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Southside’s Frink Cranks His Way to Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Lake Guntersville

Cullman’s Stidham Tops Co-Angler Division

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (May 19, 2025) – Boater Tom Frink of Southside, Alabama, caught a five-bass limit weighing 25 pounds, 12 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Guntersville . The tournament, hosted by Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce, was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Choo Choo Division. Frink earned $6,417, including the lucrative $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

Guntersville has been fishing well lately, and Frink took advantage, throwing a Strike King Series 5 crankbait on a hard-bottom stretch within some grass. The best area was about 8 feet deep and about 25 yards long, rimmed by shallower and deeper grass.

“Sometimes you’d catch them on the edge of the grass, but the main spot was bare,” he said. “It was a lot of fun. It was loaded.”

Frink said the fish were so packed into this zone that he could feel his crankbait deflecting off them.

“The first fish I caught there this morning was like a 3 1/2, and there was a 5 trying to get the crankbait out of its mouth,” he said. “My co-angler almost netted both fish. That’s how close they were. I lost another one 3 1/2 or 4. When it jumped, the crankbait hit the water, I started reeling it and another one ate it.”

Frink actually started the day on some deeper holes and had a small limit before he went to what became his primary area. He didn’t realize the quality that was there until he dialed it in over the tournament. And even after catching 25-12, Frink didn’t think he had enough.

“Honestly, when it came to weigh-in, I thought I could probably get a top five,” he said. “I didn’t think I’d win because of how this lake has been fishing. I really thought somebody would catch a 27- or 28-pound bag. I was pleasantly surprised that was enough.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Tom Frink, Southside, Ala., five bass, 25-12, $6,417 (includes $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:      Westin Moss, Jasper, Tenn., five bass, 25-9, $1,958
3rd:       Matt O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., five bass, 25-2, $1,827
4th:        Logan Dyar, Cleveland, Ala., five bass, 24-4, $914
5th:        Seth Davis, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 23-13, $883
6th:        Josh M. Butler, Hampton Cove, Ala., five bass, 22-14, $718
7th:        Tanner Barclay, Section, Ala., five bass, 22-8, $653
8th:        Brody Robison, Dawson, Ala., five bass, 22-7, $588
9th:        Matt Vanmeter, Grant, Ala., five bass, 21-10, $522
10th:     Keith Miller, Scottsboro, Ala., five bass, 21-8, $457

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Matt O’Connell of Brooks, Georgia, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $520.

Paul Stidham of Cullman, Alabama, won the co-angler division and $1,958 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 1 ounce.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Paul Stidham, Cullman, Ala., three bass, 13-1, $1,958
2nd:      George Headden, Oakdale, Tenn., three bass, 12-9, $979
3rd:       Kyle Holt, Section, Ala., three bass, 12-4, $653
4th:        Pop Catalin, Cookeville, Tenn., three bass, 11-14, $424
4th:        Brent Cook, Gardendale, Ala., three bass, 11-14, $424
6th:        Darren Kelly, Wartburg, Tenn., three bass, 11-7, $459
7th:        Matt Adcock, Somerville, Ala., three bass, 11-6, $293
7th:        Rodney Bolte, Bloomington, Ind., three bass, 11-6, $293
7th:        Benjamin Roop, Tullahoma, Tenn., three bass, 11-6, $293
10th:     Alex Roberts, Columbia, Tenn., three bass, 11-5, $228

Belinda Towry of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $260, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 13 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Keith Miller of Scottsboro, Alabama, now leads the Fishing Clash Choo Choo Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 930 points, while Paul Stidham of Cullman, Alabama, leads the Fishing Clash Choo Choo Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 953 points.

The next event for BFL Choo Choo Division anglers will be held Sept. 20-21, at Lake Guntersville in Scottsboro, Alabama. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 10-11 BFL Regional tournament on Logan Martin Lake in Lincoln, Alabama. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

The 2025 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 134 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 60 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of 12 BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top three, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Li Time Batteries, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

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

by AnglersChannel

Knoxville’s McGaha Posts Third Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Cherokee Lake

Rutledge’s Caudill Tops Co-Angler Division

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (May 19, 2025) – Boater Justin McGaha of Knoxville, Tennessee, caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 14 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Cherokee Lake. The tournament, hosted by Visit Jefferson County, Tennessee, was the third event of the season for the BFL Mountain Division. McGaha earned $2,748 for his victory.

During practice for Cherokee, McGaha worked a glide bait around floating docks, taking advantage of the bait’s knack for getting bass to follow – but not bite – to figure out which docks were holding fish.

Then, in the tournament, he returned to those docks and caught the winning limit with a big swimbait and swim jig. McGaha’s limit was comprised entirely of postspawn largemouth bass, which he plucked from the shade way back under the docks.

“I probably hit 30 or more docks all day long,” McGaha said. “They weren’t docks all the way back (in the creeks). It would be docks on points or individual docks.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Justin McGaha, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 17-14, $2,748
2nd:      Clint Brodsky, Burlington, Ky., five bass, 17-10, $2,109 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
3rd:       John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., five bass, 14-12, $882
4th:        J.R. Henard, Rogersville, Tenn., five bass, 14-0, $618
5th:        Andrew Napier, Fisherville, Ky., five bass, 13-12, $530
6th:        Tony Wilson, Barbourville, Ky., five bass, 13-11, $485
7th:        Jeremy Gordon, Rutledge, Tenn., five bass, 13-0, $441
8th:        Matthew Rock, Bristol, Va., five bass, 12-4, $397
9th:        Branden Grubb, Lily, Ky., 12-2, $353
10th:     Lee Sinclair, Albany, Ky., five bass, 11-15, $309

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Clint Brodsky of Burlington, Kentucky, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $285.

Elijah Caudill of Rutledge, Tennessee, won the co-angler division and $1,324 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 1 ounce.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Elijah Caudill, Rutledge, Tenn., three bass, 8-1, $1,324
2nd:       Kasey Hunley, Sharps Chapel, Tenn., three bass, 7-13, $662
3rd:       Glenn Smith Jr., Corbin, Ky., three bass, 7-9, $440
4th:        Brian Kich, Berea, Ohio, three bass, 7-4, $309
5th:        Tracy Helton, London, Ky., three bass, 6-7, $265
6th:        Robert Duncan, Stearns, Ky., three bass, 6-5, $243
7th:        Robert Jones, Whitley City, Ky., three bass, 6-2, $221
8th:        Allen Neal, Whitley City, Ky., three bass, 6-0, $199
9th:        Ryan Lee, Pound, Va., three bass, 5-10, $177
10th:     Joshua Cloutier, Glasgow, Ky., three bass, 5-2, $154

Shane Bowman of Caryville, Tennessee, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $142, catching a bass that weighed in at 3 pounds, 13 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After three events, Branden Grubb of Lily, Kentucky, now leads the Fishing Clash Mountain Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 716 points, while Allen Neal of Whitley City, Kentucky, leads the Fishing Clash Mountain Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 728 points.

The next event for BFL Mountain Division anglers will be held June 7, at Dale Hollow Lake on Byrdstown, Tennessee. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 10-11 BFL Regional tournament on Douglas Lake in Dandridge, Tennessee. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

by AnglersChannel

Phoenix’s McFaul Gets the Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Potomac River Presented by Suzuki Marine

West Virginia’s Lloyd Tops Co-Angler Division

MARBURY, Md. (May 19, 2025) – Boater Rick McFaul of Phoenix, Maryland, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Potomac River Presented by Suzuki Marine . The tournament, hosted by Charles County Recreation, Parks, and Tourism, was the third event of the season for the BFL Shenandoah Division. McFaul earned $4,584 for his victory.

Mother Nature tried her best to foil McFaul’s plans today, forcing him to default from Plan A all the way to “Plan C,” he said. But it ended up working in his favor.

“We had some extreme weather conditions today,” McFaul said. “The recent rains had a flooding effect on the river. There was a massive amount of dirty water and debris flowing down the river. So everything I had found in practice was taken out by the conditions – the wind and the dirty water. So I found a little patch of cleaner water on the Virginia side of the river and literally Power-Poled down and just fished one 50-yard stretch for about five hours.”

The 50-yard stretch is a community hole grass bed ranging from 3 to 5 feet deep. After catching about 15 pounds from that spot, McFaul headed back toward the weigh-in in Mattawoman Creek. It was about 1:30 when he left. Because he gave himself plenty of time to deal with rough water, McFaul arrived early and had time to make one last stop in Mattawoman. He pulled up on a stretch of wood and promptly boxed two fish over 4 pounds each to cull up to the winning weight.

“I think one of the reasons why I was able to do well today was there was no place to go,” he said. “I really think the conditions forced me to settle down and not move because I didn’t have any other options, really. One of the mistakes I always make, and I think it’s just my personality – I tend to move around a little too much and get impatient.”

McFaul fished three primary presentations on the wood and grass. He fished a swim jig, a soft stick bait and a Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer Baby Jack. At just 1/4 ounce, the Baby Jack stayed right above the top of the grass for an effective presentation. It’s also the lure that produced his biggest fish.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Rick McFaul, Phoenix, Md., five bass, 18-11, $4,584
2nd:      Todd Langford, Great Falls, Va., five bass, 17-9, $2,292
3rd:       Robert Henderson, King George, Va., five bass, 16-13, $2,129 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th:        Roy Dixon, Welcome, Md., five bass, 16-8, $1,070
5th:        Brian Laclair, Denton, Md., five bass, 16-4, $917
6th:        Brian Warfel, Woodbridge, Va., five bass, 15-11, $840
7th:        Ron Rousseau, Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 15-7, $726
7th:        Andrew George, Poplar Branch, N.C., five bass, 15-7, $1,401
9th:        Joe A. Zombek II, Scranton, Pa., five bass, 15-4, $611
10th:     Travis Garrett, Charlottesville, Va., five bass, 14-14, $535

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Andrew George of Poplar Branch, North Carolina caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $675.

Steven Lloyd of Summit Point, West Virginia, won the co-angler division and $2,355 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 10 pounds, 13 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Steven Lloyd, Summit Point, W.Va., three bass, 10-13, $2,355
2nd:      John Robinson, Montpelier, Va., three bass, 10-5, $1,152
3rd:       Jason Hensley, Chesterfield, Va., three bass, 10-4, $768
4th:        Zhengrong Tang, Berwyn, Pa., three bass, 9-15, $538
5th:        Richard Williams, Sutherland, Va., three bass, 9-14, $461
6th:        Melvin Smitson, Baltimore, Md., three bass, 9-8, $423
7th:        John Lambert, Fredericksburg, Va., three bass, 9-7, $719
8th:        Ashton Crickenberger, Charlottesville, Va., three bass, 9-6, $326
8th:        Matthew Ross, Barton, Md., three bass, 9-6, $326
10th:     Brayden Fong, Bluefield, W.Va., three bass, 9-4, $269

John Lambert of Fredericksburg, Virginia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $335, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 3 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After three events, Ben Reynolds of Callands, Virginia, now leads the Fishing Clash Shenandoah Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 713 points, while David Rosenbaum of Leesburg, Virginia, leads the Fishing Clash Shenandoah Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 695 points.

The next event for BFL Shenandoah Division anglers will be held July 19, at the James River out of Henrico, Virginia. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on the James River in Richmond, Virginia. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

by AnglersChannel

Lucas Leaps Out to Early Lead for Group B, Splits $10K Big Bass with Myers on Day 2 of B&W Trailer Hitches Heavy Hitters on Smith Mountain

Alabama Pro Catches 22 Bass Weighing 65 Pounds, 15 ounces to Pace Group B Qualifying Round on Day 2, 15 Anglers in Group A Set to Resume Competition on Monday

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. (May 18, 2025) – For the second day in a row, one angler unlocked the bite better than the rest during his first day on Smith Mountain Lake. Like Michael Neal in Group A, Justin Lucas amassed a big lead by mid-morning of Group B’s first day of qualifying on Sunday at B&W Trailer Hitches Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops, and he never looked back. Lucas stacked up 65 pounds, 15 ounces on 22 scorable bass, which has him 34-11 ahead of Cole Floyd, who made a late charge to move into second place.

Underscoring the diversity of Smith Mountain Lake, while Neal did all his damage pitching a spinnerbait to steep banks up the Roanoke River, Lucas fished flat points with spinning tackle on the lower end of the lake. Not only did he more than double the weight of any other angler on the water on Day 2, Lucas cashed in on the big bass bonus offered every day during Heavy Hitters. He and Britt Myers each caught a 5-4 largemouth to split the $10,000 prize, earning $5,000 apiece.

Behind Lucas, the standings are tight, with third through 10th place separated by less than 4 pounds. And, of course, with weights set to zero before the Knockout and Championship Rounds, everyone is still in contention.

All 30 anglers who qualify for Heavy Hitters circle the event on the calendar, but this one is particularly personal for Lucas. In Heavy Hitters 2022 on Lake Palestine, Lucas lost to Ott DeFoe by 12 ounces – and he hooked and lost a big one late on the final day. Since then, Lucas – the top qualifier for this year’s event – has coveted the title belt awarded to the Heavy Hitters champion.

“This is a special tournament,” he said. “Everybody that’s here always has a great time. It’s just kind of the most fun bonus tournament of the year. Not a lot of pressure at all. And I had the fish on to win at Palestine, so I would love to be able to actually win this event, not finish second again.”

He’s off to a good start. Lucas said he found a few schools of bass ambushing spawning blueback herring around points during the two-day practice period, but he didn’t have any idea how productive they would be until Sunday morning.

“With two days of practice, you don’t really learn how good spots are,” he said. “You just learn if there’s a few fish there, and in the tournament is when you really start to learn – when you set the hook on them and you’re sitting there milking it for all it’s worth. So, I learned a lot today.”

After picking a few bass off the first couple spots he hit, Lucas caught fire toward the end of Period 1. Between 9:33 and 9:57 a.m., he hauled in seven scorable bass totaling 22-13 to move to the top of SCORETRACKER®. He added a 4-pound smallmouth in the final minutes of the frame, then opened Period 2 with the aforementioned 5-4 largemouth.

“It was awesome,” Lucas said. “(Largemouth and smallmouth) were running in packs together, schooled up together.”

Following a hot morning bite, the action slowed dramatically for much of the field. But Lucas, who primarily threw a jighead minnow, was able to trigger a few more flurries throughout the day. He probably could have stacked on even more weight but opted to try and preserve some fish for the rest of the six-day event.

“I just think I had a few really good spots,” he said. “Probably a couple spots might be the best spots on the whole lake right now, honestly.”

Lucas said he found a few new spots Sunday, and there’s still some other areas he located in practice that he hasn’t revisited. With a buffer of more than 40 pounds over the elimination line, he’s looking forward to using Group B’s second day of competition to further expand his pattern.

Given the field’s collective lack of experience on Smith Mountain, he called that opportunity “a huge advantage.” Plus, while he will likely refrain from catching multiple fish off any one spot Tuesday, that will give him another chance to add to his big bass earnings tab.

Between the success of his initial pattern – which he thinks could continue to get better as more fish leave their spawning areas and head offshore – and the opportunity to build on it, Lucas is optimistic he’s found a program that can carry him into Thursday’s Championship Round, and possibly to the Heavy Hitters belt he nearly won three years ago.

“I really hope so,” he said. “I know other guys are going to figure it out. But I think with the warm weather we’ve had, so many of these fish are done spawning. They’re really starting to feed up on the herring, and to be honest, even some fish could be prespawn eating those herring still. So, I think you get a lot of postspawn, and maybe even a little mixture of prespawn in there.”

Second perhaps only to his decision to target schooling bass around points in the first place, Lucas’ most clutch call of the day came after he boated his biggest fish. The lunker largemouth, which he caught early in Period 2, initially weighed in at 5-3. Knowing the benchmark for big bass had already been set at 5-4, Lucas put the bass back on the BUBBA scale, and he got the extra ounce he needed.

“That was a $5,000 decision,” he said. “I figured at the worst it could go to 5-2, and I lose an ounce. At the most, it reweighs at 5-4 and I gain 5 grand. So, that was clutch.”

Myers caught his 5-4 on a fluke within the first 40 minutes of competition. While just the third time ever one of the big bass prizes at Heavy Hitters has been split between two anglers, it’s the second day in a row with a tie, as Dave Lefebre and Fred Roumbanis both landed a 6-7 on Saturday.

The big bass award will remain at $10,000 for each of the remaining two Qualifying Round days before jumping to $30,000 for the Knockout Round and a whopping $100,000 during the Championship Round.

The 15 anglers in Group B will now have the day off Monday, while the 15 anglers in Group A will conclude their two-day Qualifying Round. Group B will complete their two-day Qualifying Round of competition on Tuesday.

The standings for the 15 pros from Qualifying Group B after Day 1 on Smith Mountain Lake are:

1st:          Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 22 bass, 65-15
2nd: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 11 bass, 31-4
3rd: Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 10 bass, 28-4
4th:         Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 10 bass, 27-9
5th:         Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 10 bass, 27-2
6th:         Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., nine bass, 26-13
7th:         Jonathon VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 11 bass, 25-15
8th:         Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., nine bass, 25-12
9th:         Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C., eight bass, 24-11
10th: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., eight bass, 24-5
11th: Shin Fukae, Osaka, Japan, six bass, 16-9
12th: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., five bass, 15-6
13th: Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., five bass, 14-14
14th: Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., four bass, 10-8
15th: Matt Stefan, Junction City, Wis., two bass, 5-1

Full results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 130 bass weighing 370 pounds even caught by the 15 pros on Sunday, which included three 5-pounders and six 4-pounders caught from Smith Mountain Lake.

Hosted by Visit Franklin County, Virginia and Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge , the B&W Trailer Hitches Heavy Hitters at Smith Mountain Lake Presented by Bass Pro Shops features 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. A bass must meet the 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable in the Qualifying and Knockout Rounds, but for the final day Championship Round a bass must weigh at least 3 pounds to be deemed scorable.

The 15 Anglers in Group A compete in their two-day qualifying round on Saturday and Monday – the 15 anglers in Group B on Sunday and Tuesday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the top eight anglers from both groups advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round weights are zeroed, and the remaining 16 anglers compete to finish in the Top 10 to advance to the Championship Round. In Thursday’s final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

In addition to overall tournament awards, Berkley Big Bass bonuses are awarded in each round of competition with payouts of $10,000 for the single biggest bass on each day of Group A & B Qualifying, $30,000 for the biggest bass in the Knockout Round and $100,000 for the biggest bass in the Championship Round.

The Bass Pro Tour trailering policy has been enacted for this event, so anglers will depart Trinity Ecumenical Parish each morning at 6:15 a.m. to one of five launch ramps located around the fishery. Anglers will return to Trinity Ecumenical Parish each evening following the end of competition at 3:45 p.m. Fans are encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW! live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

To qualify for B&W Trailer Hitches Heavy Hitters, the weight of an angler’s single-largest bass from each event of the seven 2024 Bass Pro Tour events was recorded. The 30 anglers with the heaviest total from those seven bass qualified to compete in this event.

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on each day of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app, and Rumble.

Television coverage of B&W Trailer Hitches Heavy Hitters 2025 Presented by Bass Pro Shops will be showcased across six two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 a.m. ET, July 26 and running each Saturday through Aug. 30 on Discovery. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on the Outdoor Channel.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 B&W Trailer Hitches Heavy Hitters include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Barbasol, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sport Apparel, Kubota, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, MillerTech, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO Boats, Onyx, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Star brite, Toyota, YETI and Zenni.

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, X, Instagram and YouTube.

by AnglersChannel

Schlapper claims first Bassmaster Elite title in wire-to-wire win at Sabine River

Schlapper claims first Bassmaster Elite title in wire-to-wire win at Sabine River

ORANGE, Texas — A marathon, not a sprint. You’d be hard pressed to find a more fitting phrase to describe Pat Schlapper’s wire-to-wire win at the MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at the Sabine River.

Schlapper set the early mark with a Day 1 limit of 12 pounds, 2 ounces. The pro from Eleva, Wis., would follow with daily weights of 8-7, 8-9 and 9-10 for a winning total of 38-12.

Edging fellow Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pro Patrick Walters by a margin of 2-4, Schlapper collected the top prize of $101,000.

“This means a lot to me that my friends and family surprised me and showed up,” said Schlapper, whose brother passed away last year. “This is for my family and my brother.”

A week after 62-11 earned him a 32nd-place finish in the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork, Schlapper endured the notoriously challenging Sabine River’s stingy ways.

“I caught my fish a few different ways; I had figured out different things and knowing when to do (each one) was the key,” Schlapper said. “I think one of the biggest reasons I out-fished a lot people in the area is that I was fishing a lot faster.

“A lot of people were fishing really slow, but I was just covering as much water as I could. I think that made a big difference.”

With cloudy, windy weather creating classic largemouth feeding conditions, Schlapper enjoyed his best morning of the week. Getting off to a quick start, Schlapper had a limit that went a little more than 9 pounds by 9 a.m.

As soon as he reached his first spot, he experienced an intense flurry that jump started his big morning.

“It was unbelievable the way that happened this morning,” Schlapper said. “That was actually the first spot that I found (in practice). I pulled in and the wind was just perfect to throw a Brazalo clacking buzzbait. It had a big gold blade and a black toad on the back.

“I just got to whompin’ on ’em for about 20 minutes and they were all quality fish. I missed one, but the rest of them choked it.”

Schlapper did all of his Day 1 work on the foundations holding a set of elevated pipes that crossed a canal off Taylor Bayou. On Day 2, he fished the pipe crossing, but also worked open bank.

Days 3 and 4 mostly comprised bank fishing, where he targeted grass, wood and undercut points. The first three days, Schlapper caught fish on a homemade 3/8-ounce Do-it Molds compact finesse jig with a Big Bite Baits chunk trailer, a dropshot and a Texas-rigged creature bait.

“I felt really good going into this tournament for some reason,” Schlapper said. “I was super confident, super calm. I feel like I made all the right moves and all the right decisions.

“I love the Sabine River.”

Walters of Summerville, S.C. finished second with 36-8. With his first three days yielding limits of 7-6, 7-2 and 9-9, respectively, Walters entered Championship Sunday in 10th place. Finishing strong with 12-7 — the event’s second heaviest (behind John Crews’ 12-9) — Walters gained eight spots.

Describing the key to his final-round success, Walters said: “Decision making. The Sabine is all about making decisions. You put some baits in your hand that you feel confident in and covering a lot of water until you find the fish.”

Walters caught most of his fish on a spinnerbait. Given the level of fishing pressure his main area had received, the final round presented an opportunity to make a bold decision that worked out as well as Walters could have ever hoped.

“I had been catching all my fish in Taylor Bayou, but today, I didn’t see it happening,” Walters said. “It wasn’t going to pan out because we had beaten it too much. The second day, there were 78 boats over there.

“That was way too many people over there, so I decided to stay close and fish close. The water had been dropping and clearing up and we just ran into them. I lost one good one, but I can’t complain.”

Japan's Kyoya Fujita finished third with 36-8. (Ties are broken by heaviest single day weight.) His daily limits went 8-8, 11-3, 8-9 and 8-4.

Fujita, who placed fourth last week at Lake Fork, caught his fish on a Texas-rigged Jackall Pine Shrimp and a Neko-rigged Jackall 4.5 Yammy. Spending most of his time targeting reeds in Taylor Bayou, Fujita kept his foot on the trolling motor.

“I did not catch my fish on forward facing sonar; I caught all of my fish power fishing,” Fujita said. “Speed is important. I made more casts, more casts, more casts to cover water.”

John Crews of Salem, Va., won the $2,000 Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors for his Day 2 4-14.

Wisconsin's Jay Przekurat won the $1,000 award for leading the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings.

Minnesota's Austin Felix won the $1,000 BassTrakk contingency award.

Crews also won the $2,000 Rapala CrushCity Monster Bag award for his Day 2 limit of 12-9.

Japan’s Taku Ito took home an additional $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, while Alabama’s Kyle Welcher earned $2,000 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

As part of the Yamaha Power Pay program, Schlapper earned an additional $4,000, while Walters claimed an additional $1,500 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

Jay Przekurat of Plover, Wis., leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 544 points. Chris Johnston of Otonabee, Canada is in second with 502, followed by Fujita with 494, Trey McKinney of Carbondale, Ill., with 487, and Will Davis Jr. of Sylacauga, Ala., with 480.

Paul Marks of Cumming, Ga., leads the Dakota Lithium Elite Series Rookie of the Year standings with 418 points.

The MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River was hosted by the Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce.

2025 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Progressive, Toyota
2025 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2025 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Triton Boats, VMC, Yokohama

About B.A.S.S.

B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier Series presented by Lowrance, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Strike King Bassmaster High School Series, Bassmaster Junior Series, Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Bassmaster College Kayak Series, Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.

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Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 256-424-2390, cgay@bassmaster.com

2025 MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River 5/15-5/18
Sabine River , Orange TX.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 4

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 20 38-12 104 $101,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-02 Day 2: 5 08-07 Day 3: 5 08-09 Day 4: 5 09-10
2. Patrick Walters Eutawville, SC 20 36-08 103 $21,000.00
Day 1: 5 07-06 Day 2: 5 07-02 Day 3: 5 09-09 Day 4: 5 12-07
3. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 20 36-08 102 $15,000.00
Day 1: 5 08-08 Day 2: 5 11-03 Day 3: 5 08-09 Day 4: 5 08-04
4. Taku Ito Dalton GA JAPAN 19 36-02 101 $12,500.00
Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 4 05-06 Day 3: 5 08-04 Day 4: 5 11-07
5. Kyle Welcher Valley, AL 20 35-03 100 $11,750.00
Day 1: 5 07-11 Day 2: 5 07-00 Day 3: 5 11-03 Day 4: 5 09-05
6. Cooper Gallant Bowmanville Ontario CAN 20 34-03 99 $11,000.00
Day 1: 5 10-02 Day 2: 5 10-03 Day 3: 5 07-05 Day 4: 5 06-09
7. Stetson Blaylock Benton, AR 20 31-09 98 $10,500.00
Day 1: 5 11-05 Day 2: 5 05-14 Day 3: 5 07-01 Day 4: 5 07-05
8. David Mullins Mt Carmel, TN 20 31-09 97 $10,300.00
Day 1: 5 06-13 Day 2: 5 06-15 Day 3: 5 11-00 Day 4: 5 06-13
9. Justin Hamner Northport, AL 19 31-09 96 $10,200.00
Day 1: 5 10-05 Day 2: 4 05-12 Day 3: 5 08-06 Day 4: 5 07-02
10. John Crews Jr Salem, VA 18 30-06 95 $15,000.00
Day 1: 5 05-07 Day 2: 5 12-09 Day 3: 5 07-01 Day 4: 3 05-05
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 04-05 $1,000.00
2 John Crews Jr Salem, VA 04-14 $1,000.00
3 Bryan New Leesville, SC 04-01 $1,000.00
4 Patrick Walters Eutawville, SC 04-09 $1,000.00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
John Crews Jr Salem, VA 04-14 $2,000.00
RAPALA CRUSHCITY MONSTER BAG

John Crews Jr Salem, VA 12-09 $2,000.00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 69 434 664-15
2 62 427 623-01
3 34 215 313-03
4 9 48 84-03
----------------------------------
174 1124 1685-06

by AnglersChannel

Mark Daniels Jr. Tackles Smith Mountain Lake at 2025 Heavy Hitters

Courtesy of Dynamic Sponsorships

2025 B&W Trailer Hitches Heavy Hitters is underway on Virginia’s Smith Mountain Lake and Mark Daniels Jr. is navigating uncharted waters. Known for its scenic beauty and diverse opportunities, this sprawling highland reservoir presents a unique challenge for MDJ, who is fishing the lake for the first time.

With a mix of largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, coupled with the influence of spawning herring, Daniels is leaning on his adaptability to compete in this high-stakes event.

“This is my first time on this lake. I’ve never been here and it’s absolutely beautiful to the eye,” Daniels Jr. said. “Lots of bass, as well. Figuring out the stage of these fish is the most critical thing. About 15 percent of the bass are still spawning. It’s also important to understand that this is a herring lake and that changes the game for these bass.”

Smith Mountain Lake, a 20,600-acre impoundment nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is a fishery defined by its steep banks, clear water and robust herring population. For Daniels Jr., the parallels to South Carolina fisheries like Lake Murray or Clarks Hill are striking. The behavior of the herring, he notes, is a driving force behind the bass’ movements.

“How these herring act dictate a lot about what these bass do,” MDJ said. “The bass get around shallow water cover and the herring are wanting to start spawning. It’s almost like the bass are staging to wait for the herring to start spawning as well. It’s been a strange dynamic. Those herring-oriented bass seemingly get a lot of fishing pressure as well.”

Anglers are allowed to use forward-facing sonar across all three periods during Heavy Hitters — Qualifying, Knockout and Championship rounds. This technology could be a game-changer on a lake as vast as Smith Mountain, where finding isolated fish is key.

Daniels Jr., however, was able to avoid the crowds and tap into a solid pattern on day one that has him holding down the second place spot.

“I’m trying to get into some zones where there aren’t a ton of boats,” he said. “A lot of locals were out this weekend, and they absolutely have the right to be there. No problem at all on that. But that’s going to be most of the fishing pressure, in my opinion. This lake fishes pretty big and I honestly didn’t see many other competitors on my first day.”

Unlike fisheries with flatter, more traditional spawning grounds, Smith Mountain Lake’s terrain makes it trickier to locate stereotypical bluegill beds, which often attract bass during the spawn.

“Some bluegill are spawning but I haven’t seen many bass on the beds,” Daniels Jr. said. “This place is super steep, so it’s hard to find those stereotypical flat, shallow bluegill pockets.”

With bass in a transitional phase—some still spawning, others staging for the herring or bluegill spawn— MDJ anticipates a variety of techniques will produce early in the tournament. The allowance of forward-facing sonar opens the door for precise presentations, but the herring factor could shift the game entirely.

“I think we’ll see a hodge podge of minnows, drop shots, Neko rigs, jerkbaits and topwater in the early stages of this tournament,” Daniels Jr. said. “You can catch ‘em just fishing down the banks, too. But it all depends on what this herring deal does. If that takes off, a lot of guys are going to do that, which will include a lot of topwater.”

The Team Toyota pro’s game plan is grounded in simplicity and progression. Rather than chasing a specific pattern from the outset, he’s focused on staying adaptable and making one cut at a time.

“My gameplan is fairly simple going into this one: let’s just make the Knockout Round and then take baby steps,” he said. “If I had it my way, I’d fish boat docks from start to finish, but this lake is in a major transition right now based on what I’ve seen.”

The fisheries diversity—supporting largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass—requires anglers to make calculated decisions about which species to target. Largemouth often hold tight to shallow cover like docks and laydowns, while smallmouth and spotted bass may roam deeper, chasing schools of bait.

MDJ’s ability to read the lake’s conditions and adjust his approach could be the difference between a paycheck or a championship run.

Forward-facing sonar, a hot topic in competitive fishing, will undoubtedly continue to shape strategies across the field. The technology allows anglers to locate fish in real time, spotting suspended bass or schools chasing herring. For Daniels Jr., it’s a tool to complement his instincts, not replace them.

You’d think the freedom to use FFS would lead to a fast-paced, tech-driven event but MDJ’s focus on less-pressured zones suggests he’s aiming to blend technology with old-school angling savvy. By targeting areas away from the crowds, he hopes to find unpressured fish that haven’t seen a barrage of boats.

MDJ’s strategy to seek solitude on the lake’s 500 miles of shoreline has proven wise thus far, as he out fished his group with the excepetion of Michael Neal during his first day on the water. Smith Mountain Lake’s size offers plenty of room to spread out and Daniels Jr. is banking on finding pockets of fish that others overlook.

So far, so good for MDJ as his chances to make the Knockout Round are strong based on his day one efforts. Daniels Jr. plans to remain focused on stacking some more weight to the SCORETRACKER, along with targeting a big bite in hopes to take advantage of the huge payouts for the big bass each day of competition.

by AnglersChannel

Tennessee’s Peavyhouse Holds on to Win Toyota Series at Lake Guntersville Presented by Suzuki Marine

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (May 16, 2025) – Blasting off on Championship Friday with a lead of more than 4 pounds over his nearest pursuer, Isaac Peavyhouse could taste his first Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats win. When he returned to Goose Pond eight hours later, he was convinced he’d let it slip away.

Peavyhouse had blasted 28 pounds, 6 ounces of Lake Guntersville largemouth on Day 1, which had him in second place, then moved into the lead with 24-8 on Day 2. On Day 3, he once again topped the 20-pound mark, but with the legendary lake kicking out heavy bags like usual in the Central Division season finale, he didn’t think it would be enough. He got even more nervous when Hayden O’Barr placed a 28-8 mega bag on the scales.

“Coming in, with the weight I had, I thought I gave it away, honestly,” Peavyhouse said.

Turns out, Peavyhouse’s final-day limit of 20-15 was enough to edge O’Barr by 15 ounces. His three-day total of 73-13 earned him $40,000, while O’Barr had to settle for his third runner-up finish in a Toyota Series event in the past three months.

A resident of Jamestown, Tennessee, Peavyhouse has tasted most of his tournament success on nearby Dale Hollow Lake and other highland reservoirs in the area. He’d only competed on Guntersville a few times prior to this event, and never during the postspawn.

Knowing the reputation of the lake’s river channel ledges, Peavyhouse figured fishing offshore would be the way to win, so he committed to idling during practice and searching for schools. He had no trouble locating them, but when he started running those spots on Day 1, he found competitors already sitting on just about all of them.

“All three days of practice, I idled the whole time,” he said. “I had about 30 schools marked, but apparently 28 of them were community holes, because you couldn’t never get on them.”

Peavyhouse eventually found a school that he had to himself. That spot turned out to be all he needed, as he caught all 15 of his keepers there.

“It was a really sneaky spot,” he said. “It was just a little drain on a flat, and the fish were in about 20 foot on the edge of the grass. I was side-scanning a spot that I’ve caught them here in February on a jerkbait and just saw the school on my side scan. In practice, I made one cast in there, caught a 5-pounder and left. I didn’t know it was that good, but it panned out.”

On Day 1, Peavyhouse caught about 25 pounds right away from the school before trying to run new water and eventually returning to cull a couple more times. He found the bite a bit tougher on Day 2, but he still managed a strong limit.

Friday, the lake threw him a curveball. A floating eelgrass mat had settled over the spot, making it impossible for Peavyhouse to get his bait down to the fish. He left and tried to fish elsewhere but didn’t catch a keeper. Finally, he returned and found the mat had moved just enough for him to make the proper presentation.

“I finally got one cast down to them – because that eelgrass would bow it up – and first cast I got down to them, I caught a 5 1/4, and second cast I got a 4.40,” Peavyhouse said. “And then it blew back in there, and I never could get it back to them again.”

Peavyhouse caught those two fish on a Strike King 10XD crankbait, his most productive lure all week. He then used a Yank-Um Custom Tackle structure jig and a jighead minnow to fish around the eelgrass and fill out the rest of his limit. He threw all his baits on Yank-Um Custom Tackle rods.

The win was the first for Peavyhouse outside of the Phoenix Bass Fishing League and by far the most lucrative of his young career.

“It’s awesome, man,” Peavyhouse said. “I’ve won two BFLs and placed high in a bunch of Toyotas and some other tournaments, but I’ve never had a bigger win like this. So, it’s a blessing.”

The top 10 pros at the Toyota Series at Lake Guntersville finished:

1st:        Isaac Peavyhouse, Jamestown, Tenn., 15 bass, 73-13, $40,000
2nd:       Hayden O’Barr, Scottsboro, Ala., 15 bass, 72-14, $16,500 (includes $1,000 Phoenix Bonus)
3rd:       Matteo Turano, Puryear, Tenn., 15 bass, 70-14, $12,250
4th:        Cal Lane, Grant, Ala., 15 bass, 70-13, $10,000
5th:        Carter Nutt, Nashville, Tenn, 15 bass, 68-14, $9,000
6th:        Caz Anderson, Haysville, N.C., 15 bass, 68-10, $8,000
7th:        Broderick Luckey, Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass, 67-13, $7,000
8th:        Clint Knight, Russellville, Ky., 15 bass, 67-12, $6,000
9th:        Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 15 bass, 67-0, $5,000
10th:     Preston Kolisek, Loretto, Tenn., 15 bass, 66-14, $4,000

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Pro Steve Lopez of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, earned Thursday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass Award with a bass weighing 7 pounds, 12 ounces, while pro Kyle Lusk of Scottsboro, Alabama won Friday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass, weighing in a 7-pound, 5-ouncer to earn the $500 award.

