By MLF Communications


LA CROSSE, Wis. – Heading into the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Championship, Steve Lopez was considered among the pre-tournament favorites at the Upper Mississippi River.

After posting a third straight stringer in excess of 16 pounds, he went from favorite to champion on Sunday.

The Oconomowoc, Wis., native delivered 16-10 on day 3 to move up from fourth place and claim his first Major League Fishing victory, which netted him $100,000 and berth in REDCREST 2026.



Lopez, who tallied 16-02 on Day 1 and 16-03 on Day 2, finished with 48-15 total and overtake Alex Davis and Banks Shaw, who occupied the top two spots, respectively, over the first two days.

Back in 2023, Lopez finished second in the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals event at the Mississippi River. He ran a remarkably similar game plan then, mostly plying a wacky rig on eelgrass holes and edges, a similar pattern to what winner Matt Stefan followed.

“In practice, they were really eating the frog," Lopez said. "I found some fish that were really special. I was looking at the weather, and I prepared for the tournament and the weather. The water was supposed to drop, and I had a feeling with the wind and the weather I had to figure out something other than that.

“I felt 50 pounds would have a shot to win this tournament,” he added. “I had a plan Day 1 to go out and blast 20 pounds, but after that happened, I thought if I could go out and catch all 3-pounders or 3 1/4-pounders, I could have a shot to win this thing. I know how the river gets on Day 2 – the weights tend to compress – and if you’re consistent on this river, you usually win the tournament.”

While Lopez weighed three frog fish on Day 1, he rapidly and successfully transitioned to eelgrass edges.

“I was fishing eelgrass lines and little pockets in them as my second, third, fifth stuff, and that turned into my primary pattern,” he explained. “I had a good six or seven spots I thought I could rotate through and catch a 3-pounder, or a few of them. It’s just an edge where it drops off, and they can ambush. There’s probably thousands of fish inside that you don’t even touch.”

On Day 3, Lopez waylaid bass on topwater and a wacky rig, with some fish schooling on the grass lines as well. It was the kind of final day beatdown every angler dreams about.

“The wind was crazy on Day 1, and partially on Day 2 as well,” he said. “But it gave me a little letdown on Day 2 – for about 45 minutes it slicked off, and I caught a bunch of fish. Today, when I got through the lock and saw it was flat calm, I had a good feeling.”

On the week, Lopez caught his fish on a wacky-rigged Gambler Ace, a Strike King Sexy Dawg and a Gambler Walking Frog. For the wacky rig, he used a 6-foot, 10-inch, medium-heavy Duckett Black Ice spinning stick. For his walking bait, he stuck with a 7-3, medium-heavy Duckett Jacob Wheeler Series model, and he used a 7-7, heavy Duckett Jacob Wheeler Series stick for the frog.

In 51 tournaments with MLF, Lopez has banked eight Top-10 finishes, with two of them being runner-up showings, both in big-time events. This winter, he finished second at Okeechobee in a Toyota Series, and then in ’23 he finished second in the Invitationals event here.

“It’s really special to win it in Wisconsin, to win it here on my favorite body of water to fish,” he said. “I’ve fished this place like 10 times in my life. I’ve got good fishing back home, but I just jive with it. I really enjoy this place, and it’s special to win. I don’t really think it’s sunk in yet at all.”

Shaw wound up second with 47-10 to cap off an incredible season that saw him capture the Rookie of the Year award and the Angler of the Year title to go with his win at the Pickwick Lake. He recorded top-10 finishes in all seven events. Colby Miller finished third with 46-13 with Jimmy Washam (45-15) and Chad Mrazek (44-0) rounding out the top 5. Davis, meanwhile, weighed in three fish for 8-02 and slid to eighth.

Here's how the 10 finalists looked at the end:

1. Steve Lopez: 15, 48-15
2. Banks Shaw: 15, 47-10
3. Colby Miller: 15, 46-13
4. Jimmy Washam: 15, 45-15
5. Chad Mrazek: 15, 44-0
6. Andrew Nordbye: 15, 43-4
7. Chris Lane: 15, 42-10
8. Alex Davis: 13, 41-14
9. Jacob Walker: 15, 41-6
10. Matt Reed: 11, 31-1