Jordan Lee Wins 2023 General Tire Stage Six at Lake St. Clair Presented by John Deere Utility Vehicles!

Lee grabs Stage Six trophy after his Canadian gamble pays off

Jordan Lee won every day he was on the water and ultimately was crowned Stage Six champion. Photo by Garrick Dixon.

Mason Prince

BASS PRO TOUR Press Release

HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – He got the Lake St. Clair monkey off his back. Jordan Lee is the General Tire Stage Six Presented by John Deere Utility Vehicles Champion after totaling 47 pounds, 13 ounces. Lee proved to be the man to beat all week long and put on another impressive smallmouth performance on Thursday, catching a limit worth 23-4.
Three for Lee, but this one is special
Lee bested second-place Alton Jones Jr. by 1-3 to get the win, his third Bass Pro Tour win of his career and his first since 2020. Here is how the Championship Round ended on St. Clair:
1. Jordan Lee – 47-13 (10)
2. Alton Jones Jr. – 46-10 (10)
3. Jacob Wheeler – 43-12 (10)
4. Jesse Wiggins – 43-4 (10)
5. Terry Scroggins – 42-14 (10)
6. Mark Daniels Jr. – 42-8 (10)
7. Mark Rose – 42-2 (10)
8. Gary Klein – 41-1 (10)
9. John Hunter – 39-9 (10)
10. Josh Bertrand – 37-11 (10)

Lee knew he was going to have to do something drastic if he wanted to win on St. Clair. He saw a win slip away on this lake back in 2017 after taking the lead into the final day. He had no intentions of repeating that painful history on Thursday.
Lee caught every one of his five keepers in the first period, quickly building his lead and adding cushion. By the time the first period came to an end, Lee had all but locked up the win leaving too much room for Jones and the rest of the field to close.

Jordan Lee Rules 2023 Knockout Round of General Tire Stage Six at Lake St. Clair Presented by John Deere Utility Vehicles

Mason Prince

BASS PRO TOUR Press Release

HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – The Championship Round is set after a windy day on Lake St. Clair for the Knockout Round of General Tire Stage Six at Lake St. Clair Presented by John Deere Utility Vehicles. The Top 10 anglers fought their way through smokey conditions to earn their shot at $100,000.
Jordan Lee will head into the final day on St. Clair with 24 pounds, 9 ounces and a 1-7 lead over second-place Alton Jones Jr. as he tries to win his third Bass Pro Tour event in his career and the first since the 2020 season. He’ll have to hold off Jones, who finished second on Lake St. Clair in 2021 and will be looking to avoid another runner-up finish.
There was also a three-way tie for ninth place at 21-4, with Terry Scroggins and John Hunter advancing to the Championship Round over 11th-place Justin Lucas as they both had a bigger bass than Lucas’ 4-6 big fish. It was the closest Knockout Round finish in the history of the Bass Pro Tour.

Here’s how the Top 10 will look heading into Thursday’s Championship Round:

1. Jordan Lee – 24-9 (5)

2. Alton Jones Jr. – 23-2 (5)

3. Mark Rose – 22-14 (5)

4. Gary Klein – 22-11 (5)

5. Jacob Wheeler – 22-2 (5)

6. Mark Daniels Jr. – 21-14 (5)

7. Josh Bertrand – 21-10 (5)

8. Jesse Wiggins – 21-8 (5)

9. Terry Scroggins – 21-4 (5)

10. John Hunter – 21-4 (5)

Full results

Lee looking to lock it up

Lee has been on St. Clair this week, but he’s spent his entire time on the Canadian side of the 275,000-acre lake. The Alabama pro spent his morning on Wednesday drop-shotting a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flatnose Jerk Shad with a 1/2-ounce weight on an area the size of a football field. He was able to round up 22 pounds in the first hour, which gave him the confidence he needed to keep his Canadian strategy on track.

Minn Kota's New Quest Trolling Motor

 Minn Kota Announces New and Upgraded Line of Trolling Motors to Fit Every Angler

Since 1934 Minn Kota has been known for developing real, fishable features that help anglers explore new water, go further, and put more fish in the boat. The best trolling motors available just got even better with a complete restage of Minn Kota’s bow-mount motor lineup and the introduction of QUEST technology. New and upgraded Ultrex™, Ulterra®, Instinct, Terrova®, Riptide Terrova®, PowerDrive™, and Riptide PowerDrive™ bow mount trolling motors are being reintroduced with a brand new look and updated technology suite full of angler-friendly enhancements.

