Justin Lucas Leads 2025 B&W Trailer Hitches Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops

It was a tight race for the top during the Knockout Round and Justin Lucas came out on top with 64-4 on 21 scorable bass. Photo by Tyler Brinks

Mitchell Forde Bass Pro Tour 

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. — Everything has gone to plan so far for Justin Lucas at B&W Trailer Hitches Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops. His last remaining objective on Smith Mountain Lake: claim the title belt he’s coveted for the past three years and at least one of the $100,000 paychecks up for grabs on Championship Thursday.

Lucas totaled 64 pounds, 4 ounces on 21 scorable bass during the Knockout Round. With less than 2 minutes left before lines out, he boated a 3-13 smallmouth that put him atop SCORETRACKER®, 1-8 ahead of Zack Birge.

Meanwhile, even though he finished the day in third place, the biggest winner was Matthew Stefan. The Wisconsin pro earned $30,000 for catching the Berkley Big Bass of the day, a 5-15 that ate a bladed jig.

Lucas will lead the Top 10 into what’s shaping up to be a wide-open Championship Round, where $100,000 will be up for grabs for both the tournament winner and the angler who catches the biggest bass. Watch the final day live on MLFNOW! from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET at MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) apps and the Major League Fishing channel on Rumble.

Full results can be found here.

Lucas hopeful he’s on the winning pattern

Lucas’ Knockout Round unfolded much like his Qualifying Round. He got off to a strong start, putting plenty of distance between himself and the elimination line early, then spent some time scouting for the next round. 

While most of his closest competition plied steep banks on the riverine end of Smith Mountain, Lucas stuck with his approach of targeting schools of bass ambushing blueback herring around the flat points on the lower end of the lake. He amassed more than 27 pounds in the opening period, climbed above the 50-pound mark in the opening minutes of the third frame, then eased off the gas and spent the rest of the day in practice mode.

2018 Bassmaster Elite Grand Lake Day 3: KVD Jumps into Lead with 64-13lbs

KVD early morning rampage key to lead.
By Thomas Allen
BASS PRESS RELEASE

KVD on the prowl for 25th win.
(Photo: BASS)

After catching his heaviest limit of the tournament on Day 3, bass fishing superstar Kevin VanDam took over the lead at the 2018 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Elite at Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees.
 
VanDam's 22 pounds, 4 ounces was his third exceeding the 20-pound mark — a benchmark in professional bass fishing -- the only angler to do so. His three-day total is 64-13 gives him a 3-4 lead heading into the final round of the four-day Elite tournament. VanDam is looking to add to his record 24 titles on the Bassmaster tournament trail, including four Bassmaster Classic wins and seven Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year awards.
 
With $100,000 on the line for first place, and win No. 25 for the Kalamazoo, Mich., resident, VanDam is confident his fishing areas are only getting better.
 
“It’s going to take another bag of 20 pounds or better to win this thing,” he said. “I think where I’ve spent my time this week has the right fish, but as the standings will show, the other Top 12 anglers are also catching them. I’m not comfortable yet.”
 
The field will be cut down to the Top 12 anglers with VanDam leading them out on Championship Sunday.
 
“Each of us are focusing on spawning bass,” VanDam said. “And with the weather and moon phase both factors, the spots are reloading by the hour. The bass are fat and very healthy looking — plus I feel like my pattern is only getting stronger.”
 

2016 Bassmaster Elite at Bull Shoals/Norfork Day 3: Tharp Leads Going into Final Day!

Top 12 head to Norfork for Final Day.
By Bryan Brasher
BASS PRESS RELEASE
Randall Tharp suffered through one of the toughest seasons of his professional career in 2015, but it seems to have given him some extra motivation for this year's campaign.

Tharp opened the 2016 Bassmaster Elite Series season with back-to-back Top 20 finishes — and now, he has caught enough fish at this week's Bassmaster Elite at Bull Shoals/Norfork to move himself into position to claim his first Elite Series win.

Big rods and jigs jumps Tharp to lead. (Photo: BASS)

He brought in five bass Saturday from Bull Shoals Lake that weighed 16 pounds, 4 ounces and moved from fifth place to the top of the standings with a three-day total of 45-8. The tournament, which began Thursday on Norfork Lake and moved to Bull Shoals Friday and Saturday, will shift back to Norfork for Sunday's championship round with Tharp leading the remaining Top 12 anglers.

"I started in the same place today where I lost a big one (Friday), and I never had a bite," said Tharp, who has three Bassmaster Open victories but none on the Elite Series. "Where I pulled my trolling motor up (Friday), I just decided to keep on going. I kept the trolling motor down until 11 o'clock, and that's how I caught most of what I had.

"It was new water — a lot shallower than what I had been fishing — and I just fished everything in front of me."
Tharp said he was struggling early, but a slight change in technique helped.