Drew Gill Wins Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Miller Tech on the Harris Chain

Drew Gill captured his second big win of the year in fine style. Photo by Rob Matsuura.

By Jody White

Tackle Warehouse Press Release

LEESBURG, Fla. – Drew Gill kicked off the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech season the same way he kicked off the Bass Pro Tour season – with a superlative win and a $100,000-plus payday. In the first few weeks of the fishing season, the young superstar has now won two national-level events, and consequently leads in Angler of the Year points on both of MLF’s top circuits.

This week in Stop 1 Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches on the Harris Chain, Gill had a killer game plan for big bites and weighed three fish over 8 pounds on the week. After catching three for an even 21 pounds on Day 1, Gill took a big lead on Day 2 with a 19-4 limit and closed with an even 26 pounds (including an 8-pounder and a 9-pounder) for a dominating 66-4 total. Gill topped Brody Campbell by nearly 18 pounds and weighed either the biggest or second-biggest bag every day of the event. For the win, Gill pocketed $100,500 and also qualified for REDCREST in 2027, which is at least a level of insurance for the BPT standout.

To catch his fish, Gill showed off a master game plan and did what he does best at a level nobody else could touch.

A fine-tuned approach

Fishing for suspended, offshore fish in Beauclair, Gill wasn’t in areas that had never seen boats before, and he wasn’t using baits that had never been employed there before. He did what nobody else in the field could do, though.

The Pro Circuit field is not lacking in exceptional offshore anglers or anglers skilled with forward-facing sonar – in fact, Bobby Bakewell and Aaron Yavorsky both have some major success on the Harris Chain, and major skills with the beam. Banks Shaw made the Top 50 cut, as well as Alec Morrison, two modern pros will a full skill set and winners of the last two Pro Circuit AOY awards. Through it all, Gill fished at a level that was a cut – or maybe two cuts, even – above his competition.

One of Gill’s big keys was an umbrella rig, with caught all his fish over 8 pounds, and which he was more committed to than any other angler.

“When I showed up here, the water was 48 degrees in the lake I started in,” he said. “That’s ridiculously cold, and a cold bass is a cold bass. A cold bass has always, will always, eat an A-rig. The first fish I threw it at was almost a 6-pounder. From there, I kept it in my back pocket, ordered a bunch and had it ready.

2025 Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite on Lake Okeechobee Day 3: Palaniuk Holds Commanding Lead!

Canadians Chris Johnston 33rd & Gallant 36th 

Idaho's Brandon Palaniuk leads the Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee in Okeechobee, Fla., with a three-day weight of 81 pounds, 1 ounce. (Photo: Seigo Saito/BASS) 

BASS Press Release

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. —  Compared to Friday’s phenomenal performance, Brandon Palaniuk had a slow Day 3. However, his previous heroics, paired with a solid third-round effort kept the Rathdrum, Idaho, angler atop the standings for the Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee with a three-day total of 81 pounds, 1 ounce.

 

Palaniuk, a five-time Progressive Bassmaster Elite winner and two-time Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year, placed third on Day 1 with 23-7. A day later, he electrified the weigh-in by catching 34-10 — his personal best and the heaviest bag weighed in a Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee.

 

Carrying a lead of 9-12 into Semifinal Saturday, Palaniuk caught 23 pounds and expanded his lead to an incredible 18-3 advantage over Day 1 leader Greg DiPalma. He’s making no assumptions, but Palaniuk acknowledged a notable comparison to his first Elite Series trophy.

 

“What an unreal week it’s been,” Palaniuk said. “The very first Elite Series event I won (Bull Shoals Lake, 2012), they were dropping the water. It had dropped 7 feet in like two weeks, and I caught them on a deep crankbait.

 

“The water has been dropping here for almost seven weeks and I’m catching a lot of them on a crankbait. The irony in that is incredible.”

 

Palaniuk committed his day to the same spot he’s camped in since the start. Palaniuk’s running north of the takeoff site and fishing a canal off the Kissimmee River where a dam spillway creates feeding opportunities.

