2021 Bassmaster Elite Whataburger Neely Henry Lake Day 2: Paul Mueller Leads with 30-06lbs!

Canadians Cory Johnston 24th, Gustafson 41st & Chris Johnston 46th

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Paul Mueller said consistency will decide who wins the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Neely Henry Lake.

If that’s the case, the 37-year-old pro from Naugatuck, Conn., is in the perfect position at the halfway point of the tournament.

Mueller caught a five-bass limit on Saturday that weighed 15 pounds, 3 ounces, the same total he boated Friday on this 11,200-acre reservoir of the Coosa River in northeast Alabama. His 30-6 total leads the event, which began a day late due to heavy rains earlier in the week that swelled Neely Henry’s water level in places and stained the water throughout.

Those conditions have made fishing tricky for most anglers through Day 2, but Mueller has stayed steady. Fifty other anglers weren’t so lucky as the 98-angler field was trimmed to 48 following the Day 2 weigh-in at the Gadsden City Boat Docks.

“To win one of these, you can’t have one bad day,” Mueller said. “If you slip, it’ll keep you from winning. I’ve been in that position more times than winning. You have that bad day, you finish fifth or whatever.”

Mueller weighed three largemouth and a pair of spotted bass on Saturday. He said he didn’t cover nearly as much water as he did a day earlier, but he’s pounding the areas he is fishing.

“I’m doing what I like to do, chunking and winding a crankbait,” he said. “I’d rather do that than eat. I like to do my own thing and not fish next to anyone. It’s important for me to fish my own stuff. And if you can do what you like to do, you’re better off. You don’t play someone else’s ball game.”

Mueller’s heavy on Saturday was a 4-pound largemouth. He added a spotted bass that weighed about 3 1/4 pounds, another quality bite here this week, but he lamented missing two spots he said were heavier than the couple of 2 1/2-pounders that rounded out his Day 2 bag.

2021 Bassmaster Elite Whataburger Neely Henry Lake Day 1: Brock Mosley Sacks Lead with 16-15lbs!

Canadians Cory Johnston 48th, Chris Johnston 67th & Gustafson 76

Mosley junk fishes way to early lead.
(Photo: BASS) 

BASS PRESS RELEASE

After a few forgettable practice rounds, Brock Mosley polished his junk fishing repertoire to produce a shining start at the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Neely Henry Lake.

Mosley, a 32-year-old pro from Collinsville, Miss., weighed a limit of five bass on Friday that totaled 16 pounds, 15 ounces, putting him at the top of the pack in the tournament that was due to start Thursday but was postponed because of extremely heavy rain in the region earlier this week.

All that rain swelled Neely Henry’s water level and sent sediment shooting through the north end of the fishery. Anglers struggled to find clean water, if they could at all, and a muddy Neely Henry made fishing tough on those heading uplake. Others heading down the 11,250-acre impoundment found many of their spots inaccessible thanks to the flow of water choked at the natural bottleneck on the lake known as Minnesota Bend.

The varied conditions led Mosley to “junk fishing,” or using a variety of techniques and lures in numerous places to see what worked.  

Something certainly did for him, with 5-pound and 4 1/2-pound kickers anchoring the limit he brought to the Gadsden City Boat Docks.

“It was a special day, especially after my practice,” Mosley said. “The biggest one I had in practice was only 2 1/4. I was hoping to just catch a limit today and they just bit better than they have all week. I’m fishing upriver, downriver, anything I can. It was just one of those days where everything bounced my way.”

Because he struggled to find anything consistent during practice, Mosley had no idea where he wanted to begin fishing Friday morning. He settled on a place, he said, mostly “because no one else was in there.”

B.A.S.S. Postpones Day 1 Of Bassmaster Elite At Neely Henry Lake

 

GADSDEN, Ala. — High waters caused by extremely high rainfall totals across the region Tuesday and Wednesday have forced B.A.S.S. officials to postpone the first day of competition at the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Neely Henry Lake. 

 

The full field of 98 anglers will now compete on both Friday and Saturday, with only the Top 48 advancing to Sunday’s semifinal round. The Top 10 will compete for the championship on Monday. Daily takeoffs will be held at 5:40 a.m. CT from Gadsden City Boat Docks, also known as Coosa Landing, with weigh-ins back at the docks each day at 2 p.m.

