This is a day that will never be forgot by Drew & the 100’s of fans a like that showed up for this life changing moment for Drew in his rookie year on the Bass Pro Series on the Chowan River. We hope that you enjoy the photos, & interviews from the top five anglers.
CLICK HER TO SEE FINAL RESULTS
BUFORD, GA – Gill Fishing maker of premium foul weather and technical apparel for anglers has released new colors of the ever-popular Pro Expedition shorts. Black, Stone, Dark Navy and Khaki colors will upgrade this popular line of shorts. The exceptional performance, quick drying, and moisture-wicking fabric is perfect for hot conditions and all-day comfort. These new colors are available now on www.gillfishing.com and Gill Fishing’s retail partners.
Scott Canterbury Bassmaster Elite Series Angler and Gill Pro says “The Pro Expedition Shorts are my favorite pair of shorts, comfort meets confidence. I don’t have to be adjusting, worrying about spills or being uncomfortable in hot weather because Gill has thought every feature through.”
The Pro Expedition Short ($79.95) designed and engineered for exceptional performance, our 4-way stretch Pro Expedition Shorts feature our plant-based XPEL® fabric treatment for a full water and stain-repellent finish – meaning water simply rolls off the fabric and stains such as oil, fish blood, and guts are prevented. Perfect for use in hot conditions, the lightweight technical fabric is quick drying and wicks moisture away from the skin while the built-in 50+ UV protection will shield you from the sun.
Conveniently placed, the deep side pockets, zippered thigh pockets, and double rear back pockets mean you have a place for everything. Complete with external waist adjustment and a D-ring attachment point for tools or a kill-cord leash, you can go all day long with maximum comfort in mind.
Pro Expedition shorts come in men’s and women’s sizes.
For more information, please email Fishing Marketing Manager, Michele Eichstead (michele.eichstead@gillna.com).
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Overcoming Challenges and Achieving Success
In the world of competitive fishing, one name that stands out is Fred Roumbanis. Recently, Fred participated in a thrilling fishing tournament on the Chowan River. Despite being hit by a drunk driver on the way to the tournament that totaled his boat, he showcased his determination and skill by finishing in the top 10. Let’s dive into Fred’s journey, his challenges, and his triumphs.
A Setback Turns into an Opportunity:
Fred began his story by mentioning the accident he had prior to the tournament. Although shaken up, he didn’t let it deter him from pursuing his passion for fishing. Phoenix Boats, a company he works with, came to his rescue and provided him with a new boat. This act of kindness allowed Fred to focus on the tournament and put aside his worries about insurance and other complications.
The Yamamoto Sensei Worm: A Game-Changing Bait:
Fred’s success in the tournament can be attributed, in part, to the bait he used – the Yamamoto Sensei worm. This new creation from Yamamoto tackled the challenges of the river with ease. Its unique formula and plum candy color proved irresistible to the fish. Fred shared that this bait’s neutral buoyancy and softness made it a one-fish bite wonder. Despite going through five packs of worms, he managed to secure one pack for the final day that help him take home $16K.
Looking Ahead to the James River Tournament:
As the interview progressed, Fred discussed his excitement for the upcoming tournament on the James River. He mentioned that this river is more influenced by wind-driven tides. Understanding the importance of timing and staying within specific bite windows, Fred drew parallels to his experience fishing on the California delta. He emphasized the advantage of being able to run the river and stay on a productive bite window throughout the day.
Lessons Learned and Gratitude Expressed:
Throughout the interview, Fred emphasized the importance of staying positive, enjoying the journey, and embracing challenges. He shared his gratitude for the opportunities he has been given, including the support of Phoenix Boats and the chance to compete in the tournaments he loves.
Conclusion:
Fred’s fishing adventure on the Choan River showcased his resilience and determination. Despite facing a setback, he persevered and secured a spot in the top 10. He credited his success to the support he received, the innovative Yamamoto Sensei worm, and his ability to adapt to changing fishing conditions. As the James River tournament approaches, Fred remains enthusiastic and ready to tackle new challenges. We look forward to seeing him continue to make waves in the world of competitive fishing.
PHOTO Courtesy of MLB
150 Professional Anglers competing in Plattsburgh, New York next week for top prize of up to $115,000 and qualification into REDCREST 2025
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (June 10, 2024) – Major League Fishing (MLF) is set to return to Upstate New York this week, June 15-17, to launch the fifth Tackle Warehouse Invitational of the season – the Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 5 at Lake Champlain Presented by 7 Brew . The three-day tournament will feature a roster of 150 anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000 and an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2025 – MLF’s most prestigious event – for the chance to win up to $300,000.
Hosted by the City of Plattsburgh and the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau, the event also showcases competitors competing for valuable points to win the coveted Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) title – including a $50,000 payout – and to qualify for the 2025 Bass Pro Tour, MLF’s premiere circuit.
This tournament marks the 73rd MLF (and FLW) tournament that Lake Champlain has hosted over the past 30 years. The scenic venue is a bucket-list destination for many MLF anglers, as the fishery is known for its plentiful largemouth and smallmouth bass populations. In this year’s event expect to see smallmouth reign supreme, as most of the fish will likely still be in their spawning and postspawn phases, according to local pro Ryan Latinville of Plattsburgh, who will be among the 150 competitors on the water next week.
“Typically this time of the year, they’re spawning, and I expect mid-lake to the northern end to really be a dominating factor next week,” Latinville said. “The smallmouth should play pretty big, and it’s going to be crucial to mix in the occasional largemouth.
“That’s going to be the real key to doing well in this one – figuring out how to catch the random big largemouth,” Latinville continued. “The weights are going to be stacked. Lake Champlain is loaded with 3-pounders. So a 5-pound largemouth is going to go a real long way in separating yourself from the pack.”
Latinville said that due to recent warmer temperatures, some fish may be further ahead than others.
“We’re going to see guys catching them on beds, and we’re going to see guys fishing offshore,” Latinville said. “The bed fish are typically smaller, but they’re attractive because you can see them. But with the fish that are further along, we might see some patterns and areas develop that we normally wouldn’t see this time of the year.”
Latinville predicted that the majority of anglers would be fishing typical Lake Champlain baits – drop-shot rigs, Ned rigs, topwater baits, flukes and spybaits.
“People have the northern end figured out, and I expect that is where the majority of the anglers will be. But Ticonderoga absolutely has the potential to go off. If someone can figure the largemouth out down there, they could absolutely win the tournament there.
“With the field of anglers that are competing in this one, it’s going to be a really competitive tournament,” Latinville went on to say. “I predict at the end, the three-day winner is going to have 60 pounds, 12 ounces.”
