By MLF Communications Staff

MARBURY, Md. –Nick Hatfield of Greeneville, Tenn. caught a five-bass limit Monday weighing 20 pounds, 11 ounces – the largest bag weighed throughout the three-day tournament – to win the MLF Invitational at the Potomac River. Hatfield’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 53-12 earned him the win by a 5-03 margin over Bass Pro Tour angler Cody Meyer of Star, Idaho, and garnered him a $117,500 payday.

Myeer finished second with a three day total of 15 bass weighing 48-09, good for the $50,000 runner-up payout.

After a Rookie of the Year campaign in 2021 on the Pro Circuit, Hatfield signed on to the new-look Invitationals for another go-around. After finishing 101st at Lake of the Ozarks in May, it looked like his Bass Pro Tour dreams may have gone by the wayside; but winning the Potomac vaulted him back into the Top 10 in points and may prove to be a key moment in a long career.

Starting the day in second behind Martin Villa, Hatfield knew he was close to a win. Still, the Top 10 was about as stacked as can be on the Potomac, and he also knew he needed to do more than just hold serve.

“Today I decided to scrap where I’ve been starting because it sucked yesterday,” Hatfield said. “I didn’t want to try to go in there and scrap out 14 or 15 pounds, I wanted to go for the win.”

So, he rolled into Chicamuxen Creek and started fishing in a recently opened spawning sanctuary.

“I knew it hadn’t had the pressure; I didn’t know if I could catch them in there, but I figured it hadn’t had the pressure like everywhere else,” Hatfield said. “So, I went in there and started catching them pretty quick. I got in a few areas there and caught them on a bunch of different things, but there was one little area in there that was a bream bed, and most of the big ones I caught, I caught off of it. When it went down it was pretty crazy.”

After catching a few swimming a jig and frogging in a marshy creek, Hatfield pulled out a popper as he roamed around. Things happened in a hurry after that.

“I stumbled into it as I was fishing, just going down the bank,” he said. “I threw a popper up close to the point, and one engulfed it. I kept throwing over there, and upon further inspection, after I caught some, I saw it was a bream bed. So, I actually went back to it later in the day and caught another 4-pounder off of it.”

Running bream beds has gotten a bit trendy recently, and the Top 10 definitely added them into the mix with the usual Potomac staples. For Hatfield, a big patch of spawning bluegill in Quantico Creek did a lot of the heavy lifting.

“I saw the one in Quantico the second day of practice and I saw there were a bunch of big ones swimming on it and it was easy to get bites,” Hatfield said. “I never found another one until today.

“I’d say out of 15 bass I weighed, maybe four or five came off something else,” he said. “Swimming a jig, a frog, ChatterBait, something like that. It was all on bream beds, basically.”

For his bream beds, Hatfield’s primary weapon was a wacky-rigged Yamamoto Senko with a No. 1 Hayabusa WRM929. He also mixed in a 3/8-ounce Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait JackHammer, a 3/8-ounce Hayabusa Lil’ Schmitty Swim Jig , a popping frog and a bone Lobina Rio Rico. He used Doomsday rods for all of his techniques, opting for a 7-foot, medium-heavy model for the wacky rig.

“I’ve wanted to win one of these, I’ve tried hard,” Hatfield went on to say. “I knew that I could do it, and today just shows that I can. I can’t wait for the next one, I’m ready to go right now.”

The season-long Invitational Angler of the Year (AOY) will also earn a berth into REDCREST and the Top 8 anglers in the season-long Invitational AOY point standings will qualify for the 2024 Bass Pro Tour. After four of the six events, Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich., leads the AOY race with 953 points. Villa of Charlottesville, Va. sits in second place with 929 points, while Keith Carson of DeBary, Fla., is in third with 911. Pro Michael Neal of Dayton, Tenn., is in fourth place with 905, while Matthew Stefan of Junction City, Wis. rounds out the Top 5 with 874.



