| Harrison, Tennessee Pro Catches 27 Bass Weighing 88-2 to Go Back-to-Back and Earn Record-Setting Fifth Career Bass Pro Tour Victory and Another $100,000 Top Prize
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (Aug. 10, 2021) – It’s getting hard to contextualize just how good Academy Sports + Outdoors pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, has been this season. Wheeler caught 27 scorable smallmouth bass Tuesday weighing 88 pounds, 2 ounces to win the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits in Plattsburgh, New York, and earn another top payout of $100,000.
Wheeler’s margin-of-victory in the event was 30 pounds, 13 ounces – the largest margin in Bass Pro Tour history. Also winning late June’s Bass Pro Tour stop at the St. Lawrence River, Wheeler now becomes the first angler to ever win back-to-back Stages on the Bass Pro Tour, and the first angler to ever win three in one season. His fifth career victory this week at Lake Champlain broke his own record for the most Bass Pro Tour victories all-time, and he has finished first or second in four of the last five Bass Pro Tour events. And he’s only 31 years old. “It’s crazy to think – three wins this year. Absolutely crazy,” Wheeler said. “It’s been an unbelievable year. I just try to have that mindset – don’t ever give up, don’t ever give in. Just constantly working and preparing for the next one. There is so much hard work that goes into these events. And it still takes a lot of things to go right to come out on top against this group of guys. “It takes so much time out here on the water,” Wheeler continued. “I just love this sport. I love competing. I love preparing for events. I love competing against this group of guys. These guys right here that I’m fishing against are the best in the world, hands down. The absolute toughest group of guys to beat. You have to bring your “A” game, day in and day out. Fishing against the best pushes me to become better. I’ve been truly blessed coming up here this season – New York has been pretty dang good to us.” Wheeler mainly targeted smallmouth throughout the week, using just two baits. “It was just typical smallmouth stuff,” he said. “Most of them came on a drop-shot rig, and some on a Ned rig. It came down to several different Ned style baits. I threw a (Googan Baits) Rattlin’ Ned and caught 3 or 4 key fish on it today. I also caught them this week on some fluke-style baits. It seemed like profile and color really mattered. Sometimes I had to go translucent. Sometimes I had to go lighter line. Sometimes I could get away with heavier line. It was really just trial and error each day. “It’s really just been a progression of figuring it out this week, slowly but surely. It wasn’t fast and furious, but little clues gave me hints to certain things and I kind of dialed it in as the week went on. You have to keep an open mind and that’s been the biggest thing for me this year – fishing stuff that I think looks good, develop the pattern and figure it out throughout the week and it gets better and better.” Despite Wheeler’s already incredible season, he still has one goal left for the year – the Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year (AOY) title. Pro Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tennessee, who finished the event in 3rd place, has had an incredible season in his own right, and with one event remaining in the season he currently owns a 12-point lead over second-place Wheeler in the AOY race. “I love Ott to death. He is unreal everywhere we go,” Wheeler went on to say. “It’s going to be battle. If either of us slip up one time, one day, it’s over. Whoever wins is going to have to make a top-10 at Stage Seven in Detroit, and we’ve got our work cut out for us. Realistically, I could have a phenomenal finish and still get beat. I’m just going to worry about winning another tournament and if it works out, it works out. I don’t have any AOY pressure – I’m going to prepare for that tournament to win it.” Florence, Italy’s Jacopo Gallelli, who qualified to compete in this tournament after winning the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit event at the Potomac River in June, caught 21 bass totaling 57 pounds, 5 ounces to finish second and win $45,257. “I tell you, with this situation I had this morning, this second place (finish) is like a win,” Gallelli said. “I lost 2 hours of fishing – 1½ hours because of mechanical issues and another half hour when we went idling back into the creek. So, I cannot be more happy about being second. Especially considering this field. This field is made of the 80 most skilled anglers in the world, and I proved it to myself and everybody that I can compete at this level. “If somebody was thinking the Potomac River was just a fluke, I demonstrated to everybody that it was not, most of all to myself,” Gallelli went on to say. “I