Anglers will launch at 6:30 a.m. ET each day from the Plattsburgh City Marina, located at 5 Dock St. in Plattsburgh. Weigh-ins will also be held at the marina 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 2024 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals feature a field of 150 professional anglers competing across six invitational tournaments around the country, for a total purse of $3.9 million and valuable Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) points to qualify for a coveted spot on the MLF Bass Pro Tour, the sport’s top level.
In Tackle Warehouse Invitational competition, the full field of 150 anglers compete in the two-day opening round on Saturday and Sunday 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 Monday, where they will compete for the grand prize of up to $115,000. The winner of the Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 5 at Lake Champlain Presented by 7 Brew will be determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative weight and will receive an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2025 on Lake Guntersville in Huntsville, Alabama.
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. ET. MLFNOW! will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 5 at Lake Champlain Presented by 7 Brew will air as a two-hour episode, premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Nov. 2 on CBS Sports Network.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sports Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak Fishing, Onyx, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Tackle Warehouse Invitational updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
| Menifee’s Melton Earns Pro Victory, Moreno Tops Co-anglers as Female Anglers Finish 1-2 for First Time in History |
| OAKLEY, Calif. (June 9, 2024) – Pro Cristian Melton closed out his first professional win the same way he punctuated a dominant season in the Western Division Presented by Tackle Warehouse — with style. Melton, who led after Day 2 of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats event on the California Delta, which was presented by Suzuki Marine, weighed in 20 pounds, 13 ounces on the final day to put an exclamation point on his victory. The biggest bag of Day 3, that brought his total to 61-7, putting him 4-15 clear of runner-up Christian Ostrander. Not only did Melton pocket $22,866 for the win, he added another $5,000 as the winner of the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year award for the Western Division. That title, too, he claimed in convincing fashion after finishing fifth at the season-opener on Clear Lake and second on Lake Havasu prior to his triumph at the Delta. “It’s crazy,” Melton said. “It’s going to take me probably two days for it to really soak in. I’m just going to be like, oh my gosh, that just happened.” Melton arrived at the Delta solely focused on securing the AOY title. And even as well as he performed during the first two days, with each of the second- through fourth-place anglers entering the event also making the Top 25 cut, he had some work to do Friday before he could turn his attention to hoisting his first trophy. It took him about 10 minutes to assuage those concerns. Returning to the area where he’d caught most of his 22-pound Day 2 bag, on about his fifth cast, Melton hooked up with a Delta giant. The bass weighed 8-12 — the biggest caught by any angler during the event. Once it entered the net, Melton knew he had one victory wrapped up and was well on his way to a second. “Me and my co-angler, Deanna (Moreno), we were just ecstatic,” Melton said. “I was like, well, that’s my AOY fish.” Staying in that area, Melton filled his limit by 7:30 a.m. After running around for a few hours and catching “one here and one there,” he returned to the honey hole and upgraded a couple more times, all but sealing a second victory. Melton described the spot as a slack-water pocket in the central San Joaquin River. Protected from the current and the wind, it featured cleaner water and healthier vegetation than most of the surrounding areas. As a result, while there was a lot of fishless water in the massive system this week, the spot was “teeming with life,” producing regardless of the tide. “Clean water is a big thing,” Melton said. “Clean, healthy grass, just a clean ecosystem. Not like blown-out stuff that’s getting new water every day. Just more protected from the elements, whether it be the wind, the current, just anything, stuff pushing into it all the time. And these fish somehow find it, and they just load up.” Melton believes the area held bass in all three phases of the spawn. He sight-fished a few off beds, but “90 percent” of his keepers (including the 8-12) ate a wacky-rigged 5-inch Yamamoto Senko. “It was just a mixture of what I believe is prespawn, spawn and postspawn (bass), because there were bluegill beds, and then right next to it was bass beds, and then there was postspawners off the bank, and I was watching fish funnel in these areas,” Melton explained. The top 10 pros on the California Delta finished: 1st: Cristian Melton, Menifee, Calif., 15 bass, 61-7, $22,866 2nd: Christian Ostrander, Turlock, Calif., 15 bass, 56-8, $8,860 3rd: Rodney Brinser, Discovery Bay, Calif., 15 bass, 54-2, $6,860 4th: David Valdivia, Riverside, Calif., 15 bass, 50-0, $6,016 5th: Mark Cobey, Woodland, Calif., 15 bass, 49-10, $5,645 6th: Hunter Schlander, Modesto, Calif., 15 bass, 48-7, $4,573 7th: Phil Tilbury, Escalon, Calif., 15 bass, 45-10, $4,001 8th: Jon Strelic, El Cajon, Calif., 15 bass, 45-4, $3,430 9th: Louis Fernandes, Santa Maria, Calif., 15 bass, 44-12, $3,358 10th: Micah Jones, Kingman, Ariz., 15 bass, 43-10, $2,287 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Fernandes earned Thursday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass Award with a largemouth bass weighing 8 pounds, 2 ounces. Pro Mark Cobey of Woodland, California, earned the $500 Berkley Big Bass Award on Friday with a 7-pound, 7-ounce bass. History was also made, Friday, in the Strike King Co-angler division. Although females have won previously in the Toyota Series, this event marked the first time in MLF history that female anglers finished in both first and second place, Deanna Moreno of Salida, California, brought a limit of bass to the scale totaling 13 pounds, 1 ounce to the scales on Day 3 of the event on the California Delta, slamming the door on her first career win in the Strike King co-angler division. Her three-day total of 40-15 topped runner-up Rachel Uribe of San Diego, California, by 4-5 in the event, which was presented by Suzuki Marine. For the victory, she earned a Phoenix Boats prize package worth $33,500. Moreno, who had fished 17 previous Toyota Series events as a co-angler, traveling alongside her husband to compete in the Western Division Presented by Tackle Warehouse, described celebrating her breakthrough win with Mike (who finished 23rd on the boater side) as “a rush.” “I just couldn’t believe it,” she said. “Without his support, I wouldn’t be where I am as a fisherman today. He’s taught me everything. I know he’s been hard on me, but I know why he’s been hard on me. He’s my biggest supporter.” The result wasn’t only cause for celebration for the Moreno family. Deanna’s victory made history. She became the third woman in MLF/FLW history to win a Toyota Series event and the first since 2001, when Renee Hensley won the co-angler competition at the Toyota Series Championship on Pickwick Lake. “That’s an honor,” Deanna said. “Not that I want to be separated from males, because we’re all fishermen. But it’s an honor to do it as a female.” At