Final Standings

1. Nick Hatfield -- 17-00 (5) -- 16-01 (5) -- 20-11 (5) -- 53-12 (15) -- $117,500

2. Cody Meyer -- 16-14 (5) -- 14-10 (5) -- 17-01 (5) -- 48-09 (15) -- $50,000

3. Eric Panzironi -- 15-10 (5) -- 14-04 (5) -- 18-10 (5) -- 48-08 (15) -- $20,000

4. Wyatt Frankens -- 14-01 (5) -- 16-04 (5) -- 16-04 (5) -- 46-09 (15) -- $18,000

5. Martin Villa -- 18-15 (5) -- 15-07 (5) -- 12-02 (5) -- 46-08 (15) -- $17,000

6. Blake Hall -- 19-15 (5) -- 11-10 (5) -- 14-08 (5) -- 46-01 (15) -- $17,000

7. Andrew Loberg -- 13-01 (5) -- 17-07 (5) -- 15-08 (5) -- 46-00 (15) -- $15,000

8. Keith Carson -- 14-04 (5) -- 16-05 (5) -- 15-04 (5) -- 45-13 (15) -- $14,000

9. Bryan Schmitt -- 14-10 (5) -- 17-07 (5) -- 13-11 (5) -- 45-12 (15) -- $13,000

10. Kyle Weisenburger -- 16-00 (5) -- 14-15 (5) -- 13-12 (5) -- 44-11 (15) -- $12,000

11. Pete Ponds -- 16-01 (5) -- 14-00 (5) -- 14-07 (5) -- 44-08 (15) -- $10,000

12. Jim Moynagh -- 16-10 (5) -- 14-03 (5) -- 13-08 (5) -- 44-05 (15) -- $10,000

13. Jordan Collom -- 14-02 (5) -- 14-10 (5) -- 15-08 (5) -- 44-04 (15) -- $10,000

14. Troy Stokes -- 19-09 (5) -- 12-01 (5) -- 12-07 (5) -- 44-01 (15) -- $10,000

15. Michael Neal -- 15-11 (5) -- 17-00 (5) -- 11-02 (5) -- 43-13 (15) -- $10,000

16. Cody Spetz -- 15-14 (5) -- 16-11 (5) -- 11-03 (5) -- 43-12 (15) -- $10,000

17. Flint Davis -- 15-08 (5) -- 15-10 (5) -- 12-09 (5) -- 43-11 (15) -- $10,000

18. Hunter Eubanks -- 14-15 (5) -- 12-09 (5) -- 16-03 (5) -- 43-11 (15) -- $10,000

19. Cole Hewett -- 12-14 (5) -- 15-06 (5) -- 15-06 (5) -- 43-10 (15) -- $10,000

20. Spencer Shuffield -- 15-09 (5) -- 15-02 (5) -- 12-14 (5) -- 43-09 (15) -- $10,000

21. David Walker -- 14-05 (5) -- 15-14 (5) -- 13-04 (5) -- 43-07 (15) -- $10,000

22. Jeremy Southerly -- 14-08 (5) -- 13-13 (5) -- 15-01 (5) -- 43-06 (15) -- $10,000

23. Robert Nakatomi -- 17-00 (5) -- 13-01 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 42-14 (15) -- $10,000

24. Jason Vance -- 14-02 (5) -- 14-05 (5) -- 14-06 (5) -- 42-13 (15) -- $10,000

25. Ron Nelson -- 14-04 (5) -- 13-07 (5) -- 15-00 (5) -- 42-11 (15) -- $10,000

26. Matt Becker -- 15-05 (5) -- 13-10 (5) -- 13-08 (5) -- 42-07 (15) -- $10,000

27. Charlie Reed Jr -- 13-12 (5) -- 14-01 (5) -- 14-08 (5) -- 42-05 (15) -- $10,000

28. Justin Cooper -- 13-14 (5) -- 15-05 (5) -- 13-01 (5) -- 42-04 (15) -- $10,000

29. Wayne Vaughan -- 15-03 (5) -- 15-03 (5) -- 11-13 (5) -- 42-03 (15) -- $10,000

30. Mike McClelland -- 14-00 (5) -- 14-00 (5) -- 14-02 (5) -- 42-02 (15) -- $10,000

31. Blake Felix -- 14-11 (5) -- 14-13 (5) -- 12-09 (5) -- 42-01 (15) -- $8,000

32. Cody Pike -- 11-12 (5) -- 15-14 (5) -- 14-07 (5) -- 42-01 (15) -- $8,000

33. Michael Catt -- 13-09 (5) -- 15-02 (5) -- 13-03 (5) -- 41-14 (15) -- $8,000

34. Tyler Stewart -- 12-12 (5) -- 14-14 (5) -- 14-04 (5) -- 41-14 (15) -- $8,000

35. Christian Greico -- 14-03 (5) -- 13-05 (5) -- 14-05 (5) -- 41-13 (15) -- $8,300

36. Kyle Hall -- 16-14 (5) -- 12-00 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 41-11 (15) -- $8,000

37. Joe Wieberg -- 14-03 (5) -- 14-05 (5) -- 13-01 (5) -- 41-09 (15) -- $8,000

38. Matt Greenblatt -- 14-13 (5) -- 13-02 (5) -- 13-05 (5) -- 41-04 (15) -- $8,000

39. John Duarte -- 13-07 (5) -- 15-05 (5) -- 12-06 (5) -- 41-02 (15) -- $8,000

40. Marshall Robinson -- 11-09 (5) -- 17-07 (5) -- 11-15 (5) -- 40-15 (15) -- $8,000

41. Braxton Setzer -- 13-06 (5) -- 14-13 (5) -- 12-12 (5) -- 40-15 (15) -- $8,000

42. Ramie Colson Jr -- 14-08 (5) -- 13-04 (5) -- 12-14 (5) -- 40-10 (15) -- $8,000

43. Terry Olinger -- 15-07 (5) -- 14-09 (5) -- 10-09 (5) -- 40-09 (15) -- $8,000

