Category: Major League Fishing – Bass Pro Tour/Cup Events

LEESBURG, Fla. (May 26, 2021) – The Tennessee river rat did it again. Only this time, for the first time in his illustrious career, he did it in Florida. General Tire pro Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tennessee, caught 30 bass weighing 73 pounds, 14 ounces Wednesday to win the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three Presented by Bass Cat Boats at the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida, and earn the top prize of $100,000.

“This is surreal right now. After the way this week started, this doesn’t even make sense,” said DeFoe, who earned his third career victory on the Bass Pro Tour – second this season. “I give God all of the glory and credit for this win. My decision-making process took me to Lake Griffin the first day, but I had a terrible first day and had to completely change strategies.

“On Day 2, I stayed here on Harris and pulled up to start on a grass point that had a dock nearby that I could almost cast to. It was divine intervention that told me to start there – I ended up catching almost 40 pounds off of that dock. I truly give God all of the credit for that. Sometimes he closes a window to open a door, and that’s what happened for me that day.”

DeFoe ended up staying in that general area on the south end of Lake Harris, targeting grass and docks for the remainder of the event.

 “The area was really good, and you could work it in a lot of different places,” DeFoe said. “The big thing for me was not cranking my motor. Once I went into that stretch, I just put a bait in the water and I fished in and I fished out and really maximized my time. I ended up having two things going – a really, really shallow deal and a deal on the outside edges of the Kissimmee grass.”

DeFoe said he caught a number of scorable bass on a swimjig this week, but that his key bait was his signature series Rapala OG Slim Crankbait.

“It is so cool to win on a bait that I designed. I really thought it would happen at Lake Eufaula this year, but it ended up working well here and that is just a really cool deal for me,” DeFoe said. “The problem was that I was fishing a new color that’s coming out at ICAST and I only own six of them – and three are back at the house. I threw a couple of different colors this week – bream, hot copper green shad and regular copper green shad. The swimjig was a big deal and I caught a lot of fish on that, too, but that Slim was special – especially this afternoon.”

Going into the third and final period of competition Wednesday, DeFoe had a very slim lead, with Bobby Lane, Brent Chapman, Andy Montgomery, and Skeet Reese all looming and very much in contention. DeFoe mentioned to his cameraman that whoever caught the most fish in Period 3 would earn the victory. DeFoe then caught fire, catching 15 bass weighing 41 pounds, 6 ounces in the third period alone to run away from the pack.

“That third period was going to have to be my best period of the whole day, and I’m just so thankful that it was,” DeFoe went on to say. “That was a crazy end to this whole deal. This doesn’t happen often, so I am cherishing this moment.”

DeFoe earned the win by 27 pounds, 1 ounce – a new Bass Pro Tour record for largest margin of victory.

Finishing in second place for the second-consecutive event, after his runner-up finish to Jacob Wheeler at the Bass Pro Tour Stage Two at Lake Travis, was local favorite Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Florida, who remains firmly in control of the 2021 Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year race.

“Bridesmaid again, second place,” Lane said in his post-game interview. “I got to spend all week in Harris and Little Harris just flipping grass, and it was so much fun. But Ott DeFoe just ran away with this one. It was an awesome ending for me. I caught a 2-pounder and a 4-pounder with literally 2½ minutes left to jump from fourth to second. I caught them all week on a Berkley Powerbait Power Hawg and a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent General . I kept everything simple – black and blue, with a ½-ounce Bass Addiction screw in weight with a (Berkley) Fusion 4/0 hook. “

The top 10 pros at the Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three on the Harris Chain of Lakes finished:

  1^st:        Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 30 bass, 73-14, $100,000
  2^nd:       Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 22 bass, 46-13, $45,000
  3^rd:       Brent Chapman, Lake Quivira, Kan., 21 bass, 45-7, $38,000
  4^th:       Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., 17 bass, 41-10, $32,000
  5^th:       Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., 14 bass, 37-15, $30,000
  6^th:       Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 14 bass, 32-10, $26,000
  7^th:       Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, 12 bass, 28-14, $23,000
  8^th:       Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., eight bass, 27-14, $21,000
  9^th:       Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., 12 bass, 26-10, $19,000
  10^th:     Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala., nine bass, 21-0, $16,000

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

Overall, there were 159 bass weighing 382 pounds, 11 ounces caught by the final 10 pros on Wednesday.

Hite won Wednesday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing a 6-pound, 6-ounce largemouth that came on his EverGreen Grass Ripper swimjig in Period 2. General Tire pro Britt Myers of Lake Wylie, South Carolina, won the $3,000 Berkley Big Bass award for the largest bass of the event with his 9½-pound largemouth that he weighed in on Day 1 of competition.

The MLF Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three Presented by Bass Cat Boats at the Harris Chain of Lakes was hosted by Lake County. The six-day tournament featured 80 of the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.

Television coverage of the Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three Presented by Bass Cat Boats at the Harris Chain of Lakes will be showcased across two two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 a.m. ET, Sept. 25 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.