did my best, and dealt with a very bad situation, so I am very proud of myself and very happy.” The top 10 at the Bass Pro Tour Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain finished: 1st: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 27 bass, 88-2, $100,257 A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Overall, there were 143 bass weighing 411 pounds, 2 ounces caught by the final 10 pros on Tuesday. Wheeler also won Tuesday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing a 4-pound, 15-ounce smallmouth on a drop-shot rig in Period 2 to earn the prize. Shaw Grigsby and Takahiro Omori split the $3,000 Berkley Big Bass award for the largest bass of the event as each weighed in a 5-pound, 14-ounce largemouth on Days 2 and 3 of competition. The Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits featured anglers competing with a 2-pound 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 MLF Bass Pro Tour Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits was hosted by the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau and the City of Plattsburgh. The six-day tournament featured the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner. Television coverage of the Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits will premiere at 7 a.m. ET, Nov. 6 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition. The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 76 of the top professional anglers in the world – joined at each event by 4 pros that qualify from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2022 championship. For complete details and updated information on 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. |
Wheeler Wins Again! Tennessee Angler Wins Third Event of Season at MLF Bass Pro Tour Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits
Cedar Falls’ Myers Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League on Mississippi River – Prairie du Chien
| RANK | BOATER NAME/HOMETOWN | BASS | WEIGHT | AWARD |
| 1st | Mark Myers of Cedar Falls, Ind. | 3 | 10-14 | $3,926 |
| 2nd | Nick Trim of Galesville, Wisc. | 3 | 10-6 | $2,993 |
| 3rd | Benny Stutzman of Caledonia, Minn. | 3 | 9-11 | $1,309 |
| 4th | Tony Seiler of Hudson, Wisc. | 3 | 9-10 | $916 |
| 5th | Brandon Briscoe of McHenry, Ill. | 3 | 9-6 | $785 |
| 6th | Bill Sepke of Indian Head Park, Ill. | 3 | 9-5 | $720 |
| 7th | Jeff Ritter of Prairie Du Chien, Wisc. | 3 | 9-2 | $654 |
| 8th | William (Bill) Schultz of Viroqua, Wisc. | 3 | 9-1 | $589 |
| 9th | Curtis Samo of Rochelle, Ill. | 3 | 9-0 | $523 |
| 10th | Mike Brueggen of La Crosse, Wisc. | 3 | 8-13 | $458 |
| RANK | STRIKE KING CO-ANGLER NAME/HOMETOWN | BASS | WEIGHT | AWARD |
| 1st | Richard Conrad of Arcadia, Wisc. | 3 | 8-5 | $1,472 |
| 1st | Brady Rufenacht of Lavalle, Wisc. | 3 | 8-5 | $1,472 |
| 3rd | Luka Strepacki of Naperville, Ill. | 3 | 8-3 | $920 |
| 4th | Larry Litchfield of Macomb, Ill. | 3 | 7-14 | $458 |
| 5th | Joe Rockey of Schaumburg, Ill. | 3 | 7-10 | $393 |
| 6th | Steve Esser of Dubuque, Ind. | 3 | 7-6 | $360 |
| 7th | Jaz Duncan of Eau Claire, Wisc. | 3 | 7-5 | $327 |
| 8th | Nick Kramersmeier of Johnston, Ind. | 3 | 7-4 | $278 |
| 8th | Jason Swanson of Waterloo, Ind. | 3 | 7-4 | $278 |
| 10th | Chad Schultz of Rockton, Ill. | 3 | 7-0 | $217 |
| 10th | Kalvin Korotka of Manawa, Wisc. | 3 | 7-0 | $217 |
| AWARD | NAME | CONTINGENCY | PAYOUT |
| Boater Big Bass | Nick Trim of Galesville, Wisc. | 4-pound, 10-ounce bass | $530 |
| Strike King Co-Angler Berkley Big Bass | Luke Strepacki of Naperville, Ill. | 3-pound, 14-ounce bass | $265 |
| Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus | Nick Trim of Galeville, Wisc. | Eligible Phoenix Boat* | $500 |
| ANGLER | BAIT | COLOR |
| Boater | Did Not Divulge | N/A |
| Strike King Co-Angler | Did Not Divulge | N/A |
| EVENT | DATE | LOCATION | HOST |
| Great Lakes Division – Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship | Oct. 21-23 | Lake Ouachita, Mt. Ida, Ark. | Visit Hot Springs |
| 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American | June 2-4 | Lake Hamilton, Hot Springs, Ark. | Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism & Visit Hot Springs |
The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division will also earn priority entry into the Toyota Series, the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube .
Lamar’s Meunier Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League on Ohio River-Rocky Point
CANNELTON, Ind. (Aug. 10, 2021) – Boater Kevin Meunier of Lamar, Indiana wins the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine at Ohio River-Rocky Point Presented by TINCUP Whiskey in Cannelton, Indiana. Meunier earned $5,082 for his victory at the event.
TOP 10 RESULTS
| RANK | BOATER NAME/HOMETOWN | BASS | WEIGHT | AWARD |
| 1st | Kevin Meunier of Lamar, Ind. | 5 | 7-7 | $5,082 |
