Jacob Wheeler Dominates Group A in Shotgun Round 1 at Smith Lake

Wheeler Maintains Momentum with Dominant Performance

MLF PRESS RELEASE

Blistering speed of Wheeler gives him big jump ahead of the pool.
(Photo: MLF)

If you ever wondered if momentum is a thing in professional bass fishing, look no further than the five names at the top of SCORETRACKER™ after the first Shotgun Round of the Bass Pro Tour Phoenix Boats Stage Five Presented by Mercury: Jacob Wheeler, Andy Morgan, Wesley Strader, Ott DeFoe and Edwin Evers.

 

Led by Wheeler's record-breaking 38-fish, 61-pound, 15-ounce performance, that quintet of Major League Fishing® (MLF) pros racked up 138 scorable bass for just over 236 pounds to leave Smith Lake with comfortable cushions to carry into their Elimination Round competition on Thursday.

 

It was a continuation of recent success for all five anglers: Evers has four top-10 finishes in four events this season and leads the Bass Pro Tour points race; DeFoe is just a month removed from a Bassmaster Classic win; Strader has seven Top 20s in his last season-and-a-half; Morgan is shooting for back-to-back wins; and Wheeler has two Top 5s in his last four events.

 

"Momentum makes you a little fearless, for lack of a better term," said Morgan, who entered the week fresh off a win two weeks ago at Stage Four on Lake Chickamauga. "You're just kinda 'with it' from the get-go, whether you're getting bites from the get-go or not. Everybody is at their best when they're relaxed, and that's what everybody is after in this sport: to be relaxed, and to just keep it rolling."

 

Wheeler Was Dominant on Day 1 

 

No matter how you measure Wheeler's performance, "rolling" is an accurate description. On a fishery that showed signs of being in a slight post-spawn lull before the event started, Wheeler figured out the right patterns and the right locations early in the day, piling up 36 of his 38 fish in the first two periods and overtaking Morgan, who had rang up 18 fish and a big lead in Period 1.

 

Andy Morgan Claims Hometown Win on Lake Chickamauga at Bass Pro Tour Econo Lodge Stage Four presented by Winn Grips

Pitching trees scores Morgan big win!
Major League Fishing Press Release

Andy Morgan claims big win on strength of flipping and spinnerbait.
(Photo: MLF)

From the moment he announced his intention to compete on the Major League Fishing® (MLF) Bass Pro Tour, Tennessee pro Andy Morgan was tabbed by his fellow competitors as an angler to watch. Based on both his exceptional 23-year career and his catch-every-fish-that-swims fishing style, Morgan came into the season as a near-universal pick by his contemporaries to take home one of the eight regular-season Bass Pro Tour trophies. 

 

It turns out that Morgan's first Bass Pro Tour trophy didn't have far to travel: 7.1 miles from Lake Chickamauga to the trophy room in his home in Dayton.  

 

Fishing a lake that he grew up on - and finishing the day in a pocket that he and his dad have won "a number of April tournaments in over the years" - Morgan weighed in 34 Lake Chickamauga largemouth for 80-0 pounds to run away with the Championship Round of the Econo Lodge Stage Four presented by Winn Grips. 

 

"I wanted to win one more tournament on Chickamauga," Morgan admitted. "I can't explain how hard it is to win an event at this level, and I can't explain just how bad I wanted to win right here in front of my family and friends - I wanted it bad. It means the world to me to be able to come out here on this lake where I won my first tournament when I was 15, fish against this bunch of guys, and get that trophy. I'm awful proud of it." 

 

Jared Lintner finished second with 60-7, Todd Faircloth was third with 59-5, Jacob Powroznik was fourth with 54-4 and Mike Iaconelli completed the Top 5 with 54-2.    

 

   

Morgan Committed to One Spot Early 

 

Morgan fished Championship Sunday as one would expect a seasoned veteran to work his home fishery, committing his entire championship round to a long backwater north of Dayton that locals refer to as "The Branch". Morgan woke up on Championship Sunday, looked at the weather forecast calling for heavy morning rain and afternoon winds, and knew immediately that he had an outstanding chance for a big day in two sloughs inside "The Branch".  

