KISSIMMEE, Fla. (July 19, 2022) – The Jenko Fishing team, represented by Coleton Jennings, Matt Hinman and Harbor Lovin, brought a three-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 11 ounces to the stage to win the 2022 ICAST Cup at Lake Toho Presented by Major League Fishing (MLF) Tuesday. The four-hour bass-fishing tournament, hosted by Kissimmee Sports, was the kick-off event to ICAST 2022 and raised a total of $12,000 to benefit the industry’s angler advocacy program, Keep America Fishing™.
The field totaled 58 boats, including a handful of MLF Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and Toyota Series anglers, as well as outdoor media and industry representatives from popular tackle brand and non-profits. In its seven-year history, the charity tournament has raised more than $72,000 for Keep America Fishing.
Anchored by a 9-pound, 12-ounce kicker, the Jenko Fishing team won by a wide margin of 6 pounds, 11 ounces over the Skinny Water Marine/Lithium Battery Company team – comprised of Eric Conant, Michael Kirkland and Glen Cabezas – who brought a limit to the scale weighing 15 pounds even.
The Jenko Fishing team said they felt blessed to claim the 2022 ICAST Cup win, something that has been on their bucket list for the past couple years.
“It honestly didn’t come easy, today,” Jennings said. “The first place we stopped didn’t have much, so we left there with 7 or 8 pounds and made a run down the lake. I picked up a new prototype topwater bait that we’ve been working on for three years – it’s my pride and joy and my favorite bait that I’ve ever worked on – and you can see the results first-hand.”
The outcome of that decision and the super-secretive bait were three giant largemouth – including the 9-pound, 12-ounce kicker – that gave the trio their 21-11 limit and the opportunity to take home the ICAST Cup hardware.
“This isn’t even real life – this place is like Jurassic park,” Jennings laughed, maneuvering the three giant largemouth back into the bag.
“This bait is something we have worked so hard on,” he continued. “There hasn’t been anything super unique that has come out in a topwater bait in several years, but this bait is absolutely deadly and I’m so excited to get it out to the public.
“I mean, 21-11 in July, on only three fish – that’s incredible and it’s one of those days that you’ll never forget in your whole life,” Jennings finished.
The top 10 teams finished the tournament in:
2nd: Skinny Water Marine/Lithium Battery Company – Eric Conant, Michael Kirkland and Glen Cabezas, three bass, 15-0
3rd: Floatzilla – Douglas and Hayden Reed, three bass, 14-4
4th: Bull Bay Tackle Company – Jake Stines and Kelly Phillips, three bass, 14-1
5th: The Florida Angler – Nick Morrison and Jeff Powell, three bass, 13-15
6th: 13 Fishing – Christian Grecio and Garrett Rocamora, three bass, 13-12
7th: Hawg Tech, LLC – Robert Perez, Erik Tilson and Jerrod Brown, three bass, 13-2
8th: Thunder Rocket Lures – Jered Fontenot, Jimmy Frye and David Sartwell, three bass, 11-4
9th: Native Angler – Ben Paquin and Kwang Park, three bass, 10-15
10th: Nikko Baits – Rohan Ramsinh and Chuck Smith, three bass, 10-7
USA Bass partnered with MLF and Keep America Fishing to award the top-finishing women’s pair at the ICAST Cup a spot on the 2023 USA Pan American Bass fishing team. The highest-finishing team of female anglers was Michelle Jalaba and Hannah Wesley who brought three bass to the stage totaling 10 pounds even to earn their spot on Team USA Bass at the 2023 Pan American Bass Fishing Championship, alongside Jacob Wheeler, David Dudley, James Watson, Mark Rose, Fred Roumbanis and other top pros.
Keep America Fishing™ is leading the fight to preserve our right to sustainably fish on our nation’s waterways. As the voice of the American angler, Keep America Fishing works to keep our public resources – our oceans, lakes, rivers and streams – open, clean and abundant with fish. For more information, please visit KeepAmericaFishing.org.
For complete details and updated information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, the Discovery Channel, the Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, the World Fishing Network, and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with offices in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 13 countries. In 2019, MLF expanded its portfolio of catch, weigh, and immediately release events to include the sport’s strongest five-biggest-fish format tournament circuits. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement, and fish care.
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