2025 Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite on Lake Okeechobee Day 1: DiPalma Scored 29-12Lbs!

Canadians Gallant 7th, Chris Johnston 16th, Kung 38th, Gustafson 68th & Cory Johnston 77th

New Jersey's Greg DiPalma leads the Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee in Okeechobee, Fla., with a weight of 29 pounds, 12 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS) 

BASS Press Release

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. —  Greg DiPalma of Millville, N.J., believes Lake Okeechobee may be one of the nation’s least-explored bass fisheries, but he did his best to change that by sacking up a limit of 29 pounds, 12 ounces to lead Day 1 of the Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite at this Florida powerhouse.

 

Fishing an atypical area that he found during practice, DiPalma heads into Day 2 with a lead of 3-10 over Will Davis Jr.

 

“Me and Will were sitting side-by-side, which was pretty special,” DiPalma said. “There were four of us in one area and we all had (big) bags.

 

“It was an absolutely incredible day. To be leading one of these, to be honest with you, it’s about time! It feels good. It’s gonna feel really good if I can maintain it.”

 

As DiPalma explained, recent years have seen high water levels choke out much of the Lake Okeechobee vegetation that once created vast bass habitat. With the obvious targets heavily pressured, he knew he needed to find something unique.

 

“This is probably the most unlocked lake in the country, to be honest with you, because everybody beats the bank here and nobody really goes out in the lake and looks for anything,” DiPalma said. “I think there are key areas in this lake if you can find them, and that was one of them.

2025 FXR Pro Fish Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River Day 3: Lowen Remains in the Lead

 Canadians Cory Johnston 7th, Chris Johnston 15 & Kung 16th

Indiana's Bill Lowen leads the FXR Pro Fish Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River in Palatka, Fla., with 15 bass weighing 63 pounds, 10 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/BASS)

PALATKA, Fla. —  Even the ideal habitat cannot fully hide from a major Florida cold front. Just ask Bill Lowen, who fought through a slower Day 3 to retain his lead at the 2025 FXR Pro Fish Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River.

After placing third on Day 1 with 21-5, the Brookville, Ind., pro moved into the lead with a second-round limit of 24-4. Adding 18-1 on Semifinal Saturday, Lowen heads into Championship Sunday with 63-10 and a 5-4 lead over John Garrett.

“That water where I’m fishing is about 4 degrees colder than it was yesterday,” Lowen said in reference to the sharp cold front that arrived on Thursday. “I had one little zone that was a couple degrees warmer, and that’s where I caught all my fish.

“My primary area where I caught ‘em the last two days, I never caught a fish there today. When the tide got right (around 11 a.m.), I made sure I was there, and I caught my two biggest fish. The tide is so important here and if you miss that window, you’ll miss those big bites.”

Sticking to the game plan that delivered his prior success, Lowen spent most of his day in a creek north of takeoff. He targeted shallow, submerged wood but he noted that the creek’s 27-foot depths proved strategic in giving the bass greater stability than shallower areas throughout the St. Johns system.

2025 FXR Pro Fish Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River Day 2: Bill Lowen Take Leads

Canadians Kung 5th, Chris Johnston 26th, Cory Johnston 37th, Gallant 57th & Gustafson 83rd

BASS PRESS RELEASE

PALATKA, Fla. —  When the necessary became the nemesis, Bill Lowen’s patient persistence delivered a clutch catch that typified his amazing day.

Bolstering a Day 1 limit of 21 pounds, 5 ounces with a second-round bag that went 24-4, the seasoned pro from Brookville, Ind., leads the 2025 FXR Pro Fish Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River with a two-day total of 45-9. Lowen heads into Semifinal Saturday with a 7-14 margin over Day 1 leader Jay Przekurat.

“It was an amazing day; you just can’t explain it when it happens,” Lowen said. “You look for those days all the time, and I had one of those days today.”