Despite the dominance of pro Dylan Nutt of Nashville, Tennessee, who won both of the first two Central Division events of the season on Pickwick and Chickamauga, the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year race remained in doubt entering the finale. With Nutt finishing 26th and barely missing out on Day 3 at Guntersville, it turned into a showdown between himself and two of his teammates at the University of North Alabama: his twin brother, Carter Nutt, and Banks Shaw.

Shaw’s ninth-place finish ultimately earned him the crown and $5,000 payday that comes with it. Combined with finishes of fourth on Pickwick and eighth on Chickamauga, he wound up 4 points ahead of Carter, who finished fifth on Guntersville, and 7 points clear of Dylan.

Shaw will hope that’s not the last AOY check he cashes from Fishing Clash. The 21-year-old continued his breakout season by winning last week’s Tackle Warehouse Invitationals stop on Pickwick Lake and moving into the AOY lead on that circuit.

Ryan Lecompte of Picayune, Mississippi, won the co-angler division at Lake Guntersville Friday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 55 pounds, 1 ounce. Lecompte earned the top co-angler prize package worth $33,500, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard motor.

The top 10 co-anglers at the Toyota Series at Lake Guntersville finished:

1st:        Ryan Lecompte, Picayune, Miss., 15 bass, 55-1, Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp Mercury outboard
2nd:       Roger Crain, Louisville, Ky., 15 bass, 53-15, $5,000
3rd:       Finn Taylor, Lake Placid, Fla., 15 bass, 51-10, $4,000
4th:        James Ramsey, Boaz, Ala., 14 bass, 49-0, $3,500
5th:        Alex Moore, Chester, Ill., 15 bass, 48-3, $3,000
6th:        Todd Mowery, Madison, Ala., 13 bass, 48-0, $2,575
7th:        Dylan Quilatan, Windermere, Fla., 15 bass, 47-15, $2,000
8th:        Alex Roberts, Columbia, Tenn., 15 bass, 47-4, $1,750
9th:        Larry Franks Jr., Wilsonville, Ala., 15 bass, 46-13, $1,700
10th:     Chuck Huggins, Englewood, Ohio, 15 bass, 46-9, $1,250

Co-angler Stanislav Sedletskii of Springfield, Missouri, earned the first Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of the event on Wednesday with a 7-pound, 13-ounce bass to earn the $150 prize, while Thursday’s Day 2 $150 co-angler award was split by Stephen Mickle of Eatonton, Georgia, and Todd Mowery of Madison, Alabama, who both weighed in bass totaling 6 pounds, 1 ounce.

The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at Lake Guntersville Presented by Suzuki Marine was hosted by the Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce. It was the third and final regular-season tournament for the Toyota Series Central Division. The next event for Toyota Series Central Division anglers will be the Toyota Series Championship, Nov. 6-8, at Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma. For a complete schedule of events, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The 2025 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern and the Southwestern – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International and Wild Card divisions. Anglers who fish in any of the five divisions or the Wild Card division and finish in the top 25 will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning up to $235,000 and a qualification to REDCREST 2026. The winning co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard. The 2025 Toyota Series Championship will be held Nov. 6-8 on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma, and is hosted by the City of Grove Convention & Tourism Bureau.

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

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

by AnglersChannel

Michael Neal Takes Early Lead in Group A, Lefebre/Roumbanis Split $10K Big Bass Award on Day 1 of Major League Fishing’s B&W Trailer Hitches Heavy Hitters

Tennessee Pro Catches 26 Bass Weighing 75 Pounds, 14 ounces to Pace Group A Qualifying Round on Day 1, 15 Anglers in Group B Set to Compete Sunday

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. – Saturday’s opening day of qualifying for Group A at B&W Trailer Hitches Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops also marked the first time Virginia’s Smith Mountain Lake has appeared on the national tournament stage since 2015. Even though the field of 15 pros had to contend with a morning storm that gave way to windy, high-pressure conditions (as well as the boat traffic you’d expect on a sunny Saturday), the fishery produced plenty of chunky largemouth and smallmouth.

No one caught them better than Dayton, Tennessee’s Michael Neal, who spent nearly the entire day winding a spinnerbait around steep banks and hauling in bass. He stacked up 75 pounds, 14 ounces on 26 scorable bass to take a commanding early lead, 28-8 ahead of pro Mark Daniels Jr. of Tuskegee, Alabama, in second.

Like many anglers, Neal admitted he doesn’t reach for a spinnerbait too often these days, especially on a clear-water fishery like Smith Mountain. He felt good about a few of the areas up the Roanoke River he’d located during practice, but he started Saturday morning throwing a topwater.

It wasn’t until he saw some baitfish flickering in the area that he picked up a spinnerbait and unleashed a beatdown reminiscent of a past Heavy Hitters performance, when Alton Jones Jr. romped the field with a spinnerbait to win the Championship Round on Bussey Brake in 2023.

“It’s been a while,” Neal said when asked the last time he’d experienced a spinnerbait bite like that. “I really hardly even throw one anymore besides just dirty water. But there’s not much better than a good, hard spinnerbait bite.”

Neal caught all but two of his scorable bass on a shad-colored Spro Blade spinnerbait with a Big Bite Baits Kamikaze Swimon split-tail trailer. Initially, he figured the bait was working so well because of an ongoing shad spawn – he said he could see and feel baitfish bumping his lure as he retrieved it. However, shad spawns typically wane after the early morning hours. Neal’s bite just kept getting better.

After catching 10 scorable bass for 30-1 in the opening period, which gave him a lead of 3-10 over Jones, he added 12 more bass totaling 34-3 during Period 2. That pushed his advantage all the way to 27-6. Once he crossed the 75-pound mark with about an hour left in the day, he left his area and went searching for a big bass.

Neal admitted he was surprised the spinnerbait continued to produce, but he’s not questioning it.

“I wish I knew if it was a shad or a herring deal, because I feel like if that was just threadfins (spawning) like they do at home, I feel like it would have been done by lines in, or at least halfway through the first period when the sun came out,” he said. “But they bit it on up into the third period, too. So, I don’t know if that's a blueback thing or what.

“The bass were literally touching the bank. I don’t know if they just sit there and wait until something comes by, if they swim that tight to the bank all day or what they really do, but I’m not going to try and figure it out a whole lot. I’m just going to keep slinging.”

Once Neal identified the right banks, he spent most of the day running water he hadn’t practiced. He’s cautiously optimistic those areas can continue to produce across the six-day event.

“I don’t think it will go away real soon,” he said. “The shad spawn usually lasts a week or two. Of course, I don’t know how long it’s been going on here. I don’t know if we’re just starting, if we’re in the middle, if we’re at the tail end. But I really don’t think the fish are going to move a whole lot based on where they’re at now. So, I feel like it can be a sustainable pattern, shad spawn or not, throughout the tournament.”

Good news for Neal is that, with a cushion of more than 50 pounds over the elimination line, he’ll be free to utilize Group A’s second day of qualifying to search out new water and chase the big bass bonus offered each day during Heavy Hitters. He plans to do a bit of both on Monday.

“I’m going to go explore some stuff,” he said. “I’m going to keep working on expanding that area out as far as I can go each direction. But also, I want to try to catch a big one.”

The first of the big bass prizes up for grabs each day during Heavy Hitters will be split between two anglers. Pros Dave Lefebre and Fred Roumbanis each caught largemouth that weighed 6-7, so both will receive $5,000.

According to SCORETRACKER INSIDER™ Presented by Strike King, Lefebre caught his 6-7 around the midpoint of the second period on a fluke. For three and a half hours, it looked like that fish would be big enough to earn him $10,000, but with 50 minutes left before lines out, Roumbanis boated a 6-7 of his own on a glide bait.

The 15 anglers in Group A will now have the day off Sunday, while the 15 anglers in Group B will begin their Day 1 Qualifying Round. Group A will complete their two-day Qualifying Round of competition on Monday.

The standings for the 15 pros from Qualifying Group A after Day 1 on Smith Mountain Lake are:

1st:        Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 26 bass, 75-14
2nd:       Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 18 bass, 47-6
3rd:       Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 15 bass, 40-12
5th:        Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 12 bass, 33-2
4th:        Cliff Crochet, Pierre Part, La., 11 bass, 31-8
6th:        Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 10 bass, 26-7
8th:        Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., nine bass, 25-4
7th:        Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., seven bass, 24-9
9th:        Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa., eight bass, 23-2
10th:     Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., five bass, 16-4
11th:     Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn., five bass, 15-1
12th:     Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, four bass, 11-9
13th:     Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, four bass, 10-5
14th:     Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., three bass, 8-8
15th:     Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., two bass, 7-8

Full results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 139 bass weighing 397 pounds, 3 ounces caught by the 15 pros on Saturday, which included two 6-pounders, two 5-pounders and eight 4-pounders caught from Smith Mountain Lake.

by AnglersChannel

Late-day kicker keeps Schlapper in the lead at the Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River

ORANGE, Texas — Pat Schlapper felt the moment slipping away, but he patiently persevered and found a late-day kicker that kept him in the lead of the MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at the Sabine River.

The Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pro from Eleva, Wis., took the early lead with a Day 1 limit of 12 pounds, 2 ounces and then remained in the top spot with a second-round bag that went 8-7. Catching a Semifinal Saturday limit of 8-9, Schlapper made it three days straight with a leading total of 29-2.

Coming off a 32nd-place finish last week in the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork, Schlapper heads into Championship Sunday with a 14-ounce lead over Kyoya Fujita. Schlapper attributes his Texas success to a rejuvenated perspective.

“It’s been a tough year, but I’ve kinda changed my mindset; I’m trying to have fun and I’m fishing to win,” Schlapper said. “We hear that all the time, but I’m really fishing to win this week.”

Schlapper demonstrated the determination requisite of blue trophy ownership by enduring a lean third day. Round 1 saw him catch all of his fish at a bridge near Taylor Bayou. That structure produced part of his Day 2 limit, with the rest coming from shallow shoreline cover.

Schlapper tried his bridge again on Day 3, but it did not yield any keeper bites.

“I started on some other stuff and then went (to the bridge) and didn’t catch ’em, then I just started fishing the way I did in practice,” Schlapper said. “I’m not counting on the bridge anymore. I’ll fish it tomorrow and think I can still catch some there, but I’m focused on the other way I’m catching them.”

That other pattern simply comprises covering water and flipping shallow habitat features. Schlapper said he’s fishing a mix of natural targets with a Texas-rigged creature bait and a jig.

“It could be grass, it could be wood, it could be a little undercut point,” he said. “I’m just trying to get my bait in front of as many fish as I can.

“It took me all day to get those five keepers,” Schlapper said. “I had six keeper bites and only I caught five of them.”

Grinding through a stingy day, Schlapper found himself with only four fish for a little over 5 pounds at 1 o’clock.

Coming close to missing his Top 10 spot, Schlapper’s day took a dramatic turn when he caught a 3-5 shortly after 1:00. That fish lifted him back into the (unofficial BassTrakk) lead — a point later confirmed at the Day 3 weigh-in.

Confident with his game plan, but aware that his lead is far from safe, Schlapper said Day 4 will mirror his third day's work.

“I have a good plan for tomorrow,” Schlapper said. “It’s going to be a shootout, but that’s the way I like it; I’m a pretty good shot. I think anyone has a shot to win.

“If you have one of those days like I had the first day, with a couple of those difference makers, that’s all it takes to have a good tournament. I’ve been fortunate to get six quality bites and get them in the boat in this tournament.”

Hailing from Yamanishi, Japan, Fujita is in second place with 28-4. After finding himself in a three-way tie for 18th place with a Day 1 limit of 8-8, Fujita added a second-round bag of 11-3 and rose to third.

Fujita gained one more spot with a Semifinal Saturday limit that went 8-9.

A well-established technology ace, Fujita stressed that he’s not catching his fish off of forward facing sonar. Rather, he’s power fishing with Texas-rigged plastics. He hopes that this strategy will serve him well in the final round.

“I’ll (continue) bank fishing and I hope to catch five big fish tomorrow,” Fujita said.

Cooper Gallant of Bowmanville, Ontario is in third place with 27-10. He placed seventh on Day 1 with 10-2, then added 10-3 a day later and rose to second. Gallant caught 7-5 on Day 3 and slipped to third.

Gallant has been flipping shallow cover with a 3/8-ounce hand-tied flipping jig and a 3/8-ounce Outkast Tackle Cage Feider jig. He fits both with a X Zone Lures Adrenaline Craw Jr.

“Coming into this tournament, I wasn’t sitting very good in (Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year) points and I was like, ‘Man, I gotta catch ’em,” Gallant said. “At the same time, I just want to survive to get a Top 50.

“As the week’s gone on, it’s like, ‘Holy smokes, I caught ’em on Day 1. On Day 2, it didn’t look like I was gonna catch ’em and I caught another 10 pounds. Tomorrow, I’ll have a chance to bring a blue trophy back home to Canada and there’s not much more you can ask for.”

John Crews of Salem, Va., is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his Day 2 4-14.

Jay Przekurat of Plover, Wis., leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 544 points. Chris Johnston of Otonabee, Canada is in second with 502, followed by Fujita with 495, Trey McKinney of Carbondale, Ill., with 487, and Will Davis Jr. of Sylacauga, Ala., with 480.

Paul Marks of Cumming, Ga., leads the Dakota Lithium Rookie of the Year standings with 435 points.

Sunday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:30 a.m. CT at City of Orange Boat Ramp. The weigh-in will be held at the same location at 2:30 p.m.

Bassmaster LIVE coverage of the MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River will be available on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. before heading over to Bassmaster.com in the afternoon.

The MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River is being hosted by the Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce.

About B.A.S.S.

-30-

Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 256-424-2390, cgay@bassmaster.com

2025 MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River 5/15-5/18
Sabine River , Orange TX.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 3

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 15 29-02 104 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-02 Day 2: 5 08-07 Day 3: 5 08-09
2. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 15 28-04 103
Day 1: 5 08-08 Day 2: 5 11-03 Day 3: 5 08-09
3. Cooper Gallant Bowmanville Ontario CAN 15 27-10 102
Day 1: 5 10-02 Day 2: 5 10-03 Day 3: 5 07-05
4. Kyle Welcher Valley, AL 15 25-14 101
Day 1: 5 07-11 Day 2: 5 07-00 Day 3: 5 11-03
5. John Crews Jr Salem, VA 15 25-01 100 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 05-07 Day 2: 5 12-09 Day 3: 5 07-01
6. David Mullins Mt Carmel, TN 15 24-12 99
Day 1: 5 06-13 Day 2: 5 06-15 Day 3: 5 11-00
7. Taku Ito Dalton GA JAPAN 14 24-11 98
Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 4 05-06 Day 3: 5 08-04
8. Justin Hamner Northport, AL 14 24-07 97
Day 1: 5 10-05 Day 2: 4 05-12 Day 3: 5 08-06
9. Stetson Blaylock Benton, AR 15 24-04 96
Day 1: 5 11-05 Day 2: 5 05-14 Day 3: 5 07-01
10. Patrick Walters Eutawville, SC 15 24-01 95
Day 1: 5 07-06 Day 2: 5 07-02 Day 3: 5 09-09
11. Hunter Shryock Ooltewah, TN 14 24-01 94 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 08-06 Day 2: 5 07-09 Day 3: 4 08-02
12. Tyler Williams Belgrade, ME 15 24-00 93 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 09-00 Day 2: 5 07-05 Day 3: 5 07-11
13. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 15 23-15 92 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 06-13 Day 2: 5 10-02 Day 3: 5 07-00
14. Easton Fothergill Grand Rapids , MN 15 23-14 91 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 08-02 Day 2: 5 08-01 Day 3: 5 07-11
15. Bryan New Leesville, SC 13 23-13 90 $8,000.00
Day 1: 5 05-13 Day 2: 4 08-12 Day 3: 4 09-04
16. Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 15 23-12 89 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 07-15 Day 2: 5 08-03 Day 3: 5 07-10
17. KJ Queen Catawba, NC 15 23-02 88 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 05-08 Day 2: 5 11-09 Day 3: 5 06-01
18. Cody Huff Ava, MO 15 23-02 87 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 06-08 Day 2: 5 08-01 Day 3: 5 08-09
19. Bob Downey Detroit Lakes, MN 15 22-15 86 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 07-08 Day 2: 5 08-02 Day 3: 5 07-05
20. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 15 22-11 85 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 08-07 Day 2: 5 07-03 Day 3: 5 07-01
21. Gregory DiPalma Millville, NJ 14 22-01 84 $6,000.00
Day 1: 4 07-07 Day 2: 5 09-08 Day 3: 5 05-02
22. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 15 22-01 83 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 08-08 Day 2: 5 07-09 Day 3: 5 06-00
23. Emil Wagner Marietta, GA 15 22-00 82 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 06-15 Day 2: 5 07-10 Day 3: 5 07-07
24. Robert Gee Knoxville, TN 15 21-12 81 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 06-00 Day 2: 5 08-02 Day 3: 5 07-10
25. Jay Przekurat Plover, WI 14 21-08 80 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 10-12 Day 2: 4 05-02 Day 3: 5 05-10
26. Jeff Gustafson Kenora, ON Ontario CANA 15 21-08 79 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 07-10 Day 2: 5 08-09 Day 3: 5 05-05
27. Logan Parks Auburn, AL 14 21-06 78 $5,500.00
Day 1: 4 06-13 Day 2: 5 07-06 Day 3: 5 07-03
28. Bryan Schmitt Deale, MD 15 21-05 77 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 07-00 Day 2: 5 07-08 Day 3: 5 06-13
29. Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 13 21-03 76 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 07-15 Day 2: 5 08-15 Day 3: 3 04-05
30. Beau Browning Hot Springs National Pa 13 21-01 75 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 07-04 Day 2: 5 09-15 Day 3: 3 03-14
31. Cliff Pace Ovett, MS 14 21-01 74 $5,500.00
Day 1: 4 07-01 Day 2: 5 05-13 Day 3: 5 08-03
32. Joey Cifuentes III Clinton, AR 14 21-00 73 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 09-05 Day 2: 5 07-05 Day 3: 4 04-06
33. Luke Palmer Coalgate, OK 15 20-15 72 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 08-00 Day 2: 5 06-01 Day 3: 5 06-14
34. JT Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 13 20-10 71 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 09-02 Day 2: 5 07-14 Day 3: 3 03-10
35. John Cox Debary, FL 15 20-07 70 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 06-04 Day 2: 5 08-02 Day 3: 5 06-01
36. Alex Redwine Blue Ash, OH 15 20-04 69 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 07-01 Day 2: 5 06-14 Day 3: 5 06-05
37. Scott Canterbury Odenville, AL 15 20-03 68 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 08-08 Day 2: 5 05-12 Day 3: 5 05-15
38. Carl Jocumsen Queensland TN AUSTRALIA 12 20-02 67 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 09-04 Day 2: 4 07-15 Day 3: 3 02-15
39. Buddy Gross Chattanooga, TN 13 20-02 66 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 08-03 Day 2: 3 05-02 Day 3: 5 06-13
40. Alex Wetherell Middletown, CT 13 19-13 65 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 07-09 Day 2: 4 05-08 Day 3: 4 06-12
41. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 13 19-10 64 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 08-13 Day 2: 5 06-04 Day 3: 3 04-09
42. Lee Livesay Longview, TX 15 19-10 63 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 07-12 Day 2: 5 06-01 Day 3: 5 05-13
43. Matt Arey Shelby, NC 12 19-06 62 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 07-00 Day 2: 5 09-07 Day 3: 2 02-15
44. Will Davis Jr Sylacauga, AL 15 19-05 61 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 07-10 Day 2: 5 05-12 Day 3: 5 05-15
45. David Gaston Sylacauga, AL 13 18-14 60 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 07-12 Day 2: 5 08-04 Day 3: 3 02-14
46. Dakota Ebare Brookeland, TX 10 16-10 59 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 09-02 Day 2: 5 07-08 Day 3: 0 00-00
47. Hank Cherry Jr Lincolnton, NC 12 16-05 58 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 06-08 Day 2: 5 07-06 Day 3: 2 02-07
48. Ben Milliken Omaha, NE 10 16-03 57 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 10-03 Day 2: 2 02-13 Day 3: 3 03-03
49. Kenta Kimura Osaka OK JAPAN 11 16-03 56 $5,500.00
Day 1: 4 05-15 Day 2: 5 07-13 Day 3: 2 02-07
50. Shane LeHew Catawba, NC 12 15-08 55 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 06-04 Day 2: 5 06-12 Day 3: 2 02-08
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 04-05 $1,000.00
2 John Crews Jr Salem, VA 04-14 $1,000.00
3 Bryan New Leesville, SC 04-01 $1,000.00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 69 434 664-15
2 62 427 623-01
3 34 215 313-03
----------------------------------
165 1076 1601-03

by AnglersChannel

Adjustments keep Schlapper atop Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River

May 16, 2025

Adjustments keep Schlapper atop Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River

ORANGE, Texas — Pat Schlapper knew he had to return to the scene of his first-round success, but knowing when and how to adjust enabled him to maintain his lead on Day 2 of the MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at the Sabine River.

Schlapper took the top spot on Day 1 with a limit of 12 pounds, 2 ounces. Day 2 was less generous and the Progressive Elite Series pro from Eleva, Wis., added a smaller limit that went 8-7. With a two-day total of 20-9, Schlapper heads into Semifinal Saturday 4 ounces ahead of Cooper Gallant.

“It was a tougher day, but I got one good quality bite and five other keeper bites that I landed,” Schlapper said. “The Sabine River is a tough playing field, but it’s kinda cool because you get a couple of those quality bites and that’s what can make your whole tournament.

“It’s easy to have really bad tournament, but it’s also easy to have a good tournament if you get a couple of those good bites.”

Day 1 saw Schlapper spend his entire day fishing a bridge near the Taylor Slough area. He gave that spot first crack again today, but ended up making a few relocations.

“I started there and I caught a small keeper and then I caught a good one and missed a couple more,” Schlapper said. “Then I left, went and flipped a stretch, and caught a keeper. Then, I came back to the bridge and once I switched baits, I caught two keepers immediately.

“After I caught those two, I left the bridge again. I had a limit and I need it for tomorrow. The bridge is definitely running out of fish but I know there are still some more there.”

Along with his location changes, Schlapper also adjusted his bait presentations. Day 1 saw him catch all of his fish on a 3/8-ounce Do-it Molds compact finesse jig with a Big Bite Baits chunk trailer.

Schlapper tried the jig again on Day 2, but the response was less enthusiastic.

“I fished my normal stuff and they didn’t touch it,” Schlapper said.

When he realized his jig was not happening, Schlapper switched to a finesse presentation and a Texas-rigged creature bait.

Pondering his Day 3 options, Schlapper said he’ll definitely give his bridge another chance to produce, but he’ll likely precede that with a morning stop.

“In practice, I had been getting a good morning bite in other areas, but I haven’t fished them (during the tournament) because I wanted to get right up to that bridge,” Schlapper said. “Now, I’m not super worried about anyone else going there; I think it’s been established. No one else has fished there.

“I’m going to run a couple of things in the morning on the way up and seen if I can pick off a few. Then I’m going to go up to the bridge and see what’s left.”

Despite what he believes is a dwindling bridge opportunity, Schlapper’s optimistic about his overall chances.

“I still have a shot at it; I need to make a little more magic happen,” Schlapper said. “We’re in the game and that’s all you can ask for after two days here.”

Gallant, who lives in Bowmanville, Ontario has turned in the most consistent performance thus far. After placing seventh on Day 1 with 10-2, Gallant added 10-3 on Day 2 and rose to second place with 20-5.

Anchoring his second-round limit with a 4-7, Gallant said his second day’s success came as a pleasant surprise.

“It’s funny, this morning I was saying, I’ve never been sitting in the Top 10 going into Day 2 thinking: ‘Hopefully, I catch a bass,’” Gallant said. “In the morning, I was like, ‘I need 4 pounds; I need to make the cut.’

“To catch 4 pounds out here is not easy, but as the day goes on, I’m like, ‘Holy smokes, I might be on the winning deal, I might be in the winning area. Your mindset goes from making Day 3 to, I want to try and win this thing.’”

Gallant caught all of his fish flipping shallow cover. He’s alternating between a 3/8-ounce hand-tied flipping jig and a 3/8-ounce Outkast Tackle Cage Feider jig, both with X Zone Lures Adrenaline Craw Jr. trailers.

“I feel like every day I’m figuring out more and more and I’m getting more confident in my area and expanding on it,” Gallant said. “Those big bites go a long way in this tournament. If you can figure out how to get one of those big bites a day, that’s probably what’s going to win this tournament.”

Kyoya Fujita of Yamanishi, Japan is in third place with 19-11. A Day 1 limit of 8-8 put him in a three-way tie for 18th place, but Fujita stepped up his performance on Day 2 and added 11-3.

Known for his technological prowess, Fujita made an important clarification: “I didn’t use forward facing sonar today. It was all power fishing.”

Targeting mostly reeds in 1-2 feet of water, Fujita caught his fish by flipping Texas-rigged plastics. With big bites few and far between, he found that fishing fast and covering water was the key to running into the quality fish.

“Speed (was important),” Fujita said. “More casts, more casts, more casts. I caught many little fish, but maybe seven or eight keepers.”

John Crews of Salem, Va., is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 4-14.

Jay Przekurat of Plover, Wis., leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 544 points. Chris Johnston of Otonabee, Canada is in second with 505, followed by Trey McKinney of Carbondale, Ill. with 504, Kyoya Fujita of Yamanashi, Japan with 494, and Will Davis Jr. of Sylacauga, Ala. with 479.

Paul Marks of Cumming, Ga., leads the Dakota Lithium Rookie of the Year standings with 435 points.

Saturday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:30 a.m. CT at City of Orange Boat Ramp. The weigh-in will be held at the same location at 2:30 p.m.

Bassmaster LIVE coverage of the MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River will be available on FS1 on Days 3 and 4 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET before heading over to Bassmaster.com in the afternoon.

The MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River is being hosted by the Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce.

About B.A.S.S.

-30-

Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 256-424-2390, cgay@bassmaster.com

2025 MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River 5/15-5/18
Sabine River , Orange TX.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 2

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 10 20-09 104 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-02 Day 2: 5 08-07
2. Cooper Gallant Bowmanville Ontario CAN 10 20-05 103
Day 1: 5 10-02 Day 2: 5 10-03
3. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 10 19-11 102
Day 1: 5 08-08 Day 2: 5 11-03
4. John Crews Jr Salem, VA 10 18-00 101 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 05-07 Day 2: 5 12-09
5. Stetson Blaylock Benton, AR 10 17-03 100
Day 1: 5 11-05 Day 2: 5 05-14
6. Beau Browning Hot Springs National Pa 10 17-03 99
Day 1: 5 07-04 Day 2: 5 09-15
7. Carl Jocumsen Queensland TN AUSTRALIA 9 17-03 98
Day 1: 5 09-04 Day 2: 4 07-15
8. KJ Queen Catawba, NC 10 17-01 97
Day 1: 5 05-08 Day 2: 5 11-09
9. JT Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 10 17-00 96
Day 1: 5 09-02 Day 2: 5 07-14
10. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 10 16-15 95
Day 1: 5 06-13 Day 2: 5 10-02
11. Gregory DiPalma Millville, NJ 9 16-15 94
Day 1: 4 07-07 Day 2: 5 09-08
12. Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 10 16-14 93
Day 1: 5 07-15 Day 2: 5 08-15
13. Joey Cifuentes III Clinton, AR 10 16-10 92
Day 1: 5 09-05 Day 2: 5 07-05
14. Dakota Ebare Brookeland, TX 10 16-10 91
Day 1: 5 09-02 Day 2: 5 07-08
15. Taku Ito Dalton GA JAPAN 9 16-07 90
Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 4 05-06
16. Matt Arey Shelby, NC 10 16-07 89
Day 1: 5 07-00 Day 2: 5 09-07
17. Tyler Williams Belgrade, ME 10 16-05 88
Day 1: 5 09-00 Day 2: 5 07-05
18. Jeff Gustafson Kenora, ON Ontario CANA 10 16-03 87
Day 1: 5 07-10 Day 2: 5 08-09
19. Easton Fothergill Grand Rapids , MN 10 16-03 86
Day 1: 5 08-02 Day 2: 5 08-01
20. Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 10 16-02 85
Day 1: 5 07-15 Day 2: 5 08-03
21. Justin Hamner Northport, AL 9 16-01 84
Day 1: 5 10-05 Day 2: 4 05-12
22. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 10 16-01 83
Day 1: 5 08-08 Day 2: 5 07-09
23. David Gaston Sylacauga, AL 10 16-00 82
Day 1: 5 07-12 Day 2: 5 08-04
24. Hunter Shryock Ooltewah, TN 10 15-15 81
Day 1: 5 08-06 Day 2: 5 07-09
25. Jay Przekurat Plover, WI 9 15-14 80
Day 1: 5 10-12 Day 2: 4 05-02
26. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 10 15-10 79
Day 1: 5 08-07 Day 2: 5 07-03
27. Bob Downey Detroit Lakes, MN 10 15-10 78
Day 1: 5 07-08 Day 2: 5 08-02
28. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 10 15-01 77
Day 1: 5 08-13 Day 2: 5 06-04
29. Kyle Welcher Valley, AL 10 14-11 76
Day 1: 5 07-11 Day 2: 5 07-00
30. Bryan New Leesville, SC 9 14-09 75
Day 1: 5 05-13 Day 2: 4 08-12
31. Cody Huff Ava, MO 10 14-09 74
Day 1: 5 06-08 Day 2: 5 08-01
32. Emil Wagner Marietta, GA 10 14-09 73
Day 1: 5 06-15 Day 2: 5 07-10
33. Bryan Schmitt Deale, MD 10 14-08 72
Day 1: 5 07-00 Day 2: 5 07-08
34. Patrick Walters Eutawville, SC 10 14-08 71
Day 1: 5 07-06 Day 2: 5 07-02
35. John Cox Debary, FL 10 14-06 70
Day 1: 5 06-04 Day 2: 5 08-02
36. Scott Canterbury Odenville, AL 10 14-04 69
Day 1: 5 08-08 Day 2: 5 05-12
37. Logan Parks Auburn, AL 9 14-03 68
Day 1: 4 06-13 Day 2: 5 07-06
38. Robert Gee Knoxville, TN 10 14-02 67
Day 1: 5 06-00 Day 2: 5 08-02
39. Luke Palmer Coalgate, OK 10 14-01 66
Day 1: 5 08-00 Day 2: 5 06-01
40. Alex Redwine Blue Ash, OH 10 13-15 65
Day 1: 5 07-01 Day 2: 5 06-14
41. Hank Cherry Jr Lincolnton, NC 10 13-14 64
Day 1: 5 06-08 Day 2: 5 07-06
42. Lee Livesay Longview, TX 10 13-13 63
Day 1: 5 07-12 Day 2: 5 06-01
43. Kenta Kimura Osaka OK JAPAN 9 13-12 62
Day 1: 4 05-15 Day 2: 5 07-13
44. David Mullins Mt Carmel, TN 10 13-12 61
Day 1: 5 06-13 Day 2: 5 06-15
45. Will Davis Jr Sylacauga, AL 10 13-06 60
Day 1: 5 07-10 Day 2: 5 05-12
46. Buddy Gross Chattanooga, TN 8 13-05 59
Day 1: 5 08-03 Day 2: 3 05-02
47. Alex Wetherell Middletown, CT 9 13-01 58
Day 1: 5 07-09 Day 2: 4 05-08
48. Ben Milliken Omaha, NE 7 13-00 57
Day 1: 5 10-03 Day 2: 2 02-13
49. Shane LeHew Catawba, NC 10 13-00 56
Day 1: 5 06-04 Day 2: 5 06-12
50. Cliff Pace Ovett, MS 9 12-14 55
Day 1: 4 07-01 Day 2: 5 05-13
51. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 10 12-12 54
Day 1: 5 05-11 Day 2: 5 07-01
52. Justin Atkins Florence, AL 8 12-11 53
Day 1: 5 07-04 Day 2: 3 05-07
53. Drew Cook Cairo, GA 10 12-09 52
Day 1: 5 07-12 Day 2: 5 04-13
54. Chad Pipkens Dewitt, MI 8 12-08 51
Day 1: 3 03-05 Day 2: 5 09-03
55. Logan Latuso Gonzales, LA 10 12-07 50
Day 1: 5 07-00 Day 2: 5 05-07
56. Kyle Patrick Cooperstown, NY 10 12-07 49
Day 1: 5 06-13 Day 2: 5 05-10
57. Paul Marks Cumming, GA 9 12-05 48
Day 1: 4 05-07 Day 2: 5 06-14
58. Bryant Smith Roseville, CA 8 12-04 47
Day 1: 3 04-08 Day 2: 5 07-12
59. Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 10 12-03 46
Day 1: 5 06-09 Day 2: 5 05-10
60. Cody Meyer Eagle, ID 9 12-01 45
Day 1: 5 06-12 Day 2: 4 05-05
61. Wesley Gore Clanton, AL 7 12-00 44
Day 1: 3 06-11 Day 2: 4 05-05
62. Cory Johnston Otonabee CANADA 10 11-15 43
Day 1: 5 05-12 Day 2: 5 06-03
63. Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 8 11-14 42
Day 1: 5 08-11 Day 2: 3 03-03
64. Ray Hanselman Jr Del Rio, TX 10 11-13 41
Day 1: 5 07-00 Day 2: 5 04-13
65. Randy Howell Guntersville, AL 8 11-11 40
Day 1: 5 07-11 Day 2: 3 04-00
66. Brad Whatley Bivins, TX 9 11-06 39
Day 1: 4 04-14 Day 2: 5 06-08
67. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 8 11-05 38
Day 1: 3 04-02 Day 2: 5 07-03
68. Andrew Loberg Guntersville, AL 8 11-05 37
Day 1: 5 06-07 Day 2: 3 04-14
69. Chris Zaldain Boyd, TX 7 11-02 36
Day 1: 5 09-01 Day 2: 2 02-01
70. Wes Logan Springville, AL 8 11-01 35
Day 1: 3 04-04 Day 2: 5 06-13
71. Matty Wong Honolulu, HI 8 10-15 34
Day 1: 5 07-00 Day 2: 3 03-15
72. Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 7 10-11 33
Day 1: 5 08-14 Day 2: 2 01-13
73. Caleb Sumrall New Iberia, LA 8 10-10 32
Day 1: 5 07-01 Day 2: 3 03-09
74. Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 7 10-06 31
Day 1: 5 08-03 Day 2: 2 02-03
75. Marc Frazier Newnan, GA 9 10-06 30
Day 1: 4 05-00 Day 2: 5 05-06
76. Jamie Hartman Newport, NY 8 10-05 29
Day 1: 5 06-10 Day 2: 3 03-11
77. Seth Feider Elko New Market, MN 7 10-04 28
Day 1: 5 07-08 Day 2: 2 02-12
78. Jacob Powroznik North Prince George, VA 9 10-04 27
Day 1: 5 05-00 Day 2: 4 05-04
79. Jacob Foutz Charleston, TN 7 10-02 26
Day 1: 3 04-04 Day 2: 4 05-14
80. Cole Sands Johnson City, TN 8 10-02 25
Day 1: 4 04-06 Day 2: 4 05-12
81. Brandon Card Salisbury, NC 6 10-01 24
Day 1: 5 08-14 Day 2: 1 01-03
82. Evan Kung Pickering Ontario CANAD 7 10-00 23
Day 1: 5 07-08 Day 2: 2 02-08
83. Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 8 09-09 22
Day 1: 5 06-01 Day 2: 3 03-08
84. John Garrett Union City, TN 7 09-06 21
Day 1: 4 05-04 Day 2: 3 04-02
85. Tucker Smith Birmingham, AL 6 09-05 20
Day 1: 1 01-11 Day 2: 5 07-10
86. Jason Christie Dry Creek, OK 7 09-03 19
Day 1: 2 02-11 Day 2: 5 06-08
87. Caleb Kuphall Mukwonago, WI 7 09-00 18
Day 1: 2 02-10 Day 2: 5 06-06
88. Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 5 09-00 17
Day 1: 2 04-01 Day 2: 3 04-15
89. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 7 08-15 16
Day 1: 2 03-00 Day 2: 5 05-15
90. Tyler Rivet Raceland, LA 6 08-05 15
Day 1: 1 01-12 Day 2: 5 06-09
91. Gerald Swindle Guntersville, AL 7 08-01 14
Day 1: 3 03-00 Day 2: 4 05-01
92. Keith Combs Huntington, TX 5 07-04 13
Day 1: 2 03-04 Day 2: 3 04-00
93. Ed Loughran III Richmond, VA 6 07-00 12
Day 1: 3 03-07 Day 2: 3 03-09
94. Jordan Lee Cullman, AL 5 06-11 11
Day 1: 1 01-03 Day 2: 4 05-08
95. Blake Capps Muskogee, OK 4 06-07 10
Day 1: 2 04-13 Day 2: 2 01-10
96. Timothy Dube Nashua , NH 4 06-00 9
Day 1: 1 01-09 Day 2: 3 04-07
97. Kyle Norsetter Cottage Grove, WI 4 05-15 8
Day 1: 2 02-13 Day 2: 2 03-02
98. Jonathan Kelley Old Forge, PA 5 05-12 7
Day 1: 4 04-07 Day 2: 1 01-05
99. Jake Whitaker Hendersonville, NC 5 05-06 6
Day 1: 3 03-02 Day 2: 2 02-04
100. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 5 05-02 5
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 05-02
101. Jason Williamson Aiken, SC 4 05-02 4
Day 1: 3 04-02 Day 2: 1 01-00
102. Drew Benton Panama City, FL 3 04-08 3
Day 1: 1 01-15 Day 2: 2 02-09
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 04-05 $1,000.00
2 John Crews Jr Salem, VA 04-14 $1,000.00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 69 434 664-15
2 62 427 623-01
----------------------------------
131 861 1288-00

by AnglersChannel

Lake Hartwell to be Playing Field for Historic 20th ACA National Championship

SAN ANTONIO, TX – The Association of Collegiate Anglers is set to host its 20^th National Championship event in approximately one week. The 2025 Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops will take place at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, SC on May 22-23.

