CLEWISTON, Fla. (Feb. 10, 2023) – Warm Florida sunshine and a slight breeze greeted the crowd as Favorite Fishing pro Joshua Weaver of Macon, Georgia , brought a five-bass-limit to the scale on Championship Friday weighing 26 pounds, 4 ounces to win the Major League Fishing (MLF) Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 1 tournament at Lake Okeechobee. Weaver’s three-day total of 72-9 earned him his first major career win by a whopping 8-pound, 13-ounce margin over second-place pro Colby Schrumpf of Highland, Illinois, and the top prize of $115,000, including the $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus. Weaver will now also receive an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2024.
The 2023 season marks Weaver’s seventh year on tour with MLF. The six-time championship qualifier said he had a dream years ago that he would get his first major win on Lake Okeechobee – a dream that finally became reality at the first 2023 Tackle Warehouse Invitational tournament.
After ending Day 1 in 61st place with only 14 pounds, 12 ounces, Weaver weighed in the largest limit of the event on Day 2 – five bass totaling 31-9 – to catapult into 2nd place. The Georgia pro brought another solid limit of 26-4 to the scales on Friday to seal the deal and take home the championship hardware.
“This tournament has been the kind of event you dream about having,” said Weaver. “The first day I lost quite a few fish and was pretty bummed but backing it up with over 30 pounds yesterday and another 26-pound bag today is just incredible – Okeechobee has been unbelievable to me this week.”
Championship Friday started off with a bang, with Weaver catching more than 20 pounds within the first hour. But several hard-charging pros stayed in contention throughout the day, making it impossible for him to let off the gas.
“I knew I needed at least 24 pounds to have a shot at winning, and I got pretty close to it this morning,” said Weaver. “But with Michael Neal right behind me, I knew I was nowhere near safe. I sweated it out all day, and never really thought I had it in the bag, until I got back here to the weigh-in and people began congratulating me.
“I kept with a similar game plan today, starting in the same area as the two days prior,” Weaver continued. “I got in there early this morning and things kicked off quick.
“I ran to my second spot mid-morning, where I’d caught a big bag on Day 2, but only caught 2-pounders. I pivoted back to my starting spot and caught a 3½- and a 5-pounder, so I decided to just stay in there all day and slowly culled up.”
Weaver said he credits his win to the heavy 7’6” Favorite Fishing Hex Casting Rod and reel he was throwing all week.
“I spent most of the week winding a Z-Man ChatterBait with a Googan Baits Happy Trailer and a swim jig around anything that I thought might have a female bass on a bed,” said Weaver. “This lake is really something special to me because it fits how I like to fish – I’m a shallow water grass fisherman. The last two times I’ve been here haven’t been so great, so I’m excited that we’ve righted those wrongs this week.
“It definitely hasn’t hit me yet,” Weaver went on to say. “You wait so long for a day like today, then when it happens, you’re just in a daze. I’ve wanted this for so long. This is the reason why we do what we do. For it to finally happen after seven seasons – finishing in 2nd place multiple times and a ton of Top 10’s – to finally get it done is a relief and I’m already looking forward to the next tournament.”
The top 20 pros at the Tackle Warehouse Invitational Power-Pole Stop 1 at Lake Okeechobee finished:
1st: Joshua Weaver, Macon, Ga., 15 bass, 72-9, $115,000
2nd: Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., 15 bass, 63-12, $50,000
3rd: Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., 15 bass, 63-1, $20,000
4th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 15 bass, 61-13, $18,000
5th: Jacopo Gallelli, Florence, Italy, 14 bass, 61-13, $17,000
6th: Jonathan Dietz, Corry, Pa., 15 bass, 58-2, $16,000
7th: Kyle Weisenburger, Columbus Grove, Ohio, 15 bass, 57-2, $15,000
8th: Michael Harlin, Sunrise Beach, Mo., 15 bass, 56-14, $14,000
9th: Paul Elias, Laurel, Miss., 15 bass, 56-8, $13,000
10th: Spike Stoker, Cisco, Texas, 15 bass, 55-14, $12,000
11th: David Walker, Sevierville, Tenn., 15 bass, 55-8, $10,000
12th: Jason Vance, Battle Ground, Ind., 15 bass, 55-6, $10,000
13th: Troy Stokes, Trenton, Mich., 15 bass, 55-3, $10,000
14th: Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 15 bass, 54-14, $10,000
15th: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 15 bass, 54-7, $10,000
16th: Marty Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 15 bass, 54-6, $10,000
17th: Brian Latimer, Belton, S.C., 15 bass, 53-11, $10,000
18th: Matthew Stefan, Junction City, Wis., 15 bass, 51-15, $10,000
19th: Jacob Wheeler, Birchwood, Tenn., 15 bass, 51-9, $10,000
20th: Tai Au, Glendale, Ariz., 15 bass, 51-2, $10,000
Overall, there were 238 bass weighing 714 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 50 pros Friday. The catch included 47 five-bass limits.
The three-day tournament, hosted by the Hendry County Tourism Development Council, featured a roster of 150 anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000 and an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2024 – the Bass Pro Tour championship – for the chance to win up to $300,000.
https://dev.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/mlf-okeechobee-21023.html
Major League Fishing (MLF) Archive