By MLF Communications Staff


Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas sprinted out to an early lead in the initial appearance on the water for Group B in the Bass Pro Tour event at Alabama's Lewis Smith Lake, weighing 12 bass for 25 pounds, 9 ounces in the first period alone. He ended the day with a total of 18 scorable bass weighing 36-10ounces to secure the top spot.

Faircloth will carry a slim lead into Saturday’s second day of competition for Group B, with a 4-13 advantage over 2nd-place Alton Jones, Jr. of Waco, Texas, who caught 14 bass totaling 31-13. Dustin Connell of Clanton, Alabama, the reigning REDCREST Champion, made some adjustments toward the end of the first period and rode the boat docks to 3rd place, catching 13 bass weighing 29-06.

Michael Neal of Dayton, Tennessee delivered a one-two punch, catching suspended bass in open water early in the day, then moving on to boat docks to end the day in 4th place with 14 bass totaling 25-12. Bass Pro Tour newcomer Clabion Johns of Social Circle, Georgia rounded out the Top 5 with 11 bass weighing 25-09.

The 40 anglers in Group B will now have an off day, while the 40 anglers competing in Group A will fish their second day of competition Friday, battling it out for the Top 20 spots. Group B will resume competition on Saturday.

Faircloth threw the tackle box at the fish Thursday, using a variety of baits to keep his school fired up and maximize what was in front of him.

“We had a great day today,” said Faircloth. “I started out this morning catching them on a Strike King KVD 1.5 Flat Side, a great lure that I caught a lot of fish on early in the morning. When the bite slowed down, I picked up a Strike King Jerkbait and probably caught as many on that lure as I did on the crankbait.

“Once that slowed down, I switched tactics again and picked up a Strike King Super Finesse Worm , green-pumpkin colored, with a dyed chartreuse tail. These fish were on one specific spot, but the key for me was to keep changing baits and giving them a different look – and it seemed like that would trigger the school to fire back up again.

“I wasn’t seeing any fish in that area by the end of the third period, which has me a little concerned going into Day 2, but I’ve got a lot of other water to fish if that spot doesn’t work out. I’m seeing fish on my Lowrance Active Target on the bait I’m throwing, so I know I’m around some. I just have to figure out how to catch them later in the day. All in all, it was a great start for Smith Lake and I’m looking forward to Day 2."

The day played out quite differently for Alton Jones, Jr. who was sitting in 29th place at the end of the first period with only one fish for 1-10. However, the winner of the recent event at Lake Fork was a quick study and got on the fish moving to the docks the quickest of any of the anglers in Group B, making a run up the ScoreTracker to end the second period in 5th place before finishing the day in 2nd, within striking distance of Faircloth.

“Having almost nothing by the end of the first period, I’m pretty excited about where I ended up today,” said Jones. “I feel like I’m around a lot of fish and I think there’s potential there to win this Qualifying Round, so I’m excited to get back out here on Saturday.”

Johns caught a 4-05 largemouth on a crankbait nine minutes into the first period that earned him the second $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award of the event. 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 Sunday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Monday’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 Smith Lake State Park, located at 403 County Road 386 in Cullman. Each day’s takeout is held at the park 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 tournament features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce 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 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 day)

1. Todd Faircloth -- 36-10 (18) -- 3-13

2. Alton Jones Jr. -- 31-13 (14) -- 3-10

3. Dustin Connell -- 29-06 (13) -- 3-12

4. Michael Neal -- 25-12 (14) -- 2-09

5. Clabion Johns -- 25-09 (11) -- 4-05

6. Marty Robinson -- 24-02 (12) -- 2-11

7. Shin Fukae -- 22-13 (12) -- 3-11

8. Matt Lee -- 22-08 (11) -- 3-10

9. Gerald Spohrer -- 21-07 (9) -- 3-09

10. Anthony Gagliardi -- 20-00 (11) -- 2-11

11. Fred Roumbanis -- 19-14 (10) -- 3-03

12. Fletcher Shryock -- 18-13 (8) -- 3-01

13. Cole Floyd -- 17-15 (8) -- 3-14

14. Greg Vinson -- 17-08 (8) -- 2-12

15. Jesse Wiggins -- 16-07 (8) -- 3-03

16. Jordan Lee -- 15-05 (8) -- 2-09

17. Brent Ehrler -- 13-07 (7) -- 2-07

18. Bobby Lane -- 13-05 (6) -- 3-09

19. Tommy Biffle -- 13-05 (6) -- 3-04

20. James Elam -- 12-14 (7) -- 2-11

21. Mark Davis -- 12-11 (7) -- 2-15

22. Skeet Reese -- 12-11 (7) -- 2-06

23. Alton Jones -- 12-10 (6) -- 2-08

24. Dylan Hays -- 12-06 (6) -- 2-10

25. Bryan Thrift -- 10-09 (5) -- 3-05

26. Ryan Salzman -- 10-04 (5) -- 2-14

27. Dakota Ebare -- 9-08 (5) -- 2-10

28. Ott DeFoe -- 9-01 (5) -- 2-05

29. David Dudley -- 9-01 (4) -- 3-11

30. Boyd Duckett -- 8-07 (5) -- 2-00

31. Britt Myers -- 7-11 (3) -- 4-03

32. David Walker -- 7-08 (4) -- 2-02

33. Takahiro Omori -- 7-00 (4) -- 2-02

34. Cliff Pace -- 6-07 (4) -- 1-11

35. Chris Lane -- 5-13 (2) -- 4-04

36. Jeff Kriet -- 4-03 (2) -- 2-11

37. Roy Hawk -- 3-09 (2) -- 2-01

38. Timmy Horton -- 3-06 (2) -- 1-14

39. Shaw Grigsby -- 3-05 (2) -- 1-12

40. Jonathon VanDam -- 1-09 (1) -- 1-09