This will mark the second time in which the ACA has contested college fishing’s longest-running National Championship event at Lake Hartwell. The last time the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops was contested at Lake Hartwell was in 2023. That tournament was won by Tucker Smith & Hayden Marbut from Auburn University with a two-day total weight of 35.24 pounds.

The ACA returned to Lake Hartwell in April of 2024 to contest the Hartwell Slam. Over 200 teams competed for two days. More than 1,000 pounds of fish were brought to the scales each day, meaning almost every team caught a limit during both days of tournament competition. The winning weight at the Hartwell Slam was 34.48 pounds, brought in by Easton Fothergill & Nick Dumke with the University of Montevallo.

Lake Hartwell is a great fishery that boasts both quantity and quality when it comes to catching bass. The lake spans 56,000 acres and is made up of a variety of fish holding habitat. Different types of cover in the lake include wood, rock, docks, offshore structure, and more. Each of these areas and types of cover hold fish year-round, making them key targets for anglers to fish during tournament competition.

A strong population of baitfish and forage is another contributing factor to Lake Hartwell’s healthy fish population. One of the unique baitfish present in this fishery is blueback herring. These baitfish are like filet mignon for bass. While they may be somewhat evasive for bass to track down, blueback herring provide a filling meal for fish.

Taking into account the fish holding habitat and prevalent baitfish population in Lake Hartwell, anglers can use a variety of patterns and techniques to get bites during the early summer. Starting with the early morning bite, anglers can likely find success with topwaters and shad/herring impersonation baits. Those baitfish will be active up shallow during the low light conditions. Long bars and shallow points will be popular areas for these baitfish to be congregated on.

Once the sun gets up, anglers will likely have to downsize their presentations and even mix in finesse tactics to get bites. The baitfish will begin to move deep and spread out. The bass will then follow them, as they hunt for an easy meal throughout the day. Utilizing their electronics, like Garmin LiveScope, anglers can track these bass throughout the day and present their baits with success to get bites.

The current weather forecast projects a slight warming trend through practice, leading up to the start of tournament competition. High temperatures will average in the mid to upper 80’s, with partial clouds, varying winds, and an occasional chance for thunderstorms. Warming temperatures and sunshine will continue to push bass into their typical early summer patterns, making them set up in a manner which anglers should be able to predict and strategize a successful gameplan.

by AnglersChannel

Schlapper’s solitude delivers Day 1 lead in Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River

ORANGE, Texas — Pat Schlapper had the right tool for the job and that homemade bait played a key role in delivering a 12-pound, 2-ounce limit that leads Day 1 of the MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at the Sabine River.

On a day that saw 69 of 102 competitors fill their 5-bass limit, the pro from Eleva, Wis., heads into Day 2 with a 13-ounce lead over Arkansas pro Stetson Blaylock.

The Sabine holds a good population of fish, but the average size is significantly less than what anglers found during last week’s Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork. Aware of the fish he’d be targeting, and the shallow cover that typically dominates the Sabine action, Schlapper made a batch of jigs specifically for this event.

“I caught most of my fish on a little Do-it Molds compact finesse jig that I make myself and a Big Bite Baits chunk trailer,” Schlapper said. “It’s a 3/8-ounce jig, but it has a really short shank 2/0 hook. It’s really compact and I tied it with fine cut skirt material so it’s really lifelike.

“The jig is black and blue with a sapphire blue trailer. They like sapphire blue down here; I learned that the first year I fished here. The (entire bait) is not even 3 inches long. I made it specifically for this tournament.”

Schlapper said he made an hour run and caught an early limit. He then moved to his main area and caught a cluster of quality fish, including his biggest — a 4-5.

“There were other people that I think were in that area in practice, but I went there late yesterday and had a couple good bites,” Schlapper said. “I almost didn’t run there right away because I was boat 49 and I thought someone would be there, but nobody was anywhere close.

“Once the sun came up, I caught four good ones in an hour span and lost a couple other nice ones.”

Schlapper said he ran to the back of his area and targeted what he described as the last prominent habitat feature. With few options, the fish seem to be concentrated.

“I know there’s a good amount of fish there because I caught some other ones and I kinda figured out the sweet spot,” Schlapper said. “I just don’t think it’ll replenish. I think it just has resident fish.

“I know there are some other nice ones because the couple good ones I caught in practice, I didn’t catch today and I had another nice one that I shook off in practice.”

Sizing up his Day 2 outlook, Schlapper said: “Nobody was around me today, so hopefully, it stays like that tomorrow. I don’t know if I can catch what I caught today; any limit would be good.

“If I can get left alone in my area tomorrow, things could get ugly.”

Hailing from Benton, Ark. Blaylock is in second place with 11-5. Mentally prepared for a challenging event, Blaylock said he considered his 4-pounder a bonus.

“I was actually satisfied even before I caught that 4-pounder,” he said. “It wasn’t a good bag at that point, but when you have a tough practice, which most of us did, you know you’re looking for one key thing to put you over the top.”

Blaylock said he’s fishing one of the Sabine’s traditionally popular areas. He has plenty of company, but bouncing around and picking off the right bites was his formula for success.

“A big one late in the day is what puts you where you want to be,” Blaylock said of his afternoon kicker. “I don’t expect to catch another 4-pounder, but it’s possible. I saw some nice ones in practice in this area.

“A lot of guys didn’t catch any big ones; they caught a lot of keepers, but I know there are still some big ones to be caught. Who knows what’ll happen, if they’re moving up or moving out. We just have to put it together as we’re going the next couple of days.”

Blaylock fished a mix of reaction and slow baits. He attributes his big fish catch to slowing down and fishing more methodically.

“I had been moving pretty quickly and I had caught a lot of fish moving quickly, but with that particular bite came when I slowed down,” Blaylock said. “I felt like I had worked through an area that had some fish in it and I wan’t getting any bites.”

Taku Ito of Chiba, Japan is in third place with 11-1. Ito, who finished third in the 2021 Bassmaster Elite at the Sabine River, spent his day in a crowded area and had to keep moving to find fishable spots.

“It was a very tricky day, but I moved around and caught a couple good ones,” Ito said. “It was tough. I fished shallow cover, brushpiles, everything.

“At the Sabine River, current is always very important. Hopefully, tomorrow I’ll get big ones again.”

Schlapper is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 4-5.

Jay Przekurat of Plover, Wis., leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 565 points. Trey McKinney of Carbondale, Ill., is in second with 489, followed by Will Davis Jr. of Sylacauga, Ala., with 489, Kyoya Fujita of Yamanashi, Japan with 479, and Bill Lowen of Brookville, Ind., with 466.

Paul Marks of Cumming, Ga., leads the Dakota Lithium Elite Series Rookie of the Year standings with 418 points.

Friday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:30 a.m. CT at City of Orange Boat Ramp. The weigh-in will be held at the same location at 2:30 p.m.

Bassmaster LIVE coverage of the MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River will be available on Bassmaster.com Days 1 and 2 starting at 8 a.m. ET and ending at 3 p.m. FS1 will carry the morning action on Days 3 and 4 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. before heading over to Bassmaster.com in the afternoon.

The MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River is being hosted by the Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce.

About B.A.S.S.

-30-

Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 256-424-2390, cgay@bassmaster.com

2025 MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River 5/15-5/18
Sabine River , Orange TX.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 1

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 5 12-02 104 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-02
2. Stetson Blaylock Benton, AR 5 11-05 103
Day 1: 5 11-05
3. Taku Ito Dalton GA JAPAN 5 11-01 102
Day 1: 5 11-01
4. Jay Przekurat Plover, WI 5 10-12 101
Day 1: 5 10-12
5. Justin Hamner Northport, AL 5 10-05 100
Day 1: 5 10-05
6. Ben Milliken Omaha, NE 5 10-03 99
Day 1: 5 10-03
7. Cooper Gallant Bowmanville Ontario CAN 5 10-02 98
Day 1: 5 10-02
8. Joey Cifuentes III Clinton, AR 5 09-05 97
Day 1: 5 09-05
9. Carl Jocumsen Queensland TN AUSTRALIA 5 09-04 96
Day 1: 5 09-04
10. Dakota Ebare Brookeland, TX 5 09-02 95
Day 1: 5 09-02
10. JT Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 5 09-02 95
Day 1: 5 09-02
12. Chris Zaldain Boyd, TX 5 09-01 93
Day 1: 5 09-01
13. Tyler Williams Belgrade, ME 5 09-00 92
Day 1: 5 09-00
14. Brandon Card Salisbury, NC 5 08-14 91
Day 1: 5 08-14
14. Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 5 08-14 91
Day 1: 5 08-14
16. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 5 08-13 89
Day 1: 5 08-13
17. Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 5 08-11 88
Day 1: 5 08-11
18. Scott Canterbury Odenville, AL 5 08-08 87
Day 1: 5 08-08
18. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 5 08-08 87
Day 1: 5 08-08
18. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 5 08-08 87
Day 1: 5 08-08
21. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 5 08-07 84
Day 1: 5 08-07
22. Hunter Shryock Ooltewah, TN 5 08-06 83
Day 1: 5 08-06
23. Buddy Gross Chattanooga, TN 5 08-03 82
Day 1: 5 08-03
23. Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 5 08-03 82
Day 1: 5 08-03
25. Easton Fothergill Grand Rapids , MN 5 08-02 80
Day 1: 5 08-02
26. Luke Palmer Coalgate, OK 5 08-00 79
Day 1: 5 08-00
27. Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 5 07-15 78
Day 1: 5 07-15
27. Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 5 07-15 78
Day 1: 5 07-15
29. Drew Cook Cairo, GA 5 07-12 76
Day 1: 5 07-12
29. David Gaston Sylacauga, AL 5 07-12 76
Day 1: 5 07-12
29. Lee Livesay Longview, TX 5 07-12 76
Day 1: 5 07-12
32. Randy Howell Guntersville, AL 5 07-11 73
Day 1: 5 07-11
32. Kyle Welcher Valley, AL 5 07-11 73
Day 1: 5 07-11
34. Jeff Gustafson Kenora, ON Ontario CANA 5 07-10 71
Day 1: 5 07-10
35. Will Davis Jr Sylacauga, AL 5 07-10 70
Day 1: 5 07-10
36. Alex Wetherell Middletown, CT 5 07-09 69
Day 1: 5 07-09
37. Bob Downey Detroit Lakes, MN 5 07-08 68
Day 1: 5 07-08
37. Seth Feider Elko New Market, MN 5 07-08 68
Day 1: 5 07-08
37. Evan Kung Pickering Ontario CANAD 5 07-08 68
Day 1: 5 07-08
40. Gregory DiPalma Millville, NJ 4 07-07 65
Day 1: 4 07-07
41. Patrick Walters Eutawville, SC 5 07-06 64
Day 1: 5 07-06
42. Justin Atkins Florence, AL 5 07-04 63
Day 1: 5 07-04
42. Beau Browning Hot Springs National Pa 5 07-04 63
Day 1: 5 07-04
44. Caleb Sumrall New Iberia, LA 5 07-01 61
Day 1: 5 07-01
45. Alex Redwine Blue Ash, OH 5 07-01 60
Day 1: 5 07-01
46. Cliff Pace Ovett, MS 4 07-01 59
Day 1: 4 07-01
47. Matt Arey Shelby, NC 5 07-00 58
Day 1: 5 07-00
47. Ray Hanselman Jr Del Rio, TX 5 07-00 58
Day 1: 5 07-00
47. Logan Latuso Gonzales, LA 5 07-00 58
Day 1: 5 07-00
47. Bryan Schmitt Deale, MD 5 07-00 58
Day 1: 5 07-00
47. Matty Wong Honolulu, HI 5 07-00 58
Day 1: 5 07-00
52. Emil Wagner Marietta, GA 5 06-15 53
Day 1: 5 06-15
53. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 5 06-13 52
Day 1: 5 06-13
53. David Mullins Mt Carmel, TN 5 06-13 52
Day 1: 5 06-13
53. Kyle Patrick Cooperstown, NY 5 06-13 52
Day 1: 5 06-13
56. Logan Parks Auburn, AL 4 06-13 49
Day 1: 4 06-13
57. Cody Meyer Eagle, ID 5 06-12 48
Day 1: 5 06-12
58. Wesley Gore Clanton, AL 3 06-11 47
Day 1: 3 06-11
59. Jamie Hartman Newport, NY 5 06-10 46
Day 1: 5 06-10
60. Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 5 06-09 45
Day 1: 5 06-09
61. Hank Cherry Jr Lincolnton, NC 5 06-08 44
Day 1: 5 06-08
61. Cody Huff Ava, MO 5 06-08 44
Day 1: 5 06-08
63. Andrew Loberg Guntersville, AL 5 06-07 42
Day 1: 5 06-07
64. John Cox Debary, FL 5 06-04 41
Day 1: 5 06-04
64. Shane LeHew Catawba, NC 5 06-04 41
Day 1: 5 06-04
66. Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 5 06-01 39
Day 1: 5 06-01
67. Robert Gee Knoxville, TN 5 06-00 38
Day 1: 5 06-00
68. Kenta Kimura Osaka OK JAPAN 4 05-15 37
Day 1: 4 05-15
69. Bryan New Leesville, SC 5 05-13 36
Day 1: 5 05-13
70. Cory Johnston Otonabee CANADA 5 05-12 35
Day 1: 5 05-12
71. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 5 05-11 34
Day 1: 5 05-11
72. KJ Queen Catawba, NC 5 05-08 33
Day 1: 5 05-08
73. John Crews Jr Salem, VA 5 05-07 32
Day 1: 5 05-07
74. Paul Marks Cumming, GA 4 05-07 31
Day 1: 4 05-07
75. John Garrett Union City, TN 4 05-04 30
Day 1: 4 05-04
76. Jacob Powroznik North Prince George, VA 5 05-00 29
Day 1: 5 05-00
77. Marc Frazier Newnan, GA 4 05-00 28
Day 1: 4 05-00
78. Brad Whatley Bivins, TX 4 04-14 27
Day 1: 4 04-14
79. Blake Capps Muskogee, OK 2 04-13 26
Day 1: 2 04-13
80. Bryant Smith Roseville, CA 3 04-08 25
Day 1: 3 04-08
81. Jonathan Kelley Old Forge, PA 4 04-07 24
Day 1: 4 04-07
82. Cole Sands Johnson City, TN 4 04-06 23
Day 1: 4 04-06
83. Jacob Foutz Charleston, TN 3 04-04 22
Day 1: 3 04-04
83. Wes Logan Springville, AL 3 04-04 22
Day 1: 3 04-04
85. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 3 04-02 20
Day 1: 3 04-02
85. Jason Williamson Aiken, SC 3 04-02 20
Day 1: 3 04-02
87. Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 2 04-01 18
Day 1: 2 04-01
88. Ed Loughran III Richmond, VA 3 03-07 17
Day 1: 3 03-07
89. Chad Pipkens Dewitt, MI 3 03-05 16
Day 1: 3 03-05
90. Keith Combs Huntington, TX 2 03-04 15
Day 1: 2 03-04
91. Jake Whitaker Hendersonville, NC 3 03-02 14
Day 1: 3 03-02
92. Gerald Swindle Guntersville, AL 3 03-00 13
Day 1: 3 03-00
93. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 2 03-00 12
Day 1: 2 03-00
94. Kyle Norsetter Cottage Grove, WI 2 02-13 11
Day 1: 2 02-13
95. Jason Christie Dry Creek, OK 2 02-11 10
Day 1: 2 02-11
96. Caleb Kuphall Mukwonago, WI 2 02-10 9
Day 1: 2 02-10
97. Drew Benton Panama City, FL 1 01-15 8
Day 1: 1 01-15
98. Tyler Rivet Raceland, LA 1 01-12 7
Day 1: 1 01-12
99. Tucker Smith Birmingham, AL 1 01-11 6
Day 1: 1 01-11
100. Timothy Dube Nashua , NH 1 01-09 5
Day 1: 1 01-09
101. Jordan Lee Cullman, AL 1 01-03 4
Day 1: 1 01-03
102. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 04-05 $1,000.00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 69 434 664-15
----------------------------------
69 434 664-15

by AnglersChannel

MLF General Tire Team Series Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup to Premiere Saturday on Outdoor Channel

Headwaters Lake, Stick Marsh and Lake Garcia to be Showcased, New episodes of Team Series premiere every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET

INDIAN RIVER CO., Fla. (May 15, 2025) – The ultimate team challenge in professional bass fishing will be broadcast to living rooms around the world this weekend, as two-man teams of Major League Fishing (MLF) pros take on Headwaters Lake, Stick Marsh and Lake Garcia in East Florida.

The first episode of the 2024 Major League Fishing (MLF) General Tire Team Series event filmed in Indian River Co., Florida, last fall – the Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches Elimination Match 1 – is set to premiere this Saturday, May 17, at 2 p.m. ET on Outdoor Channel.

The 2024 Team Series was comprised of four Cup events, each featuring 12 two-man teams of Bass Pro Tour anglers competing from the same boat and working together to claim part of a season purse of more than $720,000. The Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches – hosted by Visit Indian River County and Play Treasure Coast Sports Tourism – was filmed in the fall of 2024 and showcased anglers competing on Headwaters Lake, Stick Marsh and Lake Garcia.

“Play Treasure Coast Sports Tourism and Visit Indian River County were proud to partner with Major League Fishing and the General Tire Team Series to host the Summit Cup,” said Rick Hatcher, President & CEO at Play Treasure Coast Sports Tourism. “We extend our sincere thanks to Major League Fishing for bringing some of the nation’s top anglers to experience the pristine waters and stunning natural beauty of Indian River County for this prestigious event.”

The Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches, in Indian River Co., Florida, was the fourth and final event of the season for the four-event Team Series.

In keeping with traditional MLF Cup protocols, Indian River Co., Florida, was not revealed to Team Series anglers until 30 days prior to the start of the tournament. All fishable waters within 60 miles of Indian River Co. then went off limits to anglers, and the competitors discovered exactly where they were competing only after arriving at the boat ramp on the morning of competition.

The complete Outdoor Channel air schedule for the General Tire Team Series Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches in Indian River Co., Florida, is:

May 17 – Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches: Elimination Match 1 (Headwaters Lake)
May 24 – Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches: Elimination Match 2 (Headwaters Lake)
May 31 – Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches: Elimination Match 3 (Headwaters Lake)
June 7 – Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches: Knockout Round Match 1 (Stick Marsh)
June 14 – Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches: Knockout Round Match 2 (Stick Marsh)
June 21 – Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches: Championship Round (Lake Garcia)

Each episode will air as a two-hour broadcast, premiering each Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET. Repeats of each episode will air Sundays from 4-6 p.m. and on Fridays from 9-11 a.m.

The complete television air schedule for the 2025 General Tire Team Series on Outdoor Channel can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF General Tire Team Series included: 7 Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Barbasol, Bass Boat Technologies, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Builders FirstSource, C-MAP, Coign, Epic Baits, Ferguson, Fishing Clash, General Tire, Knighten Industries, Kubota, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Nitro Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala Baits, REDCON1, Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff, Star brite, Toyota, USAA, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.

by AnglersChannel

Zenni Optical becomes Official Eyewear of Major League Fishing

BENTON, Ky. (May 15, 2025) – Major League Fishing (MLF), the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, announced today a new partnership with Zenni Optical, the world’s leading online eyewear retailer. As part of the partnership, Zenni now becomes the Official Eyewear of Major League Fishing and title partner of Bass Pro Tour Zenni Stage 6 at the Potomac River , held June 26-29 in Marbury, Maryland.

This strategic partnership unites two innovative brands, combining Zenni’s industry leadership in accessible, high-quality eyewear with MLF’s passionate and growing audience of anglers and outdoor enthusiasts. Together, MLF and Zenni are committed to providing affordable, stylish eyewear for anglers across the globe, while promoting the importance of eye health and protection on and off the water.

In a first-of-its-kind collaboration for MLF, Zenni and the league will curate a custom line of eyewear specifically designed for anglers and fans, featuring frames that will be customizable for both prescription and non-prescription lenses, offering innovative technologies including Blokz® blue light-blocking lenses, EyeQLenz™ light-adaptive lenses and polarized sunglasses – an essential tool for serious fishing. MLF fans will also enjoy a special offer for 10% off all purchases using the promo code: MLF.

“Zenni Optical is a proven leader in innovative and affordable eyewear, and we’re thrilled to welcome them to the MLF family,” said Jake Wittkop, MLF Vice President and Managing Director of Sponsorship and Business Development. “Whether you’re in need of polarized, prescription lenses for finding bass on beds or blue-light blocking lenses for streaming MLF at home, Zenni offers eyewear for every need. This partnership will not only elevate the visibility of the Zenni brand but also enhance the experience for anglers and fans alike.”

Zenni is no stranger to elite partnerships across the sports and entertainment landscape. In addition to MLF, Zenni is the Official Eyewear of Monster Jam, Major League Pickleball, the San Francisco 49ers and the reigning NBA Champion Boston Celtics – further solidifying its place at the intersection of performance, lifestyle and fan engagement.

“We are proud to partner with Major League Fishing, an organization that shares our passion for performance, precision and innovation,” said Robb Chiarini, Head of Partnerships, Licensing, & Events at Zenni Optical. “We’re excited to collaborate with MLF and introduce a line of eyewear and accessories built to meet the unique demands of the fishing lifestyle while providing enthusiasts and fans premium, but affordable, corrective and preventative options.”

Zenni will receive integrated branding across MLF’s expansive media platforms, including television and livestream broadcasts, on-site event signage, an activation presence and features on MLF’s digital and social media platforms. As the Title Sponsor of Bass Pro Tour Stage 6, Zenni will be featured prominently throughout the event, with exclusive coverage on MLFNOW! and in upcoming television broadcasts on Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).

For more information about MLF and its sponsors, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. To explore Zenni’s complete line of customizable eyewear, visit Zenni.com.

About Zenni Optical
Zenni pioneered the online eyewear industry in 2003 with a mission to make eyewear affordable and accessible to everyone. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Zenni offers adults and children the freedom to express their personality through a large collection of high-quality prescription, non-prescription and protective glasses and sunglasses curated with a sense of fashion and dynamic style. With complete prescription pairs starting at under $10, the company has brought massive price disruption to the traditional retail model. With over 51 million frames sold worldwide, Zenni is proud to be the Official Eyewear of the San Francisco 49ers, Boston Celtics, Monster Jam, Major League Pickleball, Ghost Gaming and more. Zenni has worked with designers and tastemakers on curations and collections, including Chase Stokes, Jrue Holiday, Sam Cassell and George and Claire Kittle. For more information, please visit zenni.com/press.

by AnglersChannel

Swindle Says ‘It’s All for The Fans’

Courtesy of Dynamic Sponsorships

After thirty successful years as a pro fisherman, Gerald Swindle isn’t afraid to tell it like it is. “G Man” wasn’t afraid to admit that he wasn’t expecting to smash a big bag in the MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite on the Sabine River based on his three days of practice, but he still had plenty to look forward to.

Much like the rest of his peers, Swindle found the Sabine to be fishing tougher than usual, and Swindle is accustomed to this fishery being a difficult puzzle to solve. The two-time Angler of the Year covered what he estimated to be a 120-mile area during official practice, sampling creeks and sloughs he knows have been productive in the past.

Swindle intends to put on his grinders helmet in search for five keeper bass each day, but perhaps what he’s looking forward to most will be waiting at the City of Orange Boat Ramp at the end of the day… And that’s the fans.

“The Sabine River might be synonymous with tiny bass and tough fishing but when I think of this place I think of big crowds and rowdy fans,” Swindle said with a smile. “The fans here are our medicine at the end of a long day of work. The Texas and Louisiana folks around here are amazing.”

It’s true; this community embraces Elite Series pros and Bassmaster events like few others. Regardless of the size of anglers’ fish, huge crowds show up and show out to cheer on their favorite fishermen. Like years past, the City of Orange is putting on the Orange County River Festival in conjunction with the tournament. Featuring free concerts, a carnival, a plethora of local booths and free activities for the whole family.

Simply stated, this community does it right. Something the veteran Swindle appreciates more at this stage of his career. The Team Toyota pro notched his 59^th top ten finish to start the 2025 season at the St. Johns River, and while weighing in on day four of the event he had a heartfelt message for bass fishing afficionados.

“Thanks to the fans for always supporting me and LuLu,” Swindle said, with emotion welling in his voice. “These days, we’re out here for you guys. She’ll tell ya, there are days on the road when we’re tired and beat down from the grind of this lifestyle… and I look at her and say I don’t know, hunny. She always says; for the fans, do it for the fans. So, this year, it’s all for the fans.”

Swindle may have one of the biggest personalities in the sport, but he has one of the biggest hearts, too. The loyal support he and his wife LeAnn (LuLu) receive from fans across the country mean every bit as much as titles or accolades these days for the Swindles’.

“Knowing you have people there at the stage to cheer you on and slap your back regardless of what you catch means the world,” Swindle offered.

Sabine strategy

As for Swindle’s strategy to add to his over $2.5 million dollars in career winnings this week, the Alabama pro plans to keep his trolling motor down and embrace the grind.

“Don’t run a lot when you ain’t got a lot to fish, is something I’ve told myself a lot this week,” Swindle said. “This is going to be an old school grinder of a bass derby, so I’m not going to run around like my bald heads on fire. I’m going to keep a topwater, spinnerbait, and a flipping bait in my hands and make as many casts as I can.”

According to Swindle, the conditions aren’t working in the angler’s favor right now on the Sabine. With high, muddy water steadily flowing into the system and a stout south wind blowing against the flows, Elite pros will have to earn every keeper bite.

As vast and sprawling as the Sabine River system is, Swindle expects this event to fish extremely small as there just aren’t many stable areas with biting bass.

“It’s like the Johnny Cash song around here… ‘How high’s the water papa?’ It’s four feet high and rising,” Swindle said with a laugh. “This place is fishing as tough as I’ve ever seen, but someone still has to win. A tough bite makes tough men, and I ain’t saying I’m going to blast them, but I promise you I’m going to keep my head down and give ‘em my best.”

With 331 B.A.S.S. tournaments to his name, Swindle’s seen it all and has excelled whether it takes 100+ pounds to win after four days or less than 40-pounds. With predictions for this event trending towards the latter, he’ll work hard every minute he’s on the water and look forward to getting back to weigh-in to cut up and share some laughs with bass fishing’s amazing fanbase.

by AnglersChannel

Brandon Palaniuk’s Big-Bass Blitz at Lake Fork and the Grind ahead on the Sabine River

By Walker Smith, Courtesy of Dynamic Sponsorships

The Bassmaster Elite Series trail can be a grind, a test of versatility that separates the good from the great. Few anglers embody that adaptability like Team Toyota pro Brandon Palaniuk. The Idaho native, a two-time Angler of the Year and six-time Elite Series winner, has built a career on tackling diverse fisheries with a blend of instinct, preparation and raw talent.

His performance at the 2025 Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork showcased his ability to chase individual giant bass, while the upcoming tournament on the Sabine River will demand a completely different approach.

Let’s break down Palaniuk’s Lake Fork finish, compare it to the Sabine River’s unique challenges and explore how he’s gearing up for the shift.

Lake Fork: Chasing giants with a two-pronged attack

Lake Fork, Texas, is a bass-fishing Mecca. It’s a place where 10-pounders are expected, and 30-pound bags can still leave you outside the Top 10. Palaniuk’s performance was a masterclass in targeting big bass on a fishery that rewards precision and adaptability.

“Lake Fork is one of my favorite places to fish,” Palaniuk said. “I’ve had some really good events there. I love how it has so many big ones; you can do a lot of different things. We hit it at a time of year when they were doing everything. I had a two-pronged approach where I was fishing offshore with a deep crankbait and also shallower with a big, 9-inch glide bait. When I was fishing shallow, it was less than 10-feet, and they were kind of staging for a gizzard shad spawn. I knew I wasn’t going to get a bunch of bites, but I thought I could catch big ones. And I did, but I don’t know if I was around the fish to win. I don’t think my pattern was consistent enough for 6-pounders.”

Palaniuk’s strategy leaned on Lake Fork’s reputation for producing giants. His deep-crankbait game targeted bass holding on structure, while the 9-inch glide bait tempted shallow fish keying on the gizzard shad spawn.

“I lost big ones every day,” he admitted, a reminder that even the best can’t always seal the deal on Fork’s fickle giants.

Looking to the Sabine River: A grinder’s paradise

The Sabine River in Orange, Texas, is about as far from Lake Fork’s big-bass bonanza as you can get. Narrow canals, tidal influences and sprawling floodwaters create a fishery where 2-pounders are gold, and a 5-pounder is a game changer. The 2025 MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite, set for May 15-18, will test anglers’ finesse, patience and mental toughness.

Palaniuk, no stranger to tough fisheries, is ready to embrace the challenge.

“It’s a big mental shift going into the Sabine River,” Palaniuk said. “The single-largest fish last week on Fork, if you caught that one fish for your limit you’d be in the Top 10.

“I think if you catch 12 pounds per day, you’d be really hard to beat. I love these kinds of tournaments. I’m ready to grind for it.”

The Sabine’s conditions this year add another layer of complexity. Recent flooding has transformed the fishery, pushing water into the trees and scattering bass across a vast, muddy expanse.

“I’ve never made the run to Houston on the Sabine,” Palaniuk said. “I’ll probably stay closer. The actual Sabine right now is super flooded. The places that are normally stable are dirty and high. It’s so flat down here, the water is in trees for miles, so it spreads the fish out big time. Then you can go to a couple rivers over and the water almost looks low. It’s crazy.”

Palaniuk’s decision to avoid the long run to Houston—a strategy some anglers employ to find clearer water or less pressure—reflects his focus on efficiency. The Sabine rewards anglers who can dissect small, productive areas and maximize every bite.

Palaniuk’s versatility: The key to success

What makes Palaniuk a perennial threat is his ability to pivot from chasing 10-pounders with glide baits to grinding out 2-pounders with finesse gear.

The flooded conditions and scattered fish will test his patience but his knack for making quick decisions gives him an edge. He’s not chasing a single big bite like at Fork; he’s hunting for five consistent keepers a day—a puzzle that suits his grinder’s mentality. Palaniuk’s journey from Lake Fork’s big-bass battleground to the Sabine River’s finesse fest underscores why he’s one of the sport’s elite.

As he puts it, “I’m ready to grind for it.”

And when Brandon Palaniuk is ready to grind, the bass—and his competitors—better watch out

by AnglersChannel

Travel Tuesday - "SAFE" Kayaking in Florida

By Vance McCullough, AC Insider

In recent days we’ve seen a Florida Man rescue a drowning bald eagle from a wild, gator-infested lake, an unfortunate 89-year-old man and his dog get killed by black bears in Collier County and, regrettably, a lady fall out of her kayak and suffer a fatal attack by a big gator near the state park on Lake Kissimmee.

Wildlife encounters will continue to rise as Eden continues to get loved to death by visitors and paradise is further paved to make way for more permanent future residents.

A bear was even seen strolling through downtown St Augustine’s Historic District, heavily peopled by tourists, this past week.

But historically speaking, kayaking inland and nearshore waters is a fairly safe activity. Staying inside the kayak helps. Not sure how the lady lost her seat, but I have accidentally parked my kayak right on top of a 9-foot gator before. I’m not sure who was more frightened, but it nearly induced an accident of a different sort. As soon as the water settled and we both escaped unharmed, I had to giggle uncontrollably. It was fun. My kayak got bucked into the air, me atop. It took me back to younger days, getting thrown from a horse, crashing my bike, trying to block a football opponent who stood 6’ 9” and weighed 295 pounds.

In that moment when time stands still – and everything else is a warp speed blur – you know real fear. And then the nervous system kicks in with endorphins and there’s an afterglow. ‘I made it through! I’m ok. That was amusing.’

There are parks, probably too many now, that pepper the I-4 corridor and exist for the simple purpose of amusement. Sure, it’s a blast to get dropped 13 stories or accelerate from 0-to-60 at a rate which humans aren’t supposed to.

But if you want a real experience, you must get out to the wilds of Florida. And you should do so while there are still mysteries to explore in a virile state that is being castrated by developers, some of whom actually ‘serve’ in leadership capacities on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.

Indeed, development has displaced many animals and forced many of their conflicts with humans. You simply can’t turn that many people loose on this peninsula and not expect them to cross paths with wild things. My son had a close encounter with a mother bear and cub last month while camping near Rodman Reservoir.

What this means for you who visit Florida and fish from whatever craft you choose is that some of the increase in conflicts is just a numbers game. If more people play the lottery, more people will win the lottery. The odds that it will happen to any given individual remain the same. Practically zero.

And as more people enjoy Florida’s bountiful outdoors, more will suffer attacks from bears, panthers, gators, saltwater crocodiles, pythons (there are more here now than there are in their native home range), four species of poisonous snakes, sharks, jellyfish, stingrays, 14-year-olds on jet skis and presidents of homeowners’ associations.

But the odds that you will suffer an attack from any of these are low to begin with and can be greatly reduced by taking reasonable precautions. By no means am I placing blame on the fine people who recently died in animal attacks. My heart hurts for them and their families and friends. What I am doing is encouraging you to wear your life jacket and whistle, have appropriate safety lights (so the jet skier sees you) file a float plan or at least let someone know what ramp you’re launching from, and be extra attentive during low light hours around daybreak and dusk - great times to be on the water; not in it.

Always keep a hold of little people and pets which are both on the menu for large carnivores.

Be smart. Be safe. And come on down and fish with us!

by AnglersChannel

NPFL to Hold Fundraising Tournament for Chad Poteat

WILKESVILLE, Ohio—Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare and devastating neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of muscle control. It’s better known as “Lou Gehrig’s disease” after being contracted by baseball’s legendary hall of famer in the 1930s. More recently, it took the life of astrophysicist Stephen Hawking. Recently National Professional Fishing Legue angler Chad Poteat of Mount Airy, North Carolina has been diagnosed with ALS, and it is already impacting his quality of life.

“Our hearts go out to Chad and his family,” said NPFL President Brad Fuller. “He’s been a member of the NPFL family since joining the league in 2024, and we want to support him in any way we can. That starts with a fundraising event. All proceeds will go to Chad and his family as they battle ALS.”

The Chad Poteat ALS Fundraiser tournament involves NPFL professional anglers who will be taking donor co-anglers out on Cherokee Lake on Wednesday, May 21. The tournament will launch at the Cherokee Dam boat ramp on Renfro Road in Jefferson City, Tennessee.

Two paired donor co-anglers will be randomly assigned to a professional’s boat, and the boat will compete as a team. There is a three bass limit.

A donation of $200 per pair of co-anglers is required to participate and they will be paired together with an NPFL professional. Dozens of NPFL pros are donating their time, expertise and energies to the event, but space is limited. The top three teams as determined by cumulative weight will earn prize packages.

Basic NPFL tournament rules apply. Co-angler participants must supply their own gear and personal flotation devices. They should be on-site to meet their assigned professional angler no later than 7:00 a.m. ET at the Cherokee Dam boat ramp. Official launch begins at 8:00 a.m. ET and the tournament ends at 12:00 noon ET.

