Glenn Landsrtrom dominates the Championship field in a record breaking performance on Blue Grass! Follow along below for a full recap of the event.
The 2023 Dakota Lithium HKB State Championship presented by YakAttack is in the history books and with it, a new champion and a record-setting performance. Glenn Landstrom, qualified for the 2023 championship via a roll down in the KBF Challenge Series. This was Glenn's 2nd time competing in the State Championship.
Going into this event, Glenn was a clear favorite with his history on this water. Though many of the anglers on the 2023 roster had history and in some cases, extensive experience on Blue Grass, Glenn by far was the most accomplished in regards to Blue Grass tournament results.
DAY ONE
Going into day one, Glenn was excited about the bite he had found in practice the day before. Glenn, a Bizz Baits pro-staff member, had found a shallow bite in practice catching quality fish on a Bizz Baits Pad Daddy Frog. He was targeting bigger-than-average fish located in the back of pockets, feeding on bait fish in the grass.
While most of the field fished typical fall patterns such as spinnerbaits, jackhammers, lipless crankbaits, underpins, and swimbaits, Glenn kept the frog in his hand all day. Glenn noted that many of his fish were coming from inches of water.
On day one, Glenn got out to an early lead posting 3 quality keepers within the first 2 hours. He would continue to catch them throughout the day and finished with a day one total of 94.75 inches, setting a new single-day record for a 5 fish limit in the HKB State Championship.
Right behind him though, was multi-time GRBY Champion, Bryan Sparks. Posting them early and often, as well as making several upgrades throughout the day including a couple of 20s.
Sparks caught the majority of his fish tossing a 1/2oz Bluegill pattern jackhammer in the weed line while covering as much water as possible.
Making a late surge on day one was the 2-time SIYAK Champion, Merlin Hammer III (MH3). Merlin had a decent limit by mid-day but was more than 20 inches off the leaders.
MH3 landed his second 18" fish late in the day giving him a big cull and moving him into the 80's. With that cull, MH3 was looking at a solid shot of taking home a Top 3 finish and an outside chance at catching the leader on day two.
DAY TWO
Day two would bring drastically different conditions. From partly cloudy, with a warm stiff southern wind on Friday, to a cold brisk north wind on Saturday, not to mention rain and an almost 20-degree drop in temperature.
While most struggled early on day two, the incoming rain would in true Blue Grass fashion really getting the bite fired up by midday, but by time the majority of the field had started putting up some fish the day one leader, Glenn Landstrom had already put up another monster bag with over 90 inches by noon.
His closet competition, Bryan Sparks, also had a solid morning but was struggling to find the size he needed. By noon, Bryan was 10 inches behind Glenn and bowed out shortly before the heaviest rain moved in around the one o'clock hour.
Glenn would finish the day with one last upgrade, an 18.75" to give him a day two total of 95.5 inches breaking the single-day record he set on day one.
His two-day total would tally up to 190.25 inches, again setting a record for the largest single-day 5 fish limit and 2-day total in HKB State Championship history.
His monster limit was anchored by the Big Bass of the event, a 21.00-inch beast landed around midday on day two.
After dominating the field for two days, with a lead of more than 13 inches, Glenn Landstrom was crowned the 2023 HKB State Champion. Only the 2nd angler ever to hold the State Championship trophy!
Bryan Sparks would hold on to 2nd place with a 2-day total of 177.00 inches and MH3 put up the third largest limit of the event on day two with 86.50 inches, giving him a 2-day total of 169.25 inches, securing the final spot on the podium in third place.
Stay tuned for more on the 2023 HKB State Championship, including an in-depth look at Glenn Landstrom's record-breaking frog pattern in our Winning Patterns blog!