorable bass weighing 319 pounds, 1 ounce caught by 33 pros on Tuesday.
Shryock and Tharp split the day’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award, taking home $500 apiece as each weighed in a bass totaling 5 pounds, 7 ounces. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.
The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Lake D’Arbonne Saturday and Monday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Sunday and Tuesday. With the two-day Qualifying Round now complete, the anglers that finished in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round on Caney Creek Reservoir, while the winner of each group advances directly to Thursday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round weights are zeroed, and the remaining 38 anglers compete to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round on Bussey Brake. In the final day Championship Round weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
The 38 anglers competing in the Knockout Round will launch Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. from Caney Creek Hooks Marina, located at 400 Spillway Road in Chatham, Louisiana. Thursday’s final day Championship Round on Bussey Brake will launch at 8:30 a.m. from Bonner Ferry Road, five miles northwest of Bastrop off of Hwy 593.
Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the respective launch ramps, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement on Lake D’Arbonne, and a 2-pound minimum weight requirement on Caney Creek and Bussey Brake for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2023 championship.
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Next
The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all six days of competition from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole will premiere at 7 a.m. ET, Sept. 3 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.
Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, BallyBet, Bass Cat, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Covercraft, Favorite Fishing, Garmin, General Tire, Googan Baits, Grundéns, Guaranteed Rate, Humminbird, Lowrance, Luminox, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Nitro Performance Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Power Stop, Rapala, Starbrite, Toro, Toyota, Wrangler, Yellowstone Bourbon and Zoom.
MONROE-WEST MONROE, La. (Feb. 7, 2022) – Favorite Fishing pro Mark Daniels Jr. of Tuskegee, Alabama, boated eight scorable bass totaling 15 pounds, 7 ounces to earn the win Monday during the Group A Qualifying Round at the season-opening MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole in Monroe-West Monroe, Louisiana. Daniels now advances directly to Thursday’s final-day Championship Round on Bussey Brake.
Daniels’ two-day Qualifying Round total of 16 bass weighing 33 pounds, 5 ounces, earned him the win by a comfortable 8½-pound margin over Nitro pro Edwin Evers of Talala, Oklahoma, who caught a two-day total of nine bass weighing 24-13 to finish the round in second place. Bryan Thrift of Shelby, North Carolina, boated a two-day total of 11 bass weighing 23-15 to end the round in third, while Shinichi Fukae of Osaka, Japan , finished the round in fourth place with a two-day total of eight bass for 22-6. Rounding out the top five was Day 1 leader Stephen Browning of Hot Springs, Arkansas, who caught six bass for 21-2 to advance in fifth place.
The six-day event, hosted by Discover Monroe-West Monroe, showcases 80 of the top professional bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.
“To be honest, I was really looking forward to going to Caney Creek, but I’m even happier now that I’m going straight to Bussey Brake with an opportunity to win this thing,” Daniels said in his post-game interview. “The automatic top-10 berth makes it an already awesome week and I could not be any happier with how this round went.”
Daniels dominated early Monday, catching five scorable bass on a jerkbait before 10 a.m. Seven of his eight keepers came on the jerkbait – he also added one in the afternoon on a ¼-ounce Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap.
“That ¼ ounce Trap is a little sneaky – not a lot of people throw it,” Daniels said. “Most of the time I’m throwing it trying to match the bait, but I’m throwing it this week because I’m targeting that 1-to-3-foot depth.
“I’m throwing the jerkbait on my 6-foot, 8-inch Favorite Pro Series casting rod,” Daniels continued. “It’s a little bit shorter and allows me to impart a good action on the bait without slapping the water, which happens to me with a longer rod. I’m throwing the Trap on a 6-foot, 10-inch Favorite Signature B-Lat Sick Stick with a 6:8:1 gear ratio reel and 12-pound Seaguar Fluorcarbon line.”
With Daniels now advancing to the Championship Round for the fifth time in his career, he’ll be looking to earn his first career victory on Thursday.
“I’m looking forward to spending a little bit of time scouting Bussey Brake on my day off. It’s been a grinder, but I’m super grateful to make the Championship Round. I’ve got a shot and I can’t ask for anything else – that’s why I’m here.”
The top 20 anglers from Group A will now enjoy an off day, while the 40 anglers in Qualifying Group B will complete their two-day Qualifying Round of competition on Tuesday. The Knockout Round, featuring 38 anglers competing to finish in the top eight, will take place Wednesday on Caney Creek. Thursday’s Championship Round on Bussey Brake will feature Thrift, Tuesday’s Group B winner, and the top eight anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.
The top 20 pros in Qualifying Group A that now advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round on Caney Creek Reservoir are:
1st: Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 16 bass, 33-5 – ADVANCES TO CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 2nd: Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., nine bass, 24-13 3rd: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 11 bass, 23-15 4th: Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan, eight bass, 22-6 5th: Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., six bass, 21-2 6th: Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., six bass, 21-1 7th: Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala., 10 bass, 19-3 8th: Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., seven bass, 18-9 9th: Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, seven bass, 18-5 10th: Cody Meyer, Star, Idaho, six bass, 18-5 11th: Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, eight bass, 16-15 12th: Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., six bass, 16-9 13th: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., six bass, 15-9 14th: Roy Hawk, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., five bass, 15-9 15th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., seven bass, 14-14 16th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 14-11 17th: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., five bass, 12-14 18th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., six bass, 12-12 19th: Timmy Horton, Muscle Shoals, Ala., four bass, 12-11 20th: Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 12-5
DON’T WAIT, FIRE CRAW WILL SELL OUT FASTER THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE!!! GET AHEAD OF YOUR COMPETITION!!!
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall on Monday there were 104 scorable bass caught weighing 250 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 34 pros.
Evers earned the $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award Monday with a 5-pound, 13-ounce largemouth that bit a jerkbait at the start of Period 3. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.
The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Lake D’Arbonne on Saturday and Monday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Sunday and Tuesday. After each two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the anglers that finish in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round on Caney Creek Reservoir, while the winner of each group advances directly to Thursday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 38 anglers compete to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round on Bussey Brake. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
In the four-day opening Qualifying Rounds, anglers will launch at 8:30 a.m. from the Lake D’Arbonne State Park, located at 3628 Evergreen Road in Farmerville, Louisiana. The Knockout Round will launch Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. from the Caney Creek Hooks Marina, located at 400 Spillway Road in Chatham, Louisiana. Thursday’s final day Championship Round on Bussey Brake will launch at 8:30 a.m. from Bonner Ferry Road, five miles northwest of Bastrop off of Hwy 593.
Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the respective launch ramps, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
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The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement on Lake D’Arbonne, and a 2-pound minimum weight requirement on Caney Creek and Bussey Brake for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2023 championship.
The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all six days of competition from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole will premiere at 7 a.m. ET, Sept. 3 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.
Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, BallyBet, Bass Cat, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Covercraft, Favorite Fishing, Garmin, General Tire, Googan Baits, Grundéns, Guaranteed Rate, Humminbird, Lowrance, Luminox, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Nitro Performance Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Power Stop, Rapala, Starbrite, Toro, Toyota, Wrangler, Yellowstone Bourbon and Zoom.
