Month: February 2022

Crews Grinds Through Tough Day To Retain Bassmaster Elite Lead On St. Johns

Post author By jcarrigan
Post date February 11, 2022
No Comments on Crews Grinds Through Tough Day To Retain Bassmaster Elite Lead On St. Johns

PALATKA, Fla. — Fighting through a painfully slow morning, John Crews of Salem, Va., capitalized on the afternoon bite and caught a limit of 17 pounds, 3 ounces to retain his lead in the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River with a two-day total of 45-3.

After posting a Day 1 limit of 28 pounds, Crews edged Bob Downey of Hudson, Wis., by 12 ounces. On Friday, Crews greatly improved his position and will head into Saturday’s semifinal round with a 9-13 lead over Elite Series rookie Masayuki Matsushita of Tokoname-Aichi, Japan.

A telling moment that bespoke the attitude driving Crews’ decisions came midmorning when Crews’ cameraman asked if he had a target weight.

“I never do that; I want to catch as much as I can,” Crews said. “If you say, ‘I’ll be okay if I get 15,’ or, ‘I’ll be okay if I get 18,’ if you reach that, you might take your foot off the gas.

“Early on in my career, I settled more than I should have in a tournament, instead of going for the kill. Whether I finish first, second, 12th, 15th or whatever, I’m going to try to catch every fish I can catch.”

Despite high-pressure, postfrontal conditions, Crews did not take his foot off the gas Friday. Retracing his Day 1 game plan, he returned to Rodman Reservoir, where he threw a jerkbait and a drop shot. Rigged with a prototype Missile Baits worm, the latter produced all of his Rodman catches.

By the time he left Rodman at 1 p.m., Crews had only a small limit of 10-9 that he anchored with a 4-pounder. The reservoir was much more productive on Day 1, as Crews locked out with a 24-pound bag that included an 8-1.

“I got very fortunate to catch the bag that I caught yesterday, but I made some good adjustments today,” he said.

Specifically, he fished his way out of the Rodman canal and spent the rest of his afternoon targeting shallow cover on the main river. His afternoon effort allowed him to make three upgrades with a 4 1/2-pounder, a 4 and a 2.

Crews caught his main-river fish on a 1/2-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer with a Missile Baits D Bomb in the bruiser (black/blue) color. While the bulky 4-inch creature bait is typically used for flipping and pitching presentations, Crews said the D Bomb proved appealing to the quality bass he needed.

“It’s a big profile and when the (ChatterBait’s) blade is vibrating, the whole tail portion of it kicks and it looks big,” Crews said. “These big fish are used to eating bream and crappie. If you throw the little stuff, you can catch some fish, but I like the bigger stuff.”

Crews’ most notable catch came around 2:35 when a fish bit and missed his bait. He threw back to the same spot and again missed a bite. On his third cast to the spot, he caught his largest fish of the day.

“I think it was the same fish,” Crews said. “Sometimes, they just get mad that they missed it.”

Crews said he’s unsure if he will return to Rodman on Day 3. After Friday’s flat calm conditions seemed to hinder the bite, he said he needs wind to stimulate the fish. If Saturday looks windy, he’ll go; if not, he’ll work his main-river spots.

Matsushita caught nearly twice what he caught on Day 1 and improved from 41st place to second with a two-day total of 35-6. Spending his day in the main river, Matsushita bolstered his Day 1 weight of 12-1 with 23-5 — the day’s heaviest catch.

“I fished all shallow water; 3 to 5 feet,” he said. “I got bites all day. I caught two big ones in the morning and when the (sun shined brightly) I caught three big bites.”

Matsushita caught all of his bass on a free rig — a Texas-rigged worm with a tear drop weight hanging from his line. He used a 3/16-ounce weight and a Zoom Magnum Finesse worm in junebug and redbug colors.

Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark., added 13-5 to his Day 1 limit of 22 pounds and remained in third place with 35-5. Returning to the Rodman canal, Blaylock caught most of his fish on a wacky-rigged watermelon red Yum finesse worm.

Blaylock caught one of his keepers on a Booyah Hard Knocker lipless bait. While the reaction bait played a bigger role on Day 1, he was unable to replicate that success Friday.

“I went through the whole area with moving baits and never got a single bite,” Blaylock said. “It never did feel right and then once I started picking up finesse, I started catching one here, one there. I just knew right off the bat that, as soon as I got the first one, this is what it’s going to take to get bites today.

“I kept the other stuff honest throughout the day, but it just wasn’t working.”

Brandon Cobb of Greenwood, S.C., is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with the 9-13 largemouth he caught on Day 1.

Crews leads the VMC Monster Bag standings for the event’s heaviest limit with his 28-pound first-round bag.

The Top 47 remaining anglers will take off at 7:30 a.m. ET Saturday from Palatka City Docks. The weigh-in will be held at Palatka Riverfront Park at 3:30 p.m., with only the Top 10 pros advancing to Championship Sunday with a chance at the $100,000 first-place prize.

Live coverage for the event can be streamed on Bassmaster.com and the FOX Sports digital platforms. FS1 will also broadcast live with the tournament leaders beginning at 8 a.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday.

2022 AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River 2/10-2/13
St. Johns River, Palatka FL.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 2