Jacob Wheeler Wins Bass Pro Tour on Lake Travis!

MLF Press Release

AUSTIN, Texas – It was a record-breaking Championship Round in more ways than one, but one thing remained the same—another Jacob Wheeler Bass Pro Tour championship. Wheeler was able to hold off a surging Bobby Lane in the final period on Lake Travis by only 2 ounces—the closest finish in Bass Pro Tour history—to win the Berkley Stage Two Presented by Mercury, his third stage championship since the league was created in 2019.

Wheeler Wins Again, This Time in Heart-Racing Fashion

Wheeler is now the only angler in MLF history to win three Bass Pro Tour events after catching 13 bass for 28 pounds, 13 ounces. His win on Lake Travis was also his sixth MLF victory including Cup competition. While it wasn’t his largest margin of victory, that doesn’t make this win any less sweet. The Googan Baits pro says that he had to work for every fish he caught this week, especially on Wednesday.

“My heart is still pounding because it was a battle all day long,” Wheeler said shortly after his win. “I knew I was going to have to get some bites in the morning if I wanted to win, and luckily I did that. It was the afternoon that made it interesting and I was really fortunate to catch enough early to hold on and get the win.”

Wheeler was the only angler in the Championship Round field to head up the Colorado River while the remaining nine anglers took their chances with the main parts of Lake Travis. The Duckett Rods pro spent the majority of his time rotating between a swim jig, vibrating jig and a topwater bait. Wheeler knew if he could utilize those baits around the right targets up the river—mainly boat docks—then he would find the success he needed to win.

2021 MLF BASS Pro Tour Lake Travis: Birge Breezes Past Wheeler for Group B Win

Birge Skips Knockout Round, Qualifies for the Stage Two Championship Round

MLF Press Release

Zack Birge secured his spot in the Championship Round while Dave Lefebre brought in a 7-pound monster to make a giant move up SCORETRACKER® late in the day. It was quite the entertaining day of fishing on Lake Travis for Group B’s final qualifying round of the Berkley Stage Two Presented by Mercury.

The Oklahoma pro caught 15 bass for 25 pounds, 2 ounces on Monday, bringing his two-day total weight to 67-4 and giving him a 9-1 advantage over second-place Jacob Wheeler. While Birge admits that it was tough to get anything going during the morning hours, when the temperatures started heating up on Lake Travis, so did his afternoon bite.

“Everything went right today and I’m feeling pretty good,” Birge said. “I decided to come back down the lake for the third period and that’s the decision that got me to the Championship Round. I caught six fish in the final period fishing in an area I was comfortable. It worked out just like you want it to.”

Wheeler only managed two scorable bass for the day and was unable to catch back up to Birge once he took the lead. The Favorite Fishing pro has five Top-10 finishes since joining the Bass Pro Tour, but has yet to come away with his first MLF win. With the day off on Tuesday and time for his fish to replenish, Birge is teeming with confidence as he prepares for Wednesday’s Championship Round.

“I think I have a legitimate shot at a win this time around,” Birge said with confidence. “I don’t feel like someone is going to catch 100 pounds in the Championship Round and no one else has a shot. I think it’s going to be a shootout and I like my chances.”

Lefebre’s Lunker Sends Him to the Knockout Round

Lefebre shows off his 7-4 he caught with 15 minutes left in the round.

Dave Lefebre isn’t just going home with a Berkley Big Bass check, he also has a chance to earn some more money thanks to his 7-4 largemouth that helped him make the cut. The Pennsylvania pro was down near the bottom of SCORETRACKER® with time winding down in the day. It was a day full of missed opportunities according to Lefebre, but he made sure to capitalize on the best one he had.

2021 MLF BASS Pro Tour Lake Travis: Chapman Wins Stage Two with 67Lbs!

MLF Press Release

There wasn’t much movement near the top of SCORETRACKER® during Group A’s final Qualifying Day on Lake Travis, but there was plenty of action near the Toro Cut Line. Brent Chapman secured his spot in the Berkley Stage Two Presented by Mercury Championship Round by winning Group, A while three anglers were able to make up for subpar rounds on Friday and move into the top 20 to advance to the Knockout Round.