The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 76 of the top professional anglers in the world – joined at each event by 4 pros that qualify from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2022 championship. The next event for Bass Pro Tour anglers will be the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four at Lake Chickamauga, June 4-9 in Dayton, Tennessee.

LEESBURG, Fla. (May 25, 2021) – Toro pro Brent Chapman of Lake Quivira, Kansas, caught 23 bass weighing 51 pounds, 12 ounces Tuesday to win the Knockout Round and advance to the final-day Championship Round at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three Presented by Bass Cat Boats at the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida. The field has now been cut to the final 10 anglers, and competition will resume Wednesday morning with the anglers departing Leesburg’s Venetian Gardens Ski Beach at 6:30 a.m.

The six-day tournament, hosted by Lake County, featured 80 of the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.

The top eight pros from Tuesday’s Knockout Round that will compete in Wednesday’s Championship Round on the Harris Chain of Lakes are:

  1^st:        Brent Chapman, Lake Quivira, Kan., 23 bass, 51-12
  2^nd:       Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 18 bass, 46-0
  3^rd:       Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala., 16 bass, 38-0
  4^th:       Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., 14 bass, 36-14
  5^th:       Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., 14 bass, 36-10
  6^th:       Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., 16 bass, 35-7
  7^th:       Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 13 bass, 34-15
  8^th:       Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, 14 bass, 29-2

They’ll be joined by Qualifying Round Winners:

  Group A: Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz.
  Group B: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla.

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

“I knew it was going to be a special day for me when we had our 30-minute morning ride-around before lines in at 7 (a.m.),” Chapman said in his post-day interview. “The area where I wanted to sit down and start was an area that I had finished my day in on Sunday. When I pulled in there, there were birds everywhere feeding along the shoreline. There was a shad spawn going on, and when you see that many birds along the shore there are probably just as many bass under the water that you can’t see. It killed me to sit there and have to wait 20 minutes for lines in.

“Once we got going, it got going pretty quick,” Chapman continued. “But, the thing that was really crazy is that the birds dissipated pretty quickly and within 30 minutes the fishing went from really, really good to quite a bit tougher. It was interesting. You can learn a lot from the birds and I’m definitely going to be looking for as many more as I can possibly find tomorrow.”

Chapman said that he caught his fish Tuesday on just two key baits.

“Just like I’ve been doing all season, I’m fishing my strengths and sticking with the simple stuff,” the Kansas pro said. “I’m fishing a bladed jig – nothing fancy – just a shad color with chartreuse and white. And I’m throwing a big jig – 1-ounce – with a big chunk. When a good one bites, I want the upper hand so there is no sense in using anything lighter.

“Tomorrow, for me, is basically going to be that 1-2 punch,” Chapman went on to say. “I’ll have a couple of different colors of bladed jigs tied on and I’ll be flipping that big jig, and we’re going to go out and swing for the fences and see if we can’t bring home that big red trophy. It’s been a fantastic week. I just need it all to come together for me just one more day.”

Rounding out the top 40 finishers were:

  11^th:     Paul Elias, Laurel, Miss., 11 bass, 26-12, $10,000
  12^th:     Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., nine bass, 25-3, $10,000
  13^th:     Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 11 bass, 24-12, $10,000
  14^th:     John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., 12 bass, 24-4, $10,000
  15^th:     James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., eight bass, 24-4, $10,000
  16^th:     Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, nine bass, 24-1, $10,000
  17^th:     Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 10 bass, 23-11, $10,000
  18^th:     David Walker, Sevierville, Tenn., eight bass, 23-5, $10,000
  19^th:     James Watson, Lampe, Mo., 10 bass, 21-15, $10,000
  20^th:     Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., nine bass, 21-7, $10,000
  21^st:     Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, nine bass, 21-6, $10,000
  22^nd:    Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., nine bass, 20-8, $10,000
  23^rd:    Jonathon VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., nine bass, 20-6, $10,000
  24^th:     Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 11 bass, 19-12, $10,000
  25^th:     Kyle Hall, Granbury, Texas, 10 bass, 19-5, $10,000
  26^th:     Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., seven bass, 15-12, $10,000
  27^th:     Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., eight bass, 15-11, $10,000
  28^th:     Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., five bass, 14-0, $10,000
  29^th:     Randall Tharp, Port Saint Joe, Fla., six bass, 13-9, $10,000
  30^th:     Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., six bass, 13-4, $10,000
  31^st:     Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., four bass, 12-12, $10,000
  32^nd:    Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., six bass, 12-4, $10,000
  33^rd:    Timmy Horton, Muscle Shoals, Ala., six bass, 12-3, $10,000
  34^th:     John Cox, DeBary, Fla., four bass, 12-2, $10,000
  35^th:     Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 11-4, $10,000
  36^th:     Boyd Duckett, Guntersville, Ala., three bass, 10-9, $10,000
  37^th:     Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., four bass, 10-8, $10,000
  38^th:     Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., five bass, 8-13, $10,000
  39^th:     Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., four bass, 8-4, $10,000
  40^th:     Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., three bass, 5-4, $10,000

There were 349 bass weighing 825 pounds, 14 ounces caught by the 38 pros on Tuesday.

