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March 2022 Lower Roanoke River Fishing Report by Capt. Scooter lilley

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March 2022 Lower Roanoke River Fishing Report by Capt. Scooter lilley
Capt. Scooter lilley
[email protected]
CWW Inshore Charters
Lower Roanoke river
Striped Bass update:
What a weather pattern we’ve all been in 80 one day and 40’s the next. The warmer temps have definitely pushed more fish up the river than years past. The bite is still strong on the lower half and in the sound. Still plenty more schools to come before the spawn. I’m looking for March to be one of the best bite months of the season. We are still averaging daily catches 30 plus on a day trip. Having to do a lot of vertical jigging since the water flow has been slower than normal. Been catching most of the fish in the river on a Zman streak Z with a 1/2 oz. head. I prefer fishing shallow out in the open water when winds will allow by casting bigger swimbaits over shallow stumps. The fish are bigger on average with the occasional 30 in. fish being landed. Hope everyone enjoys the water this month, if your looking a fun trip give me a call 252-799-9536

Mark Winn & Mike Nichols Win CATT Smith Mountain Lake with 27.44lbs

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Mark Winn & Mike Nichols Win CATT Smith Mountain Lake with 27.44lbs

On a memorable day on Smith Mountain Lake fora few of the 51 teams that fished the CATT SML event.Can you say “Giant Bass” congarulatiosn to Mark Winn & Mike Nichols on one of the largest bags we have scene in quite a while 27.44lbs.
A thank you to Alicia Matherley for covering

CLICK HERE TO SEE RESULTS

Christie Defeats Ghosts From The Past, Earns First Bassmaster Classic Victory On Lake Hartwel

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Christie Defeats Ghosts From The Past, Earns First Bassmaster Classic Victory On Lake Hartwel
Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., has won the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk with a three-day total of 54 pounds.
Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S

March 6, 2022

Christie Defeats Ghosts From The Past, Earns First Bassmaster Classic Victory On Lake Hartwell

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GREENVILLE, S.C. — For years, Jason Christie has had to live with the crushing weight of leading pro fishing’s biggest event twice on the final day, only to fall short.

But no more.

The 48-year-old pro from Park Hill, Okla., led once again going into Championship Sunday and this time sealed the deal in dramatic fashion with a final-day limit of 17 pounds, 9 ounces that made him the champion of the 52nd Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk at Lake Hartwell. His three-day total of 54-0 was only 5 ounces better than that of second-place finisher Kyle Welcher, who shared the lead with Christie going into the final day.

The event drew a Classic-record 154,932 fans.

“Honestly, when I was sitting at the door waiting to come in and weigh my fish, I thought I had given it away again,” said Christie, who pushed his career earnings with B.A.S.S. to $1,668,011 with the $300,000 victory. “Stetson Blaylock had just weighed in a big bag, and Kyle Welcher used to be a professional poker player, so I knew he had more than what he was saying.

“I knew it was gonna be close. I honestly thought there could be a tie, and that was scary for me because I didn’t have any fish left.”

Christie certainly found plenty of fish throughout the week as he alternated between deep- and shallow-water patterns that were about as different as two techniques can be.

He caught half of his weight targeting bass on Garmin LiveScope in a 15- to 30-foot drain that he said held “hundreds of fish” the first two days. He used a spinning rod with a 3/16-ounce jighead and a prototype lure from Yum that only this week earned an official name, the FF Sonar Minnow, which stands for “Forward Facing Sonar Minnow.”

“It’s a bait that I can cast to the fish and work the rod and keep it on him; the bait does not move forward,” Christie said. “It’s a technique that I’ve been working on for about five years now.

“A lot of times you throw a swimbait over the top of them and they’ll just trail it. But you can drop this bait right to the fish and keep it on top of him.”

The drain was good to Christie the first two days. But when he arrived there early on Sunday, he found what he described as a “ghost town.” A spot that had produced half of his weigh-in fish during the week produced only one on the final day — and even though it was his biggest bass of the day, a 4-11 largemouth, he admittedly started thinking, “Here we go again.”

Luckily, his shallow-water technique paid off big-time.

Known as one of the best power-fishermen in the world, Christie utilized a 5/8-ounce War Eagle Jiu-Jigsu Jig with a Yum Craw Chunk in green pumpkin/purple. He used a green pumpkin/orange jig until the final day when he switched to straight green pumpkin because he “banged all of the other ones off docks” until they were unusable.

“It’s just a heavier jig,” Christie said. “I was fishing a foot to 3 feet and people think you need a smaller jig in that situation. But when the water is clear, I want it to go fast.”

He fished the setup on a 7-4 Falcon Rods Jason Christie Flipping Stick with a Lew’s Pro SP reel spooled with 20-pound Sunline Shooter. He keyed on the shallowest parts of boat docks where bass were likely preparing to spawn.

“If it was touching the bank, it was high-percentage,” he said. “That’s what they usually do right before they spawn. They’ll get up there as close to the bank as they can, and then they’ll build their bed out in the sunlight a couple of feet away.”

Besides carrying the weight of past near misses in the Classic, Christie said he also had to fight the urge to rely on the lure he’s known most for — the spinnerbait. Despite some limited success with it during practice, he said the small amount of stained water that was available wasn’t dark enough for his liking.

He also knew the areas would likely be crowded all week.

“I fought the demons here as far as where I’ve won in the past,” said Christie, an Xpress Boats pro who became the first angler to win the Classic in an aluminum boat. “I wanted to go into a pocket with dirty water and throw a spinnerbait, and I caught a 6-pounder doing that in practice. That fish was trying to lure me in, but I put the spinnerbait away and said, ‘This tournament can’t be won on a spinnerbait.’

“Too many people have watched too many shows. I knew I could go into clear water and not see a boat. I could go into dirty water and see not only our guys, but locals doing circles around each other.”

Good decisions like that mean he’ll no longer have to hear the questions that have dogged him since he finished second at Grand Lake in the 2016 Classic and third at Hartwell in 2018.

“No mas,” Christie said with a grin. “Every event that I’ve ever won came when I least expected it. I cannot believe I won with the amount of fish I had found.

“I honestly felt like this might be my last best chance — and I got it done.”

Welcher earned $50,000 for finishing second with 53-11, and Blaylock earned $47,000 in third place with 53-5, which includes a $7,000 bonus for his Sunday catch of 20-9 that ranked as the Rapala Monster Bag of the Week.

As a member of the Yamaha Power Pay program, Christie is bringing home an additional $20,000.

