PHOTO BY JODY WHITE
Tightest ever Bally Bet AOY race thrills JUNE / JULY / AUGUST
The battle for the Angler of the Year trophy , the ultimate prize for Bass Pro Tour competitors , is always intense . But most years , over the course of five or six events , an angler or two tends to separate from the rest of the field . In 2023 , we didn ’ t see just a one- or two-person race down the stretch but a four-way brawl . A quartet of contenders arrived at Stage Seven separated by less than 10 points at the top of the standings : Alton Jones Jr ., Jacob Wheeler , Ott DeFoe and Matt Becker . The battle waged all the way to the wire , with Wheeler , DeFoe and Becker making the Championship Round at Saginaw Bay . Becker ultimately edged both Wheeler and DeFoe by four points , ending Wheeler ’ s bid at winning the crown for a third straight season .
Nelson nails down another AOY JULY 27
Michael Neal nearly pulled off a rare three-peat . The 2021 and 2022 Angler of the Year winner on the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit made it to the final day of the 2023 Invitationals season with a chance at the points crown . But Neal couldn ’ t quite overcome the lead Ron Nelson had built during a masterful season . Nelson logged three top-fives and never finished worse than 25th across the first five events . He finished fourth at Clarks Hill , third at Lake Eufaula and fifth at Lake of the Ozarks . While he stumbled at the Mississippi River , his cushion proved enough to put the trophy back in his hands , earning him a trip to REDCREST 2024 and adding his name to an elite list of multi-time AOY winners . That he dethroned Neal added to the impressiveness of his campaign .
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PHOTO BY ROB MATSUURA
Stefan survives barge scare , pulls out win JULY 27
As exciting as Lane ’ s last-minute cull was , the final Tackle Warehouse Invitationals event of the season might take the prize for the year ’ s most dramatic finish — even though none of the contenders caught a bass in the final hour . Along with much of the eventual Top 10 , Matt Stefan ran from takeoff in Pool 8 to Pool 7 on the Mississippi River . During the final day , he put enough weight in his livewell to pass leader Steve Lopez but thought he might never get a chance to weigh it in , forced to wait for a barge to pass through the lock before returning to Pool 8 . Thanks to an assist from the lockmaster , the anglers made it back with minutes to spare , and Stefan went from agony to ecstasy as he celebrated his first win . That capped a strong season for Stefan , who also qualified for the BPT .
Marshall Robinson joins pops on BPT JULY 27
Amid the youth movement that has taken the tournament fishing world by storm , no young gun impressed more than Marshall Robinson in 2023 . As a result , Robinson will not only be the youngest member of the Bass Pro Tour in 2024 , he ’ ll compete against his father , Marty Robinson . Just 19 at the start of the Invitationals season , the younger Robinson showed he belonged by opening his 2023 campaign with a 14th-place finish at Lake Okeechobee . After missing a pair of cuts , he ended the year with three straight checks , finishing third at Lake of the Ozarks , 40th at the Potomac River and 24th at the Mississippi River . That gave Robinson a five-point cushion over Drew Gill for Polaris Rookie of the Year honors and a spot on the BPT roster . Don ’ t expect him to back down from anyone at the next level , dad included .
MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | DECEMBER-JANUARY 2024
PHOTO BY ROB MATSUURA