| 2nd | Tony Eckler of Lebanon, Tenn. | 4 | 7-1 | $2,041 |
| 3rd | Larry Sisk of Evansville, Ind. | 4 | 6-13 | $1,612 |
| 4th | Jimmy Shepherd of Indianapolis, Ind. | 5 | 6-0 | $952 |
| 5th | Ryan Deal of Evansville, Ind. | 5 | 5-15 | $816 |
| 6th | Pete Justice of Sharonville, Ohio | 5 | 5-13 | $748 |
| 7th | Mike Quinlin of Mooresville, Ind. | 5 | 5-8 | $1,180 |
| 8th | Brian Campbell of Oxford, Ohio | 4 | 5-2 | $612 |
| 9th | Chris Wilkinson of Farmersburg, Ind. | 5 | 5-1 | $544 |
| 10th | Scott Bateman Jasper, Ind. | 3 | 5-0 | $676 |
| RANK | STRIKE KING CO-ANGLER NAME/HOMETOWN | BASS | WEIGHT | AWARD |
| 1st | Brian Liming of Dillsboro, Ind. | 4 | 5-8 | $2,005 |
| 2nd | Casey Cornelius of Indianapolis, Ind. | 4 | 4-4 | $1,002 |
| 3rd | Steven Sanders of Orleans, Ind. | 2 | 3-15 | $668 |
| 4th | Billy French of Hamilton, Ohio | 4 | 3-14 | $668 |
| 5th | Jeff Nyikos of Mishawaka, Ind. | 3 | 3-11 | $367 |
| 5th | Mark Dehart of Brownstown, Ind. | 2 | 3-11 | $367 |
| 5th | William Jackson of Lawrenceburg, Ind. | 3 | 3-11 | $367 |
| 8th | Brent Bennett of Madison, Ind. | 3 | 3-7 | $301 |
| 9th | Kevin Freese of Danville, Ind. | 2 | 3-3 | $267 |
| 10th | Bo Bivins of Evansville, Ind. | 2 | 3-0 | $234 |
| AWARD | NAME | CONTINGENCY | PAYOUT |
| Boater Big Bass | Mike Geisler of Oxford, Ohio | 4-pound, 5-ounce bass | $560 |
| Strike King Co-Angler Berkley Big Bass | Charlie Kuebler of Jasper, Ind. | 2-pound, 3-ounce bass | $275 |
| Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus | Mike Quinlin of Mooresville, Ind. | Eligible Phoenix Boat* | $500 |
| ANGLER | BAIT | COLOR |
| Boater | Spinnerbait | Did Not Specify |
| Strike King Co-Angler | Spinnerbait & Tubes | Did Not Specify |
| EVENT | DATE | LOCATION | HOST |
| Hoosier Division – Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship | Oct. 7-9 | Wheeler Lake, Decatur, Ala. | Decatur Morgan County Tourism |
| 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American | June 2-4 | Lake Hamilton, Hot Springs, Ark. | Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism & Visit Hot Springs |
The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division will also earn priority entry into the Toyota Series, the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube .
Macedon’s Smith Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League on Cayuga Lake
| RANK | BOATER NAME/HOMETOWN | BASS | WEIGHT | AWARD |
| 1st | Casey Smith of Macedon, N.Y. | 5 | 22-13 | $4,428 |
| 2nd | Kyle Gelles of Pingree, Idaho | 5 | 21-13 | $3,214 |
| 3rd | Bill Spence of San Diego, Calif. | 5 | 20-7 | $1,478 |
| 4th | Alec Morrison of Peru, N.Y. | 5 | 20-2 | $1,033 |
| 5th | Pete Gluszek of Mt. Laurel, N.J. | 5 | 19-15 | $886 |
| 6th | Joe A Zombek, II of Scranton, Pa. | 5 | 19-12 | $1,447 |
| 7th | Elijah Meyers of Fort Wayne, Ind. | 5 | 19-10 | $738 |
| 8th | Michael A. Sentore of Gloucester City, N.J. | 5 | 18-11 | $664 |
| 9th | Donald Tripoli of Webster, N.Y. | 5 | 18-0 | $590 |
| 10th | Mark Bower of Kunkletown, Pa. | 5 | 17-10 | $517 |
| RANK | STRIKE KING CO-ANGLER NAME/HOMETOWN | BASS | WEIGHT | AWARD |
| 1st | Joseph Merker of Pittsgrove, N.J. | 5 | 19-7 | $2,531 |
| 2nd | Mike Wotanowski of Lake Hopatcong, N.J. | 5 | 17-12 | $1,107 |
| 3rd | Corey Thornton of Blodgett Mills, N.Y. | 5 | 16-1 | $738 |
| 4th | Joe Pacholec, Jr. of Moosic, Pa. | 5 | 16-0 | $517 |
| 5th | Jesse Jodon of Windber, Pa. | 5 | 15-12 | $443 |
| 6th | Matt Hummel of Lancaster, Pa. | 5 | 15-8 | $406 |
| 7th | Len Hargrave of York, Pa. | 5 | 15-6 | $369 |
| 8th | Jared Muzyka of Hadley, Mass. | 5 | 15-4 | $332 |
| 9th | Stephen Draghi of Sparrowbush, N.Y. | 5 | 14-5 | $495 |
| 10th | Alexander McKenzie of Feasterville, Pa. | 5 | 12-14 | $258 |
| AWARD | NAME | CONTINGENCY | PAYOUT |
| Boater Big Bass | Joe A. Zombek, II of Scranton, Pa. | 6-pound, 8-ounce bass | $635 |
| Strike King Co-Angler Berkley Big Bass | Joseph Merker of Pittsgrove, N.J. | 6-pound, 4-ounce bass | $317 |
| Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus | Kyle Gelles of Pingree, Idaho | Eligible Phoenix Boat* | $500 |
| ANGLER | BAIT | COLOR |
| Boater | Dropshot/Senko | Not Specified |
| Strike King Co-Angler | Worm | Not Specified |
| EVENT | DATE | LOCATION | HOST |
| Northeast Division – Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship | Oct. 14-16 | Potomac River, Marbury, Md. | Charles County Board of Commissioners |
| 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American | June 2-4 | Lake Hamilton, Hot Springs, Ark. | Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism & Visit Hot Springs |
The top six finishers in each regional will then qualify for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American.
The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division will also earn priority entry into the Toyota Series, the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube .
Jacob Wheeler Dominates Knockout Round at MLF Bass Pro Tour Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits
ennessee Pro Catches 32 Bass Weighing 107-2 to Win Knockout Round By 27½ Pounds, Final 10 Anglers Set for Tuesday’s Final-Day Shootout for $100,000
Link to Photo Gallery of Fish Catch Highlights from Day 5 Knockout Round at Lake Champlain
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (Aug. 9, 2021) – Academy Sports + Outdoors pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, caught 32 scorable bass Monday weighing 107 pounds, 2 ounces to win the Knockout Round and advance to the final day of competition at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits in Plattsburgh, New York. The final 10 anglers are now set, and competition will resume Tuesday morning with the Championship Round. Weights are zeroed, and the angler that catches the most weight will win the top prize of $100,000.
The six-day event, hosted by the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau and the City of Plattsburgh, features the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.
The top eight pros from Monday’s Knockout Round that will compete in Tuesday’s Championship Round on Lake Champlain are:
1st: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 32 bass, 107-2
2nd: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 25 bass, 79-11
3rd: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 23 bass, 69-13
4th: Jacopo Gallelli, Florence, Italy, 25 bass, 66-0
5th: Kelly Jordon, Flint, Texas, 23 bass, 58-9
6th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 20 bass, 55-2
7th: Timmy Horton, Muscle Shoals, Ala., 17 bass, 53-7
8th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Ala., 19 bass, 50-14
They’ll be joined by Qualifying Round winners:
Group A: Matt Lee, Cullman, Ala.
Group B: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala.
“We had a lot of fun today, and caught a lot of bass,” Wheeler said in his post-game interview. “It feels great to reel a whole bunch of bass in. This place is unbelievable. But tomorrow is a new day and we’ve got some stiff competition ahead of us.”
Wheeler said that Monday, for him, was all about the spinning rod. He spent the day drop-shotting on his 7-foot, 2-inch medium-heavy Duckett Jacob Wheeler Signature Series rod, spooled with 8-pound Sufix Advanced Nano braid and a Size No. 2 Finesse Neko hook.
“It’s taken me a little while to dial it in, but I’m starting to understand it more and more, and Champlain is different every single week, every time I come here. I’ve realized you can’t necessarily get locked into one area. I feel like I have figured out a little bit of a pattern and I’m looking forward to getting out there tomorrow to see how it shakes out.”
Rounding out the top 37 finishers were:
11th: Brandon Coulter, Knoxville, Tenn., 19 bass, 48-3, $10,257
12th: Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., 15 bass, 46-6, $10,257
13th: James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., 14 bass, 43-6, $10,257
14th: Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., 13 bass, 38-5, $10,257
15th: Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa., 13 bass, 37-14, $10,257
16th: Scott Suggs, Bryant, Ark., 12 bass, 37-14, $10,257
17th: Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, 11 bass, 35-0, $10,257
18th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 34-10, $10,257
19th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 13 bass, 34-2, $10,257
20th: Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., 13 bass, 32-8, $10,257
21st: Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., 11 bass, 30-8, $10,257
22nd: Boyd Duckett, Guntersville, Ala., 11 bass, 29-13, $10,257
23rd: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., nine bass, 28-14, $10,257
24th: John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 11 bass, 28-5, $10,257
25th: Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., eight bass, 26-4, $10,257
26th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., eight bass, 25-2, $10,257
27th: Shin Fukae, Osaka, Japan, seven bass, 23-4, $10,257
28th: Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala., nine bass, 22-2, $10,257
29th: Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, seven bass, 21-4, $10,257
30th: Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., five bass, 15-13, $10,257
31st: Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., four bass, 13-2, $10,257
32nd: Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., four bass, 12-4, $10,257
33rd: Aaron Martens, Leeds, Ala., three bass, 8-13, $10,257
34th: Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, three bass, 7-1, $10,257
35th: Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., two bass, 7-1, $10,257
36th: Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, three bass, 6-14, $10,257
37th: Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., zero bass, 0-0, $10,257
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 422 bass weighing 1,235 pounds, 6 ounces caught by the 35 pros on Monday.
Stephen Browning won Sunday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with a 5-pound, 4-ounce largemouth that came on a vibrating jig during Period 3. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler that weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.
The Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits features anglers competing with a 2-pound 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.
MLF announced earlier this week that the normal 80-angler Bass Pro Tour field would be reduced to 73 for this event, as seven anglers withdrew from competition for undisclosed reasons. After consulting with the MLF Angler Advisory Board, a slight change was made to the Qualifying Round Toro Cut Lines due to the unbalanced angler groupings.
The 34 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Lake Champlain on Thursday and Saturday – the 39 anglers in Group B on Friday and Sunday. After the two-day qualifying round the anglers that finish in 2nd through 17th place from Group A (50% of field) and 2nd through 20th place from Group B (50% of field) advanced to Monday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights were zeroed and the remaining 35 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.
Anglers will take off from the Plattsburgh City Marina, located at 2 Dock St., in Plattsburgh, at 8 a.m. ET each day of competition. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will also be held at the Launch Ramp, beginning at 5 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
MLF officials have divided the lake into two zones in which anglers will compete – Zone A (north end of lake) and Zone B (south end of lake – Ticonderoga area). Anglers choosing to fish in Zone B must go through the normal takeoff procedure at the Plattsburgh Boat Launch and then trailer to a public ramp within Zone B. Anglers will depart the Boat Launch at 8 a.m., and competition will start with “lines in” at 9 a.m.
