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Italy’s Jacopo Gallelli Claims Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at the James River

Brian Carter
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Italy’s Jacopo Gallelli Claims Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at the James River
Boater Jacopo Gallelli of Florence, Italy and Strike-King co-angler Roland Gittings of Perryville, Maryland.
Maryland’s Gittings Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division

HENRICO, Va. (June 26, 2023) – Boater Jacopo Gallelli of Florence, Italy, caught a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the James River . The tournament, hosted by Richmond Region Tourism, was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Shenandoah Division. Gallelli earned $12,463, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

“I practiced for this for 1½ days, and the weather was horrible,” said Gallelli, a Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Pro with five career top-10 finishes. “I made the most of it. I felt I could probably put together a decent limit.

“I basically had two situations going on,” said Gallelli, a Tackle Warehouse Invitationals pro with five career top-10 finishes. “One was fishing in the morning with a tiny swimbait and the other was fishing the same stuff – lily pads – but light punching them. In the morning you could catch them on the outside in holes between the pads with the swimbait. Then, when the sun got up, I could flip in there, but I was finesse flipping.”

Gallelli’s finesse approach consisted of lighter line, weights, hooks and small soft-plastic baits, in shad and bluegill colors. His efforts resulted in 20 keepers during the course of the tournament.

“In the mornings, fishing with the smaller hook, I lost a couple of fish,” Gallelli said. “That’s part of it when you fish with a smaller hook and a smaller bait. I lost a 3½-pound and a 4-pound fish. Losing those two big fish I thought I was done. I had a legitimate shot at 20½ pounds. So, going into the weigh-in I thought I would finish in the top 10.

“This win is very good for me,” Gallelli added. “I was starting to worry, ‘Maybe I’m not good enough.’ I came here from Italy pretending to be good enough to make a living doing this. There are days when you second-guess yourself and think you don’t belong here, so this win is so important to me. It is a real confidence injection.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st:          Jacopo Gallelli, Florence, Italy, five bass, 16-5, $12,463 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:        Jeff Hamilton, Henrico, Va., five bass, 16-2, $2,232
3rd:        Brian Morgan, Maiden, N.C., five bass, 16-0, $1,489
4th:         Wayne Vaughan, Chester, Va., five bass, 15-14, $1,041
5th:         Bryan Elrod, Mechanicsville, Va., five bass, 15-5, $893
6th:         Bryce Henley, Williamsburg, Va., five bass, 15-2, $818
7th:         Brian Bersik, Chesterfield, Va., five bass, 14-12, $994
8th:         Zachary Stoupa, Prince George, Va., five bass, 14-10, $669
9th:         Bo Boltz, New Kent, Va., five bass, 13-15, $595
10th:      Scott Banton, Midlothian, Va., five bass, 13-14, $521
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Jeremy Radford of Huntly, Virginia, caught a bass that weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces to earn the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $640.


Roland Gittings of Perryville, Maryland, won the Strike King co-angler division and a total of $2,952 Saturday, after bringing four bass to the scale that totaled 14 pounds, 11 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:
1st:          Roland Gittings, Perryville, Md., four bass, 14-11, $2,952
2nd:        David Torres, Fallston, Md., five bass, 13-7, $1,116
3rd:        Kevin Gregory, Midlothian, Va., five bass, 12-10, $743
4th:         Joey Deluke, Glen Allen, Va., five bass, 12-6, $521
5th:         Brandon Miskell, Vienna, Va., five bass, 11-12, $446
6th:         Jonathan Ceaser, Maidens, Va., five bass, 11-11, $409
7th:         Keith Allen, Midland, Va., five bass, 10-12, $372
8th:         Ryan Sweeney, Secane, Pa., five bass, 10-6, $335
9th:         Carl Whipple, Manassas, Va., five bass, 10-4, $298
10th:      Philip Hornsby, Hughesville, Md., five bass, 10-0, $260
Gittings also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $320, catching a bass that weighed in at 6 pounds, 4 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Zachary Stoupa of Prince George, Virginia, leads the BFL Shenandoah Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 970 points, while David Deciucis of Chester, Virginia, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 963 points.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 19-21 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The 2023 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2023 All-American event will take place May 31-June 2, on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina. The event is hosted by Visit Oconee SC.

Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X 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.

King University Wins MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Tournament on Lake Champlain

Brian Carter
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King University Wins MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Tournament on Lake Champlain

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (June 26, 2023) – The King University duo of Landon Lawson of Jonesborough, Tennessee, and Hunter McClaskey of Elizabethton, Tennessee, won the MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI event on Lake Champlain Sunday with a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 7 ounces. The victory earned the Tornados’ bass club a qualification into the 2024 MLF College Fishing National Championship.

“We blasted off and ran to our first spot and caught a 3½-pounder on the bed, then went down the bank and caught a 4-pounder on a Zara Spook and then got another 4-pounder,” Lawson said. “Then we decided to go run to two more big bed fish that we wanted to catch. So, we fired up the motor, and then the motor blew up.

“It couldn’t have blown up in a better place, because we had stayed around the inland sea all week, and that’s where it blew up,” Lawson added. “So, we trolled to a place we had caught some fish, threw the Spook, and filled our limit.”

Lawson said the King University seniors used the trolling motor for an hour and a half while trying to provoke a bedding bass to bite until the trolling motor battery died. They did catch the bedding bass and added a couple more fish that culled to boost their final weigh weight. Lawson said the team caught 13 bass during the course of the day, including 11 keepers that weighed more than three pounds each.

“Sometimes it’s just your day,” Lawson said. “As we were going along, even though it was going wrong, we knew we were on the fish to win as long as somebody didn’t bring in 21 pounds or some crazy bag. We knew we could win it, but it wasn’t the exact circumstances we wanted.”

