MLF Communications Staff

John Cox caught 23 scorable bass that combined to weigh 75-15 to win the two-day Group B Qualifying Round at MLF Bass Pro Tour event on the St. Lawrence River in Massena, N.Y. Cox’s two-day total of 54 bass weighing 175 pounds even earned him the victory by a 23-11 margin and advances him directly into Wednesday's Championship Round.

James Elam caught a two-day total of 51 bass weighing 151-05 to end the round in 2nd place and Bryan Thrift ended up 3rd with 51 bass weighing 149-11.

The remaining 38 competitors – 19 from Group A and 19 from Group B – will now compete Tuesday in the Knockout Round, where weights are zeroed and the anglers compete to finish in the Top 8 to advance to the finals. The Championship Round will feature Group A winner Jacob Wheeler, Cox and the eight anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.

“Oh my gosh, I feel like I won the tournament, just making it to the Championship Round,” said an excited Cox. “I’ve never won one of these rounds before, so this is a new experience for me. I’m really excited to be able to allow the fish to rest a little before the next round.

“Ten of us are going to compete for $100,000 on Wednesday – I don’t even know what to say. Not sure if I’m having a mild heart attack or if the Red Bull is just really kicking in,” continued Cox. “I caught a ton of fish today and found some exciting stuff in the third period that should help us out in the next round. On the last cast, there were probably 15 fish that came in when I shook that 4-pounder off. I can’t wait to get back out there – it’s going to be awesome.

“I’ve been using the new 7-foot, medium-action Abu Garcia Fantasista Premier spinning rod – it bends perfectly and handles the fish on the light line. I’m throwing 8-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon on the Abu Garcia REVO MGXtreme spinning reel. It has a super-smooth drag and allows me to fight the fish really well.”

Cox said his key baits were the Berkley PowerBait MaxScent The General Worm and the Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Hit Worm.

“I never even had these smaller Berkley General worms until a couple years ago because I figured the 5 inch was plenty small enough,” said Cox. “They didn’t want the 5-inch today, but they ate (the) 4-inch one up really well.

“The Maxscent Hit Worm was an accidental win today. I had no idea it would work that well – I’d never heard of anyone catching smallmouth with it. I put it on to save some Flat Worms and they’ve just been killing it today.”

With a full day off, Cox said he plans to take his kids tubing down below the locks and is looking forward to enjoying the family time prior to Wednesday’s competition.

“This event has been awesome. I can’t wait to get back out there for the Championship Round,” said Cox. “This place is full of fish – it’s just been unreal.”

Randall Tharp won Monday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing in a 6-06 smallmouth bass caught on a Ned rig during Period 3. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler who weighs the biggest bass each day and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.

Anglers take off from the Massena Intake Boat Launch Ramp, located on Route 13, at 8:30 a.m. ET each day of competition. Takeouts are held at the same location beginning at 5:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW! livestream and ScoreTracker coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action each day of competition from 9:15 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. MLF NOW! is be live-streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

Notable

> Terry Scroggins, who finished 4th in Group B, had the biggest haul of the day (104-00 on 34 fish). No one else in the field exceeded Cox's mark.



Group B Qualifying Round – Day 2

(Figure at far right indicates weight of angler's heaviest fish for the round)