least on paper, Moreno made the win look easy. Filling out a limit all three days, she sat in second after Day 1 with 15-0, then climbed into the lead with 12-14 on Day 2. Her 40-15 total would have landed a top-20 finish on the pro side. But Moreno said it took plenty of patience and a few key adjustments to generate the winning bites, as she caught most of her weight on different baits each day. On Day 1, she didn’t catch a keeper during the first half of the day, but she stayed calm, reminding herself that the outgoing tide should improve the bite. Indeed, fishing alongside Jon Strelic, she boated five keepers within a span of minutes from the same spot. Then, she culled in a big way with a 6-2 lunker. All of her Day 1 fish ate an M.M. III-colored Roboworm Straight Tail Worm on a drop-shot “All of a sudden, in probably a 10-foot stretch, it was like one right after another on a drop-shot,” Moreno said. “Got my five, and then I was like, OK, they’re all schooled up, what is going on here? And I just kept throwing out there, and all of a sudden, I caught that 6-2.” Moreno once again started slow on Day 2. This time, as the tide fell, she switched to a walking topwater, which produced the majority of her weight. Mercifully, given that she was “super nervous” after sleeping on the lead, she didn’t have to wait nearly as long for the action to pick up on Day 3. Fishing alongside pro winner Cristian Melton, Moreno used a wacky-rigged Yamamoto Senko to fill her limit by 7:30 a.m. “I had four little ones and then a nice one, and I was like, OK, I’ve got all day to upgrade here,” she said. “It did calm the nerves a little bit.” Around noon, Moreno upgraded in style. Just as the boat containing MLF photographer John Zeolla found her and Melton, she boated her biggest fish of the day. “You know how some people don’t like the camera boat around them?” Moreno said with a laugh. “Well, when the camera boat came around like noon, I caught a 3.8 on a Senko right in front of the camera boat. So, that was pretty cool. I really feel the camera boat is lucky.” Moreno insisted that she never wants to be treated differently than another co-angler because of her gender. Like any other tournament winner, her triumph on the Delta was memorable because of the work that went into it, the puzzle pieces clicking together, the thrill of fighting and landing big bass. “We’re just out there, we enjoy this sport; it’s a passion,” she said. “I wish I could bottle up that feeling of the 6-pounder, the 5-pounder. It’s just great. It’s awesome. There’s nothing like it.” But Moreno also recognizes the gravity of her and Uribe’s performances. Her message to other women who might see her with a trophy and want to give tournament fishing a try: “Get out there and fish.” “Don’t be intimidated by it,” she said. “The guys that are out there, they help you, they support you. It’s just like fishing with your friends. I really feel like if women just go out there, you start doing it, you get confident, just work through it, you’ll do it.” The top 10 Strike King co-anglers on the California Delta finished: 1st: Deanna Moreno, Salida, Calif., 15 bass, 40-15, Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp Mercury outboard 2nd: Rachel Uribe, San Diego, Calif., 13 bass, 36-10, $3,003 3rd: Mike Alvarez, Clovis, Calif., 15 bass, 35-11, $2,403 4th: Paul Buccola, Dayton, Nev., 15 bass, 35-6, $2,102 5th: Brandon Gee, Yuba City, Calif., 15 bass, 34-0, $1,802 6th: Tracy Patton, Oakdale, Calif., 15 bass, 32-11, $1,652 7th: Blaine Christiansen, San Jose, Calif., 15 bass, 32-9, $1,201 8th: Rodney Brown, Sacramento, Calif., 15 bass, 31-1, $1,051 9th: Keith Adams, Redding, Calif., 15 bass, 30-6, $901 10th: Colton Underwood-Garside, Riverside, Calif., 15 bass, 30-0, $751 Strike King Co-angler Firuz Gizatullin of Discovery Bay, California, earned the $150 Berkley Big Bass on Thursday with a 7-pound, 13-ounce bass, while Friday’s Day 2 $150 co-angler award went to Jonathan Green of San Pablo, California, who brought a 6-pound, 9-ounce bass to the scale. The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at the California Delta Presented by Suzuki Marine was hosted by the City of Oakley. It was the third and final regular-season tournament for the Toyota Series Western Division. The next event for Western Division anglers will be the Toyota Series Championship at Wheeler Lake, Nov. 7-9 in Huntsville, Alabama. For a complete schedule of events, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. The 2024 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 2025. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard. The 2024 Toyota Series Championship is hosted by the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Madison County Commission, and the Huntsville Sports Commission. Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Toyota Series include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, FX Custom Rods, General Tire, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters, 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. |
Carson Tithof and Maverick Hardebeck of Grand Haven Bassmasters have won the 2024 Strike King Bassmaster High School Series at Saginaw Bay with a total of 17 pounds, 4 ounces.
Photo by Tommy Sendek/B.A.S.S.
June 9, 2024
River fishing suits Tithof and Hardebeck as they win Bassmaster High School Series event on Saginaw Bay
BAY CITY, Mich. — The big waters might have been off-limits due to weather Sunday for the Strike King Bassmaster High School Series at Saginaw Bay, but Carson Tithof and Maverick Hardebeck had no problem catching a big limit in the confines of the Saginaw River and clinching the tournament title.
Tithof and Hardebeck, fishing as part of Grand Haven Bassmasters (Mich.) Fishing Team, caught five bass totaling 17 pounds, 4 ounces, giving them an 8-ounce edge over the field of 60 teams competing in the one-day derby in northeast Michigan.
The duo won $1,006 cash for placing first at Saginaw. The boys also qualified for the Strike King Bassmaster High School National Championship, which is scheduled for Aug. 1-3 at Chickamauga Lake in Dayton, Tenn.
The Saginaw system might be in their home state, but Tithof and Hardebeck have only fished it once before. Still, they were completely confident river fishing on Sunday — something they do several times a week on the Grand River back home in western Michigan.
“It’s pretty much exactly the same,” Tithof said. “We didn’t plan on going into the bay at all, so that being off-limits didn’t affect us. We knew we wanted to fish in the river because it’s what we’re used to doing.”
The boys’ day started strong, with a limit of bass in the livewell within 30 minutes of their first cast. They culled a few times over the next few hours, but by 10 a.m., their bite was done. Luckily, they already had enough weight to be atop the leaderboard by that time.
“It really was a grind for a while,” Tithof said. “And it was hard to fish in the wind, as hard as it was blowing.”
The victors threw white swim jigs on about 90% of their casts. They looked for breaks in current, typically near logs and other floating structure, where a mix of largemouth and smallmouth bass were stacked.
“We mixed in a beaver (creature bait), too,” Hardebeck said.
The combination was just what they’d have done on the Grand River, and the similarities paid dividends. They weighed three largemouth and two smallmouth, with one of the smallies (4-10) winning Big Bass of the Tournament honors.
The High School National Championship berth is the first for both Tithof, 17, and Hardebeck, 15. They previously competed in the Bassmaster Junior Nationals a couple of seasons ago.
