Category: MLF BIG-5

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (April 12, 2019) – Pro Andrew Upshaw of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is still on top at the FLW Tour at the Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance after catching five bass weighing 17 pounds, 14 ounces. Upshaw’s two-day total of 36-4 will lead the final 30 pros into the third day of the event, with pro Dylan Hays of El Dorado, Arkansas, in second with 34-8 and Lowrance pro Austin Felix of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, right on his heels in third with 34-5. With weights this close together, there is sure to be some movement on the leaderboard heading into Championship Sunday, when the final 10 pros will take the water with their sights set on the top award of up to $125,000.

“I actually started right where I caught my last big one yesterday. I went through the exact same spot and I caught a 4½- and a 2¾-pounder,” said Upshaw, who is fishing in his eighth season on the FLW Tour. “There was enough boats around me that I figured I better stay in there and catch my limit, so I went ahead and caught a limit of 2½-pounders and the one big one.

“After that I just started running new water – places where I’d had bites in practice,” continued Upshaw. “The first place I pulled up to I caught a 3, and then the next spot I caught a 3½, a 3 and a 3¼ – it was a day. I hit two new places today and I still have about 15 other spots I haven’t even touched.”

Upshaw said he caught more keepers Friday than he did Thursday, and again brought all smallmouth to the weigh-in stage.

“I wasn’t sure I could catch what I caught today. I was pretty certain I could catch 16 [pounds] and I got lucky with that big one this morning,” said Upshaw. “A 4½-pounder is a big deal here. These guys are catching 3-pounders and a lot of them, but catching a 4-pounder is really hard, and today I was just fortunate enough to do it.”

Heading into the weekend, Upshaw said he has a couple of options for catching fish.

“I did figure out something late in the day today. I just started practicing – trying to figure out a way I could catch them completely different than what I have been doing and I was able to catch about 14 pounds doing that,” said Upshaw. “I could run around and catch them – and not spawners – which was nice. But, I’m not really worried about that for tomorrow. That’s more of a day four kind of thing. Overall, I can’t complain about today – it was a great day.”

The top 30 pros that made the cut and will fish Saturday on Cherokee Lake are:

               1^st:          Andrew Upshaw, Tulsa, Okla., 10 bass, 36-4  

               2^nd:         Dylan Hays, El Dorado, Ark., 10 bass, 34-8    

               3^rd:          Lowrance pro Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minn., 10 bass, 34-5     

               4^th:          Grae Buck, Harleysville, Pa., 10 bass, 34-0    

               5^th:          Tim Frederick, Leesburg, Fla., 10 bass, 33-9   

               6^th:          Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 10 bass, 33-9        

               7^th:          Lowrance pro Kurt Mitchell, Milford, Del., 10 bass, 33-7

               8^th:          Yamamoto baits pro Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 33-4

               9^th:          Derrick Snavely, Piney Flats, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-14      

               10^th:        Berkley pro Joey Cifuentes, Clinton, Ark., 10 bass, 32-7              

               11^th:        Andy Young, Isle, Minn., 10 bass, 32-3            

               12^th:        Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 32-3     

               13^th:        Kerry Milner, Bono, Ark., 10 bass, 32-2           

               14^th:        J. Todd Tucker, Moultrie, Ga., 10 bass, 31-12 

               15^th:        Polaris pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 31-11           

               16^th:        Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, 10 bass, 31-10              

               17^th:        Johnny McCombs, Morris, Ala., 10 bass, 31-5

               18^th:        Jon Englund, Farwell, Minn., 10 bass, 31-3     

               19^th:        Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., 10 bass, 31-2     

               20^th:        Tim Cales, Sandstone, W. Va., 10 bass, 31-2  

               21^st:        Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 30-14      

               22^nd:       Dakota Ebare, Denham Springs, La., 10 bass, 30-12

               23^rd:        Brandon McMillan, Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 30-12

               24^th:        Josh Douglas, Isle, Minn., 10 bass, 30-11        

               25^th:        Evan Barnes, Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 30-11             

               26^th:        A.J. Slegona, Pine Bush, N.Y., 10 bass, 30-4  

               27^th:        Matthew Stefan, Junction City, Wis., 10 bass, 30-3       

               28^th:        Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., 10 bass, 30-2       

               29^th:        Jason Meninger, Saint Augustine, Fla., 10 bass, 29-14  

               30^th:        Yamamoto Baits pro Larry  Nixon, Quitman, Ark., 10 bass, 29-12

For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.

Hensley Powell of Whitwell, Tennessee, earned the $500 Big Bass award Friday after bringing a bass to the scale weighing 5 pounds even – the heaviest fish of the day.

Overall there were 786 bass weighing 2,120 pounds, 13 ounces, caught by 162 pros Friday. The catch included 147 five-bass limits.

In FLW Tour competition, the full field of 164 pro anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. The top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight now advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

The total purse for the FLW Tour at Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance is more than $860,000. The tournament is hosted by the Economic Development Alliance, Jefferson County.

Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2019 FLW Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2019 FLW Cup will be on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 9-11 and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.

Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. EST Saturday and Sunday from the TVA Dam Boat Launch, located at 2805 N. Highway 92, in Jefferson City. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will be held near the launch beginning at 4 p.m.

In conjunction with the weigh-ins, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at the TVA Dam Boat Launch from 2 to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, as well as learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.

