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Pace Races to Bass Pro Tour Championship at Stage Eight
Founded in 2011, Major League Fishing (MLF) brings the high-intensity sport of competitive bass fishing into America’s living rooms on Discovery Channel, World Fishing Network, CBS, CBS Sports Network, Discovery Channel, Sportsman Channel and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). The new Bass Pro Tour consists of eight events and the Bass Pro Tour Championship, the REDCREST. MLF will also continue its popular Cup events and World Championship, all of which use the same entertaining and conservation-friendly catch, weigh and immediate-release format. For more information, visit www.majorleaguefishing.com and follow MLF on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Also, for more information about MLF anglers, see Game & Fish magazine, the official publication of MLF.
Scanlon Wins FLW Tour at Lake Champlain
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (June 30, 2019) – After starting the day in second place, pro Casey Scanlon of Lake Ozark, Missouri, caught a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 10 ounces, Sunday to vault to the top of the leaderboard and win the FLW Tour at Lake Champlain presented by T-H Marine with a four-day total of 20 bass weighing 76 pounds, 2 ounces. Scanlon’s weight was enough to edge second place angler Jackson Kayak pro Eric Jackson by 1 pound, 11 ounces, in the event that featured 163 of the world’s most decorated bass anglers competing over four days on Lake Champlain.
“It’s been a long time coming. I’ve been doing this for eight years now and on a couple of different tours. I’ve had the opportunity to win several times and haven’t gotten it done, so today is a pretty special day,” said Scanlon, who earned his first career win in FLW Tour competition. “I’ve been fishing tournaments since I was 15 and it’s not easy out here, but days like this make it all worth it.”
Scanlon spent the event targeting largemouth down near Ticonderoga. Early in the tournament, most of his bass came off shallow rock inside of a milfoil edge. As the tournament progressed, though, he caught more fish from the grass, with all of his keepers today coming from the grass.
“I did junk it up a little bit, but I got myself in some decent areas, and I tried to make the most out of them by switching baits and trying some different stuff throughout the tournament,” said Scanlon.
Scanlon did have a primary area that produced his initial limits on days one through three – a pair of main-lake points along Champlain’s eastern shoreline that were swept by current. Today, the area didn’t produce, but he was able to make the necessary adjustments to put together a solid limit.
“The fish were obviously using the current to feed, and there was bait there, which was a big key,” said Scanlon. “You’d see a lot of activity in the grass. That’s probably the main reason those fish were there.”
In his areas, Scanlon used a 3/8-ounce chartreuse and white Z-Man ChatterBait with a white soft jerkbait trailer for rocks and scattered milfoil, and a green copper shad-colored Luck-E-Strike Series 3 square-billed crankbait on rocks and in looser grass. A few fish early in the tournament bit a Luck-E-Strike Pow Stik, rigged with either a 3/16- or 1/4-ounce Bass Pros Shops tungsten weight, and a black and blue Bass Pros Shops tube. He also ran a 1/2-ounce Trophy Swim Jig through lily pads and pencil reeds in shallow water.
“Depending on the cover I’d always start with a moving bait, usually the ChatterBait, and when it was sparser grass I’d use the crankbait. When I’d catch a few, I would slow down and pick it apart with the Pow Stik,” said Scanlon. “I was just fortunate to dial into the fish every day – locations and baits changed daily on me.”
With his win, Scanlon earned enough points to qualify for the FLW Cup – the world championship of bass fishing – August 9-11 on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
“I needed a big derby to make the FLW Cup,” said Scanlon. “I knew I probably needed a top-12 [finish] here to make it and we’re sitting here now. I’m ready to go to Hot Springs.”
The top 10 pros on Lake Champlain finished:
1st: Casey Scanlon, Lake Ozark, Mo., 20 bass, 76-2, $102,700
2nd: Jackson Kayak pro Eric Jackson, Walling, Tenn., 20 bass, 74-7, $30,000
3rd: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 20 bass, 73-15, $25,100
4th: Christopher Brasher, Longview, Texas, 20 bass, 73-15, $20,000
5th: Hensley Powell, Whitwell, Tenn., 20 bass, 73-12, $19,000
6th: Daryl Biron, South Windsor, Conn., 20 bass, 72-6, $18,000
7th: Polaris pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 20 bass, 72-4, $17,000
8th: A.J. Slegona, Pine Bush, N.Y., 20 bass, 71-9, $16,000
9th: Tyler Stewart, West Monroe, La., 19 bass, 68-10, $15,000
10th: Tom Redington, Royse City, Texas, 18 bass, 62-3, $14,000
Complete results for the entire field can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Overall there were 47 bass weighing 164 pounds, 1 ounces, caught by pros Sunday. The catch included eight five-bass limits.
