THE TOURNAMENT REPORT
1. 2. 3.
PHOTO BY CHARLES WALDORF
4.
PHOTO BY PHOENIX MOORE
PHOTO BY JACOB FINE
1. TOYOTA HEAVY HITTERS
PRESENTED BY VENMO
Kissimmee Chain
June 7-12, 2020
The final day of Heavy
Hitters was a mammoth one
for Jordan Lee, who not only
bagged $100,000 for winning
the event, but also caught
the biggest fish of the day –
a 7-pound, 4-ounce bass –
which paid him another
$100K. It was Lee’s second
win with Major League
Fishing in as many seasons
and pushed his career earnings
past $1.6 million.
Lee’s winning pattern was
all about getting away from
the crowds, most of which
were congregating on offshore
grass beds. He countered
by using Lowrance
StructureScan to dial in a
series of about 20 brush piles
in 5 to 7 feet of water.
Several baits accounted
for fish he weighed in during
the week, including a 2.5-
sized squarebill crankbait, a
plum-colored 10-inch
Berkley PowerBait Power
Worm, a 6-inch Scottsboro
Tackle Co. Swimbait and a
hair jig.
2. MLF BASS PRO TOUR
COVERCRAFT STAGE FIVE
PRESENTED BY ABU GARCIA
Sturgeon Bay
July 10-15, 2020
Justin Lucas, Mark
Daniels Jr. and Josh
Bertrand spent much of the
Championship Round on
Sturgeon Bay trading body
blows and leaping one
another on SCORETRACK-
ER®, but it was Lucas who
ultimately threw the haymaker
in the form of 38
scoreable fish for 110
pounds, 5 ounces to edge
out Daniels by a little less
than 8 pounds.
Lucas didn’t luck his way
into that position, either. The
Berkley pro set records en
route to his first Stage trophy,
hauling in 50 scorable
fish during the Qualifying
Round for 141-9 – 78-12
coming in the first period
alone.
Lucas’ winning pattern
was predicated on fishing
isolated grass in deep water
outside the biggest spawning
flat he could find. He
relied on a drop-shot
throughout the tournament,
using a variety of Abu
Garcia reels on 7-foot medium
Abu Garcia Fantasista
rods to sling his Berkley
PowerBait MaxScent Flat
Worm in a bunch of different
colors.
3. TACKLE WAREHOUSE PRO
CIRCUIT SUPER
TOURNAMENT
Lake Chickamauga
June 23-26, 2020
Halfway through FLW’s
first Super Tournament, it
became pretty clear that
catching Jacob Wheeler
might be an impossible task.
The Chickamauga transplant
put on a ledge-fishing
clinic on his adopted home
lake by catching a four-day
total of 93 pounds, 12
ounces. He won by almost
12 pounds.
A 10-pounder on day
three and an 8-pounder on
day four certainly helped
Wheeler’s cause. He fished
a variety of baits, but a hair
jig, Rapala DT20 and DT16
crankbaits, a Scroungerstyle
head with a soft jerkbait,
and a worm did most of
the damage. Wheeler’s big
ones came on the DT20 and
the worm.
There wasn’t a key depth
range for Wheeler. He says
each of his spots was different.
It was his ability to read
each school, line up right
and present multiple options
that ultimately set him apart
from the competition.
4. TOYOTA SERIES CENTRAL
DIVISION
Pickwick Lake
May 28-30, 2020
Jacob Wheeler roared
back into action following
the postponement of FLW
tournaments due to the
COVID-19 pandemic by
earning his first Toyota
Series victory. By practicing
for the event on a crowded
Memorial Day weekend,
Wheeler learned that most
of the locals focus their
ledge-fishing search in the
15- to 22-foot-deep zone.
By shifting his search to
shallower and deeper
ledges, he was able to
locate bass that hadn’t
been so heavily pressured.
Many of the schools only
had a few fish in practice,
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FLWFISHING.COM | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING.COM | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2020