South Carolina pro Brandon Cobb earned $2,500 for overall Berkley Big Bass of the Week with the 6-12 largemouth he caught on Day 2.

Christie also took home an additional $7,500 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, while North Carolina’s Hank Cherry earned $2,500 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

South Carolina pro Bryan New earned the $1,000 BassTrakk contingency for the closest estimate of his weight throughout the first two days of the event.

The Bassmaster Classic was hosted by Visit Anderson and VisitGreenvilleSC.

2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk 3/4-3/6
Lake Hartwell, Anderson  SC.
(ANGLER) Standings Day 3

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

1.  Jason Christie         Park Hill, OK           15  54-00    0 $300,000.00
Day 1: 5   17-01     Day 2: 5   19-06     Day 3: 5   17-09
2.  Kyle Welcher           Opelika, AL             15  53-11    0  $50,000.00
Day 1: 5   18-13     Day 2: 5   17-10     Day 3: 5   17-04
3.  Stetson Blaylock       Benton, AR              15  53-05    0  $47,000.00
Day 1: 5   17-05     Day 2: 5   15-07     Day 3: 5   20-09
4.  Justin Hamner          Northport, AL           15  49-07    0  $30,000.00
Day 1: 5   16-08     Day 2: 5   16-10     Day 3: 5   16-05
5.  Chris Johnston         Otonabee Ontario CANADA 15  49-04    0  $25,000.00
Day 1: 5   13-07     Day 2: 5   17-08     Day 3: 5   18-05
6.  Luke Palmer            Coalgate, OK            15  48-02    0  $22,000.00
Day 1: 5   15-00     Day 2: 5   17-06     Day 3: 5   15-12
7.  Taku Ito               Chiba JAPAN             15  47-14    0  $21,500.00
Day 1: 5   13-06     Day 2: 5   18-07     Day 3: 5   16-01
8.  Taylor Smith           Valleyford, WA          15  47-13    0  $21,000.00
Day 1: 5   13-13     Day 2: 5   16-09     Day 3: 5   17-07
9.  Bryan New              Saluda, SC              15  46-10    0  $21,500.00
Day 1: 5   20-00     Day 2: 5   13-07     Day 3: 5   13-03
10. David Mullins          Mt Carmel, TN           15  46-04    0  $20,000.00
Day 1: 5   15-13     Day 2: 5   16-12     Day 3: 5   13-11
11. Lee Livesay            Longview, TX            15  46-01    0  $15,000.00
Day 1: 5   16-14     Day 2: 5   16-08     Day 3: 5   12-11
12. Patrick Walters        Summerville, SC         15  45-09    0  $15,000.00
Day 1: 5   18-02     Day 2: 5   13-10     Day 3: 5   13-13
13. Joey Nania             Cropwell, AL            15  45-06    0  $15,000.00
Day 1: 5   16-10     Day 2: 5   14-15     Day 3: 5   13-13
14. Matt Arey              Shelby, NC              15  45-03    0  $15,000.00
Day 1: 5   15-12     Day 2: 5   14-01     Day 3: 5   15-06
15. Steve Kennedy          Auburn, AL              15  43-12    0  $15,000.00
Day 1: 5   18-09     Day 2: 5   11-09     Day 3: 5   13-10
16. Caleb Sumrall          New Iberia, LA          15  43-06    0  $13,000.00
Day 1: 5   14-11     Day 2: 5   16-05     Day 3: 5   12-06
17. Hank Cherry Jr         Lincolnton, NC          15  42-09    0  $13,000.00
Day 1: 5   12-00     Day 2: 5   19-09     Day 3: 5   11-00
18. Nick LeBrun            Bossier City, LA        15  42-06    0  $13,000.00
Day 1: 5   13-12     Day 2: 5   15-11     Day 3: 5   12-15
19. Scott Martin           Clewiston, FL           15  41-13    0  $13,000.00
Day 1: 5   15-09     Day 2: 5   15-04     Day 3: 5   11-00
20. Buddy Gross            Chattanooga, TN         15  40-09    0  $13,000.00
Day 1: 5   14-07     Day 2: 5   15-07     Day 3: 5   10-11
21. Brock Mosley           Collinsville, MS        15  39-13    0  $13,000.00
Day 1: 5   18-07     Day 2: 5   11-02     Day 3: 5   10-04
22. Brandon Card           Salisbury, NC           15  39-08    0  $13,000.00
Day 1: 5   14-05     Day 2: 5   15-06     Day 3: 5   09-13
23. Wes Logan              Springville, AL         15  38-14    0  $13,000.00
Day 1: 5   14-03     Day 2: 5   15-10     Day 3: 5   09-01
24. Gerald Swindle         Guntersville, AL        14  38-08    0  $13,000.00
Day 1: 5   17-06     Day 2: 5   13-03     Day 3: 4   07-15
25. Greg Hackney           Gonzales, LA            14  35-14    0  $13,000.00
Day 1: 5   18-09     Day 2: 5   11-08     Day 3: 4   05-13
———————————————————————–
BERKLEY BIG BASS
Brandon Cobb             Greenwood, SC       06-12      $2,500.00
RAPALA MONSTER BAG
Stetson Blaylock         Benton, AR          20-09      $7,000.00

———————————————————————–
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
1        52       269       775-01
2        54       273       768-10
3        23       123       336-05
———————————-
129       665      1880-00

Randy Howell Leads Final Eight to Championship Round at MLF Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three on Lewis Smith Lake Presented by Mercury

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Randy Howell Leads Final Eight to Championship Round at MLF Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three on Lewis Smith Lake Presented by Mercury
Inclement Weather Prompts Tournament Officials to Start Championship Day One Hour Earlier, Final 10 Anglers Set for Championship Monday and Final-Day Shootout for $100,000

Link to Video Highlights of Knockout Round

CULLMAN, Ala. (March 6, 2022) – Amid strong south winds and cloudy, overcast conditions that foreshadowed the impending weather change expected over the next 24 hours, pro Randy Howell of Guntersville, Alabama caught a total of 18 bass Sunday, weighing 41 pounds even, to win the Knockout Round and advance to the final day of competition at the Favorite Fishing Stage Three on Lewis Smith Lake Presented by Mercury in Cullman, Alabama.

After taking the lead early in the day, Howell held off several fierce competitors and rose to the top of a stacked field going into Monday’s Championship Round. Among the star-studded field of pros that will compete in the Championship Round are 2019 REDCREST Champion and 2019 Bally Bet Angler of the Year (AOY) Edwin Evers of Talala, Oklahoma and 2021 REDCREST Champion Dustin Connell of Clanton, Alabama, along with Bass Pro Tour multi-event champions pro Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tennessee, 2020 Bally Bet AOY Jordan Lee of Cullman, Alabama and the 2021 Bally Bet AOY Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee.