In addition to all the GPS navigational features anglers have come to expect from Minn Kota like Spot-Lock and Follow-the-Contour, all of these new additions to the motor lineup will feature enhanced boat control tools for anglers – no matter their preferred species. Whether fresh or saltwater and regardless of skill level or pursuit, Minn Kota’s redesigned line of trolling motors has an option for any angler looking for bulletproof reliability and unmatched performance on the water.

New Features for All Bow-Mount Models:

• NEW Enhanced GPS Suite Including Drift Mode to allow anglers to spend more time fishing and less time on boat control 

  • Drift Mode: combats current and wind by automatically adjusting speed and direction to keep the boat on a true drift. Drift Mode acts as a gps drift sock eliminating the need for cumbersome ropes or shallow water anchor paddles

  • Improved Follow-the-Contour functionality: allows for better LakeMaster and CoastMaster integration to stay on the desired course.
     
  • Dodge Mode: allows anglers to quickly leave auto navigation mode to manually steer through waves and around structures and then resume navigating without resetting their route.

• Out of the Box connection to Humminbird via the One-Boat Network by including all necessary adapters required for networking without additional need for setup

• One App for Everything – the One-Boat Network App can control everything on the boat from the trolling motor and shallow water anchors to the Humminbird head units

• Enhanced Built-in 2D Sonar with Dual Spectrum CHIRP adds Humminbird’s unrivaled sonar clarity to every Minn Kota motor

Minn Kota QUEST Technology below

MUSTAD Reveals New Premier Precision Hooks

AlphaPoint® Technology sets a new standard in premier precision with a slim and sharp hook design, exemplifying excellence in engineering.

Quest, Minn Kota's Newest Motor: Details on Monday!

Developing real, fishable features for our consumers has been the quest for Minn Kota across nine decades and eleven million motors. June 26th we announce the newest addition to the legendary Minn Kota line of products – and you’re going to want to see it. #MinnKota

ChatterBait® Creators Reveal Ultra-Refined ElaZtech® Trailer

New Z-Man® ChatterSpike™ exhibits creative engineering, boosts bladed jig performance Ever since the Original ChatterBait® won the first of what would soon add up to dozens of tournament wins and mega stacks of cash a couple decades back, the bladed jig’s soft plastic trailer has always been along for the ride, almost an afterthought. Or, depending on the trailer’s design, maybe it’s the other way around—that the tail wags the dog. Maybe science explains it best: The tail helps maintain balance, offers counterweight and assistance with movement, and certainly, communicates a very specialized message. To Z-Man pro and ChatterBait tactician Stephen Browning, it’s all about the hydrodynamics. Always, he leans on the blade for its flash, action and lateral-line strumming vibes. But Browning also understands the critical role of his chosen ChatterBait trailer: to provide bulk, a bit of buoyancy, baitfish profile and just enough tail-kicking animation to augment—but not overpower—the blade itself. Bringing out all the best fish catching vibes of a ChatterBait—while simultaneously injecting extra dimensions of balance, movement and bass talk—the new Z-Man ChatterSpike™ looks and performs like it’s perfectly at home on the back of any bladed jig. “Beyond its soft, durable ElaZtech® composition,” suggests Browning, “the coolest thing about the ChatterSpike is that it absolutely maxes out blade performance and hunting action and never gets in the way of a ChatterBait’s talents. A lot of other trailers seem to be designed without considering how their bulk, shape or action affects ChatterBlade® function.” Think of the ChatterSpike as an intelligent, highly refined trailer that brings harmony to an already catchy tune. Streamlined and hydrodynamic at first glance, the ChatterSpike’s minimalist pintail baitfish façade embodies some impressive engineering. “To give the ChatterSpike a crisp, fluid, extra-responsive action, we sculpted it with a diamond-shaped cross section and leading edges that effortlessly slice through water and transfer energy all across the body,” explains Jose Chavez, Z-Man Director of Product Development. “To increase water displacement and quivering action though the tail section, we cut in a series of V-shaped ridges, top and bottom. This segmented posterior makes the ChatterSpike swim with a crisp, fast whipping action, side-to-side. It’s a tight but realistic range of movement that can actually be customized by the angler.”

