Author: jcarrigan

ILLINOIS’ MCCORD WINS T-H MARINE BFL ALL-AMERICAN ON THE POTOMAC RIVER PRESENTED BY GENERAL TIRE

Post author By jcarrigan
Post date June 1, 2019
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CHARLES COUNTY, Md. – Boater Brennon McCord of West Frankfort, Illinois, won the 36th annual T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) All-American tournament on the Potomac River presented by General Tire Saturday, capping off the event with a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 3 ounces. McCord’s three-day cumulative total of 15 bass weighing 45-11 was enough to edge second-place angler Joseph Thompson of Coatesville, Pennsylvania – who led the event for the first two days – by 1 pound, 4 ounces. For his win, McCord netted $100,000 and an invitation into the world championship of bass fishing – the FLW Cup.

“This win means a lot. I grew up listening to my dad talk about this tournament and my grandpa talk about it – about how they always wanted to get here, but never made it. My dad has fell short a couple of times. Those two guys taught me everything know I about this sport. It’s an unbelievable feeling and it’s going to take a while to sink in, for sure.”

McCord said 14 of the 15 fish that he weighed this week came using a 3/8-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait Jack Hammer, in Spot Remover or black and blue, with either a Strike King Rage Tail Menace Grub or a Zoom Z-Hog Jr. trailer.

“I was fishing in Mattawoman Creek – I never left,” said McCord, who earned his second win in FLW competition. ”There was about a 200-yard stretch of milfoil that I found that had a little of bit of hydrilla mixed in with it and I think that was the key. Nobody fished it either, except for today. There was a local tournament going on.”

After working the area Thursday, McCord said he fished another spot in the same stretch of grass Friday. He noted that he actually caught his first fish flipping a laydown near the bank with a blacklight-colored Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver with a 5/16-ounce tungsten weight on 25-pound-test Seaguar line, and then proceeded to do the rest of his work with the Jack Hammer.

Saturday, McCord said his day got off to a slow start at the grass stretch, prompting him to make some changes. With one good one and a keeper in the boat, he made another stop, but again, couldn’t get anything going.

“I pulled in to the back of the creek and started skipping my ChatterBait up underneath the pads and caught a good one, right up on the spatter-docks,” continued McCord. “Three of my best fish ended up coming from underneath the lily pads today. I went to a patch of milfoil in the middle of the creek back there that I had a weird feeling about, and I ended up catching a big one at it. I got lucky and had four good bites today.”

The top 10 boaters on the Potomac River finished:

1st: Brennon McCord, West Frankfort, Ill., 15 bass, 45-11, $100,200

2nd: Joseph Thompson, Coatesville, Pa., 15 bass, 44-7, $21,100

3rd: Bryan New, Belmont, N.C., 15 bass, 42-2, $20,000 + $8,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

4th: Chris Martinkovic, Hamilton, Ohio, 15 bass, 41-7, $14,500 + $7,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

5th: Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., 15 bass, 40-13, $13,000 + $6,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

6th: Doug Ruster, New Palestine, Ind., 14 bass, 39-13, $12,000 + $5,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

7th: Robert Walser, Lexington, N.C., 15 bass, 39-11, $12,500 + $4,500 Ranger Cup Bonus

8th: Seth Davis, Harrison, Tenn., 15 bass, 39-2, $10,000

9th: Ronnie Baker, Providence Forge, Va., 13 bass, 35-2, $9,000

10th: Moo Bae, West Friendship, Md., 13 bass, 34-13, $8,000 + $3,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Overall, there were 45 bass weighing 112 pounds, 7 ounces, caught by the final 10 boaters Saturday. The catch included seven five-bass limits.

Ben Dacey of Chesterfield, Virginia, won the Co-angler Division and $50,000 Saturday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 38 pounds, 2 ounces, followed by Todd Blakeman of Chatham, Illinois, in second place with 14 bass weighing 36-15, good for $16,950.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st: Ben Dacey, Chesterfield, Va., 15 bass, 38-2, $50,250

2nd: Todd Blakeman, Chatham, Ill., 14 bass, 36-15, $15,150 + $1,800 Ranger Cup Bonus

3rd: Jeff Rikard, Leesville, S.C., 13 bass, 35-12, $6,000

4th: Levi Crossway, Jacksonville, Fla., 14 bass, 34-9, $5,000

5th: Frank Godwin Jr., Bainbridge, Ga., 11 bass, 30-5, $4,500

6th: Zach Barnes, Chickamauga, Ga., 11 bass, 28-9, $4,000

7th: Willis Kennedy III, Flomaton, Ala., 12 bass, 27-8, $3,500 + $1,300 Ranger Cup Bonus

8th: Michael Bahnweg, Union Dale, Pa., 10 bass, 26-15, $3,000

9th: James Moore Jr., Lampasas, Texas, 11 bass, 25-4, $2,500

10th: Tristen Trull, Mt. Holly, N.C., 10 bass, 24-8, $2,000

Overall, there were 30 bass weighing 73 pounds, 4 ounces, caught by the final 10 co-anglers Saturday. The catch included four five-bass limits.

