Author: jcarrigan

The first elimination round has just completed on Falls Lake and what a day it was. Temps this morning were hardly above the freezing mark and water temps in the mid-’50s. The expected high was mid-60’s and that should have proven for big bags of fish for the Group A anglers. They had impressive catches on the first shotgun round. However, this area of North Carolina showed it still had big fish to catch, just not the numbers today.

The big fish of the day belongs to Justin Atkins who slayed an 8-pound 12-ounce donkey to comfortably put him in at 11^th place where he stayed. Two other big fish tipped scales over 8 pounds and they belong to Edwin Evers and Mark Daniels Jr. It was the number of fish that was the most notable. Only two anglers caught over 10 fish and most anglers stayed just underneath that total. You would have expected the most excitement to be at the top of this groups leaderboard. However, the top few stayed steady today while Kelly Jordan maintained his impressive lead and had to do little to maintain his dominance from his monstrous Day 1 bag.

The real story is with the group of anglers at the cut line and that was an absolute battle. It was a seesaw battle nearly all day between a decent group of anglers. Anglers would remain confindently above the cut, just to get knocked down by another great fish. Most of the day several ounce to a several pounds kept the cut line extremely fluid.

So here is how Group A fared on elimination day.

Place	Angler	Day 1	Day 2	Total Weight	Day 1	Day 2	Total # Fish	Avg Weight	Largest Fish
1st	Kelly Jordon	82 – 04	11 – 00	93 – 04	26	2	28	4 – 05	6 – 01
2nd	Todd Faircloth	63 – 10	8 – 10	72 – 04	20	5	25	2 – 07	2 – 06
3rd	Edwin Evers	50 – 06	12 – 09	62 – 15	19	4	23	2 – 14	8 – 07
4th	Wesley Strader	47 – 06	12 – 06	59 – 12	15	5	20	2 – 13	4 – 03
5th	Greg Vinson	41 – 10	14 – 05	55 – 15	10	5	15	3 – 08	6 – 07
6th	Jacob Wheeler	54 – 05	1 – 02	55 – 07	14	1	15	2 – 08	1 – 02
7th	Randall Tharp	38 – 03	15 – 12	53 – 15	12	7	19	2 – 12	5 – 14
8th	Mark Daniels, Jr.	52 – 01	0 – 00	52 – 01	12	0	12	4 – 05	8 – 06
9th	Andy Morgan	31 – 02	16 – 10	47 – 12	10	5	15	3 – 04	5 – 00
10th	Mike Iaconelli	31 – 01	14 – 03	45 – 04	12	5	17	2 – 11	6 – 06
11th	Justin Atkins	27 – 06	15 – 02	42 – 08	7	5	12	3 – 08	8 – 12
12th	Fred Roumbanis	28 – 03	12 – 04	40 – 07	12	4	16	2 – 11	6 – 14
13th	Tommy Biffle	29 – 00	11 – 04	40 – 04	10	6	16	2 – 06	3 – 09
14th	Josh Bertrand	21 – 04	17 – 04	38 – 08	5	9	14	3 – 01	4 – 03
15th	Alton Jones	22 – 01	15 – 08	37 – 09	9	6	15	2 – 08	4 – 03
16th	Jared Lintner	17 – 04	18 – 12	36 – 00	8	9	17	2 – 02	6 – 08
17th	Fletcher Shryock	24 – 15	9 – 14	34 – 13	7	6	13	2 – 10	2 – 02
18th	Andy Montgomery	16 – 04	18 – 09	34 – 13	4	4	8	4 – 06	7 – 04
19th	Gary Klein	19 – 14	13 – 08	33 – 06	6	7	13	2 – 10	2 – 10
20th	Jacob Powroznik	20 – 01	12 – 13	32 – 14	8	5	13	2 – 09	4 – 06
21st	Michael Neal	15 – 08	17 – 04	32 – 12	4	11	15	2 – 12	4 – 03
22nd	Luke Clausen	18 – 09	13 – 13	32 – 06	5	8	13	2 – 12	3 – 07
23rd	John Murray	25 – 12	6 – 09	32 – 05	6	2	8	3 – 13	5 – 09
24th	Gerald Swindle	18 – 09	13 – 00	31 – 09	6	4	10	3 – 03	3 – 14
25th	Kevin VanDam	14 – 11	16 – 12	31 – 07	4	10	14	2 – 11	2 – 08
26th	Brent Ehrler	14 – 06	16 – 07	30 – 13	6	9	15	2 – 02	5 – 09
27th	Cody Meyer	21 – 04	9 – 00	30 – 04	6	7	13	2 – 07	1 – 10
28th	James Watson	12 – 11	16 – 09	29 – 04	3	8	11	3 – 02	3 – 14
29th	Boyd Duckett	15 – 12	12 – 13	28 – 09	6	6	12	2 – 06	4 – 01
30th	Alton Jones Jr.	11 – 00	16 – 08	27 – 08	3	8	11	2 – 14	4 – 03
31st	Cliff Crochet	14 – 08	12 – 12	27 – 04	4	4	8	3 – 07	4 – 06
32nd	Adrian Avena	20 – 06	6 – 09	26 – 15	9	3	12	2 – 04	3 – 07
33rd	Jason Christie	19 – 03	5 – 00	24 – 03	4	2	6	3 – 10	3 – 05
34th	Zack Birge	9 – 14	10 – 12	20 – 10	5	3	8	2 – 12	4 – 12
35th	Mark Davis	4 – 15	11 – 06	16 – 05	2	7	9	2 – 01	3 – 04
36th	Paul Elias	7 – 06	8 – 13	16 – 03	2	5	7	2 – 12	2 – 14
37th	Brandon Coulter	7 – 14	7 – 08	15 – 06	2	3	5	3 – 04	4 – 07
38th	Jason Lambert	2 – 13	7 – 03	10 – 00	2	4	6	1 – 10	2 – 10
39th	Shin Fukae	2 – 10	6 – 11	9 – 05	1	5	6	1 – 16	1 – 09
40th	Anthony Gagliardi	0 – 00	2 – 03	2 – 03	0	2	2	0 – 09	1 – 03