Elam won the $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award on Tuesday, catching an 8-pound, 14-ounce largemouth on a squarebill crankbait in Period 3. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler who weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.

The MLF Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three at the Harris Chain Presented by Bass Cat Boats is hosted by Lake County.

The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Friday and Sunday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Saturday and Monday. After the two-day Qualifying Round, the anglers that finished in 2^nd through 20^th place from both groups advanced to Tuesday’s Knockout Round, while the winner from each group advanced directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, the weights were zeroed and the remaining 38 anglers competed to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round. Tomorrow, in the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins. Full breakdown of the format can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.  

The final 10 anglers will take off from the Venetian Gardens Ski Beach Boat Ramp, located at 201 E. Lake Harris Drive, in Leesburg, at 6:30 a.m. ET Wednesday. The General Tire Takeout and Championship Moment will also be held at the Ski Beach at the Venetian Gardens, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend, but encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 76 of the top professional anglers in the world – joined at each event by 4 pros that qualify from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2022 championship.

The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action from the final day of competition on Wednesday from 6:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT. MLF NOW!®  will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

Television coverage of the Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three Presented by Bass Cat Boats at the Harris Chain of Lakes will be showcased across two two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 a.m. ET, Sept. 25 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.

LEESBURG, Fla. (May 24, 2021) – Berkley pro Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Florida, boated 14 bass weighing 34 pounds, 2 ounces to hold off a hard-charging Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tennessee, and win the two-day Qualifying Group B round at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three Presented by Bass Cat Boats at the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida. After Lane started the day with a 24-pound lead, DeFoe’s massive rally had him within 8 pounds of Lane’s lead early in the second period, but Lane pulled away in the third and earned the victory with a two-day total of 39 bass weighing 102 pounds, 6 ounces.

The six-day tournament, hosted by Lake County, features 80 of the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.

DeFoe caught a two-day total of 35 bass weighing 78-2 to end the round in second place, while General Tire pro Skeet Rese of Auburn, California, finished the round in third place with a two-day total of 22 bass weighing 60 pounds even.

The remaining 38 anglers – 19 from Group A and 19 from Group B – will now compete Tuesday in the Knockout Round, where weights are zeroed, and the anglers compete to finish in the top eight to advance to Championship Wednesday. Wednesday’s Championship Round will feature Group A winner Brett Hite, Group B winner Bobby Lane, and the top eight anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.

“I really didn’t plan on fishing that hard today, but Ott DeFoe scared the living fire out of me,” Lane said in his post-game interview. “I had been planning to start practicing in the second round, but Ott was catching them so fast I knew it was only a matter of time before I was his next victim. We’re all competitors out here, though, and it doesn’t get much better than that. That was an awesome round.”

Lane said his key bait Monday was a black and blue-colored Berkley PowerBait MaxScent The General Worm, fished with a ½-ounce Flat Out Tungsten Screw In weight on a 7-foot, 6-inch heavy Abu Garcia Fantasista Premier rod with an Abu Garcia REVO IKE casting reel spooled with 50-pound Spiderwire Ultracast Braid line.

“That bait really got it done for me today,” Lane said. “I missed a lot of fish, but I think a lot of them were small. But none of that matters anymore because we’re moving on to the Championship Round. There will only be 10 of us left on Wednesday, and I’m so excited because I get to keep a flipping stick in my hand all day long. Let’s see if this Florida boy can get it done on one of his favorite lakes.”

DeFoe, meanwhile, overcame every negative fishing superstition that you can think of on his whirlwind day.

“I ate a banana in my boat this morning, and on my very first cast I missed one on a swimjig,” DeFoe said. “So, not only did I have a banana, but I had a bite on my first cast. I did miss it, but after that it was on, quick. I caught a couple of scorable bass, then I caught a really nice one, and then it just kept rolling after that.

“The morning was really unbelievable and set the tone for the day,” DeFoe continued. “On Saturday I went to Lake Griffin, but today I stayed close and was able to use the 30-minute ride-around period to actually look around. I graphed and idled and looked at some different stuff, and by the time the 30 minutes was close to being up, I had idled a stretch that had Kissimmee Grass, a few docks, and some baitfish flipping. I just figured that looked as good as anywhere to start. It ended up being pretty special.”

DeFoe said that he caught some fish on a swimjig and a topwater bait, but his key lure was a Rapala OG Slim Crankbait in a new color – bream – set to debut at ICAST in July.

“That bait has some chartreuse and green and blue and some brown, with a white belly – it’s just an excellent dirty-water color, and that’s what we’ve got out there right now with the algae bloom,” DeFoe said.

