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LA CROSSE, Wis. (July 29, 2020) – Wiley, Alabama’s Scott Wiley brought a five-bass limit to the scale Wednesday totaling 15 pounds, 3 ounces, to take the early lead on day one of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at the Mississippi River presented by OPTIMA Batteries in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Wiley will bring a slim 5-ounce advantage into day two of the four-day Super Tournament that features 200 of the world’s best bass-fishing anglers from FLW and Major League Fishing (MLF) competing for a top cash award of up to $160,000.
MLF pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, who won the Lake Chickamauga Super Tournament last month, sits in second place, just 5 ounces behind Wiley with 14-14. Local favorite Tom Monsoor of La Crosse weighed in five bass totaling 14 pounds, 3 ounces, and currently sits in seventh place.
“I’m happy to be leading, but there is still a lot of fishing left to do,” said Wiley, an eight-year FLW pro with two career top-10 finishes. “I’m having to hit a lot of places, just hopscotching around and catching one here, one there. I’m on a pattern and I hope that what I’m doing can hold up.
“I went to Pool No. 9 this morning,” Wiley continued. “My first area that I went to, I struck out. I ran around a little bit, then went over to this little drain and I caught a limit in about 45 minutes. I locked back up to Pool No. 8 and caught two big ones this afternoon – both around 3½ pounds – and that was pretty much my day.”
Wiley’s limit consisted entirely of largemouth bass. Although he is unsure of whether his pattern can hold up over multiple days, he remains optimistic heading into the second day of competition.
“The guys in this event are good, and you’ve got to do whatever you can to stay on top of the fish,” Wiley went on to say. “I don’t know if I’ve got a lot of fish left down there (Pool No. 9), but we’re going to go down there and see what we can do with them.”
The top 10 pros after day one on the Mississippi River are:
1st: Scott Wiley of Bay Minette, Ala., five bass, 15-3
2nd: Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 14-14
3rd: Derrick Snavely of Piney Flats, Tenn., five bass, 14-8
4th: Joey Cifuentes of Clinton, Ark., five bass, 14-6
5th: Jesse Wiggins of Logan, Ala., five bass, 14-5
6th: Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich., five bass, 14-4
7th: Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 14-3
8th: Bradford Beavers of Summerville, S.C., five bass, 14-2
9th: Robert Nakatomi of Sacramento, Calif., five bass, 14-1
10th: Mitch Crane of Columbus, Miss., five bass, 13-15
10th: Matt Lee of Bremen, Ala., five bass, 13-15
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
Kevin Meeks of Smyrna, Tennessee, won Wednesday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass award in the pro division after bringing a fish weighing 5 pounds even to the scale.
Overall there were 810 bass weighing 1,789 pounds, 5 ounces caught by 191 pros Wednesday. The catch included 126 five-bass limits.
The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at the Mississippi River presented by OPTIMA Batteries is hosted by Explore La Crosse.
In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Super-Tournament competition, the full field of 200 pro anglers compete in the two-day opening round on Wednesday and Thursday. The top 50 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advance to Friday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition on Championship Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.
FLW anglers are vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the Tackle Warehouse FLW TITLE presented by Toyota, the Pro Circuit championship. The 2020 Tackle Warehouse FLW TITLE presented by Toyota will be held on Lake Michigan in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, Aug. 24-29.
MLF pros competing in the Pro Circuit “Super Tournaments” will fish for prize money only. No points will be awarded toward any championship or title to MLF competitors. Only the original Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit anglers will compete for the AOY title throughout the remainder of the season. AOY points in the final events will be awarded based on Pro Circuit anglers finishing order. The top-finishing FLW pro will receive “first-place points” regardless of where he finishes in the overall standings, and so on.
Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. CDT each day from Stoddard Park, located at 502 Forest Lane, in Stoddard. The weigh-in each day will also be held at Stoddard Park and will begin at 3 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday and at 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Attendance is limited to competing anglers and essential staff only. Fans are encouraged to forgo the daily takeoffs and weigh-ins and follow the event online through the expanded four-day “FLW Live” on-the-water broadcasts and weigh-in coverage at FLWFishing.com.
Television coverage of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at the Mississippi River will premiere at 7 p.m. EDT, Sept. 11 on the Outdoor Channel. Running now through Dec. 27, FLW will air 312 hours of Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit action on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long episode goes in-depth to break down the final rounds of each regular-season competition. Episodes premiere in Friday night primetime slots on the Outdoor Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel.
The popular FLW Live on-the-water broadcast will air on all four days of competition, featuring live action from the boats of the tournament’s top pros each day. Host Travis Moran is joined by Toyota Series pro Todd Hollowell and MLF’s Marty Stone to break down the extended action each day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. On-the-water broadcasts will be live streamed on FLWFishing.com.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Big bass honors went to Michael Stephens of Gastonia, NC with a bass that weighed 5.59 pounds. Stephens took home $160.00 for his fish.
In the co-angler division Jackie Belt of Fountain Inn, SC took top honors with two bass weighing 5.91 pounds. Belt took home $500.00 for the win.
Taking third for the co-anglers, Gregory Littles Sr. weighed in one bass weighing 5.45 pounds which was also the biggest bass weighed in by a co-angler.
“I was fishing mostly the mid- to south-lake area, fishing grass with a homemade green-pumpkin-colored jig,” said Lorenzo, who earned the third FLW win of his career. “The key was to keep moving – the fish were widely scattered, and you wouldn’t get more than one or two bites at each spot.
On Sunday, anglers competed on the same fishery but with different conditions – a strong wind was now in play for competitors.
In the co-angler division Wesley Mullins of Guyton, Ga took top honors with three bass weighing 6.89 pounds. His limit was anchored by a bass weighing 3.46 pounds.