By MLF Communications Staff

LEESBURG, Fla. – The MLF Bass Pro Tour continues its 2025 season this week with an event at the Harris Chain of Lakes.

The last time the BPT visited the Harris Chain was in 2021, when Tennessee’s DeFoe claimed victory, capitalizing on the shad spawn early in the day before transitioning to offshore cranking. This year, it seems anglers will face very different conditions, as Florida’s warm weather has accelerated the spawn, creating a dynamic playing field.

Bobby Lane, a Lakeland, Florida native, finished second to DeFoe in 2021, and said he is eager for another shot at the title.

“The last time the Bass Pro Tour was here was in May, and the fish were everywhere,” said Lane. “This time, it’ll be different. It’s earlier in the year, but we’re transitioning big time. Florida has gone from a brutal winter – culminated by two weeks in a row of miserably cold weather – to three weeks of brutal heat. It’s basically summertime now, so we’ll see fish in all three stages of the spawn throughout the event and there’s plenty of vegetation in almost every lake now.”

Lane predicts winning weights will range between 30 to 45 pounds on the final day, with anglers needing around 60 to 70 pounds over the first two days to advance to the Knockout Round. He also said he expects a variety of techniques to come into play.

“I think we’ll see guys throwing ChatterBaits, swim worms, flipping sticks, crankbaits, frogs, dropshot rigs, shaky heads and topwater baits,” said Lane. “I think it's all going to work. I don't think one guy is going to be able to light it on fire in one spot. I think he's going to have to cover a lot of water.”

Lane said a key strategic challenge will be the Harris Chain locking system. Anglers choosing to lock into Apopka or Griffin could lose valuable fishing time, making decisions on location critical.

“There’s a risk in locking,” Lane explained. “If Harris, Eustis or Dora are fishing good in the morning, there’s no way a guy locking in is going to catch up. It’s kind of a puzzle, and we’ve got to figure out how to put the puzzle together.”

Unlike the season opener at Lake Conroe, where forward-facing sonar played a dominant role in the first period, Lane believes its impact on the Harris Chain will be more limited.

“There will definitely be fish caught on forward-facing sonar, but I don’t see it being as big of a factor as it was in Texas,” Lane noted. “This event is going to have a lot more diversity in techniques.”

Anglers will launch at 7:15 a.m. ET each day from the Venetian Gardens, located at 201 E. Lake Harris Drive in Leesburg. Each day’s takeout will be held at the same location, beginning at 3:45 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events.

The tournament will feature anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The full field of anglers will compete in the two-day Qualifying Round on Thursday and Friday. From there, the pro with the highest two-day total will advance directly to Sunday’s Championship Round and anglers who finish 2nd through 20th will advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round.

In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining anglers compete to finish in the Top 9 to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round, when weights are again zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $150,000.

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on all four days of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! will be livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.co , the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.