Day 2 of the Major League Fishing Stage 3 in Raleigh NC on Lake Jordan has once again proved fruitful for anglers fishing in Group B. Those anglers were faced with an overnight cold front that didn’t seem to affect the big fish bite what so ever. It may have affected the overall bags that anglers brought in today. Because the biggest bag would have come in at 6^th place the day before with Group A. Maybe it was the glooming morning that proved so beneficial the day before. As the sun rose today the bite seemed to slow with the exception of the big fish bite.

Day 2 was dominated by big fish, over 20 fish breaking the 5lb mark. It was Ish Monroe who is known for big bags of fish came out blazing this morning with multiple big fish. He highlighted his morning with back to back big bass weighing in at 5lbs and 7lbs within minutes. However, that big fish belongs to David Walker who hauled in a pig that tipped the scales at 8 pounds 6 ounces. One other fished topped 8 pounds while 4 more came in over 7 pounds.

The big bag belonged to David Walker who just barely passed over Ott Defoe, Casey Ashley, Brett Hite, Ish Monroe, and Takahiro Omori. Big changes are in store as all the angler will make the move to Falls Lake. It was originally discussed that the fish found on Falls Lake would not be as big and even talk that mentioned anglers would struggle to catch fish on this lake. However, these top spring power anglers are sure to prove that wrong and a great showing is in store for the next phase of the landmark event in North Carolina. Check back for more info!

Here is the Day 1 Wrap Up Courtesy of Major League Fishing

By Major League Fishing – March 27, 2019

RALEIGH, N.C. (March 26, 2019) – It took virtually no time for the chunky northern-strain largemouth of North Carolina to reveal themselves on Major League Fishing® (MLF) Bass Pro Tour’s Day 1 of the Favorite Fishing Stage Three Raleigh presented by Evinrude: Jason Christie boated a 7-pound, 12-ouncer just 4 minutes into competition on Jordan Lake, the first fish of the day. 

Christie’s opening shot was just the beginning: By the end of Shotgun Round 1, 11 7-pounders and 48 fish over 5 pounds made it onto SCORETRACKER™, an astoundingly impressive showing for an unknown fishery that most of the field of 80 had never even seen before practice. 

But even more impressive was the fish-catching clinic put on by Kelly Jordon.

