By MLF Communications Staff
LA CROSSE, Wis. – Thirteen seasons as a professional angler. Eighty-eight professional-level events. Numerous Top-10 and Top-20 finishes. Now, finally, Matt Stefan of Junction City, Wisc. can add another accolade to his résumé – champion.
Stefan brought a five-bass limit to the scale Thursday weighing 15 pounds, 8 ounces to overtake Day-2 leader Steve Lopez of Oconomowoc, Wisc. and win the MLF Invitational event at the Mississippi River – his first career victory – and the first-place prize of $80,000.
Stefan’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 48-06 earned him the win by a 10-ounce margin over Lopez, who weighed in 15 bass for 47-12, good for second place. The Top 10 was extremely Wisconsin-heavy, as fellow Wisconsinites Tom Monsoor of La Crosse (3rd), Nick Trim of Galesville (4th), Cade Laufenberg of Onalaska (6th) and Mike Brueggen of La Crosse (7th) all finished inside the Top 10.
Stefan won the event by running to a key stretch of eel grass in Pool No. 7 each day. He said that he found the stretch during practice but had no idea that it would turn into something special.
“I fished all three pools in practice – I spent a day in each, but I didn’t feel good about any of it,” Stefan said. “I found one stretch of eel grass in Pool 7 where I was able to get some bites when I slowed down and fished finesse. I caught two quality fish in practice, and shook off four or five more, so I decided I would go there the first day. It turned into something more than I thought it would be, and I spent all three days on the same stretch.”
Although Stefan was never confident that he had enough weight to win the tournament until after the final bass had been weighed, he and multiple other anglers almost didn’t make it back to weigh-in on Thursday. An unexpected barge was in the lock when Stefan and numerous other anglers were trying to pass through, and as MLF NOW! live coverage stopped rolling Thursday, the barge was still working its way through. After some sweating, and praying, the anglers made it back to weigh-in with just minutes to spare.
“I’ve had some close calls with the lock before, but nothing like this,” Stefan said. “Nothing where I knew I had a good bag, and whether I won or not I knew I was going to be getting a good check. The reality of it is that it’s part of the game when you play the river, and as anglers we know that. But, as careful as we try to be – we’ve all got apps for the barge traffic – none of us knew that barge was there. It was a surprise to all of us, and I don’t know that any of us thought we were going to get back.”
Of the 15 keepers that Stefan weighed in throughout the week, 13 came on a 5-inch wacky-rigged Berkley PowerBait MaxScent The General in green-pumpkin or black-and-blue, and two came on a discontinued Reaction Innovations Vixen topwater bait.
“There are so many wonderful things about winning a tournament and the season that I’ve had,” Stefan said. “It really has been a dream. I’ve been doing this for 13 years and I wanted a win so bad. To do it here in La Crosse this week has just been so special. I’ve always dreamed of holding one of these trophies up on stage, and I did. Now I get to take this back home to the tackle room, and this trophy will be front and center.”
Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich. clinched the Angler of the Year title Thursday after accumulating 1,094 points in the six Invitational events. It was the second AOY of Nelson’s career, as he was also the Pro Circuit AOY in 2020. Nelson’s extraordinary season was highlighted by three consecutive Top-5 finishes and $75,000 in earnings through six events. Along with the AOY title, Nelson earned an automatic berth into REDCREST 2024 on Lay Lake in Birmingham, Ala., March 13-17, 2024.
With all six Invitational tournaments now complete, the Top 8 pros based on AOY rank now will receive an invitation to compete on the 2024 Bass Pro Tour. The qualifiers are:
1st: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich.
2nd: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn. (current Bass Pro Tour angler)
3rd: Matthew Stefan, Junction City, Wis.
4th: Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla.
5th: Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va.
6th: Grae Buck, Green Lane, Pa.
7th: Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn.
8th: Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C.