MONROE-WEST MONROE, La. (Feb. 5, 2022) – Chilly temperatures in the mid-20s greeted the 40 Bass Pro Tour anglers in Group A competing on Lake D’Arbonne Saturday morning. It was a cold, tough day on the water for most, but a few 5-, 6- and 7-pound D’Arbonne largemouth still made their national debuts on the MLF NOW! livestream.
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After the final bass had been tallied, Hot Springs, Arkansas, pro “The Puma” Stephen Browning caught six bass weighing 21 pounds, 2 ounces, to grab the early lead for Group A on Day 1 of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole in Monroe-West Monroe, Louisiana.
The six-day event, hosted by Discover Monroe-West Monroe, showcases 80 of the top professional bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner. The tournament is livestreamed each day at MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MOTV app, and also being filmed for broadcast later this fall on the Discovery Channel.
Browning will bring a 3-pound, 4-ounce, lead into Monday’s second day of competition for Group A. In second place on the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard is Favorite Fishing pro Mark Daniels Jr. of Tuskegee, Alabama, who caught eight bass totaling 17-14. Shelby, North Carolina’s Bryan Thrift, sits in third place with eight bass weighing 17-1. Rounding out the top five are pro Cody Meyer of Star, Idaho , who caught four bass for 14-9 and Bass Pro Tour newcomer Jeremy Lawyer of Sarcoxie, Missouri, who weighed in four bass totaling 13 pounds even.
The 40 anglers in Group A will now have an off day from competition Sunday, while the 40 anglers competing in Group B will begin their first day of competition. Group A will resume competition on Monday.
Browning had a tough morning, catching only one bass for 2½ pounds in the first period. He added two more in the second period, then three in the third period – including a 6-pound, 4-ounce brute and a solid 4-pound, 4-ounce scorable bass – to catapult to the top of the leaderboard.
“It’s been a good day – you can’t complain when you’re in the lead against this crew of anglers,” Browning said. “I’m up in the D’Arbonne Bayou area of Lake D’Arbonne, fishing shallow flats – future spawning areas for these fish. It was tough, but I’ve got confidence in my bait, confidence in my equipment and confidence in my area. That is a big key to success in these grinder-tournaments.”
Browning said that he targeted standing timber and trees – specifically cypress trees that were still alive with green leaves – in 4 to 6 feet of water.
“If I fished any shallower than that, I didn’t get bit,” Browning said. “My key bait was a 3/8-ounce black and blue jig, with a 7-foot, 4-inch St. Croix Legend Elite and a Lew’s Tournament Pro 8:3:1 reel, with 20-pound Gamma Fluorocarbon Edge line. It’s a combination that I’ve got a lot of confidence in, and we put it to work today.
“Overall, it’s a good start to the 2022 season and that is a big deal,” Browning went on to say. “Momentum is very important – we saw what Michael Neal did last week at Sam Rayburn. I had a good day, and now I am looking forward to the challenge of Day 2. I don’t want to go to the Knockout Round on Caney – I want to go straight to Bussey Brake.”
The top 20 pros in Group A after Day 1 on Lake D’Arbonne are:
1st: Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., six bass, 21-2 2nd: Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., eight bass, 17-14 3rd: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., eight bass, 17-1 4th: Cody Meyer, Star, Idaho, four bass, 14-9 5th: Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., four bass, 13-0 6th: Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, five bass, 11-7 7th: Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., two bass, 11-6 8th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., four bass, 10-13 9th: Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., three bass, 10-6 10th: Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., four bass, 9-10 11th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., four bass, 9-8 12th: Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., three bass, 9-5 13th: Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas, two bass, 8-12 14th: Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan, three bass, 8-10 15th: Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, three bass, 7-15 16th: Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., three bass, 7-8 17th: Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala., four bass, 6-15 18th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., three bass, 6-13 19th: Timmy Horton, Muscle Shoals, Ala., two bass, 6-2 20th: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., two bass, 5-9
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 101 scorable bass weighing 269 pounds, 6 ounces caught by 37 pros on Saturday.
Cody Meyer earned the first $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award of the season Saturday, weighing a 7-pound, 8-ounce largemouth that bit his squarebill crankbait during Period 3 to earn the award. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.
The 40 Anglers in Group A compete in their two-day qualifying round on Lake D’Arbonne on Saturday and Monday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Sunday and Tuesday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers that finish in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round on Caney Creek Reservoir, while the winner of each group advances directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 38 anglers compete to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round on Bussey Brake. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
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In the four-day opening Qualifying Rounds, anglers will launch at 8:30 a.m. from the Lake D’Arbonne State Park, located at 3628 Evergreen Road in Farmerville, Louisiana. The Knockout Round will launch Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. from the Caney Creek Hooks Marina, located at 400 Spillway Road in Chatham, Louisiana. Thursday’s final day Championship Round on Bussey Brake will launch at 8:30 a.m. from Bonner Ferry Road, five miles northwest of Bastrop off of Hwy 593.
Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the respective launch ramps, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
As part of the event, fans will also have the opportunity to come out take part in the Major League Fishing Festival, part of the North Delta Boat & Outdoor Show at the Monroe Civic on Sun. Feb. 6, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The festival is a chance for fishing fans to meet pro anglers, register for the “Pick ‘Til You Win” game with a top prize of a 2022 Toyota Tundra or a 70-inch 4K UHD Smart TV, visit the MLF Kids Zone and the fishing pond, meet characters from the PAW Patrol courtesy of Kid Casters, and enjoy live concerts from local musicians each day. For more information on the Major League Fishing Festival and the North Delta Boat & Outdoor Show, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement on Lake D’Arbonne, and a 2-pound minimum weight requirement on Caney Creek and Bussey Brake for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2023 championship.
The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all six days of competition from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole will premiere at 7 a.m. ET, Sept. 3 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.
Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, BallyBet, Bass Cat, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Covercraft, Favorite Fishing, Garmin, General Tire, Googan Baits, Grundéns, Guaranteed Rate, Humminbird, John Deere Gator UTVs, Lowrance, Luminox, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Nitro Performance Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Power Stop, Rapala, Starbrite, Toro, Toyota, Wrangler, Yellowstone Bourbon and Zoom.
I had the opportunity to meet Bill this past summer at the MLF Pro Series event on the Potomac. I’m truly thankful for that opportunity. Seeing his passion not only for the sport of bass fishing but for the anglers and in my mind the most important part of any tournament, the staff. Bill had a natural ability to talk with people and that was evident by the number of people who knew him and spoke about all the years of working with him. I’m sad to see you leave and happy for you to enjoy a well-deserved retirement. Thank you for everything you have done for the sport and it truly is a better place because of you
Joe, The National Angler
BENTON, Ky. (Jan. 7, 2022) – For the past few seasons, with words and actions, Major League Fishing (MLF) Senior Director of Operations Bill Taylor had laid the groundwork for his departure from the duties he’s overseen and controlled since 2001. Taylor made it official this week, as MLF announced that the longest-tenured tournament director in the company’s history is stepping away.
Taylor, who was the tournament director for the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit (formerly FLW Tour) for more than 19 seasons, officially announced his retirement as of January 1. It marks the end of an incredibly successful reign during which Taylor helped usher in numerous tournament eras, from the first wrapped trucks and boats to the internet age, to expanded live-streamed tournament coverage, and through the acquisition of Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) by MLF in 2019.
