July 15, 2020 (Sturgeon Bay, Wisc.) Major League Fishing (MLF) Pro Justin Lucas scored 110 pounds, five ounces – a record in a Bass Pro Tour Championship Round – to win the Covercraft Stage Five presented by Abu Garcia Title and its $100,000 payout. Today’s finale included drama and record-breaking fish catches as see throughout the six-day event hosted by Destination Sturgeon Bay.
34-year-old Lucas of Guntersville, Alabama won the Qualifying Round for Group A, earning him an automatic berth to today’s Championship Round. This is Lucas’s first major win in four years, which brought much relief and emotion to the final confirmation of his win.
“It took me a while to figure out this MLF format, I didn’t have the best year last year,” said Lucas. “I know I’m not the most natural angler on this Tour, but I work hard and am really competitive. I wanted this so bad and it feels so good to get it.”
In addition to his trophy, Lucas took home three MLF records. Lucas’s catch was today one of 10, 100-pound plus days during this event. He set a new Bass Pro Tour record for the most weight caught during a Championship Day, passing Aaron Martens who scored 86 pounds, 4 ounces during the 2019 event on Table Rock Lake (Missouri).
Lucas also set the most scorable weight in a single day of competition on Friday when he scored 141 pounds, nine ounces. He also scored the most weight in a two-day Round with 205 pounds, six ounces to win Group A. His strategy focused on 20 to 25- deep water for the majority of his score and used the Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm almost exclusively.
Cliff Pace caught the Berkley Big Bass of the day weighing in five pounds, three ounces earning him $1,000.
The top ten finished the Knockout Round as follows:
| Place | Angler | One-Day Total Weight | One-Day Fish Count | Largest Fish | Payout |
| 1 | Justin Lucas | 110-05 | 38 | 4-06 | $100,000 |
| 2 | Mark Daniels Jr. | 102-07 | 34 | 4-01 | $42,000 |
| 3 | Josh Bertrand | 86-14 | 29 | 4-06 | $30,000 |
| 4 | Jordan Lee | 79-07 | 27 | 4-04 | $24,000 |
| 3 | Alton Jones | 78-05 | 26 | 4-08 | $18,000 |
| 4 | Andy Morgan | 63-10 | 19 | 4-14 | $16,800 |
| 5 | Mike Iaconelli | 63-02 | 23 | 4-08 | $15.600 |
| 5 | Cliff Pace | 54-05 | 15 | 5-03 | $14,400 |
| 7 | Bradley Roy | 30-07 | 11 | 3-12 | $13,200 |
| 8 | Ish Monroe | 28-04 | 10 | 4-04 | $12,000 |
For complete results, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com, Bass Pro Tour, Results.
About the Bass Pro Tour:
The Bass Pro Tour began in 2019 and features 80 of the best professional anglers in the world, including Kevin VanDam, Edwin Evers, Aaron Martens, Mike Iaconelli, Jordan Lee, and Skeet Reese. Each stage includes six days of competition using the Major League Fishing, catch-weigh-and-immediately-release format, where every bass over a variable minimum weight, which is two pounds on Lake Fork for Stage Three, toward a cumulative weight total for the day. Variable minimum weights are determined by fishery, akin to a golf course handicap. The field of 80 anglers is divided into two groups of 40 (Groups A and B) to compete on days one through four for the Qualifying Round. The winners of each Group earn an automatic berth the Championship Round. The anglers finishing in places 2-20 from each group in the Qualifying Round (40 total) advance to the Knockout Round on day five (Tuesday), which determines who will compete on that final day, the Championship Round (Wednesday), for the Stage title and $100,000.
Each Stage of the Bass Pro Tour has the following payout schedule: 1st $100,000; 2nd $42,000; 3rd $30,000; 4th $24,000; 5th $18,000; 6th $16,800; 7th $15,600; 8th $14,400; 9th $13,200; 10th $12,000; 11th – 40th $6,000; Big Bass Daily $1,000; Big Bass Overall $1,000.
In addition to the economic impact for the host community, Destination Sturgeon Bay / Door County, Major League Fishing showcases the region through their award-winning, live and linear programming. Each Stage of the Bass Pro Tour is broadcast live on the Major League Fishing app, MyOutdoorTV (MOTV), and majorleaguefishing.com, totaling more than 325 hours of original programming. Fans can follow the fast-paced nature of the MLF format as it unfolds on the live leaderboard through “SCORETRACKER® updates.”
Highlights from each Stage of the 2020 Bass Pro Tour air on Discovery Network beginning in July 2020 and Sportsman Channel in early 2021. Covercraft Stage Five presented by Abu Garcia will premiere as two, two-hour episodes on Discovery Channel October 3 and 4, 7 – 9 a.m. ET/PT.
“MLF offers the strongest broadcast presence in the industry to fans and sponsors,” said Jim Wilburn, President and CEO of Major League Fishing. “And with these lakes planned for this coming Bass Pro Tour, we know 2020 will be our best year yet as we continue to capture a broad audience of both longtime fishing fans and those new to the sport, thanks to our fast-paced, fan-friendly format,”
About Major League Fishing
Founded in 2011, Major League Fishing (MLF) brings the high-intensity sport of competitive bass fishing into America’s living rooms on Outdoor Channel, Discovery, CBS, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network, Sportsman Channel, and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). The Bass Pro Tour consists of eight events and a championship streamed live on www.MajorLeagueFishing.com and MOTV.
In late 2019 MLF acquired FLW, which expands their portfolio to include the world’s largest grassroots fishing organization, including the strongest five-fish format professional bass fishing tour, the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit, as well as the Toyota Series, Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine, and Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI, and High School Fishing presented by Favorite Fishing.
For more information on the league and anglers, visit www.MajorLeagueFishing.com and follow MLF on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.