By MLF Communications Staff
Major League Fishing (MLF) is set to return to Brookeland, Texas this week for the season-opening MLF Pro Circuit at Sam Rayburn Reservoir. The tournament run Thursday through Sunday.
In its 27th season, the Pro Circuit features a roster of 158 professional anglers competing across six regular-season events, each with a top award of up to $135,000.
MLF has held 122 tournaments on the renowned bass fishery over the past 28 years, a staggering number that places it neatly inside the top 10 fisheries most visited by the organization.
The event will mark the sixth time the Pro Circuit (formerly FLW Tour) has competed on Sam Rayburn. Terry Bolton of Benton holds the record-winning weight on the fishery, bringing home $125,000 in 2019 with a four-day total of 91-03. Nick Lebrun weighed in a total of 90-07 that same year, good for 2nd place.
The biggest bass weighed on Sam Rayburn in Pro Circuit history was by former pro Andy Wicker, who reeled in an 11-02 whopper in 2019.
The field of pros includes local anglers Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, Texas, Lendell Martin, Jr. of Nacogdoches, Texas, Tommy Dickerson of Orange, Texas and rookie River Lee of Nacogdoches, Texas, along with a full field of returning pros and 22 rookies. They will be joined by 16 anglers who also compete on the Bass Pro Tour, including reigning 2021 Pro Circuit AOY Michael Neal and 2021 Lake Okeechobee Pro Circuit champion Skeet Reese.
The full field of 158 anglers will compete in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. The Top 50 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight will advance to Saturday. Only the Top 10 pros, based on cumulative weight from the first three days, will continue competition on Sunday, where weights will be zeroed and anglers will compete in a one-day shootout for the grand prize of up to $135,000, including the $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus for qualified anglers.
Pro Circuit competitor and accomplished Sam Rayburn pro Dicky Newberry of Houston, Texas, said he spent a lot of time on the reservoir prior to the off-limits cutoff.
“Sam Rayburn has got a tremendous number of fish in it – a huge population of bass, and a lot of really healthy, large bass,” said Newberry. “Unfortunately, the grass is really suffering and there’s less hydrilla in the lake than we’ve had in the past 25 years during this time of year. It can only be found in select areas of the lake, therefore, the fish that are using the grass are getting a lot of pressure right now, which will greatly affect the anglers that choose to fish the grass.”
Despite that fact, Newberry said he believes anglers will be able to play to their strengths and catch fish in a variety of ways, from 30 feet deep all the way up to 2 feet of water.
“It’s going to be wide open during this event and guys will be able to fish pretty much any strength they have,” said Newberry.
Newberry said the Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap in Rayburn red is always one of the most popular baits on the reservoir this time of year and he suspects it will be one of the big players in this tournament, along with an assortment of Carolina rigs, football jigs and large crankbaits.
Newberry also believes that the weights being zeroed on Day 4, a new rule change for 2022, will be a huge factor during the event and will change the strategy for the anglers.
“I think a good 42 to 44 pounds after Day 3 will make the Top 10,” said Newberry. “The last day is anybody’s guess, but I suspect a solid bag in the mid-20s on the final day will be strong. This lake can produce 40-pound stringers, but we are going to be here during a lot of the major local tournaments, so that could cut down on a lot of the large stringers.”
Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. CT, Thursday through Sunday, from the Umphrey Family Pavilion located at 5438 RR 255 in Brookeland. Weigh-ins will also be held at the pavilion daily at 3 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the live on-the-water action all four days of competition online on MLF NOW! beginning at 7:30 a.m. CT at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
