By MLF Communications Staff

Mark Daniels Jr. boated eight scorable bass totaling 15 pounds, 7 ounces to earn the win Monday during the Group A Qualifying Round at the season-opening MLF Bass Pro Tour event in West Monroe, Louisiana. Daniels now advances directly to Thursday’s Championship Round on Bussey Brake.

Daniels’ two-day Qualifying Round total of 16 bass weighing 33-05 earned him the win by a comfortable 8 1/2-pound margin over Edwin Evers, who caught a two-day total of nine bass weighing 24-13 to finish the round in 2nd place. Bryan Thrift boated a two-day total of 11 bass weighing 23-15 to end the round in 3rd, while Shinichi Fukae finished the round in 4th place with a two-day total of eight bass for 22-06. Rounding out the Top 5 was Day-1 leader Stephen Browning, who caught six bass for 21-02.

“To be honest, I was really looking forward to going to Caney Creek, but I’m even happier now that I’m going straight to Bussey Brake with an opportunity to win this thing,” Daniels said in his post-game interview. “The automatic Top-10 berth makes it an already awesome week and I could not be any happier with how this round went.”

Daniels dominated early Monday, catching five scorable bass on a jerkbait before 10 a.m. Seven of his eight keepers came on the jerkbait – he also added one in the afternoon on a 1/4-ounce Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap.

“That 1/4-ounce Trap is a little sneaky – not a lot of people throw it,” Daniels said. “Most of the time I’m throwing it trying to match the bait, but I’m throwing it this week because I’m targeting that 1-to-3-foot depth.

“I’m throwing the jerkbait on my 6-foot, 8-inch Favorite Pro Series casting rod,” Daniels continued. “It’s a little bit shorter and allows me to impart a good action on the bait without slapping the water, which happens to me with a longer rod. I’m throwing the Trap on a 6-foot, 10-inch Favorite Signature B-Lat Sick Stick with a 6:8:1 gear ratio reel and 12-pound Seaguar Fluorcarbon line.”

With Daniels now advancing to the Championship Round for the fifth time in his career, he’ll be looking to earn his first career victory on Thursday.

“I’m looking forward to spending a little bit of time scouting Bussey Brake on my day off. It’s been a grinder, but I’m super grateful to make the Championship Round. I’ve got a shot and I can’t ask for anything else – that’s why I’m here.”

The Top 20 anglers from Group A will now enjoy an off day, while the 40 anglers in Group B will complete their two-day Qualifying Round of competition on Tuesday. The Knockout Round, featuring 38 anglers competing to finish in the Top 8, will take place Wednesday on Caney Creek. Thursday’s Championship Round on Bussey Brake will feature Daniels, Tuesday’s Group B winner, and the Top 8 anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.

Evers earned the $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award Monday with a 5-13 largemouth that bit a jerkbait at the start of Period 3. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.

In the Qualifying Rounds, anglers launch at 8:30 a.m. from the Lake D’Arbonne State Park, located at 3628 Evergreen Road in Farmerville, Louisiana. The Knockout Round will launch Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. from the Caney Creek Hooks Marina, located at 400 Spillway Road in Chatham, Louisiana. The Championship Round on Bussey Brake will launch at 8:30 a.m. from Bonner Ferry Road, five miles northwest of Bastrop off of Hwy 593.

Each day’s takeout is held at the respective launch ramps, 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 event features anglers competing with a 1-08 minimum weight requirement on Lake D’Arbonne, and a 2-pound minimum weight requirement on Caney Creek and Bussey Brake 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 breaks down the extended action on each day of competition from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW! is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

Group A Qualifying Round – Day 2

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

1. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 17-14 (8) -- 15-07 (8) -- 33-05 (16) -- 3-05