 

2018 FLW Tour Lake Cumberland Day 3: Bryan Thrift Jumps into Lead by Ounces over Andy Morgan

Chris Johnston 10th

FLW PRESS RELEASE
All FLW Tour events are exciting, but this week’s tournament has been exceptional thanks to a showdown among A-list pros who are flat out smashing fish on Lake Cumberland. We’re on the cusp of what could be one of the greatest Sunday slugfests in FLW Live history on the final day of the season’s fourth Tour stop, which is presented by General Tire.

Morning smallmouth key to Thrift pattern.
(Photo: FLW)

Bryan Thrift is in the lead with 51 pounds, 8 ounces, but Andy Morgan is only 7 ounces back, Allen Boyd is a pound and 2 ounces back, and Greg Bohannan is 1-15 back. The entire top 10 is within 6 pounds of Thrift’s lead. With many in the top 10 catching 30 or more fish a day – and a lot of good ones – there’s no predicting the outcome, except to guarantee that Sunday at Cumberland will be one to remember.

Aside from the pro showdown, there’s also a very interesting species showdown going on. The main patterns are targeting staging and spawning smallmouths with swimbaits, and targeting staging and spawning largemouths with spinnerbaits. The two patterns seem to be producing at about an equal rate.

Thrift is in the smallmouth camp. He’s weighed in 15 brown bass, and brought in 18-11 today for his 52nd consecutive limit in FLW Tour competition, extending the record that he broke yesterday.

“Today was fun,” Thrift says. “The first two days were a little bit of a struggle, but I caught a lot of fish today.

“You can’t feel safe with Morgan behind you,” he adds. “Hopefully they bite again tomorrow. I caught a lot of them, so we’ll see.”

The fact that he caught so many today is the only thing that worries Thrift. He’s simply not sure if his “home area” can last for another day.

All three days he’s fished a variety of targets in his area, from the main lake to primary and secondary points to some of the lead-in banks in pockets. About the only thing he’s not fishing is the backs of the pockets where other pros are targeting largemouths.
TOP 10 BELOW

2018 FLW Tour Lake Cumberland Day 2: Andy Morgan Controls Tournament with 34-11lbs!

Chris Johnston 17th, Cory Johnston 93rd, Richardson 114th, Gussy 125th

by Curtis Niedermier

FLW PRESS RELEASE

For the second consecutive day, tournament leader Andy Morgan has a 1-pound, 6-ounce lead over second place at the FLW Tour event presented by General Tire on Lake Cumberland.

Sling a spinnerbait is what Andy does best.
(Photo: FLW)

Consistency is nice when you’re in the lead, but Morgan knows he left the door open today. A rash of lost fish, short strikes and bad breaks prevented him from fulfilling his potential. He weighed in 15 pounds, 12 ounces to back up 18-15 on day one, and likely could’ve come close to repeating his day-one weight had he managed to land a few more of the Cumberland smallmouths that slapped and toyed with his spinnerbait this morning.

“I think it was just bad luck,” says the Dayton, Tenn., pro about his misfortunes today. “I had some pretty good opportunities today to have a really, really nice bag.”

Among the heartbreak bass was a 5-pound-class smallmouth that gobbled Morgan’s spinnerbait. He says the fish had almost the entire bait in its mouth; only the top blade was hanging out. Morgan got a good look at it when the fish “gave up” the fight and wallowed on the surface. With his co-angler poised and ready with the net, Morgan believed the fish was as good as caught. Then the spinnerbait shot free. That fish alone would have been a big help.

As it stands, Morgan has 12 anglers within 5 pounds of his lead. Five pounds is a healthy cushion on some lakes, but Cumberland’s smallmouths are really starting to fire, and the forecast for tomorrow is for rain and overcast skies at least part of the day, which should make the smallmouth bite even better.

