By MLF Communications Staff

Alton Jones of Lorena, Texas, maintained his lead throughout the day and held on to win the Qualifying Round Tuesday for Group B at the MLF Bass Pro Tour event at Lake Fork in Quitman, Texas. Over two days, Jones caught 28 bass totaling 117 pounds, 1 ounce to earn the first Qualifying Round victory of his career and advance straight to Thursday’s final-day Championship Round.

“I am so thankful to have caught the fish that I caught today,” said Jones, the reigning Heavy Hitters Champion. “I started on what was really my best area from the first day, and the wind was blowing in there really hard. I think I could probably still have caught some fish in there, but it’s probably good that I didn’t because it’ll keep some of the other competitors from fishing on it as hard tomorrow in the Knockout Round.

"With that, I’ve also got several places that I think are going to replenish a little bit. So I think Thursday’s Championship Round could be very interesting.”

After catching 18 bass weighing 80-07 on Day 1, Jones backed it up on Day 2 with 10 more bass weighing 36-10. He said that he targeted numerous different timberlines with just two baits.

“I have found fish this week along the tree lines. They start out deep, and you can follow them a long way in – all the way up to the bank,” Jones said. “The depth range I’m fishing is from 10 to 12 feet up to 3 to 4 feet, just slow-rolling that big Stanley 3/4-ounce Vibra-Shaft spinnerbait and throwing Ott’s little Rapala (Ott’s Garage Series) Slim crankbait. I’m a two-rod-Todd now – I think I can pick up those two baits and just roll with it come Championship Day.”

Bass Pro Tour newcomer Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, Texas, caught a two-day total of 24 bass weighing 92-11 to finish the round in second place, while Dayton, Tennessee pro Andy Morgan ended the round in third place with a two-day total of 24 bass weighing 83-01. Luke Clausen of Spokane, Washington , caught 22 bass weighing 81-14 to land in fourth, while Bryan Thrift of Shelby, North Carolina, advanced to the Knockout Round in fifth place with a two-day total of 19 bass weighing 80 pounds even.

“Alton kind of teased me and I fell for it a little bit because I thought I was going to be able to try to make a run at and maybe win this thing late in the day,” Ebare said. “I got really close – within 11 pounds at one point – but then he caught a couple of more and I just went into practice mode.

“I ran new water and was just looking to see how the fish are adjusting to the weather,” Ebare continued. “I kind of found a new pattern today that I wasn’t doing before. I had been focusing on the creek channels, but today it seemed like the fish were focusing on the inside timberlines – that’s where I caught most of my fish today.”

Fishing in just his second ever Bass Pro Tour event, Ebare is pumped about the opportunity that awaits him in the Knockout Round.

“I’m really excited for the Knockout Round, and I’m excited that I’ve had a great event so far here at Lake Fork in just my second event,” Ebare went on to say. “We’ll see how it goes. The weather is supposed to be pretty nasty, but I’m thankful that I have my Gill Winter Jacket and Bibs with me to keep me warm, comfortable and dry. We’re going to go out and give it all we got tomorrow to try to make the Championship Round."

The remaining 38 anglers – 19 from each group – now advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round, where weights are zeroed, and the anglers compete to finish in the Top 8 to advance to the Championship Round on Thursday. The Championship Round will feature Group A winner Jacob Wheeler, Jones and the eight survivors from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.

Addison, Alabama pro Jesse Wiggins earned Tuesday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award, catching a 9-04 largemouth on a jerkbait early in Period 3.

The 38 anglers competing in Wednesday’s Knockout Round will launch at 7:30 a.m. from the Oak Ridge Marina, located at 2949 TX-154 in Quitman. The takeout will be held at the Marina beginning at 4:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW! livestream and ScoreTracker coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The event features anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action each day of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. MLF NOW! is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

