2023 MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals on Lake Okeechobee Day 2: Colby Schrumpf Leads with 47-05lbs

By EriK Gaffron

MLF PRESS RELEASE

CLEWISTON, Fla. – Lake Okeechobee impressed again on Day 2 of the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, with three pros catching more than 25 pounds on the day. Sacking up 25-6 to go with 21-15 from Day 1, Colby Schrumpf totaled 47-1 for the lead in Power-Pole Stop 1 Presented by Phoenix Boats. In second, Joshua Weaver tallied 31-9 on Day 2 for a 46-5 total, and “Real Deal” Michael Neal slipped into third place with 44-4. Tomorrow, the Top 50 pros will fish for the win on a truly spectacular Lake Okeechobee.

Schrumpf’s day started off strong with a pair of 5-pounders early and continued with a steady output of quality catches throughout the day.

“Probably in the first hour and a half I had two over 5 pounds in the boat and just slowly culled my way up,” he said. “Late this afternoon, I was able to catch a 5 1/2-pounder about midday. Then I caught a 4-pounder and made a nice cull with that. I left those fish so that way they’re ready to go tomorrow.”

TOP 10 BELOW

Jacob Powroznik Wins 2020 MLF Lake Okeechobee Championship!

The Big Lake payout as canals fizzles

By Tyler Brinks

Major League Fishing Press Release

Jacob Powroznik took a late lead during the Championship Round, amassing
nearly 30 pounds in the final period alone. Photo by Phoenix Moore

Lake Okeechobee did indeed save the best for last at the Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Two Presented by Bass Cat. We saw our biggest weight totals, most bass caught by single anglers, and it was a fight to the finish.

Although the final standings show a win of over 11 pounds for Jacob Powroznik, it was a tight race for most of the day, until the Virginian took control in Period 3.

Take this as evidence of how close it really was. After Period 2 closed, the top three anglers were separated by just six ounces. Randall Tharp was edging out Jacob Wheeler and Michael Neal, who all had 28 pounds and change to begin Period 3.

Powroznik was lurking behind and his eight bass for nearly 30 pounds in Period 3 was the difference-maker in claiming his second career Bass Pro Tour win. He ended the day with 15 bass for 49 pounds, 11 ounces, which were both easily the best totals of the week.

Powroznik Closes out Another Win

Jacob Powroznik did enough during Periods 1 and 2 to give himself a chance and was able to close out the win late thanks to a simplified approach that he relied on all week long.

As time expired, Powroznik was emotional and thankful to close out the win.

“You never know and when it is your time, it’s your time. I just kept my head down and kept grinding in the same 300-yard stretch,” he said.

That area is known as “the pass,” and Powroznik shared that it is at the mouth of Buckhead Ridge. That area had all of the ingredients he was looking for.

“It had the right depth, bottom composition, and eelgrass. I was looking for a hard bottom because that’s where they spawn. I was targeting the holes in the grass,” he said. “The fish were in the open areas and if it was too close to bulrushes, the eelgrass would be too choked up.”

2019 Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Championship Sunday!

Tp 10 Anglers Advance to Garcia of the Win!

BPT PRESS RELEASE

Dustin Connell's 9-pounder lead him to a Knockout Round win.
(Photo: BPT)

Major championships are usually played on championship venues. For the first-ever Championship Round of the MLF Bass Pro Tour, that's exactly what the Top 10 will get Sunday when action shifts away from the Kissimmee Chain and onto Ansin Garcia Reservoir.

 

The B & W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented By Power-Pole moves an hour southeast of Kissimmee on Sunday to Garcia, a 3,100-acre flooded former farm site located in Blue Cypress Management Area near the town of Fellsmere. It's a fishery that MLF fans will recognize: Garcia served as competition waters for the Shotgun Rounds of the 2018 General Tire World Championship won by Greg Hackney.

 

And while Hackney won't be participating in the Bass Pro Tour's first Championship Sunday, two of the 10 anglers vying for the championship trophy and $100,000 payday will be: Takahiro Omori, who finished third in the Knockout Round with 40-9, and Edwin Evers, who finished eighth with 31-9.

 

Whether that previous experience on Garcia gives Omori and Evers an advantage over the rest of the Championship 10 - Dustin Connell, Jeff Sprague, Randy Howell, Alton Jones, Jr., Jordan Lee, Anthony Gagliardi, Jared Lintner and Michael Neal - remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: all 10 anglers fishing on Sunday are hoping that the move further south and closer to the ocean will put them on a fishery that's farther along in the pre-spawn than the Kissimmee Chain.

 

According to MLF NOW! analyst JT Kenney, who lives 45 minutes away from Garcia in Palm Bay, there's a good chance that'll happen.

 

"It's only an hour away, but the climate (at Garcia) is significantly different - the lows at night are maybe 10 degrees warmer than Kissimmee," Kenney said. "The water temperature at Garcia should be in the mid-60s, and everything should be further along than Toho and Kissimmee. I wouldn't be surprised if we hit it right. If we do, you'll see some Florida studs: there are some big fish in that lake."