THE
LAST CAST
By Justin Onslow
STURGEON BAY SMASHFEST
HOW THE LEGENDARY SMALLMOUTH FISHERY STOOD UP TO MLF’S
EVERY-SCORABLE-BASS FORMAT
here are some fisheries just
tailor-made for MLF’s
T
catch-weigh-release format
of bass fishing tournaments. Sure,
Lake Fork and the like offer incredible
opportunities for Bass Pro Tour
anglers to lift 10-pounders over the
gunwale en masse, but no one
would mistake the quantity of those
trophy largemouth for the sheer volume
of quality smallmouth pros
landed at the MLF Bass Pro Tour
Covercraft Stage Five presented by
Abu Garcia on Sturgeon Bay.
Justin Lucas earned his first
Stage victory at that event in what
can only be described as one of the
most impressive performances in
Bass Pro Tour history. In the
Qualifying Round, in the first period
alone, the Berkley pro made his
mark on Sturgeon Bay to the tune
of 78 pounds, 12 ounces en route to
a record 141-9 for the day and a
total of 50 scorable bass. Both his
first period weight and total weight
for the Qualifying Round set new
records that probably won’t be broken
for a long, long time – unless
the Bass Pro Tour finds its way
back to Sturgeon Bay soon.
2020 Points Champion Jordan
Lee joined the party, too, finishing
fourth in the event and leading all
anglers in most overall weight (328-
11) and most fish caught (116) after
stacking up 34 bass for 94 pounds
in the Knockout Round and another
27 scorable fish for 79-7 in the
Championship Round.
From start to finish (save for a
lightning delay on the final day),
Sturgeon Bay showed out in a big,
big way. But don’t take our word(s)
for it. Let’s let the numbers do the
talking.
8,880 POUNDS
Total weight of all fish caught during
Stage Five on Sturgeon Bay. That’s
more than the combined weight of a
Toyota Tundra pulling a Phoenix 921
series boat.
2.97 POUNDS
Average weight of all fish caught during
the event. Even with fish nearing 6
pounds being a rarity on Sturgeon Bay,
that 3-pound average is only 4 ounces
behind the 3-4 average caught at the
Kissimmee Chain during the 2020
Toyota Heavy Hitters Presented by
Venmo event in early June.
1,062
Number of 3-plus-pounders pulled
from the waters of Sturgeon Bay during
the tournament. That’s an average of
over 13 3-plus-pounders per angler in
the 80-pro field, though it’s safe to say
Lucas caught more than his fair share.
129-14
Previous single-day record (set by
Jacob Wheeler on Table Rock last
year) before Lucas shattered it with his
141-9 Qualifying Round performance.
2
Number of times a Bass Pro Tour pro
eclipsed the century mark in one day of
competition prior to Sturgeon Bay. That
number is now 12 thanks to 100-pluspound
showings from Josh Bertrand,
Mark Daniels Jr. (twice), David Dudley,
Jared Lintner, Cliff Pace, Keith Poche,
Scott Suggs and Lucas (twice).
13
Number of 5-plus-pounders caught
during the event, with the largest
smallmouth coming in at 5 pounds, 9
ounces (courtesy of Adrian Avena).
21-1
Combined weight of Daniels’ best five
fish during the Knockout Round (in
which he tallied 103-5 total), including
four fish over 4 pounds.
232
Total scorable bass caught during the
Championship Round. What’s more,
the per-period breakdown of those
catches highlights just how consistently
incredible the Door County fishery
really is. In Period 1, anglers caught a
total of 80 bass. They followed that up
with 81 in Period 2 and 71 in the lightning
delay-shortened final period.
53
Number of minutes it took Lucas to
catch his first 12 fish of the day to start
his Qualifying Round. He totaled 32-14
in that span to set the table for his
record-setting day.
27
Number of minutes it took Lucas to
catch his final five fish (for 14 pounds,
10 ounces) to outpace Daniels (also
with five fish in that span) and seal
the deal. n
88
FLWFISHING.COM | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING.COM | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2020