A whopping 44 of 60 competing teams caught limits. Behind Tithof and Hardebeck, top tandems included second place, Landon Gabby and Kolby Baker, Marion (Ill.) High School Bass Fishing Team, 16-12; third, Olevir Johnson and Allen Moore, Oldham County (Ky.) High School Bass Team, 16-10; fourth, Oliver Neumann and Wyatt Feiguy, Zimmerman Thunder (Minn.) Bass Team, 16-3; and fifth, Michael Harris and Kayden Waller, Mt. Juliet (Tenn.) Fishing Team, 15-7.
The derby was the last of the 2024 Strike King Bassmaster High School regular season, with tournaments previously held at Clarks Hill Reservoir in Georgia, Douglas Lake in Tennessee and Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas.
Go Great Lakes Bay hosted this week’s events.
2024 Strike King Bassmaster High School Series at Saginaw Bay 6/9-6/9
Saginaw Bay, Bay City, MI.
(BOATER) Standings Day 1
Angler Club/School Pts
1. Carson Tithof – Maverick Hardebeck Grand Haven Lakeshore Middle Sch 0
Day 1: 5 17-04 Total: 5 17-04
2. Landon Gabby – Kolby Baker Marion High School Bass Fishing 0
Day 1: 5 16-12 Total: 5 16-12
3. Olevir Johnson – Allen Moore Oldham Co High School Bass Team 0
Day 1: 5 16-10 Total: 5 16-10
4. Oliver Neumann – Wyatt Feiguy Zimmerman Thunder – MN 0
Day 1: 5 16-03 Total: 5 16-03
5. Michael Harris – Kayden Waller Mt Juliet Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 5 15-07 Total: 5 15-07
6. Tanner Russell – Daniel Lowhorn Mt. Juliet High School – TN 0
Day 1: 5 15-06 Total: 5 15-06
7. Nate Helmreich – Luke Farminer Freeland Bass Fishing 0
Day 1: 5 15-02 Total: 5 15-02
8. Carter Pjesky – JD McBroom Off the Hook Bassmasters – IL 0
Day 1: 5 14-15 Total: 5 14-15
9. Easton Drennon – Cole Petroff Mt Juliet Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 5 14-12 Total: 5 14-12
10. Harrison Hobbs – Cade Speligene Music City Bass 0
Day 1: 5 14-10 Total: 5 14-10
11. Brayden Tisdale – Reece Kilian Emerald Coast Youth Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 5 14-03 Total: 5 14-03
12. Kaden Dorman – Owen Nepple Iowa Youth Fishing League High S 0
Day 1: 5 13-04 Total: 5 13-04
13. Rylan Hamlin – Luke Hendrick Jackson High School Bass Fishing 0
Day 1: 5 12-14 Total: 5 12-14
14. Brayden Vallie – Carson Vallie Fruitport High School – MI 0
Day 1: 5 12-12 Total: 5 12-12
15. Zach Knight – Luke Malik Gallatin High School 0
Day 1: 5 12-07 Total: 5 12-07
16. Elijah Ambrose – Jarren Crowder Hs Potomac River Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 5 12-06 Total: 5 12-06
17. Max Himmel – Connor Hebert Catholic High School Fishing 0
Day 1: 5 12-02 Total: 5 12-02
18. Brody Brinson – Greer Gammon Mt Juliet Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 5 11-13 Total: 5 11-13
19. Jesse Lancaster – Fisher Lancaster Triangle Bass Club 0
Day 1: 5 11-11 Total: 5 11-11
19. Derek Davis – Evan Wood Mt Pleasant High School Bass Tea 0
Day 1: 5 11-11 Total: 5 11-11
21. Hollis Rose – Grant Arnold Jefferson County Patriot Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 11-10 Total: 5 11-10
22. Parker Hill – Wesson Vint Track And Channel Youth 0
Day 1: 5 11-07 Total: 5 11-07
22. Sam Volbert – Brody Alderman Music City Bass 0
Day 1: 5 11-07 Total: 5 11-07
24. Daniel Ruhe – Michael Duvall Black Swamp High School Fishing 0
Day 1: 5 10-15 Total: 5 10-15
25. Andrew Terry – Carson Bryant Dchs Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 5 10-13 Total: 5 10-13
26. Luke Childs – David Stockard Music City Bass 0
Day 1: 5 10-10 Total: 5 10-10
27. Grant Nore – Marshall Nesheim Iowa Youth Fishing League High S 0
Day 1: 5 10-09 Total: 5 10-09
28. Jaxson Pierce – Tucker Larrance Jefferson County Patriot Anglers 0
Day 1: 5 10-06 Total: 5 10-06
29. Presley Lannom – Trevor Sanford Mt. Juliet High School – TN 0
Day 1: 5 10-03 Total: 5 10-03
30. Brooks Putnam – Daylin Doak Mt. Juliet High School – TN 0
Day 1: 5 10-02 Total: 5 10-02
30. Trey Richardson III – Reid Luckett Free State Bass 0
Day 1: 5 10-02 Total: 5 10-02
30. Luke Somerville – Leeand Fox Gaylord High School Bass Angler 0
Day 1: 5 10-02 Total: 5 10-02
33. Ryan Kahut – Cole Stead Brighton High School 0
Day 1: 5 10-01 Total: 5 10-01
34. Hayden Barnett – Camdyn Cranfill Kingston High School – TN 0
Day 1: 5 09-08 Total: 5 09-08
35. Porter Morrison – Brayden Morgan Catholic High School Fishing 0
Day 1: 5 09-07 Total: 5 09-07
36. Tyler Gentry – Abe Sledge Loudon Bass Club 0
Day 1: 5 09-06 Total: 5 09-06
37. Annie Lassiter – Crew Morrone Warren Co High School Pioneer An 0
Day 1: 5 09-04 Total: 5 09-04
38. Jacob Burkhead – Carter Berry Benton Panther Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 5 09-02 Total: 5 09-02
38. Joseph Elliott – Avry Morehouse Anchor Bay – MI 0
Day 1: 5 09-02 Total: 5 09-02
40. Luke Barriger – Drew Lafave Meridian Early College High Scho 0
Day 1: 5 09-00 Total: 5 09-00
40. Camden Randall – James Roop Mt Pleasant High School Bass Tea 0
Day 1: 5 09-00 Total: 5 09-00
40. Danil Williams – Chance Knight Mt Juliet Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 5 09-00 Total: 5 09-00
43. Wyatt Carr – Jamie Neel Reeths-Puffer High School 0
Day 1: 5 08-12 Total: 5 08-12
44. Colten Dickerson – Tyler Baumann Zeeland Fishhawx 0
Day 1: 4 08-08 Total: 4 08-08
45. Kaleb Page – Coffee County High School – TN 0
Day 1: 5 08-01 Total: 5 08-01
46. Charles Dawson – Wyatt Dawson Creekwood Hs Redhawks Fishing 0
Day 1: 3 06-09 Total: 3 06-09
47. Quinn Barbee – Oliver Lewis St. Pius X Catholic School – IN 0
Day 1: 3 06-06 Total: 3 06-06
48. Nathaniel Terbush – Dima Griffiths Dexter High School 0
Day 1: 3 05-11 Total: 3 05-11
49. Kaleb Allmon – Dallas Brewster Loudon Bass Club 0
Day 1: 3 05-08 Total: 3 05-08
50. Lainie Holbert – Sarah Swindle Riverside High School Bass Fishi 0
Day 1: 3 05-05 Total: 3 05-05
51. Banks Barber – Aaron Morrison Polk County High School 0
Day 1: 2 05-02 Total: 2 05-02
52. Connor Mcnally – Lillian Moss Clare Hs Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 2 03-10 Total: 2 03-10
53. Nicholas Sabisch – Adin Drake Clare Hs Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 2 03-09 Total: 2 03-09
54. Jackson Dowdle – Mcdowell High School Bass Fishin 0
Day 1: 2 03-05 Total: 2 03-05