Also for youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at the TVA Dam Boat Launch on Saturday, from Noon-2 p.m. The event is hosted by FLW Foundation pro Cody Kelley along with other FLW Tour anglers, and is free and open to anyone under the age of 18 and Special Olympics athletes. Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one. The 1^st and 2^nd place anglers that catch the most fish will be recognized Saturday on the FLW Tour stage, just prior to the pros weighing in.

Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance will premiere in 2019. The exact air-date will be announced soon. 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, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.

The popular FLW Live on-the-water program will air on Saturday and Sunday, featuring live action from the boats of the tournament’s top pros each day. Host Travis Moran will be joined by veteran FLW Tour pro Todd Hollowell 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.

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (April 11, 2019) – Pro Andrew Upshaw of Tulsa, Oklahoma, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 6 ounces to lead the field after day one of the FLW Tour at the Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance. Right behind Upshaw in second place is pro Dylan Hays of El Dorado, Arkansas, with 17-13 and Tim Frederick of Leesburg, Florida, in third with 17-4. The full field of 164 professionals, who are casting for a top award of up to $125,000, will continue competition into day two, with just the top 30 fishing Saturday and the final 10 competing Sunday.

“I started in an area that I’d thought there’d be a lot of boats, but there were only two of us when I got there. It’s a big area, and both of us caught quite a few fish out of there,” said Upshaw, a former YETI FLW College Fishing angler who is a two-time FLW Cup qualifier. “I had 14 or 15 pounds early – within the 45 minutes to an hour or so. I made a couple of quick moves and caught two big ones that I’d marked and shook off in practice.

“I caught a lot of 3-pounders and that’s why, around 10 [a.m.], I just laid off of them completely,” continued Upshaw. “I was catching too many 3s and I knew how crucial 3-pounders would be in this tournament.”

Upshaw said he caught approximately 28 keepers Thursday – which included some largemouth – but ended up weighing a limit of smallmouth.

“I was fishing slow and just focusing on fish that were possibly on a bed, as well as staging fish in a couple of places,” said Upshaw. “I’m looking for a harder bottom.”

The Oklahoma pro went on to say that he doesn’t have a bait that’s producing better than the rest, saying he pretty much junk-fished his way to the lead today.

“I fell in love with this lake the first hour of practice, and ever since then I just kind of rolled with it. It really reminds me of a lake I grew up fishing – Lake Texoma –on the border of Texas and Oklahoma. How the fish set up is so similar, and they spawn on a lot of the exact same stuff.”

The top 10 boaters after day one on Cherokee Lake are:

               1^st:          Andrew Upshaw, Tulsa, Okla., five bass, 18-6

               2^nd:         Dylan Hays, El Dorado, Ark., five bass, 17-13

               3^rd:          Tim Frederick, Leesburg, Fla., five bass, 17-4 

               3^rd:          Lowrance pro Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minn., five bass, 17-4   

               5^th:          Andy Young, Isle, Minn., five bass, 17-2          

               5^th:          Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, five bass, 17-2

               7^th:          Johnny McCombs, Morris, Ala., five bass, 17-1             

               8^th:          Yamamoto Baits pro Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 17-0         

               9^th:          Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., five bass, 16-12    

               10^th:        Buddy Gross, Chickamauga, Ga., five bass, 16-9

For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.

Christopher Brasher of Longview, Texas, earned Thursday’s $500 Big Bass award after bringing a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass to the scale – the largest fish of the day.

Overall there were 781 bass weighing 2,064 pounds, 8 ounces, caught by 163 pros Thursday. The catch included 143 five-bass limits.

In FLW Tour competition, the full field of 164 pro anglers compete in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. The top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

The total purse for the FLW Tour at Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance is more than $860,000. The tournament is hosted by the Economic Development Alliance, Jefferson County.

Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2019 FLW Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2019 FLW Cup will be on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 9-11 and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.

Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. EST Friday through Sunday from the TVA Dam Boat Launch, located at 2805 N. Highway 92, in Jefferson City. Friday’s weigh-in will be held near the launch beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will also be held near the launch, but will begin at 4 p.m.

In conjunction with the weigh-ins, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at the TVA Dam Boat Launch from 2 to 6 p.m. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, as well as learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.

Also for youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at the TVA Dam Boat Launch on Saturday, April 13, from Noon-2 p.m. The event is hosted by FLW Foundation pro Cody Kelley along with other FLW Tour anglers, and is free and open to anyone under the age of 18 and Special Olympics athletes. Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one. The 1^st and 2^nd place anglers that catch the most fish will be recognized Saturday on the FLW Tour stage, just prior to the pros weighing in.

Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance will premiere in 2019. The exact air-date will be announced soon. 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, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.

The popular FLW Live on-the-water program will air on Days Three and Four of the event, featuring live action from the boats of the tournament’s top pros each day. Host Travis Moran will be joined by veteran FLW Tour pro Todd Hollowell 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.

GROVE, Okla. (March 31, 2019) – Photo courtesy of FLW Fishing

The FLW Tour at Grand Lake presented by Mercury Marine promised a dramatic finish Sunday as all of the final top-10 anglers competing were within striking distance of first place and the title of Grand Lake Champion. When the scales settled, it was bass Pro Shops pro Jeremy Lawyer of Sarcoxie, Missouri, who had caught enough weight to earn the first FLW Tour victory of his career.