Chapman Stays Solid on Travis

Chapman added nine bass for 20 pounds, 8 ounces to his total weight, bringing him to 67 pounds over his two Qualifying Days. Chapman finished ahead of second-place Mark Rose by more than 11 pounds to secure his spot in the Championship Round. The key for Chapman on his first day was fishing around an invasive grass species near a marina. But with plenty of boat traffic and his fellow competitors heading in that area as well, Chapman decided to make a move away from the grass.

Minn Kota Promotions Until May 31

Link over to Minn Kota to take advantage of all the great promotions

 

Old Town Paddle Topwater Fishing Kayaks with David Hadden and IBASSIN

Newly released at ICAST 2018, the Old Town Topwater PDL boat will change the way you fish. Listen as David Hadden takes us through this fantastic fishing rig.

Old Town is proud to unveil its all-new Topwater™ Series, which offers great Old Town performance in a compact, nimble format. A marriage of stability and performance, the Topwater—with the all-new ultra-stable DoubleU™ hull—quietly glides through any water condition while providing a stable, comfortable stand-up fishing platform. Equipped with thoughtful onboard tackle and rod management and a revolutionary universal transducer mount, even the most discriminating anglers will be impressed by the overall fishability of the new Topwater Series: paddle versions Topwater 106 and Topwater 120; and a pedal-driven model, the Topwater PDL. “The growth and popularity of kayak fishing has brought many new companies into the marketplace but unfortunately we have seen a glut of poorly-made and engineered boats in the sub $1000 category,” says David Hadden, Brand Director, Johnson Outdoors Watercraft. “Our goal with the Topwater™ Series was to engineer a boat that gave a great on the water fishing experience, which would allow anglers to catch more fish and be more comfortable. We also wanted it to outperform other kayaks when not on the water and made it smaller in size and weight for easy transportation and storage. Too many of today’s stable fishing kayaks need a trailer to transport to your local boat launch. The small size and reduced weight of all models in the Topwater Series make car-topping realistic and negate the need for a kayak trailer.” Check us out at: https://www.ibassin.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/ibassincom/265989363495983

Lee Livesay Wins 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite on Lake Fork with 112-05lbs!

Monster Bag Lifts Livesay To Bassmaster Elite Series Victory At Lake Fork

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Mega 42-03lbs final day limit secures win and Century Club for Livesay.
(Photo: BASS)

For three days, Lee Livesay caught quality fish, but nothing close to the Lake Fork potential he intimately knows. On Championship Sunday, the third-year Elite Series pro and local guide showcased his home lake’s treasures by winning the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork with a phenomenal four-day total of 112 pounds, 5 ounces.

 

As the 32nd individual to enter the prestigious Bassmaster Century Club (a five-fish limit of 100 pounds or more), Livesay outpaced Day 1 leader Patrick Walters by a 10-pound margin. Along with his second Elite trophy — his first came last fall at Chickamauga Lake — Livesay won a first-place award of $100,000.

 

For Livesay, it was a monster final-day limit that weighed 42-3 and ranks as the third-heaviest, single-day weight in Bassmaster history that sealed the deal.

 

“I have no words right now, it’s amazing,” he said. “I’ve been around them, but I haven’t caught any big ones all week; I just survived. Everything just worked out and it never goes like that.”

 

Hailing from Longview, Texas, Livesay made no assumptions and fished hard until the last minute. But when the smallest bass in your five-fish limit goes 7 pounds, 6 ounces, good things are likely.

 

“I caught big ones everywhere I went,” he said. “I started off with big ones (a 9-2 at 7:14 a.m.) and ended with big ones (7-14 at 1:10 p.m.). It was just one of those surreal days, and it was amazing because I’ve spent a lot of time on this lake.”

 

Spending his tournament in Little Caney Creek, Livesay rotated among several secondary points where bass were chasing big gizzard shad. His main spot — a bar extending off a small island — allowed him to sneak into range of bass schooling on the opposite side without spooking them.

 

Throughout the tournament, Livesay caught fish on a mixed arsenal that included a 3:16 Lure Company line-through Rising Son swimbait, a 3:16 Lure Company Work Horse glidebait, a Megabass Vision 110 jerkbait, a Carolina rig with a Netbait Little Spanky, a 6th Sense Magnum Squarebill and a bone color Heddon Saltwater Super Spook.