The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 76 of the top professional anglers in the world – joined at each event by 4 pros that qualify from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2022 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 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits will premiere at 7 a.m. ET, Nov. 6 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.
For complete details and updated information on 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.
Bassmaster Classic Angler Qualification Update
August 9, 2021
Bassmaster Classic Angler Qualification Update
[print_link]
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The 2021 Bassmaster Elite season ended in July, but there may still be movement in the list of Elite Series anglers who qualify for the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk.
One unique wrinkle this year is that each Elite angler drops his lowest finish. “The drop,” as it has been called, came about early this year when Elite anglers voted-in the ability to drop their worst tournament should someone miss an event for a COVID-related illness. That happened when David Fritts fell ill for the first tournament.
The drop only impacted Classic berths, not Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings or requalification to the Elites for 2022. Those berths are awarded to the Top 39 Elites and move down the standings with each double qualifier.
B.A.S.S. recently sent out the updated AOY point standings with each Elite angler’s worst event excluded. Four additional Elite anglers have qualified for the Classic because Hank Cherry, Brandon Palaniuk and Taku Ito double qualified and Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens at Oneida Lake winner Bill Perkins is not fishing all three tournaments in the Northern division.
With four Opens tournaments remaining, it is mathematically possible more Elites will qualify. There will be drama in those tournaments with Classic qualifications, Elite Series invitations and the Falcon Rods Opens Angler of the Year title on the line.
Remaining Classic berths will go to the three current Opens winners — Keith Tuma, Daisuke Aoki and Joey Nania — assuming that they fish all three tournaments in their respective division. Nine berths are still to be decided from the four remaining Opens events, the Top 3 finishers at the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship, the Team Champion and the College Classic Bracket Champion.
Elite Series Anglers Currently Qualified For 2022 Bassmaster Classic
1. Seth Feider
2. Chris Johnston
3. Brandon Palaniuk
4. Patrick Walters
5. Caleb Sumrall
6. Lee Livesay
7. Cory Johnston
8. Brandon Cobb
9. Jason Christie
10. Greg Hackney
11. Drew Cook
12. Austin Felix
13. Wes Logan
14. Brock Mosley
15. Luke Palmer
16. Taku Ito
17. Gerald Swindle
18. Hank Cherry
19. Shane LeHew
20. Jeff Gustafson
21. Kyle Welcher
22. Brandon Lester
23. Drew Benton
24. Chad Pipkens
25. John Crews
26. Bryan Schmitt
27. Matt Herren
28. Brandon Card
29. Josh Stracner
30. Steve Kennedy
31. KJ Queen
32. Buddy Gross
33. Bryan New
34. Hunter Shryock
35. David Mullins
36. Justin Hamner
37. Marc Frazier
38. Chris Zaldain
39. Matt Robertson
40. Matt Arey
41. Stetson Blaylock
42. John Cox
43. Ray Hanselman
Lucas Holds on To Win Group B Qualifying Round at MLF Bass Pro Tour Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits
Guntersville, Alabama pro Bests Tennessee’ Brandon Coulter to Win Thrilling Third Period Shootout and Advance Directly to Tuesday’s Championship Round, 18 Anglers Advance to Monday’s Knockout Round
Link to Photo Gallery of Fish Catch Highlights from Day 2 at Lake Champlain, Qualifying Group B
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (Aug. 8, 2021) – It was a back-and-forth battle at the top for pretty much the entire third period Sunday between pros Brandon Coulter of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Berkley pro Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Alabama, at the Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits in Plattsburgh, New York.
The duo traded the lead back and forth five times during Period 3, before Lucas boated a 3-pound, 13-ounce smallmouth with 60 minutes left in the round to pull away and win the two-day Qualifying Round for Group B. Lucas’ two-day total of 31 bass weighing 101 pounds, 10 ounces earned him the victory by a slim 9-ounce margin over Coulter and advances him directly into Tuesday’s final-day Championship Round of competition.
Coulter caught a two-day total of 41 bass weighing 101 pounds, 1 ounce to finish the day in second place. In third place on the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard is Academy Sports + Outdoors pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, who caught 32 bass weighing 89-14. Hot Springs, Arkansas’ Stephen Browning, who caught a two-day total of 29 bass totaling 82-13, and Polaris pro David Dudley of Lynchburg Virginia , who boated 28 bass weighing 79-6 rounded out the top five finishers in the round.
The remaining 35 anglers – 16 from Group A and 19 from Group B – will now compete Monday in the Knockout Round, where weights are zeroed, and the anglers compete to finish in the top eight to advance to Championship Wednesday. Tuesday’s Championship Round will feature Group A winner Matt Lee, Group B winner Justin Lucas, and the top eight anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.
“That was a hard fight and was a lot of fun. I can’t believe we won it, honestly,” Lucas said in his post-game interview. “I felt like things weren’t really going our way, today, but I ended up catching more fish than the first day. And to win by just 9 ounces – that was insane.”
Like Friday, the majority of Lucas’ catch on Sunday came from drop-shotting deep-water smallmouth.
“I caught two key fish on a swimbait today, and 16 more on a Berkley (PowerBait Max Scent) Flat Worm,” Lucas said. “I worked my fricking butt off. I am beat bad, and I am really looking to a day off. I’ve got to get my stuff together, it’s a disaster right now.”