Mid-Depth Assassin – the Berkley Dime

 

Berkley’s newest hard bait weapon that bass cannot resist Berkley understands what balsa crankbaits can do to help anglers catch more fish, but also recognizes the limitations attributed to wooden baits. Building on the success of their first alternative for a flat-sided balsa crankbait with the Berkley Frittside, the team at Berkley Labs has now taken the same method of proven balsa action and durability and applied it to their newest mid-depth crankbait – the Berkley Dime. Offering anglers the durability and performance of a plastic bait, the Dime features balsa-like action thanks to Berkley’s patented Flash Disc technology. It not only casts further due to the weight transfer system in the smaller sizes, but it tracks perfectly and features sticky sharp Fusion19 treble hooks for when it’s time to fill the boat. Rounding out the offering are first in class finishes and colorway options to match the hatch that balsa baits cannot achieve. Backed by Berkley science to help anglers catch more fish, the Dime is sure to become a go-to mid-depth crankbait at all times of year. KEY FEATURES • Patented Flash Disc Technology achieves balsa like action in a plastic bait • Weight transfer system for further casting in sizes 4 and 6 • Sticky sharp Fusion19 hooks • First in class finish and colorways unachieved by balsa baits Sizes: 4 • 6 • 10 • 15 Colors: Red Swamp Craw • HD Brown Craw • Proper Copper • Blaze • Ghost Green Craw • Spray Tan • Special Red Craw • Ghost Red Craw • Blue Shad • Honey Shad • Killer Gill • Citrus Shad • Ghost Morning Dawn • Ghost Gill • Black Chartreuse • HD Blueback Herring • Pixie Dust • River Bream • Rootbeer Craw • Vanilla Chartreuse • Blue Chartreuse MSRP: $10.99

Nick Hatfields Wins 2023 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals T-H Marine Stop 5 at the Potomac River!

 Hatfield hammers 20-11 on final day to earn first pro win at the Potomac

By Jody White

MLF Press Release

MARBURY, Md. – The final day of Tackle Warehouse Invitationals T-H Marine Stop 5 at the Potomac River was tough on a lot of the leaders, but not on Nick Hatfield. The sophomore pro hammered out the biggest bag of the event, 20 pounds, 11 ounces, dominating the final day and winning with a 53-12 total. For the win, Hatfield earned $117,500 and locked in qualification for next year’s REDCREST. Moving up from second place to earn the win, Hatfield beat out Cody Meyer in second and Eric Panzironi in third, who both made big moves on the final day.

After a Polaris Rookie of the Year win in 2021 on the Pro Circuit, Hatfield signed on to the new-look Invitationals for another go-round. After finishing 101st at Lake of the Ozarks in May, it looked like his Bass Pro Tour dreams may have gone by the wayside; but winning the Potomac vaulted him back into the Top 10 in points and may prove to be a key moment in a long career.

Final-day gamble pays off big

Starting the day in second behind Martin Villa, Hatfield knew he was close to a win. Still, the Top 10 was about as stacked as can be on the Potomac, and he also knew he needed to do more than just hold serve.

“Today I decided to scrap where I’ve been starting because it sucked yesterday,” Hatfield said. “I didn’t want to try to go in there and scrap out 14 or 15 pounds, I wanted to go for the win.”

So, he rolled into Chicamuxen Creek and started fishing in a recently opened spawning sanctuary.

2023 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals T-H Marine Stop 5 at the Potomac River Day 2: Villa Take Lead!

 

Martin Villa stayed consistent on Day 2 to move into the lead. Photo by Matt Brown.

By Jody White, Invitationals

MLF Press Release

MARBURY, Md. – Slick and hot conditions made things a little tougher on Day 2 of T-H Marine Stop 5 at the Potomac River, and it showed on the leaderboard, as success on Day 1 was no guarantee of the same on Day 2. Moving up from third place, Martin Villa now leads going into the final day after adding 15 pounds, 7 ounces to 18-15 from Day 1 for a 34-6 total. Behind him, Nick Hatfield has 33-10, Michael Neal is third with 32-11, Cody Spetz tallied 32-9 and Potomac superstar Bryan Schmitt sits in fifth with 17-7.

While 30 pounds goes down the leaderboard to 21st place, the top five are stunningly tight. Considering how the Potomac has been fishing, and how free and easy Championship Monday is likely to be, things seem primed for one of the better Tackle Warehouse Invitationals final days of the year. With some big fish being caught, and some big hitters in the mix, it’s looking like a good day to tune in to the MLFNOW! live stream and maybe do a little less work than normal.