“There is definitely some fish left there that I didn’t catch, and I’m definitely going to start there tomorrow,” DeFoe went on to say. “But, what was interesting, the area I started in and I fished down through there… eventually I ran into Andy Montgomery, who was catching them this morning. Then a little bit later, (James) Watson runs by and he was catching them today. And Alton Jones came by, and he caught them today. That area of the lake, there was a lot of fish caught today. So I hope it can produce again tomorrow.”

The top 20 pros from Qualifying Group B that now advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round on the Harris Chain of Lakes are:

  1^st:        Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 39 bass, 102-6 – ADVANCES TO CHAMIONSHIP ROUND
  2^nd:       Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 35 bass, 78-2
  3^rd:       Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., 22 bass, 60-0
  4^th:       David Walker, Sevierville, Tenn., 21 bass, 59-10
  5^th:       Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 24 bass, 57-10
  6^th:       Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., 25 bass, 57-4
  7^th:       Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 23 bass, 57-3
  8^th:       Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., 21 bass, 54-8
  9^th:       Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., 18 bass, 48-3
  10^th:     James Watson, Lampe, Mo., 19 bass, 47-10
  11^th:     John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 15 bass, 47-9
  12^th:     Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., 19 bass, 47-0
  13^th:     Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 17 bass, 45-7
  14^th:     Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 19 bass, 44-6
  15^th:     Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 18 bass, 44-3
  16^th:     Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 19 bass, 44-0
  17^th:     Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 17 bass, 42-15
  18^th:     Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., 18 bass, 41-12
  19^th:     John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., 17 bass, 40-6
  20^th:     Timmy Horton, Muscle Shoals, Ala., 14 bass, 39-14

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

Overall, there were 358 bass weighing 870 pounds, 4 ounces caught by the 40 pros on Monday.

Pro Aaron Martens of Leeds, Alabama, caught a 7-pound, 2-ounce largemouth on a creature craw in Period 2 to win Monday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler that weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.

The MLF Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three at the Harris Chain Presented by Bass Cat Boats is hosted by Lake County.

The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Friday and Sunday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Saturday and Monday. With both groups two-day qualifying round now complete, the anglers that finish in 2^nd through 20^th place from both groups now advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round, while the 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. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins. Full breakdown of the format can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.  

Anglers will take off from the Venetian Gardens Ski Beach Boat Ramp, located at 201 E. Lake Harris Drive, in Leesburg, at 6:30 a.m. ET each day of competition. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will also be held at the Gardens, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend, but encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 76 of the top professional anglers in the world – joined at each event by 4 pros that qualify from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2022 championship.

The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all six days of competition from 6:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT. MLF NOW!®  will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

Television coverage of the Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three Presented by Bass Cat Boats at the Harris Chain of Lakes will be showcased across two two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 a.m. ET, Sept. 25 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (May 11, 2021) – The Major League Fishing (MLF) 2021 Wiley X Summit Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches is set to premiere with a two-hour episode this Saturday, May 15, at 2 p.m. ET on the Outdoor Channel. The event, shot over six days in early February at Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, showcases 30 of the top pro anglers in the world competing in the final event of the 2021 MLF Cup season.

Lake Murray has played host to numerous major bass-fishing championship events, including the 2008, 2014 and 2017 FLW Cup Championships, and a 2018 MLF Challenge Select event – won by pro Keith Poche (competing in this event). The Wiley X Summit Cup presented by B&W Trailer Hitches will mark just the second time that MLF has visited the “Jewel of South Carolina.”

The first episode premiering Saturday will feature the anglers in Group 1 competing in their opening Elimination Round. Episode two will feature the anglers in Group 2; Episode three the anglers in Group 3. The top six finishers from each group’s Elimination Round advance to the two-day Sudden Death Round – episodes four and five – where nine anglers compete each day and try to finish in the top four. The sixth and final episode will feature the final eight anglers competing in the Championship Round to catch the most weight that they can to be crowned the 2021 Summit Cup Champion.

The anglers in Group 1 that compete this Saturday (May 15) on Day One of the 2021 Wiley X Summit Cup are:

• Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla.
• Brent Chapman of Lake Quivira, Kan.
• Brandon Coulter of Knoxville, Tenn.
• James Elam of Tulsa, Okla.
• Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn.
• Bradley Roy of Lancaster, Ky.
• Fletcher Shryock of Guntersville, Ala.
• Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C.
• Jonathon VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich.

The anglers in Group 2 that compete next Saturday (May 22) on Day Two of the 2021 Wiley X Summit Cup are:

• Cliff Crochet of Pierre Part, La.
• Shinichi Fukae of Osaka, Japan
• Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla.
• Jordan Lee of Cullman, Ala.
• Michael Neal of Dayton, Tenn.
• Jacob Powroznik of Prince George, Va.
• Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif.
• Gerald Spohrer of Gonzales, La.
• Jeff Sprague of Point, Texas
• Greg Vinson of Wetumpka, Ala.