Hosted by the Charles County Board of Commissioners and Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism, the T-H Marine BFL All-American featured a field of the top 98 boaters and co-anglers from across the 24-division BFL circuit competing for a grand prize of up to $120,000 in the Boater Division and $60,000 in the Co-angler Division. The top boater now receives an invitation to compete for bass fishing’s most coveted prize – the 2019 FLW Cup – Aug. 9-11 on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Television coverage of the 2019 BFL All-American on the Potomac River will premiere in the fall of 2019. The Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show airs each Saturday night at 7 p.m. EST and is broadcast to more than 63 million cable, satellite and telecommunications households in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean on the World Fishing Network (WFN), the leading entertainment destination and digital resource for anglers throughout North America. FLW television is also distributed internationally to FLW partner countries, including Canada, China, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Zimbabwe.

The 2019 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Major League Fishing - Bass Pro Tour/Cup Events

WHEELER, FUKAE BREAK 100-POUND MARK IN SHOTGUN ROUND OF BASS PRO TOUR AT TABLE ROCK – Bad Boy Mowers Stage Seven Presented by Covercraft

BRANSON, Mo. (May 31, 2019) – One week after the Major League Fishing® (MLF) Bass Pro Tour field rewrote the league’s record books with an astounding display of fish-catching efficiency on Table Rock Lake, Jacob Wheeler was at it again.

Fishing the first tour-level afternoon/evening competition day in recent years – a noon-to-8 p.m. game day – Wheeler wrote his name in the MLF record books twice: Once for most weight caught in a single day of competition, and one for most scorable bass landed in a day.

By the time lines came out for Friday’s Shotgun Round at the Bad Boy Mowers Stage Seven Presented by Covercraft, Wheeler had racked up 88 fish for 129 pounds, 14 ounces, a 17-pound cushion over Shin Fukae in second place (112-4) and the most productive day in the league’s young history.

“Unbelievable,” Wheeler said simply as he strapped his rods down after the day. “Just unbelievable.”

Wheeler Never Slowed Down

For the better part of the day, Fukae appeared to have the round under control, grabbing the lead early in the second period and becoming the first angler to break the 100-pound mark early in the third period. But Wheeler stayed within range of Fukae, and eventually overtook Fukae in the final hour.

While Fukae slowed noticeably – he weighed only three fish in the final 90 minutes of competition – Wheeler put 20 fish on SCORETRACKER® in the same twilight-hours time frame, almost all of them on a swimbait.

“I grew up fishing weeknight tournaments: I fished a Tuesday-nighter, a Wednesday-nighter, a Thursday-nighter, and sometimes a Friday-nighter, every week. That’s where I started. Some of my favorite memories are those evening tournaments. The fish bit pretty well for me today, and I enjoyed that noon-to-8 schedule.”

Wheeler’s first-place finish in the Group A Shotgun Round is the fourth time in the 2019 season that he’s finished atop a Bass Pro Tour round.

Fukae Flip-Flops

If you needed proof about how differently a lake can perform for an individual angler from one week to the next, look no farther than Fukae. The Mercury pro not only hammered Table Rock for over 112 pounds, he completely flip-flopped his results from a week ago in the Stage Six event on Table Rock.

Fukae weighed in just 28-5 in his Stage Six Shotgun Round and weighed in 51-9 for the entire event, finishing 75th in the 80-man field. In Friday’s return to Table Rock, though, Fukae beat that weight in one period. After a productive first period in which he weighed in 27-9, Fukae stacked 51-10 on SCORETRACKER in Period 2 on Friday, connecting with 29 largemouth and one spotted bass (all on a drop-shot).

Second Shotgun Round Ahead

A new group of 40 anglers, Group B, roll out onto Table Rock Saturday at 12 p.m. CT for Shotgun Round 2, under very similar conditions as their Group A counterparts. Table Rock is still slightly rising but stabilizing – it’s risen just under a foot in three days – and has gained one degree of water temperature, up to 76 degrees.

Looking Ahead

The field will carry their Shotgun Round weights into Elimination Rounds on Sunday and Monday. The Top 20 anglers from each of those Elimination groups will advance to a 40-angler Knockout Round on Monday, June 3 – weights will be zeroed, making the Knockout a one-day scramble. The Top 10 anglers in the Knockout Round will advance to the Championship Round on Wednesday, June 5.

How, When, Where to Watch

The Group B competition begins Saturday at 12 p.m. CT, with live, official scoring available via SCORETRACKER on MajorLeagueFishing.com and on the MLF app. The MLF NOW! live stream begins at 11:55 a.m. CT for coverage of Period 1, with Steven “Lurch” Scott and Rob Newell calling the live action. Full coverage continues at 2:30 when Chad McKee, JT Kenney, Marty Stone and Natalie Dillon pick up the commentary and analysis until lines out at 8 p.m. There will be no Berkley Postgame Show until the Championship Round.

Today’s Results

For Group A results in Shotgun Round 1, and to follow cumulative results throughout the competition days, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com and click “results.”

MLF BIG-5

FLW SWAPS COSTA FLW SERIES SOUTHWESTERN DATES AT GRAND LAKE AND SAM RAYBURN RESERVOIR DUE TO HIGH WATER LEVELS ON GRAND LAKE

Post author By jcarrigan
Post date May 31, 2019
No Comments on FLW SWAPS COSTA FLW SERIES SOUTHWESTERN DATES AT GRAND LAKE AND SAM RAYBURN RESERVOIR DUE TO HIGH WATER LEVELS ON GRAND LAKE

May 31, 2019 by FLW Communications – Photo courtesy of FLW

Advisory for Friday, May 31, 2019

WHAT:
The Costa FLW Series Southwestern Division tournament on Grand Lake, scheduled for next week, June 13-15, has been moved to Sam Rayburn Reservoir due to extremely high water levels. The Southwestern division tournament originally scheduled for Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Oct. 3-5, will now be held at Grand Lake. All takeoff locations and times will remain the same.

