2025 St. Croix Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/ Albemarle Sound Day 3: Kyle Welcher Sacks 34lbs and Leads with Another 30lbs!

Canadians: Chris Johnston 21st, Cory Johnston 34th

 Kyle Welcher is utterly dominating the St. Croix Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound. (Photo: Seigo Saito/BASS)

BASS Press Release

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. —  Kyle Welcher is utterly dominating the St. Croix Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound.

The Opelika, Ala., pro caught the biggest bag of the tournament on Semifinal Saturday, a 34-pound limit anchored by a whopping 10-8 largemouth. With bags of 30-11 and 30-3 the first two days of the event, Welcher carries a total of 94-14 into the final day of competition. 

 

“I’ve never had one day of fishing like this,” Welcher said. “I hope there are a few more spawning because that’s the fun way to catch them.”

 

The 2023 Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year is on pace to achieve several milestones on Championship Sunday. Not only will he likely claim his first Century Belt, Welcher also could break the record for largest margin of victory in Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series history set by Patrick Walters at Lake Fork in the fall of 2020, a 29-10 difference.

 

He currently leads second-place Brandon Lester by 33-14.

 

Welcher achieved several personal bests on Saturday as well, including catching his biggest tournament bag ever in his Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series career. The 10-8 that now leads the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Tournament honors is now his personal best, unseating the 10-1 he landed at the St. Johns River in 2020.

 

All this success comes after experiencing one of the worst practices of his career.

 

“A week like this is only possible when you have a bad (practice),” he said. “When they are in a migration pattern like they are right now, you need them to be coming to you. The area I have, I fished down it Day 3 of practice and had one bite down that stretch.

2024 MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River Day 2: Cory Johnston Vaults into Lead!

Canadians Chris Johnston 4th, Gallant 27th & Gustafson 101st. 

By David A. Brown

BASS PRESS Release

PALATKA, Fla. — Cory Johnston knew he was playing a high-stakes game, but the Canadian pro believed the potential payoff justified his day’s commitment.

Cashing in on his gamble, Johnston sacked up a five-bass limit of 27 pounds, 8 ounces to lead Day 2 of the MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River.

After placing second on Day 1 with 23-3, Johnston now has a two-day mark of 50-11. The only competitor to break 20 pounds the first two days, Johnston heads into Semifinal Saturday with a lead of 11-9 over North Carolina’s Matt Arey.

Repeating his Day 1 strategy of targeting bed fish in Salt Springs, which runs off the northwest side of Lake George, Johnston described the requisite plodding pace.

“It takes a lot of patience; it’s not like it’s fast and furious,” he said. “You fish all day and it’s one of those high-risk, high-reward things.

“I went probably three hours midday without catching a fish. It was a lot of looking at them and trying to see which fish are going to bite. Sometimes, you waste an hour on one and it never even bites.”

Well-schooled in the ways of bed fish, Johnston said he expected nothing less. Several fish pushed him to the limit of exasperation, but persistence proved to be his best tool.

2023 MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals on Lake Okeechobee Day 1: David Walker Smashes 28-01lbs; Gallelli 26-11lbs

By EriK Gaffron

MLF PRESS RELEASE

CLEWISTON, Fla. – Day 1 of the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals on Lake Okeechobee was an absolute banger, with 15 pros weighing 20 pounds or more to kick off Power-Pole Stop 1 Presented by Phoenix Boats. In the lead, David Walker stacked up 28 pounds, 1 ounce to edge out Italian pro Jacopo Gallelli (26-11) in second. Behind the top two, Jason Vance and Tai Au also crossed the 25-pound mark, and 18 pounds was good for just 30th after Day 1.

Walker’s day started trending in the right direction from the jump, boating a keeper just a few casts into his morning.

“You know, it started good, but it didn’t start with big fish,” he said. “It just started with some bites. In the area I went to I was sure I could get some bites there. I’d had a few bites there in practice and just kept going through it. I caught one about a 2-something (pounder); I didn’t make two or three casts and thought ‘well, that’s good, there’s still some more fish here.” 