The anglers in Group 3 that compete in the final Elimination Round (May 29) on Day Three of the 2021 Wiley X Summit Cup are:

• Justin Atkins of Florence, Ala.
• Luke Clausen of Spokane, Wash.
• Dustin Connell of Clanton, Ala.
• Tim Horton of Muscle Shoals, Ala.
• Alton Jones Jr. of Waco, Texas
• Ish Monroe of Oakdale, Calif.
• Takahiro Omori of Tokyo, Japan
• Keith Poche of Pike Road, Ala.
• Marty Robinson of Lyman, S.C.
• Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich.

The 2021 Wiley X Summit Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches was hosted by Capital City/Lake Murray Country. The event will air on the Outdoor Channel as six, two-hour original episodes each Saturday afternoon starting May 15, 2021, and running through June 19, airing from 2 to 4 p.m. ET. Each episode will be available for viewing on the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) streaming app on the Monday morning following each episode’s Saturday premiere.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (May 10, 2021) – Major League Fishing (MLF) pro Takahiro Omori of Tokyo, Japan, caught 16 bass totaling 35 pounds, 11 ounces, to win the Championship Round of the 2021 MLF USAA Patriot Cup Presented by Berkley in Kissimmee, Florida, which premiered Saturday on the Outdoor Channel. The win was the second MLF Cup win in as many years for the Japanese pro, who also claimed the 2020 Wiley X Summit Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches Title at Lake of the Ozarks.

Omori said that he did the bulk of his damage on two baits – an unnamed 1.5 squarebill crankbait and a vibrating jig with a swimbait trailer. He fished boat docks, around the bank and in pockets in 3- to 5-feet of water.

“I love shallow-cranking, and I was thinking the conditions were perfect for me,” Omori said. “The 1.5 did it for me. It’s my most trusted bait right now.

“In the final period I come into the back of the creek where the wind was blowing, and I said if this doesn’t happen right here, I’m done. But, it did.”

With two Cup wins under his belt, the veteran Japanese angler now knows that he can excel at the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format.

“I wasn’t that good in the beginning. It took me seven years to really understand this format, but now that I do, I love it,” Omori went on to say.

The final eight anglers at the 2021 USAA Patriot Cup Presented by Berkley in Kissimmee, Florida, finished:

                1^st:          Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, 16 bass, 35-11
                2^nd:         Jared Lintner, Arroyo Grande, Calif., 15 bass, 33-8
                3^rd:         Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 15 bass, 26-9
                4^th:         Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 10 bass, 23-7
                5^th:         Terry Scroggins, Palatka, Fla., 12 bass, 22-1
                6^th:         John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., 11 bass, 19-8
                7^th:         Mike Iaconelli, Runnemede, N.J., nine bass, 16-14
                8^th:         Mark Rose, Wynne, Ala., nine bass, 15-1

Complete results along with photos from the event can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Wiggins caught the Berkley Big Bass of the day – a nice 8-pound, 9-ounce largemouth that came on a finesse worm.

Overall, there were 97 bass weighing 192 pounds, 11 ounces caught by the final eight pros during the Championship Round of competition on Lake Bellalago.

The 2021 21 USAA Patriot Cup Presented by Berkley was hosted by Experience Kissimmee and premiered on the Outdoor Channel as six, two-hour original episodes each Saturday afternoon debuting on April 3, 2021, and running through May 8, 2021.

All six episodes of the event are available for viewing on the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) streaming app.

The event was shot over six days in November 2020, in Kissimmee and featured 28 MLF pro anglers competing on three different fisheries across the region, including John’s Lake, Lake Toho and Lake Bellalago. The fisheries are unknown to the anglers – they do not learn where they are competing until they arrive to the launch ramp each morning of competition.

AUSTIN, Texas (May 4, 2021) – Berkley pro “Big Fish” Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Florida, caught 14 bass Tuesday totaling 28 pounds, 1 ounce to win the Knockout Round and advance to the final day of competition at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Berkley Stage Two at Lake Travis Presented by Mercury event in Austin, Texas. The final 10 anglers are now set, and competition will resume Wednesday morning with the Championship Round. Weights are zeroed, and the angler that catches the most weight will win the top prize of $100,000.

The six-day tournament, hosted by the Austin Sports Commission, featured 80 of the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.

The top eight pros from Tuesday’s Knockout Round that will compete in Wednesday’s Championship Round on Lake Travis are:

  1^st:        Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 14 bass, 28-1
  2^nd:       Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., seven bass, 24-11
  3^rd:       Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 11 bass, 24-2
  4^th:       Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., nine bass, 18-11
  5^th:       Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 10 bass, 18-2
  6^th:       Cody Meyer, Star, Idaho, eight bass, 17-7
  7^th:       Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., six bass, 17-3
  8^th:       John Cox, DeBary, Fla., nine bass, 16-10

They’ll be joined by Qualifying Round Winners:

  Group A: Brent Chapman, Lake Quivira, Kan.
  Group B: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla.