Lawyer’s final-day catch of five bass weighing 13 pounds, 14 ounces gave him a four-day total of 62-12 and the win via tiebreaker – the Day Three standings – over international angler Michael Matthee of Centurion, Gauteng, South Africa, who also weighed in a four-day total of 62-12, but started the day fourth place. Lawyer started the day in place and earned the win and the first place prize of $125,000.

“I can’t even express what this means,” said Lawyer, the 2016 Bass Fishing League (BFL) All-American Champion who is fishing his third season on the FLW Tour. “I dreamt for years of making the All-American, then I finally made it there and won it. That was a huge milestone for my family – my bank account, my fishing career, everything. Now, to get a win at the Tour level, it’s unbelievable. And to do it here with my friends following me on a lake that I’ve got a lot of history with and love for, gosh, it couldn’t be any better.”

Lawyer said that he caught all 20 of the fish that he weighed in this week on spinnerbaits, his key one being a ¾-ounce Freedom Lures Swing head spinnerbait thrown on a 7-foot, 6-inch Lew’s Magnum Heavy Cover rod and Lew’s Pro Magnesium reel spooled with 20-pound Sunline fluorocarbon. He credited his knowledge of the lake as being the key to his victory.

“I fished four different areas of the lake. I might have retreaded some of the same water, but I started somewhere completely new every day,” Lawyer said. “I fished everything from Honey Creek to the Dam. It was so random. My five fish that I caught today came on five different things. One came off of a little pipe this morning. My big one came off of a laydown. One came off of a little secondary point that didn’t have anything there. Another came off of a big old tree that was almost completely out of the water way in the back of a creek. And it’s been that way all week.”

Like most of the FLW Tour field, Lawyer said the fishing was a grind. He caught seven keepers on each of the first two days of competition, six keepers on Saturday and just five keepers on Sunday. Despite the tough conditions, Lawyer declared that Grand Lake was still in great shape.

“If we were here just two weeks later, it’d be stupid what we catch,” Lawyer said. “The lake is in great shape, but the weather is just what held us all back this week. That probably worked in my favor.

“Getting the win from the tiebreaker just goes to show how tight the competition is on the FLW Tour,” Lawyer went on to say. “Everyone out here can catch them, and it really shows the power of catching five every day. I caught a tiny little line-burner today that I was embarrassed to bring to weigh-in, but boy, am I glad that I brought him along.”

The top 10 pros on Grand Lake finished:                                                                                                            

              1^st:          Bass Pro Shops pro Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 20 bass, 62-12, $127,500

              2^nd:         Michael Matthee, Centurion, Gauteng, South Africa, 18 bass, 62-12, $30,200

              3^rd:         Miles Burghoff, Hixson, Tenn., 18 bass, 61-3, $25,500

              4^th:         Berkley pro John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 17 bass, 59-9, $20,100

              5^th:         Bradford Beavers, Summerville, S.C., 19 bass, 58-4, $19,000

              6^th:         Billy McCaghren, Mayflower, Ark., 18 bass, 58-1, $18,000

              7^th:         Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 16 bass, 56-7, $17,000

              8^th:         Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., 12 bass, 46-12, $16,000

              9^th:         Jamie Horton, Centerville, Ala., 14 bass, 43-5, $15,000

              10^th:       Sheldon Collings, Grove, Okla., 15 bass, 39-9, $14,000

Complete results for the entire field can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Overall there were 31 bass weighing 102 pounds, 8 ounces caught by pros Sunday. Five of the final 10 pros weighed in five-bass limits.

Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Grand Lake presented by Mercury will premiere in 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, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.

The total purse for the FLW Tour at Grand Lake presented by Mercury was more than $860,000. The tournament was hosted by the City of Grove and the Cherokee Casino Grove. The next event for FLW Tour anglers will be the FLW Tour at Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance, in Jefferson City Tennessee, April 11-14. The tournament will be hosted by the Economic Development Alliance of Jefferson County.

In FLW Tour competition, the full field of 165 pro anglers competed in the two-day opening round Thursday and Friday. The top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advanced to fish on Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continued competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2019 FLW Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2019 FLW Cup will be on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 9-11 and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.

March 28, 2019  by FLW Communications Photo courtesy of FLW Fishing

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Fishing League Worldwide (FLW), the world’s largest tournament fishing organization,  is heading to Jefferson City to take on Cherokee Lake, April 11-14, for the FLW Tour at Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance. Hosted by the Economic Development Alliance of Jefferson County, the tournament will feature four days of bass-fishing action from 165 of the world’s best bass-fishing professionals competing for a top award of up to $125,000 and valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2019 FLW Cup – the world championship of bass fishing.

Although Cherokee Lake has hosted multiple T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) events over the years, this event will mark the first time the FLW Tour has ever visited the fishery. The total purse for the FLW Tour at Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance – the 215th event in FLW Tour history – is more than $860,000.

“Everybody knows you can go up the river to catch largemouth on Cherokee Lake. It’s got a decent population of largemouth, but I don’t think it can withstand the fishing pressure of a tournament of our size over four days,” said pro Jason Abram of Piney Flats, Tennessee, a 10-year FLW Tour veteran. “I think it’s going to take a mixed bag – largemouth and smallmouth – to win.

“The smallmouth population in Cherokee Lake is pretty strong still,” Abram continued. “It’s very possible that they could be bedding, although the TVA started dropping the water last week and that could hold them off. In my opinion, the majority of the anglers in the top 50 will likely be fishing for smallmouth.”