Not long after, Walker was able to boat a 4 1/2-pound fish that flipped the switch on his day. 

“I was really surprised because I didn’t expect that (caliber of) fish there, and little did I know I’d end up culling that fish. I mean, what a day,” he said.

TOP 10 BELOW

Kennie Steverson Wins 2023 MLF Toyoto Series on Harris Chain of Lakes!

Canadian Cory Johnston 5th

By Job Newwell 

MLF PRESS RELEASE

LEESBURG, Fla. – Some anglers will tell you they are a slow fisherman. That when it comes to fishing, they can drop it down into granny gear and just creep along slower than anyone else – and that’s fine. But in bass fishing, there are two levels of slow; what everyone calls slow, and Kennie Steverson slow.

How slow does Steverson fish? He literally got passed by all the turtles on the Harris Chain of Lakes en route to winning the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Southern Division event this week.

For the record, Steverson’s scorecard for the event included a Day 1 catch of 24 pounds even, a Day 2 catch of 27-11 and a closing round catch of 20-2 for a total of 71-13.

TOP 10 BELOW

2022 MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Fuel Me event on Lake Guntersville Day 1: Shuffield Clocks 25lbs for Lead!

By Joe Sills 

Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – Spencer Shuffield is leading the pack at the site of his very first pro tournament, 11 years after his debut in the professional bass fishing ranks. The Arkansas pro turned in a 25-pound, 6-ounce bag to cap Day 1 of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Fuel Me event on Lake Guntersville; and he’s hoping to stay ahead of the pack by riding a volcanically hot honey hole to the finish line.

To do so, Shuffield will have to stay ahead of a wolf pack of pros nipping at his heels with a variety of pick-and-pop patterns at their disposal. From spawning fish, to a shad spawn and of course, fish flooding to the ledges, the field can pick their fancy at B&W Trailer Hitches Stop 4 Presented by A.R.E. With several 20-pound bags crossing the scale, Shuffield leads the charge with a 3-4 lead over offshore guru Michael Neal. Behind them sit a plethora of seasoned pros who are biding their time to strike on the famed fishery.

“It was really good,” said Shuffield of his Day 1 start. “I found four big schools the last afternoon of practice. The first school I found, I pulled up and caught an 8-pounder on it. On that spot there were maybe 100 of them schooling and of them maybe 30 over 6 pounds.”

Shuffield says he didn’t start the tournament on his honey hole but did eventually slide into it after a local angler graciously allowed him to move on.

“It’s the winning spot, no doubt,” Shuffield said. “It’s just a matter of who might be on it the next two or three days.”

Shuffield says his spot contains enough fish for multiple anglers to sustain themselves on for the duration of the event. However, he’s relying on an extremely deep-diving crankbait to target the fish that he hopes will continue to provide him with an edge.

“All of the fish I caught today were on a Hardcore Bullet Crank 7+,” Shuffield said. “We haven’t been anywhere yet that I have been able to throw it. It’s a brand-new bait that gets down to 26 feet on 14-pound fluorocarbon. These fish are at 22 feet. You can throw it so far, and getting that bait down to that depth is the key because they just don’t ever see crankbaits that deep.”

Drew Cook Wins 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite on Santee Cooper Lakes with 105-05lbs!

Canadian: Cory Johnston 5th

Drew Cook of Cairo, Ga., has won the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Santee Cooper Lakes with a four-day total of 105 pounds, 5 ounces. ( Photo: BASS)

BASS Press Release 

CLARENDON COUNTY, S.C. — Before the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Santee Cooper Lakes began, Drew Cook had never led a single round of an Elite Series event.

 

Apparently, he was just saving up for the best event of his career.