Late Sunday, MLF officials made the decision to start Monday’s Championship Round one hour earlier due to the possibility of incoming inclement weather.

“Our number one priority is the safety of our anglers, their families, our staff and fans,” said Aaron Beshears, Bass Pro Tour Tournament Director. “After discussing with the MLF team, including our pro anglers, the decision was made to start Championship Monday an hour earlier in an effort to get as much fishing in as possible, in the event of a potential lightning delay or the possibility of having to cut the tournament day short due to inclement weather.”

The final 10 anglers are now set, and competition will resume Monday morning with Lines In at 7 a.m. CT in the Championship Round, where weights are zeroed, and the angler that catches the most one-day weight will win the top prize of $100,000.

The six-day event, hosted by Cullman Parks, Recreation and Sports Tourism, Cullman County Parks and Rec and the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce, showcases 80 of the top professional bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a total purse of $805,000.

The top eight pros from Sunday’s Knockout Round that will compete in Monday’s Championship Round on Lewis Smith Lake are:

1st:           Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., 18 bass, 41-0
2nd:          Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 16 bass, 38-6
3rd:          Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 17 bass, 34-15
4th:           Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 15 bass, 34-8
5th:           Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 17 bass, 34-4
6th:           Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 16 bass, 34-0
7th:           Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., 13 bass, 31-10
8th:           Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 14 bass, 27-1
They’ll be joined by Qualifying Round winners:

Group A: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn.
Group B: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn.

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

“Praise the Lord for a good day,” said Howell. “Man, it feels good, I just wish it was the last day. We got one more day to fight, but what a blessing this has been. I’ve caught a lot and haven’t lost any – I just need to beat nine more anglers tomorrow to win that big red trophy and that $100,000 prize.

“I am fired up and excited and this is exactly where we want to be at the end of tomorrow’s competition. The Lord has blessed me so much this season and everything has just been falling into place. It’s all about making good decisions and staying on course, working hard to figure it out and put the puzzle together. I didn’t even know what I was going to do until the first tournament day, and it all finally started coming together.”

The pieces certainly seem to be falling into place for the Alabama native, who has made it to two of the three Championship Rounds this season and broke the Bass Pro Tour record twice, two days in a row, for the largest bass ever weighed in Bass Pro Tour competition during Stage One of the 2022 season – with a bass weighing 10-11 and again with a bug-eyed largemouth weighing 12-14.

“The pattern I’ve been fishing is holding up, and I’m moving around a lot,” said Howell. “I caught eighteen keepers today and a bunch of little ones, so there are a lot of fish in the area.

“We’ve got rain and storms coming in tomorrow, so the fishing’s probably going to be really good,” continued Howell. “The conditions are already changing and the water’s falling fast, so I’ve got all the Daiwa rods rigged up and a variety of Livingston jerkbaits and crankbaits ready to go. I caught a bass today that spit out a big crawfish, so I’m definitely going to have a red Livingston Howller tied on tomorrow.”

Rounding out the top 40 finishers were:

11th:        Shin Fukae, Thomson, Ga. and Osaka, Japan, 12 bass, 26-13, $10,000
12th:        Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 10 bass, 23-4, $10,000
13th:        Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 11 bass, 21-8, $10,000
14th:        Clabion Johns, Social Circle, Ga., eight bass, 21-8, $10,000
15th:        Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., seven bass, 21-5, $10,000
16th:        Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., 12 bass, 20-14, $10,000
17th:        Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 11 bass, 20-3, $10,000
18th:        Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 11 bass, 19-4, $10,000
19th:        Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 19-1, $10,000
20th:        John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., eight bass, 18-15, $10,000
21st:        Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., nine bass, 18-13, $10,000
22nd:       Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., nine bass, 17-13, $10,000
23rd:       Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., nine bass, 16-15, $10,000
24th:        Marty Robinson, Lyman, S.C., eight bass, 16-15, $10,000
25th:        Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, seven bass, 15-7, $10,000
26th:        Randall Tharp, Port St. Joe, Fla., six bass, 15-4, $10,000
27th:        Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., seven bass, 14-12, $10,000
28th:        Matt Lee, Cullman, Ala., seven bass, 14-4, $10,000
29th:        Tommy Biffle, Wagoner, Okla., seven bass, 14-2, $10,000
30th:        Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., six bass, 13-7, $10,000
31st:        Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., six bass, 12-8, $10,000
32nd:       Alton Jones, Jr., Waco, Texas, seven bass, 12-1, $10,000
33rd:       Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., six bass, 9-13, $10,000
34th:        Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., four bass, 6-13, $10,000
35th:        Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., three bass, 6-3, $10,000
36th:        Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, three bass, 5-12, $10,000
37th:        Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., two bass, 4-3, $10,000
38th:        Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala., two bass, 3-12, $10,000
39th:        Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., two bass, 3-7, $10,000
40th:        Mark Daniels, Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., two bass, 3-2, $10,000
Overall, there were 338 scorable bass weighing 713 pounds, 13 ounces caught by the 38 pros Sunday.

Johns caught a 5-pound, 12-ounce largemouth on a bladed swim jig early in the first period that earned him Sunday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.

The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Wednesday and Friday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Thursday and Saturday. After the two-day Qualifying Round, the anglers that finished in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advanced to Sunday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advanced directly to Monday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 38 anglers competed to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round. Tomorrow, in the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

Due to anticipated inclement weather throughout the day, the final 10 anglers competing in Monday’s Championship Round will launch at 6:30 a.m. from the Smith Lake State Park, located at 403 County Road 386 in Cullman, Alabama. The General Tire Takeout will be held at the park, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The Favorite Fishing Stage Three on Lewis Smith Lake Presented by Mercury features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2023 championship.

The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on Championship Monday from 6:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT. MLF NOW!®  will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com  and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

Television coverage of the Favorite Fishing Stage Three on Lewis Smith Lake Presented by Mercury will premiere at 7 a.m. ET, Oct. 1 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.

Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, BallyBet, Bass Cat, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Covercraft, Favorite Fishing, Garmin, General Tire, Googan Baits, Grundéns, Guaranteed Rate, Humminbird, Lowrance, Luminox, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Nitro Performance Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Power Stop, Rapala, Starbrite, Toro, Toyota, Wrangler, Yellowstone Bourbon and Zoom.

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.