Final Standings
1. Matthew Stefan -- 16-08 (5) -- 16-06 (5) -- 15-08 (5) -- 48-06 (15) -- $81,000
2. Steve Lopez -- 17-12 (5) -- 16-00 (5) -- 14-00 (5) -- 47-12 (15) -- $50,000
3. Tom Monsoor -- 12-02 (5) -- 16-03 (5) -- 17-09 (5) -- 45-14 (15) -- $20,000
4. Nick Trim -- 10-11 (5) -- 15-00 (5) -- 19-04 (5) -- 44-15 (15) -- $18,000
5. Jared Lintner -- 15-07 (5) -- 13-10 (5) -- 15-06 (5) -- 44-07 (15) -- $17,000
6. Cade Laufenberg -- 12-07 (5) -- 16-06 (5) -- 15-10 (5) -- 44-07 (15) -- $16,000
7. Mike Brueggen -- 15-12 (5) -- 15-03 (5) -- 13-01 (5) -- 44-00 (15) -- $15,000
8. Cody Meyer -- 15-04 (5) -- 14-00 (5) -- 14-12 (5) -- 44-00 (15) -- $14,000
9. Drew Gill -- 14-15 (5) -- 13-04 (5) -- 14-03 (5) -- 42-06 (15) -- $13,000
10. Tristan McCormick -- 14-15 (5) -- 14-14 (5) -- 12-08 (5) -- 42-05 (15) -- $12,000
11. Scott Wiley -- 10-13 (5) -- 17-12 (5) -- 13-12 (5) -- 42-05 (15) -- $11,000
12. Alex Davis -- 14-13 (5) -- 12-05 (5) -- 15-03 (5) -- 42-05 (15) -- $10,000
13. Jeff Ritter -- 12-13 (5) -- 16-00 (5) -- 13-01 (5) -- 41-14 (15) -- $10,000
14. Matt Reed -- 16-06 (5) -- 12-08 (5) -- 12-14 (5) -- 41-12 (15) -- $10,000
15. Flint Davis -- 10-00 (5) -- 14-13 (5) -- 16-07 (5) -- 41-04 (15) -- $10,000
16. Justin Cooper -- 12-01 (5) -- 14-00 (5) -- 14-13 (5) -- 40-14 (15) -- $10,000
17. Kevin Ruh -- 16-03 (5) -- 11-15 (5) -- 12-09 (5) -- 40-11 (15) -- $10,000
18. Jordan Hirt -- 13-06 (5) -- 13-09 (5) -- 13-05 (5) -- 40-04 (15) -- $10,000
19. Nick Hatfield -- 18-00 (5) -- 10-15 (5) -- 11-03 (5) -- 40-02 (15) -- $10,000
20. Mark Condron -- 15-12 (5) -- 13-02 (5) -- 11-03 (4) -- 40-01 (14) -- $10,000
21. Hunter Litchfield -- 17-14 (5) -- 9-07 (4) -- 12-11 (5) -- 40-00 (14) -- $10,000
22. Mike McClelland -- 15-07 (5) -- 12-06 (5) -- 11-15 (5) -- 39-12 (15) -- $10,000
23. Grae Buck -- 14-12 (5) -- 12-00 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 39-09 (15) -- $10,300
24. Marshall Robinson -- 14-06 (5) -- 11-10 (5) -- 13-09 (5) -- 39-09 (15) -- $10,000
25. Michael Neal -- 11-15 (5) -- 15-13 (5) -- 11-05 (5) -- 39-01 (15) -- $10,000
26. Jacopo Gallelli -- 12-08 (5) -- 14-00 (5) -- 12-08 (5) -- 39-00 (15) -- $10,000
27. Brad Jelinek -- 13-05 (5) -- 13-02 (5) -- 12-07 (5) -- 38-14 (15) -- $10,000
28. Jason Grape -- 9-03 (5) -- 15-10 (5) -- 14-00 (5) -- 38-13 (15) -- $10,000
29. Derik Hudson -- 11-09 (5) -- 13-12 (5) -- 13-07 (5) -- 38-12 (15) -- $10,200
30. Jack Daniel Williams -- 12-11 (5) -- 14-12 (5) -- 11-02 (5) -- 38-09 (15) -- $10,000
31. Colby Schrumpf -- 13-04 (5) -- 16-03 (5) -- 8-15 (5) -- 38-06 (15) -- $8,000
32. Cole Breeden -- 13-14 (5) -- 14-00 (5) -- 10-06 (5) -- 38-04 (15) -- $8,000
33. Blake Felix -- 12-11 (5) -- 13-14 (5) -- 11-05 (5) -- 37-14 (15) -- $8,000
34. Lane Olson -- 13-01 (5) -- 13-01 (5) -- 11-12 (5) -- 37-14 (15) -- $8,000
35. Paul Elias -- 13-03 (5) -- 11-12 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 37-12 (15) -- $8,000
36. Clayton Batts -- 12-12 (5) -- 12-03 (5) -- 12-11 (5) -- 37-10 (15) -- $8,000
37. Drew Kleine -- 12-01 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 12-09 (5) -- 37-07 (15) -- $8,000
38. Frank Kitchens III -- 13-00 (5) -- 11-13 (5) -- 12-07 (5) -- 37-04 (15) -- $8,000
39. Jason Vance -- 10-13 (5) -- 14-09 (5) -- 11-12 (5) -- 37-02 (15) -- $8,000
40. Kyle Cortiana -- 13-07 (5) -- 11-10 (5) -- 11-12 (5) -- 36-13 (15) -- $8,000
41. Ethan Greene -- 10-00 (5) -- 14-15 (5) -- 11-09 (5) -- 36-08 (15) -- $8,000
42. Jesse Millsaps -- 12-03 (5) -- 14-12 (5) -- 9-07 (5) -- 36-06 (15) -- $8,000
