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Hartman Wins Toyota Series Event on Lake Chickamauga
DAYTON, Tenn. (May 23, 2021) – Toyota Series angler Jordan Hartman of Benton, Kentucky brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 14 pounds, 12 ounces to win the three-day Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. at Lake Chickamauga Presented by Googan Baits in Dayton, Tennessee. Hartman’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 51-13 earned him the win by a 12-ounce margin over second-place angler Seth Davis of Harrison, Tennessee and earned Hartman the top payout of $51,500 in the third and final tournament of the 2021 Toyota Series Central Division Presented by Neat Companies.
Hartman said Chickamauga in the summer suits him perfectly and was a great place to take home his first MLF win.
“I got to catch them exactly how I wanted to,” said Hartman, who is a Murray State graduate and just 24 years old. “I love fishing offshore. If I can be off the bank, I’m going to do it. I ledge fished the whole time. I spent every hour of practice looking at those screens. I committed to offshore and never went to the bank one time.
“I found about 30 schools, but there were only approximately five of them that would bite consistently,” continued Hartman. “I knew all 30 of them had potential, but you take into consideration the boats, and you can probably cut about half of those off. So, it was tough.”
With the boat traffic, fishing pressure, lack of current and negative mood of many of the offshore bass, Hartman was really the only pro in the entire Top 10 that stayed offshore exclusively.
“I had one area that I caught almost everything I’ve weighed on,” said Hartman. “It was a little high spot with some shells up there – I actually wasn’t even scanning it, I was just pulling up and fishing. There was one cast on this spot that I was catching almost every fish on. You had to bring it over the shells, and as soon as it fell off, they were sitting right on the back side.”
On his best spot, Hartman said he stuck with a Strike King 5XD and a True Bass Shuttlecock Hair Jig. Deeper, on other spots, he long-lined a Strike King 10XD.
While Hartman did much of his damage on his shallow ledge, which topped out at about 9-feet deep, he also caught fish as deep as 28 feet on the 10XD and ran at least a half dozen places each day of the event. One of his final fish, which may have given him the edge over Davis, was actually caught on a Strike King Sexy Spoon.
“I pulled up on this spot where I hadn’t had a bite all week,” said Hartman. “I also hadn’t had a bite on a spoon all week – I almost put that spoon in the box Friday night. But I pulled it out, threw it out there, and I didn’t even do anything. It just went slack. Everything just went my way this week – when you’re going to win, you’re going to win, and everything just clicked for me in this event.”
The top 10 pros on Lake Chickamauga finished:
1st: Jordan Hartman of Benton, Ky., 15 bass, 51-13, $51,500
2nd: Seth Davis of Harrison, Tenn., 15 bass, 51-01, $21,250
3rd: Miles Burghoff of Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., 15 bass, 48-01, $14,450
4th: Tommy Brown of Louisville, Tenn., 15 bass, 46-11, $12,250
5th: Jeff Dyer of Oak Hill, Ohio, 15 bass, 45-11, $11,250
6th: Cody Nichols of Fayette, Ala., 14 bass, 45-2, $9,125
7th: Joseph Webster of Winfield, Ala., 15 bass, 44-15, $7,900
8th: Andrew Nordbye of Guntersville, Ala., 13 bass, 44-4, $6,900
9th: Cody Harrison of Muscle Shoals, Ala., 14 bass, 44-1, $5,900
10th: Jeff McLain of Columbus, Miss., 15 bass, 41-3, $4,650
Jeff McLain of Columbus, Mississippi took home an additional $150 for the Day One Berkley Big Bass award in the pro division, with a bass weighing 7 pounds, 13 ounces. Mike Casada of Stearns, Kentucky won the Day Two Berkley Big Bass award in the pro division, bringing a 7-pound, 9-ounce bass to the scale.
Seth Davis of Harrison, Tennessee took home an extra $1,000 as the highest finishing Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $35,000 per event in each Toyota Series tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.
