MASSENA – Major League Fishing’s (MLF) Bass Pro Tour is set to visit Massena, New York, and the St. Lawrence River, next week, June 25-30, for the General Tire Stage Five Presented by Berkley at the St. Lawrence River.

The six-day event, hosted by the Town of Massena and Fish Massena, will feature 80 of the best professional anglers in the world, including bass-fishing superstars like Kevin VanDam, Edwin Evers, Jordan Lee and Jacob Wheeler , fishing for a purse of more than $805,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable points in hopes of qualifying for REDCREST 2022, the Bass Pro Tour championship.

The tournament will be fished using MLF’s catch, weigh, immediate-release format, in which the anglers try to catch as much weight as they can each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard. The tournament is being filmed for broadcast later this year on the Discovery Channel.

Although Massena and the St. Lawrence River has played host to one MLF Toyota Series tournament (2019), this event will mark the first time that the Bass Pro Tour has visited Massena and the St. Lawrence River. In the 2018 Toyota Series event, just two Bass Pro Tour anglers competed in that tournament – North Carolina’s Bryan Thrift, who finished 10th, and New Jersey’s Adrian Avena, who finished 12th.

“This is going to be such a fun event – the St. Lawrence River is just a phenomenal fishery and it is loaded with a ton of bass in it,” said Avena, who has one career REDCREST appearance and more than $640,000 in career earnings. “The biggest thing about this event is that we’re going to see a lot of spawning smallmouth. I imagine we’ll see a lot of guys sight-fishing shallow, looking for bass on the beds."

As part of the event fans will also be treated to multiple community events throughout the week, hosted by Fish Massena. On Thursday, June 24, a Kick-off Concert in the Park featuring Northbound will take place at 6 p.m. at Massena Springs Park. A Kid’s Fishing Derby with local area youth fishing alongside Bass Pro Tour anglers will take place on Saturday, June 26, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Fobare’s Pond (Sandy Beach) on Coles Creek Road in Massena.

On Sunday, June 27, the Town of Massena will join the anglers at the Massena Intake Ramp for Fishin’ Church, hosted by Bass Pro Tour anglers Mark Rose and Edwin Evers along with Judy Van Kennan, Chaplain for the Massena Fire Department. A free breakfast will be provided. Also on Sunday, Louisville, New York, will host a VIP Golf Course Event featuring multiple Bass Pro Tour anglers from noon to 3 p.m. at The River Course at Louisville Landing. All activities are free and open to the public. For more information on the Stage Five Community Events hosted by Fish Massena, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Anglers will take off from the Massena Intake Boat Launch Ramp, located on Route 13, in Massena, at 9 a.m. ET each day of competition. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will also be held at the Launch Ramp, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies.

Television coverage of the General Tire Stage Five Presented by Berkley at the St. Lawrence River will be showcased across two two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 a.m. ET, Oct. 23 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel.

For updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.