Polaris pro David Dudley of Lynchburg, Virginia, won the prestigious 2019 FLW Tour Angler of the Year (AOY) Saturday, becoming the first angler in the history of the FLW Tour to claim four titles (2019, 2012, 2011 and 2008). He narrowly edged out Berkley pro John Cox of DeBary, Florida, by just 17 points in a tightly contested race that was too close to call until Cox’s 28th place finish. Dudley, who received $100,000 for the title, will also receive an automatic berth into the 2020 FLW Cup.
Pro Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Michigan, clinched the Polaris 2019 FLW Tour Rookie of the Year (ROY) award Saturday, which is awarded to the rookie pro angler who finishes the season with the highest point total. For his efforts, Nelson won a Polaris Sportsman® 570 ATV.
Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Lake Champlain presented by T-H Marine 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 total purse for the FLW Tour at Lake Champlain presented by T-H Marine was more than $860,000. The tournament was hosted by the City of Plattsburgh and the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau. The next event for FLW anglers on Lake Champlain will be the Costa FLW Series at Lake Champlain presented by Polaris in Plattsburgh, July 18-30. A limited number of co-angler spots are still open. To register or see more information, visit FLWFishing.com.
In FLW Tour competition, the full field of 163 pro anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. The top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advanced to 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 were 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.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the sport’s top anglers on the FLW Tour on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2019 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
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NEENAH, Wis. – As the competition switched to a new lake today for the Knockout Round of the Evinrude Stage Eight Presented by Tracker Off Road, Brent Ehrler figured it out better than anyone and ran away with a convincing daily victory.
Brent Ehrler topped the Knockout Round field by over 13 pounds on Saturday. Photo by Joe Branch By Tyler Brinks – June 29, 2019
Lake Butte des Morts proved to be a nice change of pace for the anglers after four days of fishing Lake Winnebago. This new, smaller lake produced good numbers of fish, several 3-plus-pound specimens, and all-day action on SCORETRACKER®.
Tomorrow, the field will again try their best to tackle another new body of water as the tournament concludes on nearby Green Lake for the Championship Round.
Ehrler Wins by 13 Pounds
In the final 15 minutes of Period 3, Ehrler landed his biggest bass of the day. The 3-11 largemouth caught on a frog was the exclamation point on a stellar outing.
“Today was a blast! It was stressful, but still so much fun,” he said.
The majority of Ehrler’s fish fell for a frog, but he also landed several key fish on a Gary Yamamoto Senko. He spent much of his day in a backwater area that was full of grass, submerged trees, and hungry largemouth bass.
He grabbed the lead midway through the day and never let go. Ehrler ended the Knockout Round with 28 bass for 56 pounds, 7 ounces, outdistancing second-place finisher Bobby Lane by over 13 pounds. Lane finished with 42-10.
Klein Rallies
As Major League Fishing fans watched MLF NOW! live stream today, there was no mention of Gary Klein until late in the final period as he was buried deep in the standings. But at the 1:10 mark in Period 3, Klein picked up momentum and found himself in 15th place. When it was all said and done, the Mercury pro finished in 8th place with 18 bass for 30-5.
Wheeler Still Alive
For most of the day, it appeared that Jacob Wheeler would not be present on Championship Sunday to try for back-to-back wins. But, he found another gear late in the round and was able to sneak into the Top 10 and finish in 9th place.
His day totals were 17 bass for 28-3. With weights starting at zero tomorrow, Wheeler has a new life and must be considered one of the favorites to win.
“Boom Boom” Falters Late
Fred Roumbanis started the day strong thanks to a solid smallmouth bite on a vibrating jig. His morning bite was excellent, but his afternoon stalled as he continued to slide down the standings.