Hard cover has Villa on top

No stranger to the Potomac, Villa is an exceptional current fisherman who likes to hone his craft fly fishing for trout. Now, he’s in the mix for $80,000, and his efforts have him unofficially tied for the Angler of the Year lead as well.

Unsurprisingly, Villa is banking on specific pieces of hard cover at specific times. Running the tide and making a lot of effort to get on certain exact places – he checked one spot five times today before it was free of boats.

“I’m missing a grass bite – and I that know it’s the 1-2 punch that you need on this fishery – let me rephrase that, the big-fish grass bite,” Villa said. “It usually revolves around the topwater, but it just seems that when the tide is high they don’t really want to hit it, and when the tide is low I’m not really trying to be in the grass, because I’ve been fishing hard cover. And the places where the better fish are, they’re pulling off of the spawn. So, there are fish coming through every day, so hopefully there are some more there tomorrow.”

TOP 10 BELOW

Happy Father's Day Ontario!!

 Free Fishing for Father's Day Weekend!

The following is from ONTARIO OUT OF DOORS Magazine. 

https://oodmag.com/fathers-day-weekend-brings-more-free-fishing/

The province’s next licence-free fishing opportunity arrives along with Father’s Day weekend. Saturday, June 17, and Sunday, June 18 are part of four free fishing events aimed at introducing more folks to angling. Other 2023 licence-free events include Family Day and Mother’s Day weekends, as well as Family Fishing Week, to celebrate Canada Day from July 1-9.

Great time to get out

“Fishing is a great family pastime,” Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry Graydon Smith stated in a release. “With fishing being free this Father’s Day weekend, it’s a great time to get out on one of Ontario’s lakes or rivers and enjoy this wonderful sport.” Canadian residents taking part in free fishing periods need to carry identification issued by the provincial or federal government. Conservation licence catch limits, size limits, sanctuaries, and all other fishing regulations and rules still apply. Approximately 1.2 million licensed anglers spend $1.75 billion each year on recreational fishing in Ontario, the province stated.

Free fishing resources

Tackleshare, an Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) program supported by Ontario Power Generation, loans fishing equipment to the public at more than 140 loaner sites across Ontario. Beginners can learn how to ice fish via TackleShare YouTube Channel videos. Follow TackleShare on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram or visit www.tackleshare.com for more information.

To read the 2023 Fishing Regulations Summary and read up on your own Fisheries Management Zone (FMZ), click here

Berkley PowerBait Nessie – Taking Glide Baits Into Uncharted Territory

 Going where no glide bait has ever gone, the all new Berkley PowerBait Nessie allows anglers to fish a big profile bait where one has never been fished before. Giving fish a completely new look, Berkley’s new soft bodied glide bait design allows anglers to skip, slide, and cast this bait into uncharted water.

 
Available in three different sizes starting from 5-inch and ranging up to 9-inches, the PowerBait Nessie presents a big profile with the ability to be retrieved at various speeds and cadences due to the stabilizing fins that keep the bait running consistent at all times. Featuring a new mesh reinforced joint and hook retention clip, durability and efficiency are never in question when anglers are hunting for a big bite.
 
This bait opens the door for entry level anglers to fish bigger baits, as well as unlocking an entirely new and unique use of a glide bait for avid and experienced anglers. In addition, the PowerBait Nessie comes in several custom painted finishes to match any forage profile, showing fish a carbon copy of the real thing. Paired with a sticky sharp Fusion19 treble hook, anglers now have the ultimate bait to catch the fish of a lifetime.
 

KEY FEATURES
• Soft-bodied glide bait design featuring Berkley’s famous PowerBait flavor
• Mesh reinforced joint provides durability while allowing for free range of motion
• Stabilizing fins for consistent action
• Hook retention clip keeps treble hook secured to the body – suited for keeping the hook in place when skipping under cover
• Premium features and components for ultimate performance and durability
• Sticky sharp Fusion19 treble hook
• Custom painted forage matching finishes
• Slow sinking
• Designed in the Berkley Lab with Berkley pro Mike Iaconelli

Sizes: 5-inch • 7-inch • 9-inch
Colors: Golden Shiner • Hitch • Perch • Hickory Shad • Rainbow Trout • Shad • Voltage • Burnt Bone • Raw • Green Pumpkin

MSRP: $7.99 – 5-inch • $9.99 – 7-inch • $12.99 – 9-inch
Available: September 2023

