As Always, 3-Pounders Will Be Key At 'Mighty Miss'

By MLF Communications Staff

The Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wis. is set to host the MLF Pro Circuit's championship event this week. The TITLE, which starts today and runs through Sunday, features 50 anglers and a guaranteed $235,000 haul for the winner.

The Pro Circuit last visited the "Mighty Miss" in July 2020, when hometown pro Tom Monsoor took home the win with a total weight of 54-10. Monsoor finished 91st in the standings this season and did not qualify to compete in this event.

The 2021 TITLE will feature a hybrid tournament format. All 50 anglers are seeded into two groups of 25 – Group A and Group B, based on points earned in 2021 qualifying events. They will compete in Qualifying Rounds over the first four days of the tournament: Group A will fish day 1 and Day 3 and Group B will fish day 2 and day 4, with total weight determined by the cumulative weight of their biggest five-bass limit from both days.

The winner of each group will then advance directly to the Championship Round, while pros who finish in 2nd to 10th place in each group will battle it out with zeroed weights in the Knockout Round. On the sixth day of the event, the Championship Round, weights will again be zeroed and the Top 8 pros from the Knockout Round, plus the two Qualifying Round winners will compete. The winner will be determined by the heaviest five-bass limit of the final round.

Mississippi River expert and Pro Circuit angler Matt Stefan of Junction City, Wis. said the fish should be fully into their summer patterns and he expects the fishing to be good.

“Prior to the middle of July, the fish are scattered everywhere,” said Stefan. “Now that we are into August, they get into a true summer feeding mode and are more grouped up. At this point in the season, it’s not uncommon to find spots where you can pull up on a current break and catch 40 fish on 50 casts. The key, as always, is going to be catching 3-pounders. The Mississippi is a game of keepers – the more you catch, the better your chance of catching one of those 3-pounders.

“I think 13 pounds a day will be key,” continued Stefan. “It will probably take a solid 26 pounds to move anglers on to the Knockout Round, another 13 pounds to make it into the Top 8 for the Championship Round and 16 1/2 to 17 pounds to win the Championship Round.”

While the Mississippi River has a reputation for being a frog haven in the summer, Stefan said there will most likely be a lot of other options being thrown during the event, including buzzbaits, walking topwaters and poppers, as well as swimjigs and swimbaits. He said he also expects to see anglers pitching and flipping Texas rigs and jigs, cranking, swinging football jigs and potentially even a Carolina rig.

“The river is at unprecedented low-water levels and will be below the 5-foot mark – the lowest it’s been in 8 to 10 years,” said Stefan. “Anglers are going to have to be a lot more cognizant of hazards. To get to some of the areas could require significant effort and there are going to be some low-water areas that guys are going to have to be very careful trying to reach.”

Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. CT each day of competition from Veterans Freedom Park, located at 1 Clinton Street in La Crosse. Weigh-ins will also be held at the park daily at 3 p.m.

The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all six days of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the action online through the MLF NOW! live stream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Along with the launch and weigh-in, fans and community members are invited to a Fishing and Outdoor Expo Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT at Veterans Freedom Park, where fans can meet the pros and check out the latest in fishing and outdoor gear. The expo includes live music, food, vendor booths from participating sponsors, activities for kids, giveaways and more.

The 2021 Pro Circuit featured a field of 163 of the top professional anglers in the world competing in six regular-season events around the country. The Top 50 in the Angler of the Year (AOY) standings after the six events qualified to compete in the TITLE.