By MLF Communications Staff

When Erie, Pa. was announced to the anglers as the host destination for the first MLF Team Series event of the year, many expected smallmouth bass to be a prominent factor throughout the tournament. If the first day of competition at the Challenge Cup is any indicator, the largemouth are going to reign supreme this week.

Team REDCON1, made up of Andy Morgan and Cole Floyd, led the way Sunday, catching 34 largemouth bass weighing 49 pounds, 6 ounces to earn the top spot after the Day 1 Elimination Round. With the win, Team REDCON1 will now advance to the Elimination Round, along with second-place Team Coign (Matt Stefan and Drew Gill), who caught 32 bass weighing 43-15.

The REDCON1 team caught the majority of their weight on the west side of Presque Isle Bay, flipping grass with a variety of soft plastics. The duo started shallow with their flipping sticks, but after a slow start to the day they moved out deeper – about 8 to 9 feet – and found some fish holding on clean milfoil that had a hard edge. Knowing what to look for, the REDCON1 team covered water and vaulted into the lead midway through the second period and never looked back.

“We had a freaking blast today,” said Morgan, who caught the most bass and the most weight on the day. “This is how we got started and what I love about bass fishing – team tournaments. And when you have a good fisherman in the boat with you like Cole, that just makes it all that much better. I was so happy when Cole picked me as his teammate. He and his dad Steven used to kick butt in team tournaments back in the day, so I knew he’d be a great team partner.”

“This was a whole different concept for me,” Floyd said. “It was so much fun. And we got to catch them Andy Morgan-style – on big line with a big rod. Man, that bite is so addicting.”

They fished the way Morgan is known for – flipping and pitching various soft plastics in all sorts of colors. And they used Floyd’s old team tournament partner’s secret stash.

“We used a dozen different baits today – everything from a Zoom Z Craw to a Strike King Rage Bug,” Morgan said. “Cole actually got his dad’s big bulk bag of soft plastics and brought them for the Team Series. We dipped into Steve’s free baits today and used every color in the bag. Color really didn’t matter, though – if you got it around bass, they bit it.”

Morgan’s flipping setup was a 7-foot, 11-inch flipping stick with a Lew’s Pro SP Skipping & Pitching Baitcast Reel, spooled with 65-pound braided line, a 4/0 Hayabusa hook and a 3/4-ounce Strike King tungsten weight.

“We didn’t need but two rods today,” Floyd went on to say.

With just over an hour remaining in the final period, Team Coign rallied from fourth place into second after finding an area that held a decent population of largemouth. They caught 24 of their 32 bass total in the third period to overtake Team Wix and Team Ferguson and advance in the final spot.

“The Great Lakes are known for having very spot-specific largemouth, and we happened to fall into an area and caught a pile of fish,” said Stefan, who caught 13 keepers.

Despite only catching three bass in the first two periods, Gill added 16 scorable largemouth in the third period alone.

“I’ve never been out here before, so it took us a bit to find our groove. We were chasing something that I don’t think ever developed,” Gill added. “We found a spot that had sand, rock, a little bit of grass, adjacent to a backwater – everything we needed to make the comeback that we did. What a great final period.”

The results from the Day 1 Elimination Round:

> 1st: Team REDCON1, 36 bass, 52-0
Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 23 bass, 34-6
Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 13 bass, 17-10

> 2nd: Team Coign, 32 bass, 43-15
Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 19 bass, 26-1
Matt Stefan, Junction City, Wis, 13 bass, 17-14

Eliminated

> 3rd: Team Ferguson, 15 bass, 26-6
Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., nine bass, 15-13
Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., six bass, 10-9

> 4th: Team WIX Filters, 15 bass, 23-15
Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 11 bass, 16-11
Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., four bass, 7-4

The Challenge Cup features 12 two-man teams, divided into three groups as they enter the one-day Elimination Rounds. Each of the three Elimination Rounds will feature four new teams, with the top two teams from each of the Elimination Rounds advancing to the Knockout Rounds on Days 4 and 5. In the Knockout Rounds, three teams will compete each day, with the top two teams from each moving on to the Championship Round on Day 6.

In Friday’s Championship Round, the final four teams will compete in a one-day shootout to determine the winner.

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action live every day of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.