Michael Miller of Greenville, South Carolina won the Strike King Co-angler Division Saturday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 34 pounds, 12 ounces. Miller took home the top prize package of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard motor.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers on Lake Chickamauga finished:
2nd: Sieg Taylor of Navarre Beach, Fla., eight bass, 31-2, $6,125
3rd: Jeremy Nash of Cookeville, Tenn., 14 bass, 30-7, $4,900
4th: Chris Graham of Blue Ridge, Ga., 13 bass, 28-11, $3,950
5th: Terry Ezzell of Russellville, Ala., 11 bass, 28-3, $3,450
6th: Ronald Young of New Braunfels, Texas, 11 bass, 26-13, $2,950
7th: Sam Howell of Somerville, Tenn., 11 bass, 26-12, $2,450
8th: Kenneth Heckel of Santa Claus, Ind., 13 bass, 25-5, $1,975
9th: Shawn Burton of Frankfurt, Ind., 10 bass, 24-6, $1,590
10th: Tim Kellam of Crittendon, Ky., 10 bass, 23-5, $1,350
The Toyota Series at Lake Chickamauga was Presented by Googan Baits and was hosted by Fish Dayton and the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council. It was the third and final regular-season tournament in 2021 for Central Division anglers. The next event for Toyota Series anglers will take place on July 15-17 – the Toyota Series at Lake Champlain Presented in Plattsburgh, New York. For a complete schedule, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The 2021 Toyota Series presented by A.R.E. consists of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern, Southwestern and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International division. Anglers who fish all three qualifiers in any of the eight divisions and finish in the top 25 will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series presented by A.R.E. Championship for a shot at winning $235,000 cash, including a $35,000 Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus for qualified anglers. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard.
The 2021 Toyota Series Championship presented by A.R.E. will be held Oct. 28-30 on Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee, and is hosted by the Hardin County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Toyota Series presented by A.R.E. on the MLF BIG5’s social media outlets at Facebook , Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
About MLF BIG5
MLF BIG5 is part of MLF, the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization. It provides anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money across five tournament circuits featuring a five-biggest-fish format. Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with offices in Benton, Kentucky, MLF and its partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Zimbabwe.
MLF tournaments are broadcast on Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel, World Fishing Network, MyOutdoorTV, Discovery and CBS Sports while MLF Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros to the world’s most avid bass anglers.
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Kuphall Closes Wire-To-Wire Win At Bassmaster Elite Event On Guntersville
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. — An Elite angler’s “walk-up” music has no bearing on tournament performance, but Caleb Kuphall’s could not have been more fitting for his dominant wire-to-wire victory in the Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville, where he tallied a four-day total weight of 85 pounds, 14 ounces.
Caleb Kuphall, of Mukwonago, Wis., has won the 2021 Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville with a four-day total of 85 pounds, 14 ounces.
Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.
The second-year pro from Mukwonago, Wis., enters the weigh-in stage each day to the Beach Boys’ Catch a Wave. The opening verse perfectly mirrors the eye-popping Day 1 performance that gave Kuphall nearly a 6 1/2-pound lead and positioned him to ride out the slower periods and end up surging across the finish line by a huge margin.
“Catch a wave and you’re sitting on top of the world.”
“Having as much of a lead as I did, it was very nerve wracking, because you don’t want to blow it,” Kuphall said. “You’re like ‘I’ve got this lead and if I blow it, it’s a catastrophic train wreck.’ I kinda just rode that wave.”
Earning his first Elite trophy and becoming the first Wisconsin angler to do so, Kuphall set the bar high with a Day 1 catch of 27-10. With a windy Day 2 creating position and presentation challenges, his productivity dipped to 15-10, but Kuphall retained the top spot by a 4-9 margin.
Day 3 saw him getting back on track with a 23-9 limit that pushed his lead to 11 1/2 pounds. On Championship Sunday, Kuphall started slow, picked up steady momentum and sacked up the biggest bag of the final round — 19-1 — to collect a $100,000 top prize.
Notably, Kuphall’s 17-14 margin of victory is the second largest in Bassmaster Elite Series history (behind South Carolina pro Patrick Walter’s 29-10 margin last year at Lake Fork). Kuphall is only the 11th Elite angler to win by a double-digit margin.
