PHOTO BY ROB MATSUURA |
PHOTO BY JODY WHITE |
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1 . GENERAL TIRE TEAM SERIES BASS PRO SHOPS CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY B & W TRAILER HITCHES Clermont Chain of Lakes Aired May 6-June 18
A new tournament format introduced by MLF last year ended with a familiar result : Jacob Wheeler hoisting the trophy . Only this time , Wheeler wasn ’ t alone . Team Crockett Creek , which paired Wheeler with fellow BPT pros Jason Lambert and Dylan Hays , dominated the inaugural championship for the General Tire Team Series . The final event for the first-of-its-kind series was filmed in December on Florida ’ s Clermont Chain of Lakes and aired on Outdoor Channel in May and June .
Nine of 27 teams qualified for the season-ending event , with the top three contesting the Championship Round on Lake Apopka . That ’ s when Wheeler found the mother lode . Wielding a new jerkbait from Rapala , Wheeler caught 56 of his team ’ s 68 scorable
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bass , which weighed 133-4 . That easily beat Team Smoky Mountain Herbal Snuff & Pouches ( Bryan Thrift , Terry Scroggins and Anthony Gagliardi ), who finished second with 60-12 , as well as Team Builders FirstSource ( Jeff Sprague , Randall Tharp and Cliff Crochet ).
2 . PHOENIX BASS FISHING LEAGUE ALL-AMERICAN PRESENTED BY T-H MARINE Lake Hartwell
May 31-June 2
While contested in South Carolina , the 40th All-American had a Georgia flavor to it , with the top three finishers all hailing from the Peach State . Emil Wagner got the better of his fellow Bulldog Division anglers with a threeday total of 55-11 .
Wagner , a guide on Lake Lanier , utilized his knowledge of blueback herring and extensive pre-tournament practice to earn the careeraltering win . In the months leading up to the tournament , he spent hours graphing the lower portion of Hartwell and marking high-percentage
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spots . He then ran as many as he could during the event , eventually honing in on dropoffs .
Using a trio of herring-imitating staples — a Zoom Super Fluke , a Sebile Magic Swimmer and a walking topwater — Wagner opened the event with an 18-12 limit , then cracked 20-2 on Day 2 to move into first place . He consolidated his lead with 17-7 on Day 3 . The victory earned Wagner a $ 122,300 payday and a spot in REDCREST 2024 .
3 . BASS PRO TOUR FAVORITE FISHING STAGE FIVE PRESENTED BY ATG BY WRANGLER Cayuga Lake
June 6-11
While much of the field started the event targeting largemouth bass , Adrian Avena was committed to chasing spawning smallmouth from the outset . That allowed him to dial in his ability to find less-pressured fish , which proved to be the difference once the tournament turned into a smallmouth slugfest .
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Avena dedicated hours both during practice and the Qualifying Rounds ( once he caught limits of more than 21 pounds both days ) looking through a flogger for smallmouth on deeper beds . The New Jersey pro also refused to waste time fishing for bass that he believed to be smaller than 5 pounds . That strategy paid off in the form of five smallmouth over 6 pounds that Avena boated across the Knockout and Championship Rounds . Using a Berkley Gulp ! Minnow on a dropshot , he caught the field ’ s biggest bag both days , following up a 29-6 limit with 28-10 to earn his first national tour-level win .
4 . TACKLE WAREHOUSE INVITATIONALS STOP 5 PRESENTED BY T-H MARINE Potomac River
June 17-19
Seeking his first professional victory , Nick Hatfield took a risk on the final day of competition , leaving the area that had him in second place through two days to fish new water .
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