Major League Fishing Schedule 2023 commenced on February 13 at Kissimmee Chain. The final stage will run from August 1-6 at Saginaw Bay.
The angling event is set to be across seven stages with 80 of the world's best bass-fishing professionals and will be held in different locations.
The professionals will be competing for prize money, qualification for REDCREST 2024, Bass Pro Tour Championship, and General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event, and will compete for the valuable points that will be accumulated for the Bally Bet Angler of the Year.
The first four stages along with REDCREST 2023 and Heavy Hitters are already completed and stage five has begun at Lake Cayuga which will be held from June 6-11.
The 2023 roster has two-time Angler of the Year Jacob Wheeler who has already won stage four. Furthermore, there are seven new professionals in the competition this year.
Major League Fishing Schedule For 2023 Season
Major League Fishing 2023 schedule for different stages is listed below:
- Stage One at Kissimmee Chain from February 13-18.
- REDCREST 2024 at Lake Norman from March 8-12.
- Stage Two at Lake Cherokee and Douglas Lake from March 18-23.
- Stage Three at Lake Murray from April 2-7.
- General Tire Heavy Hitters All-Star-Event at Caney Creek Reservoir and the Bussey Brake Wildlife Management Area from April 24-29.
- Stage Four at Lake Guntersville from March 16-21.
- Stage Five at Lake Cayuga from June 6-11.
- Stage Six at Lake St. Clair from June 24-29.
- Stage Seven at Saginaw Bay from August 1-6.
The 2023 Major League Fishing League will have six days each for each stage with the catch, weigh, and immediate-release format.
Every stage will have two groups, i.e. Group A and Group B with both having two qualifying rounds, and the Top 20 from each group advance to the Knockout Round followed by the Top 10 moving to the Championship Round.
The first stage was hosted by the Kissimmee Sports Commission, Florida, and the competition's third time on the Chain and Lake Toho was won by Chris Lane who amassed 80 points.
The top 40 anglers (2022 season) who eyed the $300,000 prize along with the REDCREST Championship Trophy from March 8-12 were won by Bryan Thrift.
The second stage set in Jefferson County was won by Keith Poche with 80 points and the third stage was set in South Carolina with Anthony Gagliardi winning it with 80 points.
It was followed by the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters All-Star-Event in Monroe, Louisiana, whereby Alton Jones Jr. won the event.
The next stop was Alabama for stage four in the largest lake in the state which required different tactics as the bass are spread out in the waters and Jacob Wheeler won the stage.
Stage five is set to be in New York where the first-ever major professional bass fishing tournament was held and will head to Michigan for stage six and the season finale, stage seven.
MLF Heavy Hitters 2023
The 2023 Major League Fishing Heavy Hitters had a total of 40 competitors with Mercury Pro Team angler Alton Jones Jr. winning it this year.
To qualify for the 2023 Heavy Hitters, the competitors had to finish in the Top 40 in the previous season.
General Tire Heavy Hitter was hosted by the Discover Monroe-West Monroe and the Louisiana Office of Tourism from April 24-29 and was presented by Bass Pro Shops.
The venue for the event was Caney Creek Reservoir and the Bussey Brake Wildlife Management Area, Monroe, Louisiana.
Heavy Hitters also follow the same format with 2 groups in the qualification rounds followed by a knockout round and a championship round.
Alton Jones Jr. (winner) of the competition was awarded prize money of $100,000 with a Big Bass Bonus of $25,000 in qualifying round 2, $50,000 in the knockout round, and $100,000 in the championship round.
MLF Heavy Hitters 2023 schedule from April 24-29:
- April 24: Group A, Qualifying Round Day 1
- April 25: Group B, Qualifying Round Day 1
- April 26: Group A, Qualifying Round Day 2
- April 27: Group B, Qualifying Round Day 2
- April 28: Knockout Round
- April 29: Championship Round
Major League Fishing Payout and Prize Money
Major League Fishing payout for the 2023 season has a total purse of more than $7.7 million and a $100,000 payout for each event.
The MLF gave the opportunity to the professionals competing in the tournament to decide the best way to distribute the prize money and at what price it should be set.
The decision of the competitors was in favor of the Top 10 who would also be awarded a fair amount of prize money rather than distributing the prize money below the Top 40.
Major League Fishing Prize Money for the Top 10 in all stages:
- $100,000 (Winner)
- $45,000
- $38,000
- $32,000
- $30,000
- $26,000
- $23,000
- $21,000
- $19,000
- $16,000
For places 11-40, the prize money stands at $10,00 and for places 41-80, the prize money stands at $3,741.
The winning prize for the REDCREST Championship Top 10:
- $300,000 (Winner)
- $50,000
- $40,000
- $28,000
- $25,000
- $20,000
- $18,000
- $16,000
- $14,500
- $12,500
For places 11-20, the prize money stands at $10,00, and for places 20-40, the prize money stands at $5,000.
The winning prize for the Heavy Hitters competition is a $100,000 payout and also has a Big Bass Bonus in the event.
- $25,000 bonus in Qualifying Round Day 2.
- $50,000 bonus in Knockout Round.
- $100,000 bonus in Championship Round.
