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OAKLEY, Calif. (Aug. 21, 2020) – Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour angler Ish Monroe of Oakdale, California, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Friday weighing 21 pounds even to win the three-day Toyota Series at the California Delta tournament in Oakley, California. Monroe’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 65-13 earned him the win by a 16-pound, 7-ounce margin – the third-largest margin of victory in Toyota Series history – over second-place angler Beau Joudrey of Oakley, California, and earned Monroe the top payout of $23,420 in the second tournament of the 2020 Toyota Series Western Division.

“The first day, we had a slack tide in my best area, so I started on a different spot just because the tide was running,” said Monroe, who earned his third career FLW victory on the California Delta. “There was some current there, and I started punching and caught them right away. I had over 20 pounds in the first hour.”

Monroe fished a Missile Baits D Bomb in the PB&J color on a 5/0 or 6/0 River2Sea Ish Monroe New Jack Flippin hook and had two different weight sizes depending on where he was punching.

He punched with his signature series 8-foot heavy Daiwa Tatula Elite Series rod that he paired with an 8.1:1 Daiwa Tatula Elite Pitch/Flip reel spooled with 70-pound-test Daiwa Samurai braided line.

After sacking 21 pounds, 4 ounces on the first day, Monroe found himself in third place, and when the second day rolled around, he went right back to where he started the first day.

“Obviously, if you catch 20 pounds somewhere so fast, you’ll go back and check it out,” Monroe said. “I went to that same stretch and caught one good one and a few decent ones to get me started. From there, I went to the area I wanted to fish the first day and started throwing a frog.”

Monroe is known for his prowess with a frog, and he proved why again on the California Delta with some key fish, including a 7-pounder on the second day.

“I got to my spot and missed a giant,” Monroe said. “About 30 feet further down the stretch, I caught that 7-pounder. I already had a 4- and 6-pounder boxed, and that’s how I got that bag.”

His frog this week was yet another product that bears his name, the River2Sea Ish Monroe Phat Mat Daddy Frog in the yellow head color. He fished it on his signature series 7-foot, 4-inch heavy Daiwa Tatula Elite rod with a 7.1:1 Daiwa Tatula Elite reel spooled with 55-pound-test Daiwa Samurai braided line.

Going into the final day, Monroe had a lead of 7 pounds, but on a fishery with plenty of 10-pounders swimming around, he knew he would have to catch them again to secure the win.

“I started the day in the same general area I’d been fishing all week,” said Monroe, who revealed he was in what locals refer to as the “Middle Delta” area. “I didn’t fish the same exact areas, but I was close by all three days.”

On the final day, he started fast and quickly caught a limit punching in water that was between 1 and 6 feet, the critical depth he targeted all week.

“Right off the bat, I had a limit,” he said. “After that, I ran to my frog area and never got bit. I made another little move and caught one about 4 pounds punching and then caught one over 8 pounds and that did it.”

The top 10 pros on the California Delta finished:

1^st:       Ish Monroe of Oakdale, Calif.., 15 bass, 65-13, $23,420

2^nd:      Beau Joudrey of Oakley, Calif., 15 bass, 49-6, $9,075

3^rd:       Mark Lassagne of Dixon, Calif., 15 bass, 46-14, $7,026

4^th:       Michael Caruso of Peoria, Ariz., 15 bass, 45-2, $5,855

5^th:       Bryant Smith of Roseville, Calif., 15 bass, 44-14, $5,269

6^th:       Ken Mah of Elk Grove, Calif., 14 bass, 44-7, $4,747

7^th:       Jon Strelic of El Cajon, Calif., 15 bass, 43-2, $4,298

8^th:       Logan Huntze of Discovery Bay, Calif., 15 bass, 42-0, $3,513

9^th:       Joe Uribe Jr. of Surprise, Ariz., 15 bass, 41-14, $2,927

10^th:     Tai Au of Glendale, Ariz., 15 bass, 39-15, $2,342

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

Ryan Diatte of Gilroy, California, took home an extra $1,000 as the highest finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $35,000 per event in each Toyota Series tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.

Michael Walsh of El Cajon, California, won the Co-angler Division Friday with a three-day total of 14 bass weighing 36 pounds, 7 ounces. Walsh took home the top prize package of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard motor.

