BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A professional angler from Louisiana is sitting in first place going into the final day of a 6-day Major League Fishing tournament on the St. Lawrence River in Massena, N.Y.
During Tuesday’s Knockout Round, which marked the fifth day of the competition, Gerald Spohrer of Gonzales caught 35 bass weighing a combined total of 130 pounds, 8 ounces, beating the day’s second-place finisher, Brent Ehrler, by more than 9 pounds. Spohrer out-fished the 37 anglers who advanced with him to the round.
For the Championship Round Wednesday, all weights will be zeroed, and the angler who catches the most weight in bass will win $100,000. A total of $805,000 will be awarded to anglers by the end of the tournament, according to Major League Fishing spokesperson Joe Opager.
Now, just 10 anglers remain out of an original group of 80 elite anglers from around the world. Only the top anglers make it to the sixth and final day of competition.
“It feels great to finish the Knockout Round in first place, but tomorrow is when it really matters,” Spohrer said. “It was a tough second period, but after the storm came through, it got slick and sunny, and I was able to see everything in my area and there were just 4-pounders everywhere.”
Spohrer said he used a drop-shot rig and spent some time using a Ned-style bait, according to Opager. This week, Spohrer had success using a marabou jig, but he said the water was calm enough for him to sight-fish on Tuesday.
“I’m pumped up for tomorrow,” Spohrer said. “This is my third top-10 finish this year in five tournaments and we’re right in the hunt for the Angler of the Year title. To win another round – it’s been a great season and I am so blessed.”