“We won a College Fishing event last year on Smith Mountain with about the same weight,” McClaskey said. “We blew the motor at that tournament, too, so we’ve got this running joke that we might need to blow a motor to win a tournament every time.”

The top seven teams that qualified to compete at the 2024 College Fishing National Championship are:

1st: King University – Landon Lawson, Jonesborough, Tenn., and Hunter McClaskey, Elizabethton, Tenn., five bass, 19-7
2nd: University of Vermont – Joseph Buonanno, Wolcott, Vt., and Hunter Whitman, Shelburne, Vt., five bass, 18-13
3rd: Adrian College – Russel Buffa, Fenton, Mich., and Kobe Thompson, New Lexington, Ohio, five bass, 18-9
4th: State University of New York-Plattsburgh – Cody Peryea, Altona, N.Y., and Theodore Wager, Shelburne, Vt., five bass, 18-3
5th: Adrian College – Braylon Eggerding and Lucas Washburn, both of Grand Rapids, Mich., five bass, 18-1
6th: Catawba Valley Community College – Hunter Keller, Morganton, N.C., and Brendan Vinton, Braintree, Vt., five bass, 18-1
7th: Adrian College – Brady Pinwar, Midland, Mich., and Derek Rodriguez, Okemos, Mich., five bass, 18-0

Rounding out the top 10 were:

8th: Wabash Valley College – Mason Gross, Carmi, Ill., and Braden Thompson, Oblong, Ill., five bass, 17-13
9th: Lander University – Parker Lambert, Riegelsville, Pa., and Aaron Shumaker, Charlotte, N.C., five bass, 17-8
10th: Adrian College – Gerald Brumbaugh, Martinsburg, Pa., and Mitchell Straffon, Fenton, Mich., five bass, 17-8

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

The Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI event on Lake Champlain was hosted by the City of Plattsburgh and the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau. The next event for College Fishing anglers will be the Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI event on Sam Rayburn Reservoir Presented by Crock-O-Gator, Sept. 8 in Brookeland, Texas.

The 2023 MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI features college teams from across the country competing in nine regular-season tournaments. The top 12 percent of teams from each regular-season tournament advance to the 2024 Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship.

Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Black Rifle Coffee Company, E3, Favorite Fishing, Fox Rent a Car, General Tire, Grundens, Lawless Lures, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Wiley X and YETI.

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

Knoxville’s McCoy Boats Big Kicker on Last Cast to Win by 1 Ounce at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Watts Bar Lake

Brian Carter
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Knoxville’s McCoy Boats Big Kicker on Last Cast to Win by 1 Ounce at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Watts Bar Lake
Boater Kibbee McCoy of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Strike-King co-angler Peyton Kent of McDonald, Tennessee.
McDonald’s Kent Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division

SPRING CITY, Tenn. (June 26, 2023) – Boater Kibbee McCoy of Knoxville, Tennessee, caught a three-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Watts Bar Lake . The tournament, hosted by Fish Dayton/Rhea Economic & Tourism, was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Volunteer Division. Kibbee earned $7,563, including the lucrative $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

“I’ve been down here every Thursday and Sunday for about two and a half months, so I had kind of developed a one-two punch,” said McCoy. “I was fishing offshore, deep ledges during practice. And, also, since the mid-1980s, I’ve fished the face of that dam. So, I decided to run to the dam and fish it first thing. No luck, though, because they weren’t pulling any current.”

McCoy changed tactics and focused his efforts on deep water, but the change produced no results. He returned to the dam again and fished it this time with a Buckeye Lures Spot Remover 1/8-ounce jig head and a green-pumpkin Zoom Finesse Worm with a chartreuse-dyed tail.

“In practice, I would catch one or two that way and then leave,” McCoy said. “I knew how they positioned themselves based on how much current they were pulling. But I’ve never really caught any big fish off the dam, just some 2½- to 3-pounders.”

McCoy said he would catch a couple of bass on the face of the dam, leave to fish other spots, then return to the dam and repeat the jumping back and forth. McCoy said he caught a total of 20 fish during the course of the day, including one from a brushpile that fell for a Zoom Ol’ Monster worm.

“The last time I went back to the dam, I told my co-angler, ‘This will be our last cast, and then we’re going to have to run to weigh-in,’” McCoy said. “I flipped a Ned rig up there with a 1/10th-ounce Z-Man (Finesse) Shroomz jig (head) and a (Z-Man) Finesse TRD  and caught a 6-pound, 11-ouncer on the last cast. It replaced a 1.92 fish on my scales. Needless to say, that was a big upgrade.

“I knew that it would probably take 11 to 12 pounds to win,” McCoy added. “When I first caught that big fish, I thought it was a drum because they stay deep, and usually largemouth came up to the surface. I wasn’t going to give up on it, though. When it came up for a second time and I saw the side of it, I said, ‘That’s her right there.’ She went down again, and I said, ‘When she comes up again, put her in the net.’ I kept the pressure on and was using 10-pound braid and 8-pound Trilene fluorocarbon. She came up, the net was in the right position, and it was history.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

                1st:        Kibbee McCoy, Knoxville, Tenn., three bass, 12-2, $7,563 (includes $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
                2nd:       Brandon Young, Kingston, Tenn., three bass, 12-1, $2,214
                3rd:       Gavin Daniels, Kingston, Tenn., three bass, 10-11, $1,478
                4th:        Derick Robinson, Friendsville, Tenn., three bass, 9-2, $1,033
                5th:        Tony Eckler, Lebanon, Tenn., three bass, 8-9, $849
                5th:        Jacob Woods, Loudon, Tenn., three bass, 8-9, $849
                7th:        Chase Henley, Kingston, Tenn., three bass, 8-6, $1,188
                8th:        Joseph Tallent, Knoxville, Tenn., three bass, 8-3, $664
                9th:        Rob Linkous, Rogersville, Tenn., three bass, 8-2, $590
                10th:     Tommy Brown, Louisville, Tenn., three bass, 7-14, $517

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.



