The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is excited about the return of Major League Fishing (MLF) to Louisiana. MLF will be hosting their General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event on Caney Lake April 24-28, 2023, in Jackson Parish and on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Bussey Brake Reservoir near Bastrop in Morehouse Parish. The anglers will fish five days on Caney Lake, where the field will be cut down to the top 10 anglers who will then fish for the championship at Bussey Brake. The winner of the event will earn $100,000, and the angler catching the biggest bass will also win $100,000.
LDWF wants to make potential spectators aware of a few details ahead of this exciting week-long event. The Spillway Launch on Caney Lake will serve as the staging area for MLF and will therefore be closed for public use during the event. Boaters are encouraged to utilize the other public ramps around the lake.
While Bussey Brake Wildlife Management Area will remain open to the public during the event, the single launch site will be very busy on the morning of April 29 while the tournament anglers launch their boats and make preparations. We encourage other Bussey anglers to plan accordingly to avoid congestion at the ramp during this busy launch time, if possible. A televised awards ceremony will be held at the Bussey Brake WMA at the north parking lot (April 29 at approximately 4 p.m.) following the event. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Officials with MLF are eager to bring a tournament back to North Louisiana, which produced some record catches during the Stage One event of the MLF Bass Pro Tour held in February 2022. Randy Howell caught the biggest bass ever caught in a MLF Bass Pro Tour tournament from the newly renovated Bussey Brake with a 12-pound, 14-ounce lunker. Jacob Wheeler, the reigning 2021 and 2022 Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year, said he had “the best day of bass fishing I have ever had as a professional angler, right here on Caney Lake.”
For more information on the tournament, visit the MLF website: Bass Pro Tour - Major League Fishing.