Howell Wins KO Round, $50K Bonus

Friday, April 28, 2023

Photo: MLF/Rachel Dubrovin

Randy Howell's 29-04 haul in the Knockout Round at Caney Creek Reservoir included a 6 1/4-pound bruiser.

By MLF Communications Staff

MONROE-WEST MONROE, La. –Randy Howell of Guntersville, Ala. caught a 6-pound, 4-ounce largemouth Friday afternoon on Caney Creek Reservoir – the largest bass weighed on the day – to win the $50,000 Berkley Big Bass Bonus at the Major League Fishing Heavy Hitters event at Caney Creek Reservoir. Howell finished the day in first place with a total of eight bass weighing 29-04 and along with the other Top 8 finishers now earns his way into Saturday’s Championship Round on Bussey Brake and a shot at the $100,000 top prize, along with the $100,000 Big Bass Bonus.

“Man, that was fun,” Howell said in his post-game interview. “I’ve had so many days lately that aren’t fun. Days that just don’t go right. This year at the Bass Pro Tour at Douglas Lake I was in first place after the first day, and I fell all the way to 21st place and was the first one out of the cut. All I had to do was catch one little scorable bass, and for two hours I couldn’t catch one. So, days like that are the days that frustrate you, but days like today are what make it all worth it.

“It’s been a lot of fun today – it was a sight-fishing day for us,” Howell continued. “We got one this morning, just roaming, on shad, and then the rest of the day was spent sight-fishing. I think we caught everything today on the (Yamamoto) Flappin’ Hog and one on a lizard. But the Flappin’ Hog has been the deal.”

When Howell caught his 6-04 in Period 2, he had no idea that it would hold up to be the Knockout Round $50,000 Big Bass Winner.

“I was just roaming around, finding a new fish here and there,” Howell said. “I caught that 6-04 and I really didn’t have any idea that would win $50K today. Dakota (Ebare) had caught two 9s and there had been 8s caught every day. So, to win with a 6-04 just shows you how tough the fishing was, with the conditions today. I’ve never won that much money for a big fish before. That is incredible.

“To get the opportunity to go to Bussey Brake tomorrow is just so awesome. I probably worked harder, mentally, on this event than I ever have before, just trying to make sure I got there. And every day, I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it. I told my wife last night – I really don’t know what I’m going to do today, but I’m going to pray and trust the Lord, and hopefully just get the right feeling and go to the right place at the right time. And man, it was just a perfect day. I’m so thankful.”

The Championship Round will feature Group A Qualifying Round winner Bryan Thrift, Group B Qualifying Round Winner Brent Ehrler and the Top 8 anglers from the Knockout Round

The final 10 anglers will launch at Bussey Brake on Saturday at 7:30 a.m. CT from Bonner Ferry Road, located five miles northwest of Bastrop off of Highway 593. Fans are welcome to attend the 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.

From 1 to 6 p.m. MLF will welcome fans to visit the Bussey Brake boat ramp to celebrate the Top 10 and crown the 2023 Heavy Hitters champion. The final 10 anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.

Different from Bass Pro Tour regular-season events, Heavy Hitters features anglers competing using the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format in which anglers catch as many scorable bass and as much weight as they can each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the ScoreTracker leaderboard. For the Championship Round, a bass must weigh at least 3 pounds to be deemed scorable.

To qualify for Heavy Hitters, the weight of an angler’s single largest bass from each event of the seven 2022 Bass Pro Tour events was recorded. The 30 anglers with the heaviest total from those seven bass qualified to compete in this event.

The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. MLF NOW! is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

Television coverage of the General Tire Heavy Hitters 2023 Presented by Bass Pro Shops will be showcased across six two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 a.m. ET, Aug. 5 and running each Saturday through Sept. 9 on Discovery. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.

Knockout Round – Day 2

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

1. Randy Howell -- 29-04 (8) -- 6-04

2. Dakota Ebare -- 28-10 (10) -- 4-05

3. Edwin Evers -- 23-00 (7) -- 5-01

4. Ryan Salzman -- 17-09 (5) -- 4-01

5. Josh Bertrand -- 13-13 (4) -- 6-00

6. Alton Jones Jr. -- 12-05 (4) -- 3-06

7. Andy Morgan -- 10-15 (4) -- 3-14

8. Bradley Roy -- 10-07 (3) -- 5-14

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

9. Casey Ashley -- 8-11 (3) -- 3-02