Top Ten Below

Bryan Schmitt Wins 2017 Walmart FLW Mississippi River with 61-6lbs!

Swim jig seals win.
by Rob Newell 
FLW PRESS RELEASE 

No one really knew what to expect when the FLW Tour pulled into to La Crosse, Wisconsin. Plenty of tournament history exists on Pools 7, 8 and 9 of the Mighty Mississippi, but most of it is after June when the spawn is an afterthought and summertime fishing is in full play.
Many Tour pros had never even been to this part of the Mississippi before, especially in May. Add to that high water conditions, uncertainty about the river’s grass habitat and - of course - the arrival of a nasty cold front during competition, and the Mississippi River essentially became a brand-new venue for most of the field.

Slow & steady swim jig gets big win! (Photo FLW)

When it was all over, though, Deale, Md. pro and Potomac River wizard Bryan Schmitt channeled his river experience into an impressive 61-pound, 6-ounce four-day total to win the FLW Tour presented by Evinrude on the Mississippi River. Schmitt beat back a challenge from talented Tour rookie Josh Weaver, who finished second with 58-11, and three-time Angler of the Year Andy Morgan, to take his first FLW tour victory, $125,400, and a huge amount of momentum going into next month’s season finale on Schmitt’s home water.
 “To win feels really good,” Schmitt says. “I’ve wanted this for a long time. I’m a big believer in momentum and I’m fishing really well right now, so I’m ready to get to the next event on my home waters on the Potomac and see what happens.”

2017 Walmart FLW Mississippi River Day 2: Bryan Schmitt Leads with 46-12lbs!

Third leader in three days!

by Rob Newell 

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Pools 7, 8 and 9 on the Mississippi River have not disappointed this week during the FLW Tour presented by Evinrude on the Mississippi River, and following a day three that saw cold, steady rainfall, two of the best river wizards on Tour are locked in battle atop the leaderboard.

Schmitt using hometown skills on the Mississippi. (Photo: FLW)

Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Md., snatched the tournament lead away from Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., on Friday by bringing in five bass weighing 15 pounds, 12 ounces, for a three-day total of 46-12. Schmitt will have a scant 12-ounce lead over Morgan going into the final day.

In what has been an impressive trading of river wits on the Mighty Mississippi, Schmitt and Morgan have both served up some of their best river-reading skills this week. What makes this duo’s duel so interesting is that Schmitt is using  river knowledge garnered from the Potomac River, while Morgan is battling with some good old-fashioned Tennessee River skills.

2017 Walmart FLW Mississippi River Day 2: Andy Morgan Leads with 31-4lbs!

Gustafson 102th, Chris Johnston 104th, Cory Johnston 105th,  and Richardson 141st.
by Rob Newell 
FLW PRESS RELEASE

Morgan takes lead as river keeps rolling. (Photo: FLW)

A river is a river.
That’s the simple philosophy Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn. used to capture the lead on day two of the FLW Tour presented by Evinrude on the Mississippi River.
Morgan cut his angling teeth fishing the “pools” along the Tennessee River – pools with names like Chickamauga, Nickajack and Guntersville. Though he’s never fished this part of the Mississippi River, in his mind pools 7, 8 and 9 are not much different than the “pools” he fishes back home in Tennessee.
Friday he relied on his river-reading skills to sack up 14 pounds, 9 ounces of bass, giving him a two-day total of 31 pounds, 4 ounces.

“A river is a river,” Morgan says. “They rise. They fall. They have a main channel. They have backwaters. These pools up here are somewhat like little tiny versions of the lakes on the Tennessee River.”
TOP 1O BELOW

2017 Walmart FLW Tour Harris Chain Day 1: John Cox Leads with 25-11lbs!

Cory Johnston 53rd, Gustafson 107th, Chris Johnston 108th & Richardson 133rd
FLW PRESS RELEASE
John Cox of Debary Fla. has fished the Harris Chain of Lakes since he was a kid. Today, his lifelong history on the Chain came into play big time by helping him drop 25 pounds, 11 ounces on the scale to lead day one of the FLW Tour event presented by Ranger.