43. Nick Lebrun -- 14-09 (5) -- 10-13 (5) -- 10-11 (5) -- 36-01 (15) -- $8,000
44. Shaw Grigsby -- 13-05 (5) -- 11-11 (5) -- 10-06 (5) -- 35-06 (15) -- $8,000
45. Cal Lane -- 14-04 (5) -- 10-12 (5) -- 10-03 (5) -- 35-03 (15) -- $8,000
46. Todd Walters -- 13-01 (5) -- 12-10 (5) -- 9-06 (5) -- 35-01 (15) -- $8,000
47. Robby Lefere -- 13-05 (5) -- 13-02 (5) -- 6-08 (3) -- 32-15 (13) -- $8,000
48. Bryan Partak -- 10-01 (5) -- 16-04 (5) -- 5-11 (2) -- 32-00 (12) -- $8,000
49. William Fletcher -- 12-08 (5) -- 15-08 (5) -- 2-12 (1) -- 30-12 (11) -- $8,000
50. Robert Nakatomi -- 11-01 (5) -- 13-15 (5) -- 2-04 (1) -- 27-04 (11) -- $8,000
The following anglers did not make the cut and did not fish on Day 3
51. Jaden Parrish -- 10-03 (5) -- 14-09 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-12 (10)
52. Cole Hewett -- 13-00 (5) -- 11-12 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-12 (10)
53. Randy Howell -- 12-15 (5) -- 11-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-12 (10)
54. Kyle Weisenburger -- 12-01 (5) -- 12-09 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-10 (10)
55. Tyler Stewart -- 12-07 (5) -- 12-02 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-09 (10)
56. Jared McMillan -- 10-03 (5) -- 14-05 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-08 (10)
57. Eric Panzironi -- 13-09 (5) -- 10-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-06 (10)
58. Kyle Schutta -- 10-15 (5) -- 13-04 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-03 (10)
59. Cody Spetz -- 13-01 (5) -- 11-02 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-03 (10)
60. Ron Nelson -- 10-13 (5) -- 13-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-00 (10)
61. Colby Miller -- 13-02 (5) -- 10-14 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-00 (10)
62. Chris Welch -- 11-15 (5) -- 12-01 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-00 (10)
63. Chad Mrazek -- 12-08 (5) -- 11-06 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-14 (10)
64. Kevin Rogers -- 12-01 (5) -- 11-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-14 (10)
65. Austin Culbertson -- 13-07 (5) -- 10-06 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-13 (10)
66. Kollin Crawford -- 10-15 (5) -- 12-14 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-13 (10)
67. Randy Despino -- 11-09 (5) -- 12-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-12 (10)
68. Andrew Behnke -- 11-04 (5) -- 12-07 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-11 (10)
69. David Boelkins -- 12-14 (5) -- 10-10 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-08 (10)
70. Joe Grafeman -- 11-06 (5) -- 12-02 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-08 (10)
71. Cody Parker -- 10-12 (5) -- 12-11 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-07 (10)
72. Keith Carson -- 10-12 (5) -- 12-09 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-05 (10)
73. Hunter Mills -- 11-10 (5) -- 11-10 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-04 (10)
74. Tom Redington -- 12-09 (5) -- 10-09 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-02 (10)
75. Chris Groh -- 11-15 (5) -- 11-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-02 (10)
76. Thomas Wooten -- 11-14 (5) -- 11-02 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-00 (10)
77. Andy Newcomb -- 14-05 (5) -- 8-10 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-15 (10)
78. Roy Hawk -- 12-05 (5) -- 10-10 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-15 (10)
79. Scotty Villines -- 12-02 (5) -- 10-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-15 (10)