Lowen has been targeting shallow wood with a flipping jig and swim jig. When he hooked a solid bass around noon, the fish became entangled in a pile of limbs. After a couple of minutes of Lowen tugging and carefully poking his rod tip toward the snare, the fish suddenly found its way free.

“I saw the fish run a bream up against the bank, so I threw my jig over there, and as soon as the jig hit the water, she ate it,” Lowen said. “I was going to the back of the boat to land her and she just got stuck in a (submerged tree). I could feel her pulling, so I knew she was still there, but I couldn’t gain on her.

2023 Folds of Honor Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River Day 2: Mosley Jumps into Lead!

Canadians: Chris Johnston 63rd, Gallant 73rd, Cory Johnston 75th & Gustafson 78th

(Photo: Seigo Saito/BASS)

BASS PRESS RELEASE

ORANGE, Texas — Despite losing about two hours of fishing time to a mechanical issue, Brock Mosley of Collinsville, Miss., tallied a two-day total of 21 pounds, 6 ounces to take the lead in the Folds of Honor Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River.

 

After placing 12th on Day 1 with 9-15, Mosley added a second-round limit of 11-7 on Friday. He heads into Semifinal Saturday with a half-pound lead over Kyle Welcher of Opelika, Ala., and a 3/4-pound margin over Keith Poche of Cecil, Ala.

 

“This place fishes a lot like how I do back home,” Mosley said. “You just put your head down and grind it out and know that you’re only going to get a handful of bites and you’re going to have to capitalize on them.”

 

Mosley, who finished second the last time the Elites fished the Sabine (2021), spent the first three days of that event fishing 110 miles west in the Houston area. This time, he traded that long-range game plan for a more local strategy that began on the main river within a couple miles of takeoff.

 

“Every year, I’ve caught them a different way,” Mosley said. “This morning I got off to a good start and then I made a long run up Taylor Bayou, but I had boat problems and had to come back in. The service crews did a good job getting me back on the water and I ended up making that long run (back up Taylor) and got some bites.

 

“I was kind of questioning if I had enough fuel to make the run again, so I took my time, eased over there and conserved my fuel. I got over there and realized that I still had enough fuel to make it back.”

 

Mosley began his day with a mix of topwater and flipping baits. Prior to his mechanical issue, he had about 10 pounds in his livewell.

2022 Tackle Warehouse Tour Stop 2 on the Harris Chain of Lakes Day 3: California Rookie Loberg Leads into the Final Day!

By Kyle Wood

Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Press Release 

LEESBURG, Fla.– If the fishing on the final day is anything like it was on Day 3, tomorrow’s finish to Bass Boat Technologies Stop 2 on the Harris Chain of Lakes Presented by Frogg Toggs is going to be one for the record books. Jeff Reynolds and Michael Neal (he’s unstoppable!) both caught more than 27 pounds on Day 3, and Andrew Loberg tallied 22-10 on Day 3 for a 57-11 total that put him on top prior to the weights zeroing out on the final day.

One of the most consistent pros all week, Loberg put his best weight of the week on the scale today, which he believes is mostly due to the fact he’s getting more dialed in.

“I’ve said it a few times, but a lot of the style of fishing [in Florida] reminds me a lot of Clear Lake, which is kind of my home lake,” said Loberg. “Shallow grass, all the tules, dirty-ish water and I really like targeting postspawn fish and they love going to the grass after they spawn. So that’s what I started doing in practice.

“I found a few areas and really just capitalized on those areas and milked them each day. Which is good because I’ve learned more and more each day as I’ve fished about the spots and what’s going on.”

Doing his damage in Lake Eustis, Loberg has been making the most of the morning bite each day.

“The morning bite each day has been kind of my best deal, especially for a bigger bite,” said the former Chico State angler. “As the day goes on it seems like it’s harder to get multiple bites. It’s kind of one here, one there. But the weather is changing so much you kind of almost have to practice in your areas and figure out how they are going to bite with all the changing conditions.”