55. Brodie Craft – Joseph Fisher IV Summerfield Bulldogs 0
Day 1: 1 03-04 Total: 1 03-04
56. Jeffrey Mansfield – Garrett Schultz Howell High School 0
Day 1: 2 03-03 Total: 2 03-03
57. Connor Wallace – Brendan Scripps Howell High School 0
Day 1: 1 01-10 Total: 1 01-10
58. Chase Aaron – Beckham Matt White Lake Lakeland 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
58. Hayden Persyn – Carter Persyn Freeland 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
58. Easton Waite – Mason Johnston Clare Hs Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
———————————————————————–
BIG BASS OF TOURN
Carson Tithof Grand Haven, MI 04-10 $0.00
———————————————————————–
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 44 251 581-15
———————————-
44 251 581-15
Illinois pro catches 22 bass totaling 58-14 on final day to earn top award of $100,000
EDENTON, N.C. (June 9, 2024) – Over the past two years, Bass Pro Tour rookie Drew Gill of Mount Carmel, Illinois, has rocketed up the tournament-fishing ranks about as rapidly as any angler in recent memory. Competing in his fifth Bass Pro Tour event at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour U.S. Air Force Stage Five Presented by WIX Filters on the Chowan River, he made it to the mountaintop.
Gill put together an epic run during the second period of Sunday’s Championship Round on the Chowan River. In a little less than 2 hours, the 22-year-old rookie stacked 10 bass totaling 31 pounds, 12 ounces onto SCORETRACKER®. The best period logged by any angler during the event, it turned a nearly 9-pound deficit to Michael Neal of Dayton, Tennessee , into better than a 14-pound advantage. The rest of the way, Gill would add another 10 pounds and change, bringing his total to 58-14 — also the best day for any angler all week. That topped Neal by 14 pounds, earning Gill $100,000 and his first BPT trophy.
Link to HD Video – Fish-Catch Highlights of Championship Round on Chowan River
Link to Photo Gallery of Championship Round On-The-Water Highlights on Chowan River
“All I’ve wanted for the last few years was to just make it to this field and get to compete against these guys,” Gill said. “To make it to this field and get to compete against them and get a win in my rookie season, the feeling is absolutely unquantifiable.”
On one hand, it might seem like Gill, who started fishing tournaments in 2021 and was competing at the Abu Garcia College Fishing level as recently as this January, came out of nowhere to reach this point. On the other, the victory almost feels like a long time coming.
After qualifying for the Bass Pro Tour during his first season fishing the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Gill wasted little time showing he could hang with the best. He finished third in his debut event on Toledo Bend, then fourth at Stage Three on Dale Hollow and second in his most recent BPT start on Lake Eufaula in Oklahoma. Add in his three Top 10s at the Invitationals level this season — including his first pro win on Sam Rayburn Reservoir in February — and it seemed like only a matter of time until Gill would hoist a Bass Pro Tour trophy.
“It’s not really felt like a long time coming, it’s just felt like a lot of chances coming,” Gill said.
Still, Gill admitted he didn’t think this would be the week he broke into the winner’s circle. While he cruised through the Qualifying Rounds, finishing second in Group B, he said Friday afternoon that he hadn’t expected to make the Knockout Round following a “mediocre at best” practice, and he worried that he was running out of water to fish.
“I’ve always been a small-wins guy, a small-victories guy — like, a check here, making a Top 10 when you don’t expect it, things like that,” Gill said. “I’ve never been the kind of guy to expect to win.”
While he wound up making the Top 10 with relative ease, Gill’s chances of winning looked especially slim at 9:45 a.m. Sunday. At that point, he’d caught just two scorable bass for 3-15 — 24-9 back of Neal, who stacked up more than 17 pounds in 18 minutes during a furious flurry.
That all changed when Gill made a move to an area he’d discovered on the second day of Qualifying Rounds. Already one of the savviest strategists in the game, Gill marked the spot while searching for new water once he knew he’d secured a spot in the Knockout Round. Then, after a quick start Saturday, he decided to keep it in reserve for the Championship Round.
“I found that at the end of the Qualifying Round,” he said. “I actually was about to go pull the trigger and go there yesterday, and I caught a couple scorable bass, and it kept me from going.”
Even Gill didn’t realize how important that decision would be.
“I thought it had like 10- or 12-pounds’ worth of potential, and just went to absolutely waylaying on them.”
Gill described the area as the mouth of a major tributary of the Chowan River. While offshore, the water was “decently shallow” and dotted with fallen cypress trees, brushpiles and other wood cover. It produced not only numbers of bites but big ones — seven of the 10 fish he caught during the second period weighed 3 pounds or more.
“There was a good baitfish population in that area,” Gill explained. “The water fell a little bit today, and any time you’re fishing out in front of a major tributary and the water falls, you’re going to gain a population. And man, it was textbook, the fish were a little more grouped up per piece of cover, and the more you had on a single piece of cover, the more likely you were to get bit.”
It’s no secret that Gill’s rise has resulted from his mastery of Garmin LiveScope. On paper, this didn’t figure to be an event that would fit that skillset — what little local knowledge there was of the Chowan River prior to the first national event on its waters suggested that shallow, target-oriented power fishing would be the way to win.
But, as he’s proven multiple times this year, the type of tournaments where many don’t think to lean on forward-facing sonar are where Gill tends to shine. He’s not just a savant at beaming bass, but understanding, anticipating and patterning their behavior.