To participate, complete the online registration form. The entry fee is $200 per paired co-anglers and all proceeds go to Chad Poteat and his family. Deadline for entries is Monday, May 19 at 8:00 a.m. ET.

About the National Professional Fishing League
The National Professional Fishing League was founded to bring competitive fishing to a broader audience and offer anglers a platform to compete at the highest level. The NPFL is committed to fostering integrity, competition, and innovation in the sport, providing anglers and fans alike with an exciting and unique experience.

For more information, contact Ken Duke at (407) 574-1898 or ken@tnpfl.com.

by AnglersChannel

Gore Gets Toyota Bonus Bucks for 7th place at Lake Fork

Courtesy Dynamic Sponsorships

Seven just might be Wesley Gore’s lucky number on Lake Fork, as he has finished in the number seven spot both in 2024 and now the 2025 Bassmaster Elite Series event on the iconic fishery in northeast Texas. Gore’s seventh place effort this past weekend was enough to earn him a $3,000 payday from Toyota Bonus Bucks, making an already good week even better.

Gore employed a three-prong approach that focused on an early morning shad spawn, a mid-day pattern targeting offshore schools, and then ended competition days using FFS to locate bedding bass in deep water that couldn’t be seen with the naked eye.

Whether he was boat flipping 8-pound beasts in shallow water or picking off Lake Fork bigguns off the bank, Gore proved having multiple productive patterns to be profitable this week.

“Late April into the first few weeks of May has always been one of my favorite times to fish,” Gore explained. “A lot of guys struggle this time of year because the fish are scattered everywhere, shallow to deep, and most anglers want to key in on one primary thing. Personally, I go into every practice trying to find at least three bite windows to capitalize on. I like to mix it up and have options. That worked to a tee at both Hartwell and Fork.”

Gore’s shallow pattern got stronger each day of the event. The Clanton, Alabama native keyed in on short pockets on the north end of Lake Fork, not major creek arms but small main lake coves, when keying in on the early morning shad spawn bite.

After filling an early limit on a swimjig, Gore would utilize electronics, whether it was FFS or side-scan, to make key culls each afternoon.

“After the morning flurry would subside, usually around 8:30AM, I would go check a few offshore groups of fish I had found,” Gore said. “Those offshore fish were definitely setting up better later in the day, but I could still pick a few off on LiveScope even if they weren’t schooled up. And they’d be good ones. Then the final hour or two I’d spend ‘scoping deeper bed fish. I caught at least one key fish each day that way.”

This approach helped Gore catch more than 107-pounds over the course of four days and notch his second top ten finish in a row. The sophomore Elite Series pro is riding high on momentum and a reliable tow vehicle heading into the MAXAM Tire Elite on the Sabine River.

“Man, I can’t say enough about the reliability of my Tundra,” Gore offered. “I’ve put this thing through the ringer the past few years and it always answers the call. It tows my boat better than any truck I previously owned and most importantly it gets to me the lake, and home, every single time. I’m actually looking for a new Tundra right now, to buy for next year.”

Gore currently drives a 2021 Toyota Tundra but knows this is the final year of his trucks’ eligibility for the popular Bonus Bucks program, which rewards the highest finishing angler driving an eligible tow vehicle in a supported tournament, whether it’s a Bassmaster Elite or one of the over 620 other tournaments Bonus Bucks pays out to.

The Mountain Dew sponsored pro doesn’t want to miss out on free money, therefore he plans to purchase a newer style Tundra this fall before the 2026 season so he can continue to reap the rewards of this contingency program.

If you want to cash in like Wesley Gore, follow this link for more information, a full list of supported events, or to sign up for Toyota Bonus Bucks today: https://www.toyotatrucksbonusbucks.com/overview.

by AnglersChannel

Bartlesville’s Hughes Wins on Custom Glide Bait at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Broken Bow

Delaware’s Hewitt Tops Co-Angler Division

BROKEN BOW, Okla. (May 12, 2025) – Boater Roger Hughes of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 7 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Broken Bow Lake. The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Okie Division. Hughes earned $4,619 for his victory.

“With the water rising and coming up, I just practiced with my wife, and we just kind of broke it down and figured it out,” Hughes said. “They definitely were on the steeper embankments, and I had to get up there where there wasn’t any water behind the structure.”

Hughes caught his fish using two tactics. He flipped shallow cover and he threw a glide bait. The glide is a custom bait he paints and sells under the brand name Lucky H Lures. His company can be found on social media and an auction app called Whatnot. Hughes’ glide baits have a knocker in them for a little extra attraction.

“I sell the bigger glides for $25 and the little ones for $20, so you don’t go broke with them – and they work,” he said. “I put my own twist on the paint jobs.”

As for the fishing, Hughes stayed on the steep banks and worked the glide bait down the outside of flooded bushes. He used a gizzard shad pattern in clear areas and a bone color where visibility was reduced. His flipping approach was to pick apart shallow brush and rock.

“It was big chunky bluff rock and green buckbrush that had water over the top of it,” he said. “There were a million cypress trees and not a fish wanted in the cypress. There was nothing in willows. They were all bush-related, either out in front of the bushes or on the real chunky bluff rock.”

To make his win even sweeter, Hughes got to see his cousin, Thad Hewitt, get the W on the co-angler side.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Roger Hughes, Bartlesville, Okla., five bass, 17-7, $4,619
2nd:       Nick Kincaid, Brookeland, Texas, five bass, 16-2, $2,559 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
3rd:       Ian Leybas, McAlester, Okla., five bass, 15-13, $2,064
4th:        Paul Davis, Newalla, Okla., five bass, 15-8, $961
5th:        Titan Hobson, Idabel, Okla., five bass, 14-4, $824
6th:        Jeremy Johnson, Sapulpa, Okla., five bass, 13-13, $755
7th:        Brendon McDonald, Claremore, Okla., five bass, 13-5, $686
8th:        Kiel Dean, Broken Bow, Okla., five bass, 12-15, $618
9th:        Ben Blaschke, Roland, Okla., five bass, 12-13, $549
10th:     Justin Barbour, Tulsa, Okla., five bass, 12-10, $480

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Ian Leybas of McAlester, Oklahoma, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 11 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $565.

Thad Hewitt of Delaware, Oklahoma, won the co-angler division and $2,741 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 14 pounds, 1 ounce.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Thad Hewitt, Delaware, Okla., three bass, 14-1, $2,741
2nd:      Markus Mills, Norman, Okla., three bass, 9-14, $1,030
3rd:       Doug Camp, Talihina, Okla., three bass, 8-15, $687
4th:        Alan Bernicky, Dardanelle, Ark., three bass, 8-14, $480
5th:        James West, Spiro, Okla., three bass, 8-3, $412
6th:        Steve Cummins, Bartlesville, Okla., three bass, 8-1, $378
7th:        David See, Tulsa, Okla., three bass, 7-12, $343
8th:        Mark Taylor, Oklahoma City, Okla., three bass, 7-2, $274
8th:        Blake Gunderson, Claremore, Okla., three bass, 7-2, $274
8th:        Andrew Kuppinger, Owasso, Okla., three bass, 7-2, $274

Hewitt also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $282, catching a bass that weighed in at 6 pounds, 13 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After three events, Nick Kincaid of Brookeland, Texas, now leads the Fishing Clash Okie Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 736 points, while James West of Spiro, Oklahoma, leads the Fishing Clash Okie Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 708 points.

The next event for BFL Okie Division anglers will be held June 21, at the Arkansas River out of Muskogee, Oklahoma. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 10-11 BFL Regional tournament on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

by AnglersChannel

Orange’s Harris Catches Giant 40-8 Limit to Win Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Toledo Bend Presented by Strike King

Harris’ limit No. 4 heaviest all-time in BFL history, McKinney’s Smith Tops Co-Angler Division

ZWOLLE, La. (May 12, 2025) – Boater Riley Harris of Orange, Texas, caught a five-bass limit weighing 40 pounds, 8 ounces, Saturday – the 4th largest limit ever weighed in MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) history – to win the BFL Presented by T-H Marine on Toledo Bend Reservoir Presented by Strike King . The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Cowboy Division. Harris earned $3,317 for his victory.

Toledo Bend is a legendary bass fishery. On Saturday, Harris put together a legendary type of day, catching more than 40 pounds. Wildly, this is the second 40-plus tournament limit he’s been part of this year. Back in February, Harris and his tournament partner, Luke Potter, caught a whopping 41-pound, 9-ounce limit in a Texas Team Trail event.

Harris was thrilled that everything finally came together on Saturday. He’s known about these fish for a while, but lost fish and some equipment issues had kept him from capitalizing on them until the BFL event, when things went flawlessly.

“A lot of them are schooled up right now, especially around brush piles, and you could usually go to each brush pile that was offshore and it would have four to five really big ones on it,” he said. “I thought that if everything went properly – like 100% – I knew I could get anywhere from 35 to 40 pounds. I had 32 yesterday when I practiced, and I only threw a handful of times. When I caught 41 in the Texas Team Trail in February, I was like, man, I’ll never be able to get close to that again. It was crazy.”

His biggest bass for the day weighed 11 pounds, 1 ounce, earning Harris an extra $340 prize pot as the Berkley Big Bass. His smallest fish? A “tiny” little 6-pounder.

Getting so dialed started with electronics. Harris idled around with side-scanning sonar to look for brush piles. If he saw a few fish – or even one fish – to the side of a pile, he turned around and used 360 sonar and forward-facing sonar to take a closer look. The fish were at the bottom of the piles, so the extra time studying each piece helped determine the potential.

Even with all that technology, it really was Harris’ preparation and execution that made this happen. In fact, he was overprepared – the result of a ton of experience on Toledo Bend.

“I’ve been at Toledo for a while, and we’ve pretty much lived on it for small periods of time it feels like,” he said. “It’s just a bunch of knowledge and everything – it just starts coming together.

“I didn’t even get to fish like three groups I had today,” Harris added. “I had 40 at like 1 o’clock and figured if somebody beat me they deserved it, so I headed in.”

Harris caught his fish on power-fishing baits: a Carolina-rigged 6th Sense Bodega (not available in stores yet), a 6th Sense Crush 500DD crankbait and a Texas-rigged 6th Sense Boosa 9.6 Ribbon Tail Worm.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’ll always have a minnow tied up on my deck,” Harris said, referring to the popular lure used with forward-facing sonar. “I caught an 8-pounder yesterday throwing a minnow at this school, but it was a fun day today. I got to lean on them hard.”

Harris started his day on a spot where he and his wife fished the weekend before. She lost one there that he figures weighed 10-plus. And he caught a 7 1/2.

“I was like, ‘OK, I’m gonna start there come next weekend – no doubt,’” he said. “So I ran there and caught 27 (pounds). I actually caught one (an 8-pounder) that I broke off on that day with my wife, too. My hook was in the back of its throat. It ate the same Ribbon Tail Worm and everything. It was incredible.”

With 27 pounds in the livewell, Harris started running his other piles, picking up a fish or two almost every stop. The best piles had a lot of life around them – bass and bait. At around 12:50, he hooked the giant 11-pounder on the Bodega. And that was that. Harris started working back toward the ramp, knowing he’d done it again – cracking 40 pounds in a one-day tournament.

“Me and my good buddy were able to do it in the Texas Team Trail earlier this year, and that was crazy,” he said. “That happened and we were done by 9 o’clock. This one, it was good fishing, but you had to work for it a lot more. You just had to cover ground and keep moving. You couldn’t stay in the same spot. It was a great feeling. It was awesome.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Riley Harris, Orange, Texas, five bass, 40-8, $3,317
2nd:      Cole Moore, Anacoco, La., five bass, 29-3, $1,989 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
3rd:       Tater Reynolds, Florien, La., five bass, 22-9, $992
4th:        Eric Leger, Mamou, La., five bass, 21-3, $695
5th:        Jaden Parrish, Liberty, Texas, five bass, 19-2, $595
6th:        Brad Smith, Longview, Texas, five bass, 16-14, $1,046
7th:        Tommy Dickerson, Orange, Texas, five bass, 16-7, $496
8th:        Melvin Dunn, Orange, Texas, five bass, 15-7, $447
9th:        Dustin Boyt, Converse, La., five bass, 15-3, $397
10th:     Red Ballard, Sulphur, La., five bass, 15-0, $347

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Jacob Smith of McKinney, Texas, won the co-angler division and $1,489 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 10 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Jacob Smith, McKinney, Texas, three bass, 8-10, $1,489
2nd:      Takaaki Kojima, Temecula, Calif., three bass, 7-15, $744
3rd:       Tony Thompson, Marshall, Texas, three bass, 7-14, $497
4th:        Steve Barnett, Conroe, Texas, three bass, 7-4, $347
5th:        Velin (Lin) Sims, Spring, Texas, three bass, 7-2, $298
6th:        Logan Slaughter, Lewisville, Texas, three bass, 6-11, $273
7th:        Carter Lanclos, Sulphur, La., two bass, 6-8, $468
8th:        Brandon Begnaud, Dickinson, Texas, three bass, 6-5, $223
9th:        Mark Charpentier, Carthage, Texas, two bass, 6-3, $186
9th:        Quintus Lee, Whitehouse, Texas, three bass, 6-3, $186

Carter Lanclos of Sulphur, Louisiana, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $170, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 8 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Cole Moore of Anacoco, Louisiana, now leads the Fishing Clash Cowboy Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 990 points, while Logan Slaughter of Lewisville, Texas, leads the Fishing Clash Cowboy Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 964 points.

The next event for BFL Cowboy Division anglers will be held Sept. 27-28, at Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Brookeland, Texas. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 24-25 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Alabama. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

by AnglersChannel

Murray State Student Levi Kohl Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Kentucky-Barkley Lakes

Tennessee’s Nolen Tops Co-Angler Division

GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (May 12, 2025) – Boater Levi Kohl of Edinburg, Illinois, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 13 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Kentucky-Barkley Lakes out of Gilbertsville, Kentucky . The tournament, hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau, was the second event of the season for the BFL LBL Division. Kohl earned $3,804 for his victory.

While Kohl weighed in a limit that included four smallmouth bass, his winning strategy felt like old-school Kentucky Lake largemouth ledge fishing.

“We ran down around the middle of the lake around the Kenlake area,” he said. “I had a school down there on a ledge, and we caught ’em on a crankbait, a Carolina rig and a few on a jighead minnow.”

The crankbait was a Strike King 6XD. Kohl, who’s originally from Illinois, is now a junior business major at Murray State University and a member of the Racer bass club. He plans to move full time to the Murray, Kentucky, area after graduating to pursue a career in the fishing industry.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Levi Kohl, Edinburg, Ill., five bass, 22-13, $3,804
2nd:       Grant Meisenhelter, Decatur, Ill., five bass, 21-14, $1,902
3rd:       Clint Knight, Russellville, Ky., five bass, 21-0, $1,267
4th:        Harlan Thomas, Paducah, Ky., five bass, 19-11, $888
5th:        Isaac Peavyhouse, Jamestown, Tenn., five bass, 19-8, $761
6th:        Jeff DeFew, Benton, Ky., five bass, 18-4, $697
7th:        Toby Corn, Paducah, Ky., five bass, 17-5, $634
8th:        Josh Dowdy, Mayfield, Ky., five bass, 17-0, $571
9th:        Sam Boss, Paducah, Ky., five bass, 16-13, $507
10th:     Justin Berger, Murray, Ky., five bass, 16-12, $444

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Lonnie Bowlin of Benton, Illinois, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $505.

Daniel Nolen of Lexington, Tennessee, won the co-angler division and $2,154 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 1 ounce.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Daniel Nolen, Lexington, Tenn., three bass, 12-1, $2,154
2nd:      Marcus Mann, Benton, Ky., three bass, 10-5, $1,051
3rd:       Josh Mileur, Murphysboro, Ill., three bass, 9-11, $634
4th:        Adam Lucas, Cape Girardeau, Mo., three bass, 9-3, $444
5th:        Damon Brown, Mayfield, Ky., three bass, 9-0, $380
6th:        Sam Mann, Gillbersville, Ky., three bass, 8-10, $349
7th:        Zach Falder, Sedalia, Ky., three bass, 8-3, $317
8th:        Jack Ryan, Salem, Ill., three bass, 8-1, $285
9th:        Scott Gill, Greenwood, Ind., three bass, 7-6, $254
10th:     Peyton Nolen, Lexington, Tenn., two bass, 7-3, $222

Nolen also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $252, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 7 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After two events, Levi Kohl of Edinburg, Illinois, now leads the Fishing Clash LBL Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 498 points, while Daniel Nolen of Lexington, Tennessee, leads the Fishing Clash LBL Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 494 points.

The next event for BFL LBL Division anglers will be held June 14, at Kentucky-Barkley Lakes out of Gilbertsville, Kentucky. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 24-25 BFL Regional tournament on Dale Hollow Lake in Byrdstown, Tennessee. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

by AnglersChannel

Indianapolis Boater Colasessano Posts First Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Lake Patoka

Bedford’s Stoute Tops Co-Angler Division

BIRDSEYE, Ind. (May 12, 2025) – Boater Gary Colasessano of Indianapolis, Indiana, caught a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 15 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Patoka. The tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Hoosier Division. Colasessano earned $4,415 for his victory.

“It was a lot of trial and error,” Colasessano said about his day. “I didn’t end up fishing the way I thought I was going to fish. The water was about 8 feet high. There was so much stuff in the water – trees, bushes, you name it.

“I tend to like to power fish, and I wasn’t getting any bites when I was fishing that shallow stuff. Because I ultimately was fishing too fast.”

After starting his day tossing a jerkbait on main-lake rocky points, Colasessano got a helpful clue from his co-angler, Gary Higgins. Both anglers were throwing Yamamoto Senkos. Colasessano was fishing his on a Texas rig. Higgins was throwing a wacky rig. Higgins caught a couple short fish, which showed his boater partner that slowing down could get him more bites. Colasessano made the switch, and the day turned around.

“For the next four hours in this one cove, I just did a circle two times around,” Colasessano said. “We’d get one bite every 45 minutes basically.

“Literally, you just soaked that worm or you weren’t going to get bit,” he added. “You just let that thing sink slowly to the bottom and they’d pick it up. The same areas I threw creature baits with a weight in them are the same areas we caught them on Senkos. It just took forever.”

Prior to the tournament, there was some buzz that this event might take a big limit to win. Colasessano was so sure he hadn’t won that he didn’t stick around for the whole weigh-in. After weighing in among the first six or so anglers, Colasessano loaded his boat on the trailer and headed for home, happy to have a decent showing.

“I was probably 30, 45 minutes from home and Leroy (Hensley, the tournament director) called me and said, ‘Where are you?’ I said, ‘I’m going home.’ He said, ‘Well, you won.’ You could’ve knocked me over with a feather.

“The funny thing is in those huge smashmouth tournaments where there are a lot of big weights, I don’t do very well,” he added. “The ones I tend to do well in are like this – really tough. I’m pleased. I was very surprised and happy.”

As for the drive back to get his trophy, Colasessano was cool with that, too.

“I would’ve driven 10 hours to go back and get my trophy,” he joked.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Gary Colasessano, Indianapolis, Ind., five bass, 12-15, $4,415
2nd:      Jamil Abdullah, Indianapolis, Ind., five bass, 12-10, $2,157
3rd:       Chris Martinkovic, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 12-6, $2,064
4th:        Rob Flowers, West Harrison, Ind., five bass, 11-6, $1,007
5th:        Thomas Foster, Terre Haute, Ind., four bass, 11-5, $863
6th:        Mark Dunn, Trafalgar, Ind., three bass, 10-13, $1,255 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
6th:        Braxton Munson, Anderson, Ind., four bass, 10-13, $755
8th:        Blake Albertson, Bloomington, Ind., five bass, 10-8, $647
9th:        Nick Uebelhor, Jasper, Ind., three bass, 10-0, $575
10th:     Dayton Land, Coatesville, Ind., three bass, 9-8, $503

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Kevin Spivey of Hamilton, Ohio, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $610.

Jeremy Stoute of Bedford, Indiana, won the co-angler division and $2,157 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 6 pounds, 5 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Jeremy Stoute, Bedford, Ind., three bass, 6-5, $2,157
2nd:      Akshay Verma, Franklin, Ind., two bass, 5-3, $1,079
3rd:       Austin Herbst, Hamilton, Ohio, two bass, 5-2, $717
4th:        Rob Campbell, Martinsville, Ind., one bass, 5-1, $808
5th:        Bryan Wampler, Georgetown, Ky., two bass, 4-14, $431
6th:        Darrell Duke, Hawesville, Ky., two bass, 4-12, $396
7th:        Mark Bouchie, Evansville, Ind., one bass, 4-8, $342
7th:        Derek Jackson, New Albany, Ind., two bass, 4-8, $342
9th:        Mark Sollman, Haubstadt, Ind., one bass, 4-6, $288
10th:     Martin Bryant, North Vernon, Ind., one bass, 4-4, $252

Rob Campbell of Martinsville, Indiana, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $305, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 1 ounce – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

In addition to earning the win, Gary Colasessano of Indianapolis, Indiana, has the early lead in the Fishing Clash Hoosier Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 250 points, while Jeremy Stoute of Bedford, Indiana, leads the Fishing Clash Hoosier Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 250 points.

The next event for BFL Hoosier Division anglers will be held June 7, at Ohio River-Rocky Point out of Cannelton, Indiana. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 10-11 BFL Regional tournament on Kentucky-Barkley Lakes out of Paris, Tennessee. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

by AnglersChannel

Gold Hill’s Drew Runs Bream Bed Pattern to Win Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at High Rock Lake

Virginia’s Deciucis Tops Co-Angler Division

LEXINGTON, N.C. (May 12, 2025) – Boater Mitch Drew of Gold Hill, North Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 10 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on High Rock Lake. The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Piedmont Division. Drew earned $2,648 for his victory.

Drew was dialed in on a bream bed pattern at High Rock. He caught most of his fish on a topwater popper, with a few coming on a spinnerbait.

“The bluegills right now are starting to come to the bed on our lake,” he said. “They like shallow flats and sandy bottoms. I just targeted all kinds of sandy bottoms with shallow flats today. You see a lot of bream and sometimes you catch a few. It was just a good day. That’s all you can say about it.”

Staying on the move was key for Drew. He ran from flat to flat, visually hunting the spawning bream, then caught a crucial break midday.

“We had cloud cover, but we had the sun peaking in and out,” he said. “And finally, the sun peaked out a little bit around noon, which brought the bream closer to the top where they were easier to see. I caught a lot of fish between 12 and 1 o’clock. That’s when I caught three of my big fish, too.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Mitch Drew, Gold Hill, N.C., five bass, 22-10, $2,648
2nd:       Charles Bowman, Kernersville, N.C., five bass, 21-4, $1,324
3rd:       Zac Ridenhour, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 18-7, $882
4th:        Ricky Bomar, Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 16-5, $618
5th:        Chad Sims, Lancaster, S.C., five bass, 16-4, $530
6th:        Jason Barnes, Concord, N.C., five bass, 16-3, $1,395 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
7th:        Jeff Taylor, Long Island, Va., five bass, 15-13, $441
8th:        Landon Whicker, Winston-Salem, N.C., five bass, 15-10, $497
9th:        David Farrington, Greensboro, N.C., five bass, 15-7, $353
10th:     Keith Roberts, Hurt, Va., five bass, 15-5, $309

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Jason Barnes of Concord, North Carolina, caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $285.

David Deciucis of Chester, Virginia, won the co-angler division and $1,324 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 14 pounds, 4 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        David Deciucis, Chester, Va., three bass, 14-4, $1,324
2nd:       Troy Mitten, Cumberland, Va., three bass, 11-15, $804
3rd:       Jason Hinger, Timberlake, N.C., three bass, 11-5, $590
4th:        Larry Freeman Jr., La Crosse, Va., three bass, 10-4, $309
5th:        Charles Wood, Thomasville, N.C., three bass, 9-13, $265
6th:        Kiel Guin, Knoxville, Tenn., three bass, 9-11, $232
6th:        James Roten, West Jefferson, N.C., three bass, 9-11, $232
8th:        Alex Moss, Lambsburg, Va., three bass, 9-7, $199
9th:        Dustan Hudson, Grover, N.C., three bass, 8-8, $177
10th:     Grady Stanley, Fuquay-Varina, N.C., three bass, 8-3, $154

Troy Mitten of Cumberland, Virginia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $142, catching a bass that weighed in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After three events, Chris Brummett of Lynch Station, Virginia, now leads the Fishing Clash Piedmont Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 721 points, while Derek Stanley of Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash Piedmont Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 723 points.

The next event for BFL Piedmont Division anglers will be held July 12, at the James River out of Henrico, Virginia. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

by AnglersChannel

Pennsylvania’s McGeary Logs First Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at the Potomac River

Pennsylvania’s Bernier Tops Co-Angler Division

MARBURY, Md. (May 12, 2025) – Boater Joshua McGeary of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 4 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Potomac River . The tournament, hosted by Charles County Recreation, Parks and Tourism, was the first event of the season for the BFL Northeast Division. McGeary earned $11,127, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

Most of the action came early for McGeary, who took advantage of the high tide to put an early limit in the livewell.

“I just wanted to go to a place where I knew there were fish – more or less a community hole,” he said. “We fished around there for the first two hours of the day.”

After that, McGeary strategically played the wind. He knew that the forecast called for the wind to build throughout the day, making it harder to fish and travel on the east side of the river. So he ran over to that side after leaving the community hole before the wind got too bad. After fishing there for a while, he jumped over to the west side midday to avoid the worst of the wind later in the day.

McGeary had his final weight by lunchtime – a good thing because, eventually, the tide pulled out so hard that getting bit was tough in the afternoon.

“I was going to areas that I knew were protected from the wind and areas I knew that traditionally hold fish,” McGeary said. “I didn’t have much practice for this tournament, so I just was fishing off my gut. And it worked out. I caught over 20 keepers today, and I just whittled my way up. I never really had a big fish. I just had a good solid five-fish limit.”

For McGeary, the ChatterBait bite was tough, but he still caught two of his weigh fish on the vibrating jig. The rest came on a Texas-rigged X Zone Adrenaline Bug. Most of his fish came off various types of hard cover.

“It was just one of those days where I was in a groove, making a lot of right decisions,” McGeary added. “It just worked out.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Joshua McGeary, Mount Pleasant, Pa., five bass, 18-4, $11,127 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:      Ryan Lachniet, Gum Spring, Va., five bass, 18-2, $2,064
3rd:       Robert Grike, Dumfries, Va., five bass, 17-10, $1,377
4th:        Safulla (Safu) Rana, Manassas, Va., five bass, 17-0, $1,538
5th:        Brian Mullaney, Ijamsville, Md., five bass, 16-2, $825
6th:        Aaron Dixon, Bel Alton, Md., five bass, 15-12, $757
7th:        Jason Orecchio, Andover, N.J., five bass, 15-4, $688
8th:        Peter Yanni, Gaithersburg, Md., five bass, 15-2, $619
9th:        Jay Clingenpeel, Bridgeport, W.Va., five bass, 15-1, $1,116
9th:        Tom Bateman, Welcome, Md., five bass, 15-1, $516

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Safulla (Safu) Rana of Manassas, Virginia, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 14 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $575.

Cole Bernier of Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, won the co-angler division and $2,064 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 11 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Cole Bernier, Saylorsburg, Pa., three bass, 11-11, $2,064
2nd:       Gerald Dam, Pine Plains, N.Y., three bass, 11-4, $1,032
3rd:       Chris Slater, Boston, Mass., three bass, 10-9, $975
4th:        Marvin Stith, Piscataway, N.J., three bass, 10-6, $482
5th:        Hayward Thaxton III, Hagerstown, Md., three bass, 10-4, $413
6th:        David Paszkiewicz, Kearny, N.J., three bass, 9-15, $478
7th:        Pat Kendrick, Bumpass, Va., three bass, 9-14, $344
8th:        David Williams, Fredericksburg, Va., three bass, 9-2, $292
8th:        Nathan Routzahn, Myersville, Md., three bass, 9-2, $292
10th:     Richard Obrien, New Market, Md., three bass, 9-1, $241

Chris Slater of Boston, Massachusetts, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $287, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 15 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

In addition to winning the event, Joshua McGeary of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, has the early lead in the Fishing Clash Northeast Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 250 points, while Cole Bernier of Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, leads the Fishing Clash Northeast Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 250 points.

The next event for BFL Northeast Division anglers will be held July 12, at the St. Lawrence River out of Massena, New York. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-4 BFL Regional tournament on the James River out of Richmond, Virginia. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

by AnglersChannel

Smith’s timing earns Bassmaster Elite Title at Lake Fork

YANTIS, Texas — It’s said that timing is everything and Tucker Smith proved as much en route to tallying a four-day total of 127 pounds, 8 ounces in the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork.

Smith opened his campaign with a limit of 25-4 that put him in 20th place. Picking up the pace, he added 34-5 on Day 2 and rose to fourth.

A Semifinal Saturday limit of 33-1 sent Smith into Championship Sunday in the No. 3 spot and his best bag of the week — 34-14 — sealed the deal with a total weight that ranks seventh largest in Elite history.

“It’s unbelievable; I feel like I’m in a dream right now,” said Smith, who anchored his Day 4 bag with a 7-14. “This was one of the best days I’ve ever had on the water.

“It’s really special to win on Mother’s Day with my mother (Mallory) here. She and I fish together a lot and the most important thing she’s taught me is to just be happy.”

Smith edged his roommate and fellow rookie Paul Marks by 13 ounces. Notably, Smith finished second to Marks by 14 ounces two weeks ago at the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Lake Hartwell.

A 3-time Bassmaster High School National Champion and the 2023 College National Champion, Smith collected the $100,000 top prize, along with his first Bassmaster Century Club Belt. The Bassmaster Century Club recognizes anglers who reach the 100-pound mark in a four-day Elite event.

Smith kicked off his final round with a big catch in the first hour of competition.

“This morning, I wasn’t getting bit much, so I pulled up to a place and decided to sidescan and look at some new stuff on my Humminbird APEX,” Smith said. “I saw a bunch of birds on the bank, so I picked up a Picasso swim jig and caught a 6-4.

“That started my day off good. That told me I had to catch four more giants today. I went out there and rotated all the best stuff I had and ended up catching a good bag today.”

After that ice breaker, Smith hit a variety of offshore spots from clay points and saddles with hard spots, to remnant pond dams from the lake’s pre-construction days. Fishing from 6 to 40 feet, Smith said the key to his success was hitting each spot at the right time.

“I think finding my rotation every day was the biggest thing,” Smith said. “After the first day, I slowly started figuring out that rotation. The second day, I caught a big bag and then the third day, I followed that same rotation and caught another big bag.

“Today, I got in that same rotation and the fish were just bigger. It seems like those offshore fish especially have bite windows and I found the bite windows on the five best places I had and ended up pulling up to them at the same time every day.”

Smith caught his fish on a jighead minnow with a 1/4-ounce Picasso jig head and 3/4-ounce Picasso football head with a Yamamoto Yama Craw.

Considering the amount of fishing pressure Lake Fork receives, the fish can be remarkably skittish. Smith said his Minn Kota Quest trolling motor played a key role in his requisite stealth.

“That trolling motor is super fast and super quiet,” he said. “I had to get pretty close to my spots to be able to cast to the fish because the wind was so strong today and having a quiet trolling motor allowed me to get close to them.”

Giving a nod to his competitors, Smith said: “These guys are so good, it really takes a special day to get one of these trophies.”

Hailing from Cumming, Ga., Marks finished second with 126-11. Marks placed fifth on Day 1 with 30-13 and rose to third with a second-round limit of 31-10. A Day 3 limit of 33-4 moved him up to second where he’d end his run with a final-round catch of 31-0.

Targeting suspended fish over offshore hard spots, Marks did all of his work with a 7 1/2-inch Zoom Winged Fluke on a 1/4-ounce jig head.

“What an awesome week out there,” Marks said. “Over 30 pounds every day. I have nothing to complain about.”

Trey McKinney of Carbondale, Ill., finished third with 122-3. His daily weights were 32-5, 30-7, 21-5 and 38-2 — the event’s heaviest bag.

“I’ll probably never beat today, as long as I fish,” McKinney said. “I fished all new water today and didn’t hardly make a wrong move. I lost only one fish out of I don’t know how many I caught. I was throwing back 6-pounders.”

McKinney, who won the 2024 Elite at Lake Fork, caught fish on a glidebait, crankbait, a jighead minnow and a jig.

Wesley Gore took home an additional $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, while Easton Fothergill earned $2,000 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

As part of the Yamaha Power Pay program, Marks earned an additional $4,000 while Tyler Williams claimed an additional $1,500 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

Jay Przekurat of Plover, Wis., and Kyle Norsetter of Cottage Grove, Wis., both earned $1,000 Phoenix Boats Big Bass awards for their 9-pound, 14-ounce bass. Przekurat also won the $1,000 daily award for Day 1. Norsetter won the $1,000 daily award for Day 2.

Przekurat leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 464 points. Will Davis Jr. of Sylacauga, Ala., is in second with 419, followed by McKinney with 411, Chris Johnston of Otonabee, Canada with 410, and Smith with 398.

Smith leads the Dakota Lithium Elite Series Rookie of the Year standings with 398 points.

The Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork was hosted by Wood County.

About Tackle Warehouse

Tackle Warehouse was launched online in 2003 with the goal of meeting the fishing tackle needs of the casual and professional bass angler alike. As a tackle shop run by anglers for anglers, the requirements were evident, and the mission remains the same: provide bass anglers with the widest selection of great products, fast and reliable shipping and excellent customer service, while offering support and education for anglers of all levels and abilities. Tackle Warehouse relies upon its tackle shop roots and a passion for fishing to best serve our customers, as well as the bass fishing community as a whole

About B.A.S.S.

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Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 256-424-2390, cgay@bassmaster.com

2025 Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork 5/8-5/11
Lake Fork, Yantis TX.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 4

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Tucker Smith Birmingham, AL 20 127-08 104 $100,000.00
Day 1: 5 25-04 Day 2: 5 34-05 Day 3: 5 33-01 Day 4: 5 34-14
2. Paul Marks Cumming, GA 20 126-11 103 $20,000.00
Day 1: 5 30-13 Day 2: 5 31-10 Day 3: 5 33-04 Day 4: 5 31-00
3. Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 20 122-03 102 $17,000.00
Day 1: 5 32-05 Day 2: 5 30-07 Day 3: 5 21-05 Day 4: 5 38-02
4. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 20 121-13 101 $13,000.00
Day 1: 5 31-00 Day 2: 5 34-00 Day 3: 5 35-10 Day 4: 5 21-03
5. JT Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 20 120-04 100 $11,750.00
Day 1: 5 28-04 Day 2: 5 30-09 Day 3: 5 28-11 Day 4: 5 32-12
6. Tyler Williams Belgrade, ME 20 110-09 99 $11,000.00
Day 1: 5 23-04 Day 2: 5 26-08 Day 3: 5 32-13 Day 4: 5 28-00
7. Wesley Gore Clanton, AL 20 107-06 98 $11,500.00
Day 1: 5 20-02 Day 2: 5 23-06 Day 3: 5 34-01 Day 4: 5 29-13
8. Easton Fothergill Grand Rapids , MN 20 106-08 97 $10,300.00
Day 1: 5 29-03 Day 2: 5 19-04 Day 3: 5 33-02 Day 4: 5 24-15
9. Jay Przekurat Plover, WI 20 106-07 96 $13,200.00
Day 1: 5 31-02 Day 2: 5 27-07 Day 3: 5 23-02 Day 4: 5 24-12
10. Seth Feider Elko New Market, MN 20 101-08 95 $10,000.00
Day 1: 5 27-10 Day 2: 5 28-04 Day 3: 5 23-13 Day 4: 5 21-13
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PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Jay Przekurat Plover, WI 09-14 $1,000.00
2 Kyle Norsetter Cottage Grove, WI 09-14 $1,000.00
3 Will Davis Jr Sylacauga, AL 09-00 $500.00
3 Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 09-00 $500.00
4 Wesley Gore Clanton, AL 08-07 $1,000.00

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PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Jay Przekurat Plover, WI 09-14 $1,000.00
Kyle Norsetter Cottage Grove, WI 09-14 $1,000.00
RAPALA CRUSHCITY MONSTER BAG

Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 38-02 $2,000.00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 90 485 1961-10
2 80 469 1897-02
3 45 240 1070-10
4 10 50 287-04
----------------------------------
225 1244 5216-10

by AnglersChannel

Rookie Pro Banks Shaw Wins Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 4 at Pickwick Lake

Harrison, Tennessee pro catches 23-pound limit on final day to overtake Jake Lawrence and win top prize of $115,000

COUNCE, Tenn. (May 11, 2025) – Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 4 Presented by E3 Sport Apparel turned out to be gem of a Pickwick Lake tournament, with big weights and a tight finish on the final day. Taking the title – his first on the Invitationals – pro Banks Shaw of Harrison, Tennessee, tallied 26 pounds, 6 ounces on Day 1, 21-11 on Day 2 and finished off with an even 23 pounds on the final day for a 71-1 total and a convincing margin over Paris, Tennessee pro Jake Lawrence. With a 67-15 total, Lawrence won the tiebreaker to beat Jacob Walker of Springville, Alabama, who finished third.