Cox getting some bed fishing. (Photo: FLW)

Cox began the day by running straight to 10 to 15 beds he had marked during practice. By 9 a.m., however, he hadn’t located a single one of the bass he had found on beds during practice, so he completely scratched his practice finds and used his long history with the lakes to run “all around the Chain.”
TOP TEN BELOW

2016 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Champlain Day 1: Scott Martin Leads with 22, Chris Johnston in 2nd!

All Canadians faired well today. 
by Rob Newell
FLW PRESS RELEASE

It has been a few years since the Walmart FLW Tour visited Lake Champlain, but it did not take Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., very long to reconnect with some familiar history in the north end of the “Sixth Great Lake” and catch 22 pounds, 5 ounces of largemouths to take the day-one lead this time around.

Largemouth key for Martin. (FLW Photo)

Martin’s familiarity with the north end comes from his FLW Tour win in 2009 on Champlain, when he tapped into an offshore largemouth bite for victory. Martin is fishing the same areas again, but has changed his bait selection.

“It’s a little different this time,” Martin says. “There is not as much grass covering stuff up. As a result, I’m fishing some different baits than I did last time.”

Martin caught about 15 bass on the day, with his biggest weighing 5 pounds, 1 ounce. He is fishing isolated cover out off the bank and believes the lower water levels this year might be helping to usher the postspawn largemouths out his way.

“There are a lot of fish up there,” says Martin, who also won a Tour event on Champlain in 2004. “It’s a great largemouth area because of the shallow habitat. I have a lot of good memories from it, and maybe I can make some more good memories this week.

Matt Herren Wins the TTBC with 51-12 pounds!

It's Herren's time at TTBC
By Andrew Canulette
BASS PRESS RELEASE

When the final day of the 10th annual Toyota Texas Bass Classic began, Matt Herren held a slim 12-ounce lead over Bryan Thrift.

When the day was done, Thrift had closed the gap – but not enough to win.

Junk fishing his way to victory. (Photo: BASS)

Herren, an Elite Series pro from Alabama, had a three-day total of 51 pounds, 12ounces, which was eight ounces more than Thrift. The victory netted Herren a $100,000 cash prize, a Nitro Z20 boat with dual Power-Poles, and bragging rights in one of the most prestigious bass fishing tournaments.

But most importantly, it got Herren his first professional level win in nine years (he previously won an FLW stop in 2007.) He has never won a B.A.S.S. Elite Series event.

“Man, it’s incredible,” Herren said, after weighing a 17-4 limit on Sunday. “A lot of hard work goes into this, and there’s a lot of people who pay a big price to let me do what I do. They all know who they are … It’s amazing. You always wonder every day when you get up; you finish second, you finish third. It’s like ‘When? When is my time?’”

2016 Walmart FLW Beaver Lake Day 3: Scott Canterbury is King of the Day!

Gustafson finished 11^th.

by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

After weighing in 14 pounds, 6 ounces on day three of the Walmart FLW Tour presented by Jack Link’s on Beaver Lake, Quaker State pro Scott Canterbury finds himself in a precarious position: the tournament leader. This is a bit disconcerting for Canterbury because after nine years on Tour, he has not been able to close out on a win. He has been close and has finished in just about every spot in the top 10 except first – including two runner-ups in the Forrest Wood Cup.

Scott leaps into lead as tournament goes into final day. (Photo FLW)

Canterbury has been here before – it’s unnerving, but familiar territory for him. With only a 1-pound, 4-ounce lead going into the final day, he his well aware of the problems pursuing him in the rearview mirror.

“I’ve got the best in the world behind me – Mr. Beaver Lake, Matt Arey, and the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of all time) himself Andy Morgan,” Canterbury says. “Then there is Jeff Sprague who as been catching them every day. I can’t catch less than 15 pounds tomorrow and have shot at it. The lake is fishing too well right now. So all I can do is just go out there, go fishing and do the best I can.”Canterbury’s three-day total for the event is 45 pounds, 7 ounces. He has accrued most of that with a high-speed pitching technique that involves making more presentations in a day than anyone else and doing it on water that he has never fished before.