“Non-traditional ‘Scope tournaments are generally single-fish tournaments where you’ve got to catch single fish off single targets, and I feel like I’m really in tune with how to pattern that and how to run around and find more when I need it,” Gill said. “Just in terms of knowing when to make those decisions and knowing how to keep fishing fresh water, knowing the importance of it.”
Making short pitches to cover on the Chowan, Gill set his LiveScope to 62 feet out and 16 feet down. All his fish Sunday ate a Big Bite Baits Finesse Worm on a drop-shot with a 1/8-ounce weight, which he threw on a 7-foot, medium-heavy, extra-fast Ark Reinforcer spinning rod.
“I could keep it off the bottom, off the silt and off the little stubble cover on the bottom, but I could still pitch it effectively and quick,” Gill said of the drop-shot. “I could be real efficient, and I could keep it from getting snagged up, because I had it Tex-posed.”
Shortly after noon, Gill added a 3-14 to his rapidly rising total and took the lead for the first time. At that moment, the “small-wins guy” realized that the biggest win of his life was there for the taking. After three close calls in the past four events, he wasn’t about to let this one slip away.
“As soon as we took that lead, I kind of mentally just locked into what I was doing and knew that I was probably going to get the opportunities I needed to get it done this afternoon,” Gill said. “Thankfully, I made good on most of those, and it ended up being enough.”
The top 10 pros from the U.S. Air Force Stage Five at Chowan River Presented by WIX Filters finished:
1st: Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 22 bass, 58-14, $100,000
2nd: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 18 bass, 44-14, $45,000
3rd: Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 20 bass, 41-14, $38,000
4th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 12 bass, 36-1, $32,000
5th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 12 bass, 31-4, $30,000
6th: Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 13 bass, 31-0, $26,000
7th: Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., seven bass, 25-10, $23,000
8th: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., five bass, 11-8, $21,000
9th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., six bass, 11-8, $19,000
10th: Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., three bass, 9-15, $16,000
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 118 scorable bass weighing 302 pounds, 8 ounces, caught by 10 pros Sunday, which included two 8-pounders, one 6-pounder, four 5-pounders, four 4-pounders and 14 3-pounders.
Matt Becker of Ten Mile, Pennsylvania, earned Sunday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with an 8-pound, 4-ounce largemouth bass that he caught on a jerkbait during Period 2. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.
Zack Birge of Blanchard, Oklahoma, had seven bass removed from his total catch for violating Bass Pro Tour rule No. 18-A. Birge ended the day with five bass weighing 11 pounds, 8 ounces and finished the event in 8thplace.
The stage is set for another four-way race for the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year award down the season’s home stretch. Jacob Wheeler, who entered Stage Five leading the season-long points standings, padded his advantage a bit. The two-time AOY winner now leads Alton Jones Jr. by 14 points, while Dustin Connell lurks 11½ points back of Jones with two events left.
Don’t discount Gill, either. The rookie climbed to fourth place in the standings with his victory, just four points back of Connell. While Gill would need the anglers in front of him to stumble to become the second consecutive rookie to win AOY (he’s 28.5 points back of Wheeler), it’s not out of the question.
Fishing Clash, an interactive 3D fishing simulation game that’s played by more than 80 million people worldwide, is the official AOY sponsor of the Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League. You can download Fishing Clash for free in the App Store and on Google Play or log on to www.fishingclash.game for more information.
The U.S. Air Force Stage Five at Chowan River Presented by WIX Filters featured the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, in which anglers caught as much weight as they could each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard. The tournament featured anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The six-day tournament, hosted by the Town of Edenton, the Chowan County Tourism Development Authority and Harbor Towns Cruises, showcased 78 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a purse of $659,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2025, the Bass Pro Tour championship.
Television coverage of the U.S. Air Force Stage Five at Chowan River Presented by WIX Filters Knockout Round will air as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 26 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering on Nov. 2. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.
The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 79 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2025 championship.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Garmin, General Tire, Humminbird, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Rapala, REDCON1, Star brite, Suzuki, Toyota, WIX Filters and U.S. Air Force.
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.
ARBURY, Md. (June 9, 2024) – An ounce off the lead on Day 1 of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Northern Division event on the Potomac River, Michael Catt blew the competition away after that. Moving into the lead on Day 2, he weighed another 16 pounds, 8 ounces on the final day for a 53-13 total. Beating out Spike Stoker by 3 pounds, Catt earned $44,500 for the win and qualified for this fall’s Toyota Series Championship.
Potomac events are often contested on the big grass flats that line the river, but that’s not the only thing there. In places, there are key pieces of hard cover, and the backs of the creeks – where they narrow down – offer marshes and steep, current-swept banks. It was there that Catt did his damage.
“I ran a 200-yard stretch five times a day, and a grass stretch five times a day, and that’s all I did,” he said. “One stretch is nothing but a grass line with a hard dropoff, and I was pitching to that with a drop-shot. The other stretch is all laydowns. The fish come out of a field of pads, and they go up underneath the logs and the brush and the laydowns.”
On Day 3, with the tide falling out later, Catt had to wait a while for the time to be right.
“The number one thing I knew about my spot is that I had confidence in it,” Catt detailed. “I knew when the tide came down, there were so many fish there. When the tide finally went down today, I caught a 4 ½-pounder, and then a 5-pounder 30 minutes later. Throughout the day I just culled up and culled up and culled up – once the tide went out, it was lights out.”
Catt’s main bait was a Texas-rigged Bruiser Baits Bruiser Hog, with a ¼-ounce Flat Out Tungsten weight and a 5/0 Owner hook he threw on 17-pound Seaguar AbrazX. For the T-rig, he used a 7-foot, 4-inch, heavy Ark Invoker Pro. Catt went with a Bruiser Baits Drop Shot in Potomac special for his drop-shot rig, and used a ¼-ounce or 1/8-ounce weight, a No. 2 hook and 8-pound Seaguar Tatsu for his leader. On the rod, he went with a 7-foot, 2-inch, medium-heavy Ark Invoker Pro.
Catt would adjust his drop-shot weight depending on the strength of the tide, going heavier when it was moving faster.
“I wanted it to drift with the current a little bit, but not fast,” he said. “I think that made the bite better, because it gave them a longer time to react to the bait.”
A hardcore co-angler in years past, Catt owns a cabinet installation company and has been at this fishing thing for a long time. Considering the factors in play, it’s not surprising that he got it done this week, halfway up the coast from his home in Jacksonville, Florida.
“It fishes like home, I’m accustomed to it,” he said. “It didn’t bother me to fish here. Back home on the St. Johns River, we fish stuff like that. When I went (to his winning area) in practice on the very first day, I spent 30 minutes and I never went back – it was loaded, I had 100% confidence the winning fish were there.”
