Huge Bags Will Be Common At Detroit River

By MLF Communications Staff

DETROIT – Major League Fishing will visit the Detroit River this week for the sixth and final Invitational event of the season. Competition days are today through Sunday.

This tournament marks the 99th time that MLF (and FLW) has hosted an event that launched from the Detroit River, although if you add in the events that have taken place on Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie – also options for tournament anglers in this event – the number balloons to 184 events. The glacier blue waters are known for its massive smallmouth bass populations, and local competitor Troy Stokes of Trenton, Mich., says that right now, the fishery is on fire.

“Looking at results from recent tournaments, it’s clear that the bite is extremely good right now and the fish are very healthy,” said Stokes, who has eight Top-10 finishes on the fishery in MLF competition. “I was blown away by the weights at the Bassmaster Open (earlier this month). I’ve never seen weights that high, throughout the field, ever. The fish are fat, they’re biting, and we’re going to see a really exciting tournament.”

Stokes said that he expects to see all three fisheries in play for competitors.

“I predict the majority of anglers will be fishing in Lake St. Clair, partly because the Open just smashed them there,” Stokes said. “But it’s also the most consistent. Lake Erie definitely has winning potential, but you’re going to have to be really careful going out there. You’re much more susceptible to the wind and inclement conditions. And you also have to be familiar with the Detroit River – if it was later in the year the river would be a much bigger factor in this event. But you can’t discount it, especially on windy days. If the weather is bad and we end up having to fish in the river, it could derail your tournament if you’ve never fished there before. So there is definitely a lot in play.”

Stokes said that the majority of anglers would be weighing in large limits of smallmouth, but he expects to see quite a few largemouth visit the scale as well.

“There is some really good largemouth fishing – I’ve weighed in quite a few mixed bags over the years,” Stokes said. “But in this tournament, with the smallmouth biting as good as they are, it’s going to be extremely hard to compete with just largemouth. A guy might catch one big bag, but it’d be very tough to compete over the multiple days.

“With fishing this good, it’s going to take more than a 22-to-23-pound average each day to be there at the end,” Stokes went on to say. “I’m thinking someone is going to catch a mega bag one day, then back it up with a couple of very solid limits. I predict the three-day winner will have 74 pounds, 7 ounces.”

Anglers will launch at 6:30 a.m. ET each day from Elizabeth Park, located at 202 Grosse Ile Parkway in Trenton. Weigh-ins will also be held at the park and will begin at 2:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and weigh-in events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW! livestream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

In Invitational competition, the full field competes in the two-day opening round on Friday 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, where they will compete for the grand prize of up to $115,000. The winner will be determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative weight and will receive an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2025 on Lake Guntersville in Huntsville, Ala.

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and Rob Newell will break down the extended action live all three days of competition from 7 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! will be livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.