With both species of bass in play, it will be a crucial decision for tournament competitors. Abram said that smallmouth would likely be heavily targeted in staging areas – points and chunk rock – before moving in to spawn on pea-gravel banks. Abram expects the largemouth to also play a big role for anglers and predicted that the majority would be caught up the Holston River.

“These guys are used to running around flipping bushes and docks, but in East Tennessee, when the water is low, we don’t have that, Abram said. “We’re going to have to decipher what kind of rock and what depth of rock they are on.

“Someone is going to figure out how to catch a largemouth first thing, and then catch some smallmouth to fill out a limit. Or, they’re going to catch a limit of smallmouth and then go flipping or shallow-cranking for largemouth and catch that 4- or 5-pounder that puts them where they need to be,” Abram went on to say. “We’re just going to have to figure them out when we get there.”

The Tennessee pro estimated that a four-day cumulative weight of 58 pounds should be enough to earn the victory on Championship Sunday.

Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. EST each day from the TVA Dam Boat Launch, located at 2805 N. Highway 92, in Jefferson City. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins, April 11-12, will be held near the launch beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins, April 13-14, will also be held near the launch, but will begin at 4 p.m.

Prior to weigh-in each day, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at the TVA Dam Boat Launch from 2 to 6 p.m. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, as well as learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.

Also for youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at the TVA Dam Boat Launch on Saturday, April 13, from Noon-2 p.m. The event is hosted by FLW Foundation pro Cody Kelley along with other FLW Tour anglers, and is free and open to anyone under the age of 18 and Special Olympics athletes. Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one. The 1st and 2nd place anglers that catch the most fish will be recognized Saturday on the FLW Tour stage, just prior to the pros weighing in.

Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance will premiere in 2019. The exact air-date will be announced soon. 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, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.

The popular FLW Live on-the-water program will air on Days Three and Four of the event, featuring live action from the boats of the tournament’s top pros each day. Host Travis Moran will be joined by veteran FLW Tour pro Todd Hollowell 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.

In FLW Tour competition, the full field of 165 pro anglers compete in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. The top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2019 FLW Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2019 FLW Cup will be on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 9-11 and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.

March 28, 2019  by FLW Communications – Photo courtesy of FLW Fishing

GROVE, Okla. – Pro Kyle Weisenburger of Ottawa, Ohio, caught a five-bass limit weighing 24 pounds, 12 ounces to take the lead on the opening day of the FLW Tour at the Grand Lake presented by Mercury Marine. Pros Todd Castledine of Nacogdoches, Texas (20-2), and Miles Burghoff of Hixson, Tennessee (19-12), are the closest anglers to Weisenburger in second and third place as the four-day tournament, which features 165 of the world’s best bass-fishing professionals casting for a top award of up to $125,000, heads into Day Two.

The weather in northeastern Oklahoma, although overcast, was nice Thursday, although many tournament anglers experienced a Grand Lake that was much more finicky than normal – likely due to fluctuating water levels. The bass are scattered and it’s left many competitors scratching their heads as they try to figure out the puzzle. Weisenburger found his the majority of his big limit in a single pocket, although he was also able to run around his creek arm and replicate his pattern on a couple other spots.

“I had a couple of good little stretches and caught 12 or 13 fish today, which is quadruple anything that I had done in practice,” said Weisenburger, who is fishing in his third season as a pro on the FLW Tour. “I think it was more area-oriented – when I got the stuff I was looking for, I got a couple of bites.

“I caught fish on two different baits,” Weisenburger continued. “I had three rods on my deck, but threw primarily just two baits and when I got in the right area they would really eat one of them. The conditions let me know which one I was going to throw. I checked the forecast and I believe it will be similar tomorrow, which is good because it really set up right for me today.

Weisenburger declined to divulge the specifics on his lures and pattern at this point of the tournament, but did hint that the water he was fishing was a bit dirtier than most.

“I caught one or two more keepers there that didn’t help me, so I decided I was going to ease off of them,” Weisenburger said. “I ended up leaving my primary area and I figured out a little bit of a pattern.

“It was a good day, but it’s only Day One,” Weisenburger went on to say. “I’m going to start in my primary area tomorrow and see where it takes me. Hopefully they’re still there and I will get to fish into the weekend.”

The top 10 pros after day one on Grand Lake are:

 1st: Kyle Weisenburger, Ottawa, Ohio, five bass, 24-12

 2nd: Costa pro Todd Castledine, Nacogdoches, Texas, five bass, 20-2

 3rd: Miles Burghoff, Hixson, Tenn., five bass, 19-12

 4th: Billy McCaghren, Mayflower, Ark., five bass, 19-9

 5th: Bradford Beavers, Summerville, S.C., five bass, 19-0

 6th: Dicky Newberry, Houston, Texas, five bass, 18-9

 7th: Braxton Setzer, Montgomery, Ala., five bass, 17-7

 8th: Christopher Brasher, Longview, Texas, five bass, 17-0

 9th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 16-12

 10th: Bradley Hallman, Norman, Okla., five bass, 16-5

For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.

Burghoff earned Thursday’s $500 Big Bass award in the pro division after bringing an 8-pound largemouth to the scale – the largest fish of the day.

Overall there were 428 bass weighing 1,207 pounds, 2 ounces caught by 143 pros Thursday. The catch included 37 five-bass limits.

In FLW Tour competition, the full field of 165 pro anglers compete in the two-day opening round Thursday and Friday. The top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

The total purse for the FLW Tour at Grand Lake presented by Mercury is more than $860,000. The tournament is hosted by the City of Grove and the Cherokee Casino Grove.

Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2019 FLW Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2019 FLW Cup will be on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 9-11 and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.

Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. CST Friday through Sunday from Wolf Creek Park, located at 963 N. 16th St., in Grove. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the park beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the park, but will begin at 4 p.m.

In conjunction with the weigh-ins, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at Wolf Creek Park from 2 to 6 p.m. each day. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.

Also for youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at the park on Saturday, March 30 from Noon-2 p.m. The event is hosted by FLW Foundation pro Cody Kelley along with other FLW Tour anglers, and is free and open to anyone under the age of 18 and Special Olympics athletes. Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one. The 1st and 2nd place anglers that catch the biggest fish will be recognized Saturday on the FLW Tour stage, just prior to the pros weighing in.

Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Grand Lake presented by Mercury will premiere in 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, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.

The popular FLW Live on-the-water program will air on Days Three and Four of the event, featuring live action from the boats of the tournament’s top pros each day. New for 2019, host Travis Moran will be joined by Oklahoma Costa FLW Series pro Matt Pangrac 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.

DAYTON, Tenn. (March 23, 2019) – Fishing in his sixth event with Fishing League Worldwide (FLW), pro Brent Butler of Vonore, Tennessee, caught a five-bass limit Saturday weighing 16 pounds, 11 ounces, to win theCosta FLW Series at Lake Chickamauga presented by T-H Marine. Butler’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 68 pounds, 8 ounces, was enough to earn him the victory at the Southeastern Division tournament and a check for $45,800.

In route to victory, Butler posted an above-average start to the tournament Thursday, catching 14 pounds of bass to sit in 40^th place. He said he put together his limit fishing shallow bars and shell beds mid-lake, with a ½-ounce, chrome-colored Strike King Red Eye Shad crankbait.

Heading into Friday, Butler said he knew he needed more weight to have a shot at winning. He switched patterns completely, fishing seven new areas near major creek mouths, and produced a 37-pound, 5-ounce haul – the fifth-largest limit in FLW Series history.

“All I was catching [Thursday] was buck bass, and with 14 [pounds] and change, I knew I needed to swing for the fences,” said Butler, who earned his first win in FLW competition. “I started looking for staging areas for both prespawn and postspawn females. I went offshore, and honestly, I got my timing down and saw what the bait was doing – how it was hanging out off of ledges and things of that nature. I just kept paying attention to it and the wind direction and I would occasionally see them on the graph and knew they were in the area. They were following gizzard shad. I sat in 30 feet and caught them out of 15 feet of water.

“I think they were heading in [prespawn], but the two big ones – two 10-plus pounders – were postspawn,” continued Butler. “I caught them almost on back-to-back casts.”

Butler said he had seven bites Friday. He said he used a custom Super G Lures umbrella rig with 4.3-inch, shad-colored Keitech swimbaits to catch three of the monster limit and a chartreuse and shad-colored Lucky Craft Flash Pointer 100 jerkbait for the other two.

On Saturday, Butler didn’t catch nearly as much weight as he did Friday, but was able to put together the right bites at the end of the day.

“I ran those areas again today, and I saw the bait down in the creek and river channels. I only saw one school of gizzard shad come up under my graph in 15 of water and I could see two [bass] following it, but I couldn’t get them to cooperate. That was the only school I saw out of all those areas.”

With only one small bass in the boat at 1 [p.m.], Butler again made a change, running 32 miles to fish shallow ledges with stumps between the Highway 60 bridge and Mud Creek. He caught a couple more fish on the umbrella rig, one on the Red Eye Shad and three on the Lucky Craft jerkbait.

The top 10 pros on Lake Chickamauga finished:

1^st: Brent Butler, Vonore, Tenn., 15 bass, 68-8, $45,800

2^nd: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 15 bass, 63-0, $17,200

3^rd: Derek Hicks, Rocky Face, Ga., 15 bass, 61-0, $12,850

4^th: Cody Nichols, Fayette, Ala., 15 bass, 57-11, $10,750

5^th: David Gaston, Sylacauga, Tenn., 15 bass, 53-13, $9,750

6^th: Rusty White, Harrison, Tenn., 10 bass, 52-10, $8,675

7^th: Dustin Evans, Eads, Tenn., 15 bass, 49-8, $7,300

8^th: Brandon Stanley, Johnson City, Tenn., 12 bass, 48-12, $6,300

9^th: Buddy Gross, Chickamauga, Ga., 14 bass, 48-3, $5,300

10^th: Steve Stanfill, Dawsonville, Ga., 10 bass, 38-14, $4,200

A complete list of results will be posted atFLWFishing.com.

One of Butler’s giants on Friday weighed 11 pounds, 10 ounces, and was the biggest of the tournament in the Pro Division. For his catch, Butler also earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $300.

Scott Ostmann of Cincinnati, Ohio, won the Co-angler Division with a three-day total catch of 15 bass weighing 54 pounds, 12 ounces. For his win, Ostmann took home a prize package including a Ranger Z175 with a 115-horsepower outboard motor and $5,000.

