Neal Earns Second Career Win at MLF Bass Pro Tour Minn Kota Stage Seven Presented by Humminbird at the St. Lawrence River

MASSENA, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 11, 2024--

The mighty St. Lawrence River provided a fitting end to the 2024 Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour season at Minn Kota Stage Seven Presented by Humminbird – a season full of drama and excitement, new winners and superstars adding to their résumés. Ultimately, after a back-and-forth third-period slugfest between pros Michael Neal of Dayton, Tennessee, and Shelbyville, Kentucky’s John Hunter, Neal sealed the deal with 28 bass for 88 pounds, 14 ounces. His margin of victory over Hunter was 15-3, but the final day was much closer than the final SCORETRACKER® would indicate.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240811044469/en/

Hunter led for much of the day, trading blows and the lead with Neal before Neal hit another gear. The final hour saw the eventual winner catch six bass for 17-2 to put it away. The win marks Neal's first since the 2021 season finale on Lake St. Clair and comes after many close calls, including two runner-up finishes this season.

Neal finished the year strong with the win and joined the exclusive list of two-time Bass Pro Tour winners. Both of his victories came on famed northern smallmouth fisheries and both were Stage Seven events.

Link to Hi-Res Photo of Stage Seven Winner Michael Neal
Link to HD Video – Fish-Catch Highlights of Championship Round on the St. Lawrence River
Link to Afternoon Photo Gallery of Stage Seven Championship Round Highlights

With 15 regular season Bass Pro Tour Top 10s (second only to three-time Angler of the Year Jacob Wheeler ), it's surprising that this is only Neal's second win. The Championship Round experience paid off as he sealed the victory, and Neal was as relieved as anyone.

"It's been a long time coming," he said. "Today was starting to feel like the Chowan River (at Stage Five), where I got out to a big lead, and it slipped away from me. I've had a ton of seconds in my career and felt like I was on that path again. When I won the last event in 2021, I won the first event of the 2022 season on the [Tackle Warehouse] Invitationals, and hopefully I can get on another hot streak like that."

This win here is special to Neal as he was able to clinch his first major title, the 2021 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Angler of the Year, on these same waters. It also cements him as a certified smallmouth specialist after claiming his previous win on Michigan's Lake St. Clair.

"I won my first AOY title right here on the same spot,” he said on the MLFNOW! broadcast. “This place will always be special to me. Growing up on Lake Chickamauga, if I caught a smallmouth, it was by accident. I've never considered myself a smallmouth fisherman, and I never thought I'd win a smallmouth tournament once, let alone twice."

Neal spent much of his time in deeper water than many competitors. He stuck with the tried-and-true drop-shot rig with a slight twist while also mixing in a finesse jig.

"I primarily stayed in the 40 to 60 feet depth range keying on rock, but my biggest fish on the last day was in 65 feet of water," he said. "I don't think depth mattered a lot, and the current was the main thing, and the fish, especially the bigger ones, were on sharper drops. The fish were either on the up-current side or down current, using the breaks as current drops. Most of my weight this week came from one stretch where the bottom was wavy looking with a bunch of rolling ups and downs."

Instead of rigging up a standard drop-shot worm, Neal improvised and went with the current trend of soft plastics with protruding silicone skirting material. His version was homemade, with a Big Bite Baits Scentsation Quarantine Craw serving as the plastic.

"I went to Walmart and bought some sewing needles and cut a banded skirt in half," he said. "I threaded eight stands into each one, so the bait had 16 strands coming out of the bait. They were green pumpkin baits with some green pumpkin purple skirt materials, and they looked just like the gobies the bass were spitting out. I was fishing around guys all week and felt like that got me more bites."

Neal fished his creation on a 7-foot, 6-inch medium Denali Kovert, a 3000-sized spinning reel and 10-pound-test Sunline Overwatch braid with a leader of 7-pound-test Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon. He threaded the bait on a 1/O Gamakatsu G-Finesse Stinger drop-shot hook with a 3/8-ounce Denali Kovert tungsten weight.