“I told Kathy Fennel some time ago that I’d know when it’s time – and it has been such a fun ride – but it is time,” said Taylor, who turned 74 in August. “Those 4 a.m. wake-up times are getting pretty tough. I was blessed to have a great job that allowed me to do a little bit of fishing and hunting each year. But being tied up for several weeks each year, away from my family, my phone always ringing – it’s weighed on me quite a bit over the last few months. I’m happy that I am able to retire and I’ll have more time to spend with my family and do a little more fishing and hunting.”
A decorated tournament angler in his own right, Taylor fished in the first-ever Operation Bass (precursor to FLW) tournament in 1980. He worked full-time as a UPS driver for 30 years, from 1970 until he retired from the company in the year 2000. He first began working for Operation Bass in 1989, helping out at the Red Man Tournament Trail events as part of the operations staff. When Operation Bass was acquired by Irwin Jacobs and re-branded as FLW in 1996, Taylor was brought along as part of the operations crew and worked the inaugural season of the FLW Tour, using PTO time from UPS to fulfill his tournament duties. After his retirement from UPS, he was promoted to full-time tournament director of the FLW Tour in 2001, a role he held through the 2019 season. In his final two seasons with MLF, Taylor served as Senior Director of Operations, working with all of MLF’s tournament directors to help with planning logistics, venue selection, angler recruitment, on-the-water coverage and anything else that needed to be done to make sure the tournaments were successful.
“There are so many people that I want to thank and recognize, and if I tried to mention them all it would take a novel. But I need to thank my family – especially my wife Barbara – for always supporting me 100%, even when it would sometimes take me away for weeks at a time,” Taylor said. “I want to thank Charlie Evans and Kathy Fennel for giving me my first opportunity to work as a full-time tournament director. And I want to thank MLF, for allowing me to stay with the company through the acquisition of FLW and finish my career. I wish everyone at MLF nothing but the best, they will always have my support, and I will continue to be a strong ambassador for the company.
“It’s been a great run,” Taylor went on to say. “I got to work front and center with the best fishermen in the world. To be a part of this industry – working alongside the anglers and sponsors, making decisions, creating rules – it has truly been one of the most rewarding times of my life.”
“Bill Taylor is the most dedicated person that I have ever met,” stated MLF Executive Vice President and General Manager Kathy Fennel. “He is incredibly thorough and always prepared. He is not a procrastinator. It’s a quality that our staff has respected, admired and even joked about all of these years – you’re not going to beat Bill Taylor to the ramp in the morning. He was the first person there, every single day, and is the hardest-working person that I know. The man loves fishing – both working and on the other end of it with a rod and a reel in his hand. And that’s what has made him such a great tournament director. He has a huge heart, and he truly cares very much.
“More importantly, Bill is an amazing family man. He doesn’t put anything ahead of his family, and he’s the same way with his work family,” Fennel continued. “No matter the situation or task, I knew that if I called on Bill he’d be there to help me figure out a way to get it done. His honesty, integrity and passion has elevated not just our organization but the entire sport of professional bass fishing.”
“Bill Taylor is an individual that has as strong of a passion for the sport of bass fishing as any human that I’ve ever met,” Duckett said. “I’ve fished tournaments since 1977, and only a few tournament directors that I have worked with have the character needed to make the really tough decisions, no matter what anyone else thought. Bill Taylor is one of those individuals. Bill always had the answer, and it was always fair and never influenced.
“After the acquisition of FLW, I got to work alongside Bill on the business side of the sport and I was really impressed on how focused he was. Any problems or any ideas we had – Bill was 24-7. His lifetime passion for bass fishing is an impressive quality, and we thank him for his time at MLF.”
TULSA, Okla. (Dec. 16, 2021) – Major League Fishing (MLF), the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, and Bally’s Corporation (NYSE: BALY), a leading U.S. omnichannel provider of land-based gaming and interactive entertainment, announced today a groundbreaking deal designating Bally’s as MLF’s exclusive Sports Betting, Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS), and Free-to-Play (F2P) Partner for MLF’s tournament circuits – all firsts for the professional fishing industry. This deal represents Bally’s fifth sports betting agreement with a professional sports league, following previously announced agreements with the National Hockey League, the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball.
The partnership includes Bally’s online sportsbook, Bally Bet, becoming the title sponsor of MLF’s coveted Angler of the Year (AOY) Award for the Bass Pro Tour, the sport’s most visible and competitive tournament circuit. The prize for the 2022 Bally Bet AOY winner will be $100,000. The partnership also includes rights for Bally’s to stream Bass Pro Tour events via its own apps.
“As we ready for the start of our 2022 season, our partnership with Bally’s will offer our loyal fans and anglers another unique avenue to engage with professional fishing and the Bass Pro Tour,” MLF President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Wilburn said. “This partnership marks an important moment for Major League Fishing in the growing U.S. gaming and sports betting sectors. Integrating Bally’s industry-best online sports betting and unique gaming offerings with MLF’s SCORETRACKER LIVE® and fan-friendly platforms position us to drive viewership, participation, and large-scale adoption among sports fans.”
As part of the agreement, Bally’s technology will power two new free-to-play fantasy fishing games for the 2022 season. The MLF Predictor Game, an engaging game that offers fans the chance to make predictions at Bass Pro Tour events for prizes, will be rolled out for a full season. MLF Fantasy Fishing will also debut in 2022 for both the MLF Bass Pro Tour and the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit. The free-to-play game will allow fans to select their team of anglers for each tournament, create private leagues with their family and friends, and win tens of thousands of dollars in cash and prizes. Additional details on the MLF Predictor and Fantasy Fishing games will be announced soon.
“We know how passionate the millions of recreational anglers are about the professional ranks of their sport,” said Adi Dhandhania, Chief Operating Officer of North America for Bally Interactive, the company’s digital division. “This integrated partnership is a perfect showcase for Bally’s, allowing us to leverage our sports betting, daily fantasy sports, and free-to-play games to enhance the fishing fan experience across MLF media and live events.”
The 2022 professional bass fishing seasons will launch early next year, with the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Stop 1 at Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Jan. 27-30, and the Bass Pro Tour Stage One in Monroe-West Monroe, Louisiana, Feb. 5-10..
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, the Discovery Channel, the Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, the World Fishing Network, and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with offices 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 13 countries. In 2019, MLF expanded its portfolio of catch, weigh, and immediately release events to include the sport’s strongest five-biggest-fish format tournament circuits. 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.
Major League Fishing – WE ARE Bass Fishing™
About Bally’s Corporation Bally’s Corporation is a global casino-entertainment company with a growing omni-channel presence of Online Sports Betting and iGaming offerings. It currently owns and manages 14 casinos across 10 states, a horse racetrack in Colorado, and has access to OSB licenses in 16 states. It also owns Gamesys Group, a leading global online gaming operator, Bally Interactive, a first-in-class sports betting platform, Monkey Knife Fight, the fastest growing daily fantasy sports site in North America, SportCaller, a leading, global B2B free-to-play game provider, and Telescope Inc., a leading provider of real-time fan engagement solutions.
With approximately 10,000 employees, the Company’s Casino operations include more than 15,800 slot machines, 500 table games and 5,300 hotel rooms. Upon closing the previously announced Tropicana Las Vegas (NV) transaction, as well as completing the construction of a land-based casino near the Nittany Mall in State College, PA, Bally’s will own and manage 16 casinos across 11 states. Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “BALY”.
