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STURGEON BAY, Wis. (Aug. 29, 2020) – Pro Rusty Salewske of Alpine, California, caught 13 smallmouth bass totaling 48 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win $200,000 and the TITLE belt at the inaugural Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota, the FLW Pro Circuit Championship on Lake Michigan in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Salewske won by a slim 8-ounce margin over pro Bradford Beavers of Summerville, South Carolina, who caught 16 bass weighing 48-3, good for $50,000. Saturday’s final day of competition marked the finale of the Tackle Warehouse TITLE, which featured the top 50 anglers from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit competing over six days for a purse of $820,000, including the top prize of $200,000.

“This is the best thing that has ever happened to me in my fishing career, by far,” said Salewske, who stepped away from pro-level competition in 2011 before returning to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit this season. “Of course having children and grandkids and things like that are better, but this is just unbelievable.

“I really think my experience helped me today,” Salewske said. “I’d been in this situation before. I almost won the 2009 FLW Cup. I was leading after day three and I only had to catch three keepers. It was mine to win. But I let the pressure get to me that day. Today, I just tried to stay calm and composed and that helped me, for sure.”

With just 12 minutes left to fish, Salewske sat in second place with 43-13 – 4 pounds, 6 ounces, behind Beavers. Salewske then calmly hooked and landed his last fish – a 4-pound, 14-ounce smallmouth – to overtake Beavers, who had held the lead all of Period 3, and finish out the final minutes atop the leaderboard in a dramatic finale.

“My knees were shaking the whole time I was fighting that fish,” Salewske said. “I had no trolling motor battery left at that point, we were blowing 8 miles an hour down the bank, and I had no control over the fish. When I finally landed her, I was thrilled but I thought I was still going to need one more.”

Salewske said that he caught all of his fish throughout the week on a Yamamoto Shad Shape worm on a drop-shot rig, until today.

“I’d been catching them all week on the shad shape worm, but today they wouldn’t bite anything but the (Berkley) Flat Worm. They love that dang Flat Worm, and that’s what I caught all 13 bass on today.

“I try to go into every tournament thinking that I can win,” Salewske went on to say. “During practice, I was thinking ‘maybe not’. But you just have to keep fishing. I kind of started to figure them out, and my friend Wade (Strelic) kind of walked me through what the fish were doing. I would not be standing here right now without him.”

The top 10 pros at the Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota on Sturgeon Bay finished:

1^st:       Rusty Salewske of Alpine, Calif., 13 bass, 48-11, $200,000
2^nd:      Bradford Beavers of Summerville, S.C., 16 bass, 48-3, $50,000
3^rd:       John Cox of DeBary, Fla., 11 bass, 36-14, $30,000
4^th:       Kurt Mitchell of Milford, Del., six bass, 22-8, $25,000
5^th:       Kyle Hall of Granbury, Texas, six bass, 22-0, $19,000
6^th:       Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Ark., six bass, 21-7, $18,000
7^th:       Grae Buck of Green Lane, Pa., five bass, 20-11, $17,000
8^th:       Joey Cifuentes of Clinton, Ark., six bass, 18-9, $16,000
9^th:       Casey Scanlon of Eldon, Mo., zero bass, 0-0, $14,500
9^th:       Evan Barnes of Hot Springs, Ark., zero bass, 0-0, $14,500

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

Overall there were 69 bass weighing 238 pounds, 15 ounces caught by the final 10 pros Saturday. Buck caught the largest fish of the day – a 5-pound, 10-ounce smallmouth bass.

The Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota, the FLW Pro Circuit Championship, was hosted by Destination Sturgeon Bay.

Television coverage of the Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota event will be showcased across six two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 p.m. EDT, Oct. 9 on the Outdoor Channel. Episodes premiere in Friday night primetime slots on the Outdoor Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel.