McCoy’s big bass that weighed 6 pounds, 11 ounces, also earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $635.

Peyton Kent of McDonald, Tennessee, won the Strike King co-angler division and a total of $2,531 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 9 pounds even.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

                1st:        Peyton Kent, McDonald, Tenn., three bass, 9-0, $2,531
                2nd:       Roger Phillips, Clinton, Tenn., three bass, 8-13, $1,107
                3rd:       Joey von Hoene, Erlanger, Ky., three bass, 7-6, $738
                4th:        Wesley Carroll, Wartburg, Tenn., three bass, 7-4, $917
                5th:        Evan Green, Jacksboro, Tenn., three bass, 6-15, $443
                6th:        Luke Shrader, Monticello, Ky., three bass, 6-11, $556
                7th:        Josh Massengale, Oliver Springs, Tenn., three bass, 6-9, $369
                8th:        Shaun Godsey, Decatur, Tenn., three bass, 6-8, $332
                9th:        Darren Kelly, Wartburg, Tenn., three bass, 6-7, $276
                9th:        Billy Joe Wheat, Evensville, Tenn., three bass, 6-7, $276

Kent also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $317, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 13 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Dillon Falardeau of Hixson, Tennessee, leads the BFL Volunteer Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 915 points, while Luke Shrader of Monticello, Kentucky, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 958 points.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 12-14 BFL Regional tournament on Dale Hollow Lake in Byrdstown, Tennessee. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The 2023 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2023 All-American event will take place May 31-June 2, on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina. The event is hosted by Visit Oconee SC.

Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X 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.

Mount Airy’s Poteat “Squeezes” Out Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at High Rock Lake

Brian Carter
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Mount Airy’s Poteat “Squeezes” Out Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at High Rock Lake
Boater Chad Poteat of Mount Airy, North Carolina and Strike-King co-angler Wes House of Knightdale, North Carolina.

Knightdale’s House Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division

LEXINGTON, N.C. (June 26, 2023) – Boater Chad Poteat of Mount Airy, North Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 23 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on High Rock Lake . The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL North Carolina Division. Poteat earned $12,986, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.

“The water had come up tremendously over the last few days because of the rain we’ve had,” said Poteat, who owns a lake house on High Rock Lake. “It had come down just enough to let me fish Abbott’s Creek. I removed my motor hood and windshield and a couple of graphs and was able to squeeze up under the bridge and get back in the creek where the water was stable and cleaner.”

Poteat, who said he excels in shallow water, targeted bream beds he had located a week before the tournament with a Texas-rigged Queen Tackle tungsten jig and coaxed eight keeper bites from High Rock for the day.

“I fished High Rock the week before in the Piedmont Division BFL event and finished seventh, so I knew where the fish were,” Poteat said. “I just swam a jig and pitched my worm around, and I was fortunate to get the ‘W’. God blessed me.”

After Poteat caught his third 5-pounder he thought he had a good shot at placing high in the standings.

“I had a limit in the box, then I caught my fourth 5-pounder and I said, ‘Man, I’ve got a shot at this thing,’” Poteat said. “I’ve fished a bunch of BFLs over the year, and to close the deal out on my home lake was a blessing. Plus, I got my fifth career BFL win. It is so hard to win one of these things. There are so many good fishermen nowadays.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:1st:          Chad Poteat, Mount Airy, N.C., five bass, 23-5, $12,986 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:        David Farrington, Greensboro, N.C., five bass, 21-0, $2,383
3rd:        Ron Wolfarth, Oakboro, N.C., five bass, 15-15, $1,256
4th:         Ladd Whicker, Winston-Salem, N.C., five bass, 15-9, $879
5th:         Greg Robertson, King, N.C., five bass, 13-13, $753
6th:         Todd Harris, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 13-5, $690
7th:         Adam Flora, Red House, W.V., four bass, 13-4, $628
8th:         Robert Walser, Lexington, N.C., four bass, 13-0, $565
9th:         John Farmer, Sherrills Ford, N.C., three bass, 12-9, $502
10th:      Chris Dover, Blacksburg, S.C., five bass, 11-15, $439
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

David Farrington of Greensboro, North Carolina, caught a bass that weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces, to earn the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $500.



Wes House of Knightdale, North Carolina, won the Strike King co-angler division and a total of $1,883 Saturday, after bringing four bass to the scale that totaled 15 pounds, 5 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished: 1st:          Wes House, Knightdale, N.C., four bass, 15-5, $1,883
2nd:        Lee Williams, Durham, N.C., five bass, 12-6, $942
3rd:        Hunter Alexander, China Grove, N.C., five bass, 10-15, $627
4th:         Chase Tedder, Walnut Cove, N.C., two bass, 8-2, $889
5th:         Andy Kearns, High Point, N.C.., two bass, 7-0, $361
5th:         Andrew Weaver, Clemmons, N.C., three bass, 7-0, $361
7th:         Greg Fox, Hudson, N.C., two bass, 6-15, $314
8th:         April Barrow, Salisbury, N.C., two bass, 6-9, $282
9th:         Samuel Jones, Fuquay Varina, N.C., three bass, 6-8, $251
10th:      Gregory Haverlock, Indian Trail, N.C., two bass, 6-0, $220
Chase Tedder of Walnut Cove, North Carolina, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $250, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 9 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Jason Barnes of Concord, North Carolina, leads the BFL North Carolina Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 945 points, while Wes House of Knightdale, North Carolina, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 969 points.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 5-7 BFL Regional tournament on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The 2023 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2023 All-American event will take place May 31-June 2, on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina. The event is hosted by Visit Oconee SC.

Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X 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.

Missile Baits Drops Bomba 3.5 and Adds More Spunk Shads

Brian Carter
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Missile Baits Drops Bomba 3.5 and Adds More Spunk Shads

Salem, Va. – June 26, 2023 –Missile Baits is dropping a new bait called the Bomba 3.5 and is adding to their offerings for the Spunk Shad. The Bomba 3.5 is a is a finesse, thick, craw body worm that casts and skips like a rocket. Think combination of a Ned Rig and Senko. The bait visually looks like a crawfish with no appendages and has a hook slot in the belly for easy hook sets. The Bomba 3.5 is mostly fished Texas rigged weightless to erratically fall to the bottom while gliding, rocking, and even going away from you at times.
“The Bomba 3.5 is a simple bait but extremely deadly because of its subtle action and amazing castability. I love that you can use it on a spinning or bait casting setup, and it is basically snag resistant. It will be used by pros on tour to novices catching their first bass in a pond,” says John Crews, BASS pro angler and Missile Baits owner.


The Bomba 3.5 will come in the same 8 colors with some tried and true Missile colors but also a few brand-new colors like Candy Crushed and Green Pumpkin Diablo. The Bomba 3.5 will have 6 baits per bag for a suggested retail of $5.69. Grab the Bomba 3.5 when you need to go finesse but still want an easy bait to cast. The Bomba 3.5 should be available to ship July 24, 2023.


Missile Baits is also adding to their Spunk Shad offerings to build on their partnership with Hog Farmer Baits. Missile Baits will be adding the Spunk Shad 3.5 size option to the 4.5 and 5.5 in the same 6 colors plus two more Missile colors. The new colors of Bombshell and Superbug will be available in all 3 size options of the Spunk Shads. The new Spunk Shad offerings should be available to ship in September 2023.
Bombs 3.5 product video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqG8n_xZe84

O.H. Ivie named 2023’s Best Bass Lake by Bassmaster Magazine

Brian Carter
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O.H. Ivie named 2023’s Best Bass Lake by Bassmaster Magazine

O.H. Ivie Lake has claimed the top spot in the 2023 Bassmaster Magazine 100 Best Bass Lakes standings for the first time in history.

Photo courtesy of Lynn Wright/TPWD

June 26, 2023

O.H. Ivie named 2023’s BestBass Lake by Bassmaster Magazine

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Things really are bigger in Texas and that includes the bass coming out of O.H. Ivie Lake, which claims the coveted spot atop the 2023 Bassmaster Magazine 100 Best Bass Lakes standings for the first time in history. This reservoir has stolen the spotlight over the last three years, producing an eye-popping 15 Legacy Class ShareLunker bass — a designation for fish weighing more than 13 pounds — between January and March. 

Like the waters anglers love, the rankings of America’s best bass fisheries can surge or ebb, and this year’s 100 Best Bass Lakes list is a true reflection of those fluctuations.

“We are always a little surprised when going through the data how many fisheries make the rankings and then fall off, as well as by those lakes that just always make the list,” explained Bassmaster Magazine Editor-in-Chief James Hall. “Creating the rankings takes more than two months as we dig through current tournament data as well as state fishery information on stocking efforts, catch rates and angler access.

“While the fisheries may change, our goal is to point anglers toward the most productive waters so that their time is spent with rod bent. These rankings provide a bucket list of destinations for anglers.”

As for bragging rights on which state has the most fisheries in the Top 100 rankings, that title goes to Texas with a whopping 10 lakes. Right behind the Lone Star State are California and Florida, each with nine lakes on the list, followed by New York and Michigan (six).

Spectacular scenery and feisty smallmouth meet on the 50-mile stretch of the St. Lawrence River known as the 1000 Islands, which dropped one spot to No. 2 in this year’s rankings. Anglers eager to do battle with giant smallmouth can head north to the 1000 Islands region of the St. Lawrence River. History was made on the clear waters of this seaway straddling the U.S.-Canadian border during the 2022 Bassmaster Elite out of Clayton, N.Y. After four days, two anglers — Jay Przekurat and Cory Johnston — topped the 100-pound mark with solely smallmouth, a first-ever feat for the Elite Series. 

While long-considered a West Coast powerhouse, No. 3 Clear Lake fell out of the top spot during the past two years but is enjoying a resurgence thanks to one of the wettest springs in history. After a multiyear drought, there is now plenty of flooded vegetation providing ideal habitat, with an abundance of baitfish keeping hungry bass well fed. Combine the opportunity to catch the limit of a lifetime with a pristine setting in California’s wine country, and you have the definition of a bucket-list fishing destination.

The rankings identify the top lakes in the nation based on head-to-head comparisons, as well as the Top 25 lakes in four geographical regions — Central, Western, Southeastern and Northeastern.

“We divide the nation into four regions and rank the lakes in each region to give anglers perspective on the fisheries they can most likely reach,” Hall explained.

Full rankings can be found in the July/August issue of Bassmaster Magazine and on Bassmaster.com. 