WHEN:
Costa FLW Series at Sam Rayburn Reservoir presented by Mercury
Thursday, June 13 – Saturday, June 15, 2019
Takeoff: 6 a.m. CDT. Weigh-In: 2 p.m.
Umphrey Family Pavilion
5438 RR 255
Brookeland, Texas

Costa FLW Series at Grand Lake presented by T-H Marine
Thursday, Oct. 3 – Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019
Takeoff: 7:30 a.m. CDT. Weigh-In: 3:30 p.m.
Wolf Creek Park
963 N. 16th St.
Grove, Okla.

NOTES:
The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western – along with the International division. Each U.S. division consists of three regular-season tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to compete in the season-ending Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2019 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Oct. 31 – Nov. 2 on Lake Cumberland in Burnside, Kentucky.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Costa FLW Series on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

MLF BIG-5

THOMPSON MAINTAINS LEAD AT T-H MARINE BFL ALL-AMERICAN ON THE POTOMAC RIVER PRESENTED BY GENERAL TIRE

Post author By jcarrigan
Post date May 31, 2019
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May 31, 2019 by FLW Communications – Photo courtesy of FLW

CHARLES COUNTY, Md. – Boater Joseph Thompson of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, maintained his lead at the 36th annual T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) All-American tournament on the Potomac River presented by General Tire Friday with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 2 ounces, bringing his two-day cumulative total to 10 bass weighing 32-10. Thompson will lead the final 10 anglers into Saturday with a 1-pound, 14-ounce advantage over second place angler Doug Ruster of New Palestine, Indiana, who has a two-day total of 10 bass, good for 30-12.

The T-H Marine BFL All-American features a field of the top 98 boaters and co-anglers from across the 24-division BFL circuit competing for a grand prize of up to $120,000 in the Boater Division and $60,000 in the Co-angler Division. The top boater will receive an invitation to compete for bass fishing’s most coveted prize – the 2019 FLW Cup – Aug. 9-11 on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

“I had three primary areas that I really counted on fishing today,” said Thompson, who is fishing in his first BFL All-American. “The first spot I really was counting on catching a big fish. I didn’t catch anything, but I noticed that the tide wasn’t moving that well so I wasn’t really alarmed. I called an audible and didn’t go to my other areas because I knew I needed the tide moving and didn’t want to be disappointed.

“I went to a spot I didn’t plan on fishing, but it felt right and it ended up being the big move of the day,” continued Thompson. “I went and fished grass and caught two good fish and that got my day started. From there, I did my run – I kept hitting my three spots all day. I rolled up to my other primary spot, caught some fish and left them hitting so I could hit the other spot while there was still tide moving. I got there and another competitor was on it. I asked him if I could fish it, he told me no, so I said ‘no problem’ and left.”

Thompson said he jumped around from one spot to the next, adding that once he felt he had enough weight to comfortably make it to the final day, he opted to conserve fish and try other things.

“My spots are postspawn transition spots where they are getting ready to move into their summer stuff and they’re just feeding up,” said Thompson. “They’re not hanging out there – if they’re there, they’re going to eat.”

Thompson said his key bait is a green-pumpkin-colored Zoom Brush Hog on a 5/0-sized Gamakatsu hook.

“Tomorrow there should be less pressure from tournament anglers, so I’m pretty sure I’ll probably be able to get on my two primary spots,” said Thompson. “I didn’t get one [keeper] bite on my big fish spot today – not one. I’m definitely going to check it again tomorrow. I might have to run a little more water tomorrow and try a couple other things because these guys are hot on my heels.”

The top 10 boaters advancing to the final day of competition on the Potomac River are:

1st: Joseph Thompson, Coatesville, Pa., 10 bass, 32-10

2nd: Doug Ruster, New Palestine, Ind., 10 bass, 30-12

3rd: Moo Bae, West Friendship, Md., 10 bass, 29-13

4th: Brennon McCord, West Frankfort, Ill., 10 bass, 29-8

5th: Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., 10 bass, 28-9

6th: Bryan New, Belmont, N.C., 10 bass, 28-8

7th: Ronnie Baker, Providence Forge, Va., 10 bass, 28-0

8th: Robert Walser, Lexington, N.C., 10 bass, 27-13

9th: Seth Davis, Harrison, Tenn., 10 bass, 27-10

10th: Chris Martinkovic, Hamilton, Ohio, 10 bass, 27-7

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Overall, there were 220 bass weighing 579 pounds, 4 ounces, caught by 47 boaters Friday. The catch included 39 five-bass limits.

Ben Dacey of Chesterfield, Virginia, held the lead in the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 26 pounds, 7 ounces, followed by Zach Barnes of Chickamauga, Georgia, who also has a two-day cumulative total of 10 bass weighing 26 pounds, 7 ounces. Per FLW tie-breaker rules, Dacey earned the top spot due to posting an overall heaver single-day limit during the event.