The 2020 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit featured a field of 150 of the top professional anglers in the world competing at six regular-season events around the country. The top 50 anglers in the Angler of the Year (AOY) standings after the six events qualified to compete in the inaugural Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit 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 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, FLW and its 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 Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. Acquired by Major League Fishing in late 2019, FLW is expanding its programming in 2020 to the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel as well as on-demand at MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).

For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

The post California’s Salewske Wins Tackle Warehouse TITLE Championship presented by Toyota at Sturgeon Bay appeared first on Bass365.com.

ANDERSON, S.C. — Bethel University claimed its second Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops title this week as juniors Cody Gregory and Levi Mullins rallied from eighth place to take the victory on Lake Hartwell. The pair posted a three-day total of 26-8 thanks to a 10-pound, 1-ounce, three-fish limit on Day 3, the heaviest of the day.

Grayson Morris and Jacob Pfundt of the University of Montevallo finished the tournament in second place with a three-day total of 25-1, while Grant Adams and Wil Rigdon from Campbellsville University rounded out the Top 3 with 24-14.

The win comes just over seven months after teammates Cody Huff and Dakota Pierce were victorious at the first event of the 2020 season at Toledo Bend.

Gregory and Mullins earned $1,417 for their school and also earned the $500 Garmin contingency award. This is the first cut the duo has made as a team and their first National Championship qualification.

After what he called a terrible practice, Gregory said he and Mullins settled into an area 20 minutes up the Tugaloo River and milked the area for three days, which produced nine largemouth big enough to secure the win.

Flipping a California 420 colored Zoom Z-Craw and a California Love colored Missile Baits Baby D Stroyer paired with a 1/4-ounce tungsten flipping weight generated the most bites throughout the week for Gregory and Mullins. After finding a crawfish with an orange belly in the livewell, they also dipped the tails of their baits in chartreuse and orange dye.

Early in the morning, a buzzbait paired with a Zoom Horny Toad proved to be productive on Day 1 and Day 2.

The first two days, Gregory and Mullins couldn’t get the higher quality bass in the boat but generated plenty of keeper bites, Gregory said, ending Day 1 with 9 pounds, 3 ounces and Day 2 with 7-4.

After their buzzbait bite fizzled out early on Day 3, Gregory and Mullins switched to their flipping baits and quickly caught three fish to complete their limit around 9 a.m. A little less than an hour later, Gregory said Mullins hooked a 5-pounder and fought it all the way to the boat before it broke off around the trolling motor.

“We were like, ‘There goes our tournament win right there,’” Gregory said. “We were stressed out all day, but it seemed to come together at the end, I guess.”

With calmer weather prevailing for the first two days of the tournament, Morris and Pfundt targeted brushpiles within a 10 minute run of Green Pond Landing using their Garmin Panoptix unit. They found success calling those fish, both spotted and largemouth bass, out of the brush with topwater walking baits, specifically a Lucky Craft Gunfish and a Reaction Innovations Vixen.

Day 3, however, brought the remnants of Hurricane Laura through South Carolina, which produced 30 mph winds at times across Lake Hartwell.

“It was really windy and (the lake was) white capping,” Morris said. “We had been fishing offshore all week and getting them to come up because it is a big herring lake. We weren’t sure if we were going to be able to do that today. Because of the wind, you can’t work a spook.”

While the wind prevented Morris and Pfundt from throwing the topwater, the duo had their best day of the tournament throwing a Sebile Magic Swimmer, a jointed swimbait that Morris had never used prior to Saturday morning.

“I got it out of the package today and now it has the paint taken off of it. I was shocked (they bit that well), because we got out there and were really concerned and didn’t know how we were going to catch them today,” Morris said. “We tied on that swimbait, and within the first three casts they came up and they started biting it. We knew we were onto something. Every single pile we pulled up on we got bit.”

Timing was an important part of their bites, as well, Morris said. If they threw over a brushpile and didn’t get bit after three casts, they would move to the next brushpile in their rotation.

Action on Lake Hartwell will wrap up tomorrow with the Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors and Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster Junior Series starting at 6:45 a.m. ET from Green Pond Landing. Weigh-in for the Junior Series will begin at 2:45 p.m. followed by the High School Series.