Kuphall caught all of his bass flipping and punching shallow vegetation. In a tournament that saw competitors trying a wide range of spring tactics, he kept it simple and stuck to a fundamentally sound game plan that helped steady his nerves.
“I don’t generally get really nervous when I’m out fishing,” he said. “Throughout today, I felt totally calm because I just had two areas, so I didn’t really have a lot of decisions to make. I wasn’t going to do anything crazy and luckily it worked out.”
Kuphall fished two main areas. The first was a vast milfoil field just outside the take-off site at Goose Pond. Here, he mostly flipped a Texas-rigged Zoom Z Hog in the green pumpkin and California 420 colors on a 4/0 extra-wide gap hook with a 3/4-ounce tungsten weight. Saturday and Sunday, he also flipped a 1-ounce Dirty Jigs No Jack Punchin’ Jig with a forktail trailer.
When his first area slowed, Kuphall ran uplake to the east side of an island just below the B.B. Comer Bridge (State Route 35). That second spot comprised two large sections of matted grass, with scattered patches of floating weeds.
Targeting isolated clumps of the thicker mats proved most productive, but Kuphall said the uplake spot was likely bolstered by a fresh supply of hefty forage.
“Area is everything and on that secondary spot, I had a lot of fish moving to me,” he said. “I didn’t go up really shallow in that area during practice, but (second-place finisher) Wes Logan did and he told me there was a ton of bream beds.
“I think what happened was when all of those bluegill got done spawning, they moved out to the mats. Every day I’d hear bluegill going nuts (eating insects) in the mats and I’d see bass blowing up on them. Those bass just stayed under those mats and ate bluegill all day.”
Reflecting on his first career Elite Series victory, Kuphall said winning against a field peppered with anglers he’s admired for years made the victory especially rewarding.
“It’s absolutely amazing,” he said. “To beat this caliber of anglers is unreal. I’ve looked up to a lot of those guys like Jason Christie and Greg Hackney (also Top 10 finishers) over the years and to fish against those guys is crazy to begin with. To hold a blue trophy — I never thought it would happen this early in my career.”
Hailing from Springville, Ala., Logan made a big comeback after placing 43rd on Day 1 with 14-1. The next two days saw him add 20-12 and 20-8 to climb into sixth, then second place. His final-round limit of 12-11 gave him a second-place total of 68-0.
Logan spent his tournament between the Goose Pond area and just above the B.B. Comer Bridge and targeted a mix of shallow scenarios. He caught fish on a ChatterBait with a Zoom Super Fluke trailer and flipped a Zoom Z Craw on 3/4- and 1-ounce tungsten weights. He also tricked a 6 1/2-pounder on Day 2 with a wacky-rigged worm.
“I caught all of my fish today flipping,” Logan said. “I was targeting little stretches of grass where it was topped out a little bit, but not completely matted out.”
Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., finished third with 67-3. His daily weights were 16-2, 17-13, 16-8 and 16-12.
Hackney caught most of his bass by punching a Strike King Rage Rodent around shallow vegetation. He also caught fish on a Strike King KVD Sexy Frog and a Strike King Hack Attack swim jig with a Rage Craw trailer.
“I used the swim jig early when it was still (low light) and the frog would be during the day while I was punching,” Hackney said. “I would either get around a bream bed or I would see one move in the mat.”
Caleb Sumrall of New Iberia, La., won the $1,000 Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 7-6 largemouth.
Seth Feider of New Market, Minn., came into the event with a big lead in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, and he did nothing to hurt his strong run at professional fishing’s biggest season-long accomplishment.
After finishing 24th this week, Feider leads the AOY race with 602 points, followed by Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., with 554, Patrick Walters of Summerville, S.C., with 550, Chris Johnston of Otonabee, Ontario, Canada, with 541 and Brandon Palaniuk of Rathdrum, Idaho, with 541
Bryan New of Belmont, N.C., leads the Rookie of the Year standings with 457 points.
Fourth-place finisher Christie took home an additional $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, and Chris Zaldain of Fort Worth, Texas, earned $2,000 for being the second-highest placing entrant.