"That setup was key for me, and I didn't break off a fish all week," he said. "I also caught some fish on a 1/2-ounce Beast Coast OW Sniper Jig and used that same rod but modified to be a casting model. I had a guy back home turn that blank into a casting rod by changing the handle and the first couple of guides. It's the perfect rod for fighting big smallmouth with a lot of line out because you had to let a lot of line out to keep it on the bottom. And when you'd hook one, there'd be 100 feet of line out there, and you can still land them with that rod."

As much thought as Neal put into his setups for Stage Seven, it begs the question: How did he transform into a smallmouth guru? Neal said a change in thinking and a better understanding of the species are likely the culprits.

"I think it's all because I knew nothing about them,” he admitted. “I've learned that you must have an open mind when smallmouth fishing because they move so much daily. Largemouth are always going to be right on some cover, and smallmouth will always just be around something. That took me a while to figure out. I'm still not sure I like smallmouth fishing, but it seems to suit me."

Hard to argue. He now has two BPT wins to show for it.

The top 10 pros from the Minn Kota Stage Seven Presented by Humminbird at the St. Lawrence River are:

1st: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 28 bass, 88-14, $100,000
2nd: John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., 23 bass, 73-12, $45,000
3rd: Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn., 15 bass, 55-14, $38,000
4th: Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 18 bass, 55-6, $32,000
5th: Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., 17 bass, 53-12, $30,000
6th: Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 18 bass, 52-1, $26,000
7th: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 13 bass, 42-6, $23,000
8th: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 13 bass, 40-8, $21,000
9th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 13 bass, 38-4, $19,000
10th: Marty Robinson, Lyman, S.C., 12 bass, 34-12, $16,000

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 170 bass weighing 535 pounds, 9 ounces caught by the 20 pros Sunday, which included one 6-pounder, two 5-pounders, and 25 4-pounders.

Pro Nick Hatfield of Greeneville, Tennessee, earned Sunday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with a smallmouth bass weighing in at 6 pounds even that he caught during Period 3. The $3,000 prize for heaviest bass of the tournament went to Louisiana’s Cliff Crochet, who caught a largemouth weighing 6 pounds, 7 ounces on Day 2 of Group A competition.

Harrison, Tennessee, pro Jacob Wheeler, clinched the 2024 Fishing Clash Angler of the Year honors and the $100,000 payout on Friday – Wheeler’s third AOY title in the last four years.

Fishing Clash, an interactive 3D fishing simulation game that’s played by more than 80 million people worldwide, is the official AOY sponsor of the Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League. You can download Fishing Clash for free in the App Store and on Google Play or log on to www.fishingclash.game for more information.

The Minn Kota Stage Seven at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Humminbird featured anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The six-day tournament, hosted by the Town of Massena, showcased 78 of the best professional anglers in the world competing for a purse of more than $805,000, with a top prize of $100,000 going to the winner.

Television coverage of the Minn Kota Stage Seven at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Humminbird will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Nov. 16 on Discovery. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.

The 2024 Bass Pro Tour featured a field of 78 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2025, the Bass Pro Tour championship, set for April 3-6, 2025, on Lake Guntersville in Huntsville, Alabama.

Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Garmin, General Tire, Humminbird, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, Rapala, REDCON1, Star brite, Suzuki, Toyota, WIX Filters and U.S. Air Force.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, 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, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered 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 17 countries. 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.

Pro Michael Neal of Dayton, Tennessee, won the final regular-season event of the 2024 Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour season - the Minn Kota Stage Seven at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Humminbird, and earned the top payout of $100,000. (Photo: Business Wire)

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese health authorities reported that at least three people were killed and more than a dozen others wounded in an Israeli strike on Beirut on Friday, the first such Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital in months.

The Israeli strike came after Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with rockets and the region awaited the revenge promised by the militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah for this week’s mass bombing attack on pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members.