 

The Cairo, Ga., pro grabbed the lead on Day 1 of the tournament with an astounding catch of 31-13 and then never relinquished the first-place spot, as bags of 24-12, 24-3 and 24-9 pushed him to a four-day total of 105-5. He earned one of the blue trophies that every pro covets, a $100,000 paycheck and a Century Belt for catching more than 100 pounds.

 

Cook and second-place pro Caleb Kuphall (103-1) became the 33rd and 34th different anglers to reach Century Club status — and Lakes Marion and Moultrie have now produced eight Century Belts, the second-most in Elite Series history, with only Falcon Lake in Texas producing more (15).

 

“I completely forgot about the Century Belt. That’s cool,” Cook said. “It was a perfect storm this week. I had a blast. I did really well keeping my composure. There were a couple of times this week the wheels could have fallen off. I acted like I had been there before and it all worked out.”

 

Cook spent his entire week doing what he loves best, sight fishing for spawning largemouth using a Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog.

 

“That is what is so awesome about it,” he said. “All my friends joked with me and said I was going to win my first tournament either at a place like the Sabine or with a spinning rod smallmouth fishing.

 

“To be able to win my first one wire-to-wire with my favorite rod doing my absolute favorite things, it is a blessing.”

 

Spending his time in the Potato Creek region of Lake Marion, Cook caught the majority of his weight in lily pad fields that were located next to deep water.

 

In practice, the female bass he found had not locked onto beds. But come tournament time, they settled close to the only male he found on bed.

2021 Bass Pro Tour Lake San Rayburn: Lucas Wins Knockout Round, Seven Others Advance to Join DeFoe & Spohrer

San Rayburn moody for Top 10.

By Mason Prince

Bass Pro Tour

It was another tough day of fishing for the majority of the 38-man field in the Toro Stage One Presented by Power-Pole Knockout Round on Sam Rayburn Reservoir, but eight anglers stood out above the rest. Those eight —Justin Lucas, Cliff Pace, Jeff Sprague, Luke Clausen, Tommy Biffle, Cliff Crochet, Bobby Lane, and Mark Davis — will be moving on to the Championship Round, joining Gerald Spohrer and Ott DeFoe to complete the 10-angler field.

Lucas Locks Up Top Spot

Justin Lucas made a strong case on Thursday for why he should be considered a favorite to win his second Bass Pro Tour event in as many years. The Alabama pro not only had the best day in the Knockout Round, but the best day of the event so far with nine bass for 36 pounds, 13 ounces. Lucas took a finesse approach with a drop-shot, a strategy he adopted after a solid round on Wednesday.

“I was trying to force myself to catch fish on the bank and they just weren’t there,” Lucas said. “There’s millions of fish in this lake and they all aren’t on the bank. I’m finding them on big grass flats in 3 or 4 feet of water. They’re prespawn and spawning out there.”

Lucas caught the majority of his fish on a drop-shot, but it was a big swimbait fish he caught during his second Qualifying Round that really brought the finesse mindset to the forefront.

“When I caught that 7-14 on a swimbait on Wednesday, I knew that I needed to switch things up,” Lucas said. “I told myself to back off these fish, get away from the bank and look for areas in these flats where they can be spawning or staging. It worked out and I think I know how I’m going to attack tomorrow.”

2020 FLW Pro Circuit Lake Martin Day 3: Jason Abram Continue Lead with 41-06 lbs!

Shallow largemouth key for top anglers 
By Sean Ostruszka

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Shallow bite and skinny dipper key to larger bites for Abram
(Photo: FLW)

About 2 1/2 pounds separate Kerry Milner in 10th place and Ron Nelson in second. That’s the same amount separating tournament leader Jason Abram from Nelson going into the final day.

In what has been a remarkably tight Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit event on Lake Martin, Abram did something very important today: Despite losing a 5-pounder and a 3-pounder, he still found a way to separate himself from the pack. His 12-6 limit was the third largest of the day, and it pushed him to 41-6 total.