Catt was right, and it resulted in a moment he’ll remember the rest of his life.
“I’m ecstatic, it’s beyond words,” Cat said of the win. “I don’t feel like it even set in yet. It’s my lifelong dream to win one, and I finally won one. The Potomac is a place I’ve always done good at, and I knew I could do it – this is my first professional win, it’s just a blessing beyond words.”
The top 10 pros on the Potomac River finished:
1st: Michael Catt, Jacksonville, Fla., 15 bass, 53-13, $44,500
2nd: Spike Stoker, Cisco, Texas, 15 bass, 50-13, $17,000
3rd: Tommy Dickerson, Orange, Texas, 15 bass, 50-4, $12,750
4th: Bryan Schmitt, Deale, Md., 15 bass, 48-9, $10,750
5th: John Duarte, Middle River, Md., 15 bass, 47-8, $11,050
6th: Flint Davis, Leesburg, Ga., 15 bass, 45-15, $8,375
7th: Chase Serafin, White Lake, Mich., 15 bass, 45-8, $7,300
8th: Ben McCann, Bradenton, Fla.., 15 bass, 45-5, $7,300
9th: Ryan Ingalls, Manassas, Va., 15 bass, 44-14, $5,300
10th: Mikey Keyso, North Port, Fla., 15 bass, 44-11, $4,200
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Catt earned Thursday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass Award with a bass weighing 6 pounds, 11 ounces. Pro Dave Miller of Stratford, Connecticut, earned the $500 Berkley Big Bass Award on Friday with a 6-pound, 13-ounce bass.
Jerry Pyles of Middletown, Maryland, won the Strike King Co-angler Division Saturday with a three-day total of 14 bass weighing 40 pounds, 5 ounces. Pyles earned the top co-angler prize package worth $34,000, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard motor.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers on the Potomac River finished:
1st: Jerry Pyles, Middletown, Md., 14 bass, 40-5, Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp Mercury outboard
2nd: Jesse Ketchum, Columbia, Md., 14 bass, 36-4, $5,525
3rd: Christopher Dam, Staatsburg, N.Y., 13 bass, 35-0, $4,300
4th: Josh Whitehead, Kent, Ohio, 14 bass, 33-15, $3,650
5th: Doug Jenkins, Saint Leonard, Md., 14 bass, 32-11, $3,150
6th: Matt Hollins, Nokesville, Va., 11 bass, 32-8, $2,650
7th: Roland Gittings, Perryville, Md., 11 bass, 32-0, $2,150
8th: Lenny Baird, Stafford, Va., 12 bass, 32-0, $1,975
9th: Cooper Jett, Norton Shores, Mich., 14 bass, 31-13, $1,530
10th: David Williams, Fredericksburg, Va., 12 bass, 31-8, $1,290
Strike King Co-angler Phil Jarmon of Apex, North Carolina, earned Thursday’s $150 Berkley Big Bass co-angler award with a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass, while Friday’s Day 2 $150 co-angler award went to Jesse Ketchum of Collumbia, Maryland, who weighed in a 4-pound, 13-ounce bass.
The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at Potomac River was hosted by the Charles County Board of Commissioners. It was the first of three regular-season tournaments for the Toyota Series Northern Division. The next event for Northern Division anglers will be the Toyota Series at Lake Champlain Presented by Suzuki Marine, July 11-13 in Plattsburgh, New York. For a complete schedule of events, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The 2024 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 2025. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard. The 2024 Toyota Series Championship is hosted by the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Madison County Commission, and the Huntsville Sports Commission.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Toyota Series include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, FX Custom Rods, General Tire, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters, 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.
Dustin signs a fans book after the knockout Round on the Chowan River.
Take a listen as the anglers that are moving on to the championship round talk about what a great week it has been on a new body of water for all of these anglers the Chowan River.
Oklahoma pro catches 20 bass weighing 42-14 to lead Knockout Round, final 10 anglers set for Championship Sunday in final-day shootout for top prize of $100,000
EDENTON, N.C. (June 8, 2024) – It took Zack Birge of Blanchard, Oklahoma, 45 events and 12 Top-10 finishes before he notched his first Bass Pro Tour victory at Lake Eufaula in Oklahoma last month. Now that he’s broken through, he just might make lifting trophies a habit.
Birge used a blistering start Saturday morning to claim the top spot on SCORETRACKER®, then maintained it for the rest of the Knockout Round at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour U.S. Air Force Stage Five Presented by WIX Filters on the Chowan River. After stacking up 14 scorable bass for 29-9 during the first period — more than enough to qualify for the Championship Round — Birge cruised to a total of 20 bass for 42-14. Looking to win back-to-back BPT regular-season events, he’ll be first to blast off Sunday morning, having topped Michael Neal of Dayton, Tennessee, by 4 pounds, 5 ounces.
Link to HD Video – Fish-Catch Highlights of Knockout Round on Chowan River
Link to Photo Gallery of Knockout Round Highlights on Chowan River
Birge admitted that he didn’t expect a start like that. He’d fished that same stretch a couple times already during competition, once during his first afternoon on the water and once Friday. The first time, he “caught them good;” the second, he only got about five bites.
The third time proved to be the charm in terms of finding feeding fish. The rate at which he got bit and his style of fishing — sliding a swim jig around shallow wood and bank grass, watching bass engulf the bait and cracking them on straight braid — made for a fun flurry.
“It was a blast,” he said. “I really didn’t expect to get that many bites, but if they’ll bite it, I’ll catch them.”
Overall, the Chowan River continued to kick out impressive quality, with 11 bass over 5 pounds (seven of which topped 6) hitting the scales during the Knockout Round. Birge didn’t connect with one of those lunkers; his biggest bass of the day weighed 3-15. But he made up for it with quantity. Birge boated all 14 of his scorable bass in Period 1 during a span of less than two hours — about a bass every 8 minutes.
He doesn’t necessarily think that has to be the formula to earn his second BPT trophy, though. Birge caught fish over 4 pounds during each day of Qualifying Rounds, and he saw some bigger ones cruising the shallows Saturday. Getting them to bite, he said, will be critical to his chances of winning.
“I saw some big fish swim by, so I know there’s some bigger ones in there,” Birge said. “I just need to get them to bite. … I know they’re swimming around, so I know I’ve got an opportunity to catch them.”
Midway through the second period, Birge eased off the throttle, searching for new water he could exploit during the Championship Round. Not finding anything to his liking, he’s “all in” on his Knockout Round starting spot.