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (Aug. 10, 2021) – It’s getting hard to contextualize just how good Academy Sports + Outdoors pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, has been this season. Wheeler caught 27 scorable smallmouth bass Tuesday weighing 88 pounds, 2 ounces to win the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits in Plattsburgh, New York, and earn another top payout of $100,000.
Wheeler’s margin-of-victory in the event was 30 pounds, 13 ounces – the largest margin in Bass Pro Tour history. Also winning late June’s Bass Pro Tour stop at the St. Lawrence River, Wheeler now becomes the first angler to ever win back-to-back Stages on the Bass Pro Tour, and the first angler to ever win three in one season. His fifth career victory this week at Lake Champlain broke his own record for the most Bass Pro Tour victories all-time, and he has finished first or second in four of the last five Bass Pro Tour events.
And he’s only 31 years old.
“It’s crazy to think – three wins this year. Absolutely crazy,” Wheeler said. “It’s been an unbelievable year. I just try to have that mindset – don’t ever give up, don’t ever give in. Just constantly working and preparing for the next one. There is so much hard work that goes into these events. And it still takes a lot of things to go right to come out on top against this group of guys.
“It takes so much time out here on the water,” Wheeler continued. “I just love this sport. I love competing. I love preparing for events. I love competing against this group of guys. These guys right here that I’m fishing against are the best in the world, hands down. The absolute toughest group of guys to beat. You have to bring your “A” game, day in and day out. Fishing against the best pushes me to become better. I’ve been truly blessed coming up here this season – New York has been pretty dang good to us.”
Wheeler mainly targeted smallmouth throughout the week, using just two baits.
“It was just typical smallmouth stuff,” he said. “Most of them came on a drop-shot rig, and some on a Ned rig. It came down to several different Ned style baits. I threw a (Googan Baits) Rattlin’ Ned and caught 3 or 4 key fish on it today. I also caught them this week on some fluke-style baits. It seemed like profile and color really mattered. Sometimes I had to go translucent. Sometimes I had to go lighter line. Sometimes I could get away with heavier line. It was really just trial and error each day.
“It’s really just been a progression of figuring it out this week, slowly but surely. It wasn’t fast and furious, but little clues gave me hints to certain things and I kind of dialed it in as the week went on. You have to keep an open mind and that’s been the biggest thing for me this year – fishing stuff that I think looks good, develop the pattern and figure it out throughout the week and it gets better and better.”
Despite Wheeler’s already incredible season, he still has one goal left for the year – the Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year (AOY) title. Pro Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tennessee, who finished the event in 3rd place, has had an incredible season in his own right, and with one event remaining in the season he currently owns a 12-point lead over second-place Wheeler in the AOY race.
“I love Ott to death. He is unreal everywhere we go,” Wheeler went on to say. “It’s going to be battle. If either of us slip up one time, one day, it’s over. Whoever wins is going to have to make a top-10 at Stage Seven in Detroit, and we’ve got our work cut out for us. Realistically, I could have a phenomenal finish and still get beat. I’m just going to worry about winning another tournament and if it works out, it works out. I don’t have any AOY pressure – I’m going to prepare for that tournament to win it.”
Florence, Italy’s Jacopo Gallelli, who qualified to compete in this tournament after winning the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit event at the Potomac River in June, caught 21 bass totaling 57 pounds, 5 ounces to finish second and win $45,257.
“I tell you, with this situation I had this morning, this second place (finish) is like a win,” Gallelli said. “I lost 2 hours of fishing – 1½ hours because of mechanical issues and another half hour when we went idling back into the creek. So, I cannot be more happy about being second. Especially considering this field. This field is made of the 80 most skilled anglers in the world, and I proved it to myself and everybody that I can compete at this level.
“If somebody was thinking the Potomac River was just a fluke, I demonstrated to everybody that it was not, most of all to myself,” Gallelli went on to say. “I did my best, and dealt with a very bad situation, so I am very proud of myself and very happy.”
The top 10 at the Bass Pro Tour Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain finished:
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 143 bass weighing 411 pounds, 2 ounces caught by the final 10 pros on Tuesday.
Wheeler also won Tuesday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing a 4-pound, 15-ounce smallmouth on a drop-shot rig in Period 2 to earn the prize. Shaw Grigsby and Takahiro Omori split the $3,000 Berkley Big Bass award for the largest bass of the event as each weighed in a 5-pound, 14-ounce largemouth on Days 2 and 3 of competition.
The Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits featured anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The MLF Bass Pro Tour Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits was hosted by the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau and the City of Plattsburgh. The six-day tournament featured the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.
Television coverage of the Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits will premiere at 7 a.m. ET, Nov. 6 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.
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The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 76 of the top professional anglers in the world – joined at each event by 4 pros that qualify from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2022 championship.
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (Aug. 5, 2021) – Normally on the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour when an angler breaks the 100-pound mark in a single day of competition, it’s done with a large school or two of smallmouth bass. Thursday, at the ToyotaStage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by GooganBaits in Plattburgh, New York, pro Matt Lee did it with largemouth.
Lee dominated Day 1 of the Group A Qualifying Round, catching 40 bass totaling 103 pounds, 5 ounces to give him a massive 55-pound, 6-ounce lead in Group A – the largest Day 1 lead ever held in Bass Pro Tour history. The six-day event, hosted by the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau and the City of Plattsburgh, features the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.
The 34 anglers in Group A will now have the day off on Friday, while the 39 anglers in Group B will begin their first day of competition. Group A will resume competition on Saturday.
“We still have a lot of derby ahead of us, but today was sick,” Lee said in his post-game interview. “I have bass hand. Not even bass thumb – bass hand. It was unreal.”
Lee said that he tried to target smallmouth early in the day, but when that plan fizzled he tried some of his largemouth areas and ran into what looks like the potential motherlode.
“I hit like four smallmouth places this morning and I could see them, but I couldn’t get them to bite,” the Cullman, Alabama pro said. “I figured they had to be biting a topwater somewhere, so I ran around to a largemouth place that I had fished before and caught a 3-10, and when I was reeling it in there were like 10 with it. So, I sat right there in that 100- to 150-foot section of grass and flipped up 100 pounds worth of bass.”
Lee said that he used just two setups on the day – his first bass came on a Lucky Craft Gunfish, and the rest came on a Texas-rigged Yamamoto Senko.
“I stayed in that same 75-yard stretch for five hours,” Lee said. “I went through some worms. The color didn’t even matter. I was just flipping hydrilla in 12- to 15-feet, and it was juice money. I had so much fun. I’ve got one more day to go to win the round and I’m just going to put the hammer down and hopefully advance straight into the Championship Round.”
Third-place angler Britt Myers chose another route to catch his 18 bass, mainly targeting smallmouth, although he did catch four largemouth as well.
“To be honest, Champlain was a little bit tougher than I thought it was going to be,” Myers said. “I thought I’d have to catch 30 pounds just to be in the hunt for the Knockout Round, but I’ve almost solidified that today. If I can catch a few more fish on Saturday, I’m very confident that I’ll make it in.
“The Duckett Baits swimbait was the key for me today – the 3.5-inch Real Thing Shad. I’ve been looking for an opportunity to use it and today when it was overcast, they really liked that swimbait. At the end of the day I also caught a few on a special little secret bait that I’ve got in my pocket for Day 2. So I’m looking forward to getting back out there.”