1. John Cox -- 99-01 (31) -- 75-15 (23) -- 175-00 (54) -- 5-00

2. James Elam -- 78-02 (27) -- 73-03 (24) -- 151-05 (51) -- 6-01

3. Bryan Thrift -- 81-13 (28) -- 67-14 (23) -- 149-11 (51) -- 6-01

4. Terry Scroggins -- 45-02 (15) -- 104-00 (34) -- 149-02 (49) -- 4-13

5. Bobby Lane -- 63-01 (21) -- 69-09 (23) -- 132-10 (44) -- 4-15

6. Jared Lintner -- 64-04 (20) -- 62-13 (21) -- 127-01 (41) -- 6-10

7. Britt Myers -- 53-11 (19) -- 73-05 (26) -- 127-00 (45) -- 4-09

8. Dustin Connell -- 83-13 (21) -- 42-09 (12) -- 126-06 (33) -- 6-05

9. Brett Hite -- 69-07 (21) -- 56-05 (17) -- 125-12 (38) -- 5-03

10. Gerald Spohrer -- 69-06 (20) -- 56-03 (15) -- 125-09 (35) -- 6-00

11. Ott DeFoe -- 63-13 (22) -- 61-09 (20) -- 125-06 (42) -- 4-12

12. Luke Clausen -- 51-03 (18) -- 65-12 (23) -- 116-15 (41) -- 6-03

13. Fletcher Shryock -- 65-02 (20) -- 49-13 (17) -- 114-15 (37) -- 5-09

14. John Murray -- 73-02 (25) -- 37-09 (13) -- 110-11 (38) -- 4-13

15. Shin Fukae -- 60-12 (18) -- 46-01 (12) -- 106-13 (30) -- 5-14

16. David Walker -- 59-07 (21) -- 43-05 (15) -- 102-12 (36) -- 4-07

17. Edwin Evers -- 43-06 (16) -- 57-01 (16) -- 100-07 (32) -- 4-09

18. Matt Lee -- 41-04 (14) -- 58-12 (18) -- 100-00 (32) -- 5-02

19. Michael Neal -- 47-00 (17) -- 49-06 (17) -- 96-06 (34) -- 4-10

20. Andy Montgomery -- 40-02 (15) -- 54-12 (19) -- 94-14 (34) -- 3-14

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not advance to the Knockout Round

21. Jason Abram -- 32-05 (12) -- 60-15 (22) -- 93-04 (34) -- 4-04

22. Randall Tharp -- 39-03 (14) -- 47-14 (15) -- 87-01 (29) -- 6-06

23. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 35-00 (13) -- 50-09 (17) -- 85-09 (30) -- 4-01

24. Scott Suggs -- 28-08 (10) -- 57-00 (19) -- 85-08 (29) -- 4-08

25. Fred Roumbanis -- 43-11 (17) -- 39-02 (14) -- 82-13 (31) -- 5-07

26. Dave Lefebre -- 35-03 (12) -- 33-01 (11) -- 68-04 (23) -- 4-13

27. James Watson -- 41-05 (15) -- 26-12 (10) -- 68-01 (25) -- 4-09

28. Chris Lane -- 35-01 (12) -- 31-06 (11) -- 66-07 (23) -- 4-07

29. Cliff Pace -- 37-12 (13) -- 28-09 (10) -- 66-05 (23) -- 4-06

30. Takahiro Omori -- 31-01 (9) -- 32-07 (9) -- 63-08 (18) -- 4-09

31. Mike McClelland -- 34-01 (12) -- 29-03 (9) -- 63-04 (21) -- 5-01

32. Brent Chapman -- 28-00 (9) -- 32-06 (11) -- 60-06 (20) -- 4-06

33. Zack Birge -- 41-10 (16) -- 16-14 (7) -- 58-08 (23) -- 3-14

34. Gary Klein -- 30-14 (9) -- 25-12 (9) -- 56-10 (18) -- 4-12

35. Mitch Crane -- 31-08 (11) -- 17-08 (7) -- 49-00 (18) -- 3-07

36. Tommy Biffle -- 24-14 (8) -- 19-00 (7) -- 43-14 (15) -- 6-03

37. Timmy Horton -- 22-00 (9) -- 18-04 (7) -- 40-04 (16) -- 3-05

38. Jason Lambert -- 16-06 (6) -- 18-07 (6) -- 34-13 (12) -- 5-06

39. Anthony Gagliardi -- 14-11 (5) -- 17-11 (5) -- 32-06 (10) -- 4-01