2015 Bassmaster Elite Chesapeake Bay Day 2: A- Mart Continues to Lead!

Martens keeps lead but Pipkens, Jocumsen less than a pound back!

By Bryan Brasher

bass press release

NORTH EAST, Md. – Aaron Martens took another step toward his second victory of the season Friday, bringing in five bass that weighed 15 pounds in the Huk Performance Fishing Bassmaster Elite at Chesapeake Bay.

The weight pushed Martens’ two-day total to 32-8 and kept him in the lead for a second straight day. But two young anglers, Michigan’s Chad Pipkens (31-13) and Australian Carl Jocumsen (31-12), are less than a pound back, and reigning Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Greg Hackney (30-5) is within easy-striking distance.

Aaron spins spinnerbaits along dock post to capture the lead.
(Photo: Steve Bowman BASS)

Martens, who has performed well in tougher tournaments throughout his career, said he doesn’t know how long his pattern will hold up.

Clark Wendlandt wins 2015 FLW Tour Potomac River with 60lbs!

Clark beats Potomac after beating Cancer!

by Sean Ostruszka

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Clark Wendlandt thought he knew two things: 1. He had an area all to himself. 2. It had potential to be special. Turns out he was right on both.

Emotional win for Clark who fought many odds to win!
(Photo FLW)

Despite battling nasty weather and his boat breaking down on day three, Wendlandt managed to sack up 60 pounds of bass to win the Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Ranger Boats on the Potomac River. The Leander, Texas, pro beat Andy Morgan by 4 pounds, 4 ounces to earn the fourth FLW Tour victory of his career.

“I had a suspicion my area could be good after my practice,” Wendlandt says. “I’d fished that area before, and in practice I caught a few fish. With a place like this [the Potomac] where the fish are always moving, you just want to know they’re in an area. So I knew they were there, but I didn’t know it would be as good as this.”

Wendlandt’s key area was Potomac Creek, which featured a mixture of docks, grass flats and shallow wood. He rotated between all three types of cover each day in an effort to see where the fish had relocated. His main lures were a 1/2-ounce 4x4 jig and a white Z-Man ChatterBait with a Lake Fork Tackle Live Magic Shad trailer.

Brent Ehrler Wins the Toyota Texas Big Bass Classic!

Big Bass and Big Weather for Lake Fork Anglers

Here is the Final Day 3 results

1. Brent Ehrler – 89 lbs. 12oz.
2. Jason Christie – 87 lbs. 12oz.
3. Andy Morgan – 83 lbs. 12oz.
4. Chris Lane – 83 lbs. 8 oz.
5. Shad Schenck – 81 lbs. 4 oz.
6. Casey Ashley – 79 lbs. 4 oz.
7. John Crews – 78 lbs. 8 oz.
8. Mike Iaconelli – 72 lbs. 8 oz.
9. Keith Combs – 65 lbs. 12 oz.
10. Brandon Palaniuk – 51 lbs.

Toyota Tundra Big Bass: Brent Ehrler – 10 lbs. 11oz.

LEER Heavyweight: Jason Christie – 37 lbs. 4oz.

 

1. Brent Ehrler – 89 lbs. 12oz.
2. Jason Christie – 87 lbs. 12oz.
3. Andy Morgan – 83 lbs. 12oz.
4. Chris Lane – 83 lbs. 8 oz.
5. Shad Schenck – 81 lbs. 4 oz.
6. Casey Ashley – 79 lbs. 4 oz.
7. John Crews – 78 lbs. 8 oz.
8. Mike Iaconelli – 72 lbs. 8 oz.
9. Keith Combsm – 65 lbs. 12 oz.
10. Brandon Palaniuk – 51 lbs.

Toyota Tundra Big Bass: Brent Ehrler – 10 lbs. 11oz.