Making the Final Cut: The Dream Continues by Bruce Callis

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Making the Final Cut: The Dream Continues by Bruce Callis

Making the Final Cut:
The Dream Continues
by Bruce Callis

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It’s official, day 2 of the 2022 Bassmaster Classic started off with high hopes. The 55 anglers all dreamed of making the cut and fishing on Championship Sunday, but for 30 anglers, the dream ended too soon. For 25, the Top 25, the dream still lives another day. But in the end, there can only be one winner.

Brandon Cobb came in with a 17 pound 6 ounce bag anchored by the big fish for the day of 6 pounds 12 ounces, slipping to finish in 34th place. But Jason Christie brought in 19 pounds 6 ounces to take the lead with 36 pounds 7 ounces. Hank Cherry, the winner of the last 2 Classics, brought in 19 pounds 9 ounces to help him sit in 11th place. Kyle Welcher, the next to last angler to weigh-in. Brought in a sweet bag of 18 pounds 13 ounces to move up into a tie at the top of the leader board with Jason. Bryan New, the day one leader with 20 pounds, brought in 13 pounds 7 ounces and currently sits 3rd place.

For some, their first Classic ended too soon, but for a few, tomorrow holds great hope. Scott Martin in his first Classic sits in 15th place, a little over 5 pounds off the lead. Joey Nania sits in 12th place, just shy of 5 pounds out of the lead. But for Daisuke Aoki, Tyler Rivet, Tristan McCormick, Josh Stracner, Jared Miller, KJ Queen, Shane Powell, Matty Wong, and Keith Tuma, the day was bitter sweet as their first Classic ended far sooner than they had hoped.
But what was it like to fish the Classic for the first time. Scott Martin has attended numerous Classics over his life, but all sitting there rooting for his dad to bring the victory home. This time he gets to feel the true effect of it, from the competitors, and everything that they go through. Scott said, “It is unreal, there is nothing like it.” He is attempting to do the one thing is father never accomplished in his long career.

For Matty Wong of Honolulu, Hawaii, it is the “excitement of living the dream,” the dream he first started to take seriously at the age of 14, and started to hone through practice, practice, and more practice. He electrified the crowd at the weigh-in both days of the Classic and there is a true desire to make it back in 2023.

Keith Tuma of Brainerd, Minnesota is another angler who was “living the dream” as he fished the Classic. You could see and feel his excitement as he talked following his final day of fishing. He also is ready to do what it takes to make it back to the big stage.

The Classic is the land of dreams. From seasoned veterans on the Elite Tour, to the weekend warrior who qualified through the Alabama Bass Trail, it is the one tournament where you get to say, you are the greatest and that title will live on forever. To have your name in the record books beside the greats who have won it is unreal. Every angler dreams of it, from the song played as you enter the arena, of lifting those giant bass on stage, and finally getting to lift that mighty trophy over our head.

As day 3 dawns, and the competition begins, who will be the one to do just that? A 3 peat for Hank Cherry? A victory by a veteran? Or a first time Classic angler? Stay tuned, any of these could happen this year!

Christie, Welcher Share Classic Lead Heading Into Championship Sunday On Lake Hartwell

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Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., and Kyle Welcher of Opelika, Ala., are tied with 36 pounds, 7 ounces after Day 2 of the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk.
Photos by Chris Brown and Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.

March 5, 2022

Christie, Welcher Share Classic Lead Heading Into Championship Sunday On Lake Hartwell

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GREENVILLE, S.C. — With one day remaining, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk could not be much tighter, especially at the top of the standings.

Veteran Oklahoma pro Jason Christie and third-year Alabama pro Kyle Welcher moved into a tie for the lead during Saturday’s second round on Lake Hartwell, and only 7 pounds separate first place and 25th place as the anglers prepare for Championship Sunday.

Christie pushed his total to 36-7 by adding 19-6 on Saturday to the 17-1 he caught Friday. Welcher reached the mark by adding 17-10 to his Day 1 catch of 18-13.

After leading two previous Classics on the final day — only to fall just short of a victory — Christie joked that he was almost happy not having the lead to himself.

“That’s the best you can have if you feel like leading is bad luck,” he said, laughing. “All week, I’ve just felt like it’s my time. If it’s not, I don’t know when it is. I’m getting older and the fish are getting harder and these young guys are getting better.

“So, if this is not my time, I don’t know if it ever will be.”

The fishing, Christie said, was not as good as his 19-plus bag suggested. While he said he believes he’s on the right fish to win, the bites came few and far between.

“Right now, you feel like you could go out and get two bites more or two bites less and change your whole day,” he said. “Today, for me, if it had been two bites less, I would have weighed in somewhere between 13 or 14 pounds instead of 19.”

Utilizing Garmin LiveScope for offshore fishing, coupled with his vast knowledge of shallow-water tactics, Christie used two unnamed lures to catch bass from depths ranging from 6 inches to 30 feet. Unlike many of the anglers fishing this week’s event, he said he hasn’t been able to dial in a pattern around the lake’s massive number of boat docks.

“I don’t know if there are just not that many fish there or if I’m just not around them or what, but I just still haven’t gotten into the groove on the dock deal,” he said. “I keep trying. Today, I even fished new water — went to a creek I haven’t even been in — and didn’t catch anything.

“Tomorrow, I’ll just go run the stuff that’s been working and we’ll see.”

Christie will share the leader’s spot with Welcher — one of the up-and-coming young anglers he referenced.

A 29-year-old pro from Opelika, Ala., Welcher cut his teeth on Chattahoochee River fisheries like West Point Lake, Lake Harding and Lake Eufaula. He said Hartwell reminds him a lot of West Point with clear water, plenty of clay and sand, the same types of rocks and the same depths of water close to the bank.

“I’m doing exactly the same stuff here that I would be doing on West Point — it’s almost identical,” Welcher said. “Since I fish those kinds of areas a lot, I just kind of know where the largemouth get. There’s way more spotted bass in this lake than largemouth, and if you can find those places where the largemouth continuously get, your weight’s usually going to be a little higher.”

On Friday, Welcher weighed in four largemouth and one spot. His ratio was a little off Saturday — three spots and two largemouth — but his two largemouth weighed 5-12 and 4-12.

He’s hoping for five largemouth on Championship Sunday.

“Whatever bites, I want to catch,” he said. “But I would sure like to have another 17 pounds. I think it would give me a good chance. In a perfect world, I’ll weigh in five largemouth — five big ones.”

South Carolina pro Bryan New, who caught 20 pounds on Day 1 to take the early lead, slipped to third after catching only 13-7 Saturday. The bright sunshine from the opening round was replaced Saturday by heavy cloud cover for most of the day, and New believes that killed the dock pattern that was so good to him Friday.