80. Andrew Loberg -- 12-03 (5) -- 10-10 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-13 (10)
81. Wyatt Frankens -- 12-09 (5) -- 10-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-12 (10)
82. Richard Lowitzki -- 11-03 (5) -- 11-09 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-12 (10)
83. Braxton Setzer -- 7-01 (4) -- 15-09 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-10 (9)
84. Joe Wieberg -- 13-06 (5) -- 9-03 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-09 (9)
85. Brian Latimer -- 12-06 (5) -- 10-01 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-07 (10)
86. JD Chandler -- 11-12 (5) -- 10-11 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-07 (10)
87. Kyle Palmer -- 7-11 (3) -- 14-10 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-05 (8)
88. Kyle Glasgow -- 12-01 (5) -- 10-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-04 (10)
89. Sean Anderson -- 11-03 (5) -- 10-15 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-02 (10)
90. Bobby Bakewell -- 11-14 (5) -- 10-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-01 (10)
91. Andrew Nordbye -- 13-07 (5) -- 8-09 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-00 (10)
92. Eddie Carper -- 8-15 (4) -- 13-01 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-00 (9)
93. Hunter Eubanks -- 10-13 (5) -- 11-01 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-14 (10)
94. Spike Stoker -- 11-02 (5) -- 10-11 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-13 (10)
95. Cody Pike -- 9-06 (5) -- 12-05 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-11 (10)
96. J Todd Tucker -- 8-12 (5) -- 12-11 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-07 (10)
97. Marty Robinson -- 11-04 (5) -- 10-00 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-04 (10)
98. Kyle Hall -- 6-13 (4) -- 14-06 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-03 (9)
99. Rusty Salewske -- 12-11 (5) -- 8-08 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-03 (9)
100. Ramie Colson Jr -- 12-00 (5) -- 9-00 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-00 (9)
101. Freddy Palmer -- 9-10 (4) -- 11-06 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-00 (9)
102. Christian Greico -- 11-11 (5) -- 9-04 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-15 (10)
103. Danny L. Shanz -- 9-14 (5) -- 10-14 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-12 (10)
104. Laker Howell -- 12-03 (5) -- 8-07 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-10 (9)
105. Jeremy Southerly -- 6-13 (4) -- 13-12 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-09 (9)
106. Blake Hall -- 7-00 (3) -- 13-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-03 (8)
107. B J Miller -- 14-05 (5) -- 5-10 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-15 (8)
108. Jordan Collom -- 10-09 (5) -- 9-03 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-12 (9)
109. Joshua Weaver -- 10-08 (5) -- 9-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-11 (10)
110. Kyle Minke -- 4-15 (3) -- 14-11 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-10 (8)
111. Matt Greenblatt -- 8-09 (3) -- 10-14 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-07 (8)
112. Jim Moynagh -- 9-02 (5) -- 10-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-05 (10)
113. Cody Bird -- 7-03 (4) -- 12-00 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-03 (9)
114. David Walker -- 8-14 (4) -- 10-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-01 (9)
