Late charge lifts DeFoe, Montgomery to Elimination Round win at Heritage Cup

Ott DeFoe and Andy Montgomery put their shallow skills to work to great effect in the second Elimination Match in Wisconsin. Photo by Phoenix Moore. Anglers: Ott DeFoe, Andy Montgomery.

September 16, 2024 • Charity Muehlenweg • General Tire Team Series

NEENAH, Wis. — With about 45 minutes left to fish in Monday’s second match of the Elimination Round at the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley, Ott DeFoe and Andy Montgomery found themselves on the wrong side of the elimination line.

Representing Team REDCON1, DeFoe and Montgomery had experienced a rollercoaster of a day on Lakes Poygan and Winneconne. They started slow, catching just three scorable bass for 4 pounds, 13 ounces during the first period. A second-period surge saw them briefly take the lead. But as their bite fizzled, Teams Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff and Pouches and 7 Brew Coffee passed them on SCORETRACKER®, forcing DeFoe and Montgomery to make an adjustment if they wanted to extend their stay at the second event of the fall 2024 General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops.

That adjustment – moving to a stretch of boat docks, where Montgomery started skipping a vibrating jig and DeFoe followed it up with a wacky worm. The one-two punch produced 13 bass totaling 21-19 in a span of 40 minutes, which rocketed Team REDCON1 not only above the elimination line but to first place with a total of 53-13 on 30 fish. They advanced to the Knockout Rounds alongside Casey Ashley and Terry Scroggins of Team Smokey Mountain, who finished second with 22 bass for 50-14. Team 7 Brew Coffee (Zack Birge and Ryan Salzman) and Team U.S. Air Force (Matt Lee and Jesse Wiggins) were eliminated from competition.

Boat dock combo keys REDCON1 rally

DeFoe and Montgomery started Monday bouncing around the north end of the lake before making a move to the southeast corner late in the morning. There, they pitched along cane grass lines and found a hot stretch that propelled them to the top spot on SCORETRACKER® by the end of Period 2.

Just as important as finding the grass bite was knowing when to leave it. After going about 50 minutes without catching a scorable bass, the duo made the move to a stretch of boat docks. That’s when Montgomery picked up a vibrating jig and the team went to work showing off their skipping skills, which produced bass in bunches.

“What a day,” Montgomery said. “We had a whole lot of nothing for most of the day, but it ended up being a big day. We had that one stretch around the islands where Ott was just cremating them early on, but we struggled the majority of the day. Once we got on those docks though, everything changed.”

The duo worked seamlessly together, with Montgomery hooking up with most of their third period bass and DeFoe picking up the stragglers behind him.

“The key bait for me today was a Bass Pro Shops Wacky Stick-O Worm, black and blue laminate, on a VMC Redline Series Weedless Wacky Neko Hook,” DeFoe said. “I threw that on a Johnny Morris Platinum Signature Spinning Rod with a Platinum Signature Spinning Reel and 10-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS Braid and a 12-pound XPS fluorocarbon leader.

“That was a really good back-up bait to Andy’s bladed jig skipping around these docks here at the end of the day,” DeFoe continued. “He went on a heck of a run, and we were able to catch a lot of fish and get the win.”

In all, DeFoe accounted for 19 bass weighing 35-4 — the best day on the water by any angler — while Montgomery chipped in 18-9 on 11 bass.

Team Smokey Mountain cruises to Knockout Round

Casey Ashley and Terry Scroggins fished emergent grass all day, including some heavy-duty punching, en route to qualifying for the Knockout Round. Photo by Phoenix Moore

Ashley and Scroggins may have finished in second place, but they put together the most consistent day from start to finish. The duo got on a cane grass bite early in the morning and stayed with it all day, initially catching fish off the outside edges then moving into really thick grass as the day progressed.

“What a roller coaster of a day,” Scroggins said. “We went from being on top to totally sucking in the second period to turning out pretty good.

“We left an area that we shouldn’t have left looking for greener pastures and trying to find something new,” Scroggins continued. “We went back through a grass line that had produced earlier in the day, and it just wasn’t producing again, so we figured we needed to run new stuff.”

That move opened up the door for Team REDCON1.

“We were just about two minutes late getting into that area, but that allowed Ott and Andy to get the jump on us,” Scroggins said. “But, we still caught them good and are looking forward to teaming up again for the Knockout Round.”

The Heritage Cup will continue Tuesday with the final match of the Elimination Round. Catch 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.