The top 10 co-anglers on the California Delta finished:

1^st:       Michael Walsh of El Cajon, Calif., 14 bass, 36-7, Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat w/115-hp outboard

2^nd:      Rick Grover of Trabuco Canyon, Calif., 15 bass, 34-12, $3,063

3^rd:       Colby Huntze of Discovery Bay, Calif., 15 bass, 34-7, $2,451

4^th:       Rachel Uribe of Long Beach, Calif., 15 bass, 33-2, $2,144

5^th:       Casey Dunn of North Highlands, Calif., 15 bass, 32-12, $1,838

6^th:       Dominick Mohameds of Oakley, Calif., 15 bass, 31-11, $1,532

7^th:       Rommel Bagay of Concord, Calif., 15 bass, 31-8, $1,225

8^th:       Jacob Traba of Pacifica, Calif., 15 bass, 30-5, $1,114

9^th:       Troy Diatte of Salinas, Calif., 15 bass, 30-1, $919

10^th:     Keith Hurney of Oakley, Calif., 14 bass, 28-12, $808

The Toyota Series at the California Delta was hosted by the City of Oakley. It was the second of three regular-season tournaments in 2020 for Western Division anglers. The next events for Toyota Series anglers will take place on Sept. 2-4 – the Toyota Series at Fort Gibson Lake in Wagoner, Oklahoma, and the Toyota Series at Neely Henry Lake in Gadsden, Alabama. For a complete schedule, visit FLWFishing.com.

The Toyota Series consists of eight divisions – Central, Eastern, Northern, Plains, Southeastern, Southern, Southwestern and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International division. Anglers who fish all three qualifiers in any of the eight divisions and finish in the top 25 will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning $235,000 cash, including a $35,000 FLW PHOENIX Bonus for qualified anglers. The winning co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard. The 2020 Toyota Series Championship will be held Dec. 3-5 on Lake Cumberland in Burnside, Kentucky, and is hosted by the Somerset Tourist & Convention Commission and the Burnside Tourism Commission.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Toyota Series 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).

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Like most of us over 40, bass fishing’s funniest man, Gerald Swindle sometimes needs assistance from prescription eyewear. But when it comes to distance vision, Swindle was on par with the eyesight of a Lake St. Clair seagull during Wednesday’s final day of practice at the YETI Bassmaster Elite Series tournament. 

“My videographer Shannon Wheeler was riding with me and lost his treasured Tyler Childers baseball hat his daughter got him. I spotted it barely floating in the middle of this freshwater ocean, and we recovered it. Then I looked down in the water and saw a cool looking crankbait somebody had lost,” explains the longtime Team Toyota pro.

Swindle plucked the yellow perch painted diving plug from St. Clair’s massive 275,000 surface acres, noticed it had 3’ feet of line hanging off it, and took it for safe keeping back to the house he’s renting this week 10 miles from the weigh-in.

“I showed it to Gary Clouse from Phoenix Boats, and he told me it looked a lot like the crankbait Clent Davis had shown him. So, Gary text Clent a photo of it – and sure enough it was Clent’s,” laughed Swindle. “I don’t even know what it is, other than a high dollar plug that Clent says is dang good here on St. Clair.”

So, Swindle isn’t giving it back to his fellow Alabama pro – and Davis is being a good sport about it, even though that particular lure was broken off in practice by a healthy smallmouth Davis hooked.

“I already had more overnighted to fish the rest of the tournament with,” says Davis with a grin.

Davis enters Day 2 in 27^th place, Swindle in 32^nd. And no, the unique crankbait actually never made it out of Swindle’s rod locker Thursday.

In fact, even though it would make for one heck of an end to the story, it would probably be best if the diving-billed treasure “’Ol Hawkeye” spotted is not a determining factor in the final outcome come Sunday. 

But you know the age-old saying, “Finders keepers …..”

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MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. — Employing a blended strategy, John Cox of DeBary, Fla., caught a five-bass limit that weighed 24 pounds, 12 ounces to take the Day 1 lead at the YETI Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair.

John Cox, of DeBary, Fla., is leading after Day 1 of the 2020 YETI Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair with 24 pounds, 12 ounces.  Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, anglers were limited to the U.S. waters of St. Clair, the St. Clair River, Lake Huron and the upper part of the Detroit River. But the fishery still kicked out 18 bags of 20 pounds or better.

Starting his day on Lake St. Clair, Cox searched broad flats in 12 to 15 feet and caught a solid limit of smallmouth by 9 a.m. From there, he transitioned to the St. Clair River, where he made two key upgrades with a pair of 5-pound smallmouth that bolstered him to the leading weight.

“I left the lake with about 20 pounds, and then I caught two 5-pounders in the river, and then I went practicing,” said Cox, a veteran pro who is fishing his first season on the Elite Series. “On the lake, I was bouncing around a couple of grass clumps, but I don’t know about tomorrow. It was kind of rough out there, so I might just fish the river tomorrow.

“I felt more comfortable in the river, that’s for sure. The lake is not my thing. It just felt good when I was fishing in the river. I could move around and it was like ‘This looks good, I’ll stop here.’ It was kinda nice.”

On the lake, Cox rotated between three grass clumps and found his bass on the sandy perimeters. All of his fish bit drop shots with various worms.