As part of the Yamaha Power Pay program, Logan earned $2,500 for being the highest-placing entrant, while Christie claimed an additional $1,500 for being the second-highest placing entrant.
The tournament was hosted by the City of Scottsboro.
2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Bass Pro Shops, Garmin, Huk Performance Fishing, Marathon, Rapala
2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Conservation Partner: AFTCO
2021 Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville Local Host: City of Scottsboro
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 515,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship, Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series powered by TourneyX and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk.
2021 Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville 5/20-5/23
Lake Guntersville, Scottsboro AL.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 4
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Caleb Kuphall Mukwonago, WI 20 85-14 100 $102,000.00
Day 1: 5 27-10 Day 2: 5 15-10 Day 3: 5 23-09 Day 4: 5 19-01
2. Wes Logan Springville, AL 20 68-00 99 $35,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-01 Day 2: 5 20-12 Day 3: 5 20-08 Day 4: 5 12-11
3. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 20 67-03 98 $30,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-02 Day 2: 5 17-13 Day 3: 5 16-08 Day 4: 5 16-12
4. Jason Christie Park Hill, OK 20 66-09 97 $25,000.00
Day 1: 5 18-12 Day 2: 5 16-15 Day 3: 5 16-08 Day 4: 5 14-06
5. Chris Zaldain Fort Worth, TX 20 65-03 96 $20,000.00
Day 1: 5 10-04 Day 2: 5 20-04 Day 3: 5 19-04 Day 4: 5 15-07
6. Tyler Rivet Raceland, LA 20 64-13 95 $19,000.00
Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 5 18-04 Day 3: 5 17-15 Day 4: 5 16-12
7. Shane Lineberger Lincolnton, NC 20 64-10 94 $18,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-10 Day 2: 5 17-03 Day 3: 5 16-07 Day 4: 5 15-06
8. Luke Palmer Coalgate, OK 20 64-08 93 $17,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-12 Day 2: 5 19-07 Day 3: 5 12-02 Day 4: 5 15-03
9. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 20 63-12 92 $16,000.00
Day 1: 5 19-01 Day 2: 5 19-10 Day 3: 5 13-09 Day 4: 5 11-08
10. Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 20 63-10 91 $15,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-15 Day 2: 5 16-02 Day 3: 5 19-13 Day 4: 5 13-12
———————————————————————–
PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Caleb Sumrall New Iberia, LA 07-06 $1,000.00
2 Bill Weidler Helena, AL 06-11 $1,000.00
3 Caleb Kuphall Mukwonago, WI 05-13 $1,000.00
4 Caleb Kuphall Mukwonago, WI 04-14 $1,000.00
———————————————————————–
PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Caleb Sumrall New Iberia, LA 07-06 $1,000.00
———————————————————————–
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 85 469 1319-11
2 83 454 1296-15
3 41 222 649-03
4 10 50 150-14
———————————-
219 1195 3416-11
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Florida Pro Catches 25 Bass Weighing 68 Pounds, 4 Ounces to Grab Early Lead for Group B, Group A to Complete Two-Day Qualifying Round Sunday
LEESBURG, Fla. (May 22, 2021) – After a back-and-forth battle at the top of the leaderboard during Period 1, Berkley pro Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Florida, surged ahead in Period 2 of the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three at the Harris Chain Presented by Bass Cat Boats event in Leesburg, Florida. Lane caught a total of 25 bass on Saturday – including a pair of 6-pounders and several 4-pounders – to lead Qualifying Group B with 68 pounds, 4 ounces.
The Lakeland pro ended the day with a 24-pound advantage over second-place pro David Walker of Sevierville, Tennessee, who caught 14 bass weighing 44 pounds, 4 ounces. Pro Keith Poche of Pike Road, Alabama , sits 3 pounds, 12 ounces behind Walker, ending the day in third place with 15 bass weighing 40-8.
The 40 anglers in Group B will have the day off on Sunday, while the 40 anglers in Group A will complete their two-day Qualifying Round of competition. Group B will conclude their Qualifying Round on Monday. The six-day event, hosted by Lake County, features 80 of the top professional anglers from around the world competing for a purse of $805,000, including a top cash prize of $100,000 to the winner.