Shaw took home his fourth MLF winner’s trophy between College, Toyota Series and the Invitationals, and by far his biggest payday yet – a cool $115,000, which includes the Phoenix MLF Bonus. Shaw also took over the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year lead with 783 points, while pro Mitchell Robinson finished 19^th and moved up to second in the points.

In 2024, Shaw won the Toyota Series event on Lake Chickamauga, his home lake, with a record winning margin and an 82-12 total – as you’d guess, he won it offshore. Raised on Chick, Shaw has been fishing offshore on the Tennessee River his whole life, and going to school at the University of North Alabama has given him an intimate familiarity with Pickwick. This week, having to make hay without the aid of forward-facing sonar on Day 2, Shaw put together a real masterclass on modern Tennessee River success.

Shaw primarily targeted a few schools out deep on Day 1 and mostly relied on an offshore shad spawn on Day 2. On the final day, he mixed the two to secure the win. A key difference-maker for Shaw turned out to be Day 2, when many contenders dropped out of the hunt.

“In practice I could catch some fish off a shad spawn, but at the same time, I also just tried going shallow, getting on the bank,” Shaw said. “I caught a handful of fish doing that, but nothing good. I was really worried about [Day 2] because if it was sunny, then I might not even have had a limit. That's just how it was – the sunny days in practice, I could barely get bit off the shad spawn. The fish were there, you just couldn't really get them to bite, they were too smart. I knew I could catch fish, and it turned into more than what I thought it was.”

Fishing in 2 to 8 feet, Banks targeted the shad spawn bass with a minnow, as well as a Scottsboro Tackle Top Hook Swimbait and a ¾-ounce Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait JackHammer.

“It was shallow bars that had really rough shell on it,” Shaw said. “There's no way you could really pinpoint where the fish would be at. You just had to go down it and just cover water, making as many long casts as you can to find the fish.”

On the first and third days of competition, the bulk of Shaw’s weight came from the few offshore schools Pickwick currently offers, with some as deep as 22 feet but his best bets being in 12 to 14 feet. One of his keys was the area of the lake he ended up in, fishing mostly around or above the Natchez Trace Bridge.

“It was definitely the area of the lake that was playing going into the event,” Shaw said. “I like it up there, but I've never fished a tournament up there. But, I was just thinking with the amount of tournament pressure this year, I knew certain areas where fish were super pressured, and I thought that was somewhere they were less pressured. And on top of that, one of the main reasons why I keyed in on that area is I just thought there were more fish, with all the fish that have been released this year out of McFarland [in Florence] and all the big tournaments that go out of there.”

For his schools, Shaw did his best work with a minnow on a jighead, including a Rapala CrushCity Freeloader.

Shaw has come of age in an era where the best young anglers can find a school on side scan as well as any veteran, and he’s loaded to the gills with forward-facing sonar skills as well. It’s not exclusive to the area, but lately, the Tennessee River Valley is turning out some of the county’s best young anglers – schooled in every aspect of offshore fishing.

“LiveScope's definitely the dominant way of fishing,” Shaw said. “I felt like my recent two or three years with it have just been the most important, because I was just able to learn more than anything. I understand what's going on, where fish are, what they're relating to, how big fish are.”

Of course, just because Shaw’s boat is loaded with screens didn’t mean it came easy. On Day 1 particularly, he could have given the tournament away.

“I went straight offshore and I rotated my four or five best places three times,” Shaw said. “I ran all the way up to hit another random place where I saw one big one and I decided I was going to hit them one more time on the way back down. I was planning on running all the way down here, and I only had, like, 15 pounds. And the last rotation through, my fish just started biting. I stayed up there. If that wouldn't have happened, then I would have probably ran down here and just had a had a rough day.”

In 2024, while he was winning on Chickamauga, he was learning on Pickwick, and it turned into big money this week.

“All the Tennessee River lakes are similar, but they somewhat set up in different ways,” Shaw said. “Chickamauga is not really a good shad spawn lake. That's something I strictly learned here recently. Last year is the year I dialed in the shad spawn a little bit and figured out what they relate to.”

When he won at Chickamauga last year, Shaw blew the field away and had all day to think about the win. Today without a megabag in the ‘well, he had all day to worry.

“(At Chickamauga), I knew that I probably had it, just because I knew the body of water so good, I knew what it had to offer,” Shaw said. “I know this place good too, but just how it's been fishing here recently and the guys I was fishing against, I wasn't confident really with anything I had.

“If I would have had 28 pounds, I would have probably still been worried. So it was it was definitely a very tough mental day, I would say. Especially after losing fish – I've never been able to win a tournament losing fish like that. I thought I definitely threw it away when I lost those fish. It definitely could have happened that way, but it was meant to be this week.”

The top 30 pros at the Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 4 at Pickwick Lake Presented by E3 Sport Apparel finished:

1st:        Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 15 bass, 71-1, $115,000
2nd:       Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 15 bass, 67-15, $30,000
3rd:       Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., 15 bass, 67-15, $20,500
4th:        Kyle Cortiana, Broken Arrow, Okla., 15 bass, 62-6, $18,000
5th:        Jimmy Washam, Stantonville, Tenn., 15 bass, 59-10, $17,000
6th:        Colby Miller, Elmer, La., 14 bass, 59-4, $16,000
7th:        Andrew Nordbye, Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 59-0, $15,000
8th:        Ken Thompson, Roaring Springs, Pa., 15 bass, 57-11, $14,000
9th:        Lane Olson, Forest Grove, Ore., 15 bass, 55-10, $13,000
10th:     Levi Thibodaux, Thibodaux, La., 15 bass, 55-4, $12,000
11th:     Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 15 bass, 54-0, $10,000
12th:     Thomas Wooten, Huddleston, Va., 15 bass, 52-14, $10,000
13th:     Tyler Stewart, Dubach, La., 15 bass, 52-13, $10,000
14th:     Terry Fisher, Decatur, Ala., 15 bass, 52-9, $10,000
15th:     Carter Nutt, Nashville, Tenn., 15 bass, 52-6, $10,000
16th:     Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, 15 bass, 51-10, $10,000
17th:     Ethan Greene, Eufaula, Ala., 15 bass, 50-11, $10,000
18th:     Austin Swindle, Parrish, Ala., 15 bass, 50-6, $10,000
19th:     Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 15 bass, 50-5, $10,000
20th:     Blake Hall, Rogersville, Ala., 15 bass, 48-7, $10,000
21st:      Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., 15 bass, 48-6, $9,000
22nd:    Ricky Robinson, Greenback, Tenn., 13 bass, 47-14, $9,000
23rd:     Jack Daniel Williams, Kingsport, Tenn., 15 bass, 47-14, $9,000
24th:     Keith Poche, Cecil, Ala., 13 bass, 47-9, $9,000
25th:     Kyle Glasgow, Guin, Ala., 15 bass, 47-7, $9,000
26th:     Shaw Grigsby, Gainesville, Fla., 15 bass, 47-0, $9,000
27th:     Samuel Fish, Chelsea, Ala., 15 bass, 46-14, $9,000
28th:     Jon Canada, Helena, Ala., 13 bass, 46-4, $9,000
29th:     Todd Walters, Kernersville, N.C., 14 bass, 44-7, $10,000
30th:     Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 14 bass, 42-5, $9,000

Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 142 bass weighing 507 pounds 2 ounces caught by the final 30 pros on Sunday. The catch included 25 five-bass limits.

The three-day tournament, hosted by Explore Pickwick Lake/Hardin County Tourism, featured pro anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000 and valuable points to qualify for the 2025 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship in September. The full field of anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 30 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, advanced to the final round on Championship Sunday.

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

The next event on the schedule for Invitationals anglers is the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 5 at the James River Presented by 7Brew Coffee, set for June 20-22 in Richmond, Virginia.

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

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

by AnglersChannel

Red Hot Lawrence Moves Into Lead at Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 4 at Pickwick

Paris, Tennessee pro catches 23-14 to take lead into final day

COUNCE, Tenn. (May 10, 2025) – With modern sonar set aside for Day 2 of Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 4 Presented by E3 Sport Apparel on Pickwick Lake, it was a foregone conclusion that the weights would go down. Still, the pros that either had some sort of backup or didn’t need forward-facing sonar to be effective were able to make big moves on the leaderboard.

Totally changing his game plan overnight, Jake Lawrence ran to the tailrace and blasted 23 pounds, 14 ounces to move into the lead. Behind him, Banks Shaw dropped into second, staying offshore and making hay on a shad spawn pattern in the morning to the tune of 21-11. Lawrence leads the pack with a 49-5 total, Shaw is right behind with 48-1, and Jacob Walker , who has set up shop at the tailrace, is in third with 45-12 – very much within striking distance.

Heading into the final day, all sorts of sonar will be turned back on, and we’re probably in for a heck of a finish. The Tennessee River reservoir has been kicking out all kinds of 30-pound bags this year, and at the top, Lawrence and Shaw are two of the best on the Tennessee River, no matter what particular pool of water they’re on. Behind them, the Top 30 is stacked with similarly excellent talent and pros catching them all kinds of ways.

Lawrence and Walker have worked together all year, which is not an unusual arrangement in pro fishing. However, given the nature of the Invitationals, with the possibility of a pro needing multiple different patterns throughout the event, it can look a little odd. Rest assured, when Lawrence set his Phoenix down near the concrete at the Wilson Dam, Walker was fully expecting his presence and had briefed him on what to expect.

“The first event at Sam Rayburn last year, we shared that main drain that both of us utilized, and we just kind of hit it off,” said Lawrence. “He hollered at me over there and he had forgot his water, forgot anything to drink that morning. So, I threw him a couple bottles of water, and each time we'd pass each other in that drain, we'd kind of talk.”

Lawrence ended up second in that Invitationals event, starting his run to the Bass Pro Tour. Walker finished 25th, earning $10,000, and later that season, sharing water again with Lawrence, he won the Invitationals event on Champlain.

“After the event, I actually ran into him at The Stump, and we just hit it off,’ said Lawrence. “And what a great guy. I mean, he's an absolute blast to be around and such a great fisherman.”

At REDCREST this year, Walker and Lawrence hatched a plan to figure out every inch of Pickwick for this event, and so far, it’s paying off handsomely.

“Obviously, I’m a big offshore guy,” said Lawrence. “I know where the vast majority of these schools live from guiding here so long. The game plan going into this event was I was going to spend my time idling and looking for these groups. He was going spend his time up there. And whichever of the two showed more potential, we would both kind of lean on it.”

With very few schools out offshore at the moment, Lawrence didn’t end up shelling out waypoints to Walker.

“Had this been what we all expected, I'd have given him 20 or 30 schools, and we’d just divvy them all up. I can't say enough about our partnership, our team effort. We're able to cover a tremendous amount of a big body of water very quickly, and we seem to jive pretty well together.”

On Day 1, Walker ran to the Wilson Dam and mined smallmouth, while Lawrence leaned on ‘Scope down the lake. Today, Lawrence rolled up to join Walker in the current for a wild day of fishing.

“That was the most mentally and physically challenging tournament day, fishing day, period,” said Lawrence. “I've never worked that hard.”

Fishing in heavy current, Lawrence was hooked up almost constantly – it was probably more common for him to be reeling in a fish than a bait. The problem was most of them were not bass.

“If I caught one, I bet I caught a hundred drum and catfish and gar – everything imaginable except a smallmouth,” he allowed. “But it worked out super, super fortunate. You know, there in the last couple minutes before I left, I was able to get in a good position where I could hit where most of those smallmouth were set up, and it made all the difference in the world. I went from catching a drum every cast to catching a smallmouth every cast.”

It took Lawrence almost all day, but he got five over the rail and got out – and those five were mighty strong. On Day 3, he’s planning on leaving the smallmouth to Walker and chasing the win on the section of Pickwick he knows best.

“I'm looking forward to turning the ‘Scope back on tomorrow and getting after a few of these deep bedders,” said Lawrence. “I've got several big ones – of course, I haven’t been to them in four days now, I don't know if they'll be there. But if they are, we’ve got a shot at catching a great big old bag. I've got no doubt in my mind that I have the waypoint or the dot to the five winners, it's just a matter of making those five stops in the right order and getting them in the boat.”

Only the top 30 competitors, based on their two-day cumulative weight, now advance to Championship Sunday. The three-day tournament, hosted by Explore Pickwick Lake/Hardin County Tourism, features pro anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000 and valuable points to qualify for the 2025 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship in September.

The top 30 pros advancing to the final day of competition on Pickwick Lake are:

1st:        Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 10 bass, 49-5
2nd:       Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 10 bass, 48-1
3rd:       Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., 10 bass, 45-12
4th:        Jimmy Washam, Stantonville, Tenn., 10 bass, 40-2
5th:        Andrew Nordbye, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 39-4
6th:        Keith Poche, Cecil, Ala., 10 bass, 38-9
7th:        Carter Nutt, Nashville, Tenn., 10 bass, 37-15
8th:        Jon Canada, Helena, Ala., 10 bass, 37-13
9th:        Levi Thibodaux, Thibodaux, La., 10 bass, 37-5
10th:     Colby Miller, Elmer, La., nine bass, 37-3
11th:     Kyle Cortiana, Broken Arrow, Okla., 10 bass, 36-11
12th:     Ken Thompson, Roaring Springs, Pa., 10 bass, 36-8
13th:     Ricky Robinson, Greenback, Tenn., 10 bass, 36-7
14th:     Thomas Wooten, Huddleston, Va., 10 bass, 35-12
15th:     Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, 10 bass, 35-11
16th:     Todd Walters, Kernersville, N.C., 10 bass, 34-6
17th:     Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 10 bass, 34-3
18th:     Blake Hall, Rogersville, Ala., 10 bass, 34-0
19th:     Lane Olson, Forest Grove, Ore., 10 bass, 33-15
20th:     Jack Daniel Williams, Kingsport, Tenn., 10 bass, 33-13
21st:      Terry Fisher, Decatur, Ala., 10 bass, 33-8
22nd:    Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 33-7
23rd:     Samuel Fish, Chelsea, Ala., 10 bass, 33-5
24th:     Austin Swindle, Parrish, Ala., 10 bass, 33-4
25th:     Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 10 bass, 33-3
26th:     Shaw Grigsby, Gainesville, Fla., 10 bass, 32-13
27th:     Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., 10 bass, 32-12
28th:     Ethan Greene, Eufaula, Ala., 10 bass, 32-2
29th:     Tyler Stewart, Dubach, La., 10 bass, 31-14
30th:     Kyle Glasgow, Guin, Ala., 10 bass, 31-12

Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award for Day 2 went to pro Todd Walters, who weighed in the heaviest bass of the day – a nice 5-pound, 5-ouncer.

Overall, there were 390 bass weighing 1,192 pounds 8 ounces caught by 99 pros Saturday. The catch included 56 five-bass limits.

In Tackle Warehouse Invitationals competition, the full field competed in the two-day opening round on Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 30 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, now advance to the final round on Championship Sunday, where they will compete for the grand prize of up to $115,000. The winner of the Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 4 at Pickwick Lake Presented by E3 Sport Apparel will be determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative weight.

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

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

by AnglersChannel

Phenomenal performance keeps Fujita atop the lead in Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork

Phenomenal performance keeps Fujita atop the lead in Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork

YANTIS, Texas — Kyoya Fujita is a man on a mission and he made a clear statement to that effect by catching a Day 3 limit of 35 pounds, 10 ounces and maintain his lead at the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork.

Placing fourth on Day 1 with 31-0, Fujita added a second-round limit of 34-0 and took over the lead by a 2 1/4-pound margin. Semifinal Saturday saw him catch the event’s largest bag and boost his cumulative total to 100-10.

“I am very happy,” Fujita said. “I’m having a good week.”

The Bassmaster Century Club recognizes anglers who reach the 100-pound mark in a four-day Elite event. Those who achieve that feat receive the coveted Century Club belt.

Fujita’s amazing accomplishment is only the fourth time an Elite angler has reached 100 pounds in three days of competition. The 2008 Elite tournament at Falcon Lake saw three competitors, the late Aaron Martens (109-8), Mark Davis (102-1) and Byron Velvick (101-12) reach that mark.

“One hundred in three days — very good,” Fujita said.

Since Day 1, Fujita has committed to a section of Caney Creek not far from takeoff. He’s using forward facing sonar to aggressively hunt down large bass amid submerged timber. Selectively casting to quality fish, Fujita’s not catching a lot, but he’s more concerned with quality than quantity.

Consistent with his week’s pattern, Fujita started off catching 3-pound class fish, with his better weights coming mid-morning through early afternoon.

After a late-morning round of trading the (unofficial) lead with Paul Marks, Fujita took over the top spot with a 6-pounder around noon. An hour and a half later, he set the hook on a 9-pound Lake Fork giant that had him noticeably animated.

That big fish — the day’s largest — did not make life easy on Fujita, who was fishing a finesse bait on a spinning rod.

“That fish got stuck on a tree twice,” Fujita said. “I was nervous. I thought the fish came off, or the line broke. My heart was racing but I caught the fish.”

Fujita credits his tackle set up for his day-topping catch. He used a 6-8 Daiwa Steez spinning rod and a Daiwa Exist reel loaded with 50-pound braid and a 28-pound fluorocarbon leader.

“I used very strong tackle, so I could get those big fish out of (the timber),” Fujita said. “That was the fish I needed.”

Notably, Fujita’s late-day kicker was a short, stumpy fish that did not reach the 24-inch minimum for possession. This tournament format comprises a catch, weigh and release rule, with anglers allowed to bring one fish over 24 inches to the weigh-ins.

Fujita’s biggest fish flirted with the 24-inch mark, but he correctly released it after logging the official weight.

Heading into Championship Sunday with a lead of 4-15 over Marks, Fujita is 31-14 away from breaking the all-time winning record for a 4-day, 5-bass limit tournament. Paul Elias won the 2008 event at Falcon Lake with 132-8.

When Bassmaster Emcee Dave Mercer stated the pending high mark, Fujita boldly replied: “I need 31-14 to break the record? I will try to break the record!”

Hailing from Cumming, Ga., Marks is in second place with 95-11. Marks placed fifth on Day 1 with 30-13 and rose to third with a second-round limit of 31-10. Day 3 yielded 33-4.

“This was my best day ever in a tournament, so I said, ‘I gotta order a pizza (for dockside deliver, without leaving his boat),’” Marks said. “I ordered one and it was very good.

“No pizzas for me tomorrow. I’ll have to catch close to 40 to win, so I’m going to go catch 5 (over 24 inches). That’s the plan. It’s doable out there.”

Marks, who claimed a blue trophy two weeks ago at the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Lake Hartwell, has enjoyed three days of morning action that delivered the majority of his weight before noon.

Day 3 saw Marks tally 32-8 by 9:30 a.m. After spending several hours scouting for Championship Sunday, he culled up with a 6-10 just before 2 p.m.

Spending his time offshore, Marks had been catching his fish on a jighead minnow rig with a 5-inch Zoom Winged Fluke. Today, he upsized to the 7 1/2-inch Winged Fluke.

Tucker Smith of Birmingham, Ala. is in third place with 92-10. His daily weights were 25-4, 34-5 and 33-1.

“What an awesome day,” Smith said. “I really didn’t have anything for the first two hours this morning. I ran to a place and couldn’t catch 'em. I came back about an hour later and caught 31 pounds.

“I caught one that was 8-12. It was an unbelievable day.”

Jay Przekurat of Plover, Wis., and Kyle Norsetter of Cottage Grove, Wis., share the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors, each with a 9-14.

Przekurat leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 466 points. Will Davis Jr., of Sylacauga, Ala. is in second with 419, followed by Chris Johnston of Otonabee, Canada with 410, Trey McKinney of Carbondale, Ill. with 409 and Smith with 396.

Smith leads the Dakota Lithium Elite Series Rookie of the Year standings with 396 points.

Bassmaster LIVE coverage of Championship Sunday at the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork will be broadcast on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and FOX from noon to 3 p.m. Live Cast will be available all day on Bassmaster.com.

Sunday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:30 a.m. CT at Caney Point Recreation Area. The weigh-in will be held at the same area at 2:30 p.m.

The Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork is being hosted by Wood County.

About Tackle Warehouse

About B.A.S.S.

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Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 256-424-2390, cgay@bassmaster.com

2025 Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork 5/8-5/11
Lake Fork, Yantis TX.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 3

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 15 100-10 104 $500.00
Day 1: 5 31-00 Day 2: 5 34-00 Day 3: 5 35-10
2. Paul Marks Cumming, GA 15 95-11 103
Day 1: 5 30-13 Day 2: 5 31-10 Day 3: 5 33-04
3. Tucker Smith Birmingham, AL 15 92-10 102
Day 1: 5 25-04 Day 2: 5 34-05 Day 3: 5 33-01
4. JT Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 15 87-08 101
Day 1: 5 28-04 Day 2: 5 30-09 Day 3: 5 28-11
5. Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 15 84-01 100
Day 1: 5 32-05 Day 2: 5 30-07 Day 3: 5 21-05
6. Tyler Williams Belgrade, ME 15 82-09 99
Day 1: 5 23-04 Day 2: 5 26-08 Day 3: 5 32-13
7. Jay Przekurat Plover, WI 15 81-11 98 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 31-02 Day 2: 5 27-07 Day 3: 5 23-02
8. Easton Fothergill Grand Rapids , MN 15 81-09 97
Day 1: 5 29-03 Day 2: 5 19-04 Day 3: 5 33-02
9. Seth Feider Elko New Market, MN 15 79-11 96
Day 1: 5 27-10 Day 2: 5 28-04 Day 3: 5 23-13
10. Wesley Gore Clanton, AL 15 77-09 95
Day 1: 5 20-02 Day 2: 5 23-06 Day 3: 5 34-01
11. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 15 77-05 94 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 21-06 Day 2: 5 25-06 Day 3: 5 30-09
12. Patrick Walters Eutawville, SC 15 75-07 93 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 27-09 Day 2: 5 26-04 Day 3: 5 21-10
13. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 15 74-14 92 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 29-05 Day 2: 5 22-09 Day 3: 5 23-00
14. Bryan New Leesville, SC 15 73-14 91 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 22-04 Day 2: 5 20-07 Day 3: 5 31-03
15. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 15 69-14 90 $7,000.00
Day 1: 5 18-00 Day 2: 5 30-01 Day 3: 5 21-13
16. Caleb Sumrall New Iberia, LA 15 69-08 89 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 23-02 Day 2: 5 18-12 Day 3: 5 27-10
17. Cory Johnston Otonabee CANADA 15 69-03 88 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 20-03 Day 2: 5 21-00 Day 3: 5 28-00
18. Andrew Loberg Guntersville, AL 15 69-00 87 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 23-00 Day 2: 5 23-13 Day 3: 5 22-03
19. Brad Whatley Bivins, TX 15 67-12 86 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 25-06 Day 2: 5 21-02 Day 3: 5 21-04
20. Bryan Schmitt Deale, MD 15 67-11 85 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 19-07 Day 2: 5 26-02 Day 3: 5 22-02
21. Jason Christie Dry Creek, OK 15 67-09 84 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 21-14 Day 2: 5 24-06 Day 3: 5 21-05
22. Caleb Kuphall Mukwonago, WI 15 67-04 83 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 19-11 Day 2: 5 24-04 Day 3: 5 23-05
23. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 12 66-12 82 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 29-06 Day 2: 4 20-06 Day 3: 3 17-00
24. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 15 66-05 81 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 25-10 Day 2: 5 19-07 Day 3: 5 21-04
25. Jake Whitaker Hendersonville, NC 15 65-15 80 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 22-06 Day 2: 5 20-14 Day 3: 5 22-11
26. Will Davis Jr Sylacauga, AL 15 65-12 79 $6,000.00
Day 1: 5 23-15 Day 2: 5 17-00 Day 3: 5 24-13
27. Drew Benton Panama City, FL 15 65-08 78 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 21-07 Day 2: 5 20-13 Day 3: 5 23-04
28. Tyler Rivet Raceland, LA 15 65-05 77 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 20-03 Day 2: 5 25-02 Day 3: 5 20-00
29. Jordan Lee Cullman, AL 15 64-07 76 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 17-00 Day 2: 5 23-14 Day 3: 5 23-09
30. Cooper Gallant Bowmanville Ontario CAN 15 64-02 75 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 21-01 Day 2: 5 21-05 Day 3: 5 21-12
31. Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 15 63-00 74 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 22-14 Day 2: 5 22-13 Day 3: 5 17-05
32. Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 15 62-11 73 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 15-09 Day 2: 5 26-13 Day 3: 5 20-05
33. Drew Cook Cairo, GA 15 62-05 72 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 22-01 Day 2: 5 18-08 Day 3: 5 21-12
34. Taku Ito Dalton GA JAPAN 15 61-13 71 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 23-02 Day 2: 5 18-02 Day 3: 5 20-09
35. Wes Logan Springville, AL 15 60-15 70 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 20-11 Day 2: 5 20-10 Day 3: 5 19-10
36. Kyle Patrick Cooperstown, NY 15 60-06 69 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 25-15 Day 2: 5 15-12 Day 3: 5 18-11
37. Kyle Norsetter Cottage Grove, WI 15 59-12 68 $6,500.00
Day 1: 5 15-04 Day 2: 5 25-05 Day 3: 5 19-03
38. Ed Loughran III Richmond, VA 15 59-08 67 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 22-05 Day 2: 5 20-00 Day 3: 5 17-03
39. Robert Gee Knoxville, TN 15 59-01 66 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-13 Day 2: 5 25-08 Day 3: 5 19-12
40. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 15 58-14 65 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 18-10 Day 2: 5 21-07 Day 3: 5 18-13
41. Buddy Gross Chattanooga, TN 11 58-10 64 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 33-09 Day 2: 4 20-03 Day 3: 2 04-14
42. Shane LeHew Catawba, NC 13 57-10 63 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 19-15 Day 2: 5 28-10 Day 3: 3 09-01
43. Randy Howell Guntersville, AL 15 56-14 62 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 20-05 Day 2: 5 18-15 Day 3: 5 17-10
44. Marc Frazier Newnan, GA 15 56-05 61 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 14-13 Day 2: 5 31-11 Day 3: 5 09-13
45. Cole Sands Johnson City, TN 15 55-06 60 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 18-03 Day 2: 5 23-05 Day 3: 5 13-14
46. David Mullins Mt Carmel, TN 13 54-05 59 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 25-05 Day 2: 5 18-00 Day 3: 3 11-00
47. Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 15 53-06 58 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 19-02 Day 2: 5 22-07 Day 3: 5 11-13
48. John Garrett Union City, TN 13 52-09 57 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 28-12 Day 2: 3 09-14 Day 3: 5 13-15
49. Chris Zaldain Boyd, TX 15 50-15 56 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 23-11 Day 2: 5 17-11 Day 3: 5 09-09
50. Bryant Smith Roseville, CA 14 49-15 55 $5,500.00
Day 1: 5 19-04 Day 2: 5 22-00 Day 3: 4 08-11
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 90 485 1961-10
2 80 469 1897-02
3 45 240 1070-10
----------------------------------
215 1194 4929-06

by AnglersChannel

Roy Hawk Soars to Victory at 2025 WON Bass Lake Havasu Open

Ian Boehm Places Second in Tight Finale

Lake Havasu City, Ariz. – May 9, 2025 –– Ever the threat on desert lakes, or anywhere in the West for that matter, Roy Hawk, the Lake Havasu City, Ariz. pro swooped in and took the lead in the 2025 WON Bass Lake Havasu Open and soared again on the final day to claim the victory by a pound a half margin over Ian Boehm, of Desert City, Ariz.

Hawk started the final day with 36.86 pounds, and after Boehm posted 17.42 pounds to claim the Ranger Hot Seat, Hawk needed nearly 16 pounds to win and claim the victor’s spoils. That would be the 2025 Ranger Boats Z518 powered by a Mercury ProXS 150 prize boat provided by Bass Pro Shops that would become the property of the winner. Hawk came to the scales as the last angler to weigh, and when the scales read 17.76 pounds, the celebration began. He also earned an additional $14,250 cash for his efforts.

Hawk said that he spent the tournament in the north end of the lake, fitting in where he could amongst the pressure. “I know this lake really well, so I ran around looking for spots I could sit on and make a few casts before the company arrived,” he said. “I have so many different pieces of structure I can fish that I ran around and just ‘felt’ what the lake was telling me and made the right casts.”

Hawk reported using reaction baits to weigh 14 of his 15 keepers in the event. “I caught fish on three different crankbaits and a bladed jig,” he said. “I caught one fish on an old Roboworm Zipper Worm that was a follow up to a fish that chased my crankbait.”

Hawk used a SPRO Little John in Spooky Shad for his shallow crankbait, and two different mid depth runners, an OSP Blitz crankbait in a shad color and a SPRO Fat Papa in Clear Chartreuse. He threw the shallow runner on a Taipan Roy Hawk Signature 746 crankbait rod with a Daiwa Tatula Elite reel spooled with 12-pound-test Daiwa Samurai Fluorocarbon line. The medium runners used the same reel and line, but he upgraded to a Taipan 806 crankbait rod.

His bladed jig was a 3/4-ounce Jackhammer in Spot Remover color paired with a Yamamoto Custom Baits D Shad as the trailer. He threw this on a Taipan Roy Hawk Signature 747 heavy reaction bait rod, a Daiwa Taula reel and 18-pound-test Daiwa Samurai Fluorocarbon.

For Hawk, the win comes with memories, and at a good time. “I won my first ‘Pro’ tournament right here on Lake Havasu in 2003, and it was a WON Bass event; so, it feels really cool to have this kind of come full circle here,” he said. “It’s been a little bit of a rough road, and this win really comes at a good time for me and my family. It’s just a testament to how God takes care of His people, it’s also really amazing to do this in front of my family and friends; and I’m humbled by the whole experience.”

Second place finisher Boehm fished at the South end of the lake and said that he used a variety of baits to trigger his fish this week. “I caught some on a Vixen and I flipped some around grass,” he said. “But, I cove hopped back from the Bill Williams area and targeted fish cages with my Forward Facing Sonar and a Deps Sakamata Shad.”

After leading on Day One, he knew his second day stumble was the difference. “I really hurt myself with 13 pounds on day two and was really concerned that it would hurt me and it did,” he said. “I would love to have day two back again, but I’m happy with the finish overall.”

Third place in the Pro Division went to Shane Edgar of Glendale, Ariz. with 51.55 pounds, Ty Manterola of Pasco, Wash. finished the event in fourth place with a three-day total of 50.22 pounds and Brandon Kuehl of Peoria, Ariz. finished fifth with 48.81 pounds.

The AAA Division Champion was Craig Paclik from North Las Vegas, Nev. with a total weight of 52.36 pounds. Second place in the AAA Divison was earned by Ernie Gorham from Vista, Calif. with 50.49 pounds. Alex Onofrei from Mesa, Ariz. finished third with 48.83 pounds, fourth place went to David Shearrer of Trabuco Canyon, Calif. with 48.67 pounds and Mie Walsh of El Cajon, Calif. rounded out the top five in the AAA Division with 47.79 pounds.

Each of the pros and AAA anglers who finish in the top five will also earn a Golden Ticket berth into the 2026 Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Championship for a chance to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic

The daily livestream of the weigh-ins aired on the WON Bass Facebook page, located at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.

The top 10 in each division are posted below: for complete standings, visit - https://wonbassevents.com/pages/lake-havasu-open-pairings-results.

2025 WON Bass Lake Havasu Open Final Pro Standings

	Angler	Hometown	Fish	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Total
1	Roy Hawk	Lake Havasu City AZ	15-15	17.73	19.13	17.76	54.62
2	Ian Boehm	Desert Hills AZ	15-15	22.43	13.31	17.42	53.16
3	Shane Edgar	Glendale AZ	15-15	18.66	15.37	17.52	51.55
4	Ty Manterola	Pacso WA	15-15	20.50	11.64	18.08	50.22
5	Brandon Kuehl	Peoria AZ	15-15	13.95	18.86	16.00	48.81
6	Justin Kerr	Lake Havasu City AZ	15-15	18.14	17.64	12.84	48.62
7	Jeff Rutt	Lake Havasu City AZ	15-15	14.23	16.58	17.24	48.05
8	Todd Kline	San Clemente CA	15-15	16.35	15.61	15.39	47.35
9	Jeff Giffen	Phoenix AZ	15-15	16.55	13.50	16.85	46.90
10	Rick Harris	Carlsbad NM	15-15	16.79	16.11	13.71	46.61

2025 WON Bass Lake Havasu Open Finalv AAA Standings

	Angler	Hometown	Fish	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Total
1	Craig Paclik	North Las Vegas NV	15-15	19.81	15.13	17.42	52.36
2	Earnest (Ernie) Gorham	Vista CA	15-15	17.52	16.58	16.39	50.49
3	Alex Onofrei	Mesa AZ	15-15	15.16	16.38	17.29	48.83
4	David Shearrer	Trabuco Canyon CA	15-15	22.43	17.60	8.64	48.67
5	Mike Walsh	El Cajon CA	15-15	16.59	16.78	14.42	47.79
6	Ron Casner	Rosevelt AZ	15-15	16.93	15.61	14.71	47.25
7	Damon Motley	Orange CA	15-15	16.35	15.84	14.85	47.04
8	Allen Maynard	Henderson NV	15-15	12.61	19.13	15.25	46.99
9	Todd Tobiasson	Las Vegas NV	15-15	16.23	15.63	15.07	46.93
10	Dave Burt	Waddell AZ	15-15	13.50	15.24	18.10	46.84

For complete details to register for future events, or to find results, look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com to hear the latest news about the 2024 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.

The 2025 WON Bass Western Opens Series of events Consisting of five events in California, Arizona and Nevada, will culminate with the 2024 WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mohave in October. The five event dates are as follows:

Feb. 5 to 7, 2025 - Lake Shasta – Champion Joe Uribe

April 9 to 11, 2025 - Clear Lake – Champion John Pearl

May 7 to 9, 2025 - Lake Havasu – Champion Roy Hawk

Sept. 10 to 12, 2025 - Lake Mead

Oct. 6 to 8, 2025 - U.S. Open at Lake Mohave

For complete details or to register, look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com to hear the latest news about the 2024 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.

The 2025 WON Bass Lake Havasu Open was brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Triton Boats, Bridgford Foods, Volta Power Lithium, Power Pole, Lowrance, Daiwa, AFTCO, Costa, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Fenwick Rods, Anderson Toyota, A&M Graphics, Anglers Marine, Signature Gates, DD26 Fishing, Bad Ass Bearings, Cipher Fishing, Megaware Keelguard and GRatt.

Local presenting sponsors were Anderson Toyota and Riviera Marina. Daily takeoffs and weigh-ins occur at Riviera Marina.

by AnglersChannel

Banks Shaw Takes Day 1 Lead at Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 4 at Pickwick Lake Presented by E3 Sport Apparel

Harrison, Tennessee pro smashes 26-6 to take early lead in three-day competition

COUNCE, Tenn. (May 9, 2025) – Hopes were high for Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 4 Presented by E3 Sport Apparel on Pickwick Lake, and on Day 1, those expectations were met or exceeded. Leading the way, Banks Shaw , a University of North Alabama student and now the clear Fishing Clash Angler of the Year leader, wrangled 26 pounds, 6 ounces for the lead. In second, Jake Lawrence did what he does on the Tennessee River, weighing an 8-pounder together with four other large bass for a 25-7 total.

Behind Shaw and Lawrence, 20 pounds went down to 20th place, which means there’s a deep pool of talent to draw from the rest of the way. Miles Smith, Robby Lefere, Alex Bradley (with a 9-pounder), and Jon Canada all broke 23 pounds, and the overall result was an impressive day on the water and at the scales.

Of course, the elephant in the room is Day 2, during which forward-facing sonar will be turned off for the full field. For some, it may not be much of a hindrance. Some anglers are fishing offshore schools – side scan and a crankbait can do some serious damage there, no ‘Scope required. In the tailrace, it might be hard to even use forward-facing sonar – some smallmouth will definitely be caught old school on Saturday. However, there are plenty of fish being caught spawning deep or offshore on very isolated cover, which will be a tough nut to crack without good underwater eyes.