The top 20 pros in Group A after Day 1 on Lake Champlain are:
Overall, there were 308 bass weighing 884 pounds, 3 ounces caught by the 34 pros on Thursday. DeFoe won Thursday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing in a 6-pound, 13-ounce largemouth bass on a worm during Period 1. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler who weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.
The MLF Bass Pro Tour Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits is hosted by the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau and the City of Plattsburgh.
MLF announced Wednesday that the normal 80-angler Bass Pro Tour field would be reduced to 73 for this event, as seven anglers withdrew from competition for undisclosed reasons. After consulting with the MLF Angler Advisory Board, a slight change was made to the Qualifying Round Toro Cut Lines due to the unbalanced angler groupings.
The 34 Anglers in Group A compete in their two-day qualifying round on Lake Champlain on Thursday and Saturday – the 39 anglers in Group B on Friday and Sunday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers that finish in 2nd through 17th place from Group A (50% of field) and 2nd through 20th place from Group B (50% of field) advance to Monday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Tuesday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 35 anglers compete to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
Anglers will take off from the Plattsburgh City Marina, located at 2 Dock St., in Plattsburgh, at 8 a.m. ET each day of competition. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will also be held at the Launch Ramp, beginning at 5 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
MLF officials have divided the lake into two zones in which anglers will compete – Zone A (north end of lake) and Zone B (south end of lake – Ticonderoga area). Anglers choosing to fish in Zone B must go through the normal takeoff procedure at the Plattsburgh Boat Launch and then trailer to a public ramp within Zone B. Anglers will depart the Boat Launch at 8 a.m., and competition will start with “lines in” at 9 a.m.
The Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits features anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 76 of the top professional anglers in the world – joined at each event by 4 pros that qualify from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2022 championship.
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The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all six days of competition from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits will premiere at 7 a.m. ET, Nov. 6 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (Aug. 4, 2021) – The following statement was released today by Major League Fishing (MLF) Executive Vice President & General Manager Don Rucks regarding the Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits event that starts Thursday:
Good afternoon –
We have had some unique circumstances this week for our Bass Pro Tour Toyota Stage Six event at Lake Champlain.
At this time, the following anglers will not be participating in competition on Lake Champlain this week:
Luke Clausen Dustin Connell Mark Daniels Jr. Anthony Gagliardi Randy Howell Chris Lane Fletcher Shryock
Due to privacy protocols, we are unable to divulge the exact reasonings for each angler’s absence. We do look forward to welcoming all of them back for the upcoming Carparts.com Stage Seven at Lake St. Clair Presented by Covercraft next month, Sept. 10-15.
Because the angler starting groups were set going into Stage Five, and now flipped for Stage Six, we will not be changing the starting groups. If an angler is unable to fish, for any reason, that group will simply be smaller. All other rules will remain the same this week – the two group winners will advance directly to the Championship Round, while the top 19 from each group will compete in the Day 5 Knockout Round to determine who fishes in the final 10 on Championship Tuesday.
As a result of this situation, and after consulting with our Bass Pro Tour angler advisory board, MLF has made the decision to allow each angler to drop one (1) event from this year in the following manner:
We will finish the 2021 season with the current points system and crown our 2021 Angler of the Year (AOY).
After the 2021 season has ended and the AOY has been crowned, each angler will drop one (1) 2021 BPT event of his choosing.
After everyone has dropped the event of their choosing, a new 2021 points structure based on each angler’s remaining six (6) events will be used for angler requalification, REDCREST 2022 qualification, and the 2022 General Tire Heavy Hitters event qualification.
We believe this is ultimately the fairest solution for all of our Bass Pro Tour competitors across the board.
I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome back Bass Pro Tour angler Aaron Martens, who has made the trip to Plattsburgh, New York and will be competing on Lake Champlain this week. His ongoing health battles have been well-documented, and we are thrilled that Aaron is feeling well enough to compete this week. It truly shows his grit, toughness, and love for the sport that we all admire him for.
We look forward to a fantastic event on the water this week at Lake Champlain. Don’t forget to tune in to the MLF NOW! livestream each day from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET.
Sincerely,
Don Rucks Executive Vice President & General Manager, MLF
TULSA, Okla. (July 15, 2021) – Major League Fishing (MLF), the world’s premier tournament-fishing organization, and Mossy Oak, the West Point, Mississippi-based leading branded camouflage and outdoor lifestyle company, announced a new multi-year sponsorship expansion ensuring the company will remain the exclusive camo sponsor of Major League Fishing through 2024. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“Major League Fishing is thrilled to expand our relationship with Mossy Oak,” said MLF President and CEO Jim Wilburn. “Their commitment to our anglers, fans and the sport of professional bass fishing has been consistent since 2018 and their innovative and realistic camouflage patterns are a huge hit with anglers, hunters and outdoorsmen alike. To partner with an organization that shares the same love and passion for fishing and the outdoors as we do is very special.”
Mossy Oak will be showcased at all MLF-sanctioned tournaments and outdoor activations, and the brand will also be seen across numerous MLF media platforms, including prominent display in the MLF Cup events and the Bass Pro Tour Heavy Hitters All-Star event, at MajorLeagueFishing.com, MLF Bass Fishing Magazine and the “MLF NOW!” livestream, which broadcasts during every Bass Pro Tour and Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit event for a total of more than 600 hours of live-streamed content.
“We are very excited about our expanded partnership with Major League Fishing,” said Mossy Oak Chief Sales Officer Chris Paradise. “Our ultimate goal is to connect with our loyal and growing Mossy Oak fishing consumer and customers via the strongest and most authentic reach possible. Major League Fishing and their leading, broad-based media platform delivers on that expectation greatly. As the Official and Exclusive pattern of Major League Fishing, we are honored and energized to continue bringing the Mossy Oak Fishing Brand to anglers everywhere.”
Mossy Oak’s logo will also remain prominently located on the wrapped trucks, boats, and jerseys of its sponsored MLF anglers. This list includes the current Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year (AOY) leader Ott DeFoe, brothers Jordan and Matt Lee, professional bass-fishing’s all-time leading money winner Kevin VanDam, and Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit anglers Ramie Colson Jr., and Brian Latimer.
For more information about MLF, their tournaments and sponsors, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. To learn more about Mossy Oak, visit MossyOak.com.
About Mossy Oak Established in 1986, Haas Outdoors Inc. is headquartered in West Point, Miss., and is home to Mossy Oak. For more than 30 years, Mossy Oak has been a leading outdoor lifestyle brand specializing in developing and marketing modern camouflage designs for hunters and outdoors enthusiasts. The Mossy Oak Brand and patterns can be found on a multitude of products worldwide. Haas Outdoors Inc. is the parent company of Mossy Oak, BioLogic, Capture Productions, MOOSE Media, Nativ Nurseries, Nativ Living, GameKeepers, GameKeepers Kennels, Mossy Oak Properties, and Mossy Oak G.O. Mossy Oak is the official camouflage of the National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, and Mack’s Prairie Wings and the official pattern of MLF.
