By MLF Communications Staff

Amid strong south winds and cloudy, overcast conditions that foreshadowed the impending weather change expected over the next 24 hours, Randy Howell of Guntersville, Alabama caught a total of 18 bass Sunday weighing 41 pounds even to win the Knockout Round and advance to the final day of competition at the MLF Bass Pro Tour even on Lewis Smith Lake in Cullman, Alabama.

After taking the lead early in the day, Howell held off several fierce competitors and rose to the top of a stacked field going into Monday’s Championship Round. Among the star-studded field of pros who will compete in the Championship Round are 2019 REDCREST Champion and Angler of the Year (AOY) Edwin Evers of Talala, Oklahoma and 2021 REDCREST Champion Dustin Connell of Clanton, Alabama, along with Bass Pro Tour multi-event champions Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tennessee, 2020 AOY Jordan Lee of Cullman, Alabama and 2021 AOY Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee.

Late Sunday, MLF officials made the decision to start Monday’s Championship Round one hour earlier due to the possibility of incoming inclement weather.

“Our No. 1 priority is the safety of our anglers, their families, our staff and fans,” said Aaron Beshears, Bass Pro Tour tournament director. “After discussing with the MLF team, including our pro anglers, the decision was made to start Championship Monday an hour earlier in an effort to get as much fishing in as possible, in the event of a potential lightning delay or the possibility of having to cut the tournament day short due to inclement weather.”

The final 10 anglers are now set, and competition will resume Monday morning with at 7 a.m. CT in the Championship Round, where weights are zeroed and the angler who catches the most one-day weight will win the top prize of $100,000.

Howell outdistanced Evers, the 2nd-place finisher in the Knockout Round, by a little more than 2 1/2 pounds.

“Praise the Lord for a good day,” said Howell. “Man, it feels good, I just wish it was the last day. We got one more day to fight, but what a blessing this has been. I’ve caught a lot and haven’t lost any – I just need to beat nine more anglers tomorrow to win that big red trophy and that $100,000 prize.

“I am fired up and excited and this is exactly where we want to be at the end of tomorrow’s competition. The Lord has blessed me so much this season and everything has just been falling into place. It’s all about making good decisions and staying on course, working hard to figure it out and put the puzzle together. I didn’t even know what I was going to do until the first tournament day, and it all finally started coming together.”

The pieces certainly seem to be falling into place for the Alabama native, who has made it to two of the three Championship Rounds this season and broke the Bass Pro Tour record twice, two days in a row, for the largest bass ever weighed in Bass Pro Tour competition during the season-opener in Louisiana – with a bass weighing 10-11 and again with a bug-eyed largemouth weighing 12-14.

“The pattern I’ve been fishing is holding up, and I’m moving around a lot,” said Howell. “I caught 18 keepers today and a bunch of little ones, so there are a lot of fish in the area.

“We’ve got rain and storms coming in tomorrow, so the fishing’s probably going to be really good,” continued Howell. “The conditions are already changing and the water’s falling fast, so I’ve got all the Daiwa rods rigged up and a variety of Livingston jerkbaits and crankbaits ready to go. I caught a bass today that spit out a big crawfish, so I’m definitely going to have a red Livingston Howeller tied on tomorrow.”

Clabion Johns caught a 5-12 largemouth on a bladed swim jig early in the first period that earned him Sunday’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.

The final 10 anglers competing in Monday’s Championship Round will launch at 6:30 a.m. from the Smith Lake State Park, located at 403 County Road 386 in Cullman. The takeout will be held at the park, beginning at 3:30 p.m.

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 will break down the extended action from 6:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT. MLF NOW! is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

Knockout Round

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

1. Randy Howell -- 41-00 (18) -- 3-13

2. Edwin Evers -- 38-06 (16) -- 4-01

3. Wesley Strader -- 34-15 (17) -- 3-00

4. Jesse Wiggins -- 34-08 (15) -- 4-06

5. Dustin Connell -- 34-04 (17) -- 3-07

6. Ott DeFoe -- 34-00 (16) -- 2-15

7. Jordan Lee -- 31-10 (13) -- 4-07

8. Brent Ehrler -- 27-01 (14) -- 3-00

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

9. Shin Fukae -- 26-13 (12) -- 3-03

10. Kevin VanDam -- 23-04 (10) -- 3-10

11. Zack Birge -- 21-08 (11) -- 3-03

12. Clabion Johns -- 21-08 (8) -- 5-12

13. Andy Morgan -- 21-05 (7) -- 4-09

14. Fred Roumbanis -- 20-14 (12) -- 2-11

15. Adrian Avena -- 20-03 (11) -- 2-08

16. Anthony Gagliardi -- 19-04 (11) -- 2-10

17. Justin Lucas -- 19-01 (10) -- 3-12

18. John Murray -- 18-15 (8) -- 4-10

19. Gerald Spohrer -- 18-13 (9) -- 3-04

20. Bryan Thrift -- 17-13 (9) -- 2-07

21. Dylan Hays -- 16-15 (9) -- 2-07

22. Marty Robinson -- 16-15 (8) -- 2-14

23. Todd Faircloth -- 15-07 (7) -- 3-04

24. Randall Tharp -- 15-04 (6) -- 4-01

25. Josh Bertrand -- 14-12 (7) -- 3-03

26. Matt Lee -- 14-04 (7) -- 3-02

27. Tommy Biffle -- 14-02 (7) -- 2-14

28. Mark Rose -- 13-07 (6) -- 2-15

29. Casey Ashley -- 12-08 (6) -- 3-02

30. Alton Jones Jr. -- 12-01 (7) -- 2-00

31. Jeremy Lawyer -- 9-13 (6) -- 1-14

32. Luke Clausen -- 6-13 (4) -- 1-15

33. Andy Montgomery -- 6-03 (3) -- 2-11

34. Cole Floyd -- 5-12 (3) -- 2-03

35. Terry Scroggins -- 4-03 (2) -- 2-06

36. Russ Lane -- 3-12 (2) -- 2-00

37. Fletcher Shryock -- 3-07 (2) -- 1-15

38. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 3-02 (2) -- 1-10