While plenty of anglers had trouble locating schools of fish offshore in practice, Shaw figured it out – or, he figured it out enough to do very well on Day 1. Mixing bass on shad spawn areas and on offshore schools, the young pro shot to the top of the leaderboard.

“Hopefully, I can keep on catching them out of those schools,” said Shaw. “There's not a ton of fish there, but there's definitely fish moving to them.

“I think I can definitely catch some dragging for sure on those same places,” said Shaw, who is an ace with forward-facing sonar and a minnow. “Day 2 is usually a day that I feel I can maybe fish better than a lot of these guys offshore, like for ‘Scoping fish. So, I’m excited about that. I think I can definitely catch a few fish out of my main places that I had today.”

Even if the offshore bite is trickier for Shaw on Day 2, he’s got hopes for more success on some shad spawn areas.

“If we have cloud cover and some wind, I think it could be really good,” he said. “I didn't burn any of my shad spawn stuff up this morning. I tried it a little bit, but it was too sunny, so I just quit doing it right away. So, I think tomorrow, if we get some cloud cover, it could be really good. That's what I've been mainly catching them on all week.”

With a great performance in the early afternoon, Shaw spent some time preparing for the rest of the week, looking around where the bass should be.

“I spent pretty much the last 2 1/2 hours idling around,” Shaw said. “I scanned probably 20 places where they should be coming to. I found one place that had a decent little wad on it that could be good. And then on my way down, I culled out my 3-pounder with a 4-pounder out of an out of a new place I just found. I hope I can catch 18 pounds tomorrow, and I think I'll be sitting really good if I can get 18.”

The top 20 pros after Day 1 on Pickwick Lake are:

1st:        Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 26-6
2nd:       Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., five bass, 25-7
3rd:       Miles Smith, Houma, La., five bass, 23-11
4th:        Robby Lefere, Jackson, Mich., five bass, 23-5
5th:        Alex Bradley, Wellford, S.C., five bass, 23-3
6th:        Jon Canada, Helena, Ala., five bass, 23-2
7th:        Cole Breeden, Lebanon, Mo., five bass, 22-12
8th:        Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., five bass, 22-10
9th:        Andrew Nordbye, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 22-0
9th:     Carter Nutt, Nashville, Tenn., five bass, 22-0
11th:     Colby Miller, Elmer, La., five bass, 21-8
12th:     Ken Thompson, Roaring Springs, Pa., five bass, 21-7
13th:     Levi Thibodaux, Thibodaux, La., five bass, 21-3
14th:     Jimmy Washam, Stantonville, Tenn., five bass, 21-3
15th:     Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, five bass, 20-14
16th:     Jack Daniel Williams, Kingsport, Tenn., five bass, 20-11
17th:     Kyle Cortiana, Broken Arrow, Okla., five bass, 20-6
18th:     Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., five bass, 20-3
19th:     Josh Butler, Hayden, Ala., five bass, 20-2
20th:     Marshall Hughes, Hemphill, Texas, five bass, 20-1

Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 434 bass weighing 1,446 pounds even caught by 100 pros Friday. The catch included 73 five-bass limits.

Pro Alex Bradley earned the Day 1 Berkley Big Bass award of $1,000 after bringing a bass that weighed 9 pounds, 4 ounces to the scale.

The three-day MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 4 at Pickwick Lake Presented by E3 Sport Apparel is hosted by Explore Pickwick Lake/Hardin County Tourism and features professional bass anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000.

In Tackle Warehouse Invitationals competition, the full field compete in the two-day opening round on Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 30 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, advance to the final round on Championship Sunday, where they will compete for the grand prize of up to $115,000. The winner of the Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 4 at Pickwick Lake Presented by E3 Sport Apparel is determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative weight.

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

by AnglersChannel

Fujita takes the Day 2 lead in Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork

Fujita takes the Day 2 lead in Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork

YANTIS, Texas — Kyoya Fujita was happy with his day, but he was far from satisfied. That’s a hard statement to process, considering the Japanese superstar notched a 34-pound limit en route to leading Day 2 of the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork.

Hailing from Yamanashi, Japan, Fujita placed fourth on Day 1 with 31-0. Heading into Semifinal Saturday, his 65-pound 2-day total gives him a lead of 2 1/4 pounds over 2024 Lake Fork Champion Trey McKinney.

“I had a great day,” Fujita said. “I hope I catch (at least) 34 pounds again tomorrow, but, in practice, I caught 40 pounds on my spot.

“Thirty-four pounds was not what I was expecting. I was expecting a bigger bag, but with all the fishing pressure, it just didn’t happen. I think it’s going to be tougher tomorrow.”

Fujita spent his day in Caney Creek, not far from takeoff, where he fished five main spots. This area, he said, held the most promise, both in quality and quantity.

“I practiced all over the lake, but this area had the biggest fish,” Fujita said.

Like much of the lake, Fujita’s area bristled with flooded timber. This habitat is not easily navigated and the snagging risks loom ever present, however, Fujita hunted his targets on forward facing sonar and enticed his fish with precise casts.

“I caught most of my fish in 10 feet of water,” Fujita said. “My fish were suspended on the trees. I fished big trees and small trees; they were all good.”

Contrasting the first day’s mostly bluebird conditions, Day 2 brought increasing clouds and more wind. Such scenarios typically have the fish loosely relating to cover and Fujita found this worked in his favor.

“Cloudy is good, sunny is no good,” Fujita said in comparison to the first day’s brighter conditions. “Cloudy (days) are bite, bite, bite, but cloudy days are (fewer) bites. Yesterday was very tough.”

Fujita caught his fish on a jighead minnow and a Neko-rigged dice style bait. The latter comprises a solid soft plastic cube with several silicone strands inserted through the body. When slowly pulled through the water, the pulsing strands wave and wiggle with lifelike appearance.

“Five years ago, when I fished in Japan, I used this bait,” Fujita said. “Sometimes, the fish bite on this bait, sometimes they don’t. This time, they are biting this bait a little better.”

Fujita rigged his dice bait on a 3/0 Daiwa Steez Worm Hook and added a 1/4-ounce nail weight.

Fujita, who opened the 2024 season with a Texas win at the 2024 Gamakatsu Bassmaster Elite at Toledo Bend. That tournament saw Fujita earn the event’s only Century Club belt for his 100-13 total. Thus far, his Lake Fork performance has him well ahead of pace for another century effort.

“I love Texas; I love Lake Fork,” Fujita said. “This lake has big fish.”

McKinney, who makes his home in Carbondale, Ill., is in second place with 62-12. After a first-round limit 32-05 put him in the No. 2 spot, McKinney held fast with a Day-2 limit of 30-7.

McKinney caught most his bass on a jighead minnow, but stroking a jig produced a key fish. While his baits mostly fooled quality bass, he found himself needing a late-day upgrade that would expel a small fish from his total.

McKinney admittedly missed a key opportunity, but fortunately, fate offered another chance.

“I had a 1-pounder at 1:30 and I lost a 5 1/2-pounder,” McKinney said. “Mentally, that was the hardest thing, because I knew I had forfeited the chance. Thank goodness, when I came around the next corner, I ended up catching a 6-pounder that brought me in today.”

Looking ahead to Semifinal Saturday, McKinney’s hopeful that the schools he has located will deliver another big day.

“I feel like I’m running out of fish, but that could just be my confidence, because I know what it’s going to take to win here,” McKinney said. “Can I do it? I don’t know. But is there a chance? Always.

“I have five or six schools that have (the potential for) 30 pounds a day on each school, but getting them to bite is the toughest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

Paul Marks of Cumming, Ga., is in third place with 62-7. Fresh off his win at the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Lake Hartwell, Marks placed fifth on Day 1 with 30-13 and followed with a second-round limit that went 31-10.

Getting off to a blistering start, Marks had 30 pounds to his credit by 8:30. He’d make a key upgrade with a 5-6 around 1:40, but spent the majority of his day scouting for areas he might fish on Semifinal Saturday.

“What a day out there today; it was so much fun,” Marks said. “That was the best morning of fishing I’ve ever had.

“This place is awesome. It has so many big fish and I can’t wait to get back out there.”

Marks caught his fish on a Zoom Winged Fluke rigged on a 1/4- and a 3/8-ounce Bad Little Shad jig head. The soft plastic’s winged form helps keep the bait up in the water column where it stays in front of the fish longer.

Jay Przekurat of Plover, Wis., and Kyle Norsetter of Cottage Grove, Wis., share the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors, each with a 9-14.

Przekurat leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 467 points. Shane LeHew of Catawba, N.C., is in second with 425, followed by McKinney with 412, Chris Johnston of Otonabee, Can. with 410 and Will Davis Jr. of Sylacauga, Ala., with 402.

Tucker Smith of Birmingham, Ala. leads the Dakota Lithium Elite Series Rookie of the Year standings with 395 points.

Bassmaster LIVE coverage of the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork will be available on FS1 on Day 3 from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET before moving to Bassmaster.com in the afternoon. Championship Sunday coverage will be broadcast on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and FOX from noon to 3 p.m.

Saturday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:30 a.m. CT at Caney Point Recreation Area. The weigh-in will be held at the same area at 2:30 p.m.

The Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork is being hosted by Wood County.

About Tackle Warehouse

About B.A.S.S.

by AnglersChannel

Fish Tip Friday - Speed kills. Or lack thereof.

By Vance McCullough, AC Insider

The two most important factors in getting bass to bite are lure depth and lure speed. How deep are the fish and are they looking up or down (so I can put the bait in front of them) and what’s it gonna to take to trigger a reaction?

Sometimes, fish are happily feeding and you can just dangle a worm as long as you like and let one find it. Sometimes they’re pinned to a bed and you have to let the intrusive lure marinate in the frying pan until a bass boils over with aggression. Sometimes you have to bulge a wake over their heads to provoke a crushing strike. Or, blaze a lure past their stump, maybe even bump it.

These different situations call for equally different lure speeds. But there’s a problem.

Your reel’s advertised rate of retrieval is a function of not only gear ratio but also spool size. Not the bare spool size, but the practical diameter of that spool loaded with line versus when it is nearly empty, as it may be at the end of a long cast. When the line plays out, the spool gets scrawny until it packs some line back on. As the retrieve continues, the speed of the lure increases, provided you crank at a steady rate meaning that, by the same token, your lure is crawling at a relative snail’s pace as you begin your retrieve. Not good for triggering reaction bites from fish in a neutral feeding mode.

Of course, the easy solution is to use a reel with a high gear ratio, right? Not so fast (pardon the pun). It’s actually the raw spool size that is critical for consistent speed across a retrieve. If you want to burn a swim jig past a target at the far end of your cast, then you need a larger spool such as comes with the Lew’s BB1.

But here’s another strategy, a formula for success with any reel: Line size x gear ratio = retrieve speed.

The thicker your line, the faster you’ll build up that spool once you start cranking the reel handle. This can help you float a bladed jig, spinnerbait, buzzbait etc. high in the water the whole time instead of wasting several yards (perhaps the most critical stretch of your presentation) just to get up to speed at the proper depth.

It bears noting that you should completely fill that spool with line in the first place to maximize rate of retrieve throughout the presentation.

Conversely, if you want to slow your roll, thinner lines will pile back onto the reel at a greatly reduced rate. This will get that bait down deeper sooner and help you more thoroughly scour the primary strike zone. I use this tactic to limit my speed when fish are lethargic or any time I need to keep my lure down such as in clear water environments.

Play with that balance of gear ratio, raw spool size, and line diameter and material for maximum control over lure depth and speed.

A final note on spool size: bigger spools cause less line memory, thereby reducing twist and improving casting accuracy. This is felt most deeply when using spinning reels which get a bad rap for causing line twist. Size up to a 3000 series, maybe even a 4000 size, and remember to always close the bail with your hand to avoid the one-quarter twist that will be imparted to line if you just start cranking the handle after the cast. After just a dozen casts, that’s 3 full twists!

by AnglersChannel

Mega sack gives Gross the Day 1 lead in Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork

YANTIS, Texas — Buddy Gross knew he had enough for at least one day of competition and his determination to maximize that potential rewarded the Chattanooga, Tenn., pro with a whopping limit of 33 pounds, 9 ounces which leads Day 1 of the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork.

On a day that saw the Top 6 anglers reach the “Dirty 30,” Gross notched a lead of 1-4 over Trey McKinney.

“God is good; he always shows up for me when I need it,” Gross said. “We weren’t catching quantity, we were catching quality. We’re just going to have to do it again and try to back it up.

“I did this on the first day of practice and I zeroed the second day, so we’re going to have to work hard and make sure we get a lot of fish in the boat.”

Anchoring his day with a 9-11, Gross got the action going early with a couple of quality fish and ended with a 6-11 at 1:14 p.m. Leaving nothing to chance, he squeezed all he could out of his areas.

“In practice, I caught some quality and today, I went to those areas and really soaked them up,” Gross said. “I fished hard in those areas. I don’t know what to expect the rest of the week, but I knew I needed a good bag today to stay in contention, so I just bore down and fished those areas.”

Gross held his cards low, but he described his areas as postspawn staging spots. He clearly found the right size fish, but he’s aware that his opportunities are limited.

“I just don’t have a lot of it,” Gross said. “I thought I could run some history here and still catch them, but I didn’t. I did find a little offshore stuff but it just wasn’t helping, so I quit that. I hope I have enough left to do well tomorrow.”

Gross said Fork’s water level — currently full pool — has the fish widely dispersed. While low water periods gather fish in tighter areas, a full lake makes it harder to dial in consistency.

“The water being high has them moved around a little bit,” Gross said. “I think timing is not the problem, I think it’s the high water. I think it has spread them out. I just got blessed and found one place that’s kinda loading up.”

Gross said he had to fish a broad spectrum of baits today.

“I had to throw everything — I used (Garmin LiveScope), I used Humminbird 360,” Gross said. “When I got the first five, I didn’t catch any of the fish on the same bait. I had five different baits. It was work.

“I needed that last one (6-11); that’s the one that pushed us over the edge. I caught it doing the same kind of stuff, just a way different location.”

Looking ahead to Day 2, Gross said he’ll return to some of his Day 1 waters, but he suspects continued success will require additional prospecting.

“I’m going to run the same stuff and just hope they’re there,” Gross said. “If they’re not, we’re just going to have to run new water. I ran new water today and caught some. Where I caught that 6-11, I hadn’t fished at all.

“There’s just not a lot of what I’m doing. I’m only going to catch one or two here and there. I’m not going to run into a school of them.”

McKinney, who won last year’s Lake Fork event with a 4-day record-setting total of 130-15, is in second place with 32-5. Hailing from Carbondale, Ill., McKinney made a key upgrade with a 7-2 that bit a little after 2 p.m.

“I love this place, but the fish are educated and smart and tough to catch,” McKinney said. “They’ve been beat on for (many years) so they’re probably the smartest bass anywhere in the country.

“Instead of looking for numbers and throwing at everyone, you’re looking for five.”

McKinney fished a variety of scenarios, including schools, roaming fish and timber. He found his best action with the schoolers.

“I caught 30 pounds off schools and then I caught that 7-2 roaming,” McKinney said. “I caught most of my fish, including that 7-2, on a (jighead minnow). Most of these fish are so smart, I really can’t get them to bite much else. I caught one a big glidebait.”

Jay Przekurat of Plover, Wis., is in third place with 31-2. Despite a slow start, the 2022 Rookie of the Year put together a solid day. Doing so, he said, required perseverance.

“I had a terrible practice; I had one place I was excited to go to, but I got there this morning and never had a bite,” Przekurat said. “I was pretty discouraged about that so I scrambled around the rest of the day and I only caught six or seven fish.”

Przekurat caught his fish on a dropshot with a Strike King KVD Filler Worm and a Strike King 6XD. He cemented his performance with a late-day kicker that exemplified Lake Fork’s nationwide appeal.

“Late in the day, I caught a 9-14,” Przekurat said. “That was the catch of my life so far. That was my personal best and I caught it in a tournament.”

Przekurat is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 9-14.

Przekurat leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 470 points. Will Davis Jr. of Sylacauga, Ala., is in second with 423, followed by McKinney with 412, Kyoya Fujita of Lake Forest, Calif., with 392, and Bill Lowen of Brookville, Ind., with 389.

Georgia's Paul Marks leads the Dakota Lithium Elite Series Rookie of the Year standings with 384 points.

Friday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:30 a.m. CT at Caney Point Recreation Area. The weigh-in will be held at the same area at 2:30 p.m.

Bassmaster LIVE coverage of the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork will be available on Bassmaster.com on Days 1 and 2 starting at 8 a.m. ET and ending at 3 p.m. and also on Roku from 8 to 11 a.m. FS1 will carry the morning action on Day 3 from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. before moving to Bassmaster.com in the afternoon. Championship Sunday coverage will be broadcast on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and FOX from noon to 3 p.m.

The Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork is being hosted by Wood County.

About Tackle Warehouse

About B.A.S.S.

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Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 256-424-2390, cgay@bassmaster.com

2025 Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork 5/8-5/11
Lake Fork, Yantis TX.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 1

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Buddy Gross Chattanooga, TN 5 33-09 104
Day 1: 5 33-09
2. Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 5 32-05 103
Day 1: 5 32-05
3. Jay Przekurat Plover, WI 5 31-02 102
Day 1: 5 31-02
4. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 5 31-00 101
Day 1: 5 31-00
5. Paul Marks Cumming, GA 5 30-13 100
Day 1: 5 30-13
6. Dakota Ebare Brookeland, TX 5 30-01 99
Day 1: 5 30-01
7. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 5 29-06 98
Day 1: 5 29-06
8. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 5 29-05 97
Day 1: 5 29-05
9. Easton Fothergill Grand Rapids , MN 5 29-03 96
Day 1: 5 29-03
10. John Garrett Union City, TN 5 28-12 95
Day 1: 5 28-12
11. JT Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 5 28-04 94
Day 1: 5 28-04
12. Seth Feider Elko New Market, MN 5 27-10 93
Day 1: 5 27-10
13. Patrick Walters Eutawville, SC 5 27-09 92
Day 1: 5 27-09
14. Emil Wagner Marietta, GA 5 27-04 91
Day 1: 5 27-04
15. Cody Huff Ava, MO 5 26-01 90
Day 1: 5 26-01
16. Kyle Patrick Cooperstown, NY 5 25-15 89
Day 1: 5 25-15
17. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 5 25-10 88
Day 1: 5 25-10
18. Brad Whatley Bivins, TX 5 25-06 87
Day 1: 5 25-06
19. David Mullins Mt Carmel, TN 5 25-05 86
Day 1: 5 25-05
20. Tucker Smith Birmingham, AL 5 25-04 85
Day 1: 5 25-04
21. Kyle Welcher Valley, AL 5 24-06 84
Day 1: 5 24-06
22. Will Davis Jr Sylacauga, AL 5 23-15 83
Day 1: 5 23-15
23. Chris Zaldain Boyd, TX 5 23-11 82
Day 1: 5 23-11
24. Tyler Williams Belgrade, ME 5 23-04 81
Day 1: 5 23-04
25. Taku Ito Dalton GA JAPAN 5 23-02 80
Day 1: 5 23-02
25. Caleb Sumrall New Iberia, LA 5 23-02 80
Day 1: 5 23-02
27. Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 5 23-01 78
Day 1: 5 23-01
28. Andrew Loberg Guntersville, AL 5 23-00 77
Day 1: 5 23-00
29. Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 5 22-14 76
Day 1: 5 22-14
30. Alex Redwine Blue Ash, OH 5 22-10 75
Day 1: 5 22-10
31. Scott Canterbury Odenville, AL 5 22-08 74
Day 1: 5 22-08
32. Jake Whitaker Hendersonville, NC 5 22-06 73
Day 1: 5 22-06
33. Ed Loughran III Richmond, VA 5 22-05 72
Day 1: 5 22-05
34. Bryan New Leesville, SC 5 22-04 71
Day 1: 5 22-04
35. Drew Cook Cairo, GA 5 22-01 70
Day 1: 5 22-01
36. Jason Christie Dry Creek, OK 5 21-14 69
Day 1: 5 21-14
37. Drew Benton Panama City, FL 5 21-07 68
Day 1: 5 21-07
38. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 5 21-06 67
Day 1: 5 21-06
39. Cooper Gallant Bowmanville Ontario CAN 5 21-01 66
Day 1: 5 21-01
40. Ben Milliken Omaha, NE 4 21-00 65
Day 1: 4 21-00
41. Wes Logan Springville, AL 5 20-11 64
Day 1: 5 20-11
41. Cody Meyer Eagle, ID 5 20-11 64
Day 1: 5 20-11
43. Hunter Shryock Ooltewah, TN 5 20-07 62
Day 1: 5 20-07
44. Randy Howell Guntersville, AL 5 20-05 61
Day 1: 5 20-05
45. Cory Johnston Otonabee CANADA 5 20-03 60
Day 1: 5 20-03
45. Tyler Rivet Raceland, LA 5 20-03 60
Day 1: 5 20-03
47. Beau Browning Hot Springs National Pa 5 20-02 58
Day 1: 5 20-02
47. Wesley Gore Clanton, AL 5 20-02 58
Day 1: 5 20-02
47. Jacob Powroznik North Prince George, VA 5 20-02 58
Day 1: 5 20-02
50. Matt Arey Shelby, NC 5 20-01 55
Day 1: 5 20-01
51. Shane LeHew Catawba, NC 5 19-15 54
Day 1: 5 19-15
52. Cliff Pace Ovett, MS 5 19-14 53
Day 1: 5 19-14
53. Caleb Kuphall Mukwonago, WI 5 19-11 52
Day 1: 5 19-11
54. Bryan Schmitt Deale, MD 5 19-07 51
Day 1: 5 19-07
55. Justin Atkins Florence, AL 5 19-06 50
Day 1: 5 19-06
56. Bryant Smith Roseville, CA 5 19-04 49
Day 1: 5 19-04
57. Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 5 19-02 48
Day 1: 5 19-02
58. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 5 18-10 47
Day 1: 5 18-10
59. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 5 18-06 46
Day 1: 5 18-06
59. Alex Wetherell Middletown, CT 5 18-06 46
Day 1: 5 18-06
61. Cole Sands Johnson City, TN 5 18-03 44
Day 1: 5 18-03
62. John Cox Debary, FL 5 18-02 43
Day 1: 5 18-02
63. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 5 18-00 42
Day 1: 5 18-00
64. Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 5 17-13 41
Day 1: 5 17-13
65. Jason Williamson Aiken, SC 5 17-08 40
Day 1: 5 17-08
66. Jordan Lee Cullman, AL 5 17-00 39
Day 1: 5 17-00
67. Jacob Foutz Charleston, TN 5 16-12 38
Day 1: 5 16-12
67. Evan Kung Pickering Ontario CANAD 5 16-12 38
Day 1: 5 16-12
69. Keith Combs Huntington, TX 5 15-14 36
Day 1: 5 15-14
70. Logan Latuso Gonzales, LA 5 15-11 35
Day 1: 5 15-11
71. Justin Hamner Northport, AL 5 15-09 34
Day 1: 5 15-09
71. Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 5 15-09 34
Day 1: 5 15-09
73. Ray Hanselman Jr Del Rio, TX 5 15-07 32
Day 1: 5 15-07
74. Kyle Norsetter Cottage Grove, WI 5 15-04 31
Day 1: 5 15-04
75. Bob Downey Detroit Lakes, MN 5 14-14 30
Day 1: 5 14-14
75. Jonathan Kelley Old Forge, PA 5 14-14 30
Day 1: 5 14-14
77. Marc Frazier Newnan, GA 5 14-13 28
Day 1: 5 14-13
78. Gerald Swindle Guntersville, AL 4 14-11 27
Day 1: 4 14-11
79. Joey Cifuentes III Clinton, AR 5 14-09 26
Day 1: 5 14-09
79. Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 5 14-09 26
Day 1: 5 14-09
81. Brandon Card Salisbury, NC 5 14-08 24
Day 1: 5 14-08
82. Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 5 14-07 23
Day 1: 5 14-07
83. Lee Livesay Longview, TX 5 14-05 22
Day 1: 5 14-05
84. Carl Jocumsen Queensland TN AUSTRALIA 4 14-01 21
Day 1: 4 14-01
85. Robert Gee Knoxville, TN 5 13-13 20
Day 1: 5 13-13
86. Matty Wong Honolulu, HI 5 13-09 19
Day 1: 5 13-09
87. Logan Parks Auburn, AL 5 13-07 18
Day 1: 5 13-07
88. John Crews Jr Salem, VA 5 12-12 17
Day 1: 5 12-12
89. KJ Queen Catawba, NC 4 11-14 16
Day 1: 4 11-14
90. Jeff Gustafson Kenora, ON Ontario CANA 4 11-13 15
Day 1: 4 11-13
91. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 5 11-09 14
Day 1: 5 11-09
92. Blake Capps Muskogee, OK 5 11-05 13
Day 1: 5 11-05
93. Jamie Hartman Newport, NY 5 10-10 12
Day 1: 5 10-10
94. Luke Palmer Coalgate, OK 5 10-08 11
Day 1: 5 10-08
95. Chad Pipkens Dewitt, MI 5 09-01 10
Day 1: 5 09-01
96. Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 2 07-13 9
Day 1: 2 07-13
97. Timothy Dube Nashua , NH 2 07-09 8
Day 1: 2 07-09
98. Hank Cherry Jr Lincolnton, NC 2 04-14 7
Day 1: 2 04-14
99. David Gaston Sylacauga, AL 3 04-08 6
Day 1: 3 04-08
100. Stetson Blaylock Benton, AR 3 04-01 5
Day 1: 3 04-01
101. Gregory DiPalma Millville, NJ 2 04-00 4
Day 1: 2 04-00
102. Kenta Kimura Osaka OK JAPAN 1 03-04 3
Day 1: 1 03-04
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 90 485 1961-10
----------------------------------
90 485 1961-10

by AnglersChannel

Montevallo Continues to Extend Its Lead in the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year

University of North Alabama moves up to 2^nd, and McKendree University is in 3^rd

The Association of Collegiate Anglers releases the latest standings for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. This points update features results from the latest Bassmaster College Series tournament, as well as numerous School-Run/Other events. Teams ranked in the Top 25 per this standings release will qualify to send up to three teams in addition to their one guaranteed team, for a maximum of four teams total(excluding additional qualifications via other criteria) to be entered into the historic 20^th Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops.

In this latest points update, the University of Montevallo remains in 1^st place. The University of North Alabama climbs one spot to be ranked 2^nd, and McKendree University falls back to 3^rd.

From the previous points update to now, the University of Montevallo has again almost doubled its lead in the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. During the last update, Montevallo led then 2^nd ranked McKendree University by 1,970 points. Montevallo now leads 2^nd ranked UNA by 3,830 points.

At the latest Bassmaster College Series event at Buggs Island, four-time defending title winning University of Montevallo placed its two highest-finishing teams in the Top 10. Brennan Berglund & Colton White placed 5^th, and Storm Clark & Elisha Colley finished in 7^th. Those two top finishes earned the team 2,400 points. Montevallo earned the most points of any school to compete at that double points tournament.

Carson-Newman University also earned significant points at the Buggs Island event to close the gap between 2^nd and 4^th to 425 points.

Along with UNA moving from 3^rd to 2^nd, two other teams improved their ranking inside of the Top 25 for this update to the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia:

11) Blue Mountain Christian University – Previously ranked 13^th

12) Adrian College – Previously Ranked 14^th

View the complete rankings here.

The next major event on the points qualifying schedule for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia is the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops. This year’s tournament marks the ACA’s historic 20^thNational Championship, and will be worth triple points. With the standings in college fishing’s only all-encompassing National Rankings system packed so tight, the ACA’s final event of the 2024-25 season will be key in defining the final standings for this campaign.

by AnglersChannel

B&W Trailer Hitches Heavy Hitters All-Star Event Set to Compete on Smith Mountain Lake Next Week – $100K Payday for One Bass

One of Virginia’s finest fisheries takes center stage as MLF Bass Pro Tour pros target big fish and massive payouts

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. (May 8, 2025) – One fish. One cast. One hundred thousand dollars. That’s what’s at stake next week when the sixth-annual Major League Fishing (MLF) all-star event – B&W Trailer Hitches Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops – hits Smith Mountain Lake, May 17-22.

Hosted by Visit Franklin County, Virginia and Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge , the All-Star tournament will showcase the 30 pros that qualified from the 2024 Bass Pro Tour season competing for a top prize of $100,000 to the winner. Anglers will also be awarded Berkley Big Bass bonuses during the competition, that pay up to $100,000 for catching the single biggest bass.

To qualify for B&W Heavy Hitters, the weight of an angler’s single-largest bass from each event of the seven 2024 Bass Pro Tour events was recorded. The 30 anglers with the heaviest total from those seven bass qualified to compete in this event.

“We are beyond excited to welcome Major League Fishing's top big bass anglers to Smith Mountain Lake,” said Kevin Tosh, Director of Tourism and Communications at Visit Franklin County, Virginia. “This prestigious event is a powerful opportunity to showcase not only one of America's rising top tier bass fisheries but also the vibrant metro-mountain charm of Franklin County, Virginia’s Blue Ridge, and the entire Smith Mountain Lake community. This moment has been years in the making, thanks to the dedication of local anglers, conservationists and partners who’ve invested in sustainable fishery practices. We invite anglers, fans and families alike to experience ‘Virginia’s Big Bass Playground’ and enjoy everything our beautiful destination has to offer.”

While MLF has held 61 tournaments on Smith Mountain Lake in various circuits in the past, this event marks the first time that the MLF Bass Pro Tour will hold a tournament on the fishery.

“Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge and Visit Franklin County, Virginia are excited to co-host the 2025 B&W Trailer Hitches Heavy Hitters tournament at Smith Mountain Lake,” said John Oney, Vice President of Sports & Sales at Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge. “We’re looking forward to welcoming our friends at Major League Fishing, a premier professional bass fishing brand, to our destination. This all-star Bass Pro Tour event will feature professional anglers, families, staff and other support personnel from across the country in a six-day competition. As a result of hosting, our region will be highlighted through ongoing national television coverage on Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel and MLFNOW! live streaming. This tournament will give our region a terrific platform to showcase our outdoor recreation opportunities, arts & culture, attractions and many other metro mountain adventures that we’re known for.”

As the 2025 B&W Trailer Hitches Heavy Hitters event descends upon Smith Mountain Lake, anticipation is high for what promises to be an unpredictable showdown on one of the East coast’s more underrated bass fisheries. Local pro Martin Villa of Charlottesville, Virginia , who will be among the 30 competitors in this event, said Smith Mountain Lake is fishing better than ever and is more than ready for the spotlight.

“Virginia’s done a phenomenal job on this fishery, and they’ve been stocking it for quite a while,” said Villa. “It's been a minute since any big event has been here, but it seems like the region is setting up for a series of professional events over the next five years. It's Virginia's best fishery, hands down.”

As one of the most scenic and consistent fisheries in the Mid-Atlantic, Smith Mountain Lake is a natural fit for the high-stakes format of Heavy Hitters, where every fish counts – and the biggest bass of each round can net anglers a hefty bonus check. The timing of the event places the field squarely in the middle of a complex seasonal transition, according to Villa, which means anglers will likely see a little bit of everything – spawning fish, fry guarders and shad spawn activity.

“We’re hitting the fishery, for this event, during the second half of the spawn,” Villa explained. “It's been kind of a strange spawn in Virginia. They jumped on the beds real early and then it stalled out. But the water is warm enough now where the shad spawn will be going on as well. So, it's a lot like what we ran into at Lake Chickamauga where you'll have bedding bass and fry guarders as well as shad balls and fish targeting them.”

With no restrictions on forward-facing sonar during the Heavy Hitters event, Villa expects the technology to play a major role in how the tournament shakes out.

“This is an exceptional forward-facing sonar fishery,” he said. “Ever since forward-facing sonar came out, the bar has risen on this lake. There’s been quite a few seven- to 11-pound bass caught over the wintertime and in late spring.”

While many of those big fish slide shallow during the spawn, Villa said forward-facing sonar will likely unlock offshore opportunities all day long.

“With it being allowed the entire day during this event, it’s probably going to dominate,” Villa said. “But this is one of these fisheries that’s everybody's favorite because anglers can really fish to their strengths. The upper ends are great, but you can really win this thing in any section of the lake.”

Villa also noted that shoals and offshore structure will come into play, depending on how much water is moving through the system. And as a part of the Roanoke River system, Smith Mountain Lake is known for its water clarity and quality – something Villa says anglers shouldn’t overlook.

“Smith Mountain Lake has excellent water quality. You can find muddy water if you want to fish it, but the lake is mostly clear,” he said. “This is one of these fisheries where fish live from one end to the other. You don’t have to go looking for where they are – they’re everywhere. We take that for granted in Virginia, but it’s a good thing.”

With a unique format that emphasizes both quantity and quality, Villa believes strategy will shift over the course of the week – especially with the 3-pound minimum on Championship Day.

“During the Qualifying and Knockout Rounds, catching males will be fine – on this lake they’ll be over two pounds,” he said. “But during the Championship Round, anglers are definitely going to need to find the females to get to that three-pound minimum.

“This is a fishery that's known for three- to six-pound bass, but not necessarily known for lots and lots of bites,” Villa continued. “But I think somebody who puts 15 bass on the board daily – about 40 pounds per day – will advance. But I wouldn’t be surprised if someone finds a big school of fish and runs it way up.”

B&W Trailer Hitches Heavy Hitters at Smith Mountain Lake Presented by Bass Pro Shops features 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. A bass must meet the 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable in the Qualifying and Knockout Rounds, but for the final day Championship Round a bass must weigh at least 3 pounds to be deemed scorable.

The 30 anglers that will compete in B&W Trailer Hitches Heavy Hitters at Smith Mountain Lake Presented by Bass Pro Shops are:

Group A:
Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn.
Cliff Crochet, Pierre Part, La.
Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala.
Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla.
Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill.
Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn.
Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark.
Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas
Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas
Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa.
Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn.
Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn.
Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark.
Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas
Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn.

Group B:
Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla.
Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash.
Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala.
Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif.
Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio
Shin Fukae, Osaka, Japan
Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla.
Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La.
Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala.
Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C.
Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala.
Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C.
Matthew Stefan, Junction City, Wis.
Jonathon VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va.

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on all six days of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app, and Rumble.

by AnglersChannel

Ian Boehm Takes Day One Lead of WON Bass Lake Havasu Open

Ty Manterola places second to start the 2025 Event

Lake Havasu City, Ariz. – May 7, 2025 –– Think of Lake Havasu, heck, think of Arizona fisheries in general in May and bright sun and heat are among the first thoughts that come to mind. As the 2025 Ranger Boats WON Bass Lake Havasu Open presented by Mercury approached, the conditions were nothing but usual.

Cool temperatures, even some rains met the field as practice commenced, and as the first day of the event approached, seasonably cool temperatures in the low 80’s with overnight lows in the high 60’s were on the menu. Those conditions led to comfortable fishing conditions for the 143 Pro anglers and their AAA partners, and for the first day at least, the fishing also proved to be strong.

The angler that took the most advantage of the day’s conditions was 27-year-old Desert Hills, Ariz. pro Ian Boehm and his AAA partner David Shearrer of Trabuco Canyon, Calif. The pair brought 22.43 pounds of Lake Havasu bass – including the 8.96-pound big bass of the day - to the Riviera Marina scales to take the day one lead.

They were followed in second place by Paco, Wash. Pro Ty Manterola and his AAA partner Thaddeus Vinson of Medford, Ore. With 20.50 pounds. Both pairs arrived at their weights in entirely different fashions.

Boehm reported his day kicking off in rapid fashion with little adversity. “I made a short run and caught a couple on my second spot using Forward Facing Sonar,” he said. “Things got interesting on our next pot when my partner caught a pound and a half smallmouth, and I set my rod down to net it. When I picked my rod back up, it was hung, so I asked him to hold it; it wasn’t snagged, it was a two and a half pound largemouth.”

His third stop, after a run toward the south yielded the big fish of the day. “I saw her about 20 feet from the boat and made a cast to her with a drop shot rig – and she bit,” he said. “That was crazy for Havasu, they don’t normally do that. Then, I caught my final weigh fish at 9:30, a four and a half pounder that made my final weight.”

Boehm said that he’s looking forward to day two. “I think it’s going to get tougher with the heat and high skies coming,” he said. “But I feel good about it because I really didn’t lean on any of my stuff today, I feel confident.”

Despite a total weight that was good enough for second place, Manterola felt he left plenty on the table. “I lost a pair of really good reaction bait fish this morning, and it was not a good start,” he said. “I had to settle down and fish with my Forward Facing Sonar to get a limit, but my co angler really saved the day with his big fish, that was huge (Vinson weighed a 6.96-pound largemouth that was the AAA Big Bass of the Day), I’ve got some ground to make up.”