JOIN THE BEST BASSMASTER COMMUNITY & CONVERSATION

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

1. John Crews Jr Salem, VA 10 45-03 100
Day 1: 5 28-00 Day 2: 5 17-03
2. Masayuki Matsushita Tokoname-Shi JAPAN 10 35-06 99
Day 1: 5 12-01 Day 2: 5 23-05
3. Stetson Blaylock Benton, AR 10 35-05 98
Day 1: 5 22-00 Day 2: 5 13-05
4. Patrick Walters Summerville, SC 10 34-13 97
Day 1: 5 17-12 Day 2: 5 17-01
5. Bob Downey Hudson, WI 6 33-15 96
Day 1: 5 27-04 Day 2: 1 06-11
6. David Mullins Mt Carmel, TN 10 33-12 95
Day 1: 5 19-07 Day 2: 5 14-05
7. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 10 31-08 94
Day 1: 5 13-04 Day 2: 5 18-04
8. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 10 30-13 93
Day 1: 5 12-12 Day 2: 5 18-01
9. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 10 30-02 92
Day 1: 5 20-00 Day 2: 5 10-02
10. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 10 29-05 91
Day 1: 5 17-09 Day 2: 5 11-12
11. Gregory DiPalma Millville, NJ 10 29-01 90
Day 1: 5 13-01 Day 2: 5 16-00
12. Clent Davis Montevallo, AL 10 28-05 89
Day 1: 5 13-02 Day 2: 5 15-03
13. Jake Whitaker Fairview, NC 10 28-03 88
Day 1: 5 12-12 Day 2: 5 15-07
14. Micah Frazier Newnan, GA 8 27-13 87
Day 1: 5 20-04 Day 2: 3 07-09
15. Wes Logan Springville, AL 10 27-10 86
Day 1: 5 13-15 Day 2: 5 13-11
16. Scott Canterbury Odenville, AL 9 27-09 85
Day 1: 5 12-13 Day 2: 4 14-12
17. Gary Clouse Winchester, TN 10 26-11 84
Day 1: 5 12-04 Day 2: 5 14-07
18. Ray Hanselman Jr Del Rio, TX 10 26-11 83
Day 1: 5 14-02 Day 2: 5 12-09
19. Matty Wong Honolulu, HI 7 26-10 82
Day 1: 5 19-14 Day 2: 2 06-12
20. Caleb Sumrall New Iberia, LA 9 26-08 81 $1,000.00
Day 1: 4 08-11 Day 2: 5 17-13
21. Jonathan Kelley Old Forge, PA 8 26-07 80
Day 1: 5 18-04 Day 2: 3 08-03
22. Jay Yelas Turner, OR 10 26-07 79
Day 1: 5 13-12 Day 2: 5 12-11
23. Brandon Card Salisbury, NC 10 26-06 78
Day 1: 5 14-10 Day 2: 5 11-12
24. Chris Zaldain Fort Worth, TX 9 26-03 77
Day 1: 5 19-03 Day 2: 4 07-00
25. Drew Cook Cairo, GA 8 25-11 76
Day 1: 3 04-00 Day 2: 5 21-11
26. Taku Ito Chiba JAPAN 10 25-10 75
Day 1: 5 16-04 Day 2: 5 09-06
27. Jamie Hartman Newport, NY 10 25-09 74
Day 1: 5 12-13 Day 2: 5 12-12
28. Jacob Powroznik North Prince George, VA 9 24-15 73
Day 1: 4 08-09 Day 2: 5 16-06
29. Tyler Rivet Raceland, LA 10 24-14 72
Day 1: 5 11-13 Day 2: 5 13-01
30. Jason Williamson Wagener, SC 10 24-14 71
Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 5 13-00
31. Justin Atkins Florence, AL 10 24-13 70
Day 1: 5 14-13 Day 2: 5 10-00
32. Lee Livesay Longview, TX 8 24-07 69
Day 1: 5 18-15 Day 2: 3 05-08
33. Jay Przekurat Stevens Point, WI 8 24-07 68
Day 1: 4 13-01 Day 2: 4 11-06
34. Cory Johnston Cavan CANADA 9 24-02 67
Day 1: 4 07-07 Day 2: 5 16-11
35. Matt Arey Shelby, NC 10 24-01 66
Day 1: 5 16-07 Day 2: 5 07-10
36. Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 10 23-09 65
Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 5 10-02
37. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 10 23-08 64
Day 1: 5 11-03 Day 2: 5 12-05
38. John Cox Debary, FL 10 23-03 63
Day 1: 5 09-06 Day 2: 5 13-13
39. Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 8 23-02 62
Day 1: 3 08-07 Day 2: 5 14-11
40. Chad Morgenthaler Reeds Spring, MO 10 23-01 61
Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 5 08-12
41. David Williams Newton, NC 9 22-07 60
Day 1: 5 11-11 Day 2: 4 10-12
42. Bryan New Saluda, SC 7 21-14 59
Day 1: 5 18-11 Day 2: 2 03-03
43. Buddy Gross Chatanooga, TN 6 21-12 58
Day 1: 5 17-02 Day 2: 1 04-10
44. Bryan Schmitt Deale, MD 9 21-11 57
Day 1: 4 08-04 Day 2: 5 13-07
45. Caleb Kuphall Mukwonago, WI 7 21-11 56
Day 1: 2 09-08 Day 2: 5 12-03
46. Chad Pipkens Dewitt, MI 7 21-06 55
Day 1: 5 19-00 Day 2: 2 02-06
47. Luke Palmer Coalgate, OK 10 20-15 54
Day 1: 5 10-14 Day 2: 5 10-01
48. Joseph Webster Hamilton, AL 9 20-12 53 $2,500.00
Day 1: 5 11-05 Day 2: 4 09-07
49. Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 6 20-11 52 $3,500.00
Day 1: 1 09-13 Day 2: 5 10-14
50. Jason Christie Park Hill, OK 9 20-01 51 $2,500.00
Day 1: 4 10-14 Day 2: 5 09-03
51. Jeff Gustafson Keewatin Ontario CANADA 10 19-14 50 $2,500.00
Day 1: 5 09-03 Day 2: 5 10-11
52. Gerald Swindle Guntersville, AL 10 19-14 49 $2,500.00
Day 1: 5 09-10 Day 2: 5 10-04
53. Marc Frazier Newnan, GA 8 19-08 48 $2,500.00
Day 1: 5 15-00 Day 2: 3 04-08
54. Josh Douglas Isle, MN 6 19-04 47 $2,500.00
Day 1: 1 02-07 Day 2: 5 16-13
55. Cody Huff Ava, MO 9 19-02 46 $2,500.00
Day 1: 5 09-07 Day 2: 4 09-11
56. Scott Martin Clewiston, FL 8 19-00 45 $2,500.00
Day 1: 4 09-05 Day 2: 4 09-11
57. Hank Cherry Jr Lincolnton, NC 8 18-14 44 $2,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-14 Day 2: 3 05-00
58. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 9 18-09 43 $2,500.00
Day 1: 5 08-00 Day 2: 4 10-09
59. Clark Wendlandt Leander, TX 7 18-06 42 $2,500.00
Day 1: 2 05-14 Day 2: 5 12-08
60. Seth Feider New Market, MN 8 18-04 41 $2,500.00
Day 1: 5 15-00 Day 2: 3 03-04
61. Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 8 17-15 40 $2,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-00 Day 2: 3 04-15
62. Drew Benton Blakely, GA 8 17-15 39 $2,500.00
Day 1: 5 11-05 Day 2: 3 06-10
63. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 8 17-05 38 $2,500.00
Day 1: 3 04-09 Day 2: 5 12-12
64. Matt Herren Ashville, AL 10 17-05 37 $2,500.00
Day 1: 5 12-10 Day 2: 5 04-11
65. Ed Loughran III Richmond, VA 7 17-04 36 $2,500.00
Day 1: 4 06-14 Day 2: 3 10-06
66. Cliff Prince Palatka, FL 10 17-02 35 $2,500.00
Day 1: 5 08-15 Day 2: 5 08-03
67. Frank Talley Temple, TX 7 16-11 34 $2,500.00
Day 1: 5 14-07 Day 2: 2 02-04
68. Keith Combs Huntington, TX 9 16-03 33
Day 1: 4 07-05 Day 2: 5 08-14
69. Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 5 15-00 32
Day 1: 5 15-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
70. Carl Jocumsen Queensland AUSTRALIA 7 15-00 31
Day 1: 5 09-06 Day 2: 2 05-10
71. Todd Auten Lake Wylie, SC 9 14-14 30
Day 1: 5 06-00 Day 2: 4 08-14
72. Justin Hamner Northport, AL 9 14-13 29
Day 1: 4 07-00 Day 2: 5 07-13
73. Skylar Hamilton Dandridge, TN 9 14-06 28
Day 1: 4 05-10 Day 2: 5 08-12
74. Shane LeHew Catawba, NC 6 14-05 27
Day 1: 4 07-00 Day 2: 2 07-05
75. Hunter Shryock Ooltewah, TN 7 14-00 26
Day 1: 4 09-11 Day 2: 3 04-05
76. Koby Kreiger Alva, FL 7 13-15 25
Day 1: 2 02-05 Day 2: 5 11-10
77. Mike Huff London, KY 10 13-14 24
Day 1: 5 07-10 Day 2: 5 06-04
78. Rick Clunn Ava, MO 5 13-00 23
Day 1: 1 03-14 Day 2: 4 09-02
79. Alex Redwine Blue Ash, OH 7 12-15 22
Day 1: 5 09-15 Day 2: 2 03-00
80. Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 7 12-03 21
Day 1: 5 10-08 Day 2: 2 01-11
81. Joshua Stracner Vandiver, AL 8 12-02 20
Day 1: 5 06-08 Day 2: 3 05-10
82. Darold Gleason Many, LA 6 11-15 19
Day 1: 4 07-03 Day 2: 2 04-12
83. Jesse Tacoronte Kissimmee, FL 6 11-15 18
Day 1: 3 04-13 Day 2: 3 07-02
84. Jacob Foutz Charleston, TN 5 11-10 17
Day 1: 3 08-14 Day 2: 2 02-12
85. Kenta Kimura Osaka JAPAN 4 11-03 16
Day 1: 3 04-11 Day 2: 1 06-08
86. Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 5 09-03 15
Day 1: 3 05-04 Day 2: 2 03-15
87. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 6 09-01 14
Day 1: 1 01-11 Day 2: 5 07-06
88. KJ Queen Catawba, NC 6 08-13 13
Day 1: 2 03-15 Day 2: 4 04-14
89. Kyle Welcher Opelika, AL 4 06-14 12
Day 1: 2 03-12 Day 2: 2 03-02
90. Derek Hudnall Denham Springs, LA 3 04-11 11
Day 1: 3 04-11 Day 2: 0 00-00
91. Brad Whatley Bivins, TX 3 04-10 10
Day 1: 2 03-09 Day 2: 1 01-01
92. David Fritts Lexington, NC 2 03-15 9
Day 1: 1 02-06 Day 2: 1 01-09
93. Michael Iaconelli Pittsgrove, NJ 3 03-06 8
Day 1: 1 00-14 Day 2: 2 02-08
94. Daisuke Aoki Minamitsurugun Yamanash 2 03-04 7
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 03-04
———————————————————————–

PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 09-13 $1,000.00
2 Caleb Sumrall New Iberia, LA 09-07 $1,000.00

VMC MONSTER BAG
Day
1 John Crews Jr Salem, VA 28-00 $0.00

———————————————————————–
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 59 393 1045-09
2 50 363 887-09
———————————-
109 756 1933-02

Major League Fishing - Bass Pro Tour/Cup Events

Kentucky’s Bradley Roy Earns First Career MLF Bass Pro Tour Win at B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole

Post author By jcarrigan
Post date February 11, 2022
No Comments on Kentucky’s Bradley Roy Earns First Career MLF Bass Pro Tour Win at B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole

MONROE-WEST MONROE, La. (Feb. 10, 2022) – The Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole in Monroe-West Monroe, Louisiana, won’t necessarily be remembered for the number of fish caught, but it will go down in the history books for the size of the fish caught.

In an incredible day of fishing on Bussey Brake, the final 10 Bass Pro Tour anglers caught 31 scorable bass weighing 163 pounds, 2 ounces – an average weight of 5 pounds, 5 ounces. The catch included three 7-pounders, one 8-pounder, two 9-pounders and one 12-pounder, a remarkable day that had the professional bass fishing world buzzing.

After the final fish had hit the SCORETRACKER™ leaderboard Thursday evening, it was Covercraft pro Bradley Roy of Lancaster, Kentucky, whose name remained at the top. Roy weighed in five bass totaling 26 pounds, 2 ounces, enough to hold off a hard-charging Alton Jones of Lorena, Texas, by a 1-pound, 3-ounce margin.

“Man, this has been a long time coming. God gets all the glory for this one, because I tried every way in the world to mess this one up,” Roy said in his post-game interview. “The third period for me was miserable. I just felt like I was taking blow after blow. Randy (Howell) catches a 12. Jordan Lee was coming – I knew he wouldn’t quit. Then Alton (Jones) – I could see him. I could see (Bryan) Thrift. They were all catching them, and I couldn’t get a bite.