The final 10 co-anglers are:

1st: Ben Dacey, Chesterfield, Va., 10 bass, 15-14, 26-7

2nd: Zach Barnes, Chickamauga, Ga., 10 bass, 26-7

3rd: Michael Bahnweg, Union Dale, Pa., nine bass, 24-1

4th: Jeff Rikard, Leesville, S.C., eight bass, 23-13

5th: Frank Godwin Jr., Bainbridge, Ga., nine bass, 23-1

6th: Levi Crossway, Jacksonville, Fla., nine bass, 22-15

7th: Todd Blakeman, Chatham, Ill., nine bass, 22-13

8th: Tristen Trull, Mt. Holly, N.C., nine bass, 22-3

9th: Willis Kennedy III, Flomaton, Ala., nine bass, 22-3

10th: James Moore Jr., Lampasas, Texas, nine bass, 21-4

Overall, there were 134 bass weighing 318 pounds, 9 ounces, caught by 44 co-anglers Friday. The catch included eight five-bass limits.

The final 10 boaters and co-anglers will take off from Smallwood State Park, located at 2750 Sweden Point Road in Marbury, at 7 a.m. EDT Saturday. Saturday’s Championship weigh-in will also be held at the park, beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

The 2019 BFL All-American is being hosted by the Charles County Board of Commissioners and Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism.

The popular FLW Live on-the-water program will air Saturday, June 1 of the BFL All-American. FLW Live features live action from the boats of the tournament’s top anglers each day. Host Travis Moran will be joined by FLW Tour pro Luke Dunkin and FLW emcee Chris Jones to break down the extended action from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. On-the-water broadcasts will be live streamed on FLWFishing.com, the FLW YouTube channel and the FLW Facebook page.

MLF BIG-5

PENNSYLVANIA’S THOMPSON OUT FRONT AT T-H MARINE BFL ALL-AMERICAN ON THE POTOMAC RIVER PRESENTED BY GENERAL TIRE

Post author By jcarrigan
Post date May 30, 2019
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May 30, 2019 by FLW Communications – Photo by FLW

CHARLES COUNTY, Md. – Boater Joseph Thompson of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, took the early lead Thursday at the 36th annual T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) All-American tournament on the Potomac River presented by General Tire with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 8 ounces. Right behind Thompson in second place is Doug Thompson of Mabelvale, Arkansas, who brought five bass to the scale good for 15 pounds, 15 ounces.

Thompson said he fished five key spots today, three of which he rotated through for the majority of his day.

“I went to my first spot that I had really big fish at in pre-practice,” said Thompson, who has six career top-10 finishes and one win on the Potomac River in BFL competition. “I spent a lot of time trying to make that spot happen and it just didn’t.

“I left and bounced around the river. I pretty much stuck to my main spots and took what the river gave me,” continued Thompson. “There’s a variety of different patterns and things going on.”

Thompson said that he caught around 12 to 15 keepers, adding that he had a limit fairly early and was culling by 9 a.m.

“I culled probably three or four times, but just for ounces – except for the couple of big ones I caught. I had two over 4 pounds,” said Thompson.

Thompson went on to say that he feels good about what awaits him on Friday.

“My two primary spots I left, and I feel that there’s still fish there. They’re places I hardly ever see anybody fish,” said Thompson. “I was only able to get one today at my big fish spot – it’s gnarly, gnarly stuff. I’m going to start there tomorrow and see if I can get a big one right away, then run around and try to find 2½-pounders. It’s hard to get a big fish right now.”

The top 10 boaters after day one on the Potomac River are:

1st: Joseph Thompson, Coatesville, Pa., five bass, 16-8

2nd: Doug Thompson, Mabelvale, Ark., five bass, 15-15

3rd: Doug Ruster, New Palestine, Ind., five bass, 15-11

4th: Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., five bass, 15-10

5th: Kip Carter, Mansfield, Ga., five bass, 15-1

6th: Jason Crone, Kalispell, Mont., five bass, 14-11

7th: Ronnie Baker, Providence Forge, Va., five bass, 14-8

8th: Jason Grape, Attalla, Ala., five bass, 14-3

9th: Tommy Williams, Shepherdsville, Ky., five bass, 13-13

9th: Matt Stanley, Alexandria, Tenn., five bass, 13-13

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Overall, there were 218 bass weighing 565 pounds, 2 ounces, caught by 49 boaters Thursday. The catch included 37 five-bass limits.

Ben Dacey of Chesterfield, Virginia, leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 14 ounces, followed by Zach Barnes of Chickamauga, Georgia, in second place with five bass weighing 15 pounds even.

The top 10 co-anglers are:

1st: Ben Dacey, Chesterfield, Va., five bass, 15-14

2nd: Zach Barnes, Chickamauga, Ga., five bass, 15-0

2nd: Michael Bahnweg, Union Dale, Pa., five bass, 15-0

4th: Randy Paquette, Sarasota, Fla., five bass, 14-15

5th: Todd Blakeman, Chatham, Ill., five bass, 14-7

6th: Tristen Trull, Mt. Holly, N.C., five bass, 13-14

7th: Levi Crossway, Jacksonville, Fla., five bass, 13-9

7th: Brandon Ackerson, Afton, Okla., five bass, 13-9

9th: Wayne Miller, Morgantown, Ky., five bass, 12-14

10th: Willis Kennedy III, Flomaton, Ala., five bass, 12-11

Overall, there were 163 bass weighing 404 pounds, 6 ounces, caught by 46 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 18 five-bass limits.