LEER Heavyweight: Jason Christie – 37 lbs. 4oz.

- See more at: http://www.toyotatexasbassclassic.com/2015/05/25/day-3-final-results/#sthash.KFJmILbP.dpuf

1. Brent Ehrler – 89 lbs. 12oz.
2. Jason Christie – 87 lbs. 12oz.
3. Andy Morgan – 83 lbs. 12oz.
4. Chris Lane – 83 lbs. 8 oz.
5. Shad Schenck – 81 lbs. 4 oz.
6. Casey Ashley – 79 lbs. 4 oz.
7. John Crews – 78 lbs. 8 oz.
8. Mike Iaconelli – 72 lbs. 8 oz.
9. Keith Combsm – 65 lbs. 12 oz.
10. Brandon Palaniuk – 51 lbs.

Toyota Tundra Big Bass: Brent Ehrler – 10 lbs. 11oz.

LEER Heavyweight: Jason Christie – 37 lbs. 4oz.

- See more at: http://www.toyotatexasbassclassic.com/2015/05/25/day-3-final-results/#sthash.KFJmILbP.dpuf

2015 Walmart FLW Tour Beaver Lake Day 3: Morgan Maintains Lead into Final Day.

Beaver Starting to Fish Very Small

FLW Press Release

One of Andy Morgan’s fishing mottos is to make the best of what you have got “in front of you” to survive and fish another day. Beaver Lake doesn’t give much. So when an angler as resourceful as Morgan gets to a lake that doesn’t give out many resources, the two work well together.

Instead of worrying about hitting it out of the park or putting immense pressure on himself to come up with a grand winning strategy, Morgan just scraps, scrapes and claws at the ground right in front of him, making the best of what he’s got.

Junk fishing save Andy Morgan as Beaver become difficult.
(Photo: FLW)

Morgan’s performance on day three of the Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Rayovac on Beaver Lake was a prime example of his “make the best of it” attitude. After burning up the spawning fish he had located in practice during the first two days of the tournament, he was forced to fish by the seat of his pants today – something he thoroughly enjoys.

“My sight fish are done, so I just went hunting new opportunities,” Morgan says. “It got sunny and windy today. The wind blew onto classic flat points and created mud lines down the river. That’s something that has not occurred the last two days. It’s something new to work with; something that wasn’t there yesterday and might not be there tomorrow. But all I care about is now – right this minute. This truly is a fish-for-the-moment lake. The playing field on this old lake changes day to day, and over the years of coming here I’ve learned to appreciate that and now downright enjoy that aspect of it.”

2015 Walmart FLW Tour Beaver Lake Day 2: Morgan Climbs to Lead!

Andy Morgan Vacuums Shallows

by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

“Hidden largemouths” is quickly becoming the buzz term at the Walmart FLW Tour event on Beaver Lake presented by Rayovac, as those atop the leaderboard are using the term to refer to spawning largemouths that are so well hidden that other competitors never found them. These hidden fish are covered by thick brush, hidden so deep that they were only found during the very rare windows of sunshine during practice or located off the beaten path. The latter are not in obvious pockets or places where one would expect to find beds, but rather out on the main bluff channels where few ever look.

Andy is moving a lot. Sight fishing when he can. (Photo:FLW)

On day one, Jacob Wheeler caught hidden largemouths to take the lead. On day two, former Beaver Lake champion Andy Morgan caught hidden largemouths to take over the pole position going into the weekend. His catch of 15 pounds, 7 ounces today gives Morgan a two-day total of 28-09 to take the lead by just 11 ounces.

“All the ones I’ve caught the last two days are spawning bass I found in practice and marked on my GPS,” says Morgan. “I never saw them because the water is just a touch too dirty to see them with all the cloud cover and wind. I would just fish along, and every bite I got I would shake off and mark on the GPS. In all I had about 15 of these fish marked, and I have caught just about every one of them now. I caught No. 15 just before weigh-in today, so I’m fresh out.”