Group B Qualifying Round – Day 2

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

1. Alton Jones -- 80-07 (18) -- 36-10 (10) -- 117-01 (28) -- 4-12

2. Dakota Ebare -- 65-08 (17) -- 27-03 (7) -- 92-11 (24) -- 6-00

3. Andy Morgan -- 61-05 (17) -- 21-12 (7) -- 83-01 (24) -- 4-02

4. Luke Clausen -- 38-04 (11) -- 43-10 (11) -- 81-14 (22) -- 6-02

5. Bryan Thrift -- 42-13 (10) -- 37-03 (9) -- 80-00 (19) -- 7-15

6. Skeet Reese -- 33-06 (11) -- 29-05 (9) -- 62-11 (20) -- 4-14

7. Edwin Evers -- 30-14 (7) -- 26-01 (6) -- 56-15 (13) -- 5-13

8. Casey Ashley -- 40-15 (11) -- 13-01 (3) -- 54-00 (14) -- 8-06

9. Dustin Connell -- 14-02 (4) -- 38-03 (9) -- 52-05 (13) -- 7-02

10. Ryan Salzman -- 19-05 (5) -- 31-04 (9) -- 50-09 (14) -- 4-11

11. Dave Lefebre -- 29-02 (8) -- 19-11 (5) -- 48-13 (13) -- 6-13

12. Jeff Kriet -- 22-12 (5) -- 25-10 (7) -- 48-06 (12) -- 4-13

13. Stephen Browning -- 31-08 (8) -- 15-02 (5) -- 46-10 (13) -- 4-13

14. Alton Jones Jr. -- 28-15 (5) -- 16-09 (5) -- 45-08 (10) -- 4-04

15. Chris Lane -- 30-05 (9) -- 13-05 (4) -- 43-10 (13) -- 4-11

16. Scott Suggs -- 23-10 (5) -- 18-03 (6) -- 41-13 (11) -- 5-02

17. Terry Scroggins -- 24-13 (6) -- 16-10 (5) -- 41-07 (11) -- 4-08

18. Russ Lane -- 14-13 (4) -- 26-05 (8) -- 41-02 (12) -- 5-02

19. Roy Hawk -- 29-11 (6) -- 10-12 (4) -- 40-07 (10) -- 3-08

20. Greg Vinson -- 18-07 (5) -- 20-04 (8) -- 38-11 (13) -- 4-05

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

21. Adrian Avena -- 25-00 (7) -- 12-05 (4) -- 37-05 (11) -- 4-11

22. David Walker -- 12-02 (4) -- 23-02 (7) -- 35-04 (11) -- 4-09

23. Jesse Wiggins -- 17-09 (4) -- 15-15 (3) -- 33-08 (7) -- 9-04

24. Dean Rojas -- 23-09 (8) -- 9-14 (3) -- 33-07 (11) -- 3-10

25. Ott DeFoe -- 19-01 (6) -- 11-13 (4) -- 30-14 (10) -- 4-10

26. Cody Meyer -- 15-00 (4) -- 12-13 (5) -- 27-13 (9) -- 3-06

27. Mike McClelland -- 10-02 (2) -- 16-15 (5) -- 27-01 (7) -- 5-03

28. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 6-03 (2) -- 19-12 (6) -- 25-15 (8) -- 4-01

29. Jeremy Lawyer -- 9-00 (3) -- 15-10 (5) -- 24-10 (8) -- 4-02

30. Gary Klein -- 14-14 (4) -- 8-15 (2) -- 23-13 (6) -- 6-06

31. James Watson -- 14-06 (5) -- 9-02 (3) -- 23-08 (8) -- 4-06

32. Shin Fukae -- 9-09 (4) -- 12-00 (5) -- 21-09 (9) -- 3-02

33. Mark Rose -- 15-13 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 15-13 (4) -- 0-00

34. Boyd Duckett -- 15-06 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 15-06 (5) -- 0-00

35. Brent Ehrler -- 2-04 (1) -- 12-14 (3) -- 15-02 (4) -- 6-12

36. Cliff Pace -- 2-14 (1) -- 12-01 (4) -- 14-15 (5) -- 3-09

37. Bobby Lane -- 5-05 (2) -- 8-01 (2) -- 13-06 (4) -- 4-10

38. Timmy Horton -- 4-11 (2) -- 6-04 (3) -- 10-15 (5) -- 2-04

39. Kelly Jordon -- 4-12 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 4-12 (2) -- 0-00

40. John Murray -- 0-00 (0) -- 2-06 (1) -- 2-06 (1) -- 2-06