Bassmaster Magazine’s Top 10 BestBassLakes of 2023

  1. O.H. Ivie Lake, Texas
  2. St. Lawrence River (1000 Islands), New York
  3. Clear Lake, California
  4. Lake Murray, South Carolina
  5. Toledo Bend Reservoir, Louisiana/Texas
  6. Fellsmere Reservoir/Stick Marsh/Kenansville Lake, Florida
  7. Lake St. Clair, Michigan 
  8. Orange Lake, Florida
  9. Lake Erie/Upper Niagara River, New York
  10. Lake Okeechobee, Florida

Best Bass Lakes – Central Division

  1. O.H. Ivie Lake, Texas
  2. Toledo Bend Reservoir, Louisiana/Texas
  3. Lake Fork, Texas
  4. Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas
  5. Caney Creek Reservoir, Louisiana

Best BassLakes – Western Division

  1. Clear Lake, California
  2. Lake Berryessa, California
  3. Diamond Valley Lake, California
  4. Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California
  5. Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Best BassLakes – Northeastern Division

  1. St. Lawrence River (1000 Islands), New York
  2. Lake St. Clair, Michigan 
  3. Lake Erie/Upper Niagara River, New York
  4. Burt/Mullett lakes, Michigan
  5. Lake Champlain, New York/Vermont

Best BassLakes – Southeastern Division

  1. Lake Murray, South Carolina
  2. Fellsmere Reservoir/Stick Marsh/Kenansville Lake, Florida
  3. Orange Lake, Florida
  4. Lake Okeechobee, Florida
  5. Lake Guntersville, Alabama

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Dustin Connell Cruises to Group B Lead at MLF General Tire Stage Six at Lake St. Clair

Brian Carter
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Dustin Connell Cruises to Group B Lead at MLF General Tire Stage Six at Lake St. Clair

Alabama Pro Leads by 4 Ounces after Group B Day 1, Group A to Wrap Up Two-Day Qualifying Round Monday

HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (June 25, 2023) – A strong morning bite carried Favorite Fishing pro Dustin Connell through the competition day Sunday, with his five largest bass weighing 22 pounds, 13 ounces. Connell’s hefty limit earned him the Group B Day 1 lead in the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour General Tire Stage Six at Lake St. Clair Presented by John Deere Utility Vehicles. Pro John Hunter of Shelbyville, Kentucky finished the day tight on Connell’s heels, weighing in five scorable smallmouth totaling 22-9, good for second place.

Link to HD Video – Fish-Catch Highlights of Group B Qualifying Round Day 1 on Lake St. Clair
Link to Photo Gallery of Group B’s Day 1 Qualifying Round Highlights

The six-day event, hosted by the Detroit Sports Commission, Macomb County and Lake St. Clair Metroparks, showcases 80 of the top professional anglers in the world, 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.

“It’s been a heck of a day,” said Connell. “It started out quick and we did good, which put us in a great position for the rest of the week. I found a couple new areas this afternoon, but I’ve got one little spot that’s really good and I’m just hoping that it holds out.”

Connell jumped out to an early lead Sunday, filling his limit within the first 30 minutes of competition and staying atop the SCORETRACKER® throughout the day.

“The fish are there – I mean, there are a bunch of 4- to 5-pounders there,” Connell continued. “I lost one this morning that was over 4 pounds, so hopefully that spot will be sustainable throughout the event.”

Connell spent his day targeting bass offshore with his Lowrance ActiveTarget and caught his fish on a 7-foot, 2-inch medium heavy Favorite Fishing Hex Rod, throwing a drop-shot rig on 15-pound braid.

“This is my favorite way to fish,” said Connell. “It’s just awesome watching the way the fish react to your bait. I’m hoping that the wind dies down as we get further into the event, so we can really get after it.

“Right now, the fish are down deep, stuck to the bottom. With all these waves, they just really want to hunker down low. But when the sun pops out and it gets slick, they slide up closer to the surface and you can see them a little better on your electronics.

“I don’t know how this tournament is going to be won, but I think it’s going to come down to finding a good area that you have to yourself,” Connell finished.

The 40 anglers in Group B will now have an off day on Monday, while the 40 anglers competing in Group A will wrap up their two-day Qualifying Round. Group B will finish their Qualifying Round on Tuesday.

The top 20 pros in Group B after Day 1 on Lake St. Clair are:

1st:           Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., five bass, 22-13
2nd:          John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., five bass, 22-9
3rd:          Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 20-15
4th:           Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky. five bass, 20-11
5th:           Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., five bass, 20-8
6th:           Dakota Ebare, Brookeland, Texas, five bass, 20-6
7th:           Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., five bass, 20-5
8th:           Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, five bass, 20-3
9th:           Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, five bass, 19-5
10th:        Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., five bass, 19-4
11th:        Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 19-2
12th:        Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., five bass, 18-15
13th:        Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., five bass, 18-15
14th:        Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 18-13
15th:        Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., five bass, 18-12
16th:        Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., five bass, 18-8
17th:        Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, five bass, 18-4
18th:        Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., five bass, 18-0
19th:      Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., five bass, 17-15
20th:        James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., five bass, 17-12

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Hunter earned the $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award after a 5-pound, 8-ounce smallmouth bit his drop shot with five minutes remaining in Period 3. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and another $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.

The 40 Anglers in Group A compete in their two-day qualifying round on Saturday and Monday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Sunday and Tuesday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the top 20 anglers from each group advance to Wednesday’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 Thursday’s Championship Round. In the 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.

Anglers will launch each day at 7:20 a.m. ET from Lake St. Clair Metropark, located at 31300 Metro Parkway in Harrison Township. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the Metropark, 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.

On Championship Thursday, June 29, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., MLF will welcome fans of all ages to celebrate the top 10 and crown the General Tire Stage Six at Lake St. Clair Champion at the Watch Party and Trophy Presentation. The final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.

The General Tire Stage Six at Lake St. Clair Presented by John Deere Utility Vehicles features anglers 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 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 General Tire Stage Six at Lake St. Clair Presented by John Deere Utility Vehicles Championship Round will air as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, November 4 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.

Jacob & Jeff Norris Win CATT Lake Wateree, SC Summer Final June 24, 2023

Brian Carter
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Jacob & Jeff Norris Win CATT Lake Wateree, SC Summer Final June 24, 2023

The 2023 CATT Lake Wateree Fall schedule is posted and as we have seen the fishing has been much better this year! The 1st Fall Qualifier will be Sept 30! The next Wateree Open will be Sept 23rd! Hope to see you in the Fall!