As was showcased on day one, Lake Martin does have some kickers swimming around in it, and just one from any pro in the top 10 tomorrow could make a close tournament all that much closer. In talking with many of the guys chasing Abram, it sounds like they’ll be swinging for kickers tomorrow to try and catch him.

That makes the 5-pounder Abram lost today (and the 5-pounder he lost yesterday) all that much more important, especially since his pattern seems to be dying both because of a lack of sun and falling water.

“It [the falling water] definitely has been a problem for me,” says Abram. “The fish I’ve been catching have been dirt shallow; like in 10 inches of water.”

Despite the deteriorating conditions, he’s still getting the right bites. 

Just as he did the previous two days, Abram started out burning the bank in the mid-lake region in search of a quick limit of spotted bass.

“They’re just random banks I’m paralleling with a Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper,” says Abram. “I think the spots [spotted bass] are just pushing bait up against the bank, because I’ll go a while and then catch three or four quick. It’s like a pod swam up and I’ll catch them.”

That gave him a “confidence-booster” limit by 9 a.m. today, and once the sun peeked out just a bit around 10:30, he immediately switched to his largemouth pattern, with instant results.

“The first bite I got was that big one I lost,” says Abram. “Then I caught two more after that within 30 minutes.”

2020 FLW Pro Circuit Lake Martin Day 2: Jason Abram Leads with 29lbs!

Canadians Sim 56th & Lucak 119th

By Sean Ostruszka

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Largemouth key to Abram's control of the lead.
(Photo: FLW)

He figured out half the puzzle yesterday and the other half today to get him in the lead. Too bad Jason Abram thinks the entire puzzle may fall apart tomorrow.

While most pros at the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit event on Lake Martin are either in the sight-fishing or offshore camps, the Piney Flats, Tenn., pro has been running and gunning a pattern all to himself. He only figured out part of the pattern yesterday. Hence his 11-6 bag. When he put it all together today, the result was the biggest bag of the tournament – 17-10 – and the lead with 29-0.

“I had everything I weighed in by 11:30 today,” says Abram. “I only fished the pattern for a few hours, and then I stopped and just went looking for more of it the rest of the day.”

No surprise, Abram is quite tight-lipped on the exact pattern, as it’s quite specific. He did say that in order to execute it, he has to run and gun a lot, figuring he hit in excess of 40 spots today. 

“I don’t know how much gas I used today, but it was a bunch,” he jokes.

Now, the hard part is, in a lake where bites have been plentiful, his pattern has been anything but. Today, Abram only got seven bites on his pattern (though he did catch a quick limit of spotted bass first thing). It’s just that when he gets bit, it’s the right-sized largemouth. Abram had a 5-4 kicker and actually lost another around that size that could’ve helped him crack 20 pounds. Once he lost that last big one, it forced him to make a tough decision.

You see, the other key part of Abram’s pattern is it needs the sun to position the fish, and with clouds in the forecast for tomorrow, Abram is openly worried about whether his pattern might disappear. Thus, he had to weigh the pros and cons of leaning into his fish today to try and go for a mega bag or lay off and hope he can still catch them tomorrow.

TOP 10 BELOW

Ott DeFoe Wins Lake Fork/Lake Athens MFL Event with 57-4lbs!

Last Period Charge Secures Win

By Tyler Binks

MLF Press Release

After five days watching the field battle with big bass at the General Tire Stage Three Presented by TrueTimber on Lake Fork, the Championship Round moved to Lake Athens.

Athens set up much differently than Fork and was a complete unknown to nearly every angler in the field. And while very little was known about this 1,799-acre lake located an hour south of Lake Fork, the day developed into one of the closest races seen in the final round of a Bass Pro Tour event.

That was until Ott DeFoe caught fire and turned a close tournament into an all-out blowout. His ascension to the top was quick and unrelenting.

With just over an hour to go, DeFoe found himself in fifth place with less than 20 pounds for the day, trailing then-leader Mark Daniels, Jr. by over 15 pounds. That’s when he turned things on and left the field in the dust.

In the end, he won by over 28 pounds.