Fishing his way around a shallow creek arm of this impoundment of the Cape Fear River system north of Raleigh, the Texas pro piled up 82-4 on 26 fish, not only winning the round by over 18 pounds, but also establishing a new single-day MLF Bass Pro Tour weight total.

“It was just an awesome, awesome day,” Jordon said. “This area had gotten a ton of rain, and then the water dropped so much, I thought ‘Maybe this isn’t going to happen’, but guess what? The fish are still here. There’s no telling how much I could’ve caught if it had stayed warm. But what a fishery.”

Jordon did the majority of his damage with an Evergreen Jack Hammer bladed jig with a Lake Fork Tackle Live Magic Shad trailer, and he did it consistently for the first five hours of competition, pinging SCORETRACKER with four to five scorable largemouth per hour until he hit a brief lull late in the afternoon. 

He found some good ones, too, highlighting his day with seven 5-plus-pounders, including a 5-2 and 5-6 in the final five minutes of competition. 

“Anytime you catch 82 pounds in a day of fishing is an awesome day, and I didn’t want to quit fishing,” Jordon admitted. “It was sad, I wanted to keep fishing because they were starting to fire off again. It was one of those days to remember.”

The rest of the field, while lagging a sizeable distance behind Jordon for most of the day, had some notable success as well.

Todd Faircloth chipped away at Jordon’s lead all afternoon, finishing the round with 63-10 and connecting with the biggest fish of the day, a 9-4 giant that inhaled a jig early in the third period. Faircloth stacked up over 35 pounds of largemouth in the final period to trim Jordon’s lead to 10 pounds before K.J. caught his final two 5-pounders.

“We had that front pulling through, the lake dropped a little bit from yesterday and I started out fishing on the points, fishing out a little bit, and caught a couple small fish and at the end of the first period,” Faircloth said. “I decided to just change areas and change techniques, and boy did it pay off in big ways.”

Jacob Wheeler and Mark Daniels, Jr. combined for 102-7, Wheeler with 54-5 and Daniels with 52-1. In one 2 ½-hour stretch in the third period, Daniels caught five fish for 27-13. Nine of Wheeler’s 14 fish were 4 pounds or better. 

Edwin Evers continued his season of consistency, catching 19 fish for 50-6 and fifth place. That marks Evers’ fourth consecutive round finishing in the Top 5.

Surprised … or Not?

The field’s big-fish success didn’t come as a surprise to MLF NOW! analyst Marty Stone, who touted the big-fish potential of the Raleigh-area lakes, and was instrumental in bringing the Bass Pro Tour to North Carolina. As Stone repeatedly reported in the weeks leading up to the event, Jordan Lake was set up for a record-breaking performance, despite the fluctuating water levels.  

“I think the size of the fish caught these guys off guard a little bit,” Stone said.

The number of fish caught was definitely a surprise to much of the field, too. Thanks to plummeting water levels and dirty water, many of the pros struggled mightily in practice, and most expressed some doubt that they would catch many fish on Jordan. But as he stowed his rods at the end of the day, Wheeler summed it up best: “What can you say? This place is legit!. I mean, wow, it’s got ’em.”

Group B Up Next

The second half of the field gets its first crack at Jordan Lake on Wednesday when Group B competition begins. Conditions could be slightly more challenging in the morning, as nighttime lows will dip to near freezing, but a forecast of afternoon sunshine translates into a possible strong afternoon bite.  

Looking Ahead to the Week

The field will carry their Shotgun Round weights to Falls Lake on Thursday and Friday for the Elimination Rounds. The Top 20 anglers from each Elimination group will advance to the Knockout Round on Saturday (also on Falls).

The Top 10 anglers in the Knockout Round will advance to the Championship Round on Shearon Harris Reservoir, a 4,100-acre power plant lake that’s known for its population of 6-plus-pound largemouth.

How, When, Where to Watch

Competition begins daily at 7:30 a.m. EDT, with live, official scoring available via SCORETRACKER on MajorLeagueFishing.com and on the MLF app. The MLF NOW! live stream starts at 10 a.m. EDT, with live, on-the-water coverage continuing until lines out at 3:30 p.m. The Berkley Postgame Show live stream will start at 5 p.m. daily.   