“SCORETRACKER is bad when you’re around the cut, but it was another level this afternoon,” Roy continued. “I just kept looking down at the clock and listening to my official. Every time he’d clear his throat and get ready to speak again my heart would just drop. I’m just so grateful that I had enough weight. To come out on top is pretty special.”

Roy spent the day flipping bushes and isolated pieces of structure with a beaver-style bait, using a 7-foot, 6-inch Ark Essence Series flipping stick with a 7:1 gear ratio reel, spooled with 22-pound Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon line and a 3/8-ounce Ark tungsten weight.

“I think the baby pattern must be the deal,” Roy said, of his new son Lucas who was just born in August. “Everyone always says – you have a new baby, and you win a tournament. Well, we just had Lucas, and now I win. I think there might be something to that.”

For the second consecutive day, pro Randy Howell of Guntersville, For the second consecutive day, pro Randy Howell of Guntersville, Alabama , broke the Bass Pro Tour record for heaviest bass ever weighed in during competition. After earning Wednesday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award for his then record-setting 10-pound, 11-ounce giant from Caney Creek, Howell backed it up on Thursday with a new record-setting 12-pound, 14-ounce lunker – a new Bass Pro Tour record and a new lake record for Bussey Brake. Howell also won Thursday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award and earned the $3,000 Berkley Big Bass award for the overall largest bass of the event.

“Overall, I didn’t catch many bass this week, but I made it all the way to sixth place,” Howell said. “It just goes to show you that one flip, one cast can change your whole life. Never give up, fish to the last minute and good things will happen.

“I never really found what I know this lake is capable of, but we ended up a lot better than how we started today,” Howell continued. “Towards the end of the day I was flipping the old (Yamamoto) Senko – and the big one bit. It was a black and blue Senko, with a red Bass Pro XPS tungsten weight – I think the red gives it a little flash – and I threw it on a 7-foot, 6-inch Daiwa Ish Monroe Flipping Stick with a 8:1 Daiwa Tatula reel and 22-pound Daiwa Fluorocarbon line.”

The top 10 pros at the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole finished:

1^st:          Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., five bass, 26-2, $100,000
2^nd:         Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, five bass, 24-15, $45,000
3^rd:         Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 24-9, $38,000
4^th:         Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., four bass, 23-15, $32,000
5^th:         Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, four bass, 18-13, $30,000
6^th:         Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., two bass, 16-3, $26,000
7^th:         Mark Daniels, Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., three bass, 13-6, $23,000
8^th:         Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., two bass, 11-4, $28,000
9^th:         Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan, one bass, 3-15, $19,000
10^th:       Jared Lintner, Covington, Ga., zero bass, $16,000

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

The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole featured anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement on Lake D’Arbonne, and a 2-pound minimum weight requirement on Caney Creek and Bussey Brake 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 B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole, hosted by Discover Monroe-West Monroe, showcased 80 of the top professional bass-fishing anglers in the world competing over six days for a total purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.

Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole will premiere at 7 a.m. ET, Sept. 3 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.

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.

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.

JOIN THE MAJOR LEAGUE FISHING CONVERSATION NOW

BASSMASTER Elite Series/Opens

Crews Leverages Two-Stage Strategy To Lead Bassmaster Elite On St. Johns

Post author By jcarrigan
Post date February 10, 2022
No Comments on Crews Leverages Two-Stage Strategy To Lead Bassmaster Elite On St. Johns

PALATKA, Fla. — Looking past current conditions and considering the forthcoming weather patterns, John Crews of Salem, Va., employed a two-stage strategy and sacked up a Day 1 limit of 28 pounds to lead the season-opening AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River.

Leading Bob Downey of Hudson, Wis., by 12 ounces, Crews also sits atop the VMC Monster Bag standings for the event’s heaviest limit.

Following the miserably rainy, cold conditions that plagued practice, Day 1 dawned clear and bright. It was definitely a postfrontal, high-pressure scenario, but air temperatures quickly rose and spurred the fish.

“At the beginning of practice, I was practicing for these conditions, so it made me look really smart, like I made a good decision,” Crews said. “Hopefully, it will hold up. I think we’ll have the same weather tomorrow.”

Running upriver from Palatka, Crews started his day in Rodman Reservoir. While 22 other boats passed through the Buckman Lock with him, Crews said he never felt cramped or crowded. Covering a 2-mile area, he had to hit several spots to secure a limit.

“There was no aggregation of boats; there were three or four boats in sight of where I was at, but nobody was on top of anybody,” Crews said. “I don’t think anything is that good — at least I didn’t find it.

“It was one here, one there, one here. Then, at the end of the day, it was like, ‘You smoked them.’ But it wasn’t like that.”

Anchoring his bag with an 8-1, Crews said he used multiple techniques in Rodman and combined moving baits with slower presentations.

“I used these baits in relationship to similar places,” he said. “All the places I fished in Rodman were similar. I think I can go back tomorrow and catch some more fish, but catching big fish like that — I don’t know.”

Around 1 p.m., Crews locked out of Rodman. While he waited, he spoke with the Bassmaster LIVE crew and told them his plan was to return to the St. Johns and look for another big bite. He checked that box around 2:45 by relocating to a familiar spot and adding a 4 1/2-pounder.

“I had some things in mind; I tried some offshore stuff and I tried some other shallow stuff,” Crews said. “It’s an area where I’ve caught some in the past. I caught a 2 1/4-pounder and then I caught that 4 1/2 and then I left. It’s one of those places where you can usually catch one or two, but I’ve never caught a limit there.”

As Crews explained, his decision to leave Rodman was based on factors beyond his control.

“With (Rodman), you have to lock when you can lock (based on the predetermined schedule),” he said. “I thought, ‘When I come back to the river, maybe I can get another bite or two, and maybe it will help me at some point.’ It helped me today.”

Overcoming an early mechanical issue, Downey placed second with 27-4. He would eventually leave the water around 11:30 a.m. to have the service crew address the issues, but not before reaching his planned destination south of Palatka.

“I limped down to my area and had all my weight by 10 o’clock,” Downey said. “I caught a good fish in that area in practice and I think the weather conditions set up right — the cold last night just sucked them into this area. I only caught five fish today.