The top 10 co-anglers on Lake Chickamauga finished:

1^st: Scott Ostmann, Cincinnati, Ohio, 15 bass, 54-12, $32,800

2^nd: Doug Iorio II, Kennerdell, Pa., 14 bass, 41-15, $5,375

3^rd: Kevin Gordon, Aiken, S.C., 12 bass, 40-9, $4,350

4^th: Alan Hults, Gautier, Miss., 13 bass, 38-14, $3,900

5^th: Josh Womack, Gallatin, Tenn., 14 bass, 35-8, $3,150

6^th: Don Lewis, Jacksonville, Fla., 10 bass, 32-15, $2,650

7^th: Michael Leach, The Woodlands, Texas, 10 bass, 32-0, $2,150

8^th: Stephen Kocell, Waxhaw, N.C., nine bass, 25-15, $1,925

9^th: Josh Lockard, Somerset, Ky., 10 bass, 22-10, $1,530

10^th: Tony Prince, Pulaski, Tenn., nine bass, 22-7, $1,290

Scott Towry of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday, a behemoth largemouth weighing 11 pounds, 2 ounces. For his catch, Towry earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $200.

The Costa FLW Series on Lake Chickamauga presented by T-H Marine was hosted by Fish Dayton. It was the second of three Southeastern Division tournaments of the 2019 regular season. The next tournament for FLW Series anglers will be the Costa FLW Series at Kentucky Lake presented by Lowrance, held April 4 – 6 in Gilbertsville, Kentucky. For a complete schedule, visitFLWFishing.com.

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.

March 10, 2019  by FLW Communications – Photo Courtesy of FLW

BAINBRIDGE, Ga. – In one of the most dramatic finishes in recent FLW Tour history, fourth-year FLW Tour pro Brian Latimer of Belton, South Carolina, brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 21 pounds, 3 ounces to win the FLW Tour at Lake Seminole presented by Costa Sunday and the first-place prize of $100,000.

Latimer’s four-day total of 20 bass totaling 80 pounds, 15 ounces edged out Day One leader Braxton Setzer of Montgomery, Alabama (78-14), who finished second and 21-year-old pro Sheldon Collings of Grove, Oklahoma (76-2), in third place.

All day long Latimer, Setzer and Collings traded blows, landing one big one after another much to the thrill of the thousands of viewers that tuned in to watch the day’s action on FLW Live. As the broadcast came to an end at 2 p.m. Latimer was in third place, but only had three bass in his livewell. Latimer added two more keepers late in the day to overtake Setzer and Collings and earned the South Carolina pro his first career victory.

“I have fished for so long, and I always knew that I could do this,” an emotional Latimer said on the weigh-in stage. “I didn’t do well, for a long time. This is not an easy sport. But I knew I could do it, and I kept going. All I’ve ever wanted to do was fish for a living. To win the $100,000 is great, but to finally have my trophy… that is so awesome.”

Latimer caught his fish on Day One Thursday by cranking a current seam in the Flint River with a Bill Lewis MR-6 crankbait, bringing a solid limit weighing 19-1 to the scale. Friday, he caught a few fish cranking, but the majority came from a run down the river to a flat with isolated clumps of grass. He scrapped up a limit weighing 17-11, then decided to stick it out on the flat for the final two days of competition, weighing in 23-0 and 21-3 to slam the door and earn the win.

“Friday is when I figured out that I was on the winning school of fish,” Latimer said. “I did the majority of my damage at a big hydrilla and milfoil flat. I told my wife that if I can get five bites there, every day, I could win this tournament. I stuck it out there, and that’s what happened.

Latimer’s one-two punch on the flat was flipping a Texas-rigged Z-Man Palmetto Bugz with a 1/2-ounce weight or finessing them out with a wacky-rigged Zoom Trick Worm.

“It was stressful – probably the most stressful thing that I have ever been through,” said Latimer. “I lost quite a few fish this week, but I kept my composure. I wasn’t getting many bites. I had to stay focused, and I’m just so blessed that I caught what I did.

The top 10 pros on Lake Seminole finished:

 1st: Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., 20 bass, 80-15, $102,500

 2nd: Braxton Setzer, Montgomery, Ala., 17 bass, 78-14, $30,200

 3rd: Sheldon Collings, Grove, Okla., 20 bass, 76-2, $25,100

 4th: Rapala pro Terry Bolton, Benton, Ky., 20 bass, 72-6, $20,000

 5th: Rob Kilby, Hot Springs, Ark., 20 bass, 62-14, $19,000

 6th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 20 bass, 62-10, $18,000

 7th: Miles Howe, San Juan Capistrano, Calif., 19 bass, 59-6, $17,000

 8th: Bradford Beavers, Summerville, S.C., 17 bass, 55-8, $16,500

 9th: Joshua Weaver, Macon, Ga., 16 bass, 51-1, $15,000

 10th: Hunter Freeman, Monroe, La., 15 bass, 49-2, $14,000

Complete results for the entire field can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Overall there were 42 bass weighing 138 pounds, 12 ounces caught by pros Sunday. Eight of the final 10 pros weighed in five-bass limits.

Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Lake Seminole presented by Costa will premiere in 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, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.

The total purse for the FLW Tour at Lake Seminole presented by Costa was more than $860,000. The tournament was hosted by the Bainbridge Convention and Visitors Bureau. The next event for FLW Tour anglers will be the FLW Tour at Grand Lake presented by Mercury, in Grove, Oklahoma, March 28-31. The tournament will be hosted by the City of Grove and Cherokee Casino Grove.

In FLW Tour competition, the full field of 165 pro anglers competed in the two-day opening round Thursday and Friday. The top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advanced to fish on Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continued competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2019 FLW Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2019 FLW Cup will be on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 9-11 and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.