Quotable

Kelly Jordon (1st/82-4) – “The water was dropping out in my area, and I thought the fish were leaving. I think a lot of them did. I was scared to death: It rained last night, and I thought it was just going to blow (that area) out, which it didn’t. It did get kind of muddy in there, and probably dropped 6 to 8 inches. Coming out, I had to jump over a beaver dam. I had to put my engine up on it and power over it, and I’ve never had to do that before. Boyd (Duckett) showed me how to do that, because he does it all the time. I figured I would just gun it and try it, and that’s what I did.”

Jacob Wheeler (3rd/54-5) – “All I can say is ‘Wow!’ It’s a phenomenal fishery. It seemed like every bite was 3 to 5 pounds or 5 to 6 pounds. Overall, the number of quality fish that live in that lake is just astounding. You would’ve thought with that cold night, it would get a little tougher, and it didn’t seem that way. This morning I didn’t know if it was going to be that hot and heavy first thing, but I figured when the sun popped out, it would probably be pretty decent. It was pretty consistent all day.”

Edwin Evers (5th/50-6) – “I got some bites early, and that’s just what I needed to get my confidence going. I was just running with it and expanding on it, and man I’m just happy. The last day of practice I kind of figured this deal out, and I’m just happy to have it. I don’t know if I can get a bite on (Falls Lake).”

The Day’s Results 

To see all results from Shotgun Round Group A anglers, and to keep up with cumulative results throughout the week, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com and click “Results.” 

About Major League Fishing   

Founded in 2011, Major League Fishing (MLF) brings the high-intensity sport of competitive bass fishing into America’s living rooms on Outdoor Channel, Discovery, CBS, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network, Sportsman Channel and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). New for 2019, the Bass Pro Tour consists of eight events and a championship streamed live on www.MajorLeagueFishing.com and MOTV. MLF uses the entertaining and conservation-friendly catch, weigh and immediate-release format where every scorable bass counts and the winner is the angler with the highest cumulative weight. For more information on the league and anglers, visit www.majorleaguefishing.com and follow MLF on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. For more in-depth coverage, see Game & Fish magazine, the official publication of MLF.

The timing couldn’t have been more key for the planning of Stage 3 on the MLF Bass Pro Tour in Raleigh NC. Lake Jordan has proven to be very monumental for the first group of anglers. The water temps are stretching into the upper 50’s and pushing some giants into the shallow showing record-setting catches. Lure choice has also been a hot topic on this stop of this tournament as well. This is sure to be an exciting tournament solely based upon how day 1 has gone on. 

Let’s talk about big fish and the plethora that has been caught on Day 1. So far at least 16 bass have been caught that have tipped the scales over 6 pounds. The is absolutely astonishing considering just a few weeks ago hardly any fish over 5 pounds were caught at the Classic. So far today’s big fish belongs to Todd Faircloth and his whopping 9 pounds 4-ounce behemoth that surged him into second place. The big news is the current first place angler, Kelly Jordan who had raked in 26 fish for 82 pounds, that right 82 pounds!!! Kelly’s largest fish tipped the scales at just over 6 pounds. Kelly Jordan has now set a new Major League Fishing record originally set by MLF Pro Marty Robinson on Kissimmee Lake. This is absolutely a monumental day in MLF history.

Lure choice has also been highlighted at this tournament and set up by a recent article on MLF from Marty Stone on the trio of lures that will be key to winning this stage in Raleigh. Marty’s call was for the jig, square bill, and spinner bait to be key on this fishery. His ideas have been nothing but true and some of the biggest fish have been caught on the jig. This tournament has also shown the importance of the spinnerbait and how it is still relevant in professional fishing today. A majority of anglers have actively used this tried and true method of catching big bags of hungry spring bass.

Based upon the way day one is playing out, the second group tomorrow should be just as big if the weather continues to hold out and lake levels don’t dramatically influence this hot spring bite. Check back for the latest news on MLF!

Stage Three’s New Waters

The three lakes that the Bass Pro Tour field will compete on in Favorite Fishing Stage Three Raleigh Presented by Evinrude – Falls Lake, Jordan Lake and Shearon Harris Reservoir – will be “new waters” for the majority of the 80-angler field. None of these lakes have previously hosted a “tour-level” event, and only a small handful of the field has any experience on the lakes. Geographic proximity likely won’t play into any advantage (or disadvantage) – while there are five Bass Pro Tour anglers from the Carolinas, all five hail from South Carolina.

