PHOTO BY ROB MATSUURA |
PHOTO BY ROB MATSUURA |
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PHOTO BY MATT PACE PHOTO BY JODY WHITE |
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1 . TOYOTA SERIES PRESENTED BY PHOENIX BOATS SOUTHERN DIVISION
Lake Okeechobee
Jan . 25 – 27
Jessie Mizell removed any doubt that he ’ s the local to beat on Lake Okeechobee . Not only did Mizell win his second consecutive Toyota Series event on the Florida bass factory , he did so in wire-to-wire fashion . Mizell sacked up 24 pounds , 8 ounces on Day 1 , then backed it up with bags of 24-4 and 23-13 . His 72-9 total topped Brody Campbell by 2-15 . Mizell took advantage of a warming trend to catch most of his fish on topwaters . Several ate a popping frog , while his biggest fish of the event hit a Rapala X-Rap Prop . He focused on isolated clumps of vegetation on the north side of the lake , doing most of his damage in the morning . For the win , Mizell earned $ 44,000 .
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2 . BASS PRO TOUR B & W TRAILER HITCHES STAGE ONE PRESENTED BY POWER-POLE Toledo Bend
Jan . 30 – Feb . 4
Dustin Connell started practicing for Stage One long before he arrived at Toledo Bend . Connell correctly assumed the event would be dominated by anglers using forward-facing sonar to target suspended bass and spent the winter learning the nuances of enticing such fish with a jighead minnow — in his case , a Rapala CrushCity Freeloader .
While virtually the entire Top 10 employed the same technique , Connell separated himself thanks to a key move on Championship Day , running to a pocket where he ’ d caught two fish earlier in the event . There , he found clearer water and bunches of bass . During the twohour final period , Connell put 20
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scorable bass for 58 pounds , 6 ounces on SCORETRACKER ®, bringing his total to 112-4 for the day — easily enough to claim his fifth Bass Pro Tour trophy .
3 . TACKLE WAREHOUSE INVITATIONALS STOP 1 PRESENTED BY POWER-POLE MOVE Sam Rayburn Reservoir
Feb . 9 – 11
Though just 21 years old , Drew Gill had already put himself on the national radar by finishing third in his Bass Pro Tour debut . He added his first professional win to his resume a week later . Gill sacked up 26 pounds , 4 ounces on the final day to bring his total to 69-6 and clear Jake Lawrence by 1-7 .
Gill described his practice as “ horrible ,” but he still managed to top 21 pounds on Day 1 . His bags got bigger each of the next two days , with
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the key adjustments being moving farther back into short , main-lake pockets and switching from a jighead minnow to a Neko-rigged Big Bite Baits Shaking Squirrel Worm . The victory earned Gill $ 80,000 and a spot in REDCREST 2025 .
4 . TOYOTA SERIES PRESENTED BY PHOENIX BOATS CENTRAL DIVISION
Lake Guntersville Feb . 14 – 16
Hayden Marbut proved that his name needs to be mentioned among the host of young anglers taking the tournament world by storm , topping a 260-boat field for his first professional win . The 20-year-old Auburn student weighed in 70 pounds , 1 ounce across three days , just enough to edge Matt O ’ Connell by 2 ounces .
Marbut did most of his damage on the now-ubiquitous jighead minnow , but he had to adjust to make it
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