Ending Period 1 in second place behind Poche, Lane caught a 4-pounder in the middle of Period 2 that moved him to the top of the leaderboard – and he never looked back.
“Today was a lot of hooksets and a lot of fun,” said Lane, 2016 Challenge Cup Champion on the Harris Chain of Lakes. “The wind was my friend and I basically had the whole entire South side of Lake Harris to myself.”
Lane, who never went more than an hour without padding his lead with a scoreable bass, said he caught almost all his fish flipping a Berkley PowerBait Power Hawg with a ½-ounce weight and a 4/0 Berkley Fusion19 hook along grass lines.
“This was one of the best days of flipping I’ve had in a while and the windy conditions were a huge benefit today,” said Lane. “The Berkley Power Hawg is perfect for the grass I’m flipping in and I tied on a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent The General as a back-up when my Power Hawg got hung up.”
Lane said he expects the conditions to change by Monday but he’s excited to have won the first round and to go back out on the water with the security of a 24-pound lead.
“My goal is to get into that Championship Round and I’m going to do whatever I can to make that happen,” said Lane. “If the water is slick and calm like I anticipate, I plan to focus on finding really thick clumps of grass where the fish are hiding in the shade. I may even venture over to the other side of Lake Harris.”
Location didn’t seem to matter much for Walker, who racked up several 4-pounders throughout the day in different areas across the lake.
“The way things were going during that second period had me a little worried, but thankfully I did well in the first and third period,” said Walker. “We’re still in it and we’re doing good – looking forward to getting back out there on Monday.”
The top 20 pros in Qualifying Group B after Day 1 on the Harris Chain of Lakes are:
1st: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 25 bass, 68-4
2nd: David Walker, Sevierville, Tenn., 14 bass, 44-4
3rd: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., 15 bass, 40-8
4th: Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 14 bass, 36-1
5th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 16 bass, 35-10
6th: Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 31-4
7th: John Cox, DeBary, Fla., seven bass, 28-2
8th: Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., 12 bass, 27-5
9th: Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 11 bass, 27-3
10th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., nine bass, 27-2
11th: Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 11 bass, 26-10
12th: Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., nine bass, 23-15
13th: Tai Au, Glendale, Ariz., eight bass, 21-0
14th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 20-6
15th: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., eight bass, 20-1
16th: Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., four bass, 17-14
17th: Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., six bass, 17-0
18th: Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., eight bass, 16-8
19th: Mike McClelland, Blue Eye, Mo., eight bass, 15-12
20th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., eight bass, 15-6
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 290 bass weighing 747 pounds, 3 ounces caught by the 40 pros on Saturday.
Shryock won Saturday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing in an 8-pound, 6-ounce largemouth on a creature bait during Period 3. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler that weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.
The MLF Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three at the Harris Chain Presented by Bass Cat Boats is hosted by Lake County.
The 40 Anglers in Group A compete in their two-day qualifying round on Friday and Sunday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Saturday and Monday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers that finish in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round, while the the winner of each group advances directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 38 anglers compete to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins. Full breakdown of the format can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Anglers will take off from the Venetian Gardens Ski Beach Boat Ramp, located at 201 E. Lake Harris Drive, in Leesburg, at 6:30 a.m. ET each day of competition. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will also be held at the Gardens, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend, but encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 76 of the top professional anglers in the world – joined at each event by 4 pros that qualify from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2022 championship.
The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all six days of competition from 6:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT. MLF NOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Television coverage of the Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three Presented by Bass Cat Boats at the Harris Chain of Lakes will be showcased across two two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 a.m. ET, Sept. 25 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.
For complete details and updated information on the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, the Discovery Channel, the Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, the World Fishing Network, the Sportsman Channel and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with offices in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 13 countries. In 2019 MLF acquired FLW and rebranded it as MLF BIG5, which expanded its portfolio of catch, weigh and immediately release events to include the sport’s strongest five-biggest-fish format tournament circuits. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams, and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Major League Fishing – WE ARE Bass Fishing
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Kuphall Extends Lead At Bassmaster Elite Series Event On Lake Guntersville
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. — Knowing when to shift gears rewarded Caleb Kuphall with a five-bass limit of 23 pounds, 9 ounces, which helped him extend his lead in the Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville with a three-day total weight of 66 pounds, 13 ounces.