Carolina in my Mind

Five of the 80 anglers competing on the MLF Bass Pro Tour hail from South Carolina. The Carolinians you’ll see competing in Raleigh include:

Casey Ashley (Donalds) – Winner of the 2015 Bassmaster Classic and 10 additional tour-level victories.

Anthony Gagliardi (Prosperity) – One of only a handful of anglers who have won both FLW Tour Angler of the Year (2006) and a Forrest Wood Cup (2014)

Andy Montgomery (Blacksburg) – Twice a tour-level winner and owner of 34 Top 10s in his professional career.

Britt Myers (Lake Wylie) – A two-time tour-level winner, Myers also has 15 Top 10s to his credit.

Marty Robinson (Lyman) – Owner of 22 career Top 10s, Robinson has over $700,000 in career winnings.

Falls, Jordan Set for Shotgun, Elimination, Knockout

Because of the unique flexibility of the MLF Bass Pro Tour to compete on smaller local waters, the first five days of competition will split time between Falls and Jordan lakes. That includes the two Shotgun and Elimination Rounds, and the Knockout Round.

Championship Lake Shearon Harris: “Small but Mighty”

At 4,100 surface acres, Shearon Harris Reservoir – the site of the 10-angler Championship Round – is by far the smallest of the three lakes that the field will compete on. But as MLF NOW! live stream analyst Marty Stone (a North Carolina native) points out, “Shearon Harris is small but mighty. Shearon Harris is small, but it’s so good. It’s a really special lake.”

How Mighty? THIS Mighty

Big fish are the hallmark of all three fisheries, but Shearon Harris in particular has produced some eye-popping results in the recent past: the same co-ed team competing in two tournaments in early March of 2017 weighed in five-fish limits of 41.93 and 46.89 pounds.

From the Local Pro’s Perspective

Stone, who competed as a pro for 15 years prior to his MLF broadcasting duties, hails from Fayetteville, North Carolina, and has fished all three lakes multiple times. Here’s what he has to say about…

Jordan and Falls Lakes: Most of the bass will run from 2 ¼ to 6 pounds, and we should see several 7- to 8-pounders. I stopped for a couple of days at Falls (recently) and I caught 25 pounds for my best 5 fish. These are pure Northern-strain largemouth, and they grow big here. We’re coming to them at the prime time for quality fish. Don’t be surprised to see a double-digit bass caught out of one of them.”

Shearon Harris Reservoir: If the bass are up shallow in the primrose (on Shearon Harris), look out. Those fish can be big. And I mean BIG. Get your braid out, and you’d better have your feet on the deck … they might pull you in. Shearon Harris has better numbers of fish than Falls and Jordan lakes, and it has huge fish, too. I’ve broken the mid-30s with my five largest weighable fish on this lake.”

Daily Wrap-up

After each day of competition, the Bass Pro Tour Postgame Show presented by Berkley will be held at the Bass Pro Tour set, located at Bass Pro Shops (801 Bass Pro Ln., Cary, NC 27513) Tuesday, March 26, through Sunday, March 31. The Postgame show begins at approximately 5 p.m. EDT each day. Admission to the Postgame Show is free of charge. 

Up-To-The-Minute Results

Unable to make it to Raleigh for Stage Three? Do as 1.2 million others that were not able to make it to Bass Pro Tour Huk Stage Two presented by Favorite Fishing in Conroe, Texas, did and log on to the all-new MajorLeagueFishing.com. Click “Watch MLF NOW!” to watch more than seven hours of live competition including a daily Postgame Show that begins at 5 p.m. EDT.

Catch the Action

MLF NOW!’s live streaming broadcast of the Bass Pro Tour will feature 10 cameras/cameramen shooting on board competitor’s boats throughout all six rounds of each event. Each day’s on-the-water live stream will run five to five-and-a-half hours in a network gameday- like broadcast. Tune in by logging on to MajorLeagueFishing.com or by downloading the Major League Fishing app on your smart device.

