February 29, 2024
Major League Fishing will visit LaGrange, Georgia, this week for the second MLF Invitational of 2024. A field of 150 anglers will compete for a top prize of up to $115,000 and an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2025.
Although there isn’t a lot of MLF tournament history on West Point, there is some that could be extremely relevant. In 2023, David McClung won a BFL event around the same time of year with a 20-pound bag, fishing a crankbait and jig in stained water. Notably, Blake Tomlin of Greenville, Georgia, finished third in the same event and is signed up to fish the upcoming tournament.
Hailing from nearby Macon, Georgia, Bass Pro Tour angler Josh Weaver grew up fishing club tournaments on West Point and said he thinks it'll be a good derby.
“The lake is definitely coming back around,” said Weaver. “I’m glad to see a big tournament going there because there has been nothing there for a long time. The time of year they’re going is the best time to showcase that lake.”
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According to Weaver, this event could have some old-school flair.
“You can kind of do whatever you want,” said Weaver. “You can go out deep and chase the ones that haven’t come in yet – with spots there are always fish deep – but I think it will be won shallow in one of the creeks, cranking, or by somebody that finds some good brush piles.
“If we get some mild days, I feel like there will be more coming to the bank than there are out deep,” he added. “Regardless, a lot of those fish live shallow year-round, especially the largemouth. I’ve gone over there in January and been able to catch ‘em crankin’.”
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These days, there aren’t many events where forward-facing sonar doesn’t play big. Weaver thinks, or hopes, that due to the makeup of the fishery, anglers might need to fish shallow to target winning-quality fish.
Weaver said his theory on the event is that cranking for fish transitioning back to spawn will be key, but there are a few potential wild cards.
“John Cox always says the biggest fish in the lake spawn first,” he said. “If we get some warm days, you could see some fish spawning.”
Weaver said the other oddball pattern to watch out for might be a river run.
“You’ll see some people do good running up there, because of the time of year, the fish are pushing up there,” detailed Weaver.
Figuring on a little over 17 pounds a day to win, Weaver thinks that mixed bags of spotted bass and largemouth are almost a certainty.
“Regardless of what you’re fishing for, you’re going to have a mixed bag, just because the spots are so prevalent,” he said. “But there are some big largemouth – that time of year, there will be some 6- to 8-pounders. You’ll see some 14- to 16-pound bags of spots, but I don’t think you’ll see somebody catch all spots.”
Anglers will launch at 7 a.m. ET each day from the Pyne Road Park Mega Ramp, located at 4481 Roanoke Road in LaGrange. Weigh-ins will also be held at the ramp and will begin at 3 p.m.
The full field compete in the two-day opening round today and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the Top 30 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, advance to the final round on Sunday.
The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and Rob Newell will break down the extended action live all three days of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! will be livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