DeFoe Rallies to a Landslide Win

DeFoe did most of his damage a short idle from takeoff, fishing near a bridge. He put on a clinic in the final 75 minutes of the day with a flotilla of bass boats, kayaks and pontoon boats getting a front-row seat to watch one of the best anglers in the world dominate the competition.

DeFoe’s fishing spot was so close to the ramp that he was easily the first angler back; when he put his boat on the trailer a few short minutes after lines-out, he was still trying to process what just happened.

This was surely what the other nine anglers were feeling.

DeFoe finished the day with 23 bass for 69 pounds, 12 ounces.

“That last hour was one of the more special hours that I have ever had in all of my time bass fishing,” DeFoe said.

He discovered his honey hole by watching his electronics, specifically side imaging.

2019 Bassmaster College Series at St. Lawrence River Day 2: Auburn Takes Over Lead!

Massive smallmouth limits!

By Andrew Canulette

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Big limits for team who are bed fishing.
(Photo: BASS)

Steady rains soaked competitors today in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series at St. Lawrence River presented by Bass Pro Shops, but the foul weather hardly affected what has become a record-setting event.

Logan Parks and Lucas Lindsay of Auburn (Ala.) University lead the slugfest with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 49 pounds, 2 ounces. The Tigers caught a five-bass limit Thursday that weighed 23-13, which was an outstanding compliment to the 25-5 limit they boated Wednesday.

The ability to catch big bass has been key to the leaders’ success so far. Parks boated a 6-5 smallmouth today, after landing the tournament’s biggest bass so far — a 6-7 smallie he caught Wednesday.

“Lucas is usually the ‘Big Fish Guy,’” Parks said with a laugh. “So the roles have switched a little bit. They like me more this week.”

Parks and Lindsay knew they were in good shape when they had a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds in the livewell less than an hour after take-off today. Parks caught the giant smallmouth at about 9:30 a.m., and that fish vaulted them from fifth place into the lead.

Lindsay said he’s not worried about finding a few more big bass. After all, the St. Lawrence has been extremely generous to anglers this week. Bass have been so plentiful that the Auburn team was able to find their entire catch in areas they had not scouted prior to today.

Many other teams are also catching heavy limits of bass, which is keeping the pressure on the leaders as they enter the final round Friday. The field was cut to 12 teams after the Day 2 weigh-in, and the remaining dozen teams should encounter much more agreeable weather than the wind, rain and chill they experienced today.

Brian Linder and Nathan Thompson of Minnesota’s Bemidji State University are in second place with a two-day total of 48-13. Thursday’s weather seemingly scuttled their spot of choice, so Linder and Thompson covered a lot of water, and expect to do so again Friday.

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

Timmy Horton Wins the 2017 BASS Elite Lake Okeechobee with 83-05lbs!

Horton wins by one pound!  

BASS PRESS RELEASE
After starting Championship Sunday more than 8 pounds ahead of his nearest competitor, Tim Horton of Muscle Shoals, Ala., struggled throughout the day, but held on tight to win his first championship in a decade at the A.R.E. Truck Caps Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee.

A big win for the whole Horton team.
(Photo: BASS)

Horton was only able to bring 11 pounds, 7 ounces of Okeechobee largemouth to the scales today, which pushed his total four-day weight to 83-5. His success topped second-place finisher Ott DeFoe of Knoxville, Tenn., by 1 pound, 4 ounces.

Horton's last victory was at the 2007 Elite Series Champion's Choice on New York's Lake Champlain. It's been 10 years since the 11-time qualifier of the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods took home the trophy and $100,000 first place prize.

"Today was a very difficult day, no question about it," Horton said. "I'm so thankful and so very blessed that Thursday and Friday went as well as they did. If it weren't for those two heavy limits, I wouldn't have won."