Third place for the day was a tie between East Valley, Calif. pro Hayden Metz and his AAA partner Craig Paclik from North Las Vegas, Nev. and Los Angeles, Calif. pro Anthony Garcia and AAA Danny Craig from San Clemente, Calif. with 19.81 pounds. Fifth place after the tie went to Phoenix, Ariz. pro Robert Kettner and Lake Havasu City, Ariz AAA Robert Petersen with 19.26 pounds.

Day two begins tomorrow from Riviera Marina at safe light.

The winner of the 2025 Ranger Boats WON Bass Lake Havasu Open presented by Mercury, will earn the Ranger Boats / Mercury Motor prize boat provided by Bass Pro Shops.

The daily livestream of the weigh-ins aired on the WON Bass Facebook page, located at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.

The top 10 in each division are posted below: for complete standings, visit - https://wonbassevents.com/pages/lake-havasu-open-pairings-results.

2025 WON Bass Lake Havasu Open Day One – Pro Standings

	Angler	Hometown	Fish	Wght	Pnlty	B/B	Day 1	Total

1	Ian Boehm	Desert Hills AZ	5-5	22.43		8.96	22.43	22.43
2	Ty Manterola	Paco WA	5-5	20.50			20.50	20.50
3	Hayden Metz	Eastvalle CA	5-5	19.81		7.14	19.81	19.81
3	Anthony Garcia	Los Angeles CA	5-5	19.81		5.67	19.81	19.81
5	Robert Kettner	Pheonix AZ	5-5	19.26			19.26	19.26
6	Julius Mazy	Phoenix AZ	5-5	19.24		6.44	19.24	19.24
7	Shane Edgar	Glendale AZ	5-5	18.66		5.66	18.66	18.66
8	Justin Patti	Peoria AZ	5-5	18.42		5.93	18.42	18.42
9	Daylon Smith	Frazier Park CA	5-5	18.21			18.21	18.21
10	Randy McAbee, Jr.	Bakersfield CA	5-5	18.15			18.15	18.15

2025 WON Bass Lake Havasu Open Day One – AAA Standings

	Angler	Hometown	Fish	Wght	Pnlty	B/B	Day 1	Total

1	David Shearrer	Trabuco Canyon CA	5-5	22.43			22.43	22.43
2	Thaddeus Vinson	Medford OR	5-5	20.50		6.96	20.50	20.50
3	Craig Paclik	North Las Vegas NV	5-5	19.81			19.81	19.81
3	Danny Craig	San Clemente CA	5-5	19.81			19.81	19.81
5	Robert Petersen	Lake Havasu City AZ	5-5	19.26			19.26	19.26
6	Geoff Peterson	Huntington Beach CA	5-5	19.24			19.24	19.24
7	Tim Skellett	Apache Junction AZ	5-5	18.66			18.66	18.66
8	Mark Snitow	Lake Havasu City AZ	5-5	18.42		3.87	18.42	18.42
9	Keith Honeycutt	Temple TX	5-5	18.21			18.21	18.21
10	Andy Becker	Lake Havasu City AZ	5-5	18.15		5.68	18.15	18.15

Feb. 5 to 7, 2025 - Lake Shasta – Champion Joe Uribe

April 9 to 11, 2025 - Clear Lake – Champion John Pearl

May 7 to 9, 2025 - Lake Havasu

Sept. 10 to 12, 2025 - Lake Mead

Oct. 6 to 8, 2025 - U.S. Open at Lake Mohave

For complete details or to register, look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com to hear the latest news about the 2024 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.

The 2025 WON Bass California Open at Clear Lake is brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Triton Boats, Bridgford Foods, Volta Power Lithium, Power Pole, Lowrance, Daiwa, AFTCO, Costa, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Fenwick Rods, Anderson Toyota, A&M Graphics, Anglers Marine, Signature Gates, DD26 Fishing, Bad Ass Bearings, Cipher Fishing, Megaware Keelguard and GRatt.

Local presenting sponsors are Anderson Toyota and Riviera Marina. Daily takeoffs and weigh-ins occur at Riviera Marina.

by AnglersChannel

Vast Sabine River fishery sets stage for Bassmaster Elite Series drama

ORANGE, Texas — Long runs and low weights may sound like a bummer, but those who’ve fished the Sabine River know this is one of the most engaging and potentially dramatic of Southern fisheries. If past tournaments provide any indication, the MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River should offer another highly entertaining event.

Competition days will be May 15-18 with daily takeoffs from City of Orange Boat Ramp, at 6:30 a.m. CT and weigh-ins each day back at the boat ramp at 2:30 p.m.

While the Sabine’s relatively modest fish size pales in comparison to the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series’ previous stop at the Texas monster factory Lake Fork, the Sabine still has plenty of bass. According to Caleb Sumrall of New Iberia, La., the challenge will be weeding through quantity in hopes of finding quality.

“The goal is to find those 2 1/2- to 3-pound bass,” Sumrall said. “Every spring, a 7- to 9-pounder comes out of there. But if you catch a 5 or a 6, you have a fish that you can ride for a couple days. That’s a really big fish for (May).

“I think a lot of people will have limits; there’s no shortage of 12-inch bass, but it’s a matter of who’s gonna break over that 8- to 10-pound a day mark to have a good check. The guy that catches 11 1/2 to 12 pounds a day will probably win it.”

With tournament water comprising the Sabine River and multiple tributaries spanning seven Texas counties, anglers have a vast playing field at their disposal. As Sumrall explained, most anglers will fish what’s considered the main waterways.

“You have the Sabine River, the Trinity River, the Neches River, Taylor Slough and Cow Bayou, and each one has its own features,” Sumrall said. “You go into Cow Bayou and there’s cypress trees, cypress stumps and marsh grass.

“Taylor is predominantly marsh grass, then the Neches starts off with marsh and turns into cypress tree cover and the Sabine does the same. It could be a little bit of everything.”

When the Elites competed at the Sabine in 2021, intrepid anglers pushed opposite ends of tournament boundaries, with Jason Christie ultimately winning in a small creek off the Sabine located just below the Toledo Bend Dam. That event’s first three days saw second-place finisher Brock Mosley running 110 miles west to fish Clear Creek on the east side of metro Houston.

Notably, the next time the Bassmaster Elite Series visited the Sabine in 2023, Mosley split his first three days between an industrial waterway encompassing Orange Harbor Island a couple miles downriver from the takeoff site and Taylor Slough, about 45 minutes south. He spent his entire final day in that industrial area and won the event.

While this year’s event will likely see most of the eastern tournament waters in play, Sumrall believes the potential for quality fish in less-pressured western areas does not merit the considerable loss of fishing time.

“It’s a hard commitment to make,” he said. “Houston is a big gamble, and it hardly ever lasts four days unless it’s the spawn."

Sumrall said recent local and upstream rains will likely have the water level a little higher and possibly muddier in certain areas. Closer to the Gulf, tides clean the waters quickly, but farther inland, turbidity lingers longer.

“It’s going to be full summer patterns,” Sumrall said. “You’re going to see people fishing a little dirtier water, but finding moving water, oxygenated water — that’s the stuff most people will be looking for.”

The Sabine’s diverse natural and man-made habitat features lend themselves to a variety of power fishing techniques, such as flipping jigs and Texas-rigged plastics or throwing reaction baits such as ChatterBaits, crankbaits and topwaters.

Finesse fishing could play a role, especially when the midday slump invokes lethargy. During that 2021 event, Japanese pro Taku Ito fished wacky-rigged plastics under a bridge near takeoff and tempted key fish, while others struggled to trigger reaction bites.

Ultimately, Sumrall believes victory will require a few key catches that allow an angler to break away from the pack. Strategy will play a big role, as competitors must know when to leave a population of smaller fish in hopes of finding one big bass.

“A lot of guys will come in with 7 to 8 pounds a day, but catching a 3-plus-pounder every day will be the biggest challenge,” Sumrall said. “It’s about getting a couple better-than-average quality bites every day.”

Bassmaster LIVE coverage of the MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River will be available on Bassmaster.com on Days 1 and 2 starting at 8 a.m. ET and ending at 3 p.m. Roku will have coverage on Days 1 and 2 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and noon to 3 p.m. FS1 will carry the morning action on Days 3 and 4 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. before moving to Bassmaster.com in the afternoon.

The MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River is being hosted by the Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce.

2025 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Progressive, Toyota
2025 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2025 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Triton Boats, VMC, Yokohama

About B.A.S.S.

by AnglersChannel

MLF Toyota Series Central Division Set to Close Next Week with Toyota Series at Lake Guntersville Presented by Suzuki Marine

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (May 7, 2025) – The third and final regular-season event of the Major League Fishing (MLF) Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Central Division is set to take place next week, May 14-16, in Scottsboro, Alabama – the Toyota Series at Lake Guntersville Presented by Suzuki Marine.

The three-day bass tournament, hosted by the Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce, will showcase the region’s top bass-fishing boaters and co-anglers competing for a grand prize of up to $100,000 in the pro division and a new Phoenix 518 Pro boat with a 115-horsepower outboard motor plus $5,000 in the co-angler division.

“This one’s shaping up to be a full-on ledge tournament,” said 21-year-old pro Hayden Marbut of Birmingham, who won the Toyota Series event held at Lake Guntersville last year. “We’re at the very end of the postspawn. There might be a few guys still looking for and fishing beds, but most of the fish – and most of the anglers – are going to be offshore, targeting schools.”

While some isolated structure may factor in, Marbut believes the winning pattern will revolve around timing and location on offshore ledges.

“Out there right now, I don’t think anybody’s going to have much to themselves,” Marbut explained. “So, to be successful, you’ll probably need to find something a little off the wall and mix in a couple key schools and hope you can manage them. The offshore spots on Guntersville just aren’t that big, and with all the locals in this event it’s going to get crowded fast.”

Still, despite the anticipated pressure, Marbut expects Lake Guntersville to show out.

“There’s going to be a ton of 20-pound bags, for sure,” he said. “Last week in a local tournament there were a couple of 25s and the Nutt brothers, who are fishing in this event, weighed in 30. I’m not sure we’ll see multiple 30-pound days with the boat traffic, but someone’s definitely going to hit a big one.

“If you can average 25 a day, you’ll be in the mix,” Marbut continued. “But it could take even more. It just depends on what you can get on and how well you can manage it over three days.”

When it comes to baits, Marbut said his plan is to keep it classic.

“Big cranks, hair jigs, flutter spoons – your usual ledge stuff,” he said. “There’ll also be big worms, football jigs, and of course, some minnow baits with how forward-facing sonar plays now. I’ll definitely be slinging some of the new Nomad Design minnows in this one.”

Anglers will begin each day at 6 a.m. CT, launching from the Goose Pond Colony Resort, located at 417 Ed Hembree Drive in Scottsboro. Weigh-ins will take place at the resort starting at 2 p.m. daily. Fans are invited to attend in person and can also stay connected by following the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts and daily updates on MajorLeagueFishing.com.

In Toyota Series regular-season competition, payouts are based on the number of participants competing in the event, scaling up for every 20 boats over 160 and scaling down for every boat below 160. With a 160-boat field, pros fish for a top prize of up to $75,000, if Phoenix MLF Bonus qualified. Co-anglers cast for the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard (valued at $33,500). With a 260-boat field, pros fish for a top award of up to $100,000, if Phoenix MLF Bonus qualified. Co-anglers compete for the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard plus $5,000 cash.

by AnglersChannel

Premier Lake Fork Guide Previews Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite

Courtesy of Dynamic Sponsorships

It takes a special fishery to get the Bassmaster Elite Series field worked up, but famed Lake Fork in northeast Texas is that kind of pond. This iconic reservoir has hosted five previous Elite Series tournaments scattered across the calendar from November, to March, to June and every single one of them has delivered giant largemouth and heavy weight bags this body of water has become known for.

The 2025 Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite is setting up to be another notable event, just ask top local fishing guide James Caldemeyer of Lake Fork Trophy Bass Guide Service. Few people have invested more time on Lake Fork than Caldemeyer, who spent approximately 280 days on the waters of Fork in the past year alone.

The longtime supporter of the Toyota Bonus Bucks program has helped client’s boat hundreds of ten-plus-pound trophy bass over the years and he believes Fork is primed to dish out another impressive tournament for Elite anglers and fishing fans alike.

Lake Fork is full and healthy

“Lake Fork is in excellent condition – she’s in the best shape that I’ve seen in over a decade,” Caldemeyer reported. “This years and last year’s spawns were incredible, and we’ve seen what had been dormant creeks or areas on the lake coming back to life. I think this is mainly to do with water level. Fork is currently at capacity, or maybe a little over, and it’s been stable for a while.”

Caldemeyer talks about Fork like he’s reminiscing on an old friend, and you could hear the excitement in his voice as he commended the status of the fishery. In general, the health of Fork should be a benefit to all 102-competitors, but this lake does throw its share of curveballs.

“Fork being above or at full capacity usually means current and current can be tricky here,” Caldemeyer explained. “There are still plenty of fish up shallow right now, and there will be guys who find a lot of fish shallow in practice, but shallow fish don’t always respond well to current here in my opinion. Whereas current can make offshore fish go crazy… they like it out there.

“Lake Fork is not river fed like so many other reservoirs in the country. Instead, Fork is fed by creeks, which usually makes things a little more stable, but it also makes planning for – or against – the presence of current really tough to do in a multiple-day event.”

Anglers will be able to pick their poison, but offshore get Caldemeyer’s nod

According to Caldemeyer, there is still a solid percentage of fish holding shallow on Fork during the first week of May while the offshore bite improves by the day as groups of fish move from spawning flats to deeper water haunts. Therefore, options will abound for Elite competitors.

“I’d say 35% of the bass are still shallow, somewhere around the spawning stage,” Caldemeyer said. “There should also be a strong shad spawn first thing in the morning. And, of course, the offshore bite is coming on strong. Whether you are using FFS to target individual fish or searching for the first schools of offshore bass, guys will be able to pick their poison this week.”

Having so many possibilities available should spread competitors out and allow them to fish their strengths, showcasing Lake Fork’s full potential. While Caldemeyer thinks there will be a lot of big bass caught shallow bed fishing or on frogs, swimjigs, and other power fishing techniques - he does believe it will be hard to keep up with weights tallied offshore.

Noting that he would lean heavily on his Garmin LiveScope if he were competing this week. Employing baits like a deep diving Berkley Dredger crankbait, a magnum flutterspoon, and a jighead minnow to key on suspended fish.

“A lot of fish are kind of in that post spawn funk right now,” Caldemeyer said. “They are starting to show up offshore, but they are often suspended and are not in the best mood quite yet. They will be there to be caught, but it won’t be easy. Tahe guys who can figure those fish out will likely be your leaders.”

Caldemeyer suspects more than five anglers will eclipse 100-pounds of cumulative weight to earn a century belt this week, and eyes the 25-lb. mark to be the goal weight of anyone who wants to hoist the trophy on Sunday.

“I don’t know if anyone will beat Trey’s 130-lbs from last March, but they absolutely have to have 25-lbs. per day if they want a shot at winning,” Caldemeyer offered. “This isn’t a lake where you can catch 18-lbs and then recover, which says a lot about the fishery. If you want to win, you need to catch 25-lbs. at minimum.”

When five pounders are merely par for the course, it’s easy to see why the excitement level of the Elite field is heightened as their practice comes to an end and they prep for competition to begin at sunrise tomorrow morning.

by AnglersChannel

Cover Boy Brandon Card’s Lake Fork Forecast

There are family photos to prove Vexus® Boats pro Brandon Card has been flipping through the pages of bass fishing magazines since age three, perhaps dreaming of being on the front cover of 500,000 copies of Bassmaster Magazine where he finds himself this month at age 38.

Now a pro for 14 years, the University of Kentucky grad who calls High Rock Lake, NC home has notched two 4^th place finishes in recent Elite Series events on Lake Fork, and graciously shared his thoughts about being on the front cover of the magazine he grew up reading, and what fans can expect at this week’s Bassmaster Elite event.

Q: When did you first learn Dalton Tumblin’s photo of you landing a smallmouth on Lake Saint Clair would be on the cover of Bassmaster Magazine?

Card: Editor James Hall called me about a month before it printed to make sure my sponsors and jersey were still consistent with those shown in the photo, and at first, I thought it was for the media guide or website. Then he told me it was for the cover of Bassmaster, and I was fairly speechless. I’m just so grateful.

Q: You’ve done very well on Fork, notching two Top 5s in recent years. Why does this place suit you so well?

Card: When the fish are mostly done spawning and head away from the shoreline, it kind of fishes like Cherokee and Douglas in East Tennessee where I grew up. Both of those top finishes here recently took place away from the shoreline.

Q: Lake Fork is an iconic big bass lake, what’s the biggest bass you have ever caught, and what’s the biggest bass you have ever caught on Lake Fork?

Card: My biggest bass ever was a 9-pound 12-ounce giant on a plastic craw at Kissimmee, FL, but my biggest bass on Fork was 8-pounds 8-ounces on a forward-facing sonar minnow.

Q: What’s your forecast for what fishing fans can expect on Fork this week?

Card: The lake is full, but it’s still a fairly small reservoir compared to other places we fish, so guys will still be fishing close to one another, and it’s still going to take over 100 pounds to win.

Q: You were one of the very first pros to run a Vexus Boat. Five years later, what do you love most about it?

Card: That’s easy – the super comfortable AirWave® seats that cushion the shock from waves, and the massive amounts of storage.

Q: This Sunday is Mother’s Day. You’re super close to your mom and your bride, Kelly. How will you celebrate Mom’s Day as a touring pro away from home?

Card: We’ve agreed that if I’m in contention to win, that Kelly is flying to be here Sunday. That would be incredible! And yes, you’re right, my mom and Kelly are both my greatest fans, not just when I do well, but also to cheer me on and encourage me after the tough tournaments.

by AnglersChannel

2026 Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series Dates and Locations Set

Decatur, Ala. (May 2, 2025) – The Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series will enter its thirteenth season next year as the state's premier weekend tournament trail for amateur bass anglers with an 11-event schedule offering more than $750,000 in prizes and awards. The season gets underway February 21, 2026, on Lake Jordan, in Wetumpka, Alabama, and concludes October 16-17, 2026, with the championship on Lake Eufaula, in Eufaula, Alabama.

"In August 2024, the 12th season of the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series sold out in under seven minutes. That puts a tremendous amount of pressure on our team to put together a schedule that will excite the anglers and spur them to sign up like they did in 2024, but I think we have done it. We will be returning to Lake Eufaula for the championship for the first time since 2016, which is exciting for anglers in both the North and South divisions. I think this year's schedule offers a number of opportunities to see heavy weights atop the leaderboard," said Kay Donaldson, Director of the Alabama Bass Trail.

Sanctioned by BASS (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society), the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series contains two divisions, North and South, and each division is made up of five tournaments on five different lakes. The maximum number of boats for each tournament is 225. Teams must fish in all five tournaments in their respective division; no single entries will be allowed.

North Division: February 28, 2026 - Lake Guntersville, hosted by Marshall County Sports and Tourism March 28, 2026 - Pickwick Lake, hosted by Florence-Lauderdale Tourism April 18, 2026 - Neely Henry Lake, hosted by City of Gadsden May 09, 2026 - Wheeler Lake, hosted by Decatur Morgan Tourism June 20, 2026 - Weiss Lake, hosted by Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce

South Division: February 21, 2026 - Lake Jordan, hosted by Elmore County Economic Development Authority and the City of Wetumpka March 21, 2026 - Lay Lake, hosted by Discover Shelby April 11, 2026 - Lake Martin, hosted by Tallapoosa County Tourism May 16, 2026 - Logan Martin Lake, hosted by City of Lincoln June 13, 2026 - Alabama River (Cooter's Pond), hosted by City of Prattville

Hosted by the Eufaula-Barbour County Chamber of Commerce, the championship tournament will be held October 16-17, 2026, on Lake Eufaula.

The no-entry fee championship event will include up to 180 boats. The 180 boats are comprised of the 10 regular season winners, top 75 teams in points from both divisions that fished all five events in their respective divisions, along with the top five student teams, top five college teams and the top five couples teams collectively from both divisions that fished all five events in their respective divisions.

Each regular season tournament features a $15,000 guaranteed first place prize and pays 40 places totaling $64,450.

The no-entry fee championship will feature a $100,250 payout with a first-place prize of $50,000. There is also a $5,000 bonus cash prize for Angler of the Year and $2,500 for runner-up Angler of the Year.

2026 Payout Schedule: First Place - $15,000 Second Place - $7,500 Third Place - $6,000 Fourth Place - $4,000 Fifth Place - $3,000 Sixth Place - $2,000 Seventh Place - $1,300 Eighth Place - $1,300 Ninth Place - $1,300 Tenth Place - $1,300 11th – 15th - $1,000 each 16th – 25th - $750 each 26th – 30th - $600 each 31st – 40th - $500 each Big Fish - $1,000 ABT Gear - $250

2026 Championship Payout: First Place - $50,000 Second Place - $10,000 Third Place - $5,000 Fourth Place - $4,000 Fifth Place - $3,000 Sixth Place - $2,500 Seventh Place - $2,200 Eighth Place - $2,000 Ninth Place - $1,800 Tenth Place - $1,500 11th – 15th - $1,200 each 16th – 25th - $1,100 each Big Fish - $500 daily ABT Gear - $250

In addition, the Alabama Bass Trail will pay a $500 entry fee for the 18 teams who qualify for the B.A.S.S. Team Championship. According to Donaldson, over $750,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded when the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series wraps up its season in 2026.

The ABT Series will bring live on-the-water tournament action to viewers directly from the boats competing in the events and also will be televised later in 2026. The weigh-in and Live Leaderboard for each event will be streamed live on www.AlabamaBassTrail.org, on Facebook at Alabama Bass Trail Series and on the Alabama Bass Trail TV YouTube channel.

Anglers who fished all five events in their respective divisions in 2025 will be given a priority entry period beginning August 1, 2024, at 5:30 a.m. CST online at www.alabamabasstrail.org. Registration opens for new teams August 15 at 5:30 a.m. CST. The entry fee is $1,600 per team, which includes registration for all five tournaments in the respective division. Each team may choose to pay a $600 non-refundable deposit to hold the team's spot. The balance of $1,000 is due on or before December 19, 2025. All entry fees are subject to a credit card processing fee

Alabama Bass Trail Tournament sponsors include Phoenix Bass Boats, Landers McLarty Chevrolet, McGraw–Webb Chevrolet, Advantage Trailer Rentals, Alabama State Parks, Jack’s, Mountain Dew, FishAlabama.org, America’s First Federal Credit Union, Visit North Alabama, Alabama Tourism Department, T-H Marine Supplies, Inc., Power-Pole Total Boat Control, VMC, Rapala, Crush City, American Baitworks, Pro-Guide Batteries, Buffalo Rock Company, Garmin, Lew’s, Strike King, and Southern Protection Agency SPA .

WOTM–TV will continue the live-streaming and Angler's Channel will film and produce the Alabama Bass Trail television series to air at a later date.

For more information, call Donaldson at 855-934-7425 or visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.

About Alabama Bass Trail The Alabama Bass Trail is a program of the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association. Its mission is to promote Alabama as a year-round fishing destination, to preserve natural resources for generations to come, and to educate high school and college-aged students to be good stewards of natural resources. The 13 bass fishing lakes consist of Lake Guntersville, Wheeler Lake, Pickwick Lake, Lewis Smith Lake, Neely Henry Lake, Weiss Lake, Lake Martin, Lay Lake, Logan Martin Lake, Lake Jordan, Alabama River, Lake Eufaula, and the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta. For more information, visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.

by AnglersChannel

A Case Study on How to Deal with High Water

By Vance McCullough, AC Insider

Going on a month now without any substantial rainfall at my house in North Florida. Our lakes and ponds have reacted by shirking the onset of summer heat, retreating into their own depths and revealing white sand beaches that beckon us to join them in the yet cool water. Might as well swim with the fish under the sun anyway as they are mostly feeding only beneath the moon now, their shoreline ambush points high and dry.

Such is not the case on Oklahoma’s Lake Eufaula where anglers participated in the Major League Fishing Toyota Series event this past weekend – well, one day this past weekend. The rains came down and the waters came up and the organization shortened the multi-day tournament to a one-day affair.

Three solid fish were enough to land three different anglers in the Top 10. Fourth place went to a man who only caught two, one of which took big bass honors at five pounds, twelve ounces.

A Texan by the name of River Lee took his first national level win with thirteen pounds, ten ounces, one of only five limits weighed-in among Top 10 finishers.

How he did it is a classic study in managing flood conditions during a tournament. Let’s have a look and learn along with Lee.

History tells us that bass go shallow and cling to hard cover such as wood under these conditions. They may also seek clearer water behind grass lines that filter out sediment. And the upper ends of creeks, oxbows or any place where water runs into the system should be the first places to clear up as the weather stabilizes. Keep this in mind as we read about Lee’s approach.

Spinnerbaits, jigs and plastics that feature a big profile and move a lot of water are all on deck for these tournaments. Lee used those time-tested classics, but he also threw a wacky rig to round out his bait selection.

A slow, thorough pace was important as evidenced by Lee’s frequent use of Power-Poles.

Here’s the story in Lee’s words as shared by our friends at our friends at MLF:

“In practice, before the water came up crazy, I was fishing the old bank line, where the bank grass was, and I was catching them,” said Lee. “We were getting a lot of bites on a wacky. So, going into it, I thought with the water still coming up that I still could do that. It would just have more water on it.

“I picked this area, and I put the trolling motor down in the mouth of it. Well, I just fished everything in front of me – flipped, wacky rig and spinnerbait. If I wasn't flipping, I was doing one of the other two. And my first bite, it came flipping in an isolated bush by a walkway of a dock.”

As Lee eased around his chosen area, he made the decision of the day. Recalling a pond he hadn’t been able to get into a few weeks ago in a BASS Nation event, the Texas pro gave it another go.

“I tried to get in there a few weeks ago, but (the water) wasn't high enough,” said Lee. “So, I was fishing in that creek and got all the way to the back, and I could hear the water running. I pulled up my phone and I looked at my Google Earth, and I was like, ‘I think we can get back there.’ It just looks like a wall of bushes, and the gap that I went through was probably like 4-foot wide – I had to force my boat in there. But once I got through that first wall of bushes, it was a little easier at that point. I guess that helped to kind of disguise it from everybody else.”

Once in the pond, Lee fished around the newest part of Lake Eufaula and didn’t catch anything until he got to a little spillway in the back. There, he plucked his second keeper of the day.

Then, Lee headed back into the regular lake and caught his third fish on a grass line on a wacky rig before returning eventually to his little pond. There, he caught the bass that pushed him over the top.

“I never caught anything in the pond itself; I caught them all where that spillway was running out,” he explained. “It was so shallow, but there was a little hole washed out in there that had just enough water for them to be there. The second time I went in there, I made 15 casts at it before I had a bite – I was fixing to leave it. I made one last cast up there and caught that fourth keeper. And I poled back down, because I had already picked my poles up – I was fixing to leave. I poled back down and made another cast and caught one the next cast. I don't know what happened, what triggered it or anything, but they just bit back-to-back.”

For baits, Lee used a Rapala Crush City Bronco Bug, a Rapala Crush City Pick Stick and a chartreuse and white, double-willow War Eagle spinnerbait.

by AnglersChannel

Athletic Brewing Company Named Official Non-Alcoholic Beer Sponsor of Major League Fishing

BENTON, Ky. (May 6, 2025) – Major League Fishing (MLF), the world’s largest tournament fishing organization, announced today that Athletic Brewing Company has been named the Official Non-Alcoholic Beer Sponsor throughout the 2025 and 2026 seasons. The multi-year agreement unites two brands committed to the great outdoors.

Athletic Brewing will hold category exclusivity within non-alcoholic beer across multiple MLF-owned properties, including the Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) events. As part of the deal, Athletic Brewing will enjoy broad marketing rights, media exposure and event activation.

“We’re thrilled to bring Athletic Brewing into the MLF family,” said Chris Bork, Vice President of Sponsorship & Sales Development for MLF. “Their commitment to quality, community and outdoor adventure aligns perfectly with the MLF lifestyle. From their award-winning brews to their impact-driven mission, Athletic Brewing is a great fit for our anglers and fans alike.”

Athletic’s Two For The Trails environmental grant program and IMPACT initiatives align closely with MLF’s own environmental stewardship, furthering the positive influence of both organizations.

"Athletic Brewing is delighted to become the Official Non-Alcoholic Beer of Major League Fishing, a captivating blend of sport and entertainment where top anglers pursue their passion,” said Athletic Brewing Chief Marketing Officer Andrew Katz. “This community’s passion for adventure on the water deeply resonates with us, and we can’t wait to share our award-winning NA brews with them over the next two seasons.”

Launched commercially in 2018, Athletic pioneered a proprietary method for making non-alcoholic beer, re-engineering nearly every step of the brewing process through hundreds of small-batch trials. This innovative approach has made Athletic the most highly awarded non-alcoholic brewer of the past decade, with over 100 taste awards and NA brews that rival full-strength counterparts.

Athletic’s mission is to positively impact its customers’ lifestyles while greatly impacting their communities and environment for the better. In addition to giving back up to $2 million annually to protect and enhance outdoor spaces, Athletic maintains exceptional levels of water recapture and efficiency at its custom breweries in Connecticut and California, and donates up to $100,000 to meaningful causes each year through its IMPACT Brew Series.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing, its tournaments and sponsors, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.

About Athletic Brewing Company
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by AnglersChannel

Palmer’s Hartwell Hustle: A Solid Finish and Toyota Bonus Bucks

By Walker Smith, Courtesy of Dynamic Sponsorships

The 2025 Bassmaster Elite Series stop at Lake Hartwell delivered a masterclass in adaptability and Luke Palmer, the seasoned pro from Coalgate, Oklahoma, walked away with a third-place finish and a hefty bonus check from Toyota Bonus Bucks. With a game plan rooted in stubborn determination and a knack for reading subtle lake features, Palmer turned Lake Hartwell into a showcase of his skill.

A career built on consistency

Luke Palmer’s rise in professional bass fishing is a story of determination and precision. Since joining the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2018, he’s racked up an impressive resume, including multiple top-10 finishes and a reputation for thriving under pressure. Palmer’s ability to dissect fisheries, from Oklahoma’s muddy reservoirs to clear waters in the Southeast, has made him a perennial threat. At Lake Hartwell, roughly his third time fishing the lake, he leaned on experience and intuition to navigate a fishery that didn’t fully cooperate.

Hartwell’s puzzle and Palmer’s plan

Lake Hartwell, a 56,000-acre impoundment straddling the Georgia-South Carolina line, is a spotted bass haven with a reputation for rewarding versatility. For the 2025 Whataburger Bassmaster Elite Series, Palmer arrived with a clear strategy.

“I came into Hartwell with a gameplan, and I also decided that I was going to be really hard-headed,” he said.

His focus? Targeting points—lots of them.

“I targeted spotted bass for most of the tournament and I considered largemouth as a welcomed bonus.”

The herring spawn, a springtime staple at Hartwell, didn’t materialize in practice as Palmer hoped.

“The herring spawn didn’t really get going for me like I had hoped,” he admitted.

Instead, he pivoted to a pattern that felt like home.

“So, I fished a lot of points like I do back home in Oklahoma,” Palmer said. “Any point that looked different than the others, I’d fish those multiple times per day.”

This wasn’t a scattershot approach. Palmer’s success hinged on identifying unique features.

“I looked for points that looked unique, if that makes sense,” he explained. “You could look at the points on my mapping and many of them would stand out like sore thumbs. Maybe they had a little different features like a secondary point or a ditch.”

With Hartwell’s endless points, Palmer had plenty of options. He anchored his efforts near the dam, where clearer water and abundant structure harbored the biggest spotted bass.

“I stayed towards the dam the entire time because there was clearer water and lots of points to choose from down there,” he said. “I went north some, but I tended to devote my time towards the deep, clear water. I felt like that’s where the biggest spotted bass were hanging out.”

Palmer’s arsenal included finesse tactics to coax wary spotted bass. His ability to stick with the pattern, even when the bite slowed, paid off. The result? A third-place finish that earned him not only a podium spot but extra cash through Toyota’s Bonus Bucks program, a contingency award for being the highest finishing pro towing his boat with a 2021 or newer Toyota tow vehicle.

The Toyota Tundra: Palmer’s road warrior

Off the water, Palmer’s loyalty to his Toyota Tundra is unwavering. The truck, a constant companion on the grueling Elite Series trail, is more than just a vehicle—it’s a lifeline.

“I had driven diesels all my life and wouldn’t trade the Tundra for any of them,” Palmer said. “There’s more than enough power and the ride is very comfortable. It doesn’t beat you to death and makes 10 to 20-hour drives much more enjoyable.”

Whether towing his boat to Hartwell or heading home to Oklahoma, Toyota’s reliability keeps Palmer focused on fishing, not logistics.

Family first, always

For Palmer, success on the water is only part of the equation. His heart lies with his family—a 7-month-old daughter and a 10-year-old stepdaughter. The Elite Series demands long stretches away from home, a sacrifice that weighs heavily.

“Family is everything to me,” he said. “Being away so much is really tough. You miss a lot of things, and at first, you don’t realize how hard that can be. That’s why when I get even a few days home, I’m here being a husband and father. It’s the most important job in my life.”

Those words resonate with anyone who’s balanced passion with personal life and Palmer’s grounded perspective keeps him relatable despite his Elite status.

Looking ahead to Lake Fork

With Hartwell in the rearview, Palmer’s sights are set on Lake Fork, the next stop on the 2025 Elite Series schedule. The Texas powerhouse is a fishery of extremes, capable of producing massive bags or humbling the best.

“We head to Lake Fork next, and I’ve had good and bad tourneys there,” Palmer said. “It’ll be a good tournament for sure, so I’m anxious to get there and see what’s happening.”

He’s already itching to lean into his strengths.

“There might be some good bank fishing down there. I love flipping bushes—it’s my favorite thing to do. I’m coming around to the minnow fishing, but I’d love to flip bushes and any other shallow cover I can find.”

by AnglersChannel

82-Year-Old McMullin Earns Third Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Lake Shelbyville

Normal’s Wehmeyer Tops Co-Angler Division

SHELBYVILLE, Ill. (May 5, 2025) – Boater Bobby McMullin of Pevely, Missouri, caught a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 3 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Shelbyville. The tournament was the second event of the season for the BFL Illini Division. McMullin earned $2,748 for his victory.

Spending 250 days on the water over any course of time would be a heck of an accomplishment for any weekend warrior bass angler. What with work and family and other responsibilities, it’s just not easy to get out there as often as most would like.

Now imagine not only fishing that much, but competing 250 times. That’s what 82-year-old McMullin has accomplished. According to the most up-to-date records, McMullin has competed in 254 tournaments with MLF and its predecessors, dating back to the Operation Bass Red Man Tournament Trail days that preceded the FLW era of the Bass Fishing League. Some Red Man records were lost in an office fire years ago, so the number of tournaments he’s entered is probably actually higher.

Whatever the exact total, McMullin is a diehard grassroots angler. He says he started fishing a lot more tournaments after he wrapped up a 37-year-long career at Chrysler back around 2001. He’s spent his long retirement enjoying competition and getting a few wins, including on Saturday.

“It means a lot to win one at 82 because I didn’t get a check at all last year,” he said. “That’s the first year I’ve ever gone without getting a check. I was about ready to give up. I had one keeper in the first tournament and won this one. It’s been a pretty good year so far.”

And in case you were wondering, McMullin is fully rigged with all the latest fish-finding technology – plus a good sense of humor.

“I’ve got LiveScope on the boat, but I don’t know how to use it,” he said with a chuckle.

As far as the fishing, McMullin claims it was all luck, though anyone who’s fished as long as he has knows there’s always more to winning than chance.

“I’m 82 years old, so I’m surprised I got bit the way I did,” he joked. “I only had one keeper yesterday (Friday in practice). I got there today and just had two small bass – 13-inchers. But as we got toward the back of the cove, the fishing picked up and it got better all the sudden. Then it cut off again after I got those fish. But I was able to catch one right a quittin’ time that gave me a limit.”

McMullin fished several coves in 3 to 5 feet of water. He stayed close to the takeoff area. And he kept his tactics simple, sticking with a confidence bait.

