DeFoe, Montgomery win another match, punch tickets to Heritage Cup Championship Round

Ott DeFoe and Andy Montgomery of Team REDCON1 had to work for it, but they're on to the Championship Round after winning the first Knockout Round match with 18 bass weighing 27-14. Photo by Phoenix Moore. Anglers: Ott DeFoe, Andy Montgomery.

September 18, 2024 • Joe Opager • General Tire Team Series

NEENAH, Wis. — The start of the Knockout Round at the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley saw the three competing teams take on a new body of water Wednesday in Lake Butte des Morts. The result was more of the same — another tight, dramatic race to stave off elimination from this General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops event.

Ott DeFoe and Andy Montgomery of Team REDCON1 finished atop SCORETRACKER® with 27 pounds, 14 ounces on 18 scorable bass. Meanwhile, the Team Knighten Industries duo of Keith Poche and Kelly Jordon once again pulled off a late rally to jump across the cut line and edge Team WIX Filters (David Dudley and Dave Lefebre) by 3-7.

Poche and Jordon, who boated 13 bass weighing 22-13, will advance to Friday’s Championship Round alongside DeFoe and Montgomery. Dudley and Lefebre, who totaled 19-6 on 11 fish, were eliminated from competition.

Slow and steady does it for Team REDCON1

Wednesday’s match marked the second time in as many days on the water this week that DeFoe and Montgomery have finished the day in first place. However, this felt quite a bit different than the Elimination Round, when the duo stacked nearly 54 pounds on SCORETRACKER® from Lakes Poygan and Winneconne.

The duo never could find a flurry like the one that produced 13 bass in about 40 minutes during the Elimination Round. However, their ability to steadily generate bites throughout the day proved key, and they spent the entire third period atop the leaderboard.

“It was a hard day of fishing, no doubt,” DeFoe said. “We had to battle, and we ended up catching 18 – just over half of what we caught the other day. It was tough. But we made it to the Championship Round, and that is such a good feeling.”

“We had to work for every dang fish we caught,” Montgomery quipped. “We had 18 fish, but we made 180,000 casts today.”

Team REDCON1 started the day fishing cane grass, mixing it up and throwing a hodgepodge of lures. DeFoe, who led the way with 11 bass for 15-2, weighed in scorable fish on five different baits, the majority coming on a stickworm, while Montgomery caught them mainly flipping a jig.

“At the end of the day, we came back and were fishing some of the little grass mats back in a canal,” DeFoe said. “It just looked like it would have a good population of fish in it. Andy and I talked, and we thought we could come in and beat out a few bites. I picked up a frog, and it got a few of those bites and was able to give us just enough cushion to make it through.”

The key bait for DeFoe at the end of the day was a Terminator Walking Frog Jr., which DeFoe fished on a Johnny Morris Signature Series 7-foot, 2-inch heavy-action rod paired with a Johnny Morris Platinum high-speed 8.3:1 reel with 50-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS braid.

After notching two wins on two different fisheries, DeFoe and Montgomery should have momentum on their side as they look to replicate the feat during Friday’s Championship Round.

“Man, we can finally breathe,” Montgomery said. “I thought this one was tracking toward an easy day, but we had to work for it today. We did just enough, and we are two for two. But the one that matters the most is two days from now. We want to be three for three.”

Poche, Jordon rally again

Keith Poche and Kelly Jordon of Team Knighten Industries have jumped across the cut line during the third period each of the past two days. Photo by Phoenix Moore

For the second consecutive day of competition, Poche and Jordon found themselves on the wrong side of the cut line with less than an hour left to fish. Once again, they came through in the clutch to advance.

Poche mainly threw a topwater, catching five largemouth on a frog and adding two scorable smallmouth on a popper. Jordon committed to a soft-plastic stickworm, adding six keepers as the duo targeted a large grassy area in the northwest portion of the lake for the majority of the day.

After some debate about whether to stay put or run to new water, Poche caught a 3-5, which won Berkley Big Bass honors for the day. That not only prompted them to keep fishing the area but pulled them within one scorable bass of Dudley and Lefebre. With 40 minutes left before lines out, Jordon erased the gap by boating a 2-8. The duo would go on to add one more fish each for insurance.

“There was a hole in the grass that was our bread and butter,” Poche said. “I honestly didn’t think it had enough, but it had just enough, and we were able to kind of build off of it.”

“I fish better when it’s intense, but I’m enjoying it, and that was the case for us today,” Jordon said. “We found this grassy area, and it turned us on to a few things. There was a key stretch near the end, and we managed to catch several from it. It was a tough day, but a great day.”

The final two berths to the single-day Championship Round will be handed out to the top two finishers during Thursday’s second Knockout Round match. Watch all the action on the MLFNOW! livestream from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT at MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) apps and Rumble.com.