44. Eddie Carper -- 12-09 (5) -- 16-12 (5) -- 10-06 (4) -- 39-11 (14) -- $8,000

45. Travis Harriman -- 16-02 (5) -- 13-10 (5) -- 9-08 (5) -- 39-04 (15) -- $8,000

46. Austin Culbertson -- 16-10 (5) -- 13-08 (5) -- 9-00 (4) -- 39-02 (14) -- $8,000

47. Jack Daniel Williams -- 16-08 (5) -- 12-09 (5) -- 9-03 (5) -- 38-04 (15) -- $8,000

48. Drew Gill -- 17-04 (5) -- 11-01 (5) -- 9-02 (5) -- 37-07 (15) -- $8,000

49. Joshua Weaver -- 15-07 (5) -- 13-04 (5) -- 8-04 (5) -- 36-15 (15) -- $8,000

50. Kyle Minke -- 13-13 (5) -- 13-12 (5) -- 9-03 (4) -- 36-12 (14) -- $8,000

The following anglers did not make the cut and did not fish on Day 3

51. Jimmy Reese -- 14-12 (5) -- 12-11 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 27-07 (10)

52. Randy Despino -- 14-04 (5) -- 13-02 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 27-06 (10)

53. Bryan Partak -- 13-01 (5) -- 14-04 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 27-05 (10)

54. Sean Anderson -- 16-06 (5) -- 10-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 27-03 (10)

55. Brian Latimer -- 13-14 (5) -- 13-02 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 27-00 (10) -- $200

56. Brett Hite -- 11-13 (5) -- 15-01 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-14 (10)

57. Tommy Dickerson -- 17-00 (5) -- 9-12 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-12 (10)

58. Thomas Wooten -- 15-09 (5) -- 11-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-12 (10)

59. Matt Reed -- 13-02 (5) -- 13-10 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-12 (10)

60. Cameron Mattison -- 10-01 (5) -- 16-10 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-11 (10)

61. Paul Elias -- 13-10 (5) -- 13-01 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-11 (10)

62. Matthew Stefan -- 15-11 (5) -- 10-15 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-10 (10)

63. Paul Gettys -- 11-11 (5) -- 14-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-08 (10) -- $1,000

64. Clayton Batts -- 13-04 (5) -- 13-04 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-08 (10)

65. Robby Lefere -- 13-03 (5) -- 13-04 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-07 (10)

66. Nick Lebrun -- 13-13 (5) -- 12-09 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-06 (10)

67. Jeff Reynolds -- 13-11 (5) -- 12-11 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-06 (10)

68. Andrew Nordbye -- 14-14 (5) -- 11-04 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-02 (10)

69. Jacopo Gallelli -- 14-06 (5) -- 11-11 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-01 (10)

70. Ron Farrow -- 13-02 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 25-15 (10)

71. Steve Lopez -- 12-01 (5) -- 13-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 25-14 (10)

72. Bobby Bakewell -- 12-01 (5) -- 13-08 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 25-09 (10)

73. Drew Boggs -- 12-12 (5) -- 12-09 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 25-05 (10)

74. John Voyles -- 13-13 (5) -- 11-04 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 25-01 (10)

75. John Cox -- 14-09 (5) -- 10-07 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 25-00 (10)

76. Cole Harris -- 14-04 (5) -- 10-12 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 25-00 (10)

77. Scotty Villines -- 12-06 (5) -- 12-10 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 25-00 (10)

78. Ricky Robinson -- 15-08 (5) -- 9-07 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-15 (10)

79. Kyle Schutta -- 11-13 (5) -- 13-02 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-15 (10)