2016 Walmart FLW Lake Hartwell Day 2: John Cox Grabs Lead.

Johnston Brothers Sit 11^th and 13^th.

by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

The Walmart FLW Tour sightfest continued on day two at Lake Hartwell which is presented by Evinrude and hosted by the Anderson Convention & Visitors Bureau. Once again, brilliant blue skies with a few clouds and no wind graced the field and to hear the anglers tell it, there are still plenty of fish moving up – by the hour.

Burning banks pays off for Cox. (Photo FLW)

Several leaders said they found new fish today and others have even commented they have watched fish swim up and lock down right in front of their eyes.

Though the weatherman continues to threaten with rain over the weekend, pros are in a state of bed-fishing bliss, with leaders claiming they plan to sight-fish right on into the weekend.

With sight fishing in full effect, it’s no wonder that the lead spot has been overtaken by John “Eagle Eye” Cox, an angler known for his sight-fishing savvy on the FLW Tour. Today Cox weighed in 20 pounds, 5 ounces for a two-day total of 37 pounds, 1 ounce.

While Cox did sight fish quite a bit today, he did admit that his two biggest fish came from, “just fishing” while looking for beds. One of those big ones registered 6-pounds, 11 ounces on the scales.

2015 Walmart FLW Tour Lewis Smith Lake Day 3: Zack Birge Leads By 4 Pounds

Topwaters help anglers reach the top.

by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

By day three of most Walmart FLW Tour events, catch rates begin to fall off, and those atop the leaderboard start looking for ways to dig in and hold ground as weather changes and fishing pressure take their toll. Lewis Smith Lake, however, refuses to conform to that convention this week.

On day three of the event, which is presented by Evinrude, it seemed as if the fishing got even better, which is particularly ironic for a lake that is historically known as a stingy fishery – and on a day in which competition began with a 31-degree air temperature. One angler joked this afternoon, “Did they issue a 12-pound starter limit to everyone at takeoff this morning?”

Catch weights at Smith continue to be so strong that the word “slugfest” has even been tossed around a time or two. It’s certainly a case of no rest for the weary at Smith. Despite frosty windshields and iced-up rod boxes at takeoff this morning, there was no dropping back and punting today. Anglers had to stay on the offensive, striving for the 15-pound mark to even have a prayer of staying in the top 10 to fish Sunday.

Another surprising slant is that rookie pro Zack Birge, who had never laid eyes on Smith Lake before official practice, continues to bring in hefty limits of largemouth bass to hold of all his spotted bass challengers. Today he sacked yet another 17 pounds, 11 ounces of “largeheads” to take a 3-pound, 11-ounce advantage into the final day with a total of 54-8.

Essentially Birge, of Blanchard, Okla., has applied his Okie style at Smith Lake with unstoppable success. Birge continues to milk the backend of two creeks for his catches and admits that the replenishing factor of spring is working in his favor.

“This is a similar situation for springtime fishing in Oklahoma,” Birge says. “Largemouth bass are funneling into these two areas, and I’m intercepting them as they come in. They come in small waves, and I’m waiting on them when they get there.”

During the week Birge has literally watched the packs of bass migrate in along a 5-foot ditch through a flat. They move into the flooded bushes to ambush shad for a while and then pull up on the shallow flats to spawn. Earlier in the week all of Birge’s fish were prespawn. But for the first time this week, he caught several off beds.

“I made a pass through my primary area of bushes this morning and didn’t get a bite,” he recounts. “So I moved over about 100 yards into a spawning flat, and sure enough, there were new beds that I had not seen earlier.”

After spending some time plucking his limit-starters off beds, Birge made another pass through the bushes and the bite was on.

“Every day at about noon it’s like a whole new wave of them moves in off the lake into the bushes, and they start eating shad,” he says. “From noon until 3 every day is when they really eat the Santone buzzbait and a floating frog the best. To see the whole process take place – from the migration to the feeding in the bushes to the actual making of beds – is pretty neat.”

Another freeze is suppose to occur tonight, but Birge remains undeterred in his commitment to largemouths on the final day.