TULSA, Okla. (July 6, 2021) – The 26th season of the Major League Fishing (MLF) Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Bad Boy Mowers is set to premiere with a two-hour episode Wednesday, July 7, at 10 a.m. ET on the Sportsman Channel and re-air on Sunday, July 11, at 7 a.m. ET on the Outdoor Channel.
The 2021 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Bad Boy Mowers features a roster of the world’s best bass-fishing professionals competing across six regular-season events, each with a top award of up to $135,000. The field also competes for valuable points to qualify for the 2021 Tackle Warehouse TITLE Presented by Mercury – the Pro Circuit Championship.
The first two-hour episode of the Pro Circuit will showcase the 13 Fishing Stop 1 at Lake Okeechobee event in Clewiston, Florida. Episodes will premiere Wednesdays at 10 a.m. ET on the Sportsman Channel and re-air that same week on Sundays at 7 a.m. ET on the Outdoor Channel. The schedule will culminate with six new episodes of the Tackle Warehouse TITLE, the Pro Circuit Championship event, airing from October through mid-December.
The complete air schedule for the 2021 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Bad Boy Mowers on the Sportsman Channel and Outdoor Channel is:
– July 7 13 Fishing Stop 1 at Lake Okeechobee – Sportsman Channel – July 11 13 Fishing Stop 1 at Lake Okeechobee – Outdoor Channel – July 14 Covercraft Stop 2 at Lewis Smith Lake – Sportsman Channel – July 18 Covercraft Stop 2 at Lewis Smith Lake – Outdoor Channel – July 21 Googan Baits Stop 3 at Lake Murray Presented by Favorite Fishing – Sportsman Channel – July 25 Googan Baits Stop 3 at Lake Murray Presented by Favorite Fishing – Outdoor Channel – Aug. 18 Grundens Stop 4 at Lake Eufaula Presented by A.R.E. – Sportsman Channel – Aug. 22 Grundens Stop 4 at Lake Eufaula Presented by A.R.E. – Outdoor Channel – Aug. 25 Federal Ammunition Stop 5 at Potomac River Presented by Lucas Oil – Sportsman Channel – Aug. 29 Federal Ammunition Stop 5 at Potomac River Presented by Lucas Oil – Outdoor Channel – Sept. 1 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Stop 6 at St. Lawrence River Presented by Googan Baits– Sportsman Channel – Sept. 5 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Stop 6 at St. Lawrence River Presented by Googan Baits– Outdoor Channel – Oct. 6 Tackle Warehouse TITLE at Mississippi River Presented by Mercury Day 1 – Sportsman Channel – Oct. 10 Tackle Warehouse TITLE at Mississippi River Presented by Mercury Day 1 – Outdoor Channel – Oct. 13 Tackle Warehouse TITLE at Mississippi River Presented by Mercury Day 2 – Sportsman Channel – Oct. 17 Tackle Warehouse TITLE at Mississippi River Presented by Mercury Day 2 – Outdoor Channel – Oct. 20 Tackle Warehouse TITLE at Mississippi River Presented by Mercury Day 3– Sportsman Channel – Oct. 24 Tackle Warehouse TITLE at Mississippi River Presented by Mercury Day 3 – Outdoor Channel – Oct. 27 Tackle Warehouse TITLE at Mississippi River Presented by Mercury Day 4 – Sportsman Channel – Oct. 31 Tackle Warehouse TITLE at Mississippi River Presented by Mercury Day 4 – Outdoor Channel – Nov. 3 Tackle Warehouse TITLE at Mississippi River Presented by Mercury Day 5 – Sportsman Channel – Nov. 7 Tackle Warehouse TITLE at Mississippi River Presented by Mercury Day 5 – Outdoor Channel – Nov. 10 Tackle Warehouse TITLE at Mississippi River Presented by Mercury Day 6 – Sportsman Channel – Nov. 14 Tackle Warehouse TITLE at Mississippi River Presented by Mercury Day 6 – Outdoor Channel
About MLF BIG5 MLF BIG5 is part of MLF, the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization. It provides anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money across five tournament circuits featuring a five-biggest-fish format. Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with offices in Benton, Kentucky, MLF and its partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Zimbabwe.
MLF tournaments are broadcast on Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel, World Fishing Network, MyOutdoorTV, Discovery and CBS Sports while MLF Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros to the world’s most avid bass anglers.
TULSA, Okla. (June 22, 2021) – Major League Fishing (MLF), the world’s premier tournament-fishing organization, and CarParts.com (NASDAQ: PRTS), an industry leading technology-driven eCommerce company that simplifies the way drivers shop for automotive parts, announced a new partnership designating CarParts.com as the Exclusive Auto Parts Retailer of the MLF Bass Pro Tour and the Title Sponsor of the MLF Bass Pro Tour CarParts.com Stage Seven Presented by Covercraft at Lake St. Clair, scheduled for Sept. 10-15 in St. Clair Shores, Michigan.
“We are very pleased to announce our latest sponsorship agreement with CarParts.com, an industry-leading brand and a highly-regarded company that perfectly aligns with Major League Fishing,” MLF President and CEO Jim Wilburn said. “The reach of MLF provides our sponsors an appealing platform to showcase their brands. Our fans and anglers have shown tremendous loyalty to our sponsors’ products and we are confident that CarParts.com will find this sponsorship extremely beneficial.”
CarParts.com will be prominently featured throughout the Bass Pro Tour Stage Seven event, including in-studio signage, graphic elements, and the opportunity to activate at the event in St. Clair Shores. In addition to the title sponsorship, MLF will work with CarParts.com to produce a series of custom content videos, showcasing MLF professional anglers who are auto enthusiasts as they perform their own automobile repairs and maintenance.
“We are thrilled to join the MLF family as the Exclusive Auto Parts Retailer of this year’s Bass Pro Tour and to be the go-to parts solution for all fishing fans,” said CarParts.com Chief Marketing Officer Houman Akhavan. “This partnership will allow us to reach a core demographic of truck owners who enjoy working on their vehicles. Whether you’re towing to the lake or just packing up for a camping trip, we want to make sure our customers can spend more time enjoying the outdoors and less time worrying about the reliability of their vehicle.”
The MLF NOW!® livestream will showcase all six days of competition from the CarParts.com Stage Seven Presented by Covercraft at Lake St. Clair live on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app. Television coverage of the event will premiere at 7 a.m. ET, Nov. 13 on the Discovery Channel. New two-hour MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel.
With brand and factory-direct self-distribution, CarParts.com offers a wide selection of new, quality auto parts for car repair, maintenance, and collision as well as accessories. Paired with their online vehicle selector, fast shipping, and satisfaction guarantee, CarParts.com ensures that drivers can get what they need, when they need it. To share their mission with more and more drivers, CarParts.com has joined forces with a number of esteemed partners—including Front Row Motorsports and NASCAR Cup Series driver Michael McDowell, the Professional Fighters League, and Donut Media—and looks forward to helping MLF fans get from point A to point B with confidence as well.
For more information about MLF, their tournaments and sponsors, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. To learn more about CarParts.com, visit their website at CarParts.com.
About CarParts.com With over 25 years of experience, and more than 50 million parts delivered, we’ve streamlined our website and sourcing network to better serve the way drivers get the parts they need. Utilizing the latest technologies and design principles, we’ve created an easy-to-use, mobile-friendly shopping experience that, alongside our own nationwide distribution network, cuts out the brick-and-mortar supply chain costs and provides quality parts at a budget-friendly price.