BFL All-American competitors will take off from Smallwood State Park, located at 2750 Sweden Point Road in Marbury, at 7 a.m. EDT each morning. Friday’s weigh-in, May 31, will be held at the park beginning at 3:30 p.m. Saturday’s Championship weigh-in, June 1, will also be held at the park, but will begin at 4 p.m.

The 2019 BFL All-American is being hosted by the Charles County Board of Commissioners and Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism.

The popular FLW Live on-the-water program will air Friday, May 31 and Saturday, June 1 of the BFL All-American. FLW Live features live action from the boats of the tournament’s top anglers each day. Host Travis Moran will be joined by FLW Tour pro Luke Dunkin 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, the FLW YouTube channel and the FLW Facebook page.

The 2019 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2019 BFL All-American will be held May 30-June 1 at the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland, and is hosted by the Charles County Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism and the Commissioners of Charles County. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

About FLW

FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2019 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

MLF BIG-5

COUNTRY MUSIC SUPERSTAR SET TO ROCK FLW CUP WITH FREE CONCERT IN HOT SPRINGS

Post author By jcarrigan
Post date May 30, 2019
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May 29, 2019 by FLW Communications

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Before any professional anglers have even made a cast in Lake Hamilton, Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) has already landed a lunker. Country music superstar Trace Adkins is set to bring his fiery and memorable live performance to the 2019 FLW Cup, performing a free concert on the weigh-in stage at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs, Arkansas, on Sunday, Aug. 11 beginning at 4 p.m. Adkins will take the stage before the world’s premier bass anglers weigh their final-day limits at the event – professional bass fishing’s world championship. Fans of all ages are encouraged to attend the free concert, which is presented by Realtree and KSSN 96.

A Nashville icon for more than two decades, Adkins has made his mark on the country-music industry with 11 million albums sold, time-honored hit singles, GRAMMY nominations, and CMT and ACM awards to name a few of his accomplishments. His videos have nearly 200 million plays on YouTube, and he’s even had movie and TV roles come his way. But ask Adkins what’s left to prove in his career, and the small-town Louisiana native says it’s simple: “The itch remains. To create. To collaborate. To continually feel the excitement that comes after whipping up a new song out of thin air and laying it down to tape.”

It’s an interesting change of perspective for Adkins, however, when he hits the road for his now legendary live gigs. Where the studio offers him unique insight into his current state of mind, onstage, when revisiting his classic songs like “You’re Gonna Miss This” or “Every Light in the House” nearly every evening, he says he’s taken back, if only for a brief while, to earlier moments in his life.

“It’s hard to describe, I gotta be honest,” Adkins says of being overcome with emotion and reflection when trotting out some of his time-tested cuts for adoring audiences. “I’ve gotten to the point now where I’ll be onstage singing ‘Every Light In The House Is On,’ and I look down at the crowd and realize that person right there wasn’t even alive when I recorded that song,” he laughs. “To watch their face go, ‘Oh, that’s a cool hook,’ it’s like Oh my god, that’s the first time that person every heard that song!”

With 1 million followers on Spotify and more than 1 billion spins on Pandora (10 million spins per month), the longstanding country icon has yet to lose any of his trademark passion and killer instinct for his craft.

“We are ecstatic to welcome Trace Adkins to the 2019 FLW Cup stage in Hot Springs, Arkansas,” said Kelly Oettinger, FLW Vice President of Marketing. “Trace is a superstar in the world of country music, and we are honored to have him perform. We have a longstanding tradition of providing the absolute best tournament experiences for millions of FLW fishing fans across the country and around the world. Having Trace perform at the crown jewel of professional bass fishing is a perfect fit to continue that tradition.”

In the meantime, Adkins is going to keep doing what he knows and loves. Performing. Creating. Inspiring. He adores it. And, he adds, he knows so many of his lifelong fans, and new ones to boot, do too.

“I’m gonna go out there and find those people,” he says with a laugh. “I’m gonna bring a band and turn it up real loud! And we’re gonna have a good time!”

The FLW Cup, the world championship of bass fishing, returns to Hot Springs and Lake Hamilton, August 9-11 with a $300,000 top prize on the line as well as the title of world’s best bass angler. This year’s championship tournament will feature 52 of the best anglers from across four FLW tournament circuits and is being hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs. It will also feature the inaugural Dee Zee FLW/KBF Cup presented by YakAttack for the world’s top kayak anglers and The Bass Federation Junior World Championship for top young anglers from across the country.

For complete details and updated information, visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the sport’s top anglers on the FLW Tour on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

BASSMASTER Elite Series/Opens

JOHN COX CRUISES TO WIRE-TO-WIRE WIN IN BASSMASTER OPEN ON CHICKAMAUGA

Post author By jcarrigan
Post date May 25, 2019
No Comments on JOHN COX CRUISES TO WIRE-TO-WIRE WIN IN BASSMASTER OPEN ON CHICKAMAUGA

DAYTON, Tenn. —

Carrying a nearly 8-pound lead into the final round, no doubt, builds confidence, but John Cox readily acknowledged the good fortune that enabled him to slam the door on a wire-to-wire win in the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open on Lake Chickamauga with a three-day total weight of 66 pounds, 5 ounces.

