DETROIT – Looking to pull off a sweep of Rookie of the Year, Angler of the Year and the tournament win, Alec Morrison of Peru, N.Y., wrangled 23 pounds, 6 ounces of smallmouth Saturday to move into the lead of the MLF Invitational at the Detroit River.
With a two-day total of 46-4 total, Morrison is trailed by Keith Carson of DeBary, Fla. (44-14) and Jon Canada of Helena, Ala. (44-6), with multiple other pros entering the final day over the 40-pound mark and within striking distance, given the right circumstances.
Running to Lake St. Clair, Morrison has been going hard all day. While a culling mishap cost him 2 pounds and a big lead on Day 1, he backed up his opening-round performance with another top-tier bag on Saturday.
“It was definitely a good day, I felt like I really needed to push hard after yesterday,” Morrison said. “Yesterday was a tough deal, and I knew the only way I could get through it was if I caught ‘em the next two days.
“I got off to a good start this morning in one of my primary areas and then did some searching around. I think there are still fish left in my areas, they’re just getting a little tougher, by the hour it seems like. As long as I can get five of them to bite, I should be okay.”
Scanning around in the open water of St. Clair, Morrison has seen the fish get tougher to catch by the day.
“They’re definitely not easy to get to bite, as it seems like they are everywhere during this schedule,” he said. “The weights have been crazy, but we see a lot more of them than we get in the boat. It’s been tough. I’ll definitely see them tomorrow, hopefully I’ll be able to get the right ones to connect.”
A New Yorker with a ton of smallmouth experience, Morrison has taken well to St. Clair, despite never fishing an event there before.
“St. Clair is very much its own fishery as far as smallmouth go,” he said. “It’s a different beast. It was tricky during practice to find them and figure out areas, but I’m learning to love it the last two days for sure.”
In 2023, Morrison won a Toyota Series event at Sam Rayburn, and he’s been on a tear since, knocking down numerous Top-10 finishes. Barring disaster, he’ll make AOY official on Sunday, and with a winning effort he’d wrap up about as perfect a season as you could ask for.
“It’s not official yet, but it’s something I’ve really pushed for the last few events,” Morrison said of AOY. “The second I got in somewhat of a good position around Kentucky Lake, I’ve been pushing for that ever since. The goals have been to win (an Invitational) and to get Angler of the Year. To get one of those, that would be unreal – hopefully we can have a magical day tomorrow and put it all together.”
Only the Top 30 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, now advance to Sunday.
Here’s a look at the Top 30:
1st: Alec Morrison, Peru, N.Y., 10 bass, 46-4
2nd: Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., 10 bass, 44-14
3rd: Jon Canada, Helena, Ala., 10 bass, 44-6
4th: Kyle Hall, Granbury, Texas, 10 bass, 43-10
5th: Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., 10 bass, 43-9
6th: Adrian Avena, Marmora, N.J., 10 bass, 43-5
7th: Cory Johnston, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, 10 bass, 42-10
8th: Brad Jelinek, Lincoln, Mo., 10 bass, 42-8
9th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 10 bass, 42-7
10th: Jaden Parrish, Liberty, Texas, 10 bass, 42-7
11th: Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., 10 bass, 42-5
12th: Jack Daniel Williams, Kingsport, Tenn., 10 bass, 41-13
13th: John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 10 bass, 41-13
14th: Andrew Nordbye, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 41-9
15th: Lane Olson, Jackson, Mich., 10 bass, 41-7
16th: Robby Lefere, Jackson, Mich., 10 bass, 41-5
17th: Mark Condron, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 10 bass, 41-4
18th: Jesse Wiggins, Logan, Ala., 10 bass, 41-0
19th: Colby Dark, West Monroe, La., 10 bass, 41-0
20th: Connor Cunningham, Springfield, Mo., 10 bass, 40-11
21st: Chris Groh, Spring Grove, Ill., 10 bass, 40-10
22nd: Jeremy Gordon, Rutledge, Tenn., 10 bass, 40-5
23rd: John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., 10 bass, 40-4
24th: Chase Serafin, White Lake, Mich., 10 bass, 40-3
25th: Terry Olinger, Louisa, Va., 10 bass, 40-3
26th: Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 10 bass, 40-2
27th: Jordan Wiggins, Cullman, Ala., 10 bass, 40-1
28th: Cameron Mattison, Benton, La., 10 bass, 40-1
29th: Colby Miller, Elmer, La., 10 bass, 40-1
30th: Jake Lawrence, Buchanan, Tenn., 10 bass, 39-13
Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