“I would have loved to have gone and practiced elsewhere today; I had some stuff south of Lake George and I would have loved to run some canals later today just to see if I could find a bigger one, but I didn’t do that because I didn’t know if I could get back or not.”

Downey caught his fish in what he described as a backwater creek. He caught his fish off the bank and used his Humminbird 360 to locate key areas. Winding a reaction bait produced all of his fish.

Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark., is in third place with 22 pounds. Starting with a solid game plan, Blaylock realized the situation was not going to produce, so he made a wholesale change and salvaged his day.

“There are a couple of little places that people keep overlooking and every year that I’ve caught them (well) here, I’ve caught some key fish in those areas and this year was no different,” Blaylock said. “I just happened to catch a couple of really nice ones midday that really helped the cause.

“In my primary stuff, only one place out of all the stuff I’d found in practice had a fish on it. I just got one bite and that was it. Hopefully, there’s enough left in that backup spot to carry me on to a Top 10.”

Blaylock caught his bass on a trio of moving baits. His strategy was to “buzz through” the area to locate active fish that were positioning off the bank in open water.

“I definitely left them biting today,” he said. “But it’s not like you just pull up and just throw at one spot and catch them; you have to work hard to get those bites.”

Brandon Cobb of Greenwood, S.C., is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 9-13 largemouth.

Friday’s takeoff is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. ET from Palatka City Docks. The weigh-in will be held at Palatka Riverfront Park at 3:30 p.m.

After Friday’s weigh-in, the Top 47 remaining anglers will advance to Saturday’s semifinal round.

The tournament is being hosted by the Putnam County Tourist Development Council and Putnam County Chamber of Commerce.

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Major League Fishing - Bass Pro Tour/Cup Events

Wheeler and Lee Pace Eight Anglers That Advance From Knockout Round at MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole

MONROE-WEST MONROE, La. (Feb. 9, 2022) – After surviving a tough four-day Qualifying Round on Lake D’Arbonne, the 38 Bass Pro Tour anglers that advanced to Wednesday’s Knockout Round on Caney Creek Reservoir were rewarded with an incredible day of fishing, that included a new record for the all-time heaviest bass weighed in Bass Pro Tour competition.

When time expired at 5 p.m., Academy Sports + Outdoors pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, had tallied “one of the best fishing days of his entire life” – nine bass totaling 43 pounds, 7 ounces – to win the Knockout Round and advance to the final day of competition at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole in Monroe-West Monroe, Louisiana. Wheeler’s closest competitor was Berkley pro Jordan Lee of Cullman, Alabama, who boated six bass – including a pair of 8-pounders – for a total weight of 34 pounds, 10 ounces.

MLF NOW! analyst Marty Stone often likes to say, the best anglers will catch fish and win, no matter the format. His point was well proven, Wednesday, as Wheeler’s best five-fish weight would have been 32 pounds, 5 ounces, and Lee’s best five would have gone for 32 pounds even – magical days by any format.

Guntersville, Alabama’s Randy Howell won the day’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award after he caught the largest bass ever weighed in Bass Pro Tour competition – a 10-pound, 11-ounce giant that bit his lipless crankbait in Period 1. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.

The final 10 anglers are now set, and competition will resume Thursday morning with the Championship Round when 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 Discover Monroe-West Monroe, 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 Wednesday’s Knockout Round that will compete in Thursday’s Championship Round on Bussey Brake are:

1^st:          Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., nine bass, 43-7
2^nd:         Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., six bass, 34-10
3^rd:         Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., six bass, 27-12
4^th:         Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., six bass, 23-0
5^th:         Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., three bass, 18-3
6^th:         Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, five bass, 18-1
7^th:         Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, four bass, 15-6
8^th:         Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan, three bass, 14-9

They’ll be joined by Qualifying Round winners:

Group A: Mark Daniels, Jr., Tuskegee, Ala.
Group B: Jared Lintner, Covington, Ga.

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

“What an unbelievable day,” said an excited Wheeler said in his post-game interview. “That was so much fun. As many big ones as I caught – it was definitely the best tournament fishing day I’ve ever had. One of the best fishing days of my entire life.”

Wheeler spent the day throwing a jerkbait, targeting offshore structure – rock, points and brush.

“Multiple different jerkbaits played for me today,” Wheeler said. “It was pretty much Jerkbait Fishing 101. I threw it on a 6-foot, 8-inch medium-action (Duckett) Kelly Jordon Pro Series rod with 12-pound Sufix line.

“I promise that this isn’t the last time that you’ll see me here,” Wheeler went on to say. “I’ll definitely be making a couple of trips back to Caney Lake, this place was unreal.”

Also having a special day on the water was Alabama’s Jordan Lee, who weighed in two fish over 8 pounds and one over 7 pounds.

“Today was just crazy, the size of fish that I caught today,” Lee said. “I only caught six, but they were big. It was an incredible day.

“I caught the first fish on a ½-ounce football jig with a Berkley Chigger Craw, and it was one of those 8s,” Lee said. “From then on, I couldn’t get those fish to bite. I could see them on my Lowrance, so that’s when I went to a little Ned Rig.

“I was cutting a Berkley Hit Worm in half and using that on a spinning rod, and that was pretty much my 1-2 punch out deep.”

Rounding out the top 40 finishers were:

11^th:       Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., four bass, 14-5, $10,000
12^th:       Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., three bass, 12-2, $10,000
13^th:       David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., three bass, 10-13, $10,000
14^th:       Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., three bass, 8-15, $1, $10,000
15^th:       Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., three bass, 7-13, $10,000
16^th:       Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala., three bass, 7-12, $10,000
17^th:       Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., two bass, 7-11, $10,000
18^th:       Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., three bass, 7-4, $10,000
19^th:       Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., three bass, 7-1, $10,000
20^th:       Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., two bass, 6-6, $10,000
21^st:       Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., three bass, 6-5, $10,000
22^nd:      Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., two bass, 6-0, $10,000
23^rd:      Randall Tharp, Port Saint Joe, Fla., two bass, 5-15, $10,000
24^th:       Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., two bass, 5-5, $10,000
25^th:       Jonathon VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., one bass, 5-1, $10,000
26^th:       Roy Hawk, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., two bass, 4-14, $10,000
27^th:       Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., one bass, 4-7, $10,000
28^th:       Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., one bass, 3-12, $10,000
29^th:       Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., one bass, 3-11, $10,000
30^th:       James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., one bass, 3-2, $10,000
31^st:       Cody Meyer, Star, Idaho, one bass, 2-7, $10,000
32^nd:      Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., one bass, 2-6, $10,000
33^rd:      Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., one bass, 2-5, $10,000
34^th:       Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., one bass, 2-2, $10,000
35^th:       Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, zero bass, $10,000
35^th:       Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., zero bass, $10,000
35^th:       Timmy Horton, Muscle Shoals, Ala., zero bass, $10,000
35^th:       Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., zero bass, $10,000
35^th:       Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., zero bass, $10,000
35^th:       Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., zero bass, $10,000

Overall, there were 91 scorable bass weighing 342 pounds, 14 ounces caught by 32 pros on Wednesday, which included six 7-pounders, two 8-pounders, and one 10-pounder.