Classic Winning Bait Gets a Baby Brother

 ‘Best of all-time’ Z-Man^® Scented Jerk ShadZ™ adds a refined 3.5” version

Ladson, SC (June 13, 2023) – A cool half mill’ and a bookcase crowded with shiny bass trophies ain’t a bad haul for a single unassuming softbait. “Over the last six or seven years, the 4-inch Scented Jerk ShadZ has produced some great tournament wins, from 150 boat derbies around my home waters in Ontario all the way to the Tennessee River,” notes Z-Man pro Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson, who boated every one of his 2023 Bassmaster Classic winning bass on the same exceptional softbait. “Crazy to consider I’ve now won well over half a million dollars on the Jerk ShadZ alone.” But overshadowed by dock-talk surrounding Gussy’s “best bait of all time,” whispers of a little secret have gradually leaked out. “During the 2023 Classic, when the bite got tough, I downsized to a slightly shortened bait to show bass a smaller, sub-4-inch profile,” he divulged. “Over the years, this modified Jerk ShadZ has tricked a bunch of critical smallmouths and certainly helped me secure the Classic win. Actually, whenever conditions get tough, a downsized bait can be a bigtime difference maker.”

Adrian Avena Wins 2023 Bass Pro Tour Presented by ATG by Wrangler on Cayuga Lake!

New Jersey pro claims his first major tour-level win after two-day smallmouth clinic

By Tyler Brinks, BASS PRO TOUR 

UNION SPRINGS, N.Y. – Going into the final two days at Favorite Fishing Stage Five Presented ATG by Wrangler on New York’s Cayuga Lake, the question about the lake’s smallmouth fishery was “how much will it take to win this uniquely timed derby?” After two days of Knockout and Championship Round competition, the answer is clearly “a lot.”

New Jersey pro Adrian Avena finished up a two-day big-smallmouth-catching clinic Saturday with 28 pounds 10 ounces, just 24 hours after bagging a massive five-fish limit of 29-6. Avena’s two-day haul of smallmouth rang up to 58-0 – 2 pounds better than Bass Pro Tour rookie Spencer Shuffield and more then enough to secure Avena’s first-ever Bass Pro Tour win.

Avena was all-in on smallmouth

Avena committed to fishing spawning smallmouth all week on Cayuga’s southern end. It was the same tactic that all of the Top 10 committed to in both the Knockout and Championship Rounds – Avena just did it better. The Berkley pro’s biggest difference-maker was a handful of 6-pounders that he weighed the final two days – three in the Knockout Round, two on the final day – while the rest of the field was catching 4s and 5s.

Avena’s last two bags were the best weights each day, and his four-day aggregate was an impressive 105 pounds. With all 10 of the Championship Round pros running the same pattern, Avena searched for less-pressured fish. That translated into fishing deeper water and employing a flogger to see bedding smallmouth that others missed.

“I was fishing a little deeper than everyone else and finding fish the other guys didn’t see,” Avena said. “This $150 ‘traffic cone’ was the difference and won me $100,000.”

Avena used various finesse presentations to catch his fish, but the drop-shot was his primary tool.

“I was using a Berkley Gulp! Minnow in chartreuse shad,” he said. “The chartreuse back was a big player, especially when the water got stirred up so I could see it better. I was fishing it with a short leader, trying to imitate a perch attacking the beds.”

Avena travels with Jacob Wheeler, Dustin Connell, and Mark Daniels Jr., a group that has accounted for more than its fair share of Bass Pro Tour trophies in the five years since the tour started. For Avena to add one of his own was a huge relief. This win also marks Avena’s first tour-level victory in his 11-year professional career.

“I travel with three of the best in the world, and I wouldn’t say I was tired of them winning so much, but it was taking a toll on me,” he admitted. “I didn’t know if it would ever happen for me. You have no idea what this win means to me, but we got it done.”

Avena’s last victory was also his first major event as a professional, a Toyota Series triumph when he was just 20 years old. That was another June event in this part of the country, on Lake Champlain. To win one after a long drought was a great feeling for Avena.

“I haven’t won since then. I’ve been close so many times,” he said. “This lake is chock full of 5- to 7-pounders, so I didn’t think what I caught would be enough. This is so awesome, and I have so many people to thank, because so many people believed in me.”