“I caught ’em on a blue (Yamamoto) Senko,” he said, adding that he fished it Texas-rigged with a light weight. “I had two baits tied on. I had a black Senko tied on, and I had a blue one, but I never did throw the black one. I caught all the fish on a blue one.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Bobby McMullin, Pevely, Mo., five bass, 14-3, $2,748
2nd:      Patrick Odell, Windsor, Ill., five bass, 13-15, $1,499
3rd:       Clay Reeves, Kenney, Ill., five bass, 11-2, $916
4th:        Todd Blakeman, Chatham, Ill., five bass, 10-8, $741
5th:        Doug Borgmann, Ashley, Ill., three bass, 10-1, $855
6th:        Hunter Russell, Salem, Ill., four bass, 10-0, $1,004 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
7th:        Ethan Fields, Breese, Ill., five bass, 9-1, $458
8th:        Riley Walk, Neoga, Ill., five bass, 8-10, $412
9th:        Kyle Dowdy, Sunrise Beach, Mo., three bass, 8-8, $366
10th:     Chris Engelage, Mascoutah, Ill., three bass, 8-4, $321

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Doug Borgmann of Ashley, Illinois, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 13 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $305.

Aaron Wehmeyer of Normal, Illinois, won the co-angler division and $1,374 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 7 pounds, 14 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Aaron Wehmeyer, Normal, Ill., three bass, 7-14, $1,374
2nd:      Ken Landreth, Swansea, Ill., three bass, 7-9, $687
3rd:       Ty Zeller, Normal, Ill., three bass, 6-6, $459
4th:        Anthony Tatroe, Braidwood, Ill., three bass, 6-0, $321
5th:        Gavin Thomas, Aviston, Ill., three bass, 5-12, $275
6th:        David Ribbing, New Memphis, Ill., two bass, 5-10, $252
7th:        Brad Thacher, Murray, Ky., three bass, 5-9, $229
8th:        Andrew Boring, El Paso, Ill., two bass, 5-4, $206
9th:        Hayden Swain, Tamaroa, Ill., two bass, 5-2, $183
10th:     Ryan Fancher, Olney, Ill., two bass, 5-1, $160

Dan Brown of Glenarm, Illinois, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $152, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 11 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After two events, Travis Boley of Weldon, Illinois, now leads the Fishing Clash Illini Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 487 points, while Matt Chumbler of Carbondale, Illinois, leads the Fishing Clash Illini Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 482 points.

The next event for BFL Illini Division anglers will be held June 21, at Lake Shelbyville out of Shelbyville, Illinois. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 3-4BFL Regional tournament on the Mississippi River in Quad Cities, Illinois. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

by AnglersChannel

West Point’s Armstrong Gets the Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Columbus Pool

Alabama’s Goodman Tops Co-Angler Division

COLUMBUS, Miss. (May 5, 2025) – Boater Eddie Armstrong of West Point, Mississippi, caught a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 12 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Columbus Pool. The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Mississippi Division. Armstrong earned $3,021 for his victory.

In mid-April, the Bassmaster Open on the Columbus Pool of the Tombigbee system was won on a white swim jig in the grass, while several others in the top 10 also worked a white swim jig or vibrating jig. Armstrong knew about the results of that tournament, and he knew the rest of the field did, too. So he purposely changed it up to avoid the most heavily pressured areas.

“All the locals had jumped on the bandwagon, and I knew everybody that would come pre-fish was going to be doing the same thing,” he said. “And that’s what they did.

“I got to messing around with just some isolated stuff that didn’t look good to everybody else and noticed that the fish had really pulled out of the grass and were a boat length away from the grass. Every fish I weighed in but one came off a junebug lizard, and I caught one off a frog that was actually on an isolated stump with grass on it.”

Armstrong fished his 8-inch lizard on a Texas rig with a 3/16-ounce weight. He tossed it into the edge of the grass – sparse grass; “just a few springs” – and fished it back slowly, bringing it off the edge and letting it drop while staying a long way off. That slow approach and staying back produced better-than-average fish.

“We learned that a long time ago out here,” he said. “This is not something that’s new. A lot of times the fish will back off from the grass (when there’s heavy fishing pressure).”

Another key was staying in shallow water. Armstrong held the boat in 3 to 4 feet of water most of the time and at the deepest was only in about 8 feet. Using this approach, he fished four primary areas. He caught a limit from the first spot then culled four of those bass throughout the day.

“I always fish to win,” Armstrong added. “I felt like I had a good chance after what I saw yesterday and knowing what everybody else was going to do and I wouldn’t have anybody (to share water with). One of the places that I fished had probably 10 boats go down that all went by fast throwing a swim jig because there wasn’t hardly any grass there. They were just really going from spot to spot, and we (he and his co-angler) actually caught four keepers off that spot.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Eddie Armstrong, West Point, Miss., five bass, 14-12, $3,021
2nd:      Hunter Briles, Russellville, Ala., five bass, 14-3, $1,511
3rd:       Luke Glasgow, Guin, Ala., five bass, 12-5, $1, 507 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th:        Kyle Shaw, Millport, Ala., five bass, 11-13, $705
5th:        David Dove, Columbus, Miss., five bass, 11 - 09 $604
6th:        John Anderson, Bay Springs, Miss., five bass, 11 - 07 $654
7th:        Kyle Glasgow, Guin, Ala., five bass, 10-15, $478
7th:        Kevin Nicely, Ethelsville, Ala., five bass, 10-15, $478
9th:        Gene Brown, West Point, Miss., four bass, 10-14, $403
10th:     Jeffery Davis, Steens, Miss., five bass, 10-7, $352

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Tommy Robinson of Florence, Alabama, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 5 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $345.

Jonathan Goodman of Ethelsville, Alabama, won the co-angler division and $1,511 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 4 ounces.

The top 11 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Jonathan Goodman, Ethelsville, Ala., three bass, 8-4, $1,511
2nd:      Andy Lockhart, Amory, Miss., three bass, 7-9, $755
3rd:       Gary Stripling, Kennedy, Ala., three bass, 7-1, $504
4th:        Travis Culbreth, Pearl, Miss., three bass, 6-7, $352
5th:        Richard Baker, Jackson, Tenn., three bass, 6-5, $302
6th:        Chance Starnes, Louisville, Miss., three bass, 5-14, $277
7th:        Takaaki Kojima, Temecula, Calif., three bass, 5-12, $252
8th:        Allen Swedenburg, Columbus, Miss., two bass, 5-9, $227
9th:        Lance Jackson, Starkville, Miss., three bass, 5-8, $201
10th:     Brandon Mast, Mathiston, Miss., three bass, 5-2, $167
10th:     Jeffery Reece, Guys, Tenn., two bass, 5-2, $167

Craig Perrigin of Gordo, Alabama, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $172, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 11 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After three events, Luke Glasgow of Guin, Alabama, now leads the Fishing Clash Mississippi Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 714 points, while Steve Hammack of Caledonia, Mississippi, leads the Fishing Clash Mississippi Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 694 points.

The next event for BFL Mississippi Division anglers will be held June 7, at Ross Barnett Reservoir out of Ridgeland, Mississippi. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 10-11 BFL Regional tournament on Kentucky-Barkley Lakes out of Paris, Tennessee. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

by AnglersChannel

Reform’s Davidson Earns Second Career Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Lake Demopolis

Laurel’s Chastain Tops Co-Angler Division

DEMOPOLIS, Ala. (May 5, 2025) – Boater Hunter Davidson of Reform, Alabama, caught a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 3 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Demopolis. The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Bama Division. Davidson earned $3,347 for his victory.

Winning just about any bass tournament usually requires reacting to changing conditions. Sometimes those changes are subtle. Then, there are changes like Davidson and the rest of the field encountered on Demopolis.

“The water came up 4 feet last night,” he said. “It was in the trees. The fish I found yesterday (Friday) were gone. So I started in there, and I had like four small fish. I decided to leave pretty quick after I saw how high the water was. I went into another hole that was pretty hard to get in, and I ended up catching all my weight in there off of grass on a swim jig.”

Davidson used a shallow ditch to access the tucked-away area. Because the bass were locked in on the morning shad spawn, bailing on his first area early was a key decision, leaving Davidson enough time to capitalize on the shad spawn bite in what turned out to be his winning area. Davidson caught his fish on C&B Custom Jigs swim jigs in white and black/blue.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Hunter Davidson, Reform, Ala., five bass, 13-3, $3,347
2nd:      David Wesson, Southside, Ala., five bass, 12-4, $1,623
3rd:       Donald Griffith, Robertsdale, Ala., five bass, 11-14, $1,582 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th:        Zeke Gossett, Pell City, Ala., five bass, 11-12, $758
5th:        Tim Fox, Meridian, Miss., five bass, 11-4, $649
6th:        Joshua Cameron, Meridian, Miss., five bass, 11-2, $985
7th:        Timothy Travis, Tuscaloosa, Ala., five bass, 10-8, $541
8th:        Tim Ferguson, Pelham, Ala., five bass, 10-5, $487
9th:        Stihl Smith, Alexander, Ala., five bass, 10-2, $433
10th:     Chad Hall, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 9-13, $379

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Joshua Cameron of Meridian, Mississippi, caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 7 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $390.

Larry Chastain of Laurel, Mississippi, won the co-angler division and $1,623 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 7 pounds.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Larry Chastain, Laurel, Miss., three bass, 7-0, $1,623
2nd:      Tom Nelson, Tuscaloosa, Ala., three bass, 6-8, $812
3rd:       Cody Clowdus, Lincoln, Ala., three bass, 6-1, $705
3rd:       Curtis Hillman, Eufaula, Ala., three bass, 6-1, $460
5th:        Gunter Williams, Linden, Ala., three bass, 5-12, $325
6th:        Ken Grice, Gallion, Ala., three bass, 5-8, $298
7th:        Jeff Turner, Morris, Ill., three bass, 5-1, $271
8th:        Brad Mahan, Clanton, Ala., three bass, 5-0, $230
8th:        Barry Jones, Verbena, Ala., three bass, 5-0, $230
10th:     Phillip Easterling, Clanton, Ala., three bass, 4-14, $189

Cody Clowdus of Lincoln, Alabama, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $195, catching a bass that weighed in at 3 pounds, 6 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After three events, Joe Minor of Clanton, Alabama, now leads the Fishing Clash Bama Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 725 points, while Larry Chastain of Laurel, Mississippi, leads the Fishing Clash Bama Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 722 points.

The next event for BFL Bama Division anglers will be held June 7, at Neely Henry Lake out of Gadsden, Alabama. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

by AnglersChannel

Georgia’s Sellers Cranks His Way to Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Lake Eufaula

Phenix City’s Graziano Tops Co-Angler Division

EUFAULA, Ala. (May 5, 2025) – Boater Kyle Sellers of Lumpkin, Georgia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Eufaula. The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Bulldog Division. Sellers earned $4,097 for his victory.

It was a sweet win for Sellers. Not only because getting your first BFL win is a huge deal. It was sweet because he caught his fish doing his favorite thing: ledge fishing with Strike King 6XD and 8XD crankbaits.

“I love it. It’s my favorite thing to do,” he said. “Just put it in drive and sit back and idle and listen to music and find as many schools as you can. You idle across a school and look and go, ‘This is about to be fun.’”

Some mechanical troubles during practice hampered Sellers’ efforts to idle the entire lake and mark schools of postspawn bass. And the best school he marked down the lake vanished before the tournament. The situation forced him to limit his target area in the event.

“Without being able to practice on Friday and with those fish being gone, I just decided to stay up the lake,” Sellers said. “I just ran from school to school where I knew they were and checked some spots where they get. I fished basically from Lakepoint to White Oak. I mixed in a little brush here and there but only caught small fish. I only had 14 pounds at 1 o’clock, and I pulled up on a school and fired my crankbait in there and lost one about 5 1/2 pounds. The very next cast I fired back in there and caught a 6-8. Very next cast I caught a 6-pounder. It’s just one of those things. It was a lot of fun.”

Those two kickers essentially carried the day for Sellers because he sat on that school the rest of the day and never got another bite. In addition to the crankbaits, he mixed in a jighead minnow and caught one fish on a football jig, but the crankbaits were definitely the main players.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Kyle Sellers, Lumpkin, Ga., five bass, 22-1, $4,097
2nd:      John Lee, Cataula, Ga., five bass, 21-6, $1,816
3rd:       Buddy Benson, Dahlonega, Ga., five bass, 20-5, $1,710 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th:        John Pearson, Perry, Ga., five bass, 20-1, $847
5th:        Carson Maddux, Hoover, Ala., five bass, 18-14, $726
6th:        Shane Powell, Dothan, Ala., five bass, 17-14, $666
7th:        Chandler Ray, Bainbridge, Ga., five bass, 17-3, $705
8th:        Todd Classon, Camilla, Ga., five bass, 17-0, $545
9th:        Jim Murray Jr., Parrott, Ga., five bass, 16-10, $484
10th:     John Duvall, Madison, Ga., five bass, 16-7, $424

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Sellers caught a bass that weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $465.

Steve Graziano of Phenix City, Alabama, won the co-angler division and $1,816 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 7 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Steve Graziano, Phenix City, Ala., three bass, 12-7, $1,816
2nd:      Jacob Chandler, Covington, Ga., three bass, 11-3, $1,140
3rd:       Shawn Malcom, Monroe, Ga., three bass, 9-0, $606
4th:        Brayden Tisdale, Opp, Ala., three bass, 8-0, $424
5th:        John Patterson, Milledgeville, Ga., three bass, 7-14, $363
6th:        Jeffrey Webb, Watkinsville, Ga., three bass, 7-13, $383
7th:        Justin Merritt, Adairsville, Ga., three bass, 7-11, $303
8th:        Adam Johnson, Duluth, Ga., three bass, 7-8, $272
9th:        Benjie Winkler, Cleveland, Ga., three bass, 7-4, $242
10th:     Jeff Cook, Columbus, Ga., three bass, 7-0, $212

Jacob Chandler of Covington, Georgia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $232, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 11 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After three events, Michael Wilder of Lizella, Georgia, now leads the Fishing Clash Bulldog Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 718 points, while Daniel Arnberg of Auburn, Alabama, leads the Fishing Clash Bulldog Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 706 points.

The next event for BFL Bulldog Division anglers will be held June 14, at Lake Sinclair in Milledgeville, Georgia. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 17-18 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, Georgia. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

by AnglersChannel

Virginia’s Trent Earns Sixth Career Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Kerr Lake

Wilkesboro’s Cannon Tops Co-Angler Division

HENDERSON, N.C. (May 5, 2025) – Boater Tyler Trent of Nathalie, Virginia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 8 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Kerr Lake . The tournament, hosted by Vance County Tourism Development Authority, was the fourth event of the season for the BFL North Carolina Division. Trent earned $8,205, including the lucrative $5,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

Tournament morning started out on a pretty sour note for Trent, when a mechanical issue left him unable to use the big motor just 10 minutes after takeoff. It could’ve been an insurmountable hurdle, but Trent didn’t let it stand in the way of getting his sixth career BFL win and his second this season. Trent also won the March 8 Piedmont Division event on Kerr Lake.

“Luckily, I didn’t make it too far, so I could fish on the trolling motor and still make it back to weigh-in on time,” he said. “That’s basically how my day went. I just fished everything that was in front of me.”

Trent used a shaky head and a jig. While there was no pattern, he found plenty of rocky areas and laydowns to target en route to an impressive showing given the circumstances.

“I probably caught 30-some keepers,” Trent said. “I mean, it’s basically my home lake, so I know every end of it.

“It feels great, honestly,” he added. “This is my sixth BFL now I’ve won, but the other five, I was pretty much on ’em and knew it was going to happen. This one, when I broke down I thought I had no chance, and it just turned out to be one of those days you hear about.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Tyler Trent, Nathalie, Va., five bass, 17-8, $8,205 (includes $5,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:       Ryan Harrell, Roanoke Rapids, N.C., five bass, 17-5, $1,603
3rd:       Lucas Murphy, West Columbia, S.C., five bass, 16-2, $1,168
4th:        Winston Husband, Gilbert, S.C., five bass, 15-0, $748
5th:        Kevin Chandler, New London, N.C., five bass, 14-12, $1,026
6th:        A.J. Lester, Huddleston, Va., five bass, 14-10, $838
7th:        John Wiese, Charlotte, N.C., five bass, 13-10, $534
8th:        Chris Baumgardner, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 13-1, $481
9th:        Austin Wike, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 13-0, $427
10th:     Wesley Cashwell, Roanoke Rapids, N.C., five bass, 12-15, $374

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Kevin Chandler of New London, North Carolina, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 2 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $385.

Steve Cannon of Wilkesboro, North Carolina, won the co-angler division and $2,003 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 12 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Steve Cannon, Wilkesboro, N.C., three bass, 8-12, $2,003
2nd:      Travis Ruff, Connelly Springs, N.C., three bass, 8-9, $801
3rd:       Bobby Henderson, Charlotte, N.C., three bass, 8-7, $533
4th:        Cameron Deese, Kershaw, S.C., three bass, 7-14, $374
5th:        Wayne Smelser, Wytheville, Va., three bass, 7-12, $321
6th:        Sean Tobatto, Greensboro, N.C., three bass, 7-10, $294
7th:        Jason Hinger, Timberlake, N.C., three bass, 7-9, $317
8th:        Robert Green, Sedalia, N.C., three bass, 7-4, $240
9th:        Jay Huffstickler, Stanley, N.C., three bass, 7-2, $214
10th:     Trevor Lewis, Wake Forest, N.C., three bass, 6-14, $187

Braxton Spurlin of Ellenboro, North Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $192, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 4 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Kaden Buchmann of Troutman, North Carolina, now leads the Fishing Clash North Carolina Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 969 points, while Travis Ruff of Connelly Springs, North Carolina, leads the Fishing Clash North Carolina Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 977 points.

The next event for BFL North Carolina Division anglers will be held Sept. 13-14, at Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 60 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 10-11 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $20,000.

by AnglersChannel

Last-minute heroics lift Rigsbee and Clark to victory at Buggs Island

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, Va. — Ayden Rigsbee has been humbled by Buggs Island Reservoir more times than he can count, but he and Triangle Bass Club partner Nolan Clark exacted revenge on Rigsbee’s home lake by winning the Strike King Bassmaster High School Series at Buggs Island title with a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 13 ounces.

“Winning this tournament feels awesome. This place can be really rough at times and treat you terribly,” Rigsbee, a freshman, said. “It feels good to finally pull something off on your home lake.”

Triangle Bass Club anglers Kieran Stephenson and Grady Stanley and McDowell High School’s Jackson Dowdle and Mason Brewer tied for second place with 16-12. Oldham County High School’s Olevir Johnson and Rhett Shirrell finished fourth with 15-8 and Lucas Crutchfield from Mecklenburg County Youth Bassmasters finished fifth with 15-4.

This was the first Bassmaster event Clark and Rigsbee had ever fished together. With the win, they punched their ticket to the Strike King Bassmaster High School National Championship at Clarks Hill this July.

“I never in a million years thought I would win one of these,” Clark, a sophomore from the Jordan Lake region of North Carolina, said. “We tried our best and everything just worked out.”

Rain and storms greeted the field of 145 boats Sunday morning, but the teams were able to battle the elements to land 75 limits and over 1,020 pounds of bass for the day.

Rigsbee and Clark fished in Nutbush Creek on the lake’s southeast side. When the bridge they started on only produced one keeper bass, the duo pivoted to thick stumps and tree roots in the back of the creek that postspawn largemouth were holding on. Rock and riprap also came into play.

Falling water and the early morning storms, Rigsbee said, positioned the bass on cover off of the bank.

“We found them really shallow in practice, but we thought the thunder and lightning might have pushed them off some,” he explained. “The water dropped overnight, and the low water pulled them out even further.”

Rigsbee and Clark kept their front graphs off all day long and used several shallow techniques to claim the title. A buzzbait produced several quality bites when the rain was falling while a jig was better in just overcast conditions.

“I throw a buzzbait everywhere I go,” Clark said. “As soon as the rain picked up, I knew I needed to pick up the buzzbait, and every single time I caught one. When it wasn’t raining, I would flip a jig into the outside trees, and they would suck it in and hold onto it.”

To start the morning, the duo fished the bridge for over an hour without a bite. That’s when Rigsbee and Clark moved to the very back of Nutbush and began working their way back out.

“We knew something had to change if we wanted to win this,” Rigsbee said. “We made a couple of adjustments and started playing the wind a little more. The bites kept getting bigger and bigger.”

With around 13 pounds in the livewell late in the afternoon, the duo moved back out to the bridge and landed a quality keeper on a weightless fluke and then their biggest bass of the day, a 5-pounder, on a Pirate Baits balsa crankbait with just a few minutes left in their fishing day.

“It was the last cast we made. I threw it to the bridge corner, cranked it three times and felt like I got stuck,” Clark explained. “I held it there for a second, and my line went the other way. It was complete chaos for about two minutes. We weren’t sure if we were going to win, but we knew we had a chance then.”

Stephenson and Stanley landed the Big Bass of the Day, a 6-2 largemouth that anchored their second-place bag.

Mecklenburg County, Virginia hosted the tournament.

2025 Bassmaster High School Series Title Sponsor: Strike King

2025 Bassmaster High School Series Platinum Sponsor: Progressive, Toyota
2025 Bassmaster High School Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2025 Bassmaster High School Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew's, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC, Yokohama

2025 Bassmaster High School Series Youth Sponsors: Seaguar, Shimano

About B.A.S.S.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier Series presented by Lowrance, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Strike King Bassmaster High School Series, Bassmaster Junior Series, Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Bassmaster College Kayak Series, Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.

-30-

Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 205-313-0945, cgay@bassmaster.com

2025 Bassmaster High School Series at Buggs Island 5/4-5/4
Buggs Island Reservoir, Mecklenburg VA.
Standings Day 1

Team Club/School Pts

1. Nolan Clark - Ayden Rigsbee Triangle Bass Club 0
Day 1: 5 16-13 Total: 5 16-13
2. Kieran Stephenson - Grady Stanley Triangle Bass Club 0
Day 1: 5 16-12 Total: 5 16-12
2. Jackson Dowdle - Mason Brewer Mcdowell High School Bass Fishin 0
Day 1: 5 16-12 Total: 5 16-12
4. Olevir Johnson - Rhett Shirrell Oldham Co High School Bass Team 0
Day 1: 5 15-08 Total: 5 15-08
5. Lucas Crutchfield - Bradley Solomon Mecklenburg Co. Youth Bass Maste 0
Day 1: 5 15-04 Total: 5 15-04
6. Troy Watson - Shockley Hiatt Mayberry High School Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 15-01 Total: 5 15-01
7. Conner Wharton - Nicholas Farmer Lake Anna Elite Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 14-12 Total: 5 14-12
8. Logan Eudy - Brody Clontz Stanly County Jr Bassmasters - N 0
Day 1: 5 13-10 Total: 5 13-10
9. Elliott Clay - Xavier Keogh Riley's Catch 0
Day 1: 5 12-11 Total: 5 12-11
10. Jacob Spencer - Tripp Thompson Patrick County High School 0
Day 1: 5 12-05 Total: 5 12-05
11. Tanner Sims - Tunstall Trojans Bass Team 0
Day 1: 5 12-03 Total: 5 12-03
11. Jacob Greenwood - Cain Dowling Trhs Devildog Anglers Travelers 0
Day 1: 5 12-03 Total: 5 12-03
13. Trey Richardson III - Reid Luckett Free State Bass 0
Day 1: 5 12-00 Total: 5 12-00
14. Mason Carr - Robert Duvall Lake Anna Elite Anglers Junior 0
Day 1: 5 11-15 Total: 5 11-15
14. Griffin Sheets - John Hicks Sml Junior Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 11-15 Total: 5 11-15
16. Jonah Shockley - Hunter Heath Patrick County High School 0
Day 1: 5 11-13 Total: 5 11-13
16. Carter Elliott - Tucker Robertson Meigs County High School Fishing 0
Day 1: 5 11-13 Total: 5 11-13
16. Chayd Freeze - Fisher Stamm Roco Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 11-13 Total: 5 11-13
19. Faith Burks - Allie Reagan Clay County Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 11-12 Total: 5 11-12
19. Lucas Gatewood - Mason Tarlton Anson Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 11-12 Total: 5 11-12
21. Logan Parker - Hudson Howell Cherokee Bass Team 0
Day 1: 5 11-11 Total: 5 11-11
22. Elijah Ambrose - Jarren Crowder Hs Potomac River Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 5 11-10 Total: 5 11-10
23. Joah Coley - Morgan Coley Focused Fishing 0
Day 1: 5 11-06 Total: 5 11-06
23. Brody Musser - Gavin Lytton Swva Bassin 0
Day 1: 5 11-06 Total: 5 11-06
25. Brody Teller - Will Anderson Sumner County Bass Team 0
Day 1: 5 11-04 Total: 5 11-04
26. Isaac Kowalski - Miller Nixon Goochland County Bass Team 0
Day 1: 5 11-03 Total: 5 11-03
26. Carter Pjesky - JD McBroom Off The Hook High School Bassmas 0
Day 1: 5 11-03 Total: 5 11-03
28. Camdon Fauver - Cade Bailey Frederick County Hs Bass Wrangle 0
Day 1: 5 11-02 Total: 5 11-02
28. Berkley Wright - Ross Reese Brunswick Academy Junior Team 0
Day 1: 5 11-02 Total: 5 11-02
30. Trent VanDam - Wyatt Carr Reeths-Puffer High School 0
Day 1: 5 11-00 Total: 5 11-00
31. Parker Jones - Sc Lower State Hs Bass Club 0
Day 1: 4 10-14 Total: 4 10-14
32. Conner Harris - Hunter Harris Riley's Catch 0
Day 1: 5 10-13 Total: 5 10-13
33. Collier Alderman - Dawson Lytton Swva Bassin 0
Day 1: 5 10-11 Total: 5 10-11
33. Eli Rakes - James Millner Foothills Youth Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 10-11 Total: 5 10-11
35. Logan Brown - Caleb Southerly Lake Anna Elite Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 10-10 Total: 5 10-10
36. Bryant Washburn - Wyatt Reynolds Foothills Jr. Anglers 0
Day 1: 4 10-10 Total: 4 10-10
37. Andrew Carr - Charles Duvall Lake Anna Elite Anglers Junior 0
Day 1: 5 10-09 Total: 5 10-09
38. Levi Stanley - Colt Hackney Triangle Bass Club 0
Day 1: 5 10-08 Total: 5 10-08
39. Tanner Mason - Kaden Randles DAR High School - AL 0
Day 1: 5 10-07 Total: 5 10-07
39. Asher Sigmon - Cole Turner Bassett High School 0
Day 1: 5 10-07 Total: 5 10-07
41. Landon Vaughn - Will Taylor Pendleton High School Fishing Te 0
Day 1: 5 10-04 Total: 5 10-04
42. Max Himmel - Catholic High School Fishing 0
Day 1: 5 10-03 Total: 5 10-03
43. Taylor Bogard - Christian Childress Wilkes County Bandits 0
Day 1: 4 10-03 Total: 4 10-03
44. Aydin Knapp - Justin Humphrey Southern Outcasts 0
Day 1: 5 10-01 Total: 5 10-01
45. Thomas Newman - Cayden Ryman Frederick County Hs Bass Wrangle 0
Day 1: 5 10-00 Total: 5 10-00
46. Peyton McAndrew - Cutler Wooten Sml Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 09-14 Total: 5 09-14
47. Connor Strachan - Connor Fleming Bryant High School 0
Day 1: 5 09-13 Total: 5 09-13
48. Jesse Lancaster - Fisher Lancaster Triangle Bass Club 0
Day 1: 5 09-12 Total: 5 09-12
49. Jacob Barker - Henry Price Skyhawks Fishing Club 0
Day 1: 5 09-11 Total: 5 09-11
50. Gage Jones - Eli Walker Buggs Island Elite Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 09-10 Total: 5 09-10
50. Zachary Stall - Lakes Community High School 0
Day 1: 5 09-10 Total: 5 09-10
52. Gavin Frost - Nathan Haga Radford Youth 0
Day 1: 5 09-08 Total: 5 09-08
52. Trevor Lynch - Dakota Elder Mecklenburg Co. Youth Bass Maste 0
Day 1: 5 09-08 Total: 5 09-08
52. Ethan Rose - Grant Arnold Jefferson County Patriot Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 09-08 Total: 5 09-08
55. Jacob Hicks - Colton Hall Sml Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 09-07 Total: 5 09-07
55. Parker Wicker - Gavin Williams Roco Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 09-07 Total: 5 09-07
57. Parker Bilbrey - Tyler Thompson Monterey Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 09-07 Total: 5 09-07
58. Dylan Harlow - Marilyn Gibson Greensville County Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 09-06 Total: 5 09-06
59. Tate Bowen - Brycen Bowen Buggs Island Elite Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 09-05 Total: 5 09-05
60. Grayson Fitch - Daniel Lindsey Southern Outcasts 0
Day 1: 5 09-05 Total: 5 09-05
61. Chase Kirk - Jaxon Yaussy Lake Anna Elite Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 09-04 Total: 5 09-04
62. Tyler Nelson - Saw Reynolds Bandys Fishing Team Juniors 0
Day 1: 5 09-03 Total: 5 09-03
63. Carson Holbert - Eagleton Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 5 09-02 Total: 5 09-02
64. Quinn Barbee - Andrew Miller Southeastern Bass Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 09-00 Total: 5 09-00
65. Cole Powell - Grayson Thomas 0
Day 1: 5 08-15 Total: 5 08-15
66. Jackson Moore - Jacquelyn Moore Greensville County Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 08-15 Total: 5 08-15
67. Caleb Johnson - Chase Murphy Lake Anna Elite Anglers 0
Day 1: 4 08-15 Total: 4 08-15
68. Logan Brown - Jake Bryant 0
Day 1: 5 08-14 Total: 5 08-14
69. Colin Turner - Robert Knouse Bassett High School 0
Day 1: 4 08-13 Total: 4 08-13
70. Caleb Godson - Asher Ready North Augusta High School Fishin 0
Day 1: 5 08-12 Total: 5 08-12
70. Caleb Moore - Dean Austin Off The Hook IL Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 5 08-12 Total: 5 08-12
72. Jon Gavin Dellinger - Carter Ross Cleveland County Bass Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 08-10 Total: 5 08-10
72. Jakob Fullerton - Kaden Tomblin Southern Garrett Bass Slayer 0
Day 1: 5 08-10 Total: 5 08-10
74. Jacob Burkhead - Benton Panther Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 4 08-10 Total: 4 08-10
75. Camm Bennett - Justin Massey Freedom Ffa Bass Club 0
Day 1: 5 08-09 Total: 5 08-09
76. Austin Hayes V - Traydun Freeze Roco Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 08-07 Total: 5 08-07
77. Devin Yates - Adrian Yates Southern Outcasts 0
Day 1: 5 08-06 Total: 5 08-06
78. Evan Bush - Cason Thomas Lowndes High School Lip Rippers 0
Day 1: 5 08-05 Total: 5 08-05
78. Cayden Mines - Liam Garvey Swva Bassin 0
Day 1: 5 08-05 Total: 5 08-05
78. Rhylen Watkins - Jace Childers Bandys High School 0
Day 1: 5 08-05 Total: 5 08-05
81. Landen Daniel - Hunter Watson Madison Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 08-01 Total: 5 08-01
82. Jaxson Beard - Anderson Mesplay Pendleton High School Fishing Te 0
Day 1: 4 07-15 Total: 4 07-15
83. Tanner Moulton - Upper Valley Weekend Warriors 0
Day 1: 4 07-07 Total: 4 07-07
84. Dylan Terrell - Port City Bass Masters 0
Day 1: 4 07-05 Total: 4 07-05
85. Caleb Upton - Matthew Briggs Buggs Island Elite Anglers 0
Day 1: 4 06-15 Total: 4 06-15
86. Nathan Holderness - Gilbert Bass Anglers 0
Day 1: 4 06-14 Total: 4 06-14
87. Tyler Shore - Nathan Harris Davie High War Eagle Bass Fishin 0
Day 1: 4 06-14 Total: 4 06-14
88. Noah Mazzarisi - Tanner Bailey Oregon Panthers 0
Day 1: 3 06-02 Total: 3 06-02
89. Jack Sharpe - Sumner County Bass Team - TN 0
Day 1: 3 05-15 Total: 3 05-15
90. Evan Havens - Asher Perry Patrick County High School 0
Day 1: 4 05-14 Total: 4 05-14
91. Luke Pappas - Jerry Hodge Hs Potomac River Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 4 05-13 Total: 4 05-13
92. Slate Baker - Jackson Cary Buckingham Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 3 05-12 Total: 3 05-12
93. Eli Ellege - Aidan Ellege Warrior Hs Bass Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 05-06 Total: 3 05-06
94. Matthew Carey - Noah Hollar Roco Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 05-05 Total: 3 05-05
94. Barrett Moore - Braydon Shriver Mecklenburg Co. Youth Bass Maste 0
Day 1: 3 05-05 Total: 3 05-05
96. Thomas Hance - Braddock Morris Fluvanna County High School 0
Day 1: 3 05-03 Total: 3 05-03
97. Aidan Cohan - Alex Roots Port City Junior Bass Masters 0
Day 1: 3 04-13 Total: 3 04-13
98. Will Heath - Chace Handy Patrick County High School 0
Day 1: 2 04-10 Total: 2 04-10
99. Fred Neville Jr Jr - Sawyer Fitch Southern Outcasts 0
Day 1: 3 04-08 Total: 3 04-08
100. Kohen Dulaney - Carter Lamb Mcdowell High School Bass Fishin 0
Day 1: 2 04-02 Total: 2 04-02
101. Parker Smith - Jake Arnold Powhatan Bass Masters 0
Day 1: 1 03-15 Total: 1 03-15
102. Bryson Clarke - Stephen Nunnelley Skyhawks Fishing Club 0
Day 1: 2 03-11 Total: 2 03-11
102. Mason Shifflett - Gavin Griffin Powhatan Bass Masters 0
Day 1: 2 03-11 Total: 2 03-11
104. Clay Smith - Christian Smith Freedom Ffa Bass Club 0
Day 1: 2 03-06 Total: 2 03-06
104. Dalton Whittington - William Payne Mecklenburg Co. Youth Bass Maste 0
Day 1: 2 03-06 Total: 2 03-06
106. Reece Seamans - Colton Wilbourne Mecklenburg Co Junior Bassmaster 0
Day 1: 2 03-03 Total: 2 03-03
107. RJ Moffett JR - Camden Perkinson Powhatan Bass Masters 0
Day 1: 2 03-01 Total: 2 03-01
107. Porter Morrison - Harrison Kirkpatrick Catholic High School Fishing 0
Day 1: 2 03-01 Total: 2 03-01
107. Josiah Smith - Isaac Borum Warrior Bass Anglers 0
Day 1: 2 03-01 Total: 2 03-01
110. Garrett Smith - Parker Daniels Powhatan Bass Masters 0
Day 1: 1 03-01 Total: 1 03-01
111. Laythan Vick - Bruce Dear III Southern Outcasts 0
Day 1: 2 02-15 Total: 2 02-15
112. Jake Boersma - Holden Prichard Covenant Bass Fishing 0
Day 1: 2 02-10 Total: 2 02-10
113. Kade Williams - Jazmyne Reynolds Patrick County High School 0
Day 1: 1 02-06 Total: 1 02-06
114. Blake Woodley - Wyatt Rose Powhatan Bass Masters 0
Day 1: 1 01-09 Total: 1 01-09
115. Cole Goodman - Cole Loudin Lake Anna Elite Anglers 0
Day 1: 1 00-11 Total: 1 00-11
116. Eli Cooke - Andrew Yarboro Cleveland County Bass Anglers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Dannon Garber - Colton Wiles Mecklenburg High School Anglers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Daniel Lowhorn - Mt Juliet Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Wyatt Lucy - Jacob Ermel Brunswick Academy Vikings 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Alvin Martin - Aiden Barringer Roco Anglers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Gavon Mcclure - Joseph Sherman Frederick County Hs Bass Wrangle 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Nathan Mccoy - Roco Anglers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Colton Milam - Ryder Milam Buggs Island Elite Anglers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Ethan Ogburn - Tyler Jarratt Greensville County Anglers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Tyson Owen - Hayden Marchant Fluvanna County High School 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Landon Poole - Griffin Scearce Buggs Island Elite Anglers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Bryson Shook - Gavin Queen Bandys High School 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Alex Thigpen - Owen Thigpen Riley's Catch 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Samantha Thurman - Jackson Shivley Foothills Youth Anglers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Jackson Wagner - Bryce Cubbage Powhatan Bass Masters 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
BIG BASS OF TOURN
Kieran Stephenson Fuquay Varina, NC 06-02 $0.00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 75 487 1020-06
----------------------------------
75 487 1020-06

by AnglersChannel

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