Given that the Top 10 starts with a clean slate tomorrow, Loberg knows he’s likely got to bust his biggest bag of the event to have a shot at winning. With what he’s learned over the course of three days firing reaction baits around his spots, he’s going to lean on his West Coast roots to try and help him seal the deal.

“I’ve learned where the sweet spots are on my areas,” he said. “I’m going to try to figure out some other baits to throw and I’m definitely going to be throwing a big swimbait tomorrow just to see if I can get bigger bites. Over 20 (pounds) is for sure going to win it, so I really need to capitalize on the morning and strategize with different baits because I’ve put a lot of pressure on those areas over the last few days.”

With wins at the college and Toyota Series levels under his belt, the 28-year-old pro is used to closing events, though he’s never fished a tournament of this magnitude. But in classic Loberg form, he’s excited for the challenge and ready to get back out and do what he loves – go fishing.

Top 10 below

2022 Tackle Warehouse Tour Stop 2 on the Harris Chain of Lakes Day 2: Christian Greico Jumps into Lead!

 

By Jody White

Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Press Release 

LEESBURG, Fla.– Perfect Florida weather headlined Day 2 of Bass Boat Technologies Stop 2 on the Harris Chain of Lakes Presented by Frogg Toggs and many pros took full advantage. Weighing 22 pounds, 5 ounces today,  Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Fuel Me rookie Christian Greico moved from 28th into the lead with an even 38 pounds. Behind him, Kerry Milner moved from third to second with a 36-3 total and Jason Reyes moved up from ninth to third with a 35-10 total.

Tomorrow, the Top 50 will duke it out for a chance to fish on the final day with zeroed weights for up to a $135,000 payday. With almost every lake in the chain producing now, and only about a 4-pound difference between 10th and 36th, it sure looks like Day 3 on Tuesday is going to be interesting from start to finish.

Today, Greico leaned on local knowledge and Florida savvy to move up the leaderboard in a big way. Hot as a pistol of late, Greico has banked four Top 10 finishes in the Sunshine State in the last two years.

“It feels really good,” said Greico after taking the lead. “When I saw the schedule and saw the Harris Chain was on there, I knew that was probably going to be my best shot at winning one of these.

“It was a good day out there,” he said. “Yesterday I figured something out in the last two hours and ran that a little bit today. I started off a little bit slow, but as the water heated up it got pretty good. I had about 18 pounds, and then I ran some other stuff and caught a 5-pounder. It just seemed like every decision worked out for me.”

Fishing mostly shell offshore, Greico added a 5-pounder late in the day flipping Kissimmee grass.

Top 10 Pros Below

2022 AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River Day 1: John Crews Captures Lead with 28 Pounds!

Canadians: Chris Johnston 14th, Gustafson 60th &  Cory Johnston 69th

BASS Press Release 

John Crews of Salem, Va., is leading after Day 1 of the 2022

 AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River with 28 pounds.

PALATKA, Fla. — Looking past current conditions and considering the forthcoming weather patterns, John Crews of Salem, Va., employed a two-stage strategy and sacked up a Day 1 limit of 28 pounds to lead the season-opening AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River.

 

Leading Bob Downey of Hudson, Wis., by 12 ounces, Crews also sits atop the VMC Monster Bag standings for the event’s heaviest limit.

 

Following the miserably rainy, cold conditions that plagued practice, Day 1 dawned clear and bright. It was definitely a postfrontal, high-pressure scenario, but air temperatures quickly rose and spurred the fish.

 

“At the beginning of practice, I was practicing for these conditions, so it made me look really smart, like I made a good decision,” Crews said. “Hopefully, it will hold up. I think we’ll have the same weather tomorrow.”

 

Running upriver from Palatka, Crews started his day in Rodman Reservoir. While 22 other boats passed through the Buckman Lock with him, Crews said he never felt cramped or crowded. Covering a 2-mile area, he had to hit several spots to secure a limit.

2021 Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River Day 2: Christie Jumps into Lead with 28-15lbs!