March 9, 2019  by FLW Communications – Photo Courtesy of FLW Fishing

BAINBRIDGE, Ga. (March 9, 2019) – The weather threw anglers a curveball Saturday morning at the FLW Tour at Lake Seminole presented by Costa. A heavy, dense fog settled in over Lake Seminole and greeted the pros as they arrived to the Earle May Boat Basin in Bainbridge, prompting FLW Tournament Director Bill Taylor to delay takeoff for a little over an hour due to the low visibility.

Around 8:15 a.m., after the fog had lifted, the 30 anglers that qualified to fish the weekend embarked on Day Three of competition. Pro Brian Latimer of Belton, South Carolina moved into the top spot after bringing a limit weighing 23 pounds even to the scale.

The field is now trimmed to the final 10 pros for Sunday, and Latimer (15 bass, 59-12) will start with a slim 1-pound, 10-ounce lead over second-place pro Braxton Setzer of Montgomery, Alabama, (15 bass, 58-2) who led the first day of competition. Also in striking distance is Sheldon Collings of Grove, Oklahoma, (15 bass, 56-2) who sits in third place. The four-day competition features 165 of the world’s best bass-fishing anglers competing for a top cash award of up to $125,000.

“It might look like I had a really good day, but I only caught six fish,” said Latimer, who is fishing in his 26th career FLW Tour event. “I had nothing until 10 a.m., then I just started catching them slowly, one at a time, like every hour. I knew that if I could ever get five bites in the area I was fishing that I’d catch 20+ pounds, and today that finally happened.”

Latimer put a charge into the FLW Live broadcast Saturday morning, boating a 6-pounder on a wacky-rig two hours into the broadcast. He stayed in the same area for the entire day, grinding out six keepers.

“The current had pushed a lot of muddy water out of my area and it was crystal clear this morning,” Latimer said. “They wouldn’t bite flipping, so I had to go with the wacky rig. Tomorrow, unless the wind blows all night, it should be clear so I’ll start with the wacky-rig again. If the wind picks up and blows in muddy water from the river then I’ll have to pick them off by flipping.”

Latimer is already guaranteed to have the highest finish of his young career this week, yet seemed to have the confidence of an angler that has been fishing for many years. When asked about any nerves heading into the final day, the South Carolina pro said he had nothing to worry about.

“I’ve got no nerves – I’ve got one place to fish and two baits to throw. If I stay focused, land my bites and catch five, I think I can do it again. Fishing is momentum, and right now everything is working out right for me. I really feel like I can catch them again.”

The top 10 pros advancing to the final day of competition Sunday on Lake Seminole are: 

 1st: Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., 15 bass, 59-12

 2nd: Braxton Setzer, Montgomery, Ala., 12 bass, 58-2

 3rd: Sheldon Collings, Grove, Okla., 15 bass, 56-2

 4th: Rob Kilby, Hot Springs, Ark., 15 bass, 55-9

 5th: Joshua Weaver, Macon, Ga., 15 bass, 48-14

 6th: Hunter Freeman, Monroe, La., 14 bass, 47-10

 7th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 15 bass, 46-13

 8th: Bradford Beavers, Summerville, S.C., 12 bass, 46-10

 9th: Miles Howe, San Juan Capistrano, Calif., 14 bass, 45-6

 10th: Rapala pro Terry Bolton, Benton, Ky., 15 bass, 45-4

Finishing in 11th through 30th are:

 11th: Buddy Gross, Chickamauga, Ga., 12 bass, 45-4, $12,000

 12th: Greg Bohannan, Bentonville, Ark., 15 bass, 44-14, $12,000

 13th: Jason Abram, Piney Flats, Tenn., 15 bass, 44-1, $12,000

 14th: Billy McCaghren, Mayflower, Ark., 15 bass, 43-2, $12,000

 15th: Ryan Salzman, Huntsville, Ala., 15 bass, 42-8, $12,000

 16th: Kurt Mitchell, Milford, Del., 11 bass, 42-4, $11,500

 17th: Jared McMillan, Belle Glade, Fla., 15 bass, 42-1, $11,500

 18th: Chris McCall, Palmer, Texas, 14 bass, 40-14, $11,500

 19th: Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., 15 bass, 39-12, $11,500

 20th: Tyler Woolcott, Port Orange, Fla., 10 bass, 37-13, $11,500

 21st: Miles Burghoff, Hixson, Tenn., 14 bass, 36-9, $10,500

 22nd: Jimmy Brewer, Marshall, Texas, 13 bass, 36-6, $10,500

 23rd: Tommy Dickerson, Orange, Texas, 14 bass, 35-15, $10,500

 24th: Joseph Webster, Winfield, Ala., nine bass, 35-14, $10,500

 25th: Russell Cecil, Willis, Texas, 14 bass, 35-13, $10,500

 26th: Jacob Wall, Jacksonville, Ore., 12 bass, 34-5, $10,500

 27th: Andy Young, Isle, Minn., 13 bass, 32-10, $10,500

 28th: Kurt Dove, Del Rio, Texas, nine bass, 32-8, $10,500

 29th: Nitro pro Dylan Hays, El Dorado, Ark., 12 bass, 30-12, $10,500

 30th: Matt Reed, Madisonville, Texas, 11 bass, 28-7, $10,500

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

Overall there were 119 bass weighing 322 pounds even caught by pros Saturday, Of the final 30 pros, 18 of them were able to bring a five-bass limit to the scale.