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

“Man, am I excited to be going to my second straight Championship Round in Texas,” said Lane, who finished in 10^th place at the season-opening Bass Pro Tour event at Sam Rayburn Reservoir. “Last year it seemed like I finished in 11^th and 12^th place all year long, but this is a new year and Bobby Lane is heading to his second straight Championship Round.”

Lane said he caught his fish Tuesday fishing the outside of marinas, mainly targeting docks and rocks.

“The key to my success so far this week has been my equipment,” Lane said. “I’m using the new (Abu Garcia) Veritas, 7-foot, medium, and this rod has been absolutely phenomenal. I love it. I’m fishing a wacky-rigged Berkley PowerBait (MaxScent) General worm (green-pumpkin) with a size 1 hook and a nail weight right in the head.

“I’ve got 10-pound braided line and I’m using an 8-pound-test Berkley 100% Fluorocarbon leader,” Lane continued. “I’m using a very long leader – around 14-foot. Fishing here on Lake Travis you’re going to break off, you’re going to get hung on the cables and you’re going to have to re-tie quite often. The longer leader allows me to re-tie more quickly and efficiently.”

Second-place angler Academy pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, was much more optimistic after his day on the water, Tuesday, than he was after only boating two fish in Monday’s Qualifying Round.

“It was a good morning, and a really tough afternoon – just as it has been the last few days – but we got it done and I’m so thankful for those quality bites this morning,” Wheeler said. “If I can get at least 10 keeper bites tomorrow, I think I’ll have a shot at this thing. I’m going to have to generate some big bites, though, so we’ll see what happens. I’m looking forward to going to the Championship Round. This feels good after yesterday’s struggles, so I’m ready to get after it tomorrow.”

Third-place pro Brent Ehrler of Redlands, California, also made the Championship Round in his second-straight event after a ninth-place showing at the General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event last month.

“I left a fair amount of water today that I didn’t fish, so I’ve still got some stuff left to fish tomorrow,” Ehrler said. “I got kind of lucky today. I had a couple of key bites that really helped me get to where I’m at right now – over that 20-pound mark. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get those again tomorrow; they were kind of single fish. I found an area that had a few fish that had moved up – I’d already fished it earlier in the week – but a few more had moved up. I don’t think I can go back and catch those fish again. I’m going to have to bob and weave by the minute tomorrow, and hopefully I’ll have a chance at winning this thing.”

Rounding out the top 40 finishers were:

  11^th:     Mike McClelland, Blue Eye, Mo., eight bass, 16-4, $10,000
  12^th:     David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., nine bass, 16-2, $10,000
  13^th:     Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., seven bass, 15-5, $10,000
  14^th:     Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala., seven bass, 14-10, $10,000
  15^th:     Jared Lintner, Arroyo Grande, Calif., seven bass, 14-10, $10,000
  16^th:     Alton Jones, Woodway, Texas, three bass, 13-8, $10,000
  17^th:     Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., seven bass, 13-4, $10,000
  18^th:     Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., seven bass, 12-15, $10,000
  19^th:     Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., five bass, 12-12, $10,000
  20^th:     Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., four bass, 12-5, $10,000
  21^st:     Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, six bass, 11-15, $10,000
  22^nd:    Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., four bass, 11-10, $10,000
  23^rd:    Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 9-14, $10,000
  24^th:     Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, four bass, 9-6, $10,000
  25^th:     Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., five bass, 9-1, $10,000
  26^th:     Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., five bass, 8-14, $10,000
  27^th:     Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa., three bass, 8-9, $10,000
  28^th:     David Walker, Sevierville, Tenn., four bass, 8-7, $10,000
  29^th:     Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., two bass, 8-5, $10,000
  30^th:     Miles Burghoff, Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., five bass, 8-3, $10,000
  31^st:     Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., four bass, 7-9, $10,000
  32^nd:    Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., three bass, 5-10, $10,000
  33^rd:    Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas, three bass, 5-0, $10,000
  34^th:     Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., two bass, 4-14, $10,000
  35^th:     James Watson, Lampe, Mo., two bass, 4-2, $10,000
  36^th:     Tommy Biffle, Wagoner, Okla., one bass, 4-2, $10,000
  37^th:     Ish Monroe, Oakdale, Calif., two bass, 4-0, $10,000
  38^th:     Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La, two bass, 3-11, $10,000
  39^th:     Roy Hawk, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., two bass, 3-8, $10,000
  40^th:     Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., zero bass, 0-0, $10,000

There were 202 bass weighing 443 pounds, 6 ounces caught by 37 pros Tuesday, which included one 6-pounder and six 5-pounders caught from Lake Travis.

Browning won the $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award on Tuesday, catching a 6-pound, 3-ounce largemouth in Period 2. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler that weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.

The MLF Bass Pro Tour Berkley Stage Two at Lake Travis Presented by Mercury is hosted by the Austin Sports Commission.