80. Todd Walters -- 12-03 (5) -- 12-12 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-15 (10)

81. Kyle Cortiana -- 14-03 (5) -- 10-09 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-12 (10)

82. Charlie Evans -- 9-04 (4) -- 15-06 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-10 (9)

83. Andy Newcomb -- 9-10 (5) -- 15-00 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-10 (10)

84. Rod Mackinnon III -- 12-00 (5) -- 12-10 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-10 (10)

85. Brock Reinkemeyer -- 14-15 (5) -- 9-10 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-09 (10)

86. Kollin Crawford -- 13-07 (5) -- 10-15 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-06 (10)

87. Tristan McCormick -- 10-03 (5) -- 14-02 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-05 (10)

88. Drew Kleine -- 11-08 (5) -- 12-12 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-04 (10)

89. Jason Grape -- 11-10 (5) -- 12-10 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-04 (10)

90. Rusty Salewske -- 13-12 (5) -- 10-07 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-03 (10)

91. Kyle Delong -- 14-09 (5) -- 9-07 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-00 (10)

92. Phillip Dutra -- 13-15 (5) -- 9-14 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-13 (10)

93. Joe Grafeman -- 12-14 (5) -- 10-15 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-13 (10)

94. Jordan Hirt -- 11-01 (5) -- 12-11 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-12 (10)

95. Chad Mrazek -- 12-03 (5) -- 11-08 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-11 (10)

96. Cal Lane -- 11-04 (5) -- 12-06 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-10 (10)

97. Grae Buck -- 7-13 (5) -- 15-12 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-09 (10)

98. Tom Monsoor -- 12-04 (5) -- 11-04 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-08 (10)

99. Jaden Parrish -- 13-13 (5) -- 9-08 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-05 (10)

100. Shaw Grigsby -- 12-13 (5) -- 10-06 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-03 (10)

101. Elijah Meyers -- 13-02 (5) -- 10-00 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-02 (10)

102. Derik Hudson -- 14-06 (5) -- 8-11 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-01 (10)

103. Tai Au -- 13-02 (5) -- 9-15 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-01 (10)

104. Richard Lowitzki -- 13-13 (5) -- 9-02 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-15 (9)

105. Marty Robinson -- 13-02 (5) -- 9-11 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-13 (10)

106. Nolan Gaskin -- 14-03 (5) -- 8-08 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-11 (9)

107. Joseph Thompson -- 9-03 (5) -- 13-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-06 (10)

108. Jared McMillan -- 12-02 (5) -- 10-02 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-04 (10)

109. Christopher Grenier -- 11-06 (5) -- 10-14 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-04 (10)

110. Kevin Rogers -- 10-09 (5) -- 11-10 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-03 (10)

111. Cody Parker -- 12-08 (5) -- 9-08 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-00 (10)

112. Alex Davis -- 14-06 (5) -- 7-08 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-14 (10)

113. Scott Wiley -- 11-01 (5) -- 10-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-14 (10)

114. Tom Redington -- 12-03 (5) -- 9-09 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-12 (10)

115. Colby Schrumpf -- 13-04 (5) -- 8-05 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-09 (10)

