Major League Fishing Premieres Sixth Season on Outdoor Channel from Lake of the Ozarks

TULSA, Okla. (Dec. 28, 2016) – Major League Fishing (MLF) officials announce the sixth television season kicks off at 2 p.m. EST on New Year’s Eve on the Outdoor Channel, bringing an exciting line up of competitions and five new anglers to the group of 23 top bass fishing professionals.
The 2017 Major League Fishing television series begins with its first airing on New Year’s Eve on the Outdoor Channel. The new season promises to be one of the most competitive yet.
The 2017 MLF season starts with the first airing of the GEICO Selects Bass Pro Shops Summit Select presented by Ferguson. The 23 anglers competed in six days of competition across Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks in hopes of securing a spot in the 2017 General Tire Summit Cup at Grand Rapids, Minn.
Annually one of the top-rated Outdoor Channel shows, MLF events includes several Bassmaster Classic champions, Toyota Angler of the Year winners and title-holders from both the Bassmaster Elite Series and FLW Tour.
23 of the country’s top professional bass anglers compete in the 2017 Geico Selects, including five new additions: Casey Ashley, Chris Lane, Zack Birge, Russ Lane and Dave Lefebre.

“We’ve got a really stacked group of newcomers, all of whom are incredible anglers,” said Randy White, executive producer of Major League Fishing. “They’ve all shown they can win on a big stage and I’m really excited to see the talent and intensity these guys will infuse to an already outstanding group of anglers.”

New to the MLF Geico Selects are former Bassmaster Classic champions Casey Ashley (2015) and Chris Lane (2012), 2015 FLW Rookie of the Year Zack Birge, and bass fishing veterans Russ Lane and Dave Lefebre.
“I think it just really speaks to the level of competition we have in the Selects to add the kind of anglers we did this year,” said Don Rucks, commissioner of Major League Fishing. “The goal of the GEICO Selects was to grow the MLF competition base even more and with these new five new guys we’ve made another great leap to achieve professional bass fishing’s highest competitive level.”
First developed in 2011 through a partnership between the Outdoor Channel and professional anglers, MLF has grown steadily since its inception. After adding the Select events and doubling in scope in 2015, MLF was rated Outdoor Channel’s overall No. 1 show for first and second quarter 2016.
The GEICO Select

The made-for-television MLF events feature a camera man and official in each angler’s boat to capture all of the action and emotions during the competitions.

series is a companion to the Major League Fishing Cup series and airs on Outdoor Channel, America’s leader in outdoor television.

Other MLF Select anglers competing in the 2017 Summit Select include: Scott Ashmore, Gary Clouse, Jason Christie, Ott DeFoe, Kurt Dove, Todd Faircloth, Randy Howell, Pete Ponds, Brandon Palaniuk, Keith Poche, Marty Robinson, Mark Rose, Fred Roumbanis, Kevin Short, Fletcher Shryock, Scott Suggs, James Watson and Jacob Wheeler.
The 2017 MLF television season continues every Saturday at 2pm EST on the Outdoor Channel through the end of June, and is also available 48 hours after the original air time on MyOutdoorTV, the Outdoor Channel’s streaming and downloading service.
About Major League Fishing
Developed through a joint effort between Outdoor Channel and two dozen premier bass fishing anglers in 2011, Major League Fishing brings the high-intensity sport of competitive bass fishing into America’s living rooms in the form of riveting two-hour TV episodes. Twenty-four world-class anglers are filmed over the course of a six-day event. The show captures their efforts as they utilize a demanding format that allows them to weigh all the “scorable bass” they catch. Unlike other competitive fishing events, live leaderboards in the boats allow anglers to know their standings at all times. For more information about the game, visit www.majorleaguefishing.com and follow Major League Fishing on Twitter, Instagram and on Facebook.