The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Friday and Sunday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Saturday and Monday. After the two-day Qualifying Round, the anglers that finished in 2^nd through 20^th place from both groups advanced to Tuesday’s Knockout Round, while the winner from each group advanced directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, the weights were zeroed and the remaining 38 anglers competed to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round. Tomorrow, in the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins. Full breakdown of the format can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.  

The final 10 anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. CT Wednesday from Mansfield Dam Park, located at 4370 Mansfield Dam Park Road in Austin. The General Tire Takeout will also be held at the park beginning at 3:15 p.m.

The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 76 of the top professional anglers in the world – joined at each event by 4 pros that qualify from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2022 championship.

The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action from the final day of competition from 7 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. CT. MLF NOW!®  will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

Television coverage of the Bass Pro Tour Berkley Stage Two at Lake Travis Presented by Mercury will be showcased across two two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 a.m. ET, Sept. 11 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.

RALEIGH, N.C. (April 14, 2021) – It was a sight-fishing clinic on Shearon Harris Reservoir in Raleigh on Wednesday, and pro Alton Jones of Woodway, Texas, was the professor. The Texas angler boated 12 bass weighing 45 pounds, 9 ounces to dominate the final-day Championship Round and win the top prize of $100,000 at the Major League Fishing (MLF) General Tire Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops in North Carolina. Jones won by a 15-pound, 5-ounce margin over pro Jeff Sprague of Point, Texas, who caught eight bass totaling 30-4. Sprague, however, was not disappointed in his finish as he earned the top Big Bass Bonus of $100,000 with a 5-pound, 3-ounce largemouth.

Just 23 minutes into Period 2, Jones caught a 3-pound, 3-ounce bass to move into the top position on the leaderboard and he never relinquished it. The tall Texan showed MLF NOW! viewers why he has long been considered one of the top sight-fishing anglers in the game.

“This feels so, so good. It’s been a while since I’ve won a Tour-level event like this, and it was a very special day,” said an emotional Jones when he came off of the water. “After my practice time, I knew that I had found several key areas that had the potential to be really special for this event, if I could just make the final rounds.

“When we did our morning ride-through this morning and I got on the trolling motor, I found about 10 3-pounders in my first pass through the cove, and I thought to myself, ‘you know what, this could actually happen.’ I didn’t know if they were going to bite, but if they did I was going to have a chance. And sure enough, here I am. I still can’t believe that I’m the Heavy Hitters Champion.”

Jones saw the majority of the fish that he caught on Wednesday on beds, and managed to boat a dozen keepers flipping an “old-school” Texas-rigged Canyon Plastics Gitzit tube (green-pumpkin with purple and black metal flake).

“I really like throwing a tube during the spawn – it’s a bait that will catch a 2-pounder, a 3-pounder, but it will also catch a 10-pounder,” Jones said. “So, it’s good bait to fish for numbers and size. My Kistler rods were also very important – I used a Kistler Z Bone. That rod is super-light, super-sensitive, and super-strong and helped me out a lot today.”

Jones also shared some of his sight-fishing prowess with the crowd gathered at the takeout ramp.

“Every fish that I caught today was an individual,” Jones said. “I had to figure out what each fish was doing, and how to work that particular fish. That’s one of the things that I love about sight fishing – you treat every fish as an individual. What makes one fish hot, the other fish will ignore. So, it’s kind of a thinking man’s game. It’s a stealthy game, because you can see them, but they can also see you. I try to hide from the fish, and I’ve got a few other little tricks that I like to pull and today, it all worked out for me.”

Second-place angler Jeff Sprague was also emotional and exhausted after a long week of competition.

“I scratched by every day this week,” Sprague said. “The first day at Lake Jordan was great – I caught so many fish and had a phenomenal day. The second day, we literally scratched by and barely made it into the Knockout Round. Then, in the Knockout Round, to tie for the last position in and to get through via a tiebreaker. And now, on Championship Day, to catch the big bass and win 100 grand and finish second overall, this has just been a stellar week.”

The top 10 pros from the General Tire Heavy Hitters event in Raleigh, North Carolina, finished:

  1^st:          Alton Jones, Woodway, Texas, 12 bass, 45-9, $100,000
  2^nd:         Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, eight bass, 30-4, $25,000 + $100,000 Berkley Big Bass Bonus
  3^rd:         Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., seven bass, 26-8, $20,000 + $50,000 Berkley Big Bass Bonus
  4^th:         Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., six bass, 22-12, $18,000
  5^th:         Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., six bass, 22-8, $15,000
  6^th:         Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 18-7, $14,500
  7^th:         Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa., five bass, 17-15, $13,500 + $25,000 Berkley Big Bass Bonus
  8^th:         Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., four bass, 14-2, $12,500 + $25,000 Berkley Big Bass Bonus
  9^th:         Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., three bass, 9-14, $11,000
  10^th:       Ish Monroe, Oakdale, Calif., one bass, 3-11, $8,000

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

Overall, there were 57 bass weighing 211 pounds, 10 ounces, caught by the final 10 pros on Wednesday, which included two 5-pounders, 13 4-pounders, and 42 3-pounders caught from Shearon Harris Reservoir.

