Having twice previously qualified to represent Canada at the MLF Toyota Series Championship in the US via the International Division, I consider it one of my favorite tournament experiences. This event brings in anglers from all over the world. After qualifying for last year’s Championship on Table Rock Lake in Missouri, I was excited to try and qualify once again this year. MLF Canada held 2 qualifier events this year, and I competed in both.
MLF Canada Team Showdown on Cameron Lake
On July 31st, Erik Luzak and I teamed up to compete in the Team Showdown qualifier on Cameron Lake. We were fortunate to secure 2nd place as well as take the prize for big fish. This 1-day event took place on Cameron Lake in Fenelon Falls, Ontario. This was our 4th time teaming up for this qualifier, and it’s always such a memorable experience. We have been fortunate to take the win at this event twice in the past, including last year on this waterbody.
Our day began on a high note when Erik hooked into a beauty largemouth right off the hop. I wish we were recording this moment as we were SO pumped and even shaking after that fish made it into the boat! We picked up our 5 fish limit early in the day and were feeling optimistic, but knew we needed to upgrade quite a bit to be within striking distance. We covered a lot of water and caught both largemouth and smallmouth using a few different techniques, including: 4-5” wacky-rigged Senkos/stickbaits, flipping jigs, and hollow body frogs. We made several upgrades throughout the day and thought we were sitting around 14-15 pounds heading to the scales. We hadn’t weighed Erik’s big largie so it was exciting to see it take the lead for big fish of the event at 5.90 pounds!
We finished with 16.16 pounds, securing second place behind the leading weight of 17.50 pounds. Congratulations to Derek Meloche and Bill Walker who took the win and qualified for the Championship! We fell short of qualifying through this event, but there was one more shot at the MLF Canadian Open on Lake Simcoe which was held just a few days later.
MLF Canadian Open on Lake Simcoe
The MLF Canadian Open Pro/AM was held August 3 & 4 on Lake Simcoe out of Beaverton, Ontario. The top 2 finishing anglers on both the Pro and Am side would qualify for the Championship. I jumped in as an Am to compete for a co-angler spot.
Day 1: I was paired with Evan Kung, who I was fortunate to have met and shared accommodations with at last year’s championship. Evan is an incredible angler, and such a kind person. My second cast of the day yielded our first fish, a 5.20-pounder caught on a Ned rig (the Z-Man TicklerZ in Green Pumpkin on a Z-Man NedlockZ HD Jighead). Talk about a heck of an exciting start to what would be a great day on this incredible fishery! We ended up bringing in 27.04-pounds, which put us each in 4th place going into the second and final day.
Day 2: I was paired with Austin Coady, another talented young angler who was a joy to fish with. We picked up our 5-fish limit by mid-morning, and spent the remainder of the day upgrading. The Ned rig came into play once again for me, however this time I was using the Z-Man Finesse TRD 2.75″ in Green Pumpkin Goby. We got to lean on ‘em good! We didn’t weigh our fish, so I really wasn’t sure what we were at heading to the scales.
We ended up with 26.36-pounds which propelled me into the lead on the Am side. My 2-day total of 53.4-pounds held up for the remainder of the weigh-in and took home 1st on the Am side! I am SO thrilled to be heading to Wheeler Lake in Alabama this November for the Championship!
Amazingly, my friend Erik Luzak finished in 1st place on the Pro side and we will once again both be representing Canada, even though we didn’t fish together this time. I look forward to getting to know the rest of my Canadian teammates. There are 6 of us in total that will be making this trip. We’re in for a memorable adventure this November when we head to the MLF Toyota Series Championship held on Wheeler Lake in Alabama!
Thank you to MLF Canada for hosting these amazing events, my partners for their support, Evan and Austin for such a fun 2 days, and to Eric and Blitz who came down this weekend to cheer me on! I’m incredibly grateful! 
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