By MLF Communications Staff
Although it didn’t quite match Friday’s frenetic day of fishing, the 39 anglers on the water Saturday also experienced a special day at the MLF Bass Pro Tour event St. Lawrence River in Massena, N.Y.
When time expired at 5:30 p.m. ET, John Cox held the early lead for Group B with 31 bass weighing 99-01. Right behind Cox in 2nd place is reigning REDCREST champion Dustin Connell, who boated 21 bass totaling 83-13. Rounding out the Top 3 was Bryan Thrift, who caught 28 bass for 81-13.
The anglers in Group B will have the day off on Sunday, while the 40 anglers in Group A will complete their two-day Qualifying Round of competition. Group B will conclude its Qualifying Round on Monday.
“What an awesome day. I can’t believe that I’m leading a smallmouth tournament up north,” said Cox. “I feel like I picked up right where I left off last year. After looking at ScoreTracker yesterday, I couldn’t sleep last night. And now I don’t know how I’m going to sleep tonight or tomorrow. I’m so ready to get back out there again.
“It’s hilarious, but I’m leading because I was worried about running out of my (Berkley PowerBait) MaxScent Flat Worms and (Berkley PowerBait) MaxScent Generals during practice,” Cox continued. “In practice I had a bunch of these (Berkley PowerBait MaxScent) Hit Worms , and I figured I’d use them up so I didn’t use up all of my good stuff before the event started. But man, they’ve been eating that Hit Worm so good and that thing really carried me today.”
Although the majority of Cox’s keepers came on the Hit Worm, he did say that he added a few key bass on the General.
“We did pull the General out for a few of them and I threw that thing around and caught some big ones too,” Cox said. “It was just an awesome day. I moved around a lot today and sampled a lot of stuff to help get a game plan for when we come back out here Monday.
“I would love to win the Qualifying Round and be able to skip the Knockout Round and advance straight into the Championship Round,” Cox went on to say. “I know a lot of guys like being in that Knockout Round so they can follow the fish, but I feel pretty set on the areas that I’m fishing, so if I can let them rest it’ll be better.”
Connell credited a Ned rig for most of his success.
“I caught all of my fish on a Googan Baits Rattlin’ Ned,” Connell said. “This place is just unbelievable. I think I caught seven or eight 5-pounders today, maybe more. They’re biting out here, and I can’t wait to get back out here on Monday.”
Said Thrift: “Using P-Line Tactical Fluorocarbon Line and making super-long casts was the key to my success today. Most of my fish today came on a jighead with two types of soft plastics – the 3-inch Tennessee Shad-colored Damiki Stinger and Berkley MaxScent.
“I threw it on my signature series 7-foot medium-action Fitzgerald Drop Shot and Ned Rig rod, paired with an Abu Garcia Revo Premier spinning reel and spooled with 10-pound (P-Line) TCB 8 braid for my main line with 8-pound P-Line Tactical fluorocarbon leader. That setup is as good as it gets for finesse fishing."
Lintner won Saturday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing in a 6-10 smallmouth caught on a dropshot rig during Period 2. 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.
After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers who finish in 2nd through 20th place from each group advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 38 anglers compete to finish in the Top 8 to advance to the Championship Round, where weights are again zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
Anglers take off from the Massena Intake Boat Launch Ramp, located on Route 13, in Massena, at 8:30 a.m. ET each day of competition. Takeouts are held in 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 on all six days of competition from 9:15 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. MLF NOW! will be live-streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Group B Qualifying Round – Day 1
(Figure at far right indicates weight of angler's heaviest fish for the round)
1. John Cox -- 99-01 (31) -- 4-12
2. Dustin Connell -- 83-13 (21) -- 6-05
3. Bryan Thrift -- 81-13 (28) -- 4-08
4. James Elam -- 78-02 (27) -- 6-01
5. John Murray -- 73-02 (25) -- 4-05
6. Brett Hite -- 69-07 (21) -- 5-03
7. Gerald Spohrer -- 69-06 (20) -- 6-00
8. Fletcher Shryock -- 65-02 (20) -- 5-09
9. Jared Lintner -- 64-04 (20) -- 6-10
10. Ott DeFoe -- 63-13 (22) -- 3-15
11. Bobby Lane -- 63-01 (21) -- 4-15
12. Shin Fukae -- 60-12 (18) -- 4-15
13. David Walker -- 59-07 (21) -- 4-07
14. Britt Myers -- 53-11 (19) -- 4-06
15. Luke Clausen -- 51-03 (18) -- 4-08
16. Michael Neal -- 46-15 (17) -- 4-10
17. Terry Scroggins -- 45-02 (15) -- 4-02
18. Fred Roumbanis -- 43-11 (17) -- 5-07
19. Edwin Evers -- 43-06 (16) -- 3-05
20. Zack Birge -- 41-10 (16) -- 3-14
21. James Watson -- 41-05 (15) -- 4-09
22. Matt Lee -- 41-04 (14) -- 4-04
23. Andy Montgomery -- 40-02 (15) -- 3-07
24. Randall Tharp -- 39-03 (14) -- 4-05
25. Cliff Pace -- 37-12 (13) -- 4-06
26. Dave Lefebre -- 35-03 (12) -- 4-06
27. Chris Lane -- 35-01 (12) -- 3-12
28. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 35-00 (13) -- 3-07
29. Mike McClelland -- 34-01 (12) -- 4-03
30. Jason Abram -- 32-05 (12) -- 4-04
31. Mitch Crane -- 31-08 (11) -- 3-07
32. Takahiro Omori -- 31-01 (9) -- 4-09
33. Gary Klein -- 30-14 (9) -- 4-12
34. Scott Suggs -- 28-08 (10) -- 3-15
35. Brent Chapman -- 28-00 (9) -- 4-03
36. Tommy Biffle -- 24-14 (8) -- 6-03
37. Timmy Horton -- 22-00 (9) -- 3-05
38. Jason Lambert -- 16-06 (6) -- 3-04
39. Anthony Gagliardi -- 14-11 (5) -- 4-01
