BAY CITY, Mich. – The Bass Pro Tour is set to wrap up its 2025 regular season with a high-stakes showdown in Bay City, Michigan. The Toyota Stage 7 at Saginaw Bay Presented by Ranger Boatswill take place Aug. 7-10, marking the final stop of the seven-event season.

Hosted by Go Great Lake Bay and the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, the four-day event will feature 66 of the top professional anglers in the world competing for a $150,000 top prize, a share of the $6.49 million season purse, and valuable AOY points in hopes of qualifying for the MLF Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2026, the Bass Pro Tour championship.

“We are very grateful that the top professional bass anglers in the country are returning to Saginaw Bay, next week,” said Tim Shelton, Director of Sports Tourism for Go Great Lakes Bay in Michigan. “In 2023, the anglers enjoyed Bay City and felt very welcomed here. I encourage our community to come and enjoy the fun at the MLF Watch Party being held at Wenonah Park in downtown Bay City on Saturday and Sunday, August 9th and 10th.”

The tournament will feature numerous fan favorites, including reigning Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) and nine-time BPT champion Jacob Wheeler, back-to-back REDCREST 2024 and 2025 Champion Dustin Connell, Ott DeFoe, Skeet Reese – competing in the final regular-season tournament of his historic career – and Matt Becker, who won when the BPT last visited Saginaw Bay in 2023. The tournament will feature the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, in which anglers 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 Discovery.

Although this marks just the second time the BPT has visited Saginaw Bay, the fishery already holds legendary status among MLF fans. In 2023, rookie sensation Matt Becker delivered one of the most exciting finishes in BPT history, staging a dramatic final-day comeback to win both the tournament and the season-long Angler of the Year title. Becker landed the event’s biggest bag – a 22-pound, 11-ounce limit of smallmouth – and dialed in a pattern switching between largemouth and smallmouth near the Charity Islands.

“I’m excited to get back there, but this one’s going to fish way different than it did in 2023,” Becker said. “When we were here in 2023, we competed under the five-fish format. Now, with the format being every fish counts, I think we’re going to see a lot more largemouth bass in play. Just the sheer numbers of largemouth out there – they’re going to be a huge factor.”

Becker noted that while smallmouth remain a threat, especially near the Charity Islands and other offshore structure, the challenge of targeting them without forward-facing sonar during two of the three daily periods could limit their impact.

“Guys might be able to mix in some smallmouth early during the forward-facing sonar period,” he said. “But unless you’re close to largemouth water, it’s going to be tough to run back and forth and stay competitive. If someone can find both species in the same area, that’s going to be huge.”

In addition to the strategic challenges of species management and format adaptation, Becker pointed to weather as the ultimate wild card on the Great Lakes. Wind, waves and accessibility could significantly impact how and where the pros fish throughout the event.

“Anytime you go to the Great Lakes, the weather is the ultimate factor,” he said. “Wind can shut down areas completely. Where and how guys can fish will change fast, so being able to adjust on the fly is going to be really important.”

As for what baits fans can expect to see on deck, Becker said his rotation will include a frog, a swimjig, and a handful of flipping options like a Yamamoto Senko, Flappin’ Hog, and the new Yama Bug. For smallmouth, Becker said the Yamamoto Hinge Minnow will be key when the opportunity arises.

“I think we’re going to see quite a few guys catch 20 to 30 scorable bass a day,” Becker said. “It’s going to be exciting – a lot of fish-catching, and the potential for some serious fireworks.”

Anglers will arrive each morning at 5:15 a.m. ET to the Golson Boat Launch, located at 1598 N. Johnson St. in Bay City, Michigan. The Bass Pro Tour trailering policy has been enacted for this event, so anglers will depart the Golson Boat Launch each morning at 6:15 a.m. to one of nine optional launch ramps located around the fishery. Anglers will return to the Golson Boat Launch each evening, following the end of competition at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW! livestream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

On Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 9-10, from 3-6 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to visit Wenonah Park at 103 Center Ave., in Bay City for the MLF Fan Experience & Watch Party. Fans can watch the pros live on the MLFNOW! big screen, enjoy free food, enter to win hourly giveaways, listen to live music and cheer on their favorite pros. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel each day. The event also includes a youth fishing derby and a casting contest.

The Toyota Stage 7 at Saginaw Bay Presented by Ranger Boats will feature anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The 2025 Bass Pro Tour features a field of 66 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2026 championship.

The full field of anglers will compete in the two-day Qualifying Round on Thursday and Friday. After the two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the pro with the heaviest two-day total will advance directly to Sunday’s Championship Round. Anglers that finish second through 20th will advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining anglers compete to finish in the top nine to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. In the final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $150,000.

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on all four days of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! will be livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

Television coverage of Toyota Stage 7 at Saginaw Bay Presented by Ranger Boats will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Nov. 15 on Discovery. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.

Proud sponsors of the MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing Co., Bass Force, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sport Apparel, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, NITRO Boats, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Star brite, Suzuki Marine, Toyota and Zenni.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagramand YouTube.