By MLF Communications Staff
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Tenn.– After taking over the lead early in the first period, Alton Jones Sr., of Lorena, Texas held his ground throughout the day on Tuesday, catching a five-bass-limit weighing 14 pounds, 14 ounces, to cruise to a Group B Qualifying Round win at the MLF Bass Pro Tour event on Douglas Lake. Jones’ two-day total of 10 bass weighing 28-12 gave him a 1-09 margin over second-place Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, who finished with a two-day total of 27-03.
It was also another stressful day for anglers around the cutline. Zack Birge of Blanchard, Okla. started the day in 22nd before going on a morning flurry to jump to third place by the end of Period 1. Birge then went five long hours without catching a bass, yet managed to finish the day in 19th place and move on to the Knockout Round.
Britt Myers of Lake Wylie, S.C. came into Group B’s second day of competition in 33rd place, having only caught two fish on his first day of competition, but managed to rack up the biggest bag of the day – a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds even – to finish the day in 16th. Jordan Lee of Cullman, Ala. dropped below the cutline in the final period but caught two key fish in the last hour to finish the day in the 20th spot.
“I’m so happy finishing in 20th place,” said Lee on the MLF NOW! livestream. “I’m drained. I literally feel like I won the tournament.
“My heart can’t take it – it’s beating so fast,” Lee continued, laying down on the floor of his boat. “We gave it all we had, boys. I feel bad for the guys who barely missed it, I really do, but sometimes it’s just your lucky day. I’ve been right out of the cut and have been right inside it. Those last two fish today are really what made the difference for us, and I couldn’t be more excited to get to regroup and get on them tomorrow on Cherokee Lake.”
The remaining 40 anglers – the top 20 from each group – now advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round, where weights are zeroed, and the anglers compete to finish in the Top 10 to advance to the Championship Round on Thursday. Weights will carry over from the Knockout Round into the Championship Round, which will feature the final 10 anglers competing for the heaviest two-day cumulative total and the top prize of $100,000.
Among the 40 pros moving on to Wednesday’s Knockout Round are Tennessee’s own Andy Morgan and Michael Neal, both of Dayton, Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Matt Becker of Ten Mile and Jacob Wheeler of Harrison.
Jones started the day in fifth place but caught two fish within the first 45 minutes to jump to 1st – and never looked back.
“This was a good round, but it was a tough round for me,” said Jones. “I only caught five scorable bass, and I lost one and missed a couple. I just didn’t get a lot of bites today, but fortunately I found a few places that had some quality on them.
“I’m grateful to have made the cut and am ready to move on to Cherokee Lake. It’s great winning the day and winning the round, but it all zeroes tomorrow, so this is just bragging rights at the dock – and I’ll probably do a little bragging while we’re there,” Jones continued, laughing.
Jones is a four-time Qualifying Round winner, and did most of his damage up the river on a jerkbait, although he did catch one key fish on a football jig with a Zoom Baby Brush Hog as a trailer.
“Usually when I do well, it’s because I’ve made a game plan and executed it and bass fishing is no different than any other sport,” he went on to say. “You have to have a plan that you’re confident in. A plan is something you develop as you go through practice and something you develop in preparation before practice ever begins, and the Bass Force app is key to helping me develop my game plans.”
Jones said now it’s time to totally shift gears going into the Knockout Round.
“Cherokee is an entirely different lake, a whole different mindset from what we’ve been fishing over here on Douglas,” said Jones. “We’ve got to forget everything we thought we knew over here about what the fish were doing and totally retrain ourselves to dial in on what’s happening over there right now, and that’s going to be a big challenge for all of us.”