CarParts.com (NASDAQ: PRTS) is headquartered in Torrance, California.
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, the Discovery Channel, the Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, the World Fishing Network, the Sportsman Channel and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with offices 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 13 countries. In 2019 MLF acquired FLW and rebranded it as MLF BIG5, which expanded its portfolio of catch, weigh and immediate release events to include the sport’s strongest five-biggest-fish format tournament circuits. 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.
MASSENA, N.Y. (June 28, 2021) – Berkley pro John Cox of DeBary, Florida, caught 23 scorable bass Monday weighing 75 pounds, 15 ounces to win the two-day Qualifying Group B round at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour General Tire Stage Five at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Berkley in Massena, New York. Cox’s two-day total of 54 bass weighing 175 pounds even earned him the victory by a 23-pound, 11-ounce margin and advances him directly into Wednesday’s final-day Championship Round of competition.
Phoenix Boats pro James Elam of Tulsa, Oklahoma caught a two-day total of 51 bass weighing 151-5 to end the round in second place, and Shelby, North Carolina pro Bryan Thrift finished the round in third place with a two-day total of 51 bass weighing 149-11.
The remaining 38 anglers – 19 from Group A and 19 from Group B – will now compete Tuesday in the Knockout Round, where weights are zeroed, and the anglers compete to finish in the top eight to advance to Championship Wednesday. Wednesday’s Championship Round will feature Group A winner Jacob Wheeler, Group B winner John Cox, and the top eight anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.
“Oh my gosh, I feel like I won the tournament, just making it to the Championship Round,” said an excited Cox. “I’ve never won one of these rounds before, so this is a new experience for me. I’m really excited to be able to allow the fish to rest a little before the next round.
“Ten of us are going to compete for $100,000 on Wednesday – I don’t even know what to say. Not sure if I’m having a mild heart attack or if the red bull is just really kicking in,” continued Cox. “I caught a ton of fish today and found some exciting stuff in the third period that should help us out in the next round. On the last cast, there were probably 15 fish that came in when I shook that 4 pounder off. I can’t wait to get back out there – it’s going to be awesome.
“I never even had these smaller Berkley General worm until a couple years ago because I figured the 5 inch was plenty small enough,” continued Cox. “They didn’t want the 5-inch today, but they ate this 4-inch one up really well.
“The Maxscent Hit Worm was an accidental win today. I had no idea it would work that well – I’d never heard of anyone catching smallmouth with it. I put it on to save some Flat Worms and they’ve just been killing it today.”
With a full day off, Cox said he plans to take his kids tubing down below the locks and is looking forward to enjoying the family time prior to Wednesday’s competition.
“This event has been awesome. I can’t wait to get back out there for the Championship Round,” said Cox. “This place is full of fish – it’s just been unreal.”
The top 20 pros in Qualifying Group B that now advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round on the St. Lawrence River are:
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 594 bass weighing 1,808 pounds, 8 ounces caught by the 39 pros on Monday.
Randall Tharp of Port St. Joe, Florida won Monday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing in a 6-pound, 6-ounce smallmouth bass on a ned rig during Period 3. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler who weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.
The General Tire Stage Five at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Berkley features anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement, meaning each bass caught must weigh at least 2 pounds for it to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The MLF Bass Pro Tour General Tire Stage Five at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Berkley is hosted by the Town of Massena and Fish Massena.
The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Friday and Sunday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Saturday and Monday. With both groups two-day qualifying round now complete, the anglers that finish in 2nd through 20th place from both groups now advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 38 anglers compete to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins.
Anglers will take off from the Massena Intake Boat Launch Ramp, located on Route 13, in Massena, at 8:30 a.m. ET each day of competition. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will also be held at the Launch Ramp, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 76 of the top professional anglers in the world – joined at each event by 4 pros that qualify from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2022 championship.
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The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all six days of competition from 9:15 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the General Tire Stage Five Presented by Berkley at the St. Lawrence River will be showcased across two two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 a.m. ET, Oct. 23 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.
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, the Discovery Channel, the Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, the World Fishing Network, the Sportsman Channel and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with offices 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 13 countries. In 2019 MLF acquired FLW and rebranded it as MLF BIG5, which expanded its portfolio of catch, weigh and immediately release events to include the sport’s strongest five-biggest-fish format tournament circuits. 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.
MASSENA, N.Y. (June 27, 2021) – After Friday’s record-setting pace, Sunday’s Qualifying Round finale was a much tougher, grueling day on the water for the 40 anglers in Group A at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour General Tire Stage Five at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Berkley in Massena, New York.
After battling the windy conditions, when the final bass was tallied on SCORETRACKER™ Academy Sports + Outdoors pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, coasted to victory in Group A, catching 66 bass totaling 222 pounds, 1 ounce – a new Bass Pro Tour record for the heaviest two-day Qualifying Round weight. The six-day event, hosted by the Town of Massena and Fish Massena, features 80 of the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.
Pro Brent Ehrler of Redlands, California, boated a two-day total of 59 bass totaling 190-13 to end the day in second place after starting in third. Berkley pro Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Alabama, caught 52 bass weighing 177-9 over two days to finish the round in third place. Toro pro Jeff Sprague of Point, Texas , ended the round in fourth place with a two-day total of 59 bass for 172-4. Rounding out the top five was Favorite Fishing pro Jonathon VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, who caught the heaviest weight of the day Sunday – 25 bass for 77-15 – to finish with a two-day total of 54 bass for 172-4 and advance in fifth place.
The top 20 anglers from Group A will now enjoy an off-day Monday, while the 40 anglers in Qualifying Group B will complete their two-day Qualifying Round of competition. The Knockout Round, featuring 38 anglers competing to finish in the top eight, will take place on Tuesday. Wednesday’s Championship Round will feature Wheeler, Monday’s Group B winner, and the top eight anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.
“To break another record just feels unbelievable,” said Wheeler. “I’ve been catching fish in all three phases of the spawn, this week. Some of the fish were set up and cruising – those are post-spawners. Some of them were actually sitting on the edges of those points, and those were pre-spawners. And then there are bass spawning on top of the points around the islands, and I’m just rotating through them.
“A lot of times today I would pitch into these light spots in the current and when the fish would bite they would move off and swim down the current very fast,” Ehrler continued. “My line would go slack, but luckily I was able to pick up a lot of line quickly with the LT and it’s faster gear ratio. That was really important in getting these fish in the boat today.”
The top 20 pros from Qualifying Group A that now advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round on the St. Lawrence River are:
1st: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 66 bass, 222-1 2nd: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 59 bass, 190-13 3rd: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 52 bass, 177-9 4th: Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, 59 bass, 172-4 5th: Jonathon VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 54 bass, 172-3 6th: Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 56 bass, 168-12 7th: Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., 49 bass, 161-4 8th: Cody Meyer, Star, Idaho, 53 bass, 158-8 9th: Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., 46 bass, 145-12 10th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 41 bass, 138-10 11th: Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 47 bass, 136-0 12th: Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., 37 bass, 128-10 13th: Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., 43 bass, 123-7 14th: Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., 41 bass, 120-8 15th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 38 bass, 116-15 16th: Ish Monroe, Oakdale, Calif., 33 bass, 115-7 17th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 35 bass, 113-14 18th: Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, 35 bass, 113-6 19th: Marty Robinson, Lyman, S.C., 35 bass, 107-10 20th: Brandon Coulter, Knoxville, Tenn., 33 bass, 106-8
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 477 bass weighing 1,446 pounds, 9 ounces caught by the 40 pros on Sunday.