In the end, he was the first angler out of the Top 10 but took it in stride despite missing the cut by just ten ounces.
“Boy, I let that one slip out of my fingers. It just wasn’t meant to be this week, but at least I qualified for the final Cup and REDCREST,” he said as time expired and he accepted his fate in Wisconsin.
The REDCREST Shuffle
After yesterday, our estimated calculations had 10 anglers vying for just four spots. Still, nothing is set in stone until the last fish is weighed tomorrow.
For now, it appears that Randall Tharp, Mark Daniels, Jr., Takahiro Omori, and Cody Meyer have done what they needed to do this week to make REDCREST.
Official results will be tabulated at the close of tomorrow’s competition.
Daily Winners
Shotgun Round daily awards were:
- The Berkley Big Bass of the day was Mark Daniels, Jr.’s 4-0 largemouth.
- Brent Ehrler won the Berkley Catch Count award with 28 bass on the day.
- Ehrler also earned the Phoenix Boats Daily Leader award with 56-07.
Looking Ahead
The Elimination Round will be Green Lake, which is approximately 45 minutes outside of Neenah, WI. The weather forecast calls for scattered thunderstorms, a high of 83-degrees and winds out of the south at 5 to 10 miles per hour.
How, When, Where to Watch
Competition continues on Sunday at 7 a.m. CT, with live, official scoring available via SCORETRACKER® on MajorLeagueFishing.com and on the MLF app. The MLF NOW! live stream begins at 9:30 a.m. CT with Chad McKee, JT Kenney, Marty Stone, and Natalie Dillon.
The Postgame Show Presented by Berkley will begin at approximately 4:30 p.m CT. If you’re in the area, come see us at Shattuck Middle School in Neenah.
Berkley Pro Edwin Evers Claims First-Ever Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour Points Championship Title
NEENAH, Wis. – It seems appropriate that a Points Championship race that had come down to the wire after a five-month season should come down to the final 50 minutes that the two men involved will fish in the 2019 Bass Pro Tour regular season.
For Berkley pro Edwin Evers, it was jubilantly appropriate. For Jeff Sprague, it was likely painfully appropriate. But after eight regular-season events and an incredibly tight race, it was appropriate nonetheless.
Evers Claims the Crown
Needing to finish in the Top 20 in Elimination Round 2 for a chance to pass Evers in the points race, Sprague ended Friday’s Elimination Round with 48 pounds, 10 ounces, 2-8 below the Elimination Line in 25th place. Even as competition continues Saturday on Lake Butte des Morte for the remaining 40 pros, both Evers and Sprague already know their finishes in the event: Evers 42nd, Sprague 49th.
That leaves Evers with 510 points for the season, Sprague with 500, and a Points Championship trophy bound for Talala, Oklahoma to join
Evers’ many other career milestones.
“As an angler, it’s a lifelong dream to win a title like this,” Evers said. “Somebody said to me earlier ‘Well, if you don’t win, you did win an event,’ but I’d trade that event win in a heartbeat to win a Points Championship.”
It was the culmination of one of the best seasons in recent history in professional bass fishing for Evers, who started the season with four consecutive Top 10 finishes (including a win), and entered Stage Eight with a three-point lead over Sprague.
Sprague didn’t surrender the Points Championship easily.
Entering competition on Friday – a day after Evers had narrowly missed making it into the Knockout Round, finishing 21st in Group A – the Texas pro knew that he needed to accomplish two things to pass Evers: First, finish in the Top 20 of his group; second, to finish 37th or better overall to surpass the three-point deficit he had to Evers entering Stage Eight.
Sprague climbed to 17th at one point in the third period, but then didn’t land a scorable bass over the final 53 minutes of competition and eventually settled into 25th place.
“It just wasn’t my day,” Sprague said afterwards.
But it was indeed Evers’ day. And his season. The Berkley pro adds the first tour-level season-long points title to a list of accomplishments that had already elevated him to a spot as one of the most successful tournament bass anglers in the history of the sport.
Evers held the points lead through five of the eight events.
“I had a great first half of the season that allowed me to not have to finish as high (in Stage Eight),” Evers said. “A (Points Championship) is the biggest thing in our sport, and I’m just thrilled and honored to win it.”