Caleb Kuphall, of Mukwonago, Wis., is leading after Day 3 of the 2021 Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville with a three-day total of 66 pounds, 13 ounces.
Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.
Holding the top spot since Day 1, the pro from Mukwonago, Wis., set the pace with a first-round limit of 27-10 — the tournament’s biggest bag — and followed with 15-10. After the first two days found Kuphall with leads of 6-7 and 4-9, he enters Championship Sunday 11 1/2 pounds ahead of Alabama pro Wes Logan.
“The more the better,” Kuphall said of his numerical advantage. “If you’re going to lead, you might as well lead big, I guess. I don’t know; I’ve never been in this position before.
“It feels great to be in the lead, but I’m going to be nervous tonight.”
As he has done the past two days, Kuphall began on a large milfoil bed close to takeoff. The area yielded much of his weight on Days 1 and 2, but intense fishing pressure — from him and other anglers — has steadily decreased the area’s productivity.
Kuphall had been Texas-rigging a Zoom Z Hog in the California 420 color on a 4/0 extra-wide gap hook with a 3/4-ounce tungsten weight, but today he switched to a 1-ounce Dirty Jigs No Jack Punchin’ Jig with a forktail trailer.
“I was just trying to show them something different,” Kuphall said of his bait change. “They started taking my (Texas rig) really lightly and I was missing a couple.
“Generally, with that jig, if they get it, you’re gonna get them. It’s just a better hookup percentage.”
Around 9 a.m., Kuphall had four fish for approximately 10 1/2 pounds, so he pulled the plug and relocated to his secondary spot — a large milfoil bed near the B.B. Comer Bridge (State Route 35). Expansive cover with lots of sunfish and big gizzard shad presented a promising scenario.
Within 30 minutes of arriving, Kuphall experienced a flurry that started with a 6-pounder and followed with two in the 4-pound class. Adding two more quality fish later in the day, Kuphall culled all the fish he’d caught on his starting spot.
“I knew the big fish were there,” he said. “I just got on a good stretch and conditions were just right today.
“The sun was positioning the fish in those mats and the wind was so light it wasn’t affecting my ability to fish the mats. Everything just set up perfectly to go in there and do damage.”
On Day 2, Kuphall found the stronger wind was compacting the mats and making presentations more difficult. Also, he had to use higher trolling motor power, which likely spooked the fish. Today’s conditions allowed him to leisurely work isolated grass clumps on the mat’s perimeter.
“I was looking for the thickest stuff available; the thicker the better,” Kuphall said. “You’d flip in there and they’d destroy the bait as soon as it gets through.
“I was using a Z Hog with an ounce weight. I try to go as light as possible because I miss a lot of fish if you go too heavy on the weight.”
Looking ahead to Championship Sunday, Kuphall said he’ll give his first spot a chance to produce, but unless he finds a big bite, he’ll transition to his spot near the B.B. Comer Bridge much earlier.
“By the way my first area’s going, I’m thinking I’m going to spend a lot of time in (the second spot) tomorrow,” he said.
Hailing from Springville, Ala., Logan bolstered his first two limits of 14-1 and 20-12 with a third-round bag of 20-8 and tallied 55-5. Fresh off his win at the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Neely Henry Lake, Logan caught all of his bass by flipping milfoil mats in the same general area where Kuphall spent most of his day.
“There’s so much floating eelgrass that it’ll get blown into a milfoil mat and make a canopy that they’ll get under,” Logan said. “I’m flipping three or four different baits and a couple of them have different actions. I’m in really thick cover, I threw a beaver-style bait and in the open stuff, I’m flipping a Zoom Z Craw.”
Logan said he’s optimistic about Championship Sunday because, in addition to his mat pattern, he noticed an increase in shoreline activity — big bass staking out bream beds.
“I saw a lot of fish this afternoon that weren’t there this morning or yesterday,” Logan said. “They may be flooding offshore, but there’s a lot of them that aren’t leaving the bank.”