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

The final 10 anglers competing in Thursday’s Championship Round on Bussey Brake will launch from Bonner Ferry Road, five miles northwest of Bastrop off of Hwy 593 at 8:30 a.m. The General Tire Takeout will be held at the launch ramp, beginning at 5:30 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.

The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole features anglers competing in the Championship Round with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement on Bussey Brake 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 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.

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Major League Fishing - Bass Pro Tour/Cup Events

Lintner Runs Away with Group B Qualifying Round Win at MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole

MONROE-WEST MONROE, La. (Feb. 8, 2022) – Although he didn’t have as quite of good of a day as he did Sunday, pro Jared Lintner of Covington, Georgia, had enough of a cushion that it really was never close. Lintner weighed in a two-day total of 11 scorable bass on Lake D’Arbonne totaling 47 pounds, 5 ounces, to cruise to a Qualifying Round win for Group B at the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole in Monroe-West Monroe, Louisiana, and advance straight into the final-day Championship Round.

Covercraft pro Bradley Roy of Lancaster, Kentucky, caught a two-day total of 11 bass weighing 30-5 to end the round in second place, while Lynchburg, Virginia’s David Dudley, finished the round in third place with a two-day total of 11 bass weighing 29-10. Toro pro Jeff Sprague of Point, Texas , caught 10 bass weighing 26-13 to finish in fourth, while Kalamazoo, Michigan’s Kevin VanDam, the most decorated angler in the sport, advanced to the Knockout Round in fifth place with a two-day total of nine bass weighing 25 pounds even.

The remaining 38 anglers – 19 from each group – now advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round, where weights are zeroed, and the anglers compete to finish in the top eight to advance to the Championship Round on Thursday. The Championship Round will feature Group A winner Mark Daniels Jr., Group B winner Jared Lintner, and the top eight anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.

The six-day event, hosted by Discover Monroe-West Monroe, showcases 80 of the top professional bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a total purse of $805,000.

“You can’t win it if you’re not in it, and I am thrilled to know that we are in it,” Lintner said in his post-game interview. “It has been a grind this week – very few bites to be had. When the fishing is tough, you have to go with what you have confidence in and that’s what I have done this week fishing the Bubba Shot.

“It wasn’t a pretty day, today,” Lintner continued. “I didn’t catch any big ones. And I really started feeling some heat from Bradley Roy in the third period, but luckily I caught enough to hold him off.”

Like Sunday, Lintner spent the day targeting boat docks with his Bubba Shot-rig – a Marten’s Madness-colored Roboworm, dipped in Pautzke Fire Gel bait scent, rigged on 16-pound Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon line with a 3/0 Trokar hook and a ¼-ounce Eco Pro Tungsten Full Contact Drop Shot weight,

“The Pautzke’s is making a difference,” Lintner said. “Several times throughout this first round I’d have a moment where I thought I’d feel a bite, or I’d miss one. I’d re-lather that worm up in the Fire Gel and they’d choke it.

“I’ve come close to winning several times before – and I’ve also been the guy knocked out at the last minute – so I am so happy to finally win my round,” Lintner went on to say. “I know things are going to be very different on Bussey Brake, so I’ll go back to the house and revamp everything, and I’ll be ready to go.”

After not having a scorable bass well into the third period on Sunday, VanDam caught four bass in the final 10 minutes of the day to start Tuesday in seventh place, He added four more bass Tuesday weighing 11 pounds, 12 ounces to comfortably advance to the Knockout Round in fifth place.

“The only thing that I had left was the upper end of the lake, fishing the river points and tree lines up the river,” VanDam said. “I was throwing a Strike King KVD 300 Jerkbait series and a Strike King Series 3 crankbait – crawfish, or baby carp, or Denny Brauer craw – any kind of brownish crawfish color.

“I’m moving on to Caney Lake, and that was my main goal – I wanted to start the season off strong,” VanDam went on to say. “Hopefully tomorrow we can get into that top eight and move on to the Championship Round.

The top 20 pros in Qualifying Group B that advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round on Caney Creek are:

1^st:          Jared Lintner, Covington, Ga., 18 bass, 47-5 – ADVANCES TO CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
2^nd:         Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., 11 bass, 30-5
3^rd:         David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 11 bass, 29-10
4^th:         Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, 10 bass, 26-13
5^th:         Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., nine bass, 25-0
6^th:         Jonathon VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 13 bass, 24-15
7^th:         Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., 10 bass, 23-7
8^th:         Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., eight bass, 22-2
9^th:         Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., seven bass, 21-4
10^th:       Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., nine bass, 20-5
11^th:       Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 20-4
12^th:       Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., eight bass, 19-8
13^th:       Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., six bass, 18-11
14^th:       Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., eight bass, 18-10
15^th:       Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., eight bass, 18-4
16^th:       Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., nine bass, 18-2
17^th:       Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., seven bass, 16-12
18^th:       James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., five bass, 15-4
19^th:       Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., seven bass, 14-2
20^th:       Randall Tharp, Port Saint Joe, Fla., three bass, 13-15

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

Overall, there were 121 scorable bass weighing 319 pounds, 1 ounce caught by 33 pros on Tuesday.