The MLF General Tire Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops was hosted by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance.

Television coverage of the General Tire Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops will be showcased across six two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 a.m. ET, July 17 on the Discovery Channel. A one-hour special episode of MLF Inside Heavy Hitters will also air on CBS in late 2021. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.

RALEIGH, N.C. (April 13, 2021) – One fish. $50,000. Pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, boated a 7-pound, 8-ounce, largemouth Tuesday afternoon on Shearon Harris Reservoir, the largest fish of the day, to win $50,000 at the Major League Fishing (MLF) General Tire Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops in Raleigh, North Carolina. Wheeler finished the day in 2nd place and punched his ticket straight to Wednesday’s final-day Championship Round. “50 g’s, heck yeah, that is unreal,” Wheeler said in his post-game interview. “That will be a fish that I remember for the rest of my life. I was cruising down the bank and when I saw that fish, I literally stopped and was like ‘Whoa, that’s a $50,000 bass.’ It took me about 45 minutes trying to figure out how to catch her, and it was pretty dang awesome when I did.” Wheeler caught the big bass on a Googan Baits Lunker Log, although he credited a different bait as being his key for the day. “The (Googan) Bandito Bug was the big player for me today and I caught several of my fish doing that,” Wheeler said. “But, I also caught a couple, including the big ‘un, on the Lunker Log. “I got really close to winning here two years ago, and I’d love to try to take home the title and get a little pay back on this lake this time around. So far, after today, it’s treating me pretty solid. Shearon Harris… I love you.”

Joining Wheeler in the Championship Round will be pro Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tennessee, who won Tuesday’s Knockout Round with 15 bass weighing 46 pounds, 11 ounces. “It was a great day for me, and well beyond my expectations,” said Morgan. “It was pretty simple fishing – just looking for spawning fish. They were up super-shallow, right around the bank. Weed clumps, trees, logs – whatever they could get around. “I caught them on just a couple of baits,” Morgan continued. “I threw a ½-ounce Strike King Thunder Cricket with a chartreuse and white-colored Zoom Swimmer on the back. I also caught them flipping a Zoom Brush Hog and a Zoom Z-Craw . Some of the fish were actually feeding – those ones I’d catch on the Cricket. The bass that I caught flipping were primarily all spawning.” Morgan fished the Thunder Cricket on a 7-foot, 2-inch medium-heavy Favorite Fishing Big Sexy casting rod, paired with a Lew’s 6:3:1 reel and spooled with 16-pound fluorocarbon line. For his flipping setup, he Texas-rigged the creature baits and threw them on a Favorite Fishing Pro Series The GOAT rod paired with an 8:3:1 Lew’s Flipping and Pitching reel and 20-pound fluorocarbon line. Wednesday’s Championship Round will feature Qualifying Round winners Fletcher Shryock and Bryan Thrift, along with the top eight anglers from Tuesday’s Knockout Round, competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000. In addition to the tournament purse, a $100,000 Big Bass Bonus will be awarded to the angler that lands the single biggest fish on the final day. The top eight pros from the Knockout Round that advanced to Wednesday’s final-day Championship Round on Shearon Harris Reservoir are:   1st:          Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 15 bass, 46-11   2nd:         Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 13 bass, 41-6   3rd:         Alton Jones, Woodway, Texas, 13 bass, 39-6   4th:         Ish Monroe, Oakdale, Calif., 12 bass, 36-15   5th:         Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa., 10 bass, 35-8   6th:         Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., nine bass, 30-3   7th:         Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 29-13   8th:         Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, nine bass, 29-13 Eliminated from competition after the Knockout Round on Shearon Harris Reservoir are:   9th:         Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., eight bass, 27-7, $4,000   10th:       Cliff Pace, Petal, Miss., eight bass, 27-0, $4,000   11th:       Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., seven bass, 24-5, $4,000   12th:       Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., seven bass, 19-15, $4,000   13th:       Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., seven bass, 17-9, $4,000   14th:       Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., four bass, 15-5, $4,000   15th:       Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., four bass, 13-5, $4,000   16th:       Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., three bass, 8-12, $4,000   17th:       Boyd Duckett, Guntersville, Ala., three bass, 6-12, $4,000   18th:       Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., one bass, 2-15, $4,000 A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Overall, there were 143 bass weighing 453 pounds even caught by the 18 pros on Tuesday, which included one 7-pounder, one 6-pounders and seven 5-pounders caught from Shearon Harris Reservoir. The MLF General Tire Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops is hosted by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance. The 20 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Jordan Lake on Friday and Sunday – the 20 anglers in Group B on Falls Lake on Saturday and Monday. The anglers that finished in 2nd through 10th place from both groups advanced to Tuesday’s Knockout Round on Shearon Harris, while the winner of each group advanced directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round on Shearon Harris. In Wednesday’s final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins.