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Event:
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Favorite Fishing Stage Three Raleigh Presented by Evinrude
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Date:
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March 26 – 31
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Media Credentials:
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Takeoff:
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Approximately 7 a.m. EDT daily
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Key Times:
(All are EDT)
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7:30 a.m. Lines In, 10 a.m. Lines Out
10:15 a.m. Lines In, 12:45 p.m. Lines Out
1 p.m. Lines In, 3:30 p.m. Lines Out – End of Competition
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Postgame
Show:
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Approximately 5 to 7 p.m. EDT daily
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Boat Launch:
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Days 1 & 2:
Farrington Point Boat Ramp, Farrington Point Rd, Chapel Hill, NC
Days 3, 4 & 5:
Upper Barton’s Creek,12900 Six Forks Rd, Wake Forest, NC
Day 6:
Holleman’s Crossing, 4420 Bartley Holleman Rd, New Hill, NC
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Stage
Location:
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Bass Pro Shops – 801 Bass Pro Ln., Cary, NC 27513
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Broadcast:
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Live Stream begins on MajorLeagueFishing.com at 10 a.m. EDT
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Event Hashtags:
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#MLFRaleigh #BassProTour
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Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three Raleigh
Presented by Evinrude Event Notes:
Stage Three’s New Waters
The three lakes that the Bass Pro Tour field will compete on in Favorite Fishing Stage Three Raleigh Presented by Evinrude – Falls Lake, Jordan Lake and Shearon Harris Reservoir – will be “new waters” for the majority of the 80-angler field. None of these lakes have previously hosted a “tour-level” event, and only a small handful of the field has any experience on the lakes. Geographic proximity likely won’t play into any advantage (or disadvantage) – while there are five Bass Pro Tour anglers from the Carolinas, all five hail from South Carolina.
Carolina in my Mind
Five of the 80 anglers competing on the MLF Bass Pro Tour hail from South Carolina. The Carolinians you’ll see competing in Raleigh include:
- Casey Ashley (Donalds) – Winner of the 2015 Bassmaster Classic and 10 additional tour-level victories.
- Anthony Gagliardi (Prosperity) – One of only a handful of anglers who have won both FLW Tour Angler of the Year (2006) and a Forrest Wood Cup (2014)
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Andy Montgomery (Blacksburg) – Twice a tour-level winner and owner of 34 Top 10s in his professional career.
- Britt Myers (Lake Wylie) – A two-time tour-level winner, Myers also has 15 Top 10s to his credit.
- Marty Robinson (Lyman) – Owner of 22 career Top 10s, Robinson has over $700,000 in career winnings.
Falls, Jordan Set for Shotgun, Elimination, Knockout
Because of the unique flexibility of the MLF Bass Pro Tour to compete on smaller local waters, the first five days of competition will split time between Falls and Jordan lakes. That includes the two Shotgun and Elimination Rounds, and the Knockout Round.
Championship Lake Shearon Harris: “Small but Mighty”
At 4,100 surface acres, Shearon Harris Reservoir – the site of the 10-angler Championship Round – is by far the smallest of the three lakes that the field will compete on. But as MLF NOW! live stream analyst Marty Stone (a North Carolina native) points out, “Shearon Harris is small but mighty. Shearon Harris is small, but it’s so good. It’s a really special lake.”
How Mighty? THIS Mighty
Big fish are the hallmark of all three fisheries, but Shearon Harris in particular has produced some eye-popping results in the recent past: the same co-ed team competing in two tournaments in early March of 2017 weighed in five-fish limits of 41.93 and 46.89 pounds.
From the Local Pro’s Perspective
Stone, who competed as a pro for 15 years prior to his MLF broadcasting duties, hails from Fayetteville, North Carolina, and has fished all three lakes multiple times. Here’s what he has to say about…
- Jordan and Falls Lakes: Most of the bass will run from 2 ¼ to 6 pounds, and we should see several 7- to 8-pounders. I stopped for a couple of days at Falls (recently) and I caught 25 pounds for my best 5 fish. These are pure Northern-strain largemouth, and they grow big here. We’re coming to them at the prime time for quality fish. Don’t be surprised to see a double-digit bass caught out of one of them.”
- Shearon Harris Reservoir: If the bass are up shallow in the primrose (on Shearon Harris), look out. Those fish can be big. And I mean BIG. Get your braid out, and you’d better have your feet on the deck … they might pull you in. Shearon Harris has better numbers of fish than Falls and Jordan lakes, and it has huge fish, too. I’ve broken the mid-30s with my five largest weighable fish on this lake.”
Daily Wrap-up
After each day of competition, the Bass Pro Tour Postgame Show presented by Berkley will be held at the Bass Pro Tour set, located at Bass Pro Shops (801 Bass Pro Ln., Cary, NC 27513) Tuesday, March 26, through Sunday, March 31. The Postgame show begins at approximately 5 p.m. EDT each day. Admission to the Postgame Show is free of charge.
Up-To-The-Minute Results
Unable to make it to Raleigh for Stage Three? Do as 1.2 million others that were not able to make it to Bass Pro Tour Huk Stage Two presented by Favorite Fishing in Conroe, Texas, did and log on to the all-new MajorLeagueFishing.com. Click “Watch MLF NOW!” to watch more than seven hours of live competition including a daily Postgame Show that begins at 5 p.m. EDT.
Catch the Action
MLF NOW!’s live streaming broadcast of the Bass Pro Tour will feature 10 cameras/cameramen shooting on board competitor’s boats throughout all six rounds of each event. Each day’s on-the-water live stream will run five to five-and-a-half hours in a network gameday- like broadcast. Tune in by logging on to MajorLeagueFishing.com or by downloading the Major League Fishing app on your smart device.
How We Got Here
Major League Fishing invited 80 of the world’s best anglers to compete in the inaugural season of the Bass Pro Tour. The roster is comprised of Bassmaster Classic champions, FLW Forrest Wood Cup winners, Anglers of the Year and top tour performers from throughout the world of competitive bass fishing.
How it Works
The format for Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour events will be similar to the General Tire World Championship events that aired on CBS in 2017 and 2018. The 80 anglers will be separated into two groups, 40 anglers in each. Tuesday, March 26 and Wednesday, March 27 are Shotgun Rounds 1 and 2, where 40 anglers (Group A and Group B) compete to catch the highest cumulative two-day weight each day. Thursday, March 28 and Friday, March 29 are Elimination Rounds 1 and 2 where 40 anglers (Group A and Group B) compete to catch the highest two-day cumulative weight. Anglers’ Shotgun Round weight is combined with the weight they catch in the Elimination Round. The top 20 anglers from each group advance to the Knockout Round. Saturday, March 30 is the Knockout Round where 40 anglers (top 20 from each Elimination Round) compete. All anglers will begin the Knockout Round with zero weight. The Top-10 finishers advance to the Championship Round on Sunday, March 31 when they will compete to catch the highest weight. All anglers will begin the Championship Round with zero weight. A camera in every boat will livestream the action from Championship Sunday on MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Animis Opibusque Parati
Although Stage Three marks the first event for the Bass Pro Tour in the Carolinas, MLF is no stranger to the Carolinas. The 2018 Challenge Select was held on Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, and was won by Keith Poche.
First Cast
Retired National Hockey League player and former Carolina Hurricane Tim Brent will throw the ceremonial first cast to kick off the Favorite Fishing Stage Three Presented by Evinrude on Tuesday morning, March 26. Media availability will follow upon conclusion.
Military Appreciation Day
On Friday, March 29, the Bass Pro Shops store located at 801 Bass Pro Ln, Cary, NC 27513 will host a Military Appreciation Day from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. EDT, with demonstrations including a special ops recruiting virtual reality experience, and vehicle and weapons displays. There will be free giveaways for the first 250 customers, a 5 percent discount for Veterans on in-store purchases and a Veteran’s BBQ from 3:30 – 5 p.m. EDT.
Ladies Day Out
On Saturday, March 30,the Bass Pro Shops store located at 801 Bass Pro Ln, Cary, NC 27513, will host a Ladies Day Out Event. The store will provide free giveaways to the first 250 women that visit the store. Female-focused seminars on hunting, fishing, cooking and outdoor recreation will be held in-store from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT.
Teach a Child to Fish
On Saturday, March 30 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT, Pond Hopper Nation and Major League Fishing will provide fishing rods, t-shirts, tackle & instruction to children and families at Lake Crabtree County Park located at 1400 Aviation Parkway, Morrisville, NC 27560. MLF anglers fish with the kids, take photos, sign autographs and more. To participate, parents must register at the Bass Pro Shops store located at 801 Bass Pro Ln, Cary, NC 27513 between 10 a.m. and noon EDT to receive a participation voucher.
Ride Along
Major League Fishing will offer boat rides that allow credentialed media access to cover the Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three Presented by Evinrude on the water. Rides must be scheduled in advance. Requests should be submitted to Media@MajorLeagueFishing.com.
New Leader in the Clubhouse
Phoenix boats will provide a Daily Leader award, paying $500 to the angler leading days 1-4 of each Stage.
Berkley Big Bass of the Day
The angler that catches the largest bass of the day will be awarded the Berkley Big Bass of the Day. The angler with the largest bass caught throughout the competition will win $1,000.
About Major League Fishing
Founded in 2011, Major League Fishing (MLF) brings the high-intensity sport of competitive bass fishing into America’s living rooms on Outdoor Channel, Discovery, CBS, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network, Sportsman Channel and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). New for 2019, the Bass Pro Tour consists of eight events and a championship streamed live on www.MajorLeagueFishing.com and MOTV. MLF uses the entertaining and conservation-friendly catch, weigh and immediate-release format where every scorable bass counts and the winner is the angler with the highest cumulative weight. For more information on the league and anglers, visit www.majorleaguefishing.com and follow MLF on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. For more in-depth coverage, see Game & Fish magazine, the official publication of MLF.
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