116. Fred Roumbanis -- 11-09 (5) -- 9-14 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-07 (10)

117. Spike Stoker -- 16-01 (5) -- 5-05 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-06 (9)

118. Hunter Mills -- 11-07 (5) -- 9-14 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-05 (10)

119. J Todd Tucker -- 10-11 (5) -- 10-08 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-03 (10)

120. Shannon Abbott -- 14-04 (5) -- 6-14 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-02 (10)

121. Danny L. Shanz -- 7-13 (3) -- 13-05 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-02 (8)

122. Cole Breeden -- 11-13 (5) -- 9-04 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-01 (10)

123. Andrew Behnke -- 9-12 (5) -- 11-05 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-01 (10)

124. Laker Howell -- 9-04 (5) -- 11-08 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-12 (10)

125. Robby Frashier -- 10-06 (5) -- 10-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-09 (10)

126. Cody Greaney -- 11-06 (5) -- 9-02 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-08 (10)

127. Bruce Parsons -- 7-13 (4) -- 12-07 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-04 (9)

128. Rick Chenoweth -- 11-07 (5) -- 8-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-04 (10)

129. Brad Jelinek -- 12-09 (5) -- 7-09 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-02 (8)

130. Mike Smola -- 8-10 (5) -- 11-08 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-02 (10)

131. Cody Petit -- 14-09 (5) -- 5-03 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-12 (8)

132. Mark Fisher -- 8-05 (5) -- 11-04 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-09 (10)

133. Jesse Millsaps -- 9-01 (5) -- 10-07 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-08 (10)

134. Mark Condron -- 5-15 (2) -- 13-06 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-05 (7)

135. Lane Olson -- 11-03 (5) -- 7-01 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 18-04 (10)

136. Frank Kitchens III -- 14-01 (5) -- 4-00 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 18-01 (8)

137. Ryan Armstrong -- 16-10 (5) -- 1-04 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 17-14 (6)

138. Terry Luedtke -- 11-08 (5) -- 6-06 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 17-14 (10)

139. Miles Howe -- 10-10 (5) -- 7-02 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 17-12 (10)

140. Colby Miller -- 8-13 (5) -- 8-15 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 17-12 (10)

141. Charles Abshire -- 3-09 (5) -- 14-01 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 17-10 (10)

142. Tim Tyson -- 11-01 (5) -- 5-06 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 16-07 (7)

143. William Fletcher -- 5-04 (2) -- 11-01 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 16-05 (7)

144. Kyle Glasgow -- 9-14 (5) -- 6-05 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 16-03 (10)

145. Kyle Palmer -- 6-10 (3) -- 9-09 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 16-03 (8)

146. Michael Harlin -- 6-01 (4) -- 9-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 15-04 (9)

147. Connor Cunningham -- 12-08 (5) -- 1-03 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 13-11 (6)

148. JD Chandler -- 11-09 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 11-09 (5)

149. John-Dalton Miller -- 6-13 (3) -- 2-10 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 9-07 (5)

150. Lance Crawford -- 1-11 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 1-11 (1)