2. Edwin Evers -- 10-06 (3) -- 14-07 (6) -- 24-13 (9) -- 5-13

3. Bryan Thrift -- 17-01 (8) -- 6-14 (3) -- 23-15 (11) -- 2-14

4. Shin Fukae -- 8-10 (3) -- 13-12 (5) -- 22-06 (8) -- 4-02

5. Stephen Browning -- 21-02 (6) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-02 (6) --

6. Jeremy Lawyer -- 13-00 (4) -- 8-01 (2) -- 21-01 (6) -- 5-00

7. Greg Vinson -- 6-15 (4) -- 12-04 (6) -- 19-03 (10) -- 2-10

8. Dean Rojas -- 2-01 (1) -- 16-08 (6) -- 18-09 (7) -- 3-10

9. Alton Jones Jr. -- 7-15 (3) -- 10-06 (4) -- 18-05 (7) -- 4-03

10. Cody Meyer -- 14-09 (4) -- 3-12 (2) -- 18-05 (6) -- 2-01

11. Alton Jones -- 11-07 (5) -- 5-08 (3) -- 16-15 (8) -- 2-03

12. Casey Ashley -- 9-05 (3) -- 7-04 (3) -- 16-09 (6) -- 2-12

13. Bobby Lane -- 5-09 (2) -- 10-00 (4) -- 15-09 (6) -- 3-05

14. Roy Hawk -- 2-02 (1) -- 13-07 (4) -- 15-09 (5) -- 4-11

15. Ott DeFoe -- 9-08 (4) -- 5-06 (3) -- 14-14 (7) -- 1-15

16. Andy Morgan -- 10-13 (4) -- 3-14 (1) -- 14-11 (5) -- 3-14

17. Jesse Wiggins -- 4-00 (2) -- 8-14 (3) -- 12-14 (5) -- 3-08

18. Adrian Avena -- 6-13 (3) -- 5-15 (3) -- 12-12 (6) -- 2-08

19. Timmy Horton -- 6-02 (2) -- 6-09 (2) -- 12-11 (4) -- 3-11

20. Chris Lane -- 7-08 (3) -- 4-13 (2) -- 12-05 (5) -- 2-15

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

21. John Murray -- 3-01 (1) -- 8-08 (3) -- 11-09 (4) -- 4-02

22. Gary Klein -- 8-12 (2) -- 2-13 (1) -- 11-09 (3) -- 2-13

23. Terry Scroggins -- 11-06 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 11-06 (2) --

24. Dakota Ebare -- 1-13 (1) -- 9-08 (3) -- 11-05 (4) -- 4-14

25. Brent Ehrler -- 2-06 (1) -- 8-09 (4) -- 10-15 (5) -- 3-08

26. Mark Rose -- 2-14 (1) -- 7-07 (3) -- 10-05 (4) -- 3-00

27. Scott Suggs -- 9-10 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 9-10 (4) --

28. Kelly Jordon -- 4-07 (2) -- 4-11 (2) -- 9-02 (4) -- 2-14

29. Mike McClelland -- 2-00 (1) -- 6-14 (3) -- 8-14 (4) -- 2-10

30. Skeet Reese -- 4-11 (3) -- 3-15 (2) -- 8-10 (5) -- 2-02

31. Dustin Connell -- 4-03 (1) -- 4-06 (2) -- 8-09 (3) -- 2-04

32. Cliff Pace -- 5-00 (2) -- 3-03 (2) -- 8-03 (4) -- 1-11

33. Boyd Duckett -- 4-01 (2) -- 3-15 (2) -- 8-00 (4) -- 2-02

34. Russ Lane -- 0-00 (0) -- 6-10 (3) -- 6-10 (3) -- 3-01

35. David Walker -- 4-08 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 4-08 (2) --

36. Dave Lefebre -- 0-00 (0) -- 4-04 (2) -- 4-04 (2) -- 2-03

37. Ryan Salzman -- 3-13 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 3-13 (1) --

38. Jeff Kriet -- 1-14 (1) -- 1-08 (1) -- 3-06 (2) -- 1-08

39. Luke Clausen -- 2-03 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 2-03 (1) --

40. James Watson -- 0-00 (0) -- 1-09 (1) -- 1-09 (1) -- 1-09