Jacob & Jeff Norris win the Wateree Summer Final with 5 bass weighing 18.50 lbs! They earned $2,316.00!

Lane & Jeff Knight 2nd with 15.48 lbs worth $1,000.00!

Chad Sims & Steve Phillips 3rd with 14.96 lbs!

The Academy BF at 4.51 lbs was brought in by Jarrod Thompson!

Mack Kitchens & Chad Gainey were the 2023 CATT Lake Wateree Sumer Point Winners!

TeamBFWeightWinnings
Jeff Norris & Jacob Norris4.3618.50$2,316.00
Jeff Knight & Lane Knight3.9715.48$1,000.00
Steve Phillips & Chad Sims4.2914.96$500.00
Chad Rabon & Walt Almond3.3514.95$200.00
Chad Gainey & Mack Kitchens3.5714.21
Alvin Shaw3.6613.25
Jarrod Thompson 4.5112.67$154.00
Chase Wallace & Haven Owens3.1912.36
Kenneth McFarlan & Landon Jordan2.5811.90
Jerry Freezon3.1011.73
Max Terry & Freddie Gibbs3.5411.72
Jess Williams & Mark Healon4.0111.05
Butch Williams & Max Price3.5810.91
Jason Ries & Roger McKee2.6310.38
Justin Barfield & Johnny Barfield2.4610.11
Robert Jackson & Darrell Fenton2.189.72
Paul Wells & Craig Haven0.007.24
Rick Corn & Drew Faulkenberry0.000.00
Rubba Baker & Colden Baker0.000.00
Luke Shrader & Quenton Motley0.000.00
Wesley Bilton0.000.00
Ryan Ray0.000.00
Total Entrys$2,520.00
BONUS $$450.00
Wateree Summer Final Fund$1,195.00
Total Paid At Ramp Cash & Prizes$4,270.00
Total Paid Summer 2023 Wateree$10,670.00

Local Pro Brett Carnright Earns First Career MLF Victory at Toyota Series at Lake Champlain Presented by Rabid Baits 

Brian Carter
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Local Pro Brett Carnright Earns First Career MLF Victory at Toyota Series at Lake Champlain Presented by Rabid Baits 

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (June 25, 2023) – Local pro Brett Carnright of Plattsburgh, New York, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday totaling 19 pounds, 4 ounces, to win the Toyota Series at Lake Champlain Presented by Rabid Baits. Carnright’s three-day total of 59 pounds, 11 ounces earned him his first career victory by 1½ pounds over his cousin, Ryan Latinville, also of Plattsburgh. Carnright earned $90,500 for his victory, which was the season-opening event in the Toyota Series Northern Division Presented by Rabid Baits.

When it comes to Champlain, especially during the spawn, it’s hard to talk about tournament fishing without bringing up Latinville and Carnright. Between them, they’ve raised the bar on what wins in June, and this tournament certainly fell into their wheelhouse. So, to see the cousins finish 1-2 is no surprise.  Though winning with 59-11 is a little shy of some recent Champlain events, considering the time of year and the size of the field, the Carnright’s winning weight is nothing to sneeze at.

It was made possible by a quirky spring that put a lot of big fish right where Carnright needed them.

“I thought it was going to fish a little lighter, just because of where I checked the first day of practice,” Carnright said. “Then, all of a sudden, we had a huge wave come up. We had some really cold weather two weeks before the tournament, I think it shut down a wave of fish that were coming, I checked some areas where they spawn a week prior and there was no evidence of any fish spawning. We got some warm weather, calm weather, the water got hot, and fish started showing up. About a week before the tournament, we started finding some big ones. Originally, I thought 59 was going to be right there, but by the tournament, Ryan and I both thought it would take well over 60.”

Plenty of other pros tried to bed fish to contend with Carnright, but only Latinville really came close, as the others who leaned hard on sight-fishing dipped out of the picture day by day. Meanwhile, Carnright actually improved his weight on Day 2, and caught the third-biggest bag of the final day. 

“What helped me the most, which I thought would hurt me the most, was there was a massive amount of clear water and dirty water shifting around the north end of the lake,” he said. “Guys were talking about not being able to see 7 feet deep, and then next day you could see 17 feet deep. I was focusing on 8 to 11 feet of water, and I was able to find all my 11-foot beds prior to the weekend. Over the weekend, we had some bad weather that muddied up the water, so all my fish were protected from people being able to see them. People were coming around me into the area of the lake I was fishing, and I kept seeing less and less boats.”

Dirtier water protected many of his fish from the prying eyes of the competition, but it did make them harder to catch. So, in addition to using a flogger, Carnright had to catch some with his ActiveTarget alone.

“Luckily for me, I had good waypoints, and I was able to utilize my electronics,” he said. “I had to catch those fish, if I don’t, I don’t win the tournament. So, I knew my best bet was to sit there with ActiveTarget and catch those fish. I was able to catch all the fish I had marked, and I actually found a few bonus ones.”

Carnright lives for the smallmouth spawn, and has put days and days into the pursuit. In good shape and willing to go up and down with a flogger all day, he’s also lucky to have a really good eye for what might be a bed.

“It’s a lot of strategy, you have to find your fish before the tournament, finding them during the tournament is really difficult,” he said. “You have to be really strategic with which fish you catch. You have to hope they’re not leaving, and during this tournament a lot of fish acted like they wanted to leave. Over the years, we’ve noticed the spawn shifts earlier into June, so when this was announced, I didn’t think it would be a spawning event. But, with the cooler weather this spring, probably the biggest wave of fish the lake had came this week.”

To catch his bed fish, Carnright used a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm on a drop-shot. He also used a swimbait on a 3/16-ounce head to catch postspawn fish, which was a critical piece of his strategy.