This week’s tournament action at Lake Hartwell was hosted by Visit Anderson.

The 2020 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops regular season will conclude at Lake Cumberland, Kentucky Oct. 1-3 and will serve as the final opportunity for college anglers to qualify for the 2020 National Championship held on the Harris Chain of Lakes, Florida, Oct. 29-31.

2020 Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Carhartt

2020 Bassmaster College Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops

2020 Bassmaster College Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2020 Bassmaster College Series Premier Sponsors: Abu Garcia, Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Skeeter Boats, Talon, Ranger Boats, Yamaha

2020 Bassmaster College Series Supporting Sponsors: Garmin, Huk Performance Fishing, Mossy Oak Fishing, Rapala, TNT Fireworks

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 515,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2 and The Pursuit Channel), radio show (Bassmaster Radio), social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship, new Huk Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series powered by TourneyX presented by Abu Garcia and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic.

The post Gregory And Mullins Rally For Title At Bassmaster College Series On Lake Hartwell appeared first on Bass365.com.

Major League Fishing’s Joel Shangle explains the situation at Sturgeon Bay.

The post Championship Saturday Update appeared first on Bass365.com.

STURGEON BAY, Wis. (Aug. 28, 2020) – Pro Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Arkansas, caught 25 smallmouth bass totaling 86 pounds, 13 ounces, to win the Knockout Round Friday at the Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota, the FLW Pro Circuit Championship. Weights are now zeroed as the top 10 anglers advance to the sixth and final day of competition Saturday on Lake Michigan in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, for the top prize of $200,000.

“I am so excited to get back out there. I had a really good day today, but I found some stuff that could be really special – it has the potential for 150 to 200 pounds, tomorrow,” Shuffield said. “I ran 15 miles from my starting spot this morning to a spot that I had found yesterday. I thought it was a sweet spot, about the size of a basketball court, but I found out today it’s like 10-times the size of that. There are thousands of smallmouth there, and they are tucked away and there hasn’t been a boat on them all week.

“The key tomorrow is going to be managing the wind,” Shuffield continued. “The last I saw, they were saying it is supposed to be blowing 15 to 25 miles per hour, which is no joke on a place like this. I made as many waypoints as I could today, every group of fish that I could find. Tomorrow I can spend time drifting over each and every one of those waypoints and I think I can catch a lot of them.”

Shuffield has fished a drop-shot rig exclusively throughout the week. His setup consists of a ½-ounce tungsten drop-shot weight with a No. 1 Gamakatsu Drop/Split Shot hook, rigged on a Phenix M1 7’2 Medium spinning rod with a Daiwa Ballistic LT spinning reel. He throws the rig on 15-pound test Yo-Zuri Superbraid High Vis Yellow line with an 8-pound Yo-Zuri Top Knot 100% Flurocarbon leader.

“The bait doesn’t really seem to matter,” Shuffield said. “I’ve thrown every color (Berkley) Flat Worm that I had and have caught them on all. I threw both sizes of the Gulp Minnow and caught them on that, but the bait that I’ve weighed in the most on this week has been a 3-inch Gulp Leech. It really didn’t seem to matter too much, though. They bit everything that you threw at them.”

Berkley pro John Cox of DeBary, Florida, was the last angler in at 10^th place, narrowly beating out Arkansas pro Dylan Hays. Cox caught his last fish – a 4¾-pound smallmouth – around 3 p.m. to move into the top-10, then had to sweat out the last hour of competition as anglers slowly crept up the leaderboard behind him.

“That was one of the most intense things that I have ever experienced, especially because the weights zero tomorrow and everything starts over. I was just praying to stay in the top 10,” Cox said. “There were times when I wasn’t breathing. There were times when I was breathing really heavy. When I finally caught that last fish, I think I threw up in my mouth a little bit.

“I really feel like that if I can execute, the fish are there to do well. I just have to get it together,” Cox went on to say. “It’s going to be exciting either way and I know it’ll be fun to watch.”

