Keith Carson Wins MLF TW Invitational Stop 6

Alex Morrison ended his rookie season in almost the best way possible - locking up Angler of the Year and Rookie of the Year. "I feel great; I've had a day to reflect on everything now," Morrison said. "It wasn't the initial goal going into the year, but it became that. It was something I knew was attainable, but I knew it was going to be really hard. Overall, it's amazing. I'm really glad to have this kind of success with my first year at this level, and it's pushing me to want to do even better the rest of this year and next year." Morrison fished St. Clair along the shipping channel and in Canada, throwing a Beast Coast O.W. Sniper jig in 3/8 or 1/4-ounce sizes depending on depth. In deeper areas, He utalized the 3/8-ounce model on a Millerods SpinFreak. The 1/4-ounce set up with a Millerods BassFreak was his choice when fishing shallow. "That's what I caught most of my biggest ones on," Morrison said of the jig. "It was one for one area and one for the other. One area, I was fishing in 20- to 21-foot, and I had a shallower area that was like 17- to 18-foot. Both places I wasn't around any of the taller, thicker grass; the best sections were the really short sand grass in really clean areas."

Thanks to his ability to bring in big bags consistently, Adrian Avena had a good shot at the big prize on the final day. Avena spent most of his time on Anchor bay throwing a 3/16-ounce finesse jig with either a piece of Berkley PowerBait MaxScent The General or a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Lil' General. A 4-inch Berkley PowerBait Drip Minnow in HD emerald shiner on a 1/8-ounce Berkley Fusion19 Hybrid Jighead also performed well for him. Adrian kept to his a 7-foot Abu Garcia Fantasista X spinning rod, an Abu Garcia Revo Rocket SP30, 8-pound Berkley X9 braid and an 8-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon leader set up. "It seemed like once you got around one, you were around a few more," Avena said. "I wasn't fishing in the crowds. I was probably doing something similar to what Carson did, and maybe fishing a little shallower, too - I was fishing 8 to 12 feet. If you got around some sand, they were a little easier to see there, but I caught a bunch out of the grass, too."

Using his screen reading skills, Kyle Hall was able to smash them on Lake St. Clair, landing him in 4th place. Hall used a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Jerk Shad both on a jighead and weightless as well as a wacky-rigged Berkley PowerBait MaxScent The General on Anchor Bay. LiveScoping for shallow, surface dwelling bass, Hall was actually able to see some of them bite weightless baits with his eyes after finding them on 'Scope.

Jon Canada was able to put himself in 5th place his usual way, putting in the time behind his screens. A 5-inch Deps Sakamata Shad was his key bait, he threw it on either an Owner Range Roller or a Northland Tackle Smeltinator Elite Series Jig depending on the situation. Canada went with a 3000 Daiwa Exist on a 6-foot, 10-inch Shimano Expride rod with 10-pound YGK braid and a matching Seaguar Tatsu leader. "Sometimes they would be around little sections of sand with whatever that grass is," Canada said. "Sometimes it was just bait. Most of it was sand places, and really, it was current, and it would change every day depending on where the wind was."

Veteran pro, Nick LeBrun also camped out in Anchor Bay. LeBrun chose to stick to two main presentations. Nick used a 5-inch Yamamoto Shad Shape Floater threaded on a 1/0 Hayabusa FPP Straight hook with a 1/2-ounce Elite Tungsten weight for his drop shot set up. He used a 7-foot, 3-inch medium light + Temple Fork Outfitters Resolve Series spinning stick with 12-pound Sunline SX1 and an 8-pound Sunline Sniper leader. "It was mainly about rotating the drop-shot or the minnow; sometimes fish would want one or the other," he said.

Jaden Parrish was able to earn a top 10 finish and wrapped up a Bass Pro Tour qualification all at the same time. By spending his time in Anchor Bay and the main lake, Parrish was able to up catching most of his fish on a 5/16-ounce 6th Sense Divine Ball Head Finesse Jig in green pumpkin with a Z-Man Finesse TRD as a trailer. He favored a 7-foot, 5-inch Pride Rods "Scopin' Time" spinning rod. "My deal this week was a two-prong approach," he said. "I started in Anchor Bay but left there and fished out near the shipping channel and targeted taller patches of grass. Day 3, I solely caught my weight near the shipping channel."

Johnston used his extensive small mouth knowledge to secure an 8th place finish. Making runs to St. Clair every day and a 23-pound bag on day 2 helped him get the job done. A 6th Sense Party Minnow was Corey's bait of choice. A bait he designed, the Party Minnow was made to work well on a drop-shot, and that's exactly how he fished it all week.

Earning checks at every event this season, Jack Daniel Williams was able to crack the top 10 at the last even of the season. "I found a little place in practice out of the way with grass spots and sand spots, and I ended up catching most of my weight there," Williams said. "It was just grass and little bare spots. In the morning they were down in the grass, and when the sun got up they got up above it, and you could see them a lot better." Williams selected a drop-shot with a Damiki Armor Shad and a 3/8-ounce weight as well as a 3/8-ounce Missile Jigs Ike's Micro Football Jig with a Strike King Rage Ned Bug. His line of choice was 22-pound Sunline Almight with a 12-pound leader. He used homemade rods built by his buddy, Chris Davenport.

Robby Lefere might have started the season off with a rocky entry, he was able to finish the season strong on his home waters. "I made the run to St. Clair," Lefere said. "I had four or five different areas, a little out by the shipping channel and a little out by the Mile Roads. I'd roll through an area, and if they were off the bottom chasing, I'd stay, and if I didn't see that, I'd move on." His primary set up was a drop-shot with a Strike King Baby Z-Too and a 3/8- or 1/2-ounce weight, he also mixed in a 5-inch Strike King Z-Too on a 1/4ounce ball head. He favored a 7-foot Team Lew's Signature Series rod with a Lew's Custom Lite Series reel.