Tuesday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award went to Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Ark., who caught a 4-13 largemouth on a glidebait in Period 2. 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 will launch Wednesday and Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET from the TVA Boat Launch on Renfro Road in Jefferson City. Each day’s takeout will be held at the boat launch, beginning at 5 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 remainder of the event features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 12-ounce minimum weight for scorable bass on Cherokee Lake. 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 Wednesday and Thursday from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW! is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Group A Qualifying Round – Day 2
(Figure at far right indicates weight of angler's heaviest fish for the round)
1. Alton Jones -- 13-14 (5) -- 14-14 (5) -- 28-12 (10) -- 4-11
2. Todd Faircloth -- 14-07 (5) -- 12-12 (5) -- 27-03 (10) -- 3-07
3. Andy Morgan -- 12-04 (5) -- 14-08 (5) -- 26-12 (10) -- 4-09
4. Michael Neal -- 13-02 (5) -- 12-05 (5) -- 25-07 (10) -- 3-00
5. Josh Butler -- 14-04 (5) -- 10-13 (5) -- 25-01 (10) -- 2-13
6. Brett Hite -- 11-09 (5) -- 13-03 (5) -- 24-12 (10) -- 3-11
7. Spencer Shuffield -- 11-08 (5) -- 13-03 (5) -- 24-11 (10) -- 4-13
8. Mark Rose -- 13-15 (5) -- 10-12 (5) -- 24-11 (10) -- 2-15
9. Greg Vinson -- 12-15 (5) -- 11-10 (5) -- 24-09 (10) -- 2-13
10. Ott DeFoe -- 9-05 (5) -- 14-11 (5) -- 24-00 (10) -- 3-10
11. Jonathon VanDam -- 13-01 (5) -- 9-15 (5) -- 23-00 (10) -- 2-07
12. Jeff Sprague -- 11-01 (4) -- 11-13 (5) -- 22-14 (9) -- 2-09
13. Jeremy Lawyer -- 11-15 (5) -- 10-08 (5) -- 22-07 (10) -- 2-07
14. David Dudley -- 12-06 (5) -- 10-00 (5) -- 22-06 (10) -- 2-11
15. John Hunter -- 9-04 (5) -- 13-01 (5) -- 22-05 (10) -- 3-11
16. Britt Myers -- 4-08 (2) -- 17-00 (5) -- 21-08 (7) -- 4-12
17. James Elam -- 10-13 (5) -- 10-06 (5) -- 21-03 (10) -- 2-03
18. Fletcher Shryock -- 11-13 (5) -- 9-02 (5) -- 20-15 (10) -- 2-04
19. Zack Birge -- 8-08 (5) -- 12-05 (5) -- 20-13 (10) -- 3-03
20. Jordan Lee -- 11-12 (5) -- 9-01 (5) -- 20-13 (10) -- 2-03
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not advance to the Knockout Round
21. Mitch Crane -- 14-04 (5) -- 6-02 (4) -- 20-06 (9) -- 2-00
22. Luke Clausen -- 8-06 (3) -- 10-08 (4) -- 18-14 (7) -- 4-04
23. Gerald Spohrer -- 7-14 (3) -- 10-12 (4) -- 18-10 (7) -- 4-08
24. Josh Bertrand -- 10-04 (5) -- 8-02 (4) -- 18-06 (9) -- 2-05
25. Bryan Thrift -- 6-15 (3) -- 11-05 (5) -- 18-04 (8) -- 2-11
26. Jesse Wiggins -- 12-04 (5) -- 5-12 (3) -- 18-00 (8) -- 2-09
27. Dave Lefebre -- 8-06 (5) -- 9-00 (4) -- 17-06 (9) -- 2-13
28. Cody Meyer -- 5-11 (3) -- 9-00 (5) -- 14-11 (8) -- 2-04
29. Ryan Salzman -- 4-00 (2) -- 10-00 (5) -- 14-00 (7) -- 2-06
30. Marty Robinson -- 1-08 (1) -- 11-13 (5) -- 13-05 (6) -- 3-08
31. Scott Suggs -- 6-06 (2) -- 6-12 (3) -- 13-02 (5) -- 2-11
32. David Walker -- 1-13 (1) -- 11-03 (5) -- 13-00 (6) -- 2-12
33. James Watson -- 3-05 (2) -- 9-07 (5) -- 12-12 (7) -- 2-05
34. Gary Klein -- 6-00 (3) -- 6-08 (3) -- 12-08 (6) -- 2-12
35. Shin Fukae -- 5-11 (3) -- 4-12 (2) -- 10-07 (5) -- 2-14
36. Kelly Jordon -- 1-08 (1) -- 8-14 (4) -- 10-06 (5) -- 2-14
37. John Murray -- 2-01 (1) -- 5-15 (3) -- 8-00 (4) -- 2-07
38. Randall Tharp -- 7-09 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 7-09 (4) --
39. Dean Rojas -- 5-10 (3) -- 1-08 (1) -- 7-02 (4) -- 1-08
40. Skeet Reese -- 1-13 (1) -- 3-08 (2) -- 5-05 (3) -- 2-01
