‘Unique circumstances’ see seven anglers miss Bass Pro Tour event

Seven top anglers are missing from Major League Fishing’s Bass Pro Tour event starting today at Lake Champlain, New York.

An MLF statement says the anglers will not take part in stage six of the competition due to ‘some unique circumstances’. No further explanation has been given for the absence of Randy Howell, Anthony Gagliardi, Chris Lane, Luke Clausen (pictured), Fletcher Shryock, Dustin Connell and Mark Daniels Jr.

The statement, from Don Rucks, Executive Vice President and General Manager of MLF, goes on to say: “Due to privacy protocols, we are unable to divulge the exact reasoning for each angler’s absence. We do look forward to welcoming all of them back for the upcoming Carparts.com Stage Seven at Lake St. Clair on September 10th to 15th.”

As a result of the situation, the MLF has decided to allow each angler to drop one event from this year.

The 2021 season will finish with the current points system and the Angler of the Year will be crowned. After that, each angler will drop one 2021 Bass Pro Tour event of his choosing. Then a new 2021 points structure based on each angler’s remaining six events will be used for re-qualification, REDCREST 2022 qualification and the 2022 General Tire Heavy Hitters event qualification.

One angler who will be competing on Lake Champlain is Aaron Martens, who returns to competition after suffering ill health.