Steve Lopez Wins MLF TW Invitational Championship

Shaw used a mix of spinning rod tactics for smallmouth, a Rapala CrushCity Freeloader got the call most often paired with a 1/8-ounce head. Shaw also used a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper on a 1/8-ounce buzzbait when he was targeting largemouth.

Flipping in Pool 7 was the ticket for the good times, and Colby got it done with a simple setup. To catch 'em, Miller used a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Stank Bug, a 1 1/4-ounce Epic Baits weight, a 768 Edge Rods EFX Pro, an 8.3:1 Abu Garcia Zenon X and 65-pound SpiderWire DuraBraid.

Mixing topwater smallmouth in the Black River with largemouth on a frog and more, Washam did a variety of things. For his frog, he used 7-7 heavy and 7-3 extra heavy Hammer Elite Series rods. He also used a BassMooch Z Dog with a 7-3, medium-heavy Hammer Elite Series cranking rod and a BassMooch Little Bear Worm on a 3/16-ounce shaky head on a 7-foot, medium-heavy Hammer Elite Series spinning rod. He used Bates reels across the board.

Mrazek's go-to bait was a freshwater 6th Sense Shindo Shad on a 1/8-ounce head thrown with a 7-foot, medium, 6th Sense Response rod. He also caught plenty of fish on a 1/6-ounce Neko worm using a 2/0 hook and a 5.3-inch 6th Sense Bamboosa Worm.

On the 'Scope side of things, Nordbye used a 5-inch Strike King Z-Too in smokey shad on a 3/16-ounce Valor Baits Targeting Jig. For flipping, he used a Strike King Rodent with a 1/4-ounce weight. He also used an umbrella rig with 3.75-inch Strike King Rage Swimmers and 3/8-ounce Strike King Tour Grade Rage SwimminĠ Heads, a Strike King Sexy Frog and a Strike King J300 Deep Sinking Jerkbait.

Lane's bait of choice was a Craw with a 1-ounce Tungsten Flippin' Weight and an unreleased flipping hook. He used 50-pound braid, an 8.3:1 reel and a 7-6 casting rod.

Alex put together some explosive flurries with a frog. For his frog, he used a SPRO Bronzeye 65 in natural red on a 7-3, extra-heavy Shimano Curado rod with a Shimano Curado 200 XG reel and 65-pound PowerPro.

Walker's baits of choice were a Megabass Ito Shiner in waginhasu 2 and a Reaction Innovations Vixen custom painted by Mark Restivo in silver flitter shad pattern.

Most of Reed's damage came on a 3.3-inch swimbait, and his second-best bait was a fluke-style bait rigged with a treble hook on a line-thru rig. He used Sawgrass Rods, Fluorocarbon and casting reels.