Bass Fishing Oct - Nov 2021 | Page 66

THE TOURNAMENT REPORT
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PHOTO BY MATT BROWN
PHOTO BY JODY WHITE
PHOTO BY JOSH GASSMANN
1 . TACKLE WAREHOUSE PRO CIRCUIT PRESENTED BY BAD BOY MOWERS SAVAGE ARMS STOP 6 St . Lawrence River Presented by Abu Garcia July 29 – Aug . 1
On a fishery like the St . Lawrence , huge swings in the standings rarely happen — when you ’ re fishing somewhere so chock-full of quality fish that 33 anglers can weigh in at least 50 pounds over three days , there ’ s not going to be a ton of separation on the leaderboard . That ’ s why Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit rookie Cody Pike ’ s first major win on the national circuit was such a monumental victory . After three days , he found himself in second place , sure , but he also had a nearly 7-pound margin to make up on Championship Sunday .
Unfortunately for leader Joey Cifuentes ( who weighed in multiple
bags over 24 pounds to that point ), winning just wasn ’ t meant to be . The Clinton , Arkansas standout , who typically does pretty well up North on smallmouth factories like the St . Lawrence , ended up weighing in his lightest bag of the week ( 12-5 ) to fall to third while Pike , who remained consistent throughout , weighed in his heaviest ( 22-3 ) to vault to the top and finish 1 pound , 12 ounces ahead of Junction City , Wisconsin hammer Matt Stefan .
Tucked away between the islands in Eel Bay , Pike was able to avoid the wind and current changes that plagued many in the Top 10 on the final day , allowing him to run his deep structure-related pattern to perfection . Pike had 40 to 50 rock piles “ the size of his boat ” which he bounced around between in that area , using the same presentation as nearly everyone else : a 1 / 2-ounce drop-shot tipped with a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm in green pumpkin .
2 . TOYOTA SERIES PRESENTED BY A . R . E . WESTERN DIVISION California Delta Aug . 3 – 5
A former college standout , Rocklin , California ’ s Andrew Loberg knows a thing or two about how to catch fish on the Cal Delta ( he won there in 2013 as a member of Chico State ’ s fishing team ) and finally secured his first major win with MLF in early August by staying flexible and rolling with the punches .
Loberg wanted to spend his week punching , but conditions called for something a little different , at least in the first few hours each day . With the tide high in the mornings , Loberg leaned on ChatterBaits , buzzbaits and walking baits to focus on current and fill out an early limit before the water dropped and he was able to start his punching program .
Despite weighing in just 13-2 on Day 2 to enter the final day in fourth place , the Delta was fishing tough for nearly everyone , and a massive 23-pound , 6-ounce bag was enough to bounce back in a big way and give Loberg the win by nearly 7 pounds over Michael Moreno .
3 . BASS PRO TOUR MERCURY STAGE SIX PRESENTED BY GOOGAN BAITS Lake Champlain Aug . 5 – 10
You ’ ll have to search long and hard in the annals of tournament bass fishing to find a more dominant year than the one that Jacob Wheeler enjoyed in 2021 . As if the Tennessee pro hadn ’ t already accomplished enough by winning two Bass Pro Tour tournaments at two completely different fisheries —
64 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2021