Shryock and Tharp split the day’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award, taking home $500 apiece as each weighed in a bass totaling 5 pounds, 7 ounces. 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 Lake D’Arbonne Saturday and Monday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Sunday and Tuesday. With the two-day Qualifying Round now complete, the anglers that finished in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round on Caney Creek Reservoir, while the winner of each group advances directly to Thursday’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 on Bussey Brake. 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 the Knockout Round will launch Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. from Caney Creek Hooks Marina, located at 400 Spillway Road in Chatham, Louisiana. Thursday’s final day Championship Round on Bussey Brake will launch at 8:30 a.m. from Bonner Ferry Road, five miles northwest of Bastrop off of Hwy 593.

Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the respective launch ramps, beginning at 5:30 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.

The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement on Lake D’Arbonne, and a 2-pound minimum weight requirement on Caney Creek and Bussey Brake 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.

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Major League Fishing - Bass Pro Tour/Cup Events

MDJ Grinds to Qualifying Round Win for Group A at MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole

Post author By jcarrigan
Post date February 7, 2022
No Comments on MDJ Grinds to Qualifying Round Win for Group A at MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole

MONROE-WEST MONROE, La. (Feb. 7, 2022) – Favorite Fishing pro Mark Daniels Jr. of Tuskegee, Alabama, boated eight scorable bass totaling 15 pounds, 7 ounces to earn the win Monday during the Group A Qualifying Round at the season-opening MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole in Monroe-West Monroe, Louisiana. Daniels now advances directly to Thursday’s final-day Championship Round on Bussey Brake.

Daniels’ two-day Qualifying Round total of 16 bass weighing 33 pounds, 5 ounces, earned him the win by a comfortable 8½-pound margin over Nitro pro Edwin Evers of Talala, Oklahoma, who caught a two-day total of nine bass weighing 24-13 to finish the round in second place. Bryan Thrift of Shelby, North Carolina, boated a two-day total of 11 bass weighing 23-15 to end the round in third, while Shinichi Fukae of Osaka, Japan , finished the round in fourth place with a two-day total of eight bass for 22-6. Rounding out the top five was Day 1 leader Stephen Browning of Hot Springs, Arkansas, who caught six bass for 21-2 to advance in fifth place.

“To be honest, I was really looking forward to going to Caney Creek, but I’m even happier now that I’m going straight to Bussey Brake with an opportunity to win this thing,” Daniels said in his post-game interview. “The automatic top-10 berth makes it an already awesome week and I could not be any happier with how this round went.”

Daniels dominated early Monday, catching five scorable bass on a jerkbait before 10 a.m. Seven of his eight keepers came on the jerkbait – he also added one in the afternoon on a ¼-ounce Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap.

“That ¼ ounce Trap is a little sneaky – not a lot of people throw it,” Daniels said. “Most of the time I’m throwing it trying to match the bait, but I’m throwing it this week because I’m targeting that 1-to-3-foot depth.

“I’m throwing the jerkbait on my 6-foot, 8-inch Favorite Pro Series casting rod,” Daniels continued. “It’s a little bit shorter and allows me to impart a good action on the bait without slapping the water, which happens to me with a longer rod. I’m throwing the Trap on a 6-foot, 10-inch Favorite Signature B-Lat Sick Stick with a 6:8:1 gear ratio reel and 12-pound Seaguar Fluorcarbon line.”

With Daniels now advancing to the Championship Round for the fifth time in his career, he’ll be looking to earn his first career victory on Thursday.

“I’m looking forward to spending a little bit of time scouting Bussey Brake on my day off. It’s been a grinder, but I’m super grateful to make the Championship Round. I’ve got a shot and I can’t ask for anything else – that’s why I’m here.”

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 Tuesday. The Knockout Round, featuring 38 anglers competing to finish in the top eight, will take place Wednesday on Caney Creek. Thursday’s Championship Round on Bussey Brake will feature Thrift, Tuesday’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 Wednesday’s Knockout Round on Caney Creek Reservoir are:

1^st:          Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 16 bass, 33-5 – ADVANCES TO CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
2^nd:         Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., nine bass, 24-13
3^rd:         Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 11 bass, 23-15
4^th:         Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan, eight bass, 22-6
5^th:         Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., six bass, 21-2
6^th:         Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., six bass, 21-1
7^th:         Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala., 10 bass, 19-3
8^th:         Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., seven bass, 18-9
9^th:         Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, seven bass, 18-5
10^th:       Cody Meyer, Star, Idaho, six bass, 18-5
11^th:       Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, eight bass, 16-15
12^th:       Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., six bass, 16-9
13^th:       Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., six bass, 15-9
14^th:       Roy Hawk, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., five bass, 15-9
15^th:       Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., seven bass, 14-14
16^th:       Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 14-11
17^th:       Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., five bass, 12-14
18^th:       Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., six bass, 12-12
19^th:       Timmy Horton, Muscle Shoals, Ala., four bass, 12-11
20^th:       Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 12-5

DON’T WAIT, FIRE CRAW WILL SELL OUT FASTER THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE!!! GET AHEAD OF YOUR COMPETITION!!!

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

Overall on Monday there were 104 scorable bass caught weighing 250 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 34 pros.

Evers earned the $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award Monday with a 5-pound, 13-ounce largemouth that bit a jerkbait at the start of Period 3. 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 Lake D’Arbonne on Saturday and Monday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Sunday and Tuesday. After each two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the anglers that finish in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round on Caney Creek Reservoir, while the winner of each group advances directly to Thursday’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 on Bussey Brake. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

In the four-day opening Qualifying Rounds, anglers will launch at 8:30 a.m. from the Lake D’Arbonne State Park, located at 3628 Evergreen Road in Farmerville, Louisiana. The Knockout Round will launch Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. from the Caney Creek Hooks Marina, located at 400 Spillway Road in Chatham, Louisiana. Thursday’s final day Championship Round on Bussey Brake will launch at 8:30 a.m. from Bonner Ferry Road, five miles northwest of Bastrop off of Hwy 593.

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The National Angler

Get Ready for Spring Fishing

Post author By jcarrigan
Post date February 7, 2022
No Comments on Get Ready for Spring Fishing

If you’re an angler who gets fired up for an explosive reaction bite, early spring is one of the best times to hit the lake and get to winding! During this time of year, volatile weather and changing water clarity can make fishing a challenging yet fruitful task. One thing you don’t need to overthink though is your color selection. Red and orange colors, whether they’re on a crankbait, chatter bait, jig, flip bait or even a kicker blade on a spinnerbait, drive bass crazy and generate bites. If you pay attention to the standings in tournaments during this time of year, most of the top finishers are fishing a red reaction bait of some sort. In 2014, Randy Howell proved how dominant red lures are by catching over 29lbs of bass on a red crankbait at Lake Guntersville to secure the win on the final day of the Bassmaster Classic.