Cox, who won an FLW Tour event on Chickamauga three weeks ago, took the early lead with a Day 1 limit of 26-11. Adding 21-12 on Day 2 gave the Debary, Fla., pro a 7-pound, 13-ounce lead going into the final round. Today, Cox sealed the deal with a five-bass limit that weighed 17-14 and gave him a winning margin of 4-11.

“It was an amazing week,” Cox said. “So many of my fish catches were so special, and it seemed like luck played into a lot of them.

“Today, I didn’t see one of my key fish — a 5-pounder — until the last second. He didn’t see me, for some reason. I flipped over to the fish and it ate my bait. When I got it into the boat, I realized I was on its blind side; it was missing his eye. If it had been any other direction, I wouldn’t have caught it.”

Cox caught all of his bass in shallow water, including bluegill beds, banks with deeper water adjacent and docks. Although he had planned to fish offshore shellbeds and bars in 8 to 14 feet of water, Cox found his areas too congested with other anglers on Day 1. Snooping around in the shallows quickly convinced him that’s where he needed to remain.

“The first day, I caught a couple good ones out there, but then it got really crowded in those areas,” Cox said. “I didn’t feel comfortable being around all those people, so I said ‘I’m just going to do what I like doing,’ so I got up shallow.

“Once I saw fish swimming around up there, I got sucked into it and I never went back out to those shellbars.”

Cox said his top baits were a 1/2-ounce Dirty Jigs swim jig in the tactical shad color with a white Berkley Max Scent Meaty Chunk trailer, a wacky-rigged 5-inch Berkley Max Scent General (stickbait) in the green pumpkin party color.

For his efforts, Cox won $43,800 and earned a berth in the 2020 Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. This win, he said, elevated Chickamauga to the top of his personal list.

“I don’t know what to say; this used to be my second-favorite lake, but after this one, it’s definitely my favorite,” Cox said. “I love it when we get to come here, I love all the people and I hope we get to come back.”

Chris Peters of Birchwood, Tenn. finished in second place with 61-10. After tying for 28th place on day one with 14-9, the local fireman who left the weigh ins to start his weekend shift, rose to fourth on Day 2 after catching 20-3. Adding 26-14 today moved him up two notches.

“It took me a little while to get dialed in,” Peters said. “On Day 1, I ran a lot of spots. I had about 30 places I wanted to try. I got them dialed in yesterday and got them dialed in better today. Everywhere I stopped today, it was (catching) one after another.

“I was throwing a big jig, but the deal was the Trixter Custom Tackle Rowdy Craw trailer. It’s a hand-poured plastic so it’s a lot softer and has a lot of action. I think that played a key role today and all week.”

Buddy Gross of Chickamauga, Ga. finished third with 58-10. Gross placed second on Day 1 with 23-8, slipped to third on Day 2 after the lack of current limited him to 15-12 and settled in the No. 3 spot after adding 19-6 in the final round.

Gross caught several of his bass this week on swimbaits and crankbaits, but today, he tempted his biggest fish on a 3/4-ounce green pumpkin Nichols casting jig with a green pumpkin Zoom Super Chunk trailer.

“I was fishing spots with a little grass mixed in with some brush, and the jig seemed to be the deal today for the bigger bites,” Gross said. “I just slowed down. I had been catching smaller bass on a dropshot, so I decided to go with more of a big-fish bait.”

Chad Pipkens of Lansing, Mich., won the Phoenix Boats Big Bass award with his 9-8.

Jon Jezierski of Troy, Mich., won the co-angler division with 32-2. His was an impressive comeback story, as Jezierski placed 84th on Day 1 with 5-7, but roared back a day later with a three-bass limit that weighed 14-3 and pushed him up to fourth. Today, he claimed the win by adding 12-8 — the final round’s only double-digit co-angler bag.

Jezierski caught his fish on wacky-rigged Bass Pro Shops Sticko stickbaits in the sprayed grass and plum/emerald flake colors, a Strike King 8XD crankbait in green gizzard shad, a shaky head with a Zoom Magnum Finesse Worm and a Texas-rigged 10-inch blue fleck Berkley Power Worm.

“Getting on the water with my practice partner, (Elite angler) Garrett Paquette, allowed me to see quite a bit of the lake,” Jezierski said. “I followed his lead whether it was fishing ledges deep or docks shallow, or grass. We put it all together and I took it as each day came.”

John Goul of Philadelphia, Miss. won the Phoenix Boats Big Bass award among co-anglers with a 9-7.

BASSMASTER Elite Series/Opens

JOHN COX EXTENDS HIS LEAD IN BASSMASTER OPEN ON LAKE CHICKAMAUGA

Post author By jcarrigan
Post date May 25, 2019
No Comments on JOHN COX EXTENDS HIS LEAD IN BASSMASTER OPEN ON LAKE CHICKAMAUGA

DAYTON, Tenn. —

When crowded waters prevented John Cox from reaching the areas he wanted to fish today, the Debary, Fla., pro turned to a more familiar Plan B and caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 12 ounces to extend his lead on Day 2 of the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open on Lake Chickamauga with a total weight of 48-7.