The top 10 pros from Friday’s Knockout Round that now advance to Championship Saturday are:

1^st:       Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Ark., 25 bass, 86-13
2^nd:      Joey Cifuentes of Clinton, Ark., 21 bass, 77-10
3^rd:       Grae Buck of Green Lane, Pa., 17 bass, 66-7
4^th:       Bradford Beavers of Summerville, S.C., 20 bass, 64-11
5^th:       Casey Scanlon of Eldon, Mo., 23 bass, 64-0
6^th:       Rusty Salewske of Alpine, Calif., 17 bass, 61-10
7^th:       Kyle Hall of Granbury, Texas, 15 bass, 59-11
8^th:       Kurt Mitchell of Milford, Del., 17 bass, 58-8
9^th:       Evan Barnes of Hot Springs, Ark., 18 bass, 48-10
10^th:     John Cox of DeBary, Fla., 12 bass, 43-8

Finishing in 11^th through 20^th place are:

11^th:     Dylan Hays of Hot Springs, Ark., 11 bass, 40-2, $11,000
12^th:     Wade Strelic of Alpine, Calif., 10 bass, 35-11, $11,000
13^th:     Jon Canada of Helena, Ala., nine bass, 31-4, $11,000
14^th:     Joshua Weaver of Macon, Ga., nine bass, 23-1, $11,000
15^th:     Matthew Stefan of Junction City, Wis., seven bass, 22-9, $11,000
16^th:     Christopher Brasher of Longview, Texas, seven bass, 21-7, $11,000
17^th:     Greg Bohannan of Bentonville, Ark., six bass, 20-2, $11,000
18^th:     Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich., five bass, 16-13, $11,000
19^th:     Mitch Crane of Columbus, Miss., four bass, 13-0, $11,000
20^th:     Matt Becker of Finleyville, Pa., two bass, 7-4, $11,000

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

Overall there were 255 bass weighing 862 pounds, 13 ounces caught by the 20 pros in Friday’s Knockout Round. Canada caught the largest bass of the day – a chunky 5-pound, 2-ounce smallmouth.

The Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota, the FLW Pro Circuit Championship, is hosted by Destination Sturgeon Bay. The six-day event features the top 50 professional anglers from the 2020 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit season angling for a piece of $820,000, including the first-place prize of $200,000.

Unique to the TITLE Championship, the event is being fished using the MLF catch-weigh-immediate release format. A select group of 25 pros (Group A) competed on Days 1 & 3 (Monday & Wednesday), and the other 25 pros (Group B) competed on Days 2 & 4 (Tuesday & Thursday). The top-10 pros from each group based on their cumulative two-day total advanced to Day 5 (Friday). Now, only the top 10 pros continue on to the sixth and final day of competition Saturday, with the winner earning the inaugural Tackle Warehouse TITLE Championship Belt presented by Toyota.

Attendance is limited to anglers and essential staff and fans are encouraged to follow the event online through expanded broadcast coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com and read the daily coverage, live blogs and photos at FLWFishing.com.

The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the final day of competition Saturday from 7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. They’re joined by FLW Live hosts Travis Moran and Todd Hollowell, who will be reporting and providing from-the-water analysis from Sturgeon Bay.

Television coverage of the Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota event will be showcased across six two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 p.m. EDT, Oct. 9 on the Outdoor Channel. Episodes premiere in Friday night primetime slots on the Outdoor Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel.

The 2020 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit featured a field of 150 of the top professional anglers in the world competing at six regular-season events around the country. The top 50 anglers in the Angler of the Year (AOY) standings after the six events qualified to compete in this event, the inaugural Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented /by Toyota.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit 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 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, FLW and its 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 Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. Acquired by Major League Fishing in late 2019, FLW is expanding its programming in 2020 to the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel as well as on-demand at MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).

For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

The post Shuffield Wins Knockout Round at Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota at Sturgeon Bay appeared first on Bass365.com.