Canadians Chris Johnston 4th, Cory Johnston 70th & Gustafson 72nd 

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Christie fishing skinny water for fat bass.
(Photo: BASS)

Putting significant distance between himself and the rest of the 98-boat field, Jason Christie amassed a two-day total of 28 pounds, 15 ounces and took over the Day 2 lead of the 2021 Dovetail Games Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River sponsored by Bassmaster Fishing 2022 – the official video game of B.A.S.S.

 

Placing second on Thursday with 15-1, the pro from Park Hill, Okla., added 13-14 Friday.

 

Christie is running nearly two hours up the Sabine River to fish a small backwater area with abundant shallow cover and clear water. He caught fish flipping yesterday, but with more inflowing water, a 1/2-ounce chartreuse/white/blue Booyah Covert spinnerbait with tandem nickel and gold Colorado blades produced best Friday.

 

“The water was high and the current was ripping in there and I’m starting to think that the best thing to do is just cover water when it’s high,” Christie said. “Tomorrow, I might go up there and it might be low and the current’s slowed down and I can catch them flipping again. I’ll just have to see what happens when I get there.”

 

Christie had previously visited his general area when the Elites last visited the Sabine in 2018. Expanding his waters led him to greater opportunity.

 

“I just didn’t go far enough the last time we were here, and it seems like they’re tucked in there a little ways,” Christie said. “I had practiced up there and, honestly, I had written it off, but I got home and looked at Google Earth and there was one place I hadn’t been.

2021 AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River Day 1: Clouse Leads with 25-12lbs.

Canadians: Cory Johnston 4th, Chris Johnston 21st. &  Gustafson 41st. 

BASS Press Release

Afternoon bite key for Clouse.
(Photo: Seigo Seito)

Gary Clouse knew what he had to do, and he was determined that not even a three-hour fog delay was going to stop him.

It was a good call for the Tennessee pro who caught a five-bass limit that weighed 25 pounds, 12 ounces Thursday to lead Day 1 of the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at the St. Johns River.

After dense fog created hazardous navigational conditions, B.A.S.S. delayed Thursday’s scheduled 7 a.m. takeoff until 10:15.

Taking off in the 69th position in a field of 99 boats, Clouse had plenty of time to contemplate his game plan, which involved making what he called a long run.

“I was fishing bedding areas and bed fish too; it was a little of both,” Clouse said. “I feel like the fish are coming to me because I went into this area in practice and I had a couple of bites, but I had no idea it was going to be loaded like that.”

With this week’s new moon plus a warming trend that started Wednesday, the stage was set for a textbook spawning movement. Clouse said he believed his distant spot offered him the best opportunity, but he admits he had to ignore his mental question marks.

“I had all kinds of doubts while I was running,” he said. “I thought maybe I should just pull over here and try to catch one. That crossed my mind — like I shouldn’t make this run. 

“It was a huge gamble. The smarter money would have been to stay close and get a couple fish and hopefully get a long day tomorrow. But I just decided to go for it and I’m glad I did.”

Laramy Strickland Wins 2020 FLW Tour Harris Chain of Lakes with 61-04lbs!

Canadians Luzak 13th

By Justin Onslow

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Strickland put puzzle together in the afternoon for win in Griffen.
(Photo: FLW)

Laramy Strickland knew one day he’d get his first Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit win, and he knew he wanted to win on his home fishery, surrounded by friends and family. He just probably didn’t know those two things would happen at the same time, in just his second event as a pro.

The Bushnell, Fla., rookie, who calls the Harris Chain of Lakes home, weighed in a megabag – 31 pounds, 6 ounces – on Saturday of the Pro Circuit event on the Harris Chain, presented by Bad Boy Mowers, and followed that up with a stringer of 15-4 on Championship Sunday to secure the victory by 4 pounds, 6 ounces over fellow rookie Jimmy Washam.

It was a storybook finish for what could be a magical season for Strickland.

“If I was going to win one, ever, just to win one, in my whole career, I would have wanted that to be right here,” he says. “It was that awesome. Hometown crowd, hometown cooking, it’s just an awesome feeling. It still doesn’t even feel real.”

