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.

Defoe is Latest Record Breaker as He Dominates Elimination Round on Table Rock!

(Left to right) MLF pros Alton Jones Jr. (fifth place), Josh Bertrand (second), Ott DeFoe (first), and Cody Meyer (third) wrapped up their Elimination Round in style and will be heading to Tuesday's Knockout Round. 

Another day, another record at the Major League Fishing® (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Berkley Stage Six Presented by TrueTimber on Table Rock Lake.
  

Ott DeFoe pushed his two-day weight total to 133 pounds thanks to 54-14 in today's Group B Elimination Round, and while that fell just short of Cliff Pace's record of 134-11 from the day before, DeFoe was still able to mint a new record with 91 bass caught during his Shotgun and Elimination rounds.

MLF NOW! live stream analyst Marty Stone summed up the week perfectly in the waning moments of the broadcast: "It wouldn't be a day at Table Rock if we didn't break a record."

It has become the story during the Shotgun and Elimination Rounds, and both the Knockout and Championship Round records are likely to fall in the next two days if the weather cooperates.

The fishing today slowed down for many in the field, but it was still excellent. It seems Table Rock Lake has set the bar high and even 951 scoreable bass seems like a downturn, which sounds absurd.

The New Jackall DOWZVIDO 90 Jerkbait with FLW Pro Cody Meyers and IBA...

Jackall is making an even better push into the North American market in 2015. Here is one of many new baits that will be announced in the next few months.

Day 2 ICAST Photos

Here is a sample of ICAST day 2.

More photos link here.

2014 ICAST: New JACKALL POMPADOUR

The latest water moving, fish calling Jackall topwater. Calls fish from yards away and gets you bites. Cody Meyer talks Pompadour in this version of Jackall TV. 

2014 ICAST: The new DOWZVIDO

Introducing the Jackall Dowsvido. This jerk bait will let you comb the depths (6-7ft) for the big ones. Work it fast or slow and the action will speak for its self. Tie one on!!

2014 ICAST: Jackall Lures' Scissor Comb

Check out this new product from Jackall Lures. FLW tournament pro Cody Meyers explains this new worm's cool features.

2014 Walmart FLW Tour Kentucky Lake Day 1: Brett Hite Leads

Countless Limits are Caught on Day 1 

by Curtis Niedermier
FLW Press Release

What goes around comes around. And for Brett Hite, an all-star Walmart FLW Tour season that began with a statement win in the season-opener on Lake Okeechobee has wound its way throughout the country to Kentucky Lake for the season-finale, where he once again jumped out in front today.

Hite holds up one of his bass as the crowd
is awash in big bass. Kentucky Lake looks
like a slug fest. (Photo: FLW)

Hite’s 24-pound, 14-ounce limit leads a star-studded top 20 that includes ledge-fishing experts, three former Forrest Wood Cup champions, three past AOY winners and a pack of FLW millionaires, all of them hoping to end Hite’s chances of bookend 2014 Tour victories.

This tournament, which is presented by Evinrude and hosted Henry County Alliance, is a ledge-fishing shootout. Everyone knows it. But for Hite, the keys to besting everyone else today were timing and precision.

“Luckily I had an early boat draw,” he says. “I ran to a spot I found late in the day on the third day of practice. One other guy came in there right after me, but I got lined up in the right position. It was literally cast after cast, and it was all big ones. First thing this morning, it was obvious the fish were active. As the day progressed, it was one or two here and there.

“It [the school] is spread out a little,” adds Hite, whose limit today included the Bridgford Big Bass, a 7-pound, 5-ouncer. “It’s a pretty good stretch, but there are a couple of key spots where the shells are, and there are some stumps and gizzard shad.”

The front deck of Hite’s Ranger is littered with rods, and he rolled through his options each time he needed to re-trigger the school.

Article Alert: Heavy Drop Shot with Cody Meyers in Ontario OUT OF DOORS magazine

Everyone knows how to drop shot but have you tried heavy drop shotting? Not many have. Not only is it an under used technique, it might be one of the best presentations you can cast to heavy cover.

Learn from Jackall Pro, Cody Meyers on how he makes it work on the FLW tournament circuit.

Read more about it in the June issue of Ontario OUT OF DOORS magazine.

2014 Walmart FLW Beaver Lake Day 1: Thrift on Tear!

Beaver Lake a wash with small limits 

by Curtis Niedermier
FLW Press Release

ROGERS, Ark. - Confidence is effective medicine in professional bass fishing, and right now Chevy pro Bryan Thrift is benefitting from a heavy dose. The FLW millionaire took the early lead at the Beaver Lake Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Rayovac with a 16-pound, 2-ounce limit. Thrift’s success today comes on the heels of his final-day come-from-behind victory at the Sam Rayburn Tour event just two weeks ago, where Thrift broke out of an early season slump that began with finishes of 59th and 107th place at the first two events.

Bryan is on a hot streak after a win on
the Big Sam!
(Photo: FLW)

It wasn’t a pattern or a place that boosted Thrift into the lead today on a blustery Beaver Lake. It wasn’t even anything in the lake. It was all between the ears.

“After winning at Rayburn, that kind of lifted a weight off me,” said Thrift, who rotated through 40 or 50 spots today. “I can relax. I don’t have to worry about paying the bills. I can just have fun and take what the good Lord gives me.

“I think confidence definitely plays a key role in tournament finishes,” he continued. “I just went fishing with an open mind. Today was a great day. I don’t think I’ve ever caught this many fish on Beaver.”

The confidence effect was evident in Thrift’s catch today. He weighed a Beaver medley that included one largemouth, one spotted bass and three smallmouths. The latter three were the first smallmouths Thrift has caught all week – one of those nice unexplainable surprises that tend to occur when you’re making good decisions.

ICAST 2013 Jackall Clone Fry with Cody Meyer and IBASSIN

2013 ICAST If you love to drop shot or finesse fish, then you need to listen to Cody Meyer. Jackall's Clone Fry is an amazing. Listen with IBASSIN.com as we learn bout this Jackall bait.