Notes from Cayuga

The event started with a relatively even mix of largemouth and smallmouth bass making it onto SCORETRACKER®, but smallmouth became the focus more and more as the event wore on. Largemouth were nearly non-existent in the final tally. Although several green fish were landed, only one largemouth bass made the best-five for anyone in the Top 10 during the Championship Round, with David Dudley’s 5-4 being the only one to make the cut.

With his third-place finish this week, Dakota Ebare will move into second place in the Bally Bet Angler of the Year race. He finished 20 spots ahead of Ott DeFoe on Cayuga and is just 28 points behind him unofficially. With two events to go, Ebare appears to be the only one with a realistic shot to overtake DeFoe for the title. With his second straight Top 10, Bass Pro Tour rookie Matt Becker will move into third.

What’s next

The Bass Pro Tour continues the northern swing with General Tire Stage Six Presented by John Deere Utility Vehicles on Michigan’s Lake St. Clair, in less than two weeks on June 24-29. After that, the 80 anglers will have a month-long break before closing the season in Michigan on Saginaw Bay and the Saginaw River on Aug. 1-6.

2023 Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Five Presented by ATG by Wrangler on Cayuga Lake!

Championship Round shaping up to be another epic clash for Stage Five supremacy

UNION SPRINGS, N.Y. – Saturday’s highly-anticipated Knockout Round at Favorite Fishing Stage Five Presented by ATG by Wrangler on Cayuga Lake lived up to the hype, and its name.

The constant catches and subsequent swings on SCORETRACKER® evoked a pair of heavyweight boxers trading blows in a 12-round title fight — except instead of punches, the 40 anglers thrilled fans watching on MLFNOW! by landing Cayuga’s beefy smallmouth bass.

Stage Five has officially become a smallmouth slugfest, with all 10 anglers who qualified for Sunday’s Championship Round weighing exclusively brown fish. Once again, the smallies showed up in quantity and quality never before seen on a national tournament trail, ensuring that this bass brawl will be remembered in fishing lore like Ali and Foreman’s Rumble in the Jungle.

Adrian Avena leads after hauling in 29 pounds, 6 ounces — in his words, “the best smallmouth bass fishing day of my entire life.” It gave him only 2 ounces of cushion over second-place Jacob Wheeler.

It wasn’t just the two traveling partners who caught ‘em, either. It took nearly 26 pounds (25-15) to make the top 10, with Kevin VanDam the last man to qualify for the Championship Round. An astounding 15 anglers topped 25 pounds for the day.

Luck E Strike Sold to Music Star Toby Keith!

Toby Keith has recently announced the acquisition of the fishing brand Luck E Strike. The bait and tackle brand, lauded by both professional anglers and recreational fishermen as a standby classic, has undergone a slight rebrand and is relaunching this summer with a new focus on its traditional American made division while maintaining the current assortments sold nationwide, all under the brand’s new slogan: “An American Original Since 1970.” Keith’s Instagram followers heard the news first.

Brock Mosley Wins 2023 Folds of Honor Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River

Mosley breaks bridesmaid streak with Bassmaster Elite Series win at Sabine River

Brock Mosley of Collinsville, Miss., has won the Folds of Honor Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River with a four-day total of 44 pounds, 3 ounces.  (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS)

BASS PRESS RELEASE 

ORANGE, Texas — Brock Mosley got the monkey off his back and put the blue trophy on his mantle.

 

After enduring five second-place finishes, including the 2021 Elite event at the Sabine River, the angler from Collinsville, Miss., in his eighth year on the Elite Series, tallied a four-day total of 44 pounds, 3 ounces to claim his first pro-level win at the Folds of Honor Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River.

 

“After five times walking off the stage and seeing my wife crying, I was starting to think it would never happen,” Mosley said with a quaking voice. “But I always said, ‘When it’s God’s timing, I’ll win one of these.’”

 

Mosley got off to a solid start with a 12th-place, Day 1 limit of 9-15. Despite losing two hours to a mechanical issue in the second round, he added 11-7 and took over the lead on Day 2.

 

On Semifinal Saturday, Mosley anchored his best effort — a five-bass limit that weighed 12-14 — with a 4 1/2-pound kicker and expanded his lead to 3-1 going into Championship Sunday. While big bites eluded him during the final round, Mosley’s limit of 9-15 pushed him past a charging Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas, by a margin of 2-13.

 

Along with the coveted Elite Series trophy, Mosley won the $100,000 top prize, pushing his career earnings with B.A.S.S. over $785,000.