“I knew it was gonna be a little tougher because of the clouds,” New said. “But I didn’t expect it to be as tough. It was literally nonexistent.”

In scramble mode, New picked up a spinning rod and used several baits — including a Zoom Zlinky — to catch just enough weight to stay in the hunt.

“The Zlinky saved me today,” he said. “I caught a 4-4 with 30 minutes to go and a 2-8 that culled a 1-14 on my very last cast. I ran in and had about a minute to go.

“The sun came out at the end of the day today, so that should already help the docks some. If it stays out, I think it could go right back like it was Friday.”

New is holding the lead for Rapala’s Monster Bag prize, which will pay $7,000 to the angler with the heaviest single-day bag during the Classic.

South Carolina pro Brandon Cobb, who was one of the favorites coming into the event, missed the Championship Sunday cut in 34th place. But he took the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the week with a 6-12 largemouth that now ranks as the biggest bass caught in any of the four Classics held on Hartwell.

The tournament concludes Sunday with the Top 25 anglers taking off at 7 a.m. ET from Green Pond Landing and Event Center. They will be competing for a $300,000 first-place prize, a portion of the $1 million total purse and the most coveted trophy in pro fishing.

Fans can catch all of the action with streaming coverage on Bassmaster.com. The Classic will also feature four hours of live Championship Sunday coverage on FS1 beginning at 8 a.m.

Sunday will mark the final day of the annual Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo presented by Marathon at the Greenville Convention Center. Exhibitors will be on-site from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. selling a variety of merchandise for fishing, hunting, camping and more.

The Bassmaster Classic is being hosted by Visit Anderson and VisitGreenvilleSC.

2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk 3/4-3/6
Lake Hartwell, Anderson  SC.
(ANGLER) Standings Day 2

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

1.  Jason Christie         Park Hill, OK           10  36-07    0
Day 1: 5   17-01     Day 2: 5   19-06
1.  Kyle Welcher           Opelika, AL             10  36-07    0
Day 1: 5   18-13     Day 2: 5   17-10
3.  Bryan New              Saluda, SC              10  33-07    0
Day 1: 5   20-00     Day 2: 5   13-07
4.  Lee Livesay            Longview, TX            10  33-06    0
Day 1: 5   16-14     Day 2: 5   16-08
5.  Justin Hamner          Northport, AL           10  33-02    0
Day 1: 5   16-08     Day 2: 5   16-10
6.  Stetson Blaylock       Benton, AR              10  32-12    0
Day 1: 5   17-05     Day 2: 5   15-07
7.  David Mullins          Mt Carmel, TN           10  32-09    0
Day 1: 5   15-13     Day 2: 5   16-12
8.  Luke Palmer            Coalgate, OK            10  32-06    0
Day 1: 5   15-00     Day 2: 5   17-06
9.  Taku Ito               Chiba JAPAN             10  31-13    0
Day 1: 5   13-06     Day 2: 5   18-07
10. Patrick Walters        Summerville, SC         10  31-12    0
Day 1: 5   18-02     Day 2: 5   13-10
11. Hank Cherry Jr         Lincolnton, NC          10  31-09    0
Day 1: 5   12-00     Day 2: 5   19-09
12. Joey Nania             Cropwell, AL            10  31-09    0
Day 1: 5   16-10     Day 2: 5   14-15
13. Caleb Sumrall          New Iberia, LA          10  31-00    0
Day 1: 5   14-11     Day 2: 5   16-05
14. Chris Johnston         Otonabee Ontario CANADA 10  30-15    0
Day 1: 5   13-07     Day 2: 5   17-08
15. Scott Martin           Clewiston, FL           10  30-13    0
Day 1: 5   15-09     Day 2: 5   15-04
16. Gerald Swindle         Guntersville, AL        10  30-09    0
Day 1: 5   17-06     Day 2: 5   13-03
17. Taylor Smith           Valleyford, WA          10  30-06    0
Day 1: 5   13-13     Day 2: 5   16-09
18. Steve Kennedy          Auburn, AL              10  30-02    0
Day 1: 5   18-09     Day 2: 5   11-09
19. Greg Hackney           Gonzales, LA            10  30-01    0
Day 1: 5   18-09     Day 2: 5   11-08
20. Buddy Gross            Chattanooga, TN          10  29-14    0
Day 1: 5   14-07     Day 2: 5   15-07
21. Matt Arey              Shelby, NC              10  29-13    0
Day 1: 5   15-12     Day 2: 5   14-01
22. Wes Logan              Springville, AL         10  29-13    0
Day 1: 5   14-03     Day 2: 5   15-10
23. Brandon Card           Salisbury, NC           10  29-11    0
Day 1: 5   14-05     Day 2: 5   15-06
24. Brock Mosley           Collinsville, MS        10  29-09    0
Day 1: 5   18-07     Day 2: 5   11-02
25. Nick LeBrun            Bossier City, LA        10  29-07    0
Day 1: 5   13-12     Day 2: 5   15-11
26. Marc Frazier           Newnan, GA              10  29-06    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   17-01     Day 2: 5   12-05
27. Cory Johnston          Cavan CANADA            10  29-06    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   15-06     Day 2: 5   14-00
28. Bryan Schmitt          Deale, MD               10  29-05    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   13-02     Day 2: 5   16-03
29. Hunter Shryock         Ooltewah, TN            10  29-02    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   16-03     Day 2: 5   12-15
30. Chris Zaldain          Fort Worth, TX          10  29-00    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   16-13     Day 2: 5   12-03
31. Daisuke Aoki           Minamitsurugun Yamanash 10  28-12    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   15-01     Day 2: 5   13-11
32. Matt Herren            Ashville, AL             9  28-11    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 4   09-00     Day 2: 5   19-11
33. Tyler Rivet            Raceland, LA            10  28-10    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   09-08     Day 2: 5   19-02
34. Brandon Cobb           Greenwood, SC           10  28-04    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   10-14     Day 2: 5   17-06
35. Tristan McCormick      Burns, TN               10  27-14    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   14-01     Day 2: 5   13-13
36. Jacob Powroznik        North Prince George, VA 10  27-10    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   11-04     Day 2: 5   16-06
37. Joshua Stracner        Vandiver, AL            10  27-05    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   11-00     Day 2: 5   16-05
38. Brandon Lester         Fayetteville, TN        10  27-03    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   13-15     Day 2: 5   13-04
39. Chad Pipkens           Dewitt, MI              10  26-00    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   13-15     Day 2: 5   12-01
40. Austin Felix           Eden Prairie, MN        10  25-15    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   16-01     Day 2: 5   09-14
41. Jeff Gustafson         Keewatin Ontario CANADA 10  25-12    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   12-12     Day 2: 5   13-00
42. Jared Miller           Norman, OK               8  25-05    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   16-11     Day 2: 3   08-10
43. Drew Benton            Blakely, GA             10  25-04    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   11-12     Day 2: 5   13-08
44. John Cox               Debary, FL              10  25-02    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   16-09     Day 2: 5   08-09
45. John Crews Jr          Salem, VA               10  23-09    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   11-12     Day 2: 5   11-13
46. Matt Robertson         Kuttawa, KY             10  23-06    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   13-07     Day 2: 5   09-15
47. Seth Feider            New Market, MN          10  23-02    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   11-11     Day 2: 5   11-07
48. KJ Queen               Catawba, NC             10  22-13    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   09-06     Day 2: 5   13-07
49. Brandon Palaniuk       Rathdrum, ID            10  22-09    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   12-01     Day 2: 5   10-08
50. Shane LeHew            Catawba, NC             10  22-07    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   11-01     Day 2: 5   11-06
51. Drew Cook              Cairo, GA               10  22-04    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   10-14     Day 2: 5   11-06
52. Ray Hanselman Jr       Del Rio, TX              8  20-00    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 3   07-07     Day 2: 5   12-09
53. Shane Powell           Dothan, AL              10  19-07    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   12-14     Day 2: 5   06-09
54. Matty Wong             Honolulu, HI            10  19-07    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 5   08-14     Day 2: 5   10-09
55. Keith Tuma             Brainerd, MN             7  11-09    0  $10,000.00
Day 1: 2   04-04     Day 2: 5   07-05
———————————————————————–
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
1        52       269       775-01
2        54       273       768-10
———————————-
106       542      1543-11

Neal Runs Away with Group B Qualifying Round Win at MLF Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three on Lewis Smith Lake Presented by Mercury

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Neal Runs Away with Group B Qualifying Round Win at MLF Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three on Lewis Smith Lake Presented by Mercury
Tennessee Pro Holds off Alabama’s Fletcher Shryock by 21 Pounds, 1 Ounce to Advance Straight to Monday’s Championship Round, Field of 38 Anglers Set for Sunday’s Knockout Round


Link to Video Highlights of Group B Qualifying Round Day 2

CULLMAN, Ala. (March 5, 2022) – After taking over the lead early in the day, and holding off several hard-charging pros in the third period, pro Michael Neal of Dayton, Tennessee held his ground to finish first Saturday, catching 21 bass weighing 44 pounds even, to cruise to a Group B Qualifying Round win at the Favorite Fishing Stage Three on Lewis Smith Lake Presented by Mercury in Cullman, Alabama. Neal’s two-day total of 35 bass weighing 69 pounds, 12 ounces advances him directly to Monday’s Championship Round as the competition continues for the top award of $100,000.

This will mark Neal’s 11th Championship Round appearance on the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour and the second time the Tennessee pro has won the automatic berth straight to the final round – the first of which carried him to the win at the 2021 Bass Pro Tour Stage Seven on Lake St. Clair.

“It’s definitely good to make it into the Championship Round,” said Neal. “If I can have another day like I had today, I have a shot to win. We’ll have very different weather on the final day, so I’m not sure how the bass in this area will like that, but I’m ready to find out.”

Neal spent the day out in open water – over 100-feet deep – using forward-facing sonar to target suspended fish that were chasing bait.

“It was a grind in that second period again, so I don’t know if I’m going to have to leave this area during the second period and then come back in the third or try something different,” said Neal. “It’s not really late enough in the day to be able to get on an evening bite, but there are tons of fish here – all pretty decent-sized – and I’m looking forward to coming back out here on Monday.

“There are still a lot of fish in this area to catch, and while it would be nice to be out here tomorrow and continue practicing and figuring things out, I can’t win if I don’t make it to Championship Day. I have to take the automatic berth, skip the Knockout Round and go straight to the final day.”

Favorite Fishing pro Fletcher Shryock of Guntersville, Alabama caught a two-day total of 24 bass weighing 48-11 to finish the round in second place, while Berkley pro Jordan Lee of Cullman, Alabama ended the round in third place with a two-day total of 24 bass weighing 48 pounds even. Jasper, Texas pro Todd Faircloth caught 23 bass weighing 46-7 to land in fourth, while pro Gerald Spohrer of Gonzales, Louisiana advanced to the Knockout Round in fifth place with a two-day total of 21 bass weighing 44-5.

General Tire pro Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tennessee sat without a scorable bass after the first two periods before going on a flurry in period three to catch 10 bass for 22 pounds, 10 ounces and slide into the Knockout Round in 18th place.

After hovering around the Toro Cut Line throughout most of the day, local pro Jesse Wiggins of Addison, Alabama made a clutch catch with eight minutes remaining in the final period, boating a 3-pound, 3-ounce spotted bass to jump over the cut line and end the day in 20th place.

“We got in by the skin of our teeth, on my home lake,” said Wiggins. “I hate that it was that close, but I caught some big ones today, and several that were close to 3 pounds. I caught tons of fish in one area – none that were above the 1 pound, 8-ounce mark to be scorable – but we made it. I caught most of my fish on a 7-foot 6-inch Medium St. Croix Legend Xtreme Spinning Rod, with a 2.8-inch Jackall Rhythm Wave Swimbait and a Keitech Swimbait.

“It was tough, I mean that was a freaking grind. But just knowing this one little stretch to end on saved me and thank the good Lord it did. We’re tied for first place now,” Wiggins laughed.

The remaining 38 anglers – 19 from each group – now advance to Sunday’s Knockout Round, where weights are zeroed, and the anglers compete to finish in the top eight to advance to the Championship Round on Monday. The Championship Round will feature Group A winner Jacob Wheeler, Group B winner Michael Neal, and the top eight finishers from the Knockout Round, competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.

The six-day event, hosted by Cullman Parks, Recreation and Sports Tourism, Cullman County Parks and Rec and the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce, showcases 80 of the top professional bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a total purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.