In FLW Tour competition, the full field of 165 pro anglers competed in the two-day opening round Thursday and Friday. The top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advanced to fish on Saturday. Now, only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

The total purse for the FLW Tour at Lake Seminole presented by Costa is more than $860,000. The tournament is hosted by the Bainbridge Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2019 FLW Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2019 FLW Cup will be on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 9-11 and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.

Anglers will take off for the final day of competition at 7:45 a.m. EST Sunday from the Bainbridge Earle May Boat Basin, located at 100 Boat Basin Circle, in Bainbridge. Sunday’s Championship weigh-in will also be held at the boat basin beginning at 4 p.m.

In conjunction with the weigh-ins, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at the Bainbridge Earle May Boat Basin from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.

Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Lake Seminole presented by Costa will premiere in 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, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.

The popular FLW Live on-the-water program will air Sunday, featuring live action from the boats of the tournament’s top pros each day. Host Travis Moran will be joined by veteran FLW Tour pro Todd Hollowell 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.

March 7, 2019  by FLW Communications – Photo courtesy of FLW

BAINBRIDGE, Ga. – Pro Braxon Setzer of Montgomery, Alabama, brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 25 pounds, 15 ounces to jump out to the early lead after Day One of the FLW Tour at Lake Seminole presented by Costa. Fellow Alabaman Joseph Webster of Winfield (25-9) and Bradford Beavers of Summerville, South Carolina (25-2) are right behind Setzer in second and third place as the four-day tournament, which features 165 of the world’s best bass-fishing professionals casting for a top award of up to $125,000, heads into Day Two.

“This morning I pulled into a spot near the area where I wanted to start and thought that I would fish my way up to it. I started fishing, then watched Joseph (Webster) idle right over to where I wanted to be, sit down and commence to just whacking them,” said Setzer, a four-year FLW Tour veteran with one previous FLW Cup appearance. “I thought to myself, ‘Oh my goodness, what a stupid call on my part.’ I struggled with that, but then I settled down and just picked apart the area that I was in.

“I caught a limit by 9:30,” Setzer continued. “The fishing was slower than I was hoping it was going to be, but it was a bigger area and took me a long time to pick it apart.”

Setzer said the spot was mainly deeper grass, with his most success coming from an area he described as a ditch that runs up into a flat. He caught seven keepers there – on two different baits – then left the spot around 11 a.m.

“The bite died off, so I ran down to another stretch of grass that I liked and ended up culling two fish there,” Setzer said. “It was very slow and was an hour or two between bites, but when I got bit it was a good one.”

Setzer tallied just nine bass total throughout the day. He said his plan for tomorrow was mainly to keep his options open.

“There is obviously a bunch of fish in my main area, but it’ll be interesting to see what the weather and the boat pressure does to it,” Setzer went on to say. “I don’t know if I’ll stay with it as long as I did today. I may have to run around and fish some new water. I think I’ve got maybe one or two more areas that I can get bit off of.”

The top 10 pros after day one on Lake Seminole are:  

 1st: Braxton Setzer, Montgomery, Ala., five bass, 25-15

 2nd: Joseph Webster, Winfield, Ala., five bass, 25-9

 3rd: Bradford Beavers, Summerville, S.C., five bass, 25-2

 4th: Sheldon Collings, Grove, Okla., five bass, 23-14

 5th: Rob Kilby, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 23-3

 6th: Kurt Dove, Del Rio, Texas, five bass, 20-5

 7th: Tyler Woolcott, Port Orange, Fla., five bass, 19-14

 8th: Miles Howe, San Juan Capistrano, Calif., five bass, 19-13

 9th: Dicky Newberry, Houston, Texas, five bass, 19-7

 10th: Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., five bass, 19-1

For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.

Beavers earned Thursday’s $500 Big Bass award in the pro division after bringing a largemouth weighing 7-pounds, 5-ounces to the scale.

Overall there were 573 bass weighing 1,551 pounds, 1 ounce caught by 154 pros Thursday. The catch included 72 five-bass limits.

In FLW Tour competition, the full field of 165 pro anglers compete in the two-day opening round Thursday and Friday. The top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

The total purse for the FLW Tour at Lake Seminole presented by Costa is more than $860,000. The tournament is hosted by the Bainbridge Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2019 FLW Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2019 FLW Cup will be on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 9-11 and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.

Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. EST Friday and Saturday and 7:45 a.m. Sunday from the Bainbridge Earle May Boat Basin, located at 100 Boat Basin Circle, in Bainbridge. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the boat basin beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the boat basin, but will begin at 4 p.m.

In conjunction with the weigh-ins, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at the Bainbridge Earle May Boat Basin from 2 to 6 p.m. each day. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.

Also for youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at the boat basin on Saturday, March 9 from Noon-2 p.m. The event is hosted by FLW Foundation pro Cody Kelley along with other FLW Tour anglers, and is free and open to anyone under the age of 18 and Special Olympics athletes. Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one. The 1st and 2nd place anglers that catch the biggest fish will be recognized Saturday on the FLW Tour stage, just prior to the pros weighing in.

Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Lake Seminole presented by Costa will premiere in 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, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.

The popular FLW Live on-the-water program will air on Saturday and Sunday, featuring live action from the boats of the tournament’s top pros each day. Host Travis Moran will be joined by veteran FLW Tour pro Todd Hollowell 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.