The top 19 pros from Qualifying Group A that now advance to Monday’s Knockout Round on Lake Champlain are:
1st: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 31 bass, 101-10 – ADVANCES DIRECTLY TO CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
2nd: Brandon Coulter, Knoxville, Tenn., 41 bass, 101-1
3th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 32 bass, 89-14
4th: Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., 29 bass, 82-13
5th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 28 bass, 79-6
6rd: Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, 28 bass, 77-9
7th: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 24 bass, 76-3
8th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 23 bass, 73-1
9th: Kelly Jordon, Flint, Texas, 23 bass, 66-8
10th: Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., 20 bass, 64-1
11th: Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., 21 bass, 62-5
12th: Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, 21 bass, 60-12
13th: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 18 bass, 58-10
14th: Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala., 20 bass, 58-1
15th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 21 bass, 55-13
16th: Boyd Duckett, Guntersville, Ala., 18 bass, 54-5
17th: Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., 18 bass, 50-12
18th: Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 18 bass, 50-3
19th: Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 18 bass, 49-9
20th: Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 17 bass, 49-1
Finishing in 21st through 39th in the Group B Qualifying Round were:
21st: Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., 17 bass, 49-0
22nd: Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., 16 bass, 46-2
23rd: Roy Hawk, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 14 bass, 42-6
24th: Cliff Crochet, Pierre Part, La., 14 bass, 42-0
25th: Cody Meyer, Star, Idaho, 13 bass, 38-10
26th: Shaw Grigsby, Gainesville, Fla., 14 bass, 38-4
27th: Jonathon VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 13 bass, 38-2
28th: Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala., 11 bass, 34-12
29th: Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, 13 bass, 34-8
30th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 12 bass, 33-8
31st: Jeff Kriet, Ardmore, Okla., 12 bass, 32-5
32nd: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., 13 bass, 31-3
33rd: Ricky Robinson, Greenback, Tenn., 11 bass, 31-3
34th: Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La., 11 bass, 29-14
35th: Paul Elias, Laurel, Miss., 10 bass, 29-12
36th: Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 10 bass, 27-6
37th: Marty Robinson, Lyman, S.C., 10 bass, 26-2
38th: Ish Monroe, Oakdale, Calif., 10 bass, 25-0
39th: Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., seven bass, 24-12
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 380 bass weighing 1,097 pounds, 10 ounces caught by the 39 pros on Sunday.
Kelly Jordon won Sunday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with a 5-pound, 9-ounce bass that came on a frog during Period 1. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler that weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.
The MLF Bass Pro Tour Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits is hosted by the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau and the City of Plattsburgh.
MLF announced earlier this week that the normal 80-angler Bass Pro Tour field would be reduced to 73 for this event, as seven anglers withdrew from competition for undisclosed reasons. After consulting with the MLF Angler Advisory Board, a slight change was made to the Qualifying Round Toro Cut Lines due to the unbalanced angler groupings.
The 34 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Lake Champlain on Thursday and Saturday – the 39 anglers in Group B on Friday and Sunday. Now that each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers that finish in 2nd through 17th place from Group A (50% of field) and 2nd through 20th place from Group B (50% of field) advance to Monday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Tuesday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 35 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 take off from the Plattsburgh City Marina, located at 2 Dock St., in Plattsburgh, at 8 a.m. ET each day of competition. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will also be held at the Launch Ramp, beginning at 5 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
MLF officials have divided the lake into two zones in which anglers will compete – Zone A (north end of lake) and Zone B (south end of lake – Ticonderoga area). Anglers choosing to fish in Zone B must go through the normal takeoff procedure at the Plattsburgh Boat Launch and then trailer to a public ramp within Zone B. Anglers will depart the Boat Launch at 8 a.m., and competition will start with “lines in” at 9 a.m.
The Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits features anglers competing with a 2-pound 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 76 of the top professional anglers in the world – joined at each event by 4 pros that qualify from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2022 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 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits will premiere at 7 a.m. ET, Nov. 6 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.
For complete details and updated information on 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.
Ike Beats The Buzzer For B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series Victory On Upper Chesapeake Bay
Mike Iaconelli, of Pittsgrove, N.J., has won the Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series powered by TourneyX at Upper Chesapeake Bay with a five-fish limit measuring 88.25 inches.
Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.
August 7, 2021
Ike Beats The Buzzer For B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series Victory On Upper Chesapeake Bay
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CECIL COUNTY, Md. — With one minute to spare before lines out, Michael “Ike” Iaconelli landed an 18.50-inch bass that lifted him to victory Saturday in the Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series powered by TourneyX at Upper Chesapeake Bay.
Iaconelli’s five biggest bass measured 88.25 inches, edging second-place Sterling Leach by just 1.75 inches.
It’s been a good couple of weeks for the popular New Jersey pro and 20-time Classic qualifier. His Kayak Series win comes on the heels of a fourth-place finish at the Basspro.com Bassmaster Northern Open at Oneida Lake, which lifted Iaconelli to second in the Northern Division points race.
“I’m proud of this one. I’ve been trying for three years to win a professional kayak event and I finally won one,” Iaconelli said. “It feels really, really good. It is a big moment for me. Kayak fishing has been great for me personally and a lot of the companies I work with are supporting me fishing on the kayak side as well.
“I launched an Ike-approved Hobie at ICAST this year. I’ve only fished out of it about six times. What a great way to break in a new kayak.”
The victory also gives Ike a win at every level of adult Bassmaster competition.
“I’ve won as an amateur, I’ve won as a Nation angler, I’ve won at the Open level, the Elite level, the Classic and Angler of the Year,” he said. (Iaconelli won the 2003 Bassmaster Classic at the Louisiana Delta and captured the Angler of the Year title in 2006.) “I talk to Brandon Palaniuk a lot and one of his goals is to win at every level of B.A.S.S. and the Classic is sort of the last thing he has left to win.
“But not now. If he wants to top my record he has to get a kayak and win a kayak event.”
Iaconelli’s winning fish engulfed his Berkley MaxScent Creature Hawg with just enough time for him to haul it into the boat, measure it and photograph it before the official lines out time of 2 p.m. ET.
“It’s funny how those things happen like that,” he said. “I was flipping and flipping and watching the time click. At 1:59 p.m., I pitched in a mat and it sank about a foot and the hydrilla shook. I saw my line jump and set the hook, cranked it in on 65-pound braid, swung it in, unhooked it and submitted the picture all within a minute. It was an incredible thing.
“It ranks up there as one of the most exciting fish catches I’ve ever had in my life.”
Throughout his years of tournament fishing, Iaconelli has accumulated hours of experience on the Upper Chesapeake Bay, a place he calls a “premier fishery” in the Northeast. This time of the year, however, is one of the more difficult seasons to generate bites.
“It is a special place, but it has this ugly stage which is early August through late September,” he said. “Today was one of those days. It was hard to get bites. Sometimes the grind tournaments, when you do well or win, mean even more than the easy ones.”
Iaconelli fished parts of a big grass flat, specifically targeting ditches that drained out of the flat as well as hard hydrilla edges that were pinned against deeper creeks that ran through the flat.
With all of his experience on the Upper Chesapeake, it was the first time he fished these specific areas of the flat.
“The quality that lives out there is what attracted me to that flat. It has a tremendous amount of 15- to 20-inch largemouth. The challenge was finding them. One of the reasons it gets so tough in August is that flat turns into a grassbed. It is mainly hydrilla, star grass, eelgrass and it is 5 square miles of it.”
Iaconelli landed five bass around the drains and ditches on a Texas-rigged black/blue flake Berkley PowerBait The General with a 1/16-ounce VMC nail weight on an Abu Garcia spinning rod. His two biggest bites came punching the hydrilla edge with a black/blue flake Berkley MaxScent Creature Hawg paired with a 1-ounce tungsten weight and a 4/0 VMC Flippin’ Hook.
He said the tide played a major role.
“The golden rule of tidal fishing is low water is always the best,” he said. “I had an early window of low water. This morning I caught four within the first hour and a half. When we started it was low but coming in.
“As the tide started to come in, the bite really shut off. I went a long time without a bite. I caught the 19.50 on the bad tide, a dead high tide, and that got me my limit.”
Leach used two different patterns to claim second place in his first-ever Kayak Series event. He also claimed Big Bass of the Tournament honors after winning the tiebreaker against Iaconelli with a 19.50 and a 19.00-inch bass.
After his two days of practice, Leach decided to fish the Sassafras River section of the Bay. After failing to get a buzzbait bite first thing in the morning, he switched to a Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait JackHammer and landed three of his five keepers around wood in deeper pockets in the river bends.
West Virginia angler Greg Harper finished third with 78 inches of smallmouth bass. Harper ventured up the Susquehanna River, an environment that matched the style of his home waters.
His bait of choice was a Lucky Craft squarebill crankbait and a 4-inch Yum Dinger rigged on a weighted wacky rig jighead around rock and wood targets.
“My day started out pretty slow. I didn’t catch my first fish until around 8 o’clock,” Harper said. “But after that, it was fast and furious. I caught a limit within an hour, and I caught a lot of fish all day long, just not a lot of size.”
The top four anglers from the event punched their tickets to the 2022 Kayak Series National Championship, which will be held in conjunction with the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk at Lake Hartwell.
Cecil County, Maryland hosted the event.
2021 Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series Partner: Old Town
Matt Lee Cruises to Win Group A Qualifying Round at MLF Bass Pro Tour Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits
Alabama pro Advances Directly to Tuesday’s Championship Round, 17 Anglers Advance to Monday’s Knockout Round
Link to Photo Gallery of Fish Catch Highlights from Day 2 at Lake Champlain, Qualifying Group A
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (Aug. 7, 2021) – Cullman, Alabama pro Matt Lee only caught nine scorable bass Saturday totaling 27 pounds, 11 ounces, but after his astonishing Day 1 on Thursday, it turns out he could have taken the day off. Lee’s two-day total of 49 bass weighing 131 pounds even easily earned him the Qualifying Round win for Group A on a weather-delayed day at the Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits in Plattsburgh, New York.
Competition ran a bit later than expected Saturday, as lightning in the area caused two pauses in competition during Period 3, totaling 2 hours and 15 minutes. The final hour of competition resumed at 6:15 p.m. ET, with competition ending for the day at 7:15 p.m. ET.
Italy’s Jacopo Gallelli, a Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit angler that qualified to compete in this event via his win in June on the Potomac River, caught a two-day total of 28 bass weighing 81-13 to finish the round in second place, while Bryan Thrift of Shelby, North Carolina, boated a two-day total of 28 bass weighing 81-3 to end the round in third. Berkley pro Scott Suggs of Alexander, Arkansas , finished the day in fourth place with a two-day total of 24 bass for 80-15. Rounding out the top five was Japanese pro Takahiro Omori, who caught 27 bass for 78-6 to advance in fifth place.
The six-day event, hosted by the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau and the City of Plattsburgh, features the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.
The top 17 anglers from Group A will now enjoy an off-day Sunday, while the 39 anglers in Qualifying Group B will complete their two-day Qualifying Round of competition. The Knockout Round, featuring 35 anglers competing to finish in the top eight, will take place on Monday. Tuesday’s Championship Round will feature Lee, Sunday’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.
“Man, it feels so good to earn the win,” Lee said in his post-game interview. “This tournament is a long way from over, but now I’ve got Championship Day to try to make it happen. I’ve got a 1 in 10 chance.
“You don’t beat these guys – even when they’re split up in groups – very often. They’re the best in the world. So, to do it, and to have the margin that I had after today… wow,” Lee continued. “It’s been a long day, I tried to practice and find some new stuff, but it was tough. I couldn’t get anything going, just a few. Then I came back over here late and caught them on a topwater.
“It’s been an awesome couple of days, and I can’t wait to get back out here on Tuesday,” Lee went on to say. “It’s going to be tough, but we’re that much closer.”
The top 17 pros from Qualifying Group A that now advance to Monday’s Knockout Round on Lake Champlain are:
1st: Matt Lee, Cullman, Ala., 49 bass, 131-0
2nd: Jacopo Gallelli, Florence, Italy, 28 bass, 81-13
3rd: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 28 bass, 81-3
4th: Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., 24 bass, 80-15
5th: Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, 28 bass, 80-10
6th: Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan, 24 bass, 76-5
7th: James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., 23 bass, 73-11
8th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 24 bass, 72-14
9th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 23 bass, 70-14
10th: Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa., 23 bass, 69-2
11th: Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., 25 bass, 65-11
12th: Timmy Horton, Muscle Shoals, Ala., 22 bass, 64-3
13th: Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., 24 bass, 63-2
14th: John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 24 bass, 62-11
15th: Aaron Martens, Leeds, Ala., 22 bass, 62-8
16th: Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., 21 bass, 62-8
17th: Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., 20 bass, 58-14
Finishing in 18th through 34th in the Group A Qualifying Round were:
18th: Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 19 bass, 58-12
19th: Tommy Biffle, Wagoner, Okla., 22 bass, 56-7
20th: Cliff Pace, Petal, Miss., 18 bass, 54-2
21st: John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., 20 bass, 51-6
22nd: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 15 bass, 50-4
23rd: Jared Lintner, Arroyo Grande, Calif., 19 bass, 50-2
24th: Jason Lambert, Michie, Tenn., 16 bass, 45-9
25th: James Watson, Lampe, Mo., 15 bass, 43-8
26th: Brent Chapman, Lake Quivira, Kan., 13 bass, 40-14
27th: Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., 14 bass, 39-9
28th: Randall Tharp, Port Saint Joe, Fla., 13 bass, 39-5
29th: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 13 bass, 37-10
30th: David Walker, Sevierville, Tenn., 11 bass, 32-8
31st: Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas, nine bass, 24-6
32nd: Lawson Hibdon, Versailles, Mo., six bass, 17-4
33rd: Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., four bass, 11-13
34th: Mike McClelland, Blue Eye, Mo., two bass, 6-9
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 353 bass weighing 1,033 pounds, 14 ounces caught by the 34 pros on Saturday.
Omori won Saturday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing in a 5-pound, 14-ounce largemouth bass on a jig during Period 1. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler that weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.
MLF announced earlier this week that the normal 80-angler Bass Pro Tour field would be reduced to 73 for this event, as seven anglers withdrew from competition for undisclosed reasons. After consulting with the MLF Angler Advisory Board, a slight change was made to the Qualifying Round Toro Cut Lines due to the unbalanced angler groupings.
The 34 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Lake Champlain on Thursday and Saturday – the 39 anglers in Group B on Friday and Sunday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers that finish in 2nd through 17th place from Group A (50% of field) and 2nd through 20th place from Group B (50% of field) advance to Monday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Tuesday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 35 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 take off from the Plattsburgh City Marina, located at 2 Dock St., in Plattsburgh, at 8 a.m. ET each day of competition. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will also be held at the Launch Ramp, beginning at 5 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
MLF officials have divided the lake into two zones in which anglers will compete – Zone A (north end of lake) and Zone B (south end of lake – Ticonderoga area). Anglers choosing to fish in Zone B must go through the normal takeoff procedure at the Plattsburgh Boat Launch and then trailer to a public ramp within Zone B. Anglers will depart the Boat Launch at 8 a.m., and competition will start with “lines in” at 9 a.m.
The Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits features anglers competing with a 2-pound 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 76 of the top professional anglers in the world – joined at each event by 4 pros that qualify from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2022 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 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the Toyota Stage Six at Lake Champlain Presented by Googan Baits will premiere at 7 a.m. ET, Nov. 6 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.
For complete details and updated information on 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.