The top 20 pros in Qualifying Group B that now advance to Sunday’s Knockout Round on Lewis Smith Lake are:

1st:           Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 35 bass, 69-12 – ADVANCES TO CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
2nd:          Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., 24 bass, 48-11
3rd:          Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., 24 bass, 48-0
4th:           Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, 23 bass, 46-7
5th:           Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., 21 bass, 44-5
6th:           Tommy Biffle, Wagoner, Okla., 19 bass, 42-0
7th:           Alton Jones, Jr., Waco, Texas, 18 bass, 40-7
8th:           Marty Robinson, Lyman, S.C., 20 bass, 38-14
9th:           Clabion Johns, Social Circle, Ga., 18 bass, 38-8
10th:        Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., 21 bass, 38-5
11th:        Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 17 bass, 37-6
12th:        Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 19 bass, 37-2
13th:        Matt Lee, Cullman, Ala., 19 bass, 36-13
14th:        Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 17 bass, 36-12
15th:        Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., 17 bass, 35-3
16th:        Shin Fukae, Thomson, Ga. and Osaka, Japan, 19 bass, 35-1
17th:        Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 16 bass, 33-14
18th:        Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 15 bass, 31-11
19th;        Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 17 bass, 30-11
20th:        Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 14 bass, 30-6
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 295 scorable bass weighing 583 pounds, 14 ounces caught by the 39 pros Saturday.

Bass Pro Shops pro David Walker of Sevierville, Tennessee caught a 4-pound, 12-ounce largemouth on a jig in the third period that earned him Saturday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.

The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Wednesday and Friday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Thursday and Saturday. Now that the Qualifying Round is complete, the anglers that finish in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advance to Sunday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Monday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 38 anglers compete to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

The 38 anglers competing in Sunday’s Knockout Round will launch at 7:30 a.m. from the Smith Lake State Park, located at 403 County Road 386 in Cullman, Alabama. The General Tire Takeout will be held at the park, beginning at 4:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The Favorite Fishing Stage Three on Lewis Smith Lake Presented by Mercury features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2023 championship.

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

Television coverage of the Favorite Fishing Stage Three on Lewis Smith Lake Presented by Mercury will premiere at 7 a.m. ET, Oct. 1 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.

Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, BallyBet, Bass Cat, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Covercraft, Favorite Fishing, Garmin, General Tire, Googan Baits, Grundéns, Guaranteed Rate, Humminbird, Lowrance, Luminox, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Nitro Performance Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Power Stop, Rapala, Starbrite, Toro, Toyota, Wrangler, Yellowstone Bourbon and Zoom.

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.

Stalvey And Deel Leverage Surface Activity For Bassmaster High School Classic Win

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March 5, 2022

Stalvey And Deel Leverage Surface Activity For Bassmaster High School Classic Win

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GREENVILLE, S.C. — Parker Stalvey and Jacob Deel of Clay High School in Florida capitalized on an early discovery to sack up a five-bass limit of 16 pounds, 4 ounces and win the Abu Garcia Bassmaster High School Classic presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors on Lake Keowee.

As Deel explained, the deep reservoir presented a stark contrast to the shallow stained water he and Stalvey are used to fishing.

“It’s a lot different here — it’s clear water,” he said. “We were going down the river and found schooling fish so we stopped in 100 feet of water. We picked up an Alabama rig and it was almost every other cast. We had a lot of fun.”

Deel said the average depth where they caught bass was about 52 feet. Their Alabama rigs carried 3/16-ounce swimbait heads on the rig’s perimeter and a 1/4-ounce head in the center “target” position. All of the heads held white 3.3 Keitech Swing Impact Fat swimbaits.

“We kind of figured out from the get-go that if we just burned the rig nothing happened,” Deel said. “So, we said, ‘Alright, let’s do the complete opposite. We reeled it as slow as day and started getting more bites on it.

“Sometimes we would kind of rip it off the bottom. We’d reel it up to a certain point in the water column and just kept it there. You had to find that point in the water column every few casts. Once we found where the fish were suspended, we’d get to catching them.”

Stalvey said the Alabama rig contributed four of the winning bass. The fifth bit a topwater bait.

“Our first fish ate a big chrome-colored Heddon Zara Spook — the biggest one they make,” Stalvey said. “As soon as we shut down this morning, they started schooling. I grabbed the Spook and, literally, my first cast was the biggest fish we had — it was a spot about 3 to 3 1/2 pounds.”

The winning anglers ended up catching all of their fish out of schooling activity. They boated a quick limit in the first hour and hopped around to various spots where they had seen schoolers in practice.

Noting that he and Deel completed their winning weight by about 1:30 p.m., Stalvey said a stealthy approach seemed to keep the fish in a more cooperative mood.

“When we shut down the back graphs, we started getting a lot more bites,” he said. “I guess they can pick up the frequency on that graph.

“Also, making long casts helped — as long as you could throw. They wanted a very active retrieve.”

2022 Abu Garcia Bassmaster High School Classic presented by Academy 3/5-3/5
Lake Keowee, Greenville/Anderson  SC.
(BOATER) Standings Day 1

    Angler                                       Club/School                       Pts

1.  Parker Stalvey – Jacob Deel                  Clay High School                      0
Day 1: 5   16-04   Total:   5  16-04
2.  Brayden Ruckman – Nate Helmreich             Freeland High School                  0
Day 1: 5   13-14   Total:   5  13-14
3.  Nathan Reynolds – Jimmy Oguin                Backwoods Bassin                      0
Day 1: 5   12-06   Total:   5  12-06
4.  Caleb Bridges – Brady Duncan                 Bryan College                         0
Day 1: 5   08-12   Total:   5  08-12
5.  Caleb Reynolds – Lex Thompson                Bainbridge High School                0
Day 1: 5   07-07   Total:   5  07-07
6.  Ari Clark – Bo Hollen                        Mon Valley Bassmaster’s               0
Day 1: 5   07-00   Total:   5  07-00
7.  Brody Hopper – Landon Franks                 Cullman High School                   0
Day 1: 5   06-06   Total:   5  06-06
8.  Jacob Lycans – William Copley                Louisa Bass Club High School Fis      0
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
8.  Fletcher Phillips – Will Phillips            Gardendale High School                0
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
8.  Brady Pinwar – Alec Albrecht                 Midland High School                   0
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
———————————————————————–
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
1         7        35        72-01
———————————-
7        35        72-01

Looking for something a little different? We found it at the Bassmaster Classic

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Looking for something a little different? We found it at the Bassmaster Classic

Do we have some great new & interesting products for the 2022 Bassmaster Classic to show you. A lot more videos to come in the days ahead. Stay tuned.