The target of Israel’s airstrike in Beirut’s crowded southern suburbs during rush hour, as people were leaving their work and students heading home from school, wasn't immediately clear. Lebanon's Health Ministry didn't elaborate on the identities of the victims.

Lebanese news stations broadcast footage of wounded people being pulled from the ruins of a flattened building as ambulances rushed to the scene of the strike.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel hit a Beirut suburb with an airstrike Friday, not long after Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 140 rockets following a vow by the militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah to retaliate against Israel for a mass bombing attack, the Israeli military and the militant group said.

The Israeli military said it had carried out a “targeted strike” in Beirut. It offered no further immediate details, but explosions could be heard coming from the city’s southern suburbs.

Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV reported that a drone fired several missiles on the heavily-populated area known as Dahiyeh.

A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media, confirmed to The Associated Press that an airstrike struck the area, without giving further details.

The strike came after Hezbollah pounded Israel with 140 rockets, which the Israeli military said came in three waves targeting sites along the ravaged border with Lebanon.

Following the attacks, the Israeli military said that it had struck areas across southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah infrastructure, but didn’t provide details of damage.

Hezbollah said that its attacks had targeted several sites along the border with Katyusha rockets, including multiple air defense bases as well as the headquarters of an Israeli armored brigade they said they’d struck for the first time.

The Israeli military said that 120 missiles were launched at areas of the Golan Heights, Safed and the Upper Galilee, some of which were intercepted. Fire crews were working to extinguish blazes caused by pieces of debris that fell to the ground in several areas, the military said.

The military didn’t say whether any missiles had hit targets or caused any casualties.

Another 20 missiles were shot at the areas of Meron and Netua, and most fell in open areas, the military said, adding that no injuries were reported.

Hezbollah said that the rockets were in retaliation for Israeli strikes on villages and homes in southern Lebanon, not two days of attacks widely blamed on Israel that set off explosives in thousands of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies.

On Thursday, Israel said its military had struck “hundreds of rocket launcher barrels” in southern Lebanon, saying that they “were ready to be used in the immediate future to fire toward Israeli territory”

The army also ordered residents in parts of the Golan Heights and northern Israel to avoid public gatherings, minimize movements and stay close to shelters in anticipation of the rocket fire that eventually came Friday.

Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily fire since Oct. 8, a day after the Israel-Hamas war’s opening salvo, but Friday’s rocket barrages were heavier than normal.

Nasrallah on Thursday vowed to keep up daily strikes on Israel despite this week’s deadly sabotage of its members’ communication devices, which he described as a “severe blow.”

At least 20 were killed in the attacks and thousands were wounded when pagers, walkie-talkies and other devices exploded in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The sophisticated attacks have heightened fears that the cross-border exchanges of fire will escalate into all-out war. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the attacks.

In recent days, Israel has moved a powerful fighting force up to the northern border, officials have escalated their rhetoric, and the country’s security Cabinet has designated the return of tens of thousands of displaced residents to their homes in northern Israel an official war goal.

Fighting in Gaza has slowed, but casualties continue to rise.

Overnight, Palestinian authorities said that 15 people were killed in multiple Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip.

Those included six people, including an unknown number of children, in an airstrike early Friday morning in Gaza City that hit a family home, Gaza’s Civil Defense said. Another person was killed in Gaza City when a strike hit a group of people on a street.

Israel maintains that it only targets militants, and accuses Hamas and other armed groups of endangering civilians by operating in residential areas. The military, which rarely comments on individual strikes, had no immediate comment.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says that more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count, but says a little over half of those killed were women and children.

Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

More than 95,000 people have also been wounded in Gaza since Oct. 7, the Health Ministry said.

The war has caused vast destruction and displaced about 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million.

Ambulances arrive at the scene of an Israeli missile strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

People stand on top of a damaged car at the scene of a missile strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People and rescuers gather at the scene of an Israeli missile strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People gather near a damaged building at the scene of an Israeli missile strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People gather at the scene of an Israeli missile strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People gather at the scene of an Israeli missile strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept a rocket fired from Lebanon, in northern Israel, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)