“Day 1, I had one postspawn fish and four fish that were on beds,” he said. “Day 2, I had all bed fish. Today, I had all bed fish, and I caught one postspawn fish that was the same size as my smallest fish.

“When practice started, (the postspawn) fish were easy to catch,” he said. “As the week went on, I think more guys found it. It got a lot tougher, I think a lot of guys put pressure on those fish. They would run up, look at it and not eat it. That was something I figured out before the tournament – I knew I needed something other than bed fish. It was either going to be largemouth or catching postspawn smallies. We had a huge heat wave in April, and I think a lot of smallmouth spawned then. I think those fish went postspawn and started feeding up, and I knew that would be my bonus.”

Edging out his cousin Latinville, plus good friend LaBelle, Carnright has been on the cusp a number of times. Just this spring, he led the ABA championship on the Red River before coughing up the lead. In Toyota Series past, he’s finished fourth, second and fifth on Champlain.

This week, things aligned for Carnright, and also Latinville, to do what they do best on Champlain.

“Spawning fishing is really weird, it’s more like hunting fish, rather than fishing for them,” he said. “You’re looking for them nonstop, looking at rocks, looking at the bottom, hoping you can find some cleaner water where you can see. And it always wins. There really aren’t any major tournaments in June where bed fishing isn’t the major player. So, knowing that, we have to put a lot of time into it. After the 2017 Toyota, and the next one in 2018, that’s when we really got dialed in to bed fishing. If you look at the weights from then to now, it’s astronomical. The field is also learning, but we’re able to dial it in each year better and better. We’ve been able to win some pretty big local events with heavy 21-pound bags or 22 sometimes.”

Still, despite the previous success, Carnright didn’t go into the final day thinking he’d win. With LaBelle ahead of him, he knew things would have to break right.

“Bryan Labelle has been telling me I’m gonna win this tournament since the schedule came out,” he said. “What a way to do it, there’s not a more skilled angler to beat on the final day than Bryan. I’ve been saying for years he’s the best angler to ever fish this lake, I thought the mountain was unclimbable.”

The top 10 pros on Lake Champlain finished:

1st:          Brett Carnright, Plattsburgh, New York, 15 bass, 59-11, $90,500 (includes $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus)
2nd:         Ryan Latinville, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 15 bass, 59-0, $22,000
3rd:         Bryan Labelle, Hinesburg, Vt., 15 bass, 58-3, $15,250
4th:         Garrett Rocamora, Lake Wales, Fla., 15 bass, 57-6, $13,250
5th:         Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 15 bass, 57-1, $12,250
6th:         Alec Morrison, Peru, N.Y., 15 bass, 56-11, $9,625
7th:         Brayden Federer, Adrian, Mich., 15 bass, 56-10, $8,300
8th:         Tyler Woolcott, Port Orange, Fla., 15 bass, 56-6, $7,600
9th:         Brian Green, North Augusta, Ontario, Canada, 15 bass, 55-15, $6,300
10th:       Kyle Hall, Granbury, Texas, 15 bass, 55-13, $4,700

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Pro Chris Adams of Shrewsbury, Vermont, took home the $500 Day 1 Berkley Big Bass award in the pro division Thursday with a largemouth weighing 4 pounds, 13 ounces. On Friday, pro Nick Radtke of Greenwood Lake, New York, earned the $500 Berkley Big Bass prize after bringing a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass to the scale.

Carnright earned an extra $35,000 as the highest finishing Phoenix MLF Bonus member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $35,000 per event in each Toyota Series tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the Phoenix MLF Bonus contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.

Nicholas Veselka of Fishers, Indiana, won the Strike King Co-angler Division Saturday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 49 pounds, 15 ounces. Veselka took home the top prize package worth $35,400, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard motor.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers on Lake Champlain finished:

1st:          Nicholas Veselka, Fishers, Ind., 15 bass, 49-15, $35,400 incl. Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp Mercury outboard
2nd:         Randy Nelson, Granger, Ind., 15 bass, 47-7, $6,625
3rd:         Jacob Swanson, Framingham, Mass., 15 bass, 46-13, $5,300
4th:         Richard Bleser, Burlington, Wis., 15 bass, 46-11, $4,150
5th:         Jeremy Vandenbosch, Lowell, Mich., 15 bass, 46-5, $3,650
6th:         Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 15 bass, 45-7, $3,150
7th:         William Lisenby, Centreville, Va., 15 bass, 44-15, $2,650
8th:         Shawn Gokey, Georgia, Vt., 15 bass, 44-14, $2,075
9th:         Jim Jarvis, Timberville, Va., 15 bass, 43-11, $1,630
10th:       Cory Hartfield, Centerburg, Ohio, 15 bass, 43-4, $1,390

Garrett Seppala of New Ipswich, New Hampshire, was the Berkley Big Bass $150 award winner in the Strike King co-angler division, Thursday, weighing in a 4-pound, 14-ouncer. Friday’s Day 2 $150 award went to Brenden Massa of Battle Creek, Michigan, with a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass.

With one regular-season event in the Toyota Series Northern Division now complete, Carnright leads the Northern Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 260 points, while Veska leads the Strike King Co-angler Division AOY race with 260 points.

The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at Lake Champlain Presented by Rabid Baits, hosted by the City of Plattsburgh and the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau, was the first of three regular-season events for the Toyota Series Northern Division. The next event for Toyota Series anglers will be the Toyota Series at the St. Lawrence River, Aug. 10-12, in Massena, New York. For a complete schedule of events, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The 2023 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consists of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern, Southwestern and the Western Division Presented by Tackle Warehouse – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International and Wild Card divisions. Anglers who fish in any of the six 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 2024. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard. The 2023 Toyota Series Championship will be held Nov. 2-4 on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri, and is hosted by ExploreBranson.com.

Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Toyota Series include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Black Rifle Coffee Company, E3, Favorite Fishing, Fox Rent a Car, General Tire, Gill, Grundéns, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Next Gen Lithium, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Wiley X 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.

Minnesota’s Cambridge-Isanti Blue Jackets Edges Field by Six Ounces to Win 2023 High School Fishing National Championship 

Brian Carter
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Minnesota’s Cambridge-Isanti Blue Jackets Edges Field by Six Ounces to Win 2023 High School Fishing National Championship 

Student Anglers Zachary Piescher and Cole Semler Claim Title with Three-Day Total of Nine Bass Weighing 32-7

LA CROSSE, Wis. (June 25, 2023) – Minnesota’s Cambridge-Isanti Blue Jackets duo of Zachary Piescher of Cambridge, Minnesota, and Cole Semler, of Dalbo, Minnesota, brought a final-day three-bass limit to the scale Friday weighing 10 pounds, 12 ounces to win the 2023 High School Fishing National Championship on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Link to Video of Day 3 Championship Weigh-in from High School Fishing National Championship
Link to On-The-Water Photo Gallery from Day 3

The duo’s three-day total of nine bass weighing 32 pounds, 7 ounces, earned them the victory by a slim 6-ounce margin over the runner-up, Illinois’ Kaneland High School, and earned the Cambridge-Isanti duo two $5,000 scholarships to a college of their choosing.  The duo also now advances to the 2023 MLF Toyota Series Championship, held Nov. 2-4 on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri, to compete as co-anglers and a shot at the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The team from east-central Minnesota has had a variety of roadblocks in their path to overcome in order to make it to the final day, let alone to be in a position to win. After dropping a solid 9-13 on the scales on Day 1, their Day 2 went less than smooth as a variety of setbacks hindered them throughout the day. Close calls while boating, a broken fuel pump, and managing the lock schedule all made for a turbulent time, but the pair were able to scrounge up 11-14 and put themselves in real contention for the title heading into the final day, just 1-6 back from the leaders from Kaneland High School.

“For the past three days it’s been the most adrenalin I’ve ever had,” Piescher said. “Problems come with the good and the bad. We had a couple close calls out there, and then we win this when we weren’t expecting to get first – maybe second or third or whatever.”

The final day of competition got off to another rough start for Cambridge-Isanti as their fuel pump continued to throw a wrench in their tournament plans. Virtually dead in the water, help came from an unlikely source as camera boat driver Brad Wessling offered his boat so that the team could finish out their improbable Championship run.

“We just had to build and build every day,” Semler said. “(Problems) are just something you have got to overcome. First, we had our close call with another boat, then the motor won’t work well (yesterday). Then today we go to take off and it’s just nothing. Then we get permission to jump in the camera boat and things worked out. So, we are pretty lucky.”

After a quick swap and safety check, the boys and their boat captain Jeremiah Semler tore off to Pool No. 7 to chase their largemouth bite up stream. Upon arrival at their destination in Pool 7, the pair sat down and got to work, posting a limit in the first several minutes of their morning.

“We were expecting to get them, and we could almost call our cast,” Cole Semler said. “This place is something special. But, after the camera crew left especially, we calmed down a lot and were able to cull two times.”

“Brad was a lifesaver today,” Piescher said. “We wouldn’t have gotten even nearly close to top five without him. I don’t think we would have been able to catch the same quality in Pool 8.”

The High School Fishing National Championship featured 248 teams, and the top 10 teams at the 2023 High School Fishing National Championship on the Mississippi River finished:

                1st: Cambridge-Isanti High School, Cambridge, Minn. – Zachary Piescher and Cole Semler, nine bass, 32-7
                2nd: Kaneland High School, Maple Park, Ill. – J.D. McBroom and Carter Pjesky, nine bass, 32-1
                3rd: Haughton Fishing Team, Haughton, La. – Carsen Adcock and Jase White, nine bass, 31-0
                4th: Ruston High School, Ruston, La. – Rhett Anderson and Jessie Green, six bass, 28-1
                5th: Piedmont Academy, Monticello, Ga. – Jaden Hoffman and Jayden Lintner, nine bass, 27-4
                6th: Star City High School Anglers, Wahoo, Neb. – Ryder Kahny and Taylor Wagner, nine bass, 27-3
                7th: Jackson Bass Fishing, Jackson, Mich. – Rylan Hamlin and Jack Swihart, nine bass, 26-12
                8th: Hewitt-Trussville High School, Trussville, Ala. – Andrew Jones and Carson Underwood, nine bass, 26-10
                9th: Saint Xavier High School, Louisville, Ky. – Miles Allen and Ethan Roths, eight bass, 26-7
                10th: North Paulding High School Bass Team, Dallas, Ga. – Caleb Edwards and Blake Edwards, nine bass, 25-14

Complete results for the entire field can be found at HighSchoolFishing.org.

The 2023 High School Fishing National Championship on the Mississippi River was hosted by Explore La Crosse. MLF High School Fishing tournaments are free, two-person (team) events for students in grades 7-12 and are open to any MLF and TBF Student Angler Federation-affiliated high school club. The top 10 percent of teams at each Open event, along with the TBF High School Fishing state championships, advanced to the 2023 High School Fishing National Championship.

Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF High School Fishing Presented by Favorite Fishing include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Black Rifle Coffee Company, E3, Favorite Fishing, Fox Rent a Car, General Tire, Grundens, Lawless Lures, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Wiley X and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit HighSchoolFishing.org. For regular High School Fishing updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow High School Fishing on Facebook and on 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, the Discovery Channel, the Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, the 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 13 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.

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