By MLF Communications Staff

It was the Alton Jones, Sr., show for the start of Group B’s Qualifying Round at the Bass Pro Tour event at Lake Fork in Quitman, Texas. The affable Lorena, Texas, pro caught the most bass, the biggest bass, and the most weight Sunday to grab the early lead for Group B. Jones caught 18 bass weighing 80 pounds, 7 ounces to pace the 40-angler field.

Fellow Texan Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, fishing in just his second career Bass Pro Tour event, sits in second place, but nearly 15 pounds behind Jones with 17 bass totaling 65-08. Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tennessee, finished the day in third place with 17 bass for 61-05, while Shelby, North Carolina’s Bryan Thrift caught 10 bass totaling 42-13 to end the day in fourth place. Casey Ashley of Donalds, South Carolina, rounds out the Top 5, as he caught 11 bass weighing 40-15.

The 40 anglers in Group B will now have an off day on Monday, while the 40 anglers competing in Group A will complete their two-day Qualifying Round of competition. Group B will conclude their Qualifying Round on Tuesday.

“Whew, what a great day today was, and my hats are off to the guys who got close to me,” Jones said as time expired. “Today couldn’t have been better – it was much better than my practice – and the rest of the field still kept up. I still can’t believe I caught an 11-02 today.”

Jones is satisfied with what he discovered Sunday and thinks his pattern will hold no matter what the weather does later in the event. Wednesday’s Knockout Round and Thursday’s Championship Round are forecast to be substantially colder.

“I expanded my area and feel like I can still catch fish here if the weather gets bad,” Jones said. “I’m going to keep mixing it up, fishing slowly and fast, because I know how the fish are positioned and know what to look for, even if they move around in here.”

Jones also caught the third-largest bass in MLF Bass Pro Tour history Sunday, weighing 11-02, to earn the day’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award. 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.

After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers who finish in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Thursday’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. In the final day Championship Round, weights are again zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

Anglers launch each day at 7:30 a.m. from the Oak Ridge Marina, located at 2949 TX-154 in Quitman. Takeouts are 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 MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney breaks 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 1

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

1. Alton Jones -- 80-07 (18) -- 11-02

2. Dakota Ebare -- 65-08 (17) -- 8-00

3. Andy Morgan -- 61-05 (17) -- 8-11

4. Bryan Thrift -- 42-13 (10) -- 7-13

5. Casey Ashley -- 40-15 (11) -- 5-10

6. Luke Clausen -- 38-04 (11) -- 4-08

7. Skeet Reese -- 33-06 (11) -- 5-00

8. Stephen Browning -- 31-08 (8) -- 7-03

9. Edwin Evers -- 30-14 (7) -- 7-10

10. Chris Lane -- 30-05 (9) -- 5-00

11. Roy Hawk -- 29-11 (6) -- 7-08

12. Dave Lefebre -- 29-02 (8) -- 6-04

13. Alton Jones Jr. -- 28-15 (5) -- 8-14

14. Adrian Avena -- 25-00 (7) -- 4-12

15. Terry Scroggins -- 24-13 (6) -- 7-13

16. Scott Suggs -- 23-10 (5) -- 6-14

17. Dean Rojas -- 23-09 (8) -- 3-11

18. Jeff Kriet -- 22-12 (5) -- 5-15

19. Ryan Salzman -- 19-05 (5) -- 5-00

20. Ott DeFoe -- 19-01 (6) -- 3-14

21. Greg Vinson -- 18-07 (5) -- 5-03

22. Jesse Wiggins -- 17-09 (4) -- 6-05

23. Mark Rose -- 15-13 (4) -- 4-13

24. Boyd Duckett -- 15-06 (5) -- 5-02

25. Cody Meyer -- 15-00 (4) -- 5-02

26. Gary Klein -- 14-14 (4) -- 5-11

27. Russ Lane -- 14-13 (4) -- 5-05

28. James Watson -- 14-06 (5) -- 4-09

29. Dustin Connell -- 14-02 (4) -- 4-09

30. David Walker -- 12-02 (4) -- 3-14

31. Mike McClelland -- 10-02 (2) -- 5-06

32. Shin Fukae -- 9-09 (4) -- 2-11

33. Jeremy Lawyer -- 9-00 (3) -- 3-14

34. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 6-03 (2) -- 3-02

35. Bobby Lane -- 5-05 (2) -- 3-02

36. Kelly Jordon -- 4-12 (2) -- 2-06

37. Timmy Horton -- 4-11 (2) -- 2-11

38. Cliff Pace -- 2-14 (1) -- 2-14

39. Brent Ehrler -- 2-04 (1) -- 2-04

40. John Murray -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00