Cox, whose Day 1 weight of 26-11 led the opening round by 3 pounds, 3 ounces, is the only angler to break 20 pounds both days. His limit today included an 8-pound, 6-ounce kicker that helped widen his lead to 7-13.

Coming off an FLW Tour win on Chickamauga May 5, Cox said Plan B took him back to the shallow zone for which he’s best known. What he found more than made up for what he could not access.

“When I got down to the lower end of the lake, I noticed that there were so many boats on every little spot I had,” Cox said. “I didn’t want to pull right in on the sweet spots, so I decided I’d just go throw at some trees and troll in the clear water.

“I was just throwing around a couple of bluegill beds when I saw that big one out of the corner of my eye. I pitched a Texas-rigged Berkley Max Scent General over to her and she inhaled it. I caught the rest of my limit doing that.”

Sight fishing for cruising bass is addictive to Cox. “My problem is once I see a couple up there swimming, I’m doomed; I’m not going back out,” he said.

Cox made one stop on the way back to check in and fished a similar shoreline scenario that had a cluster of bluegill beds. Here, he threw a swim jig rigged with a white Berkley Max Scent Meaty Chunk and scored back-to-back catches, one of which was his second-largest.

“I lost my Meaty Chunk on that last fish,” Cox Lamented. “I was digging in my box for more, but I didn’t have any left in white. I tried green pumpkin and everything else, but I couldn’t get them to eat anything else.”

Cox said he’s hopeful that Saturday’s smaller field — only the Top 12 boaters and 12 nonboaters fish in the final round — will allow him to fish his mid-depth spots. Fewer boats will likely make the quality fish more likely to move up anyway, he said.

“Those bigger fish aren’t going to set up on that stuff with all the pressure; the small ones do, but not the big ones,” Cox said. “I’m thinking that maybe tomorrow with fewer boats, maybe some of those areas can rest.

“Hopefully, I can leave the trolling and looking because you have to throw a few inches in front of that fish’s face and the bait has to fall without spooking him. There’s a lot of luck involved.”

Chad Pipkens of Lansing, Mich., is in second place with 40-10. Mounting the day’s biggest comeback, the seventh-year Elite angler followed up his disappointing Day 1 catch of four bass for 10-15 with a massive second round limit of 29-11, which propelled him from 93rd place into the No. 2 spot.

“It’s all about timing out here, and I got the timing right a couple of times today,” Pipkens said. “I caught a big one quick and from there, I was catching a fish here and there. I knew I needed to get a couple of keepers in the boat because you can spend a lot of time and get either nothing or a giant.

“I was able to catch a limit by 11 and cull a couple of times. Then, I got on some big ones in the afternoon and caught that giant one — a 9-8 — and lost another that was 10 or 12.”

Pipkens kept mum on his bait selection, but he said the key to his success was paying attention to the feeding windows in which opportunities might arise.

Buddy Gross of Chickamauga, Ga., is in third place with 39-4. After finishing second Thursday with 23-8, he added 15-12 today. Relying mostly on crankbaits and swimbaits, he’s been targeting the 14- to 18-foot depth range and fishing spots off the beaten path.

“I’ve been fishing ‘scab’ places every day, places I don’t typically fish so I can stay away from the crowd and try to get a few quality fish during the day,” Gross said. “Tomorrow, all the community holes will be a little less covered up, so I think I can catch up a little bit.

“If we get lucky and they (the TVA) run water tomorrow, I can give him a run for his money. But if they don’t, it’s going to be a John Cox show.”

Pipkens is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 9-8.

Ross Rhodes of Paw Paw, Mich., leads the co-angler division with 20-1. While his pro partner flipped shallow cover, Rhodes took a different route and fished a 3/16-ounce Owner shaky head with a Strike King Fat Baby Finesse worm in the red bug color.

“I like that this rig covers the bottom structure well, and those fish that just got done spawning are lazy; they’re not going after those moving baits,” he said. “They’re just hunkered down, and you have to put it in front of them. The bite is really light on those things.”

John Goul of Philadelphia, Miss., holds the Phoenix Boats Big Bass lead among co-anglers with a 9-7.

Saturday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:15 a.m. ET at Dayton Boat Dock. The weigh-in will be held at Bass Pro Shops, 1000 Bass Pro Dr., East Ridge, TN 37412 at 3:15 p.m.

The event is hosted by Fish Dayton.

BASSMASTER Elite Series/Opens

‘AN EXERCISE IN RANDOMNESS’ GIVES COX LEAD IN BASSMASTER OPEN AT CHICKAMAUGA

Post author By jcarrigan
Post date May 23, 2019
No Comments on ‘AN EXERCISE IN RANDOMNESS’ GIVES COX LEAD IN BASSMASTER OPEN AT CHICKAMAUGA

DAYTON, Tenn. — Photo courtesy of BASS

Consistency eluded John Cox, but the Debary, Fla., pro picked his way to a five-bass limit of 26 pounds, 11 ounces that leads the first round of the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open on Lake Chickamauga.

Like many of his competitors, Cox lamented a distinct lack of current — pretty much the spark that ignites a late-spring bite on the Tennessee River. Knowing that the day’s sweltering heat and mostly slow water would have the fish in a lethargic mood, Cox figured that mobility was his best weapon.