True to his understated nature, he has a straightforward outlook on whether it can produce enough. If the shallow bite remains as hot as it was Saturday, Birge thinks he left enough fish in the area that he can contend for the win, or at least get off to another good start and go from there. He predicted it will take 40 to 50 pounds to top the final-day field.
“If they’re biting somewhat decent and I milk it for all it’s worth, I feel like there’s another 30 to 40 pounds in there,” he said.
As for why the bank bite shined during the Knockout Round, Birge doesn’t really have an explanation, nor a prediction about whether it will last another day on the unfamiliar fishery. Other anglers posited on MLFNOW! that it had to do with a change in conditions or mounting fishing pressure on the submerged offshore (albeit not far offshore) targets that produced strong Qualifying Round performances for the likes of Dustin Connell, Jacob Wheeler, Matt Becker, Alton Jones Jr. and Drew Gill.
Still, those five anglers — each among the best in the world at utilizing forward-facing sonar — all overcame the slower day to make the Top 10. So, if the offshore bite turns on again during the Championship Round, it could be anyone’s trophy to win.
“I feel like there’s days when they just bite, and it’s different here by the day,” Birge said. “That’s the only thing I can really say is changing the scenario is whether or not they bite. Yesterday, they didn’t bite as well for me, and I was fishing shallow, and I felt like today they bit better. So, I’m hoping that tomorrow the shallow bite is decent again and I can catch a few.”
Don’t mistake Birge’s realism for a lack of confidence. After landing his long-awaited first win on a national tour, he’s confident that, if the conditions line up in his favor again Sunday, he has the ability to take advantage.
“Definitely more confident just knowing that if the opportunity is there, I can get it done, because I’ve done it now,” Birge said. “So, that’s really cool. Hopefully it can happen again tomorrow.”
As usual, the brawl to finish above the cut line came down to the final seconds of the Knockout Round. And, as has been the case a few times during his first two seasons on the Bass Pro Tour, it was Becker who came through in the clutch.
Becker, who led Group B through qualifying, went more than 2 hours, 40 minutes without boating a scorable bass Saturday afternoon. That caused him to tumble out of the Top 10 and stay there most of the third period. Finally, with less than 15 minutes remaining, he ended the drought with a 3-15 largemouth.
He would need every ounce of it. Both Mark Daniels Jr. and Stephen Browning also added to their totals in the closing minutes, with Browning catching a 3-7 with about 2 minutes left before lines out. That bass left him 1 ounce shy of Becker’s 25-10 total. It marked the second time this season Becker has jumped from the wrong side of the cut line into the Top 10 in the final minutes of the Knockout Round, the first coming during Stage Two on Santee Cooper.
“That was a nail-biter, but we pulled it our right at the end,” Becker said. “We’re moving on to the Championship Round. That’s all that matters. It didn’t matter if you were first or 10th today; you’ve just got to make the Championship Round, and weights are zeroed and it’s a one-day shootout.”
The top 10 pros from Saturday’s Knockout Round that now advance to Sunday’s Championship Round on Chowan River are:
1st: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 20 bass, 42-14
2nd: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 18 bass, 38-9
3rd: Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 15 bass, 36-6
4th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 11 bass, 36-5
5th: Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas,12 bass, 36-2
6th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 14 bass, 33-0
7th: Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 14 bass, 32-5
8th: Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., 11 bass, 31-14
9th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 15 bass, 29-13
10th: Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., 10 bass, 25-10
Finishing in 11th through 20th place are:
11th: Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., 12 bass, 25-9
12th: Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., seven bass, 23-2
13th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., four bass, 14-11
14th: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., five bass, 11-14
15th: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., five bass, 11-7
16th: Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas, four bass, 10-15
17th: Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 9-14
18th: John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., four bass, 9-12
19th: Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., four bass, 6-14
20th: Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, two bass, 4-8
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 192 scorable bass weighing 471 pounds, 8 ounces, caught by 20 pros Saturday, which included seven 6-pounders, four 5-pounders, eight 4-pounders and 16 3-pounders.
Sunday’s sprint for the Stage Five trophy will double as a showdown between the top contenders in the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year race. Four of the anglers who entered the week in the top five of the season-long points standings made the Top 10 at Stage Five: Wheeler, Jones, Connell and Gill.
Wheeler, who arrived at the Chowan River with a 12-point lead over Jones, has ensured that he will remain atop the standings heading to the James River for Stage Six. However, the two-time AOY winner won’t have much breathing room over Jones or Connell. Entering the week, Jones was 14 points ahead of Connell and 19.5 clear of Gill. It’s shaping up to be another tightly bunched finish in the race for the $100,000 prize.
Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Alabama, earned Friday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with a 6-pound, 15-ounce largemouth bass that he caught on a drop-shot rig during Period 1. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.
The six-day tournament, hosted by the Town of Edenton, the Chowan County Tourism Development Authority and Harbor Towns Cruises, showcases 78 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a purse of $659,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2025, the Bass Pro Tour championship.
The 39 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day Qualifying Round on Tuesday and Thursday – the 39 anglers in Group B on Wednesday and Friday. After the two-day Qualifying Rounds were complete, the anglers that finished first through 10th from both groups advanced to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights were zeroed, and the remaining 20 anglers competed to finish in the top 10 to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. Tomorrow, in the final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
The final 10 anglers competing in Sunday’s Championship Round will launch at 7:30 a.m. ET Sunday from Pembroke Creek Park, located at 716 W. Queen Street in Edenton. Sunday’s General Tire Takeout will be held at Colonial Waterfront Park, located at 510 S. Broad Street in Edenton, 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.
The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on Championship Sunday from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. MLFNOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
On Sunday, June 9, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to visit Colonial Waterfront Park, located at 510 S. Broad St. in Edenton, for the MLF Watch Party and Kids Fishing Derby. Fans can watch the pros live on the MLFNOW! big screen, enjoy free food, enter to win hourly giveaways and cheer on their favorite pros. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel from Pure Fishing. Additional fishing gear will be provided onsite for the fishing derby or kids can bring their own. The final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration on Championship Sunday to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.
Television coverage of the U.S. Air Force Stage Five at Chowan River Presented by WIX Filters Knockout Round will air as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 26 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering on Nov. 2. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.
The U.S. Air Force Stage Five at Chowan River Presented by WIX Filters 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. The tournament features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 79 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2025 championship.
Fishing Clash, an interactive 3D fishing simulation game that’s played by more than 80 million people worldwide, is the official AOY sponsor of the Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League. You can download Fishing Clash for free in the App Store and on Google Play or log on to www.fishingclash.game for more information.
Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Garmin, General Tire, Humminbird, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Rapala, REDCON1, Star brite, Suzuki, Toyota, WIX Filters and U.S. Air Force.
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.