How We Got Here

Major League Fishing invited 80 of the world’s best anglers to compete in the inaugural season of the Bass Pro Tour. The roster is comprised of Bassmaster Classic champions, FLW Forrest Wood Cup winners, Anglers of the Year and top tour performers from throughout the world of competitive bass fishing.

How it Works

The format for Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour events will be similar to the General Tire World Championship events that aired on CBS in 2017 and 2018. The 80 anglers will be separated into two groups, 40 anglers in each. Tuesday, March 26 and Wednesday, March 27 are Shotgun Rounds 1 and 2, where 40 anglers (Group A and Group B) compete to catch the highest cumulative two-day weight each day. Thursday, March 28 and Friday, March 29 are Elimination Rounds 1 and 2 where 40 anglers (Group A and Group B) compete to catch the highest two-day cumulative weight. Anglers’ Shotgun Round weight is combined with the weight they catch in the Elimination Round. The top 20 anglers from each group advance to the Knockout Round. Saturday, March 30 is the Knockout Round where 40 anglers (top 20 from each Elimination Round) compete. All anglers will begin the Knockout Round with zero weight. The Top-10 finishers advance to the Championship Round on Sunday, March 31 when they will compete to catch the highest weight. All anglers will begin the Championship Round with zero weight. A camera in every boat will livestream the action from Championship Sunday on MajorLeagueFishing.com.Military Appreciation Day

 

Phoenix boats will provide a Daily Leader award, paying $500 to the angler leading days 1-4 of each Stage.

Berkley Big Bass of the Day

The angler that catches the largest bass of the day will be awarded the Berkley Big Bass of the Day. The angler with the largest bass caught throughout the competition will win $1,000.

Semper Fish! 
Joe, The National Angler

By Major League Fishing – March 18, 2019

TULSA, Okla. (March 18, 2019) – Major League Fishing® (MLF) announced today that Oklahoma’s signature bass destination, Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees, will host Stage Seven of the 2019 MLF Bass Pro Tour from May 31 through June 5.

Simply called Grand Lake by most, the 72-square-mile reservoir sprawls across much of Oklahoma’s northeastern corner. It is the state’s third-largest body of water in size, but offers the greatest diversity in depth and structure.

“We are so excited to have the MLF Bass Pro Tour coming to Grove and Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees,” said Donnie Crain, President of the Grove Area Chamber of Commerce. “Our lake has rightfully earned a reputation with professionals and amateurs alike as one of America’s top bass fishing lakes.
“Hosting an MLF Bass Pro Tour competition solidifies that reputation even more because of the event’s prestige and pro lineup. We look forward to hosting MLF’s great anglers and invite everyone to come join us in Grove to meet them and see for yourself why Grand Lake is so wonderful to visit and fish.”
High-profile, big bass events are no stranger to the 79-year-old lake, especially in more recent years since the City of Grove, the Oklahoma Dept. of Wildlife Conservation and the Grand River Dam Authority have teamed up to complete millions of dollars in improvements to the Wolf Creek Park and Boat Ramp area near downtown Grove.

Retired Major League Fishing boat official, Oklahoma’s John Bond, shows off the kind of quality Grand Lake bass the MLF pros likely will see during their visit to his home lake at the end of May.

“Few places can rival the venue, enthusiasm and expertise afforded by Grand Lake, the Wolf Creek facility and the folks of Grove,” said Michael Mulone, MLF Senior Director, Events & Partnership. “There’s no doubt the red carpet will be rolled out for this event and that the fishing here will make for a genuine shootout among the country’s very best anglers.
“Of course, we also like the fact that Grand is in MLF’s own backyard, and that means our fans will have a chance to meet a lot of MLF staff from our Tulsa headquarters. Don’t miss this one!”
Among the Bass Pro Tour’s 80-man field are six Oklahoma pros: Tommy Biffle (Wagoner), Zack Birge (Blanchard), Jason Christie (Park Hill), James Elam (Tulsa), Edwin Evers (Talala) and Jeff Kriet (Ardmore).

About Grove Area Chamber of Commerce
The Grove Area Chamber of Commerce is the principal business-driven leadership organization responsible for fostering the economic growth and development of Grove and Grand Lake, Oklahoma to ensure that business and industry may operate profitably and enhance the earning opportunities and quality of life for residents. To learn more, visit GroveOK.org or find the Grove Area Chamber of Commerce on Facebook.