By MLF Communications Staff

HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A strong morning bite carried Dustin Connell through the competition day Sunday, with his five largest bass weighing 22 pounds, 13 ounces. Connell’s hefty limit earned him the early Group B lead in the MLF Bass Pro Tour event at Lake St. Clair.

John Hunter finished the day tight on Connell’s heels, weighing in five scorable smallmouth totaling 22-09.

“It’s been a heck of a day,” said Connell. “It started out quick and we did good, which put us in a great position for the rest of the week. I found a couple new areas this afternoon, but I’ve got one little spot that’s really good and I’m just hoping that it holds out.”

Connell jumped out to an early lead, filling his limit within the first 30 minutes of competition and staying atop the ScoreTracker throughout the day.

“The fish are there – I mean, there are a bunch of 4- to 5-pounders there,” Connell continued. “I lost one this morning that was over 4 pounds, so hopefully that spot will be sustainable throughout the event.”

Connell spent his day targeting bass offshore with his Lowrance ActiveTarget and caught his fish on a 7-foot, 2-inch medium heavy Favorite Fishing Hex Rod, throwing a dropshot rig on 15-pound braid.

“This is my favorite way to fish,” said Connell. “It’s just awesome watching the way the fish react to your bait. I’m hoping that the wind dies down as we get further into the event so we can really get after it.

“Right now, the fish are down deep, stuck to the bottom. With all these waves, they just really want to hunker down low. But when the sun pops out and it gets slick, they slide up closer to the surface and you can see them a little better on your electronics. I don’t know how this tournament is going to be won, but I think it’s going to come down to finding a good area that you have to yourself."

The 40 anglers in Group B will now have an off day on Monday, while the 40 anglers competing in Group A will wrap up their two-day Qualifying Round. Group B will finish its Qualifying Round on Tuesday.

Hunter earned the $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award after a 5-08 smallmouth bit his dropshot with five minutes remaining in Period 3. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day and another $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.

Anglers launch each day at 7:20 a.m. ET from the Lake St. Clair Metropark, located at 31300 Metro Parkway in Harrison Township. Each day’s takeout is held at the launch location beginning at 4 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 MLFNOW! livestream and ScoreTracker coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The tournament features pros competing using the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, with each angler’s five (5) heaviest bass per day tallied as their day’s weight. Anglers strive to catch their heaviest five fish each day while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the live ScoreTracker leaderboard.

After each group's two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the Top 20 anglers from each group advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 40 anglers compete to finish in the Top 10 to advance to the Championship Round,where weight carries over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action live on all six days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! will be 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. Dustin Connell -- 22-13 (5) -- 5-01

2. John Hunter -- 22-09 (5) -- 5-08

3. Dylan Hays -- 20-15 (5) -- 4-10

4. Bradley Roy -- 20-11 (5) -- 4-10

5. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 20-08 (5) -- 4-13

6. Dakota Ebare -- 20-06 (5) -- 4-08

7. Jeremy Lawyer -- 20-05 (5) -- 5-05

8. Alton Jones -- 20-03 (5) -- 5-00

9. Todd Faircloth -- 19-05 (5) -- 4-08

10. Gerald Spohrer -- 19-04 (5) -- 4-10

11. Justin Lucas -- 19-02 (5) -- 4-07

12. Jesse Wiggins -- 18-15 (5) -- 4-07

13. Josh Bertrand -- 18-15 (5) -- 4-03

14. Jacob Wheeler -- 18-13 (5) -- 4-03

15. Brett Hite -- 18-12 (5) -- 4-01

16. Mark Davis -- 18-08 (5) -- 4-02

17. Jeff Sprague -- 18-04 (5) -- 4-02

18. Kevin VanDam -- 18-00 (5) -- 5-02

19. Keith Poche -- 17-15 (5) -- 4-03

20. James Elam -- 17-12 (5) -- 4-12

21. Gary Klein -- 17-11 (5) -- 4-01

22. Edwin Evers -- 17-10 (5) -- 4-11

23. Brent Ehrler -- 17-07 (5) -- 3-14

24. John Murray -- 17-06 (5) -- 5-05

25. Jacob Wall -- 16-15 (5) -- 4-04

26. Shin Fukae -- 16-06 (5) -- 3-11

27. Scott Suggs -- 15-09 (5) -- 3-04

28. Cliff Pace -- 15-09 (5) -- 3-04

29. Zack Birge -- 15-05 (5) -- 3-07

30. Jared Lintner -- 14-11 (5) -- 3-05

31. Skeet Reese -- 14-09 (5) -- 3-02

32. Nick Lebrun -- 14-02 (5) -- 4-06

33. Fred Roumbanis -- 13-15 (5) -- 2-15

34. Brandon Coulter -- 13-14 (5) -- 3-07

35. Matt Lee -- 13-10 (5) -- 3-03

36. Tommy Biffle -- 13-00 (5) -- 3-03

37. Stephen Browning -- 13-00 (5) -- 3-00

38. Mike McClelland -- 12-15 (5) -- 3-07

39. Luke Clausen -- 11-06 (5) -- 3-00

40. Russ Lane -- 10-03 (5) -- 2-05