***DON’T WAIT, SOME OF THESE RED LURES WON’T LAST LONG!!!***

The reason why reds are so effective has often been debated among anglers. The only thing we can all agree on is that they work. Many anglers believe bass key in on reds because the time frame coincides with the molting season for crawfish, some claim bass can see red pigments better, and others would argue that bright reds are simply easier for them to track in dirty water. While there are many theories on why using red is so effective during the pre-spawn, all that matters is that fish love to eat red throughout the Country during the months leading up to the spawn. Shop the hottest red lures below!

Major League Fishing - Bass Pro Tour/Cup Events

Two Third-Period Lunkers Propel Arkansas’ Browning to Early Lead at MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole

MONROE-WEST MONROE, La. (Feb. 5, 2022) – Chilly temperatures in the mid-20s greeted the 40 Bass Pro Tour anglers in Group A competing on Lake D’Arbonne Saturday morning. It was a cold, tough day on the water for most, but a few 5-, 6- and 7-pound D’Arbonne largemouth still made their national debuts on the MLF NOW! livestream.

After the final bass had been tallied, Hot Springs, Arkansas, pro “The Puma” Stephen Browning caught six bass weighing 21 pounds, 2 ounces, to grab the early lead for Group A on Day 1 of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole in Monroe-West Monroe, Louisiana.

The six-day event, hosted by Discover Monroe-West Monroe, showcases 80 of the top professional bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner. The tournament is livestreamed each day at MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MOTV app, and also being filmed for broadcast later this fall on the Discovery Channel.

Browning will bring a 3-pound, 4-ounce, lead into Monday’s second day of competition for Group A. In second place on the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard is Favorite Fishing pro Mark Daniels Jr. of Tuskegee, Alabama, who caught eight bass totaling 17-14. Shelby, North Carolina’s Bryan Thrift, sits in third place with eight bass weighing 17-1. Rounding out the top five are pro Cody Meyer of Star, Idaho , who caught four bass for 14-9 and Bass Pro Tour newcomer Jeremy Lawyer of Sarcoxie, Missouri, who weighed in four bass totaling 13 pounds even.

The 40 anglers in Group A will now have an off day from competition Sunday, while the 40 anglers competing in Group B will begin their first day of competition. Group A will resume competition on Monday.

Browning had a tough morning, catching only one bass for 2½ pounds in the first period. He added two more in the second period, then three in the third period – including a 6-pound, 4-ounce brute and a solid 4-pound, 4-ounce scorable bass – to catapult to the top of the leaderboard.

“It’s been a good day – you can’t complain when you’re in the lead against this crew of anglers,” Browning said. “I’m up in the D’Arbonne Bayou area of Lake D’Arbonne, fishing shallow flats – future spawning areas for these fish. It was tough, but I’ve got confidence in my bait, confidence in my equipment and confidence in my area. That is a big key to success in these grinder-tournaments.”

Browning said that he targeted standing timber and trees – specifically cypress trees that were still alive with green leaves – in 4 to 6 feet of water.

“If I fished any shallower than that, I didn’t get bit,” Browning said. “My key bait was a 3/8-ounce black and blue jig, with a 7-foot, 4-inch St. Croix Legend Elite and a Lew’s Tournament Pro 8:3:1 reel, with 20-pound Gamma Fluorocarbon Edge line. It’s a combination that I’ve got a lot of confidence in, and we put it to work today.

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“Overall, it’s a good start to the 2022 season and that is a big deal,” Browning went on to say. “Momentum is very important – we saw what Michael Neal did last week at Sam Rayburn. I had a good day, and now I am looking forward to the challenge of Day 2. I don’t want to go to the Knockout Round on Caney – I want to go straight to Bussey Brake.”

The top 20 pros in Group A after Day 1 on Lake D’Arbonne are:

1^st:          Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., six bass, 21-2
2^nd:         Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., eight bass, 17-14
3^rd:         Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., eight bass, 17-1
4^th:         Cody Meyer, Star, Idaho, four bass, 14-9
5^th:         Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., four bass, 13-0
6^th:         Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, five bass, 11-7
7^th:         Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., two bass, 11-6
8^th:         Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., four bass, 10-13
9^th:         Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., three bass, 10-6
10^th:       Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., four bass, 9-10
11^th:       Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., four bass, 9-8
12^th:       Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., three bass, 9-5
13^th:       Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas, two bass, 8-12
14^th:       Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan, three bass, 8-10
15^th:       Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, three bass, 7-15
16^th:       Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., three bass, 7-8
17^th:       Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala., four bass, 6-15
18^th:       Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., three bass, 6-13
19^th:       Timmy Horton, Muscle Shoals, Ala., two bass, 6-2
20^th:       Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., two bass, 5-9

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

Overall, there were 101 scorable bass weighing 269 pounds, 6 ounces caught by 37 pros on Saturday.

Cody Meyer earned the first $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award of the season Saturday, weighing a 7-pound, 8-ounce largemouth that bit his squarebill crankbait during Period 3 to earn the 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 compete in their two-day qualifying round on Lake D’Arbonne on Saturday and Monday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Sunday and Tuesday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers that finish in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round on Caney Creek Reservoir, while the winner of each group advances directly to Wednesday’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 on Bussey Brake. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

As part of the event, fans will also have the opportunity to come out take part in the Major League Fishing Festival, part of the North Delta Boat & Outdoor Show at the Monroe Civic on Sun. Feb. 6, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The festival is a chance for fishing fans to meet pro anglers, register for the “Pick ‘Til You Win” game with a top prize of a 2022 Toyota Tundra or a 70-inch 4K UHD Smart TV, visit the MLF Kids Zone and the fishing pond, meet characters from the PAW Patrol courtesy of Kid Casters, and enjoy live concerts from local musicians each day. For more information on the Major League Fishing Festival and the North Delta Boat & Outdoor Show, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

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, John Deere Gator UTVs, 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.