115. Tai Au -- 10-00 (5) -- 9-00 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-00 (10)
116. Pete Ponds -- 10-06 (5) -- 8-07 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 18-13 (10)
117. Michael Harlin -- 10-04 (5) -- 8-06 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 18-10 (10)
118. Travis Harriman -- 11-11 (5) -- 6-08 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 18-03 (8)
119. Martin Villa -- 7-02 (4) -- 10-15 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 18-01 (9)
120. Rick Chenoweth -- 6-13 (4) -- 10-10 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 17-07 (9)
121. Terry Olinger -- 11-08 (5) -- 5-14 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 17-06 (8)
122. Drew Boggs -- 6-06 (3) -- 10-09 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 16-15 (8)
123. Mark Fisher -- 5-03 (3) -- 11-10 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 16-13 (8)
124. Charles Abshire -- 6-03 (2) -- 9-14 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 16-01 (6)
125. Fred Roumbanis -- 6-05 (3) -- 9-09 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 15-14 (8)
126. Terry Luedtke -- 10-01 (4) -- 5-11 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 15-12 (7)
127. Mark Kershaw -- 10-01 (5) -- 4-12 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 14-13 (7)
128. Phillip Dutra -- 10-11 (5) -- 4-01 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 14-12 (7)
129. Elijah Meyers -- 7-08 (4) -- 7-01 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 14-09 (8)
130. John Voyles -- 8-12 (4) -- 5-09 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 14-05 (7)
131. Rod MacKinnon III -- 6-00 (2) -- 7-14 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 13-14 (5)
132. Cole Harris -- 3-04 (2) -- 10-05 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 13-09 (7)
133. Ricky Robinson -- 13-02 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 13-02 (5)
134. Keith Poche -- 11-14 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 11-14 (5)
135. Jimmy Reese -- 11-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 11-13 (5)
136. Troy Stokes -- 9-05 (5) -- 2-01 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 11-06 (6)
137. Robby Frashier -- 11-02 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 11-02 (5)
138. Brock Reinkemeyer -- 11-00 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 11-00 (5)
139. Cameron Mattison -- 7-03 (4) -- 3-09 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 10-12 (6)
140. Cody Petit -- 0-00 (0) -- 10-11 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 10-11 (5)
141. Connor Cunningham -- 8-06 (5) -- 1-14 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 10-04 (6)
142. Charlie Evans -- 5-07 (3) -- 4-09 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 10-00 (5)
143. Tim Tyson -- 3-15 (2) -- 4-03 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 8-02 (4)
144. Ryan Armstrong -- 4-01 (2) -- 2-10 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 6-11 (3)
145. Nick Hargis -- 6-03 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 6-03 (3)
146. Mike Smola -- 1-09 (1) -- 3-06 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 4-15 (2)
147. Bob Behrle -- 3-15 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 3-15 (2)
148. John-Dalton Miller -- 0-00 (0) -- 1-14 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 1-14 (1)
Bruce Parsons -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)
Ron Farrow -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)
