oh canada !
0 ne of the most compelling facets of the Toyota Series Championship – beside the whopping $ 200,000 award to the highest-finishing pro and the REDCREST berths on the line – is the decidedly diverse , international flair that comes along with the trophies and fish .
In addition to the Toyota Series , Phoenix Bass Fishing League , Abu Garcia College Fishing and High School Fishing qualifiers from around the lower 48 states who annually compete in the event , a hearty group of anglers from MLF ’ s International Divisions also make the journey to the championship site .
Among the Strike King co-anglers at the 2023 Toyota Series Championship Presented by Simms at Table Rock Lake in Missouri was Ashley Rae , an angler from Ottawa , Ontario , Canada . Making her second appearance at the Championship ( she finished 44th at the 2018 event at Lake Guntersville ), Rae made the most of her time on the water in the Ozarks , finishing 33rd overall with 9 pounds , 5 ounces . That ’ s a stout enough showing among a field of over 200 anglers , but it also earned Rae a new title : winner of the Strike King Co-Angler award in the International Division as the highest-finishing International co-angler .
Fishing fans might recognize Rae from shelovestofish . com , a popular website / blog that she created in 2009 to document her multispecies fishing experiences around her home in Canada .
Rae ’ s Canadian teammates showed out as well , with four Canuck pros landing in the Top 20 of the 210-boat field . Oh Canada indeed !
PHOTO BY MATT BROWN
DECEMBER – JANUARY 2024 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 69