Flw Podcast

Matt Stefan stops by for a discussion about his reasoning behind fishing the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals in 2023, the exciting schedule and a few rule tweaks. Plus, he talks about practice, losing fish, his new bait company and a lot more.

Marty Stone joins Jody for a recap of the great seasons from Jacob Wheeler and Michael Neal, and a general look back at the 2022 season. The two also discuss the current youth movement, the strength of this Bass Pro Tour field and Kevin VanDam's perch as the all-time best. Then, they dig into some of the format changes for the 2023 season and wrap up with a look at Stone's new coaching venture.

Polaris Rookie of the Year Nick Hatfield joins the show to discuss his extremely successful season. In addition to a season recap, Hatfield talks about what he learned in his first year as a pro and what is on the docket for 2023.

A high-level tournament competitor and winner of this summer's Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit event on Lake Champlain, Kyle Hall also caught the second-biggest bass in Texas in 2022. So, with a little smallmouth talk mixed in, Hall goes in-depth on forward-facing sonar, big fish behavior, the ShareLunker program and a lot more about giant Texas largemouth.

Turning in a wire-to-wire performance, Josh Bertrand beat out Spencer Shuffield to win the WON BASS U.S. Open on Lake Mohave. The most important tournament in the west, the U.S. Open is a milestone win for Bertrand and the second major victory of his career. Along with a little history of the tournament, Bertrand explains the lake in great detail and dives into his pattern and how it changed throughout the event. Plus, he recaps the finish to his Bass Pro Tour season at Mille Lacs.

Having retired this winter after working in many capacities for Operation Bass, FLW and MLF since 1989, Bill Taylor is a fount of information about bass fishing tournaments. In this conversation, Taylor talks about his early life, his introduction to bass fishing, buying crankbaits for $1.98 and plenty of tournament and career subjects as well.

Headed to the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals in 2023, Derik Hudson won the Angler of the Year title in the Toyota Series Central Division this season. Fishing against huge fields, the Virginian made three cuts along the way and nearly won the season-opener at Guntersville. Get to know Hudson a little more and learn about his quest to reach the top.

Hot off a win at the Toyota Series event on the St. Lawrence River, Spike Stoker joined the show for a rundown of his success. Stoker dishes some slick Carolina rig tips, plus dives into how a long practice helped him develop a game plan and learn northern fishing.

Bass Pro Tour pro Josh Bertrand swings through mid-tournament for an in-depth look at his success and struggles on Mille Lacs. Plus, he talks about making it as a pro from the west, drop-shots, cranking, podcasts and fantasy sports.

Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American champion Connor Cunningham swings by for a belated, but in-depth recap of his win. The Missouri angler also goes into detail on his Berkley Choppo and River2Sea Whopper Plopper system and even previews the upcoming Toyota Series event on Truman Lake.

A selection of top finishers join the show to break down the Tackle Warehouse TITLE on the St. Lawrence River. First, Josh Bragg goes over his up-and-down event. Then, Dakota Ebare recaps second place (as usual) and gives up the goods on surviving long runs. Next, Andrew Loberg gives us the California perspective and shares what he learned after the event. Then, Jacob Wall talks through his near-win based out of Massena and Ogdensburg. Finally, Knockout Round winner Kurt Mitchell takes us through his newly discovered St. Lawrence pattern.

Spencer Shuffield stops in to cover his win at the Tackle Warehouse TITLE in-depth, his multiple journeys to the top level of bass fishing, how to become a pro angler and a fair bit more. Plus, he details his drop-shot setup from hook to rod and talks smallmouth.

Jody is joined by Marty Stone to run through a pile of tournament news, spanning from the REDCREST IV announcement to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit presented by Fuel Me Angler of the Year race. Listen in for a rundown of the AOY race, the Polaris Rookie of the Year race, thoughts on Randall Tharp’s weird season and a lot more.

Pennsylvania angler Jonathan Dietz took on the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. Central Division in 2022 and came through with flying colors, finishing third in the points and qualifying for the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit. So, Dietz breaks down the year that was, plus how he’s approached a career in fishing, his fly fishing days, early heartbreak in the Northern Division and a lot more.

After finishing 25th at the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Fuel Me event on the James River, Josh Butler has moved into the lead for Angler of the Year. That being the case, we caught up with the sophomore pro for a deep dive into his come up, his golf game and the spectacular season he’s in the midst of.

Sitting third in the points on the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit, John Hunter is in the midst of one of his best fishing seasons ever. So, the Kentucky pro joined the show to break his success down, go deep on one of his confidence baits and tell us about a new business venture.

Kyle and Jody run through as much recent tournament news as they can get to in an hour. First up is the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit event at Lake Guntersville for a full discussion of Nick LeBrun’s win and the patterns at play as well as a full breakdown of the Angler of the Year race and the Polaris Rookie of the Year race. Then, the Toyota Series event at the Harris Chain gets the full treatment, as well as a pile of recent Phoenix Bass Fishing League events.

Kyle and Jody recap the two abbreviated Toyota Series events from the weekend, some BFL action and talk fishing.

Jack Daniel Williams crushed with forward-facing sonar to win the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. Central Division event on Dale Hollow Lake. After beating out a giant field and a ton of local talent, Williams stops by the pod to talk about how it came to be and go in-depth on his techniques.

Newly minted Abu Garcia College Fishing National Champions Kaden Proffitt and Cason Ragsdale of East Texas Baptist University lead off the show for a full breakdown of the big win on Fort Gibson Lake. Then, Kyle and Jody run through all the tournament news that’s fit to print and talk about the return of spring fishing.