Jeff Kriet of Ardmore, Oklahoma, won Sunday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing in a 6-pound, 10-ounce smallmouth bass on a drop-shot rig during Period 3. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler that weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.
The MLF Bass Pro Tour General Tire Stage Five at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Berkley is hosted by the Town of Massena and Fish Massena.
The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on the St. Lawrence River on Friday and Sunday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Saturday and Monday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers that finish in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 38 anglers compete to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
Anglers will take off from the Massena Intake Boat Launch Ramp, located on Route 13, in Massena, at 9 a.m. ET each day of competition. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will also be held at the Launch Ramp, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 76 of the top professional anglers in the world – joined at each event by 4 pros that qualify from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2022 championship.
The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all six days of competition from 9:15 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
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Television coverage of the Bass Pro Tour General Tire Stage Five Presented by Berkley at the St. Lawrence River will be showcased across two two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 a.m. ET, Oct. 23 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.
MASSENA, N.Y. (June 25, 2021) – The old saying “records were made to be broken” certainly held true for anglers Friday at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour General Tire Stage Five at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Berkley in Massena, New York, as nearly every major Bass Pro Tour record was shattered on an incredible day of fishing.
Academy Sports + Outdoors pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, grabbed the early lead in Group A, catching 47 bass totaling 165 pounds, 1 ounce – a new Bass Pro Tour record for the heaviest single-day weight. The six-day event, hosted by the Town of Massena and Fish Massena, features 80 of the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.
The former record of 141-9 held by Justin Lucas was also broken by the second- and third-place anglers Friday – Alton Jones Jr. of Waco, Texas, caught 49 bass weighing 147-10 to end the day in second place on the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard, and California pro Brent Ehrler caught 43 bass totaling 141-12, good for third.
Overall, there were 918 bass weighing 2,894 pounds, 8 ounces caught by the 40 pros on Friday –a new Bass Pro Tour record for the heaviest total weight caught in a single day of competition. The 40 anglers in Group A will now enjoy a well-deserved day off on Saturday, while the 40 anglers in Group B will begin their first day of competition. Group A resumes competition on Sunday.
“Goodness, gracious, what a day of fishing. I can’t even express how unbelievable today was. My knees hurt, my back hurts, I feel like an old guy,” joked the 31-year-old Wheeler. “But the guys right behind me are dang good, and I know that I’m going to have to do that every single day I’m out here. I’m looking forward to getting back out on Sunday, but I’m also glad we get to chill and take a break tomorrow.”
Wheeler’s record-breaking day came down to just a couple of different baits.
“I caught a lot of fish on a pink Ned Bait, and a lot on a (Googan Baits) Blue Penny (Rattlin’ Ned Bait) on a Ned rig,” Wheeler said. “That was pretty much the deal for me, just switching it up between the Rattlin’ Ned and a couple of other different Ned baits. It was pretty typical smallmouth fishing, just not a typical day.”
Second-place angler Alton Jones Jr. relied on a drop-shot rig.
“That was such a fun day that I will never forget,” Jones said. “I caught 147 pounds and finished the day in second. I don’t even know what to say. Good job to Wheeler. But there is always another day, and I’ll be ready.
“I caught all of my fish on a drop-shot today,” Jones continued. “I used two different baits – the 3.8-inch Gee Crack Bellows Stick and a Gee Crack Revival Shad. I ran waypoint to waypoint and literally relied on my Garmin units. Every single place that I stopped today I had a fish marked on the bed. Some of them were gone, but a lot of them weren’t.”
Like Jones, third-place pro Brent Ehrler did the majority of his damage on a drop-shot rig, but he also added a few fish on a Ned rig.
“I knew the fishing was going to be pretty good, but man, they absolutely caught them today,” Ehrler said. “I caught them on a drop-shot rig, with the bulk of my damage coming on a rod that I designed for Daiwa – the Tatula Elite drop-shot rod – with a Tatula LT reel. I used a Roboworm with an Ark Tungsten weight, 12-pound Sunline Xplasma braided line to an 8-pound Sunline FC Sniper fluorocarbon leader. That’s really standard for me on all spinning outfits and I caught the bulk of them today on that.
“I also caught a few on a Ned rig using the same setup, just with a BOSS Ned head and a Roboworm NED Worm and that was it. I found some good fish in practice and just went back and fished those areas and it paid off today.”
The top 20 pros in Group A after Day 1 on the St. Lawrence River are:
1st: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 47 bass, 165-1 2nd: Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 49 bass, 147-10 3rd: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 43 bass, 141-12 4th: Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., 41 bass, 135-3 5th: Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, 45 bass, 132-9 6th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 36 bass, 125-8 7th: Cody Meyer, Star, Idaho, 40 bass, 121-11 8th: Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., 37 bass, 115-12 9th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 34 bass, 115-0 10th: Jonathon VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 29 bass, 94-4 11th: Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 30 bass, 86-6 12th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 26 bass, 85-2 13th: Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., 25 bass, 84-4 14th: Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., 28 bass, 81-12 15th: Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 23 bass, 78-7 16th: Brandon Coulter, Knoxville, Tenn., 21 bass, 72-11 17th: Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., 25 bass, 70-15 18th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 22 bass, 67-3 19th: Roy Hawk, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 22 bass, 66-11 20th: Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala., 23 bass, 66-10
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Lucas won Friday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing in a 6-pound, 13-ounce smallmouth bass on a Ned rig during Period 2. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler who weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.
The MLF Bass Pro Tour General Tire Stage Five at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Berkley is hosted by the Town of Massena and Fish Massena.
The 40 Anglers in Group A compete in their two-day qualifying round on the St. Lawrence River on Friday and Sunday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Saturday and Monday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers that finish in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 38 anglers compete to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
Anglers will take off from the Massena Intake Boat Launch Ramp, located on Route 13, in Massena, at 9 a.m. ET each day of competition. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will also be held at the Launch Ramp, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
As part of the event fans will also be treated to multiple community events throughout the week, hosted by Fish Massena. A Kid’s Fishing Derby with local area youth fishing alongside Bass Pro Tour anglers will take place on Saturday, June 26, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Fobare’s Pond (Sandy Beach) on Coles Creek Road in Massena.
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On Sunday, June 27, the Town of Massena will join the anglers at the Massena Intake Ramp for Fishin’ Church, hosted by Bass Pro Tour anglers Mark Rose and Edwin Evers along with Judy Van Kennan, Chaplain for the Massena Fire Department. A free breakfast will be provided. Also on Sunday, Louisville, New York, will host a VIP Golf Course Event featuring multiple Bass Pro Tour anglers from noon to 3 p.m. at The River Course at Louisville Landing. All activities are free and open to the public. For more information on the Stage Five Community Events hosted by Fish Massena, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 76 of the top professional anglers in the world – joined at each event by 4 pros that qualify from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2022 championship.
The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all six days of competition from 9:15 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the General Tire Stage Five Presented by Berkley at the St. Lawrence River will be showcased across two two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 a.m. ET, Oct. 23 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.