“I went from the Berkley MaxScent Flat Worm to the Flatnose Jerk Shad; even The General when I started running low on those,” Cox said. “As long as it had the MaxScent (formula), you could sling it out there and they’d eat it.

“The drop shot also produced in the river. I wanted to throw other stuff, but I think that’s the best chance to catch a big one.”

Cox made a big run up the St. Clair River and fished near the Lake Huron inflow.

“I was just kind of fishing, drifting down with the current and just throwing at anything that looked good — docks, walls, whatever,” Cox said. “If I came to current seam, I’d throw into it. Or if I saw one under the boat, I’d pitch out in front of it.

“I caught those two 5-pounders during a slow period. I caught one, then I went for another 45 minutes. I was catching a few small ones and then caught another big one.”

Noting that he got lucky on Lake St. Clair Thursday, Cox said he found more spots in the river than he fished — and he’s hopeful he can exploit more of the river’s potential on Day 2.

“Today was pretty amazing, but who knows what will happen tomorrow,” he said.

Trailing Cox by 10 ounces, Dave Mullins of Mt. Carmel, Tenn., is in second place with 24-2. Committing his day to Lake St. Clair, Mullins said he made a key morning move to a 5-acre area that produced all of his weight.

“I stayed a little too long and caught only one 3-pounder, but as soon as I moved a couple of miles and shut down on a place where I’d gotten some bites in practice, I started getting bit frequently,” he said. “With a west wind and bright bluebird skies, it was a perfect smallmouth day.”

Mullins mixed up his presentations between a drop shot and a Ned rig. He rigged the former with a Strike King Dream Shot, while the latter held a Z-Man Finesse TRD. All of his plastic baits were green pumpkin.

Ray Hanselman of Del Rio, Texas, is in third place with 22-3. Sticking with the 15- to 17-foot range on St. Clair, Hanselman tried to avoid congested areas, locate isolated schools of fish and stay on top of them. A mix of crankbaits and drop shots produced his bites.

“I stayed ahead of them and I didn’t pressure them too much,” Hanselman said. “In practice, it was hard to catch a 5-pounder, so when I was throwing back 4 (pounders) around noon, I knew it was time to leave.

“I found a couple of other spots and culled two more times — small culls of a few ounces. I left everything else alone and just went practicing.”

Chris Groh of Spring Grove, Ill., is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 6-pound smallmouth.

Friday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:30 a.m. ET at Lake St. Clair MetroPark. The weigh-in will be held at the park at 3:10 p.m.

The 85-angler field will be cut to the Top 40 after Friday’s round.

Live coverage of the event will be available starting at 7 a.m. on Bassmaster LIVE at Bassmaster.com with simulcasts on ESPN2 and ESPN3. Check local listings for ESPN2 times.

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

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

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Carhartt, Garmin, Huk Performance Fishing, Mossy Oak Fishing, Rapala

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Conservation Partners: AFTCO, Huk

2020 Bassmaster Elite At Lake St. Clair Local Hosts: Detroit Sports Commission, Macomb County, Huron-Clinton Metroparks (HCMA), Lake St. Clair Metropark

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.

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Matt Arey was excited to get day one of the YETI Bassmaster Elite on Lake St. Clair underway, but he wasn’t hesitant to admit his three days of practice had been ‘up and down’. The Team Toyota pro explained the giant smallmouth St. Clair is known for are still here for the taking, they just seemed to be more scattered than he is used to.

“The anglers are grouped up but the smallmouth are not,” Arey said with a laugh. “It’s still the same old St. Clair, its just going to fish a little differently this time around. The big bites were random and spread out for me. On Tuesday for example the first two fish I caught were five pounds, but they came two miles apart.”

Bassmaster Elite Series competitors may be more grouped up than normal due to Canadian waters being off limits on account of COVID restrictions. While there are a plethora of great fishing opportunities on the U.S. side, “the grass is always greener on the other side” as they say.

Arey has a solid track record on this massive fishery and lucky for him most of those good finishes have come on the U.S. side of the lake. The North Carolina native is no stranger to the drifting techniques that excel on St. Clair; he just wishes the fish were a bit more concentrated than he’s experienced this week.

“It’s a mental grind knowing you need to weigh-in five bigguns a day here with the fish being so spread out,” Arey explained. “I’m sure I’ll be fishing around a bunch of other guys and I hate to use the word luck in bass fishing, but at times it does feel like luck out there. It’ll be up and down everyday in my boat I’d guess.”

Speaking of up and down, that’s what Arey expects this event to do to anglers in the Angler of the Year race. With the way St. Clair is fishing, he predicts this event could make or break positions in the points race before heading into the southern swing to close the season.

Arey current sits in 3^rd place in the Angler of the Year race and knows he needs a strong finish here to hold that position. With any luck he’ll collide with enough fat bronzebacks each day to keep himself in the AOY hunt when he hops in his Tundra following this event.

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