when ‘ easy ’ isn ’ t quite that easy
I f you were to look at New York pro Alec Morrison ’ s raw statistics from the final stop on the 2024 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals presented by Phoenix Boats circuit , you ’ d probably guess that the TWI rookie enjoyed a walk in the park on the Detroit River and surrounding waters . Morrison bagged up 66 pounds , 12 ounces of Lake St . Clair smallmouth , a cool 22- pound average and good enough for second place behind Keith Carson .
Morrison left Elizabeth Park in Trenton , Michigan , after the dust settled with a pretty memorable haul . He earned $ 50,000 for his second-place finish at Stop 6 and another $ 50,000 for wrapping up the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year award for the Invitationals . For good measure , he also claimed a certificate for a Polaris Ranger ORV for winning the circuit ’ s Rookie of the Year award , an automatic berth in REDCREST 2025 on Lake Guntersville , Alabama , and an invitation to fish the MLF Bass Pro Tour . Easy going , right ? Not quite . Morrison started the week trailing Jake Lawrence in the AOY race by 6 points , making for a razor thin margin of error on a fishery where errors tend to be unforgiving . However , Morrison quickly lost that margin thanks to a culling mistake that cost him 2 pounds . After placing a limitfilling smallmouth in his Phoenix livewell in the first hours of Day 1 , Morrison went back to casting … only to be struck be the realization that he had forgotten to cull , leaving him with six fish in the livewell , a violation of MLF rules . Morrison realized his mistake , self-reported it to the tournament director , and fished in frustrated agony the rest of the day as he thought about the 2- pound penalty such an infraction incurs .
Fortunately for Morrison , he caught ‘ em . His Day 1 bag of 22-14 left him a scant 1 ounce behind Carson , and his Day 2 haul of 23-6 put him in the lead going into the final day . Morrison struggled a little on Championship Sunday , though , taking until around noon to fill his fivefish limit , losing a few fish , and expressing a high level of frustration on the MLFNOW ! livestream . All ’ s well that ends well , though , as Morrison eventually completed a “ Monte Haul ” week on the Detroit River .
Just remember , though : just because it looks easy doesn ’ t mean it is easy .
PHOTO BY JODY WHITE
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2024 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 61