Wheeler Cruises to Group A Qualifying Round Win at MLF Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three on Lewis Smith Lake Presented by Mercury

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Wheeler Cruises to Group A Qualifying Round Win at MLF Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three on Lewis Smith Lake Presented by Mercury
Academy Sports + Outdoors Pro Hammers Out Two-Day Total of 41 Bass Weighing 80 Pounds, 13 Ounces – 19 Anglers Advance to Sunday’s Knockout Round

Link to Video Highlights of Group A Qualifying Round Day 2

CULLMAN, Ala. (March 4, 2022) – Academy Sports + Outdoors pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee caught 11 scorable bass weighing 23 pounds, 12 ounces to earn the win Friday and advance directly to his seventh straight Championship Round at the Favorite Fishing Stage Three on Lewis Smith Lake Presented by Mercury in Cullman, Alabama. This will mark the fourth time Wheeler has earned an automatic berth to the Championship Round on the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour.

Wheeler’s two-day Qualifying Round total of 41 bass weighing 80 pounds, 13 ounces earned him the Group A Day 2 win by a broad 24-pound, 11-ounce margin over second-place angler Favorite Fishing pro Zack Birge of Blanchard, Oklahoma, who caught a two-day total of 29 bass totaling 56-2. Pro Randy Howell of Guntersville, Alabama, ended the day in third place with a two-day total of 22 bass weighing 52-12, while pro Casey Ashley of Donalds, South Carolina , slipped down two spots to finish the round in fourth place with a two-day total of 22 bass weighing 51-4. Pro Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tennessee, rounded out the top five with a two-day total of 25 bass weighing 50 pounds, 10 ounces.

The six-day event, hosted by Cullman Parks, Recreation and Sports Tourism, Cullman County Parks and Rec and the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce, showcases 80 of the top professional bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a total purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.

Wheeler again spent the day out in open water over extremely deep timber catching spotted bass.

“Suspended fish can be one of the toughest to catch,” said Wheeler. “I targeted a lot of suspended fish today with the Rapala Jigging Rap and a (Storm) Largo Shad. I had a solid lead going into today, so I was just trying to figure out if there was a pattern to it. I figured out some areas and things that helped me dial in and find the bass a little quicker. Overall, it seems to be less of a pattern and more of a zone that I need to target on Monday.”

Wheeler is sitting in a great spot once again, with two days off and the entire weekend to rest and put his game plan together for the Championship Round.

“It’s been a good week so far,” said Wheeler. “We finished on top, and it feels great to advance straight to the Championship Round.

“I know a lot is going to change between now and then, so I’ll probably rig up a mixture of rods and be ready to try a variety of techniques when we get back out here on Monday. Obviously, the docks will definitely play more down the lake, but with the conditions we are expecting, I’ll just have to pay attention to what the weather is doing.

“We’ll sort of hodge-podge it up,” continued Wheeler. “I guarantee you it’s going to be a hodge-podge kind of day on Championship Monday.”

There was also additional excitement around the Toro Cut Line today during the final period, with pro John Murray of Spring City, Tennessee, beginning the third period in 32nd place before catching a flurry of 14 bass weighing 20-12 to catapult into 10th place.

Bass Pro Shops pro Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, finished the day in 19th place, throwing Strike King crankbaits.

“Man, what a struggle today,” said VanDam. “I went the whole first period and didn’t catch a scorable bass, despite running some really good stuff. I’m just thrilled to be moving on to the Knockout Round and to have a chance to continue fishing this event.

“Obviously, some of the other guys have really got something figured out, but on this lake, anything can happen at any point. I’ve had some pretty good flurries and have seen what’s possible here, so that’s what we’re going to be shooting for in the Knockout Round.”

Bass Pro Tour newcomer Jeremy Lawyer of Sarcoxie, Missouri was sweating it out during his first time on the Toro Cut Line, before finishing the day in 20th place.

“I’m the last guy in, and it was a grind today – that third period just chewed me up,” said Lawyer. “I had a game plan of sticking with the docks and finesse-fishing around the docks with a couple of little swimbaits on a Freedom Lures Swimbait Head, and almost got caught. But that’s the best thing about the Bass Pro Tour – when we start on the water again on Sunday, we’re all even. Doesn’t matter if you’re first or twentieth. I’m just thankful to be out here and to go see what we can do in the Knockout Round.”

The top 20 anglers from Group A will now enjoy an off day, while the 40 anglers in Qualifying Group B will complete their two-day Qualifying Round of competition on Saturday. The Knockout Round, featuring 38 anglers competing to finish in the top eight, will take place Sunday. Monday’s Championship Round will feature Wheeler, Saturday’s Group B winner, and the top eight anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.

The top 20 pros in Qualifying Group A that now advance to Sunday’s Knockout Round on Lewis Smith Lake are:

1st:           Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 41 bass, 80-13 – ADVANCES TO CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
2nd:          Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 29 bass, 56-2
3rd:          Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., 22 bass, 52-12
4th”:         Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., 22 bass, 51-4
5th:           Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 25 bass, 50-10
6th:           Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 20 bass, 46-8
7th:           Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 19 bass, 42-10
8th:           Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., 19 bass, 42-1
9th:           Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 21 bass, 40-11
10th:        John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., 20 bass, 40-6
11th:        Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., 19 bass, 39-3
12th:        Mark Daniels, Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 17 bass, 38-4
13th:        Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 19 bass, 37-5
14th:        Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., 19 bass, 35-9
15th:        Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., 17 bass, 35-0
16th:        Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala., 15 bass, 31-1
17th:        Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., 14 bass, 29-11
18th:        Randall Tharp, Port St. Joe, Fla., 12 bass, 29-3
19th:        Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 14 bass, 28-10
20th:        Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 14 bass, 27-6
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 300 scorable bass weighing 616 pounds, 12 ounces caught by the 40 pros Friday.

Tharp caught a 6-pound, 7-ounce largemouth on a jig in the third period that catapulted him up into the top 20 and earned him the third $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award of the event. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.

The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Wednesday and Friday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Thursday and Saturday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers that finish in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advance to Sunday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Monday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 38 anglers compete to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

Anglers will launch each day at 7:30 a.m. from the Smith Lake State Park, located at 403 County Road 386 in Cullman, Alabama. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the park, beginning at 4:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The Favorite Fishing Stage Three on Lewis Smith Lake Presented by Mercury features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2023 championship.

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

Television coverage of the Favorite Fishing Stage Three on Lewis Smith Lake Presented by Mercury will premiere at 7 a.m. ET, Oct. 1 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.

Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, BallyBet, Bass Cat, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Covercraft, Favorite Fishing, Garmin, General Tire, Googan Baits, Grundéns, Guaranteed Rate, Humminbird, Lowrance, Luminox, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Nitro Performance Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Power Stop, Rapala, Starbrite, Toro, Toyota, Wrangler, Yellowstone Bourbon and Zoom.

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.

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