Canadian pro Chris Johnston is in third with 52-4. He entered Day 3 in second place, but fell one spot after a slower bite added 13-9 to his previous weights of 19-1 and 19-10.
Johnston started his day targeting an offshore hard spot in about 10 feet where he caught fish on a drop shot with a Roboworm in the morning dawn color. He returned to the pad field that yielded a couple of big bites on a Spro Popping Frog on Day 2, but could not get that pattern going.
“My starting spot has gotten a lot of pressure and I just didn’t get the big ones to bite today,” Johnston said. “There’s tons of fish there; you can see them (on the graph), but it’s very tough to get bites now.”
After his frog pattern fizzled, Johnston tried a few different areas and ultimately caught a couple of small keepers off beds.
Caleb Sumrall of New Iberia, La., is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 7-6 largemouth.
Seth Feider of New Market, Minn., leads the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 602 points. Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., is second with 554, followed by Patrick Walters of Summerville, S.C., with 550, Johnston with 547 and Brandon Palaniuk of Rathdrum, Idaho, with 541.
Bryan New of Belmont, N.C., leads the Rookie of the Year standings with 457 points.
The Top 10 remaining anglers will take off at 5:30 a.m. CT on Championship Sunday from Scottsboro’s Goose Pond Colony Resort Marina. The weigh-in will be held back at Goose Pond at 2 p.m., with $100,000 going to the winner.
Live coverage of the event can be streamed on Bassmaster.com and the FOX Sports digital platforms. FS1 will also broadcast the action live with the leaders beginning at 7 a.m.
The tournament is being hosted by the City of Scottsboro.
2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Bass Pro Shops, Garmin, Huk Performance Fishing, Marathon, Rapala
2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Conservation Partner: AFTCO
2021 Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville Local Host: City of Scottsboro
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 515,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship, Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series powered by TourneyX and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk.
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Britt Myers Wrestles With Wrist Injury and 9-lber
Major League Fishing pro Britt Myers woke up Wednesday morning to start practice on the Harris Chain of Lakes for Stage Three of the Bass Pro Tour but immediately felt something was seriously wrong with his right wrist. The General Tires pro said his wrist was completely fine when he went to bed, but woke up to a swollen hand and intense pain.
Myers is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet off the water, but he’s a fierce competitor on the water; he’s fished through pain plenty of times in his career but this time it was almost unbearable. He gave up precious practice time to head to the local Urgent Care.
“I seriously think I am dealing with maybe 10% function in my right hand,” Myers said. “The nurse at the Urgent Care couldn’t tell me exactly what it was. She thought it could be tendonitis but I’ve had surgeries in the past and know all about tendonitis. This one feels different.”
After spending a lot of time icing and babying his wrist, the longtime owner of CS Motorsports in North Carolina decided he was just going to have to grit his teeth and fish through the discomfort to the best of his abilities on the Harris Chain.
While day one of his Qualifying Round didn’t go as well as it could have without dealing with the injury, Myers certainly made the most of his predicament; catching 25-lbs. of bass, including a 9-pound 8-ounce giant, to finish the day in 13th place.
“I literally fished the entire day one handed,” Myers said in disbelief. “I lost so many fish that could have been scoreables because I couldn’t set the hook properly. I was a mess out there. But I’m super thankful for that big bass and the other fish I did catch… today could have been much more of a train wreck.”
Like most, Myers is right handed. He typically casts with his right hand, reels with his right hand, and grabs big bass at the edge of his boat with his right hand. Today that all had to change.
“As long as I could keep the rod straight and the fish came right at me, I could reel them in like I was working a pencil sharpener without too much pain,” Myers said. “But as soon as a fish would surge to the left or right I was practically helpless. My range of motion is so limited right now and I can’t put tension on my right hand.”
Myers promises the scene was absolute chaos when he hooked and eventually landed the big bass of the day, which earned him $1000, and he believes he caught it all on GoPro. That video will likely publish on his social media pages in the days to come, but first Myers is going to focus on rehabbing his wrist and qualifying for the Knockout Round.
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