With a new year, comes new things…
For the Champions Tour, we will be visiting some new lakes and going to the Mississippi River for the first time!
And they’ll be some new faces on the Champions Tour, along with the return of an angler who has had success during the first two season of the Champions Tour.
Brad Leifermann fished the Champions Tour during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, qualified for the Championship each of those years and has earned over $5,000 with the Champions Tour. Brad will be back fishing all four of the Champions Tour events in 2019 and we couldn’t me more excited to have him back.
“The Champions Tour is best thing that we have in the Midwest, in terms of exposure and the potential if offers the angler,” said Brad. “I can’t wait, this is the most excited I’ve ever been heading into a new tournament season and am ready to start the Champions Tour season next June.”
So far, the Champions Tour will have these new angler’s competing:
Thor Swanson –
Thor is a 23-year-old angler who compiled a very strong collegiate fishing resume while he competed for the Beavers of Bemidji State University. Swanson was a three-time Bassmaster College National Championship Qualifier and a two-time FLW College National Championship Qualifier. Thor also competed as a Pro Angler in Bassmaster Opens Central division in 2019 and had a 15th place finish on Smith Lake.
“I’m excited to compete against the best anglers in the Midwest on the biggest tournament platform in the upper Midwest. I’ve never competed in this format but am excited for the change and the 2020 season.”
Mike Dove –
Mike (Chief) Dove resides in Brownsburg, Indiana and is a lifelong angler who is a veteran of the U.S Navy and in 2017 retired as a Chief of Police. During his career in Law Enforcement, Chief Dove served 27 years with the Brownsburg Police Department. He is also the founder of the Hero Getaway, a yearly event that takes place at the Garrison’s Resort in Shevlin Minnesota. Dove has competed on both the Bassmaster Open and FLW Costa Series events and has experience in the catch, weigh, release style events as he competed in the Indy League Fishing (ILF).
“I am excited for the opportunity to fish the Champions Tour, especially because of the exciting and challenging format, it offers,” said Dove. “I cannot wait to fish against and meet with some of the top anglers from the Midwest and fish on some of the best bass waters this country has to offer.”