With a massive crowd surrounding the weigh-in stage – comprised of many of Strickland’s friends and family – the 22-year-old former Florida high school state champion raised two quality Harris Chain largemouths, then a $100,000 check, and then a trophy he’s been dreaming about for a long time.

2020 FLW Tour Harris Chain of Lakes Day 2: Laramy Strickland Smashes 31-06lb Limit for Lead!

Canadians Luzak 18th; Sim 71st

By Justin Onslow

FLW PRESS RELEASE

30 pound plus limit give Strickland a commanding lead.
(Photo: FLW)

Laramy Strickland fished clean on day two of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit event on the Harris Chain, which is presented by Bad Boy Mowers. He fished so clean that he weighed in 31 pounds, 6 ounces – the biggest bag of the tournament so far – despite a cold front that shut down the bite for a lot of his competitors.

For the Pro Circuit rookie and Harris Chain regular (he hails from nearby Bushnell, Fla.), the biggest difference between day one and day two was making the most of his opportunities.

“I had 14 pounds [day one], but I had three swimmers,” he explains. “I lost like two or three giants. Today, I caught my giants and I was out of there by 10 o’clock.”

“There” meaning his best spot of the day, which Strickland unequivocally plans to hammer again on Sunday, the final day of the weather-shortened tournament. It’s a spot he doesn’t want to get too specific about, mostly because he knows how good it can produce for a second day and he doesn’t want the 30-angler final-day field to know too much about it.

“I’ve had it to myself, and I hope to keep it to myself,” he says. “I’m just going to go fishing and do what I do to know how to catch them, and I’m going to either hero or zero tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes.”

If Strickland’s spot is as good as it appeared to be on Saturday, the more likely result is going to be “hero.”

The Florida pro stuck with one primary bait on day two – an undisclosed flipping bait. He did cast around a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Worm a bit, as one often does bass fishing in the Sunshine State, but for the most part, it was one bait and one technique in one area of the chain that did all the damage – and all before lunchtime.

Strickland’s most encouraging sign is that he laid off his fish so early in the day, accompanied by the fact that the cold, blustery weather helped his pattern. It’ll be warmer on the final day, but not necessarily warm by Florida standards, and the wind should still be blowing.

“I laid off my fish,” he says. “There is so much I haven’t fished in there, so we’re just going to go fishing tomorrow and see if I can catch a ‘dirty 30’ again.
TOP 10 BELOW

Paul Mueller Wins 2020 BASS Elite St. Johns River!

Final day 6 pounder seals deal
By David A. Brown
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Final day adjustments after key area fizzle proved correct.
This is Mueller's second Elite win.
(Photo: BASS)

Paul Mueller’s crucial decision delivered a key fish on Championship Monday that propelled the Connecticut angler to a three-day total of 47 pounds, 6 ounces and what he described as a most unlikely victory at the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at Florida’s St. Johns River.

After grinding most of the day in Trout Creek, about 25 miles downriver from Palatka, Mueller called an audible and relocated to nearby 6-Mile Creek where he had found a key stretch of pads with 25 feet of water.  

Punching this thick vegetation with a craw bait rigged on a 4/0 Strike King Hack Attack hook with a 1-ounce weight yielded a 6-11 bass — the day’s largest — that dramatically changed his outcome. 

“That was the horse that brought me here, no doubt about it,” said Mueller, who earned $101,000 for his second career Elite Series victory. “A big bite is the best thing you can have on the final day. I knew I was leading, but I got off to such a bad start, throughout the entire day, I didn’t think I had enough.

“All day long, I never felt like I had a shot. It wasn’t easy today, but when it’s God’s will, everything works out.”

Mueller kept himself in contention throughout the event by remaining consistent. He placed second on Day 1 with 20-8 and took over the lead a day later by adding 16-2.

During Monday’s final round, Mueller fell short of a limit by one fish, but four bass that weighed 10-12 were enough to deliver the win by a 3-2 margin.