“I started up shallow and I could instantly tell nothing good was happening. There wasn’t any movement, and it was really still,” he said. “That’s when I started going out (into deeper water) and bouncing around. It was slack out there, too, but then I caught a big one and I’m like, ‘Oh, okay.’ But then I fished for another hour and got nothing.”

Cox worked his way into other areas and tried different depths, catching heavy bass on back-to-back casts in a shallow spot and two more solid keepers, one after the other, in a place he had not tried in practice.

Describing his day as “an exercise in randomness,” Cox said he simply focused on persevering in hopes of running into an active fish.

Cox said he avoided the traditional offshore ledge patterns for which Chickamauga is famous, as he’s never felt comfortable with that style of fishing. He ended up catching his fish over river flats and sandbars in 7 to 12 feet. He caught his fish on a mix of crankbaits, swimbaits and a jig.

Known mostly for his shallow-water prowess, Cox joked that fishing off the bank felt odd.

“It was weird for me — I couldn’t touch the bottom where I was fishing today,” he said.

Buddy Gross of Chickamauga, Ga., is in second place with 23-8. He got off to a quick start numerically, but the quality was another story.

“It took all day to get my weight,” Gross said. “I had a small limit of 11 or 12 pounds shortly after I first started and then just culled up slowly throughout the day. I think the afternoon bite is better. I have a later check-in tomorrow, so I think it’s going to be good for me.

“I grew up fishing here, and it’s taken a lot of my ‘juice’ to get what I had today. I have about as much left as I fished today, but it’s not easy. The ledges are getting hammered. We’ve had so many tournaments that the pressure has the fish pushed off.”

Gross said he caught his bass in 10 to 15 feet with deeper water close by. Most of his bites were on reaction baits, but the tough conditions required him to catch a couple of his heavier bass on a dropshot with a Zoom Z-Too in the morning dawn color.

Stephen Mui of Bartlett, Ill., is in third place with 21-6. Making his day was an 8-pound, 6-ounce Chickamauga largemouth that he caught as a result of a momentary decision he made while moving to another fishing area.

“I was running down the lake, doing about 60, and I decided to pull up on this spot where I had caught a 14-incher in practice,” Mui said. “I know from past experience that ledge fishing can really turn on midday on deep spots like this. I stopped to fish, and on my third cast, that big fish hit.”

Mui started shallow with a topwater lure and then moved to ledges, where he caught most of his fish on crankbaits. His big bass bit a shaky head with a Missile Baits Tomahawk worm.

Mui’s kicker is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors.

Charles Fochtman of Moneta, Va., leads the co-angler division with 14-15. He found success when his pro partner was finally able to access a small grassline in a shallow pocket.

“We had a late start, so the first grassbed we fished had five other boats already on it and was kind of worn out by the time we got there,” Fochtman said. “We had another little spot about 500 yards down, so we waited until everybody left, and then we went there and caught all our fish.”

Fochtman’s weapon was a 3/8-ounce ChatterBait paired with a 3.8 Keitech swimbait. Bringing his bait across a small hole in the middle of the grassbed was the key to getting bites.

John Goul of Philadelphia, Miss., holds the Phoenix Boats Big Bass lead among co-anglers with a 9-7.

Friday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:15 a.m. CT at Dayton Boat Dock. The weigh-in will be held at the dock at 2:15 p.m.

The event is hosted by Fish Dayton.

Major League Fishing - Bass Pro Tour/Cup Events

BREAKING NEWS – YOU CAN NOW WATCH STAGE SEVEN IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING – MOVED FROM GRAND LAKE TO TABLE ROCK DUE TO FLOODING

TULSA, Okla. (May 23, 2019) – Major League Fishing (MLF) officials announced today that the Bass Pro Tour Stage Seven originally scheduled for Oklahoma’s Grand Lake is being relocated to Table Rock Lake in Missouri, due to flood conditions impacting northeast Oklahoma.

The Bad Boy Mowers Stage Seven Presented by Covercraft will take place on the same dates originally intended – May 31 to June 5 – but there will be some changes to the competition format when the 80-angler Bass Pro Tour field returns to Table Rock.

“Of the options we had for guaranteeing the required connectivity for our format and live streaming, convenience to our anglers and entertaining fishing, Table Rock was our perfect solution for the time frame,” said Don Rucks, MLF executive vice president and general manager. “Table Rock is in great shape and, as we saw in Stage Six, it’s fishing exceptionally well right now. But we’re going to change things up somewhat for the return to make it a different challenge for the anglers and equally exciting as the previous Bass Pro Tour event was for our fans.”

Most significant is the change to the fishing times. For the five days encompassing the usual Shotgun, Elimination and Knockout Rounds, competition will be from noon to 8 p.m. CDT. On day six, the Championship Round, competition will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT. And the MLF NOW! live streaming will cover all three fishing periods throughout each of the six competition days, providing 7 1/2 hours of live coverage daily, the most ever in the history of competitive bass fishing, and extending into prime time.

For all days, MLF’s standard catch, weigh and immediate-release format will apply.

“The later competition times will give our MLF NOW! live stream audience a different look at Table Rock,” Rucks said. “It’ll also provide anglers in the region who fish in the evening a chance to learn even more about how to be successful on their home water this time of year.”

The MLF Postgame Show Presented by Berkley will follow the conclusion of the Championship Round on June 5; there will be no Postgame Show following the first five days of competition because of 8 p.m. end of competition.

For more information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.