MLF Bass Pro Tour Season Finale Set for Minn Kota Stage Seven Presented by Suzuki at Saginaw Bay

BAY CITY, Mich. (July 20, 2023) – Major League Fishing (MLF), the world’s largest tournament fishing organization, is set to conclude the fifth season of the Bass Pro Tour, the top level of professional bass fishing, next week, August 1-6, on Saginaw Bay and the Saginaw River at the Minn Kota Stage Seven on Saginaw Bay Presented by Suzuki.

The six-day tournament, hosted by Bay City, Michigan, will feature a field of 80 professional anglers, including bass-fishing superstar Kevin VanDam (KVD) of Kalamazoo, Michigan, who will be fishing in the last regular-season professional tournament of his career. Other anglers in the competition include KVD’s nephew, Kalamazoo’s Jonathon VanDam, REDCREST 2023 Champion  Bryan Thrift, Stage Six at Lake St. Clair winner Jordan Lee and reigning back-to-back Bally Bet Angler of the Year (AOY) Jacob Wheeler. They’ll be competing for a purse of more than $805,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters All-Star event and REDCREST 2024, the Bass Pro Tour championship.

“The city of Bay City is honored and excited to host Stage Seven of the MLF Bass Pro Tour,” said Edward Clements, Bay City Commissioner. “Bringing the best bass fisherman in the world, and the number one competitive fishing tournament in the world, to Bay City, Michigan is an opportunity we have been working toward for several years. Our fishing is spectacular, along with our restaurants, bars, shops, parks and the community as a whole. We are confident the professional anglers and families, fans, sponsors and tournament staff are going to have a great stay in Bay City.”

While Saginaw Bay has hosted numerous Phoenix Bass Fishing League tournaments over the years, this will be the first time the Bass Pro Tour or an MLF pro-level circuit has visited the Michigan fishery. However, Kalamazoo’s Jonathon VanDam said he doesn’t expect it to be the last.

“Saginaw Bay is kind of an unknown body of water to a lot of people, but it’s very different than what you would expect from your typical Great Lakes fisheries,” said VanDam. “The bay is relatively shallow compared to most of the Great Lakes and the areas that you see around them, so there are a lot of marshlands, reeds and shallow, matted vegetation.

“It almost looks like Lake Okeechobee in some ways, with a lot of cattails and emergent grass,” VanDam continued. “With that much vegetation, there’s been a substantial population of largemouth the last few years that have definitely become a player in the bay itself.”

Saginaw Bay is a part of Lake Huron, with 1,143 square miles of water – not including the 22-mile-long Saginaw River, which is also in play for competitors – and has been dominated by world-class walleye and perch fishing for the longest time. However, in recent years local bass tournaments have started putting Saginaw Bay on the map, and VanDam said it isn’t hard to see why.

“Some of the biggest smallmouth in the Great Lakes are in Lake Huron,” said VanDam. “They move into Saginaw Bay in the springtime and you’ll see tournament bags of 26 to 27 pounds, but you don’t see that a lot in the summer. They tend to migrate out to the deeper water towards the lake a little more during this time of year, which will be outside the tournament competition areas for this event.”

VanDam said despite the timing, there will definitely still be some quality smallmouth to be caught.

“They are super scattered this time of year and not grouped up, but if a guy can find them and figure them out, they can do really well,” said VanDam. “I expect the majority of the fish caught during the event will be largemouth. We had an abnormally mild winter, with no ice coverage, causing the Great Lakes to drop about 18 inches from last year – that’s a big deal, especially taking into consideration the shallow vegetation in Saginaw Bay.”

VanDam said he expects to see the guys targeting smallmouth to be throwing the typical drop-shot rigs and tubes, while those targeting largemouth will be pulling out frogs, swimjigs, topwater and buzzbaits.

“There have been some pretty solid weights coming out of there the past couple of weeks, so I think it will take about 14 to 15 pounds per day to make it into the Knockout Round and probably 17 to 18 pounds to make the Championship Round cut,” said VanDam. “I’m really excited to see the circuit go to a new fishery. I’ve been there a handful of times, but it’s a really big body of water, so I’m not super familiar with it myself and am looking forward to it.

“My wife’s family is from there, so we’ll have a really good support crew,” continued VanDam. “Obviously, the main focus during this event will be Uncle Kevin’s last Tour event of his career. It’s going to be an exciting time to celebrate with him.”

Anglers will launch at 7:30 a.m. ET each day from the Golson Boat Launch, located at 1598 N. Johnson St. in Bay City. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the launch location, beginning at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at  MajorLeagueFishing.com.

As part of the event, on Saturday, August 5 and Sunday, August 6, the MLF Fan Experience will be taking place at Wenonah Park in Bay City from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF will welcome fans of all ages to celebrate fishing and the outdoors with free giveaways, local vendors, photo opportunities with pro anglers and PAW Patrol characters and the opportunity for fans to hang out and watch the pros live on the MLFNOW! ®  big screen during the MLF Watch Party. The first 100 kids onsite each day will get a free rod and reel combo, and fans can also check out the latest gear and offerings from MLF and MLF sponsors including Toyota, Suzuki, the U.S. Air Force, Humminbird, Minn Kota and Kubota.

On Sunday, the final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration to meet and greet fans, sign autographs, and take selfies. Kalamazoo’s own Kevin VanDam will be onsite throughout the weekend to celebrate his final regular-season professional tournament with fans.

The Minn Kota Stage Seven at Saginaw Bay Presented by Suzuki will feature pros competing using the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, with each angler’s five (5) heaviest bass per day tallied as their day’s weight. Anglers strive to catch their heaviest five fish each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the live scoring SCORETRACKER® leaderboard. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The 2023 MLF Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, fishing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2024, the Bass Pro Tour championship, held March 13-17, 2024, on Lay Lake in Birmingham, Alabama.  

The 40 Anglers in Group A compete in their two-day qualifying round on Tuesday and Thursday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Wednesday and Friday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the top 20 anglers from each group advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 40 anglers compete to finish in the top 10 to advance to the Championship Round. In Sunday’s final day Championship Round, weight carries over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on all six days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. MLFNOW!®  will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

Television coverage of the Minn Kota Stage Seven at Saginaw Bay and Saginaw River Presented by Suzuki Championship Round will air with a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, November 11, on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on the Outdoor Channel.

Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, Ark Fishing, ATG by Wrangler, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bally Bet, Bass Cat Boats, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, Daiwa, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Ferguson, Fox Rent A Car, General Tire, Grundéns, Humminbird, Lowrance, Minn Kota, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Power-Pole, Rapala, Star tron, T-H Marine, TORO, Toyota, U.S. Air Force, Yellowstone Bourbon, Yo-Zuri and Zoom Baits.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter,  Instagram and YouTube.